Air conditioning apparatus and system
United States Patent Herb [ 51 Apr. 29, 1975 AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS AND Prinuiry liraminer-William E. Wayner SYSTEM Assistant Examiner-W. E. Tapolcai, Jr. [75] Inventor: Carl C. Herb, Camillus, N.Y. g g lfgsgggcm, r Firm-J. Raymond Curtm; Barry [73] Assignee: Carrier Corporation, Syracuse. N.Y.  
 . 57 A TRA T [22] Filed: Sept. 7,1973 BS C An air conditioning system including an air condition- [21] Appl. No.: 395,205 ing terminal to provide treated air from a central source to a plurality of areas in a common enclosure. [52] U S. Cl 98/40 D At least one of the air conditioning terminals em- [511 1724f 1/00 ployed in the system is operable to simultaneously 581 Field of Search 98/40 D; 236/49 P? &#34;fated to two adjilcem. areas f by a partition member. The terminal includes diffuser sec- [56] References Cited tions partially defining discharge air passages from the terminal on opposed sides of the partition member. UNITED STATES PATENTS The terminal further includes a second diffuser section 2.350.514 6/1944 Liva r 98/40 D defining the remaining portion of the discharge ail /1967 98/40 D passages from the terminal, the second diffuser section 1 3 having first and second downwardly extending. spaced L ct apart leg members defining therebetween an opening for receiving a top portion of the partition member,  
 2 Claims, 1 Drawing Figure w I t t M a 55 i Zl  i? 37 fi 4| AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS AND SYSTEM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an air conditioning system for providing treated air to a plurality of areas in a common enclosure, and more specifically to such a system including at least one air conditioning terminal operable to simultaneously discharge treated air into two adjacent areas separated by a common partition member.  
  A substantial number of commercial buildings, such as hospitals office buildings, and schools, include air conditioning systems that provide treated air from a central source to each of the areas in the enclosure. Many of such systems include supply air terminals disposed in each of the separate areas, that enable the individual occupants thereof to obtain temperature conditions therein in accordance with his own preference.  
  An air conditioning terminal that provides such individual control is disclosed in US. Pat. No, 3,554,111 filed Nov. 29, 1968, issued Jan. 12, 1971, Darwin G. Traver and Fred V. Honnold, Jr. inventors. Such terminal may be operated to provide treated air simultaneously to two areas separated by a common partition member, whereby each of the occupants of the separate areas may obtain temperature conditions in his own area in accordance with the individuals own preference.  
  Many of the modern buildings employing air conditioning systems having terminals of the type disclosed in the aforecited patent, have false ceilings suspended from the actual ceilings of the building. Such false ceilings generally comprise acoustical tiles suspended from the actual ceilings by wires or supported in spaced relation to the ceilings by grid members.  
  In many installations employing air conditioning terminals described in the aforecited patent, the top surface of the partition member separating adjacent areas is spaced from the bottom surface of the ceiling air terminal. However, it has been found that the space separating the partition member from the air terminal permits the transmission of noise from one area to the next, thereby causing the individual occupants of the respective areas much discomfort. It has been suggested to raise the partition member so that the top surface thereof is flush with the bottom surface of the air terminal; however, in many installations this has not been proven to be too practical. For example, in relatively large areas which are broken down into individual rooms or spaces by partition members, the floor to ceiling height is not uniform throughout the entire area. Therefore, the partition members have to be individually sized so the top surface thereof may be placed flush with the bottom surface of the ceiling air terminals. The individual structural modifications to the partition members increases the cost of installing such members. Accordingly, as is obvious, it would be extremely desirable to avoid the necessity of individually sizing each of the partition members in installations employing the partition members as sound barriers to prevent noise or sound transmission between adjacent areas.  
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an air conditioning system having an air terminal particularly suitable for use in installations employing partition members to separate adjacent areas.  
  It is a further object of this invention to provide an air conditioning system including an air conditioning terminal disposed above partition members separating two adjacent areas, wherein the terminal is operable to provide conditioned air simultaneously into each of the respective areas.  
