US20080245353A1

US20080245353A1 - Heating and Air-Conditioning Device

Info

Publication number: US20080245353A1
Application number: US10/572,232
Authority: US
Inventors: Bernard Schreiber; Antoine Vaccaro
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-09-23
Filing date: 2004-09-24
Publication date: 2008-10-09
Also published as: CA2539263A1; FR2860061A1; EP1695010A1; DE602004005614T2; ATE358261T1; EA200600628A1; FR2860061B1; EP1695010B1; WO2005031217A1; DE602004005614D1; PL1695010T3; EA011014B1; JP2007506930A; PT1695010E

Abstract

The invention relates to a device which can be used alternatively to heat and air-condition a space, such as a residential, working, or storage premises or room or any other enclosed area.

The inventive device consists of a heating unit (1) comprising a closed firebox (2) with an air circuit which is used to release the calories produced by said closed firebox (2) and an optionally reversible air-conditioning unit, comprising at least two exchangers at least one of which, called inner exchanger, is placed in an inner air circuit that communicates with the exterior by means of the aforementioned calorie-releasing air circuit on the closed firebox to diffuse the air from inside the device externally. At least one of the exchangers shall be placed downstream and preferably at the outlet of the air circuit which is connected to the closed firebox (2). In this way, at least one air flow can be obtained at a suitable temperature, and cooled if necessary, particularly during hot weather and additional calories or frigories can be permanently or occasionally provided to the closed heating firebox, particularly during chilly and cold weather.

