WO2016116656A1 - Console-type fan coil unit for domestic ventilation - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a console-type fan coil unit for domestic ventilation. The fan coil unit comprises a console (12), inlets (2, 2') for external air, a bank of filters (5, 6, 7, 8), a tangential fan (9), an electrical resistance (3) for the heating of the air, and an outlet (4) for treated air, characterised in that it contains a germicidal biocidal device in the console (12), preferably a lamp of ultraviolet C (UVC) rays (10). The filters are: a washable pre-filter (5); an electrostatic filter (6) for dust; a HEPA filter (7); and an activated carbon filter. The fan coil unit (1) is completed by an air ioniser (14) for the collection of dust, and means for remote gesture control, via the internet. The fan coil unit permits the provision of a mixed air-conditioning and air-purifying device in a single apparatus of a simple construction. Same permits the simple transformation of a conventional pre-existing heater or radiator into a mixed heater-purifier.

Description

 D E S C R I P C I Ó N

CONSOLE VENTILOCONVECTOR FOR DOMESTIC VENTILATION TECHNICAL SECTOR OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a console fan coil, of the type comprising a console, at least one untreated outside air inlet, a filter battery, a fan, at least one heat exchanger, which includes electrical resistors, and an outlet of treated and purified air.

The fan coil of the present invention finds its main application in domestic ventilation, although it can also be used industrially and commercially.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A fan coil unit (in English, "fan coil unit", FCU) is a relatively simple device, consisting of a battery or heat or cold exchanger and a fan. It is part of the air conditioning systems in residential, commercial or industrial buildings.

Normally, fan coils heat a room (or room) or several connected to a network of electrical pipes or resistors (electric fan coils) that provide thermal energy (heat or cold) and have their own regulation system, usually an all or nothing thermostat . They can have different designs including horizontal ("ceiling" mounting) and vertical (floor or wall console mounting). The latter is a case used very profusely for domestic heating or air conditioning.

Due to their simplicity, they are cheaper to install than an air duct air conditioning system with air handling unit (UTA). However, they regulate ambient humidity worse and can cause noise since the fan is in the same air-conditioned room (retrieved on 01/19/2014 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ventiloconvector). In addition, although some embodiments include battery filters, for example HEPA filters (High Efficiency) Partióle Arrestincf '), of activated carbon and even electrostatic dust collectors, when the indoor air of a room or room is driven through the fan coil, it is usually vitiated and incorporate bacteria and / or germs, gases, odors, cigarette smoke , dust, allergens ...., which are reintroduced into the ambient air treated by the fan coil. And in today's home console fan coils there is no blunt solution to this problem.

A particular disadvantage of electric fan coils with resistors is that they only serve for winter and cold seasons, and are disconnected in the rest of the seasons, that is to say in summer and hot seasons. In the latter case, therefore, the ambient air is not even treated by the fan coil battery filters.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a joint solution to the above problem and inconvenience.

EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION

For this purpose, the object of the present invention is a console fan coil for domestic ventilation, of the type indicated at the beginning, of new concept and functionality, which in essence is characterized in that it comprises a germicidal biocidal device, arranged in the console, in especially a "C" type ultraviolet lamp (known as UVC), of short wavelength ", typically between 80 and 300 nm, although the present invention is not limited to this range.

According to a characteristic of the console fan coil of the present invention, the fan is a tangential fan. The filter battery may comprise one or the following of the following filters: a washable pre-filter; an electrostatic dust filter; a HEPA filter; and an activated carbon filter.

According to another feature of the present invention, the fan coil comprises means for deactivating the electric resistors when the ambient temperature Ta is higher than a predetermined Te control temperature. In These circumstances, especially in summer, the fan can continue to drive the air that passes through the filters and the UVC lamp, achieving an air purification effect. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the console comprises a radiation element located downstream of the heat exchanger, that is in the upper part of the console, so that the heat can be emitted by natural or forced convection, through the exit and by radiation through the radiation element. This situation will be that of winter.

Preferably, the radiation element mentioned is a plate, for example of aluminum, which forms part of a side wall of the console.

Especially intended for summer or hot and temperate seasons, the fan coil console may comprise, in substitution of or in addition to the resistors, tubes through which a fluid circulates, for example, running water, at a temperature lower than the ambient temperature.

In a variant, the fan coil is equipped with an air ionizer, which produces anions that remain in the air, and cations that absorb dust and other particles present in the air to be treated, which adhere to the surface of a cathode (cationic surface ) of the ionizer. The dust thus collected can be easily removed, while the treated treated air, loaded with anions, leaves the outlet.

