Self-contained ventilation system units for supplying spaces between bulkheads with individually circulated ventilation air

A ship, with several decks and several areas located one behind the other in the longitudinal direction of the ship, which areas are separated by bulkheads. Each of these has several areas, each supplied by its own air delivery and discharge ducts from at least one ventilation system. At least some of the areas separated by bulkheads are designed as separate ventilation areas, each of which has its own ventilation system and whose air delivery and discharge ducts connected to this ventilation system are not laid through the adjacent bulkheads into adjacent separate ventilation regions, but are laid exclusively within its separate ventilation region.

CROSS REFERENCE TO CO-PENDIING APPLICATIONS AND RELATED ISSUED U.S. PATENT 
Co-pending application Ser. No. 580,611, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,747, 
issued Apr. 21, 1987 filed on Feb. 16, 1984, entitled "Ship With Several 
Decks Having Longitudinal and Lateral Support Elements Arranged in a 
Grid", corresponding to Federal Republic of Germany Laid Open Patent 
Application No. P 33 05 322, published on or about Aug. 16, 1984; 
co-pending application Ser. No. 716,566, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,561, 
issued Dec. 23, 1986 filed on Mar. 27, 1985, entitled "A Ship Having 
Standardized Access Ways", corresponding to Federal Republic of Germany 
Laid Open Patent Application No. P 34 11 299, published on or about Sept. 
27, 1985; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,579,073, issued Apr. 1, 1986 to Sadler, et 
al., entitled "Interchangeable Mounting System For Weapon/Navigational 
Units, etc., on Ship Decks", are all assigned to the same assignee as the 
instant application and are incorporated herein by reference as if the 
texts thereof were fully set forth herein. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention: 
The present invention relates generally to ventilation on ships and, more 
particularly, to ventilation systems for the interior portion of ocean 
going ships having several decks. 
2. Description of the Prior Art: 
Generally, ships with several decks and several areas lying one behind the 
other in the longitudinal direction of the ship, separated by bulkheads, 
use a central ventilation system, preferably which includes at least one 
air delivery ventilator, one recirculation ventilator, one air heater and 
one air cooler. Generally, there is also an air conditioning apparatus, to 
give the air inside the ship a certain humidity, for example. On military 
ships, there is generally also an ABC (atomic, biological, chemical) 
filter set located ahead of the air delivery ventilator which prevents the 
penetration of radioactively-contaminated air inside the ship. A typical 
ventilation system for a ship is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,428,318, 
issued Jan. 31, 1984, entitled "Ventilation Arrangement For A Cargo Ship", 
which patent is incorporated by reference as if the entire contents 
thereof were fully set forth herein. 
Although the central ventilation system is located between two bulkheads at 
a central point of the ship, the ventilated spaces are distributed 
throughout the ship between various bulkheads. Therefore, on ships of the 
prior art, it is inevitable that air ducts in the longitudinal direction 
of the ship must be laid through the bulkheads. But this has the serious 
disadvantage, especially on a warship, since the hot gases can rapidly 
spread throughout the entire ship through the inflow and exhaust ducts, 
such as, in the case of a fire caused by combat damage. Of course, 
attempts have been made to confront this problem by installing heavy 
safety valves in the inflow and exhaust ducts in the area of the 
bulkheads, but such measures are relatively expensive, and the danger 
exists that in case of a fire, the closing mechanism on the safety valves 
may fail or the ventilator valves located in the area in question may no 
longer be accessible, so that in spite of their presence, the spread of 
the fire inside the ship through the ventilation system could not easily 
be prevented. 
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
An object of an embodiment of the invention is the creation of a ship of 
the type described above, whose ventilation system takes into 
consideration both the requirements of air conditioning and the safety of 
the ship in case of a fire. 
It is another object of an embodiment of the invention to contain and 
eliminate fumes. 
It is yet another object of an embodiment of the invention that the ship is 
also designed so that space requirements on board and structural aspects 
are also taken into consideration. 
It is a further object of an embodiment of the invention to create a 
ventilation system without excessively increasing the expense and the 
space requirements. 
It is a yet further object of an embodiment of the invention to make 
efficient use of the space conditions on the ship. 
It is still a further object of an embodiment of the invention to prevent 
the spreading of fires through the bulkheads. 
