Patent Application
20220412578
Devices used for conditioning (ex. dehumidifying, etc.) air, such as desiccants, for example, are well known in the art.
For example, known in the art is an alternating flow energy recuperator unit, which relates to the transfer of heat and moisture in the field of ventilation and air conditioning. The recuperator typically consists of two air corridors passing through fin banks. More precisely, in winter for example, the building's warm and humid air exhausted to the outside passes through one of the two fin banks, releasing heat energy to the fin bank. In the meantime, the cold dry air from outside passes through the second bank of fins which has been previously heated. After a predetermined time (normally 20 to 60 seconds), air dampers open and close to alternate the airstream sides. The fin banks are permanently charging or discharging. The hot exhaust air condenses on the fins and the accumulated water is then evaporated into the supply air, allowing the outside air to be humidified and thus lowering energy costs.
In summer, the opposite phenomenon occurs. The outside air is cooled, and the building's exhaust air is warmed up. The phenomenon of condensation, however, disappears since the temperatures are not low enough and the air's dew point temperature is not reached. Dehumidification must therefore be done by another equipment, which usually consists of a cooling coil, further upstream into the ventilation unit. In this coil, a cold heat transfer fluid, usually water, a water-glycol mixture, or a refrigerant such as R-410a, circulates and cools the air passing through it. When the air reaches its dew point, the water in that air condenses and the air is dehumidified. This process of cooling is known as mechanical due to the need of compressors in the system. The energy costs associated with mechanical cooling are significantly high.
Also known in the art, although less widespread in the industry of ventilation, is an alternating flow energy recuperator with aluminum fins coated with desiccant. The general concept is similar to that of a heat recuperator wheel but covered with a desiccant, which also allows to add a transfer of sensible and latent energy. There are many processes for coating aluminum fins with desiccant and most are protected by the companies that developed them. Nonetheless, the desiccant is adhered to the aluminum with a bonding agent similar to glue. By doing so, some of the desiccants are not in contact with the air and thus the pores, which serve to absorb moisture from the air, are blocked by the bonding agent. Another problem with this product is fragility. Indeed, it can easily deteriorate during its manufacture and assembly. According to ASHRAE Fundamentals, this type of equipment has a lifespan between 10,000 and 100,000 hours (1 to 11 years), which is significantly less than the life of the ventilation unit in which it is installed. Replacing such equipment is expensive and difficult, sometimes impossible. The fins are generally large in size and are heavy. It is difficult to install them in the factory despite all the equipment(s) available. On a construction site, usually a mechanical room or a roof, this becomes almost impossible due to the lack of space and lifting equipment such as the overhead cranes used in the factory.
In view of the above and other considerations, there is always a need to continue innovating and finding better and/or different ways of processing (ex. drying, conditioning, purifying, heating/cooling, etc.) air (ex. ambient air inside a building, etc.) and/or a corresponding airflow thereof, and to be able do so, in a quicker, easier, simpler, faster, more efficient, more convenient, more reliable, more versatile, more environment-friendly, more sustainable and/or more desirable manner.
Therefore, it would be particularly useful to be able to provide an improved desiccant assembly which would be able to overcome or at the very least minimize some of known drawbacks associated with conventional ways and devices used for conditioning air, for example.
An object of the present invention is to provide a desiccant assembly which, by virtue of its design and components, would be an improvement over other related conventional desiccant devices, methods and/or the like known in the prior art.
In accordance with the present invention, the above object is achieved, as will be easily understood from the present description, with a desiccant assembly (also referred to herein simply as “desiccant”, desiccant “panel” and/or desiccant “cartridge”) such as the one briefly described herein and such as the one exemplified in the accompanying drawing(s).
More particularly, according to one aspect of the present invention, an object is to provide at least one desiccant panel for processing an air flow of a ventilation system, the desiccant panel comprising a pair of first and second opposite processing surfaces disposed about a main containment body, said containment body having a containment volume for receiving a plurality of inner desiccant elements, said plurality of inner desiccant elements being contained inside the containment volume of the containment body of the at least one desiccant panel, and being positioned, shaped and sized inside the containment volume of the containment body of the at least one desiccant panel, for interacting with the air flow of the ventilation system to be processed, and allowed to pass through said inner desiccant elements of the at least one desiccant panel.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a desiccant assembly for processing an air flow of a ventilation system, the desiccant assembly comprising:
at least one desiccant panel having a pair of first and second opposite processing surfaces disposed about a main containment body, said containment body having a containment volume for receiving a plurality of inner desiccant elements, said plurality of inner desiccant elements being contained inside the containment volume of the containment body of the at least one desiccant panel, and being positioned, shaped and sized inside the containment volume of the containment body of the at least one desiccant panel, for interacting with the air flow of the ventilation system to be processed, and allowed to pass through said inner desiccant elements of the at least one desiccant panel; and
a supporting component for receiving and supporting the at least one desiccant panel, and for operatively placing said at least one desiccant panel in a fluid passageway of the air flow of the ventilation system to be processed.
