Omnidirectional Wind Driven Intake and Exhaust
This application discloses a passive ventilation system, including intake and exhaust, both driven by natural wind invariably regardless of wind direction, without a necessity for electric or other power supply. The intake assembly is an improved wind catcher, with multiple wind collectors arranged around a common chamber, each having an outer end open to ambient air, an inflow valve, and an inner end connecting the common chamber, which connects a conduit allowing fresh air and positive pressure to enter an indoor space being ventilated. The exhaust assembly is an augmented negative pressure generator to induce stale air to exit the space being ventilated through another conduit. The inflow and outflow conduits are configured to form a pipe-in-pipe or shell-and-tubes heat exchanger to mitigate heating or cooling energy loss and draft discomfort. Rainwater proof and condensation draining mechanisms, and optional inflow air filter mounting, are also provided.
This invention relates to natural ventilation that encompasses air intake and exhaust, which can be used in the field of ventilation for buildings, industrial, commercial and agricultural facilities, as well as for vehicles.
BACKGROUND-RELATED ARTU.S. Pat. No. 11,732,915 disclosed standalone wind-driven intakes that captures wind flow and pressure, and directs them into a space to be vented, invariably regardless of ambient wind flow direction. U.S. Pat. Nos. 11,788,742; 11,248,813; 11,320,157; RE43,653 and 7,607,974 etc. disclosed wind-driven exhaust devices that have an omnidirectional venturi nozzle to generate desired suction at the outlet invariably regardless of oncoming wind direction.
. Nevertheless, an intake may bring in cold or hot outdoor air causing discomfort to occupants and increasing power load and consumption for interior heating or cooling, while an exhaust would allow indoor heat or coolness to be lost with the discharged air. Integrated structures to enable heat exchange between the intake and exhaust, and improved aerodynamic designs and rain protections for the intake and exhaust assembly individually, are being sought after.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThis application discloses a ventilation system that is intended on one hand to improve and optimize the utilization of natural wind to drive air movement into and out of a space being vented, and on the other to enable heat transfer between intake and exhaust for heat recovery, reducing energy consumption for heating or cooling the vented space.
. A basic system is to include an intake assembly having multiple wind collectors being set up around a common chamber, each wind collector being a tunnel in fluid communication with the common chamber via its inner end, and each having an outer end open to an ambient wind field and a one-way inflow valve allowing airflow into the common chamber. The common chamber has an aperture connected to a passageway allowing airflow exit to an enclosed space to be vented. As wind flow moves toward the system along a mounting surface, at least one of the wind collectors will capture and collect wind flow and positive pressure, which will be fed into the common chamber through a corresponding inflow valve and further into the enclosed space through the passageway, while inflow valves in the rest of wind collectors will be closed under negative differential pressures. The intake assembly will function in this way under any possible oncoming wind direction towards an object that contains the space vented, say a building or vehicle, and in any possible ambient flow field around the object, even when the system is on a leeward side of the object.
. The system is also to include an exhaust assembly, which comprises a base member, and a raised member spaced from the base member with adequate supports. At least one of the base and raised members has a convex surface to face another, such that the open space between them is formed into an omnidirectional venturi nozzle to generate desired suction at its narrowest portion regardless of oncoming wind direction. Near this narrowest portion, at least one aperture on the base member and/or the raised member is facilitated to capture the generated suction, to be routed to the vented space via connecting passageways, allowing stale air to be drawn from this space to the outside and carried away by the wind flow.
. The intake and exhaust assemblies can be integrated into one unit, preferably with exhaust assembly's base being mounted onto intake assembly's top. Upon integration, the intake and exhaust passageways can be arranged to run side by side or coaxially for the intake to derive heat or coolness from the exhaust, with proper heat exchange, mitigating discomfort caused by cold or hot inflow and reducing heating or cooling energy loss in the outflow.
OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGESSeveral objects and advantages of this invention are to provide an intake and exhaust system that:
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- is foolproof in ensuring positive wind pressure at the intake and negative wind pressure at the exhaust (wind induced suction), respectively in fluid communications with a space to be vented, under any external wind condition, that is, for all possible wind directions and all non-zero wind speeds, where such a space can be one inside a building, enclosed facility, vehicle, trailer or other such enclosed objects and units;
- possesses an invariable air inlet (and an invariable outlet), independent of oncoming wind direction, which conventional “wind catchers” lack but is highly desired when inlet air filtering is desired, or required by code, to mitigate outdoor air pollutant infiltration;
- integrates air intake and exhaust in one compact unit, making heat exchange feasible across intake and exhaust passageways;
- prevents flow reverses or back flow at individual inlet and outlet respectively no matter where the wind blows from, and how strong it blows;
- leaves no chance of mixing or contamination across the air intake and exhaust since the intake inlet is always upstream of the exhaust outlet under any ambient flow direction;
- has zero power consumption and relies only on natural wind power derived and augmented by the system itself from wind flows around a building or other objects being vented;
- represents a reliable and durable system of lower cost, lower maintenance, lower failure probability, longer life expectancy, and zero mechanical noise in that it obviates such moving parts as motors, fans and bearings etc., which are costly and often the sources of noises, and of mechanical failures rendering a system malfunctioned;
- has a relatively simple configuration and the ease to manufacture and install, while still being among the most useful, effective and efficient;
- can be mounted and used on any surface shape and slope as situation requires;
- is free of rainwater and pest infiltration.
. These and still further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the following description and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
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The present disclosure includes integrating a pressure capturing intake assembly of wind collectors and a suction generating exhaust assembly of venturi nozzles into a compact natural ventilation system, which not only simultaneously captures wind pressure at the intake and augments wind suction at the exhaust outlet, under any wind direction, without the necessity of using electric energy to power an air driver, but also enables inflow and outflow to pass by each other in parallel conduits and enables heat exchange between them, conserving energy used in heating or cooling the vented space.
. Additionally, the present invention provides invariable air inlets and outlets, independent of oncoming wind direction, overcoming a disadvantage of conventional “wind catchers”, whose inlets and outlets are reversible and dependent on uncertain oncoming wind direction. This invariability is desirable, particularly when intake air filtering is required to mitigate outdoor air pollutant infiltration while for exhaust no air filter is supposed to be used since it adds high resistance to an airflow.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTSAt least one of the wind collectors will capture positive wind pressure under any given ambient flow direction, while at the same time the rest will be under negative differential pressures. In
To induce exhaust or outflow, the system involves a raised member 120 supported with a plurality of support members 130 on the raised plate 140. An convex surface 125 of the raised member 120 faces one end 160 of an air passageway 204 formed with a thin-walled tubular member 150 fitted to the center of the raised plate 140. The other end of the tubular member 150 is fitted into the support frame 108 such that the air passageway 204 is in fluid communication with the internal space being vented. The convex surface 125, along with the raised plate 140, constitutes an omnidirectional venturi nozzle 110 that generates desired suction at its narrowest portion near the end 160 of the air passageway 204, independent of ambient flow direction. The generated suction, or so-called negative pressure, would induce outflow from the internal space through the air passageway 204.
The thin-walled tubular conduit 150 is preferably coaxial with the tubular conduit 105, and expected to function as a pipe-in-pipe heat exchanger between the inflow and outflow in the passageways 202 and 204 so as to moderate the temperature difference between them, alleviating occupant discomfort with the outdoor cold or hot air flowing in, and reducing heating or cooling energy loss with the indoor air flowing out.
In the above figures, cross-sections of many components or parts of the integrated system as shown have circular or square shapes, or other regular polygons, but they can also be some elongate shapes or non-regular polygons, in order to best suit various potential use scenarios.
The exhaust assemblies integrated in a ventilation system as shown in the previous drawings can each be reduced to a standalone exhaust vent. In
When a base dome 600a is present, aerodynamically the raised member 120a is preferred to still be a convex body, at least having a convex surface facing the base dome 600a, whether roof-mount or wall mount, although an otherwise configured raised member such as a flat plate is allowable if some other constraints exist. Although many curved surfaces and lines are employed in this and other drawings throughout this specification to illustrate preferred configurations, they can be approximated with multiple plane surfaces or straight lines.
The intake assemblies depicted earlier for integrated ventilation systems can also each be reduced to a standalone intake system.
