FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a geothermal heating or cooling system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Geothermal heating is the direct use of geothermal energy for heating applications. The term "geothermal" has been derived from Greek language wherein the term "geo" means earth and the term "thermos" means heat. Geothermal energy originates from the heat retained within the earth's core since the original formation of the planet from radioactive decay of minerals and from solar energy absorbed by the earth. Human beings have taken advantage of the geothermal energy since the paleolithic era by the use of a geothermal system.

The principle of operation of a geothermal system is to move heat from a lower temperature location to a higher temperature location. This principle is used in the working of any absorber means such as an air conditioning window unit or an air source heat pump or the like, where cold air is blown into an enclosure and warm air is released out from the back of the absorber means. A geothermal system works in a similar manner, except that its heat source is derived from the warmth of the earth.

The basic concept of geothermal heating system is that it takes advantage of the earth's constant temperature, approximately 55 degrees F, to heat and cool an enclosure. By tapping this steady flow of heat from the earth in the winter, and displacing heat from the enclosure to the earth in summer, a geothermal heat pump helps to save 40 to 70 percent in terms of heating costs and 30 to 50 percent in terms of cooling costs compared to conventional systems.

Several attempts have been made to develop a geothermal apparatus in order to tap the heat of the earth.

Accordingly, US patent 6212896 discloses a heat transfer column for heating and cooling wherein refrigerant lines are wound about a vertically oriented tube. The tube is surrounded by a flexible liner which is filled with water. The liner containing the tube and the refrigerant lines is then positioned inside a cavity formed inside the earth. During the operation of the device of the US patent 6212896, water from within the tube rises by convection and transfers the heat evenly to the water within the liner for subsequent transfer to the earth. One disadvantage of US patent 6212896 is that the cost invested in the installation is high due to the use of tubes. The area of contact of the refrigerant with the tube is also less which results in lower degree of heat transfer to the earth and hence does not provide efficient heating and cooling.

Hence, there was felt a need for a efficient geothermal system which can overcome the disadvantage of the prior art and provide a cost effective and better heat transfer system. OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a geothermal apparatus for reducing the use of electricity.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a geothermal apparatus which helps in storing rain water.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a geothermal apparatus which is cost effective.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a geothermal apparatus which is easy to install.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a geothermal apparatus having less cost of installation.

An added object of the present invention is to provide a geothermal apparatus which requires less maintenance.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a geothermal apparatus which helps in maintaining the temperature in all seasons.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a geothermal apparatus which helps in rain water harvesting.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a geothermal apparatus which helps in refilling the level of ground water.

An added object of the present invention is to provide a geothermal apparatus which helps in reducing global warming. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a multi-purpose geothermal temperature modifying system for providing temperature reduced thermic fluid particularly for heating and cooling purposes in an enclosure, said system comprising: a. a pervious chamber at least partially embedded below said enclosure b. a plurality of baffles provided in said chamber to form partitioned compartments containing at least one filtering substance; c. a first inlet provided to said chamber for supplying thermic fluid from said enclosure; d. a first outlet for drawing temperature modified thermic fluid; e. a absorber means adapted to modify temperature within said enclosure; and f. a pump connected to said outlet for drawing said temperature modified thermic fluid and supplying said temperature modified thermic fluid to said absorber means for absorbing heat for modifying the temperature within said enclosure and returning said thermic fluid to said first inlet of said chamber.

Typically, the pervious chamber is made of a plurality of walls. Typically, the pervious chamber is typically of bricks or the like. Typically, the first inlet is supplied with warm thermic fluid. Typically, the first inlet is supplied with cool thermic fluid. Typically, the baffles are typically of brick, plastic or metal.

Typically, the thermic fluid is selected from a group consisting of water and brine.

Typically, the chamber is provided with at least one second inlet adapted to supply additional thermic fluid to said chamber.

Typically, the chamber is provided with at least one second outlet for withdrawing overflowing thermic fluid from said chamber.

Typically, the second outlet is connected to a borewell, a lake, a percolation pit and the like..

Typically, the filtering substance is selected from a group consisting of brick pieces, charcoal, pebbles and sand particles.

Typically, the chamber is provided with at least one port.

Typically, the chamber is provided with at least one air vent typically located through the baffles.

Typically, the partitioned compartments contain isolation tanks through which thermic fluid from the enclosure is made to flow, said tanks being immersed in thermic fluid resident in said chamber outside said tank, said chamber being further provided with an inlet for replacing said resident thermic fluid in the event of depletion.

Typically, the isolation tanks are typically of stainless steel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Other aspects of the invention will become apparent by consideration of the accompanying drawings and their description stated below, which is merely illustrative of a preferred embodiment of the invention and do not limit in any way the nature and scope of the invention.