The desiccant panel and/or resulting desiccant assembly may include at least one and/or several of the various/different possible components and/or features (and/or different possible combination(s) and/or permutation(s) thereof) being described and/or illustrated in the present patent specification, and/or that could be inferred therefrom by a person skilled in the art.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a desiccant cartridge provided with the above-mentioned desiccant panel and/or assembly.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is also provided a system provided with the above-mentioned desiccant panel, assembly and/or cartridge.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is also provided a method of manufacturing components of the above-mentioned desiccant panel, assembly, cartridge and/or system.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is also provided a method of assembling components of the above-mentioned desiccant panel, assembly, cartridge and/or system.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is also provided a method of using the above-mentioned desiccant panel, assembly, cartridge, system and/or component(s) thereof.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is also provided a kit with components for assembling the above-mentioned desiccant panel, assembly, cartridge and/or system.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a set of components for interchanging with components of the above-mentioned kit.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a method of assembling components of the above-mentioned kit and/or set.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a method of processing air with the above-mentioned desiccant panel, assembly, cartridge, system, component(s) thereof, kit, set and/or method(s).
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a method of doing business with the desiccant assembly, system, component(s) thereof, kit, set and/or method(s).
The objects, advantages, and other features of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following non-restrictive description of preferred embodiments thereof, given for the purpose of exemplification only, with reference to the accompanying drawing(s).
In the following description, the same numerical references refer to similar elements. Furthermore, for sake of simplicity and clarity, namely so as to not unduly burden the figures with several reference numbers, only some figures have been provided with reference numbers, and components and features of the present invention illustrated in other figures can be easily inferred therefrom. The embodiments, geometrical configurations, materials mentioned and/or dimensions shown in the figures are preferred, for exemplification purposes only.
Moreover, although the present invention was primarily designed for processing (ex. conditioning, drying, dehumidifying, etc.) air, for example, it may be used with other objects and/or in other types of applications, as apparent to a person skilled in the art. For this reason, expressions such as “processing”, “conditioning”, “drying”, “dehumidifying”, “air”, etc., used herein should not be taken so as to limit the scope of the present invention and include all other kinds of objects and/or applications with which the present invention could be used and may be useful. For example, the present desiccant assembly (ex. desiccant panel, desiccant cartridge, etc.) could also be used for “cooling” purposes, by reducing relative humidity of air being treated with the present system, as can be easily understood by a person skilled in the art.
Moreover, in the context of the present invention, the expressions “desiccant”, “panel”, “assembly”, “cartridge”, “product”, “system”, “device”, “apparatus”, “unit”, “equipment”, “tool”, “method” and “kit”, as well as any other equivalent expression(s) and/or compound word(s) thereof known in the art will be used interchangeably, as apparent to a person skilled in the art. This applies also for any other mutually equivalent expressions, such as, for example: a) “processing”, “conditioning”, “drying”, “dehumidifying”, “cooling”, “treating”, “heating” (i.e. opposite of “cooling”), etc.; b) “air”, “fluid”, “flow”, “path”, “passage”, “stream”, etc.; c) “humidity”, “moisture”, “vapor”, “water”, etc.; d) “component”, “piece”, “structure”, “accessory”, etc.; e) “tab”, “protrusion”, “rim”, “wing”, etc.; f) “first”, “front”, “frontward”, “top”, “outer”, etc.; g) “second”, “rear”, “rearward”, “bottom”, “inner”, etc.; h) “fastener”, “rivet”, “pin”, etc.; i) “integral”, “made of one piece”, “made of same piece”, etc.; as well as for any other mutually equivalent expression(s), pertaining to the aforementioned expressions and/or to any other structural and/or functional aspects of the present invention, as also apparent to a person skilled in the art. Also, in the context of the present description, expressions such as “can”, “may”, “might”, “will”, “could”, “should”, “would”, etc., may also be used interchangeably, whenever appropriate, as also apparent to a person skilled in the art.