It is still another object of an embodiment of the invention to assure 
that, in case of a bombardment and a hit taken in the ventilation system, 
the ventilation system of the entire ship will not fail. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The embodiments of the invention achieve these objects in that at least 
some of the areas separated by bulkheads are designed as separate 
ventilation areas, each of which has its own ventilation system, and whose 
inflow and exhaust ducts connected to this ventilation system are not laid 
through the adjacent bulkheads into neighboring separate ventiltion areas, 
but are laid exclusively within their own separate ventilation area. 
The invention specifically provides that each ventilation system assigned 
to a separate ventilation area is installed inside the separate 
ventilation area. 
The invention takes advantage of the fact that between the fireproof 
bulkheads of a ship, there are already spaces which are watertight and 
frequently also airtight. Any ventilation connection to the neighboring 
areas can be effectively eliminated by the bulkheads so that, preferably, 
each of these areas between the bulkheads can be assigned its own 
ventilator, its own duct system and, specifically, its own air intake 
capability. 
If a fire should occur in one of the separate ventilation areas, then in 
any case it will not be transmitted by the ventilation system into 
neighboring separate ventilation areas. Fire fighting, for example, by 
shutting down the ventilation system inside a separate ventilation region, 
is thereby significantly facilitated, because the shutdown in one of the 
separate ventilation regions in no way interferes with the ventilation of 
the other areas between the bulkheads. With a central ventilation system, 
on the other hand, a decision must be made whether the ventilation of most 
of the neighboring sections will be eliminated by shuttting down the 
ventilation system, or whether the continued operation of the ventilation 
system will encourage the spread of the fire. The shutdown of the 
ventilation system can, under certain circumstances, have catastrophic 
consequences for certain parts of the ship, where temperature-sensitive 
equipment or other items are installed as well as to personnel 
thereaboard. 
In accordance with the invention, on the other hand, if there is a fire 
inside a separate ventilation area, the ventilators in all the other areas 
continue to operate and continue to provide satisfactory ventilation. 
Another important advantage of the ventilation system according to the 
invention is that, in case of a projectile strike which damages a 
ventilation system, all the other ventilation systems continue to operate, 
so that the ventilation fails only in one section between the bulkheads. 
The spread of fumes in the longitudinal direction of the ship is prevented 
in case of a fire as a result of the division of the ventilation system 
into zones between the individual bulkheads, according to the invention. 
The failure of important electronic systems is also prevented because of 
insufficient ventilation. It is important that, since there are no air 
ducts laid through the bulkheads, the elimination of the bulkhead 
penetrations which would otherwise be necessary, for example, for tubes 
and cables, means that a design which provides imperviousness to fumes and 
ABC substances can also be achieved. 
While on ships of the prior art, it is customary to separate the air 
conditioning system used for normal ventilation from the protective 
ventilation system required in the presence of ABC substances so that, to 
some extent, there must be two different ventilation components, the 
invention proposes that the air conditioning system used for normal 
ventilation and for protective ventilation be operationally coupled to one 
another. This means that the same ventilators, the same ducts and the same 
accessory air conditioning equipment can be used for normal ventilation 
and for ABC protection. Therefore, the heavy and expensive duplication of 
ventilation equipment, rapid-closing valves and ducts, which are necessary 
on ordinary protective air systems, can be eliminated. The additional 
decentralization of the ventilator spaces, also provides fire protection 
as described above. 
In case of a fire, the ventilation system responsible for the section in 
question can be turned off immediately, without any ventilation effects on 
other sections, which limits the spread of fumes within the section if the 
valves located preferably in the vertical ventilator ducts are closed 
promptly, and provides secure protection against the spread of the fumes 
beyond the deck section in question. 
In the exhaust air ducts, there are also closable standard connection pipes 
for portable ventilators, whereby there can be an optimal elimination of 
fumes on the deck level even if the blowers fail or are turned off. This 
presumes, however, that the fire has already been extinguished and that 
the ventilator ducts are undamaged. If the latter is not the case, the 
portable ventilators must be used just as in the ships with ordinary 
systems (such as via the use of pressure and suction hose connections). 
One embodiment of the invention is characterized by the fact that, 
specifically in the forward quarter of the ship, some of the areas located 
between the bulkheads arranged in sequence are combined into a common 
separate ventilation area. Such an arrangement is based on the knowledge 
that hits from missiles which result in fires are relatively rare in the 
forward quarter, so that the preferable combination of several areas into 
one expanded separate ventilation area often represents no disadvantage 
there. Amidships and astern, on the other hand, the division according to 
the invention into sequentially-arranged separate ventilation areas can be 
realized to its full extent. 
