DISTRIBUTION PIPE FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF AIR CONDITIONED AIR

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a diffuser duct intended to be connected to an air conditioning unit to diffuse air supplied by said unit into a usage area, as well as an air diffusion system comprising such an air conditioning unit and a duct comprising at least one such diffuser duct.

[0002] It applies in particular to systems designed to distribute treated air, including heated, cooled, and / or purified air, within a room of a building, especially an industrial one. Such systems can be used in factories or warehouses to purify the ambient air of impurities released by industrial activities, such as dust and / or any type of particle potentially harmful to human health.

[0003] We know of systems in which the air diffusion duct includes at least one diffuser duct arranged to diffuse conditioned air supplied by a suitable unit in the area of ​​use, and at least one transfer duct to which said diffuser duct is connected, said transfer duct being arranged to put said diffuser duct into fluidic communication with said unit.

[0004] For example, documents EP-2 224 183 and WO-93 / 15366 describe diffuser ducts that have a peripheral wall on which a plurality of air diffusion orifices are formed, an upstream end intended to be supplied with conditioned airflow from a unit, and a downstream end opposite said upstream end in the direction of said airflow.

[0005] The air diffusion orifices are arranged, in particular by their dimensions and / or their position on the duct, to deliver a high velocity airflow, so as to generate strong micro-vortices, which induces a significant depression near said orifices, and thus allows the aspiration of outside air by induction, in order to ensure a renewal of the ambient air present in the area of ​​use by mixing the aspirated outside air with the conditioned airflow exiting said orifices.

[0006] Document EP-2 224 183 further provides for equipping the pipe and / or diffuser duct with a discharge device having at least one air discharge vent which has a dimension larger than a maximum dimension of the air diffusion orifices, said dimension of the vent being adjustable to be able to control an air discharge flow outside said duct.

[0007] The purpose of this device is to generate at the diffusion openings a flow of conditioned air of optimal velocity, in order to guarantee good homogeneity of the ambient air present in the area of ​​use while avoiding the presence at floor level of air currents of excessive velocity, so as not to impair the comfort of people in said area.

[0008] In particular, modulating the vent opening allows you to vary the amount of air diffused in the upper part of the area of ​​use, and thus easily adjust the velocity of the airflow coming out of the orifices.

[0009] Document WO 2016 / 141901 A1 shows a diffuser duct according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0010] The invention aims to improve the prior art by proposing in particular a diffuser duct which is equipped with an adjustment device which can be operated in a particularly simple and intuitive way, while allowing optimal control of the air exhaust flow outside of said duct.

[0011] To this end, according to a first aspect, the invention proposes a diffuser duct as claimed in claim 1. In particular, said diffuser duct is intended to be connected to an air conditioning unit to diffuse air supplied by said unit into a usage area, said duct having a peripheral wall on which a plurality of air diffusion orifices are formed, an upstream end intended to be supplied with conditioned airflow from said unit and a downstream end opposite said upstream end in the direction of said airflow, said diffuser duct being equipped with an adjustment device having at least one air discharge vent which has a dimension larger than a maximum dimension of the air diffusion orifices, said dimension of the vent being adjustable to control an air discharge flow outside said duct,the discharge vent being formed through the downstream end, the adjustment device comprising a modulating element for the size of the vent opening through which said flow is discharged, said element being movablely mounted on the downstream end.

[0012] According to a second aspect, the invention proposes an air diffusion system comprising an air conditioning unit and a duct in fluidic communication with said unit to distribute the conditioned air from said unit in a usage area, said duct comprising at least one such diffuser duct, as well as at least one transfer duct to which the upstream end of said diffuser duct is connected, said transfer duct being arranged to put said diffuser duct in fluidic communication with said unit.

[0013] Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent in the following description, made with reference to the attached figure which represents in semi-exploded perspective a diffuser duct according to an embodiment of the invention.

[0014] In relation to this figure, a diffuser duct intended to be connected to an air conditioning unit is described below to diffuse air supplied by said unit into a usage area.

