FR2928706A1 - COLUMN FAN - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electric fan (1) of the column type, comprising a vertical housing (2) of elongated shape that can rest freely or via a foot on the ground, said housing (2) enclosing at least one motor electrical device capable of causing the rotation of at least one wheel having blades, said housing (2) being provided with a set of openings (5) of air inlet and a set of openings (7). ) air outlet, said sets extending vertically on the vertical faces of the housing, substantially opposite to each other, the wheel, during its rotation, causing a flow of air from the openings (5) air intake to the air outlet openings (7), said housing (2) comprising a set of controls (14) for controlling the wheel rotation, characterized in that the fan (1) comprises a support for receiving a container of anti-mosquito product and / or disinfectant and / or deodorant, said support comprising at least one opening allowing the product to diffuse out of the support, said support being disposed proximate the plurality of openings (7) for air outlet.

Description

The present invention relates to an electric fan of the column type, and more particularly to an improvement of this type of fan. 8.09153 Column type electric fans, also called tower fans, such as that described in US Pat. No. 7,118,323, generally comprise a relatively high vertical housing, inside which is housed at least one element allowing air circulation. The advantage of such a structure lies in the possibility of an airflow distributed over a height and exiting more directionally relative to an axial turbine fan, such as traditional table fans, where the air comes out in the form of a cone. The element allowing an air circulation, in this type of apparatus, is then advantageously, although not exclusively, an air turbine or a tangential wheel with a vertical axis of rotation, driven by a motor, and allowing, in particular by the shape of its blades, but also by carefully positioned air guides, an air inlet inside the housing, and, after acceleration, an air outlet substantially opposite the entrance. In this type of device, the controls, such as those of on / off 20 and the different rotational speeds of the wheel, are arranged on the top of the housing, on one side which is therefore accessible from all sides, facilitating handling these commands. Furthermore, the relatively high height of these devices allows to have these commands to about one meter from the ground, which makes their handling easier, without the need to bend or kneel. The present invention is part of this ease of use of these devices by providing an additional function of air treatment. The present invention is achieved by means of a column-type electric fan, comprising an elongated vertical housing which can rest freely or via a foot on the floor, said housing enclosing the

at least one electric motor capable of causing the rotation of at least one wheel having blades, said housing being provided with a set of air inlet openings and a set of air outlet openings , said assemblies extending vertically on the vertical faces of the housing, substantially opposite each other, the wheel, during its rotation, causing a flow of air from the air inlet openings to the air outlet openings, said housing comprising a set of controls allowing in particular to control the rotation of the wheel, characterized in that the fan comprises a support for receiving a container of anti-mosquito product and / or disinfectant and / or deodorant, said support comprising at least one opening allowing the product to diffuse outside the support, said support being disposed near the set of air outlet openings. Thus, the present invention provides an additional function to a column type fan, by the presence of a specific product container for air treatment, the container being held by a housing near the air outlet openings. to take advantage of the outgoing air flow to drive the product into the workpiece. Preferably, the product is volatile, which is favorable for dispersion in an air stream.

Advantageously, the fan comprises a means for heating the support or container, allowing optimal and controlled diffusion of the product, regardless of the temperature of the workpiece and / or the speed of rotation of the wheel. Moreover, in order to maintain an optimum temperature of the support for an ideal diffusion of the product, the support is arranged in a compartmentalized housing with respect to the interior of the housing. Such an arrangement also avoids penetration of the treatment products inside the casing which could impregnate certain parts of the casing and subsequently mix with different products used for other actions, and generally leave an undesired odor.

According to this configuration, in order to effectively distribute the product in the room to be treated, the housing comprises a diffusion opening of the product outside the housing. According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, the support is disposed on the upper part of the housing, this upper part of the column fan being well suited to facilitate the use of the apparatus, by the high height of the latter. Advantageously, the support is arranged in the front part of the upper peripheral edge of the apparatus, in order to bring the housing closer to the air outlet openings of the apparatus. According to this configuration, the support is inclined with respect to the vertical angle between 20 ° and 70 °, and preferably an angle of 45 °, which increases the ergonomics of access to the support , as well as the handling of the wafer.

