US2457142A

US2457142A - Fan for suction cleaners

Info

Publication number: US2457142A
Application number: US571573A
Authority: US
Inventors: Edward A French
Original assignee: BIRTMAN ELECTRIC CO
Current assignee: BIRTMAN ELECTRIC Co
Priority date: 1945-01-06
Filing date: 1945-01-06
Publication date: 1948-12-28
Anticipated expiration: 1965-12-28

Description

Dec. 28, 1948. E. A. FRENCH FAN FOR SUCTION CLEANERS Filed Jan. 6, 1945 Patented Dee. 2s, 194s FAN FOR SUCTION CLEANERS Edward A. French, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Blrtman Electric Company, a corporation of linois Application January s, 1945, serial No. 571,573

15 claims. (ci. 23o- 130) This invention relates to an improved fan for use in suction cleaners or the like, and relates particularly to such a fan that is simple in construction, efficient in operation, and cheap to build.

In the ordinary suction cleaner the suction is maintained by means of a motor driven fan that draws the air through the' article to be cleaned and directs the dust-laden air into a dust collector. These fans must be light in weight but are also required to be of sturdy construction and to be capable of supplying a strong, steady current of air'without excessive attention. In the past such fans have ordinarily been of rather complicated structure, having sets of rotatable plates and ixed blades that were oftentimes difficult to assemble and maintain in trouble-free operation. I have invented a fan that is of much simpler construction than the previous ones and that can be manufactured efllciently under mass production methods. This fan, although of relatively simple construction, is Very eflicient and is practically trouble-free.

The invention will be described as related to the typical embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings. section taken through the center of the fan, and is speciiically a section along line l--i of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section through the fan, and specifically is a section taken along the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

The fan illustrated comprises a housing i0, a motor i8, two sets of rotatable blade assemblies ii mounted on a single unitary hub i2 afxed to the shaft, and a iixed blade assembly i3 positioned between the rotatable blade assemblies. The shaft iii of the motor i8 is held in substantially vibrationless position by means of a bushing i5 fastened to a partition I8 extending across the fan housing l0. In order to provide for the free flow of air, the ilxed blade assembly I3 has a central opening il through which the unitary hub i2 extends.

The hub of this fan, being of one piece construction, has a decided advantage over those made in two or more assembled sections. The new hub is much lighter in weight and is more economical to construct.

The fan has an inclosing housing lil of generally oval shape in transverse section, as shown in Fig. 2. This oval housing has the major axis of the oval substantially parallel to the door and the oval is truncated at the bottom. The truncated portion is designed to provide a iiat base It for the fan housing. The rotatable blade assemblies il have diameters slightly less than the shortest Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical transverse internal dimension of the housing. This provides reduced air space at top and bottom, but because of the oval shape of the housing suflicient space for free circulation of air is provided at the sides of the housing. Such an arrangement produces a more compact structure and one that is more pleasing to the eye without reducing the fans efficiency.

The xed blade assemby I3 consists of a partition extending transversely from wall to wall of the housing, and upon which the blades 2l are mounted. The xed blade assembly is arranged so that there is one between each two consecutive rotatable blade assemblies. In the embodiment shown there are only two rotatable blade assemblies i i and one xed blade assembly I3, but more of both could be provided if required. Both the rotatable blades and the fixed blades have each' blade of an arcuate shape, and curved in a direction opposite to the direction of intended rotation..

The fan housing and xed blade assembly which is attached to the housing are split in a horizontal plane passing substantially through the center of the motor shaft (indicated at 22). This split divides not only the housing and the partition upon which the fixed blades are mounted, but also divides two of the five ixed blades. Therefore, where there are ilve blades three of them ywill have inner ends on one side of the split, while the other two inner ends of the blades will be on the other side of the split. Such a construction is shown in Fig. 2. Because of this split construction the housing may be made in two pieces, the split fixed blade assemblies fastened in proper arrangement to these two pieces, and then the housing and blade assemblies are brought together around the rotatable blade assemblies. This simplifles construction and makes it much easier and simpler to assemble the fan.

When the rotatable blades of the fan are rotated air is drawn through a front opening 22, is forced out toward the periphery of the rst set of curved blades, and is there guided back toward the center by the iixed blades 2 i. The air then progresses through the opening il in the iixed blade plate, where it is seized by the second rotatable blade assembly and again forced out toward the periphery. The air then flows through holes provided in the partition i6 that supports the bushing and on out around the motor. Thus it can be seen that although the fan is of quite simple construction it is capable of providing a steady, ecient, and strong current of air.

Having described my invention in relation to one embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to this embodiment, but rather is to be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as set out in the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. A fan of the type used in suction cleaners comprising a generally oval-shaped housing with the long axis of the oval arranged in horizontal position, a plurality of rotatable blade assemblies,

a ixed blade assembly between each two consecutive rotatable blade assemblies and held by said housing, and a single unitary hub connected to a motor shaft and upon which the rotatable blade assemblies are mounted. i

2. A fan of the type used in suction cleaners comprising a generally oval-shaped housing with the long axis of the oval arranged substantially in horizontal position, a plurality of rotatable blade assemblies with each blade of arcuate shape and curved in a direction opposite to the direction of intended rotation, a xed blade assembly between each two consecutive rotatable blade assemblies with each iixed blade having substantially the same curvature as the rotatable blades, and a single unitary hub connected to a motor shaft and upon which the rotatable blade assemblies are mounted, vsaid oval-shaped housing .being truncated on the lower side substantially parallel to the major axis of said oval and with the blade assemblies being slightly smaller in diameter than the shortest internal lateral dimension of said oval housing.