A particularly compact arrangement is characterized by the fact that each 
separate ventilation area exhibits a shaft which runs through all the 
ventilated decks, in which the vertical inflow and exhaust ducts are 
located, which is connected to the ventilation system and from which the 
horizontal inflow and exhaust ducts branch off into the individual decks. 
In the vertical direction, therefore, in each separate ventilation area, 
thre is only one single vertical ventilation connection between the decks. 
A particularly preferred embodiment is characterized by the fact that the 
ventilation system is located in a separate standardized container or on a 
standardized pallet aboard the ship. 
In this manner, standardized ventilation systems can be made available, 
which can be used in each of the separate ventilation areas. Therefore, 
ventilation systems according to embodiments of the invention can be 
manufactured and installed extremely economically because it then 
practically becomes a question of standardized functional units. 
The advantage of using ventilation components in the form of standard 
containers or standard pallets, however, does not consist only of the 
possibility of completely manufacturing these components prior to their 
installation in the ship, but it also offers the capability of keeping the 
size of the overall ventilation system down to an extremely small size, 
because all of the components can be combined in an extremely compact 
arrangement in the container. 
In this manner, the total space required for the numerous ventilation 
systems distributed over the ship according to the invention need not be 
any larger than the space required for central ventilation systems of the 
prior art and, specifically, if, according to the invention, the air 
conditioning and protective air systems are combined into one ventilation 
system. In spite of the requirement for numerous ventilation systems 
distributed over the ship, the construction expense is lower than for a 
central ventilation system, and the design of the individual components of 
each ventilation system can be adapted to the significantly smaller air 
consumption of each individual separate ventilation area. 
The invention therefore concerns a ventilation system which does not 
require practically any more space than or greater manufacturing cost than 
ordinary central ventilation systems, but which is also far superior to a 
central ventilation system both in the sense of protection against the 
spread of fire and protection against impacts during bombardments. 
The adaptability of the ventilation system according to embodiments of the 
invention to the spatial conditions on a ship is further improved by the 
fact that the separate ventilation areas in the upper portion of the ship, 
specifically in the region of the superstructures, at least partly do not 
lie exclusively between two neighboring bulkheads, but extend fore-and-aft 
by preferably not more than one bulkhead interval beyond the limiting 
bulkheads in the lower area. Since the division of the ship by bulkheads 
in the area of the superstructures is no longer as important as in the 
hull of the ship itself, the basic idea of the creation of separate 
ventilation areas in the vicinity of the superstructures can be applied 
more universally than in the lower region of the ship, which is enclosed 
by transverse bulkheads. 
It is specifically possible that there are also horizontal separate 
ventilation areas in the superstructures, which do not communicate in 
terms of ventilation with the separate ventilation areas located 
underneath, and which all have their own ventilation systems and their own 
inflow and exhaust ducts. 
The horizontal, separate, ventilation areas extend in the horizontal 
direction over at least two bulkheads. In all cases, howver, the separate 
ventilation areas should extend over the whole breadth of the ship. 
Basically, however, it would also be possible to create separate 
ventilation areas within the ship, divided by fireproof walls running in 
the longitudinal direction of the ship. 
It is particularly advantageous if the shaft running through the various 
decks is located near a bulkhead of the ship, because here is interferes 
least with easy accessibility to the rooms. 
The standardized container or the standardized pallet is preferably located 
on the ship's first deck. The standardized container can be installed in 
this deck most easily during construction of the ship. In addition, the 
distance from the decks located in the superstructures and the decks 
located in the hull is approximately equal, so that the recirculated, 
fed-in or exhausted air need not travel an excessively long path to reach 
its destination. 
It is also advantageous if the standardized container or the sandardized 
pallet is located near a bulkhead of the ship. In this manner, the 
standardized container is located in an area of the ship where it 
interferes least with access to the individual decks for the installation 
of other equipment. 
Finally, a particularly preferred practical embodiment is characterized by 
the fact that the standardized container or the standardized pallet is 
located near the vertical shaft and preferably inside it. In other words, 
the standardized container and the shaft should be practically adjacent to 
one another. 
