The present innovation relates to a modular system for ventilating a laboratory room.
Known laboratory ventilating systems such as disclosed in WO2007033821A1 generally comprise an intrinsically stiff carrier frame mounted on the ceiling of the laboratory to which the air supply conduits and exhaust air conduits are then attached above the walking area of the laboratory. Although these known ventilation arrangements have a high degree of flexibility with respect to expandability and changes in the spatial conditions of the laboratory, they are comparatively expensive and complex to install and mount due to their large size, and intrinsically stiff carrier frame. Moreover, they lower ceiling or overhead height in the walking area.
The present disclosures and innovations solve the problems and deficiencies of known systems by providing an alternative arrangement for ventilating a laboratory that can be economically manufactured and readily installed over the laboratory table area rather than the walking area.
An arrangement is provided for ventilating a laboratory comprising a plurality of center carrier elements arranged in intervals from a ceiling above a laboratory table row. The carrier elements provide for carrying at least one air supply conduit that supplies fresh air into the laboratory, and may also provide for carrying exhaust air conduits, supply lines, lighting and other laboratory necessities.
Each center carrier element comprises a vertical column element extending from an upper end to a lower end. The upper end is adapted to be fastened to the ceiling. The lower end connected to at least a first and/or second extension arms extending horizontally from the vertical column element and over the laboratory table row.
The center carrier elements are adapted to carry a first and/or second air supply conduits having air exits. The first and the second air supply conduits are preferably attached to the bottom of the first and second extension arms, respectively, and spaced horizontally from one another to delimit a lower receiving space there between. The lower receiving space extends parallel to the air supply conduits substantially over the length of the laboratory table row. The lower receiving space is adapted to provide space for supply lines and other laboratory necessities, including, laboratory media such as technical gases and liquids.
An exhaust air conduit to remove air from the laboratory may be arranged on top of the first and/or the second extension arm or, in alternate embodiments, on side carrier elements adjacent the walking area opposite the first or second air supply conduit.
To increase rigidity of the structure, the first and/or the second air supply conduits may be fabricated from an intrinsically stiff material, such as metal sheeting, and be mechanically connected to two or more of the extension arms to form a torsion-resistant unit. Similarly, the exhaust air conduit may be mechanically connected by a screw connection to at least two extension arms of the carrier elements.
In further embodiments, a reinforcement element may be provided to secure the vertical column elements and the first and/or second extension arms, which may be fastened by sliding blocks and/or screws through the reinforcement member and into the outer sides of the vertical column elements and the first and/or second extension arms.
In yet further embodiments, the bottoms of the center carrier elements are connected to a longitudinal carrier extending above the laboratory table row and parallel to the longitudinal direction of the first and/or of the second walking area. The longitudinal carrier may include at least one longitudinal groove extending over the length of the carrier. The groove may serve to provide a means for mounting wall elements that divide the laboratory table row and/or provide for the spatial separation of regions of the first and of the second walking area. Additionally, shelves and/or media columns may extend from the longitudinal carrier for making available laboratory media such as technical gases, vacuum, water or electricity. The wall elements, shelves and media columns can be fastened to the longitudinal carrier in a detachable manner and can be freely positioned along the longitudinal carrier.
In further embodiments, the upper ends of the vertical column elements are coupled by a mechanical compensation arrangement to the ceiling of the laboratory. The mechanical compensation arrangement preferably comprises two plates that can be adjusted in their interval or spaced relationship and in their inclination to one another. One plate may be fastened to the ceiling and the other plate may be fastened to the first upper end of the vertical column element.
In yet further embodiments, an upper receiving space is arranged above the lower receiving space for the supply lines and is delimited laterally by the exhaust air conduit. Process exhaust air lines can be run in the upper receiver space.
In some embodiments, one or more adjustable traction elements are also included. Each traction element may connect the end of an extension arm to the laboratory ceiling, such as by an anchoring cable, whereby the extension arm can be loaded with a preferably adjustable traction force in the direction of the laboratory ceiling.
In alternate embodiments, exhaust air conduits may be placed in a side ventilation arrangement rather than, or in addition to, on the center carrier elements. In this arrangement, at least one side exhaust air conduit is carried by a plurality of side carrier elements having a horizontally extending side extension arm fastened on one end to a vertical column element. The at least one lateral or side exhaust air conduit may be received on the bottom of the side extension arms. Additionally, sanitary lines and/or process exhaust air lines or electrical lines may be arranged on the top of the side extension arms. These lines may be run in a plane above the at least one lateral or side exhaust air conduit. In this arrangement, the first air supply conduit and a first lateral or side exhaust air conduit associated with the side ventilation arrangement, as well as, the second air supply conduit and a second lateral exhaust air conduit associated with the other side ventilation arrangement are organized pairwise at an interval from one another on opposing sides of the first and of the second walking areas.
The foregoing arrangements according to the disclosure have the advantage that they can be locally installed in a laboratory with limited space and even as a retrofitting over an existing table row, due to its modular structure comprising individual small components compared to known carrier frames. Consequently, the relatively small sized carrier elements having two extension arms attached in a flying âTâ shaped manner can be readily assembled in the laboratory floor area and fastened to the ceiling on one end. After the carrier elements have been fastened to the ceiling, the air supply conduits can be fastened from below to the extension arms and according to a first embodiment the exhaust air conduit can be placed from above onto the arms and optionally screwed on. If desired, in this embodiment, process exhaust air lines can also be placed into the upper receiving space provided at the side of the exhaust air conduit, wherein good access is always ensured from the side during the entire assembly. Finally, supply lines for sanitary media can be included in the lower receiving space between the two air supply conduits. The supply lines are preferably placed on the corresponding holding arms that are preferably mounted by the suspension of the holding arms in corresponding longitudinal grooves on side walls of the air supply conduits. On the whole, this results in a very rapid and economical mounting of the ventilation arrangement according to the disclosure.
