SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE DIFFUSION OF AIR IN A PLURALITY OF ENCLOSURES AND INSTALLATION EMPLOYING SUCH SYSTEM

A system is disclosed for enabling the total operation of an installation for the diffusion of air in a plurality of enclosures to be reduced. The present system includes apparatus for measuring a signal related to the state of operation of a thermal treatment apparatus for the air associated with each enclosure and/or related to the temperature desired independently in each enclosure, a module for calculation, on the basis of the measured signals, a setpoint blowing temperature that makes it possible to reduce the total operation of the whole of the thermal treatment means. A setpoint blowing throughput is also determined in order to optimize the total operation of the air diffusion installation.

Skip to: Description  ·  Claims  · Patent History  ·  Patent History
Description

The present invention relates to a system for controlling the diffusion of air into a plurality of enclosures.

The field of the invention is the field of the diffusion of air into a plurality of enclosures and more particularly the field of the control and management of the diffusion of air into a plurality of enclosures.

Currently, the diffusion of air into a plurality of enclosures is carried out by means of an installation comprising a single air treatment station and a plurality of diffusion systems arranged at the level of the enclosures into which the diffusion is carried out. Each enclosure contains at least one air diffusion system. The installation contains moreover an air circuit connecting the air diffusion station to the air diffusion systems.

Each of the air diffusion systems arranged at the level of the enclosures is equipped, in most cases, with thermal treatment means and means for regulating the flow rate of the air diffused into the enclosure. The operation of these means is controlled by means for selecting the conditions for the diffusion of air into the enclosure such as for example a thermostat allowing the user to choose a set temperature.

Such an installation operates as follows. The central air treatment station generates the air to be diffused into the enclosures at a given temperature for the enclosures as a whole. The air generated is blown by the station at a given pressure and is conveyed by the air circuit to the air diffusion system associated with each of the enclosures. At the level of each enclosure, the air blown by the station is thermally treated by the thermal treatment means and the diffusion flow rate is adjusted by the flow-rate regulation means so as to reach the set temperature chosen independently for each enclosure.

However, in most of the current installations, the properties of the air blown by the central air treatment station and the blowing conditions are chosen during installation and are fixed. In certain installations, the blowing temperature can be altered with respect to the outside temperature.

These conditions involve significant use of the thermal treatment means of each of the air diffusion systems arranged at the level of the enclosures. Moreover, these thermal treatment means are very energy-intensive. In fact, these means are located on the diffusion circuit and must alter the temperature of the air over a very short timescale as the air originating from the station must be treated in real time without stopping.

All these features lead to a very high overall energy consumption for the enclosures as a whole and make the current air diffusion installations very expensive to run. These drawbacks are exacerbated by the fact that the air diffusion installations operate throughout the day during most of the year.

Moreover, heavy use of the thermal treatment means results in high maintenance costs.

A purpose of the invention is to overcome these drawbacks.

A further purpose of the invention is to propose a system for controlling air diffusion that allows the diffusion of air into a plurality of enclosures to be optimized.

It is also a purpose of the invention to propose a system for controlling the diffusion of air that makes it possible to reduce the energy consumption of an installation for the diffusion of air into a plurality of enclosures.

A further purpose of the invention is to propose a system for controlling the diffusion of air that makes it possible to reduce the maintenance costs of an installation for the diffusion of air into a plurality of enclosures.

Finally, a purpose of the invention is to propose an installation for the diffusion of air into a plurality of enclosures that consumes less energy than the current installations.

The invention makes it possible to achieve the above-mentioned purposes by a system for controlling the diffusion of air into a plurality of enclosures, said air diffusion being carried out by an installation comprising:

    • an air diffusion system for each of said enclosures, said system being associated with means of thermal treatment of the air, and means of diffusion of air into said enclosure;
    • a central air treatment station, common to the air diffusion systems, connected to said systems by an air circuit and supplying at least partially the air diffused into said enclosures at a temperature, called the blowing temperature;
    • means for selecting a temperature for each of said enclosures independently of the other enclosures;
      said system comprising:
    • means for providing a signal relating to an operating state of the thermal treatment means of each of the air diffusion systems associated with each of said enclosures and/or a signal relating to the selected temperature in each of said enclosures;
    • a module for calculating, as a function of said signals, a set blowing temperature making it possible to reduce the operation of the thermal treatment means as a whole or the overall operation of the thermal treatment means as a whole; and
    • control means of said station in order to obtain said set blowing temperature.

