US20210095681A1 - Control of a fan assembly - Google Patents

Control of a fan assembly Download PDF

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Publication number
US20210095681A1
US20210095681A1 US17/044,718 US201917044718A US2021095681A1 US 20210095681 A1 US20210095681 A1 US 20210095681A1 US 201917044718 A US201917044718 A US 201917044718A US 2021095681 A1 US2021095681 A1 US 2021095681A1
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United States
Prior art keywords
emission direction
fan assembly
oscillation
adjustment
range
Prior art date
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Abandoned
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US17/044,718
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English (en)
Inventor
Mark James ADKIN
David Edwin HALLS
Liam Craig BARCLAY
Adam James SANDERS
Georgios BAFALOUKAS
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Dyson Technology Ltd
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Dyson Technology Ltd
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Publication of US20210095681A1 publication Critical patent/US20210095681A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

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    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
    • F04D—NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT PUMPS
    • F04D27/00—Control, e.g. regulation, of pumps, pumping installations or pumping systems specially adapted for elastic fluids
    • F04D27/002—Control, e.g. regulation, of pumps, pumping installations or pumping systems specially adapted for elastic fluids by varying geometry within the pumps, e.g. by adjusting vanes
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
    • F04D—NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT PUMPS
    • F04D25/00—Pumping installations or systems
    • F04D25/02—Units comprising pumps and their driving means
    • F04D25/08—Units comprising pumps and their driving means the working fluid being air, e.g. for ventilation
    • F04D25/10—Units comprising pumps and their driving means the working fluid being air, e.g. for ventilation the unit having provisions for automatically changing direction of output air
    • F04D25/105—Units comprising pumps and their driving means the working fluid being air, e.g. for ventilation the unit having provisions for automatically changing direction of output air by changing rotor axis direction, e.g. oscillating fans
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
    • F04D—NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT PUMPS
    • F04D27/00—Control, e.g. regulation, of pumps, pumping installations or pumping systems specially adapted for elastic fluids
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
    • F04D—NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT PUMPS
    • F04D27/00—Control, e.g. regulation, of pumps, pumping installations or pumping systems specially adapted for elastic fluids
    • F04D27/02—Surge control
    • F04D27/0246—Surge control by varying geometry within the pumps, e.g. by adjusting vanes

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a method of controlling a fan assembly, a fan assembly and an electronic device configured to control a fan assembly.
  • a conventional domestic fan typically includes a set of blades or vanes mounted for rotation about an axis, and drive apparatus for rotating the set of blades to generate an airflow.
  • the movement and circulation of the airflow creates a ‘wind chill’ or breeze and, as a result, the user experiences a cooling effect as heat is dissipated through convection and evaporation.
  • the blades are generally located within a cage which allows an airflow to pass through the housing while preventing users from coming into contact with the rotating blades during use of the fan.
  • U.S. Pat. No. 2,488,467 describes a fan which does not use caged blades to project air from the fan assembly. Instead, the fan assembly comprises a base which houses a motor-driven impeller for drawing an airflow into the base, and a series of concentric, annular nozzles connected to the base and each comprising an annular outlet located at the front of the nozzle for emitting the airflow from the fan. Each nozzle extends about a bore axis to define a bore about which the nozzle extends.
  • Each nozzle is in the shape of an airfoil may therefore be considered to have a leading edge located at the rear of the nozzle, a trailing edge located at the front of the nozzle, and a chord line extending between the leading and trailing edges.
  • the chord line of each nozzle is parallel to the bore axis of the nozzles.
  • the air outlet is located on the chord line, and is arranged to emit the airflow in a direction extending away from the nozzle and along the chord line.
  • This fan assembly comprises a cylindrical base which also houses a motor-driven impeller for drawing a primary airflow into the base, and a single annular nozzle connected to the base and comprising an annular mouth/outlet through which the primary airflow is emitted from the fan.
  • the nozzle defines an opening through which air in the local environment of the fan assembly is drawn by the primary airflow emitted from the mouth, amplifying the primary airflow.
  • the nozzle includes a Coanda surface over which the mouth is arranged to direct the primary airflow. The Coanda surface extends symmetrically about the central axis of the opening so that the airflow generated by the fan assembly is in the form of an annular jet having a cylindrical or frusto-conical profile.
