AU756033B2

AU756033B2 - Improvements to ultracompact air extractors for bathrooms

Info

Publication number: AU756033B2
Application number: AU39331/99A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Jordi Brull Mir
Original assignee: Soler and Palau SA
Current assignee: Soler and Palau SA
Priority date: 1998-12-16
Filing date: 1999-06-01
Publication date: 2003-01-02
Anticipated expiration: 2019-06-01
Also published as: DE69922349T2; EP1058009A1; UY25532A1; ES2155362A1; ES2155362B1; AU3933199A; DE69922349D1; PT1058009E; EP1058009B1; WO2000036304A1; AR019652A1; BR9907245A

Description

-1- EXTRACTOR FANS The invention relates to extractor fans of the type used in bathrooms for the extraction of steam. Such fans must extract the steam when switched on but prevent entry of outside air when switched off.

As a consequence of the design of such extractor fans made for bathrooms, which often have rather bulky common elements, such as their connection's, functional components and general electric circuitry, an object of the present invention is to provide for a reduction of these common elements. A further object of the present invention is to provide an extractor fan which has improved air draft prevention means.

According to the invention there is provided an extractor fan for a bathroom of the like including a front grille having a window whose outer face is provided with flaps, said front grille is inter-connected to a support of a substantially quadrangular configuration, a rear face of said support extends and forms a discharge tube, arranged on said support is an electric motor, said electric motor being attached to said support by way of attachment 15 means, coupled to a shaft of said electric motor is a fan having paddles and a diffusor, said diffusor having paddles which cooperate with said fan paddles, each of said electric motor, fan and diffusor being housed within said discharge tube, also arranged on said support is and electronic circuit board, said electronic circuit board being protected by means of a cover in which a sight is provided, said sight being coincident with a hole provided on said S" 20 front grille and allowing for visibility of contained electronics through said front grille and o said corresponding sight in said cover, said support also including means for securing said extractor fan to a vertical face wherein said extractor fan includes a covering means arranged at the outlet of said discharge tube, and wherein air flow is regulated by movement of said fan in cooperation with said covering means.

The improvements of the present invention generally relate to systems for closing an extractor fan's tunnel, when the same is in the idle position. Thus the object of which is to avoid air drafts as a consequence of the difference of temperatures between the outside and the interior of the bathroom concerned. Other improvements relate to the protection of certain electric and electronic elements, as well as the attachment systems of such extractor fans which are used to attach them to the vertical faces of walls, or other support elements which are used in the room where such fans are installed.

Preferably the extractor fan of the present invention incorporates, as a system for rshutting the tunnel, a shutter attached to the exit of the extractor fan which is installed in S the interior of the room. Due to the material out of which this shutter is manufactured, and 23/10/02,eh I 1437.spec, I -2to the attachment system of the same, in the working position of the extractor fan a free passage to the extracted air exists, whilst when the extractor fan is switched to its idle position this shutter stops entry of any air from the outside through this tunnel. Thus avoiding external temperature fluctuations of the room or bathroom itself where the extractor fan has been installed when it is not in use.

In another way the extractor fan of the present invention preferably includes improved anchoring systems those which are used to attach them to the vertical face of walls. In this way, the extractor fan of the present invention may include retention means which may be activated from the inside of the extractor fan and which avoid any type of displacement or vibration of the proposed extractor fan as compared to conventional fans.

These retention means may be added to the conventional screws with which the extractor o fan is provided with at its comers for support for binding the same to said wall or vertical face.

Finally, the proposed extractor fan may centralise all the necessary electric components into a printed circuit board, and in order to avoid the same from any undesired Seffects of humidity or steam, this circuit board may be protected with a corresponding lid or cover, further achieving a centralisation of all the functions of the extractor fan in said printed circuit board.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood and put into practical 20 effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the components of the extractor fan according to a preferred embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 is a front view of the support of the extractor fan of Fig. 1 showing the elements installed on the same; Fig. 3 is a rear view of the support shown in Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a plan view of the shutter of the extractor fan shown in Fig. 1.

In Fig. 1, an extractor fan is formed with a front grille (13) of a substantially rectangular shape in which a central portion has a window which in turn is provided with horizontally disposed flaps (13).

Front grille (13) is attached by a screw (17) on a support Support (14) has a body in which the front face has grille (13) attached thereto whilst the rear face has a discharge tube (14.1) extending therefrom.

The interior of discharge tube (14.1) is fitted with an electric motor (19) duly attached to the central portion of support (14) by suitable screws. The shaft of motor (19) 23/10/02,eh 11 4 37.spec,2 is coupled to a fan (20) having paddles (21) and interior brackets (28) inside discharge tube A diffusor (25) is situated over the outside circular perimeter of fan (20) and has direction paddles formed by the emerging zone (27.1) and the depressed zone (27.2), over which is mounted a shutter (29) with the help of a hinge The invention provides a system of attachment of the extractor fan (10) to the face, wall or the like onto which it is coupled, which is done with the help of hooks (18), see Fig. 1, and once fixed to the opening provided in the corresponding wall it is finished fixing support (14) with the help of the corresponding screws positioned at the corners see Fig. 1.