The combination of air conditioning and protective air systems can be 
achieved in accordance with the invention so that each standardized 
container or each standardized pallet includes an ABC filter set, an 
inflow system feeding the ABC filter set, and an air conditioning 
apparatus connected to the inflow. The air conditioning equipment thereby 
preferably generally includes a recirculating ventilator, an air heater, 
an air cooler and a treatment apparatus. 
Both during normal air conditioning and also in the case of protective air 
supply, operations can therefore be conducted with the above-mentioned 
components installed in a compact and spacesaving manner in the 
standardized container or on the standardized pallet. 
It is also appropriate if each standardized container or each standardized 
pallet has standard dimensions, preferably 2.15.times.2.4.times.3.0 
meters. 
As a result of this configuration, the ventilation system according to the 
invention can be completely integrated into a component system equipped 
with appropriately standardized containers. 
The location of the entire ventilation system in standardized containers or 
on standardized pallets makes it possible to mount each standardized 
container or each standardized pallet on shock absorbers in the ship. 
The advantages of the invention do not merely extend to the prevention of 
the spread of fires inside the ship. During the extinguishing of fires 
with various extinguishing agents, serious secondary damages are also 
avoided, which, among other things, can be due to the fact that during the 
extinguishing, corrosive chlorine-hydrogen compounds are formed. The 
invention effectively prevents these compounds from spreading throughout 
the entire hull of the ship. 
All the other ventilation systems on the ship can continue operation with 
no problems as a result of a failure of a single ventilation system caused 
by a bombardment or a fire, and damages resulting from insufficient 
ventilation, for example, of computer rooms, can be effectively prevented. 
The invention has a particularly favorable effect where ventilation is 
conducted with only a low proportion of fresh air, for example 40%, while 
60% of the air blown into the individual rooms of the ship is recirculated 
through the air conditioning system and blow back into the air circuit. It 
is precisely this recirculation in ships equipped with central ventilation 
systems which leads to the spread of fires and highly toxic gases. 
In ships which are equipped, for example, with a long-term protective air 
conditioning system, the proportion of fresh air used can drop to as low 
as 10%. Here, therefore, 90% of the total amount of air is recirculated, 
so that the division of the ship into numerous separate ventilation areas, 
according to the present invention, has a particularly favorable action in 
this case. 
According to embodiments of the invention, the heavy and expensive 
duplication of equipment with ABC ventilators and rapid-closing valves, 
such as those which are customary on ordinary ships with air conditioning 
and protective air systems, is usually no longer necessary. 
Valves should be installed in the vertical ventilation ducts, however, to 
prevent the fire from spreading in the vertical direction into the 
individual separate ventilation areas. 
According to the invention, all the equipment necessary for the 
ventilation, emergency and air conditioning system for one separate area 
can be installed in a standardized container rack with the dimensions 
2.15.times.2.44.times.3 meters. The necessary maintenance space on at 
least two sides of the container is about 0.7 meters. 
In a ship constructed using the functional unit system, all the containers 
can be introduced into the deck of the ship and installed there through 
the openings already present for the introduction of machines and/or 
weapons. In addition, structural supply ducts are used, which ducts are 
located on the transverse or longitudinal bulkheads and in which all the 
necessary types of air (recirculated air, exhaust air, cold and hot air) 
are combined in a ventilation duct divided into four parts. These ducts 
can be placed as a function of the position of the ventilation system 
container as early as in the definition phase, which has a positive 
effect, among other things, on the preliminary coordination of 
construction and design. 
In this context, it is important that when the ship is closed up for 
battle, operating and control rooms which are used by a large number of 
personnel and which operate with a high proportion of fresh/protective air 
(20-25 cubic meters per hour per person) are not concentrated in one 
section, since the amount of fresh/protective air required could exceed 
the capacity of the associated ABC filter system. 
Here, an appropriate distribution of the rooms with a high proportion of 
fresh air/protective air over the entire length of the ship is important. 
By means of the central supply ducts in a decentralized ventilation system, 
a clear, simple layout of the distribution ducts is possible, for which 
standard "Euronorm" tubes, which follow the European standard set for 
tubes, can be used. This means that space below the decks and on the 
bulkheads, often desperately required for other supply systems, is 
created. This makes possible, among other things, as early as in the 
design phase, a more precise construction and coordination schedule than 
is currently the case with conventional ventilation systems. 
