Current fans require an ample volume of air surrounding the blades in order to create sufficient airflow. For example, a ceiling fan is hung with enough space between the top of the blades and the ceiling to enable airflow behind and through the blades as the blades rotate. In some circumstances, however, space is limited, and thus a conventional fan may not provide sufficient, if any, airflow. Thus, a fan which would enable sufficient circulation in a smaller area would be beneficial.
For a detailed description of various embodiments, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which:
Certain terms are used throughout the following description and claims to refer to particular system components. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, different companies may refer to a component by different names. This document does not intend to distinguish between components that differ in name but not function. In the following discussion and in the claims, the terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to . . . .” Also, the term “couple” or “couples” is intended to mean either an indirect or direct connection. Thus, if a first device couples to a second device, that connection may be through a direct connection or through an indirect connection via other devices and connections.
“Exemplary” means serving as an example, instance, or illustration. An embodiment described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.
“Chord line”, in relation to a fan blade, shall mean a straight line extending between a leading edge and a trailing edge of the fan blade.
“Pitch angle” shall mean an angle between the chord line of a fan blade and a direction of travel of the fan blade. For purpose of measuring pitch angle for a fan blade moving circularly about a central axis, the direction of travel shall be a tangent to the circular travel.
“Turning about a central axis”, in relation to a fan blade, shall mean the distal tip of the fan blade moves about a plane perpendicular to the central axis.
“Opposite” in relation to pitch angles as between two fan blades shall mean that, for the same circular direction of travel of the two fan blades, one pitch angle moves air in a first direction and the second pitch angle moves air in a second direction opposite the first direction.
“Reverse pitch” shall mean, as applied to a fan blade, having a pitch angle such that, in operation, the fan blade draws air from a room into a chamber.
“Forward pitch” shall mean, as applied to a fan blade, having an angular pitch such that when, in operation, rotation of the blade draws air from a room.
The following discussion is directed to various embodiments. Although one or more of these embodiments may be preferred, the embodiments disclosed should not be interpreted, or otherwise used, as limiting the scope of the disclosure, including the claims. In addition, one skilled in the art will understand that the following description has broad application, and the discussion of any embodiment is meant only to be exemplary of that embodiment, and not intended to intimate that the scope of the disclosure, including the claims, is limited to that embodiment.
Various embodiments are directed to a fan. In particular, a fan comprised of an even number of blades that circulates air within a room. The specification first turns to a discussion of the fan with reference to
The fan 100 comprises an even number of fan blades coupled to the rotational hub 132. For example,
Housing 102 defines an internal diameter 118 large enough to contain the fan blades, and a depth or height 120. The volume of the area swept out by the fan blades when turned, the housing 102, and the ceiling 130 may also be large enough to contain the drive mechanism for the blades, such as an electric motor (not shown in
Regardless of the number of fan blades, one half of the fan blades are angled with a reverse pitch that draws air from the room into chamber 128 wherein the air becomes pressurized. The other half of the fan blades are angled with a forward pitch that extracts air stored within chamber 128 and pushes the air back into the room. In the example of
In an embodiment, for example, if fan blades 104 and 110 have at pitch angle α, and fan blades 106 and 108 are tilted at pitch angle β, α and β are opposing positive angles having the same degree of measurement. In other words, pitch angles α and β have the same absolute value. In another embodiment, pitch angles α and β are opposing angles but do not have the same degree of measurement.
The fan blades having corresponding pitch angle are placed next to one another in an adjacent fashion. For example, as described above, fan blades 104 and 110 have a corresponding pitch angle, and are thus adjacent to each other; and fan blades 106 and 108 have a corresponding pitch angle and are thus next to each other. If the reader were to now imagine six fan blades: 104, 106, 108, 110, and fan blades A and B (not shown), with fan blade A having a corresponding pitch angle as 104 and 110, and fan blade B having a corresponding pitch angle as blades 106 and 108, the fan blades would be attached in the following order going clockwise: 104, 110, A, 106, 108, B.
As the fan blades rotate around the central axis 126 of fan 100, half of the fan blades, those having the reverse pitch (i.e., 104 and 110) draw air from the room (shown by arrow 122) and push the air into chamber 128 residing behind the fan blades, thus trapping pressurized air within chamber 128. As the fan blades continue to rotate around the central axis 126, the other half of the fan blades, those having the forward pitch (i.e., 106 and 108) draw pressurized air from chamber 128 and push the air into the room (shown by arrow 124).
Turning now to
A drive mechanism (e.g., motor) (not shown in
Although not specifically shown, it should be understood that the fan 100 may be a box-type fan, a ceiling fan, a fan coupled to a wall, a desk fan, or any other type of indoor or outdoor fan which enables the methods and systems described herein. Furthermore, the fan 100 may be coupled to a light.
Turning now to
Turning now to
The various embodiments, in one theory of operation, refer to a fan for storing and moving pressurized air, but are not solely limited to such a system, and may be implemented on any system. In an alternative theory of operation, at slower speeds, such as 30 rpm or less, localized areas of pressure may cause air to circulate through the chamber, i.e. air flows within and across the chamber. Such an alternative theory of operation is not inconsistent with the embodiments discussed herein and does not avoid infringement. References to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, “a particular embodiment”, “some embodiments”, “various embodiments”, and “example embodiments” indicate that a particular element or characteristic is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. Although the illustrative phrases may appear in various places, these do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment.
The above discussion is meant to be illustrative of the principles and various embodiments of the present invention. Numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications.
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PCT/IB2015/054033 | 5/28/2015 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2015/181774 | 12/3/2015 | WO | A |
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62005414 | May 2014 | US |