Advantageously, the control members are also arranged on the upper part of the housing, which facilitates the use of the apparatus by proposing all the functions available in the same place. According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the container is a wafer impregnated with product treating, easy to implement and handle. According to this embodiment, the housing comprises a slot for inserting the wafer into the support, with a section slightly greater than the section of the wafer, said slot being located on one of the sides of the housing, allowing a simple embodiment without moving part of pivoting or sliding lid type. This construction also has the advantage of a quick understanding of the operation by the user. Similarly, and for the same reasons of simplification and understanding for the user, the housing has an exit slot of the wafer designed on the same diagram as the insertion slit of the wafer, with a section slightly greater than the section of the wafer and located on another side of the housing, substantially opposite the insertion slot of the wafer, so that the introduction of a new wafer pushes the previous in the direction of the slot of exit.

According to this implementation, it will be more convenient and convenient to introduce the wafer in the support by the upper part of said support. Advantageously, the support comprises means for holding the wafer, these means consisting, in a simple embodiment of implementation, in at least one lug from the support and against which is likely to position the wafer. Such maintenance is essentially ensured by the friction of one of the faces of the wafer against said lug, the latter may have a certain flexibility to adapt to slight dimensional variations of the wafers.

Other features and advantages of the invention will emerge from the description which follows, taken by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the appended figures in which: - Figure 1 shows, in a perspective view, a column fan according to the invention, - Figure 2 is a perspective view from above of the upper part of the fan. FIG. 3 is also a plan view of the upper part of the fan, from another perspective; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the upper part of the fan where certain parts have been omitted; FIGS. are enlarged views of a detail of the present invention, in two different orientations. Figure 1 schematically shows a column fan 1 according to the invention. Such a fan thus comprises a housing 2 whose height is much greater than its depth and its width, this housing enclosing an electric motor for driving a tangential wheel with a vertical axis and extending over substantially the height of the housing. Grids 4 and 6 are respectively provided at the rear and at the front of the housing, in correspondence with the arrangement of the wheel in the housing, thereby providing air inlet openings 5 and outlet openings 7. 'air. The air circulation circuit inside the housing also comprises different air deflection members, as is known in this type of apparatus. The casing is placed directly on the ground, but a foot can also be provided to increase the stability of the device.

The housing has an upper part comprising the control members. This part 8 is slightly inclined to improve the ergonomics of the device, but a flatter shape can also be considered. The control members comprise various buttons 14 for switching on / off the drive motor of the wheel, as well as an adjustment of the air flow, by varying the engine speed. According to the invention and in particular according to a preferred embodiment of said invention, the apparatus comprises a device 20 for receiving a wafer comprising an air treatment product, this device being arranged close to the outlet grids 6 air.

This device is advantageously placed on the upper face 8 of the device, to facilitate handling of the pads, centralizing somehow all the functions of the fan on said face. This device is in the form of a housing having a dome-shaped support on the edge of the circular upper face of the device. As clearly visible in FIG. 4, the dome, although extending widely above the upper face of the apparatus, also extends slightly inside the casing, without however creating true aeraulic communication with the interior. of the housing, by a suitable partitioning, and thus comprises a vertical portion of the peripheral flange 80 of the upper part 8 of the housing, this vertical part being a front part of the appliance, that is to say a portion substantially on the air outlet side of the appliance. Advantageously according to the embodiment shown, the housing comprises an inlet slot 22 for introducing the air treatment plate into the housing. This slit is of dimension slightly greater than the section of the wafer and is disposed on one of the walls of the housing facing the control buttons, the face being substantially vertical, which allows insertion of the wafer at a slight angle. compared to the horizontal. The housing of the wafer comprises a support 30, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, advantageously made of plastic, disposed on an inclined face and providing a space 32 for receiving the wafer. The inclination of the support is preferably close to 45 °, but can vary in large proportions, the principle being, on the one hand to orient the support towards the outgoing air flow, and on the other hand to facilitate the ergonomics of use. The receiving space 32 of the wafer is of parallelepipedal shape having an inlet face 31 disposed immediately behind the inlet slot 22 of the housing and an outlet face 33, opposite the inlet face.