By means of the invention, the blowing temperature via the central air treatment station is determined as a function of:

    • the operating state of the air thermal treatment means associated with each of the air diffusion systems and/or,
    • the temperature required by the users independently in each enclosure.

The air diffusion management system thus makes it possible to optimize the diffusion of air into a plurality of enclosures. The optimization of the air diffusion advantageously makes it possible to reduce the energy consumption of the air diffusion installation by reducing the overall operation and therefore the energy consumed by the thermal treatment means as a whole associated with the air diffusion systems.

Moreover, by reducing the overall operation of the means for thermal treatment of the blown air, the overall maintenance costs of these means, and therefore of the air diffusion installation, are also reduced.

Moreover, the invention makes the air diffusion installation more efficient.

Advantageously, when the thermal treatment means comprise a terminal unit, the signal relating to an operating state of the thermal treatment means can comprise a signal relating to the percentage use of the terminal unit. Thus, by optimizing the blowing temperature at the level of the station, the invention makes it possible to reduce the overall percentage use of the terminal units associated with the diffusion systems.

In a particular embodiment, several air diffusion systems can comprise means of heating and/or cooling the air. In this case, the calculation module can comprise instructions for determining the diffusion system the thermal treatment means of which show the lowest operating state and the set temperature having been determined as a function of the temperature of the enclosure with which said diffusion system is associated.

For example, in the winter season, when the air diffusion system comprises heating means, the diffusion control system according to the invention makes it possible to determine the enclosure for which the lowest temperature Tmin is required or for which the heating means show the lowest operating state Emin. As a function of this data, an instruction is sent to the central air treatment station instructing it to blow the air at temperature Tmin. Thus, the blown air is directly diffused into the enclosure in question with a minimum thermal treatment, and the overall operation of the heating means is reduced.

In the summer season, when the air diffusion system comprises cooling means, the diffusion control system according to the invention makes it possible to determine the enclosure for which the highest temperature Tmax is required or for which the cooling means show the lowest operating state Emin.

In a further embodiment, when the means of thermal treatment of air of each diffusion system comprise means of heating and/or cooling the air, the calculation module can comprise instructions for determining the set blowing temperature in order to minimize the overall operation of the thermal treatment means as a whole, as a function of:

    • the effective operating state of the thermal treatment means of each of the air diffusion systems and/or the set temperatures required by the user in each of the enclosures independently, and
    • a consumption figure, per unit of temperature, of the thermal treatment means associated with each of the air diffusion systems.

The consumption per unit of temperature of the thermal treatment means can depend on the volume of the enclosure with which these means are associated.

Advantageously, when each air diffusion system comprises means for regulating the flow rate of air diffused into the enclosure, the system according to the invention can moreover comprise:

    • means for providing a signal relating to the operating state of the flow rate regulating means and/or to an air diffusion flow rate for each of the enclosures;
    • a calculation module determining a set flow rate of blowing as a function of said signals; and
    • control means:
      • of the central air treatment station in order to obtain said set flow rate of blowing, and
      • of the flow rate regulating means of each of the enclosures in order to maintain a required flow rate independently for each of the enclosures.

Thus, the system according to the invention makes it possible to regulate the flow rate of the air blown by the central air treatment station as a function of the flow rates diffused independently into each enclosure. Thus, the system according to the invention makes it possible for example to reduce the flow rate of blowing at the level of the air diffusion station while ensuring adequate use of the flow-rate regulation means in each enclosure.

Advantageously, the regulation means of each diffusion system can comprise an air flow controller, optionally arranged in the air circuit, with the signal relating to the operating state of said regulation means comprising a signal relating to the percentage opening of said air flow control. In this case, the flow rate of blowing is adjusted as a function of the percentage opening of each air flow controller. The system makes it possible to maintain the diffused air flow into each enclosure, for example, by increasing the percentage opening of the air flow controller and at the same time reducing the air flow rate or pressure of the air blown by the central air treatment station.

According to another aspect of the invention an air diffusion installation is presented comprising at least one air diffusion control system according to the invention.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, a method is presented for controlling the diffusion of air into a plurality of enclosures, said air diffusion being carried out by an installation comprising:

    • an air diffusion system for each of said enclosures, said system including means of thermal treatment of air, and means of diffusion of air into said enclosure;
    • a central air treatment station, common to the air diffusion systems, connected to said systems by an air circuit and supplying at least partially the air diffused into said enclosures at a temperature called the blowing temperature;
    • means for selecting a temperature for each of said enclosures independently of the other enclosures;

The method according to the invention is characterized in that it comprises at least one iteration of the following steps:

    • measuring a signal relating to the thermal treatment carried out at the level of each of the air diffusion systems associated with each of said enclosures and/or a signal relating to the selected temperature in each of said enclosures;
    • calculating a set blowing temperature making it possible to reduce the operation of the thermal treatment means as a whole, as a function of said signals; and
    • controlling said station in order to attain said set blowing temperature.

The iteration of the steps of the method can be carried out at a pre-programmed predetermined frequency or at the request of a supervisor, for example once per day or twice per day: once for the night and once for the day.

Determining the set temperature can be carried out as described above for the system according to the invention, i.e. either by finding the thermal treatment means having the lowest percentage operation, or as a function of:

    • the effective operating state of the thermal treatment means of each of the air diffusion systems and/or the set temperatures required by the user in each of the enclosures independently, and
    • a consumption figure, per unit of temperature, of the thermal treatment means associated with each of the air diffusion systems.

Advantageously, when each air diffusion system comprises means for regulating the flow rate of air diffused into the enclosure with which said system is associated, the method according to the invention can moreover comprise the following steps:

    • measuring a signal relating to the operating state of the flow rate regulating means and/or to an air diffusion flow rate for each of the enclosures;
    • calculating a set flow rate of blowing as a function of said signals; and,
    • controlling:
      • the central air treatment station in order to obtain said set flow rate of blowing, and
      • the means for regulating the flow rate of each of the enclosures in order to maintain a required flow rate independently for each of the enclosures.

The set flow rate can be determined as described above.

Other advantages and characteristics of the invention will become apparent on examination of the detailed description of an embodiment which is in no way limitative, and the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of an example of an air diffusion system implemented in an installation according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic representation of an example of an installation according to the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic representation of another example of an installation according to the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of an example of an air diffusion system 10 in an installation according to the invention.

The air diffusion system 10 is presented in the form of a casing comprising a first opening 11 for connection to a circuit conveying air from a central air treatment (CAT) station to the air diffusion system 10. The air diffusion system comprises moreover at least one opening 12 for air diffusion into an enclosure. The air diffused into the enclosure through the opening 12 is thermally treated prior to the diffusion by thermal treatment means 13 shown diagrammatically in FIG. 1 and associated with said air diffusion system. The thermal treatment means 13, although shown outside the diffusion system 10 in FIG. 1, can also be also be arranged inside the diffusion system. The thermal treatment means can for example comprise a terminal unit allowing the air to be diffused into the enclosure to be heated and/or cooled. The operating state of the thermal treatment means 13 is a function of the temperature required in the enclosure and the temperature of the air conveyed by the air treatment circuit of the installation to which the system 10 is connected.

The system 10 comprises moreover means 14 for regulating the flow rate of the air diffused into the enclosure arranged at the level of the opening 11 connecting to the treatment circuit or in the air treatment circuit as shown in FIG. 1. These means can for example comprise an air flow controller, the percentage opening of which is adjusted as a function of the required flow rate for the diffusion of air into the enclosure.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic representation of an example 20 of an installation 20 according to the invention implementing three air diffusion systems 10 shown in FIG. 1. This installation can be implemented for a much greater number of air diffusion systems 10.

The installation 20 shown in FIG. 2 carries out air diffusion into three enclosures 21: 21a-21c. The air is diffused into each of the enclosures 21 by an air diffusion system 10 associated with each enclosure. The diffused air is produced by a central air treatment (CAT) station 22 and is conveyed to each air diffusion system 10 by an air conveying circuit 23.

Each enclosure 21 comprises a thermostat 24 allowing the temperature in each room and optionally the flow rate of air diffusion into the enclosure 21 to be adjusted.

Moreover, the installation according to the invention shown in FIG. 1 comprises for each enclosure a first module 25 connected to the thermostat and/or to the thermal treatment means 13 of each air diffusion system 10. This module 25 has three main functions:

    • regulating the flow rates of blown air
    • regulating the terminal units 13,
    • providing a signal relating to:
      • the required temperature in each enclosure 21 independently, and/or
      • the operating state of the thermal treatment means 13 of each air diffusion system 10, and/or,
      • a required flow rate in the enclosure.

The installation 20 comprises moreover for each of the enclosures 21a-21c an actuator module 26 allowing the position of the air flow controller 14 of each air diffusion system 10 to be adjusted, and providing the module 25 with a signal relating to the percentage opening of each air flow controller 14 for each of the air diffusion systems 10.

The module 25 provides the described signals to a calculation module 27 forming part of the installation according to the invention.

This calculation module 27 determines as a function of the signals received from each of the modules 25 associated with each enclosure 21a-21d, a set blowing temperature which reduces the overall operation of the thermal treatment means 13 of the set of air diffusion systems 10 for the three enclosures 21 and an optimized blowing rate as a function of the percentage opening of the air flow controllers 14.

A set temperature and flow rate of blowing are communicated to a module 28 for controlling the CAT station 22. This control module 28 modifies at the level of the CAT station the temperature and flow rate of the blown air, in order to achieve the set values.

The determination of the set temperature by the module 27 can be carried out according to one or more predetermined relationships.

In a first embodiment, where the thermal treatment means carry out heating or cooling of the air to be diffused into the enclosures 21, the module 27 determines the thermal treatment means 13 which show the lowest operating state or the enclosure for which the required temperature is:

    • the lowest when the thermal treatment means 13 operate in heating mode, or
    • the highest when the thermal treatment means 13 operate in cooling mode.

For example, the thermal treatment means 13 associated with the enclosure 21c having the lowest operating state: 20% use of the electric unit for a required temperature of 19° C. In this case, the module 27 calculates the set blowing temperature as a function of this operating state and/or of the required temperature. This set temperature can for example be equal to the required temperature in the enclosure, i.e. 19° C. This set temperature is then communicated to a control module 28 of the CAT station 22, which controls the CAT station 22 such that the air blown by the latter is blown at a temperature of 19° C. In this case, the thermal treatment means 13 associated with the enclosure 21c ceases to operate, as the air to be diffused arrives at the diffusion system 10 at the required temperature. Moreover, the operation of the thermal treatment means 13 associated with the other enclosures 21a and 21b is reduced, since the temperature difference between the air blown by the CAT station 22 and the required temperature in each of the enclosures 21a and 21b has reduced.

In a second embodiment, where the thermal treatment means 13 carry out heating of the air for a part of the enclosures 21 and a cooling of the air for the other part of the enclosures 21, the module 27 determines a set blowing temperature minimizing the overall operation of the thermal treatment means 13 for the enclosures 21 as a whole, as a function of:

    • the effective operating state of the thermal treatment means of each of the air diffusion systems 10 and/or the set temperatures required by the user in each of the enclosures 21, and
    • a consumption figure, per unit of temperature, of the thermal treatment means 13 associated with each of the air diffusion systems 10, this consumption per unit of time depending on the volume of each enclosure.

The blowing temperature is therefore determined as a function of the consumption of each means of thermal treatment, this consumption being weighted in order to reduce the overall consumption of the installation.

The module 27 moreover determines the flow rate of blowing optimized as a function of the air diffusion flow rates into each of the enclosures and/or the percentage opening of the means for regulating the air diffusion flow rate into the enclosures, which comprise in the present example air flow controllers 14. The determination of the set flow rate can be carried out according to one or more predetermined ratios.