3. A fan of the type used in suction cleaners comprising a housing, a plurality of rotatable blade assemblies, a xed blade assembly between each tw-o consecutive rotatable blade assemblies and held by said housing, and a` single unitary one-piece hub connected to a motor shaft and upon which the rotatable blade assemblies are mounted, said housing and each of 'said fixed blade assemblies being split in one continuous fiat plane.

4. A fan of the type used in suction cleaners comprising a housing, a plurality of rotatable blade assemblies, a xed blade assembly between each two consecutive rotatable blade assemblies and held by said hou-sing, and a single unitary one-piece hub connected to a. motor shaft and upon which the rotatable blade assemblies are mounted, said housing and each of said Vxed blade assemblies being split in one continuous flat Diane with the plane passing substantially through the center of said hub.

5. A fan of the type used in suction cleaners comprising a housing, a plurality to rotatable blade assemblies, a iixed blade assembly .between each two consecutive rotatable blade assemblies held by said housing and comprising a partition extending across the fan chamber with blades I mounted thereon and having a center air passage opening, and a single unitary hub connected to a motor shaft upon which the rotatable blade assemblies are mounted with the hub extending through the center opening of each of the xed blade assemblies, said housing and each of said xed blade assemblies being split in one continuous flat plane with the plane passing substantially through the center of said hub.

6. A fan of the type used in suction cleaners comprising a housing, a plurality of rotatable blade assemblies, a xed blade assembly between each two consecutive rotatable blade assemblies held by said housing and comprising a partition extending across the fan chamber with blades est internal lateral dimension of the oval housing.

mounted thereon and having a center air passage opening, and a single unitary hub connected to a motor shaft upon which the rotatable blade assemblies are mounted with the h-ub extending through the center opening of each of the fixed blade assemblies, said housing and each of said ilxed blade assemblies being split in a continuous fiat horizontal plane passing substantially through the center of said hub.

7. A fan of the type used in suction cleaners comprising a generally oval-shaped housing with the long axis of the oval arranged in horizontal position, a plurality of rotatable blade assemblies, a xed blade assembly between each two consecutive rotatable blade assemblies, and a single unitary hub connected to a motor shaft and upon which the rotatable blade assemblies are mounted, said oval-shaped housing being truncated on one side substantially parallel to the major axis of said oval and the rotatable blade assemblies being slightly smaller in diameter than the short- 8. A fan of the type used in suction cleaners comprising a generally oval-shaped housing, a. plurality of rotatable blade assemblies, a xed blade assembly between each two consecutive rotatable blade assemblies, and a single unitary hub connected to a motor shaft and upon which the rotatable blade assemblies are mounted, said oval being truncated on one side substantially parallel to the major axis of the said oval and the rotatable blade assemblies each being slightly smaller in diameter than the shortest internal lateral dimension of the oval housing oppositev they said rotatable blade, assembly.

9. A fan of the type used in suction cleaners comprising a. housing having the shape in transverse cross-section of a closed curve flattened on one side with the shortest internal dimension being from the attened side to the opposite side.

a plurality of rotatable blade assemblies within the housing, a fixed blade assembly between each two adjacent rotatable blade assemblies, and hub means upon which the rotatable blade assemblies are mounted, each of said rotatable blade assemblies being slightly smaller in diameter than the shortest internal lateral dimension of the housing opposite said rotatable blade assembly.

10. A fan of the character set out in claim 9 wherein the housing and each of said xed blade assemblies are split in one plane.

11. A fan of the character set out in claim 9 wherein the housing and each of said xed blade assemblies are split in one plane with the plane passing substantially through the center of said hub means.

12. A fan of the type used in suction cleaners comprising a housing, a plurality to rotatable blade assemblies, a fixed blade assembly between each two consecutive rotatable blade assemblies held by said housing and comprising a partition extending across the 'fan chamber with blades mounted thereon and having a center air passage each two consecutive rotatable blade assemblies' held by said housing and comprising a partition extending across the fan chamber with blades mounted thereon and having a center air passage opening, and a single unitary hub connected to a motor shaft upon which the rotatable blade assemblies are mounted with the hub extending through the center opening of each of the xed blade assemblies, said housing and each of said iixed blade assemblies being split in a continuous fiat horizontal plane passing substantially through said center opening.

14. A fan of the type used in suction cleaners comprising a housing, a plurality of rotatable blade assemblies, a single unitary hub upon which the rotatable blade assemblies are mounted, and a fixed blade assembly between each two consecutive rotatable blade assemblies and held by said housing, said housing and nxed blade assembly being split in a plane passing through the hub to permit arranging the housing and ixed blade assembly around said hub in assembling the fan.

15. A fan of the type used in suction cleaners comprising a housing, a plurality of `rotatable blade assemblies, a single unitary hub upon which the rotatable blade assemblies are mounted, and a fixed blade assembly between each two consecutive rotatable blade assemblies, and held by said housing, with the fixed blade assembly being provided with an opening around said hub for the passage of air, said housing and xed blade assembly being split in a plane passing through the opening to permit arranging the housing and xed blade assembly around said hub in assembling the fan.

EDWARD A. FRENCH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record 1n the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain May 21, 1925