EP1785677A2

EP1785677A2 - Ventilation system with integrated solar powered lightening

Info

Publication number: EP1785677A2
Application number: EP06291763A
Authority: EP
Inventors: In Ho Choi; Jeong Yong Kim; Ho Seon Choi
Original assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Current assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Priority date: 2005-11-14
Filing date: 2006-11-14
Publication date: 2007-05-16
Also published as: JP2007139408A; EP1785677A3; US20070149107A1; CN1967072A

Abstract

Provided are a ventilation system and a method of controlling the ventilation system. The ventilation system includes a duct for directing indoor air and light to an indoor space, a solar cell converting natural light traveling along the duct into an electric energy, a light source converting the electric energy generated by the solar cell into artificial light and emitting the artificial light to the indoor space, and a ventilation device connected to the duct.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a ventilation system, and more particularly, to a ventilation system that has a solar cell disposed at a location that is not interfering with a path of sunlight and uses energy generated by the solar cell for the operation of an artificial lightening or the ventilation system.

Description of the Related Art

A conventional ventilation system includes a duct forming an airflow path and a fan assembly for introducing and exhausting indoor/outdoor air.
In addition, a total heat exchanger that can partly recover a heat energy contained in the indoor air is installed in the ventilation system.
Meanwhile, a conventional lightening system includes a lamp that artificially illuminates the indoor space. Recently, an optical pipe has been widely used to uniformly illuminate the indoor/outdoor spaces. The optical pipe totally reflects the light generated from the lamp to reduce the light loss when the light is propagated.
However, the lightening system and the ventilation system have the following problems.
Since a space for the lightening system and a space for the ventilation system are required in an indoor space, they take up much indoor space. In addition, a variety of wires for the systems are complicatedly arranged.
When the optical pipe is applied to the lightening system, the optical pipe and the duct are independently arranged on the ceiling, their installing space increases and the installing process is complicated.
In order for the proper illumination and the ventilation, they must be disposed at proper locations. However, when the proper locations conflict with each other, it cannot help deteriorating one of them.
Since the optical pipe or the duct is inevitably bent due to the arrangement design, the total reflection efficiency of the optical pipe may be deteriorated or the inner flow resistance of the duct increases.
Since the conventional optical pipe illuminates the indoor space using the separate lamp, the lamp must be always operated to illuminate the indoor space regardless of the outdoor weather and thus the power consumption increases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a ventilation system and a method of controlling the same that substantially obviate one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.
An object of the present invention is to provide a ventilation system that can simultaneously perform the illumination and the ventilation and can be easily installed with less installation space.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a ventilation system that uses a solar cell as a sub-power source of an artificial lightening and a sub-power source of thereof.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a ventilation system that uses a solar cell as a sub-power source, thereby reducing a power consumption.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method of controlling the ventilation system.
Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.
To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a ventilation system including: a duct for directing indoor air and light to an indoor space; a solar cell converting natural light traveling along the duct into an electric energy; a light source converting the electric energy generated by the solar cell into artificial light and emitting the artificial light to the indoor space; and a ventilation device connected to the duct.
In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a ventilation system including: an exhaust duct for exhausting indoor air to an outdoor side; a supply duct for directing outdoor air and light to an indoor space; a ventilation device connected to each duct; a light collection unit for inducing natural light to the supply duct; a solar cell converting natural light induced to the supply duct into an electric energy; and a light source converting the electric energy generated by the solar cell into artificial light and emitting the artificial light to the indoor space.
In still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling a ventilation system, including: directing natural light into a duct along which air flows; converting an energy of the incident natural energy into an electric energy; and converting the electric energy into artificial light and emitting the artificial light into an indoor space.
According to the present invention, since a ventilation system simultaneously performs the illumination and the ventilation, it can be easily installed with less installation space.
In addition, since the ventilation system uses a solar cell as a sub-power source of an artificial lightening and a sub-power source of thereof, power consumption can be reduced.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the invention. In the drawings:
Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a ventilation system according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a view of a light collection unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 3 is a view of an artificial light source according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 4 is a view illustrating natural light incident into an indoor space according to embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 5 is a view illustrating artificial light incident into an indoor space emitted from a second light source unit according to an embodiment of the present invention; and
