AIR HANDLING SYSTEM

Abstract

An air handling system adapted for mounting in a room of a building includes a double air inductor assembly having a first air inductor unit and a second air inductor unit adjacently arranged with the first air inductor unit. Each of the inductor units includes a plenum having a primary air inlet, a mixing chamber having a plurality of side surfaces with a return air inlet extending through one of the side surfaces and a supply air outlet extending through another of the sides, and a plurality of air nozzles that each span along a central axis between an inlet fluidly connected with the plenum and an outlet fluidly connected with the mixing chamber. The axes of the plurality of air nozzles of the first air inductor unit are arranged approximately parallel to the axes of the plurality of air nozzles of the second air inductor unit.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This disclosure relates to air handling systems for moving air and changing the temperature of the air supplied to a room of a building.

Conventional air handling systems are known and used to supply temperature-controlled air to a room of a building. For instance, prior air handling systems may include motors that drive fans to move the air. Although effective, the sound that the motor produces may be undesirable. Another type of prior air handling system eliminates the motor and fan by using nozzles that generate a venturi effect to move the air without utilizing moving parts (e.g., the fan) in the air handling system. Although such “quiet” air handling systems are known, efficient use of these systems for controlling temperature of air and circulating air in a room is unknown.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An exemplary air handling system adapted for mounting in a room of a building includes a double air inductor assembly including a first air inductor unit and a second air inductor unit adjacently arranged with the first air inductor unit. Each of the inductor units includes a plenum having a primary air inlet, a mixing chamber having a plurality of side surfaces with a return air inlet extending through one of the side surfaces and a supply air outlet extending through another of the side surfaces, and a plurality of air nozzles that each span along a central axis between an inlet fluidly connected with the plenum and an outlet fluidly connected with the mixing chamber. The axes of the plurality of air nozzles of the first air inductor unit are arranged approximately parallel to the axes of the plurality of air nozzles of the second air inductor unit.

In another aspect, an air handling system adapted for mounting in a ceiling of a room of a building includes a first air inductor unit and a second air inductor unit running parallel to the first air inductor unit. Each of the air inductor units includes a plenum having a primary air inlet, a mixing chamber having a plurality of side surfaces with a return air inlet extending through one of the side surfaces and a supply air outlet extending through another of the side surfaces that is approximately parallel to the ceiling when the air handling system is installed in the ceiling. The plurality of air nozzles each span along a central axis between an inlet fluidly connected with the plenum and an outlet fluidly connected with the mixing chamber. The axes of the plurality of air nozzles are approximately perpendicular to the side surface of the mixing chamber that is parallel to the ceiling.

In another aspect, an air handling system adapted for mounting in a room of a building includes a first air inductor and a second air inductor unit adjacently arranged with the first air inductor unit and sharing a common plenum. Each of the inductor units includes a mixing chamber having a plurality of side surfaces with a return air inlet extending through one of the side surfaces and a supply air outlet extending through another of the side surfaces. A plurality of air nozzles each span along the central axis between an inlet fluidly connected with a common plenum and an outlet fluidly connected with the mixing chamber. The axes of the plurality of air nozzles of the first air inductor unit are arranged approximately parallel to the axes of the plurality of air nozzles of the second air inductor unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The various features and advantages of the disclosed examples will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description. The drawings that accompany the detailed description can be briefly described as follows.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example structure that includes an air treatment system having a plurality of air handling systems.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of one of the air handling systems of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates an insulated panel of an air handling system.

FIG. 4 illustrates one of the air inductor units of the air handling system.

FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment air handling system that may be used in the structure of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 illustrates another example of the nozzles used in an air handling system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 illustrates selected portions of an example structure 10, such as a building having an air treatment system 12 for supplying temperature-controlled air to a plurality of rooms 14 of the structure 10. It is to be understood that although a particular design of the air treatment system 12 is shown, that the examples disclosed herein are applicable to other arrangements and structures.

