FR2523201A1 - Venetian blind for building - comprises pivoting hollow strips containing material which stores energy as latent heat of fusion - Google Patents

Abstract

The venetian blind comprises horizontal or vertical hollow strips (3) which can pivot through at least 180 degrees. The strips have planar or convex faces and contain a material which melts at a temperature above normal room temperature. In one position, the strips are directed towards the window pane, so that the solar radiation melts the material inside the strips absorbing and storing thermal energy as the latent heat of fusion of the material. When required, the strips are pivoted into a second position in which they release their stored energy into the room.

Description

 It has already been proposed to collect and store solar energy in the form of latent heat of a fusible product at a suitable temperature and contained in cavities or tubes whose walls are exposed to solar radiation, these cavities being able to be those of orientable hollow lamellae forming, for example, louvered shutters.

 However, the internal swinging shutters are not of practical use and the blades orientable by pivoting an acute angle do not allow a satisfactory restitution of the heat stored by the fusion of the product of which the latent heat is used.

 The present invention aims to provide a fixed or removable or swinging or sliding shutter, preferably placed behind a glazing to store solar energy with use of the greenhouse effect provided by the glazing.

This shutter is formed so as to restore the heat stored towards the interior of the room by turning the blades around 180 ° and by placing the shutter Up to a position facing the room to be heated.

 The adjustable blades, horizontal or vertical, are tubular to contain the fusible chemical substance, the latent heat of fusion of which is used to capture and restore energy, solar or other, these blades being mounted to pivot around their longitudinal axis of a variable angle extending at least up to approximately 180, being supported at their ends by two pins rotating in the lateral uprights or the cross members of the shutter frame.

 According to a preferred arrangement, the shutter is sliding. Its frame can be suspended by supporting rollers on a fixed cross member and guided at its base by a fixed guide rail, or roll on a fixed rail in the lower part, being guided in the upper part by means of bodies such as sliding pads. and guide rail.

 Thus, the shutter can provide protection against glances, protection against the sun and glare while allowing ventilation by opening the glazing and in addition it constitutes an energy sensor, solar or other, with possibility to store the accumulated energy and return it inward by radiation and convection.

 For this purpose, each strip has an absorbent and radiant face of matt and / or dark shade while the other face is insulating and possibly reflective, of clear appearance. According to a preferred arrangement, the blades are composed of a main tubular part of aluminum and of an insulating profile of plastic or metallic material attached to an external face of the tubular body. The faces can be flat or curved.

To better understand the invention, there will be described below execution examples with reference to the accompanying schematic drawing, in which
Figure 1 is a partial vertical section of a sliding shutter according to the invention
Figure 2 is a horizontal section of a bay equipped with a sliding glazing and a sliding shutter energy storage according to the invention
Figure 3 is a vertical section along the line
Figure III-III
Figure 4 is a horizontal section of a window block comprising a shutter according to the invention; and
Figure 5 is a vertical section along the line
IV-IV of figure 4.

 According to the embodiment shown in Figure 1, the sliding shutter is disposed on the inner side relative to a glazing 1 and is constituted by a frame 2 supporting a series of horizontal blades 3 which can pivot inside the frame around of their longitudinal axes 4.

The sliding shutter is suspended by rollers 5 rolling on an upper rail 6.

Each blade 3 is constituted by a box, for example made of aluminum, of which one face 7, absorbent and diffusing, is dark while the other face 8 is clear and insulating, being able to be capped with a cover 9 made of material. plastic or metallic, also clear, leaving between it and the box an insulating air gap 10 so as to give the blade an insulating wall opposite to the face 7. Each blade has a plug at its ends, in particular for stabilizing the blade. air 10 and therefore ensure its character as an effective thermal insulator0
According to the embodiment of Figures 2 and 3, there is provided for a bay 71 a sliding glazing 12 which can be placed in the open position against the inner face of a glazing 13 in an outer housing 14 formed in a wall 15 foraging. A sliding shutter 16 according to the invention can be placed in the housing 14 behind the fixed glazing 13 or else in the opening 11, either behind the sliding glazing 12 in the closed position, or exposed to the open air after opening the sliding glazing 12 depending on the circumstances.

