Patent Application
20140271289
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to air-moving devices. In particular, the present invention relates to fan and a reconfigurable grille for use with an axial fan such that different air flow patterns can be produced when the grille is in different configurations.
2. Description of the Related Art
Numerous types of air-moving devices exist on the market, such as fans, humidifiers, air-conditioning units, dehumidifiers, air purifiers, hair driers and the like. Depending on the applications and consumers' preference, these air-moving devices can be designed to produce different patterns of airflow, such as a focused and more laminar stream flow across a room (i.e., a “circulator”), or a gentle and slightly turbulent more close-ranged and spread-out flow. The latter pattern can be preferred by a consumer for cooling in the summer.
A common component of many air-moving devices is a grille placed in front of an axial fan (or axial-flow fan). The grille can help create desired distribution patterns of airflow generated by the fan for the environment in which the product is used. The grille for an axial fan can include a number of vanes configured in certain patterns or geometries for achieving desired airflow direction or deflection. Common configurations of vanes in consumer products include louvers which can control the direction of the airflow, as those found in cars, vents in air conditioning vents, etc., and spirally-configured vanes in certain Honeywell® TurboForce™ series of products. The vanes in these products are generally not reconfigurable. Although the louvers can be moved to change the direction of airflow, the airflow patterns are not changed.
There is a need for a reconfigurable grille for air-moving devices such that a single air-moving device can produce different airflow patterns depending on the configuration of the grille.
In one aspect, the present invention provides a reconfigurable grille for use in association with an axial fan. The grille includes a central hub, an outer rim, and a plurality of vanes each extending from the central hub to the outer rim. The plurality of vanes are configured to switch between at least a first configuration and a second configuration. In one of the first configuration and second configuration, each of the plurality of vanes includes at least a generally counterclockwise curved portion. In the other of the first configuration and second configuration, each of the plurality of vanes includes at least a generally clockwise curved portion. In some embodiments of the grille, the central hub and the outer rim are configured to rotate relative to each other to switch the plurality of vanes between the first configuration and the second configuration. In other embodiments of the grille, the central hub further includes a control element, upon which when a predetermined action is performed, the plurality of vanes are switched from the first configuration to the second configuration. The control element can include a protrusion such as, but not limited to, a knob, a pull, a push button, a slide, etc., the turning or moving (action) of which can change the vane configurations.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a reconfigurable grille for use in association with an air-moving device (such as a cooling fan or air-conditioning unit), where the reconfigurable grille includes a central hub, an outer rim, a plurality of vanes each extending from the central hub to the outer rim, wherein the central hub and the outer rim are configured to rotate relative to each other to move the plurality of vanes from a first configuration to a second configuration. In some embodiments of the grille, in at least one of the first configuration and the second configuration, each of the plurality of vanes includes at least a similarly curved portion with respect to other vanes. In certain embodiments, in one of the first configuration and the second configuration, each of the plurality of vanes includes at least a generally counterclockwise curved portion, and in the other of the first configuration and the second configuration, each of the plurality of vanes includes at least a generally clockwise curved portion. The plurality of vanes can be in a third configuration different from each of the first configuration and the second configuration, e.g., a configuration that is intermediate between the first configuration and the second configuration. In certain embodiments, the central hub further includes a control element, upon which when a predetermined action is performed, the plurality of vanes are switched from the first configuration to the second configuration. The control element can be further configured to move the plurality of vanes from each of the first configuration and the second configuration into the third intermediate configuration.
In a further aspect, the present invention provides a fan assembly including a fan having at least one blade rotatable about a rotating axis, a housing at least partially enclosing the fan, and a reconfigurable grille mounted on the housing. The reconfigurable grille can be any of the embodiments of the reconfigurable grille as described herein. In some embodiments, the fan assembly further includes a control element for changing the configurations of the vanes, as described herein in connection with the reconfigurable grille. The control element, such as a knob, can be an integral part of the grille, or can be coupled to the central hub of the reconfigurable grille. The outer rim of the grille can be mounted on the housing of the fan. A protective grille can be optionally disposed between the fan and the reconfigurable grille.
In yet a further aspect, the present invention provides a fan assembly which includes: a fan having at least one blade rotatable about a rotating axis, the rotation of the fan generating an airflow; a reconfigurable grille disposed proximate the fan, the reconfigurable grille having a plurality of openings defined by a plurality of vanes permitting at least a portion of the airflow to exit the reconfigurable grille, and the reconfigurable grille switchable between a first configuration and a second configuration, the geometries of the openings in the first configuration being different from the geometries of the openings in the second configuration, wherein the airflow exiting the reconfigurable grille in the first configuration produces a focused laminar flow, and the airflow exiting the reconfigurable grille in the second configuration produces a turbulent splayed flow. The reconfigurable grille can be any of the embodiments of the reconfigurable grille as described herein.
