US2650020A

US2650020A - Fan support housing

Info

Publication number: US2650020A
Application number: US12742A
Authority: US
Inventors: Wayne J Morrill
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1948-03-03
Filing date: 1948-03-03
Publication date: 1953-08-25
Anticipated expiration: 1970-08-25

Description

Aug. 25, 1953 Filed March 3, 1948 W. J. MORRILL FAN SUPPORT HOUSING 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 W/rMsss [lECTE/C WELDEE A 8- 1953 w. J. MORRILL 2,650,020 I FAN SUPPORT HOUSING F'ne March 3, 194a 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 W/rNEsa Patented Aug. 25, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 6 Claims.

My invention relates in general to a housing for supporting a fan and in particular, to a neat appearing housing which may be stamped from sheet metal.

An object of my invention is to provide a fan support housing which is economical and easy to manufacture, yet is sturdy in construction.

Another object of my invention is to provide a fan housing which may be constructed by welding a front support member and a back support member together. v

Another object of my invention is to construct a housing from support members in which the outer walls are wider than the inner walls to provide access to both outer walls for fastening the members together.

Another object of my invention is to provide a support fan housing which may be constructed by stamping a front support member and a back support member from sheet metal and fastening these support members together.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a stamped support member for a fan housing which has a side portion with an opening therein, an outer wall portion extending perimetrically thereabout and perpendicular thereto and which has an inner wall portion extending about the opening in the side portion and perpendicular to the side portion.

vision of stamped support members, each having a side portion with an opening therein and having an outer wall portion integral with the side portion and extending perimetrically thereabout and abutting the outer wall portion of the other support member, and each having an inner wall portion extending about the opening and toward the other support member, with the outer wall portions of the support members connected together.

Other Objects and a fuller understanding of my invention may be had by referring to the follOWiIlg description and claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 of my drawings is a front elevational view of my fan support housing with a fan supported therein and With a screen fastened to the back of the housing;

Figure 2 is a back view of my housing with the screen removed to better illustrate the supporting of the fan motor;

Figure 3 is a sectional view along the line 33 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an exploded sectional view along the line 4-4 of Figure 2 with the parts of the A further object of my invention is the pro- 2 housing separated to better illustrate the structure of each part;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view illustrating the welding of the front and back support members together;

Figure 6 is a front elevational view of a modification of my fan support housing with a fan supported therein and with a screen fastened to the back of the housing;

Figure 7 is a back view of my modified housing, with the screen removed to better illustrate the supporting of the fan motor;

Figure 8 is a sectional view along the line 8-8 of Figure 6;

Figure 9 is an exploded sectional view along the line 99 of Figure '7, with the parts of the housing separated to better illustrate the structure of each part and with the inner band omitted; and

Figure 10 is a fragmentary view illustrating the welding of the front and back support members of my modified housing to the alignment memher.

My new and useful fan support housing is illustrated in Figure 1 as supporting an electric fan. The phraseology used in my description, and the structure illustrated in my drawings describe the preferred embodiment of my invention but do not thereby limit the scope of the invention. My preferred fan support housing, which is illustrated as supporting an electric fan, generally comprises a front support member l0 and a back support member ll fastened together by spot welding. The fan motor is supported by support arms l3, carried by the back support member II. A grill or wire screen l4 may be placed over the back of this fan as illustrated in Figures 1 and 3 to make the fan much safer and to stop insects from going through the fan. When my fan support housing is completely assembled, the fan is supported within the housing so that the grill l4 could be placed either on the front or the back of the housing.

The front support member l0 has a front side portion i 6 with a large opening therein. This front side portion 16 is illustrated as being substantially rectangular in shape and having a circular opening; however, it is understood that the side portion may be constructed of any desired shape. When the rectangular shape is used, the fan support housing may be inserted in a window. In Figure 4 I illustrate the exact construction of this front side portion IS. The front support member has an outer wall portion l1 integral with the front side portion I6 and extendin about the perimeter thereof. The outer wall portion I! is disposed substantially perpendicular to the side portion 16. The front support member also has an inner wall portion 18 integral with the front side portion l6 and extending about the opening in the front side portion I6. This inner wall portion i8 is also substantially perpendicular to the front side portion It.

