US20240426492A1

US20240426492A1 - Ventilation unit

Info

Publication number: US20240426492A1
Application number: US18/746,305
Authority: US
Inventors: Eshank Singh
Original assignee: Broan Nutone LLC
Current assignee: Broan Nutone LLC
Priority date: 2023-06-20
Filing date: 2024-06-18
Publication date: 2024-12-26

Abstract

A fan assembly for a ventilation unit is disclosed wherein the fan assembly has a scroll housing defining a scroll interior and a scroll inlet. The fan assembly also has a collar comprising an outer rim, an inner end and a collar wall extending from the outer rim to the inner end, and the collar outer rim is larger than the collar inner end. The collar is configured to be removably coupled to the scroll housing adjacent to the scroll housing inlet such that the collar wall extends through the scroll inlet to guide air into the scroll interior.

Description

PRIORITY

This application claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/509,065, filed Jun. 20, 2023, which is expressly incorporated by reference herein and made a part hereof.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates, generally, to a ventilation unit. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a ventilation unit having a scroll, collar and blower wheel configured for each assembly and disassembly.
Additional features of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of illustrative embodiments exemplifying certain modes of carrying out the disclosure as presently perceived.

SUMMARY

A ventilation unit comprising a main housing defining an interior space and including a plurality of side walls, a top wall coupled to an upper end of the plurality of side walls, and a bottom wall coupled to an opposite, lower end of the plurality of side walls, the bottom wall defining a main housing inlet, a scroll housing configured to be located within the main housing interior space and defining a scroll interior and a scroll inlet, a blower wheel configured to be located within the scroll interior, a collar comprising an outer rim, an inner end and a collar wall extending from the outer rim to the inner end, wherein the collar outer rim is larger than the collar inner end, wherein the collar is configured to be removably coupled to the scroll housing adjacent to the scroll housing inlet such that the collar wall extends through the scroll inlet to guide air into the scroll interior. The collar can further comprise a plurality of bosses configured to removably secure the collar to the scroll housing. The plurality of bosses can include at least one of fasteners, snaps, adhesive, and magnets. The blower wheel can define a diameter smaller than the scroll inlet to allow the blower wheel to be removed through the scroll inlet. Both the collar and the blower wheel can be separable from the scroll housing and can be removed though the main housing inlet to allow access and service to the blower wheel. The collar can be smaller than the main housing inlet and can be passed through the main housing inlet. The collar wall is curvilinear.
A ventilation unit comprising a main housing a scroll housing configured to be located within the main housing and defining a scroll interior and a scroll inlet, a collar comprising an outer rim, an inner end and a collar wall extending from the outer rim to the inner end, wherein the collar outer rim is larger than the collar inner end, wherein the collar is configured to be removably coupled to the scroll housing adjacent to the scroll housing inlet such that the collar wall extends through the scroll inlet to guide air into the scroll interior. The collar can further comprise a plurality of bosses configured to removably secure the collar to the scroll housing. The plurality of bosses can include at least one of fasteners, snaps, adhesive, and magnets. A blower wheel can be configured to be located within the scroll interior and the blower wheel can define a diameter smaller than the scroll inlet to allow the blower wheel to be removed through the scroll inlet. Both the collar and the blower wheel can b separable from the scroll housing and can be removed though the main housing inlet to allow access and service to the blower wheel. The collar can be smaller than the main housing inlet and can be passed through the main housing inlet. The collar wall can be curvilinear.
A fan assembly for a ventilation unit, the fan assembly comprising a scroll housing defining a scroll interior and a scroll inlet, a collar comprising an outer rim, an inner end and a collar wall extending from the outer rim to the inner end, wherein the collar outer rim is larger than the collar inner end, wherein the collar is configured to be removably coupled to the scroll housing adjacent to the scroll housing inlet such that the collar wall extends through the scroll inlet to guide air into the scroll interior. The collar can further comprise a plurality of bosses configured to removably secure the collar to the scroll housing. The plurality of bosses can include at least one of fasteners, snaps, adhesive, and magnets. A blower wheel can be configured to be located within the scroll interior and the blower wheel can define a diameter smaller than the scroll inlet to allow the blower wheel to be removed through the scroll inlet. Both the collar and the blower wheel can be separable from the scroll housing to allow access and service to the blower wheel. The collar can be round.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide further understanding and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate disclosed embodiments and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosed embodiments. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a ventilation unit.

