Diffuser assembly for an HVAC system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12209765-B2
Application number	US-202318244757-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 11, 2023
Priority date	Oct 15, 2020
Publication date	Jan 28, 2025
Grant date	Jan 28, 2025

Abstract

A diffuser assembly for a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system includes a housing having an outer frame and an inner frame disposed within the outer frame. The outer frame includes an inlet configured to receive an air flow. The inner frame forms a first flow path for the air flow through the housing between the outer frame and the inner frame. The inner frame defines a second flow path for the air flow through the inner frame. The diffuser assembly also includes a damper assembly configured to transition between a first configuration to enable discharge of the air flow from the housing via the first flow path and a second configuration to enable discharge of the air flow from the housing via the second flow path.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A diffuser assembly for a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, comprising:
an outer frame comprising a first inlet configured to receive an air flow;
an inner frame disposed within the outer frame and forming a first flow path for the air flow between the outer frame and the inner frame, wherein the inner frame defines a second flow path for the air flow through the inner frame; and
a damper assembly configured to transition between a first configuration to enable discharge of the air flow from the diffuser assembly via the first flow path and a second configuration to enable discharge of the air flow from the diffuser assembly via the second flow path, wherein the damper assembly comprises:
a radial damper configured to block flow of the air flow via the second flow path in the first configuration; and
a perimetrical sleeve spaced apart from the radial damper and configured to block flow of the air flow via the first flow path in the second configuration.

2. The diffuser assembly of claim 1 , comprising a first outlet that extends between a surface of the inner frame and a surface of the outer frame, wherein the first outlet is configured to receive the air flow from the first flow path and guide discharge of the air flow from the diffuser assembly in a generally vertical direction with respect to an axis extending through the first inlet in a direction of the air flow.

3. The diffuser assembly of claim 2 , wherein the inner frame comprises a second inlet configured to receive the air flow from the first inlet, and the inner frame defines a second outlet configured to receive the air flow from the second flow path and guide discharge of the air flow from the diffuser assembly in a generally lateral direction with respect to the axis extending through the first inlet in the direction of the air flow.

4. The diffuser assembly of claim 1 , wherein the damper assembly is coupled to the inner frame, wherein the perimetrical sleeve is configured to translate from the first configuration to the second configuration in a generally vertical direction with respect to an axis extending through the first inlet in a direction of the air flow, and wherein the radial damper is configured to rotate about the axis from the first configuration to the second configuration.

5. The diffuser assembly of claim 4 , comprising an actuation system configured to actuate transition of the damper assembly between the first configuration and the second configuration, wherein the actuation system comprises an actuator coupled to the perimetrical sleeve via an actuated connector, and wherein translation of the actuator connector is configured to cause rotation of the radial damper.

6. The diffuser assembly of claim 1 , comprising an actuator coupled to the damper assembly and comprising a cam assembly coupled to the perimetrical sleeve and the radial damper, wherein:
the radial damper is coupled to the inner frame, and the radial damper comprises one or more louvers configured to pivot about an axis of the radial damper,
the perimetrical sleeve is configured to translate along the axis, via actuation of the actuator, to transition between a first position and a second position, and
the cam assembly is configured to convert translational movement of the actuator along the axis into pivotal motion of the one or more louvers about the axis.

7. The diffuser assembly of claim 6 , wherein the cam assembly is configured to transition the one or more louvers to an unstacked configuration to block the air flow along the second flow path when the damper assembly is in the first configuration and to transition the one or more louvers to a stacked configuration to enable flow of the air flow along the second flow path when the damper assembly is in the second configuration.

8. The diffuser assembly of claim 1 , comprising:
an actuator coupled to the damper assembly and configured to transition the damper assembly between the first configuration and the second configuration; and
a controller communicatively coupled to the actuator, wherein the controller is configured to instruct the actuator to adjust a position of the damper assembly based on sensor feedback indicative of an operating parameter of the HVAC system, an operating mode of the HVAC system, or user input received via a user interface of the HVAC system.

9. The diffuser assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first flow path terminates at a first outlet of the diffuser assembly, the second flow path terminates at a second outlet of the diffuser assembly, the first outlet is configured to guide discharge of the air flow from the diffuser assembly in a generally vertical direction with respect to an axis extending through the first inlet, and the second outlet is configured to guide discharge of the air flow from the diffuser assembly in a generally lateral direction with respect to the axis.

10. A diffuser assembly for a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, comprising:
an outer frame comprising a first inlet configured to receive an air flow;
an inner frame disposed within the outer frame and comprising a second inlet configured to receive the air flow from the first inlet, wherein the inner frame and outer frame form a first outlet of the diffuser assembly therebetween, and the inner frame defines a second outlet of the diffuser assembly; and
a damper assembly coupled to the outer frame, the inner frame, or both, wherein the damper assembly comprises a radial damper and a perimetrical sleeve spaced apart from the radial damper, and the damper assembly is configured to transition between a first configuration to direct the air flow through a first flow path of the diffuser assembly extending from the first inlet to the first outlet and to block the air flow through a second flow path of the diffuser assembly extending from the first inlet, through the second inlet, and to the second outlet, and a second configuration to direct the air flow through the second flow path and to block the air flow through the first flow path.

11. The diffuser assembly of claim 10 , wherein the first outlet is configured to guide discharge of the air flow from the first flow path in a first direction generally parallel to an axis extending through the first inlet or the second inlet, and the second outlet is configured to guide discharge of the air flow from the second flow path in a second direction oblique to the axis.

12. The diffuser assembly of claim 10 , wherein the outer frame and the inner frame form a gap extending between the first inlet and the second inlet, wherein the damper assembly is configured to guide the air flow through the gap in the first configuration and block flow of the air flow through the gap in the second configuration.

13. The diffuser assembly of claim 12 , wherein the perimetrical sleeve is configured to translate along an axis extending through the first inlet or the second inlet, wherein the perimetrical sleeve is positioned to enable air flow through the gap in the first configuration of the damper assembly and is positioned to block air flow through the gap in the second configuration of the damper assembly.

14. The diffuser assembly of claim 13 , wherein the radial damper is configured to rotate about the axis, and wherein the radial damper is configured to couple to the inner frame, to block air flow through the second inlet in the first configuration of the damper assembly, and to enable air flow through the second inlet in the second configuration of the damper assembly.

15. The diffuser assembly of claim 13 , wherein

Assignees

• Air Distribution Tech Ip Llc

Inventors

• Anderson Justin E
• Parjapat Ramesh
• Holden Neal T
• Agarwal Tanay
• Gillespie Howard Janelle G

Classifications

• F24F11/74

  for controlling air flow rate or air velocity · CPC title

• F24F13/12

  built up of sliding members · CPC title

• F24F11/79

  for controlling the direction of the supplied air · CPC title

• F24F13/10

  movable, e.g. dampers · CPC title

• F24F13/062 Primary

  having one or more bowls or cones diverging in the flow direction · CPC title