US2159913A - Ventilating unit - Google Patents

Description

May 23,1939. E Y' Y 2,159,913

. VENTILATING UNI'I Filed March 10, 19:56 I 2 sheets-sheet 1 I] Tenne y,

May 23, 1939 n. TENNEY -VEN ILATING UNIT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March '10, 1936.

MW J N L Q m M I #7 J M Jmli Patented Ma 23,1939

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to a ventilating unit which may be used either for heating or cooling.

the air within an enclosure and which maintains the air in constant circulation. An object of the invention is to devise a ventilating unit which will distribute the air uniformly throughout an enclosure and without pronounced drafts.

Another object of the invention is to devise a unitary ventilating apparatus which maintains the air in constant circulation within an enclosure and in which freshair may be added to the recirculated air. r A further object of my invention is to devise a unitary ventilating apparatus embodying a heat exchange coil and a motor driven fan arranged for eflicient transfer of heat to or from the air and in which the operation is without objectionable noises or vibrations. Still another object of my invention is to devise a unitary ventilating apparatus embodying a heat exchange coil with a motor driven fan associated therewith and to provide for the removal of the motor and fan from the unit without disturbing the mounting of the heat exchange coil and its' connection to its source of energy.

A further object is to devise a unitary ventilating apparatus in which a heat exchange coil is enclosed within a housing the exterior surface of which is arranged to act as a guiding and directing surface for the air stream created by the fan.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view, partly in section, illus- .trating one embodiment of my invention;

Figure 1a is a fragmentary view showing=the header element in elevation on a slightly reduced scale from Figure l. I

Figure 2 is a sectional view of Figure 1 taken along line 2-2;' I

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view of a second modification of my invention; and

Figures 4, 5 and 6 are elevational views, partly in section, and on a reduced scale, showing three different ways of mounting the ventilating unit. Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the ventilating unit consists of two annular dish-shaped housing members I and 2 maintained in spaced relation by a number of tie bolts 3. Mounted within the space between housing members I and 2 is a series of spaced heat exchange tubes 4 which are of annular shape and the ends of which are secured in opposite sides of a divided headeri, as shown in Figure 1, thus forming an annular heat 65 exchange coil between housing members I and 2.

The left side of the header shown in Figure l is provided with an inlet pipe connection 5a while the right-hand side is provided with an outlet pipe connection5b. The connections 5a and 5b are located at opposite ends of the vertical header so that the header may be operated in either posi tion, the lowermost connections in any case serving as the outlet connection (see Figure 1a). By means of these-pipe connections, a suitable heating or cooling medium may be introduced into the unit through the connection 5a, circulated through the heat exchange pipes 4, and passed out of the unit through connection 5b. The tubes 4 are provided with spaced radiating fins 4w which are arranged in planes radial to the'axis of the unit and which serve to increase the heat transfer efiiciency of the unit.

, Mounted Within the central circular opening of one of the housing-members is an annular plate or a ring 6, and this ring is provided with four ver- 20v tical brackets I extending into the center of the unit, and each bracket is provided with a horizontal arm Ia and a vertical arm lb. The ring 6 is supported within the unit by suitable coil springs 8 secured respectively to the housing 25 member I and to the vertical arm lb by means of suitable screw eyes as-shown. An electric motor 9 is suspended within the central opening of the unit from the horizontal arms Ia on the brackets 1. The motor shaft extends upwardly 30 along the axis of the unit and carries at its upper end a blower or fan formed of a circular plate III carrying radial blades Illa and lb arranged on opposite sides of the plate Ill. The circular plate I0 is preferablysolid, so that the fan in effect is 35 a double fan. The central opening in thelower housing member 2 is closed by a suitable plate II. If desired, a cylindrical grill member I 2 may be supported between the housing members I and 2 at the peripheral edges thereof, although this 40 grill is not necessary. If desired also, a ring of suitable sound insulating or deadening, material I3 may be.,inserted'within,the central opening of the housing member I to maintain the ring 6 in proper spaced relation and to prevent undue 45 vibration of the motor and fan support. The housing members I and 2 are made exactly alike, and the lowermost housing member serves both as a housing member and also as a drip pan for collecting condensate which may drip from the 50 tubes 4 when the unit is being used as a cooler. For the purpose of removing this condensate from the unit, .each housing member is provided with a threaded pipe connection (I a and 2a) through which the condensate may be withdrawn and conducted by a pipe to a suitable point of disposal.

