Method and apparatus for air conditioning

Abstract

The invention proposes a method and apparatus for the air conditioning and can be used for the buildings, individual homes, offices and production facilities wherein purified oxygen and nitrogen or mixture of these gases are injected into the air passage of the air conditioning system from the storage units that are connected to the air passages through the regulating valves and linked electronically to the control board and oxygen analyzer with the provision to regulate oxygen content during the day from 20-21% up to 100%.

Description

This application claims the benefit of the prior filed Canadian Application No. 2,472,752 of Sep. 10, 2004.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the air conditioning and can be used for the refreshment of indoor air in buildings, individual homes, offices and production facilities.

Various air conditioning systems have been widely used to regulate the temperature and create comfortable conditions inside homes and buildings. However, air conditioning systems have caused so called “Sick Building Syndrome” which has resulted due to the accumulation of harmful impurities in indoor air. The symptoms attributed to this syndrome include headache, nausea, shortness of breath, sinus congestion, and eye-nose-throat irritation.

Filters and dehumidifiers have been used to remove airborne dust particles and moisture in order to clean the air in individual systems, refer the U.S. Pat. No. 5,749,359, and stationary systems, refer to the U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,502,975 and 6,589,323. However, the cleaning of indoor air does not result in the same quality, as it would be by replacing it with the outdoor one. The refreshment of indoor air can be done by employing the ventilation system to bring outdoor air inside. However, this method can further deteriorate the quality of indoor air in the case of heavy smog. Doctors often advise people with heart and breathing problems, who live in large cities, that are affected by smog, such as Toronto and Hamilton in Canada, New York and Buffalo in the USA, Mexico City, Deli in India and Rome in Italy to stay indoors during hot summer days.

To prevent the contamination of indoor air with polluted outdoor one, the latter one is used mostly for the heat exchange, as per inventions described by the Canadian Patents 2321243 and 1248807. An atmosphere control apparatus, as per Canadian Patent 1281795, employs two separate chambers with a large storage capacity. Cool and warm air, supplied by an air conditioner, is stored in the first and second chambers respectively. In order to create the required temperature, cool or warm air is selectively blown outward into the compartment. This method has limited applications and also does not have provision to refresh indoor air because the air conditioner produces warm and cold air for these compartments.

A significant health improvement was obtained through the enrichment of air with purified oxygen, which is delivered through the hoses and masks to the head—facial area of hospital patients or other recipients; refer to the U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,991,616 and 4,681,099. The U.S. Pat. No. 5,460,175 describes the distribution method of the mixture of air with up to 95% oxygen to the aircraft crewmembers. The most advanced air-oxygen breathing mixtures and method of their optimization and delivery are described in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,131,569 and PCT/DE97/00324. The above-mentioned invention is based on the regulation of oxygen content in the air depending on the recipient's measured physical condition and performance. However, most of these methods and systems were created to deliver the oxygen—air respiratory mixtures through the head—facial area, directly to the face or mouth of the recipients. They can't be used for the air refreshment inside the buildings and homes and to deliver fresh or enriched with oxygen air simultaneously to all the recipients, such as employees or family members.

The invention per the U.S. Pat. No. 6,726,558 provides systems and methods of supplying oxygen-enriched air to an enclosed space or compartment. The systems and methods may distill oxygen from ambient air by a molecular sieve pressure cycle mechanism, such as a pressure swing absorption, may generate oxygen from water using electricity or may use oxygen enriched air produced by membrane filtration. The invention helps people improve their wellness, productivity and comfort, improve performance of mental and/or physical tasks, increase their alertness, quality of life and pleasure, reduce their drowsiness, and aid in curing and preventing disease by increasing the percentage of oxygen in the enclosed space to a beneficial and safe level. However, this method does not fully refresh the indoor air. Air is a mixture of 21% oxygen (O₂) and 78% nitrogen (N₂). Only oxygen is consumed during breathing by individuals. However, the nitrogen content in the air is 3.7 times greater than oxygen. Therefore, nitrogen accumulates 3.7 times more airborne contaminants in indoor air.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to refresh air and eliminate the root cause of the “Sick Building Syndrome” purified oxygen and nitrogen or mixture of these gases should be injected into the air passages of the air conditioning system. Then, the air conditioning system would distribute refreshed air to all the recipients simultaneously.

The injection of purified oxygen is vital for the normal functioning of our bodies. However, the injection of purified nitrogen in combination with oxygen is 3.7 times more effective to obtain refreshing effect than the injection of just oxygen. Purified compressed or liquid oxygen and nitrogen can be used for refreshment of indoor air. Furthermore, the injection of liquid nitrogen and oxygen would reduce the consumption of electric energy by the air conditioning system as they have low temperature.

Further development of the proposed method is increasing oxygen content in the air conditioning system. It's well known that by the end of a business day most people gain fatigue and feel stressed. As a result, health and productivity are negatively affected. Fresh air is essential in such situations. In accordance with the proposed method, the oxygen content can be increased from 20-21% at the beginning of a business day up to 21.1-25% by the end of a day, with the provision to increase oxygen content up to 100% in the case of special needs.

