Supply Air Wall Duct With Coupled Bypass Flaps for Airtight Homes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Airtight modern houses face challenges in air supply due to their energy-efficient design, leading to issues with ventilation, especially for wood-burning stoves and internal combustion engines, where the supply air ducts can cool down when not in use, and improper operation can result in inadequate air supply and safety hazards.
Innovation Solution
A supply air wall duct with a mechanism that ensures all flaps move in opposite directions, featuring a bypass opening system mechanically coupled to the actuating device, ensuring that outside air flaps open while inside air flaps close, and vice versa, to maintain continuous airflow and prevent cooling of interior spaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If a single flap is provided in the supply air duct to control outside air, then the duct can be closed to prevent cooling when the stove is not in operation, but the risk of incorrect operation increases leading to inadequate air supply and safety hazards
Solution Approach 1:
The single flap is segmented into two separate flaps: one for outside air and one for inside air (bypass). This segmentation allows independent control of each air source while reducing the risk of complete blockage, as one flap can remain open if the other is closed incorrectly.
Solution Approach 2:
The bypass opening with its own flap provides a pre-prepared alternative air supply path. If the main outside air flap is closed or fails, the bypass system provides a cushioning backup that prevents complete air supply failure and associated safety hazards.
2Loss of energy
If the duct is made airtight to improve energy efficiency, then energy loss is reduced, but the air supply to fireplaces and combustion engines becomes problematic
Solution Approach 1:
The air supply system is segmented into multiple independent pathways (outside air duct and bypass duct), each with its own control flap. This allows the building envelope to remain airtight for energy efficiency while providing controlled access points for combustion air through the wall duct system.
Solution Approach 2:
The wall duct system acts as an intermediary structure that penetrates the airtight building envelope. It provides a controlled interface between the sealed interior and exterior environments, allowing necessary air exchange for combustion appliances without compromising overall building airtightness.
3Loss of energy
If flaps are provided to control air flow, then energy efficiency is improved by preventing cooling, but the device complexity increases with multiple flaps and actuating mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
Two separate flap mechanisms (outside air flap and bypass flap) are merged into a single integrated actuating device with one operating element. This allows both flaps to be controlled simultaneously from a single location, reducing operational complexity while maintaining the energy efficiency benefits of controlled air flow.
Solution Approach 2:
The actuating device is designed with multi-functionality, serving as a universal control mechanism for both the outside air flap and the bypass flap. This single device performs multiple functions (controlling two separate air pathways) that would otherwise require two separate control mechanisms.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a supply air wall duct (1) for installation in a wall (7) to be ducted through a building with a wall outside (71) and a wall inside (72), with a duct (2) with a outside air an outside end (21) sucking in on the outside of the wall (71) and an inside end (22) for releasing the sucked air on the inside of the wall (72) to a fireplace located behind the wall (7) in an interior area/ Internal combustion engine (8), with at least one flap (31, 32) or lamella being provided in the duct (2), by means of which the duct (2) can be closed for the incoming air supplied from outside, with one flap/s (31, 32) or the actuating device (6) that actuates the lamella(s), the duct (2) releasing the sucked air at its inner side end (22), and that at an inner side end section (4) of the duct (2 ) at least one bypass opening (91b, 92b) opening into the interior and having a bypass closure device / s, in particular bypass flap / n (91, 92) is / are arranged, wherein the actuating device (6) with the / the bypass flap / s (91, 92) is mechanically coupled in such a way that the bypass flap /n (91, 92) is/are opened or closed, as the at least one flap/s (31, 32) or lamella/s in the channel (2) are closed or opened in the opposite direction.