Figure 6 illustrates one method of mounting my ventilating unit adjacent the ceiling of a room orenclosure. For the sake of simplicity the pipe connections for supplying the heating or cooling medium and for conducting the condensate away from the unit have not been shown. As shown, the unit is suspended from the ceiling of the enclosure by means of suitable rods I l secured to the housing member I and to the ceiling 15. A circular opening A is formed in the ceiling immediately above the fan l0, and this opening communicates with two ducts B and C formed in the ceiling construction. Suitable dampers B and C are provided for controlling the flow of air in these ducts. Duct B may lead to a point for supplying fresh outside air to the unit, while duct C may lead to a point to supply to the unit air from a remote point in the room or enclosure. It is obvious that both ducts are not necessary, and only one duct may be employed if desired.

In the operation of the arrangement shown in Figures 1, 2 and 6, the lower blades on the fan I0 set up a stream of air which is drawn from the ambient atmosphere through the annular heat exchange coil formed of tubes 4, passes into the central part of the unit, then upwardly through the central opening 60. in the plate 6, and is then impelled radially outward in all directions in the ambient atmosphere by the blades I01). I have discovered that the smooth rounded shape of the housing member I, extending radially outward from the periphery of the fan, in cooperation with the ceiling of the room, apparently acts as a diffusing nozzle for the fan and causes some of the air stream to be guided and directed in a downwardly direction as indicated by the arrows in Figure 6. In other words, the shape of the coil casing l beyond the peripheral edge of the fan Ill appears to function as a guiding and directing surface for the air stream which gives a diffused and substantially uniform flow of air throughout the enclosure without objectionable drafts. The effect is as if part of the'air stream clings to the curved surface of the housing member 1 ,and is deflected downward.- If the dampers B and C are closed, the ventilating unit merely serves to recirculate the air in the enclosure, but if one or the other of these dampers is open, the upper part of the fan draws air through the open duct and causes it to flow radially outward from the fan in all directions and to mix with the tempered air which is drawn through the unit by the lower part of the fan. By suitably adjusting the dampers B or C, any desired mixture of air can be obtained within certain limits.

By attaching the springs 8 to the screw eyes provided on the housing member 2, the unit may be inverted and operated adjacent the ceiling l5 of an enclosure with the fan below the coil, as shown in Figure 4 of the drawings. In this arrangement, the blades on the upper side of the fan serve to draw air through the unit and radiate the same radially outward, while the lower half of the fan serves to set up a continuous circulation of ambient air within the enclosure without passing it through theheat exchange coil. 1

Figure 5 illustrates another method of mounting my ventilating unit in which the heat exchange coil is located above the ceiling of the room or enclosure, and only the fan is visible from the room. This arrangement is well suited foruse on board ship where the ceiling heights are low and where it is important to conserve all available space. In this arrangement the heat exchange coil is mounted in-the space between the deck beams I6 and above the false ceiling l5. In this arrangement, suitable grills may be formed in the false ceiling through which air from the room may enter and flow through the heat exchange coil, or if desired, suitable ducts may be provided in the ceiling space leading from an outside source of air. The grills in the false ceiling may be located adjacent the unit or at points remote from the unit.

