Abstract:
A pump or compressor for transporting a fluid comprises an impeller includes a plurality of impeller elements disposed for rotation to impart kinetic energy to the fluid. The impeller, which in one embodiment is an axial flow compressor, has an electrically conductive ring or other conductive members disposed along a rotary path of the impeller. An impeller driver includes a ring of magnetically permeable material extending in an arc proximate to the rotary path of the conductive portion of the impeller. The impeller driver acts as a motor stator with two core portions wound with electrically conductive coils for inducing a magnetic field in the ring and two electrically conductive pole portions spaced from the core portions. Alternating electrical current introduced to the coils imparts a rotary force to the electrically conductive ring of the impeller, causing it to transport the compressor working fluid.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a compressor having an integrated impeller and motor, and more particularly, to such a compressor used as a fan for a consumer device. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     There are myriad different uses to which consumers can put products that create a stream of fluid. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,593,179 lists drying wet clothes and shoes, hydrotherapy, vacuum cleaning and drying hair. Other consumer products employing a stream of air that come to mind are space heaters, air conditioners, ventilating fans, humidifiers and dehumidifiers. 
     In any consumer device, noise is an important factor. A significant source of noise in any rotating machinery, such as a compressor or fan device used to create a fluid flow, is the mechanism used to provide the motive power that drives the compressor or fan. Typically, this includes an electric motor and some sort of transmission mechanism for applying the motive force of the motor to the compressor or fan. 
     The motor itself has rotating parts that create so-called “dipole noise.” In addition, vibrations induced by the motor are propagated to the surrounding area as noise by the parts of the device to which the motor is mounted. Noise is also created by the transmission mechanism connecting the motor to the compressor or fan device. For example, the motor shaft may be connected to the compressor shaft by a gearing mechanism, which is inherently noisy due to the impact of the meshing gears against each other. 
     The noise attributable to the transmission mechanism can be eliminated by mounting the compressor on the motor shaft. However, in an axial flow device, such as the axial flow hair dryer shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,596,921, this on-axis motor mounting puts the motor in the duct for the compressor working fluid. That significantly cuts down on the volume fluid flow that can be pumped by the device. 
     Also known are motorless compressor devices, in the sense that the compressor rotor forms part of the motor. Such motors are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,629,330, 4,758,132 and 5,607,329, and in Japanese Laid-Open Application No. 2-214439. However, none of them are particularly suited for consumer devices for a variety of reasons relating to the complexity of their construction or various aspects of their manner of operation. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,629,330 uses direct current and would require electronics to convert regular household alternating current, thus adding significantly to the cost of the device. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a compressor or pump that eliminates the need for a separate motor, thus significantly reducing the noise generated during operation, yet is simple and economical to construct. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a compressor that does not require a separate motor to supply the motive force therefor, thus eliminating the cost of the separate motor. 
     It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a motorless axial flow compressor that eliminates the flow blockage of an on-axis motor mounting. 
     In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a pump for transporting a fluid comprises a rotary impeller member including a plurality of impeller elements disposed for imparting kinetic energy to the fluid as the impeller member rotates, the impeller member including an electrically conductive portion, an impeller driver including a magnetically permeable stator extending in an arc proximate to a rotary path of the conductive portion as the impeller member rotates, the impeller driver including a core portion with an electrically conductive winding for inducing a magnetic field in the stator and an electrically conductive pole portion spaced from the core portion, and means for introducing alternating electrical current to the winding for imparting a rotary force to the electrically conductive portion of the impeller member. 
     In accordance with a more specific aspect of the invention, a pump in accordance therewith is incorporated into a hair dryer. The invention is particularly adapted for an axial flow hair dryer having counter-rotating impellers. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The objects of the invention will be better understood from the detailed description of its preferred embodiments which follows below, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals refer to like features throughout. The following is a brief identification of the drawing figures used in the accompanying detailed description. 
     FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a motorless compressor in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, taken along the axis of counter-rotating axial flow impellers used therein, installed in a hair dryer. 
     FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II—II in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III—III in FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of one of the impellers in the hair dryer depicted in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of axial flow impeller suitable for use in the hair dryer depicted in FIG.  1 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIGS. 1 to  4  illustrate one embodiment of the invention installed in a hand-held hair dryer  10 . The present invention has particular utility in consumer products such as hair dryers because of the noise reduction achieved using the motorless compressor of the present invention. However, it is important to understand that the invention in its broadest aspects is not limited to the form shown in the drawings, or to use in a hair dryer or any other particular device. 
     As best seen in FIG. 1, the hair dryer  10  includes a main housing  20  that is conventionally molded in two halves  22  and  24  that join along a line  20   a  as illustrated in FIG.  2 . The edges of the halves have mutually offset flanges that mate with each other to more positively locate the housing halves  22  and  24  with respect to each other. The main housing  20  can be constructed in any convenient manner known in the art. 
     The housing  20  provides a duct for air flowing through the hair dryer from an inlet  26  for ambient air to an outlet  28  for heated air that is directed at the user&#39;s hair. The inlet may be conventionally formed of a domed plate with honeycomb apertures that permit air flow therethrough but prevent a user&#39;s fingers from being inserted into the housing and contacting the impellers that induce air flow through the housing in the manner described below. A heating coil  30  is disposed within the path of the air flow through the housing. The heating coil is depicted schematically in phantom lines in FIG. 1, it being a conventional component of hand held hair dryers. Typically, it is formed of a wire coiled around a mica support, but any suitable heating device may be used. A screen  32  is conventionally placed at the outlet  28  to permit air flow therethrough but prevent a user&#39;s fingers from contacting the heating coil  30 . 
     At its bottom the housing  20  includes a depending hinge structure  34  to which a handle  40  is attached by a hinge pin  42 . The handle  40  is hollow and includes electrical wiring and switches (not shown) for controlling the flow of electric current to energize the heating coil  30  and to drive the impellers in accordance with the present invention as described in detail below. The handle is hinged to the housing to permit it to be pivoted as shown by the arrow A. The handle  40  will typically occupy the position shown in FIG. 1 for operation of the hair dryer. It can be moved from this operative position and folded to a stowed position wherein it lies against the underside of the housing  20 . In this configuration the dryer  10  takes up less space and makes it easier to pack for traveling, for example. 
     Air flow is induced through the housing from the inlet  26  to the outlet  28  by a pair of motorless axial flow impeller systems  200  and  300  in accordance with the present invention. The impeller of the upstream system  200  rotates in one direction and the impeller of the downstream system  300  rotates in the opposite direction. Counter-rotating impellers are known to increase air flow at a given rotational speed, thus reducing the noise for a given air flow. That is, because the dipole noise generated by rotating machinery increases as the sixth power of angular velocity, any reduction in rotational speed can significantly reduce the noise produced. This effect is discussed in detail in my prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,841,943 and 6,011,903. 
     The use of counter-rotating axial flow impellers in a hair dryer has been suggested before. Examples of attempts to provide such a hair dryer are shown in Japanese Laid-Open Applications No. 61-31696 and No. 3-82402 and Soviet Patent No. SU 1,433,465. However, until now there has been no really practical manner of achieving the advantages of such an arrangement. As will be apparent from the following description, the present invention enables realization of such a hair dryer. 
     The structure and operation of the impeller systems  200  and  300  are sufficiently alike that only one of them need be described in detail. One major difference is that although an axial view of the impeller system  300  taken in the same direction as the axial view of the impeller system  200  shown in FIG. 2 would show the same basic structure, it would be rotated 180° about a vertical axis. The following describes the impeller system  200  in detail, and other aspects in which the impeller system  300  differs therefrom, principally to provide counter-rotation, will be noted as the discussion proceeds. In the drawings, individual components of the impeller system  300  are identified by  300 -series reference numerals. These components are not necessarily mentioned in the following discussion, but it will be understood that  200 - and  300 -series components correspond to each other. 
