US2180945A - Ventilating construction - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 21, 1939. R. e. MOREY VENTILATING CONSTRUCTION 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 1, 1956 Nov. 21, 1939. R. G. MOREY VENTILATING CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 1, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 21 1939.

'R. e. MOREY 2,180,945

VENTILATING CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 1, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet s Nov. 21, 1939. 5, MOREY 2J$Q945 VENTILATING CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 1, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Nov. 21, 1939 PATENT OFFICE VENTILATING CONSTRUCTION auger a. Morey, Madison, Wis, a d: to Burgels Battery Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation Wisconsin Application sum 1, 1m, Serial No. 93,791;

This invention relates to improvements in ventilating systems, especially in the modern constructions which supply large volumes of ventilating air to the space to be ventilated without drafts by means of distributors of relatively large area.

Until recently, the practice has been to introduce ventilating air into a room through the customary register or grille the principal function of which is to direct'the air in the desired directions and also to obscure the interior of the end portion of the ventilating duct from view. In this construction the air from the ventilating fan passing into the room creates drafts due to the high velocities necessary to secure good distribution. These drafts are injurious to health and the cause of discomfort to those in the room, as is especially apparent in those installations where the air is cooled. The ventilating art has developed a construction which eliminates this objectionable feature. Instead of the conventional grille, or grilles, a distributor is provided which is of relatively large area and which may be co-extensive in area with the ceiling of the room to be ventilated, this feature operating to bring about a low effective air velocity in the room, even when large volumes are introduced. Sound absorbing constructions are conveniently combined with this type of air distribution. A diiiiculty encountered in this combined type of construction is the control of the flow of air through the distributor to secure the desired uniformity of distribution. A principal object of this invention is to provide a means for securing this control.

Other objects are to provide air flow control which is readily adaptable to the varying conditions of different installations and which is susceptible of exacting adjustment and also to provide definite passageways through the air distributor which will not impair the eiiiciency of the sound absorbing construction when sound absorbing material is used as a distributor.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a reading of the following specification in which constructions illustrative of the invention are described.

' In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a form of the air flow regulating manifold;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the manifold shown in Fig. 1 taken at 2-2;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a manifold adapted to be adjusted for various desired rates of air flow;

Fig. 4 shows the modified type of air flow regu-a lator of Fig. 17 installed in sound-absorbing material;

Fig. 5 is an elevation, partly in section, of a room showing the ventilating construction combined with an acoustical correction treatment in which my invention is used;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of an acoustic tile used in the ceiling of Fig. 5;

Fig. '1 is a perspective view of a sound-absorb ing panel used with the tile of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a section taken at 88 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 9 is a section taken at 9-9 of Fig. 5 showing the assembly of manifolds, panels and tiles;

Fig. 10 is a section taken at l0i0 of Fig. 9 showing a manifold installed;

Fig. 11 is a side elevation partly in section taken at ll-ll of Fig. 12 showing a modification of the air flow regulating manifold;

Fig. 12 shows an assembly section taken at l2-l2 of Fig. 13 of the modification illustrated in Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of the assembly of Fig. 12; 7

Fi .1! is a further modification of the manifold;

Fig. 15 is an assembly detail of the modification of Fig. 14;

Fig. 16 is a perspective view of the assembly of Fig.15;

Fig. 17 is a perspective view of the air flow regulator of Fig. 4.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings, an air flow regulating manifold I is shown. This device may be formed from channels 2 and 3, (Fig. 2) channel 3 being inserted between flanges 4 and 5 of channel 2 to form a space 8 within the manifold. Retaining flanges I and 8 are bent around channel 3 to secure it in position. Punched slots 9 of channel 2 are aligned with corresponding slots in channel 3 to provide communication through this edge of the manifold into space 6. Retaining flange 8 is bent out at the points at which slots Ill are punched in channel 3 forming lips II and uncovering slots III. A short portion of retaining sound-absorbing material wrapped with substantially air-impervious, sound transparent membrane such as paper. Other membranes such as metal foil, Cellophane, etc. may be used. If the sound-absorbing material is sufficiently dense, the panels need not be wrapped, or may be wrapped in a woven material such as muslin. A slight fiow of air through the panel is not objectionable, a panel or wrapping therefor being considered air-impervious if resistance to. air flow is adequate to cause substantially all of the air to pass through the control conduits provided in the distributor. Panel I3 fits into tile I1 and an air flow controlling manifold is inserted betweeneach flange 23 and the adjacent edge of panel I6 to make one of the units which collectively form distributor I3, spacers I8 being provided to hold panel I6 away from tile bottom I5. The totality of panels I 6 and control manifolds I in distributor I3 form the restriction member of the distributor, the later term including the perforated tile in addition to the restriction member. The function of the restriction member is to control the flow of air from plenum chamber IS in such a way that an appreciable" pressure is maintained therein and the air passes through any part of the member in predetermined quantities, which flow may be uniform throughout the area of the member. Spacers I8, either perforated or solid, are spaced from the tile as shown in Fig. 8 to provide better air distribution between the tile and panel. The distributor is supported by means of furring strips. 20 of the type disclosed in Weiss Patent No. 1,738,469 and open-web I- beams 2i, which, with ceiling I4, forms plenum chamber or air reservoir I3 which is supplied with ventilating air from duct 22. The air-impervious panel wrappings prevent the air in the plenum chamber which is under a low pressure from passing through the panels when an airpervious sound-absorbing material is used in the panel.

