US2593217A - Table top circulator - Google Patents

Description

A ril 15, 1952 A, SUTTON 2,593,217

TABLE TOP CIRCULATOR Filed March 24, 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET l INVENTOR- 0 His A. Suztorz April 15, 1952 o. A. SUTTON 2,593,217

I TABLE TOP CIRCULATOR Filed March 24', 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET INVENTOR. OM56 A. Suzzon flaw... M oazag Patented Apr. 15, 1952 2,593,211 rancs TQP cmcoinron Ottis A. Sutton, Wichita, Kans assignor to The A. Sutton Corporation, Inc. Wichita, Kane" a corporation of Kansas,

Application March 24, 1950, Serial N'o. 151,721

My present invention comprises an aircirculator including an adjustable fan unit piv-. otally mounted upon a horizontal axis in such fashion as to. remain in any of a plurality of positions to which it may be moved, in one position directing air upwardly and in other positions directing a stream of airlaterally at any desired angle to the horizontal, the air circulator comprising a supporting: stand including a deflector cone mounted above the fan unit in coaxial relation thereto when vertically Dositioned so as to spread the air angularly in all directions. The unit may be moved about the room to any desirable or convenient position and may create either a gentle circulation by directing air upwardly and laterally in all directions while drawing air from the room in all directions, or may be positioned to direct a concentrated, whirling beam of air horizontally or at an angle across a room, thus providing means 7 C aims- (01. awe-+ .59)

for achieving complete circulation without to provide an air circulator of the foregoing character which is provided with simple but effective means for preventing the rotation of the fan unit about its horizontal axis more than a limited amount in either direction, thus preventing damage tothe unit.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the present invention may be more readily ascertained by inspection of the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawin wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, while the features of novelty will be more distinctly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing,

Fig. l is a view in elevation of the air circulating unit showing the fan positioned to direct a stream of air vertically upward;

Fig. 2 is a view in elevation, with parts broken a y, fc he un t r tated a. degrees. c ock:

e om the posi io f la 1 an show n the fan positioned to direct a stream of air at an inclination to the horizontal;

Fig. 3 is a view in elevation, with parts. broken away, of the unit rotated ninety degrees clockwise from the position of Fig. 2 and; showing the fan in a horizontal position;

Fig. 4 is a partial, vertical section, on an enlarged scale, taken. s bsta tially aloneline 4-4 f is- 2.;

Fig. 5 is a partial, horizontal; section taken from the plane of line 5--5 of; 2; and

Fig. 6: is a partial, vertical section taken sub.- stantially. from the plane of line. B-.-- 6 of Fig, 5

The air circulating unit of the present in vention,v comprises a table top Ill to which is af-.- fixed a deflector cone II and three legs [2, it and I4, the legs being substantially identical but being separately numbered so as to facili tate correlation of the views with each other. The tabletop I0 preferably comprises a formed, disclike member having a raised edge portion l5 to prevent articles from sliding off of the edge thereof, and a downwardly turned flange including an ornamental bead flange {6. The

deflector cone H is a formed disclike member having its edge received in the groove. provided by the bead flange IS, the two parts being as; sembled by rolling the edge of; the topv IO over the edge of the cone II. The cone is therefore maintained in concentric relation to the round table top with its edge extending to the edge of the table top and its apex; directed down;- wardly at the center of the construction. For ease of manufacture the cone is slightly trun cated, but such configuration is not critical.

There could be a different. number of legs, but three are sufficient for stability, provide an attractive appearance, and also'provide a wide space through which the air stream may be directed without interference when the fan is tipped angularly' or horizontally outward, Each leg comprises a channel-shaped member having its web 20 outward and its flanges 21] directed inward so as to provide a hollowspace openingtoward the vertical centerline of' the unit. The legs are formed and are then assembled with endpieces which hold the legs in formed shape, the end pieces comprising an upper end piece 22 and a lower end piece 23. The, upper end piece comprises a strap substantially in the form of a handle, with the bight portion there of spanning the upper edges of the flan e 2|, the vertical portions, thereof being spot-welded to the flanges 2| as indicated at 24, and the lat erally directed tips 25 thereof projecting outwardly through notches 2B in the upper edges of the flanges 2|. The deflector cone Ill is preferably provided with screw-receiving apertures while being formed for the reception of sheet metal screws 21' passing through apertures in the tips 25 so as to hold the legs. to the table top at equiangular. spacing about the vertical centerli-ne of" the unit. The lower end pieces 23 each comprise a horizontal portion in which a depression 28 may be formed to provide a sup porting foot. and three upwardly turned; tabs 29 which are welded to the flanges and; web of the leg.

