VENTILATION DEVICE FOR FILTERING AIR AND FOR SEPARATING WATER AEROSOLS OUT OF THE AIR

Abstract

A ventilation device for filtering air and for separating water aerosols from air may include at least one filter element, at least one housing, at least one fan, and at least one flow adapter. The filter element may be secured in the housing such that air is flowable through the housing from an inlet opening of the housing to an outlet opening of the housing in a flow direction. The fan may be secured on the outlet opening downstream of the housing in the flow direction. The flow adapter may be secured on the inlet opening upstream of the housing in the flow direction. A coupling frame may be secured in an airtight manner between the housing and the flow adapter transversely to the flow direction. The filter element may have a circumferential sealing edge that seals the housing around the inlet opening to the coupling frame.

Claims

1. A ventilation device for filtering air and for separating water aerosols out of the air, comprising: at least one filter element, at least one housing, at least one fan, and at least one flow adapter; the at least one filter element secured in the at least one housing such that air is flowable through the at least one housing from an inlet opening of the at least one housing to an outlet opening of the at least one housing in a flow direction; the at least one fan secured to the outlet opening downstream from the at least one housing in the flow direction; the at least one flow adapter secured to the inlet opening upstream of the at least one housing in the flow direction; a coupling frame secured in an airtight manner between the at least one housing and the at least one flow adapter transversely to the flow direction; the at least one filter element having a circumferential sealing edge; wherein the sealing edge rests against a sealing surface bordering the inlet opening of the at least one housing on one side, rests against the coupling frame on another side, and seals the at least one housing around the inlet opening to the coupling frame transversely to the flow direction.

2. The ventilation device according to claim 1, wherein an elastic seal is secured to a side surface of the sealing edge facing at least one of the at least one housing and the coupling frame.

3. The ventilation device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one flow adapter is structured as a single, integral piece and is composed of plastic.

4. The ventilation device according to claim 3, wherein: the at least one flow adapter has a collecting region and a flow region; the flow region of the at least one flow adapter corresponds in an air-conducting manner to the inlet opening of the at least one housing; and the collecting region is arranged transversely to the flow direction in an offset manner below the flow region and outside of a main air flow of the at least one flow adapter.

5. The ventilation device according to claim 4, further comprising a discharge duct assembly fluidically connecting the collecting region of the at least one flow adapter and a drip-off region of the at least one housing to one another, wherein the drip-off region corresponds to a drainage zone of the at least one filter element for removing water separated in the at least one filter element.

6. The ventilation device according to claim 5, wherein the at least one flow adapter has an adapter outlet opening leading to an outside from the collecting region and connected in a fluid-conducting manner to the discharge duct assembly.

7. The ventilation device according to claim 5, wherein the discharge duct assembly is disposed within the coupling frame.

8. The ventilation device according to claim 7, wherein the discharge duct assembly includes at least one horizontal gutter duct fluidically connected to the drip-off region of the at least one housing.

9. The ventilation device according to claim 8, wherein the at least one gutter duct includes at least two gutter ducts arranged on top of one another and fluidically connected to one another via at least one vertical discharge duct.

10. The ventilation device according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of identical ventilation modules, wherein: the at least one filter element includes a plurality of filter elements, the at least one housing includes a plurality of housings, and the at least one fan includes a plurality of fans; each individual ventilation module of the plurality of ventilation modules has a flow surface and is defined by a filter element of the plurality of filter elements, a housing of the plurality of housings, and a fan of the plurality of fans; and the plurality of ventilation modules are detachably stacked against one another such that a total flow surface of the ventilation device corresponds to a multiple of the flow surface of the individual ventilation module.

11. The ventilation device according to claim 10, wherein: at least two adjacent ventilation modules of the plurality of ventilation modules each have a cable part depression of a plurality of cable part depressions disposed in the respective housing and extending in the flow direction; and the at least two adjacent ventilation modules rest against one another such that the plurality of cable part depressions are aligned in the flow direction and define a cable depression.

