WO2002057690A1

WO2002057690A1 - System for monitoring and controlling the natural ventilation of spatial units and the use of said system

Info

Publication number: WO2002057690A1
Application number: PCT/CH2002/000026
Authority: WO
Inventors: Daniel Roner; Ueli Hafner; Walter Linsi
Original assignee: Belimo Holding Ag
Priority date: 2001-01-18
Filing date: 2002-01-16
Publication date: 2002-07-25
Also published as: EP1225399A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a system for monitoring and controlling the natural ventilation of spatial units (1, ..., 4) which comprise a plurality of openings (5, , 17) which can be closed by means of, for example windows . Said system also comprises a drive unit (103) for opening a window which is to be monitored, an external sensor unit (101; 18, ..., 30) which is positioned outside the spatial unit (1, , 4) which is to be monitored, and a control unit (100) which is actively connected to the drive unit (103) and the external sensor unit (101; 18, ..., 30). The inventive system is characterised in that the external sensor unit (101; 18, ..., 30) is arranged in the region of the opening (5, , 17) which is to be monitored and that an interface unit (104) is contained therein, which is actively connected to the control unit (101; 18, ..., 30). Natural ventilation of spatial units (1, , 4) can be achieved in an optimal manner by taking into account atmospheric conditions directly in front of the openings (5, ..., 17) which are to be monitored.

Description

Arrangement for monitoring and controlling the natural ventilation of room units and use of the arrangement

The present invention relates to an arrangement according to the preamble of claim 1 and a use of the arrangement.

Computer controlled systems for heating, ventilation and

Air conditioning of individual rooms as well as of entire buildings are currently frequently used and consist mainly of the fact that heating, ventilation and air conditioning are carried out with active heating, fans and air conditioning units. It has been shown that these active systems normally cannot or only insufficiently take advantage of the climatic ambient conditions. The energy required to achieve a desired indoor climate is correspondingly large.

It has therefore already been proposed to create a desired indoor climate using natural ventilation, which is carried out by automatically opening windows by means of actuators. Such a system is known for example from the published patent application of the international patent application with the number WO 00/39506. The known teaching consists in the fact that a building with windows which can be manually closed per se is equipped with a central control unit which is connected to a single central sensor unit which is arranged on the roof of the building. The central sensor unit has the task of determining the external weather conditions by determining the weather parameters temperature, wind, rain, etc. These weather parameters are then transmitted to the central control unit in which the Control signals are generated for the individual drive units.

This known arrangement for monitoring and controlling natural ventilation initially has the disadvantage that, owing to the central arrangement of the sensor unit on the building roof, no or only speculative information about the actual conditions in the area of a controlled window can be made. As a result, there is a risk that due to measured

Weather conditions on the building roof, individual windows are set incorrectly. B. that rain can penetrate the room unit due to wind conditions at the window other than on the housing roof, or that no ventilation is carried out, although this is for a certain

Room unit would be possible due to the weather conditions for a particular window.

For the sake of completeness, reference is also made to US Pat. No. 5,553,391, in which an electrical rain sensor is disclosed. However, this known sensor is not suitable for determining weather parameters other than rain.

The present invention is therefore based on the object of specifying an arrangement for monitoring and controlling the natural ventilation of room units, the above-mentioned problems not occurring with this arrangement.

This object is achieved by the measures specified in the characterizing part of patent claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the invention and a use are specified in further claims.

The invention has the following advantages: By the external sensor unit in the area of the opening to be monitored, preferably at the point at which possible damage is most likely to occur, there is the possibility of optimally utilizing natural ventilation of a room unit, thus making it possible to directly allow the actual opening of the monitored opening to be incorporated into the ventilation control. Furthermore, an interface unit is provided according to the invention, which is operatively connected to the control unit. This creates the possibility of optimally ventilating a room unit by connecting several monitoring units, but taking into account local current weather conditions in a natural way. It is conceivable that due to structural conditions or due to the alignment of monitored windows, despite the prevailing bad global weather conditions, as previously determined by a central sensor on the building roof, for example, it is possible to open individual windows anyway. The natural ventilation of a room unit can also be significantly improved by networking the monitoring units concerned via their interface units.

Furthermore, a sensor unit is described, with the aid of which the currently prevailing weather conditions can be determined extremely precisely, while at the same time keeping the manufacturing costs at a low level. This creates the prerequisite for providing the sensor unit according to the invention in all automatically controlled windows, and consequently for using it in large numbers. According to the invention, the sensor element, preferably in the form of a plate, or its exposed surface, closes an acute angle with respect to a perpendicular, perpendicular

Reference surface. The inventive method is therefore suitable Sensor unit especially for the detection of snow.

The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to drawings, for example. It shows

1 shows a floor plan of a building with an arrangement according to the invention,

2 shows a block circuit diagram of an arrangement according to the invention,

3 shows a sensor unit according to the invention, which is preferably used in the arrangement according to the invention, and

4 shows an embodiment of a sensor element used in the sensor unit.