Description

This invention relates to a device which can be used alternatively to heat and air-condition a space, such as a residential, working or storage premises or room or any other enclosed area.
In particular, the invention relates to a heating unit comprising a closed firebox associated with an air-conditioning unit which, by taking over from the closed firebox for the heating function and by modulating and dosing the contribution of the air-conditioning unit both in terms of heated air and cooled air, ensures exceptional constancy of the internal temperature at the desired set point in order to guarantee greater comfort with an optimum climatic environment.
The invention also relates to a device which is able to built or installed around a heating unit with a closed firebox, for example of the fireplace, tiled stove or other stove type. This device shall be called an installation hereinafter as it is assembled on the spot.
Using fireplaces with a closed or open firebox, or tiled fireplaces to provide main or additional heating for residential premises, particularly individual ones, has experienced renewed interest, for various economic or aesthetic reasons. This type of installation is often associated with a certain idea of quality of life and comfort. The same goes for air-conditioning installations, which after having been reserved for primarily professional uses, are now arousing a general craze.
Usually, the air-conditioning of residential or other premises outside heating periods presupposes a heat transfer between the space to be air-conditioned and the outside or another area. Known installations consist of an internal unit, made up of an evaporator/exchanger, a compressor, and pressure regulator or air leak tube, and an external unit made up of a condenser/exchanger. The heat transfer is carried out due to the successive changes of state of a coolant, which when evaporating is accompanied by a heat absorption and the condensation of a heat build-up. The evaporator/exchanger allows the coolant to vaporize by absorbing the heat from the ambient environment, which is released towards the outside by the condenser/exchanger when the coolant condenses. Between these two elements, the compressor ensures coolant circulates while increasing its pressure and temperature, while the pressure regulator reduces its pressure to allow it to be evaporated at low temperature.
Repeating these functions in a continuous loop makes it possible to provide air-conditioning on the premises. It is therefore necessary to provide for two devices and therefore have two totally distinct installations, on the one hand the main or additional heating function, and on the other hand the air-conditioning function outside the heating periods.
There are admittedly so-called reversible air conditioners which offer a heating function. However, this type of installation can possibly be used to provide additional heat energy but it will not make it possible to ensure satisfactory heating of large spaces. Furthermore, it loses a large part of its efficiency once the outside temperature drops below a certain threshold, the efficiency of reversible air conditioners being particularly low.
To overcome these drawbacks, some reversible air conditioners have additional resistances in inside units, which makes it possible to ensure additional heating even when the outside temperature is particularly low. It is clear however that these solutions remain complex, therefore costly, and that in any case they presuppose considerable installation work.
It is therefore interesting to be able to combine the heating and air-conditioning functions in connection with a single installation, making it possible to heat the room or the premises and then provide the ventilation thereof outside the heating period.
An installation of this type is described in publication FR 2 814 227, which relates to a heating installation comprising a heating boiler and a water circulation circuit by means of radiators, un ice-making plant being arranged in the vicinity of the boiler.
A heat exchanger makes it possible to transfer the frigories which are generated by the ice-making plant to the water which is circulating in the water circulation circuit, and thereby provide air-conditioning. This functional duality, which is based on using the water circulation circuit in the existing central heating installation for the chilled water, is however not fully satisfactory in that it presupposes a considerable modification to the heating installation, with which a certain number of new elements have to be associated to perform the air-conditioning function. Furthermore, this solution can only be implemented in the case of the heating function being achieved by means of a central heating installation, and it is not transposable to traditional type heating facilities, such as a fireplace or a stove.
Publication Us 2001/0042 610 A10 describes an installation in which a firebox is connected to a heat exchanger which is itself connected to an external air intake.
The object pursued by this installation is quite different from that of this invention, in that it is only a matter of heating the outside air by using the heat released by the combustion inside the firebox, in order to thereby improve the performance of the heating installation. Publication U.S. Pat. No. 6,149,066 also describes an installation designed to make it possible to heat outside air by using the energy dissipated by a heating device, again in order to improve the efficiency of the installation.
Publication JP 200249367 describes an air-conditioning device comprising a cooling circuit coupled with a gas burner, in order to make it possible if necessary to heat the cooled air diffused by the cooling circuit.
The only object of the above-mentioned inventions is to regulate the temperature of the air diffused through an air-conditioning installation, and not to perform a heating function in addition to the air-conditioning function or making use of the heat from the condenser by way of a calorie intake.
The object of the present invention is to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks by proposing a device and an installation which combine the heating and air-conditioning functions. The installation and especially the device do not require any significant structural modifications to the rooms or premises nor any difficult adaptation work.