12. The ventilation device according to claim 11, wherein: the housing of a first module of the at least two adjacent ventilation modules includes a recess extending in the flow direction; the housing of a second module of the at least two adjacent ventilation modules includes at least one molding extending in the flow direction; and the recess and the at least one molding engage one another transversely to the flow direction and detachably secure the at least two adjacent ventilation modules to one another.

13. The ventilation device according to claim 10, wherein: the plurality of ventilation modules includes four ventilation modules; the at least one flow adapter includes a single flow adapter; and the four ventilation modules are detachably secured to one another to form a 22 stacking block and are secured in an air-conducting manner to the single flow adapter via the coupling frame.

14. The ventilation device according to claim 10, further comprising a hinge device and a closure unit, wherein: the coupling frame includes a module support frame bordering the plurality of ventilation modules transversely to the flow direction and an adapter support frame supporting the at least one flow adapter; and the module support frame and the adapter support frame are supported on one another in at least one of a hinged and a shiftable manner via the hinge device and are securable to one another via the closure unit.

15. The ventilation device according to claim 14, further comprising a discharge duct assembly for draining water collected in the at least one filter element, wherein the discharge duct assembly is disposed within the adapter support frame.

16. The ventilation device according to claim 10, further comprising an aperture assembly for the inlet opening of the housing of a respective ventilation module of the plurality of ventilation modules, wherein the aperture assembly is secured to the coupling frame transversely to the flow direction and is configured to control an air volume flow through the respective ventilation module.

17. The ventilation device according to claim 1, further comprising a control device including at least one measuring assembly structured and arranged to detect an air volume flow through the at least one filter element, wherein: the at least one fan is controllable via the control device; and the at least one measuring assembly includes a pressure measuring unit structured and arranged to detect a static pressure.

18. The ventilation device according to claim 17, wherein: the pressure measuring unit at least one of (i) includes and (ii) is fluidically connected to a pressure measuring point; and the pressure measuring point is arranged within the at least one housing in a region of the inlet opening and has a measuring opening.

19. The ventilation device according to claim 18, wherein at least one of the pressure measuring point and the measuring opening is arranged in a drip-off region of the at least one housing.

20. The ventilation device according to claim 18, wherein: the at least one housing includes a housing frame, which borders the inlet opening and which has an inlet step protruding radially inwardly; the pressure measuring point is arranged at the inlet step; and the measuring opening is open in the flow direction and is oriented essentially parallel to the flow direction.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] In each case schematically,

[0027] FIG. 1 shows a view of a ventilation device according to the invention;

[0028] FIG. 2 shows a view of the ventilation device shown in FIG. 1 from the front;

[0029] FIG. 3 shows a view of the ventilation device shown in FIG. 1 from the rear;

[0030] FIG. 4 shows a side view of the ventilation device shown in FIG. 1;

[0031] FIG. 5 shows a view of the ventilation device shown in FIG. 1 from the top;

[0032] FIG. 6 shows a sectional view of the ventilation device shown in FIG. 1;

[0033] FIG. 7 shows a side view of a ventilation mode of the ventilation device shown in FIG. 1;

[0034] FIG. 8 shows a view of the ventilation mode of the ventilation device shown in FIG. 1 from the top;

[0035] FIG. 9 shows a sectional view of the ventilation mode of the ventilation device shown in FIG. 1;

[0036] FIG. 10 shows a view of a flow adapter of the ventilation device shown in FIG. 1;

[0037] FIG. 11 shows a partial sectional view of the flow adapter of the ventilation device shown in FIG. 1;

[0038] FIG. 12 shows a view of the flow adapter of the ventilation device shown in FIG. 1 from the rear;

[0039] FIG. 13 shows a view of the flow adapter of the ventilation device shown in FIG. 1 from the top;

[0040] FIG. 14 shows a sectional view of the ventilation device shown in FIG. 1;

