Fan assembly

• US 8,734,094 B2
• Filed: 07/22/2011
• Issued: 05/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dyson Technology Limited (Beeswax Holdings UK Limited)
• Original Assignee: Dyson Technology Limited (Beeswax Holdings UK Limited)
• Inventors: Wallace, John David, Choong, Chang Hin
• Primary Examiner(s): Look, Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): MCDOWELL, LIAM J
• Application Number:
  US13/189,012
• Publication Number:
  US 20120031509A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,040 Days
• Field of Search: 415/144, 415/175, 137/338, 137/339
• US Class Current: 415/175
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 15/0218 the condition being a liquid level or a lack of liquid supply
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 25/08 the working fluid being air, e.g. for ventilation
• CPC Class Codes: F04F 5/16 displacing elastic fluids
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 13/06 Outlets for directing or distributing air into rooms or spaces, e.g. ceiling air diffuser
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2013/205 Mounting a ventilator fan therein
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2221/12 transportable
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2221/28 using the Coanda effect
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2221/34 Heater, e.g. gas burner, electric air heater
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 7/007 with forced flow using ducting systems F24F7/06
• CPC Class Codes: F24H 2250/04 Positive or negative temperature coefficients, e.g. PTC, NTC
• CPC Class Codes: F24H 3/0411 for domestic or space-heating systems
• CPC Class Codes: F24H 3/0417 portable or mobile
• CPC Class Codes: F24H 9/0063 in air channels
• CPC Class Codes: F24H 9/1872 PTC
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/6525 Air heated or cooled [fan, fins, or channels]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/6552 With diversion of part of fluid to heat or cool the device or its contents

Abstract

A fan assembly includes a motor-driven impeller for creating an air flow, at least one heater for heating a first portion of the air flow, a surface diverting a second portion of the air flow away from said at least one heater, and a casing comprising at least one first air outlet for emitting the first portion of the air flow and at least one second air outlet from emitting the second portion of the air flow. To cool an external surface of the casing, at least one second air outlet is arranged to direct at least part of the second portion of the air flow over the external surface.

Claims

1. A fan assembly comprising:

a system for creating an air flow;

a heating arrangement for heating a first portion of the air flow;

at least one air diverting surface for diverting a second portion of the air flow away from the heating arrangement; and

a casing comprising a plurality of air outlets for emitting the air flow from the casing, the casing having an annular external surface defining an opening through which air from outside the casing is drawn by the air flow emitted from the air outlets;

wherein the plurality of air outlets comprises at least one first air outlet for emitting the first portion of the air flow through the opening and at least one second air outlet for emitting the second portion of the air flow through the opening;

wherein said at least one second air outlet is arranged to direct the second portion of the air flow over said external surface of the casing, and said at least one first air outlet is arranged to direct the first portion of the air flow over the second portion of the air flow.

2. The fan assembly of claim 1, wherein said at least one air diverting surface comprises at least one wall for diverting the second portion of the air flow away from the heating arrangement.

3. The fan assembly of claim 1, comprising a chassis for retaining the heating arrangement within the fan assembly, and wherein the chassis comprises said at least one air diverting surface.

4. The fan assembly of claim 1, wherein the casing comprises at least one first channel for conveying the first portion of the air flow to said at least one first air outlet, at least one second channel for conveying the second portion of the air flow to said at least one second air outlet, and at least one separating wall for separating said at least one first channel from said at least one second channel.

5. The fan assembly of claim 4, wherein said at least one separating wall is integral with said at least one air diverting surface.

6. The fan assembly of claim 4, wherein the casing comprises an inner casing section and an outer casing section surrounding the inner casing section, and wherein said at least one separating wall is located between the casing sections.

7. The fan assembly of claim 6, wherein said at least one separating wall is connected to one of the casing sections.

8. The fan assembly of claim 1, wherein said at least one first air outlet comprises a plurality of first air outlets, and said at least one second air outlet comprises a plurality of second air outlets.

9. The fan assembly of claim 8, wherein the air flow is divided into a plurality of air stream, each air stream comprises a respective first portion and a respective second portion of the air flow.

10. The fan assembly of claim 9, wherein the casing comprises, for each air stream, a first channel for conveying the first portion of the air stream to a respective first air outlet, a second channel for conveying the second portion of the air stream to a respective second air outlet, and a separating wall for separating the first channel from the second channel.

11. The fan assembly of claim 10, wherein the wall is integral with at least one air diverting surface.

12. The fan assembly of claim 10, wherein the casing comprises an inner casing section and an outer casing section surrounding the inner casing section, and wherein the wall is located between the casing sections.

13. The fan assembly of claim 12, wherein the wall is connected to one of the casing sections.

14. The fan assembly of claim 12, wherein each first air outlet is located between an internal surface of the outer casing section and a respective wall.

15. The fan assembly of claim 12, wherein each second air outlet is located between an external surface of the inner casing section and a respective wall.

16. The fan assembly of claim 12, wherein the second channel is arranged to convey the second portion of the air flow along an internal surface of one of the casing sections.

17. The fan assembly of claim 12, wherein the wall comprises a plurality of spacers for engaging at least one of the inner casing section and the outer casing section.

18. The fan assembly of claim 12, wherein each of the first channel and the second channel means is shaped so as substantially to reverse the flow direction of a respective portion of the air flow.

19. The fan assembly of claim 8, wherein the first air outlets are located on opposite sides of the casing.

20. The fan assembly of claim 8, wherein the second air outlets are located on opposite sides of the casing.

21. The fan assembly of claim 9, wherein the heating arrangement comprises a plurality of heater assemblies each for heating a respective first portion of the air flow.

22. The fan assembly of claim 21, wherein the heater assemblies are located on opposite sides of the casing.

23. The fan assembly of claim 21, wherein said at least one air diverting surface comprises a plurality of walls each for diverting a respective second portion of the air flow away from a heater assembly.

24. The fan assembly of claim 1, wherein the heating arrangement is located within the casing.

25. The fan assembly of claim 19, wherein said at least one air diverting surface is located within the casing.

26. The fan assembly of claim 1, comprising a base housing the system for creating the air flow, and wherein the casing is connected to the base.

27. The fan assembly of claim 1, wherein said at least one first air outlet is located adjacent said at least one second air outlet.

28. The fan assembly of claim 1, wherein each air outlet is in the form of a slot.

29. The fan assembly of claim 28, wherein each air outlet has a width in the range from 0.5 to 5 mm.

30. The fan assembly of claim 1, wherein the heating arrangement comprises at least one ceramic heater.