Patent Publication Number: US-2022213901-A1

Title: Air blower and exhaust fan comprising the same

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of International Patent Application No. PCT/CN2020/135066 with an international filing date of Dec. 10, 2020, designating the United States, now pending, and further claims foreign priority benefits to Chinese Patent Application No. 202022882825.4 filed Dec. 4, 2020. The contents of all of the aforementioned applications, including any intervening amendments thereto, are incorporated herein by reference. Inquiries from the public to applicants or assignees concerning this document or the related applications should be directed to: Matthias Scholl P. C., Attn.: Dr. Matthias Scholl Esq.,  245  First Street,  18 th Floor, Cambridge, Mass.  02142 . 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     The disclosure relates to an air blower and an exhaust fan comprising the same. 
     A conventional exhaust fan includes a box and an air blower disposed in the box. The box includes an air intake on the top and an air exit on the side. The air blower includes a volute, a wind wheel, and a motor. The wind wheel is disposed in the volute. The volute is made of iron sheet and includes an air inlet and an air outlet. The air outlet communicates with the air exit. The box further includes a mounting plate, and the motor is hoisted in the box through the mounting plate. The rotating shaft of the motor is connected to the wind wheel. The air enters the exhaust fan via the air intake, flows in and out of the volute via the air inlet and air outlet, respectively, and is discharged from the air exit. The motor is a shaded-pole motor which has high rotation speed, high energy efficiency and high noise. The motor is hoisted in the box through the mounting plate, which involves a complex installation process. The iron volute is easy to deform, so that the air output is unstable, and the assembly of the iron volute and the wind wheel is not accurate. 
     SUMMARY 
     The disclosure provides an air blower, comprising a volute, a centrifugal wind wheel, and a motor. The volute comprises an end plate, a side plate extending from an edge of the end plate, and a cavity formed by the end plate and the side plate; the centrifugal wind wheel is disposed in the cavity; the end plate comprises an air inlet, and two ends of the side plate are disposed side by side to form an air outlet; the end plate further comprises a support beam opposite to the air inlet, and the motor is disposed on the support beam. 
     In a class of this embodiment, a middle part of the support beam is sunken in a direction away from the air inlet of the volute to form a chamber, and the motor is accommodated in the chamber. 
     In a class of this embodiment, the middle part of the support beam comprises a through hole, and a rotating shaft of the motor passes through the through hole to connect to the centrifugal wind wheel. 
     In a class of this embodiment, the middle part of the support beam further comprises at least two first mounting holes disposed at two sides of the through hole; the motor comprises at least two second mounting holes matched with the at least two first mounting holes; and the motor is fixed on the support beam through a bolt-nut mechanism sequentially passing through the at least two first mounting holes and the at least two second mounting holes. 
     In a class of this embodiment, the end plate, the side plate, and the support beam are integrally formed. 
     In a class of this embodiment, the volute is a plastic shell formed by injection molding or a sheet metal shell formed by stamping; the motor comprises a starting capacitor, and the centrifugal wind wheel comprises plastic. 
     In a class of this embodiment, the centrifugal wind wheel comprises a wheel disc and a plurality of vanes circumferentially disposed on the wheel disc; the wheel disc comprises a central part, and a connection plate is disposed in the central part and is connected to the rotating shaft of the motor; an annular guide plate is disposed between the connection plate and the wheel disc; the plurality of vanes each comprises a pressure side comprising a first arc and a second arc; a radius R 1  of the first arc is 4.53±0.5 mm; a radius R 2  of the second arc is 10.43±0.5 mm; an inner diameter D 1  of the plurality of vanes is 111.61±5 mm; an outer diameter D 2  of the plurality of vanes is 131.17±5 mm; an included angle β 1 A between a tangent of a blade inlet profile and a circumferential direction is 83.93±5°, and an included angle β 2 A between a tangent of a blade outlet profile and a circumferential direction is 143.42±5°. 
     In a class of this embodiment, the volute comprises a volute tongue in the vicinity of the air outlet; the volute further comprises an air passage formed between the side plate of the volute and the centrifugal wind wheel; and a cross sectional area of the air passage increases along a direction from the volute tongue to the air outlet. 
     The disclosure also provides an exhaust fan, comprising a box and the aforesaid air blower; the box comprises a top plate, a side wall, and a bottom plate; the top plate, the side wall, and the bottom plate are connected to each other to form an accommodation cavity; the side wall comprises an air exit, and the top plate comprises an air intake; and the air blower is disposed in the accommodation cavity. 
     In a class of this embodiment, the volute is disposed on the bottom plate of the box; the end plate, the side plate of the volute, and the bottom plate of the box form a sealed cavity, and the centrifugal wind wheel is disposed in the sealed cavity. 
     In another aspect, the disclosure further provides an exhaust fan, comprising a box and an air blower. The box comprises a top plate, a side wall, and a bottom plate; the top plate, the side wall, and the bottom plate are connected to each other to form an accommodation cavity; the side wall comprises an air exit, and the top plate comprises an air intake. 
