Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6168378
-
Patent Number
6,168,378
-
Date Filed
Tuesday, August 10, 199924 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, January 2, 200123 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
- Look; Edward K.
- Nguyen; Ninh
Agents
- Andrus, Sceales, Starke & Sawall,
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 415 203
- 415 204
- 415 206
- 415 2112
- 415 2131
- 415 2141
- 415 2121
- 415 902
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A pair of air deflectors attached to the outlet opening of a blower assembly housed within a ventilator housing to accommodate multiple size outlets in the ventilator housing of a ventilation system. The air deflectors include a front portion for attachment to a sidewall flange extending outwardly from the outlet opening of the blower assembly, a transition portion extending rearwardly and inwardly from one side of the front portion, and a flange extending rearwardly from the transition portion for attachment to a sidewall of the blower assembly. The air deflectors attached to the outlet opening of the blower assembly increase air flow, decrease air turbulence and decrease noise within the ventilation system.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to ventilators used in building ventilation systems, and more particularly to air deflectors for use with such ventilators.
Ventilation systems are used to control the temperature and air quality in buildings. These ventilation systems include a number of exhaust ventilators spaced throughout the building to withdraw air from the rooms in the building. Removal of air from the rooms allows a separate heating and/or air conditioning system in the building to supply air to the rooms to effectively control the temperature within the building.
The ventilators connected to the ventilation system are normally located directly above the ceiling of the room so that the ventilator can withdraw air from the room by means of a fan or blower mounted in the ventilator. After the air is drawn into the ventilator by the blower, the air is then discharged from the ventilator by the blower through an outlet opening in the ventilator housing. The outlet opening is connected to a ventilation duct that extends throughout the building. The ventilation duct leads from the ventilator to the exterior of the building, allowing the air removed by the ventilator to be vented to the outside atmosphere.
The ventilator typically includes a blower assembly housed within a ventilator housing. The blower assembly comprises a scroll cage with air inlet openings on the sides thereof, and an air outlet opening at one end of the scroll cage. The scroll cage includes a blower wheel mounted therein and driven by an electric motor. The ventilator housing includes an outlet opening which is designed to mate with the outlet opening of the blower assembly.
Prior art ventilator housings are generally made with different sized outlet openings which may or may not be the same size as the outlet openings of the blower assembly housed therein. A ventilator housing having a smaller sized outlet opening than the blower assembly outlet opening causes a decrease in air flow and an increase in air turbulence, making the ventilation system very noisy and inefficient. In addition, it is desirable to use a common blower assembly in different ventilation housings to reduce the number of parts and production costs involved in manufacturing the ventilation systems. A larger, wider blower wheel that spins slower and moves a larger amount of air reduces vibration and noise within the system. Therefore, there is a need for a ventilation system that is quieter and more efficient than prior art systems.
To satisfy this need, a pair of air deflectors have been designed for attachment to the outlet opening of a blower assembly to act as a transition between the outlet opening of the blower assembly and the outlet opening of the ventilator housing to increase air flow, decrease air turbulence and decrease noise in the ventilation system.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a pair of air deflectors which are attached to the outlet opening of a blower assembly housed within a ventilator housing to accommodate multiple size outlets in the ventilator housing. The air deflectors are formed of a single piece of rigid material, such as metal. The air deflectors each include a front portion which attaches to a sidewall flange extending outwardly from the outlet opening of the blower assembly, a transition portion extending rearwardly and at an angle from the front portion, and a flange extending rearwardly from the transition portion which attaches to a sidewall of the blower assembly.
The air deflectors are comprised of a right side air deflector that is attached to the right side of the blower assembly outlet opening and a left side air deflector that is attached to the left side of the blower assembly outlet opening. The right and left side air deflectors are mirror images of each other. Each deflector has a front portion, a transition portion extending rearwardly and at an angle from the front portion, and a flange extending rearwardly from the transition portion. The front portion of each air deflector includes a hole extending therethrough for attaching the outlet opening of the blower assembly to the outlet opening of the ventilator housing with fasteners and the like.
The air deflectors are fixedly attached to each side of the blower assembly's outlet opening to decrease the width of the outlet opening and to provide a smooth transition for air flow from the blower assembly through the ventilator housing and into a ventilation duct attached to the ventilator housing.
Various other features, objects and advantages of the invention will be made apparent to those skilled in the art from the following drawings and detailed description of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a perspective view of a ventilator including a blower assembly installed within a ventilator housing.
FIG. 2
is an exploded perspective view of the blower assembly and ventilator housing of FIG.
