WO2016189457A1

WO2016189457A1 - Covering unit of an external space.

Info

Publication number: WO2016189457A1
Application number: PCT/IB2016/053029
Authority: WO
Inventors: Luca Radice; Jacques GANDINI
Original assignee: Whiteam S.R.L.; Gandini S.R.L.
Priority date: 2015-05-27
Filing date: 2016-05-24
Publication date: 2016-12-01
Also published as: ITUB20151070A1

Abstract

A covering unit (U) of an external space (E) comprising upright means (M) anchored on a base (B) and umbrella (OM) type means (1) which can be opened, mounted on said upright means (M); moreover air-conditioner means (2,3) are provided integrated on said upright means (M) in correspondence of said base (B) to draw air at ambient temperature and transform the air at ambient temperature itself in an air-conditioned flow to be diffused in the said space (E) through and along the said upright means (M); and sink means (9,10,11;14) to disperse heat outside said unit (U).

Description

COVERING UNIT OF AN EXTERNAL SPACE.

Applicants: WHITEAM S.r.l. - GANDINI S.r.l.

Designated inventors: Luca RADICE, Jacques GANDINI . The present invention relates to a unit for covering an external space.

In particular, the present invention finds advantageous application in the field of the covering structures, for example of the sun and/or rain protection type and the like, to which the following description will make explicit reference without thereby losing generality, in order to allow also the definition under the covering structures themselves of a usable space with an optimal and comfortable micro-climate and temperature in any period of the year and with different external environmental conditions.

In general, the covering structure for external spaces are universally known and efficiently employed, for instance of the umbrella type and fixed in ground or in special base/pedestal, and used on beaches, terraces, outdoor coffee house etc. , in order to protect from sunlight and/or rain and equivalent weather events.

However, such structures are not able to give any benefit in terms of pleasantness of the perceived temperature under the structures themselves.

In particular, the solutions currently available on the market to solve such problem related to the positive sense of human well-being are considered to be unsatisfactory both during particularly hot and/or muggy summer days, since the coolness of the shadow created under such covering structure is not sufficient to ensure a suitable cool micro-climate, and during cool autumn or spring days and/or during particularly rainy days when the umbrella protection is not able to protect from the effect of the low temperatures which are typical of the cooler seasons. If, for example, someone tried to use a conventional portable air-conditioning system under the umbrella, the obtainable benefit would be little effective for the purpose, because the air coming from the air-conditioner has a directional flow which is concentrated and not distributed, with a consequent loss of effectiveness.

In practice, in the proximity of the delivery mouth, it would create a bothersome area due to the excessive emission of (hot or cold) air, while, on the contrary, the remaining part under the umbrella structure would have no benefit.

Furthermore, the air expelled from the air-conditioner would be only partially addressable upwards, with consequent discomforts for the neighbouring area to the umbrella structure itself.

Moreover, the set consisting of umbrella and air-conditioner would be difficult to assemble and manage, without considering the problem of the hoses on the ground that would make a part of the covered area under the umbrella itself unfit for use. If, instead, someone tries to use, together with the umbrella and during the warm seasons, a water-spray system, he must consider that this system exploits the concept of the evaporation of the water micro-drops which are suspended in the air, with the following disadvantages: in the area under the umbrella, served by this type of systems, the relative humidity is very high and it generally oscillates between 80% and 95%, highly penalizing the feeling of comfort and creating a generalized difficulty breathing (feeling of stuffiness) with very limited benefits in terms of reduction of the actual temperature.

Moreover, usually these spray systems are very invasive as they require to be normally powered by a dual pipe network: a network for the water to be atomized and a network for the compressed air (it is, therefore, necessary to have an air compressor) and have a water consumption which can roughly range between 10 and 12 litres per hour for a floor area of about 5-8 square meters.

Such water-spray system, therefore, has a limited thermal comfort effect, a significant breathing penalty (feeling of stuffiness) besides an important invasiveness due to water and compressed air pipes.

