GB2241989A

GB2241989A - Ventilating fan with shutter

Info

Publication number: GB2241989A
Application number: GB9005875A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Kun Lung Yu
Original assignee: HSIEH TANG ELECTRIC CO Ltd
Current assignee: HSIEH TANG ELECTRIC CO Ltd
Priority date: 1990-03-15
Filing date: 1990-03-15
Publication date: 1991-09-18
Also published as: GB9005875D0

Abstract

Undesired air flow into the air passage of the ventilating fan is controlled by a shutter (5, Fig.2) which is installed on the outdoor side of the ventilating fan to close or open the air inlet passage of the ventilating fan. Both the ventilating fan and the shutter, along with cooperating air-conditioners, are controlled by a controller 2 which operates in accordance with the indoor and outdoor temperature sensed by sensors 27 and 28. The controller operates so that when the temperature of a room in which the fan and air-conditioners are installed is lowered to a level determined by a low temperature setting the controller will power the fan and open the shutter to allow air into the room. When the temperature of the room rises to a level determined by a high temperature setting the fan is switched off and the shutter closed; when the outdoor temperature is lower than the lower temperature setting the air conditioners are shut down and the fan activated and shutter open to draw air into the room. <IMAGE>

Description

TITLE: VENTILATING FAN WITH SHUTTER The present invention relates generally to ventilators and in particular to a ventilating fan cooperating with prior art air-conditioners to further improve ventilation of air-conditioned rooms. To prevent cooled indoor air from flowing out of the airconditioned rooms through the air passage of the ventilating fan, a shutter is devised to close the air passage at the time when the ventilating fan is shut down and outdoor air is not drawn indoors.

Co"nventionally, air conditioning systems include mainly prior art air-conditioners and are basically a closed air circulating system. After the airconditioning systems have operated for some time, the indoor air deteriorates. Although air-conditioners are provided with a ventilating means which is in general an air inlet controlled by a valve, the ventilation provided by the ventilating means of this kind is generally not effective and efficient. This is because the amount of fresh air introduced into the rooms is small and the control of ventilation is absolutely manual, no outdoor and indoor temperature informations being applied to adjust and control'the ventilation.

These difficulties can be overcome by incorporating a ventilating device of great air flow rate, such as a ventilating fan, with the existing airconditioning systems which include basically air conditioners only to enhance the capability of drawing outdoor air into the rooms and thus, improve the ventilation thereof. The improved air-conditioning systems therefore include two parts, air-conditioners and ventilating fans.

The drawback of installing such a ventilating fan in an air-conditioned room is outward flow of air through the air passage of the ventilating fan. This definitely decreases the overall cooling efficiency of the air-conditioning system. To overcome this difficulty, a shuttering device may be employed to close the air passage of the ventilating fan when the fan is not in operation.

Usually, air-conditioners are controlled by thermostat devices. When indoor temperature is lowered to a pre-specified level (OFF temperature), the airconditioners will be turned down or turned off and when temperature raises to another pre-specified level (ON temperature), the air-conditioners will be turned on again so that the room temperature will be kept within a pre-selected range.This kind of controlling device can be further extended to control the ventilating fan, together with the shutter, so that when the room temperature is cooltenough and the air-conditioners are turned off, the shutter will be open and fresh air are drawn in by the ventilating fan, or in a special situation when the outdoor temperature is lower than the OFF temperature, the shutter will also be open and the cooler outdoor air will be drawn in by the ventilating fan to cool the room.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide the existing air-conditioning system with a ventilating device of great air flow rate to improve the ventilation of the air-conditioned rooms, wherein the ventilating device has a shuttering device to close the air passage thereof when the ventilating device is not in operation so as to kept cooled indoor air from flowing out through the air passage.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an air-conditioning system which not only operates in accordance with the indoor temperature but also in accordance with the outdoor temperature so as to increase overall cooling efficiency and ventilation.

The other objets and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the ventilating fan with part thereof being broken away to show the structure of the shutter, and the controller in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged side view of part of the shutter showing the open situation thereof; Fig. 3 is an enlarged side view of the same part of the shutter as that shown in figure 2 showing the closed situation of the shutter; and Figs. 4 and 5 show the controlling and actuating device for the shutter shown in figures 2 and 3, wherein figure 4 is the open situation and figure 5 the closed situation.

Referring to figure 1 wherein the ventilating fan 1 and the controller 2 are shown, the ventilating fan 1 comprises a set of prior art motor-actuating blades 11 encased by a box-like casing 12. The casing 12 has a first flat side 13, on which a shutter 5 having a plurality of slats 50 is fixed, and a second flat side 14 which is opposite to the first flat side 13. The ventilating fan 1 is so installed that the first flat side 13 thereof along with the shutter 5 faces and communicates with the outdoor environment and outdoor air is drawn into the ventilating fan 1 from the first flat side 13 which, thus, constitutes the entrance of the air passage of the ventilating fan 1. Air will be exhausted into a room in which the ventilating fan 1 is installed from the second flat side 14 which, thus, constitutes the exit of the air passage of the ventilating fan 1.On the first flat side 13, a first temperature sensor 27 is installed to detect the outdoor temperature and similarly, a second temperature sensor 28 is disposed on the second flat side 14 of the ventilating fan 1 to detect the indoor temperature.

Both temperature sensors 27 and 28 are electrically connected to the controller 2 for sending temperature information thereto.