FIG. 2 is another perspective view of the ventilation unit from FIG. 1 with portions removed to show a modular blower assembly included in the ventilation unit.

FIG. 3 is an exploded assembly view of the ventilation unit of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 4 is another exploded assembly view of the ventilation unit of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the blower assembly of the ventilation unit of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the ventilation unit of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 7 is perspective view of the collar of the ventilation unit of FIG. 1 .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A ventilation unit 10 is configured to be positioned above a room of a building and is configured to ventilate the room of the building during operation. The ventilation unit includes a main housing 12 and a fan assembly 14. The main housing 12 defines an interior space 16 and a main housing inlet 18 opening into the interior space 16. The fan assembly 14 is coupled to the main housing 12 in the interior space 16 and is configured to drive air through the main housing inlet 18 to ventilate the room. Portions of the fan assembly 14 are modular and separable from one another and the main housing 12 while the main housing 12 remains installed on the building to increase serviceability of the ventilation unit 10.
The main housing 12 includes a plurality of side walls 20, a top wall 22 coupled to an upper end of the plurality of side walls 20, and a bottom wall 24 coupled to an opposite, lower end of the plurality of side walls 20. The plurality of side walls 20, the top wall 22, and the bottom wall all cooperate to define the interior space 16. The bottom wall 24 is formed to define the main housing inlet 18. One of the side walls 20 is formed to include a main housing outlet 26. Air is expelled through the main housing outlet 26 after being displaced through the main housing inlet 18 and the interior space 16 by the fan assembly 14.
Some of the side walls 20 and the bottom wall 24 are removed in FIG. 2 to show the fan assembly 14. The fan assembly 14 includes a scroll housing 28 located within the interior space 16, a blower wheel 30 within to the scroll housing 28, a collar 32 coupled to the scroll housing 28, and a plurality of bosses 34 configured to mount the collar 32 to the scroll housing 28. The scroll housing 28 defines a scroll interior 36 and a scroll inlet 38 that opens into the scroll interior 36. The blower wheel 30 is located within the scroll interior 36 and is configured to draw air through the scroll inlet 38 and into the scroll interior 36.
The collar 32 is arranged to extend through the scroll inlet 36 and partially into the scroll interior 36 to guide air into the scroll interior 36 toward the blower wheel 30. The collar 32 defines a collar outer rim 32 a, from which the plurality of bosses extend, a collar inner end 32 b and a collar wall 32 c extending from the outer rim 32 a to the inner end 32 b. In one embodiment of the collar 32, the collar wall 32 c extends from the outer rim 32 a to the inner end 32 b in a curvilinear manner to promote laminar flow of air drawn through the collar 32 by the blower wheel 28. The collar 32 can, optionally, also have a second an outer leg 32 d extending adjacent to the collar wall 32 c, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 .
In the preferred embodiment, the collar 32 is located adjacent to the scroll inlet 38 such that the scroll outer rim 32 a is located outside of the scroll housing 28 with the collar wall 32 c extending through the scroll inlet 38 and the collar inner end 32 b located in the scroll interior 36. In the depicted embodiment, the collar inner end 32 b is positioned adjacent to the blower wheel 28. The plurality of bosses 34 of the collar 32 are configured to removably secure the collar 32 to the scroll housing 28 so that the collar 32 can be removed for access to the scroll interior 36 and the blower wheel 30.
The blower wheel 30 is configured to be smaller than the scroll inlet 38 to allow the blower wheel 30 to pass through the scroll inlet 38. The collar 32 and the blower wheel 30 are both separable from the scroll housing 28 and can be removed though the main housing inlet 18 to allow access and service to the blower wheel 30 and/or other components within the scroll interior 36 such as a blower motor 40 and other electrical components for the ventilation unit 10.
The plurality of bosses 34 can include any one or more of a fastener(s), magnets, adhesives, or snaps. In the case of fasteners, any suitable type of fastener may be used including screws, bolts, pins, rods, clips, etc. In the case of magnets, one or more bar magnets, circular magnets, or any other suitable magnet type can be used. In the case of adhesives, any suitable pressure-activated adhesive can be used and may be a reusable type adhesive so that the collar 32 can be uninstalled and reinstalled multiple times. In the case of snaps, any suitable snap structure can be used including one or more tabs, ridges, grooves, slots, etc.
In the illustrative embodiment, the plurality of bosses 34 includes three screws spaced circumferentially about a central axis 14A of the blower assembly 14. The bosses 34 extend through respective openings formed into radially extending tabs 35 formed integrally with the collar 32. The plurality of bosses 34 also extend into corresponding openings formed in the scroll housing 28.
