[0001] The present invention relates to a fan assembly, and in particular to an extract
fan assembly for use in a 'wet room' environment.
[0002] Extract fans for use in 'wet rooms' where water is used regularly (for example kitchens
and bathrooms) are prone to damage from water ingress. It is advantageous and known
to mitigate water ingress by shielding the air intake of the fan. This is typically
achieved by providing a shield plate across the air inlet of the fan, which is arranged
to shield against water ingress while permitting air flow into the fan. In addition,
shield or cover plates advantageously improve the visual appearance of the fans by
obscuring the inner workings from view, as well as providing acoustic attenuation
to limit noise from the fan.
[0003] Figure 1 shows an example of a typical fan assembly 1 of the prior art. The fan assembly
1 includes a fan housing 2, a fan 4 and a shield plate 6 arranged over the inlet to
the fan housing 2. To allow air to enter the fan 1, the shield plate 6 is spaced a
distance
d1 away from the inlet. The size of the clearance
d1 provided must be appropriate for the air volume flow rate handled by the fan, the
type of impeller used and the impeller location within the unit housing 2. If the
clearance distance
d1 is insufficient this may prevent the unit from extracting the requisite quantity
of air, or necessitate fan operation at a higher speed, causing increased noise generation
and power demand. Alternately, if the clearance distance
d1 is too great, the ability of the fan 4 to prevent water ingress may be severely compromised.
An excessive clearance distance
d1 of the shield plate will also affect the visual appearance of the fan assembly and
prove unsightly.
[0004] CH682012 A5 discloses an extract fan assembly of the prior art.
[0005] It is therefore desirable to provide an improved extract fan assembly which addresses
the above described problems and/or which offers improvements generally.
[0006] According to the present invention there is provided an extract fan assembly as defined
in appended claim 1.
[0007] In the invention there is provided an extract fan assembly comprising a fan; a fan
housing comprising a plurality of walls defining an enclosure for containing the fan
having an inlet opening at one end; a cover plate positioned to cover the inlet opening
and fixed relative to the housing in a spaced location from the inlet opening; a first
air inlet defined by the space between the cover plate and the housing; a first airflow
pathway extending between the first air inlet and the fan housing via the inlet opening.
A second inlet faces rearwardly in the opposing direction to the front face of the
fan assembly such that it is obscured from view when the fan assembly is viewed from
the front. A second airflow pathway extends between the second air inlet and the fan
housing; the housing further including a skirt section extending outwardly of at least
one side wall of the main body with the second inlet being defined at the rear end
of the skirt section between the skirt section and the main body. The skirt section
includes a side wall section and a front wall section having an outer edge and an
inner edge surrounding and defining a single air inlet aperture formed in the front
wall section. The skirt section is spaced from the main body section with the front
wall section located between the main body section and the cover plate, and the first
air flow pathway extends between the first inlet and the inlet opening of the fan
housing via the space between the front wall section and the cover plate and via the
aperture in the front wall section and the second airflow pathway extends between
the second inlet and the inlet opening of the fan housing via the space between the
skirt section and the main body.
[0008] The fan assembly includes a second auxiliary inlet and a second airflow pathway extending
between the second air inlet and the fan housing. The second air inlet allows the
spacing between the cover plate and the housing to be reduced while maintaining the
same inlet airflow. This enables the cover plate to better prevent the ingress of
water into the fan housing by limiting the gap with the housing, as well as providing
a more flush arrangement which is more visually appealing.
[0009] The second inlet is arranged such that it is at least partially obscured from view
when the fan assembly is viewed from the front.
[0010] The second airflow pathway may extend into the fan housing via the inlet opening.
As such both airflow pathways utilise the same opening into the housing, which obviates
the requirement for a secondary opening to be created, requiring less modification
than an existing housing design.
[0011] The cover plate has an outwardly facing surface defining the front face of the fan
assembly and the second inlet is located on at least one side of the fan housing.
Locating the second inlet on the side of the housing means it is not outwardly facing
and therefore obscured from view.
[0012] The second inlet faces rearwardly in the opposing direction such that it is obscured
from view when the fan assembly is viewed from the front. In use when the extract
fan is installed it is viewed front-on and therefore a rearwardly facing inlet is
entirely obscured from view when the fan assembly is viewed from the front.