A fan-supporting ring- 30 is supported by the legs, in a horizontal; position at an intermediate level, the ring being formed from half-inch the diameter along which the pivots lie. forward end of the cowl is preferably'spanned by a grille 45 preventing accidental contact with round bar stock or equivalent In order to support the ring each of the flanges 2| is notched as indicated at 3| to receive substantially half the diameter of the ring, and in order to pre vent spreading of the lower ends of the legs the flanges 2| are welded to the ring on their inner surfaces as indicated at 32. Preferably the joint 33 holding the ends of the ring together is located midway between the flanges 2| of one of the legs, thus eliminating the necessity for making a smoothly finished ground joint. The ring may be made of two or more sections for convenience, in which case all of the joints may be located as shown in Fig. 6.

The ring is provided with two flattened areas 35 atgdiametrically opposed points, lying along a diameter normal to a plane passing through the vertical centerline of the unit and the center of one of the legs, in this case leg l2. A fan unit is pivotally mounted for rotation about the horizontal diameter thus defined, by pivot means such as disclosed in my copending application, Serial No. 120,502, filed October 10,

1949, now Patent No. 2,554,600 dated May '29, 1951, the fan unit being preferably such as disclosed in my copending applications, Serial Nos. 120,503 and 120,504, both filed ()ctober 10, 1949 now Patents Nos. 2,554,601 and 2,554,602 respec- 'tively, both dated May 29, 1951. The fan unit the cowl 40 ahead of the forward edge of the funnel 4| so as to project a circulating, beamed -stream of air through the forward end of the cowl. The fan therefore rotates about an axis midwaybf the pivots and at right angles to The the fan blades. A conical, inwardly tapering pivot member 46 is mounted upon the cowl by a bolt and nut 48, the member 46 complementarily fitting into an inwardly tapering opening through'the flattened portion 35 of the supporting ring. The ring is so formed as to be initially outwardly stressed at the portions 35 and the bolts 41 may be tightened so as to stress the ring inwardly when the fan is positioned upon the structure, for this purpose the nuts 48 being welded to the inner surface of the cowl prior to the assembly of the cowl's component parts. The tapering member '46 is preferably formed of brass having a high coefficient of vibration of the unit to displace the unit from a selected position. However, the fan unit is substantially balanced about its pivotal axis so that when positioned at any position it will not have much tendency to swing to any other position. The construction is such that positioning of the fan unit at any desired angularity may be readily accomplished by pushing or pulling upon some portion of the cowl or of the funnel, and may be accomplished while the fan is in operation.

- The electric motor 42 may be connected to a source of current through a cable 50 preferably having a plug-in connector (not shown) to the motor.

between legs I 3 and I4.

at its free end, the cable being led into the lower end of the leg |2 through a grommet 5| closely adjacent the foot of the leg so that the cable may be concealed beneath floor rugs or the like. The cable 50 runs up within the leg |2 to control means mounted in the enlarged,

hollow upper end of the leg, such means being exemplified by a switch box 52 from which projects a control knob 53 conveniently located at an upper level so as to be readily accessible. From the control means a motor cable 54 is led downwardly through the hollow leg, behind and underneath the ring 30, and then outwardly The cable 54 is made of such length that the fan unit may be swung about its horizontal axis from the vertical position shown in Fig. 1 to the horizontal position shown in Fig. 3, and beyond that position to a slight downward inclination at which point the cable 54 becomes tightened and prevents further rotation so that the fan unit is prevented from rotating through a complete revolution inthat direction. When the 'fan unit is swung 'in the opposite direction the edge of the funnel 4| engages the cable 54 when the unit is swung a few degrees beyond the vertical, thus preventing horizontal positioning of the fan unit in such manner as to direct an air stream against the leg l2. The fan unit therefore can be directed horizontally only through the clear space The limits of rotation of the fan unit serve another purpose in that motor 42 is restricted in its movement from a vertical position to a substantially horizontal position in one direction only, whereby the mo tor is always maintained in proper operating positions. Thus the oil inlets and ducts are always uppermost or so positioned as to permit the flow of oil to the bearings and prevent dripconform to the curved edges thereof shaped to" clear the cowl in its swinging movement, and being supported in such position by extensions 64 on the flanges 62 which are bent inwardly at an angle and welded to the downwardly projecting portion of the member 60. The hollow spaces between. the flanges of the legs are thus substantially closed to enhance the ornamental appearance of the unit and to protect the con trol members within the leg l2.