More precisely, the invention makes use of the release and distribution of the hot air by the ducts for uptake and distribution of the hot air on a heating unit. Advantageously, a connection, a coupling or a combination is created between these hot air ducts and an air-conditioning unit to thereby achieve a distribution of air at a suitable temperature, cooled if necessary in all the spaces targeted.
The present invention shall be more fully disclosed with reference to the description given below of a several possible means of embodiment, and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a cutaway view illustrating a first form of embodiment of the installation according to this invention, implementing a fireplace with a closed firebox and an air-conditioning unit located under the slab housing the heating unit,
FIG. 2 is a cutaway view of the installation according to a second form of embodiment, in which the heating unit is a tiled stove,
FIG. 3 is a cutaway view illustrating a third form of embodiment of the installation according to this invention, in which the air-conditioning unit is incorporated directly into the heating unit,
FIG. 4 is a schematic longitudinal cutaway view showing in general a compact device in accordance with the invention ready to be fitted or installed.
This invention is a product of the general inventive concept which consists in placing, preferably downstream from the air outlet circuit, calories produced by a closed heating firebox, or at the base of the former, or in a previous air circuit, at least one exchanger on an air-conditioning unit or a heat pump comprising at least two exchangers, in order to produce at least one air flow at a suitable temperature, chilled if need be, particularly during hot weather and to permanently or occasionally provide additional calories or frigories in the closed heating firebox, particularly during a period of chilly and cold weather.
The device described below can be built on an industrial scale entirely mass-produced and be sold in shops ready to be fitted or installed or it can be put together on the spot using the existing elements or components, for example a closed fireplace firebox or stove.
FIG. 1 represents a first form of embodiment according to which, the heating and air-conditioning device according to this invention is put together on the spot in the room or on the premises.
According to this form of embodiment, a fireplace with a closed firebox located in the room or on the premises to be heated or ventilated is associated with at least one exchanger on an air-conditioning unit part of which can be arranged outside the room or premises, for example in the cellar of the place of residence or the building.
The heating unit 1 can consist of one traditional fireplace 1′, which is comprised of a closed firebox 2 mounted on a table 3 which is itself arranged on a stand 4 resting on the slab 5 of the room or the premises, the unit being able to be semi flush-mounted in a brickwork cabinet 16. The closed firebox 2 is surrounded by a jamb 6 topped by a hood 8 forming the upper part of the fireplace. A decorative beam 7 can be inserted between the stand of the hood 8 and the jamb 6.
The closed firebox 2 incorporates a shroud 17 housing in its upper part at least one, but preferably several ducts for taking up and then releasing the heated air 10, for example two, to ensure the uptake of the air heating up towards the upper extremities which emerge outside the hood 8 by means of outlet screens 9.
For this purpose, the ducts 10 preferably have a curved shape, the angle in the curved part 15 of said ducts varying according to the incline of side walls of the hood 8.
In a traditional operating mode of a fireplace of this type, the closed firebox 2 is fed from the front with solid fuel, generally wood, and the hot air thereby produced is directed through the hood 8 and released by the hot air release ducts 10 and diffused by means of the screens 9 to heat the room or the premises and possibly other rooms.
According to the example shown, the air-conditioning unit which can be the reversible type, comprises an outer exchanger unit 20 connected to an inner exchanger unit 21 by a known type of duct 22.
The outer exchanger unit 20 is arranged outside the house or the building to be equipped and the inner exchanger unit 21 is preferably arranged under the closed firebox 2 and in the example shown in the cellar, under the slab 5 and corresponding to the fireplace placed in the room located above.
For this purpose, the inner exchanger unit 21 shall be mounted on a stand 23 which is itself fixed to the ceiling. By arranging the inner exchanger unit 21 on a stand fixed directly to the ceiling, the distance separating it from the fireplace 1′ is reduced and heat losses and consumption can thereby be greatly limited.
The inner exchanger unit 21 is connected to a flexible duct 24, the opposite end of which emerges in the lower part of the brickwork cabinet 16, to ensure that the air heated in the room returns downwards.
The chilled air shall be diffused in the room by means of two or several flexible ducts 25 preferably heat-insulated, connected to the upper part of the inner exchanger unit 21 and opening into the fireplace 1′.
In this first form of embodiment and implementation of this invention, the outlet ducts 25 of the inner exchanger unit 21 on the air-conditioning unit are connected to the release ducts 10 located on the top of the firebox 2 on the fireplace 1′, by means of a Y-piece 30 which shall be arranged preferably at the elbow 15 on one or more ducts 10 on the fireplace.
Thanks to the connection by heat-insulated ducts which is in this way made between the internal block 21 of the air-conditioning unit and the hot air ducts at the outlet of the firebox 2 on the fireplace 1′, a distribution of chilled air is created in all the spaces provided for and this is done by the ducts of this fireplace.
In this way we have a particularly compact dual-function installation, as it shall be possible to have the ventilation ducts 25 connected to the inner exchanger unit 21 of the air conditioner pass either side of the firebox 2 on the fireplace 1′, and therefore incorporate them in the fireplace, in order to thereby build a totally invisible installation on the residential premises or room.
It shall thereby be possible to activate the air-conditioning unit outside the heating periods, by injecting the air chilled by the air conditioner's evaporator into the fireplace's hot air outlet ducts, this operation being able to performed manually or by using an automatic valve (not shown) associated with the Y-pieces 30. They will also be able to be made to operate together, particularly in the case of a reversible air-conditioning unit.