  • WO 2010/046691 also describes a fan assembly.
  • the fan assembly comprises a cylindrical base which houses a motor-driven impeller for drawing a primary air flow into the base, and an annular nozzle connected to the base and comprising an annular air outlet through which the primary air flow is emitted from the fan.
  • the fan assembly comprises a filter for removing particulates from the air flow.
  • the filter may be provided upstream from motor-driven impeller, in which case particulates are removed from the air flow prior to passing through the impeller. This protects the impeller from debris and dust that may be drawn into the fan assembly and which may damage the fan assembly.
  • the filter may be provided downstream from the motor-driven impeller. In this configuration it is possible to filter and clean the air drawn through the motor-driven impeller, including any exhaust emissions, prior to progression through the elements of the fan assembly and supply to the user.
  • WO 2016/128732 describes a fan assembly similar to those of WO 2010/100451 and WO 2010/046691.
  • the fan assembly is provided with air inlets that extend around the entire circumference of the body of the fan in order to maximise the area available for air to be drawn into the fan assembly.
  • the fan assembly is therefore also provided with a tubular, barrel-type filter that fits concentrically over the body of the fan and surrounds the entire circumference of the fan body upstream from the air inlets, and a nozzle that is removably mounted on the body.
  • the filter is not connected to either the body or the nozzle but is securely held in place by the nozzle when mounted on the body, and can only be removed from the fan assembly after removal of the nozzle. This arrangement provides that the filter may simply be lowered onto the body before being secured in place by the engagement of the nozzle with the body and further provides that the filter can easily be removed from the body after removal of the nozzle in order to allow for cleaning or replacement of the filter.
  • the fan assemblies described in each of WO 2010/100451, WO 2010/046691, and WO 2016/128732 each comprise a plurality of user-operable buttons that enable a user to operate the fan.
  • WO 2012/017219 then also describes a fan assembly, in the form of a portable fan heater, which is provided with a plurality of user-operable buttons for enabling a user to control various functions of the fan assembly and that is also provided with a display for providing the user with a visual indication of a temperature setting of the fan assembly.
  • GB2509111 describes a fan assembly that is provided with a user interface circuit comprising both a user-actuable switch for operating the fan assembly and a display for displaying a current operational setting of the fan assembly.
  • a method of controlling a direction of an airflow emitted from a fan assembly the fan assembly being capable of changing the direction of the airflow emitted therefrom to any direction within a range of adjustment of the fan assembly.
  • the method comprises receiving user inputs that select an angle of oscillation and that determine a central emission direction for the airflow emitted from the fan assembly, and controlling the emission direction of the fan assembly such that the emitted airflow oscillates through the selected angle of oscillation with the oscillation of the emitted airflow being centered at the central emission direction.
  • the fan assembly preferably comprises one or more oscillation motors that are configured to change the emission direction in which the airflow is emitted from the fan assembly to any position within the range of adjustment.
  • the step of receiving user inputs may comprise any of receiving a user input that selects a central emission direction for the airflow emitted from the fan assembly, and then receiving a user input that selects an angle of oscillation for the emission direction; and receiving a user input that selects an angle of oscillation for the emission direction, and then receiving a user input that selects a central emission direction for the airflow emitted from the fan assembly.
  • the method may further comprise after receiving user inputs that select both an angle of oscillation and a central emission direction, determining whether or not the selected angle of oscillation fits within the available range of adjustment when centred at the selected central emission direction. If it is determined that the selected angle of oscillation does fit within the available range of adjustment when centred at the selected central emission direction, then using the selected central emission direction as the central emission direction for the oscillation of emission direction implemented by the fan assembly. If it is determined that the selected angle of oscillation does not fit within the available range of adjustment when centred at the selected central emission direction, then the central emission direction is modified such that the selected angle of oscillation does fit within the range of adjustment of the fan assembly.
  • the fan assembly preferably receives the user inputs from a remote control device.
  • the method may then comprise, at the remote control device, accepting user inputs that select a central emission direction and transmitting the selected central emission direction to the fan assembly.
  • the method may then further comprise, at the remote control device, generating on a display of the remote control device an image illustrating the available range of adjustment of the fan assembly, accepting user inputs that select a position within the range of adjustment as the central emission direction and transmitting the selected central emission direction to the fan assembly.