Furthermore, in the context of the present description, it will be considered that all elongated objects will have an implicit “longitudinal axis” or “centerline”, such as the longitudinal axis of shaft for example, or the centerline of a coiled spring, for example, and that expressions such as “connected” and “connectable”, or “mounted” and “mountable”, may be interchangeable, in that the present invention also relates to a kit with corresponding components for assembling a resulting fully-assembled and fully-operational desiccant panel, assembly and/or cartridge (and/or resulting system provided with such desiccant panel, assembly and/or cartridge).
Moreover, components of the present system(s) and/or steps of the method(s) described herein could be modified, simplified, altered, omitted and/or interchanged, without departing from the scope of the present invention, depending on the particular applications which the present invention is intended for, and the desired end results, as briefly exemplified herein and as also apparent to a person skilled in the art.
In addition, although the preferred embodiments of the present invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings comprise various components, and although the preferred embodiments of the present desiccant assembly and corresponding portion(s)/part(s)/component(s) as shown consist of certain geometrical configurations, as explained and illustrated herein, not all of these components and geometries are essential to the invention and thus should not be taken in their restrictive sense, i.e. should not be taken so as to limit the scope of the present invention. It is to be understood, as also apparent to a person skilled in the art, that other suitable components and cooperation thereinbetween, as well as other suitable geometrical configurations may be used for the present desiccant assembly and corresponding portion(s)/part(s)/component(s) according to the present invention, as will be briefly explained herein and as can be easily inferred herefrom by a person skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of the present invention.
Broadly described, and as better exemplified in the accompanying drawings, the present invention relates to a desiccant assembly (1) (ex. a desiccant panel (5), a desiccant cartridge (111), etc.) capable of “processing” (ex. “conditioning”, “drying”, “dehumidifying”, “cooling”, etc.) air, and to be used in a corresponding ventilation system (201), such as an alternating flow energy recuperator for HVAC application, for example.
More particularly, and according to a possible embodiment, the present product may come in the form of desiccant panel (5), assembly (1) and/or cartridge (111), capable of being integrated (ex. slid, inserted, mounted, installed, etc.) into a corresponding ventilation system (201), such as an alternating flow energy recuperator unit, for example, which, as previously explained, relates to the transfer of moisture in the field of ventilation and air conditioning. Indeed, and as also previously explained, the recuperator typically consists of two air corridors passing through fin banks. More precisely, in winter for example, the building's warm and humid air exhausted to the outside passes through one of the two fin banks, releasing heat energy to the fin bank. In the meantime, the cold dry air from outside passes through the second bank of fins which has been previously heated. After a predetermined time (normally 20 to 60 seconds), air dampers open and close to alternate the airstream sides. The fin banks are permanently charging or discharging. The hot exhaust air condenses on the fins and the accumulated water is then evaporated into the supply air, allowing the outside air to be humidified and thus lowering energy costs.
In summer, the opposite phenomenon occurs. The outside air is cooled, and the building's exhaust air is warmed up. The phenomenon of condensation, however, disappears since the temperatures are not low enough and the air's dew point temperature is not reached. Dehumidification must therefore be done by another equipment, which usually consists of a cooling coil, further upstream into the ventilation unit. In this coil, a cold heat transfer fluid, usually water, a water-glycol mixture, or a refrigerant such as R-410a, circulates and cools the air passing through it. When the air reaches its dew point, the water in that air condenses and the air is dehumidified. This process of cooling is known as mechanical due to the need of compressors in the system. The energy costs associated with mechanical cooling are significantly high.
Another way to dehumidify the summer outdoor air is with the use of desiccants. This material typically consists of silica gel or molecular sieve when in the solid form. They are highly porous and have the property of absorbing moisture in the air when the vapor pressure on their surface is lower than the vapor pressure of the water in the air. When the humidity is high, the desiccants have a higher absorption capacity, and the transfer occurs faster. In the opposite situation, when the humidity is higher in the desiccant than in the air, this moisture is transferred to the air. The primary mechanism of moisture transfer with these types of agents is physical absorption through water vapor pressure differential. Chemical reactions are also responsible for the transfer of moisture with other types of desiccants.
These desiccants are widely used in various industries such as pharmaceuticals and packaging supplies. They are often in rayon (cellulose) or polyester fabric bags and are installed directly into the packaged products such as, for example, in a shoe box. It is the small bag inscribed: “Silica gel, do not eat.»
