Patent Publication Number: US-6217285-B1

Title: Impeller for a centrifugal blower

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an impeller for use in a centrifugal blower employed by air conditioning equipment and the like, the impeller comprising a hub for receiving a driving torque at a central portion thereof, a shroud of a ring-like shape in plane formed with an opening for air intake at the center thereof and opposed to the hub across a required distance therebetween, and a plurality of vane members interposed between the hub and shroud as circumferentially spaced from one another at required intervals, and more particularly to an impeller adapted to take in air from the air intake  12   a  of the shroud and to efficiently discharge the air from the impeller. 
     1. Description of the Related Art 
     Conventionally, the air conditioners have employed various types of blowers for feeding air to the heat exchangers and the like. A centrifugal blower has been widely used as one of such blowers. 
     The centrifugal blowers have generally employed an impeller  10  comprising a hub  11  of a circular shape in plan having a protrusion at the center thereof, a shroud  12  of a ring-like shape in plane formed with an opening for air intake  12   a  and opposed to the hub  11  across a required distance therebetween, and a plurality of vane members  13  interposed between the hub  11  and shroud  12  as circumferentially spaced from one another at required intervals, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. 
     The centrifugal blower is arranged such that a torque is applied to the central portion of the hub  11  for rotating the impeller  10  which, in turn, is allowed to produce an air flow entering the impeller  10  from the air intake  12   a  of the shroud  12  to be guided by the rotating vane members  13  through gaps between the hub  11  and shroud  12  and out of the outer periphery of the impeller  10 . 
     Various types of vane members  13  have heretofore been developed in many attempts to increase the efficiency of discharging the air from the aforementioned impeller  10  which is adapted to rotate for producing the air flow running thereinto from the air intake  12   a  to be guided by the rotating vane members  13  through the gaps between the hub  11  and shroud  12  and out of the outer periphery of the impeller  10 . 
     In the conventional impeller as shown in FIG. 3, the vane members  13  are interposed between the hub  11  and the shroud  12  in a manner such that leading edges of the vane members  13  each form an angle θ (inlet angle) with a tangent line to an inner circumference defined by the vane members  13 , the angle  0  conforming to an inflow angle φ of the air flow introduced into the gap between adjacent vane members  13 . Each vane member  13  has the inlet angle θ at any points of a span between the hub  11  and shroud  12 . 
     Unfortunately, if the impeller  10  with the vane members  13  of such an arrangement is caused to rotate to produce the air flow running into the impeller  10  and through the gaps between the hub  11  and shroud  12  to be discharged from the outer periphery of the impeller  10 , the air flow guided by the vane members  13  fails to run in line with the surfaces thereof, thus departing therefrom and hence, the occurrence of eddies results. The eddies interferes with the flow of air to be discharged as guided by the vane members  13  and hence, the efficiency of air discharge is decreased and increased noises are produced during operation. 
     Furthermore, the conventional impeller  10  is arranged such that the air is drawn through the air intake  12   a  and guided through the gaps between the hub  11  and shroud  12  to be discharged horizontally from the outer periphery of the impeller  10 . Accordingly, the vane members  13  each have an trailing edge portion substantially extended horizontally, as seen in FIGS. 4 and 5. 
     Unfortunately, in the arrangement adapted for the air flow running into the impeller  10  from the air intake  12   a  to be discharged horizontally from the outer periphery thereof as guided by the vane members, air streams closer to the shroud  12  with the air intake  12   a  are reduced in a flow rate as discharged whereas air streams closer to the hub  11  are correspondingly increased in the flow rate as discharged. A difference of the flow rate between the air streams near the shroud  12  and those near the hub  11  results in the occurrence of eddy which, in turn, causes turbulence of the air flow. The turbulent air flow not only leads to an increased noise during operation but also interferes with the flow of air to be discharged as guided by the vane members  13 . As a result, the air feeding efficiency is decreased. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore, an object of the invention to provide the impeller for use in the centrifugal blower, which is caused to rotate for producing an air flow running thereinto from the air intake at the center of the shroud and guided by the vane members through the gaps between the hub and shroud and out of the outer periphery of the impeller, the impeller contributing to the reduction of occurrence of eddy or the like produced from the air flow departed from the vane members and to a smooth air flow running in line with the vane members for an efficient discharge of the air from the outer periphery of the impeller. 
