Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02388345 2007-11-22
TITLE
Exterior Inlet/Exhaust Port
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an integrated exterior inlet/exhaust port for
use with a
ventilation system.
Modem buildings quite often are tightly sealed and insulated to facilitate air
handling (i.e.
heating and cooling) and to prevent unwanted elements, such as dust and
pollution from
entering. While the insulation of buildings provides a lot of benefits, it can
also unfortunately
prevents fresh air from entering an enclosed building and exhausted air from
leaving the
building.
As a result more and more modem buildings are being outfitted with air
treatment units
which can introduce outside air into the building, provide purification of the
air, or a
combination of both.
In the case of air treatment units which introduce outside air into the
building, certain
difficulties may arise with relation to the exterior inlet and outlet ports of
the air treatment
unit. These difficulties arise from the fact that to allow entry of air into
the air treatment unit
it is necessary to create a hole in the insulation of the building. The
insulation of the building
thus becomes less efficient.
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Unfortunately, there is so far no way of allowing outside air to enter the air
treatment unit
without allowing a channel to the outside. In fact, most air treatment units
require two
separate channels to the outside, one through which exhausted air from the
inside is released
outside, and one through which fresh air from the outside is drawn into the
air treatment unit.
As a result, it becomes necessary to have two holes in the insulation of the
building, thereby
making the insulation even weaker.
Furthermore, installation may also become more complex, especially in the case
where holes
need to be made in a building that has walls constructed from a very hard
substance (e.g.
bricks or concrete). If a building is made from a very hard substance then the
time taken to
create a hole might be substantial, and would further require specialised
equipment. Thus,
installation would be simplified if only a single hole needed to be made in
the wall rather than
two.
It would therefore be beneficial to have an integrated exterior inlet/exhaust
port which would
only take up as much space as a typical duct, and which would allow the
exhausting of air
from the inside of the building, and at the same time allow fresh air to be
drawn into the
building from the outside.
A problem with this type of duct would be that most air treatment units are
designed to use
two separate ducts, it would therefore be difficult to fit an integrated
exterior inlet/exhaust
port to a typical air treatment unit.
Furthermore, due to the close proximity of the inlet duct and the exhaust duct
which is
necessary for an integrated exterior inlet/exhaust port, there is the danger
of short-circuiting
the air flow. In this case the inlet duct would draw in the air exhausted from
the exhaust duct,
instead of drawing fresh air from the outside.
It is therefore apparent that an integrated exterior inlet/exhaust port which
can easily be
connected to existing air treatment units, and which prevents short-circuiting
of the inlet and
the exhaust air flow is desirable.
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Statement of the invention
In accordance with one aspect the invention provides a dual opening air
communication unit
comprising:
a shell component;
a first channel component formed in said shell component for communicating a
first air
stream between a first air channel and an outside; and
a second channel component formed in said shell component for communicating a
second air
stream between a second air channel and said outside;
said first channel component and said second channel component being formed
such that said
first air stream and said second air stream are transverse to each other.
In accordance with a more particular aspect said first air stream may be an
exhaust air stream,
and wherein said second air stream may be a fresh air stream.
In accordance with a more particular aspect the invention may further comprise
a component
for varying the speed of the air in dual opening air communication unit,
adapted such that
said exhaust air stream may have a higher speed than said fresh air stream.
In accordance with a further aspect the invention provides a ventilation duct
comprising: a
first channel component; a second channel component; and adapter component for
connecting
said first channel component and said second channel component to separate
ducts; said first
channel component and second channel component being disposed such that a flow
of a gas
passing through one channel will not be able to pass to the other channel.
In accordance with a more particular aspect said first channel component and
second channel
component may share a common wall.
In accordance with a further particular aspect the present invention provides
a dual opening
air communication unit comprising:
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a shell component;
a first channel component formed in said shell component for communicating a
first air stream between a first air channel and an outside; and
a second channel component formed in said shell component for communicating a
second air stream between a second air channel and said outside;
said first channel cornponent and said second channel component being formed
such
that said first air stream and said second air stream are transverse to each
other;
said first air stream being an exhaust air stream;
said second air stream being a fresh air stream;
said first channel component and said second channel component sharing a
common
wall having a first channel side associated with said first channel component;
said first channel side defining a drainage floor element downwardly angled
toward
said outside.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows an exploded perspective view of an integrated exterior
inlet/exhaust port
according to the present invention.
Fig 2 shows an exploded side elevation view of the integrated exterior
inlet/exhaust port
shown in fig 1.
Fig 3 shows a cross section of the integrated exterior inlet/exhaust port
shows in fig 1, which
has been installed in a wall of a building.
Fig 4 shows a front view of the integrated exterior inlet/exhaust port shown
in fig 1, with a
grill removed.
Fig 5 shows a back elevation view of a back plate as shown in fig 1.
Fig 6 shows a front elevation view of the back plate shown in fig 5.
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Fig 7 shows a rear elevation view of an integrated exterior inlet/exhaust port
shown in fig 1.
Fig 8 shows a side view of a grill for the integrated exterior inlet/exhaust
port shown in fig 1.
Fig 9 shows a side view of a pair of baffles to be used with a grill according
to one
embodiment of the invention.
Fig 10 shows a perspective view of an air inlet or exhaust port according to
previous systems.
