Modular fan housing with multiple modular units having sound attenuation for a fan array for an air-handling system

• US 8,727,701 B2
• Filed: 04/03/2013
• Issued: 05/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nortek Air Solutions LLC (Melrose Industries Plc)
• Original Assignee: Huntair Incorporated (Melrose Industries Plc)
• Inventors: Hopkins, Lawrence G
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Ninh H
• Application Number:
  US13/856,174
• Publication Number:
  US 20130216396A1
• Time in Patent Office: 412 Days
• Field of Search: 415/60, 415/61, 415/119, 415/213.1, 416/63, 416/120
• US Class Current: 415/61
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 13/06 the pump being electrically driven
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 13/12 Combinations of two or more pumps combinations with priming pumps or booster pumps to counteract vapour-lock F04D9/04
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 15/00 Control, e.g. regulation, of pumps, pumping installations or systems
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 15/0066 by changing the speed, e.g. of the driving engine
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 25/166 using fans
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 29/664 by means of sound absorbing material
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2250/511 augmenting, i.e. with intercepting fluid flow cross sectional area greater than the rest of the machine behind the inlet
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2260/96 Preventing, counteracting or reducing vibration or noise
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/77 by controlling the speed of ventilators
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 13/24 Means for preventing or suppressing noise
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2013/242 Sound-absorbing material
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 3/044 Systems in which all treatment is given in the central station, i.e. all-air systems
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 7/06 with forced air circulation, e.g. by fan positioning of a ventilator in or against a conduit
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 7/065 fan combined with single duct; mounting arrangements of a fan in a duct
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 30/70 Efficient control or regulation technologies, e.g. for control of refrigerant flow, motor or heating
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49245 Vane type or other rotary, e.g., fan
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49826 Assembling or joining

Abstract

A modular fan housing configured to hold an array of motors and fans is provided. The modular fan housing is configured for use in an air-handling system that delivers air to a ventilation system for at least a portion of a building. The fan housing comprises a plurality of modular units configured to be stacked adjacent to one another in at least one row or column to form an array. The modular units each include an interior surface and have a front end and a back end that define a chamber. The chambers are configured to receive the motors and fans. Sound attenuation layers extend along at least a portion of the interior surface of the corresponding chambers. The sound attenuation layers are positioned between at least some of the adjacent chambers.

Claims

1. A fan system configured for use in an air-handling system to deliver air to a ventilation system for at least a portion of a building, the fan system comprising:

an air handling compartment that includes chambers arranged proximate to one another in at least one row or column, the air handling compartment having a discharge plenum configured to deliver air to a ventilation system for at least a portion of the building, the chambers having corresponding front and back ends; and

motors and fans positioned in the chambers, the fans being located to take in air from the front ends of the corresponding chambers and to discharge the air from the back ends of the corresponding chambers, the chambers opening at the back ends into the discharge plenum where the air mixes to provide substantially uniform airflow for the air-handling system.

2. The fan system of claim 1, further comprising inlet cones mounted at the front ends of the chambers, the inlet cones located upstream of the fans.

3. The fan system of claim 1, wherein the motors and fans are structured in a plug and play configuration.

4. The fan system of claim 1, further comprising sound attenuation layers that extend along at least a portion of the corresponding chambers such that the sound attenuation layers are positioned between at least some of the fans that are adjacent to one another in the corresponding chambers.

5. The fan system of claim 4, wherein the chambers are positioned adjacent to one another in a common plane, the sound attenuation layers being arranged in at least one of rows and columns.

6. The fan system of claim 4, wherein the sound attenuation layers are provided along at least one of a top, bottom, and side of the chambers.

7. The fan system of claim 4, wherein the sound attenuation layers each include a perforated facing and at least one layer of insulation material.

8. The fan system of claim 4, wherein the fan system includes at least six chambers.

9. The fan system of claim 4, wherein the chambers are arranged in a 2-dimensional pattern.

10. The fan system of claim 4, further comprising one or more air handling components located downstream of at least one of the fans and the discharge plenum, the air handling components include at least one of a cooling coil, a heating coil, a filter, a humidifier and a damper.

11. The fan system of claim 4, wherein the sound attenuation layers are oriented such that, as sound waves from the fan units spread outward across the array, the sound waves intersect the sound attenuation layers and are at least partially dissipated.

12. The fan system of claim 4, wherein the fan units are positioned adjacent to one another in a common plane, the sound waves traveling at least along the plane, the sound attenuation layers being arranged in at least one of rows and columns that cross the plane such that the sound waves intersect multiple sound attenuation layers as the sound waves travel along the plane.

13. The fan system of claim 4, wherein the sound attenuation panels are located on opposite sides of first and second vertical columns of the fan units.

14. The fan system of claim 4, wherein the sound attenuation layers represent sound attenuation panels held by the air handling compartment, the sound attenuation panels being positioned between adjacent fan units to dissipate sound waves that travel between the fan units outward from rotational axes of the fans.

15. The fan array fan section of claim 4, wherein sound waves from a first fan unit are dissipated by multiple sound attenuation layers of at least second and third fan units as the sound waves travel through the multiple sound attenuation layers of the at least second and third fan units.

16. The fan system of claim 4, wherein the fans have fan inlets and fan discharges and each of the fans rotate about a corresponding rotation axis, the fan inlets drawing air inward along the rotation axis, the fan discharges discharging air radially outward from the corresponding rotation axis, the sound attenuation layers being aligned with, and positioned to extend across, at least one of the motors and the fan discharges.

