Abstract:
The present invention relates to heating and cooling thermally efficient structures, in particular, it relates to controlling interior temperature of geodesic structures, through continuous omnidirectional radiant energy hubs and channels. The hubs can be engineered to meet any size or frequency of a geodesic structure. Thermodynamic principles are used in combination with a thermal mass storage of hot or cold thermal energy that is either heated by solar collectors or cooled by a geothermal cooling array, in order to regulate the temperature of the thermal mass or of the entire structure. This thermodynamic climate control in the present invention harnesses solar energy and geothermic energy and uses it to control internal temperature of the air traveling through hubs and channels or struts. The air travels through the system using natural thermodynamic forces, assisted by a fan and valves.

Description:
CLAIM OF PRIORITY  
       [0001]    This application claims the priority of U.S. Ser. No. 60/965,526 filed on Aug. 21, 2007, which is incorporated herein by reference. 
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The invention relates to using thermodynamic principles for heating and cooling a thermally efficient structure. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]    The need for energy efficient homes and buildings is becoming increasingly necessary due to dwindling energy sources and resultant high prices of energy from traditional sources, such as oil and coal. Another consideration is the pollution and harm caused to the planet from using non-renewable resources. Alternative sources of energy, designed to reduce pollution and reliance on non-renewable resources, have been available for many years but are increasing in popularity as the related technology improves and costs of alternative energy systems are lowered. One building structure that lends itself particularly well to alternative energy use is the geodesic dome, popularized by Dr. Buckminster Fuller in the 1950s and 1960s. 
         [0004]    The present invention, called the CORE, employs an elegant design that builds on the work of Dr. Fuller and others in this area by combining energy collection and storage elements with the geodesic dome. This combination results in a structure that has increased energy efficiency and also allows storage of energy. The C.O.R.E. is a self-sustaining system that provides heating and cooling for a living space with little or no consumption of non-renewable resources. The C.O.R.E. technology is optimized through use with a geodesic dome. The C.O.R.E. technology may be used with a wide variety of structures. 
         [0005]    The present invention relates to heating and cooling thermally efficient structures, in particular, it relates to controlling the interior temperature of geodesic structures, through continuous omnidirectional radiant energy hubs and channels. These hubs are the connecting points for a thermal processing geodesic structure or C.O.R.E. structure. The hubs can be engineered to meet any size or frequency of a geodesic structure. Thermodynamic principles are used in combination with a thermal mass storage of hot or cold thermal energy that is either heated by solar collectors or cooled by a geothermal cooling array, in order to regulate the temperature of the thermal mass or of the entire structure. The thermodynamic climate control of the present invention harnesses solar energy and geothermic energy and uses it to control internal temperature of the air traveling through hubs and channels or struts. The air travels through the system using natural thermodynamic forces, assisted by a fan and valves. In this way, reliance on conventional heating and cooling means is greatly reduced, if not eliminated altogether. Thus, the present invention serves as a response to rapidly increasing energy costs, and also greatly contributes to reducing greenhouse gasses. 
         [0006]    Known prior art geodesic structures and thermodynamic heating or cooling systems include U.S. Pat. No. 4,250,957; U.S. Pat. No. 4,703,594; U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,047; U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,693; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,288. 
         [0007]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,250,957 discloses a heating and cooling structural arrangement for a building, such as a house, wherein the interior of the house is caused to assume the temperature of the ground. A liquid reservoir is located in the ground. A pump is to move liquid from the reservoir to a series of panels which are mounted as part of the interior wall structure of the building. If the ground temperature is  70  degrees, this means that the interior temperature of the house should also become  70  degrees. In the winter, the interior of the building would normally be heated and in the summer, the interior of the building would normally be cooled. 
         [0008]    The U.S. Pat. No. 4,703,594 shows a building construction using pentagonal and hexagonal concavo-convex components joined by connectors into which the rod ends of the building components are inset and positioned in a diverging manner. The connectors are apertured to receive fasteners which serve to temporarily attach forms to the building components in a spaced manner. A column supports an uppermost pentagonal form as well as floor joists. The forms define two sets of openings for form securement to either equilateral or isosceles triangular areas of the hexagonal and pentagonal building components. 