Hooks as can be seen in Figures 1, 2 and 3, have three different zones, a retention zone a spring zone (18.2) and a hook zone Hook (18) is attached owooe to support (14) by spring zone (18.2) which, since it has a cylindrical interior is coupled to 9.oO9 o a cylindrical pin in such a way that hook zone (18.3) remains retained in a fringe (36) and lodged in channels whilst retention zone (18.1) rests on a recess (37) provided in the rear face of support (14).

S° The invention allows all the connection electric and electronic elements to be in the front portion of support through an electronic circuit board whose reduced S-dimensions allow it to be provided in the outer portion of support see Fig. 2, keeping it safe from the exposure to steam, liquid and condensation as it is protected by means of a 20 cover see Fig. 1, in which has been designed the availability of a window (24) o corresponding with the brackets (28) that is in the lower portion of the front grille not causing therefore any hindrance said cover is designed for the protection of circuit board (22) in order that the control pilot light, not shown in the Figures, may be seen from the outside through window (23) and front grille (13).

The invention provides design of a small connector (31) which centralises electric wires (33).

Shutter (29) is of a noticeably circular configuration provided at the diametral zone with notches (29.1) which allow in the operating position of extractor fan (10) and because of the pressure generated by the movement of fan (20) and paddles (21) that shutter (29) bends at notches (29.1) allowing the passage of the air extracted from the room or bathroom where the extractor fan (10) is fitted and not offering any kind of resistance to it, being provided it's construction with plastic materials or the like whose resistance to torque is minimal.

23/10/02,eh i 143 7.spec,3 -4- When extractor fan (10) is in its idle position, inertia of the material in which shutter (29) has been constructed allows said shutter (29) to return to its original position, shutting the circular opening of discharge tube (14.1) and preventing in this way temperature differences between the outside and the interior of the room where the extractor fan has been installed to cause for air, water, steams and other undesired elements to penetrate from the outside towards the interior.

The working action of hooks which, when in the idle situation, occupy the above described position and represented in Figures 2 and 3, whilst in the working position and when the installer adjusts discharge tube (14.1) to the opening provided at the wall, hooks (18.3) will be practically perpendicular to the plane of support pressing strongly in the counter-clockwise sense at an angle of approximately 900 till snap fitting ooooo retainer (18.1) into fringe (36) in such a way that retainer (18.1) exerts a retention strength on the side walls of the opening made for the assembly of extractor fan The present invention provides improvements introduced in the disposition of 15 paddles (21) in fan (20) in which, in grace to the proposed improvements are placed 0 asymmetrically, see Fig. 1, by which are avoided the noises and vibrations over the levels acceptable for the user, all that in combination with the design of direction paddles (27) above described.

000 The invention will be understood to embrace many further modifications as will 20 be readily apparent to persons skilled in the art and which will be deemed to reside within .0.00: 0 the broad scope and ambit of the invention; there having been set forth herein only the 0: "broad nature of the invention and a certain specific embodiment by way of example.

oooo 23/10/02,eh 11437.spec,4

Claims

1. An extractor fan for a bathroom of the like including a front grille having a window whose outer face is provided with flaps, said front grille being inter-connected with a support of a substantially quadrangular configuration, a rear face of said support extends and forms a discharge tube, arranged on said support is an electric motor, said electric motor being attached to said support by way of an attachment means, coupled to a shaft of said electric motor is a fan having paddles and a diffusor, said diffusor having diffusor paddles which cooperate with said fan paddles, each of said electric motor, fan and diffusor being housed within said discharge tube, also arranged on said support is an electronic circuit board, said electronic circuit board being protected by means of a cover in which a sight is provided, said sight being coincident with a hole provided on said front ooooo grille and allowing for visibility of contained electronics through said front grille and said i corresponding sight in said cover, said support also including means for securing said extractor fan to a vertical face, wherein said extractor fan includes a covering means arranged at the outlet of said discharge tube, and wherein air flow is regulated by movement of said fan in cooperation with said covering means.

2. The extractor fan in as claimed in claim 1, wherein said means for securing said extractor fan to said vertical face, and to the opening provided in the same for its installation, are formed by hooks attached by its central zone or spring to a cylindric pin 20 provided at the central portion of said support.

3. The extractor fan as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the distribution of the paddles of said fan is totally asymmetrical. S.

4. The extractor fan as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3, wherein said hooks are formed with a retention portion in the shape of a which extends as per a cylindric spring which extends as per its only hook in the shape of a four.

The extractor fan as claimed in any one of the proceeding claims, wherein said covering means for said discharge tube is a shutter which is of a substantially circular configuration, said shutter being manufactured with a flexible material such as a plastic or the like, and is inter-connected to said diffusor with the help of a hinge which is fitted in the diametral plane of the diffusor, said shutter having cooperating notches to cooperate with said hinge in a diametrical situation.

6. The extractor fan as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein in the working position said hooks press, by one of its ends, on an interior face of said opening ____ovided at the wall where the extractor fan is installed, whilst there is pressed itself by the 23/10/02,eh I 1437.spec,5 end opposed to the hook immobilised with the help of a fringe, provided in said support, and lodged into channels.

7. The extractor fan as claimed in any one of the proceeding claims, wherein said electronic circuit board is connected by means of a wire to a connector.

8. An extractorfan substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this 2 3 rd day of October, 2002 SOLER Y PALAU, S. A. S. By their Patent Attorneys: CALLINAN LAWRIE 23/10/02,eh 1437.spec,6