The installation according to this invention also presents the advantage of greatly reducing the air conditioner's auditory space, and therefore the discomfort caused for the occupants of the accommodation or the premises.
Likewise, as the air conditioned air uses the same outlet as the hot air, this reduces the work required in the accommodation and it is therefore not necessary to provide for an independent and distinct distribution system for the air-conditioned air, hence considerable savings.
Implementing the invention according to this first form of embodiment, which implies having a fireplace as a heating unit, can form the subject of other applications.
In this way, according to a second form of embodiment of the heating installation as per this invention, the air conditioner is connected to the heating unit and to an installation in which the fireplace is replaced by a tiled stove.
According to this alternative embodiment, the installation shall comprise an air-conditioning unit made up as previously of an external block 20 and an internal block 21, which is, as previously, mounted on a stand 23 fixed to the ceiling under the slab 5, corresponding to the heating unit 1, which here is made up of a tiled stove 40 or a stove with decorative stones arranged in the room or premises. The tiled stove 40 is placed on a stand 41 which is itself laid on the premises' slab 5.
The unit can also consist of a wood boiler 42 arranged in the cellar, under the slab 5, comprising a loading door 43 and a heat recuperator 44. An air return duct 45 passing on the side of the boiler 42 opens into the base of the stand 41 of the stove 40.
The heat emitted by the boiler 42 rises and is recuperated in two ducts 10′ from two openings 46 arranged in the part of the ceiling situated above the boiler and the opposing extremities of which open out inside the stove 40 after having crossed the slab 5.
Releasing and diffusing the hot air are performed by way of two outlet orifices 47 comprising adjustable screens not shown, arranged on either side in the upper part of each of the side walls of the stove 40, just below its tiled ceiling 48.
The inner exchanger unit 21 on the air-conditioning unit is connected to one of or the ducts 10′ connecting the boiler 42 and the stove 40 by means of two flexible ducts 25′.
The junction between the duct(s) 10′ and the flexible ducts 25′ is made as in the previous alternative by means of Y-pieces 30′.
Therefore in the same way, it is possible to create a distribution of chilled air in the room when the heating installation is not in service, thanks to the coupling of the air conditioner's ventilation ducts and the heating unit's hot air uptake ducts.
FIG. 3 shows a third form of embodiment of a heating and air-conditioning installation according to the invention, in which the air-conditioning unit is directly incorporated into the heating unit forming in this way a fully built device, i.e. a complete functional unit.
According to this alternative, the air-conditioning unit is arranged directly on the slab 5 and under the firebox 2 of a heating unit 1, which in the example shown consists of a closed firebox.
According to this alternative embodiment, the chilled or cooled air, generated on the outlet side of the inner exchanger 21 of the air conditioner passes directly on the sides of the heating unit 1 and the user can in this way control the diffusion, depending on the period or his choices, of cold, chilled, cooled or hot air, in the unit for the spaces in the room or the premises and those adjacent, without it being necessary to provide for fittings or additional screens compared with a traditional heating installation using a fireplace with distribution of the heated air.
The cold air rises along the firebox 2, in the space arranged between the outer wall and the heating unit's cabinet, to reach the hot air uptake ducts 10 connected to the upper part of the firebox 2.
This form of embodiment is even more simple than the previous two, insofar as it does away with the need to carry out work on either side of the slab in the room or premises to be equipped.
Therefore, it is no longer necessary to make provision for works or means of connection between the fireplace function and the air-conditioning function.
Numerous alternatives of the invention can be imagined both in the shape and the type of the closed firebox as well as those for the air-conditioning unit and its components and means making it possible to couple them to one another as far as the airflow is concerned.
The same also goes for the air-conditioning unit's outer exchanger and its compressor which can be incorporated into the device's stand according to the invention. It is even possible to use air-conditioning units without a compressor.
Advantageously, and whatever the alternative embodiment being considered, the installation shall be able to comprise and shall preferably comprise a reversible type air-conditioning unit, which shall offer the additional advantage of making it possible to heat the space without having to activate the heating unit, or when activating it, providing additional heat if necessary.
In this way and in a both simple and quick manner, it shall be possible to create a minimum increase in temperature in the space, for example in the event of a moderate fall in the ambient temperature which does not require the heating unit to be put into service (again) and especially to ensure by way of means of regulation 49 a constant temperature in the rooms or premises, whatever the operating mode and heating rate of the closed firebox 2.
For this purpose, the means of regulation 49 can perform the regulation between the temperature of the air heated by the firebox and that of the inner exchanger(s) in the case of combined operation, i.e. the one in which the two units operate simultaneously, as it is then possible to have an occasional dosable supplement of calorific power provided by the reversible air-conditioning unit's exchanger then operating as a condenser.
These means of regulation can act in particular on the ventilation unit blowing on the inner exchanger(s) 21 or by suction in order to provide a variation in the rate of additional airflow coming from this or these exchangers.
These means of regulation are connected to various temperature sensors placed at the appropriate places and particularly one or several temperature sensors 49′ in the room or premises