         [0009]    The U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,047 describes a building of generally spherical configuration. Substantially all of the panels are light-transmitting, and may be made of glass. Partitions extend from the lower to the upper portion of the building between the two skins and divide the inter-skin region into a plurality of sectors running from the lower to the upper portion of the building. Particulate insulative material is provided, along with apparatus for selectively filling the sectors with insulative material by delivering insulative material to the upper ends thereof, and to selectively empty the sectors of insulative material by withdrawing insulative material from the bottom ends thereof. The building can be controlled in such a way as to allow open or empty sectors to track the sun in the winter, thus maximizing solar heating, and to face away from the sun in hot weather, thus minimizing overheating while allowing light entry. 
         [0010]    The U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,693 discloses a concentric dome energy generating building enclosure makes possible the passive transfer of renewable energy from the wind and the sun into mechanical and/or electrical energy. This invention provides the means for moving thermal and/or pneumatic pressure differentials created by the action of ambient energy on the dome through a conduit between concentric dome walls and directing these air pressure differentials through a turbine at the apex of the dome building enclosure causing the turbine to rotate thereby generating power which can be used to operate tools and equipment inside the building enclosure. 
         [0011]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,288 describes various architectural joints for use in constructing geodesic domes. The joints disclosed are less costly to manufacture and are of increased strength over prior art joints. Through the use of the joints disclosed, construction of novel geodesic domes not found in the prior art is now possible. 
         [0012]    Methods of using solar power for heat and geothermal energy for cooling, as well methods of constructing geodesic or conical structures, have been described in the past. But these methods tended to be complex, almost improbable to achieve, and certainly too impractical to be implemented on a large scale by a significant segment of the population. On the other hand, the present invention discloses an elegant structure with a simple but realistic mechanism of controlling temperature. This will not only cut implementation costs but also make a significant positive impact on the environment by making the invention accessible to a large segment of potential builders and property owners. 
         [0013]    One embodiment of this invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and will be described in more detail herein below. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0014]    The present invention is a fabrication, comprising a thermally efficient structure having a flow system integral with the thermally efficient structure, the flow system having a hub and at least one base connection, a thermal storage means connected to at least one base connection, and a thermal conduit having first and second ends, the first end connected to the hub and the second end connected to the thermal storage means. 
         [0015]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a thermally efficient structure. 
         [0016]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a flow system that would carry heated air between said thermal storage means and the hub. 
         [0017]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a flow system that utilizes a dual directional fan to create suction that would enable the system to be used for both cooling and heating. 
         [0018]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a flow system that utilizes a geo thermal cooling array. 
         [0019]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a flow system that can function as a closed system and as an open system. 
         [0020]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a hub and struts that will function both as structural members and as integral components of the flow system. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0021]      FIG. 1  is a side view of a preferred embodiment of the invention, a geodesic dome, underground piping structure, and a flow system displaying a heating system. 
           [0022]      FIG. 2  is a side view of a preferred embodiment of the invention, a geodesic dome, underground piping structure, and a flow system displaying a cooling system. 
           [0023]      FIG. 3  is a detailed, partial view of the heating system, showing a thermal conduit, a thermal conduit pipe valve, a fan assembly and exhaust and intake valves. 
           [0024]      FIG. 4  is a detailed, partial view of the cooling system, showing a thermal conduit, a thermal conduit pipe valve, a fan assembly and exhaust and intake valves. 
           [0025]      FIG. 5  is an exploded view of a hub with connecting struts. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0026]    The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to  FIG. 1-5  of the drawings. Identical elements in the various figures are identified with the same reference numerals. 