The blower wheel 30 and the collar 32 of the blower assembly 14 are installed and removed along the central axis 14A as suggested in FIG. 3 . The main housing inlet 18 has a diameter (or outermost dimension) 50 that allows removal of the collar 32 and the blower wheel 30 through the main housing inlet 18 without having to remove the bottom wall 24 of the main housing 12.
The collar 32 has an outermost diameter (or dimension) 52 measured to outer edges of the tabs 35 or other attachment structures and an inner diameter 54 (or dimension) measures between innermost, flow-directing surfaces of the collar 32. The blower 30 has an outermost diameter (or dimension) 56 measured between outer edges of blower blades 31 and an innermost diameter (or dimension) 58 measured between inner edges of the blower blades 31. The outermost diameters 52, 56 of the collar 32 and the blower wheel 30 are both less than the diameter 50 of the main housing inlet 18. The innermost diameter 54 of the collar 32 is less than the innermost diameter 58 of the blower wheel 30 so that a portion of the collar 32 fits within the inner edges of the blower blades 31 to direct air toward the inner edges of the blower blades 31.
The blower wheel 30 includes a wheel hub 60 and the plurality of blower blades 31 which extend from the wheel hub 60. The wheel hub 60 defines one or more openings 62. The openings 62 can be aligned with motor mounting fasteners 64 which mount the motor 40 to the scroll housing 28. With the openings 62 aligned with the fasteners 64, the blower wheel 30 and the motor 40 can be removed from the scroll housing 28 through the main housing inlet 18 by uninstalling the fasteners 64.
In the illustrative embodiment, the ventilation unit also include a baffle 90 and a light 92. The baffle 90 extends through the main housing inlet 18 to conceal the main housing inlet 18. One or more circumferential gaps G are defined between the bottom wall 24 and the baffle 90 and/or between the baffle 90 and the light 92 to allow passage of air through the main housing inlet 18. The light 92 is installable in a socket (not shown) coupled to the baffle 90 and provides illumination for the room which is serviced by the ventilation assembly 10. Like the blower assembly 14, the baffle 90 and light are also removable from the rest of the ventilation unit 10. The light 92 can comprise any form of lighting (e.g. incandescent, fluorescent, LED, etc.) in any shape or configuration.
Allowing separation of the blower wheel 30, the collar 32, and the motor 40 from the rest of the ventilation unit 10 without having to uninstall any other part of the main housing 12 or the scroll housing 28 provides several advantages. For example, the plurality of bosses 34 allow expedited service of the blower wheel 30 and the motor 40 from within the room of the building that the ventilation unit 10 services without having to access an attic area or make cuts through a ceiling or wall of the room.
One or more of the blower wheel 30, the collar 32, and the motor 40 can also be removed and replaced to adjust ventilation characteristics of the ventilation assembly 10. For example, the blower wheel 30, collar 32, and/or motor 40 can be included in a kit which can be separate from the ventilation unit 10 (which itself can be pre-manufactured with another blower wheel, collar, and motor). The kit can be installed on the ventilation unit 10 after the main housing 12 and scroll housing 28 are already installed on the building to replace or upgrade the blower, collar, and/or motor that the ventilation unit 10 was sold with.
In one example, the blower wheel 30, collar 32, and motor 40 are all separable from one another to upgrade the ventilation unit 10. For example, the blower wheel 30 may have blades 31 which are shaped to optimize or achieve a desired flow of air when used with a particular motor 40 or with a particular collar 32. Likewise, the collar 32 can be shaped to optimize or achieve a desired flow of air when used with a particular motor 40 or a particular blower wheel 30. The motor 40 can also be selected to rotate the blower wheel 30 at a particular rate to optimize or achieve a desired flow of air when used with a particular blower wheel 30 or a particular collar 32. In other words, the blower wheel 30, the collar 32, and the motor 40 are all modular and can be exchanged with different variations of each to optimize or achieve a desired flow of air.
In some embodiments, the ventilation unit 10 can include various add-ons which can be included in the kit and attached to any one of the blower wheel 30, the collar 32, and/or the motor 40. For example, one of the blower wheel 30, the collar 32, and the motor 40 can include a sensor 80, such as a humidity sensor or a motion sensor, to upgrade the functionality of the ventilation unit 10. Additionally, one of the blower wheel 30, the collar 32, and the motor 40 can include circuitry 82, such as one or more transceivers, processors, memory, etc., which upgrades the ventilation unit 10 for wireless controls (via Wifi, Bluetooth, etc.). Upgrading the ventilation unit 10 with a sensor 80 and/or circuitry 82 can allow for automatic flowrate/ventilation control or user selection of flowrate/ventilation from a remote location.
It should be noted that the various components and features described above can be combined in a variety of ways, so as to provide other non-illustrated embodiments within the scope of the disclosure. As such, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited in its application to the details of construction and parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described hereinabove. The disclosure is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced in various ways. It is also to be understood that the phraseology or terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and not limitation.