An integrated system or a standalone assembly of air intake and exhaust components according to this invention is functional anywhere on an exterior surface of an object, such as a building, whether rooftop or wall, a land or sea based vehicle, whether top or side, or other facilities or carriers where there are relative air movements caused by either wind or the movement of the object itself. Locations with frequent high surface airflow velocities are optimal locations for device deployment. Any appropriate conventional or new surface-mounting method can be used to secure the device to a surface without departing from the spirit of this invention. If required or desired in certain circumstances, the device can also be elevated from a mounting surface, and supported and secured by a hollow body, such as a tube or box, or an inflow tubular member itself (105 in
Such systems or assemblies are passive, wind-operated devices. Once installed properly, they stay operating and functioning as wind blows, and do not require active intervention besides air filter replacement if any being used. The stronger the wind blows, the more effective such a device is.
Conclusion, Ramifications, and ScopeIt is apparent that the current disclosure provides a device of highly desirable characteristics, whether being an integrated system or a standalone assembly of air intake and/or exhaust, that is aerodynamically advantageous, energy conserving, rainwater-proof and noise-free, and is still among the simplest, most inexpensive to manufacture and convenient to install.
. Although the description above contains many specifications and illustrations, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of the concept and some of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention. Various changes, modifications, variations can be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, the general profiles of many components are herein illustrated using basic shapes such as circles, ellipses, squares, and rectangles, other shapes such as various polygons or their compositions are entirely possible and allowable according to the spirit and concept of this invention. A series of planes can also be used to approximate an arched or curved surface. Edges and corners of device parts exposed to airflow may be rounded or chamfered to improve aerodynamic performance and further ensure its noise-free quality even for ultra high wind conditions. Various surface portions may also be roughened or bear such surface details as corrugation, or ribs of adequate sizes, as opposed to perfectly smooth surfaces, sometimes for the purposes of passive surface flow controls.
. A device according to this invention can be made of any reasonably durable material with any proper means of fabrication as long as a configuration according to the spirit of this invention is accomplished to support the described working mechanism and to provide the associated functionalities.
. An on-and-off switch or airflow damper, such as a manually controlled or an adaptive battery-motorized shutter, can also be added to somewhere on the airflow path to regulate the intake or exhaust flow rate as needed. For an intake assembly, this can be integrated with the inflow vales. In many use scenarios, protection screens against invasion by pests, birds and debris are needed, and are preferably to be disposed on the outermost point of air passageways for easy cleanup, for example, on a wind collector's outer end for an intake assembly and on an exhaust outlet for an exhaust assembly, both of which are relatively easier to access. In protection of a roof-mount intake assembly against rainwater infiltration, louvers are an option by being disposed near the outer end of a wind collector, but one needs to be prudent in balancing the pros and cons including, for example, protection against rain versus certain added drag on airflow that is known to be sensitive to numerous louver design parameters. A simple collar and/or a sloped surface around an conduit opening or aperture, along with drain orifices, as exemplified earlier in this application, may still be a better solution for protection against rain infiltration, particularly in regions with just modest wind resources. This better solution introduces very little drag on airflow.
. The scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the above specifications and illustrations given as examples.
Claims
1. A ventilation system to be capable of being mounted onto an enclosed object's exterior, comprising an intake assembly and an exhaust assembly:
- said intake assembly comprising a plurality of tunnels to be arranged around a common chamber, each of said tunnels having an outer end to be open to ambient air, an inflow valve, and an inner end to connect said common chamber, said inflow valve to allow only inward flow through each of said tunnels into said common chamber, at least one first conduit extending from said common chamber to connect a space to be ventilated within said enclosed object; and
- said exhaust assembly comprising a raised member to be spaced from, and secured over, said intake assembly with a plurality of support members, said raised member having a surface to face an end opening of at least one second conduit, said at least one second conduit to extend through said common chamber to connect said space to be ventilated.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein said at least one second conduit to extend in parallel with, and to be encircled by, said at least one first conduit.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein said at least one second conduit having a pleated tubular wall with axial troughs and ridges.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein an air filter to be facilitated to said at least one first conduit.