This arrangement allows the sliding shutter to combine its function of capturing and restoring heat in addition to its usual roles of protection, screening of light and ventilation.

 The sliding shutter according to the invention can be incorporated in a fixed frame constituting with this shutter an integrated window block 17 (FIG. 4) which it then suffices to surround with concrete to easily constitute the same composite structure as that represented on the Figure 2, this block between may include not only the control members of the orientation of the blades and the sliding of the energy sensor component but also suitable locking devices.

It will be understood that, in order to use the shutter as a solar collector, the slats will have their dark face towards the outside, the shutter possibly being behind a fixed glazing or a movable glazing but preferably not exposed to the open air to receive the radiation. solar through a glazing which retains in a way the energy received by the use of the well known greenhouse effect. Under the action of the energy thus received, the fusible substance contained in the blades of the shutter gradually melts in absorbing the latent heat of fusion, the losses by the insulating face opposite to the radiation being very reduced,
For the return of the heat towards the interior, the blades are pivoted by about 180 so as to favor heat exchanges with the interior through the non-insulating face, the shutter then being brought opposite the opening. on the inside of the room, which could constitute for example the night position capable of heating the room or preventing or reducing its cooling.

The energy returned is the energy released during the solidification of the previously molten substance. The melting and solidification cycle can also be repeated practically indefinitely, due to the use of a stable chemical substance.

 To further improve the thermal performance of such a window unit, the opaque part 18 can also be made to act like a Trombe wall or a Diode wall, the sliding shutter then being positioned facing the opening to allow the opaque part 18 to also benefit from solar gain.

Claims (10)

R E V E N D I C A T I O N S.  1. Shutter with horizontal or vertical pivoting louver blades, characterized in that the blades can pivot at least by an angle close to 18O and, with flat or curved faces, are tubular by containing a product that melts at a temperature higher than the ambient temperature under the action of solar radiation so as to absorb and store thermal energy by its latent heat of fusion.  2. Shutter according to claim 1, characterized in that in the position of capturing the energy of the solar radiation it can be placed opposite a glazing, on the inner side with respect to this glazing, to capture the solar energy using the greenhouse effect.  3. Shutter according to claim 1 or claim 2, further characterized in that the blades pivot by pins at their ends in the lateral uprights or the cross members of the shutter being connected together only by flexible links which make them pivot at their ends under the action of a suitable control for the orientation of these slats so as to allow the shutter to fill both the ribbons of protection against glances, of protection against the sun and the glare, -of protection of goods, ventilation, storage of thermal energy provided by solar radiation or other energy source and finally restitution of the stored heat.  4. Shutter according to any one of the preceding claims, further characterized in that each pivoting blade of said shutter has a face of dark or matt color to absorb and diffuse heat and an opposite clear side, possibly reflecting and insulating.  5. Shutter according to claim 4, wherein each blade receives externally, opposite to its dark side, a clear-faced cover of a plastic or metallic material forming between it and the blade an insulating layer of stable air s opposing the diffusion of the energy captured and stored.  6. Sliding shutter according to any one of the preceding claims suspended by rollers from its upper edge rolling on an upper rail of the fixed frame of the shutter while the lower edge of the shutter is guided by a lower fixed rail,  7. Sliding shutter according to any one of claims 1 to 5, rolling on a fixed rail in the lower part being guided in the upper part by means of bodies such as sliding shoe and guide rail.  8. Window unit containing a sliding shutter according to any one of the preceding claims, constituted by a fixed frame of generally parallelepiped shape which receives an external glazing comprising at least one sliding part and, inside this glazing, a sliding shutter , while the inner face of the window unit has a bay corresponding to the sliding service glazing and the sliding shutter and an opaque part on one side of the bay to hide the sliding shutter from the inside when the latter is brought opposite that part of the wall.  9. Window unit according to claim 8, wherein said opaque part is a wall whose face facing the glazing is swept by an air circulation in communication with the interior of the room.  10. Fixed shutter according to any one of the preceding claims, forming a section of wall, and placed behind a fixed or movable glazing.