In constructing the front support member I0, I have found it very economical and efiicient to use stampings from sheet metal or other similar materials which may be formed on punch presses. The wall portions are drawn to the correct size and position during this stamping and drawing process by the punch press. been necessary to build these housings from many separate pieces. I have eliminated much of this expense by punching a blank with an opening therein and drawing this blank into the shape of the support member to provide the integral side portion and the wall portions, It is noted, by looking at. the drawings, thatthe inner and outer wall portions are close together on the sides of the "support member and are spaced far apart at the corners of the support member. This spacing variation between the wall portions is caused by making the perimeter of the side portion rectangular and. by making the opening inthe side portion circular.

The-outer wall portion I! extends substantially perpendicular fromthe front side portion and terminates. in anedge [9 which is in aplanesubstantially parallel to the plane of the front side portion 16. Similarly, the inner'wall portion 18 terminates in a substantially annular edge as which is disposed in a plane substantially parallel-to the plane of the front side portion [6. The edge [9 of the outer wall portionl 1 is spaced further fromthe front side portion-t6 than the edgezll of the inner wall portion I8.

The back. supportmember H is constructed in the same manner as the front support member IE3. Ihavedesignated this back support member Has having a back side portion-22. with an outerwall portion. 23 and an inner wall portion 24. In construction, the back side portion 22 and the

wall portions

23 and 24 are substantially equivalent to their respective portions in the front support member Hi. I have also designated the outer wallportion 23 of the back support member as I terminating in an annular edge 25 and the inner wall portion M as terminating. in an anular edge 26. Since the outer wall portions have a greater width than the inner wall portions, the annular edgelt of the inner wall portion z l of the back i support member H is spaced from the annular edgefztl of the inner wallpcrtion .8 of the. front supportmember It.

In. the preferred construction of my fan support housing, I have found it very desirable to provide the front support member with a neck portion '50. This neckportion 5fl-is a partof the outer wall. portion [l and defines the edge It. When the frontsupport member ill and the back support-member II! are assembled, the back support member I l extends over the neck portion 5&3. My preferred fan support housing is very easy to assemble and manufacture. The support members are constructed on punch presses with the front support member '6 having the neck portion 58. The back support member H is slipped over top of. this neck portion 50 so that the edge 25 of the front support member engages the wall portion 5| defined by the neck 5% The wall portion BI is formed between the outer surface of In prior art, it"has 'outer wall portions.

"tions. inner electrode 52 engages the neck portion 56,

the outer wall portion l1 and the outer surface of the neck portion 59. The edge !9 of the neck portion 59 of the support member It thus is dis posed within the wall 23 of the back support member ll. After the front and back support members have been slipped together, they are spot welded as illustrated in Figure 5. In spot welding the front and back support members it and II together, one'electrode 52 is inserted through the space'between the inner wall portions of the support members and against the inside of the The other electrode 53 is abuttedagainst the outside of the outer wall por- Thus, as illustrated in my drawings, the

and the outer electrode 53 engages the outer wall 23 of the'back support member. I have discovered-that by constructing the two support members with the inner walls of less width than the outer walls, I can weld the front and back support members together without using any specially built equipment. It is also understood that'this gap'between the inner walls of the front and back support members is of sufiicient width to permit riveting or bolting of the outer walls together, should'thi's type of construction be desired.

Ihave preferably fastened the spaced support arms I3, which are disposed parallel to each other to carry the fan therebetw'een'to the inner wall portion 24 of the back support member H. The inner wall portionM of the back support member has shoulders ZBstamped'therein. These shoulders 28. are disposed in planes'perpendicular to the axis of'the support arms or rodsand each has an openi'ng'29'tlierein. The, ends ofithe sup port arms l3 abut against the respective shoulders 2 B, and each end of each support. arm has a threaded bolt hole therein. Bolts 30"are'threadable intothese bolt holes and extend through the openings 29 to bolt the support arms i3 to the inner wall portion 24 of the back support member ll. I'have found it desirable to bolt these support arms to the inner wall portion; however, it is understood'that they may be welded to the wall portion. Cross arms 3! may be fastened to of the inner wall portion 24 of the back support.

This band 32 has tabs 33 punched therein to extend between the edges- 20 and 25 of member I l the inner'wall portions. These'tabs 33'are spaced so that some of the .tabs engage the edge 29 of the inner'wall portion l8v of the front support membr I0 and other of the tabs engage'the edge 26 of the'inner wall portion 24 of the back support. member I I. When the band 32 is inserted to cover this spaceibetween the inner wall portions, the tabs 33 are extended to engage the respective edges of the inner wall portions. Then the band will not. become disengaged from the support: members and will make a neat appearing internal housing surface extending aboutthe fan.