  • the step of accepting user inputs that select a position within the range of adjustment as a central emission direction may comprise, at the remote control device, generating on the display an indicator illustrating the current emission direction of the fan assembly within the range of adjustment, accepting user inputs that move the indicator towards a limit of the range of adjustment, and transmitting instructions to the fan assembly to steer the emission direction to the corresponding limit of the range of adjustment.
  • the method may then comprise, at the fan assembly, receiving the instructions from the remote control device and operating the one or more oscillation motors to steer the emission direction towards the corresponding limit of the range of adjustment.
  • the method may comprise, at the remote control device, determining when movement of the indicator by the user has stopped, identifying the stop position of the indicator within the range of adjustment as the selected central emission direction, and transmitting instructions to the fan assembly to steer the emission direction to the central emission direction.
  • the method may then comprise, at the fan assembly, receiving the instructions from the remote control device and stopping operation of the one or more oscillation motors when the emission direction of the fan assembly reaches the central emission direction.
  • the method may comprise, at the remote control device, accepting user inputs that select an angle of oscillation and transmitting the selected angle of oscillation to the fan assembly.
  • the method may comprise, at the remote control device, accepting user inputs that select one of a plurality of predefined values for the angle of oscillation.
  • the plurality of predefined values for the angle of oscillation may be in the range of 0 degrees to 350 degrees, and may preferably comprise any of 0 degrees, 45 degrees, 90 degrees, 180 degrees and 350 degrees.
  • the method may then further comprise, at the remote control device, generating on a display of the remote control device images displaying each of the plurality of predefined values for the angle of oscillation, accepting user inputs that select one of the plurality of predefined values and transmitting the selected predefined value for the angle of oscillation to the fan assembly.
  • the method may comprise determining if the selected angle of oscillation fits within the available range of adjustment when centred at the selected central emission direction. If it is determined that the selected angle of oscillation does fit within the available range of adjustment when centred at the selected central emission direction, then using the selected central emission direction as the central emission direction for the oscillation of emission direction implemented by the fan assembly. If it is determined that the selected angle of oscillation does not fit within the available range of adjustment when centred at the selected central emission direction, then the central emission direction is modified such that the selected angle of oscillation does fit within the range of adjustment of the fan assembly.
  • the step of determining if the selected angle of oscillation fits within the available range of adjustment when centred at the selected central emission direction may be performed at the remote control device and the method then further comprises, at the remote control device, transmitting the central emission direction to the fan assembly.
  • fan assembly comprising a motor-driven impeller arranged to generate an airflow, an air outlet arranged to emit the airflow from the fan assembly, one or more oscillation motors configured to change an emission direction in which the airflow is emitted from the fan assembly to any position within a range of adjustment of the fan assembly, a receiver configured to receive control signals from a control device, and a controller configured to control the one or more oscillation motors.
  • the processor In response to control signals received from the control device that comprise a central emission direction and an angle of oscillation for the emission direction, the processor is configured to control the one or more oscillation motors so that the emission direction of the fan assembly oscillates through the angle of oscillation with the oscillation of the emission direction being centred at the central emission direction.
  • the one or more oscillation motors may be configured to move at least a portion of the fan assembly in order to change the emission direction to any position within a range of adjustment.
  • the controller may be configured to control the one or more oscillation motors to steer the emission direction to the limit of the range of adjustment.
  • the controller may be configured to stop operation of the one or more oscillation motors when the emission direction of the fan assembly reaches the central emission direction.
  • the fan assembly may comprise a nozzle mounted on a fan body, the motor-driven impeller being housed within the fan body, the air outlet being provided by the nozzle, and the nozzle being arranged to receive the airflow from the fan body and to emit the airflow from the air outlet.
  • the nozzle may then define a bore through which air from outside the fan assembly is drawn by the airflow that is emitted from the air outlet and which combines with the airflow emitted from the air outlet to produce an amplified airflow.
  • the fan assembly may comprise a pan oscillation motor that is configured to move at least a portion of the fan assembly such that the emission direction rotates in a horizontal plane.
  • the fan assembly may comprise a tilt oscillation motor that is configured to move at least a portion of the fan assembly such that the emission direction rotates in a vertical plane.