Figs. 6 and 7 are views of a ventilation system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the invention to those skilled in the art.
Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a ventilation system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to Fig. 1, a ventilation system 1 includes a ventilation device 100 for ventilating an indoor space, a ventilation duct 200 for guiding light and outdoor air, a light collection unit for directing natural light to the ventilation duct 200, and artificial light sources 240 and 330 for providing artificial light to the ventilation duct 200.
The ventilation duct 200 is connected to the ventilation device 100, including a first duct unit 210 for guiding the light and outdoor air, a second duct unit 220 connected to the first duct unit 210 to guide the light and outdoor air to the indoor space.
A plurality of optical fibers are arranged on an inner surface of the ventilation duct 200 lengthwise. In this case, the optical fiber may include a core formed of polymethyl methacrylate and a clad array formed of fluorine polmethyl methacrylate.
At this point, since the refractive index of the clad array is lower than that of the core, the light introduced from a first end of the optical fiber is total-reflected at a contact surface between the core and the clad array and directed toward a second end of the optical fiber.
The first duct unit 210 may be disposed facing the sun-rise and sun-set directions. That is, the first dust unit 210 is arranged at east and west sides of a building. For the house or building facing the south, the first duct unit 210 may be disposed facing the south or south-west.
The first duct unit 210 may be enclosed with respect to the external side in order to prevent the natural or artificial light from leaking to the outdoor side. That is, the first duct unit 210 may be buried in the wall of the building or closed by a shielding member 211.
This is for preventing light pollution. That is, by preventing the artificial light from being emitted to an external side at night, the ecological damage and the disturbance of the sleep of human can be prevented.
The light collection unit 230 for directing the natural light to the ventilation duct 200 is installed on the first duct unit 210. The light collection unit 230 includes a plurality of solar cells for converting natural light into electric energy and charging the converted electric energy.
The electric energy charged by the solar cells of the light collection unit 230 may be used as sub-electric power for the artificial light sources 240 and 330.
That is, the light collection unit 230 may rotate to concentrate the natural light on the first duct unit 210 according to an altitude of the sun. The light collection unit 230 or the first duct unit 210 may be provided with a sensor for detecting the altitude of the sun.
In this case, the light collection unit 230 may be formed in a plate shape that can refract and reflect the sunlight on the first duct unit 210. The light collection unit 230 may be designed to rotate by a motor unit.
The light collection unit 230 is designed to cover an inlet of the first duct unit 210 to prevent the snow and rain from infiltrating into the first duct unit 210.
The first artificial light source 240 is for the first duct unit 210 and the second artificial light source 240 is for the second duct unit 220.
The electric energy converted by the solar cell may be provided as the power required for operating the second artificial light source 330.
A light refraction unit 250 may be installed on the first duct unit 210 to refract the natural and artificial light toward the second duct unit 220. In this case, the light refraction unit 250 may be provided on a portion where the first duct unit 210 is connected to the second duct unit 220.
A first light incident angle adjusting unit 260 may be further installed on the second duct unit 220 to adjust an angle of the light incident on the second duct unit 220. The first incident angle adjusting unit 260 functions to focus the light refracted by a predetermined angle through the light refraction unit 250 on the second duct unit.
Second and third incident angle adjusting unit 270 and 260 may be further installed on the first and second duct units 210 and 220 to adjust an incident angle of the artificial light emitted from the first and second artificial light units 240 and 330.
Therefore, the artificial light emitted from the artificial light sources 240 and 330 are concentrated on the second duct unit 220 by the second and third incident angle adjusting units 270 and 360, thereby effectively emitted into the indoor space.
Meanwhile, the ventilation device 100 sucks the outdoor air and supplies the sucked outdoor air to the indoor space. In this case, an exhaust duct may be further installed on the ventilation device 100 to discharge the indoor air to the outdoor side. A blower fan for sucking the indoor/outdoor air may be further installed. In addition, a total heat exchanger may be further installed to recover a part of the heat energy discharged to the outdoor side by heat-exchanging the indoor air with the outdoor air.
A dust collection filter for purifying the outdoor air may be further installed in the ventilation device 100. The dust collection filter 110 filters off the foreign objects contained in the outdoor air, thereby preventing the illumination efficiency from being deteriorated.
A deodorizing filter 120 may be further installed in the ventilation device 100 to deodorize the outdoor air.
The dust collection filter 110 and the deodorizing filter 120 may be installed considering the traveling direction of the light so as not to interfere with the traveling path of the light.
Fig. 2 is a view of the light collection unit.
The following will describe the energy charging structure of the light collection unit 230 with reference to Fig. 2.
The light collection unit 230 includes a plurality of solar cells 231 that can covert the light energy generated from an external energy source such as the sun into an electric energy, and a dome for protecting the solar cells 231.
In addition, the light collection unit 230 includes a charging unit 235 for charging the electric energy converted by the solar cells 231, a first current wire 234 connecting the charging unit 235 to the solar cells 231, and a member for connecting the charging unit 235 to an external component.
Here, the charging unit 235 is connected to the first or second artificial light sources 240 and 330 by a second current wire 236.
As described above, the electric energy charged by the solar cells 231 formed in the light collection unit 230 may be used as a power voltage of the artificial source. Therefore, an eco-oriented ventilation system can be realized and the reliability of the user increases.
Here, the first and second artificial light sources 240 and 330 may be lamps that can emit light with a predetermined luminous intensity as electric power is applied to thereto. The luminous intensity of the lamps can be property set according to a place where the ventilation system is applied.
Fig. 3 is a view illustrating the artificial light source.
The following will describe the second artificial light source 330 in more detail.
The second artificial light source 330 functions to emit light by the application of the predetermined voltage and charge the electric energy.
That is, the second artificial light source 330 includes a lamp 332 emitting light and a solar cell 331 converting the natural light into the electric energy.
The electric energy charge by the second artificial light source 330 can be performed simultaneously with the electric energy charge by the light collection unit 230, thereby increasing the energy efficiency.
The solar cell 331 further includes a charging unit functioning to convert the light energy into an electric energy and charge the converted electric energy.
The following will describe the operation of the ventilation system.
Fig. 4 is a view illustrating natural light incident into an indoor space according to embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 5 is a view illustrating artificial light incident into an indoor space emitted from a second light source unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
First, the ventilation system has a lightening mode and a ventilation mode that can be independently or simultaneously operated. The lightening mode is classified into a natural light mode and an artificial light mode according to a luminous intensity of the solar light.
The following will describe the natural light mode operation of the ventilation system with reference to Fig. 4.
A predetermined control unit operates the light collection unit 230 from the sunrise to the sunset automatically or manually by a user.
The light collection unit 230 rotates at a predetermined angle where the natural light can be reflected as large as possible in the first duct unit 210. Accordingly, the natural light is incident on the duct unit 210 and travels while being total-reflected.
In this case, the solar heat is converted into the electric energy by the solar cell 231 formed in the light collection unit 230. The converted electric energy is stored in a predetermined charging unit so as to be used as a power voltage of the second artificial light source 330.
In addition, the light refraction unit 250 of the first duct unit 210 refracts the natural light that is total-reflected to the second duct unit 220. The refracted natural light is incident through the first incident angle adjusting unit 260 and reflected from the optical fiber of the second duct unit 220. Then, the natural light transmits through the second duct unit 220. The transmitted natural light illuminates the indoor space with a predetermined luminous intensity.
Meanwhile, when the ventilation unit 100 operates, the outdoor air passes through the dust collection filter 110 and then flows into the first duct unit 210. Then, the purified air passes through the first duct unit 210 and then flows into the second duct unit 220. The outdoor air flowing along the second duct unit 220 flows into the indoor space through a diffuser 221 formed on the ventilation duct 200, thereby ventilating the indoor space.
The following will describe the artificial light mode operation of the ventilation system with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 illustrates the emission of the artificial light from the second artificial light source.
The first artificial light source 240 and/or the second artificial light source 330 are automatically operated according to the weather condition or the user's selection.
The first artificial light source 240 and/or the second artificial light source 330 emit light with a predetermined luminous intensity. The emitted artificial light is incident into the ventilation duct 200 by the second incident angle adjusting unit 270 and/or the third incident angle adjusting unit 360.
In this case, the electric energy charged by the light collection unit 230 may be used as the power voltage applied to the first artificial light source 240 and/or the second artificial light source 330. In addition, when the solar cell 331 is provided on the second artificial light unit 330, the electric energy by the solar cell 331 may be used.
The artificial light generated from the first artificial light source 240 is directed into the second duct unit 220 as the light refraction unit 250 formed on the first duct unit 210 rotates by a predetermined angle.
In addition, the artificial light generated from the second artificial light source 330 is concentrated on the ventilation duct 200 by the third incident angle adjusting unit 360, thereby illuminating the indoor space.
Figs. 6 and 7 are views of a ventilation system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to Figs. 6 and 7, a feature of a ventilation system according to the second embodiment is that a first duct unit 210 for direction the natural light is installed at both ides of the indoor space to illuminate the indoor space using the external natural light.
Particularly, the first duct unit 210 may be installed in both locations facing the sunrise direction and the sunset direction. In this case, the conversion into the electric energy and electric charge by the light collection unit 230 can be performed when during the sunrise and sunset.
Since other parts except for the installation of the first duct unit 210 are identical to those of the foregoing embodiment, the detailed description thereof will be omitted herein.
Meanwhile, the electric energy charged by the light collection unit 230 may be used as a power voltage applied to the first artificial light source 240. In this case, the electric energy charged by the light collection unit 230 is supplied to the first artificial source 240 through the third current wire 241 connected to the first artificial light source 240.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