My new and improved fan housingis very easy to manufacture and assemble. The front and back support members Hi andv II are stamped from sheet metal in the samepunch press. The back support members are then processed to provide the inner wall portion with the shoulders 28. The support arms l3 are fastened to these shoulders 28 before the support members l0 and I! are fastened together. After the front and back support members have been spot welded or otherwise fastened together, the band 32 is inserted within the inner wall -portions and the tabs 33 set against the respective edges of the inner wall portions to hold the band'in place. The fan motor is then fastened by the cross arms 3! to the parallel-spaced support arms and the grill fastened to one side of the fan support housing. When my fan support housing is thus completely manufactured and the fan installed, it will readily slide into a rectangular or square opening in the building and provide a neat structure.

Figures 6 to 10, inclusive, illustrate the manufacturing and the construction of the modification of my invention. In the drawings, similar numbers are used to indicate parts similar to those of the preferred embodiment of my invention. In the modified form of my assembled housing, the edge IQ of the outer wall portion ll of the front support member I8 is aligned with and abuts the edge 25 of the outer wall portion 23 of the back support member. I have thus omitted the neck portion on the front support member, and in its place I have substituted an alignment member l2.

The alignment member I2 as illustrated in Figures 8, 9 and 10 of my drawings is constructed preferably of a channel member to give it greater strength. The outer wall portions ll and 23 respectively of the front and back support members Ill and I l engage this alignment member l2. Although I spot weld the outer Wall portions to this alignment member, it is understood that the outer wall portions may be fastened to this alignment member by other suitable means, such, for example, as bolts. When the outer wall portions are fastened to this alignment member, the edge [9 of the outer wall portion ll engages the edge 25 of the outer wall portion 23. As has been previously stated, the inner wall portions are of less width than the outer wall portions; thus, when the front and back support members are connected or fastened to this alignment member l2, there is a space between the edge 20 of the inner wall portion I8 and the edge 26 of the inner wall portion 24. I have found it very desirable to provide this space for the welding of the alignment member and the outer wall portions. During the welding operation, one of the electrodes of the spot welder easily extends between the edges 20 and 2'6 of the inner wall portions [8 and 24 to contact the alignment member I2.

After the front and back support members have been fastened to the alignment member, the band 32 may be inserted into the housing to cover the space between the inner wall portions. Thus, the construction and manufactur is very similar to that of the preferred embodiment of my invention.

Although the invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

I claim as my invention:

1. A sheet metal fan housing for supporting a fan in a generally rectangularly shaped opening,

said housing comprising front and back stamped sheet metal support members, each having a rectangularly shaped outer perimeter and a circular opening therein, each support member having a drawn sheet metal inner wall around the circular opening and a drawn sheet metal outer wall around the outer perimeter, both integral with the support member and extending transversely therefrom, said outer walls of said front and back support members terminating in abutting edges, a fastening member within said outer walls permanently secured to each outer wall and holding the outer walls in co-planar edge abutting relationship, said inner Walls terminating in edges spaced from each other, a circular sheet metal band within said inner walls and overlapping each inner wall, bendable tabs fastening said band in overlapping engagement with said inner walls, and fan support means carried by the inner wall of one of said support members for supporting the fan in said opening.

2. A sheet metal fan housing for supporting a fan in a generally rectangularly shaped opening, said housing comprising front and back stamped sheet metal support members, each having a rectangularly shaped outer perimeter and a circular opening therein, each support member having a drawn sheet metal inner wall around the circular opening and a drawn sheet metal outer wall around the outer perimeter, both integral with the support member and extending transversely therefrom, said outer walls of said front and back support members terminating in abutting edges, a fastening member within said outer walls permanently secured to each outer wall and holding the outer walls in co-planar edge abutting relationship, said inner walls terminating in edges spaced from each other, a circular sheet metal band within said inner walls and overlapping each inner wall, said band'having bendable tabs bent over the edges of said inner Walls and holding the band in overlapping engagement therewith.