     The impeller system  200  includes an axial flow impeller member  202 . The impeller members  202  and  302  are mounted on a common shaft S, which in turn is suitably mounted to the housing  20 . The mounting of the shaft S can be accomplished by spokes (not shown) secured to the inside of the housing and extending radially inwardly at two or more locations to hubs that rigidly hold the shaft S. The spokes will typically support the shaft S both upstream of the upstream impeller member  202  and downstream of the downstream impeller member  302 . The spokes will be as rigid as possible, and can be made from metal or plastic. They will typically be configured to present as little cross-sectional area to the air flow as possible in order to reduce the amount of obstruction to flow through the duct. It is particularly important that the shaft S be held rigidly in order to minimize vibrations as the impeller members rotate. That further reduces the noise generated by the impeller members. 
     The impeller member  202  includes six blades  202   a ,  202   b ,  202   c ,  202   d ,  202   e  and  202   f , which serve as impeller elements for imparting kinetic energy to the compressor working fluid, here the air flowing through the hair dryer  10 . The blades are attached at a radially inward end to a hub  204 . The hub  204  has a central opening  206  that holds a bearing (not shown) for enabling the impeller member  202  to freely rotate on the shaft S. At their radially outward ends the blades are attached to an outer ring  208 . 
     The impeller member  302  will typically have a different number of blades than the impeller member  202 . That will prevent unwanted resonances due to interaction with the wakes from the upstream impeller blades. That is, if both impeller members have the same number of blades, the number of wakes from the upstream blades would be the same as the number of downstream blades. The resulting regularity in the blade-wake interactions can cause resonance and produce unwanted noise. In addition, an optimized configuration will use upstream blades with a different airfoil from that of the downstream blades, since the air flow conditions encountered by each impeller&#39;s blades are different. As those skilled in the art will recognize, the downstream impeller not only imparts kinetic energy to the flow, but reduces rotational components thereof in order to maximize the kinetic energy of the flow in the axial direction in the duct. 
     The blades, hub and outer ring are integrally molded of a suitable plastic material in one piece. Typically, the axle will be made of steel and the bearing will be a brass sleeve molded in place in the hub  204 . The outer ring  208  provides a mounting structure for an electrically conducting ring  210  that is molded in place around the outside of the outer ring  208 . The conducting ring  210  could also be press-fit onto the outer ring  208  after the integral plastic portion of the impeller member has been molded. The electrically conducting ring can be of any appropriate substantially nonmagnetically-permeable material with a suitable electrical conductivity, but typically it will be a nonferrous metal, preferably copper or aluminum. (The impeller member  202  with the conducting ring  210  is not shown in section in FIG. 2 to simplify the depiction thereof.) The configuration of the impeller member  202  can also be appreciated by reference to the perspective view in FIG.  4 . 
     Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other assembly techniques can be used to equal effect. That is, the configuration of the impeller member  202  is representative, and many variations therein are possible consistent with the present invention. For example, the outer ring  208  can be eliminated and the conductive ring  210  secured thereto by an interference fit, as mentioned above. Alternatively, the conductive ring could include a circumferential groove on its inner, annular surface that snap-fits over a small protrusion on the outer edges of the blades. As another alternative, the conductive ring could be injection molded in place on the impeller member. 
     A stator ring  220  of ferromagnetic material such as an iron alloy, or any other magnetically permeable material, is secured to the housing  20  in surrounding relationship to the impeller member  202  to drive the impeller member rotationally about the shaft S. The stator ring includes two diametrically opposed core portions  222  and  224 . As used herein, the term “core portion” is meant to refer to that part of the motor stator which introduces magnetic flux into the stator ring. In the present embodiment, the core portions  222  and  224  are formed by electrical windings  226  and  228 , respectively. 
     The windings are disposed in recesses  226   a  and  228   a  formed in the stator ring so that the core portions are flush with the inner and outer circumferential extent of the stator ring  220 . Each core portion  222 , 224  extends about 30° around the circumference of the stator ring  220 . These core portions are symmetrical about a diameter of the ring. The power generated by the motor depends on the strength of the magnetic field in the stator, and the strength of the magnetic field can be increased by using windings with more turns, as those skilled in the art will understand. 
