Air guidance system
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing air guidance systems for recirculating air extractors are inflexible and difficult to install in narrow or angled spaces, such as the base area of kitchen furniture, leading to inefficiencies in air flow and filter application.
Innovation Solution
A hose-like air guidance system with flexible, air-permeable elements that can be arranged meanderingly and coupled modularly, featuring interchangeable filter devices and sensors, allowing for adjustable length and expanded airflow surfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If rigid air ducts are used in traditional air guidance systems, then structural stability is maintained, but flexibility and ease of installation in narrow or angled spaces deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies flexible hollow-profiled elements with wall-like structures that can be deformed and arranged in meandering configurations. These elements maintain their hollow cross-section while allowing bending and shaping to adapt to narrow and angled spaces, resolving the contradiction between flexibility and structural stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The air guidance system uses dynamically configurable elements that can be adjusted during installation and operation. The hollow-profiled elements can be deformed into different shapes and arrangements, allowing the system to adapt to varying spatial requirements while maintaining functional integrity.
2Ease of operation
If traditional rigid air ducts are used, then ease of manufacture is maintained, but ease of operation and installation in complex geometries deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The air guidance system is divided into multiple modular hollow-profiled elements that can be individually manufactured and then assembled. This segmentation allows each element to be produced using standard manufacturing processes while the overall system achieves the complexity needed for navigating around base legs and other obstacles.
Solution Approach 2:
The hollow-profiled elements are designed to be connectable in series, with one element nested within or connected to another, forming a continuous meandering path. This nesting approach simplifies installation by allowing sequential assembly while achieving the complex geometry required for base area integration.
3Ease of repair
If fixed filter devices are integrated into rigid air ducts, then filtration function is provided, but flexibility for maintenance and replacement deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The filter devices are extracted as separate, removable components from the air guidance system. Filters can be individually removed from the hollow-profiled elements for maintenance or replacement without disassembling the entire air duct system, greatly simplifying maintenance operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The hollow-profiled elements are designed with universal connection features that can accommodate different filter types and configurations. The same basic element structure can work with various filter devices, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining ease of filter replacement.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system enhances flexibility and efficiency by allowing for optimal space utilization, reducing draft feelings and enabling even air distribution, while allowing for easy filter replacement and adaptation to changing needs.
Implementation Method 1
The casing (14) is designed to be air-permeable at least in sections
Implementation Method 2
Some of the air guidance elements (11) have filter devices (15)
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
An air guidance system (1) has one or more hose-like air guidance elements (11), wherein at least one of the air guidance elements (11) has a filter device (15).