Device for generating air cutrains, in particular for a railway vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10449844-B2
Application number	US-201615016188-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 4, 2016
Priority date	Feb 6, 2015
Publication date	Oct 22, 2019
Grant date	Oct 22, 2019

Abstract

A device includes an air curtain generator including air curtain diffusor able to diffuse at least one air curtain along a plane, in at least first and second different diffusion directions. The air curtain generating device includes a control unit able to control the diffusion of the at least one air curtain in one and/or the other of the first and second diffusion directions.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An air curtain generating device for generating air curtains along a plane defining an inside zone and an outside zone, comprising:
a first air curtain generator configured to generate a first air curtain, comprising a first air curtain diffuser configured to diffuse the first air curtain along said plane in the first diffusion direction,
a second air curtain generator configured to generate a second air curtain, comprising a second air curtain diffuser configured to diffuse the second air curtain along said plane in a second diffusion direction,
wherein the first diffusion direction is oriented toward the inside zone and the second diffusion direction is oriented toward the outside zone, and

a controller configured to control the diffusion of the first air curtain and the second air curtain,
wherein the controller is able to enter a first operating mode, in which the flow of the first air curtain is increased and/or the flow of the second air curtain is reduced to favor the movement of people from the outside zone toward the inside zone, or in a second operating mode, in which the flow of the first air curtain is reduced and/or the flow of the second air curtain is increased to favor the movement of people from the inside zone toward the outside zone, and wherein the controller is configured so that the transition from the first to the second operating mode is timed from opening of a door, so as to trigger the second operating mode during a first time delay following the opening of the door, then to switch to the first operation mode during a second time delay, prior to the closing of the door.

2. The air curtain generating device according to claim 1 , wherein:
the air curtain generating device includes an orientation modifier configured to modify the orientation of the first and second air curtain diffusers, between a first position, in which the air curtain is diffused in the first diffusion direction, and a second position, in which the air curtain is diffused in the second diffusion direction.

3. The air curtain generating device according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second air curtains together generate, by venturi effect, a resulting air flow diffusing in a resulting direction, the controller being able to modify said resulting direction by modifying the flows of the first and second air curtains.

4. The air curtain generating device according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second air curtain diffusers include nozzles for emitting an air curtain, at least one of the nozzles being arranged to emit the corresponding air curtain vertically, and at least one of the nozzles being arranged to emit the corresponding air curtain horizontally.

5. The air curtain generating device according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is able to regulate a flow of each air curtain.

6. The air curtain generating device according to claim 5 , including a people detector configured to detect people near said plane, the controller being configured to adjust the flow of the at least one air curtain based on the presence and/or movements of people near said plane.

7. The air curtain generating device according to claim 5 , including a weather detector configured to detect conditions in the outside zone, said weather detector comprising an instrument selected from the group consisting of a temperature sensor, a rain detector, a snow detector and a wind sensor, wherein the controller is configured to adjust the flow of each air curtain based on the detected weather conditions.

8. The air curtain generating device according to claim 5 , including an air conditioner for air conditioning in the inside zone, able to enter different air conditioning states of said inside zone, the controller configured to adjust the flow of the at least one air curtain as a function of the status of the air conditioner.

9. The air curtain generating device according to claim 8 , wherein the controller is able to regulate the temperature of each air curtain by controlling operation of the air conditioner.

10. The air curtain generating device according to claim 8 , wherein the air conditioner is configured to enter different air conditioning states of said inside zone, the controller being configured to adjust the temperature of the at least one air curtain as a function of the status of the air conditioner.

11. An air curtain generating device for generating air curtains along a plane defining an inside zone and an outside zone, comprising:
a first air curtain generator configured to generate a first air curtain, comprising a first air curtain diffuser configured to diffuse the first air curtain along said plane in a first diffusion direction,
a second air curtain generator configured to generate a second air curtain, comprising a second air curtain diffuser configured to diffuse the second air curtain along said plane in a second diffusion direction,
wherein the first diffusion direction is oriented toward the inside zone and the second diffusion direction is oriented toward the outside zone, and

a controller configured to control the diffusion of the first air curtain and the second air curtain,
wherein the controller is able to enter a first operating mode, in which the flow of the first air curtain is increased and/or the flow of the second air curtain is reduced to favor the movement of people from the outside zone toward the inside zone, or in a second operating mode, in which the flow of the first air curtain is reduced and/or the flow of the second air curtain is increased to favor the movement of people from the inside zone toward the outside zone,
wherein the device includes a detector for detecting people near the plane, the controller being configured so as to adjust the flow of the first and/or second air curtains based on the presence and/or movements of people near said plane, the controller being configured to stay in the second operating mode as long as people are detected as moving from the inside zone toward the outside zone, then stays in the first operating zone as long as people are detected as moving from the outside zone toward the inside zone.

12. An air curtain generating device for generating air curtains along a plane defining an inside zone and an outside zone, comprising:
a first air curtain generator configured to generate a first air curtain, comprising a first air curtain diffuser configured to diffuse the first air curtain along said plane in a first diffusion direction,
a second air curtain generator configured to generate a second air curtain, comprising a second air curtain diffuser configured to diffuse the second air curtain along said plane in a second diffusion direction,
wherein the first diffusion direction is oriented toward the inside zone and the second diffusion direction is oriented toward the outside zone, and

a controller configured to control the diffusion of the first air curtain and the second air curtain,
wherein the controller is able to enter a first operating mode, in which the flow of the first air curtain is increased and/or the flow of the second air curtain is reduced to favor the movement of people from the outside zone toward the inside zone, or in a second operating mode, in which the flow of the first air curtain is reduced and/or the flow of the second air curtain is increased to favor the movement of people from the inside zone toward the outside zone,
wherein the controller is configured so that the transition to the first or second operating mode is commanded manually.

Assignees

• Alstom Transp Tech

Inventors

• Le Bastard Jean
• Staudt Christoph

Classifications

• F24F2009/005

  combined with a door · CPC title

• B60J9/04 Primary

  Air curtains (in general F24F) · CPC title

• B61D19/02

  for carriages (B61D19/003 takes precedence) · CPC title