Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an auxiliary air conditioning duct member the walls of which are made of pliable material and which has an inlet opening and an outlet opening, wherein the wall of the outlet opening of the auxiliary air conditioning duct member has a first area and a second area that are arranged spaced apart, and the member is provided with a regulating member that is attached to the wall of the outlet opening of the auxiliary air conditioning duct member and is adapted to regulate the size of the outlet opening.

The present invention relates also to an air conditioning duct containing the above mentioned auxiliary duct member.

Background Art

Air conditioning ducts, made of woven or nonwoven textile or film, that have usually circular cross section, but that may have also rectangular or triangular cross section or a cross section in the shape of a circle segment etc., are known in the art.

A duct system branches successively starting from its inlet duct and in the branches it is necessary to set a required air flow rate for the given branch. With textile ducts it is usually done in advance, which means that the diameter / inlet diameter of the given branch is determined on the basis of calculation. However, sometimes, it is necessary to modify the air flow rate in a certain branch after the duct system has been installed or the necessity of variability of the duct system is taken into account already when designing it.

Furthermore, vibrations arise in the inlet of such duct or in the inlet of the branch in some cases, the vibrations being accompanied by an increased noise level. It is because a static pressure in the duct is gradually increasing from the inlet part towards the end of the duct, whereas the pressure in the inlet area of branches can drop to such an extent that the mentioned vibrations occur. It is possible to modify the pressure conditions and thus eliminate the vibrations by modification of the cross section in the given area.

So-called dampers are used for the above mentioned purposes, i.e. for the cross section modification, the screen being a duct member that is attached by its inlet opening edge coaxially inside the duct. This duct member is tapering in direction of the air flow through the duct as far as the predetermined diameter (usually it is in the form of the shell of a truncated cone). In some cases, e.g. in CN201126234Y, the damper, i.e. the tapering internal duct member, is provided at its outlet opening with a circumferential annular drawstring channel and a draw tape therein, which can be used to modify the outlet opening size. The disadvantage of the known screens is that the outlet opening size setting is labour-consuming and any

modification - be it size enlargement or size reduction - has to be performed manually inside the duct, so that it is always necessary to disconnected it in the given place.

Similar auxiliary duct members are used at an outlet from air cooler in cooling rooms. Such damper is usually inflated by air flow passing therethrough, while - during de-icing - the cooler heating is turned on, the fan is turned off and the screen deflates and covers the outlet from the cooler, so that de-icing is thus accelerated. In some cases it is possible to set the cross section size by means of a tape passing through an annular drawstring channel created along the outlet openings with these duct members / screens, too. But draping of the outlet opening wall on the tape while reducing the size is also labour-consuming and setting of the specific selected outlet opening size is difficult.

It is an object of the present invention to find such designs of the auxiliary duct members for air conditioning ducts, which would be usable for the above mentioned purposes, however, which would be simple from the design /production point of view and at the same time would enable easy and prompt setting of the outlet opening size. Summary of the Invention

The above mentioned object is achieved by the air conditioning auxiliary duct member which has its walls made of a pliable material and has an inlet opening and an outlet opening, wherein the wall of the outlet opening of the auxiliary duct member has a first area and a second area, which are mutually spaced apart, the auxiliary duct member being provided with a regulating member that is adapted for regulation of the size of the outlet opening.

The regulating member is directly or indirectly attached to the wall of outlet opening in the first area (without the possibility to shift with respect to the first area) and passes to the second area linearly spaced apart from the wall of the outlet opening, wherein the second area of the outlet opening wall is arranged with a possibility of shifting on the regulating member or along it for modifying the size of the outlet opening by modifying the distance between the first area and the second area of the outlet opening wall.

Preferably, the regulating member is provided with a locking member for locking the set size of the outlet opening. According to another preferred embodiment, the cross section of the outlet opening of the auxiliary duct member in a state, when the outlet opening has its maximum size, is smaller than the cross section of the inlet opening of the auxiliary duct member, and / or the walls of the auxiliary duct member are air-permeable and / or provided with a system of through holes and / or with a perforation.

A preferred embodiment of the auxiliary duct member comprises at least one another regulating member attached to the wall of the outlet opening in a third area that is arranged spaced apart from the first area, whereas a further area, which is the second area or other area of the wall of the outlet opening, is arranged with the possibility of a relative shifting on the said another regulating member or along it.