     It is another object of the invention to reduce noises while the impeller is caused to rotate in the aforesaid manner for discharging the air from the outer periphery thereof. 
     According to a first aspect of the invention, the impeller for use in the centrifugal blower comprises a hub for receiving a driving torque at a central portion thereof, a shroud of a ring-like shape in plane formed with an opening for air intake and opposed to the hub across a required distance therebetween, and a plurality of vane members interposed between the hub and shroud as spaced from one another at required intervals, the impeller having an arrangement wherein an leading edge of each vane member forms varied angles (inlet angles) with a tangent line thereat such as to conform to inflow angles of an air flow at different points of a span between the shroud and hub. 
     According to the impeller of the first aspect of the invention wherein the leading edge of each vane member has varied angles such as to conform to the inflow angles of the air streams at different points of the span between the shroud and hub, the vane members can cause the air streams to run in line with the surfaces thereof at any points of the span between the hub and shroud, while the impeller is rotated to produce the air streams drawn thereinto and guided by the vane members through the gaps between the hub and shroud and out of the outer periphery of the impeller. Such air streams are effective to reduce the occurrence of eddy or the like, thus allowing the vane members to more efficiently discharge the air from the outer periphery of the impeller. Additionally, the production of noises is also decreased. 
     According to a second aspect of the invention, the impeller for use in the centrifugal blower comprises a hub for receiving the driving torque at a central portion thereof, a shroud of a ring-like shape in plane formed with an opening for air intake at the center thereof and opposed to the hub across a required distance therebetween, and a plurality of vane members interposed between the hub and shroud as circumferentially spaced from one another at required intervals, the impeller having a arrangement wherein a trailing edge of each vane member forms varied angles (outlet angles) with the tangent line thereat such as to conform to outflow angles of the air discharged by the vane members at different points of the span between the shroud and hub. 
     According to the impeller of the second aspect of the invention wherein the trailing edge of each vane member forms varied outlet angles such as to conform to the outflow angles of the discharged air at different points of the span between the shroud and hub, the vane members can cause the air streams to run in line with the surfaces thereof at any points of the span between the shroud and hub thereby efficiently discharging the air from the outer periphery of the impeller, while the impeller is rotated to produce such air streams. Additionally, the reduction of noises is also accomplished. 
     According to a third aspect of the invention, the impeller for use in the centrifugal blower comprises a hub for receiving the driving torque at a central portion thereof, a shroud of a ring-like shape in plane formed with an opening for air intake and opposed to the hub across a required distance therebetween, and a plurality of vane members interposed between the hub and shroud as circumferentially spaced from one another at required intervals, the impeller having an arrangement wherein the ratio (d/D) of a diameter d of the air intake at the center of the shroud to a diameter D of the impeller is in the range of between 0.67 and 0.78. 
     According to the impeller of the third aspect of the invention wherein the ratio (d/D) of the diameter d of the air intake at the center of the shroud to the diameter D of the impeller is in the range of between 0.67 and 0.78, the rotating impeller is allowed to produce stable and even air streams entering the impeller from the air intake and flowing through the gaps between the hub and shroud to be discharged from the outer periphery of the impeller as guided by the vane members. Such stable air streams reduce the production of noises due to turbulence of the air flow. If the ratio (d/D) of the diameter d of the air intake to the diameter D of the impeller is defined at around 0.73, in particular, more stable air streams may be obtained for further enhancing the effect of reducing the noises. 
     According to a fourth aspect of the invention, the impeller for use in the centrifugal blower comprises a hub for receiving the driving torque at a central portion thereof, a shroud of a ring-like shape in plane formed with an opening for air intake at the center thereof and opposed to the hub across a required distance therebetween, and a plurality of vane members interposed between the hub and the shroud as circumferentially spaced from one another at required intervals, the impeller having an arrangement wherein each vane member extends diagonally relative to the horizontal line, thus having an trailing edge portion thereof forming an angle of between 30° and 50° with the horizontal line. 