  • an electronic device configured to control a fan assembly, the fan assembly being capable of changing the direction of the airflow emitted therefrom to any direction within a range of adjustment of the fan assembly.
  • the device comprises a user input device, a controller, and a transmitter.
  • the controller is configured to transmit instructions to the fan assembly that cause the fan assembly to vary the emission direction of the fan assembly such that the emitted airflow oscillates through the angle of oscillation with the oscillation of the emission direction being centred at a central emission direction.
  • the controller may be configured to determine a central emission direction for the airflow emitted from the fan assembly.
  • the controller may be configured to determine whether or not the selected angle of oscillation fits within the available range of adjustment when centred at the selected central emission direction. If it is determined that the selected angle of oscillation does fit within the available range of adjustment when centred at the selected central emission direction, then the controller may be configured to use the selected central emission direction as the central emission direction for the oscillation of emission direction implemented by the fan assembly. If it is determined that the selected angle of oscillation does not fit within the available range of adjustment when centred at the selected central emission direction, then the controller may be configured to modify the selected central emission direction such that the selected angle of oscillation does fit within the range of adjustment of the fan assembly.
  • the controller may be configured to transmit the selected central emission direction to the fan assembly.
  • the electronic device may further comprise a display.
  • the controller may then be configured to generate on the display an image illustrating the available range of adjustment of the fan assembly, receive user inputs from the user input device that select a position within the range of adjustment as the central emission direction, and transmit the selected central emission direction to the fan assembly.
  • the controller may be further configured to generate on the display an indicator illustrating the current emission direction of the fan assembly within the range of adjustment, receive user inputs from the user input device that move the indicator towards a limit of the range of adjustment, and transmit instructions to the fan assembly to steer the emission direction to the corresponding limit of the range of adjustment.
  • the controller may be further configured to determine when movement of the indicator by the user has stopped, identify the stop position of the indicator within the range of adjustment as the selected central emission direction, and transmit instructions to the fan assembly to steer the emission direction to the central emission direction.
  • the display and the user input device may be provided by a touchscreen display of the electronic device.
  • the touchscreen display may then be configured to accept a user input that drags the indicator within the range of adjustment illustrated on the touchscreen display.
  • the controller may then be further configured to determine when the dragging of the indicator by the user has stopped.
  • the controller may be configured to accept user inputs from the user input device that select one of a plurality of predefined values for the angle of oscillation.
  • the plurality of predefined values for the angle of oscillation may be in the range of 0 degrees to 350 degrees, and may preferably comprise any of 0 degrees, 45 degrees, 90 degrees, 180 degrees and 350 degrees.
  • the controller may be configured to generate on the display images displaying each of the plurality of predefined values for the angle of oscillation, receive user inputs from the user input device that select one of the plurality of predefined values, and transmit the selected predefined value for the angle of oscillation to the fan assembly.
  • the controller may be configured to determine if the selected angle of oscillation fits within the available range of adjustment when centred at the selected central emission direction. If it is determined that the selected angle of oscillation does fit within the available range of adjustment when centred at the selected central emission direction, then the controller may be configured to use the selected central emission direction as the central emission direction for the oscillation of emission direction implemented by the fan assembly. If it is determined that the selected angle of oscillation does not fit within the available range of adjustment when centred at the selected central emission direction, then the controller may be configured to modify the selected central emission direction such that the selected angle of oscillation does fit within the range of adjustment of the fan assembly.
  • the electronic device may comprise any of a remote control associated with the fan assembly and a wireless computer device such as a tablet computer or smartphone.
  • FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating an embodiment of a method of controlling a fan assembly
  • FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a detailed embodiment of the method of controlling a fan assembly
  • FIG. 3 illustrates schematically an embodiment of a system suitable for implementing the methods described herein;
  • FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an embodiment of the method of controlling a fan assembly when implemented by a system such as that illustrated in FIG. 3 ;
  • FIGS. 5 a to 5 d illustrates examples of the images that could be generated on the display of a control device implementing the methods described herein.
  • fan assembly refers to a fan assembly configured to generate and deliver an airflow for the purposes of thermal comfort and/or environmental or climate control.
  • a fan assembly may be capable of generating one or more of a dehumidified airflow, a humidified airflow, a purified airflow, a filtered airflow, a cooled airflow, and a heated airflow.
  • range of adjustment refers to the extent to which the direction of the airflow emitted can be varied and is therefore synonymous with the terms range of movement and range of travel when used in relation to mechanical systems.
  • some fan assemblies are configured to be able to pan (i.e. rotate in a horizontal plane/around a vertical axis) such that range of adjustment would then be defined by the angle through which the fan assembly can pan, whilst some other fan assemblies are configured to be able to both pan and tilt (i.e. rotate in a vertical plane/around a horizontal axis) such that range of adjustment would then be defined by the combination of the angle through which the fan assembly can pan and the angle through which the fan assembly can tilt.
  • some fan assemblies are provided with outlet guide vanes that can be rotated in order to adjust the direction of the emitted airflow. In this case, the range of adjustment would then be defined by the angle through which the outlet guide vanes can rotate.
  • FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating an embodiment of the method of controlling a fan assembly. The steps performed are as follows:
  • This method provides that the user of the fan assembly can easily define the desired emission direction for the airflow emitted from the fan to anywhere within the available range of adjustment of the fan assembly. Moreover, it allows the user to set the oscillation of the emission direction to any subrange within the available range of adjustment by allowing the user to define the position within the range of adjustment at which it is desired that the oscillation is centred.
  • the centre of the oscillation of the fan assembly is the midpoint within the angular range defined by the angle of oscillation. For example, for an angle of oscillation of 90 degrees, the direction of the emitted airflow will oscillate through an angle of 45 degrees to either side of the point at which the oscillation is centred.
  • FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a detailed embodiment of the method of controlling a fan assembly. This embodiment shows that the user inputs that select an angle of oscillation for the emission direction and that select a central emission direction can be provided in any order.
  • the first received user input is a selection of a central emission direction for the airflow emitted from the fan assembly (step B 1 a )
  • this is followed by a subsequent step in which a user input is received that selects an angle of oscillation for the emission direction (step B 2 a ).
  • step B 1 b if the first received user input is a selection of an angle of oscillation for the emission direction (step B 1 b ), then this is followed by a subsequent step in which a user input is received that selects a central emission direction for the airflow emitted from the fan assembly (step B 2 b ).
  • step B 3 it is then determined whether or not the selected angle of oscillation fits within the available range of adjustment when centred at the selected central emission direction.
  • the selected central emission direction is used as the central emission direction for the oscillation of emission direction implemented by the fan assembly.
  • the fan assembly therefore oscillates the emitted airflow through the selected angle of oscillation with this oscillation being centred at the selected central emission direction (step B 5 ).
  • the central emission direction is modified such that the selected angle of oscillation does fit within the range of adjustment of the fan assembly (step B 4 ).
  • an alternative central emission direction is selected that ensures that the emission direction can be oscillated through the entire angle of oscillation selected by the user.
  • the central emission direction would be modified such that it is located 90 degrees away from the first end of the available range of adjustment so that the emission direction can be oscillated through an angle of 90 degrees to either side of the modified central emission direction. This modification of the central emission direction would therefore allow for the selected 180 degrees of oscillation.
  • the fan assembly would then oscillate the emitted airflow through the selected angle of oscillation with this oscillation being centred at the modified central emission direction (step B 5 ). Consequently, the user selections of both a central emission direction and an angle of oscillation are thereby used to determine the central emission direction for the fan assembly, either by using the user selected central emission direction or by modifying the user selected central emission direction as described above.
  • the user inputs are received by a remote control device that is configured to wirelessly communicate with the fan assembly.
  • the remote control device then responds to the user inputs by generating instructions that are transmitted to the fan assembly and that cause the fan assembly to oscillate, with these instructions being determined by the inputs received from the user of the remote control device.
  • FIG. 3 therefore illustrates schematically a preferred embodiment of a system suitable for implementing the methods described herein, wherein system comprises both a fan assembly 100 and a remote control device 200 that is capable of communicating wirelessly with the fan assembly 100 .
  • the fan assembly 100 is implemented as a combination of mechanical components, computer hardware and software and comprises a motor-driven impeller 110 arranged to generate an airflow, an air outlet 120 arranged to emit the airflow from the fan assembly 100 , one or more oscillation motors 130 that are configured to change an emission/discharge direction in which the airflow is emitted from the fan assembly 100 to any position within a range of adjustment of the fan assembly, a transceiver 140 configured to receive control signals from the remote control device 200 and a controller 150 configured to respond to control signals received from the remote control device 200 and to control both the motor-drive impeller 110 and the one or more oscillation motors 130 .