3. A sheet metal fan housing for supporting a fan in a generally rectangularly shaped opening, said housing comprising front and back stamped sheet metal support members, each having a rectangularly shaped outer perimeter and a circular opening therein, each support member having a drawn sheet metal inner wall around the circular opening and a drawn sheet metal outer wall around the outer perimeter, both integral with the support member and extending transversely therefrom, said outer walls of said front and back support members terminating in abutting edges, a fastening member within said outer walls permanently secured to each outer wall and holding the outer walls in co-planar edge abutting relationship, said inner walls terminating in edges spaced from each other, a circular sheet metal band within said inner walls and overlapping each inner wall, said band having bendable tabs bent over the edges of said inner walls and holding the band in overlapping engagement therewith, and fan support arm means carried by the inner wall of one of said support members for supporting the fan in said opening.

4. A sheet metal fan housing for supporting a fan in a generally rectangularly shaped opening, said housing comprising identical front and back stamped sheet metal support members, each having a rectangularly shaped outer perimeter and a circular opening therein, each support member having a drawn sheet metal inner wall around the circular opening and a drawn sheet metal front andibackrsupport'.members terminating in abutting edges; a fastening. member withinsaid outer: walls "permanently secured to each; outer wall and holding-the outer walls in co-plan'ar edgedabutting relationship, said innerwalls terminating in edges spaced .from each .other, a .cir-

cularrsheet metal band; within said inner walls andioverlapping'each inner wall, said band having-bendable tabs bent over .theedges of said ine ner walls and holding the band in overlapping engagement therewith; and. fan' support' arm means carried: by thes'innerxwall of one-of saidsupport" members for :supporting the fan in said opening:

5; sheet: metal fan housing 'forsupporting a fanin' agenerallyrectangularly shaped opening; saidxhousing; comprising front and back' stamped sheet metal support" members, each having a rectangularly shaped. outer" perimeter andta, circular openingctherein; each support member :having: a drawn sheet :metal innerawal-l definingthe circular opening and a drawn sheet metal. outer wall around the outer-perimeter, both integral with the. supportimember: andsextending. substantially perpendicularly; therefrom; said outer wallsof sai'd front andtback support members terminating iciniattachment edges; .weld' means permanently securing;togetheriisaidouter walls at said attachment .edges withith'e outer. walls inco-planar relationship, said'inneri. walls:

terminatingiin edges spaced. from each other, a

circular sheet metalibandwithin. said'inner walls and overlapping each inner cwall' and extending substantially: parallel to saidinner: walls, and

bendable tabs onrone of said. inner'walls and-said band fastening said band in overlappingxengagement with said inner walls, to th'erebyestablish said'housing ashavinga substantially rectangular cross-section'along all radial lines with such recs tangles of constant length asdeterminedby-said support-members and'oi varyingawidth'v as determined by the-variation'in spacingbetweenv said circular-inner walls and band-and said rectangularou-ter walls.

6; Ina fan housingfor' supporting'a fan in a substantially rectangularly-sh'aped opening; the provision of "a stamped front support .mem her and a stampedback support member, .each

of said stamped support 'members having a side portion. and having a. drawn inner wall portionv anda drawn outer Wall portion-integral therewith, said side portionbeing substantially rectangular in shapeand having a circular opening an attachment edge, said drawn inner wall portion extending about said circular opening and perpendicular to the side :portion and toward the opposite support member, the outer wall portion of the front support member being aligned with the outer wall portion of the back support member in co-planar relationship, support arms carried: by,'th'e='inner Wallportion' of oneof the support members for supporting the fan motor within the housing, weld means permanently securing together said outer wall portions at said attachment edges, said inner wall portions terminatingin edgesspaced from each other, a circular. sheet metal band within said inner wall portions and overlapping each inner wall portion" and extending substantially parallel thereto, and bendable tabs on one of said inner wall portions and said band fastening said band.

in overlapping engagement with said inner wall portions, to thereby establish said housing as having a substantially *rectangular cross section along allraclial lines with.suchrectangles'of' constant'length' as'determinedzby said-side portions. and of "varying .width'ras determined by. the.

variation inispacing between'isaid j'circular inner wall portionszand'rband iand' said rectangular outer wall portions.

WAYNEJ. MORRILL.

References: Cited in the: file of .this patent UNITED STATES PA'TEN'I'S Number Name Date 1,687,843- Miller Oct. 16, 1928 1,761,752 Scott June 3, 1930 1,912,594 Sauzedde June 6, 1933 2,001,151" Ne'wnham May-1 1, 1935 2,385,152 Morrison Sept. 18, 1945 FOREIGN i PATENTS:-

Number Country Date 594,165 GreatBritain Nov. 4, 1947'