Patent ID: 7578734

Claim:
A unit ventilator for drawing return air from a comfort zone, drawing outside air from outside the comfort zone, and delivering supply air to the comfort zone, wherein the supply air is a product of at least one of the return air and the outside air after being filtered or otherwise conditioned by the ventilator, the unit ventilator comprising: an enclosure defining a return air inlet for receiving the return air from the comfort zone, an outside air inlet for receiving the outside air from outside the comfort zone, and a supply air outlet for discharging the supply air into the comfort zone; a blower disposed within the enclosure to help force the supply air into the comfort zone; and a damper blade unit disposed within the enclosure, wherein: a) the damper blade unit is pivotal about an axis; b) the damper blade unit includes a return air damper blade, an outside air damper blade, a first gusset, and a second gusset, wherein the return air damper blade, the outside air damper blade, the first gusset, and the second gusset are in a substantially fixed relationship to each other; c) the return air damper blade includes a return air damper blade tip; d) the outside air damper blade includes an outside air damper blade tip; e) the return air damper blade tip and the outside air damper blade tip are substantially parallel to the axis; f) the return air damper blade tip and the outside air damper blade tip define a plane that is offset to the axis; and g) the first gusset and the second gusset extend from the return air damper blade to the outside air damper blade such that the return air damper blade, the outside air damper blade, the first gusset and the second gusset define a concavity within the damper blade unit; and h) a splitter plate lying substantially parallel to the axis and extending into the concavity, wherein the damper blade unit is pivotal relative to the splitter plate.