The individual areas of the wall of the outlet opening are arranged with a mutual angular spacing.

The above specified aim of is also achieved by means of an air conditioning ducting that includes the above described air conditioning auxiliary duct member and further a basic duct member with an inlet for air supply, wherein the auxiliary duct member is fastened inside the basic duct member so that the wall of its inlet opening is arranged adjacent to the inner wall of the basic duct member.

Preferably, at least one regulating member passes through the wall of the basic duct member.

It is also advantageous when the locking member is arranged and / or controllable outside the basic duct member.

The air conditioning duct preferably further includes a carrier to which the regulating member is slidably attached.

Preferred embodiments further include a carrier, which is

- inflexible and / or

- passes at least partially along the basic duct member wall and / or

- is arranged at least partially inside the basic duct member but outside the auxiliary duct member.

According to another embodiment, the carrier includes a pair of lugs, whereas one part of the regulating member is slidably arranged in the first lug of the carrier and another part is slidably placed in the second lug of the carrier.

Brief description of the drawings

Exemplary embodiments of the invention are schematically depicted hereinafter in the drawings, where Fig. la shows a side view of the first exemplary embodiment, Fig. lb shows a frontal view of the exemplary embodiment of Fig. la, Fig. lc shows the same frontal view after the outlet opening size diminution, Fig. 2a to 2c show in a similar way the side view and frontal views of the second exemplary embodiment of the invention, Fig. 3a to 3c show the side view and frontal views of the third exemplary embodiment, where in Fig. 2a and Fig. 3a the basic duct member is illustrated as being transparent for better understanding, and Fig. 4a to 4c show the side view and frontal views of the forth exemplary embodiment. All figures illustrate the situation during operation, i.e. the situation when the air is blown into the duct to inflate the duct members. Detailed description of the drawings

The air conditioning duct illustrated in Fig. la includes a basic duct member 1 that has an inlet 10 for the air supply and an outlet 11 for the air outlet and has a circular cross section in this exemplary embodiment. An auxiliary duct member 2 is attached coaxially inside the basic duct member 1 and has an inlet opening 20 and an outlet opening 21 and in this exemplary embodiment it has a shape of a truncated cone lateral area, wherein the inlet opening 20 of the auxiliary duct member 2 has a greater diameter than its outlet opening 21.

Direction of the air introduction into the air conditioning duct is indicated with a solid arrow. The auxiliary duct member 2 is provided at its outlet opening 21 with a regulating member 3, in this case in the form of a tape/string, to regulate cross section size of the outlet opening 21 of the auxiliary duct member 2.

The regulating member 3 is attached to the outlet opening 21 wall in a first area and passes through the wall of the outlet opening 21 in a second area, which is arranged (angularly) spaced apart from the first area, in this exemplary embodiment opposite the first area (i.e. angularly spaced by 180°). The regulating member 3 in the form of a tape is provided with a locking member 30 which is movable along the regulating member 3 and lockable in any selected position on the regulating member 3.

In the present application, the state, in which the regulating member 3 is arranged so that it does not change the outlet opening 21 shape, is considered to be the initial state.

In the initial state of the first embodiment of the invention, the locking member 30 is placed on the regulating member 3 in such a position that it does not touch practically or at all the second area of the outlet opening 21 wall of the auxiliary duct member 2. In that situation, the auxiliary duct member 2 has the shape of a shell of a truncated cone (not illustrated). Fig. la and lb illustrate a situation, when the locking member 30 is shifted and set on the regulating member 3 in such a way that the second area of the outlet opening 21 wall has been moved along the regulating member 3, at the same time being slightly pushed towards the first area so that the area size of the outlet opening 21 is slightly diminished and its shape is changed into the shape corresponding practically to outer contour of a wide figure eight. Thus, the air conditioning duct is adapted for a moderate regulation of pressure and a moderation of possible vibrations. In the state illustrated in Fig. lc, the locking member 30 is shifted still further along the regulating member 3 towards the first area of the outlet opening 21 wall until the first area almost touches the second area and the area size of the outlet opening 21 is diminished almost to a minimum of the given first embodiment. Thus, the air conditioning duct is adapted for a substantial regulation of pressure and an elimination of possible vibrations.