1
.
FIG. 3
is an exploded perspective view of a blower assembly outlet opening and a pair of air deflectors of the present invention.
FIG. 4
is an enlarged view taken along line
4
—
4
of
FIG. 2
of the air deflectors attached to the blower assembly outlet opening.
FIG. 5
is an enlarged view taken along line
5
—
5
of
FIG. 4
of the air deflector which is attached to the right side of the blower assembly outlet opening when viewed as in FIG.
4
.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 2
illustrates a blower assembly
10
and a ventilator housing
12
of a ventilator for use in controlling the temperature and air quality within a building. For ease of illustration, the blower assembly and ventilator housing are shown inverted from their position of customary use in the ceiling of a building. The blower assembly
10
comprises a scroll cage
14
with circular air inlet openings
16
on each side thereof and a rectangularly shaped outlet opening
18
at one end of the scroll cage
14
. The scroll cage
14
houses a blower wheel (not shown) driven by an electric motor (not shown) for moving air through a ventilation system.
The ventilator housing
12
is typically installed in a ceiling or wall of a room of a building. The ventilator housing
12
comprises a box-like structure having four sidewalls
20
,
22
,
24
and
26
. The ventilator housing
12
also includes an open end
28
which forms the lower end of housing
12
when the ventilator is in use. A grill (not shown) located in the ceiling or wall of a room to be ventilated is attached to end
28
. The ventilator housing
12
also includes an outlet opening
30
in sidewall
20
for connection to a ventilation duct (not shown) that leads from the ventilator housing to the exterior of the building. Outlet opening
18
of scroll cage
14
is larger than outlet opening
30
in ventilator housing
12
.
Attached to the right and left sides of the outlet opening
18
of the scroll cage
14
are right and left side air deflectors
32
,
34
respectively. The air deflectors
32
,
34
decrease the width of the outlet opening
18
to match the width of ventilator housing outlet opening
30
. The air deflectors
32
,
34
provide a smooth transition for air moving from the blower assembly
10
through the ventilator housing outlet opening
30
and into a ventilator duct (not shown) connected to the ventilator housing
12
.
FIG. 1
shows the scroll cage
14
of the blower assembly
10
installed in the ventilator housing
12
. The scroll cage
14
is inserted through the open end
28
of the ventilator housing
12
. A mounting bar
36
attached to the outside surface of the scroll cage
14
is fastened to a pair of mounting brackets
38
(only one shown) attached to the inside surface of sidewalls
22
and
26
for securing the scroll cage
14
in the ventilator housing
12
. As is shown in
FIG. 1
, the outlet opening
18
of the blower assembly
10
containing air deflectors
32
,
34
coincides within the outlet opening
30
of the ventilator housing
12
. The smooth transition provided by air deflectors
32
,
34
between outlet opening
18
and outlet opening
30
increases air flow and decreases air turbulence in the ventilation system by reducing the width of the blower assembly outlet opening
18
to match the width of the ventilator housing outlet opening
30
.
For example, the air deflectors may decrease the width of the blower assembly outlet opening from 8 inches to 6 inches to accommodate a 6 inch wide opening in the ventilator housing. Under normal conditions, air exiting a blower assembly with an 8 inch wide opening would hit the flat sidewall of a ventilator housing having a 6 inch wide opening, causing reduced air flow and turbulent air flow.
The use of air deflectors
32
,
34
allows the use of a common blower assembly for different sized ventilator housing outlets, thereby reducing the number of components and decreasing the assembly time of the ventilators. That is, a blower assembly having an 8 inch wide opening can be used without the air deflectors with a ventilator housing having an 8 inch wide opening and with the air deflectors for a ventilator housing having a 6 inch wide opening.
FIG. 3
shows an enlarged view of the blower assembly outlet opening
18
and the air deflectors
32
,
34
which are attachable to the sides of the outlet opening
18
. The scroll cage
14
includes an outlet opening
18
having a wall
40
opposing wall
42
, a right sidewall
44
and a left sidewall
46
when viewed as in FIG.
3
. The sidewalls
44
and
46
each have flanges
48
and
50
extending outwardly therefrom at the outlet opening
18
to form a front face for attachment of the air deflectors
32
,
34
to the sides of the outlet opening
18
. The flanges
48
,
50
extend outwardly from the sidewalls
44
,
46
at approximately right angles thereto.