         [0027]      FIG. 1  discloses a side view of a geodesic dome structure with subterranean components. Shown are a thermally efficient structure  1  with a thermal conduit  10  connected to a thermal storage means  20  by a base connector  3 , a thermal conduit control valve  30 , a geo thermal cooling array  40 , hubs  50 , struts  60 , an exhaust valve  70 , an exhaust pipe  80 , an air intake valve  90 , an air intake pipe  100 , a fan assembly  110 , and a solar collector  120 . The arrows describe the direction of the air flow within the struts  60  in a thermodynamic heating process. The air is warmed in two ways. First, direct sunlight raises the wall temperature of the struts  60  and hubs  50 , thus warming the air within these components. Second, an optional solar collector  120  converts sunlight into heated air, heating the air within the struts  60  and hubs  50 . The air then gravitates upwards through the flow system by employing a naturally occurring thermodynamic processes. The flow system is comprised of piping, with a preferred embodiment using 2 inch pipe. A fan assembly  110  is then activated either manually or automatically to suck the warm air downward, through the thermal conduit  10 , into the thermal storage means  20  of the structure, which also functions as the foundation. The air within the thermal storage means  20  is below ground and cooler than the air coming from above. This cold air is displaced by the newly arriving warm air and moves into the superstructure to be warmed. Once this cycle is completed, the fan assembly  110  shuts off to allow the air in the superstructure to heat up. The geo thermal cooling array  40  would not be participating in the thermal flow of air and the air intake valve  90  would be shut off. 
         [0028]      FIG. 2  is another side view of a geodesic structure.  FIG. 2  describes the flow of air used for cooling the structure. Shown are a thermally efficient structure  1  with a thermal conduit  10  connected to a thermal storage means  20  by a base connector  3 ,, a thermal conduit control valve  30 , a geo thermal cooling array  40 , hubs  50 , struts  60 , an exhaust valve  70 , an exhaust pipe  80 , an air intake valve  90 , an air intake pipe  100 , a fan assembly  110 , a solar collector  120 . During the cooling cycle, the fan assembly  110  creates a suction to pull in cool air from the air intake pipe  100 , and then circulate it upwards through the structure, eventually expelling it at the top through the exhaust pipe  80 . 
         [0029]    Still referring to  FIG. 2 , the first step in constructing a geodesic structure described in the present invention is to excavate the site to the proper ground depth, correlating with the location and size of the structure to be built. A standard foundation, such as an Insulated Concrete Form, ICF, is then used as the thermal storage means  20 . This process is similar to a basement being constructed for traditional buildings. This thermal storage means  20  is then layered with pipe that will be coupled into the geodesic flow matrix and backfilled with a thermal mass material such as but not limited to dirt, water, concrete with added phase change materials such as phase changing salts, or any combination of these or other materials. Due to expense it is preferable to use dirt; but for high-rise applications a greater thermal mass would need to be achieved for the amount of interior space; for this application, water or phase change material could be used. By insulating the thermal mass, a thermal battery is created that the structure can feed thermal energy into or bleed thermal energy out of. This rate of heat gain or heat loss is determined by whether the flow system is functioning in an open or closed circuit setting. 
         [0030]    Vertical piping is then layered into the interior of the thermal storage means  20 . The vertical members of the pipe correspond with the geodesic structure, coupling to the hub flow system above the foundation. The pipe is layered inside the thermal storage means  20  in a pattern which maximizes the ability to control the thermal mass. This pattern is a zigzag of vertical and horizontal pipes spaced one horizontal pipe every foot of thermal mass corresponding with a 1 foot vertical pipe with two 45° angles to connect to the next layer of horizontal pipe. This is used to reach the appropriate surface area inside the thermal mass for greater temperature control. The pipes finish their circuit by connecting to the central pillar/pipe, also known as the thermal conduit  10  that is connected to the center pentagon at the top of the geodesic structure and runs vertically down the structure to meet with the bottom of the thermal mass piping. At this time, the appropriate water lines, electric lines, and sewer lines are laid for the desired application of the structure. 
         [0031]    The area inside the thermal storage area  20  is then backfilled with soil, water storage containers, phase change materials, or virtually any material that can be used to store thermal energy. When the desired material is backfilled into the thermal storage area, a cap of concrete, or any other stable building platform, is used to cap off the thermal battery under the structure. This “cap” is the building surface for the interior of the home. 