Thus, object of the present invention is to realize a protection covering unit able to overcome the drawbacks and problems highlighted above.

In particular, an object of the present invention is to provide a covering unit that provides for high comfort levels both during the warmer seasons and the cooler ones.

Another object is to provide a unit which is integrated with the covering structure, while allowing an easy opening/closing, and which is reliable and low noise.

The structural and functional characteristics of the present invention and its advantages over the known art will be clearer and more evident from the claims below, and in particular from an examination of the following description, referring to the attached drawings, which show the schematic representations of some preferred but non-limiting embodiments of the present covering unit, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of the present unit according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is an exploded view of the unit of Figure 1 , in which the construction components of the unit itself are highlighted;

Figures 3A and 3B show respective perspective views of some unit components shown in Figure 2;

Figure 3C is the perspective view of some unit components shown in Figure

2;

- Figure 3D is an enlarged scale of the perspective view of the unit components shown in Figure 3C;

Figure 4 shows the schematic operation of the unit of Figure 1 represented in a front view;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a second preferred embodiment of the present unit according to the present invention;

Figure 6 is an enlarged scale of a perspective view of a unit portion of Figure 5, in which the construction components of the unit itself are highlighted; Figure 7 shows another component of the unit of Figure 5;

Figure 8 shows a schematic variation of the unit of Figure 5; and

- Figure 9 represents a variation of the unit of Figure 1 according to a side view;

With reference to the attached figures 1 ,2,3A-3D and 4, U refers to a covering unit of an external space E.

The unit U comprises a covering structure 1 of the umbrella OM known type which can be opened/closed (for example through pulley means of known type which are not illustrated) and have a specific perimeter conformation, for example, a square, rectangular, circular or other equivalent conformation to protect the space E from sunlight and/or rain and similar events.

The umbrella OM is mounted on a pole or support upright M anchored on a base B placed on the ground T: such upright M can be provided centrally disposed with respect to the umbrella OM (Figure 1), or, alternatively, laterally with respect to the umbrella OM (Figure 9).

The base B, which can also be equipped with movable wheels (not shown) so as to be made easily transportable, moreover, a box-shaped casing 2 within which it is provided an air-conditioner 3 suitable to draw air from the external environment (arrows f1 in Figure 4), in correspondence of at least a grid G opened on the casing 2, to transform the drawn air at ambient temperature itself into an air-conditioned flow to be diffused along the said upright M (arrows f2 in Figure 4).

The air-conditioner 3 includes a refrigeration unit H defined by compressor means 4, evaporator means 5 connected to ventilating means 6, and filtering means 7, interconnected with each other.

Note that the refrigeration unit H described above is able to operate both with air cooling function and, alternatively, with air heating, i.e. with reverse cycle in heat pump mode.

Further according to what is illustrated in Figures 3A-3D and 4, the support upright M of the umbrella OM is wound into a jacket or cylindrical hose 8 made of fabric or equivalent technical material provided with a plurality of micro-holes F (Figures 3C and 3D) having a determined distribution through which the air-conditioned produced by the air-conditioner 3 is diffused by means of sprinklers (arrows f2 in figure 4) in the space E under the umbrella OM.

Advantageously, the heat produced is dispersed upwards and outwards, outside the unit U and the space E (arrows V in Figure 4), through condensing exchanger means 9 and ventilating means 10, preferably axial, cooperating with each other and both arranged on the external upper part Ps of the umbrella OM, also together with a gas circuit 1 1 provided along the upright M and connected with the unit H and the exchanger 9 and ventilating means 10 themselves to efficiently exchange heat with the air.

In order to significantly and optimally reduce the noise level of the unit U, the base B and the box-shaped casing 2 are suitably soundproof.