In the design, as a result of the elimination of the complicated layout, 
erection and coordination of conventional ventilation spaces and ducts, 
approximately 10,000 hours of design work can be saved. The same number of 
hours can also be saved in the fabrication and installation stages. 
On a decentralized and containerized long-term protective air conditioning 
system, the demands of ship safety, fire protection, containment of smoke, 
elimination of fumes and tightness are virtually fully met. 
As a result of the absence of horizontal penetrations or horizontal 
ventilation ducts, protection against leaks and thus buoyancy are also 
increased. 
The containerization of long-term protective air conditioning systems 
offers the following advantages: 
parallel fabrication; 
equipping and testing of the containers on long under shop conditions; 
fast and easy on-board installations; 
clear interfaces between the shipyard (the general contractor) and the air 
conditioning systems company (the subcontractor); 
compact combination of all the necessary subsystems into a 
fully-operational total system occupying the minimum amount of space, and 
thus saving a significant amount of space; 
elimination of the elastic mounting of each individual piece of equipment, 
and thus the possibility of a rigid pipeline between each ventilation 
system or each standardized container or each standardized pallet; 
standardization and improved logistics, making possible an easy replacement 
of defective system units; 
correspondingly shortened dock time for maintenance; 
reduced personnel requirements in on-board operation; 
suitability for new control technologies, for example, data bus, screen 
technology; and 
the cost reductions resulting from all the above-mentioned advantages. 
In spite of the above-mentioned standardization of the ventilation system 
containers and most of the equipment, the capacities of the system 
components can be modified in response to the wishes of the customer or as 
a function of the size of the ship and the amount of air required, without 
taking up additional space. This becomes possible, among other reasons, 
because of the complete and optimal utilization of the container space 
available for the equipment to be integrated. 
Since the embodiments of the invention are primarily concerned with rack 
containers, accessability does not present a problem. Any service 
operations which may be necessary can be performed from two sides. The 
containers are designed so that no more than 0.7 meters of service room is 
necessary on these sides of the standard containers. 
While, according to the embodiments of the invention, the horizontal tubes 
are to be so-called "Euronorm" tubes (flexible aluminum tubes), welded 
tubes or shafts are preferably used for the vertical ducts. 
To dampen the noise of the ventilation system, one advantageous refinement 
is characterized by the fact that each ventilator unit is installed in a 
closed room which is acoustically lined on all sides and is located on the 
deck in question, and that the recirculation ducts empty into this room, 
while the recirculation suction opening of the ventilation system or the 
standardized container or the standardized pallet has its intake inside 
this room. This embodiment also has the advantage that, during the 
installation of the standardized container, consideration need only be 
given to the connections for the outgoing delivered air and the exhaust 
air. 
Another advantage of the invention is the fact that all the duct cross 
sections can be kept significantly smaller than for longitudinal ducts 
which often run all the way through the ship. 
If the invention is used primarily on long-term protective atmosphere 
systems, it can also be used more generally on so-called open ventilation 
systems.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
In all the figures, the same reference numbers are used to identify the 
substantially corresponding parts. 
In FIG. 1, transverse bulkheads 11 on a ship are displayed at cetain 
intervals in the longitudinal direction of the ship. The bulkheads 11 
extend entirely across the ship and make the enclosed spaced therebetween 
preferably watertight from one another. Up to a specified range above the 
construction water line (CWL), the bulkheads 11 preferably must be 
watertight, to prevent water from spreading into the adjacent bulkheaded 
rooms in case of a leak. 
According to an embodiment of the invention, separate ventilation areas 13 
are formed between the bulkheads 11, which are supplied by individual 
ventilation systems 12 located thereabove or at upper portions thereof for 
supplying fresh or recirculated air. In the forward area of the ship, 
several bulkhead sections are combined into a common separate ventilation 
section 13a. Over the length of the hull 10, there are sections I, II, 
III, IV, V, VI, VII and VIII of differet lengths, in each of which has a 
separate ventilation area 13 with a corresponding ventilation system 12. 
Each separate ventilation area 13 extends vertically over several decks 18 
of the ship, or over all the decks. 