In operation the air in plenum chamber I3 flows, as indicated by the directional arrows'iri. Fig. 9, through the restriction member by means of the passageways defined by the manifold I (Figs. 8 to 10) which is inserted between panel l6 and flange 23 of tile I1 and passes into the space below tile bottom I5 through the apertures throughout the entire area thereof. The resiliency of the material of which panels I6 are composed tends to seal the Joints betweenabutting surfaces of flange 23, manifold I and panel I6. In the process of manufacture of tile II, a bead 24 may beimpressed upon flange 23. A corresponding groove 23 is rolled into strip 2 of manifold I (Fig. 2), thus providing a more rigid seat for the manifold and preventing leakage of air between manifold I and flange 23. Shoulder 7.36 is provided on the manifold to rest upon flange 23 and project slightly beyond it, the purpose of this shoulder being to form a seal between adjacent tiles, as at 21, and to assist ears I2 which rest upon tile bottom I5 in maintaining the manifold in its proper position. Indentations 23 are provided at intervals in strip 3 to prevent the collapse of the manifold. In order to prevent the passage of air through or around the ends of the manifold and also to prevent rattle, felts 3b are positioned in the ends and held in place by indentations 29. It may be desirable for some installations to perforate the surface of the manifold adjacent the panel to prevent passage of sound tll fql g l i 1'5 described hereinafter in connection with Figs. 4 and 17.

The proper volume of air which should be supplied to a room or other space varies with each installation and therefore the rate of flow through the restriction member of the distributor must be regulated to obtain the proper air distribution throughout its area preferably by means of the correct air pressure in the plenum' chamber. Any adjustments in the rate of flow of ventilating air into the" room must be made in the distributor itself rather than by a damper in duct 22 since a slight pressure must be maintained in plenum chamber I9 in order to secure uniform distribution of the air entering the room. It is obvious that if the volume of air supplied to the plenum chamber were decreased without providing compensating restriction in the air distributor, the pressure would drop to that of the room and the air would pass unevenly through the distributor, most of it passing through a limited area in line with the opening of duct 22. The desired restriction in the distributor has heretofore been obtained by varying the size of panel used in the restriction member to leave a space between its edges and the flanges of the supporting tile through which the air may pass. The present invention provides a more positive control of the proportion of open area to the total area of the restriction member and of the extent of the openings in various portions of the restriction member through which the air may pass.

When the total volume of air to be supplied to a particular room and the area of the disslots 34 and, since sheet metal is used, any 1 number of slots may be opened for communication of the space enclosed in manifold 3| with the space between panel l6 and tile bottom I5 by bending out sections of flange 32, as at 35. Lips 35 and it serve as bailles to direct the air laterally into the space between panels and tile'bottom, thereby distributing the air evenly over the tiles. Slots 38 are sufllciently numerous to allow the passage of the maximum flow of air through slots 34 when none are obstructed by flange 32. It also is possible to control the .air flow by adjusting the number of openings 9 in manifold I as by pasting paper over those openings which are in excess of the required number.

In some installations it maybe desirable to provide greater restriction to the fiow of air through distributor l3 at zones of the distributor through which the air tends to flow in greater quantities, as at area near the duct 22 outlet. This may be done readily by using an adjustable device, such as manifold M, and uncovering the proper number of slots 34 or closing the proper number of openings 9 of manifold I. Manifold 3| is shown installed in Fig. 9 in the left hand tile, slots 34 being covered by flange 32 in the section shown.