  • the transceiver 140 could be capable of wirelessly transmitting and/or receiving information using infrared, using a wireless local area network (WLAN) technology such as Wi-Fi, or using a wireless personal area network (WPAN) technology such as Bluetooth.
  • WLAN wireless local area network
  • WPAN wireless personal area network
  • the controller 150 of the fan assembly 100 could comprise a processor such as microcontroller.
  • the controller 150 may then further comprise a memory that provides storage for any data required by the controller, such as any computer programs/software applications implemented by the processor.
  • the remote control device 200 is implemented as a combination of computer hardware and software and comprises a user input device 210 that is configured to receive inputs provided by a user of the remote control device 200 , an electronic display 220 that is arranged to present images and/or data to a user of the remote control device 200 , a controller 230 configured to generate graphics on the display 220 , to respond to user inputs received from the user input device 210 and to generate control signals for the fan assembly 100 , and a transceiver 240 configured to transmit control signals to the fan assembly 100 .
  • the transceiver 240 could be capable of wirelessly transmitting and/or receiving information using infrared, using a wireless local area network (WLAN) technology such as Wi-Fi, or using a wireless personal area network (WPAN) technology such as Bluetooth.
  • WLAN wireless local area network
  • WPAN wireless personal area network
  • the controller 230 of the remote control device 200 could comprise a processor such as microcontroller or microprocessor.
  • the controller 230 may then further comprise a memory that provides storage for any data required by the controller, such as any computer programs/software applications implemented by the processor.
  • the remote control device 200 could therefore be provided by any suitable electronic device.
  • the remote control device 200 could be provided by any of a remote control that is specifically associated with the fan assembly 100 (i.e. is configured specifically to operate with and control the fan assembly) and a wireless computer device such as a tablet computer or smartphone that is configured with a computer program/software application that implements the necessary processing.
  • the user interacts with the remote control device 200 so that it enters a mode in which the user can provide inputs relating to the direction of the airflow emitted from the fan assembly 100 , referred to herein as an oscillation control mode.
  • the controller 230 of the remote control device 200 Upon entering this oscillation control mode, the controller 230 of the remote control device 200 generates on the display 220 an image/graphic illustrating the available range of adjustment of the fan assembly 100 .
  • the image/graphic generated on the display could comprise an arc showing the angular range through which the direction of the airflow emitted from the fan assembly can be adjusted.
  • the user then interacts with the remote control device 200 using the user input device 210 to provide inputs that selects a central emission direction for the air flow emitted from the fan assembly. Consequently, in this exemplary embodiment, the first received user input is the selection of a central emission direction. Expanding on above example of a fan assembly that is configured to be able to pan, this user input could comprise the selection of a position along the image of an arc generated on the display.
  • the user input device 210 provides this user input to the controller 230 , with the controller 230 then transmitting the user selected central emission direction to the fan assembly 100 using the transceiver 240 . These instructions will then be received at the fan assembly 100 using the transceiver 140 , with the controller 150 of the fan assembly 100 then being configured to operate the one or more oscillation motors 130 so that the emission direction of the fan assembly 100 is steered to the central emission direction.
  • the controller 230 of the remote control device 200 when generating the image/graphic illustrating the available range of adjustment of the fan assembly 100 , the controller 230 of the remote control device 200 will be further configured to generate on the display 220 an indicator illustrating the current emission direction of the fan assembly 100 within the range of adjustment of the fan assembly 100 .
  • the user input device 210 would then be configured to receive inputs from the user that move the indicator along the range of adjustment and therefore towards an end or limit of the range of adjustment.
  • the controller 230 would then be configured to, whilst the user inputs that move the indicator along the range of adjustment are on-going, transmit instructions to the fan assembly 100 to move the emission direction to the corresponding limit of the range of adjustment.
  • the controller 230 of the remote control device 200 will then be further configured to determine when movement of the indicator by the user has stopped, and to identify the stationary/stop position of the indicator along the image of the range of adjustment as the user selected central emission direction.