[0013] The housing includes a main body section and a skirt section extending outwardly
of at least one side wall of the main body with the second inlet being defined at
the rear end of the skirt section between the skirt section and the main body. The
skirt section forms a baffle arrangement for forming the second inlet airflow pathway
while also creating a visual barrier to obscure the second inlet from view.
[0014] The skirt section includes a side wall section and a front wall section having an
aperture formed therein. The skirt section may be both vertically and laterally spaced
from the main body section with the front wall section located between the main body
section and the cover plate. The first air flow pathway extends between the first
inlet and the inlet opening of the fan housing via the space between the front wall
section and the cover plate and via the aperture in the front wall section and the
second airflow pathway extends between the second inlet and the inlet opening of the
fan housing via the space between the skirt section and the main body. As such, two
separate airflow pathways are created by the skirt section which both extend to the
same inlet opening of the housing. Therefore, an existing housing design may be more
easily adapted, potentially in a retrofit manner, to include a secondary inlet by
the addition of the skirt section.
[0015] The first airflow into the first inlet is preferably substantially parallel with
the plane of the cover panel and the second airflow into the second inlet is substantially
perpendicular to the first airflow in a direction towards the cover plate. The direction
of the second airflow is such that the inlet is obscured from view.
[0016] The skirt section is preferably held in said spaced location from the main body by
a plurality of support members which support the skirt section while permitting the
passage of air through the second airflow pathway.
[0017] The present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference
to the following illustrative figures in which:
Figure 1 shows a fan assembly of the prior art;
Figure 2 shows a fan assembly according to the present invention;
Figure 3 shows a side view of the fan assembly of figure 2;
Figure 4 shows a rear view of the fan assembly of figure 2;
Figure 5 is a top view schematic of a fan assembly according to an embodiment of the
invention; and
Figure 6 is a schematic representation of the airflow pathways of a fan assembly according
to an embodiment of the invention.
[0018] Referring to Figure 2, a fan assembly 10 includes a fan housing 12 comprising a plurality
of walls and a base 15 forming an enclosure having an open outer end defining an air
inlet opening 17 at the opposite end of the housing to the base 15. The fan housing
houses a fan which is arranged to draw air through the air inlet opening 17 into the
fan housing and to expel the air via the outlet ducting 16 which extends from an aperture
formed in the base 15. A cover plate 18 is located in front of the air inlet opening
17 to shield the fan housing 12 from water ingress and to obscure the inside of the
housing 12 from view.
[0019] As shown in Figure 2, the housing 12 has an outer edge 20 which is the outwardly
facing edge of the housing 12 when installed. Here the terms 'outer' and 'inner' ends
are relative terms used with reference to the end of the fan assembly which is outwardly
facing in use, and the opposing inner end which is at the base of the assembly. The
outer edge 20 surrounds and defines a first air inlet 14. The cover plate 18 is supported
by a plurality of spigots 22 which hold the cover plate 18 a spaced distance
d2 from the outer edge 20 of the housing 12.
[0020] The outer end of the housing 12 includes a peripheral frame section 24 having a width
w1 that surrounds the inlet opening 17. The peripheral frame section 24 extends outwardly
of the main body 26 of the housing which has a width
w2, such that the frame section 24 defines an overhang extending past the side wall
of the main body 26. A series of apertures forming a second inlet 28 are formed at
the inner rear end face of the frame section 24 and extend into the fan housing 12
defining an air pathway.
[0021] As shown in Figure 4 the frame section 24 overhangs the main body section 26 on two
opposing side defining a skirt. However, this may be one side only where a lower airflow
is required, or conversely more than two sides if increased airflow is required by
the system specification. The frame or skirt section 24 includes at each overhanging
portion a side wall 30 which is spaced outwardly in the width wise direction from
the side wall 32 of the main body 26, and a front wall section 34 formed by the front
wall or outer face of the frame section, with the skirt section 24 being spaced from
the main body section 26 in the longitudinally outwards direction and held in this
spaced position by a series of support tabs. The side wall 30 of the skirt section
and the side wall 32 of the housing combine to define an airflow cavity through which
the second inlet apertures 28 extend and connect with a further aperture formed at
the upper edge of the main body section 26 to define a second air inlet pathway. The
second air inlet 28 is therefore arranged on the rearwardly facing side of the skirt
section 24 such that it is obscured from view when viewed from the front by the side
wall 30 which forms a side skirt covering and obscuring the second inlets 28, and
by the front wall section 34.
[0022] As shown in Figure 5, the fan 36 is located within the fan housing 12. A first airflow
enters the fan housing 12 through the first inlet 14 in a direction substantially
transverse to the longitudinal axis of the fan assembly via the gap defined around
the sides of the fan assembly between the shield/cover plate 18 and the outer face
of the skirt section 24. A second airflow enters the fan housing 12 through the second
inlet 28 in a second direction that is substantially parallel to the longitudinal
axis of the fan assembly in an outwardly facing direction. The second inlet 28 provides
an additional inlet area, with the fan assembly incorporating a skirt section 24 extending
the unit facia in width and/or height. The skirt section 24 allows air to enter at
its rear face, between the skirt section and the main body of the housing, from whence
it enters the unit housing via a secondary inlet aperture. The frame arrangement is
such that the secondary inlet aperture is concealed from the room occupants and also
protected from adverse water ingress.
[0023] The dimensions of the first 14 and second 36 inlets are calculated so as to allow
the required additional flow rate thus reducing the resistance against which the fan
operates. In this way the front plate spacing may be maintained at the optimum position
for its protective functions previously described.
[0024] The position and aspect ratio of these apertures is calculated so as to provide the
optimum flow pattern into the fan inlet orifice. As shown in the schematic of Figure
6, the first airflow pathway
f1 extends from first inlet 14 defined between the cover plate 18 and the front wall
34 of the skirt section 24, then via the aperture 35 formed in the front wall 34,
and finally via the inlet opening 17 into the housing 12. The second airflow pathway
f2 extends from the second inlet 28 defined between the side wall 30 and the side wall
32, between the space between the inner surface of the front wall 34 and the front
end of the main body 26 and via the inlet opening 17 into the housing 12.
[0025] The fan assembly design therefore provides a secondary, concealed, airflow path into
the fan, whilst protecting the fan from adverse water ingress and maintaining good
appearance. The design of the inlet is also arranged to optimise the flow pattern
into the impeller inlets.
[0026] The design of the present invention is intended for operation with centrifugal fans
of all types, and axial and mixed flow fans.
[0027] Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features
of the invention believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that
the Applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination
of features falling within the scope of the invention, which is defined in the appended
claims.
1. An extract fan assembly (10) comprising:
a fan (36);
a fan housing (12) including a main body section comprising a plurality of walls defining
an enclosure for containing the fan having an inlet opening (17) at one end;
a cover plate (18) positioned to cover the inlet opening (17) and fixed relative to
the housing (12) in a spaced location from the inlet opening, the cover plate (18)
having an outwardly facing surface defining the front face of the fan assembly;
a first air inlet (14) defined by the space between the cover plate and the housing;
a first airflow pathway extending between the first air inlet (14) and the fan housing
(12) via the inlet opening (17); and
a second inlet (28) facing rearwardly in the opposing direction to the front face
of the fan assembly such that it is obscured from view when the fan assembly is viewed
from the front;
a second airflow pathway extending between the second air inlet (28) and the fan housing
(12);
the housing (12) further including a skirt section (24) extending outwardly of at
least one side wall of the main body with the second inlet (28) being defined at the
rear end of the skirt section (24) between the skirt section (24) and the main body,
wherein the skirt section (24) includes a side wall section (30) and a front wall
section (34) having a peripheral outer edge and an inner edge surrounding and defining
a single air inlet aperture (35) formed in the front wall section (34), the skirt
section (24) is spaced from the main body section with the front wall section (34)
located between the main body section and the cover plate (18), and the first air
flow pathway extends between the first inlet (14) and the inlet opening (17) of the
fan housing via the space between the front wall section and the cover plate (18)
and via the aperture (35) in the front wall section (34) and the second airflow pathway
extends between the second inlet (28) and the inlet opening (17) of the fan housing
via the space between the skirt section (24) and the main body.
2. An extract fan assembly according to claim 1 wherein the second airflow pathway extends
into the fan housing (12) via the inlet opening (17).
3. An extract fan assembly according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the cover plate (18) has
an outwardly facing surface defining the front face of the fan assembly and the second
inlet (28) is located on at least one side of the fan housing.