In the ventilation field, desiccant is used in both liquid and solid forms. In the case of the liquid desiccant, commonly used solutions are calcium chloride (CaCl2), lithium chloride (LiCl) or potassium phosphate (KCOOH). However, in industrial systems, these products are mostly used to dehumidify the process air. In our case, the air to be dehumidified is the one supplied to the ventilation systems of commercial and institutional buildings.
Two products already exist for this application. The most common is the dehumidification wheel. This equipment replaces the alternating flow energy recuperator entirely rather than just the desiccant cartridges. It is the same concept as a heat wheel, but the wheel is made of or coated with a desiccant. A thermal wheel works with two air flows each passing through a different tunnel with a common wheel rotating in the direction perpendicular to the ducts. As with the recuperator described above, the building's air transfers its energy to the wheel which will then transfer this energy to the fresh outside air (in winter). The opposite phenomenon occurs in summer. In the case of a dehumidification wheel, rather than having an aluminum-only wheel, the wheel is built or coated with a desiccant. This wheel is used to transfer latent energy from one airstream to another. The warm, humid air outside is dehumidified while the wheel is humidified. The wheel then transfers its moisture to the building's drier exhaust air. In the case of a dehumidification wheel, the air is heated before passing through the wheel, increasing the humidity transferred to the exhaust air. Heating the air, on the other hand, requires energy. However, it is more energy efficient to remove moisture this way than by condensation, as described above. Enthalpy wheels can also achieve the same results, but without preheating the exhaust air. The energy cost is lower, but so is the moisture transfer. The advantage of not preheating the air is that this heat is not transferred to the supply air, which will need to be cooled later.
The second product, an alternating flow energy recuperator with aluminum fins coated with desiccant, less widespread in the industry, is closer to our invention. It is the same concept as a heat recuperator wheel but covered with a desiccant, which also allows to add a transfer of sensible and latent energy. There are many processes for coating aluminum fins with desiccant and most are protected by the companies that developed them. Nonetheless, the desiccant is adhered to the aluminum with a bonding agent similar to glue. By doing so, some of the desiccants are not in contact with the air and thus the pores, which serve to absorb moisture from the air, are blocked by the bonding agent. Another problem with this product is fragility. Indeed, it can easily deteriorate during its manufacture and assembly. According to ASHRAE Fundamentals, this type of equipment has a lifespan between 10,000 and 100,000 hours (1 to 11 years), which is significantly less than the life of the ventilation unit in which it is installed. Replacing such equipment is expensive and difficult, sometimes impossible. The fins are generally large in size and are heavy. It is difficult to install them in the factory despite all the equipment(s) available. On a construction site, usually a mechanical room or a roof, this becomes almost impossible due to the lack of space and lifting equipment such as the overhead cranes used in the factory.
With the present invention, equipment is added to the alternating flow recuperator. This is a cartridge filled with beads of desiccant, after the fins of the recuperator. The building's cooler and drier exhaust air relieves the cartridges of its moisture. As with the fins, the process is repeated at each cycle varying from 20 to 60 seconds. This is an addition to the recuperator.
The desiccant inside the cartridges consists of 3 Angstrom(s) (i.e. “3 Å”) molecular sieve beads. This type of agent contains a multitude of pores that can capture water molecules in the air. Unlike with silica gel, the predominantly used desiccant, the 3 Å pores only absorb water molecules and not air contaminants. As the air passes through the beads, ranging in diameters between about 3 mm and 5 mm, the air is in direct contact with the desiccant, which is not the case with coated fins, as previously described. Also, the beads are less fragile than the desiccant coated fins which tend to crumble.
The cartridge design is made to maximize air contact with the beads, while minimizing air pressure loss (see the images below). The air passing through the beads can have high-pressure losses, but, by decreasing its speed, the pressure loss decreases dramatically. With the present invention, the cartridges are made of two perforated plates and the beads are inserted between these plates in order to be retained. These plates are made by bending them so that they are at an angle with the direction of the air. The angles increase the surface area of the air, thus decreasing its speed which results in a lower pressure loss. The angles also increase the volume of the desiccant.
The cartridges are located downstream of the fins on the supply side and therefore upstream on the discharge side. The estimated performance is relatively similar on one side or the other. However, by installing them on supply side, the cold air in winter is warmed by the fins before passing through the cartridges. This prevents the beads from freezing and shattering if they contain moisture.