Although the present disclosure has been described in the foregoing description by way of illustrative embodiments thereof, these embodiments can be modified at will, without departing from the spirit, scope, and nature of the subject disclosed.
Headings and subheadings, if any, are used for convenience only and do not limit the invention. The word exemplary is used to mean serving as an example or illustration. To the extent that the term include, have, or the like is used, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term comprise as comprise is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim. Relational terms such as first and second and the like may be used to distinguish one entity or action from another without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions.
Phrases such as an aspect, the aspect, another aspect, some aspects, one or more aspects, an implementation, the implementation, another implementation, some implementations, one or more implementations, an embodiment, the embodiment, another embodiment, some embodiments, one or more embodiments, a configuration, the configuration, another configuration, some configurations, one or more configurations, the subject technology, the disclosure, the present disclosure, other variations thereof and alike are for convenience and do not imply that a disclosure relating to such phrase(s) is essential to the subject technology or that such disclosure applies to all configurations of the subject technology. A disclosure relating to such phrase(s) may apply to all configurations, or one or more configurations. A disclosure relating to such phrase(s) may provide one or more examples. A phrase such as an aspect or some aspects may refer to one or more aspects and vice versa, and this applies similarly to other foregoing phrases.
All numbers and ranges disclosed above may vary by some amount. Whenever a numerical range with a lower limit and an upper limit is disclosed, any number and any included range falling within the range are specifically disclosed. In particular, every range of values (of the form, “from about a to about b,” or, equivalently, “from approximately a to b,” or, equivalently, “from approximately a-b”) disclosed herein is to be understood to set forth every number and range encompassed within the broader range of values. In addition, the terms in the claims have their plain, ordinary meaning unless otherwise explicitly and clearly defined by the patentee. Moreover, the indefinite articles “a” or “an,” as used in the claims, are defined herein to mean one or more than one of the element that it introduces. If there is any conflict in the usages of a word or term in this specification and one or more patent or other documents that may be incorporated herein by reference, the definitions that are consistent with this specification should be adopted.
A phrase “at least one of” preceding a series of items, with the terms “and” or “or” to separate any of the items, modifies the list as a whole, rather than each member of the list. The phrase “at least one of” does not require selection of at least one item; rather, the phrase allows a meaning that includes at least one of any one of the items, and/or at least one of any combination of the items, and/or at least one of each of the items. By way of example, each of the phrases “at least one of A, B, and C” or “at least one of A, B, or C” refers to only A, only B, or only C; any combination of A, B, and C; and/or at least one of each of A, B, and C.
In one aspect, a term coupled or the like may refer to being directly coupled. In another aspect, a term coupled or the like may refer to being indirectly coupled. Terms such as top, bottom, front, rear, side, horizontal, vertical, and the like refer to an arbitrary frame of reference, rather than to the ordinary gravitational frame of reference. Thus, such a term may extend upwardly, downwardly, diagonally, or horizontally in a gravitational frame of reference.
The title, background, brief description of the drawings, abstract, and drawings are hereby incorporated into the disclosure and are provided as illustrative examples of the disclosure, not as restrictive descriptions. It is submitted with the understanding that they will not be used to limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the detailed description, it can be seen that the description provides illustrative examples and the various features are grouped together in various implementations for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. The method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed subject matter requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed configuration or operation. The claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separately claimed subject matter.
The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and “said” and similar references in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. An element proceeded by “a,” “an,” “the,” or “said” does not, without further constraints, preclude the existence of additional same elements. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the disclosure and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the disclosure unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the disclosure.
Numerous modifications to the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the foregoing description. Preferred embodiments of this disclosure are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the disclosure. It should be understood that the illustrated embodiments are exemplary only, and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the disclosure.