In a non-illustrated embodiment it is possible to use multiple regulating members 3, e.g. two regulating members 3. One regulating member 3 with locking member 30 is arranged in such a way as it is illustrated in Fig. la to lc, the second regulating member 3 with locking member 30 can be then arranged in a similar way but with an angular displacement by 90°. Then, the regulating members form a cross in the front view of the outlet opening 21.

The exemplary embodiment illustrated in Fig. 2a to 2c differs from the embodiment in Fig. la to lc especially in that it includes a carrier 31 that has a form of a tube made of solid material, e.g. metal, e.g. aluminium, or plastic or composite material. This tube passes inside the basic duct member 1 along an arch, preferably semi-circle, with a diameter that corresponds to the inner diameter of the basic duct member 1.

The regulating member 3 advantageously has a form of a tape/string again, alternatively it is made of a line or a cord or a thin cable. The first end of the regulating member 3 is attached to the first area of the outlet opening 21 wall of the auxiliary duct member 2. From its first end the regulating member 3 passes across the outlet opening 21 and then, slidably through the second area of the outlet opening 21, next it enters the cavity of the carrier 31 on one of its ends, passes through a part of the cavity and then comes out from the cavity through an auxiliary opening in the carrier 31 wall, forms a loop, whereon the locking member 30 is fastened, and returns again into the cavity through the above mentioned or another auxiliary opening, passes through the remaining part of the cavity and comes out from the cavity on the other end of the carrier 31. After that the regulating member 3 passes through an opening in the first area of the outlet opening 21 wall of the auxiliary duct member 2 with a possibility of shifting of the opening along the regulating member 3, next it passes across the outlet opening 21 and is attached to the second area of the outlet opening 21 wall. In a non-illustrated initial state the locking member 30 is shifted on the regulating member 3 to such a position that the loop of the regulating member in the area, where it comes out from the auxiliary opening, is relatively small and the auxiliary duct member 2 under operation has the shape of a shell of a truncated cone. Fig. 2a and 2b illustrate the situation, when, after the initial state, loop was slightly pulled and the locking member 30 was shifted and set on the regulating member 3 in such a way that the loop had a relatively middle size. Thereby the first and the second areas of the wall of the outlet opening 21 were moved along the regulating member 3 towards each other so that the outlet opening 21 area was diminished and its shape was changed to the shape corresponding practically to the outer contour of a wide figure eight. That way the air conditioning duct is adapted for a moderate regulation of pressure. In the situation illustrated in Fig. 2c the loop past the auxiliary opening of the carrier 31 became longer, when compared with the state of Fig. 2b, and the first and the second areas of the outlet opening 21 wall were shifted still more to each other so that the area of the outlet opening 21 was diminished to almost minimum for the given embodiment and the outlet opening 21 has the shape corresponding practically to the outer contour of a narrow figure eight. That way the air conditioning duct is adapted to a substantial regulation of pressure. Advantageously at least the loop of the regulating member 3 is passed through an opening in the basic duct member 1 wall and the locking member 30 is arranged on the loop outside the basic duct member 1.

According to an alternative embodiment, the carrier 31 can be arranged outside the basic duct member 1, in which case the regulating member 3, always between entering the cavity of the carrier and passing through the area of the outlet opening 21 wall, with the possibility of shifting, passes through an opening in the wall of the basic duct member 1.

It is obvious that the regulating member 3 can have a form of a pair of tapes, i.e. in fact the form of a tape that is disconnected in the area of the loop.

In the illustrated embodiment an auxiliary opening is used for bringing the tape out of the carrier 31 cavity and this auxiliary opening is spaced approximately evenly from both ends of the carrier 31. But it is also possible to arrange the auxiliary opening closer to any of the carrier 31 ends or to omit the auxiliary opening completely and to arrange the loop with the locking member 30 at one of the carrier 31 ends, preferably outside the basic duct member 1. In a non-illustrated embodiment the carrier can have a form of a tubular hoop that creates an inner reinforcement of the duct and is equipped with openings for entering of the regulating member 3 into the cavity of the hoop or eventually also with an auxiliary opening for guiding the loop out. In another non-illustrated embodiment the carrier does not include an inner cavity, but it is provided with guiding elements, e.g. guide eyes, for guiding the regulating member 3 along the carrier 31.