The separate ventilation areas 13 of the Sections VI and VII are displaced 
horizontally in the vicinity of the superstructures 19, that is, in the 
vicinity of the upper deck, in relation to the corresponding bulkheads 11 
so that they extend to the areas above the neighboring separate 
ventilation areas 13. This is possible because, in the area of the 
superstructures 19 of the ship, the bulkheads need no longer be 
watertight, so that penetrations can be made here. In this manner, spaces, 
for example, passages, which must be accessible to personnel, can be 
combined into appropriate separate ventilation areas 13, which are still 
separated from the neighboring separate ventilation areas 13. 
The separate ventilation areas 13 in Section IV extends in the vicinity of 
the superstructures 19 somewhat beyond the separate ventilation area in 
Section V. 
Finally, in the aft portion of the superstructures 19, there is also a 
horizontal separate ventilation area 20, in which there is also a separate 
ventilation system 12, and which is located exclusively above the hull 10 
of the ship itself. 
The hatched walls of each separate ventilation area 13 are watertight and 
gastight. This property must also be taken into consideration for any 
lines which must be routed through the individual walls. In no case do 
ventilation ducts extend through the hatched walls of the separate 
ventilation areas 13, so that overall, there are nine completely 
independent ventilation areas 12 within the ship, which in no way 
communicate with one another. 
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, each separate ventilation area 13, limited fore 
and aft by bulkheads 11 shown only partly and laterally by the sides of 
the hull (not shown), contains a rackshaped standardized container 17, 
which will be described below with reference to FIGS. 4 and 7, and in 
which the ventilation system not shown in FIG. 2 is installed. 
The standardized container 17 is located in the vicinity of the aft 
bulkhead 11 of the ship, preferably in a closed room, for example, on the 
first deck of the hull 10. Between the aft bulkhead 11 and the container 
17, there is a vertical shaft 14 with a rectangular cross section, which 
extends vertically upward to 03-DECK of FIG. 3, and downward to the 4th 
deck (or 01-DECK) of FIG. 3. Within the shaft 14, next to one another 
viewed abeam, there are two vertically-running inflow air ducts 15, a 
recirculating air duct 15', and one exhaust air duct 15". Of the two 
inflow air ducts 15, one is provided for the transport of cold air and the 
other for the transport of heated or hot air. The recirculating air duct 
15' is used to remove the used air from the rooms, and the exhaust air 
duct 15" is used to remove the waste air from a room 28 in the vicinity of 
the third deck where, for example, toxic, combustible, or explosive gases 
can form, for example, in torpedo rooms. These toxic, combustible or 
explosive gases are conducted via the horizontal exhaust air duct 16" 
connected to the room 28 and the vertical exhaust air duct 15" to the 
ventilation system provided in the standardized container 17, which 
prevents this dangerous air from being fed into the circulating air 
system. They are instead fed to an exhaust air line 29, which empties at 
30 on the open deck in the final bulkhead of the superstructure 19 of the 
ship, so that the waste air in question is removed completely from the 
hull 10. 
In each deck, there is a system of horizontal inflow air ducts 16 for hot 
or cold air and a system of horizontal recirculation ducts 16' for the 
recycling of the used room air, either directly into the standardized 
container 17 (first deck) or into the shaft 14. 
Also connected to the standardized container 17 is an outside air suction 
tube 21, which also empties at 31 in the final bulkhead of the 
superstructure, to suck in fresh air from the outside. 
The operation of the ventilation system illustrated schematically in FIGS. 
2 and 3 is as follows: 
By the shortest path, fresh air is sucked in through the outside air intake 
21 and is added to the recirculated air in the desired amount in the 
ventilation system 12 located in the standardized container 17. 
The prepared air is conducted via the vertical inflow ducts 15 into the 
individual decks, and from there via horizontal inflow ducts 16 connected 
to the vertical inflow ducts 15 to the destinations in the individual 
decks, where the hot or cold air exits from mixing boxes 32. 
The return air or the air to be replaced from the rooms travels via spills 
in the room ceilings or walls (not shown) into the passages indicated by 
dotted lines, from which it is sucked via the horizontal recirculation 
ducts 16' and reaches the vertical recirculation ducts 15'. The vertical 
recirculation ducts 15' are again connected to the ventilation system 12 
housed in the standardized container 17, which mixes the recirculated air 
(except for that originating from the rooms 28 marked by crosses) with 
fresh air from the outside air suction tube 21 in the desired percentage, 
for example, 10%, and then returns it to the circuit. 