The air inlets may be lower inlets and / or side inlets made in a console wall.

According to an advantageous embodiment, the home fan console fan coil of the present invention will comprise a control system that has at least one sensor for measuring the ambient temperature T _a , at least one sensor for measuring the temperature in the resistors T _r and a memory for user preference data. Preferably the control system is a proportional system (PID or PIDA) that calculates in real time the error signal E _a = | T _C - T _a |

(absolute value of the temperature difference) such as the difference between the set temperature Te set by the user, and the temperature T _a , sending a signal proportional to this error signal to power supply means of the electric resistors, for keep the temperature at T _c . In the calculation of E _a , Ta can be substituted by another measured value, for example by the temperature of the resistance T _r .

Other sensors may be present, such as: sensors of human presence in the space to be heated, open / closed door and open / closed window, electric motors running, glow lamps, etc.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, communication means are provided through a wide area network (eg internet) with a user, to transmit the captured signals, detected temperatures and the condition of the fan coil to the user and send it to the Ventiloconvector instructions for operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following is a detailed description of preferred, but not exclusive, embodiments of the console fan coil for domestic ventilation object of the invention, for which better understanding is accompanied by drawings, given merely by way of non-limiting example. In said drawings: Fig. 1 is a schematic and perspective view of a first embodiment of a console fan coil for domestic ventilation, according to the present invention; and Fig. 2 is a view analogous to that of Fig. 1, of a second embodiment of the fan coil of the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In said drawings, the constitution and operating mode of the home fan console fan coil 1 of the present invention can be seen, which is composed of:

- A console 12;

 - Inputs 2, 2 'of the console 12, for the entrance of the untreated outside air;

- A battery of filters, consisting of: or a washable pre-filter 5, for example of textile material,

 o An electrostatic filter 6 for dust,

 or a HEPA filter (from English "High Efficiency Partióle Arresting") 7, or an activated carbon filter 8,

- a germicidal biocidal device, consisting of a UVC 10 lamp, from which treated and purified germ air comes out;

 - an air ionizer 14, which produces cations 15 that are absorbed by dust and other particles, and anions 16 that remain in the air, which produces the finally treated and additionally purified and sanitized air;

 - a tangential fan 9 for driving forced air convection and expiring load losses;

 - one or more electrical resistors 3 for heating the air; Y

- an outlet 4 of treated and purified air, in the upper mouth of the console 12.

In the first embodiment illustrated in the drawings (Fig. 1), the inlet is a lower air inlet 2, located at the base of the console 12. Alternatively or additionally, there may be a side air inlet 2 ', located in a wall of the console 12. In the latter case, the lateral inlet 2 'can be in fluid contact with the outside air, by means of a conduit 20 that crosses a wall (not shown) and communicates the outside environment with the space inside the console 12, in cases where a renewal of the indoor air of the room or room that is being heated is desired.

In the console 12 of the fan coil 1 there is an air ionizer 14, which produces negative ions, or cations 15, and positive ions, or anions 16. The cations 15 are absorbed by dust and other particles, present in the air to be treated, while the anions 16 remain in the air. The powder + anion assembly adheres to a cathode surface 23 of the ionizer 14, so that the dust can be easily collected and removed by removing it from the cathode 23. For this purpose, a replaceable dust collection filter can be arranged on the cathode. negatively ionized. On the other hand, the purified and sanitized air, loaded with anions 16, exits through exit 4. The effect is twofold, on the one hand the dust is eliminated, and on the other, anions 16 are produced, whose effect on health is beneficial (Not surprisingly, anions are known as the "air vitamin").

In the first embodiment of Fig. 1, the order of "bottom up" (actually "upstream to downstream", according to the air flow) of the elements in the console 12 is as follows: input 2 ; washable pre-filter 5; electrostatic filter 6; 2 'side entry; UVC 10 lamp; HEPA filter 7; activated carbon filter 8; tangential fan 9 and ionizer 14 (in this case substantially arranged in parallel with the tangential fan 9); electrical resistors 3; and outlet 4 of treated air. In the second embodiment of Fig. 2, the order is as follows: entry 2; washable pre-filter 5; electrostatic filter 6; HEPA filter 7; activated carbon filter 8, electric resistors 3; UVC 10 lamp; ionizer 14; tangential fan 9; and 4 air outlet. In the illustrated example of this second embodiment, the HEPA filter 7 and the activated carbon filter 8 are implemented as part of a single filter unit 24.