The right side air deflector
32
and the left side air deflector
34
are attached to the right and left sidewalls
44
and
46
of the outlet opening
18
respectively. The right
32
and left
34
air deflectors may be identical in construction. The right and left side air deflectors
32
,
34
each comprise a front portion
52
,
54
which are attached to the sidewall flanges
48
and
50
. The front portions
52
,
54
are preferably welded to the sidewall flanges
48
,
50
, but may be attached by other means such as an adhesive or fasteners and the like. Extending rearwardly and inwardly from one side of each front portion
52
,
54
is a transition portion
56
,
58
. The transition portions
56
,
58
extend inwardly from one side of the front portions
52
,
54
at an acute angle thereto. Extending rearwardly from the transition portions
56
,
58
are flanges
60
,
62
which attach to the sidewalls
44
,
46
of the scroll cage
14
. Again, the flanges
60
,
62
are preferably affixed to the sidewalls
44
,
46
to lessen the likelihood of vibratory noise, as by welding, adhesive, fasteners, or the like. Or flanges
60
,
62
may be held on sidewalls
44
,
46
by a deflection occurring in transition portions
56
,
58
. The front portions
52
,
54
each include a hole
64
,
66
extending therethrough which are exposed as shown in
FIG. 1
for attaching the air deflectors
32
,
34
to the ventilation duct (not shown) extending from the ventilator housing.
FIG. 4
shows a cross sectional view of the blower assembly outlet opening
18
with the air deflectors
32
,
34
attached to the respective sidewalls
44
,
46
of the scroll cage
14
. The air deflectors
32
,
34
are attached to the sidewall flanges
48
,
50
.
FIG. 4
shows front portions
52
,
54
, transition portions
56
,
58
extending rearwardly at an acute angle from the front portions, and flanges
60
extending rearwardly from the transition portions. The manner in which air deflectors
32
,
34
decrease the width of the outlet opening
18
and provide a smooth air flow transition between the blower assembly outlet opening
18
and the ventilator housing outlet opening
30
is also shown in FIG.
4
.
FIG. 5
is a side view of the right side air deflector
32
attached to the right sidewall
44
of the scroll cage
14
shown in FIG.
4
.
It is recognized that other equivalents, alternatives, and modifications aside from those expressly stated, are possible and within the scope of the appended claims.
Claims
- 1. An air deflector assembly for use with a ventilator, the ventilator including a blower assembly with an air outlet opening of a given size and a ventilator housing for housing the blower assembly therein, the ventilator housing including an air outlet opening for mating with the air outlet opening of the blower assembly, the ventilator housing air outlet opening which is smaller than the blower assembly outlet opening, the air deflector assembly comprising:a pair of air deflectors mountable in the air outlet opening of the blower assembly, each of said air deflectors having a front portion, a transition portion extending rearwardly at an angle from the front portion, the air deflectors being suitable for mounting in the air outlet opening of the blower assembly for reducing the size of the blower assembly air outlet opening to at least that of the ventilator housing air outlet opening for increasing air flow and decreasing turbulence in air exiting the blower assembly.
- 2. The air deflector assembly of claim 1 wherein the pair of air deflectors each include a flange extending rearwardly from the transition portion.
- 3. The air deflector assembly of claim 1 wherein the air deflectors are identical.
- 4. The air deflector assembly of claim 1 wherein the pair of air deflectors are affixed to the sides of the outlet opening, of the blower assembly.
- 5. The air deflector assembly of claim 1 wherein the pair of air deflectors decrease the width of the outlet opening, of the blower assembly to match the width of the outlet opening of the ventilator housing.
- 6. The air deflector assembly of claim 1 wherein the transition portion of the pair of air deflectors extends rearwardly at an acute angle from the front portion.
- 7. A blower assembly having an apparatus for increasing air flow and decreasing air turbulence in a ventilator, the ventilator including a ventilator housing for housing the blower assembly therein, the ventilator housing including an air outlet opening, the apparatus comprising:a blower housing having an air outlet opening for mating with the air outlet opening of the ventilator housing; and a pair of air deflectors mounted to the air outlet opening of the blower housing, each of said air deflectors having a front portion, a transition portion extending rearwardly and at an angle from the front portion, the air deflectors reducing the size of the blower housing air outlet opening to at least that of the ventilator housing air outlet opening.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the pair of air deflectors each include a flange extending rearwardly from the transition portion.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the pair of air deflectors are identical.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the transition portion of the pair of air deflectors extends rearwardly at an acute angle from the front portion.
- 11. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the pair of air deflectors decrease the width of the air outlet opening of the blower assembly to match the width of the air outlet opening in the ventilator housing.
US Referenced Citations (4)