     According to the impeller of the fourth aspect of the invention wherein each vane member extends diagonally relative to the horizontal line thus having the trailing edge portion thereof forming the angle of between 30° and 50° with the horizontal line, the air flow does not suffer an increased difference of flow rates between the shroud side and the hub side while the impeller is rotated to produce the air flow running thereinto from the air intake and discharged from the outer periphery thereof as guided by the vane members. Thus, the turbulence is prevented from occurring in the air flow discharged from the outer periphery of the impeller and therefore, the vane members are allowed to efficiently discharge the air from the outer periphery of the impeller with reduced noises. 
     These and other objects, advantages and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which will illustrate specific embodiments of the invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an impeller used for a centrifugal blower; 
     FIG. 2 is a top plan view showing the impeller used for the centrifugal blower; 
     FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the impeller for the centrifugal blower wherein an leading edge of a vane member forms an inlet angle conforming to an inflow angle of the air flow; 
     FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view showing a conventional impeller for use in the centrifugal blower; 
     FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing how the air streams are discharged from the outer periphery of the rotating impeller of FIG. 4; 
     FIG. 6 is a graphical representation showing how the inflow angle of the air flow varies at the leading edge of the vane member at different points of a span between a shroud and a hub of the impeller for the centrifugal blower in accordance with a first embodiment hereof; 
     FIGS. 7A to  7 C schematically illustrate how the leading edge of the vane member has varied inlet angles such as to conform to inflow angles of the air flow at different points of the span between the shroud and hub of the impeller for the centrifugal blower in accordance with the first embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 8 schematically illustrates a state wherein the impeller for the centrifugal blower of the first embodiment hereof is housed in a heat exchanger unit and operated; 
     FIG. 9 is a graphical representation showing how the outflow angle of the air discharged by the vane members varies at different point of the span between the shroud and hub of the impeller for the centrifugal blower in accordance with the first embodiment hereof; 
     FIG. 10 is a graphical representation showing examples of the vane member of the impeller for the centrifugal blower according to the first embodiment hereof, wherein the trailing edge of the vane member for discharging the air has the outlet angle varied over the span between the shroud and the hub; 
     FIG. 11 is a graphical representation showing how the pressure difference ΔP(Pa) between a pressure of air entering gaps between adjacent vane members and that of the air discharged therefrom differs among the vane members of FIG. 10, the trailing edges of which have outlet angles varied over the span between the shroud and hub, respectively; 
     FIG. 12 is a schematic sectional view showing an impeller for the centrifugal blower according to a second embodiment hereof wherein the ratio (d/D) of the diameter d of an air intake at the center of the shroud to the diameter D of the impeller is in the range of between 0.67 and 0.78; 
     FIG. 13 is a graphical representation showing how the scatters S 2 (m 2 /s 2 ) of the radial velocity Vi(m/s) and the axial velocity Vz(m/s) of the air flow discharged from the outer periphery of a rotating impeller differs among the impellers for the centrifugal blower of the second embodiment hereof, each of which impellers has a different ratio (d/D) of the diameter d of the air intake at the center of the shroud to the diameter D of the impeller; 
     FIG. 14 is a schematic sectional view showing an impeller for the centrifugal blower according to a third embodiment hereof wherein a plurality of vane members are extended diagonally relative to the horizontal line L and interposed between the hub and shroud as spaced circumferentially from one another at required intervals; 
     FIG. 15 schematically illustrates how the air flow is discharged from the outer periphery of the rotating. impeller of FIG. 14; 
     FIG. 16 schematically illustrates a state wherein the impeller for the centrifugal blower of the third embodiment hereof is housed in a heat exchanger unit and operated; 
     FIG. 17 is a graphical representation showing how the average turbulent energy (m 2 /s 2 ) of the air discharged from the outer periphery of the rotating impeller differs among impellers for the centrifugal blower of the third embodiment hereof, which impellers have different angles γ relative to the horizontal line L at the trailing edge portions of the vane members thereof, respectively; and 
     FIG. 18 is a graphical representation showing how the pressure difference ΔP (mmH 2  O) between a pressure of the air at the air intake and that of the air discharged from the outer periphery of the rotating impeller differs among impellers for the centrifugal blower according to the third embodiment hereof, which impellers have different angles γ relative to the horizontal line L at the trailing edge portions of the vane members thereof, respectively. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Now, preferred embodiments of the impeller for the centrifugal blower according to the invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     (Embodiment 1) 
     Similarly to the conventional impeller shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an impeller  10  for the centrifugal blower according to this embodiment comprises a hub  11  of a circular shape in plane adapted to receive a driving torque at a central portion thereof and having a protrusion at the center thereof, a shroud  12  of a ring-like shape in plane formed with an opening for an air intake  12   a  at the center thereof and opposed to the hub  11  across a required distance therebetween, and a plurality of vane members  13  interposed between the hub  11  and the shroud  12  as circumferentially spaced from one another at required intervals. 