The horizontal inflow air ducts 16 in the first deck are not connected to 
the container 17, but to the shaft 14, whose inflow air ducts 15 for their 
part are connected to the ventilation system 12 in the container 17. This 
connection is provided by a conection sleeve 33. The horizontal 
recirculation duct 16' in the first deck, however, is connected directly 
to the container 17 or to the ventilator room 26, explained below with 
reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. 
For washrooms and toilets, which are indicated by hatching in the second 
deck, the incoming air is delivered to the rooms through spills from the 
passages indicated by dotted lines, and from there is sucked directly out 
via the recirculation ducts 16' for treatment in the standardized 
containers 17. 
The duct 29 is also used to transport the proportion of exhaust air, 
corresponding to the 10% fresh air added, to the outside via a relief 
valve (50 mbar). 
In case of a fire, or after the extinguishing of a fire, the smoke formed 
is sucked in by the recirculation ducts 15' and 16' after the 
establishment of a bypass circuit in the container 17, and transported 
outward via the outside air intake 21 or the exhaust air duct 29. 
Each of the separate ventilation areas 13 of the ship according to FIG. 1 
is constructed as shown by FIGS. 2 and 3, whereby only the spatial 
arrangement of the lines need be adapted to the special dimensions of 
Sections I to VIII and the horizontal separate ventilation areas 20. 
As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, the rack-shaped standardized container 17 houses 
in a compact arrangement an intake tube 34 connected to the outside air 
intake 21 (shown in FIG. 2), an ABC inflow tube 23, and an ABC filter set 
22 connected to the latter. These components are arranged in a series on 
one side of the standardized container 17. The filtered air is conducted 
out of the final ABC filter via a duct 36 parallel to the ABC filter set 
22, to an air conditioning apparatus located on the other side of the 
standardized container 17 parallel to the ABC filter set 22. 
In the air conditioning system 24, there is a recirculation ventilator, an 
air cooling unit, an air heater and an air conditioning apparatus. 
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, all of the air intake and exit openings are on 
one end side of the standardized container 17. 
The air conditioning apparatus 24 exhibits, on its end, a hot air outlet 
pipe 35 and, next to it, a cold air outlet pipe 37 which are to be 
connected to the corresponding vertical inflow air ducts of the shaft 14. 
Finally, on the opposite side, like the ABC filter set 22, in the corner of 
the standardized container 17 facing the connection side, there is an 
exhaust ventilator 25, which exhibits an intake pipe 42 connected to the 
vertical exhaust air duct 15" so that it completely sucks the air from the 
room 28 containing the dangerous gases in the third deck (as shown in FIG. 
2), and exhausts it to the outside via an outlet pipe 44 into the exhaust 
duct 29. 
By means of automatic relief valves (not shown) which are located in the 
separate ventilation regions, the used air conditioning air (10% 
corresponding to the fresh air protection air added) at 50 mbar is 
conducted to the outside. 
Finally, on the connnection side (as shown in FIG. 6) of the standardized 
container 17, there is a control and connection panel 43 for the operation 
of the individual components. 
As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, the standardized container has a rectangular 
shape. 
In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9, the standardized container 
17 described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7 is installed in an 
acoustically lined ventilator room 26 closed on all sides, which is also 
rectangular, but is longer, wider and higher than the container 17, so 
that between the walls and the cover of the room 26 and the sides of the 
standardized container 17 there remains a clear space, which is accessible 
in the areas 45 on two sides of the container 17 via a door 46. 
While the delivery ducts and the exhaust duct are conducted from the 
container 17 into the vertical shaft 14 by means of the connection piece 
33 through the room 26, the vertical recirculation duct 15' and the 
horizontal exhaust duct 16' of the first deck empty at the walls of the 
room 26, while the container 17 exhibits an exhaust intake opening 27 in 
one of its walls, located on the connection pipe 41. The air conditioning 
apparatus 24 in this manner sucks in the air located in the blower room 
26, which for its part flow through the recirculation ducts 15' and 16' 
into the blower room 26. The room 26 therefore requires a damping of the 
blower noises. 
It should also be noted that the arrangement of the various connection 
pipes at the container 17 (shown in FIGS. 8 and 9) differs from that of 
the ventilation container shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, although the functions 
are identical. 
The invention as described hereinabove in the context of the preferred 
embodiments is not to be taken as limited to all of the provided details 
thereof, since modifications and variations thereof may be made without 
departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.