The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like components. For the purposes of illustrating aspects of the present invention, there are shown in the drawings certain preferred embodiments. It should be understood, however, that the application is not limited to the precise arrangement, structures, features, embodiments, aspects, and devices shown, and the arrangements, structures, features, embodiments, aspects and devices shown may be used singularly or in combination with other arrangements, structures, features, embodiments, aspects and devices. The drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and are not in any way intended to limit the scope of this invention, but are merely presented to clarify illustrated embodiments of the invention. In these drawings:
a is a front view of a fan assembly including a reconfigurable grille in a first configuration according to some embodiments of the present application;
b is a front view of a fan assembly including a reconfigurable grille in a second configuration according to some embodiments of the present application;
a is a perspective view of a fan assembly including a reconfigurable grille in a first configuration according to some embodiments of the present application;
b is a perspective view of a fan assembly including a reconfigurable grille in a second configuration according to some embodiments of the present application;
a is a schematic front view of a test fan including a reconfigurable grille according to some embodiments of the present application; and
b is a schematic top view of a setup for airflow measurements for a test fan including a reconfigurable grille according to some embodiments of the present application.
For purposes of the following discussion the various embodiments of the fan assembly and the reconfigurable grille are described in connection with a fan, but it will be appreciated that the herein embodied reconfigurable grille may be used for various types of household or industrial air-moving devices, such as cooling fans, humidifiers, air-conditioning units, dehumidifiers, air purifiers, hair driers and the like, that contain axial fans having blades that force air to move parallel to a shaft (the axis about which the blades rotate). The axial fans can be powered by electric motors, but other sources of power may also be used, for example, hydraulic motors and internal combustion engines. A single unit of air-moving device containing the reconfigurable grille can produce different types of airflow patterns based on the different configurations of the grille takes, and thus can serve multiple functions. Furthermore, the fan assembly and the reconfigurable grille can be used for submersible applications, such as in water pumps.
In an embodiment, the present invention provides a reconfigurable grille for use in association with an axial fan. Further, the present invention provides a fan assembly including a fan and a reconfigurable grille. Various embodiments of these aspects are described in further detail below.
Referring to
As shown in
As described herein, the configurations assumed by the vanes (or a portion thereof) of the grille mean the general arrangement of the pattern profiles of the vanes as projected on an imaginary plane normal to the rotating axis of the fan, and as observed at a vantage point in front of the grille. As the thickness of the vanes is thin compared to the size of the openings defined between the vanes, the center lines of the cross-sectional profiles of the vanes can be used as the curves for evaluating the geometry of the vanes. As used herein, the direction of the curves for the vanes is considered in terms of the direction the vanes bend as the curves extend from the central hub to the outer rim. For example, the vanes in
The vanes in the first configuration can be switched to the second configuration by a control element. When a predetermined action is performed upon the control element, the plurality of vanes are switched from one configuration to the other configuration. For example, and as illustrated in
While it is shown in these figures that the control element can be an integral part of the hub, it is understood that the control element can also be separately manufactured and coupled to the hub to perform its function. In this regard, it is understood that the hub can be made with an appropriate configuration, e.g., with a depression, with an engaging element, or in the form of a hollow ring, such that the control element can be easily and securely fitted onto the hub. The hub can further be mounted on a fan shaft, or on a protective grille interposed between the reconfigurable grille and the fan blades. Due to the elasticity of the material chosen and their geometries relative to the cross-section of the grille, the vanes can hold the desired configurations by themselves (i.e., they are bi-stable by design), although retention mechanisms (such as a coupling between the hub and the fan shaft/protective grille) also be used to readily hold the vanes in other different configurations. The hub can be made with various shapes and materials as desired. In some embodiments, the center of the hub can be aligned with the rotating axis of the fan. Further, the hub need not have an extended solid area, but can simply include structures or joints where the vanes meet or are otherwise coupled together.
The configurable grille can be mounted onto the housing of the fan. As shown in
As shown in
Although only two example configurations are shown in
The vanes can be manufactured, e.g., molded, as a one piece structure integral with the central hub and/or the outer rim. Alternatively, the vanes can be manufactured separately from the hub and/or outer rim, and later fixedly, pivotally, or otherwise coupled with the hub and/or the outer rim. For example, the vanes can be coupled to the hub in a variety of ways, such as pinned to the hub, trapped in a two-part hub, heat staked to the hub, screwed to the hub, and the like To increase visual appeal of the grille, selected portions of the vanes can be painted with a color or pattern different from the remaining parts of the vanes.
As shown in
As noted above, at different configurations, the reconfigurable grille can help create different airflow patterns for an axial fan, as demonstrated by the following example. In this example, a commercial Honeywell® HT900 TurboForce fan product was refitted with a reconfigurable grille (whose vanes, central hub, and outer rime are molded as one integral piece from a rubber material) of an embodiment of the present invention as shown in
The measurement results in the table above show that when the grille is in the generally counterclockwise configuration, the airflow exiting from the grille produces a focused laminar flow, whereas when the grille is in the generally clockwise configuration, the airflow exiting from the grille produces a turbulent splayed flow. The former configuration of the grille therefore can be suitable for moving the air over a greater distance, while the latter configuration of the grille can provide a consumer closed-ranged, scattered, and natural wind-mimicking flow for cooling comfort.
While not wishing to be bound by any particular theory, it is believed that the above results can be explained as follows. A rotating axial fan free of flow deflecting objects in its front will produce an airflow that has a helical component. When the configuration of the vanes in the grille aligns with the helical flow, the grille can help the flow to be focused and straight. When the configuration of the vanes in the grille misaligns with, e.g., runs opposite to the helical flow, the grille disrupts the flow and sends it in dispersed directions.
The present invention is not to be limited in scope by the specific embodiments described herein. Various modifications of the invention in addition to those described herein will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description and the accompanying figures. Such modifications are intended to be encompassed within the scope of the appended claims.