     The impeller  10  of the embodiment has an arrangement wherein the vane members  13  are interposed between the hub  11  and the shroud  12  in a manner such that an leading edge of each vane member forms varied angles (inlet angles  0 ) with a tangent line thereat thereby conforming to inflow angles φ of air streams at different points of a span between the shroud  12  and the hub  11 . 
     This impeller  10  was rotated to produce air streams running thereinto from the air intake  12   a  at the center of the shroud  12  and guided into gaps between adjacent vane members  13 , while inflow angles φ of the air streams at different points of the leading edge of the vane member interposed between the hub  11  and shroud  12  were measured. The results are shown in FIG.  6 . 
     According to the results, the air streams from the air intake  12   a  into the gaps between the vane members  13  present smaller inflow angles φ at points closer to the shroud  12  with the air intake  12   a.  The inflow angle φ gradually increases as the point shifts to the middle point of the span between the shroud  12  and hub  11  but somewhat decreases as the point shifts beyond the middle point toward the hub  11 . 
     In this embodiment, the vane members  13  interposed between the shroud  12  and hub  11  are each configured to have varied inlet angles θ at different points of the span between the shroud  12  and hub  11  thereby conforming to the inflow angles φ of the air streams. As shown in FIG. 7A, each of the vane members  13  has the smallest inlet angle θ1 at the point closest to the shroud  12 , the inlet angle θ1 gradually increased as the point shifts toward the middle point of the span between the shroud  12  and hub  11 . The vane member  13  has the greatest inlet angle θ2 at the middle point of the span, as shown in FIG. 7B, which angle θ2 is gradually decreased as the point shifts from the middle point toward the hub  11 . As shown in FIG. 7C, each of the vane members  13  has an inlet angle θ3 at the point closest to the hub  11  which is smaller than the inlet angle θ2 at the middle point but greater than the inlet angle θ1 at the closest point to the shroud  12 . 
     The impeller  10  of the embodiment was housed in a heat exchanger unit  20 , as shown in FIG. 8. A torque was applied to the central portion of the hub  11  for rotating the impeller  10  thereby producing the air streams running through a bell mouth  21  and the air intake  12   a  and into the impeller  10 . The rotating vane members  13  served to guide the air streams through the gaps between the hub  11  and shroud  12  and out of the outer periphery of the impeller  10 . The air flow thus discharged was drawn into a heat exchanger  22  housed in the heat exchanger unit  20  to be subject to the heat exchanging process. Subsequently, the resultant air was discharged from the heat exchanger unit  20 . 
     In the above arrangement wherein the rotating impeller  10  is adapted to produce the air streams entering the impeller  10  to be guided through the gaps between the shroud  12  and hub  11  and out of the outer periphery of the impeller, each of the vane members  13  is configured to have such inlet angles θ as to conform to the inflow angles φ of the air streams at different points of the span between the shroud  12  and hub  11 . Therefore, the rotating vane members cause the air streams to run in line with the surfaces thereof at any points of the span between the hub and shroud thereby improving the efficiency of discharging the air from the outer periphery of the impeller  10 . Additionally, the reduction of noises due to turbulence of the air flow is also accomplished. 