The space 32 is delimited by different pins 34, 35 from the support and allowing a guide of the wafer during its introduction. The input face is located in the upper part of the support, located towards the inside of the upper part of the apparatus, facing the control members, which facilitates the use of the apparatus.

The maintenance of the wafer is provided essentially by a lug 38 coming from the upper face of the support and oriented in the volume 32, this lug being disposed substantially at mid-length of the support. The support 30 being inclined, in order to strengthen the resistance of the wafer, a lug 42 is disposed at the outlet face 33, on a transverse part of the support. This lug is advantageously beveled.

Furthermore, the support comprises a metal plate 40 occupying substantially the entire lower surface delimiting the volume 32, this plate 40 is flat and connected to electrical means for heating said plate by any known means, such as a simple resistive wire advantageously present a positive temperature coefficient in order to limit the temperature of the plate 40. The upper face of the support is advantageously perforated, not extending over the entire length of the support and having openings 36, to allow optimal diffusion treatment products contained in the brochure. According to the embodiment of the invention, the housing comprises a slot 24 for discharging a used wafer. This slot is arranged symmetrically with respect to the entrance slot 22. It is thus disposed in the extension of the support 30, after the exit face 33.

Given the inclination of the support, the exit slot of the wafer is disposed at a level lower than the entrance slot, on the peripheral flange 80 of the upper part 8 of the housing. Furthermore, the housing has openings 26 disposed on a face on the same side as the outlet grille 6, these openings being substantially located above the space 32 and openings 36 of the support. In operation, when the fan is turned on, the wheel is driven by the motor and an air flow is established. The air is sucked by the grid 4 and leaves the housing, after acceleration, by the gate 6, as known in the field. When the user desires to purify the air, he slips a wafer containing a treatment product in the slot 22. Such wafers are constituted by a neutral support medium, advantageously porous such a ceramic, impregnated with a treatment product.

The wafer then presents itself at the entrance to the space 32 where it comes into contact with some of the lugs 34 and / or 35, allowing it to be correctly introduced into the volume 32. By pushing the wafer further, the l end user introduced into the space 32, where it is held in place by the friction forces of its upper face against the lug 38, in contact with the plate 40. If necessary, the lug 42 reinforces the maintaining the wafer if, due to the dimensional deviations of the wafer, the wafer is not sufficiently maintained by the pin 38. The product impregnating the wafer then diffuses essentially through its upper face, directly through the openings 26 and through openings 36, but also by the slot 24 of the wafer outlet. Furthermore, the product can migrate to the inside of the housing, by the partitioning of the housing 20 relative to the inside of the housing. Moreover, by judiciously arranging the housing, and in particular the openings 26, close to the outlet grille 6, the diffused product is then driven by the air flow leaving the grille 6, by the slight depression created upstream. of the air flow. The product can therefore advantageously benefit from the flow of air to be diffused in the part to be treated and this, without having to cross the housing of the ventilator.

The inclination of the support relative to the vertical favors the volatilization of the treating product near the air flow. The slight depression also creates a flow of air in the housing 20, the air penetrating through the slot 22 and emerging through the slot 24 and the openings 26.

In order to optimize and improve the diffusion of the product, the user can generate a heating of the wafer by a rise in temperature of the plate 40. To do this, the user actuates a button 10, which has the effect of electrically supplying the heating means of the plate 40. An indicator 12 makes it possible to indicate the operation of the heating means.

This heater can operate in the absence of fan operation. The knob 10 and the indicator 12 are advantageously arranged in the upper part of the fan, close to the other control members and the housing 20, thus facilitating the use of the air treatment device.