         [0032]    Still referring to  FIG. 2 , the thermal conduit  10  is shown as a central pillar/pipe—a vertical pipe running from the hub  50  at the top of the structure, to the hub  50  at the very bottom of the structure—is the mechanism by which the structure gathers thermal energy, or releases thermal energy, into the thermal battery created in the sub structure. The central pillar/pipe, or the thermal conduit  10 , functions to transfer heated or cooled air throughout the structure, creating the thermal flow. This thermal flow of heated or cooled air is maintained by the thermal conduit  10  connecting the center top hub  50  of the geodesic structure to the center bottom of the thermal storage means  20 . Within this thermal conduit  10 , there is the configuration of three valves. An exhaust valve  70  leading to the exhaust pipe  80 , an air intake valve  90  regulating the flow of air within the air intake pipe  100 , and one fan assembly  110 . This is all that is needed to control the heating or cooling of the thermal mass, and thus the structure. The exhaust valves may be any type of valve, and the fan assembly may be any system that moves air in the desired manner. 
         [0033]    For the use of a self heating only structure, for applications such as water distillation, or for harvesting methane from sludge rather than for a foundation being built, a complete geodesic sphere with the hub flow dynamic is required; in these cases the bottom half of the sphere is finished like a swimming pool. For these applications it is only required that the structure heats itself so the central pillar pipe, or the thermal conduit  10 , would only need to contain one fan and no valves or ports. 
         [0034]    The thermal conduit  10  is shown as a central pillar or pipe for illustrative purposes, but any configuration that results in the transfer of energy within the structure may be used, including but not limited to, an insulated hose or a similar material, which could be substituted and redirected along the inside of the structure, as long as the hose or substitute was connecting the center top hub  50  to the center bottom hub  50  and maintained the proper configuration of the three valves, an exhaust valve  70 , an air intake valve  90 , and one fan assembly  110 . A central pillar/pipe adds structural integrity to the structure, however, replacing it with a hose or substitute may weaken the overall structure since it eliminates a load bearing structural component. Adding a load bearing aspect to the center aids the structural integrity. The spacing distance between the valves, ports, and fan is not critical, as long as the proper order of air intake, exhaust valve  70 , air intake valve  90 , fan assembly  110 , and exhaust vent  80  is maintained. 
         [0035]    From the top to the bottom of the structure, where the thermal conduit  10  fits into the hub  50 , the order is as follows: a standard T pipe connector is used to branch off of the thermal conduit  10 , where it leads to an exhaust pipe  80  with an automatic or manual exhaust valve  70  located at the top of the structure. Consequently, excess thermal energy caught in an open-loop flow can quickly be expelled from the structure. Next down the central pillar/pipe, which is functioning as a thermal conduit  10 , is an automatic or manual thermal conduit control valve  30 , which controls whether the system is functioning in a thermal gain closed-loop flow, or a thermal loss open-loop flow. Next in the configuration is the cool air intake pipe  100 . This is a standard T junction for the thermal conduit  10  with an automatic or manual air intake valve  90  leading to a geo-thermal cooling array  40  that is buried outside the thermal mass of the thermal storage means  20 , which accesses the ambient cool temperatures in the ground outside of the insulated foundation in order to lower the temperature of the thermal mass, and thus the temperature of the structure. 
         [0036]    Still referring to  FIG. 2 , there are a myriad of ways to introduce heated air into the pipe-structure matrix, making it available for standard heating and cooling units to be tied into the system, such as, but not limited to, fireplace radiation and the like. The method shown in  FIG. 2  uses solar collectors  120 . The environmentally best way is through a flat-plate, where passive solar collectors are used to heat the air inside the pipe-structure matrix (hubs  50  and struts  60 ); as many flat plate solar collectors may be added as needed. These flat-plate, passive solar collectors are placed on the proper side of the structure—southern side for northern hemisphere, and northern side for southern hemisphere—where the exact placement of the passive solar heating units on the structure itself is determined by the longitude of where the structure is being built. The solar heating units may be passive air or water solar panels. 