     The impeller  10  of the embodiment was rotated in the aforementioned manner to produce the air flow entering the impeller  10  from the air intake  12   a  at the center of the shroud  12  and guided by the vane members  13  through the gaps between the hub  11  and shroud  12  and out of the outer periphery of the impeller  13 , while outflow angles α of the air streams thus discharged were measured at different points of the span between the shroud  12  and hub  11 . The results are shown in FIG.  9 . 
     According to the results, the discharged air flow presents relatively a large outflow angle a at a point close to the shroud  12 , which angle α sharply decreases to the minimum angle α as the point shifts away from the shroud  12 . Subsequently, the outflow angle a of the air flow gradually increases as the point shifts toward the hub  11 , standing substantially at a constant value at points near the hub  11 . 
     As shown in FIG. 10, an angle β (outlet angle) formed between a line extended from the trailing edge of the vane member  13  and a tangent line thereat to the outer circumference defined by the vane members was varied over spans A to D between the shroud  12  and hub  11 , respectively. As to the respective cases of A to D, a pressure difference ΔP(Pa) between a pressure of the air guided into the gaps between the vane members  13  and that of the air discharged therefrom was measured. The results are shown in FIG.  11 . 
     According to the results, great pressure differences ΔP are obtained in the cases of C and D wherein the variation of the outlet angles β of the vane members  13  somehow conforms to the variation of the outflow angles a of the air flow discharged therefrom. Thus are provided air streams flowing in line with the surfaces of the vane members  13  over the spans between the shroud  12  and hub  11  to be efficiently discharged from the outer periphery of the impeller  10 . In addition, the reduction of noises due to turbulence of the air streams is also accomplished. 
     (Embodiment 2) 
     Similarly to the conventional impeller shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an impeller  10  for use in the centrifugal blower according to this embodiment hereof comprises a hub  11  of a circular shape in plane adapted to receive the. driving torque at a central portion thereof and formed with a protrusion at the center thereof, a shroud  12  of a ring-like shape in plane formed with an opening for air intake  12   a  and opposed to the hub  11  across a required distance therebetween, and a plurality of vane members  13  interposed between the outer peripheral portions of the hub  11  and shroud  12  as circumferentially spaced from one another at required intervals. 
     In this embodiment as shown in FIG. 12, an adjustment was made to a ratio (d/D) of a diameter d of the air intake  12   a  at the center of the shroud  12  to a diameter D of the impeller  10  such that the ratio value (d/D) was in the range of between 0.67 and 0.78. 
     Then, a similar arrangement to that of the first embodiment was made such that the impeller  10  of this embodiment was housed in a heat exchanger unit  20  and was rotated by means of the hub  11  for producing the air flow through a bell mouth  21  and the air intake  12   a  and into the impeller  10 . The rotating vane members  13  guided the air streams running though the gaps between the hub  11  and shroud  12  and out of the outer periphery of the impeller  10 . The air streams thus discharged were drawn into a heat exchanger  22  housed in the heat exchanger unit  20  so as to be subject to the heat exchange process. Subsequently, the resultant air was discharged from the heat exchanger unit  20 . 
     Next, the impellers of the embodiment was varied in the ratio (d/D) of the diameter d of the air intake  12   a  in the center of the shroud  12  to the diameter D of the impeller  10 . The impellers  10  having different (d/D) values were each rotated while a radial velocity Vi(m/s) and an axial velocity Vz(m/s) of the air flow discharged from the outer periphery thereof were measured to obtain scatters S 2 (m 2 /s 2 ) of the respective velocities. The results are shown in FIG.  13 . 
     According to the results, the axial velocity Vz of the discharged air flow presents small scatter values S 2  and small variations thereof in correspondence with the varied (d/D) values. On the other hand, the radial velocity Vi of the discharged air flow presents great scatter values S 2  and great variations thereof in correspondence with the varied (d/D) values. The radial velocity Vi presents decreased scatter values S 2  in correspondence to the (d/D) values of between 0.67 and 0.78. The radial velocity Vi presents a notably decreased scatter value S 2  in correspondence to the (d/D) value of about 0.73, in particular. 
     Hence, if the (d/D) value is defined in the range of between 0.67 and 0.78, or more preferably at around 0.73, the air flow through the gaps between the hub  11  and shroud  12  and out of the outer periphery of the impeller  10  suffers decreased air turbulence. Thus is provided an efficient discharge of the air from the outer periphery of the impeller  10 . Furthermore, the reduction of noises due to turbulence of the air flow is accomplished. 
     (Embodiment 3) 
     Similarly to the conventional impeller shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an impeller  10  for the centrifugal blower according to this embodiment hereof comprises a hub of a circular shape in plane adapted to receive the driving torque at a central portion thereof and formed with a protrusion at the center thereof, a shroud  12  of a ring-like shape in plane formed with an opening for air intake  12   a  at the center thereof and opposed to the hub  11  across a required distance therebetween, and a plurality of vane members  13  interposed between the outer peripheral portions of the hub  11  and shroud  12  as circumferentially spaced from one another at required intervals. 
     In the impeller  10  of this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the hub  11  and shroud  12  have their respective outer peripheral portions inclined downward to receive the vane members  13  therebetween, each vane member extending diagonally downward relative to the horizontal line L whereby an trailing edge portion of the vane member  13  forms an angle γ of between 30° and 50° with the horizontal line L. 
     The impeller  10  of this embodiment was housed in a heat exchanger unit  20 , as shown in FIG. 16, so that the impeller  10  was rotated by way of the hub  11  for producing the air flow through a bell mouth  21  and the air intake  12   a  and into the impeller  10 . The rotating vane members  13  caused the air streams to flow through the gaps between the hub  11  and shroud  12  and out of the outer periphery of the impeller  10 . The air streams thus discharged were drawn into a heat exchanger  22  housed in the heat exchanger unit  20  so as to be subject to the heat exchanging process. Subsequently, the resultant air was discharged from the heat exchanging unit  20 . 
     Next, there were prepared impellers  10  each of which had a different angle γ from those of the other impellers, the angle γ formed between a line extended from the trailing edge of the vane member and the horizontal line L. Each of the impellers  10  was rotated to produce the air streams through the gaps between the hub  11  and shroud  12  and out of the outer periphery of the impeller  10  while the average turbulent energy (m 2 /S 2 ) of the air streams was measured. The results are shown in FIG.  17 . Additionally, the pressure difference ΔP (mmH 2  O) between an air pressure at the air intake  12   a  and a pressure of the air discharged from the outer periphery of the impeller  10  was also measured. The results are shown in FIG.  18 . 
     According to the results, with increase in the angle γ formed between the trailing edge of the vane member  13  and the horizontal line L, the air flow discharged from the outer periphery of the impeller  10  presents a correspondingly decreased average turbulent energy and hence, the air flow discharged from the outer periphery of the impeller  10  suffers less air turbulence. In addition, the increase in pressure difference ΔP between the air pressure at the air intake  12   a  and that of the air flow discharged from the outer periphery of the impeller  10  is accomplished. In case where the angle γ formed between the trailing edge of the vane member  13  and the horizontal line L is in the range of between 30° and 50°, in particular, the turbulence of the air flow discharged from the outer periphery of the impeller  10  is notably decreased and the reduction of noises during operation is accomplished. In addition, an increased pressure difference between the air pressure at the air intake  12   a  and the pressure of air discharged from the outer periphery of the impeller is provided thereby achieving a higher efficiency of air feeding. Incidentally, if the angle γ formed between the trailing edge of the vane member  13  and the horizontal line L exceeds 50°, the length of the air flow through the gaps between the vane members  13  is increased to produce resistance to the air flow, which resistance correspondingly reduces the pressure difference between the air pressure at the air intake  12   a  and that of the air discharged from the outer periphery of the impeller. Hence, it becomes no more possible to provide the efficient air feeding. 
     Although the present invention has been fully described by way of examples, it is to be noted that various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. 
     Therefore, unless otherwise such changes and modifications depart from the scope of the invention, they should be construed as being included therein.