Further referring to figures 2 to 5, the movement of the shutter 5 is controlled by a motor 3. A first link 30 is securely fixed on the spindle 321 of the motor 3 so as to rotate with the spindle 321. A second link 31 is so connected at one end thereof to the first link 30 with a pivot 322 that the pivot 322 will eccentrically rotate with the spindle 321. A coupling link 34, which is disposed along a lateral edge of the casing 12, substantially extends across the height of the casing 12 and is constrained to move along the length thereof, is pivotally connected to the second link 31 by a crank member 341 which is integrated on the coupling link 34. Further connected on the coupling link 34 are the slats 50 which are equally spaced along the first flat side 13 and, thus, the coupling link 34. The point of connection of each slat 50 to the coupling link 34 is a pivot 51.Each slat 50 is also pivotally attached to the lateral edge of the casing 12 by another pivot 52 so that when the coupling link 34 is moved downwards, the outer ends of the slats 50 will be moved upwards, thus opening the air passage of the fan 1 (see figure 2) and when the coupling link 34 is moved upwards, the outer ends of the slats 50 will be moved downwards to close the air passage of the fan 1 (see figure 3). A spring 33 may be disposed between the coupling link 34 and the casing 12 to help open the shutter 5.

Referring now particularly to figures 4 and 5, the first link 30 has an extension which is able to contact pair microswitches, an upper-bound microswitch 42 corresponding to the upmost position of the coupling link 34 (which is the closed situation of air passage of the ventilating fan 1 as shown in figure 5) and a lower-bound microswitch 41 corresponding to the lowermost position of the coupling link 34 (which is the open situation of the air passage of the ventilating fan 1 as shown in figure 4). When the coupling link 34 is moved to the extreme positions (the upmost and the lowermost positions), the extension of the first link 30 will contact one of the microswitches 41 and 42 and, thus, turning the motor 3 off.

Referring now back to figure 1, the controller 2 has two temperature setting devices, a high temperature setting device 24 and a low temperature setting device 25. When indoor temperature is higher than the pre-set high temperature, the controller 2 will close the shutter 5 and turn off the fan 1 via a first outlet thereof through which electric power is sent to the shutter 5 and the ventilating fan 1 and turn on the air-conditioners (not shown) via a second outlet 22 through which electric power is sent to the airconditioners. When the indoor temperature is lowered to the level of the pre-set low temperature, the power sent to the air conditioners via the second outlet 22 will be shut off and the shutter 5 will be opened and the ventilating fan 1 be turned on to draw outdoor air indoors. Under a special condition that outdoor temperature is lower than the pre-set low temperature, the air-conditioners will also be shut off and the shutter 5 opened to draw cooler outdoor air into the rooms to cool down the rooms. Indoor and Outdoor temperatures are sensed by the first and the second temperature sensors 27 and 28. The temperature information is sent to the controller 2 and can be selectively shown in a temperature display 26 disposed on the controller 2.

While the invention has been described with reference to a specific embodiment thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

What Is Claimed Is:

1. A ventilating fan with shutter for cooperating with air-conditioners comprising: a. a motor-actuating fan encased by a box-like casing having a first flat side which faces and communicates with outdoor environment, a second flat side, a first lateral edge, a second lateral edge, a top edge and a bottom edge; b. a shutter having a plurality of slats equally spaced along the height of said first flat side, each of said slats being connected to said first lateral edge with a first pivot such that said each slat is pivotally swivellable with respect to said casing to cover or expose said first flat side which constitutes the entrance of an air passage of said fan;; c. a motor controlling the swivel of said slats with a linkage pivotally connected therebetween, said linkage comprising a first link which is securely fixed on the spindle of said motor, a second link which has a first end to which said first link is so pivotally connected that the connection point therebetween eccentrically rotates with the spindle of said motor and a second end, and a coupling link which is an elongated strip-like member disposed along said first lateral edge of said casing and substantially extending across the height of said first lateral edge and which has a crank member integrated thereon to be pivotally connected to said second end of said second link, each of said slats being pivotally connected at one end thereof to said coupling link such that when said coupling link moves up and down, said slats, with the pivotal connection points thereof to said coupling link following the up-and-down movement of said coupling link, swivel about the pivotal connection points thereof to said first lateral edge; d. a controller which comprises a first power outlet electrically connected to said fan and said shutter and a second power outlet electrically connected to said air conditioners and further comprises a low temperature setting means and a high temperature setting means so that when the temperature of a room in which said fan along with said air-conditioners are installed is lowered to a level determined by said low temperature setting means, said controller will send power to said fan and said shutter to open said air passage and allowing outdoor air to be drawn into said room to improve ventilation thereof and when the temperature of said room raises to a level determined by said high temperature setting means, said controller will close said shutter, shut off said fan and power on said air conditioners, and particularly when the outdoor temperature is lower than said lower temperature setting, said air-conditioners will be shut down and said shutter open and said fan turned on to draw air into said room; and e. a first temperature sensor to detect the outdoor temperature and a second temperature sensor to detect the indoor temperature, both of said sensors being electrically connected to said controller.

2. A ventilating fan with shutter as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a spring disposed between said coupling link and said casing to help open said shutter.

3. A ventilating fan with shutter as claimed in claim 1 wherein said first temperature sensor is disposed on said first flat side of said casing and said second temperature sensor is disposed on said second flat side of said casing.

4. A ventilating fan with shutter as claimed in claim 1 wherein said controller is replaced by a manual control.

5. A ventilating fan with shutter as claimed in claim 1 wherein said controller is replaced by a timer.

6. A ventilating fan with shutter as hereinbefore described with reference to figure 1 of the accompanying drawings.