[0015] The diffuser duct comprises a tubular body 1 made of rigid material, particularly metallic, which has a peripheral wall 2 on which a plurality of air diffusion openings 3a, 3b are formed, an upstream end 1a intended to be supplied with conditioned airflow from a unit as described above, and a downstream end 1b opposite said upstream end in the direction of said airflow. In particular, the tubular body 1 may have a diameter between 200 and 2000 mm.

[0016] The diffuser duct can in particular be used in an air distribution system comprising an air conditioning unit and a duct comprising at least one such diffuser duct, said duct being in fluidic communication with said unit to distribute the conditioned air from said unit into said area by means of said diffuser duct(s).

[0017] In particular, the piping of the distribution system may include at least one transfer conduit to which the upstream end 1a of the diffuser conduit is connected, in particular by means of a clamping ring 4 mounted around said upstream end, said transfer conduit being arranged to put said diffuser conduit into fluidic communication with the air conditioning unit.

[0018] As is known, the system can be mounted in the upper part of a usage area, particularly on the ceiling of a room, and can include a duct which has various arrangements, depending on the configuration of said room, the position of the conditioning unit and / or the ventilation requirements for said room.

[0019] Thus, the pipeline may include, for example: several diffuser ducts mounted in series, possibly with interposition of a transfer duct between two adjacent diffuser ducts; and / or diffuser ducts mounted in parallel, the respective upstream ends of which are all connected to the same transfer duct extending perpendicularly to the axial direction of each of said diffuser ducts.

[0020] To achieve this, the tubular body 1 may include means for fixing to a ceiling, said means being able in particular to be associated on an upper part of the peripheral wall 2.

[0021] In the description, the terms describing spatial positioning, particularly "upper" and "lower," are chosen with respect to the arrangement of the diffuser duct as shown in the figure. Furthermore, the terms "axial" and "radial" are taken with reference to the axis of revolution of the tubular body 1 of the diffuser duct, and refer to directions parallel and perpendicular to this axis, respectively.

[0022] In the embodiment shown, the diffuser duct includes at least two rows 5a, 5b of diffusion orifices 3a, 3b which extend axially at least over a lower part of the peripheral wall 2, in order to allow the diffusion of a flow of conditioned air downwards in the area of ​​use, in particular when said diffuser duct is mounted on the ceiling of a room.

[0023] Alternatively, the diffuser duct may have rows 5a, 5b of diffusion orifices 3a, 3b over a larger part of its peripheral wall 2, in particular over the entirety of said peripheral wall.

[0024] The diffuser duct may include at least two networks 5a, 5b of air diffusion orifices 3a, 3b of different dimensions, the arrangement of which along the peripheral wall 2 is adapted according to the requirements in terms of conditioned air distribution.

[0025] In the figure, the diffuser duct includes in particular an angular alternation of rows 5a of small diffusion orifices 3a and rows 5b of larger diffusion orifices 3b.

[0026] The diffuser duct is equipped with an adjustment device 6 having at least one air evacuation vent 7 which has a dimension greater than a maximum dimension of the air diffusion orifices 3a, 3b, said maximum dimension corresponding to that of the network 5b of orifices 3b in the embodiment shown.

[0027] The size of vent 7 is also adjustable to control the airflow outside the diffuser duct, according to the desired velocity of the airflows exiting the diffusion openings 3a, 3b. In particular, the greater the quantity of air evacuated by vent 7, the lower the velocity of the airflows exiting the openings 3a, 3b, which further reduces the residual air velocity at floor level, thus preventing uncomfortable drafts for people in the area of ​​use.

[0028] The exhaust vent 7 is formed through the downstream end 1b, the adjustment device 6 comprising a modulating element 8 of the size of the vent opening 7, through which the airflow is evacuated, said element being movablely mounted on the downstream end 1b.

[0029] Such an arrangement proves particularly advantageous, as it allows a user to easily locate the adjustment device 6, and thus to more easily control the velocity of the airflows diffused by the orifices 3a, 3b in the area of ​​use.

[0030] To do this, the tubular body 1 has a downstream opening 9, the adjustment device 6 comprising an internal disc 10 in which the evacuation vent 7 is formed, said internal disc being fixed on the tubular body 1 by obstructing said downstream opening.

[0031] Furthermore, the modulation element 8 is movably mounted on the inner disc 10. The modulation element 8 comprises a disc 11 which is rotatably mounted on an outer face of the inner disc 10, said modulation disc having a recess 12 intended to be disposed at least partially opposite the air discharge vent 7 in order to modulate the size of the opening, said recess being movable by rotation of said disc among a plurality of positions between a closed position of the vent 7 and a maximum opening position of said vent.

[0032] In particular, the internal disk 10 - respectively of modulation 11 - has two vents 7 - respectively two recesses 12 - spaced angularly apart, each recess 12 being arranged to cooperate with respectively a vent 7 to modulate the size of the opening.

[0033] In the figure, the vents 7 – and the recesses 12 respectively – are formed on the disks 10 and 11, being diametrically opposed, and have different angular dimensions. In particular, the vents 7 and the recesses 12 all have a substantially arched geometry, the maximum dimension of the vents 7 being on the order of 3 to 6% of the diameter of the tubular body 1.

[0034] In an unrepresented variant, the disks 10, 11 may have a larger number of vents 7 - respectively of recesses 12 - and / or at least two vents 7 - recesses 12 - of substantially identical angular dimensions.

[0035] In addition, each recess 12 of the modulation disc 11 has an angular dimension that is substantially greater than the angular dimension of the air exhaust vent 7 with which it cooperates.

[0036] The adjustment device 6 also has an external disk 13 which is fixed in the downstream end 1b opposite an outer face of the modulation disk 11 by interposing said modulation disk in rotation between the external disk 13 and internal disk 10. In particular, the modulation disk 11 is mounted in rotation on either side on respectively a disk 10, 13.

[0037] The external disk 13 includes at least one array 14a, 14b of diffusion orifices 15 of reduced dimensions which is arranged in the axial alignment of an air exhaust vent 7, in order to permit the evacuation of air through said diffusion orifices when said vent is at least partially open.

[0038] In the embodiment shown, the external disk 13 comprises two arrays 14a, 14b of diffusion orifices 15 which are each arranged in the axial alignment of respectively a vent 7.

[0039] The diffusion orifice networks 14a, 14b 15 are arranged to allow an air evacuation of between 10 and 20% of the total airflow circulating in the diffuser duct, depending on the size of the opening of the vent(s) 7.

[0040] To achieve this, the orifices 15 may have dimensions and / or a geometric arrangement within their respective network 14a, 14b which is / are adapted to allow air evacuation within this range of values.

[0041] Advantageously, the diffusion orifices 15 can be arranged in arrays 14a, 14b to provide an aesthetic effect to the diffuser duct and / or to allow the display of a commercial message or logo. In particular, each array 14a, 14b can form a word and / or a motif relating to a trademark, for example, that of the manufacturer and / or the product range under which the diffuser duct is marketed.

[0042] In the figure, the external disk 13 includes an arched slot 16 in which slides a cursor 17 carried by the modulation disk 11, said cursor being arranged to allow the modulation disk 11 to be rotated by pressing on it.

[0043] Furthermore, the adjustment device 6 includes a clamping ring 18 arranged to fix the discs 10, 11, 13 in the downstream end 1a of the conduit.

[0044] In particular, the ring 18 is arranged to axially clamp the outer disc 13 and inner disc 10 and prevent them from rotating in the downstream opening 9, the modulation disc 11 being free from this clamping to allow its rotation. To achieve this, the outer diameter of the modulation disc 11 is smaller than the outer diameter of the inner disc 10 and outer disc 13, so as not to interfere with the clamping ring 18 and thus maintain its freedom of rotation.

Claims

1. Diffuser conduit intended to be connected to an air conditioning unit for diffusing air supplied by said unit into an area of use, said conduit having a peripheral wall (2) on which a plurality of air diffusion openings (3a, 3b) are formed, an upstream end (1a) intended to be supplied with conditioned air flow coming from said unit, and a downstream end (1b) opposite said upstream end in the direction of said air flow, said diffuser conduit being equipped with an adjustment device (6) having at least one air exhaust vent (7) which has a larger dimension than a maximum dimension of the air diffusion orifices (3a, 3b), said vent dimension being adjustable in order to control an air exhaust flow outside said conduit, the exhaust vent (7) being formed through the downstream end (1b), the adjustment device (6) comprising a member (8) for modulating the dimension of the opening of the vent (7) through which said flow is exhausted, said member being mounted movably on the downstream end (1b), said diffuser conduit being characterized in that it comprises a tubular body (1) made of rigid metallic material having a downstream opening (9), the adjustment device (6) comprising an internal disc (10) in which the exhaust vent (7) is formed, said internal disc being fixed to the tubular body (1) so as to obstruct said downstream opening, the modulation member (8) being mounted movably on the internal disc (10) and comprising a disc (11) which is mounted rotatably on an outer face of the internal disc (10), said modulation disc having a recess (12) intended to be disposed at least partially opposite the air exhaust vent (7) in order to modulate the dimension of the opening thereof, said recess being movable by rotation of said disc among a plurality of positions between a closed position of the vent (7) and a maximum opening position of said vent, the adjustment device (6) comprising an external disc (13) which is fixed in the downstream end (1b) opposite an outer face of the modulation disc (11), while interposing said modulation disc in rotation between the internal (10) and external (13) discs, said external disc comprising at least one array (14a, 14b) of small diffusion orifices (15) which is arranged in axial alignment with said at least one air exhaust vent (7), in order to allow air to be exhausted through said diffusion orifices when said vent is at least partially open.

2. Diffuser conduit according to claim 1, characterized in that the internal disc (10) - respectively the modulation disc (11) - has two vents (7) - respectively two recesses (12) - spaced apart angularly, each recess (12) being arranged to cooperate with a respective vent (7) to modulate the dimension of the opening thereof.

3. Diffuser conduit according to claim 2, characterized in that the vents (7) - respectively the recesses (12) - are formed on the respective discs (10, 11) in diametrically opposite positions.

4. Diffuser conduit according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the external disc (13) comprises an arcuate slot (16) in which slides a slider (17) carried by the modulation disc (11), said slider being arranged to allow the modulation disc (11) to be rotated by pressing on it.

5. Diffuser conduit according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the adjustment device (6) comprises a clamping ring (18) arranged to secure the discs (10, 11, 13) in the downstream end (1b) of said conduit.

6. Diffuser conduit according to claim 5, characterized in that the ring (18) is arranged to axially clamp the external (13) and internal (10) discs, the modulation disc (11) being free from said clamping to allow its rotation.

7. Diffuser conduit according to claim 6, characterized in that the outer diameter of the modulation disc (11) is smaller than the outer diameter of the internal (10) and external (13) discs.

8. Diffuser conduit according to any of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it comprises at least two rows (5a, 5b) of diffusion orifices (3a, 3b) which extend axially at least over a lower part of the peripheral wall (2).

9. Diffuser conduit according to any of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that it comprises at least two arrays (5a, 5b) of diffusion orifices (3a, 3b) of different dimensions.

10. Air diffusion system comprising an air conditioning unit and a pipe in fluid communication with said unit for distributing conditioned air from said unit into an area of use, said pipe comprising at least one diffuser conduit according to any of claims 1 to 9, as well as at least one transfer conduit to which the upstream end (1a) of said diffuser conduit is connected, said transfer conduit being arranged to fluidically connect said diffuser conduit to said unit.