Any amount of purified oxygen and nitrogen will improve the quality of the indoor air. In order to feel significant refreshing effect and improvement in the indoor air, the percentage of the oxygen and nitrogen should be determined relatively to the airflow of the air conditioning system. As per proposed method, this amount should make up between 2 to 25% of the airflow produced by the air conditioning system. For example, if the recommended productivity of the air conditioning system is 15 to 20 cubic feet per minute (cfm.) per person, oxygen and nitrogen mixture should be 0.3 to 5 cfm per person. In the case of special needs, the percentage can be increased up to 100%, but it is not economical.

The implementation of the proposed method can also significantly reduce the spread of fire if nitrogen content in the air conditioning system is increased up to 100% in the case of fire alarm, after the personnel evacuation.

The apparatus for the proposed method consists of the regular air conditioner, air passages, control board and air inlets, comprises storage units for oxygen and nitrogen, that are connected to the air passages through regulating valves and electronically connected to the oxygen analyzer and control board.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The invention is illustrated by way of example and not limited in the attached figure of the air conditioning apparatus for the building with four floors.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED INVENTION AND EMBODIMENT

In the figure, that illustrates the preferred embodiment, each floor is marked (1) through (4); and the air conditioner (5) is connected to each floor by the air passage (6). Each floor is equipped with the air inlet (7) for the fresh air. Also each floor, as well as individual compartment on the floor, can be equipped with the exhaust ventilation (8) that is placed in the area that generates most significant amount of contaminants such as kitchen in the house, printing area in the office or welding or painting area in the production shop. The main air passage (6) is connected to the compressed or liquid oxygen (11) and nitrogen (12) storage units through the regulating valves (14) and (15) respectively. The oxygen analyzer (10) is placed in the main air passage (6) and is electronically connected to the control board (13). The control board (13) is connected electronically to the regulating valves (14) and (15), air conditioner (5), oxygen analyzers (9) and (10).

The purified oxygen and nitrogen in the ratio 1:3.7 are injected into the main air passage (6) to maintain the normal concentration of oxygen (21%) and nitrogen (78%) in the indoor air. Purified mixture of oxygen and nitrogen create the effect of fresh outdoor air inside the building and eliminate the root cause of the “Sick Building Syndrome”. Furthermore, purified oxygen and nitrogen dilute contaminants inside the building and purge them away through the exhaust ventilation (8) and natural imperfections such as leakage through windows and doors. To obtain the significant improvement of the indoor air, purified oxygen and nitrogen or oxygen-nitrogen mixture should make up 2 to 25% of the airflow produced by the air conditioning system.

To reduce the fatigue and deterioration of our physical conditions during workday, the oxygen content in the indoor air can be increased from 20-21% in the beginning to 21.1-25% by the end of a workday using the control board (13). The proportional change of oxygen-nitrogen injection, if the mixture is used or the increase in oxygen can be used to change the oxygen content in the air. The concentration of oxygen is controlled by the oxygen analyzer (10) and is regulated automatically by the control board (13) through valves (14) and (15). If the proposed method is used in the hospital, the concentration of oxygen can be increased up to 100% in the case of emergency and would allow the delivery of enriched air to all the recipients simultaneously.

Another advantage of the proposed method and apparatus is that in the case of fire alarm, the concentration of nitrogen can be increased up to 100% after the evacuation of all personnel to stop the spread of fire.

Claims

1. A method of air conditioning in homes and buildings that are equipped preferably with the air conditioning system, which comprises the step of injecting of purified oxygen and nitrogen or mixture of these gases into the air passages of the air conditioning system.

2. A method, as claimed in claim 1, which comprises the step of injecting of purified oxygen and nitrogen or mixture of these gases directly into indoor space of individual homes or compartments.

3. A method, as claimed in claim 1, which comprises the step of increasing the oxygen content in mixture of injected gases from 20-21% at the beginning of a day up to 21.1-25% by the end of a day or business shift, with the provision to increase oxygen content up to 100% in the case of special needs.

4. A method, as claimed in claim 1, in which the airflow of purified gases in the airflow of the air conditioning system is regulated in the range of 2 to 25% of airflow of the air conditioning system, with the provision to increase the airflow of purified gases up to 100% of airflow of the air conditioning system in the case of special needs.

5. A method, as claimed in claim 1 which comprises the step of increasing of nitrogen content in the mixture injected into the air passages of the air conditioning system from 1 to 100% in the case of fire alarm, after evacuation of the personnel.

6. An air conditioning apparatus that includes the air conditioner, air passages, control board and air inlets to execute the method as claimed in claim 1, comprises the oxygen and nitrogen storage units that are connected to the air passages through the regulating valves and linked electronically to the control board and oxygen analyzer.