Ceiling-recessed air treatment apparatus

Abstract

 The ceiling-recessed air treatment apparatus has a main housing with a fan motor, a blower, a heat exchanger assembly and control means. The apparatus further comprises an air filter being folded into a pleated pattern and air vents surrounding the outer heat exchanger sides, wherein a horizontal air guide vane is arranged inside the exit air vent, a motor propels the horizontal air guide vane. The apparatus is recessed and/or suspended from the ceiling wherein the air dispersed into the room does not flow back into an air inlet but has a tendency to be thrust substantially upwards and then parallel to the ceiling because of horizontal lips of a panel frame (46) so that the discharged air does not come into contact with the ceiling. With this apparatus the ceiling does not become dirty or smudged.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to an air treatment apparatus and in particular to a ceiling-recessed air treatment apparatus and to a method for treating air therewith.

[0002] The ceiling-recessed air treatment apparatus works by drawing in air from the surrounding room space into an air inlet located in a lower centre of the apparatus, and blowing it through an air filter and heat exchangers in order to cool or heat the air drawn in. Then, the cooled or heated air is sent through air outlets which have substantially horizontal air vanes to help disperse the air.

[0003] The apparatus according to the present invention is of the type of a ceiling-recessed equipment whose main housing which embodies, e.g., a fan motor, a blower, a heat exchanger assembly and control means, is at least partially embedded in the ceiling. It is suitable for air conditioning homes, offices, or buildings etc. that require comfort air conditioning. It works by drawing in air from the room into an air inlet at the lower centre of the evaporator housing assembly. The air is drawn through the air filter and heat exchangers and is then released back into the room in preferably four directions.

[0004] This type of Apparatus preferably comprises an air filter which is folded into a pleated pattern and not a flat surface, so that there is more space for filtering the drawn in air at a much reduced pressure drop.

[0005] The fan and the motor used for this Apparatus must be of the types which generate adequate power to circulate the air through the air filter, heat exchanger and the exit air vents which release the air back into the room.

[0006] The air vents that surround the outer heat exchanger sides are preferably arranged at a certain distance from the heat exchanger. The upper side is preferably narrower than the lower side, and/or the surfaces of the air vent walls are preferably curved so that the air passing through the heat exchangers has a substantially consistent speed on both the upper and lower sides, as well as ensuring enough speed when the air is released.

[0007] The exit air vents have to disperse air into the room or a desired area so that the air does not flow back into the lower centre air inlet which is close by. The exit air vent preferably is also responsible for controlling the flow of air so that it is dispersed left and right.

[0008] Inside the exit air vent there is a horizontal air guide vane for controlling the air flow, e.g., up or down. The air guide vane is preferably in the shape of a curved blade like a half-cut tube without any angle so that the air that flows through the air vent is not obstructed and does not backflow and cause turbulence when it comes into contact with the air vane. Moreover, the lower surface of the air vane preferably has a set of divergent ridges on the surface to assist in controlling the air flow, e.g., left and right.

[0009] A motor propels the horizontal air guide vane up and down. The air guide vane is preferably also controlled by a system which, besides constantly moving the air vane up and down, also moves the air vane up and down at an angle upon each depression of the louver button on the control system. Preferably, it moves up and down twice or every 40 seconds before stopping at the uppermost position for a predetermined time and preferably for about 40 seconds. After that, the cycle is repeated to create comfortable surrounding for the room occupants.

[0010] Because the apparatus is recessed and suspended from the ceiling and the air vent is also close to the ceiling, the air has a tendency to be thrust upwards towards the ceiling. Therefore, the air vent preferably has an outer exit wall lip parallel to the ceiling to direct the air flow in a manner that it is parallel to the ceiling. By this way the ceiling does not become dirty or smudged easily.

[0011] In the following, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings in which,

Fig. 1

shows the components of a ceiling-recessed air treatment apparatus according to the present invention which are below a ceiling;

Fig. 2

shows the components outside the air conditioner of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3

shows an exploded view of preferred components of the ceiling-recessed apparatus according to Fig. 1;

Fig. 4

shows a partial cross sectional view of the apparatus according to the present invention;

Fig. 5

shows a partial cross sectional view of preferred components inside the air passage of the decorative panel of the apparatus according to the present invention; and

Fig. 6

shows a plan view on the air passage of the decorative panel according to Fig. 5.