         [0037]    The structure illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2  shows a geodesic dome. The structure may be a full dome or a partial geodesic dome. It may be hemispherical, or it may be partially conical, pyramidal, spherical or cigar shaped. The structure may have glass panels disposed on the flow system.  FIG. 3  is a detailed view of the thermal heating system. Shown are a thermal conduit  10 , a thermal conduit control valve  30 , an exhaust valve  70 , an exhaust pipe  80 , an air intake valve  90 , an air intake pipe  100 , and a fan assembly  110 .  FIG. 3  shows the proper configuration of open and closed valves to allow the thermal battery of the structure to heat, aided with the circulation of the fan. This is a closed-loop matrix, with the exhaust valve  70  closed, the thermal conduit control valve  30  open, and the air intake valve  90  closed. This configuration creates a closed-circuit-loop; thereby redirecting the energy of the structure back into the sub-structure where the dynamics of the shape of the building itself feed the majority of thermal energy back into the sub-structure&#39;s thermal battery in the thermal storage means  20 . 
         [0038]      FIG. 4  is a detailed view of the cooling system using the thermal mass. Shown are a thermal conduit  10 , a thermal conduit control valve  30 , an exhaust valve  70 , an exhaust pipe  80 , an air intake valve  90 , an air intake pipe  100 , and a fan assembly  110 . For the cooling of the thermal mass, and thus the structure, the following thermal conduit  10  and valve configuration is used: the exhaust valve  70  is open, the thermal conduit control valve  30  is closed, the air intake valve  90  is open, and the fan assembly  110  is actively pulling air in through the geo-thermal cooling array  40 , through the sub-structure (thermal storage means  20 ), up around the walls, and finally up and out the open exhaust valve  70  on the top. This redirection of thermally cooled air quickly expels the heat from solar radiation during warmer months. With this configuration, the ambient cool temperatures of the surrounding earth will lower the temperature of the thermal mass in the sub-structure and greatly augment the cooling of the structure. Additional cooling mechanisms can be added to the flow dynamic in a closed-loop flow, including but not limited to, a traditional condenser type air conditioning, or a hydronic cooling array in the thermal conduit  10 , if a cooler internal area is desired for freezer applications. 
         [0039]      FIG. 5  is an exploded view of a hub with connecting struts. Shown is a hub  50  with a plurality of struts  60 . The hubs  50 , are adjustable, depending on the size of the structure, hexagonal and pentagonal pieces that can be created from the following processes and materials, including but not limited to, machined or stamped metal; pressure formed, vacuumed formed, thermoformed, or twin sheet formed plastics. These hubs  50  are the connecting points for a thermal processing of a geodesic embodied by the present invention. The hubs  50  can be engineered to meet any size or frequency of a geodesic structure. 
         [0040]    A geodesic structure can be constructed in many variations from ⅜ths of a sphere, a half sphere, to a full sphere itself; frequencies of geodesic range from 1V or the first frequency up to  6 V or a sixth frequency. For our example, a 3V or third stage geodesic will be described. For a 3V geodesic, three (3) different strut lengths are needed for the structure. For a ⅜ths dome structure to be placed on the thermal storage means 20 A struts, 40 B struts, and 50 C struts are required to build the structural flow matrix of the geodesic that personifies the present invention. For this frequency the present invention&#39;s geodesic requirements are: (15) 4-way hubs, (6) pentagonal hubs, and (25) hexagonal hubs. The hubs  50  and the struts  60  only need to allow air flow through the void space inside them. The hubs  50  also contain removable interior and exterior caps in used to attach and tighten wall covering, as well as to seal the glazing. 
         [0041]    Covering material for the structure can be any material, including but not limited to, polycarbonate or glass, for greenhouse and distillery applications, or standard construction materials, such as plywood, for home building applications. The interior materials can be any material, preferably but not limited to, conventional interior building materials, such as drywall, polycarbonate, or any other interior facing material which is desired. When using Expanded Poly Styrene (EPS) or any material with similar properties, with a geo-polymer for facing the structure, the top and bottom caps of the hubs  50  are not needed. While for our description we include the hubs  50  into the system, the structure can be erected without the hubs  50  and struts  60  in place, if the air flow areas are created as negative voids in the EPS foam. This flow dynamic leads to the very center of the top of the structure, where the thermal conduit  10  can be attached to the apex, where it then runs through the structure to meet with the bottom center of the thermal mass. This flow dynamic is the key to the structure being able to control the thermal mass in the substructure. 