Detailed Description
Fig 1 and 2 show exploded views of an integrated exterior inlet/exhaust port
according to the
present invention. As can be seen in the figures 1 and 2 the invention in this
embodiment
comprises three main components. These components are adapter duct 10,
backplate 20, and
port 30.
Additionally, the integrated exterior inlet/exhaust port may be provided with
insulation so as
to prevent the creation of cold spots in the interior of the building.
It can be noted that while the embodiment shown in fig 1 and 2, comprises
separate adapter
duct 10, backplate 20, and port 30 another embodiment in which one or more of
the elements
are formed integral can easily be imagined.
The adapter duct 10 is made up of two separate air passages 12 and 14 which at
one end
separate into an y-shape which forms two distinct ducts 16 and 18. At the
other end the two
air passages combine and form a single duct.
The adapter duct 10 is designed to be connected to the port 30 via the
backplate 20. The
backplate 20 has a continuous snap groove 22 which can be matingly connected
to the single
duct end of the adapter duct 10. The connection of the continuous snap groove
22 and the
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adapter duct 10, is designed so as to be air and water tight. Additional
fastening means 24
(e.g. screws) may be employed to ensure that the adapter duct remains fastened
to the
backplate 20. The backplate 20 also has fastening means 26 for fastening the
backplate 20 to
the port 30, and fastening means 28 for fastening the inlet/outlet port to the
wall of the
building..
Port 30, as can be seen in fig 3, comprises a shell component 31 which is
split into a first
channel component 32 and a second channel component 34, which connect to the
air passages
12 and 14 of the adapter duct 10 respectively. The first channel component 32
is covered by a
gri1136 through which air may pass. Additionally, the first channel component
32 may have a
downwardly angled floor 33 such that any accumulation of water or other
liquids will
automatically be drained from the chamber. The first channel component 32 may
also be
provided with some drain holes in case of an abnormal water condition.
Fig 3 also shows the integrated exterior inlet/exhaust port in function. In
the embodiment
shown in fig 3, an air treatment unit (not shown) is connected to the adapter
duct 10 by
connecting an exhaust duct and an inlet duct to the ducts 16 and 18
respectively. Thus
exhaust air is exhausted through passage 12 and first channel component 32,
and fresh air is
drawn in through passage 14 and second channel component 34.
A first arrow set 40 shows the flow of exhaust air exiting the integrated
exterior inlet/exhaust
port, and a second arrow set 42 shows the flow of air entering the integrated
exterior
inlet/exhaust port. As can be seen from the arrow sets 40 and 42 the entering
and exiting air
flows are physically separate, and are also transverse to each other. That is
there is an angle
between the directions of the exiting air and the entering air. The physical
separation and the
different directions both work to reduce the risk of short circuiting the air
flows.
Another benefit of the air flow arrangement shown in fig 3 is that the exhaust
air flow will act
as a shield for the inlet air flow, in that the exhaust air flow will blow
away any particles (e.g.
snow or dirt) which fall near the integrated exterior inlet/exhaust port.
Thus, accumulation of
these particles which could cause a blockage of the inlet port, is prevented.
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In another embodiment, the air passage 12 may be reduced in circumference
compared to air
passage 14, such that the speed of the air travelling though air passage 12
would be increased
compared to the air travelling trough air passage 14. This would be beneficial
since increasing
the speed of the exhaust air flow in relation to the speed of the intake air
flow would also
reduce the risk of the air flows being short circuited, and the intake air
flow being
contaminated by the exhaust air flow.
Fig 4 shows a front view of the integrated exterior inlet/exhaust port. In
this view the gri1136
has been removed so that the first channel component 32 can be clearly seen.
As can be seen
the upper section 32 may have a funnel like shape, with the first channel
component 32
expanding outwards.
Fig 5 and 6 show the front and back of the backplate 20. As can be seen the
snap groove 22
has been divided in two such that the air passages 12 and 14 (see fig 2) do
not cross.
Fig 7 shows a rear view of the integrated exterior inlet/exhaust port. The two
distinct ducts 16
and 18., and the air passages 12 and 14 can be clearly seen. In the embodiment
shown in fig 7,
the two distinct ducts 16 and 18 may be given a lateral offset with respect to
each other, such
that the two distinct ducts 16 and 18 can more easily be fitted between the
joists of the
building, thereby providing a compact installation.
Furthermore, the distance between the distinct ducts 16 and 18 is preferably
large enough that
insulation may be inserted around the distinct ducts 16 and 18 and the ducts
which are
attached to them.
Fig 7 also shows the transition sections 60 and 62 of the distinct ducts 16
and 18, where the
two distinct ducts 16 and 18 join together to from a single tube. As can be
seen from the
diagram the transition sections 60 and 62 may be smoothed so as to reduce
friction between
the air and the walls of the ducts 16 and 18. This allows for a reduction of
turbulence within
the ducts.
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Fig 8 shows a side view of the grill 36 shown in fig 1. As can be seen the
grill 36 comprises a
series of baffles 50. The baffles 50 may have an S-shape as shown in fig 9 or
have a chevron
shape as shown in fig 8, such that rain, snow, etc. which falls on the grill
will automatically
drain, and not be able to enter the port and cause a blockage.
Tuining now to fig 10, we can see an example of an exterior inlet or outlet
port as used with
prior air treatment units.
It should be noted that while the above embodiments of the invention have been
described
with relation to an integrated exterior inlet/exhaust port, the invention may
easily be used as
an integrated exterior inlet/inlet port, or an integrated exterior
exhaust/exhaust port.
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