Of course, these means of regulation and these sensors preferably apply to all the alternatives and forms of embodiment and those already existing on the heating unit can be used.
The invention also relates to a mass-produced device built in a factory or workshop and installed as new equipment in the intended room or premises.
According to one of the forms of embodiment, the device according to the invention is built in compact form in which all the components and elements making up this new functional unit are incorporated into in the same mechanical unit which is mechanically-welded or otherwise assembled.
This unit is compact and ready to be fitted and installed in an appropriate place or by incorporating it into a housing allowing all the necessary connections to be made, particularly with regard to air.
A device of this type shall be described hereinafter by way of example with reference to FIG. 4 in which it is shown schematically in a vertical longitudinal cutaway view.
This device comes in the shape of a unit 50 ready to be fitted and installed forming a metal cabinet, fully enclosed by a sound-proofed and heat-insulated casing.
In the centre, it comprises a heating unit 51 with a closed firebox 52 for example using solid fuel, in particular wood. The closed firebox 52 preferably presents a glass door which is not visible on the access section to the firebox to load it with fuel and to see the flames. In this example, the closed firebox 52 is built in the shape of a metal box 53 extending upwards by a throat or smoke box 54 opening outside by a central outlet nozzle 55 with a view to being connected to the fireplace's duct.
The upper part is surrounded by a recuperator 56 forming an upper recuperation chamber opening outside for example by way of the cabinet's upper wall.
All the components of the device are contained in the cabinet 50 which extends upwards and ends in an upper wall 57 crossed by the central outlet nozzle 55 and by a plurality of nozzles such as 58 for releasing the air at the desired temperature for connection to the ducts, for example flexible and insulated, for conveying and distributing the air released from the device. The back of the closed firebox 52 rests directly on the rear wall of the cabinet 50 or moves away from it at a recuperation distance along which the air coming from below rises while being heated. All the rear, side 59 and 60, and upper 57 walls of the cabinet 50 as well as its front wall above the door are suitably heat-insulated to avoid any loss of heat and conversely any entry of heat in the summer or in intermediate mode.
The closed firebox 52 presents in the lower part its own combustive air inlet, for example in the form of a register adjusted to let in the combustive air and in the upper part the throat or smoke box 54 preferably with the heat recuperator 56.
There is a space between the walls 53 of the closed firebox 52 and the insulating walls of the external cabinet forming a peripheral internal chamber for recuperating 61 the calories. This recuperation chamber 61 extends upwards. The air rises up it while being heated in contact with the hot walls of the closed firebox 52. The recuperation chamber 61 extends as far as the smoke box 54 to recuperate and release the calories radiated by all parts heated by the heat of the firebox. The smoke box 54 shall preferably comprise its own internal or external recuperator, for example the recuperator 56 which opens out in the upper part of the peripheral internal recuperation chamber 61 or in another manner to be able to be released by the joint outlet nozzles 58 used as an outlet for the peripheral recuperation chamber 61.
The unit 50 ends near the top in a lower technical unit 62 enclosing at least one exchanger, but preferably two exchangers 63 and 64, in the same air-conditioning unit in an internal receiving space 65 arranged in the compartment of the lower part of the technical unit 62. The latter forms a mechanical stand 66 for the unit 50 of the device by which it rests on the floor by means of a floor plate 67.
The inner exchanger of the air-conditioning unit can become an evaporator or condenser in the case of a reversible air-conditioning unit. As in the example shown in FIG. 4, there can also be two parallel exchanger elements 63 and 64 from the same air-conditioning unit both fulfilling the same function, either as evaporators or condensers in the case of reversibility or constituting the two traditional exchangers, one an evaporator and the other a condenser with for example two release channels, suitably separated by a valve or other means.
This lower technical unit 62 is also suitably noise and heat insulated and comprises on each of its side faces level with its respective exchanger an air inlet each protected by a filter. The exchangers 63, 64 are for example each placed on one side of the internal space 65. A ventilation set 68, for example a ventilation unit operating in suction mode, is arranged above the internal space 65. The former's inlet emerges in the internal space 65 and its outlet(s) make it possible to establish a flow distributed from a central base to run flat along a lower distribution compartment 69 and feed uniformly and from below the recuperation chamber 61 with air suitably with the temperature conditioned using means of regulation 70.
The latter are connected to at least one sensor 71 for the temperature of the ambient air in the room or the premises and at least to one temperature sensor 72 for the air in the recuperation chamber on the firebox and to a temperature sensor 73 for the air released from the device. As an option, if necessary the regulation equipment can also include a temperature sensor 74 for the air released from the lower technical unit 62.
The information from the sensors is taken into account and managed by standard means with a view to controlling the operation of the ventilation set and that of the air-conditioning unit.
The exchanger(s) placed in the internal space 65 are connected to an air-conditioning unit with or without a compressor. All the components of this air-conditioning unit can be grouped together and placed in the compartment of the internal space 65, including the compressor if there is one.
Of course, according to various alternatives, some components, including the second exchanger and the compressor can be placed outside the device or in another environment than the air or buried or arranged otherwise.