Figure 1 illustrates a pervious chamber of the multi-purpose geothermal temperature modifying system in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 shows a pervious chamber of the multi-purpose geothermal temperature modifying system illustrating the baffles in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 4 illustrates another embodiment of the multi-purpose geothermal temperature modifying system;

Figure 3 illustrates one embodiment of the multi-purpose geothermal temperature modifying system;

Figure 5 illustrates another embodiment of the multi-purpose geothermal temperature modifying system in accordance with the present invention along with a conventional system; and

Figure 6 illustrates another embodiment of the multi-purpose geothermal temperature modifying system in accordance with the present invention along with a conventional system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings which do not limit the scope and ambit of the invention. The description provided is purely by way of example and illustration.

Referring to the accompanied drawings, a geothermal temperature modifying system, in accordance with this invention is generally indicated by the reference numeral 10 and is particularly shown in figure 3 and figure 6 of the drawing.

A multi-purpose geothermal temperature modifying system 10 in accordance with the present invention typically comprises of a pervious chamber 12, a geothermal heat pump 36 and at least one absorber means 38a and 38b.

Figure 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the pervious chamber 12 used in the multi-purpose geothermal temperature modifying system 10 in accordance with the present invention. The pervious chamber 12 of the multi-purpose geothermal temperature modifying system 10 is located below the lowest level of an enclosure (not shown in figure) such as buildings. The pervious chamber 12 is at least partially embedded below the enclosure. The pervious chamber 12 is made of a plurality of walls 13a and 13b, at least one horizontal wall 14 and 15. The walls 13a and 13b are typically vertical. The wall 14 is located horizontally above the vertical walls 13a and 13b and the wall 15 is located below the walls 13a and 13b. The vertical wall 13a of the pervious chamber 12 is provided with at least one first inlet 20a and at least one second inlet 20b. The first inlet 20a is used for supplying a thermic fluid to the chamber 12 and the second inlet 20b is used for supplying additional water in the chamber 12. Another wall 13b of the chamber 12 is provided with at least one first outlet 22a and at least one second outlet 22b. The first outlet 22a is used for withdrawing the thermic fluid from the chamber 12 and circulating in the enclosure and the second outlet 22 b is used for carrying out the overflowing thermic fluid. The second outlet 22b is provided with a diverter valve (not shown in the figure) with a level indicator (not shown in the figure). The level indicator (not shown in the figure) of the diverter valve helps in indicating the level above which the diverter valve is required to be operated so as to allow the thermic fluid to be allowed to flow out of the chamber 12. The vertical walls 13a and 13b of the pervious chamber 12 are made by laying bricks one above the other so as to allow for percolation of the water and the wall 15 of the chamber 12 is made by laying at least one layer of brick. The wall 14 is typically made of brick or concrete and acts as a covering for the chamber 12. The wall 14 can be opened, wholly or partially, during maintenance and can be provided with a manhole. The process of percolation of water through the brick walls of the pervious chamber 12 and evaporation of the percolated water from the outer surface of the chamber 12 enables in modifying the temperature of the thermic fluid entering the pervious chamber 12. The pervious chamber 12 is provided with a plurality of baffles 16a, 16b, 16c, 18a, 18b and 18c in order to form a plurality of partitioned compartments 19a, 19b, 19c, 19d, 19e, 19f and 19g. The use of baffles 16a, 16b, 16c, 18a, 18b and 18c in the pervious chamber 12 enables in increasing the contact surface of the thermic fluid with bricks so as to increase the process of percolation. The baffles 16a, 16b, 16c, 18a, 18b and 18c used in the chamber are typically of two types. Figure 2 illustrates first baffle 16a, 16b and 16c wherein the baffles are built to form a wall extending from one wall 13, 14 and 15. The first baffle 16a shown in figure 2 is provided with at least one opening 34a, 34b and 34c provided at the end of the first baffle 16a nearer to the base 15 of the chamber 12. The first baffle 16a, 16b and 16c are further provided with at least one air vent 32a, 32b and 32c, shown in figure 1, opening for allowing the air trapped in the partitioned compartments 19a, 19b, 19c, 19d, 19e, 19f and 19g of the chamber 12 to be released from the port 24 located in the partitioned compartment 19e of the chamber 12 away from the first inlet 20a of the chamber 12. The port 24 further aids in adding purifying agents such as chlorine, potassium permanganate, alum and the like inside the chamber 12. A second baffle 18a, 18b and 18c is made in the form of a brick wall and typically extends from one wall 13, 14 and 15 of the chamber 12 to a level at least below the second outlet 22 b located on the side of the chamber 12 having the outlet pipe. One of the second baffles 18a is provided after the side 13 of the chamber having the first inlet and the second inlet. One of the second baffles 18c is provided before the side of the chamber 12 having the first outlet 22a and the second outlet 22b. At least one of the partitioned compartments 19a, 19b, 19c, 19d, 19e, 19f and 19g is filled with brick pieces 26 or charcoal 28 or sand 30. The brick pieces 26, charcoal 28 and pebbles or sand 30 is provided to enable in filtering of the thermic fluid. The brick pieces 26, charcoal 28 and pebbles or sand 30 can be cleaned for maintenance purposes by opening the wall 14 located above the chamber 12 or by back washing by using water with the help of a drain (not shown in the figure) provided on the chamber 12.