4. An extract fan assembly according to any preceding claim wherein the first airflow
pathway into the first inlet (14) is substantially parallel with the plane of the
cover panel (18) and the second airflow into the second inlet (28) is substantially
perpendicular to the first airflow in a direction towards the cover plate (18).
5. An extract fan assembly according to claim 4 wherein the skirt section (24) is held
in said spaced location from the main body by a plurality of support members.
6. An extract fan assembly according to any preceding claim wherein the front wall section
(34) defines a peripheral frame that surrounds the air inlet aperture (35).
1. Absauggebläseanordnung (10), Folgendes umfassend:
ein Gebläse (36);
ein Gebläsegehäuse (12) mit einem Hauptkörperabschnitt, das mehrere Wände umfasst,
die eine Umhüllung für das Gebläse, die an einem Ende eine Einlassöffnung (17) aufweist,
definiert;
eine Abdeckplatte (18), die über der Einlassöffnung (17) positioniert ist und in Bezug
zum Gehäuse (12) an einer von der Einlassöffnung beabstandeten Stelle befestigt ist,
wobei die Abdeckplatte (18) eine nach außen gewandte Fläche aufweist, die die Stirnseite
der Gebläseanordnung definiert;
einen ersten Lufteinlass (14), der durch den Zwischenraum zwischen der Abdeckplatte
und dem Gehäuse definiert wird;
eine erste Luftstromleitung, die sich über die Einlassöffnung (17) zwischen dem ersten
Lufteinlass (14) und dem Gebläsegehäuse (12) erstreckt; und
einen zweiten Einlass (28), der der Stirnseite der Gebläseanordnung entgegengesetzt
nach hinten gewandt ist, sodass er verdeckt ist, wenn die Gebläseanordnung von vorn
betrachtet wird;
eine zweite Luftstromleitung, die sich zwischen dem zweiten Lufteinlass (28) und dem
Gebläsegehäuse (12) erstreckt; und
wobei das Gehäuse (12) ferner einen Schürzenabschnitt (24) aufweist, der sich zumindest
an einer Seitenwand des Hauptkörpers nach außen erstreckt, wobei der zweite Einlass
(28) am hinteren Ende des Schürzenabschnitts (24) zwischen dem Schürzenabschnitt (24)
und dem Hauptkörper definiert ist, wobei der Schürzenabschnitt (24) einen Seitenwandabschnitt
(30) und einen Stirnwandabschnitt (34) umfasst, der eine Außenkante und ein Innenkante
aufweist, die eine im Stirnwandabschnitt (34) gebildete, einzelne Lufteinlassöffnung
(35) umgibt und definiert, wobei der Schürzenabschnitt (24) vom Hauptkörperabschnitt
beabstandet ist, wobei sich der Stirnwandabschnitt (34) zwischen dem Hauptkörperabschnitt
und der Abdeckplatte (18) befindet und sich die erste Luftstromleitung über den Raum
zwischen dem Stirnwandabschnitt und der Abdeckplatte (18) und über die Öffnung (35)
im Stirnwandabschnitt (34) zwischen dem ersten Einlass (14) und der Einlassöffnung
(17) des Gebläsegehäuses erstreckt, und wobei sich die zweite Luftstromleitung über
den Raum zwischen dem Schürzenabschnitt (24) und dem Hauptkörper zwischen dem zweiten
Einlass (28) und der Einlassöffnung (17) des Gebläsegehäuses erstreckt.
2. Absauggebläseanordnung nach Anspruch 1, wobei sich die zweite Luftstromleitung über
die Einlassöffnung (17) in das Gebläsegehäuse (12) erstreckt.
3. Absauggebläseanordnung nach Anspruch 1 oder 2, wobei die Abdeckplatte (18) eine nach
außen gewandte Fläche aufweist, die die Stirnseite der Gebläseanordnung definiert
und wobei sich der zweite Einlass (28) auf mindestens einer Seite des Gebläsegehäuses
befindet.
4. Absauggebläseanordnung nach einem der vorstehenden Ansprüche, wobei die erste Luftstromleitung
in den ersten Einlass (14) im Wesentlichen parallel zur Ebene der Abdeckplatte (18)
verläuft und der zweite Luftstrom in den zweiten Einlass (28) im Wesentlichen senkrecht
zum ersten Luftstrom in Richtung der Abdeckplatte (18) verläuft.