     The air blower comprises a volute, a centrifugal wind wheel, and a motor; the volute comprises an end plate, a side plate extending from an edge of the end plate, a cavity formed by the end plate and the side plate, and an opening opposite to the end plate; the centrifugal wind wheel is disposed in the cavity; the end plate comprises an air inlet, and two ends of the side plate are disposed side by side to form an air outlet; the volute is disposed in the accommodation cavity of the box and is attached to the bottom plate whereby the opening of the volute is sealed by the bottom plate; the air outlet communicates with the air exit; and the air intake, the air inlet, the air outlet and the air exit communicate with each other. 
     The end plate further comprises a support beam opposite to the air inlet, and the motor is disposed on the support beam; the volute is a plastic shell formed by injection molding or a sheet metal shell formed by stamping; and the motor comprises a starting capacitor. 
     The following advantages are associated with the air blower and the exhaust fan comprising the same of the disclosure: 
     The air blower comprises a volute, a centrifugal wind wheel, and a motor. The volute comprises an end plate, a side plate extending from an edge of the end plate, and a cavity formed by the end plate and the side plate; the centrifugal wind wheel is disposed in the cavity; the end plate comprises an air inlet, and two ends of the side plate are disposed side by side to form an air outlet; the end plate further comprises a support beam opposite to the air inlet, and the motor is disposed on the support beam. Thus, the volute and the motor are arranged reasonably and easy to assembly with each other, thus saving the installation parts and installation costs. 
     The exhaust fan comprises a box and an air blower; the box comprises a top plate, a side wall, and a bottom plate; the top plate, the side wall, and the bottom plate are connected to each other to form an accommodation cavity; the side wall comprises an air exit, and the top plate comprises an air intake. The air blower comprises a volute, a centrifugal wind wheel, and a motor; the volute comprises an end plate, a side plate extending from an edge of the end plate, a cavity formed by the end plate and the side plate, and an opening opposite to the end plate; the centrifugal wind wheel is disposed in the cavity; the end plate comprises an air inlet, and two ends of the side plate are disposed side by side to form an air outlet; the volute is disposed in the accommodation cavity of the box and is attached to the bottom plate whereby the opening of the volute is sealed by the bottom plate; the air outlet communicates with the air exit; and the air intake, the air inlet, the air outlet and the air exit communicate with each other. The end plate further comprises a support beam opposite to the air inlet, and the motor is disposed on the support beam; the volute is a plastic shell formed by injection molding or a sheet metal shell formed by stamping; and the motor comprises a starting capacitor. The volute is a plastic shell or a sheet metal shell with high dimensional accuracy, which is conducive to improving the exhaust volume of the air exit. The motor started by capacitor has low speed, low energy efficiency and low noise. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of an air blower according to one embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded view of an air blower according to one embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded view of an air blower according to one embodiment of the disclosure in another angle of view; 
         FIG. 4  is a front view of an air blower according to one embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of a centrifugal wind wheel according to one embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 6  is a front view of a centrifugal wind wheel according to one embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 7  is a sectional view of a volute according to one embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic diagram of an exhaust fan according to one embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 9  is an exploded view of an exhaust fan according to one embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 10  is an exploded view of an exhaust fan according to one embodiment of the disclosure in another angle of view; 
         FIG. 11  is a schematic diagram of an exhaust fan according to another embodiment of the disclosure; and 
         FIG. 12  is a sectional view taken from line A-A in  FIG. 10 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     To further illustrate, embodiments detailing an air blower and an exhaust fan comprising the same are described below. It should be noted that the following embodiments are intended to describe and not to limit the disclosure. 
     EXAMPLE 1 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1-7 , the disclosure provides an air blower comprising a volute  21 , a centrifugal wind wheel  22 , and a motor  23 . The volute  21  comprises an end plate  211 , a side plate  212  extending from an edge of the end plate  211 , and a cavity  213  formed by the end plate  211  and the side plate  212 ; the centrifugal wind wheel  22  is disposed in the cavity  213 ; the end plate  211  comprises an air inlet  2111 , and two ends of the side plate  212  are disposed side by side to form an air outlet  2121 ; the end plate  211  further comprises a support beam  2112  opposite to the air inlet  2111 , and the motor  23  is disposed on the support beam  2112 . With regard to the air blower, the volute and the motor are arranged reasonably and easy to assembly with each other, thus saving the installation parts and installation costs. 
     The middle part of the support beam  2112  is sunken in a direction away from the air inlet of the volute  21  to form a chamber  2110 , and the motor is accommodated in the chamber  2110 . In this way, the installation height of motor  23  is reduced, so is the installation height of a load driven by the motor, thus saving the manufacturing cost. In addition, the tilted parts on two sides of the middle part of the support beam  2112  play the role of the air diversion for the air inlet  2111 . 
     The middle part of the support beam  2112  comprises a through hole  230 , and the rotating shaft  231  of the motor  23  passes through the through hole  230  to connect to the centrifugal wind wheel  22 , thus facilitating the connection of the motor and the centrifugal wind wheel. 
