US2679202A

US2679202A - Air circulator

Info

Publication number: US2679202A
Application number: US226908A
Authority: US
Inventors: Koff Alexander
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1951-05-17
Filing date: 1951-05-17
Publication date: 1954-05-25
Anticipated expiration: 1971-05-25

Description

A. KOFF AIR CIRCULATOR May 25, 1954 2 She ets-Sheet 1 Filed May 17, 1951 INVENTOR.

A77- Tam/En A. KOFF AIR CIRCULATOR May 25, 1954 2 Sheets-$heet 2 Filed May 17, 1951 FT N 5 @W m e R r E M. 4

FIG. 4.

Patented May 25, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AIR CIRCULATOR Alexander Kali, Los Angeles, Calif. Application May 17, 1951, Serial No. 226,908

3 Claims.

1 This invention relates to air circulators or distributors, and particularly to an air circulator and distributor which rapidly distributes and circulates air of any temperature throughout a room or building.

Hot air circulators are known, several types being disclosed in U. S. Patents No. 687,154 of November 19, 1901; No. 1,040,140 of October 1, 1912; No. 1,645,140 of October 11, 1927; No. 1,825,423 of September 29, 1931; and No. 2,477,619 of October 2, 1949. The present invention is an improvement over these prior air distributors for many reasons, which will be apparent from the description hereinafter. For instance, the present invention provides a forced air drive which may be controlled, the air forcing elements not impeding the air fiow. Furthermore, the path of the air fiow does not cause drafts. The air is cleaned and purified and its temperature rapidly equalized, since its distribution is quickly accomplished, as gravity is not depended upon for this purpose.

The unit may be used with substantially all forms of hot air heaters such as fioor furnaces,

steam or water radiators, etc. The unit purifies air and will function equally well during hot weather as a cooling unit.

The principal object of the invention, therefore, is to'facilitate the circulation of air to control temperature.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved air circulator and purifier for either hot or cold air.

A further object of the invention is to provide a controllable air circulator to produce a uniform temperature in a room or building.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved air conditioner for a building.

Although the novel features which are believed to be characteristic of this invention will be pointed out with particularity in the appended claims, the manner of its organization and the mode of its operation will be better understood by referring to the following description, read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, cross-sectional detail view of the air filter of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a back view of the invention, and

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 5 5 of Fig. 2.

Referring now to the drawings, in which the same numerals identify like elements, the invention is shown fitted to a rectangular form of air register 5 extending from the floor of a room, the register being of any standard type to which hot or cold air is directed. To accommodate this form of register, the unit has a rear upright frame section 6 which may be attached to the wall by screws such as shown at 1 (see Fig. 5). For other forms of registers, the back unit 6 may be made to conform to the particular shape and size of the air register.

The upright section 6 has folded edge connectors 8, in the folds of which tapered side sections it are inserted. The other edges II of sections It are also folded, in folds of which the right angle flanges of a front plate or panel [2 are inserted. The top of the unit is covered by a plate 13. It is to be understood that other forms of construction of this casing or outer housing may be used.

Adjacent the bottoms of side plates IB and attached thereto by angle plates l5 and [4, are air cleaning or purifying filters I1 and [8, respectively. These filters may be of any standard type, such as spun glass filters with openings [9 providing passage of the air therethrough.

Attached substantially at the horizontal center of and to the back surface of front panel [2, is a semi-circular tube 20 at the bottom of which is located a blower 2| having a fan 22 and a motor 23. The fan is located substantially mid-way between the top and bottom of the register 5, so that a large proportion of the air coming through the register 5 will be driven or forced up the tube 20 and then directed substantially horizontally by a curved surfaced bafile 25 for the tube 26 (see arrows 28). The air is expelled through the lower portion of a grill 26 into the room, as indicated by arrow 28a. Air which is not directly driven or forced up the tube 20 will be urged upwardly by the Vacuum created by the air passing out of the grill 26, this air coming from both the register 5 and also from the filters l1 and Is.

There are thus created, by the fan 22, two circulatory air paths, these paths coinciding over portions. thereof, the air being mixed at the exit from the lower portion of grill 26. That is, the heated air from the register 5 driven by fan 22 creates circulation of hot air from the register and also some air through the air cleaning filters I! and 18, which may enter fan 22. This is one path. The other path is air through the filters and some from register 5, which is circulated by exit of air from the first path at the upper end of tube 20. This creates rapid air circulation and 3 the mixing of the original hot air and room air. Furthermore, the air already discharged into the room is cleaned or conditioned by passing through the filters I1 and I8.

