Ceiling Air Cooler Layout for Uniform Cooling in Crowded Rooms
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current air cooling systems for large premises, such as those on ships and offshore platforms, face challenges in maintaining uniform temperature distribution due to airflow obstruction by stored foodstuffs, occupy excessive space, and are cumbersome for maintenance, especially when installed in corners.
Innovation Solution
A compact cooling system design where air is sucked in from the lower part, passes vertically through a mid-located cooling battery, and is expelled horizontally under the ceiling, utilizing a thinner middle and lower section to allow closer storage and improved airflow, with optional inclined planes for weight distribution and deflector elements for directed air flow, and defrost resistors in tubes for efficient maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of repair
If air coolers are placed in the middle of a wall for maintenance access, then ease of repair is improved, but the footprint and space occupancy increase
Solution Approach 1:
The air cooler is repositioned from a wall-mounted configuration to a corner installation configuration, utilizing the third dimension (corner space) rather than occupying wall area. This allows maintenance access from the front while installing in corners where traditional wall-mounted units cannot be placed, thus resolving the contradiction between maintenance accessibility and space occupancy.
Solution Approach 2:
The air cooler adopts an asymmetric design with different thicknesses for different parts: the upper part (containing the fan) is thicker, while the middle and lower parts are thinner. This asymmetric configuration optimizes both maintenance access and space utilization, allowing the unit to be installed in corners while maintaining adequate access for service.
2Reliability
If fans are placed at the same height as the refrigeration battery, then the cooling function is improved, but the thickness and volume of the air cooler increase
Solution Approach 1:
The air cooler employs an asymmetric vertical configuration where the fan is positioned in the upper part at a different height than the refrigeration battery in the middle part. This asymmetric arrangement maintains effective cooling function while reducing the overall thickness and volume of the unit compared to conventional symmetric designs where fan and battery are at the same height.
3Area of stationary object
If air coolers are installed in corners for space optimization, then space occupancy is reduced, but maintenance access becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The air cooler is specifically designed for corner installation, utilizing the corner space (a three-dimensional configuration) rather than requiring wall-mounted placement. The unit's asymmetric design with thinner middle and lower parts allows it to fit in corners while the front face remains accessible for maintenance, thus resolving the contradiction between space optimization and maintenance accessibility.
4Power
If traditional air coolers are used with horizontal airflow, then the cooling capacity is maintained, but temperature uniformity in the room deteriorates when foodstuffs are stored to maximum height
Solution Approach 1:
The air cooler inverts the traditional horizontal airflow configuration by expelling cold air upward from the upper part. This inverted vertical airflow pattern allows the cold air to descend along the walls and distribute more uniformly throughout the room, especially when foodstuffs are stored to maximum height, thus improving temperature uniformity while maintaining cooling capacity.
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
This design enhances air circulation and temperature uniformity, allows for more efficient storage near the cooling system, reduces space occupancy, and facilitates easy maintenance by enabling corner installation and effective defrosting processes.
Implementation Method 1
a cooling battery for cooling an air flow
Implementation Method 2
The air flow is sucked in the lower part of the system, crosses vertically the cooling battery located in the middle part and is expelled by the front face in the upper part of the system to be propelled horizontally under the ceiling of a room
Data Source
Figure 1~2
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Figure 5
AI summary
The invention concerns an air cooling system comprising a cooling battery traversed by a vertical air stream and at least one fan disposed above the cooling battery. The fan discharges the cooled laminar air stream in the top part of the system, and said air stream is drawn in in the bottom part. The thicknesses of the middle parts comprising the cooling battery and of the bottom part comprising a suction grille are less than that of the top part containing the at least one fan. In this way, the middle and bottom parts are thinner than the top part, thus allowing goods to be stored closer to the cooling system.