Figure 3 illustrates one embodiment of the multi-purpose geothermal temperature modifying system 10 using another embodiment of the pervious chamber 12. The partitioned compartments 19a, 19b, 19c, 19d, 19e, 19f and 19g in the pervious chamber 12 is provided with at least one isolation tank 41a, 41b, 41c, 41d and 41e. The isolation tanks 41a, 41b, 41c, 41d and 41e are typically of stainless steel or any other non-corrosive material. The isolation tanks 41a, 41b, 41c, 41d and 41e are connected to one another with the help of pipes (not particularly shown in figure). The isolation tank 41a nearer to the first inlet 20a is connected with the help of a pipe to the first inlet 20a whereas the isolation tank 41e nearer to the first outlet 22a is connected with the help of a pipe to the first outlet 22a. The first outlet 22a is connected to a geothermal heat pump 36 which helps is transferring the thermic fluid in a temperature modified condition to the absorber means 38a and 38b. The thermic fluid coming out of the absorber means 38a and 38b is transferred to the isolation tank 41a, 41b, 41c, 41d and 41e through the first inlet 20a. Thus, the isolation tanks 41a, 41b, 41c, 41d and 41e, the geothermal pump 36 and the absorber means 38a and 38b forms a closed path for the thermic fluid. The thermic fluid in the closed path is typically soft water. A resident thermic fluid is supplied to the pervious chamber 12 through the second inlet 20b and the resident thermic fluid comes out of the second outlet 22 b as a result of overflow. The resident thermic fluid is typically hard water obtained from bore well, rain water or pre-treated grey water. The isolation tanks 41a, 41b, 41c, 41d and 41e are immersed in the resident thermic fluid in the chamber 12. The temperature from the thermic fluid circulated in the closed path of the isolation tanks 41a, 41b, 41c, 41d and 41e is transferred to the resident thermic fluid outside the isolation tanks 41a, 41b, 41c, 41d and 41e. The temperature from the resident thermic fluid is dissipated from the pervious chamber 12 to the earth by percolation. Figure 3 illustrates another embodiment of the multi-purpose geothermal temperature modifying system 10 in accordance with the present invention, wherein the thermic fluid is pumped into the absorber means 38a and 38b from the first outlet 22a of the pervious chamber 12, shown in figure 1, with the help of a geothermal heat pump 36. The thermic fluid coming out of the absorber means 38a and 38b located in the enclosure is directly transferred to the first inlet 20a of the pervious chamber 12.

Figure 4 illustrates another embodiment of the multi-purpose geothermal temperature modifying system 10 in accordance with the present invention. The geothermal heat pump 36 is connected to the first outlet 22a of the pervious chamber 12. The geothermal heat pump 36 is used to transfer the thermic fluid from the chamber 12 to at least one absorber means 38a and 38b such as an evaporator, a fan coil unit, an air conditioning unit, air coolers and the like which is installed inside the enclosure (not shown in the figure). The thermic fluid used in the multi-purpose geothermal temperature modifying system 10 illustrated in figure 3 is typically water. The water coming out of the absorber means is transferred to at least one over head tank 40 located above the enclosure in order to cater to the needs of daily water requirement. The water which overflow from the overhead tank 40 is transferred to the pervious chamber 12 located below the level of the enclosure. Additional water is supplied to the pervious chamber 12 through the second inlet 20b. The additional water can be supplied from a bore well, a well, public water supply, filtered grey water and the like. The multipurpose geothermal temperature modifying system 10 shown in figure 3 helps in reducing the use of electricity in lifting the water to the overhead tank 40, running compressor and motor for condenser while at the same time helps in maintaining the room temperature.