[0041] FIG. 15 shows a further sectional view of the ventilation device shown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] FIG. 1 shows a view of a ventilation device 1 according to the invention for filtering air and for separating water aerosols out of the air. The ventilation device 1 is shown from the front in FIG. 2; from the rear in FIG. 3; from the side in FIG. 4; from the top in FIG. 5, and in section in FIG. 6. Here and below, the terms front and rear refer to the air, which flows through the ventilation device 1 and which, in the operating state, flows through the installed ventilation device 1 from the front to the rear in parallel or virtually parallel to the bottom. The terms top and bottom accordingly refer to the orientation of the installed ventilation device 1 to the bottom. The ventilation device 1 has a total of four ventilation modules 2, wherein the respective ventilation module 2 has a filter element 3, a housing 4, and a fan 5. The ventilation modules 2 are identical and are detachably stacked against one another to form a stacking block 19, so that a total flow surface 6 of the ventilation deice 1 corresponds to a multiple of the flow surface 7 of the individual ventilation module 2. In the respective ventilation module 2, the filter element 3 is arranged in the respective housing 4 and such that air can flow through from an inlet opening 8 to an outlet opening 9 of the housing 4 in a flow direction 10. In the flow direction 10, the respective fan 5 is secured to the outlet opening 9 downstream from the respective housing 4. The respective fan 5 is controlled by a control device 27, which has a measuring assembly for detecting the air volume flow through the respective filter element 3. The setup of the ventilation module 2 is shown in detail in FIG. 7 to FIG. 9.

[0043] The ventilation device 1 further has a flow adapter 11, which, in the flow direction 10, is secured to the respective inlet opening 8 upstream of the respective housing 4. The flow adapter 11 thereby has two air inlets 12 and an air outlet 13, which fluidically corresponds to the respective inlet opening 8 of the respective housing 4. The flow adapter 11 is thereby integral, for example of plastic, and robust, so that the air drawn in from the outside by means of the respective fan 5 is already distributed in the flow adapter 11. The air drawn in from the outside then flows evenly over the respective filter elements 3, and the latter are protected. The setup of the flow adapter 11 is shown in detail in FIG. 10 to FIG. 13.

[0044] The flow adapter 11, the respective housing 4 comprising the respective filter element 3, and the respective fan 5 are thus connected one after the other in the flow direction 10 in the ventilation device 1, so that the air can flow through the air inlets 12 of the flow adapter 11 via the air outlet 13 to the inlet opening 8 of the respective housing 4, and further through the respective filter element 3. As shown in FIG. 6, the respective filter element 3 thereby has a clean and a raw side and is molded of a filter material. The filter material is hydrophobic, and the water, which is present in the drawn-in air, is separated in a filtering zone 3a on the raw side. The water separated in the filter element 3 then settles into a drainage zone 3b of the filter element 3 under the influence of the force of gravity. The drainage zone 3b adjoins the filtering zone 3a of the filter element 3 and is arranged transversely to the flow direction 10 in an offset manner below the filtering zone 3a of the filter element 3.

[0045] The filtering zone 3a of the filter element 3 corresponds to a filtering region 4a, and the drainage zone 3b corresponds to a drip-off region 4b of the housing 4. The filtering region 4a and the drip-off region 4b of the housing 4 thereby connect to one another. The flow adapter 11 further has a flow region 11a and a collecting region 11b, which connect to one another. The flow region 11a of the flow adapter 11 thereby fluidically corresponds to the inlet openings 8 of the respective housings 4, and the collecting region 11b is arranged transversely to the flow direction 10 in an offset manner below the flow region 11a. The collecting region 11b further lies outside of a main air flow of the flow adapter 11.