A ventilation system comprising:
an exhaust duct for exhausting indoor air to an outdoor side;

a supply duct for directing outdoor air and light to an indoor space;

a ventilation device connected to each duct;

a solar cell converting natural light induced to the supply duct into an electric energy; and

a light source converting the electric energy generated by the solar cell into artificial light and emitting the artificial light to the indoor space.
The ventilation system according to claim 1, wherein a light collection unit for inducing the natural light is provided on the supply duct.
The ventilation system according to claim 2, wherein a solar cell for converting the natural energy into the electric energy is provided in the light collection unit.
The ventilation system according to claim 3, wherein the solar cell of the light collection unit is used as a voltage source of the light source.
The ventilation system according to claim 2, wherein a sensor for detecting an altitude of the sun is provided on the duct and the light collection unit rotates in response to an altitude of the sun.
The ventilation system according to claim 2, wherein the light collection unit selectively opens the duct.
The ventilation system according to claim 1, further comprising an incident angle adjusting unit for adjusting an incident angle of light passing through an internal portion of the duct.
The ventilation system according to claim 1, wherein light is incident from both sides of the duct and emitted to the indoor space.
The ventilation system according to claim 1, wherein the natural light and the artificial light are selectively emitted to the indoor space.
The ventilation system according to claim 1, wherein an optical fiber is provided in the duct.
A method of controlling a ventilation system, the method comprising:
directing natural light into a duct along which air flows;

converting an energy of the incident natural energy into an electric energy; and

converting the electric energy into artificial light and emitting the artificial light into an indoor space.
The method according to claim 11, wherein the electric energy used as a power voltage of the artificial light is supplied by a solar cell.
The method according to claim 12, wherein the solar cell is installed in a light collection unit inducing the natural light to the duct or in the duct.
The method according to claim 13, wherein the light collection unit is designed to rotate with respect to the duct in response to an altitude of the sun.
The method according to claim 11, wherein the natural light or the artificial light traveling along the duct is total-reflected.