[0012] Fig. 1 illustrates the components of an apparatus which are arranged below the ceiling 22. A decorative panel 20, preferably made from high impact polystyrene, comprises at least one air inlet 23 and at least one, preferably four, air outlet passage(s) 24, 25, 26 and 27

[0013] Fig. 2 illustrates the components outside the air conditioner which comprises the decorative panel 20 and the apparatus main housing 28.

[0014] Fig. 3 illustrates preferred components of the ceiling-recessed apparatus, comprising an inner body 29. an outer casing 28 of the inner body 29, a heat exchanger 30, a fan 31, a water drain tray 32, a water pump 34, a decorative panel frame 35, an air filter 38 and the air inlet grill 23.

[0015] The outer casing 28 of the inner body 29 is preferably made from galvanized iron, and the outer wall is preferably covered with polystyrene foam insulation. The inner body 29 is preferably made from expanded polystyrene foam and/or the heat exchanger 30 is preferably made from copper pipe mechanically inserted into aluminum fins, and bent into a curve to surround the fan assembly.

[0016] The fan 31 is preferably installed at the centre of the apparatus for drawing in air from the outside and blowing it through the heat exchangers to the air dispersion vent and out into the room.

[0017] The water drain tray 32 to collect the water that is condensed from the water vapour in the air when it passes through the heat exchangers is preferably made from polystyrene laminated onto the top of the expanded polystyrene foam with vent 33 which is preferably part of the air passage. The water drain tray 32 preferably comprises two vents 33 on each side of four sides of the water drain tray 32.

[0018] The water pump 34 is used for sucking the water in the water drain tray to the waste water pipe 39 which is preferably located on the upper' side of the apparatus. The decorative panel frame is preferably made from high impact polystyrene 35 with air passages 36 on preferably four sides. An air vane 37 is preferably inside the air passage. Inside the decorative panel is preferably another layer of the formed panel which is made from expanded polystyrene foam coupled as another layer.

[0019] The outer frame of air filter 38 is preferably made from polypropylene with pleated air filter to increase the space for air filtering. It is preferably removable, e.g., for cleaning.

[0020] The air inlet 23 is preferably made from high impact polystyrene located in the centre of the apparatus and preferably attached thereto by a hinge and lock mechanism. This also makes it convenient when removing the air filter, e.g., for cleaning.

[0021] Fig. 4 is a cross section showing air circulation inside the apparatus starting from the air inlet 23, and then passing through the heat exchanger 30 to the exit air vents and out through the air passage to the outside.

[0022] Preferably, for the inner body, the inside upper housing comprises two shoulders 40 and one shoulder 40-1 (see detail A) that protrudes to sit snugly on the heat exchanger top and that surrounds the upper section of the heat exchanger to prevent the air from escaping without passing through the heat exchanger fins or the discharged air from returning into the inlet chamber which may cause a short air flow circuit, reducing the cooling or heating performance. The upper wall on the vertical side which surrounds the heat exchangers is preferably also used as the wall for the air passage. Preferably, the upper side of this wall has a shoulder 40-2 (see detail B). This shoulder is designed to deflect the discharged air in the manner that the air velocity is greater at the shoulder and less down the passage wall. The upper passage wall is thicker than the lower side in the form of a downward gradient. The thickness of the wall is preferably gradually reduced so that the distance between the heat exchangers and the air passage wall is less on the upper side than that of the lower side. The shoulder and the downward gradient wall shall balance the discharged air of various velocities to a steady stream of discharged air before being released out through the air vents. This steady discharged air flow will increase cooling or heating performance.

[0023] Regarding the water drain tray, the section over which the heat exchanger is positioned is preferably constructed in the form of a trough to receive the condensed water from the cooled air. The water trough is preferably inclined toward the pit where the drain pump is located to facilitate the flow of the water at the centre of the rail 41 with a lower level to allow water to flow to the water pump and prevent water from inundating the heat ventilating partition which may cause inefficient heat ventilation.