17. The fan system of claim 4, wherein the fan units are stacked in a series of at least three vertical columns or at least three horizontal rows, the sound attenuation layers extending vertically or horizontally and being located between adjacent ones of the vertical columns or horizontal rows.

18. The fan system of claim 4, wherein sound from different fan units exhibit wave patterns that interact to experience wave cancellation.

19. The fan system of claim 1, wherein the chambers are stacked in at least a vertical column.

20. The fan system of claim 1, further comprising motor mounts that mount the motors suspended within the corresponding chambers such that air relief passages are provided below the motors.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein the back ends of the chambers are substantially open to provide a minimum restriction to air flow.

22. The system of claim 1, wherein the chambers are stacked in a configuration selected from the group consisting of:

(a) a true array configuration;

(b) a spaced pattern array configuration;

(c) a checker board array configuration;

(d) rows slightly offset array configuration;

(e) columns slightly offset array configuration; and

(f) a staggered array configuration.

23. The fan system of claim 1, wherein the chambers are rectangular.

24. The fan system of claim 1, wherein the chambers are located directly against one another,

25. The fan system of claim 1, wherein the chambers are spaced apart from one another.

26. The fan system of claim 1, wherein the motors and fans are positioned entirely within the corresponding chambers.

27. The fan system of claim 1, wherein the motors extend at least partially beyond back ends of the corresponding chambers.

28. The fan system of claim 1, the fan system having redundant air flow capacity such that, when at least one of the fans is removed or OFF, the fans that are ON have sufficient air flow capacity to at least meet a specified air capacity for at least the portion of the building.

29. The fan system of claim 1, wherein the fan system comprises a first group of fans sufficient in number to at least meet the specified air capacity;

and at least one redundant fan unit in addition to the first group of fans.

30. The fan system of claim 1, wherein the fans direct air into a common area of the discharge plenum where the air combines before exiting the discharge plenum.

31. The fan system of claim 1, wherein a wheel diameter of the fans substantially equals or is between 12 inches and 44 inches.

32. The fan system of claim 1, wherein the wheel diameter of the fans substantially equals or is between 12 inches and 25 inches.

33. The fan system of claim 1, wherein spacing between said fan units is between 60% and 20% of said fan wheel diameter.

34. The fan system of claim 1, further comprises a grid system of grid cells in which the fans and motors are placed.

35. The fan system of claim 1, wherein the fans constitute plenum fans.

36. The fan system of claim 1, wherein the fans are coupled to the motors in a direct drive connection.

37. The fan system of claim 1, wherein a wheel diameter of the fans is substantially equal to or greater than 20 inches.

38. The fan system of claim. 1, wherein each of the fans and motors are positioned in a corresponding individual one of the chambers.

39. The fan system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of separate modular units in the air handling compartment, each of the separate modular units having at least one of a top, bottom and sides that are configured to be stacked adjacent to one another in an array having at least one row or column, the modular units each including one of the chambers with a motor and fan mounted therein.

40. The fan system of claim 1, wherein bottoms and tops of the chambers separate the chambers into separate modular units have exteriors that are configured to be stacked on one another in a vertical column of at least three separate modular units.

41. The fan system of claim 1, wherein the sides of the separate modular units have exteriors that are configured to be stacked against one another in a horizontal row of at least three separate modular units.

42. The fan system of claim 1, further comprising interlocking structures for interlocking the separate modular units once stacked into the array.

43. The fan system of claim 1, wherein individual modular units can be removed, maintained and replaced.

44. A method for providing a fan system configured for use in an air-handling system to deliver air to a ventilation system for at least a portion of a building, the method comprising:

providing an air handling compartment that includes chambers arranged adjacent to one another in at least one row or column, the air handling compartment having a discharge plenum configured to deliver air to a ventilation system for at least a portion of the building, the chambers having corresponding front and back ends;

positioning motors and fans in the chambers, the fans being located to take in air from the front ends of the corresponding chambers and to discharge the air from the back ends of the corresponding chambers, wherein the chambers open at the back ends into the discharge plenum where the air mixes to provide substantially uniform airflow for the air-handling system.

45. The method of claim 44, further comprising mounting inlet cones at the front ends of the chambers, the inlet cones located upstream of the fans.

46. The method of claim 44, wherein the motors and fans are structured in a plug and play configuration.

47. The method of claim 44, further comprising mounting the motors suspended within the corresponding chambers such that air relief passages are provided below the motors.

48. The method of claim 45, wherein the back ends of the chambers are substantially open to provide a minimum restriction to air flow.

49. The method of claim 45, further comprising including, in at least a portion of the chambers, sound attenuation layers along at least a portion of the corresponding chambers such that the sound attenuation layers are positioned between at least some of the fans that are adjacent to one another in the corresponding chambers.

50. The method of claim 47, further comprising configuring the chambers into a configuration selected from the group consisting of:

(a) a true array configuration;

(b) a spaced pattern array configuration;

(c) a checker board array configuration;

(d) rows slightly offset array configuration;

(e) columns slightly offset array configuration; and

(f) a staggered array configuration.

51. The method of claim 45, wherein the back ends of the chambers are substantially open to provide a minimum restriction to air flow.

52. The method of claim 44, further comprising providing redundant air flow capacity such that, when at least one of the fans is removed or OFF, the fans that are ON have sufficient air flow capacity to at least meet a specified air capacity for at least the portion of the building.