  It is a further object of this invention to provide an air conditioning system including a ceiling air terminal having a portion in vertical alignment with the partition member separating adjacent areas and adapted to have the partition member inserted into an opening of the terminal to create a sound barrier to prevent the transmission of noise between adjacent rooms.-  
  These and other objects of the present invention are obtained by providing an air conditioning system having an air conditioning terminal operable to discharge conditioned air simultaneously into two adjacent areas separated by a common partition member. The terminal includes a first diffuser means partially defining discharge air passages from the terminal on opposed sides of the partition member. The terminal further includes second diffuser means defining the remaining portion of said discharge air passages from the terminal, said second diffuser means having first and second downwardly extending, spaced apart leg members defining therebetween an opening for receiving a top portion of said partition member.  
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The single FIGURE of the drawing is of an air conditioning system, partially in schematic, partially in section, embodying the present invention.  
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring more particularly to the drawing, there is illustrated a central air conditioning apparatus including a filter 5, pre-cooling coil 7, spray means 9, cooling coil 1 1, heating coil 13 and fan 15, for heating, cooling, humidifying and filtering the air as desired, to provide conditioned air for passage to the area or room being conditioned.  
  A supply air duct 17 is illustrative of the plurality of ducts provided to supply conditioned air to the ceiling air terminals throughout the building. The ceiling terminal may include a primary chamber 19 that is lined with sound absorbing material 21 such as a glass fiber blanket. Theprimary chamber is ordinarily open at both ends for connecting a series of terminals end to end to provide a complete air discharge system. The primary chamber may be suspended from area ceiling in the manner shown or in the alternative may be suitably supported by grid members, if such are utilized to form an acoustical false ceiling of a type well known to those skilled in the art. Suitable end pieces, not shown, are utilized to cap the end terminals in the series. An air supply distribution plate 23 having a plurality of collared openings 25 is provided to evenly distribute the supply air from primary chamber 19 into distribution chamber 27 which is defined by the top and side walls of distribution plate 23.  
  The bottom of distribution chamber 27 includes aligned cutoff plates 29, provided with curved surface 30 for engagement by bladders 31 and 33 to form a damper. The curved surfaces smooth the flow of air through the damper to minimize the pressure drop therethrough when the bladder is fully deflated and provide a low noise level over the entire operating range of the terminal as bladder inflation is varied between a fully deflated position and a fully inflated position. Surface 30 is covered with felt 32 to further minimize noise.  
  By varying the inflation of the bladders, the area of the openings between the bladders and the cutoff plates may be varied. This feature can be utilized to provide a variety of modes of terminal operation. If it is desired to maintain a constant discharge of air from the terminal, a pressure responsive control may be employed to inflate or deflate the bladders in response to supply air pressure to reduce the area between the bladders and cutoff plates as duct pressure increases and to increase the area therebetween as duct pressure decreases. If it is desired to control the terminal to provide a constant room temperature under varying cooling loads, the bladder inflation may be controlled by a thermostat responsive to room temperature to provide an increased quantity of air flow from the terminal as the cooling load increases and decreased quantity of air flow from the terminal as the cooling load decreases.  
  Bladders 31 and 33 are adhesively mounted on a central partition assembly comprising opposed&#39; generally convex plates 35 and first diffuser member 37. The plates have a V-shaped recess so that the bladders are completely recessed within the plates when deflated. This provides a large area between active walls 34 of the bladders and cutoff plates for maximum air flow therebetween. Further, the recessed bladder provides a smooth surface along plate 35 to minimize air turbulance.  
  By reference to the drawing, it may be seen that walls 34 of the bladders are concave.&#39;When the bladders are fully deflated, the active walls of the bladders are out of the air stream to minimize the possibility of bladder flutter. By recessing the bladder within plate 35 and providing the bladders with concave walls 34, the distance between the cutoff plates and walls 34 of the bladders is increased. This provides a greater opening between a bladder and cutoff plate when the bladder is fully deflated for maximum air flow therebetween. Further, a large movement of wall 34 from a concave to a convex position may be obtained without stretching the bladder material.  