Figure 5 illustrates another embodiment of the multi-purpose geothermal temperature modifying system 10 in accordance with the present invention along with a conventional system. In the conventional system for absorber means 38, a compressor 42 compresses a refrigerant in a low pressure gaseous form coming from the chiller 52 and transfers the same to a condenser 44. In the condenser 44, water is circulated by means of a water pump 46 from the condenser 44 to the cooling tower 48 and back to the condenser 44. The temperature of the low pressure gaseous refrigerant is transferred to the water passing through the condenser 44. The water after absorbing the heat from the refrigerant is transferred to the tower 48 where the heat from the water is dissipated to the atmosphere. After the heat is transferred from the low pressure gaseous refrigerant to the water of the tower 48, the low pressure gaseous refrigerant is converted into a cooled high pressure liquid refrigerant. With the help of an expansion valve 50, the high pressure liquid refrigerant is converted back to low pressure gaseous refrigerant which is at a low temperature. The low pressure gaseous refrigerant is passed through a chiller 52. In the chiller 52, a path is provided for circulating water from an absorber means 38 to the chiller 52 with the help of a chiller pump 54 and back to the absorber means 38. The water of the absorber means 38 is cooled by absorbing the low pressure liquid refrigerant in the chiller 52. In the absorber means 38, air is passed over the path in the absorber means 38 containing the cooled water from the chiller 52. The air passing in the absorber means 38 is cooled and is transferred to the enclosure for cooling. In accordance with the present invention, a pervious chamber 12 is provided below the absorber means 38. The path carrying the water from the absorber means 38 to the chiller 52 and back to the absorber means 38 with the help of a chiller pump 54 is provided with a first valve 56a is provided between the chiller 52 and the absorber means 38 and a second valve 58a is provided between the chiller pump 54 and the absorber means 38. Again, a third valve 58b is provided between the absorber means 38 and the pervious chamber 12 and a fourth valve 56b is provided between the geothermal heat pump 36 and the absorber means 38. By closing the first valve 56a and the second valve 58a, the absorber means 38 is isolated from the chiller 52, the compressor 42, the condenser 44, and the cooling tower 48 and hence the chiller pump 54 and the cooler tower pump 46. The absorber means 38 can then be operated using the pervious chamber 12 by opening the third valve 58b and the fourth valve 56b. The use of the embodiment of the multipurpose geothermal temperature modifying system 10 illustrated in figure 5, the absorber means can be switched from conventional system to a geothermal system and vice verse.

Figure 6 illustrates another embodiment of the multi-purpose geothermal temperature modifying system 10 in accordance with the present invention. The pervious chamber 12 containing the isolation tanks 41a, 41b, 41c, 41d and 41e is the same as that shown in figure 4 wherein soft water from the absorber means 38a and 38b is supplied to the isolation tanks 41a, 41b, 41c, 41 d and 41 e through the first inlet 20a. Additionally, soft water can be supplied from an overhead tank 40 to the first inlet 20a of the chamber 12. The water coming out from first outlet 22a after passing through the isolation tanks 41a, 41b, 41c, 41d and 41e is then supplied to the absorber means 38a and 38b with the help of a geothermal pump 36. The isolation tanks 41a, 41b, 41c, 41d and 41e are immersed in a resident thermic fluid which is located in the chamber 12 but outside the isolation tanks 41a, 41b, 41c, 41d and 41e. The resident thermic fluid is typically hard water obtained from bore well, rain water or grey water. The Hard water is passed through a pre-filtration tank 39 so as to filter the hard water before being supplied to the chamber 12. The resident thermic fluid circulated through the chamber 12 comes out of the chamber 12 through the second outlet 22b. The resident thermic fluid coming out of the chamber 12 through the second outlet 22 b can be passed to a bore 43. The bore 43 is used in the form of a percolation pit in case the resident thermic fluid in the chamber 12 is grey water. The bore 43 can be in the form of a borewell or lake and the like in case the resident thermic fluid is obtained from rain water or water other than grey water.

TECHNICAL ADVANTAGES

The apparatus as described herein above offers several advancements over similar products disclosed in the prior art. The system of the present invention uses a chamber made typically of bricks and thus reducing the initial cost required in installing a geothermal temperature modifying system. The apparatus of the present invention helps in maintaining suitable temperature within the enclosure in all seasons. The use of the multi-purpose geothermal temperature modifying system in accordance with the present invention helps in reducing the cost of maintenance and the manpower required in conventional system of absorber means. The system of the present invention is suitable for use over a long span of time of 30 years to 200 years. The system in accordance with the present invention uses thermic fluid, typically water, unlike the use of thermic fluid such as freon which causes depletion of the ozone layer of the earth's atmosphere.

ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE

The multi-purpose geothermal temperature modifying system in accordance with the present invention helps in harvesting of rain water which can be used for various purposes such as irrigation of small plantations. The use of the multi-purpose geothermal temperature modifying system in accordance with the present invention helps in saving 30% - 70 % of electricity which can be used for other purposes. The multi-purpose geothermal temperature modifying system in accordance with the present invention is environment friendly and helps in reducing pollution and further helps in increasing rainfall. The multi-purpose geothermal temperature modifying system in accordance with the present invention helps in increasing the level of ground water. Further, the multi-purpose geothermal temperature modifying system in accordance with the present invention helps in reducing the use of fossil fuel and burning of fossil fuel during winter and thereby reducing the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the components and component parts of the preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that many embodiments can be made and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiments without departing from the principles of the invention. These and other changes in the preferred embodiment as well as other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein, whereby it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the invention and not as a limitation.