The outlet from the internal space 65 consists of the ventilation unit 68 which is responsible for establishing an adjustable rate of air flow for example by drawing in the outside air through at least one or through both exchangers 63 and 64 each placed in front of an air inlet protected by a filter.
To facilitate understanding, the air's path is shown by arrows on FIG. 4 from where it enters the compartment of the lower space 66 until it leaves by way of the outlet nozzles 58.
In this way, the air circuit continues towards to the stand of the firebox where it is directed directly towards the peripheral recuperation chamber 61 which it enters and from which it is released by way of the outlet ducts.
The chilled, cooled or hot air conveyed by the outlet ducts is distributed in the room or the premises and is released at the desired temperature by way of the registers provided with screens, but can be brought in by other ducts in other rooms which are adjacent or further away in which it is diffused by means of adapted registers.
These ducts can also be added to a ventilation network which already exists or is to be put together in the house or the building.
The space 66 in the lower technical unit can also contain the compressor on the air-conditioning unit and even, thanks to sufficient heat insulation and one or several valves for directing the flow, the other exchanger playing the role of an evaporator or condenser depending on the case for a reversible air-conditioning unit.
The temperature of the air released from the lower space 66 can be measured by a sensor 74 then compared to the temperature of the air outside the firebox 2 by the sensor 72 or that of the smoke or any other translating the heating rate with a view to establishing a regulation of the temperature of the air in the room or premises according to the set-point temperature given by the occupant(s) by acting on the additional calories or frigories provided by the air-conditioning unit. There are two means for having this temperature vary on the outlet side of the lower space: on the one hand the speed of the ventilation unit and on the other hand the working point of the air-conditioning unit. As shall be seen hereinafter this possibility is made available in the case of combined mode and in the event of using the air-conditioning unit when taking over from the closed firebox, i.e. when the firepower is reduced. The invention offering this possibility makes it possible to better regulate the temperature in the room, given that this temperature coming just from the wood firing is quite difficult to keep constant. This advantage brings and provides unequalled comfort when it comes to wood firing in a fireplace.
Operating the device turns out to be particularly simple. It shall be described briefly hereinafter.
In the winter, or during the heating season, in the case of a reversible air-conditioning unit, the additional heat which the condenser procures is beneficial. This complement is added in doses by the means of regulation, to the calories generated by the firebox. Furthermore, it allows a quicker uptake of heat and in some cases to target a lower heat release rate for the firebox.
In the summer or during the hot weather season, the heat exchanger on the reversible air-conditioning unit operates as an evaporator and the closed firebox no longer operates or does so very occasionally. This evaporator procures a flow of chilled air which rises along the firebox, to come out again in the upper part by way of the network of ducts.
In between seasons, there are two main cases to be considered.
It is still cold or quite cold outside and the exchanger is used as a condenser providing doses of additional calories, even frigories to the firebox which can operate at reduced speed.
Or, it is not so cold but not warm enough yet to require chilled air, but cooled or slightly warm air in the morning or the evening, whereas during the daytime, it may already be warm. The invention makes it possible to cover all these requirements. During the day, all that is necessary is to have the air-conditioning unit's exchanger operate as an evaporator to chill the air or cool it in relation to that produced by the firebox at reduced rate. In the evening and the morning, the air-conditioning unit's exchanger simply has to be made to operate as a condenser to produce the air at a suitable temperature without having any need to light the firebox.
As can be seen, this device is useful in all cases to provide the desired ambient comfort. Depending on what is desired or required, it shall provide the air at the ideal ambient temperature and do so from the same single device located right inside the room or premises.
The heating and air-conditioning device and installation according to this invention have been described above by way of several alternative embodiments which are however not restrictive.
The solution proposed by the invention is easily transposable to an installation in which a wood fired boiler is incorporated into a tiled stove, the heating unit then no longer being separate. The stove shall then comprise a loading door at the front, making it possible to feed the wood fired boiler, as well as an orifice located on the front to let out the hot air, and a heat recuperator at the rear.
The connection between the air-conditioning device located in the cellar and the stove shall be provided by means of two flexible ducts running at the rear of the stove and opening out into an upper cabinet comprising an orifice to release the cold air.
Likewise, the alternatives described refer to the use of wood as fuel but it has to be understood that any other type of compatible fuel shall be able to be used without the invention's general operating principles being called into question.
If the air-conditioning unit has a compressor, the latter can be placed inside the installation or the device.
Of course, air-conditioning units without a compressor are also aimed at.
As regards the other exchanger, it can be placed outside or inside the room or premises or the house or building in which the heating unit is arranged.
The exchanger(s) outside the device are placed in the most suitable places or environments, inside, outside, in the air, in water, buried or arranged otherwise.
It is also possible to envisage an air-conditioning unit with several outer exchangers placed in various environments, for example one of them in the air and the other in water.
The air-conditioning unit can be the type with a heat pump or any means of heat energy transfer with one or several exchangers in the air, in water or buried.

