A METHOD AND MEANS TO CREATE AN INDIVIDUALLY CONTROLLED CLIMATE AT A SEPARATE WORKSTATION IN A ROOM HAVING A PRIMARY CLIMATE EQUIPMENT

PROCEDE ET MOYEN POUR CREER UNE ATMOSPHERE REGULEE SEPAREMENT AU NIVEAU D'UN POSTE DE TRAVAIL, DANS UNE PIECE EQUIPEE D'UN EQUIPEMENT DE CONDITIONNEMENT D'AIR PRIMAIRE

English Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and means to create an individually
controlled climate at a separate work-station
in a room having a primary climate equipment by using one of several possible
connection points at a connection network in
a roof or in a ceiling and covering an essential part of the surface of the
room. The invention is characterised in that a secondary,
individual climate influencing equipment at the primary room climate equipment
is releasable connected to one of several possible
connection points at a conduit network in the ceiling or in the floor and
covering an essential part of the room surface, whereby at
least the incoming and/or outflowing air is fed through said connection
network and that the user of the separate work station will
set or influence means to control flow and temperature of the inflow and or
outflow of air to and from the workstation, respectively.

French Abstract

L'invention concerne un procédé et un moyen pour créer une atmosphère régulée séparément au niveau d'un poste de travail séparé, dans une pièce dotée d'un équipement de conditionnement d'air primaire, au moyen d'au moins un point parmi plusieurs points de raccordement possibles situés sur un réseau de raccordement dans une toiture ou un plafond et recouvrant la majeure partie de la surface de la pièce. Ladite invention se caractérise en ce qu'un équipement de régulation d'air individuel prévu au niveau de l'équipement de conditionnement de l'air ambiant primaire est raccordé amovible à un point parmi plusieurs points de raccordement possibles d'un réseau de conduits dans le plafond ou dans le sol et recouvrant la majeure partie de la surface de la pièce, au moins l'air entrant et/ou sortant étant envoyé dans ledit réseau de conduits, et en ce que l'utilisateur du poste de travail séparé règle ou agit sur des moyens de régulation du flux et de la température de l'air entrant et sortant, respectivement en direction/en provenance du poste de travail.

Claims

CLAIMS
1. A method to create an individually controlled climate at a separate work
station (3) in a
room having a floor and a ceiling and a primary climate installation providing
a source of
venting air, characterised in directing at least part of said venting air in a
cross pattern over an
essential part of the ceiling or of the floor using a conduit network (1)
connecting said primary
climate installation to said conduit network (1), releasably connecting said
separate work station
(3) to one of several possible connection points at said conduit network (1),
and using a part flow
of said venting air from said conduit network for establishing an individual
climate at said
separate work station.
2. A method according to claim 1, characterised in that inflowing and/or
outflowing air at
each connection point occurs through connection means (2) connected to said
cross pattern
conduit network (1).
3. A method according to claim 1, characterised in that said linking of a part
of the venting
air occurs when the work station is used.
4. A device to create an individually controlled climate at a separate work
station (3) in a
room having a floor and a ceiling and having a primary climate installation,
and to perform the
method according to claim 1, characterised in that said device includes a
cross pattern conduit
network (1) covering an essential part of the ceiling or of the floor, a
secondary, individual
climate controlling unit at a furniture module for said separate work station
(3), releasably
connected to said primary room climate installation at one of several possible
connection points
at said cross pattern conduit network (1).
5. A device according to claim 4, characterised in that the conduit network
(1) has
prearranged connection points being accessible from the outside, each having a
specially adapted
shape and being prepared to receive correspondingly shaped and adapted
connection means (2).
6. A device according to claim 5 wherein said connection points are in the
shape of

coupling boxes.
7. A device according to any of the claims 4 to 6, characterised in that an
office chair is
connected to said secondary, individual climate controlling unit.
8. A device according to any of the claims 4 to 6, wherein the secondary,
individual climate
controlling unit includes equipment comprising a pressure chamber injecting
ventilating air and
an ejector for a simultaneous suck-in and circulation of indoor air through a
heat exchanger for a
possible cooling or heating of indoor air, characterised in a textile
permeable envelope of a
suitable size, through which the circulating air passes before being
distributed out in the room.
9. A device according to claim 7, characterised in that the textile permeable
envelope is
covered by an adjustable screening to control the injected airflow by said
equipment.
10. A device according to any one of claims 8 to 9, characterised in that said
equipment for
injecting air to the work station (3) for creating said individual climate at
the separate work
station include a heat pump (A) by which evaporating and condensing element,
respectively,
cooled and heated air can be fed to the separate work station (3).
11. A device according to any or more of the claims 6 to 10, characterised in
that connections
for electricity, computer and/or telephone (6, 9, 10) form part of the conduit
network for a simple
attachment to said separate work station (3).

Description

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A method and means to create an individually controlled
climate at a separate workstation in a room having a primary
climate equipment.
The present invention relates to a method and means to create an
individually controlled climate at a separate work station in a room having
a primary climate equipment by using one of several possible connection
points at a connection network in a roof or in a ceiling and covering an
essential part of the surface of the room.
The human being needs fresh air and a regulated temperature to
feel comfortable. This is also the case in a working station in an office
where bad air and a too high or a too low temperature will decrease the
working capacity. The comfortable temperature is highly individual as well
as the sensitivity to draught and odours. To control the climate in a
workroom or in an open-plan office from just one basic setting is not
enough in most cases as some persons will be in close to venting air
outlets and/or radiators and will suffer from this, while other persons will
be further away and will have a poor air ventilation and/or a too low
temperature to work efficient during a whole working day. Technique
according prior art involves use of huge static and hard to control systems
integrated in the building and working with an air exchange in the order of
40 - 60 m3/hour/person.
Thus an economic adaption of the whole indoor climate or of the
microclimate for each workstation can be difficult to obtain. Ventilating,
comfort cooling and heating should be possible to obtain in an individual
way with regard to not just the inflow of temperated fresh air but where
evacuation of used air or air affected by smoke, flatulens and/or tran-
spiration, welding smoke, etc will be efficiently removed close to the
working station, i.e. close to the person being the cause of the inconven-
iences.

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Thus the main object of the present invention is to obtain an individually (of
each
person controlled) climate adaption of just any workstation by integrating the
secondary
climate equipment into a furniture module.
Yet another object of the invention is to obtain an individual workstation
having
its own heat pump module for comfort cooling or heating.
The above mentioned objects are obtained by a method and an equipment having
the characterising clauses mentioned in the claims.
The invention is related in one aspect, to a method to create an individually
controlled climate at a separate work station (3) in a room having a floor and
a ceiling and
a primary climate installation providing a source of venting air,
characterised in directing
at least part of the venting air in a cross pattern over an essential part of
the ceiling or of
the floor using a conduit network (1) connecting the primary climate
installation to the
conduit network (1), releasably connecting the separate work station (3) to
one of several
possible connection points at the conduit network (1), and using a part flow
of the venting
air from the conduit network for establishing an individual climate at the
separate work
station.
By a releasable connection to the primary climate equipment of the building in
a
secondary separate climate controlling equipment in connection to the
workstation in one
of several possible connection points at the conduit network in the ceiling or
in the floor
covering an essential part of the surface of the room, a very big freedom in
choice and
possible composition of several work stations is possible, each with its own
micro climate
obtained by the user adjusting means or influencing means for controlling flow
and
temperature of the incoming and/or outflowing air to and from the workstation,
respectively.
By activating the secondary climate equipment in connection to the workstation
to
a co-operation with the primary climate equipment in the building just when
the
workstation is used, the initial expenses for the climate system can be kept
low in the
event a full climate adaption capacity for all the possible workstations is
not needed. In
the case the separate workstations have small heat pump modules these can very
well be

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used for a basic climate adaption of the room during non-working hour. Many
advantages
are achieved if the secondary climate equipment forms part of a furniture
module in
connection to the workstation, which module is arranged for a releasable
connection to
and co-operation with the primary climate equipment of the building by the use
of an
arrangement