         [0042]    Although solar and geothermal are described as the preferred sources of energy for the C.O.R.E., any energy source may be used. For instance, the principle of the C.O.R.E. technology may be employed with a structure that uses wind energy, nuclear energy, hydrothermal energy, or even non-renewable energy sources such as coal or oil, or any combination of these or other energy sources may be employed. 
         [0043]    Although the energy storage and transfer described in the C.O.R.E. is applied to a geodesic dome, it may be applied to any structure for which it is suited. For instance, the C.O.R.E. technology may be retrofitted to a standard rectangular structure, or one may choose to build any shape or form of building that employs the components of this system. The structure employing the C.O.R.E. system may reside above, below, or partially below ground. It may be a structure for housing humans (such as a dwelling), animals (such as a doghouse), plants, (such as a greenhouse) inanimate objects (such as temperature controlled storage or instrument, machine, or equipment rooms), or any combination thereof. 
         [0044]    Additionally, the structure may have multiple stories, either with a configuration where all stories rely on one C.O.R.E. flow system, or wherein each story has a floor and a separate flow system is disposed in each floor. The fabrication may also have a plurality of base connections, including but not limited to individual connections or grid or array connection. 
         [0045]    Although the C.O.R.E. technology is illustrated as controlling temperature within an entire single free-standing geodesic dome, the C.O.R.E. technology may be added to any portion of any building, and may be used in conjunction with other heating and cooling systems. For example, a user may choose to enlarge his dwelling and incorporate the C.O.R.E. technology in the new part of the dwelling. In this case, the user would use a combination of conventional heating/cooling systems along with the C.O.R.E. system to regulate temperature in the entire dwelling. 
         [0046]    Additionally, a dwelling or other structure may be retrofit for use with the C.O.R.E. technology. For example, a home owner may choose to outfit his basement with the piping for the thermal battery and then fill in the basement with dirt. Alternatively, a swimming pool may be retrofitted to be the battery. 
         [0047]    It also is not necessary that the building reside directly over the thermal battery, as it shown in the  FIGS. 1-4 . The battery may be displaced from the building as long as there is a pathway for the flow system and thermal conduit to connect to the thermal storage means. 
         [0048]    The energy stored in the thermal battery may be used for the structure to which the battery is connected, or the energy may be harvested for use in other applications. For instance, the technology of the C.O.R.E. system may be used for, including but not limited to, distilling water or enabling other chemical processes, and harvesting methane or other gases. 
         [0049]    For the water distillation application, there are two basic methods the C.O.R.E. system could easily incorporate. The first method would be utilized near a constant water source, such an ocean, lake, or river; and the second method would be utilized for inland water collection without a constant water supply. 
         [0050]    The first method is the C.O.R.E. geodesic grid-work taking the energy from the very top of a glass faced structure and channeling it to the bottom where the pipes would follow a bracket grid-work doubling in all directions to the exterior of the dome. A highly conductive black metal surface would be laid on this grid-work, where water would then be poured onto the metal plate, and the evaporation harvested with a guttering system on the inside glass or siphon the warm moist air from the top of the structure for re-condensation. This configuration would also work with a complete geodesic sphere, with the bottom half being highly conductive metal that water could run across, or filled in batches at a time, and with the metal heated by the C.O.R.E. process, water would be rapidly heated and evaporated for collection. 
         [0051]    The second easily implemented method would be an inland water distiller with an excavated hole and the geodesic grid-work open on the bottom of the hole. A tarp or inverted pyramidal piece of metal is inverted to make a central point of condensation, where directly below the central point is a collection container for the evaporated water. This is essentially a Boy Scout method for distilling water, but for the fact that the C.O.R.E. system superheats the Earth inside the hole, drawing cooler water and moisture from within the Earth to the central point of the hole like a candle wick. In essence, this process is hyper-harnessing the ever present system of natural water harvesting methods. 
         [0052]    Although this invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is to be understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of illustration and that numerous changes in the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention.