GB2483667A

GB2483667A - Mounting structure particularly for use with a ducted fan drive motor

Info

Publication number: GB2483667A
Application number: GB201015381A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stephen Lilley; Paul Hunter
Original assignee: Flakt Woods Ltd
Current assignee: Flakt Woods Ltd
Priority date: 2010-09-15
Filing date: 2010-09-15
Publication date: 2012-03-21
Anticipated expiration: 2030-09-15
Also published as: GB201015381D0; GB2483667B

Abstract

The mounting structure is suitable for mounting a fan drive motor 2 in an air duct. The mounting structure comprises a one-piece element having a central base 4, and four arms 14-18 extending in a substantially radial direction from the base. The structure may be formed of pressed metal sheet. The base may be generally planar and comprise holes to receive bolts or the like to secure the drive motor to the base. The arms may be generally planar and include pads 16,19 at their free ends that are securable to the duct. In use, the structure may be installed in an air duct wherein the base provides a level platform for a fan motor secured to the base and the arms lie in a plane that is the same as the angular displacement of fan blades of a fan in the duct. The angular displacement may be 15 degrees.

Description

I

A mounting structure for a drive motor The present invention relates to a mounting structure for mounting a drive motor for an air movement fan in a duct.

It is well known for air movement fans to be mounted in cylindrical ducts for the supply of air to, for example, ventilation systems or air conditioning systems, and such fans are generally driven by electric motors to which the fans are secured. In the design of such systems there are many conflicting requirements. It is desirable for the motor to occupy as small an area as possible in the direction of flow of the air to improve the airflow. However, specialist motors designed with this objective in mind are invariably more expensive than standard motors. Furthermore, t is necessary for the motors to be mounted as rigidly as possible in the duct but this conflicts with the requirement for the motor support structure to take up the minimum possible area in the duct. This is further complicated by the fact that the duct in which the motor is supported is of relatively lightweight construction since it is not inherently designed to take loads. It is not cost effective to provide special heavy-duty duct sections in which the fan is mounted and therefore it is necessary for the weight of the motor to be carried by the duct at spaced intervals. Furthermore, in order to improve the efficiency of the fan it is necessary for the fan to be accurately located in the duct so that the clearance between the fan tips and the duct is as small as possible and substantially identical around the periphery of the duct. In a known mounting arrangement, the structure consists of 4 separate arms, which can be secured together in an adjustable manner, and a base which supports the motor which can also be secured to the arms in a selected one of a plurality of positions. Final fine adjustment of the motor and hence the axis of the fan, is achieved by the use of packing shims placed between the motor and the base.

Assembly of this configuration is awkward and very time-consuming, due in part to the difficulty of lifting the motor and placing shims underneath when it is already in the duct and therefore difficult to access.

The present invention seeks to provide a mounting structure for mounting a drive motor in a duct which reduces the aforesaid problems.

According to the present invention there is provided a mounting structure for mounting a drive motor for an air movement fan in a duct, the mounting structure comprising a one-piece &ement having a central base onto which said motor is securable and four arms extending from said base in a generally radial direction and by which the motor is securable in the duct with the base lying in a longitudinal plane of the duct, the four arms comprising two downloadly inclined arms extending from respective opposite sides of the base, and two upwardly inclined arms extending from said respective opposite sides of the base.

Preferably, the structure is formed of a pressed metal sheet.

In a preferred embodiment, the arms are generally planar, the plane of the arms lying generally longitudinally when mounted in a duct.

In another embodiment, the plane of the arms is disposed at an angle to the longitudin& direction of the duct. The angle may be substantially the same as the angular displacement of the blades of the fan driven by said motor, and in another embodiment is 15°. Preferably, the arms have pads or flanges at their outer ends by which the structure is securable to a duct.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which, Figure 1 a shows a view along the longitudinal axis of a duct showing a known design, Figure lb shows a perspective view of the known design of Figure la, Figure 2 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3 shows a view of the embodiment in the longitudinal axis of the motor and mounting structure, and Figure 4 shows a plan view of the mounting structure of the present inventionS Referring now to Figures Ia and lb, there is shown in Figure Ia an axial view of a duct I in which a motor 2 for driving an air movement fan (not shown) is mounted co-axially on a mounting structure 3. The motor consists of a standard motor having a supporting plate on which it is bolted to a support, with a control box mounted on the upper side of the motor 2.

The mounting structure consists of a base 4 and four arms 5-8, two of which, references 5 and 6, extend upwardly and outwardly, as shown, and have on their outermost ends pads or flanges 9 by which the arms can be secured to the duct 1, typically by bolts. The 2 are almost arms 7 and 8 extended downwardly and outwardly and carry it at their outer ends pads or flanges 10 by which these arms can be secured to the duct. The base for, as Sharon is intended to be mounted substantially horizontally in the duct and consists of a race plate having downwardly extending flanges 12 on each side by which the base plate can be secured in a selected one of a plurality of positions to the arms by means of an array of boresl3 in the arms 5-8. The two arms on each side of the motor can be adjusted relative to each other by means of these bores 13 to accommodate different sizes of duct 1 Further fine adjustment of the position of the motor 2 in the duct can be achieved by placing shims between the motor base and the base plate 4 before it is bolted to the plate.

Referring now to Figures 2, 3 and 4, where like references refer to like parts, there is shown a supporting structure for supporting in a duct, a drive motor 2 for driving an air movement fan. The supporting structure, as shown particularly in Figure 4, is formed from a one-piece flat sheet of steel or aluminium, which is shaped by cutting and then pressed to its final shape. The structure consists of a central base 4 from two opposite sides of which two upwardly and outwardly inclined arms 14, 15 extend and have on their outer ends flanges 16 by which the arms can be secured to a duct (not shown). Two downwardly and outwardly inclined arms 17, 18 extend from said two opposite sides of the base 4 and have on their outer ends flanges 19 adapted to be secured to the duct.

As can be seen particularly in Figure 4, the base 4 has four holes 20 by which the electric motor 2 can be secured to the base 4. The arms 14-18 are bent out of the plane of the base 4 along respective fold lines 1 4a-1 8a at an angle of approximately 15° with respect to the longitudinal axis of the motor and duct as indicated by the reference lines 21 illustrated in Figure 4. The arms 14-18 which are planar therefore lie with their plane at approximately 15° to the longitudinal axis of the motor 2 as can be seen in Figure 3 in particular and thereby serve to control and guide the airflow as it passes the motor 2.

Compared with the known design Ulustrated in Figure 1, the construction according to the present invention is much fighter, more easily produced and consists of a on&piece structure constructed out of sheet steel, (in this example), the arms are essentially planar elements and the inclination of their plane relative to the direction of airflow, also assists in controffing the airflow past and over the motor and in addition, provides less obstruction to the airflow than the existing design. Assembly of the motor and mounting structure in a duct is also facilitated by being a more open, lightweight structure compared with the known design, which greatly facilitates the positioning of shims under the motor for the final, fine adjustment.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A mounting structure for mounting a drive motor for an air movement fan in a duct, the mounting structure comprising a one-piece element having a central base onto which said motor is securable and four arms extending from said base so as to lie, in a generally radial direction from the axis of the motor and by which the motor is securable in the duct with the base lying in a longitudinal plane of the duct, the four arms comprising two downwardly inclined arms extending from respective opposite sides of the base, and two upwardly inclined arms extending from said respective opposite sides of the base.
2. A mounting structure according to claim I wherein the structure is formed of a pressed metal sheet.
3. A structure according to claim I or 2 wherein the arms are generally planar, the plane of the arms lying generally longitudinally when mounted in a duct.
4. A structure according to claim I or 2 wherein the plane of the arms is disposed at an angle to the longitudinal direction of the duct.
5. A structure according to claim 4 wherein the angle is substantially the same as the angular displacement of the blades of the fan driven by said motor.
6. A structure according to claim 4 or 5 wherein said angle is 15°.
7. A structure according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the arms have pads at their outer ends by which the structure is securable to a duct.
8. A mounting structure for mounting a drive motor for an air movement fan in a duct, substantially as described herein with reference to, and as illustrated in, Figures 2 to 4 of the accompanying drawings.