  • the controller 230 would then be configured to transmit instructions to the fan assembly 100 to move the emission direction of the fan assembly 100 to the user selected central emission direction. These instructions will then be received at the fan assembly 100 , with the controller 150 of the fan assembly 100 then being configured to stop operation of the one or more oscillation motors 130 when the emission direction of the fan assembly 100 has reached the central emission direction.
  • the controller 230 could be configured to accept user inputs from the user input device 210 that select one of a plurality of predefined values for the angle of oscillation.
  • the plurality of predefined values for the angle of oscillation could be in the range of 0 degrees to 350 degrees, and could comprise values such as 0 degrees, 45 degrees, 90 degrees, 180 degrees and 350 degrees etc.
  • the controller 230 could be configured to generate on the display 220 graphics/images displaying each of the plurality of predefined values for the angle of oscillation.
  • the controller 230 of the remote control device 200 would be configured to, in response to user inputs received from the user input device 210 that comprise a selected angle of oscillation, determine if the selected angle of oscillation fits within the available range of adjustment when centred at the user selected central emission direction. If it is determined that the selected angle of oscillation does fit within the available range of adjustment when centred at the user selected central emission direction, then the controller 230 would be configured to use the selected primary emission direction as the central emission direction, and to therefore use the transceiver 240 to transmit the selected predefined value for the angle of oscillation to the fan assembly 100 .
  • the controller 230 would be configured to modify the central emission direction such that the selected angle of oscillation does fit within the available range of adjustment, and to then use the transceiver 240 to transmit both the modified central emission direction and the selected predefined value for the angle of oscillation to the fan assembly 100 .
  • These instructions will then be received at the fan assembly 100 , with the controller 150 of the fan assembly 100 then being configured to control the operation of the one or more oscillation motors 130 so that the emission direction of the fan assembly oscillates through the selected angle of oscillation with this oscillation of the emission direction being centered at the modified central emission direction, rather than the user selected central emission direction.
  • FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating another exemplary embodiment of the method of controlling a fan assembly when implemented by a system such as that illustrated in FIG. 3 . The steps performed are as follows:
  • the remote control device 200 is provided by a wireless computer device such as a tablet computer or smartphone that is running a computer program/software application that allows it to control the fan assembly 100 .
  • the user input device 210 and display 220 of the remote control device 200 will typically both be provided by a touchscreen of the remote control device 200 . Consequently, in order to move the indicator towards a limit of the range of adjustment, the touchscreen display would configured to accept a user input that drags the indicator to a position along the range of adjustment illustrated on the touchscreen display. Then, in order to determine when movement of the indicator by the user has stopped, the controller 230 of the remote control device 200 would be configured to determine when the dragging of the indicator by the user has stopped.
  • drag and “dragging” as used herein refer to the movement of an image across a display using a user input device. In the context of a user input device that comprises touchscreen, this movement would be implemented by a user contacting the touchscreen with a digit and dragging that digit across the touchscreen.
  • the fan assembly would comprise one or both of a pan oscillation motor and a tilt oscillation motor.
  • a pan oscillation motor would be configured to move at least a portion of the fan assembly such that the emission direction rotates in a horizontal plane (i.e. when the fan assembly is located on a substantially horizontal support surface).
  • the range of adjustment of a fan assembly comprising a pan oscillation motor would then at least partially be defined by the angle through which the pan oscillation motor can rotate emission direction.
  • a tilt oscillation motor would be configured to move at least a portion of the fan assembly such that the emission direction rotates in a vertical plane (i.e. when the fan assembly is located on a substantially horizontal support surface).
  • the range of adjustment of a fan assembly comprising a tilt oscillation motor would then at least partially be defined by the angle through which the tilt oscillation motor can rotate emission direction.
  • the fan assembly is a bladeless fan.
  • bladeless refers to fan assembly in which the air flow emitted from the fan assembly without visible/ external moving blades.
  • a bladeless fan assembly can be considered to have an output area or emission zone that is absent moving blades.
  • the fan assembly preferably comprises a nozzle mounted on a fan body, with the motor-driven impeller being housed within the fan body, and the air outlet being provided by the nozzle.
  • the nozzle is therefore arranged to receive the airflow from the fan body and to emit the airflow from the air outlet.
