AU2008265519B2

AU2008265519B2 - Fan and grille assembly

Info

Publication number: AU2008265519B2
Application number: AU2008265519A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Ben Marsh; Giles Mcdonald
Original assignee: Clipsal Australia Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Clipsal Australia Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2007-06-20
Filing date: 2008-06-20
Publication date: 2012-04-26
Anticipated expiration: 2028-06-20
Also published as: AU2008265519A1; CN101743446B; CN101743446A; HK1145357A1; NZ581961A; WO2008154701A1

Abstract

A fan and grille assembly is disclosed. The assembly includes: a ceiling mountable fan housing (20) having a downwards facing mouth (22) and a grille supporting flange (30); a grille assembly (40) for conveying air and changing the appearance of the mouth (22), the grille assembly (40) including a frame (42); at least two clips (50) connected to the frame (42), each clip (50) including a curved wall (52) having a convex face (53) directed towards the flange (30) of the fan housing (20); and a protrusion and recess pair, one of the protrusion and the recess located on the clip (50) and the other of the protrusion and the recess located on the flange (30) of the housing (20), wherein, in use, with the grille assembly (40) held to the fan housing (20) by engagement of the protrusion with the recess, the curved wall (52) is substantially vertical and is arranged such that it deflects in a substantially horizontal direction with minimal vertical deflection.

Description

WO 2008/154701 PCT/AU2008/000904 FAN AND GRILLE ASSEMBLY FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to fans and in particular relates to air circulation and exhaust fans. 5 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Air circulation and exhaust fans are required in domestic, commercial and industrial buildings. For instance, domestically, the exhaust fans are commonly used in bathrooms, toilets, laundries, kitchens and workshops. 10 In many applications, it is desirable to install exhaust fans in the ceiling. It is commercially important that a ceiling mounted fan is aesthetically pleasing. For this reason, ceiling fan assemblies commonly include separable grille assemblies. The grille assemblies cover a hole made in the ceiling for the fan and may in some cases cover fixings or other components. 15 There are many types of grille assemblies for use with ceiling mounted fans. These known grille assemblies suffer from disadvantages including the need to use fasteners such as screws and an inability to rotate relative to the ceiling after installation. 20 Existing fan and grille assemblies that do allow the grille to rotate with respect to a fan body suffer from various problems. Problems include damage to the ceiling caused by contact with the grille during its rotation, binding of the grill with respect to the fan body impeding rotation and poor retention of the grille to the body resulting in vibration and noise when the fan is operating. 25 It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved fan and grille assembly or at least to offer a useful alternative. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a fan and grille assembly including: a ceiling mountable fan housing having a downwards facing mouth and a grille supporting flange; a grille assembly for conveying air and changing the appearance of the mouth, the grille assembly including a frame; at least two clips connected to the frame, each clip including a curved wall having a convex face 5 directed towards the flange of the fan housing; and a protrusion and recess pair, one of the protrusion and the recess located on the clip and the other of the protrusion and the recess located on the flange of the housing, WO 2008/154701 PCT/AU2008/000904 wherein, in use, with the grille assembly hel2 to the fan housing by engagement of the protrusion with the recess, the curved wall is substantially vertical and is arranged such that it deflects in a substantially horizontal direction with minimal vertical deflection. 5 Preferably the fan and grille assembly further includes a rigid post portion, the post portion attached to the frame. Preferably the flange has a ramped lead-in edge, the lead-in edge assisting with deflection of the curved wall of the clip during installation of the grille assembly to the fan housing. 0 Preferably the protrusion and recess pair include a nose on the face of the clip that engages with a shoulder on the flange of the fan housing. Preferably the shoulder forms part of a groove. 5 According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a fan and grille assembly including a ceiling mountable fan housing having a downwards facing mouth, a grille supporting flange, the flange defining an annular shoulder, and a grille assembly for conveying air and changing the appearance of the mouth, the grille assembly including: a frame; and at least two clips connected to the frame, each clip including a curved wall having a convex face directed towards the flange of the fan housing, the face having a nose engageable with the shoulder of the flange, wherein, in use with the grille assembly held to the fan housing by engagement of the nose over 5 the shoulder, the curved wall is substantially vertical and is arranged such that it deflects in a substantially horizontal direction with minimal vertical deflection. Preferably the fan and grille assembly further includes a rigid post portion, the post portion attached to the frame. ) Preferably the flange has a ramped lead-in edge, the lead-in edge assisting with deflection of the curved wall of the clip during installation of the grille assembly to the fan housing. Preferably the shoulder forms part of a groove.