A modified form of the air flow regulating manifold is shown in Figs. .11, 12 and 13. Manifold 31 is formed from a single strip of sheet metal or other suitable material, which has been slotted at 38 and 39 and opening 42 being left between the edge of the strip and the side of the manifold to provide passageway for the air as is indicated by the directional arrows in Fig. 12. Sound-absorbing panels 40 and 4i which are one-half as large as panel l6 (Fig. 7), are placed in tile I! with manifold 31 inserted between them. Air passes into slots 38, through the manifold, and is distributed laterally over tile face IE on both sides of the manifold by means of slots 39 and the opening at 42. The total area of slots 38 should be approximately the same as opening 42, to distribute equal quantitles of air to both parts of tile II. The volume of air may be controlled by regulating the number of the slots 38 which remain open.

A further modification is shown in Figs. 14, 15 and 16. The spacers I8 shown in Fig. 6 are replaced by tubular panel supports 43 which have their end 44 turned up to open into the space above panel i8. Slots 46 provided along opposite elements of the tubular surface, that is, on a set of longitudinal lines on the surface of the spacer along the sides thereof allow air taken into support 43 from the plenum chamber to pass into the space above tile bottom i from which it can pass through the perforations into the room. Supporting hooks 46 may be provided to engage the edge of tile flange 23, spacing both panel I 8 and conduit 43 from tile bottom I! and also retaining air conduit support 43 in position, or ear 48a may be used as an alternative means of support. The turned-up ends '44 may fit into recesses in panel l6, as at 41. However, panels i6 usually are flexible enough to fit snugly about ends 44 so that'there is not any appreciable air leakage.

A further modification is shown in Figs. 4 and 17. This device has a tubular portion 48 and a cup 48 constructed to receive a disc 50 having orifice H in its center. The opposite end of the tubular portion 48 is closed and slots 52 provided to allow air entering through orifice 5| to pass out laterally into the space between panel I! and perforated tile bottom I! (Fig. 4). Discs with various sizes of orifices maybe provided, and the flow of air through the distributor fixed at any desired amount by a proper choice of disc The tubular portion 48 may be of any desired shape, that is, square, oval, oblong, hexagonal, etc. instead of being circular as shown. It may be perforated as shown to prevent sound from passing through the acoustical air distributor, since the perforations allow the sound to be absorbed by the sound-absorbing material of panels l8 adjacent the perforations. It may be desirable to wrap the perforated portion of these tubular devices 48 in an air-impervious, sound-transparent membrane, such as paper, to prevent bloating of the panels I 8 by air passing through the perforations into the panel. Such a membrane is shown in section in the assembly view (Fig. 4) at 53. A plurality of these regulators may be placed in each panel IO.

It will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that a distributor provided with the air flow regulaing means described herein has advantages over those constructions in which a more or less random arrangement of panels was used. Air supplied to the plenum chamber is distributed by controlled means so that it enters the room uniformly at a large number of distributed points, passing slowly through the room in a blanket-like manner, free from drafts.

I claim:

1. Means for uniformly distributing ventilating air as it enters a room comprising a plenum chamber, a plurality of sheet-form, substantially air-impervious panels arranged edge to-edge to form a partition between said chamber and the room to be ventilated, and a plurality of air flow regulating members inserted between abutting edges of adjacent panels to form defined passageways for the flow of air therethrough, the total open area of said regulating members hearing such relation to the volume of ventilating air supplied to said plenum chamber that a low but appreciable pressure ismaintained therein, whereby to cause uniformity of air flow through substantially all of said regulating members.

2. Air distributing means as in claim 1 in which the substantially air-impervious panels are of sound-absorbing material.

3. In an air distributor for a ventilating system, a restriction member comprising a plurality of substantially air-impervious panels in spaced edge-to-edge relationship, channel means separate from and passing from one side to the other of said restriction member inserted in the spaces between said panels, and an apertured member spaced from said restriction member in the direction of air flow through said restriction member.

4. In an air distributor for a ventilating system, a sheet-form restriction member of substaniialy aipimpervious material, an apertured member spaced from said restriction member in the direction of air flow through said restriction member, and a multiplicity of air flow regulating members distributed throughout the area of said restriction member and providing communication of predetermined restriction between the spaces adjoining the opposed surfaces of said restriction member.