In Fig. 1 a floor plan of a building is shown, in which an inventive arrangement for control and

Monitoring the natural ventilation of room units 1 to 4 is used. The room units 1 to 4 have openings 5 to 17 which can be closed by means of windows, one of the monitoring units 18 to 30 being provided for each window to be monitored and controlled. Each of the monitoring units 18 to 30 forms together with the monitored opening 5 to 17 respectively. the controlled window is an autonomous cell in and of itself, in which suitable settings are determined and carried out on the basis of measured weather parameters, which are explained in detail in connection with the explanations for the further figures.

The individual cells, consisting of monitoring unit and monitored opening or. controlled window, can, as can be seen from Fig. 1, for example with a Room unit 1 to 4 existing control unit 31 to 34 operatively connected. Furthermore, it is also conceivable that the control units 31 to 34 are in turn operatively connected to a higher-level control unit 35 in which, for example, the functions of a building control center are integrated.

The active connection is in a preferred embodiment and in deviation from the hierarchical organizational form shown in Fig. 1 in a standardized bus system to which the components, i.e. the respective monitoring units 31 to 35 are connected.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a monitoring unit as used for openings 5 to 17 according to FIG. 1. The monitoring units are marked with signs 18 to 30. The exterior wall of the building is designated by 107, in which an opening 105 which can be closed by a window is contained. While the inside of the building is labeled I, the outside of the building is labeled A.

The monitoring unit consists of an external and an internal sensor unit 101 or 102, one

Drive unit 103, an interface unit 104 and a control unit 100. Except for the external sensor unit 101, the units mentioned are located inside the building.

The control unit 100 is connected to the internal and external sensor units 101 and 102, to the drive unit 103 and to the interface unit 104. If the internal sensor unit 102 is essentially limited to measuring the temperature, the humidity and / or the CO ₂ content, a number of weather parameters are determined with the external sensor unit 101. Both the too determining parameters and the structure of the external sensor unit 101 will be explained in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

As indicated in FIG. 2, the drive unit 103 acts directly on the opening 105 or on the window closing it, it being provided that the drive unit 103 not only locks, but also pivots, slides or tilts the window to set the current one Opening. The control signals required for this are generated in the control unit 100 on the basis of the available weather parameters or on the basis of commands received via the interface unit 104, which originate, for example, from a higher-level control unit. The drive unit 103 thus not only ensures the degree of natural ventilation by adjusting the size of the opening, but is therefore also responsible for securing access to the opening.

The interface unit 104 is used to adapt, for example, information to be transmitted to higher-level control units. Information received from higher-level control units on a system bus 106. The adaptation consists in particular in the consideration of access authorizations as well as in the correct addressing of a unit to be contacted.

In a simplified embodiment variant of the arrangement according to the invention, it is provided that the interface unit 104 is integrated in the control unit 100.

A still further embodiment of the arrangement according to the invention provides, either as an alternative or as an additional embodiment of the

Invention, in the interface unit 104 or in the Control unit 100 to provide a transmitting / receiving unit (not shown in FIG. 2) for the wireless transmission of information. Correspondingly, there is a second transmitting / receiving unit, preferably in the form of a mobile remote control, via which commands can be transmitted to the interface unit 104 or to the control unit 100, in order to thereby perform certain actions (open windows completely, regardless of the

Weather conditions, close windows, etc.) in the monitoring unit. The wireless transmission of information can take place in a conventional manner by means of infrared radiation or via radio links.

By equipping all monitoring units for the openings to be monitored in the same way, and being flexible

Connection to superordinate or secondary control units 31 to 35 (FIG. 1) are provided, an extremely flexible natural ventilation of room units is made possible. In this way, the actual weather conditions in front of the individual can be monitored

Openings as well as the needs regarding indoor climate in the room units are optimally taken into account.

3 shows a section through an external sensor unit 101 according to the invention, the section plane being placed perpendicularly on a mounting surface 200, which is, for example, a window frame or window sash. It can be clearly seen that the sensor unit 101 consists of a base plate 201, which is fastened to the window frame or window sash by means of screws 205 or the like, and an outer housing part 202. The base plate 201 and the outer housing part 202 form a V shape by being connected at the lower ends via an elastic connecting element 204. Otherwise, the base plate 201 and the outer housing part 202 are fixed via two connecting webs 206. One through the V-shaped The arrangement of the base plate 201 and the outer housing part 202 resulting entry area 207 is closed with a preferably plate-shaped sensor element 203, whose outward surface with the mounting surface 200 according to the invention a pointed

Includes angle, which is 60 ° in a preferred embodiment. This enables snow measurements to be carried out in an extremely reliable manner.

It should be noted that a vertical mounting surface 200 is shown in FIG. 3. If this is not the case, such as with one

Roof window, add the inclination of the roof to the angle α. Thus, when determining the angle α, a reference surface standing perpendicular must be assumed.

The following weather parameters can be determined with the sensor unit 101 shown in FIG. 3, which can be used independently of the arrangement according to the invention described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2:

Temperature: To measure the outside temperature, an NTC (negative

Temperature Coefficient) resistor is provided, which is arranged below the plate-shaped sensor element 203 and the electrical

Connection lines with the control unit 100 (Fig. 2) is connected. In a further embodiment of the

The invention provides for the measured temperature values to be transmitted wirelessly to the control unit 100 (FIG. 2).

Wind: The wind measurement takes place indirectly via the mentioned Temperature measurement, specifically by heating the NTC resistor to a predefined temperature which is, for example, 10 ° Celsius above the current ambient temperature, the heating being carried out with the aid of a Zener diode present directly next to the NTC resistor. After the predefined temperature has been reached, the wind speed is determined on the basis of the cooling time, if necessary also by forming an average value from various cooling times.

Rain:

The surface of the sensor element 203 according to FIG. 4 is designed for the rain measurement, some electronic switching elements which are necessary on the control unit 100 side (FIG. 2) being shown in FIG. 4. A capacitance C is connected in series with the actual sensor element 203. A resistor R2 is provided in parallel with the two elements. Finally, a further resistor R1 is provided in the connection path to limit the current. The sensor element 203 consists of two interlocking forks made of electrically conductive material which do not touch, the forks preferably being realized on a ceramic substrate using thick film technology.

For the rain measurement, the control unit 100 (FIG. 2) emits a pulse of approximately 1 ms duration. If there are raindrops on the sensor element 203, the capacitor C is charged. After the pulse, the capacitor C is discharged through the resistor R2. After a certain waiting time, the voltage at the input of the control unit 100 (FIG. 2) is measured. If this input voltage is above a specified value, rain is detected. To improve the measurement result, it is planned to carry out several measurements in succession. Snow: snow

The arrangement and circuit for measuring rain are essentially used for the measurement of snow, with any snow present on the sensor element 203 being melted with the aid of a heating device before a measurement. The water lying on the sensor element 203 as a result of the snow melting is detected in accordance with the rain measurement procedure.

Light:

A light sensor is provided for determining scattered light on the underside of the sensor element 203. A photo transistor is preferably used as the light sensor. This ensures that, in particular, infrared rays are detected, which are largely responsible for the heating, whether intentional or not, of room units.

It is emphasized again that the sensor unit described can be used to determine the mentioned

Weather parameters are not only suitable for use in the arrangement according to the invention for natural ventilation of room units. It has been shown that the sensor unit according to the invention is excellent for any application in which knowledge of the

Weather conditions are needed, can be used excellently.

Claims

claims:

1. Arrangement for monitoring and controlling the natural ventilation of room units (1, ..., 4) which have a plurality of openings (5, ..., 17) which can be closed, for example, by windows, a drive unit (103) for opening or Closing a window to be monitored, an external sensor unit (101; 18, ..., 30) which is positioned outside the room unit (1, ..., 4) to be monitored, and a control unit (100) which are provided with the drive unit (103) and the external sensor unit (101; 18, ..., 30) are operatively connected, characterized in that the external sensor unit (101; 18, ..., 30) in the region of the opening (5, ..., 17) and that an interface unit (104) is included, which is operatively connected to the control unit (101; 18, ..., 30).

2. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that an internal sensor unit (102) is provided, which is positioned within the room unit to be monitored (1, ..., 4) and which is connected to the control unit (101; 18, ... , 30) is operatively connected.

3. Arrangement according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that in the case of a plurality of openings (5, ..., 17) to be monitored, one interface unit (104) each is operatively connected to the respective control units (100) which are connected via a bus system (106). are interconnectable.

4. Arrangement according to claim 3, characterized in that superordinate control units (31, ..., 35) are provided which are operatively connected to the control units (100) via the interface units (104).

5. Arrangement according to claim 4, characterized in that a higher-level control unit (31, ..., 35) is provided for each room unit (1, ..., 4).

6. Arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that one or more control units (100) can be controlled via a remote control.

7. Arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the drive unit (103) or the corresponding control unit (100) can be unlocked, with which the corresponding window can be operated manually.

8. Arrangement, in particular according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sensor unit

(101) consists of a sensor element (203), the exposed surface of which is pointed compared to a perpendicular reference surface standing perpendicular

Includes angle (α), which is preferably 60 °.

9. Arrangement according to claim 8, characterized in that the sensor element (203) is a plate, on the exposed surface of which two fork-shaped elements made of conductive material are provided which interlock.

10. The arrangement according to claim 9, characterized in that one or more of the following units are provided below the sensor element (203): a temperature sensor, preferably consisting of an NTC (negative temperature coefficient) resistor; a light sensor, preferably consisting of a photo transistor; a heating element, preferably consisting of a Zener diode.

11. Arrangement according to one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that the sensor element (203) is a ceramic plate, on the exposed surface of which two fork-shaped elements made of conductive material are provided which interlock, the elements being realized by means of thick film technology are.

12. Use of the arrangement according to one of claims 1 to 11 for controlling and monitoring the ventilation of clearing units (1, ..., 4) or of buildings.