     A source P of alternating current is introduced to the coils  226  and  228  connect by any suitable structure, represented schematically in FIG. 2 by wires  229 . The current source P will typically be the 110 volt, 60 Hz, household current available in the United States or the 220 volt, 50 Hz, household current available in other parts of the world. One of the advantages of the present invention is that is can use household current as supplied. If the voltage is to be changed in accordance with the power requirements of the motor, a transformer may be incorporated into the hair dryer. 
     The coils  226 , 228  are wound and connected to the current source and ground G so that the magnetic field induced by both is in the same circumferential direction in the stator ring  220 . In fact, those skilled in the art will recognize that two core portions are not necessary. A single core portion will in some applications be sufficient or desirable. In addition, the core portions need not actually be part of a stator ring. In other words, the use of any structure that introduces magnetic flux into the stator ring is within the scope of the present invention. It will also be appreciated that the stator need not be a ring that surrounds the impeller member and that it can assume other configurations consistent with the principles of operation discussed herein. 
     As noted above, the impeller members  202  and  302  are intended to rotate in opposite directions. Accordingly, the energizing coils for the stator ring  320  are wound and connected to the source of electrical current so that the magnetic field in the stator ring  320  is in the opposite circumferential direction from the magnetic field induced by in the stator ring  220 . 
     The stator ring  220  also comprises two shaded poles. The stator ring  220  includes circumferential slots  230  and  232  that form respective outer rings  234  and  236  and respective inner fingers  238  and  240 . Shaded poles are formed on the fingers  238  and  240  by conductive sheaths  242  and  244 , respectively. 
     As shown in FIG. 3, the stator ring  220  is formed collectively by plural individual stator laminations  220   a ,  220   b ,  220   c ,  220   d  and  220   e  bonded together with dielectric layers  246   a ,  246   b,    246   c  and  246   d  interposed between facing axial surfaces of the axially adjacent individual laminations. This laminar arrangement is a standard motor stator construction that reduces losses associated with the magnetic field induced in the stator as compared to using a monolithic stator. The dielectric layers can be any suitable electrically nonconducting material, a conventional one being lacquer. 
     Each individual stator lamination  220   a , . . . ,  220   e , is formed from an annular ring with a circular outer diameter that will permit it to be secured in the main housing  20  at the desired axial location and a circular inner diameter that is suitably matched to the outer diameter of the conducting ring  210  on the impeller member  202 . The individual stator laminations are formed of an iron alloy such as is typically used for transformer cores. It will be appreciated that any magnetically permeable material can be used for this purpose. 
     The outer diameter of the stator ring  220  is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the hair dryer housing  20  to permit air to flow around the stator ring for cooling purposes. The radial distance from the stator ring inner diameter to the impeller conductive ring  210  is as small as possible after taking into account manufacturing tolerances. The strength of the magnetic field surrounding the stator ring decreases as the distance from the stator ring increases. Since the effectiveness of the motor depends in large measure on the degree of inductive coupling between the stator ring and the conductive portion of its associated impeller member, the distance between the two should be minimized as much as possible. 
     The circumferentially extending slots  230  and  232  are milled into the solid ring so that the blind end  230   a,    232   a  of each is about 60° from the open end  230   b,    232   b  of the other. This makes the fingers  238 ,  240  as long as possible, and therefore makes it possible to tailor the circumferential extent of the poles formed by the sheaths  242  and  244  to give optimum motor performance. 
     The individual laminations  220   a , . . . ,  220   e  thus formed are bonded together with the dielectric layers  246   a ,  246   d  between their axial faces to form a stator ring blank. The recesses  226   a  and  228   a  are milled into the blank equidistant from the ends of the slots  230  and  232 . Recesses are then formed at the open ends  230   b  and  232   b  of the inner fingers  238  and  240  on their inner and outer faces to a depth corresponding to the thickness of the conductive sheaths  242  and  244 . The conductive sheaths  242  and  244  are thus flush with the inner and outer surfaces of the inner fingers  238  and  240  when they are bonded in place around the fingers. The coils  226  and  228  of insulated wires are then wound into the recesses  226   a  and  228   a  so that they are flush with the inner and outer surfaces of the coil portions  222  and  224 . The conductive coils may be secured in place by a suitable potting material (not shown). 
     In operation, the alternating current P induces time-varying magnetic fields in the ferromagnetic stator rings  220  and  320 . The magnetic field in each stator ring induces a current in the conductive outer ring  210  and  310  of the corresponding impeller member. The shaded poles formed by the conductive sheaths ( 240  and  242  on the stator ring  220 ) cause the magnetic field in the stator member to vary circumferentially, which imparts a rotational force on the inductively coupled conductive portion of the associated impeller member. 
     Those skilled in the art will recognize this construction as a known shaded pole motor by virtue of the fact that it has poles “shaded” by electrically conductive, substantially nonmagnetically-permeable portions, which in the present embodiment are provided by the conductive sheaths  240  and  242 . Any construction used to enhance or optimize the performance of such motors can be readily incorporated into the present invention where applicable. 
     When a user activates an ON switch of the hair dryer  10 , a variable magnetic field is induced in the stator rings  220  and  320 . Since this magnetic field varies at 3600 cycles per minute (when using United States household current at 60 Hz), the impeller members  202  and  302  will rotate at about 3300 rpm, with their precise speed determined by the properties of the particular motor construction. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the speed of the motor armature in such a shaded pole motor perforce is less than the frequency of the magnetic field induced in the motor stator. In the embodiment shown, the impeller members rotate in opposite directions, thus creating an air flow from the inlet  26  to the outlet  28  over the heating coil  30 . 
     Different drying capacities can be achieved by providing a switch on the air dryer that varies the current supplied to the heating coil  30 . The hair dryer can also have a so-called “cold shot” feature whereby the heating coil is de-energized. The electrical connections and switching for accomplishing these conventional hair dryer operational modes is well within the capacity of one skilled in this art without further explanation. 
     The configuration of the various components of the motorless impeller systems discussed above can be different from what is discussed above. FIG. 5 shows a particular alternate impeller member embodiment. The impeller member  502  has plural blades  502   a ,  502   b ,  502   c ,  502   d  and  502   e , connected to a central hub  504 . The hub has a central opening  506  that accepts a bearing (not shown) for mounting the impeller member to a shaft as discussed above. 
     The impeller member  502  includes conductive inserts  510   a,    510   b ,  510   c ,  510   d  and  510   e  in each blade, instead of the conductive outer ring  210  in the previous embodiment. The impeller member  502  can be injection molded of a suitable plastic material, with the bearing and the conductive inserts molded in place. 
     Other impeller member embodiments could be injection molded from plastic containing a suitable metallic powder such as aluminum mixed with it, in which case separate metallic inserts or rings are unnecessary. Other powder materials that can be used are carbon black or super black. Electrically conducting polymers can also be used. 
     In any case, the present invention does not require a separate motor or a transmission mechanism to transmit motive power to the impellers from the separate motor. It therefore eliminates two significant sources of noise while still providing a hair dryer that delivers sufficient air flow. 
     It also can simplify construction of prior art axial flow hair dryers because it makes it practicable to use counter-rotating impellers. Accordingly, stators such as those shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,011,903 become optional. 
     Moreover, the present invention is not limited to use in hair dryers with counter-rotating impellers, and can be used for applications other than hair dryers. For example, it can be used to power the impeller in the multi-function air heater disclosed in the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,593,179. It can also be used in devices that use tangential flow fans such as the heat gun defroster shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,211,890 or the hair dryers shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,284,611 and 3,905,379. (All of the patents mentioned herein are incorporated by reference as if set out in full.) The invention can also be used with centrifugal compressors, as well. 
     A tangential flow compressor typically includes an impeller member with plural impeller elements mounted parallel to its axis of rotation by suitable supporting structure, as shown in the above-mentioned patents. To power such a compressor using the present invention a conductive ring or the like is incorporated into the impeller member and a stator ring like that discussed above is placed proximate to the conductive ring. A centrifugal flow compressor typically has an impeller member with impeller elements backed by a plate. In that application of the present invention, the conductive ring or similar structure could be carried by the plate with the stator ring mounted proximate to the conductive ring. 
     While preferred embodiments of the invention have been depicted and described, it will be understood that various modifications and changes can be made other than those specifically pointed out without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, which is defined solely by the claims that follow.