Patent Application
20240229822
The present disclosure relates generally to a fan having a fan shroud.
There are various cooling devices for cooling an area and/or users. One such device is a fan, which generally include spinning fan blades that produce airflow for cooling the area and/or user.
Aspects and advantages of one or more embodiments of the invention in accordance with the present disclosure will be set forth in part in the following description, may be understood from the description, or may be learned through practice of the technology.
According to one or more embodiments, a fan assembly comprises a motor having an output shaft, a plurality of fan blades coupled to the output shaft and configured to be rotated by the output shaft when the motor is actuated to generate airflow in an airflow direction, a fan shroud surrounding the plurality of fan blades, wherein the fan shroud comprises a converging section that decreases in diameter in the airflow direction, and a constant diameter section downstream of the converging section in the airflow direction that has a substantially constant diameter.
According to one or more embodiments, the fan shroud further comprises a diverging section downstream of the converging section and upstream of the constant diameter section that increases in diameter in the airflow direction.
According to one or more embodiments, the constant diameter section of the fan shroud surrounds an entirety of the plurality of fan blades.
According to one or more embodiments, the converging section surrounds at least a portion of the motor.
According to one or more embodiments, the diverging section surrounds at least a portion of the motor.
According to one or more embodiments, a first portion of the motor is surrounded by the converging section, a second portion of the motor is surrounded by the diverging section, and a third portion of the motor is surrounded by the constant diameter section.
According to one or more embodiments, a majority of the converging section has a smaller diameter than a diameter of the constant diameter section.
According to one or more embodiments, the fan assembly comprises a first lip upstream of the converging section and a second lip downstream of the constant diameter section.
According to one or more embodiments, the fan assembly comprises a battery receptacle disposed on the fan shroud electrically connected to the motor and configured to receive a battery pack to provide power to the motor.
According to one or more embodiments, a rear grill is disposed upstream of the fan blades, and the rear grill extends in the airflow direction from the converging section to the diverging section.
According to one or more embodiments, a length of the constant diameter section in the airflow direction in greater than a length of the converging section in the airflow direction.
According to one or more embodiments, a length of the constant diameter section in the airflow direction in greater than a length of the diverging section in the airflow direction.
According to one or more embodiments, a length of the constant diameter section in the airflow direction in less than a length of a combination of the converging section and the diverging section and in the airflow direction.
A fan shroud configured to have airflow therethrough in an airflow direction comprises a converging section that decreases in diameter in the airflow direction, and a constant diameter section downstream of the converging section in the airflow direction that has a substantially constant diameter.
According to one or more embodiments, the fan shroud further comprises a diverging section downstream of the converging section and upstream of the constant diameter section that increases in diameter in the airflow direction.
According to one or more embodiments, a majority of the converging section has a smaller diameter than a diameter of the constant diameter section.
According to one or more embodiments, the fan shroud comprises a first lip upstream of the converging section and a second lip downstream of the constant diameter section.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of one or more embodiments of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the technology and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the technology.
Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. Moreover, each example is provided by way of explanation, rather than limitation of, the technology. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variations can be made in the present technology without departing from the scope or spirit of the claimed technology. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present disclosure covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. The detailed description uses numerical and letter designations to refer to features in the drawings. Like or similar designations in the drawings and description have been used to refer to like or similar parts of the invention.
As used herein, the terms “first”, “second”, and “third” may be used interchangeably to distinguish one component from another and are not intended to signify location or importance of the individual components. The singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The terms “coupled,” “fixed,” “attached to,” and the like refer to both direct coupling, fixing, or attaching, as well as indirect coupling, fixing, or attaching through one or more intermediate components or features, unless otherwise specified herein. As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” “has,” “having” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of features is not necessarily limited only to those features but may include other features not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Further, unless expressly stated to the contrary, “or” refers to an inclusive- or and not to an exclusive- or. For example, a condition A or B is satisfied by any one of the following: A is true (or present) and B is false (or not present), A is false (or not present) and B is true (or present), and both A and B are true (or present).
Terms of approximation, such as “about,” “generally,” “approximately,” or “substantially,” include values within ten percent greater or less than the stated value. When used in the context of an angle or direction, such terms include within ten degrees greater or less than the stated angle or direction. For example, “generally vertical” includes directions within ten degrees of vertical in any direction, e.g., clockwise or counter-clockwise.
Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems are described below with regard to specific embodiments. However, the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any feature(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essential feature of any or all the claims.
As shown in
According to one or more embodiments, the fan assembly 100 includes a stand 150 that includes a pair of floor support portions 153, and a pair of right vertical portions 151 and a pair of left vertical portions 155 that extend upward from the floor support portions 153. The pair of right vertical portions 151 are joined at upper ends thereof to form a U-shaped elbow, and the pair of left vertical portions 155 are joined at upper ends thereof to form a U-shaped elbow. According to one or more embodiments, first and second shroud hinge supports 141, 145 are fixed on right and left sides of the shroud 200, and plates disposed at the U-shaped elbows of the right and left vertical portions 151, 155 are rotatably connected to the first and second shroud hinge supports 141, 145 via first and second hinge shafts 143, 147 that extend in left and right directions, respectively. Thus, the shroud 200 may rotate with respect to the stand 150 about a lateral axis that contains the left and right directions, allowing the fan to be angled upward and downward. The stand 150 may further include a pair of wheels 156 that are connected via a wheel shaft 157 that is rotatably disposed on plates disposed at the junction of the floor support portions 153 and the right vertical portions 151. When the left vertical portions 155 are lifted, the wheels 156 allow a user to roll the fan assembly 100 in the left direction. The fan assembly 100 may further include pair of weights 158 on the floor support portions 153 to anchor the fan assembly 100. The weights 158 may be sleeve-shaped and may be disposed closer to the left vertical portions 155 than the right vertical portions 151. Additionally, as shown in
As shown in
According to one or more embodiments, the fan shroud 300 includes, in airflow order, a rear lip 309 at a rearmost end of the fan shroud 300, a converging section 307 extending forward from the rear lip 309 that gradually decreases in diameter toward the front, an inflection point 306 at which the converging section 307 transitions to a diverging section 305 extending forward from the converging section 307 that gradually increases in diameter toward the front, a constant diameter section 303 extending forward from the diverging section 305, and a front lip 301 at a frontmost end of the fan shroud 300. As shown in
As shown in
The decrease in diameter in the airflow direction via the converging section 307 provides improvement in performance. Additionally, a diverging section 305 downstream of the converging section 307 allows for the maximum diameter of the fan shroud 300 to be reduced, which decreases the size and weight of the fan assembly 100. This reduction in the maximum diameter of the fan shroud 300 also allows for smaller packaging which reduces packaging and transport costs, while unexpectedly maintaining most of the performance improvement of the converging section 307.
This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they include structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal language of the claims.