In a particular embodiment, the set flow rate of blowing is determined so as to maximize the percentage opening of the air flow controllers 14. To this end, the calculation module 27 determines which air flow controller 14 has the largest percentage opening as a function of the signals received from each of the modules 25. Then, the calculation module 27 determines if this percentage can be increased. If this is the case, the calculation module 27 determines the maximum percentage opening which can be obtained for this air flow controller. As a function of the maximum percentage opening for the air flow controller in question, the calculation module 27 determines the set flow rate of blowing at the level of the CAT station 22 and the percentage opening of the other air flow controllers so as to obtain the required flow rate independently in each enclosure.

The module 28 for controlling the CAT station 22 is informed of the set flow rate value and the flow rate of blowing is modified in order to attain the set value. In parallel, the percentage opening of each air flow controller 14 is modified, i.e. increased in the present example, in order to attain the values calculated by the calculation module 27. The modification of the percentage opening of each air flow controller 14 can be carried out using each actuator 26 arranged in order to adjust its percentage opening.

Thus, by increasing the percentage opening of the air flow controllers 14, and therefore of the flow rate regulator means, the invention makes it possible to reduce the flow rate of blowing at the level of the CAT station 22. This reduces the energy consumed by the CAT station 22.

The installation can moreover comprise means for supervising and optionally validating these operations as a whole by a user or operator.

The installation comprises moreover a circuit 29, the role of which is to extract air from each of the enclosures 21a-21c. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the extracted air is discharges into the atmosphere.

The communications between the different modules can be carried out via wireless connection means when permitted by regulations or wired connection means by the use of dedicated buses.

The communications between the different modules can also be carried out by using an existing network such as for example an existing telephone network or an existing data network implementing a TCP/IP protocol. Thus, installation of the system according to the invention can be simplified and the installation costs reduced.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic representation of another installation 30 according to the invention. The installation 30 makes it possible to diffuse air into three enclosures 21a-21c and has the same modules as the installation 20 shown in FIG. 2 and implements the same functions.

However, the main difference between the installation 30 and the installation 20 resides in the fact that in the installation 30 the air extraction circuit 29 carries out:

    • recovering air from each enclosure 21, and
    • conveying the recovered air to the CAT station 22.

The air conveyed by the recovery circuit 29 to the CAT station 22 undergoes a temperature exchange with the air blown by the CAT station in the air treatment circuit 23 which will be diffused into the enclosures 21a-21c. Thus, the installation according to the invention makes it possible to derive a benefit from the calories or frigories stored in the air recovered from the enclosures 21, by transferring it to the air which will be diffused into the enclosures 21. This exchange makes it possible to significantly reduce the energy consumption of the installation 30 as a whole.

The transfer of calories/frigories from the air recovered from the enclosures by the recovery circuit 29 to the air diffused into the enclosures is performed without direct contact, for example via heat exchangers (not shown). These heat exchangers can be situated in the CAT station 22 or downstream of the CAT station 22. Once the calories/frigories have been recovered, the air recovered in the enclosures 21 is discharged to the outside.

Moreover, the heat exchangers are controlled by the calculation module 27 which thus determines the quantity of calories/frigories transferred from the air recovered from the enclosures 21 to the air which will be diffused into the enclosures, which makes it possible to control the temperature of the air which is blown into the air treatment circuit 23.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the examples detailed above and a person skilled in the art can carry out modifications without exceeding the scope of the invention. For example, a single module 25 can be used for the enclosures 21 as a whole. Moreover, this module 25 can be integrated with the calculation module 27.

Finally, a single module, optionally integrated with the calculation module can be used in order to perform the following set of operations: measuring the signals relating to the flow rate and/or the flow rate regulator means for the enclosures 21 as a whole, measuring the signals relating to the temperature and/or the thermal treatment means for the enclosures 21 as a whole, control of the different means as well as the central air treatment station 22.