In the illustrated example, the air treatment system 12 includes an air treatment unit 16 that is fluidly connected with a plurality of air handling systems 18 through a primary air supply conduit 20. In this case, there is one air handling system 18 for each of the rooms 14 to supply air to the room 14 and control the temperature of the supplied air. In other examples, there may be additional air handling systems in each room 14, depending on room size. The air handling systems 18 in this example are suspended above the ceilings of the rooms 14 in a known manner, such as with hangers that attached to connection features on the air handling systems 18.

Each of the rooms 14 includes a return 22 for circulating the air from the rooms 14 back to the air treatment unit 16, which may exhaust the return air to the surrounding environment (e.g., outdoors). It is to be understood that the air treatment unit 16 is shown schematically and may include other components that are not shown, to intake air, control humidity, and/or purify air.

FIG. 2 illustrates one of the air handling systems 18. In this example, the air handling system 18 is a double air inductor assembly that includes a first air inductor unit 30a and a second air inductor unit 30b. Each of the air inductor units 30a and 30b includes a plenum 32 having a primary air inlet 34 that may be connected to the primary air supply conduit 20 for receiving primary air from the air treatment unit 16. For example, the primary air inlet 34 may be circular, oval, square, rectangular, etc. The plenum 32 may include a damper 33 for controlling air flow in the plenum 32 in a known manner. Optionally, a fan 35 may be arranged within each of the plenums 32 to facilitate air flow from the air treatment unit 16.

The plenum 32 is fluidly connected with a mixing chamber 36 by way of a planar nozzle plate 38 and air nozzles 40. The planar nozzle plate 38 of the first air inductor unit 30a is common to the air nozzles 40 of the first air inductor unit 30a. Likewise, the planar nozzle plate 38 of the second air inductor unit 30b is common to the air nozzles 40 of the second air inductor unit 30b.

At least a portion of the walls, or alternatively all the walls, of the first air inductor unit 30a and the second air inductor unit 30b may be made of sheet metal, such as aluminum or aluminum alloy. Alternatively, all of the walls of the air handling system 18 may be formed from a polymer material.

In another alternative, a portion or all of the walls may be insulated panels 90. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the insulated panels 90 may include a first skin 92, a second skin 94, and an insulation layer 96 between the skins 92 and 94. The first skin 92, the second skin 94, or both may be fabricated from a polymer or metal sheet. Additionally, at least the first skin 92 may include perforations 98 that open to the interior of the given air inductor unit 30a or 30b (i.e., the plenum 32 and/or mixing chamber 36) for facilitating sound damping. The insulation panels 90 may also thermally insulate the interior of the air induction units 30a and 30b from the surrounding environment, to provide low heat loss.

Each of the air nozzles 40 (FIG. 2) includes an inlet 42 that receives air from the plenum 32 through the planar nozzle plate 38 and an outlet 44 that discharges the air into the mixing chamber 36. For instance, the air nozzles 40 taper between the inlets 42 and the outlets 44 to generate a jetting effect (e.g., venturi). The air nozzles 40 may be formed from any suitable type of material. In a few examples, the air nozzles 40 are formed of a polymer material, such as polyethylene, for relatively good temperature resistance, light weight, and low cost.

Each air nozzles 40 spans between the respective inlet 42 and outlet 44 along a central axis 46. In this example, the axes 46 of the air nozzles 40 of the first inductor unit 30a are approximately parallel to the axes 46 of the air nozzles 40 of the second air inductor unit 30b. Alternatively, a portion of the axes 46 of the air nozzles 40 of the first inductor unit 30a may be approximately parallel to a portion of the axes 46 of the air nozzles 40 of the second air inductor unit 30b, while some of the air nozzles 40 have a different orientation.

The air nozzles 40 in this example are located entirely within the respective mixing chambers 36. However, it is to be understood that the air nozzles 40 need not be located entirely or even partially within the respective mixing chambers 36 and may be located entirely or partially within the plenum 32.