5. The system of claim 4, wherein said air filter being a circumferential air filter to encircle said at least one first conduit's exit end(s), and having a disc to face said exit end(s) and deflect axial airflow to disperse radially in passing said air filter.
6. A ventilation system to be capable of being mounted onto an enclosed object's exterior, comprising an intake assembly and an exhaust assembly:
- said intake assembly comprising a plurality of tunnels to be arranged around a common chamber, each of said tunnels having an outer end to be open to ambient air, an inflow valve, and an inner end to connect said common chamber, said inflow valve to allow only inward flow through each of said tunnels into said common chamber, at least one first conduit extending from said common chamber to connect a space to be ventilated within said enclosed object; and
- said exhaust assembly comprising a hollow body with a base to be attached to said intake assembly and to encircle all end opening(s) of at least one second conduit facilitated to extend from said base through said intake assembly to connect said space to be ventilated, at least one first aperture being facilitated on said hollow body's outer part opposite said base, to be in fluid communication with said all end opening(s) of said at least one second conduit by way of said hollow body; and a raised member to be spaced from said outer part of said hollow body, to be secured over at least one of said hollow body and said intake assembly with a plurality of support members, and to have a surface facing said at least one first aperture on said outer part of said hollow body.
7. The system of claim 6, wherein at least one internal cap to be housed and supported inside said hollow body, positioned between said base of said hollow body and said outer part of said hollow body, and spaced from said at least one first aperture and from said all end opening(s).
8. The system of claim 7, wherein said at least one internal cap having at least one edge portion to tilt toward said base and at least one other edge portion to tilt toward said outer part.
9. The system of claim 6, wherein at least one of said surface of said raised member and said outer part of said hollow body being convex toward the other.
10. The system of claim 6, wherein said raised member being a raised hollow body and secured on said hollow body with said plurality of support members, said surface having at least one second aperture opposite said at least one first aperture, and at least one of said plurality of support members being a tubular member to channel said raised hollow body's internal space to said hollow body's internal space.
11. A ventilation system to be capable of being mounted to a side wall's exterior of an enclosed object, comprising an exhaust assembly, said exhaust assembly comprising:
- a hollow body having a base and an outer part opposite each other, at least one first aperture being facilitated on said outer part in fluid communication with a first internal space in said hollow body, and said base to be in parallel with said side wall's exterior;
- a raised member to be spaced from, and secured over, said hollow body with a plurality of support members, and having a surface of substantial area to face said at least one first aperture;
- at least one drain orifice being facilitated only on a lowest portion of said hollow body, therein to drain rainwater having invaded said first internal space;
- at least one conduit to extend from said base of said hollow body to channel said first internal space with a space to be ventilated within said enclosed object.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein said raised member being a raised plate having said surface to face said at least one first aperture.
13. The system of claim 12, wherein at least one of said plurality of support members having an elongate convex cross-section with its long axis perpendicular to a nearest segment of said base's perimeter.
14. The system of claim 11, wherein said raised member being a raised hollow body having said surface to face said at least one first aperture, said surface having at least one second aperture, said at least one second aperture being opposite said at least one first aperture on said outer part of said hollow body and in fluid communication with a second internal space in said raised hollow body, at least one of said plurality of support members being a tubular member to allow fluid communication between said second internal space of said raised hollow body and said first internal space of said hollow body, and at least one drain orifice being facilitated only on a lowest portion of said raised hollow body, therein to drain rainwater having invaded said second internal space.
15. The system of claim 14, wherein at least one of said plurality of support members having an elongate convex cross-section with its long axis perpendicular to a nearest segment of said base's perimeter.
16. A ventilation system to be capable of being mounted onto a rooftop of an enclosed object, comprising an exhaust assembly, said exhaust assembly comprising:
- a hollow body having a base and an upper part opposite each other, at least one first aperture being facilitated on said upper part in fluid communication with a first internal space in said hollow body, and said base to be in parallel with said rooftop;
- a raised member to be spaced from, and secured over, said hollow body with a plurality of support members, and having a surface of substantial area to face said at least one first aperture;
- at least one drain orifice being facilitated only on a lowest portion of said hollow body, therein to drain rainwater having invaded said first internal space;
- at least one conduit to extend from said base of said hollow body to channel said first internal space with a space to be ventilated within said enclosed object;
- at least one internal cap to be housed and supported in said hollow body, positioned between said base of said hollow body and said upper part of said hollow body, and spaced from said at least one first aperture and from all end opening(s) of said at least one conduit, said at least one internal cap having at least one edge portion to tilt toward said base and at least one other edge portion to tilt toward said upper part.