Claims

1. A system for controlling the diffusion of air into a plurality of enclosures, said air diffusion being carried out by an installation comprising: said system comprising:

an air diffusion system for each of said enclosures, said system being associated with means of thermal treatment of the air, and means of diffusion of the air into said enclosure;
a central air treatment station, common to the air diffusion systems, connected to said systems by an air circuit and supplying at least partially the air diffused into said enclosures at a temperature called the blowing temperature;
means for selecting a temperature for each of said enclosures independently of the other enclosures;
means for providing a signal relating to an operating state of the thermal treatment means of each of the air diffusion systems associated with each of said enclosures and/or a signal relating to the selected temperature in each of said enclosures;
a calculation module determining, as a function of said signals, a set blowing temperature making it possible to reduce the operation of the thermal treatment means as a whole; and
control means of said station in order to obtain said set blowing temperature.

2. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the thermal treatment means comprise a terminal unit, the signal relating to an operating state of the thermal treatment means comprising a signal relating to the percentage use of said terminal unit.

3. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the air thermal treatment means of each diffusion system comprise means for heating and/or cooling the air, the calculation module comprising instructions for determining the diffusion system the thermal treatment means of which have the lowest operating state, the set temperature being determined as a function of the temperature of the enclosure with which said diffusion system is associated.

4. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the means of thermal treatment of the air of each diffusion system comprise means for heating and/or cooling of the air, the calculation module comprising instructions for determining the set temperature of blowing so as to minimize the operation of the thermal treatment means as a whole, as a function of:

the effective operating state of the thermal treatment means of each of the air diffusion systems and/or the set temperatures required by the user in each of the enclosures independently, and/or
a consumption figure, per unit of temperature, of the thermal treatment means associated with each of the air diffusion systems.

5. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that each air diffusion system comprises means for regulating the flow rate of the air diffused into the enclosure with which said system is associated, the system according to the invention comprising moreover:

means for providing a signal relating to the operating state of the flow rate regulating means and/or to an air diffusion flow rate for each of the enclosures;
a calculation module determining a set flow rate of blowing as a function of said signals; and
control means: of the central air treatment station in order to obtain said set flow rate of blowing, and of the flow rate regulating means of each of the enclosures in order to maintain an air diffusion flow rate independently for each of the enclosures.

6. The system according to claim 5, characterized in that the regulation means of each air diffusion system comprise an air flow controller (14), the signal relating to the operational state of said flow rate regulation means comprising a signal relating to the percentage opening of said air flow controller.

7. An air diffusion installation comprising at least one air diffusion control system according to claim 1.

8. A method for controlling the diffusion of air into a plurality of enclosures, said air diffusion being carried out by an installation comprising: said method comprising the following steps:

an air diffusion system for each of said enclosures, said system including means of thermal treatment of the air, and means of diffusion of the air into said enclosure;
a central air treatment station, common to the air diffusion systems, connected to said systems by an air circuit and supplying at least partially the air diffused into said enclosures at a temperature called the blowing temperature;
means for selecting a temperature for each of said enclosures independently of the other enclosures;
measuring a signal relating to the thermal treatment carried out at the level of each of the air diffusion systems associated with each of said enclosures and/or a signal relating to the selected temperature in each of said enclosures;
calculating a set blowing temperature making it possible to reduce the operation of the thermal treatment means as a whole, as a function of said signals; and
controlling said station in order to achieve said set blowing temperature.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that each air diffusion system comprises flow rate regulating means of the air diffused into the enclosure with which said system is associated, the method comprising moreover the following steps:

measuring a signal relating to the operating state of the flow regulation means and/or to an air diffusion flow rate for each of the enclosures;
calculating a set flow rate of blowing as a function of said signals; and,
controlling: the central air treatment station in order to obtain said set flow rate of blowing, and the flow rate regulating means of each of the enclosures in order to maintain a required flow rate independently for each of the enclosures.
Patent History
Publication number: 20120190291
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 26, 2010
Publication Date: Jul 26, 2012
Inventors: Alain Katz (Dammarie-Les-Lys), Thomas Katz (Dammarie-Les-Lys)
Application Number: 13/258,502
Classifications
Current U.S. Class: Air Temperature Responsive (454/258)
International Classification: F24F 11/053 (20060101);