The mixing chamber 36 has a plurality of side surfaces 48, 50 with a return air inlet 52 extending through side surface 48 and a supply air outlet 54 extending through the other side surface 50. The return air inlet 52 and the supply air outlet 54 may be any desired shape, such as rectangular, square, circular, oval, etc.

In the illustrated example, a coil 53 extends along the return air inlet 52 on the side surface 48, to control the temperature of return air flowing through the return air inlet 52. The coil 53 may loop back and forth between the ends of the mixing chamber 36 and may be arranged in multiple rows for greater surface area and temperature-control effect. The coil 53 may be a metal tube carrying a heat transfer fluid, such as water, and may be arranged with heat transfer fins (not shown). Relatively cool water may be circulated through the coil 53 to cool the return air and thereby provide cool air to the room 14. Likewise, relatively warm water may be circulated through the coils 53 to provide warmer air. A drain pan 55 may be arranged below the coils 53 to collect any water condensation from the coils 53. Alternatively, the coil 53 may be an electric coil that is connected to an electric power source and provides heat by way of electrical resistance heating, for example.

The supply air outlets 54 are approximately flush with the ceiling (designated as “C”) of the room 14. That is, the plane of the opening of the supply air outlet 54 is approximately parallel with the plane of the ceiling. Therefore, the axes 46 of the air nozzles 40 run approximately perpendicular to the ceiling (and also to the plane of the supply air outlet 54).

Referring also to FIG. 4 (illustrating only the first air inductor unit 30a), each of the mixing chambers 36 runs along a long central axis 56. The first air inductor unit 30a and the second air inductor unit 30b are oriented parallel to one another such that the axes 56 of the mixing chamber 36 are approximately parallel.

A return air zone 60 (FIG. 2) is located between the air inductor units 30a and 30b. The return air zone 60 may be at least partially enclosed with surrounding side walls 62 and a removable grating 64 that is approximately flush with the ceiling. The return air zone 60 may also include a damper 66 for controlling flow. The side walls of the return air zone 60 are open to the return air inlets 52 of the air inductor units 30a and 30b such that flow from the room 14 through the return air zone 60 is allowed to enter into each respective mixing chamber 36. Optionally, the return air zones 60 or the return air inlets 52 may include filters 67 for removing particles from the return air.

In operation, the air treatment unit 16 supplies treated, primary air to each of the air handling systems 18 (see FIG. 1). For instance, the treated air may be purified or humidity-controlled. The primary air enters into each of the air handling systems 18 through the primary air inlets 34 and flows through the plenums 32 to the planar nozzle plates 38. The inlets 42 of the air nozzles 40 at the planar nozzle plates 38 receive the primary air, and the air nozzles 40 jet the air into the mixing chamber 36. The jetted-air flows from the mixing chamber 36 out of the supply air outlet 54 into the room 14.

The jetted-air also creates a relatively low pressure zone within the mixing chamber 36 that tends to draw air from the room 14 through the return air zone 60 into the mixing chamber 36. The coils 53 selectively cools or heats the return air before entry into the mixing chamber, where the cooled/heated return air mixes with primary jetted-air from the air nozzles 40 before discharge through the supply air outlet 54 into the room 14. In this manner, the air handling system 18 controls the temperature of the air in to the room 14.

Additionally, as shown in FIG. 1, the return air and the jetted-air discharged from the supply air outlet 54 provide a desirable circulation pattern in the rooms 14. The discharged air from the air handling system 18 tends to circulate outwards from the center of the room 14 towards the outer side walls. The air handling systems 18 draw the return air through the center of the room such that there is constant circulation within the room 14. Thus, the arrangement of the air handling system 18 having a double air inductor assembly promotes a relatively uniform circulation of air within the room 14.