  • the nozzle defines a bore through which air from outside the fan assembly is drawn by the airflow that is emitted from the air outlet and which combines with the airflow emitted from the air outlet to produce an amplified airflow.
  • the user inputs are received by a remote control device that is configured to wirelessly communicate with the fan assembly.
  • the user inputs could be received by an electronic device that has a direct connection to the fan assembly, either by being an integral part of the fan assembly or by both the fan assembly and the control device being integral but separate parts of another system.
  • the control device could be provided by a user interface device provided as part of the fan assembly.
  • the control device could be provided by an in-vehicle computer system that is connected to the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system of the vehicle that comprises one or more fan assemblies.
  • HVAC heating, ventilation and air conditioning
  • the user input device is provided by a touchscreen.
  • the user input device could equally be provided by any other suitable device such as a touchpad, trackball, mouse, pointing stick or gesture recognition system.
  • the embodiments of the invention described with reference to the drawings comprise computer processors and processes performed by computer processors
  • the invention also extends to computer programs, particularly computer programs on or in a carrier, adapted for putting the invention into practice.
  • the program may be in the form of source or object code or in any other form suitable for use in the implementation of the processes according to the invention.
  • the carrier could be any entity or device capable of carrying the program.
  • the carrier may comprise a storage medium, such as a ROM, for example a CD ROM or a semiconductor ROM, or a magnetic recording medium, for example a floppy disc or hard disk.
  • the carrier may be a transmissible carrier such as an electrical or optical signal which may be conveyed via electrical or optical cable or by radio or other means.
  • the carrier When a program is embodied in a signal which may be conveyed directly by a cable or other device or means, the carrier may be constituted by such cable or other device or means.
  • the carrier may be an integrated circuit in which the program is embedded, the integrated circuit being adapted for performing, or for use in the performance of, the relevant processes.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Geometry (AREA)
  • Structures Of Non-Positive Displacement Pumps (AREA)
  • Control Of Positive-Displacement Air Blowers (AREA)
US17/044,718 2018-04-04 2019-02-27 Control of a fan assembly Abandoned US20210095681A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB1805564.0 2018-04-04
GB1805564.0A GB2572592B (en) 2018-04-04 2018-04-04 Control of a fan assembly
PCT/GB2019/050539 WO2019193306A1 (en) 2018-04-04 2019-02-27 Control of a fan assembly

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US20210095681A1 true US20210095681A1 (en) 2021-04-01

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US17/044,718 Abandoned US20210095681A1 (en) 2018-04-04 2019-02-27 Control of a fan assembly

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US (1) US20210095681A1 (zh)
CN (1) CN112074664B (zh)
GB (1) GB2572592B (zh)
WO (1) WO2019193306A1 (zh)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US12102205B2 (en) 2023-01-19 2024-10-01 Sharkninja Operating Llc Hair care appliance with powered attachment

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* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN201354749Y (zh) * 2009-01-06 2009-12-02 邝竞安 送风角度可调的不倒翁风扇
CN103574844B (zh) * 2013-10-25 2017-01-18 广东美的制冷设备有限公司 空调器及其控制方法、控制终端、空调器系统
CN104807134B (zh) * 2014-01-26 2017-06-30 广东美的制冷设备有限公司 空调运行模式自定义控制方法及系统
JP6687396B2 (ja) * 2016-01-20 2020-04-22 ツインバード工業株式会社 送風装置
JP6023909B1 (ja) * 2016-04-28 2016-11-09 株式会社Ｃｍｃ 扇風機およびその制御方法
CN106931589B (zh) * 2017-02-14 2018-12-04 珠海格力电器股份有限公司 空调扫风区域的控制方法及系统
JP6463443B2 (ja) * 2017-10-31 2019-02-06 三菱電機株式会社 扇風機の制御装置、及び扇風機
CN107676281A (zh) * 2017-11-09 2018-02-09 信宜市汇美电器有限公司 风扇头角度调整机构

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US12102205B2 (en) 2023-01-19 2024-10-01 Sharkninja Operating Llc Hair care appliance with powered attachment

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GB2572592B (en) 2020-08-26
CN112074664B (zh) 2022-11-15
WO2019193306A1 (en) 2019-10-10
CN112074664A (zh) 2020-12-11
GB201805564D0 (en) 2018-05-16
GB2572592A (en) 2019-10-09

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