  The damper mechanism is disposed a substantial distance upstream from the discharge openings in the terminal to provide sufficient space therebetween to absorb any noise generated by the damper mechanism. For maximum sound absorption, downwardly extending walls 39 which form air passages in conjunction with plates 35, are lined with a sound absorbing material such as glass fiber blankets 45. Outlet or second diffuser members 41 having outwardly flared lower portions 43 thereon are affixed, as by welding to walls 39. Outlet members 41 are preferably disposed adjacent acoustical tiles 53 and 54, the tiles forming a portion of a false ceiling suspended by suitable means from the area ceiling.  
  The convex plates prevent direct, straight line pas sage of sound energy waves from the damper into the area being conditioned. The sound waves generated at the damper strike sound absorbing blankets 45 where they are absorbed, to prevent passage of noise from the terminal. The lower portion of the passageway formed between plate 35 and wall 39 has a constantly increasing cross-sectional area in the direction of flow which also aids in the dissipation of sound energy.  
  As disclosed in the aforecited United States Pat. No. 3,554,111, the air terminal hereinabove described is designed to obtain proper air distribution within the area or areas being conditioned. In particular, the discharged air stream obtained therefrom will attach and remain attached to the ceiling of the area to flow therealong to a location remote from the terminal before dropping into the area being conditioned. This assures the supply of conditioned air to the portions of the area remote from the terminal.  
  The terminal disclosed in the previously cited patent is particularly suitable for use in installations wherein the terminal is provided above a partition member separating two adjacent areas or rooms within a common enclosure. The air terminal is operable to discharge conditioned air into each of the areas in a manner to obtain desired air distribution.  
  In many installations employing ceiling air terminals serving two adjacent areas, separated by a common partition member, the partition member is separated from the lower surface of the terminal so a space is defined therebetween. The existance of such space permits sound or noise to be transmitted between adjacent areas thus causing annoyance to the occupants of the individual areas.  
  To overcome this problem, it has become the practice to increase the size of the partition members so that the top surfaces thereof are flush with the bottom surfaces of ceiling air terminals disposed thereover. However, in enclosures having relatively large areas, the floor to ceiling height is never uniform. Thus, when partition members are installed to subdivide the areas, the partition members have to be individually sized to make the bottom of the ceiling air terminal flush with the top of the partition member. As is obvious, the individual sizing of each partition member will increase the overall cost of completing the installation.  
  To obviate the difficulties presented by the prior art, diffuser 37 includes first and second downwardly extending, spaced apart leg members 56 and 57 which define therebetween an opening 58 adapted to receive a top portion of partition member 50. Partition member 50 separates adjacent areas 51 and 52. Typically, there are numerous partition members 50 subdividing a large, single area into many individual areas.  
  Due to the elongation of opening 58 defined by leg members 56 and 57 of diffuser member 37, the various partition members may be of a uniform size, somewhat larger than the designed actual floor to ceiling height. An individual partition member may be readily inserted into the opening defined by leg members 56 and 57 to thereby form a sound barrier to prevent a transmission of noise between adjacent areas separated by the common partition member.  
  Although one form of ceiling air terminal has been specifically described, it should be particularly understood that other ceiling air terminals may be employed in lieu of the disclosed terminal without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.  
  While a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described and illustrated, the invention should not be limited thereto, but may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the following claims.  
 I claim:  
  1. An air conditioning system to provide treated air from a central source of supply to a plurality of areas in a common enclosure and having at least one supply terminal to supply treated air simultaneously to two separate areas having a partition member separating the two areas, said areas including acoustical tiles defining a second ceiling section suspended from and spaced below a first ceiling section of the areas, said terminal including:  
 a. first diffuser means including first and second members spaced apart to define therebetween a discharge air passage for said terminal, said first and second members being positioned substantially adjacent to said acoustical tiles; and  
 b. second diffuser means disposed within said air passage, said second diffuser means having first and second downwardly extending, spaced apart leg members defining therebetween an opening for receiving a top portion of said partition member, opposed sides of said leg members and said first and said second members of said first diffuser means 6 defining therebetween discharge air passages on opposed sides of said partition member.  
 An air terminal to supply treated air simultaneously to two separate areas having a partition mem- 5 ber separating the two areas comprising:  
 site sides of said partition member.