Claims

1. Combined heating and air-conditioning device for places of residence and premises comprising a heating unit (1) with a closed firebox (2) and an air circuit for releasing the calories produced by the closed firebox (2, characterised in that its is formed on the one hand by the heating unit (1) with a closed firebox (2) comprising the air circuit for releasing the calories, for diffusing outside the device the air heated by the closed firebox (2), and possibly by its gas and smoke combustion outlet unit, and on the other hand an air-conditioning unit comprising at least two exchangers at least one of which, called inner exchanger, is placed in an inner air circuit that communicates with the exterior by means of the aforementioned calorie-releasing air circuit on the closed firebox to diffuse the air from inside the device externally.

2. Device according to claim 1 characterised in that at least one of the exchangers is placed downstream and preferably at the outlet of the air circuit which is connected to the closed firebox (2).

3. Device according to claim 1 characterised in that the air-conditioning unit is the reversible type.

4. Device according to claim 1 or 2 or 3 characterised in that it comprises the two exchangers for an air-conditioning unit and a ventilation unit bringing the air flow coming from the air-conditioning unit into the air circuit on the heating unit (1) with a closed firebox (2).

5. Device according to claim 1 or 2 or 3 characterised in that it comprises all the components making up an air-conditioning unit and a ventilation unit bringing the air flow coming from the air-conditioning unit into the air circuit on the heating unit (1) with a closed firebox (2).

6. Device according to any of the previous claims characterised in that the air-conditioning unit comprises an operating control system according to the heating rate of the closed firebox (2) to keep the outlet air at a constant temperature.

7. Device according to any of the previous claims from 1 to 4 characterised in that the air-conditioning unit comprises an operating control function according to the temperature of the room or premises in which the device to keep the outlet air at a constant temperature is located.

8. Device according to any of the previous claims 6 or 7 characterised in that the air-conditioning unit's operating control function acts on the ventilation unit's operating mode.

