Patent ID: 8007241

Claim:
A radial fan comprising: a conical base defining a central hub for engagement to a source of rotation about an axis of rotation; a plurality of primary blades radially oriented and spaced around the circumference of said conical base, each primary blade having an outer edge that terminates adjacent an outer edge of said conical base and an inner edge that terminates adjacent said central hub, each primary blade having a primary length from said outer edge to said inner edge, wherein each primary blade has a blade base connected to said conical base and an opposite upper edge having a portion that is substantially parallel to said conical base and a portion that is substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said conical base along said primary length; and a plurality of splitter vanes interspersed between successive primary blades and radially oriented on said conical base, said splitter vanes each having a vane outer edge that terminates adjacent the outer edge of said conical base and a vane inner edge that terminates radially outboard of the inner edge of each of said primary blades, said splitter vanes each having a vane length from said vane outer edge to said vane inner edge that is about 50-70% of said primary length.