[0046] The ventilation modules 2 are detachably secured to the flow adapter 11 by means of a coupling frame 14. For this purpose, the coupling frame 14 has a module support frame 14a, which borders the respective ventilation modules 2 transversely to the flow direction 10, and an adapter support frame 14b, which supports the flow adapter 11. The module support frame 14a and the adapter support frame 14b are supported on one another in a hinged manner by means of a hinge device 15 and can be secured to one another by means of a closure unit 16. The coupling frame 14 can thus be opened, and for example the filter element 3 can be exchanged in a simplified manner in the respective ventilation module 2. A discharge duct assembly 17 for discharging the water separated in the respective filter element 3 is further formed in the coupling frame 14. As shown in FIG. 6, the discharge duct assembly 17 thereby has two horizontal gutter ducts 17a arranged on top of one another, and a vertical discharge duct 17b. The respective gutter duct 17a thereby in each case connects the drip-off regions 4b of the housings 4 of the ventilation modules 2, which are adjacent in series, to the discharge duct assembly 17, and the discharge duct 17b fluidically connects the two gutter ducts 17a to one another. Under the influence of the force of gravity the water separated in the respective filter element 3 can be guided to the outside through the discharge duct assembly 17. The setup of the discharge duct assembly 17 is shown in detail in FIG. 14 and FIG. 15. An aperture assembly 18, here a shutter assembly 18a, for the inlet opening 8 of the respective housing 4 is further secured to the coupling frame 14 transversely to the flow direction 10. The aperture assembly 18 is provided to control the air volume flow through the respective ventilation module 2.

[0047] FIG. 7 shows a side view of an individual ventilation module 2 in the ventilation device 1. The ventilation module 2 is further shown from the top in FIG. 8 and in section in FIG. 9. To detachably stack the individual ventilation modules 2 against one another to form the stacking block 19, the respective ventilation module 2 has, in the ventilation device 1 at its housing 4, a recess 20a, which extends in the flow direction 10, and a molding 20b, which extends in the flow direction 10. The recess 20a and the molding 20b of the adjacent ventilation modules 2 thereby engage transversely to the flow direction 10 and form a so-called groove-spring connection. The recess 20a and the molding 20b detachably secure the adjacent ventilation modules 2 against one another to form the stacking block 19 in this way. The recess 20a and the molding 20b are formed at the respective housing 4 on opposite housing sides 21a and 21c, as is also shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 6, and in FIG. 14 to FIG. 15.

[0048] The respective ventilation module 2 further in each case has, at its housing 4 on the opposite housing sides 21b and 21d, two cable part depressions 22a, which extend in the flow direction 10. In the stacking block 19, the respective cable part depressions 22a rest against the housings 4 of the adjacent ventilation modules 2 in the flow direction 10 and form a cable opening 22. The cable part depressions 22a are designed identically, so that a cross-sectional surface of the cable opening 22 corresponds to a double cross-sectional surface of the individual cable part depression 22a. The cable lines can be guided in the flow direction 10 through the cable opening 22 between the respective ventilation modules 2, so that electrical component parts of the ventilation device 1 can be connected to one another in the flow direction 10 upstream of or downstream from the respective ventilation module 2 without additional space requirement. The cable openings 22 from the cable part depressions 22a, which rest against one another, are also shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 6, and FIG. 14 to FIG. 15.

[0049] To secure the filter element 3 in an air-tight manner transversely to the flow direction 10 in the housing 4, the filter element 3 has a circumferential sealing edge 23 in the respective ventilation module 2. The sealing edge 23 thereby rests against a sealing surface 24, which borders the inlet opening 8, of the housing 4 on one side, and rests against the coupling frame 14 on the other side. The sealing edge 23 is formed at the filter element 3, so that the sealing edge 23 is also inserted or exchanged when inserting or when exchanging the respective filter element 3 in the ventilation device 1. The sealing surface 24 is thereby formed by means of a housing frame 25, which frames the inlet opening 8. For sealing purposes, an elastic seal 26a and 26b is in each case secured, for example adhered, to side surfaces 23a and 23b of the sealing edge 23 facing the housing 4 and the coupling frame 14.

