GB2165373A - A louvre panel unit - Google Patents

Abstract

A louvre panel unit (20) has vertically hung louvres (30) which are arranged to pivot about their vertical axes. A motor (28) is used to turn the louvres, and operation of the motor is initiated by a temperature sensor (22) inside a space which is at least partially bounded by the panel unit. When the temperature in the space is too hot, the sensor causes the motor to operate to open the louvres and to admit cool air, and vice versa.

Description

SPECIFICATION A louvre panel unit This invention relates to a louvre panel unit, with vertically arranged louvres, for providing a bounday to a space. The unit is particularly adapted for controlling temperatures within a space. The unit had application in a wide variety of fields, notably agricultural applications.

According to the present invention, there is provided a louvre panel unit comprising a plurality of louvre slats, each mounted for pivoting movement about a vertical pivot axis, a motor for turning the slats about their pivot axes, a temperature sensor, and means for controlling the operation of the motor in response to signals from the temperature sensor.

Preferably the slats provide a boundary to a space, and the temperature sensor is arranged inside the space. The slats may be designed, when closed, to merely isolate the space from draughts and to prevent heat transfer from the space by convection. To this end, the slats could be any suitable generally impervious material. In other applications however the slats may have insulating properties intended to substantially reduce heat conduction through the panel unit.

The slats may be flexible or rigid. They may be pivoted at the top only, or at the top and at the bottom.

The motor is preferably a modulating damper motor.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a pig fattening house having a lying space separated from a dunging space by a louvre panel unit as set forth above. In this application, the slats are conveniently flexible and are pivoted at their top ends only so as to provide a "walk-through" curtain through which the pigs can move in either direction.

The slats should then be of a material which is durable, and old colliery belting is particularly suitable since it is cheap and is unlikely to be damaged by the pigs.

Alternatively however, a pig fattening house could make use of a panel unit which does not permit "walk-through", and a flap door could be provided in another wall of the house.

In a third aspect of the invention, again for agricultural purposes, a building is provided with a roof and side walls, at least some of the walls being provided with panel units as set forth above, by means of which the walls can be opened to allow air to flow through the building for ventilation purposes.

In such a building, the walls provided with panel units may also have some form of pervious barrier, such as wire mesh, on the inside to prevent livestock from damaging the louvre panel units. Such a building can be a barn-like structure with no solid walls, but with louvre panel units around its whole periphery so that, when the slats are closed, the building is enclosed and substantially draught-free.

In a fourth aspect of the invention, for domestic application, an opening in a building wall is closed by a barrier panel, e.g. a sheet of glass, and a louvre panel unit as set forth above is arranged inside the barrier panel, with the louvre slats being made of an insulating material and being pivoted at their top and bottom edges.

As a security precaution, al the fittings and the motor of the panel unit are mounted on the inside of the unit. To allow quick escape in the event of an interior fire or other emergency, the bottom pivot for the slats can be arranged so that it can quickly be disengaged from inside.

The invention will now be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a vertical section through a first type of pig house in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a vertical section through a second type of pig house in accordance with the invention; Figure 3 is a front view of two adjacent houses; Figure 4 is a diagrammatic plan view at the top of a louvre panel unit according to the invention; Figure 5 is a front view of the panel unit of Fig. 4; and Figure 6 is a detail at the bottom of one slat.

The pig house shown in Fig. 1 is generally of the shape known as a "Trobridge" house.

The house has a lying area 10 at the rear for the pigs, and a dunging area 12 at the front.

The pigs may be fed in the lying area from a hopper if they are being dry fed, or in the dunging area from a trough is they are being wet fed.

As can be seen from Fig. 1, the dunging area 12 has a front wall 14. The floor in this area is slatted so that the droppings pass through into the trench 16 below.

The dunging and lying areas are separated from one another by a louvre panel unit 20.

This unit comprises a number of vertically hanging slats made' of rubber belting which are free at their bottom edges. The slats thus form a "walk-through" curtain, and the pigs, who are attracted to the light showing through the curtain, will walk from the lying area through the curtain to the dunging area when necessary.

Inside the lying area is a temperature sensor 22. This is sensitive to the temperature in the lying area and sends a signal to a control unit 24 which can be set to maintain a particular temperature in the lying area. If the sensed temperature is above that set, the control unit will operate the motor to open the louvre slats to increase the ventilation of the area.

Conversely if the sensed temperature is below the temperature which has been set, then the control unit will operate the motor to close the slats.

Fig. 2 shows a house where the panel unit 20 is at the front of the house, and an open area 26 is provided for dunging. Houses may be built either side of a central walkway from where a stockman can watch over all his pigs.