In the embodiment, shown in Fig. 3a to 3c, the carrier 31, which, however, does not need be hollow, is used again. The regulating member 3 has a form of a pair of tapes, in other words two regulating members 3 are used. One end of the first regulating member 3 is attached to the first area of the outlet opening 21 wall of the auxiliary duct member 2, after that the first regulating member 3 passes across the outlet opening 21, then passes slidably through the second area of the outlet opening 21 wall, afterwards passes slidably through the first end of the carrier 31 and thereafter passes through the wall of the basic duct member 1. One end of the second regulating member 3 is attached to the third area that is adjacent to the second area of the outlet opening 21 wall of the auxiliary duct member 2 (or essentially corresponds to the second area), after that it passes across the outlet opening 21, then passes slidably through the fourth area which is adjacent to the first area of the outlet opening 21 wall (or essentially corresponds to the first area), afterwards the regulating member 3 passes slidably through the other end of the carrier 31 again, and thereafter passes through the wall of the basic duct member 1. Outside the basic member, each of the tapes making up the regulating member 3 is provided with the locking member 30 to lock the setting of the regulating member 3.

In the initial state, every locking member (and thus also the relevant area of the outlet opening wall) is placed on the regulating member 3 in a position, in which the regulating member 3 does not apply essentially any force to neither the first nor the second area, and the auxiliary duct member 2 has a shape of a shell of a truncated cone (not illustrated). In Fig. 3b, there is illustrated the situation after the free ends of the regulating member 3 (i.e. free ends of the tapes) were pulled, thereby the first and the second (or else the third and the forth) areas of the outlet opening 21 were moved closer to each other. The locking members were shifted on the regulating member 3, i.e. on the tapes, so that they remain abutting to the basic duct member 1 wall. In Fig. 3c, there is illustrated the situation after the tapes were pulled even more, so that the first area and the second area of the outlet opening 21 wall were moved towards each other even closer.

The carrier 31 can have generally any shape and be placed inside or outside the basic duct 1, whereas it contains at least one lug, better two lugs, e.g. in the form of an eye, where one part of the regulating member 3 is placed slidingly in the first lug of the carrier 3 and the second part is placed slidingly in the second lug of the carrier 3. In all the above described embodiments also e.g. belt, thin cable, string, line etc., i.e. any elongated flexible element, can be used as the regulating member 3 instead of the tape. In the embodiment shown in Fig. la to lc, it is possible to use alternatively also inflexible elongated regulating member, e.g. in the form of a pin, or else in the form of telescopic rod, whereon it is possible to shift the locking member. In a similar way the pin or the telescopic rod can be used instead of the pair of tapes in the embodiment shown in Fig. 3a; in such a case the carrier 31 can be omitted.

In some embodiments, especially in a case of sufficient stiffness of the basic duct member 1, the carrier 31 can be realized by e.g. at least one guiding eye, better by a set of the guiding eyes, that are attached to the basic duct member 1 wall.

In the above described embodiments, both ends of the regulating member 3 are arranged at the wall of the outlet opening 21 opposite to each other so that both ends of the regulating member 3 in the embodiment of Fig. 2a to 2c, alternatively both tapes in the embodiments of Fig. 3a to 3c, pass across the outlet opening 21 side by side. It is also possible to guide these ends or tapes with a distance from each other, it means that the first end of the regulating member 3 is attached to the first area and passes through the opening in the second area of the outlet opening 21 and the second end of the regulating member is attached to the third area and passes through the opening in the fourth area of the outlet opening 21, whereas individual areas are arranged with a distance from each other in the initial state.