The present invention allows the transfer of about 70% absolute humidity under standard summer conditions, i.e. an outside temperature of 90° F. with 50% relative humidity and a return of about 75° F. with 50% relative humidity. The pressure losses are about 0.3″ of water with face velocities of about 400 feet per minute. The cartridge design allows for quick and easy installation. It also allows these cartridges to be easily removed for maintenance, cleaning, or replacement, without having to replace the aluminum fins if they were coated with desiccant. The cartridges can also be added later if the need arises and there is sufficient space. The cost of such a system is much lower than with fins coated with desiccant, the latter requiring a complex manufacturing process to coat the aluminum and more desiccant agent.
It is believed that the addition of this equipment will have no impact in winter since the transfer of humidity is done by condensation (as explained hereinabove). It is also believed that the sensible energy transfer will be increased, but to a negligible extent.
As can now be better appreciated, and as can be easily understood and/or easily inferred from the present patent application and accompanying drawings, the present desiccant assembly (1) may come in the form of a desiccant assembly (1) including one and/or several of the following possible components and features (and/or different possible combination(s) and/or permutation(s) thereof):
at least one desiccant panel (5) having a pair of first and second opposite processing surfaces (5a, 5b) disposed about a main containment body (5c), said containment body (5c) having a containment volume (5d) for receiving a plurality of inner desiccant elements (7), said plurality of inner desiccant elements (7) being contained inside the containment volume (5d) of the containment body (5c) of the at least one desiccant panel (5), and being positioned, shaped and sized inside the containment volume (5d) of the containment body (5c) of the at least one desiccant panel (5), for interacting with the air flow (3) of the ventilation system (201) to be processed, and allowed to pass through said inner desiccant elements (7) of the at least one desiccant panel (5); and
a supporting component (9) for receiving and supporting the at least one desiccant panel (5), and for operatively placing said at least one desiccant panel (5) in a fluid passageway of the air flow (3) of the ventilation system (201) to be processed.
li.) A desiccant assembly (1) according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the desiccant assembly (1) includes at least one cross-sectional interface through which the air flow (3) of the ventilation system (201) to be processed is allowed to travel, and wherein a total surface area of one of the first and second processing surfaces (5a, 5b) of the at least one desiccant panel (5) is about 2.5 times that of a total surface area of the at least one cross-sectional interface of the desiccant assembly (1).
As can now be better appreciated, the present desiccant approach (ex. panel (5), assembly (1), cartridge (111), etc.) is very advantageous in that, contrary to desiccant-coated fins that are complicated, long and very costly to manufacture, install and/or maintain, the present system allows desiccant panel(s) (5) to be easily, quickly, conveniently and inexpensively assembled and installed, while ensuring an improved processing capability of the air flow (3) of the ventilation system (201) to be processed.
Indeed, according to one possible embodiment of the present system, sheet material (ex. sheet metal, etc.) can be easily, quickly, conveniently and inexpensively cut-out and bent, and closed-off with side tabs (5e) and/or corresponding fasteners (ex. rivets, etc.), so as to create a corresponding resulting desiccant panel (5) destined to receive and contain corresponding internal desiccant elements (7) therein. Furthermore, the use of sheet material (ex. sheet metal, etc.) for the panel(s) (5), for example, is also very advantageous in that, contrary to desiccant-coated fins which are also very heavy, sheet material (ex. sheet metal, etc.) enables to have a resulting desiccant panel(s) (5) that is(are) lightweight, which is very desirable for transportation purposes and/or when the desiccant panel(s) (5) need(s) to be brought to the top of a building (for example), where the major components (ex. fans, etc.) of the ventilation system (201) may be located, etc.
Furthermore, the fact of providing “slanted” (ex. angled, etc.) desiccant panel(s) (5) against an air flow (3) of a ventilation system (201) to be processed enables to expose said air flow (3) to an “increased operative processing area”, for an increased processing capability of the air flow (3) of the ventilation system (201) to be processed, while enabling also a “reduced speed” of the air to be processed, which advantageously “minimizes pressure loss” within the ventilation system (201). Indeed, by increasing the operative processing area through which the air to be processed has to “pass through” (ex. due to the provision of “slanted” (ex. angled, etc.) desiccant panel(s) (5), etc.), this in turn decreases its flow speed, and thus, in turn, reduces a possible pressure loss, which is also very desirable, as can be easily understood by a person skilled in the art.