While the benefits and advantages of the ventilation system disclosed herein are generally described in the context of a laboratory, the disclosed concepts have a broad range of uses, including in manufacturing, hospitals or other settings with similar ventilation needs.
The accompanying drawings illustrate various non-limiting, examples and innovative aspects of the ventilation system in accordance with the present descriptions:
As is shown in
In one embodiment, each of the carrier elements 6 may be composed of a vertical column element 6a adapted to be fastened at its upper end to the ceiling 12 of the laboratory 2 and fastened to an extension 14 at or near a lower end. The extension may comprise a first extension arm 14a extending toward one side of the laboratory table row 4a and a second extension arm 14b extending toward the other side of the laboratory table row 4b. The vertical column elements 6a are preferably arranged centrally over an imaginary vertical central plane which runs down the center of the table row or between the opposing back sides of the tables 4 of the first and second row 4a, 4b. The first and second extension arms 14a, 14b extend laterally or horizontally from the imaginary vertical central plane preferably completely in the area of the upper side of the tables 4; i.e., preferably only up to the edge of the table row or edge of the first or second walking area 2a, 2b.
As shown in
As shown in
Illuminating elements 26 may be provided for illuminating laboratory table row 4 and/or the walking areas 2a, 2b. The illuminating elements can be received underneath the first and/or the second extension arm 14a, 14b, preferably directly adjacent to the outer sides of the first and/or of the second air supply conduit 8a, 8b. To this end the illuminating elements can be secured in grooves preferably formed in profiles forming the outside side walls of the first and of the second air supply conduits 8a, 8b. Alternatively, the illumination elements 26 may be integrated in the air supply conduits 8a, 8b, or may be received in ceiling plates covering the lower receiving space 18 for the supply lines 20. Referring further to
In addition to the above, an exhaust air conduit 10 for the removal of air from the laboratory 2 (e.g., waste air generated in the area of the laboratory tables 4) may be provided and disposed as shown in
The first and/or the second air supply conduit 8a, 8b may consist of an intrinsically stiff material, preferably of metal sheeting, and be mechanically connected to two or more of the extension arms 14a, 14b, forming a torsion-resistant unit. The connection is preferably a mechanical screw connection to at least two of the extension arms 14a, 14b, which make it possible to remove the air supply conduits 8a, 8b or also only partial segments of them as required.
As shown in
In conjunction with the previously mentioned wall elements, which can be suspended in the area of the imaginary vertical central plane along the table row, the table row can be separated into two discrete table rows 4a, 4b and associated walking areas 2a, 2b. This embodiment should also relate expressly to the claims of this application in as far as they concern a laboratory 2 with a building ceiling spanning the two walking areas 2a, 2b, on which ceiling the wall elements are fastened with the aid of the carrier elements 6 and the carrier 32.
Referring to
Furthermore, as shown in
In addition to the reinforcement elements, or alternatively, the vertical column elements 6a and extensions 14a, 14b, may preferably be composed of aluminum profiles, mounted reliably into the ceiling 12 of the laboratory. Additionally, traction elements may be provided to strengthen the weight carrying ability of the system. For example, the traction elements may comprise steel rods (not shown) arranged on the inner sides of the aluminum profiles of the vertical column elements 6a which extend, e.g., from the lower, second carrier element-side receiving plate 24b, to the reinforcement elements 28.
At the same time or alternatively, one or several extension arms 14a, 14b can be coupled at their ends to a traction element 36, preferably an anchoring cable or threaded rod fastened to the building ceiling 12 and shown by way of example in
Referring to
The vertical column and arm elements 6a, 14a, 14b and 14c, as well as, the longitudinal carrier 32 are preferably known profile carriers whose outer circumferential surfaces contain at least one, but preferably two, grooves running parallel to one another. This creates the possibility of connecting the extension arms 14a, 14b to the extension arms 14c via the outlets 38 as needed by a transverse carrier (not shown in detail), in which other wall elements or devices can be suspended if desired.
According to another alternative embodiment of the disclosure the exhaust air channel 10, as is shown in the
As shown in
As further shown in
It should be understood that this description (including the figures) is only representative of some illustrative embodiments. For the convenience of the reader, the above description has focused on representative samples of all possible embodiments, and samples that teaches the principles of the invention. The description has not attempted to exhaustively enumerate all possible variations. That alternate embodiments may not have been presented for a specific portion of the invention, or that further undescribed alternate embodiments may be available for a portion, is not to be considered a disclaimer of those alternate embodiments. One of ordinary skill will appreciate that many of those undescribed embodiments incorporate the same principles of the invention as claimed and others are equivalent.
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4863223 | Weissenbach | Sep 1989 | A |
5156395 | Smith | Oct 1992 | A |
5263290 | Gardner | Nov 1993 | A |
5295904 | Aoki | Mar 1994 | A |
5358444 | Helm | Oct 1994 | A |
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Number | Date | Country |
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0834706 | Apr 1998 | EP |
2007033821 | Mar 2007 | WO |
2009153674 | Dec 2009 | WO |
Entry |
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International Search Report dated Jun. 8, 2017. |