WO 2008/154701 PCT/AU2008/000904 Specific embodiments of the invention wil]3iow be described in some further detail with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying figures. These embodiments are illustrative, and are not meant to be restrictive of the scope of the invention. 5 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying representations in which: Figure 1 is an exploded isometric view of a fan and grille assembly according to the invention. Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a portion of the fan and grille assembly of Figure 1 10 installed in a ceiling. Figure 3a is detailed isometric view of a portion of the fan and grille assembly shown in Figure 2 (with the ceiling removed for clarity). Figure 3b is a similar view to that of Figure 3a showing a flange of the fan and grille assembly of Figure 1. 15 Figure 4 is a further isometric view of the detailed isometric view of a portion of the fan and grille assembly shown in Figure 2 (with the ceiling removed for clarity). Figures 5, 6 and 7 are plan, cross-sectional and isometric views respectively of a clip component of the grille assembly shown in Figure 4. Figures 8a and 8b are similar views to those of Figures 2 and 6 but show an alternative 20 embodiment of the invention. Referring to Figure 1, a fan and grille assembly 10 is shown. The assembly 10 includes a ceiling mountable fan housing 20 having a downwards facing mouth 22. The assembly 10 further includes a grille assembly 40 for conveying air and changing the appearance of the mouth 22 when viewed from 25 below. The fan housing 20 has a flange 30 that in use extends below the ceiling 8 as can be seen in Figure 1. The grill assembly 40 attaches to this flange 22. The grille assembly 40 includes a frame 42 and four clips 50. Each clip 50 includes a rigid post portion 58 which is securable to the grille assembly's frame 42 by a screw 59 as is illustrated in Figure 3a and Figure 5. Referring now to Figures 5, 6 and 7, each clip 50 has a curved wall 52 having a convex face 53. )5 The convex face 53 is directed towards the flange of the fan housing 20 and has a nose 54 directed towards the flange 30 of the fan housing 20 as can be seen best in Figures 3a and 4. The nose 54 engages with a shoulder 36 defined by the flange 30 as can be seen in Figure 3b. In use, the grille assembly 40 is WO 2008/154701 PCT/AU2008/000904 held to the fan housing 20 by engagement of the nos4 54 over the shoulder 36 in this assembled condition, the curved wall 52 is substantially vertical and is arranged such that it deflects a substantially horizontal direction with minimal vertical deflection. This has a number of benefits. For instance, it reduces the tendency of the nose 54 to bind within the groove 37. 5 Referring now to the partial cross-sectional view of Figure 2, it can be seen that in its installed position there is a gap between the grille assembly 40 and the ceiling 8. The gap 9 (typically about 2 millimetres) prevents the ceiling being marked by the grille assembly 40. This is particularly helpful when it is necessary to rotate the grille assembly 40 with respect to the ceiling to achieve an aesthetically 0 pleasing result during installation. Referring now to Figure 3b, further details of the flange 30 can be seen. A ramped lead-in edge 39 is provided at the bottom of the flange 30 to assist with the displacement of the nose 54 of the clip 50 as it is pushed upwards into the position shown in Figure 2. 5 Referring to Figure 3b, it can be seen that the flange 30 has a groove 37 that defines both the shoulder 36 and a downwards facing undercut surface 38. This undercut surface 38 provides a positive location for the nose 54 as can be seen in Figure 2. In other embodiments of the invention (not shown) the flange 30 may simply define a shoulder 36 without having an undercut surface 38. !0 Installation of the fan and grille assembly into a ceiling 8 will now be described. A hole is first cut in the ceiling 8 in a conventional way. The fan assembly 20 is then manoeuvred up through the hole within the ceiling 8 until the upper face 31 of the flange 30 engages the under-side of the ceiling 8. Retention lugs 26 are then pivoted out over the ceiling 8 to hold the fan assembly 20 in position against !5 the ceiling 8 as can be seen in Figures 1 and 2. With the fan assembly now securely in place, the grille assembly 40 can be installed. The grille assembly 40 is installed into the fan assembly 20 by presenting its upper-side to the under-side of the fan assembly 20. As the noses 54 of the clips 50 contact the annular lead-in surface 39 0 of the flange 30, they are displaced horizontally in a radially outwards direction. This allows the noses 54 to slide up and over shoulder 36 until they reach the position shown in Figure 2. In this position, the grille assembly 40 is securely held to the fan housing 20. The installer can then rotate the grille assembly 40 with respect to the fan housing 20 with minimal effort as the bull noses 54 readily slide along the shoulder 36 and within the groove 37. Because of the clearance gap 9 shown in Figure 2, no damage to 5 the ceiling 8 occurs during such rotation.