The inventors have verified that the first embodiment (Fig. 1) has the advantage that it allows the fan coil 1 to be made from a pre-existing air heater or radiator, without simply installing the filter battery 5, 6, 7 and 8 therein , the UVC lamp 10 and the ionizer 14. The second embodiment (fig. 2) is of greater energy and economic efficiency. The embodiment of Fig. 1 comprises a radiation element 1 1, consisting of one or more aluminum plates, located next to the resistors electrical 3, forming part of one of the side walls of the console 12. In this way, treated, purified and sanitized hot air is emitted through the outlet 4, and the heat is emitted by natural or forced convection of the same hot air , through the upper outlet 4 and by radiation through this radiation element 1 1.

An additional option of the fan coil 1, which is not shown in the drawings, includes tubes that replace or complement the electric resistors 3, through which a fluid circulates, for example water. If the fluid is at a temperature lower than the ambient temperature, for example, tap water, it can be used as a cold source for air conditioning. If the water circulates at a temperature higher than the ambient temperature, it can be used as a heat source for heating. Consequently, the fan coil 1 of the invention can work in three operating modes:

one . heating + debugging mode, in which both the resistors 3 and the tangential fan 9 are in operation and the water pipes are either not connected or not present;

2. Debug only mode, in which the tangential fan 9 is in operation and the resistors 3 are disconnected, and the water pipes are either not connected or not present; Y

3. in the embodiment with running water pipes, cooling + scrubbing mode, in which the resistors 3 are off, the tangential fan 9 is in operation and the water pipes in operational conditions.

The console fan coil 1 of the invention is provided with electronic control-management means. A control-management unit 17 is shown in Fig. 2, showing a microcontroller 18 provided with an algorithm, for example PAC, for control, a set of I / O 19 with connectors, and communication means of network 21. The control-management unit 17 comprises at least one sensor for measuring the ambient temperature T _a , at least one sensor for measuring the temperature in the resistors T _r , a RAM for user preference data, means for deactivating the electric resistors 3 when the ambient temperature T _a or temperature in the resistors T _r , is higher than a control temperature T _c preset, in the case of winter, and lower, in the case of summer or hot seasons. Tc can be set manually or calculated by the microcontroller 18. The temperature T _a can be replaced by another temperature to be controlled, for example a temperature close to T _a , for example arbitrarily called T _b , such that it meets

Ta - 5 ^e C <T _b <Ta + 5 ^e C.

The preferred control-management system 17 comprises a proportional system (or PAC: "Proportional Automatic Control") that calculates in real time the error signal

E _a = | T _C - T _a | such as the difference between the set temperature T _c programmed by the user, and the temperature T _b , sending a signal proportional to this error signal to power supply means of the electric resistors 3, to maintain the ambient temperature at T _c .

In the most general and simple case, the measured temperature Tb will coincide with the ambient temperature:

Tb≡Ta

The PAC can additionally comprise other sensors: human presence in the space to be heated, open door and open window, etc.

In a preferred variant of the fan coil 1 according to the invention (see Fig. 2), it comprises means of communication through a wide area WAN network (eg internet) with a user to transmit the captured signals and the condition of the fan coil 1 to the user and send this to the fan coil 1 instructions for its operation. The user will be provided with some means computing, such as a smartphone, a tablet, a PDA, a PC, etc. In this way, the system will be able to "know" the situation in specific cases: for example if the users arrive home for example, to anticipate the maintenance / programming of temperature and air treatment actions, etc. For this, the fan coil 1 is communicated in the "cloud", it can have its own web coding, for example an IP address, and be part of a larger home automation system or "internet of things" (loT: "Internet of Things ").

The system is also provided with at least one indicator of internal contamination level of the volume of air to be purified. This indicator could be, for example, an ecometer-type device, which measures carbon footprint production, or the deviation of an environmental parameter with respect to a preset setpoint value of the parameter. In Fig. 2 an interactive control 13 can be seen, in which the user can interact with the fan coil 1, to perform stop and start functions, enter the setpoint temperature and other functions, and with a display 22 display. In the event that the fan coil 1 placed in the "cloud" or communicated via the Internet (or other WAN), the above functions can be executed remotely, operating on a mobile smartphone {"smartphone"), a tablet, a PDA, a PC, or similar computing medium, implemented with the appropriate SaaS software or application ("app").

Finally, mention that a cal02 photocalitic reactor can be added with a tube (neon fluorescent) UVA 365 nanometers or UVA LEDs for medical use of 365nm, for example. The photocatalysis treatment consists of passing a ΤΊ02 (titanium dioxide) varnish specific for the application in the body of the thermal emitter, or performing a photocatlitic reactor integrated in the body of the fan coil / heater with an assembly of joint fins with a large surface of heat exchange, treated with the application-specific photocatalytic treatment that responds to AFNOR B44-013 (or similar) standards, associated with the system "LEDs for medical use - UV for clinical air" system of LEDs UVA 365nm or neon tube UVA, for example. The whole "Ventiloconvector - Air Purifier" set can be controlled with a PAC Power converter (already explained) that manages the entire part of the electronic heating thermostat and the Air Purifier part with axial fans, for example, because when the Natural convection of the thermal emitter is not sufficient to treat the Contaminated Air, the fan (s) are started to purify the air with respect to the information of the Pollution sensor (s) integrated in the system.

The response of the Pac Power Converter system, according to calculations of the integrated microprocessor, provides only the necessary power to maintain the set Temperature and that of the Air Purifier system.

Describing sufficiently the nature of the present invention, as well as the way of putting it into practice, it is stated that everything that does not alter, change or modify its fundamental principle is subject to variations in detail.

Claims

R E I V I N D I C A C I O N E S Console fan coil for domestic ventilation, of the type comprising a console (12) at least one inlet (2, 2 ') of untreated outside air and, inside the console (12), a battery of filters ( 5, 6, 7, 8) for the treatment of air purification, a fan (9), at least one electrical resistance (3) for heating the air, and an outlet (4) of treated air, characterized in that it contains a germicidal biocidal device, arranged in the console (12), for further purification and sanitization of the air. Console fan coil for domestic ventilation according to claim 1, characterized in that said germicidal biocidal device is an ultraviolet C (UVC) lamp (10). Console fan coil for domestic ventilation, according to claim 1, characterized in that said fan is a tangential fan (9). Console fan coil for domestic ventilation, according to claim 1, characterized in that said filter battery comprises at least one filter selected from: a washable pre-filter (5); an electrostatic filter (6) for dust; a HEPA filter (7); and an activated carbon filter. Console fan coil for domestic ventilation, according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises means for deactivating the electric resistors (3) when a measured temperature T _b is greater than a predetermined control temperature T _c . Console fan coil for domestic ventilation, according to claim 5, characterized in that said predetermined measured temperature T _b is comprised between T _a -5 ^e C and T _a + 5 ^e C, T being _at room temperature in the space to be heated. Console fan coil for domestic ventilation, according to claim 6, characterized in that T _c = T _a . 8. - Console fan coil for domestic ventilation, according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a radiation element (1 1) located downstream of the heat exchanger, so that the heat is emitted by natural or forced convection, through the output (4) and by radiation through the radiation element (1 1). 9. - Console fan coil for domestic ventilation, according to claim 8, characterized in that said radiation element (1 1) is a plate, for example aluminum, which is part of a side wall of the console (12). 10. - Console fan coil for domestic ventilation, according to claim 1, characterized in that, in substitution of or in addition to the resistors (3), it comprises tubes through which a fluid circulates at a temperature lower than the ambient temperature. eleven . - Console fan coil for domestic ventilation, according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises an air ionizing device (14), which produces anions that remain in the air, and cations that absorb dust and other particles present in the air to be treated, which they adhere to the surface of a cathode (23) of the ionizing device (14). 12. Console fan coil for domestic ventilation, according to claim 1, characterized in that the air inlets are lower inlets (2) and or side inlets in a console wall (12). 13. Console fan coil for domestic ventilation, according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a control-management system that has at least one sensor for measuring the ambient temperature T _a , at least one sensor for measuring the temperature in the resistors T _r and a memory for user preference data. 14.- Console fan coil for domestic ventilation, according to the claim 13, characterized in that the control-management system is a proportional system that calculates in real time the error signal E _a = | T _C - T _b | such as the difference between the set temperature T _c programmed by the user, and the temperature T _b , sending a signal proportional to this error signal to power supply means of the electric resistors (3), to maintain the temperature in the space to be heated in T _a . Console fan coil for domestic ventilation, according to claim 13, characterized in that the control-management system comprises other sensors, such as for example: sensors of human presence in the space to be heated, open / closed door and open / closed window , of electric motors running, of lighted incandescent lamps, etc. Console fan coil for domestic ventilation, according to claim 13, characterized in that it comprises means of communication through a wide area network (for example internet) with a user, to transmit the temperatures and other signals captured and the condition of the fan coil ( 1) to the user and send this to the fan coil (1) instructions for its operation.