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with columns containing channels, conduits and/or wiring for the utilities
to be used at the workstation.
One possibility is to use special connection means for different
utilities, which means being just connectable to the correct positions at the
conduit network.
One advantage with the invention is to use the cooling and
ventilation possibilities at the separate workstation also for the workchair.
As the appearing airflow is small the appropriate conduit network for this
purpose can be made flexible and not bulky by the use of a hose contain-
ing channels for both inflowing and outflowing air.
A channel network for ventilation may consist of crossed channels
for inflowing and/or outflowing air joined in a check pattern together with
conduits for heating/cooling, electricity, data, etc. Hereby the airflow at an
outlet point of the check patterns system to be fed from at least two di-
rections. The piercing of the air inlet channels and the closing of the same
in connection to a rearrangement of the room module including movement
of the workstations can be done in many different ways. E.g. a kind of
push lids can be used, or the apertures can be made with a special per-
forating saw equipment and can be resealed with special sealing means
being snapped in place. Lids in the roof and/or in the ceiling will give
admittance to the channel system.
At bigger room modules with a large ventilation need it is possible
to arrange channels for incoming air both in the ceiling and in the floor.
This can be done, as the height will become as low as 10 cm for each
channel system.
When it comes to the primary climate adaption equipment
integrated in the building this can be completely free from the channel
system being arranged in the floor and maybe in the ceiling. Thus the
primary climate adaption equipment will give a basic climate in the building
and for the separate room modules, e.g. an initial heating and an initial

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ventilation, while the individual climate adaption for each workstation with
a personally chosen temperature level and degree of ventilation will be
taken care of by the secondary climate equipment, where the evacuation
of air preferably takes place.
The invention will be described below in connection to an
embodiment shown in the attached drawings, where
Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of an office room where
a conduit chequered pattern network has been put into the ceiling and
where a connection of a couple of workstations have been shown,
Fig. 2 is a side view of a ventilation evacuation part in connection
to a workstation,
Fig. 3 is a side view of a ventilation evacuation part in connection
to a workstation under its desk,
Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a workstation com-
pleted with a column arrangement to connect to a conduit network in the
ceiling, and where
Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic side view of a workstation equipped with
an air heat pump module.
Thus fig. 1 is a perspective view of a large office room where a
conduit network 1 for the evacuating air is shown. Two workstations 3
are shown connected to the conduit network 1 by connection means 2.
The incoming air is here shown coming in peripherally at two short ends

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of the room, but also this conduit network can be more branched off if
regarded suitable for certain applications.
In fig. 2 a side view of an evacuation part 4 above a workstation 3
and being connected to the conduit network 1 by connection means 2 and
by channel means 5. The shown evacuation means is arranged to use the
inflowing air to perform an ejecting action, i.e. eject the existing indoor
air
with said inflowing air.
In fig. 3 a variant of the outlet part 4 for inflowing air is shown
positioned beneath a working desk at the workstation and where the
ejected air has the possibility to pass a heat element prior to escape.
In fig. 4 a diagrammatic perspective view of a workstation 3
completed with a column arrangement 7 for connection to a conduit
network 1 in the ceiling is shown. Here is also shown how evacuating
means 4, 8 for fresh air, etc. has been arranged for a co-operation to
individually control the microclimate. A conduit 8a has also been shown
connected to the chair. Otherwise connections 6 for a telephone 9 and for
a computer 10 (internet) are shown.
In fig. 5 a diagrammatic side view of a workstation 3 equipped
with an air heat pump module A having a capacity to draw in indoor air to
heat, cool and/or dehumidify said air before it is ejected to contribute to
the creation of a comfortable micro climate. In connection to the heat
pump module A possibility for a ion emission procedure can be arranged
to increase the self cleaning ability of the indoor air in such a way that
electrically charged particles in the room will more easily be united to form
heavier particles falling out from the indoor air and become more easily
taken care of.
The invention is not restricted to what is mentioned above, but
modifications can be done within the scope of the following claims.

Representative Drawing