WO 2008/154701 PCT/AU2008/000904 After installation the clips 50 remain undei5;ompression providing firm contact with the flange 30. This prevents rattling, vibration and noise. The noses 54 of the clips 50 have a significant range of movement (several millimetres). This 5 allows the clips 50 to function even if the ceiling 8 is uneven and causes the clips 50 to locate at different heights. This is a significant advantage over existing clipping methods which act on a finite location. The clips 50 allow the grille assembly 40 to be easily removed for maintenance. 10 An alternative embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Figures 8a and 8b. This embodiment of the invention is very similar to the embodiment described above, however the nose 54 extending from the clip 50 as shown in Figure 2 is replaced with a shoulder 36' and a groove 37' as shown in Figure 8b. Instead, a nose 54 is provided on the flange 30 of the fan housing 20. 15 While the present invention has been described in terms of a preferred embodiment, it should be appreciated that various modification can be made without departing from the principles of the invention. Therefore, the invention should be understood to include all such modifications within its scope.

Claims

1. A fan and grille assembly including: a ceiling mountable fan housing having a downwards facing mouth and a grille supporting 5 flange; a grille assembly for conveying air and changing the appearance of the mouth, the grille assembly including a frame; at least two clips connected to the frame, each clip including a curved wall having a convex face directed towards the flange of the fan housing; and 10 a protrusion and recess pair, one of the protrusion and the recess located on the clip and the other of the protrusion and the recess located on the flange of the housing; wherein, in use, with the grille assembly held to the fan housing by engagement of the protrusion with the recess, the curved wall is substantially vertical and is arranged such that it deflects in a substantially horizontal direction with minimal vertical deflection. 15

2. A fan and grille assembly as claimed in claim 1 further including a rigid post portion, the post portion attached to the frame.

3. A fan and grille assembly as claimed in claim 2 wherein the flange has a ramped lead-in 20 edge, the lead-in edge assisting with deflection of the curved wall of the clip during installation of the grille assembly to the fan housing.

4. A fan and grille assembly as claimed in claim 3 wherein the protrusion and recess pair include a nose on the face of the clip that engages with a shoulder on the flange of the fan housing. 25

5. A fan and grille assembly as claimed in claim 4 wherein the shoulder forms part of a groove.

6. A fan and grille assembly including a ceiling mountable fan housing having a downwards 30 facing mouth, a grille supporting flange, the flange defining an annular shoulder, and a grille assembly for conveying air and changing the appearance of the mouth, the grille assembly including: a frame; and at least two clips connected to the frame, each clip including a curved wall having a convex face directed towards the flange of the fan housing, the face having a nose engageable with 35 the shoulder of the flange, wherein, in use with the grille assembly held to the fan housing by engagement of the nose over the shoulder, the curved wall is substantially vertical and is arranged such that it deflects in a 6 substantially horizontal direction with minimal vertical deflection.

7. A fan and grille assembly as claimed in claim 6 further including a rigid post portion, the post portion attached to the frame. 5

8. A fan and grille assembly as claimed in claim 7 wherein the flange has a ramped lead-in edge, the lead-in edge assisting with deflection of the curved wall of the clip during installation of the grille assembly to the fan housing. 10

9. A fan and grille assembly as claimed in claim 7 wherein the shoulder forms part of a groove.

10. A fan and grille assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 15 7