     The middle part of the support beam  2112  further comprises at least two first mounting holes  2113  disposed at two sides of the through hole  230 ; the motor  23  comprises at least two second mounting holes  232  matched with the at least two first mounting holes  2113 ; and the motor is fixed on the support beam  2112  through a bolt-nut mechanism sequentially passing through the at least two first mounting holes  2113  and the at least two second mounting holes  232 . In this way, the motor is easily installed on the support beam. 
     The end plate  211 , the side plate  212 , and the support beam  2112  are integrally formed, so that the volute has high dimensional accuracy, is easy to manufacture, and the installation process is simple, saving the number of parts and the installation costs. 
     The volute  21  is a plastic shell formed by injection molding or a sheet metal shell formed by stamping. The motor  23  comprises a starting capacitor. The centrifugal wind wheel  22  comprises plastic, which is easy to manufacture, and with low cost, high dimensional accuracy, convenient installation and low noise. The volute  21  is a plastic shell or a sheet metal shell with high dimensional accuracy, which is conducive to improving the exhaust volume of the air exit. The motor started by capacitor has low speed, low energy efficiency and low noise. 
     The centrifugal wind wheel  22  comprises a wheel disc  221  and a plurality of vanes  222  circumferentially disposed on the wheel disc  221 ; the wheel disc  221  comprises a central part, and a connection plate  220  is disposed in the central part and is connected to the rotating shaft  231  of the motor  23 ; an annular guide plate  223  is disposed between the connection plate  220  and the wheel disc  221 ; the plurality of vanes  222  each comprises a pressure side  2221  comprising a first arc  2222  and a second arc  2223 ; a radius R 1  of the first arc  2222  is 4.53±0.5 mm; a radius R 2  of the second arc  2223  is 10.43±0.5 mm; an inner diameter D 1  of the plurality of vanes  222  is 111.61±5 mm; an outer diameter D 2  of the plurality of vanes  222  is 131.17±5 mm; the included angle β 1 A between a tangent of a blade inlet profile and a circumferential direction is 83.93±5°, and an included angle f 32 A between a tangent of a blade outlet profile and a circumferential direction is 143.42±5°. In this way, the vanes can cooperate with the volute  21  precisely, thus improving the air flow between vanes, which is helpful to improve the exhaust volume of the air exit. 
     The volute  21  comprises a volute tongue  2122  in the vicinity of the air outlet  2121 ; the volute  21  further comprises an air passage  215  formed between the side plate  212  of the volute  20  and the centrifugal wind wheel  22 ; and a cross sectional area of the air passage  215  increases along a direction from the volute tongue  2122  to the air outlet  2121 , which is helpful to improve the exhaust volume of the air exit. 
     EXAMPLE 2 
     As shown in  FIGS. 8-12 , the disclosure provides an exhaust fan, comprising a box  1  and an air blower  2  in Example  1 ; the box  1  comprises a top plate  13 , a side wall  11 , and a bottom plate  12 ; the top plate  13 , the side wall  11 , and the bottom plate  12  are connected to each other to form an accommodation cavity  10 ; the side wall comprises an air exit  111 , and the top plate  13  comprises an air intake  130 ; and the air blower is disposed in the accommodation cavity  10 . The volute  21  is disposed on the bottom plate  12  of the box  1 ; the end plate  211 , the side plate  212  of the volute  21 , and the bottom plate of the box  1  form a sealed cavity  213 , and the centrifugal wind wheel  22  is disposed in the sealed cavity  213 . The structure of the exhaust fan is reasonable, with low manufacturing cost. 
     EXAMPLE 3 
     As shown in  FIGS. 8-12 , the disclosure provides an exhaust fan, comprising a box  1  and an air blower  2 . The box  1  comprises a top plate  13 , a side wall  11 , and a bottom plate  12 ; the top plate  13 , the side wall  11 , and the bottom plate  12  are connected to each other to form an accommodation cavity  10 ; the side wall comprises an air exit  111 , and the top plate  13  comprises an air intake  130 . 
     The air blower  2  comprises a volute  21 , a centrifugal wind wheel  22 , and a motor  23 ; the volute  21  comprises an end plate  211 , a side plate  212  extending from an edge of the end plate  211 , a cavity  213  formed by the end plate  211  and the side plate  212 , and an opening opposite to the end plate; the centrifugal wind wheel  22  is disposed in the cavity  213 ; the end plate  211  comprises an air inlet  2111 , and two ends of the side plate  212  are disposed side by side to form an air outlet  2121 ; the volute  21  is disposed in the accommodation cavity  10  of the box  1  and is attached to the bottom plate  12  whereby the opening of the volute  21  is sealed by the bottom plate  12 ; the air outlet  2121  communicates with the air exit  111 ; and the air intake  130 , the air inlet  2111 , the air outlet  2121  and the air exit  111  communicate with each other. 
     The end plate  211  further comprises a support beam  2112  opposite to the air inlet  2111 , and the motor  23  is disposed on the support beam  2112 ; the volute  21  is a plastic shell formed by injection molding or a sheet metal shell formed by stamping; and the motor  23  comprises a starting capacitor. The volute is a plastic shell or a sheet metal shell with high dimensional accuracy, which is conducive to improving the exhaust volume of the air exit. The motor started by capacitor has low speed, low energy efficiency and low noise. 
     It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made, and therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications.