Method for operating a fan and system for carrying out the method - Patents.com

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for operating a fan (1, 1'), which fan (1, 1') has an electric motor, and during operation of the fan (1, 1') measurement values ​​(in particular sound pressure and / or structure-borne sound vibrations) are recorded by sensors (2, 2'), the measurement values ​​are used as parameters by a calculation unit (3) to determine acoustical and / or psychoacoustic characteristic values ​​for a predetermined time interval and / or predetermined operating point, and the fan (1, 1') is operated exclusively at admissible operating points within which the acoustical and / or psychoacoustic characteristic values ​​lie. The invention also relates to a system for carrying out the method.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for operating at least one fan.

[0002] Furthermore, the present invention relates to a system for carrying out such a method. [Background technology]

[0003] The use of fans, such as in air source heat pumps, is subject to several noise control ordinances. For example, Non-Patent Document 1 specifies noise pollution guideline levels for residential and mixed-use areas in the form of time-averaged sound pressure levels (dB(A)), and additional fees may be charged for fan noise, which includes tonal components. Different noise pollution guideline levels apply during the day and at night. In particular, the lower limit must be observed at night. For example, in a residential area, the noise level during the day is 50 dB(A), but at night it drops to 35 dB(A).

[0004] Other parameters than just volume can also affect whether a person perceives a noise as annoying. So even if two fans from different manufacturers have similar A-rated sound pressure / sound power levels at similar operating points based on their product classification, the subjective perception of the two noises may be completely different.

[0005] Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the fan noise so that it is tolerable or not unpleasant. That is, the sound needs to be as acoustically pleasant as possible. Therefore, low noise emissions combined with high system efficiency are optimization goals set in the development process to gain a competitive advantage. [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0006] [Non-Patent Document 1] Technical Guidelines for Noise Reduction (TA Guidelines) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] It is therefore an object of the present invention to organise and develop a method for operating a fan with simple means that facilitate noise optimised operation. Additionally, a system for implementing such a method is provided. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] According to the invention, the above mentioned object is achieved by means of the features of claim 1. Claim 1 specifies a method for operating at least one fan, the fan having an electric motor, wherein during operation of the fan at least one sensor is used for recording at least one measured value (in particular sound pressure and / or structure-borne sound vibrations), the at least one measured value being used as parameter by a calculation unit for determining an acoustical and / or psychoacoustic characteristic value for at least one predefined time interval and / or at least one predefined operating point, the fan being operated exclusively at admissible operating points within which the acoustical and / or psychoacoustic characteristic values ​​lie.

[0009] The object of this system is achieved by the system of claim 12. Claim 12 specifies a system for carrying out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, comprising at least one fan with an electric motor, at least one sensor for recording measured values ​​(in particular sound pressure and / or structure-borne sound vibrations), and a calculation unit for determining acoustic and / or psychoacoustic characteristic values ​​for at least one predefined time interval and / or at least one predefined operating point.

[0010] According to the invention, the underlying objective can be achieved by determining acoustic and / or psychoacoustic characteristic values ​​based on measured values ​​and by operating the fan taking these acoustic and / or psychoacoustic characteristic values ​​into account. Measurements are recorded by sensors and are preferably sound pressure, structure borne sound vibration or other measurable environmental influences. These measurements are used as parameters by a calculation unit to determine actual acoustic and / or psychoacoustic characteristic values. The method according to the invention and the system according to the invention make it possible to comply with applicable noise pollution prevention legislation in an ideal manner. For example, a fan can be operated using a night-time operating profile (the most efficient operation possible when no one is present) and a daytime operating profile (the most acoustically pleasant sound when people are present) to comply with noise pollution limits depending on the time of day. It is therefore possible, according to the invention, to avoid using certain acoustically unpleasant operating points which may occur in various applications.

[0011] The method according to the invention may have a form depending on the device. These features and advantages may be expressly included as part of the system according to the present invention.