When the user wishes to change the wafer, he introduces through the input slot 22 a new wafer, as indicated above. The plate already in place is pushed by the new to the exit slot 24 where it falls out of the device, the bevel made on the pin 42 allowing the plate in place to cross this obstacle.

There may be provided a receptacle of used pads at this location to prevent the pads from falling to the ground. According to the proposed example, the product used is an anti-mosquito product. The present invention is however not limited to this product alone, and also covers deodorizing products and / or phytotherapeutic virtue.

Similarly, the present invention is not limited to the single embodiment shown, and also includes various embodiments. For example, the housing of the wafer may comprise a removable cover, or pivotally mounted, and revealing the support 30 for receiving the wafer. The entrance and exit slots are then useless. Moreover, the housing of the wafer may be disposed around the periphery of the outlet grille, for example in the lower or upper part of the appliance, without departing from the scope of the present invention. In a simplified embodiment, the fan does not include a housing of the support. The support can also be reduced to a simple notch on which is positioned the product, either directly or via a complementary holding element to the notch and attached to said product. The wheel, presented in vertical axis, can find an equivalent in several wheels or turbines with horizontal axis, arranged one on top of the others. Although the exemplary embodiment presents the use of platelets containing an air treatment product, the present invention also covers the embodiments where the product is in other forms, and especially in the liquid form or gel, the packaging of these products generally comprising product capacity shells, and a means of evaporation of said product, for example by perforations of suitable size.

It can also be provided a reusable container that the user would fill product with a removable closure system allowing the product to remain in the container while allowing its dissemination, as previously mentioned. Such a device allows the user to make himself the treating product, for example based on natural product, to control the products suspended in the air, and / or to diffuse a particularly appreciated personal scent.

Claims (15)

Electric fan (1) of the column type, comprising an elongated vertical housing (2) which can rest freely or via a foot on the ground, said housing (2) enclosing at least one electric motor capable of causing the rotation of at least one wheel having blades, said housing (2) being provided with a set of openings (5) of air inlet and a set of openings (7) output of air, said assemblies extending vertically on the vertical faces of the housing, substantially opposite each other, the wheel, during its rotation, causing a flow of air from the openings (5) air inlet to the air outlet openings (7), said housing (2) comprising a set of controls (14) in particular for controlling the rotation of the wheel, characterized in that the fan (1) comprises a support (30) for receiving a container of anti-mosquito product and / or disinfectant and / or deodorant said support (30) comprising at least one opening (36) allowing the product to diffuse outside the support (30), said support (30) being arranged close to the set of openings (7) air outlet. 2. Electric fan (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the product is a volatile product. 3. Electric fan (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a heating means of said carrier (30) or said container. 4. Electric fan (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the support (30) is disposed in a housing (20) partitioned with respect to the inside of the housing (2). 11 5. Electric fan (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the housing (20) has an opening (26) for diffusing the product outside the housing (20). 6. Electric fan (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the support (30) is disposed on the upper part (8) of the housing (2). 7. Electric fan (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the carrier (30) is arranged in the front portion of the upper peripheral edge of the device. 8. Electric fan (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the support (30) is inclined relative to the vertical of an angle (a) between 20 ° and 70 °, and preferably an angle (a) 45 °. 9. Electric fan (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the set of controls (14) is disposed on the upper part (8) of the housing (2). 10. Electric fan (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the container is a wafer impregnated with the treating product. 11. Electric fan (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the housing (20) has a slot (22) for introducing the wafer into the support (30), of slightly greater section than the section of the wafer. said slot (22) being located on one side of the housing (20). 12. Electric fan (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the housing (20) has a slot (24) for output of the wafer, of slightly greater section than the section of the wafer and located on another side of the housing (20), substantially opposite the slot (22) for introducing the wafer. 13. Electric fan (1) according to one of claims 8 to 12, characterized in that the wafer is introduced into the support (30) by the upper part of said support (30). 14. Electric fan (1) according to one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that the support (30) comprises means for holding the wafer. 15. Electric fan (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the holding means of the wafer consist of at least one lug (38) from the support (30) and against which is likely to position the wafer.