[0050] FIG. 10 shows a view of the flow adapter 11. The flow adapter 11 is further shown partially in section in FIG. 11; from the rear in FIG. 12, and from the top in FIG. 13. The flow adapter 11 has the air inlets 12 and the air outlet 13, which fluidically corresponds to the respective inlet opening 8 of the respective housing 4. The flow adapter 11 is integral and is preferably made of plastic. The flow adapter 11 is thus molded to be robust, and the air drawn in from the outside by means of the respective fan 5 is already distributed evenly in the flow adapter 11 and flows evenly over the respective filter elements 3. The flow adapter 11 thereby has the flow region 11a and the collecting region 11b, which connect to one another. The flow region 11a of the flow adapter 11 thereby fluidically corresponds to the inlet openings 8 of the respective housings 4, and the collecting region 11b is arranged transversely to the flow direction 10 in an offset manner below the flow region 11a. The collecting region 11b further lies outside of a main air flow of the flow adapter 11.

[0051] As already described in FIG. 1 to FIG. 6, the discharge duct assembly 17 is formed in the coupling frame 14. It fluidically connects the collecting region 11b of the flow adapter 11 and the drip-off regions 4b of the respective housing 4. The water separated in the filter element 3 can be guided from the respective housing 4 into the collecting region 17 of the flow adapter 11 opposite to the flow direction 10 through the discharge duct assembly 17. For this purpose, the collecting region 11b of the flow adapter 11 is fluidically connected to the discharge duct assembly 17 via a discharge opening 28, wherein the discharge duct assembly 17 is connected at its lowest point in the lower gutter duct 17a to the discharge opening 28 via a discharge line, which is not shown here. The water separated in the filter elements 3 is guided through the discharge opening 28 into the flow adapter 11, and is guided to the outside in the collecting region 11b of the flow adapter 11 opposite to the flow direction 10. The setup of the discharge duct assembly 17 is shown in detail in FIG. 6, FIG. 14, and FIG. 15.

[0052] FIG. 14 and FIG. 15 show sectional views of the ventilation device 1. In the ventilation device 1, the individual ventilation modules 2 are secured to the coupling frame 14 on one side to form the stacking block 19, and the flow adapter 11 on the other side. The discharge duct assembly 17, which has two horizontal gutter ducts 17a, which are arranged on top of one another, and a vertical discharge duct 17b, is formed in the coupling frame 14. In the installed ventilation device, the respective gutter duct 17a is oriented horizontally with a deviation of up to 10 to the bottom, in order to be able to horizontally guide the water separated in the filter element 3 in the discharge duct assembly 17 under the influence of the force of gravity. The respective gutter duct 17a thereby in each case connects the drip-off regions 4b of the housings 4, which are adjacent in series, of the ventilation modules 2 in the stacking block 19. The two gutter ducts 17a are fluidically connected vertically via the discharge duct 17b. In the installed ventilation device 1, the vertical discharge duct 17b is oriented vertically with a deviation of up to 10 to the bottom, so that the water separated in the filter element 3 can be guided from the upper gutter duct 17a to the lower gutter duct 17a under the influence of the force of gravity. The water separated in the filter elements 3 is subsequently guided from the discharge duct assembly 17 into the collecting region 11b of the flow adapter 11, and further to the outside. For this purpose, the lower gutter duct 17a is fluidically connected at its lowest point through the discharge opening 28 to the collecting region 11b of the flow adapter. The several housings 4 and the several filter elements 3 are fluidically connected to one another in this way via the discharge duct assembly 17 in the coupling frame 14, and the water separated in the several filter elements 3 can be drained from the ventilation device 1 in a simplified manner.

[0053] In summary, the ventilation device 1 according to the invention can be constructed in a modular manner, and the ventilation modules 2, which are designed identically, can be interchanged in a simple way; the water separated in the respective filter element 3 can further be drained from the ventilation device 1 in a simplified manner; a sealing of the ventilation device 1 can be simplified, and the ventilation device 1 can be controlled more accurately, and the air flow can be better distributed in the respective filter element 3.