Additionally, the present desiccant approach (ex. panel (5), assembly (1), cartridge (111), etc.) is also advantageous in that the panel(s), contrary to desiccant-coated fins, may be easily inspected, cleaned, maintained, repaired and/or replaced. Indeed, according to one possible embodiment of the present system, the desiccant assembly (and/or associated components, such as desiccant panel(s) (5), desiccant cartridge (111), etc.) can be easily, quickly and conveniently insertable into (and thus, conversely, easily removeable from) a corresponding component of the ventilation system (201). According to another possible embodiment of the present system, where the desiccant panel(s) (5) are simply insertable about (ex. into, along, etc.) corresponding support “slots” (ex. U-shaped slots, etc.), this also makes for a very easy, quick, convenient and inexpensive way of installing, inspection, cleaning, maintenance and/or replacement of the present desiccant system (ex. panel (5), assembly (1), cartridge (111), etc.).
As can now be better appreciated, the present desiccant approach (ex. panel (5), assembly (1), cartridge (111), etc.) is also advantageous in that, due to the “alternating” nature of the ventilation system (201) that it is meant to be used with, the “back-and-forth” of alternating air flows (3) provide the desiccant assembly (1) (and/or associated components, such as desiccant panel(s) (5), desiccant cartridge (111), etc.) with a “self-cleaning” feature due to the “backwash” created by each associated alternating air flow (3), as can also be easily understood by a person skilled in the art.
The present desiccant approach (ex. panel (5), assembly (1), cartridge (111), etc.) is also particularly advantageous in that the internal desiccant elements (7) are, according to one possible embodiment, configured to capture water molecules only (namely, due to the dimensional choice of the pores of the type of internal desiccant elements (7) being used, etc.), and thus, little and/or no contamination of the internal desiccant elements (7) occurs because, other unwanted molecules are meant to simply not be allowed to enter into the internal desiccant elements (7), thereby further reducing and/or virtually eliminating any “maintenance work” (ex. “cleaning”, etc.) being required for the present desiccant system (ex. panel (5), assembly (1), cartridge (111), etc.), while enabling to maintain constant and/or high levels of processing of air, which is very desirable, for many obvious reasons.
As can be easily understood, in addition to the various innovative components and features of the present system, and explained and/or exemplified in the present patent specification, the desiccant assembly (1) according to the present invention could also be provided with various other known components and features of other conventional desiccant devices, materials and/or the like being well known (ex. display, electronics, safety features, etc.), as apparent to a person skilled in the art.
As may now be better appreciated, the present desiccant assembly (1) is a considerable improvement over conventional systems in that, and as explained hereinabove, it allows the transfer of about 70% absolute humidity under standard summer conditions, i.e. an outside temperature of 90° F. with 50% relative humidity and a return of 75° F. with 50% relative humidity. The pressure losses are about 0.3″ of water with face velocities of 400 feet per minute. The cartridge (111) design allows for quick and easy installation. It also allows these cartridges (111) to be easily removed for maintenance, cleaning, or replacement, without having to replace the aluminum fins if they were coated with desiccant. The cartridges (111) can also be added later if the need arises and there is sufficient space. The cost of such a system is much lower than with fins coated with desiccant, the latter requiring a complex manufacturing process to coat the aluminum and more desiccant agent.
Furthermore, the present desiccant assembly (1) is advantageous in that it offers an innovative design with minimal components that can be modular and/or interchangeable depending on the applications(s) for which the desiccant assembly (1) is intended for, and the desired end result(s), and to be able to do so in a safe, clean, simple, compact, convenient and cost-effective manner.
The present desiccant assembly (1) and corresponding parts are preferably made of substantially rigid materials, such as metallic materials, hardened polymers, composite materials, polymeric materials, and/or the like, so as to ensure a proper operation thereof depending on the particular applications for which the desiccant assembly (1) is intended and the different parameters (loads, temperatures, etc.) in cause, as apparent to a person skilled in the art.
Of course, and as can be easily understood by a person skilled in the art, the scope of the claims should not be limited by the possible embodiments set forth in the examples, but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the description as a whole.
Furthermore, although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been briefly described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these embodiments and that various changes and modifications could be made without departing form the scope and spirit of the present invention, as defined in the appended claims and as apparent to a person skilled in the art.
The present invention relates to the field of ventilation and air conditioning systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to a new desiccant assembly, and also relates to a system (ex. ventilation system, air conditioning system, etc.) provided with such a desiccant assembly, as well as to a kit with corresponding components for assembling the same, and to corresponding methods of manufacturing, assembling and/or operating associated thereto. The present patent application claims priority of U.S. provisional patent application No. 63/202,863 dated Jun. 28, 2021, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63202863 | Jun 2021 | US |
