Toroidal Vortex Air Conditioning for Localized Temperature Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional temperature control systems in buildings consume significant energy and resources, failing to provide personalized temperature control for individuals within a space, leading to inefficiencies and increased emissions.
Innovation Solution
The use of toroidal vortices to precisely control temperature in localized areas by generating vortex rings that can travel long distances without dissipating, allowing for targeted heating or cooling of specific spaces or individuals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If traditional HVAC systems condition the entire volume of air in a structure, then temperature control is provided for the whole space, but energy consumption and emissions increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by transitioning from uniform whole-space temperature control to localized personal temperature control. Each user receives conditioned air in their immediate vicinity through personal devices, allowing different temperature conditions in different locations within the same space. This resolves the contradiction by providing temperature control only where needed rather than conditioning the entire structure volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the centralized HVAC system into distributed personal temperature control units. Instead of one system conditioning all air, multiple small devices independently condition air for individual users. This segmentation reduces total energy consumption by eliminating the need to condition unused or unoccupied spaces while maintaining temperature control for each person.
2Temperature
If traditional HVAC systems condition the entire volume of air in a structure, then temperature control is provided for the whole space, but the system cannot provide personalized temperature control for individuals
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables each user to receive customized temperature conditions in their personal space. Devices like wearable air conditioners or personal ventilation units allow individuals to set and receive their preferred temperature independently of others in the same room. This resolves the contradiction by making the system adaptable to individual needs while maintaining overall temperature control functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic adaptability where temperature control parameters can be adjusted by each user in real-time based on their personal preferences and environmental conditions. The system transitions from static whole-space control to dynamic personal control, allowing each individual to adapt their local environment independently.
3Use of energy by moving object
If toroidal vortices are used to condition smaller volumes of air, then energy consumption is reduced, but precise control of localized areas is required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates feedback mechanisms in personal temperature control devices to maintain precise localized control. Sensors detect temperature, humidity, and user presence, allowing the system to adjust airflow and conditioning parameters in real-time. This feedback ensures that even though only small volumes of air are conditioned, the precision required for effective personal temperature control is maintained.
4Length of moving object
If vortex rings travel long distances without dissipating, then targeted delivery to specific locations is achieved, but the structure and stability of the vortex must be maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs periodic generation of vortex rings to maintain stable transport of conditioned air over distance. By creating successive vortex rings at regular intervals, the system ensures continuous delivery while allowing each individual vortex to maintain its structured form. The periodic nature allows for consistent spacing and prevents vortex interaction that would cause dissipation, resolving the contradiction between long travel distance and structural stability.
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 approach enables efficient and precise temperature control, reducing energy consumption and emissions by conditioning a smaller volume of air, while also allowing for personalized comfort and additional non-temperature-related functionalities such as dusting and aroma delivery.
Implementation Method 1
Toroidal vortices, also known as vortex rings, are moving, stable structures that can form in fluids, such as in ambient air. A toroidal vortex is a torus-shaped vortex in a fluid, and a toroidal vortex is typically defined by a region where the fluid in the vortex mostly spins around an axis line that forms a closed loop.
Implementation Method 2
device 100 includes a heating element 105 for heating air flowing through passage 110
Implementation Method 3
Air in cavity 120 is periodically expelled from cavity 120 through outlet 125, which is constricted and shaped so as to generate a vortex ring, such as vortex ring 130
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, a method includes receiving air into a device that includes an actuator for generating one or more toroidal vortices and determining whether to generate a toroidal vortex for conditioning air in an environment of the device or whether to generate a toroidal vortex for a non-temperature-related functionality. The method further includes generating, based on the determination and by the actuator, one or more toroidal vortices and transmitting, by the device, the one or more toroidal vortices into the environment.