9. Device according to one of the previous claims 6 or 7 or 8 characterised in that the air-conditioning unit's operating control function acts on the ventilation unit's operating mode and on the air-conditioning unit's operating point.

10. Device according to any of the claims from 6 to 9 characterised in that the closed firebox has its own heating rate control function associated with the air-conditioning unit's regulation function.

11. Combined heating and air-conditioning device according to claim 1 characterised in that the heating unit (1) with a closed firebox (2) presents one or several release ducts (10).

12. Heating and air-conditioning device according to claims 1 or 18 characterised in that at least one of the release ducts (10) on the heating unit (1) is connected to at least one of the two exchangers on the air-conditioning unit.

13. Heating device according to any of the previous claims characterised in that the inner exchanger on the air-conditioning unit is placed under the closed firebox (2).

14. Heating and air-conditioning device according to any of the previous claims, characterised in that the air-conditioning unit is the reversible type.

15. Heating and air-conditioning device according to any of the previous claims characterised in that the heating unit (1) is a fireplace with a closed firebox.

16. Device according to any of the previous claims characterised in that the heating unit (1) is a solid fuel stove.

17. Heating and air-conditioning device according to one of the claims 1 and 10 to 14, characterised in that the heating unit (1) is a tiled stove (40).

18. Heating and air-conditioning device according to one of the claims 1 and 10 to 14, characterised in that the heating unit (1) is a stove with decorative stones.

19. Heating and air-conditioning device according to the previous claim, characterised in that the heating unit (1) is a tiled stove (40) or a stove with decorative stones associated with a boiler (42).

20. Heating and air-conditioning device according to one of the previous claims, characterised in that the connection between the release ducts (10) for circulating the heated air and the inner exchanger (21) on the air-conditioning unit is provided by means of two flexible ducts (25).

21. Heating and air-conditioning device according to any of the previous claims, characterised in that at least one of the release ducts (10) forms an elbow (15).

22. Heating and air-conditioning device according to claim 15, characterised in that the flexible ducts (25) for linking the inner exchanger (21) on the air-conditioning unit are incorporated into the heating unit (1).

23. Heating and air-conditioning device according to claim 20 or 21, characterised in that the connection between the release ducts (10) on the heating unit (1) and the flexible ducts (25) coming from the inner exchanger (21) on the air-conditioning unit is made by means of a Y-piece (30).

24. Heating and air-conditioning device according to claim 23, characterised in that the Y-piece (30) is arranged at the elbow (15) of the release ducts (10) on the heating unit (1).

25. Heating and air-conditioning device according to one of the previous claims, characterised in that the inner exchanger (21) on the air-conditioning unit is mounted on a stand (23) fixed directly to the ceiling.

26. Device according to any of the previous claims characterised in that the other exchanger on the air-conditioning unit is outside the room or premises.

27. Device according to any of the previous claims from 1 to 25 characterised in that the other exchanger on the air-conditioning unit is to be placed inside the room or premises.

28. Device according to any of the previous claims from 1 to 25 characterised in that the other exchanger on the air-conditioning unit is located inside the device.

29. Device according to any of the previous claims characterised in that the other exchanger on the air-conditioning unit is an exchanger plunged into another environment.

30. Device according to any of the previous claims characterised in that the other exchanger on the air-conditioning unit is a buried exchanger.

31. Device according to any of the previous claims from 1 to 18 characterised in that the other exchanger on the air-conditioning unit is an exchanger plunged in water.

32. Device according to any of the previous claims characterised in that the other exchanger on the air-conditioning unit is that of a heat pump.

33. Device according to any of the previous claims characterised in that the air-conditioning unit is a heat pump.

34. Device according to the previous claim characterised in that the compressor on the air-conditioning unit or that of the heat pump is integrated or incorporated into the device.

35. Installation according to any of the previous claims characterised in that the heating unit (1) with a closed firebox (2) presents several release ducts (10) and in that at least one of the release ducts (10) is connected to at least one of the two exchangers on the air-conditioning unit.

36. Installation according to any of the previous claims characterised in that chilled air is distributed and diffused by coupling the release ducts on the air-conditioning unit with those of the heating unit.