[0024] Fig. 5 is a cross section showing components inside the air passage of the decorative panel. The air vane 37 is, preferably shaped like the curve of a circle, the lower surface of the vane, which is the outside curve, preferably has a row of slanted ridges to control the air flow left and right. The tips of the air vane on both sides 42 are welded to the air vane fastener 43 to the rotating shaft of the motor which drives the air vane.

[0025] As can be seen in Fig. 6, the air passage 36 has an inner wall 44 which, preferably has protruding edges for guiding the air straight forward. At the centre of the two is to protect air from flowing back into the entrance air vent. The left and right sides preferably have protruding ridge, three on each side in a slanting position to control the air flow to the left and right in order to help disperse the air better. The outside wall 45 preferably comprises seven protruding ridges to control air flow to the air rudder, in order to make the air rudder work more effectively.

[0026] The lips of the decorative panel frame 46 (see detail A), which is the tip of the air passage walls, are preferably substantially parallel to the ceiling for controlling air which flows out so that it does not come into contact with the ceiling, but instead flows parallel to the ceiling to prevent the ceiling from becoming dirty or smudged.

Claims

1. A ceiling-recessed air treatment apparatus, having a main housing embodying a fan motor, a blower, a heat exchanger assembly and control means, the apparatus further comprising an air filter being folded into a pleated pattern and air vents surrounding the outer heat exchanger sides, wherein a horizontal air guide vane is arranged inside the exit air vent, a motor propels the horizontal air guide vane and the apparatus being recessed and/or suspended from the ceiling and wherein the air dispersed into the room does not flow back into an air inlet but has a tendency to be thrust substantially upwards and then parallel to the ceiling because of horizontal lips of a panel frame (46) so that the discharged air does not come into contact with the ceiling.

2. The ceiling-recessed air treatment apparatus as claimed in claim 1, comprising an outer casing (28) of an inner body (29), a heat exchanger (30), a fan (31), a water drain tray (32), a water pump (34), a decorative panel (35), an air filter (38), and an air inlet (23), the upper inner housing having two shoulders (40-1, 40-2) protruding and surrounding the upper section of the heat exchanger and the section over which the heat exchanger is positioned being constructed in the form of a trough, an air vane (37), and an air passage (36) with an inner wall (44).

3. The ceiling-recessed air treatment apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, comprising an operational control system for an air diffusion vane, which moves the vane up and down at an angle upon each depression of the swing button on the control hand set.

4. The ceiling-recessed air treatment apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the vane is moved up and down either continuously to disperse the discharged air up and down, wherein the vane is moved up and down and stops for a predetermined time when it reaches the top most and/or the lowest position before it swings down or up again, and/or wherein the air guide vane can be stopped at any angle without moving when it is so required at an angle upon each depression of the swing button on the control hand set.

5. The ceiling-recessed air treatment apparatus according to anyone of claims 1 to 4, comprising an air diffusion vane (37) being shaped like a curve of a circle, the lower surface of the vane having a row of slanted ridges to control the air flow left and right so that the discharged air is distributed more widely and quietly into the air conditioned room or space than any conventional air guide blade and wherein the tips of the air vane are welded to an air vane fastener (43) to the rotating shaft of the motor which drives the air vane.

6. The ceiling-recessed air treatment apparatus according to anyone of claims 1 to 5, comprising an air passage (36), an inner wall (44) with at least one protruding edge for guiding the air straight forward away from the central air inlet and the protruding ridges in a slanting position for better air diffusion and an outside wall (45) comprising protruding ridges for guiding the discharged air forward through the exit in a uniform and much quiet manner.

7. A method for treating air with a ceiling-recessed air treatment apparatus according to anyone of claims 1 to 6, wherein the vane is moved up and down at an angle upon each depression of the swing button on the control hand set.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the vane is moved up and down either continuously to disperse the discharged air up and down, wherein the vane is moved up and down and stops for a predetermined time when it reaches the top most and/or the lowest position before it swings down or up again, and/or wherein the air guide vane can be stopped at any angle without moving when it is so required at an angle upon each depression of the swing button on the control hand set.

Drawing