However, to provide more clean or purified air and a better balance or uniform temperature of the air, a second blower unit 39 is provided having a fan 3! and a motor 32. Both

motors

23 and 32 are enclosed in a casing 34 attached to the front panel l2, and the fan 3] is closer to filters I! and it, particularly filter l8, than fan 22. The blower 39 accelerates and causes more air to pass through the filters ll and I8, increasing the air conditioning action of the unit. With this air, a small proportion of air directly from the register is mixed to provide the desired balance of temperature.

It is to be noted that blower 3t discharges its air into a second semi-circular tube 36 attached to the back surface of panel [2, the air following the path shown by the arrows 31. To maintain a certain isolation of the air from the register 5 to fan 22, the tube 36 is surrounded by a housing 3%. However, the tube 38 terminates within the housing so that the suction or vacuum provided by the air passing out of the upper end of tube 36 will draw the air between the tube 3% and the casing 39 upwardly where it is discharged through the upper portion of the grill 25, and directed substantially horizontally by the curved surface of the baffle 52. It. also will accelerate the upward movement of any air within the easing, some of which will be original hot air from the register 5.

Operation of the air circulator, therefore, is such that not only is a certain portion or the incoming heated air driven into the room at a preferred height which is approximately six and one-half feet from the floor, and thus, above the heads of persons in the room, but this air is directly mixed with filtered air from the room. This first mixing of the air up tube 29 with the air drawn up the casing by the siphon action of the air up tube 29 lowers the temperature of the air from the register as it passes into the room. The portion or" the mixture through the filters may be cleaner than the air from the register.

To improve this temperature balance, particularly when the register air is at a high temperature and it is desired to heat the room quickly without inconvenience to the people in the room, the air mixture just described is further conditioned by the room air and some air directly from the register 5. Thus, the air discharged substantially horizontally into the room from the register 26 is composed of a well mixed and proportioned amount of direct high temperature air and three intermixed columns of air of lower temperature, the complete mixture, ierefore,

being particularly uniform when discharged into the room. This discharged air is also well cleaned by passage through the filters. Thus, the air in a large room or rooms may be quickly brought to the desired temperature, since the unit is capable of handling a large volume of air in a short time period. Although the air would circulate slowly by gravity, the unit increases the distribution of the air and controls its distribution. That is, for small rises intemperature in small enclosures, only fan 22 may be all that is required.

As mentioned above, the device may be also used for distributing air from steam or water registers, or from door furnaces of any type. It is also suitable for circulating cool air during hot weather, the same properly proportioned mixtures being obtainable regardless of the temperature of the incoming air. The system, of course, operates in the reverse order of temperature gradients when used for cooling.

I claim:

1. An air circulator for a room comprising a casing having. openings at the top and bottom thereof, means within said casing for conducting air in a predetermined air path upwardly and discharging it substantially horizontally through a portion of the opening at the top of said casing, said means including an air tube having a lower inlet portion and an upper outlet portion terminating at said top opening and a battle at said upper outlet portion for changing the direction of the air in said tube substantially ninety degrees, movement of said air out of said tube drawing other air in said casing out of said casing past said baffle at said portion of said opening, a second means within the casing for conductingair in another air path upwardly and discharging it substantially horizontally through another portion ofi said opening at the top of said casing and parallel to the air being discharged by said first mentioned means, said second means including a second tube having a lower inlet and an upper outlet within said casing, a second baiiie above and spacedfrom the outlet of said last mentioned tube and positioned above said first mentioned ba'lile for changing the direction of the air in said second air path substantially ninetydegrees as it is discharged through other portion of said opening at the top of said casing, and a housing surrounding and sp ced i'rom said second tube and within said casing, said housing having an inlet adjacent the inlet of said second tube and an outlet adjacent the outlet or said second tube.

2. An air circulator in accordance with claim 1, in which said tubes have fans at the respective inlets thereof for directly moving the air up said tubes, the movement of air outoi said second tube drawing. air out of said housing.

3. An air circulator in accordance with claim 1, in which said first mentioned air conducting means includes a fan at the inlet portion of said first mentioned tube, and said second mentioned air conducting means includes a fan at the inlet of said second tube, the inlet of said second tube being lower than the inlet portion of said first mentionedtube.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Great; Britain Mar. 24, 1948