The arrangement of the air inductor units 30a and 30b and the return air zone 60 in the air handling system 18 may be designed to be equal to or smaller than the size of a ceiling grid opening of the structure 10. For instance, the footprint of the air handling system 18 may be equal to or smaller than the size of a 2×4 foot, 2×3 foot, or 2×2 foot grid opening such that the ceiling grid need not be altered to accommodate the air handling system 18. Additionally, the arrangement of the air inductor units 30a and 30b and the return air zone 60 relative to each other may be changed to fit a particular grid size. Also, the supply air outlets 54 may be integrated into a single supply air outlet and/or the return air zone 60 may be split into multiple return air zones to fit a particular grid size or provide a desired air circulation pattern within the rooms 14.

FIG. 5 illustrates selected portions of another embodiment of an air handling system 118. In this disclosure, like reference numerals designate like elements where appropriate, and reference numerals with the addition of one-hundred or multiples thereof designate modified elements. The modified elements are understood to incorporate the same features and benefits of the corresponding original elements. In this example, the air handling system 118 is substantially similar to the air handling system 18 of the prior examples and may also include fans 35 (not shown) but also includes a first air inductor unit 130a and a second air inductor unit 130b that share a common plenum 132 that is adapted to be connected to the primary air supply conduit 20. In this regard, the air handling system 118 may be considered as a single integrated arrangement of air inductor units 130a and 130b. The common plenum 132 is arranged between the air inductor units 130a and 130b and splits the primary air between the air inductor units 130a and 130b. Relative to the plane of the supply air outlets 54, the common plenum 132 is above the return air zone 60 and between the mixing chambers 36 of the air inductor units 130a and 130b. Thus, the air handling system 116 is relatively compact.

FIG. 6 illustrates selected portions of another embodiment of the air nozzles 140 that may be used in any of the prior example air handling systems 18, 118. In this example, each of the air nozzles 140 is angled relative to the planar nozzle plate 38 such that each central axis 146 forms a transverse angle 147 with the planar nozzle plate 38. The planes of the outlets 144 of the air nozzles 140 may be parallel to the planar nozzle plate 38 or angled with the central axes 146. In this example, the axes 146 of all of the air nozzles 140 are parallel. Transversely angling the air nozzles 140 relative to the planar nozzle plate 38 provides the benefit of inducing additional mixing within the mixing chambers 36 to facilitate providing uniform temperature air and a desirable circulation pattern of the air within the rooms 14.

Although a combination of features is shown in the illustrated examples, not all of them need to be combined to realize the benefits of various embodiments of this disclosure. In other words, a system designed according to an embodiment of this disclosure will not necessarily include all of the features shown in any one of the Figures or all of the portions schematically shown in the Figures. Moreover, selected features of one example embodiment may be combined with selected features of other example embodiments.

The preceding description is exemplary rather than limiting in nature. Variations and modifications to the disclosed examples may become apparent to those skilled in the art that do not necessarily depart from the essence of this disclosure. The scope of legal protection given to this disclosure can only be determined by studying the following claims.

Claims

1. An air handling system adapted for mounting in a room of a building, comprising:

a double air inductor assembly including a first air inductor unit and a second air inductor unit adjacently arranged with the first air inductor unit, each of the first air inductor unit and the second air inductor unit including a plenum having a primary air inlet, a mixing chamber having a plurality of side surfaces, with a return air inlet extending through one of the side surfaces and a supply air outlet extending through another of the side surfaces, and a plurality of air nozzles that each span along a central axis between an inlet fluidly connected with the plenum and an outlet fluidly connected with the mixing chamber, and the axes of the plurality of air nozzles of the first air inductor unit are arranged approximately parallel to the axes of the plurality of air nozzles of the second air inductor unit.

2. The air handling system as recited in claim, wherein the mixing chambers each span along a long central axis, and the long central axes of the mixing chambers are parallel.

3. The air handling system as recited in claim 1, wherein the side surface of the mixing chamber having the supply air outlet is approximately flush with a ceiling in the room when the air handling system is mounted in the ceiling, and the axes of the air nozzles are approximately perpendicular to the ceiling.