5. In a ventilating system, the combination with the wall or ceiling of the room to be ventilated of an apertured sheet-form member spaced from said wall or ceiling, a sheet-form partition of substantially air-impervious material spaced between said wall or ceiling and said apertured .member to form a plenum chamber between said wall or ceiling and said partition, means for continuously supplying ventilating air to said chamber, said partition having a plurality of distributed openings therein, and air flow regulating members comprising channels of defined restriction associated with said partition at said openings therein, said regulating members comprising bathe means for controlling the direction of flow of air from said plenum chamber to the space between said apertured member and said partition. 6. In a ventilating system, the combination with the wall or ceiling of the room to be ventilated of an apertured sheet-form member spaced from said wall or ceiling, a sheet-form partition of substantially air-impervious material spaced between said wall or ceiling and said apertured member to form a plenum chamber between said wall or ceiling and said partition. means for continuously supplying ventilating air to said chamher, and a plurality of air flow regulating members comprising channels of defined restriction distributed in and passing through said partition, said regulating members comprising baiiie means for directing the fiow of air laterally into the space between said apertured member and said partition.

7. An air flow regulating device comprising a hollow elongated member of sheet metal having closed ends and relatively broad opposed sides its and relatively narrow opposed sides whereby the cross section of said member is substantially rectangular, a plurality of openings distributed along one of the narrow sides and a plurality of openings in one of the broad sides at a portion thereof which is remote from said first mentioned openings, said openings in said broad side being covered with turned-up tabs of sheet metal constituting said device, said construction being such that said tabs of sheet metal may be turned down to open the desired number of openings in said broad side whereby the flow of air through said distrbutor when in service may be regulated.

8. The combination with a perforated sheetform member of a plurality of substantially airimpervious sound-absorbing panels placed edgeto-edge and spaced from said sheet-form member, and an insert member comprising a duct positioned between adjoining edges of said panels, the construction being .so arranged that said duct of said insert member defines the open space between said adjoining edges whereby restricted communication is provided between the spaces adjoining the opposite broad surfaces of said panels.

9. In an air distributor for a ventilating system comprising sound-absorbing construction, in combination, a sheet-form member having a multiplicity of apertures therein, spacers comprising channels of perforated sheet material spaced from said sheet-form member, sound-absorbing substantially air-impervious panels placediedge-to-edge supported by said spacers, and an insert member positioned between and abutting against adjacent edges of said panels, said insert member having openings in the exposed surfaces thereof for the passage of air therethrough.

10. The combination with a flanged perforated sheet-form member of a panel of resilient sound-v absorbing material covered with a substantially air-impervious sound ,transparent membrane within said flanged member and spaced from the broad surface thereof, and a hollow elongated insert member having two sets of openings along the lateral surfaces thereof, one set being remote from the other, said elongated member being positioned between a flange of said flanged member and the adjoining edge of said panel, said panel being of such size and shape that the edge thereof is urged against the abutting surface of said insert member to form an air-tight joint between said flange and said insert member and said panel and said insert member.

11. The combination with a flanged perforated sheet-form member of a panel of sound-absorbing material covered with a substantially air-impervious sound-transparent membrane within said flanged member and spaced from the broad sur face thereof, a hollow elongated insert member having two sets of openings along the lateral surfaces thereof, one set being remote from the ber from said broad surface of said flanged member,

12. The combination with a pair of flanged perforated sheet-form members arranged edgeto-edge with contiguous flanges of a pair of panels of resilient sound-absorbing material covered with substantially air-impervious soundtransparent membranes within said flanged members and spaced from the broad surfaces thereof, and a pair of hollow, elongated insert members each having two sets of openings along the lateral surfaces thereof, one set being remote from the other, one of said elongated members being positioned between said contiguous flange of one of said flanged members and the adjoining edge of the panel therein, the other of said elongated members being positioned between said contiguous flange of the other flanged member and the adjoining edge of the panel therein, said elongated members projecting slightly above the upper edges of said contiguous flanges and having overhang shoulders extending longitudinally said elongated members abutting each other to thereby form a substantially air-tight joint.

13. The combination with a pan of perforated sheet material of a substantially air-impervious sound-absorbing panel fitting into said pan and abutting against the turned-up edges thereof,

and one or more tubular spacers between said panel and said pan having one or more openings in diametrically opposite elements of said spacers, the ends of said spacers being bent at right angles to the plane of said elements and opening into the space above said panel thereby establishing communication between the spaces adjacent the two broad surfaces of said panel.

14. In an air distributor for a ventilating system, asheet-form restriction member of substantially air-impervious material, and means passing through said restriction member for regulating the flow of air through said member comprising a tube having one end closed, a disc, an oriflce in said disc having a diameter less than the inside diameter of said tube, a cup-shaped recess at the open end of said tube adapted to receive said oriflced disc, and one or more openings in said tube near the closed end thereof.

15. The device of claim 14 in whichthe tube is perforated.

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