17. The system of claim 16, wherein said raised member being a raised plate having said surface to face said at least one first aperture.
18. The system of claim 17, wherein at least one of said plurality of support members having an elongate convex cross-section with its long axis perpendicular to a nearest segment of said base's perimeter.
19. The system of claim 16, wherein said raised member being a raised hollow body having said surface to face said at least one first aperture, said surface having at least one second aperture, said at least one second aperture being opposite said at least one first aperture on said upper part of said hollow body and in fluid communication with a second internal space in said raised hollow body, at least one of said plurality of support members being a tubular member to allow fluid communication between said second internal space of said raised hollow body and said first internal space of said hollow body.
20. The system of claim 19, wherein at least one of said plurality of support members having an elongate convex cross-section with its long axis perpendicular to a nearest segment of said base's perimeter, whereby to force wind flow that passes through an external space between said outer part and said surface to converge toward said at least one first aperture.
21. A ventilation system to be capable of being mounted onto an enclosed object's exterior, comprising an exhaust assembly, said exhaust assembly comprising:
- a raised elongate member to be spaced from, and secured over, an elongate base member with a plurality of support members, said raised elongate member and said elongate base member extending in a direction to parallel with one another and parallel with an exterior surface of said enclosed object for said system to be mounted onto, said raised elongate member having a surface to face at least one first aperture facilitated on said elongate base member, said at least one first aperture in fluid communication with at least one conduit extending from said elongate base member to connect a space to be ventilated within said enclosed object.
22. The system of claim 21, wherein said elongate base member being an elongate hollow body having a base and an outer part, with said outer part to face said surface of said raised elongate member, and said at least one first aperture being facilitated on said outer part of said elongate hollow body and in fluid communication with said space to be ventilated via a first internal space in said elongate hollow body and via said at least one conduit.
23. The system of claim 22, wherein at least one internal cap to be housed and supported inside said elongate hollow body, positioned between said base and said outer part of said elongate hollow body, and spaced from said at least one first aperture and from all end opening(s) of said at least one conduit, said at least one internal cap having at least one edge portion to tilt toward said base and at least one other edge portion to tilt toward said outer part.
24. The system of claim 23, wherein said raised elongate member being a raised elongate hollow body having said surface.
25. The system of claim 24, wherein said raised elongate hollow body having at least one second aperture to be opposite said at least one first aperture on said outer part of said elongate hollow body, and at least one of said plurality of support members being a tubular member to allow fluid communication between a second internal space in said raised elongate hollow body and said first internal space of said elongate hollow body.
26. The system of claim 21, wherein at least one of said plurality of support members having an elongate convex cross-section with its long axis perpendicular to a plane defined by long axes of said raised elongate hollow body and said elongate hollow body, whereby to force wind flow that passes through an external space between said raised elongate hollow body and said elongate hollow body to converge toward said at least one first aperture.
27. A ventilation system to be capable of being mounted onto an enclosed object's exterior, comprising an intake assembly, said intake assembly comprising:
- a plurality of tunnels to be arranged around an elongate common chamber, said elongate common chamber extending in a direction to parallel with an exterior surface of said enclosed object for said system to be mounted onto, each of said plurality of tunnels having an outer end to be open to ambient air, an inflow valve, and an inner end to connect said elongate common chamber, said inflow valve to allow only inward flow through each of said plurality of tunnels into said elongate common chamber, at least one conduit extending from said elongate common chamber to connect a space to be ventilated within said enclosed object.
28. The system of claim 27, wherein at least one of said plurality of tunnels being a straight tunnel with parallel walls extending between said inner end and said outer end.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 27, 2023
Publication Date: May 29, 2025
Inventor: Jason Lin (Fremont, CA)
Application Number: 18/520,439