Fig. 3 shows, in front view, two adjacent houses. In the right hand house, the louvre slats 30 are in the fully open position. In the left hand house, they are in the fully closed position. The motors 28 used to drive the louvres are shown here. There is one motor for each unit. The motors are capable of driving the louvre slats to various intermediate positions between the fully open and fully closed positions which are shown, to accurately control the amount of ventilation of the lying areas.

The louvre slats 30 are linked to one another so that all the slats of one unit are all moved by the same motor 28. A suitable linkage is shown in Fig. 4 where a rigid link 32 is fixed to each slat, and the rightmost slat 30a is driven directly by the motor 28. The slats are shown in this Figure in full lines in their open position and in dotted lines in their closed position. The motor can drive the slats to many positions intermediate the end positions which are shown.

The motor can be a direct coupled modulating damper motor, for example as sold by Belimo Automation under number SM 24-SR 10, although all the facilities offered by this particular motor may not be needed. This motor works off a 24 volt supply and requires a control voltage of 0-10 volts.

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 show an installation intended particularly for a domestic environment. The slats 30 are rigid and are pivoted at their top and and at their bottom ends. The unit is mounted inside a conventional glass window pane 34 (which may be fixed or openable). The slats are rigid. The link 32 is on the inside so that if an intruder breaks the glass while the louvre slats are closed, he will not be able to reach the operating mechanism to open the louvres.

The bottom pivots of the slats are in a plate 36 which is normally in a horizontal position as shown in Fig. 6, but can be hinged downwards about an axis 38 if somebody inside has to get out in a hurry, e.g. in the event of a fire. Releasing the lower support for the slats would enable them to be pulled aside very quickly.

The slats in this embodiment are made of an insulating material so that when they are closed, heat is not conducted through the unit. To improve their aesthetic qualities, the slats may be made approximately lens-shaped in cross-section so that when they are open they present only a small area to someone looking out from inside, through the open slats. A decorative pattern may be applied to their inward facing faces.

In this application, it would probably be necessary to allow the louvre operating mechanism to be disabled, and also to allow the louvres to be drawn to the side of the window opening, so that the opening would be unobscured.

A similar installation could be used in a warehouse, and a mesh screen could then take the place of the glass pane 34. In a warehouse there is unlikely to be any need for people inside to have a panoramic view out, and the temperature control which may be effected by the unit described could be most effective.

Claims (16)

1. A louvre panel unit comprising a plurality of louvre slats, each mounted for pivoting movement about a vertical pivot axis, a motor for turning the slats about their pivot axes, a temperature sensor, and means for controlling the operation of the motor in response to signals from the temperature sensor.

2. A panel unit as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the slats provide a boundary to a space, and the temperature sensor is arranged inside the space.

3. A panel unit as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the slats are designed, when closed, to isolate the space from draughts and to prevent heat transfer from the space by convection.

3. A panel unit as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the motor is a modulating damper motor.

4. A pig fattening house having a lying space separated from a dunging space by a louvre panel unit as claimed in any preceding claim.

5. A house as claimed in Claim 9, wherein the slats are flexible, are pivoted at their top ends and are not connected at their bottom ends so as to provide a "walk-through" curtain through which pigs can move in either direction.

6. A house as claimed in Claim 4 or Claim 5, wherein the slats are made from old colliery belting.

7. A house as claimed in Claim 4, wherein the slats are pivoted at their top and bottom ends, and a flap door is provided in another wall of the house for the pigs to walk through.

8. An agricultural building with a roof and side walls, at least some of the walls being provided with panel units as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 3, by means of which the walls can be opened to allow air to flow through the building for ventilation purposes.

9. A building as claimed in Claim 8, wherein the walls provided with panel units also have some form of pervious barrier on the inside to prevent livestock from damaging the louvre panel units.

10. A building as claimed in Claim 9, wherein the pervious barrier is wire netting.

11. A building as claimed in any one of Claims 8 to 10, which has no solid walls, but has louvre panel units around its whole periphery so that, when the slats are closed, the building is enclosed and substantially draughtfree.

12. A closure for an opening in a building wall, comprising a barrier panel and a louvre panel unit as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 3 inside the barrier panel, with the louvre slats being made of an insulating material to reduce heat conduction and being pivoted at their top and bottom edges.

13. A closure as claimed in claim 12, wherein the barrier panel is a pane of glass.

14. A closure as claimed in Claim 12 or Claim 13, wherein all the fittings and the motor of the panel unit are mounted on the inside of the unit.

15. A closure as claimed in any one of Claims 12 to 14, wherein the bottom pivot for the slats can be arranged so that it can quickly be disengaged from inside the building.

16. A louvre panel unit substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.