According to the other preferred embodiment shown in Figures 5 to 7, the air- conditioner 3 of the unit U is of the heat exchange type by means of water, and comprises, besides the already mentioned compressor means 4, evaporator means 5, connected to ventilating means 6, and filtering means 7 of the unit H, a water condenser 12 provided with a specific hydraulic pump 13 suitable to draw water from a geothermal probe 14, for example of the spiral conformation or equivalent type, provided arranged and extending in the ground under the base B.

According to the variation shown in Figure 8, the space E is defined by an area Z of specific extension within which it is arranged a substantially matrix distribution K of several units U of the water type connected with each other with a circuit connected to a specific water tank or water intake 15.

In use, the covering unit U is advantageously and efficiently able to operate for the creation of an optimal micro-climate in the space E under the umbrella OM both with space E cooling function during warm and/or muggy seasons and in the version with space E heating function during cooler seasons, such as, for example in spring and/or autumn, through the operative steps of drawing a fluid (air or water), keeping the fluid itself to obtain a fluid-conditioned flow to be diffuse along the support upright M of the umbrella OM and towards the space E, and to disperse heat outwards and outside the space E itself.

In this way, the unit U described above efficiently provide for obtaining the following remarkable advantages: possibility of working with a wide range of external temperatures, both hot and cold; generation of a thermal difference between the drawn air and the delivered fresh air such that the feeling of cooled/heated air is optimally actually perceptible; reduction of the noise to create a constantly pleasant environment; allow the easy and rapid opening and closing of the covering umbrella OM; the great ease of installation. Note, finally, that it is usefully possible to apply the umbrella OM in correspondence of its perimeter surfaces of the walls of suitable insulating material (flexible or semirigid) in order to create vertically extending walls to enclose the space E and further intensify the air-conditioning action performed by the aforementioned air-conditioner 3 arranged integrated into its casing 2 in the base B of the present unit U.

Claims

CLAIMS AMEN DED

1. Unit (U) for covering an external space (E) comprising upright means (M) anchored on a base (B) and fully openable/c/osafc/e sunshade type-like means (1 ,OM) mounted on said upright means (M); characterized in that it also comprises conditioning means (2,3) carried integrated on said upright means (M) in correspondence of said base (B) to pick up air at ambient temperature and transforming said air in a stream of air conditioned to be disseminated in the said space (E) across and along said upright means (M); and dissipating means (9,10,1 1 ; 14) for dissipating heat outside said unit (U).

2. Unit according to claim 1 , characterized in that it further comprises hose fabric means (8) wrapped on said upright means (M), said hose means (8) being provided with a plurality of holes (F) with distribution determined through which said conditioned air stream is diffused.

3. Unit according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said conditioning means (2,3) comprises air type-like conditioners; said dissipating means comprising condenser exchanging means (9) and fan means (10) positioned and acting in correspondence of the upper part (Ps) of said sunshade means (OM), and fluid circuit means (1 1 ) in connection with said exchanging means (9) and said air type-like conditioners.

4. Unit according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said conditioning means (2,3) comprises water type-like conditioners; said dissipating means comprising geothermal probe means (14) disposed and acting interred below said base (B), and connected to said water type-like conditioners.

5. Unit according to claim 3, characterized in that said conditioning means (2,3) comprise a refrigerator group (H) defined by compressor means (4), evaporator means (5) connected to fan means (6), and filtering means (7).

6. Unit according to claim 4, characterized in that said conditioning means (2,3) comprise a refrigerator group (H) defined by compressor means (4), evaporator means (5) connected to fan means (6), filtering means (7) and water condenser means (12) provided with pump means (13) adapted to draw water from said geothermal probe means (14) connected a tank or outlet (15) of water.

7. Unit according to one or more of the preceding claims 1 to 6, characterized in that said upright means (M) are arranged centrally with respect to said sunshade type-like means (1 ,OM).

8. Unit according to one or more of the preceding claims 1 to 6, characterized in that said upright means (M) are arranged laterally with respect to said sunshade type-like means (1 ,OM).

9. Unit according to one or more of the preceding claims 1 to 8, characterized in that said base IB) is movable being provided with wheels.