The members 60 provide supporting surfaces upon which a pair of guard rings 65 are mounted, the rings being concentrically located beneath the deflector cone. The rings are supported by a bracket member 66 provided with oppositely disposed, hooked arms which partially surround the ring, the central portions of the brackets parent to those skilled in the art that the invention permits of modification in arrangement and detail. I claim as my invention all such modifications as come within the true spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An air circulating unit comprising a plurality of equiangularly spaced legs, a round table top supported by said legs, a conical deflector concentrically underlying said table top and having its edge extending to the edge of said table top and its apex downward, a supporting ring afiixed tosaid legs at an intermediate level concentrically with respect to said table top, a diametrically opposed, inwardly directed pair of pivots mounted on said supporting ring on a line normal to a plane bisecting the angle between two of said legs, and a fan unit pivotally supported on said pivots and including a fan rotatable about an axis midway between the pivots and at right angles to the diameter along which the pivots lie, said fan unit being movable about said pivots to direct a stream of air upward against said deflector or to direct a stream of air laterally between said two legs.

2. An air circulating unit comprising three equiangularly spaced legs, a table top supported by said legs, a conical deflector underlying said table top and having its edge concentrically arranged with respect to said table top and its apex downward, a supporting ring afiixed to said legs at an intermediate level concentrically with respect to said table top, a diametrically opposed pair of pivots mounted on said supporting ring on a line normal to a plane bisecting the angle between two of said legs, and a fan unit pivotally supported on said pivots and including a fan rotatable about an axis midway between the pivots and at right angles to the diameter along which the pivots lie, said fan unit being movable about said pivots to direct a stream of air upward against said deflector or to direct an unimpeded stream of air laterally between said two legs.

3. An air circulating unit comprising three equiangularly spaced legs, a table top supported by said legs, a conical deflector underlying said table top and having its edge concentrically arranged with respect to said table top and its apex downward, a supporting ring aflixed to said legs at an intermediate level concentrically with respect to said table top, a diametrically opposed pair of pivots mounted on said supporting ring on a line normal to a plane bisecting the angle between two of said legs, and a fan unit pivotally supported on said pivots and including a fan rotatable about an axis midway between the comprising an electric motor and a propeller fan driven by said electric motor to rotate about an axis midway between said pivots and at right angles to the diameter along which said pivots lie, and a current supply cable connecting said electric motor to a fixed portion of said table, said current supply cable being of such length as to limit rotation of said fan unit in either direction about said pivot means.

5. An air circulating unit comprising three equiangularly spaced hollow legs, a table top supported by said legs, a horizontally disposed ring mounted on said legs at an intermediate level, a pair of diametrically opposed pivots mounted on said ring on a line normal to a plane bisecting the angle between two of said legs, a fan unit pivotally supported by said pivots, said fan unit comprising an electric motor, a propeller fan driven by said electric motor to rotate about an axis midway between said pivots and at right angles to the diameter along which said pivots lie and concentrically arranged air directing means surrounding said motor and fan, control means for said motor mounted within one of said hollow legs, and a current supply cable connecting said control means and said motor, said current supply cable being of such length as to limit rotation of said fan unit in either direction about its horizontal axis.

6. An air circulator comprising three equiangularly spaced legs, a table top supported by said legs, a conical deflector underlying said table top and having its edge concentrically arranged with respect to said table top and its apex downward,

a supporting ring afiixed to said legs at an inter-.

' of said legs, and a fan unit pivotally supported pivots and at right angles to the diameter along izontal position at an intermediate level, a pair' of diametrically opposed pivots mounted on said supporting ring on a line normal to a plane bisecting the angle between two of said legs, a fan unit,

pivotally supported by said pivots concentrically within said legs and movable from a vertical position to a laterally directed position, said fan unit on said pivots whereby said fan unit may be positioned vertically to direct a stream of air upward against said deflector or may be positioned to direct an unimpeded stream of air laterally between said two legs, and a plurality of guard rings concentrically mounted upon the upper portions of said legs.

7. An air circulator comprising a plurality of legs, a round table top supported by said legs, a supporting ring affixed to said legs at an inter- 'mediate level concentrically with respect to said table top, a diametrically opposed pair of pivots mounted on said supporting ring on a line normal to a plane bisecting the angle between two of said legs, and a fan unit pivotally supported on said pivots and including a fan rotatable about an axis midway between the pivots and at right angles to the diameter along which the pivots lie, said fan unit being movable about said pivots to direct a stream of air upward against said table top or to direct an unimpeded stream of air laterally between said two legs.

O'I'I'IS A. SUTTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,123,448 Weber July 12, 1938 2,310,772 Fukal Feb. 9, 1943 2,331,056 Spear Oct. 5, 1943 2,476,692 Bernstein July 19, 1949 2,554,600 Sutton May 29, 1951 2,554,601 Sutton May 29, 1941 2,554,602 Sutton May 29, 1951

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