Apparatus, system and method for controlling airflow
An apparatus, system and method for controlling airflow is described. The apparatus comprises a wall which delimits a flared bore. The apparatus further comprises at least one air guide member which retractably protrudes into the flared bore from the wall. The flared bore widens to an outlet, thereby to permit a diverging airflow to be expelled therefrom when each of the at least one air guide member is retracted. When the at least one air guide member protrudes into the flared bore, air flowing in the flared bore is guided by a surface, e.g. a concave surface, of the respective air guide member away from the wall and towards the outlet. The retractable air guide member thus enables the direction and/or degree of convergence of the air flowing out of the outlet to be controlled.
1. An airflow apparatus comprising:
an outlet or allowing air to flow out of the airflow apparatus;
a wall delimiting a flared bore which widens to the outlet; and
at least one air guide member configured to retractably protrude into the flared bore from the wall, wherein the at least one air guide member comprises a surface for guiding air flowing in the flared bore away from the wall and towards the outlet when the air guide member is protruding into the flared bore,
wherein the at least one air guide member comprises a series of air guide members which are respectively arranged to protrude into the flared bore from positions along the wall which are successively closer to the outlet.
2. The airflow apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the wall comprises a curved surface whose curvature in a direction of the outlet defines the flared bore.
3. The airflow apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the surface of each of the at least one air guide member comprises a concave surface.
4. The airflow apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each of the at least one air guide member is retractable through a slot in the wall.
5. The airflow apparatus of claim 1 , wherein an extremity of each of the at least one air guide member, when protruding into the flared bore, meets an axis extending between opposing portions of the wall at a distance along the axis from the wall which is less than one third of a width of the flared bore between the opposing portions.
6. The airflow apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising an air displacement device configured to provide a flow of air into the flared bore and out of the outlet.
7. The airflow apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one air guide member comprises a pair of air guide members which are respectively arranged to protrude into the flared bore from opposing parts of the wall.
8. A method for operating an airflow apparatus of claim 1 , comprising:
protruding the at least one air guide member into the flared bore, such that the air flowing in the flared bore is guided by the surface away from the wall and towards the outlet, optionally wherein the method further comprises:
retracting the at least one air guide member from the flared bore.
9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
selecting at least one of the air guide members of the series based on a desired direction and/or a degree of convergence of airflow from the outlet, wherein the protruding comprises protruding said selected at least one of the respective air guide members of the series into the flared bore.
10. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
selecting one or both of the air guide members of the pair based on a desired direction and/or a degree of convergence of airflow from the outlet, wherein the protruding comprises protruding said selected one or both air guide members of the pair of air guide members into the flared bore.
11. A system comprising:
the airflow apparatus of claim 1 ; and
a controller configured to control the protrusion and/or the retraction of the at least one air guide member.
12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the controller is further configured to receive an indication relating to a desired direction and/or a degree of convergence of the airflow from the outlet, wherein the controller is configured to control the protrusion and/or the retraction of the at least one air guide member based on said indication, wherein the system further comprises a user interface for permitting user input of the indication, and wherein the controller is configured to receive the indication from the user interface.
13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the at least one air guide member comprises said series of air guide members, and wherein the controller is further configured to:
select at least one of the air guide members of the series based on the received indication; and
control the at least one air guide member, such that said selected at least one of the respective air guide members of the series is protruded into the flared bore.
14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the at least one air guide member comprises said pair of air guide members, and wherein the controller is further configured to:
select one or both of the air guide members from the pair of air guide members based on the received indication; and
control the at least one air guide member, such that said selected one or both of the air guide members of the pair of air guide members is or are protruded into the flared bore.
15. The airflow apparatus of claim 1 , wherein by protruding different air guide members of the series into the flared bore, a direction of the airflow is tuned.
16. The airflow apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the airflow from the outlet is tuned by combining a selection of one of the air guide members of the series with a selection of one or both of the air guide members of an opposing pair.