[0012] Not using an unacceptable operating point may be compensated for by operating at an acceptable operating point for shorter and / or longer periods. This facilitates operation in the acoustically and / or psychoacoustically desired range and ensures the required power is provided by the fan.

[0013] According to this embodiment, the determined acoustic and / or psychoacoustic characteristic values ​​may be loudness, volume level, sound pressure level, sound power level, specific frequency content (e.g. third octave level), tonality, roughness, sharpness, intensity of fluctuations, psychoacoustic unpleasantness, pitch, and / or impulsivity. These characteristic values ​​are identifiable and comparable indicators of human subjective perception.

[0014] The manipulated variables used to adjust the operating point of the fan may be operating time, speed, torque, power consumption, angle of attack, nozzle cross section, position of blade dampers in the flow duct, external hardware and / or other fans for noise suppression. It will be appreciated that the above manipulated variables affect at least one of the acoustic and / or psychoacoustic characteristic values, i.e. can affect these characteristic values ​​in a particular manner.

[0015] The acoustic and / or psychoacoustic characteristic values ​​may be used as a basis for defining automatic control, resulting in automatic operation of a fan. As an example, the automatic control can be performed as a result of comparing actual values ​​of the acoustical and / or psychoacoustic characteristic values ​​with target values ​​of the acoustical and / or psychoacoustic characteristic values. Thus, for example, very quiet or very low noise operation allows operation at a desired operating profile or at a desired operating point that produces a sound that is as acoustically pleasant as possible for humans and the environment. As an example, a direct comparison of the actual value with a target value or a direct comparison of the actual value with a limit value can be used to define a suitable control law, which determines the use of acoustic and / or psychoacoustic characteristic values ​​when operating the motor. These property values ​​may be stored in a database, for example after initial startup. Typically, an initialization start-up refers to the first time one or more fans are (re)started while the acoustic and / or psychoacoustic responses of the entire collection of all or selected operating points are recorded. For initialization start-up, the application of one or more fans can be considered separately. By modifying / changing at least one of the manipulated variables (eg, speed, torque and / or other manipulated variables), the acoustic and / or psychoacoustic characteristic values ​​can be modified for automatic control.

[0016] In particular, a central automatic control may be provided for the electric motor of the fan. Such an embodiment is particularly suitable when only a single fan is arranged. If there are multiple fans, this configuration allows each fan to be easily controlled independently of the other fans. Alternatively, distributed automatic control is provided for multiple electric motors of multiple fans. This allows the fans to be controlled as a unit, providing a combined effect.

[0017] According to another embodiment, multiple fans may be arranged. As a result of load balancing, the fans as a whole operate at an acceptable operating point. As an example, instead of running two fans at full load, four fans can be run at half load. This load balancing allows the fan as a whole to meet noise pollution limits and guideline levels.

[0018] Furthermore, the acoustic and / or psychoacoustic characteristic variables are modified in a particular manner to at least reduce another acoustic and / or psychoacoustic characteristic variable. As an example, the tonality may be reduced by increasing the sound power level. Additionally, multiple quieter fans may be used to mask the sound of another louder fan. Additionally, when multiple fans are in operation, anti-phase sound may be used in a specific manner to reduce or cancel unpleasant sounds by replacing or adding individual fans. In this way, so-called active noise canceling is performed.

[0019] Another parameter taken into account by the calculation unit may be the presence or absence of people around the fan. If no person is detected to be present, the device may for example operate at a louder operating point.

[0020] Again, the measurements may be used to record any anomalies during operation of the fan. By way of example, this can detect bearing damage, contamination, imbalance, material fatigue, manufacturing defects, resonance, flow separation and / or nozzle whistling. This has the advantage that if the acoustic response changes during operation (eg, as a result of contamination, damage, material fatigue, etc.), the operating range of the fan can be appropriately limited. In this way, normal operation can be ensured until the acoustic anomaly is corrected.

[0021] In particular, the sensors used may be acceleration sensors, sound pressure sensors, soft / virtual sensors and / or sensors assessing the operating state, the operating environment and / or the operational variables.

[0022] Currently, various options exist for developing the present invention. This option can be realised by reference to the claims dependent on claim 1 and then to the following description of embodiments of the invention with reference to the drawings, in which: In conjunction with the embodiments of the invention with reference to the drawings, developments of the embodiments will also be described. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0023] [Figure 1]1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a system according to the invention, which is also used to explain the method according to the invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an allowable range of a manipulated variable. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an unacceptable range of a manipulated variable. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an allowable operating range. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0024] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a system according to the invention. The system comprises two fans 1, 1', which are driven by an electric motor (not shown). Furthermore, two sensors 2, 2' and a calculation unit 3 are provided. The system may include a single fan and / or a single sensor.

[0025] The sensors 2, 2' are used to record measurements such as, for example, sound pressure and / or structure-borne sound vibrations. These measurements are transferred to a calculation unit 3, for example a computer. The calculation unit 3 uses the measurements as parameters to determine acoustic and / or psychoacoustic characteristic values, such as loudness, sound pressure level, specific frequency components, etc., for at least one predetermined time interval and / or at least one operating point.

[0026] This information is taken into account in order to operate the fans 1, 1' at permissible operating points within which the acoustic and / or psychoacoustic characteristic values ​​lie, so that, for example, limit values ​​are respected and people do not perceive the noise emitted by the fans 1, 1' as unpleasant.

[0027] Furthermore, the measurement signals recorded by the sensors 2, 2' can be used to detect abnormalities during operation of the fans 1, 1'.

[0028] In particular, the system is designed to be automatically controllable based on ascertained acoustic and / or psychoacoustic characteristic values. Thus, the fans 1, 1' may be automatically controlled as a result of comparing the actual values ​​of the psychoacoustic characteristic values ​​with the acoustic and / or target values ​​of the psychoacoustic characteristic values. The automatic control may also be performed as a result of comparing the actual values ​​of the acoustical and / or psychoacoustic characteristic values ​​with limit values ​​of the acoustical and / or psychoacoustic characteristic values. Thus, one or more manipulated variables (e.g., motor operation) can be modified as necessary to adhere to a desired operating profile.

[0029] Figure 2 shows the allowable ranges for the instrumental variables. The sound pressure level Lp is plotted as an acoustical and / or psychoacoustic characteristic value. In this figure, a curve is assumed in which the sound pressure level Lp increases approximately monotonically as the manipulated variable (eg, engine speed) increases linearly. The allowable range of the manipulated variable is defined by a lower sound pressure level Lp and an upper sound pressure level Lp.

[0030] Figure 3 shows the allowable ranges for the instrumental variables. In FIG. 3, the sound pressure level Lp is plotted as an acoustical and / or psychoacoustic characteristic value. This figure assumes that there is no functional relationship between the sound pressure level Lp and a linear increase in the manipulated variable. The permissible range of the manipulated variables is restricted by limit values.

[0031] FIG. 4 shows the permissible operating ranges or permissible operating points of the system according to the invention or the method according to the invention. The allowable operating range is limited by limits, which in this illustration are constant for all speeds.

[0032] Regarding other embodiments of the device according to the invention, reference is made to the description and claims in order to avoid repetition.

[0033] Finally, the above-described embodiments of the device according to the invention are intended to illustrate the claimed invention and are not intended to limit the invention to the embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0034] 1,1' ···Fan 2,2' Sensor 3. Computational Unit

Claims

1. A method of operating at least one fan (1, 1'), wherein the fan (1, 1') has an electric motor, and during operation of the fan (1, 1'), at least one sensor (2, 2') is used to record at least one measured value (in particular, sound pressure and / or structure-borne sound vibration), and the at least one measured value is used as a parameter by a calculation unit (3) to determine acoustic characteristic values and / or psychoacoustic characteristic values for at least one predetermined time interval and / or at least one predetermined operating point, characterized in that the fan (1, 1') operates exclusively at an allowable operating point within a predetermined range where the acoustic characteristic values and / or the psychoacoustic characteristic values exist. A method of operating at least one fan (1, 1').

2. The method of operating at least one fan (1, 1') according to claim 1, characterized in that when not using non-allowable operating points, the operation at the allowable operating points is made shorter and / or longer to compensate for not using non-allowable operating points.

3. The method of operating at least one fan (1, 1') according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the determined acoustic characteristic values and / or the psychoacoustic characteristic values are loudness, volume level, sound pressure level, acoustic power level, specific frequency components (e.g., third octave level), tonality, roughness, sharpness, strength of variation, psychoacoustic discomfort, pitch and / or impulsiveness.

4. The method of operating at least one fan (1, 1') according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the manipulated variables used for adjusting the operating point of the fan (1, 1') are operating time, speed, torque, power consumption, angle of attack, nozzle cross-section, position of blade dampers in the flow duct, external hardware and / or other fans for noise suppression.

5. The confirmed acoustic characteristic value and / or the psychoacoustic characteristic value are used as a basis for defining automatic control, and as a result of comparing the actual value of the acoustic characteristic value and / or psychoacoustic characteristic value with the target value of the acoustic characteristic value and / or psychoacoustic characteristic value, and / or as a result of comparing the actual value of the acoustic characteristic value and / or psychoacoustic characteristic value with the limit value of the acoustic characteristic value and / or psychoacoustic characteristic value, the automatic operation of the fan (1, 1') is performed. A method for operating at least one fan (1, 1') according to claim 1 or claim 2.

6. Central automatic control is performed on the electric motor of the fan (1, 1'), or distributed automatic control is performed on the electric motors of a plurality of fans (1, 1'). A method for operating at least one fan (1, 1') according to claim 1 or claim 2.

7. A plurality of fans (1, 1') are arranged, and as a result of load distribution, the entire plurality of fans (1, 1') operate at an allowable operating point. A method for operating at least one fan (1, 1') according to claim 1 or claim 2.

8. By modifying the acoustic characteristic variable and / or psychoacoustic characteristic variable in a specific manner, at least reducing another acoustic characteristic variable and / or psychoacoustic characteristic variable (in particular, reducing tonality by increasing the acoustic power level, and / or masking the sound of another high-volume fan (1, 1') using a plurality of quiet fans (1, 1'), and / or using the sound of opposite phase in a specific manner using individual fans (1, 1') to reduce or cancel unpleasant sounds when a plurality of fans (1, 1') are operating). A method for operating at least one fan (1, 1') according to claim 1 or claim 2.

9. Another parameter considered by the calculation unit (3) is whether a person is present around the fan (1, 1'). A method for operating at least one fan (1, 1') according to claim 1 or claim 2.

10. The method of operating at least one fan (1, 1') according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the measured value is used for recording an abnormality during the operation of the fan (1, 1') (for example, bearing damage, contamination, imbalance, material fatigue, manufacturing defects, resonance, peeling and / or whistling of the nozzle).

11. The method of operating at least one fan (1, 1') according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the sensor (2, 2') used is an acceleration sensor, a sound pressure sensor, a soft sensor / virtual sensor and / or a sensor for evaluating the operating state, the operating environment and / or the operating variables.

12. A system for executing a method of operating at least one fan (1, 1') according to claim 1 or claim 2, having at least one fan (1, 1') having an electric motor, at least one sensor (2, 2') for recording measured values (in particular, sound pressure and / or structure-borne sound vibrations), and a calculation unit (3) for determining acoustic characteristic values and / or psychoacoustic characteristic values for at least one predetermined time interval and / or at least one predetermined operating point.

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