4. The air handling system as recited in claim 1, wherein the side surfaces of the mixing chamber are approximately perpendicular to each other.

5. The air handling system as recited in claim 1, further comprising a coil near the return air inlet, the coil having a coil inlet and a coil outlet for transporting a heat transfer fluid to change the temperature of air moving through the return air inlet.

6. The air handling system as recited in claim 1, further comprising an electric coil near the return air inlet to change the temperature of air moving through the return air inlet.

7. The air handling system as recited in claim 1, wherein the air nozzles of the respective first air inductor unit and the second air inductor unit are mounted on respective common planar nozzle plates, and the axes of the air nozzles are transversely angled relative to the corresponding common planar nozzle plate.

8. The air handling system as recited in claim 1, wherein the plenum is common to the first air inductor unit and the second air conductor unit.

9. The air handling system as recited in claim 1, wherein the first air inductor unit and the second air inductor unit include insulated panels comprising an insulation layer between first and second skins.

10. The air handling system as recited in claim 9, wherein the insulation layer is a polymer foam and at least one of the skins is a polymer.

11. The air handling system as recited in claim 10, wherein at least one of the skins includes perforations for sound damping.

12. An air handling system adapted for mounting in a ceiling of a room of a building, comprising:

a first air inductor unit; and

a second air inductor unit running parallel to the first air inductor unit, each of the first air inductor unit and the second air inductor unit including a plenum having a primary air inlet, a mixing chamber having a plurality of side surfaces, with a return air inlet extending through one of the side surfaces and a supply air outlet extending through another of the side surfaces that is approximately parallel to the ceiling when the air handling system is installed in the ceiling, and a plurality of air nozzles that each span along a central axis between an inlet fluidly connected with the plenum and an outlet fluidly connected with the mixing chamber, and the axes of the plurality of air nozzles are approximately perpendicular to the side surface of the mixing chamber that is parallel to the ceiling.

13. The air handling system as recited in claim 12, wherein each of the mixing chambers includes a long central axis, and the long central axes of the mixing chambers are parallel.

14. The air handling system as recited in claim 12, wherein the plenum is common to the first air inductor unit and the second air conductor unit.

15. The air handling system as recited in claim 12, further comprising an electric coil near the return air inlet.

16. The air handling system as recited in claim 12, wherein the air nozzles of the respective first air inductor unit and the second air inductor unit are mounted on respective common planar nozzle plates, and the axes of the air nozzles are transversely angled relative to the corresponding common planar nozzle plate.

17. The air handling system as recited in claim 12, wherein the first air inductor unit and the second air inductor unit include insulated panels comprising a foam insulation layer between first and second skins, wherein at least one of the skins is a polymer, and at least one of the skins includes perforations for sound damping.

18. An air handling system adapted for mounting in a room of a building, comprising:

a first air inductor unit; and

a second air inductor unit adjacently arranged with the first air inductor unit and sharing a common plenum, each of the first air inductor unit and the second air inductor unit including a mixing chamber having a plurality of side surfaces, with a return air inlet extending through one of the side surfaces and a supply air outlet extending through another of the side surfaces, and a plurality of air nozzles that each span along a central axis between an inlet fluidly connected with the common plenum and an outlet fluidly connected with the mixing chamber, and the axes of the plurality of air nozzles of the first air inductor unit are arranged approximately parallel to the axes of the plurality of air nozzles of the second air inductor unit.

19. The air handling system as recited in claim 18, further comprising an electric coil near the return air inlet.

20. The air handling system as recited in claim 18, wherein the air nozzles of the respective first air inductor unit and the second air inductor unit are mounted on respective common planar nozzle plates, and the axes of the air nozzles are transversely angled relative to the corresponding common planar nozzle plate.

21. The air handling system as recited in claim 18, wherein the first air inductor unit and the second air inductor unit include insulated panels comprising a foam insulation layer between first and second skins, wherein at least one of the skins is a polymer, and at least one of the skins includes perforations for sound damping.