Claims

1. A ventilation unit comprising:

a main housing defining an interior space and including a plurality of side walls, a top wall coupled to an upper end of the plurality of side walls, and a bottom wall coupled to an opposite, lower end of the plurality of side walls, the bottom wall defining a main housing inlet,

a scroll housing configured to be located within the main housing interior space and defining a scroll interior and a scroll inlet,

a blower wheel configured to be located within the scroll interior,

a collar comprising an outer rim, an inner end and a collar wall extending from the outer rim to the inner end, wherein the collar outer rim is larger than the collar inner end,

wherein the collar is configured to be removably coupled to the scroll housing adjacent to the scroll housing inlet such that the collar wall extends through the scroll inlet to guide air into the scroll interior.

2. The ventilation unit of claim 1, wherein the collar further comprises a plurality of bosses configured to removably secure the collar to the scroll housing.

3. The ventilation unit of claim 2, wherein the plurality of bosses include at least one of fasteners, snaps, adhesive, and magnets.

4. The ventilation unit of claim 1, the blower wheel defines a diameter smaller than the scroll inlet to allow the blower wheel to be removed through the scroll inlet.

5. The ventilation unit of claim 1, wherein both the collar and the blower wheel are separable from the scroll housing and can be removed though the main housing inlet to allow access and service to the blower wheel.

6. The ventilation unit of claim 1, wherein the collar is smaller than the main housing inlet and can be passed through the main housing inlet.

7. The ventilation unit of claim 1, wherein the collar wall is curvilinear.

8. A ventilation unit comprising:

a main housing

a scroll housing configured to be located within the main housing and defining a scroll interior and a scroll inlet,

9. The ventilation unit of claim 8, wherein the collar further comprises a plurality of bosses configured to removably secure the collar to the scroll housing.

10. The ventilation unit of claim 9, wherein the plurality of bosses include at least one of fasteners, snaps, adhesive, and magnets.

11. The ventilation unit of claim 8, further comprising a blower wheel configured to be located within the scroll interior and the blower wheel defines a diameter smaller than the scroll inlet to allow the blower wheel to be removed through the scroll inlet.

12. The ventilation unit of claim 11, wherein both the collar and the blower wheel are separable from the scroll housing and can be removed though the main housing inlet to allow access and service to the blower wheel.

13. The ventilation unit of claim 8, wherein the collar is smaller than the main housing inlet and can be passed through the main housing inlet.

14. The ventilation unit of claim 8, wherein the collar wall is curvilinear.

15. A fan assembly for a ventilation unit, the fan assembly comprising:

a scroll housing defining a scroll interior and a scroll inlet,

16. The fan assembly of claim 15, wherein the collar further comprises a plurality of bosses configured to removably secure the collar to the scroll housing.

17. The fan assembly of claim 16, wherein the plurality of bosses include at least one of fasteners, snaps, adhesive, and magnets.

18. The fan assembly of claim 15, further comprising a blower wheel configured to be located within the scroll interior and the blower wheel defines a diameter smaller than the scroll inlet to allow the blower wheel to be removed through the scroll inlet.

19. The fan assembly of claim 18, wherein both the collar and the blower wheel are separable from the scroll housing to allow access and service to the blower wheel.

20. The fan assembly of claim 15, wherein the collar is round.