5. Absauggebläseanordnung nach Anspruch 4, wobei der Schürzenabschnitt (24) durch mehrere
Tragelemente an der vom Hauptkörper beabstandeten Stelle gehalten wird.
6. Absauggebläseanordnung nach einem der vorstehenden Ansprüche, wobei der Stirnwandabschnitt
(34) einen umlaufenden Rahmen definiert, der die Lufteinlassöffnung (35) umgibt.
1. Ensemble de ventilateur à extraction (10) comprenant:
un ventilateur (36);
un boîtier de ventilateur (12) comprenant une section de corps principal comprenant
une pluralité de parois définissant une enceinte pour contenir le ventilateur ayant
une ouverture d'entrée (17) à une extrémité;
une plaque de recouvrement (18) positionnée de façon à recouvrir l'ouverture d'entrée
(17) et fixée par rapport au boîtier (12) dans un emplacement espacé de l'ouverture
d'entrée, la plaque de recouvrement (18) ayant une surface tournée vers l'extérieur
définissant la face avant de l'ensemble de ventilateur;
une première entrée d'air (14) définie par l'espace entre la plaque de recouvrement
et le boîtier;
une première voie d'écoulement d'air s'étendant entre la première entrée d'air (14)
et le boîtier de ventilateur (12) par l'intermédiaire de l'ouverture d'entrée (17);
et
une seconde entrée (28) tournée vers l'arrière dans la direction opposée à la face
avant de l'ensemble de ventilateur de telle sorte qu'elle soit masquée lorsque l'ensemble
de ventilateur est vu de l'avant;
une seconde voie d'écoulement d'air s'étendant entre la seconde entrée d'air (28)
et le boîtier de ventilateur (12);
le boîtier (12) comprenant en outre une section de jupe (24) s'étendant vers l'extérieur
d'au moins une paroi latérale du corps principal, la seconde entrée (28) étant définie
à l'extrémité arrière de la section de jupe (24) entre la section de jupe (24) et
le corps principal, la section de jupe (24) comprenant une section de paroi latérale
(30) et une section de paroi avant (34) ayant un bord externe périphérique et un bord
interne entourant et définissant une ouverture unique d'entrée d'air (35) formée dans
la section de paroi avant (34), la section de jupe (24) est espacée de la section
de corps principal avec la section de paroi avant (34) située entre la section de
corps principal et la plaque de recouvrement (18), et la première voie d'écoulement
d'air s'étend entre la première entrée (14) et l'ouverture d'entrée (17) du boîtier
du ventilateur via l'espace entre la section de paroi avant et la plaque de recouvrement
(18) et via l'ouverture (35) dans la section de paroi avant (34) et la seconde voie
d'écoulement d'air s'étend entre la seconde entrée (28) et l'ouverture d'entrée (17)
du boîtier du ventilateur via l'espace entre la section de jupe (24) et le corps principal.
2. Ensemble de ventilateur à extraction selon la revendication 1, dans lequel la seconde
voie d'écoulement d'air s'étend dans le boîtier de ventilateur (12) via l'ouverture
d'entrée (17).
3. Ensemble de ventilateur à extraction selon la revendication 1 ou 2, dans lequel la
plaque de recouvrement (18) présente une surface tournée vers l'extérieur définissant
la face avant de l'ensemble de ventilateur et la seconde entrée (28) est située sur
au moins un côté du boîtier du ventilateur.
4. Ensemble de ventilateur à extraction selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes,
dans lequel la première voie d'écoulement d'air dans la première entrée (14) est sensiblement
parallèle au plan de la plaque de recouvrement (18) et le second écoulement d'air
dans la seconde entrée (28) est sensiblement perpendiculaire au premier écoulement
d'air dans une direction vers la plaque de recouvrement (18).
5. Ensemble de ventilateur à extraction selon la revendication 4, dans lequel la section
de jupe (24) est maintenue dans ledit emplacement espacé du corps principal par une
pluralité d'éléments de support.
6. Ensemble de ventilateur à extraction selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes,
dans lequel la section de paroi avant (34) définit un cadre périphérique qui entoure
l'ouverture d'entrée d'air (35) .