Referring to Figure 1, it will beseen that by removing the cover plate II .and by disconnecting the lower ends of coil springs 8 from the arm lb, the ring 6 with the attached motor 9 and fan H] may be passed through the coil and removed from the unit without disturbing the mounting of the heat exchange coil and its connections. This construction is very convenient for cleaning the unit as well as for inspecting and repairing the motor and fan;

In Figure 3 I have shown a modified arrangement for mounting the motor in the unit. The construction is generally like that illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, and the same reference characters are employed to designate corresponding elements in the two arrangements, but instead of mounting the motor 9 from the ring 6, it is mounted upon a spider i la which may be formed integral with the cover plate ll. If desired, the spider Ha may be formed as a separate element from the plate I. In Figure 3, the ring 6 is supported from the housing member I independently of the motor by means of suitable screws 6b. In this arrangement also, the motor 9 and the fan in may be removed from the unit without disturbing the heat exchange coil, and the unit may be operated in inverted position without the necessity for making any changes in the motor mounting. One advantage of the construction of Figure 3 over that of Figure 1 is that the motor mounting does not offer any obstruction to the flow of air through the unit.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that I have devised a unitary air tempering and ventilating device which is especially useful for mounting at the ceiling of a room or enclosure, and which operates to set up uniform circulation of the air in all directions throughout the enclosure. It will be understood'that the unit need not be mounted upon the ceiling but might be mounted upon a pedestal at a convenient height above the floor ofthe room.

It will be understood by those skilled infthe art that the characteristics of the fan in drawing air through the tempering coil may be controlled by controlling the size of the aperture in the aperture ring or plate 6. With the constructions illustrated, it is possible to substitute one plate for another and by supplying the user with plates having different sizes of apertures, the desired size of aperture may be readilydetermined for any given installation.

From the foregoing description it will be understood that the housing members I and 2 and the plates 6 and II constitute bafile members for restricting the fiow of air through the unit and causing the same to pass through the tempering coil. The outside surface of the housing member I also serves as a baflle member for directing the flow of air from the fan I0, and the ceiling of the enclosure also acts as a baffle member or surface in directing or guiding the flow of air stream created by the fan. In the arrangement shown in Fig. 6, the ceiling of the room in which the unit is mounted, together with the curved housing member I from an annular nozzle for the fan having a cross-section which increases from the peripheral edge of the fan outwardly. As already explained above, this construction facilitates the downward distribution of the-air within the room.

In the appended claims the term radial fan is to be interpreted to apply to a fan in which the air is distributed radially in all direction from the fan.

Various modifications of my invention will be obvious tothose skilled in the art, and all such modifications as fall within the terms of the appended claims are considered as falling within the scope of my invention.

What I claim is:

1. A unitary air tempering and ventilating device comprising an annular tempering coil, a pair of annular oafile plates mounted on opposite sides of said tempering coil leaving the periphery of said coil exposed to ambient atmosphere, a radial fan arranged parallel with one of said annular bafile plates and opposite the central opening therein, a motor detachably mounted within the central space of said annular coil for driving said fan, and a removable cover plate for the central opening in the other baflie, the central openings in said baflies and the central space in said coil being of larger diameter than said fan whereby said fan and motor may be removed through said baffles and coil without disturbing the mountings and connections thereof.

2. A unitary air tempering and ventilating dc-. vice comprising an annular tempering coil, a housing for said coil comprising a pair of annular baffle plates mounted on opposite sides of said coil, an annular aperture-plate removably mounted within the central opening of one of said baflle plates, a motor mounted upon said apertureplate and arranged within the central space of said annular coil and having a shaft extending through the opening of said aperture-plate, a radial fan mounted on the end of said motor shaft opposite the opening in said apertureplate, and a' removable cover plate for the central opening in the other baflie plate, the diameter of both the aperture-plate and the fan being smaller than the diameter of the central openings in said battles and the internal diameter of said coil whereby said aperture-plate and the elements mounted thereon may be removed from the ventilating device by passing the same through the housing of the tempering coil without disturbing .the mountings thereof and the connections to the coil.

DWIGHT TENNEY.

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