In another non-illustrated embodiment, the carrier 31, e.g., contains / consists of a small straight tube or of a ring only, in which case at least two flexible regulating members 3 are used. The first regulating member 3 is attached to the first area of the outlet opening 21 wall, passes across the outlet opening 21 and then passes slidably through the second area, and after that it is guided slidably through the carrier 31, past which it is equipped with the locking member 30. At the same time the second regulating member 3 is attached to the third area of the outlet opening 21 wall, which third area is arranged spaced from the first and the second areas, after which it passes across the outlet opening 21 and then slidably through the said second area, and afterwards it is guided slidably through the mentioned carrier 31, past which it is secured by the same locking member 30 as is used with the first regulating member 3. Alternatively, the first and the second regulating members 3 can be connected together in the region past the locking member 30 and thus they can be made up in fact by a single one tape with a loop guided slidably through the carrier, as illustrated in Fig.2a to 2c, in which case the regulating member ends diverge leaving the carrier 31, one end heading towards the first area and the other end heading towards the third area of the outlet opening 21 wall. And according to yet another embodiment, three regulating members 3 can be used in combination with such carrier 31 and locking member 30, which diverge leaving the carrier 31, or rather from the second area of the outlet opening 21 that is adjacent to the carrier 31, they head along the plane of the outlet opening 21 towards several areas of the wall of the outlet opening 21, and the first regulating member 3 is attached to a first area, the second regulating member 3 is attached to a third area and the third regulating member 3 is attached to a fourth area of the outlet opening 21.

The locking member 30 is always arranged advantageously outside the basic duct member 1, preferably adjacent to its wall.

The locking member 30, while shifting along the regulating member 3 towards the first area of the outlet opening 21, that is towards the area to which the regulating member 3 is attached, is pushing even the second area in the same direction. It is obvious that the locking member can be e.g. so called cord stopper (from a haberdashery branch), but also e.g. removable clasp or stopper. However, the locking member can be even a loosable knot on the regulating member 3.

At least the auxiliary duct member 2, advantageously also the basic duct member 1, is made of pliable material, preferably of woven or nonwoven textile or film. In some cases it is advantageous to make the auxiliary duct member 2 of an air-permeable or perforated or otherwise punched textile or film.

In the above described preferred embodiments, the inlet opening 20 of the auxiliary duct member 2 has always larger surface than its outlet opening 21 in the initial state, and so an elementary regulation of pressure in the duct arises already in the initial state. Nevertheless, in a less advantageous embodiment, it is also possible to realize the auxiliary duct member 2 with the inlet and outlet opening 20, 21 of the same size.

It is obvious that attaching of the regulating member 3 in the second area of the outlet opening 21 can be performed directly to / in the wall of the outlet opening 21, or indirectly, e.g. in such a way that the outlet opening 21 is provided with a loop on its edge for the passage of the regulating member 3.

The air conditioning duct, as described here, can be intended for the air transport into further distribution system (in such a case it has also output 11) or it can be intended for the air distribution (in such a case it does not contain the output 11 but its walls are (micro-) perforated and / or pass-through openings are made in them), or the combination of both mentioned possibilities is also possible. The embodiment of Fig, la to lc is advantageous especially thanks to its structural simplicity and a possibility of a very fast resetting; the embodiments of Fig. 2a to 3c are extra advantageous even in that the regulation of the outlet opening 21 size can be performed from outside without necessity to disconnect the duct and thus even under operation.

In the above mentioned embodiments, the basic duct member 1 and also the auxiliary duct member 2 have circular cross section, but the invention is applicable also for a duct with an oval, rectangular, triangular or generally other cross section.

Another exemplary embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Fig. 4a, 4b and 4c, namely the auxiliary duct member 1 applicable at the output from the air cooler, where under operation the auxiliary duct member 1 is inflated to have a shape of the duct that is tapering from the input (from the cooler) towards the output and through which the cooled air flows, wherein the outlet opening of this auxiliary duct member may be regulated as described above. An icing arises continuously in the cooler and thus it is necessary to perform a periodical de-icing. In the process of de-icing an electric heater is turned on and a fan is turned off and so the air is not blown into the auxiliary duct member 1 that hangs down and covers the outlet opening by its wall. This way the de-icing is accelerated or eventually its efficiency is increased. The structure of this auxiliary duct member 1, including its regulating member 3 and its locking member 30, corresponds substantially to the structure of the auxiliary duct member 1 of Fig. la to lc.

Even though the particularly preferred exemplary embodiments have been described above, it is obvious, that those skilled in the art will easily find further possible alternatives to those embodiments. Hence, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above exemplary embodiments, but it is rather defined by the appended claims.