Air management system for the outdoor unit of a residential air conditioner or heat pump

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017102007-A1
Application number	US-201615288025-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Oct 7, 2016
Priority date	Oct 9, 2015
Publication date	Apr 13, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

A fan assembly includes a fan housing having an inlet and an outlet. A recess formed in the inlet is configured to receive a portion of a heat exchanger. A fan rotor is positioned within the housing and is configured to rotate about a fan axis. The fan rotor includes a hub having a plurality of fan blades mounted thereto.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A fan assembly, comprising:
a housing having an inlet and an outlet , wherein a recess formed in the inlet is configured to receive a portion of a heat exchanger; and a fan rotor positioned within the housing and being configured to rotate about a fan axis, the fan rotor including a hub having a plurality of fan blades mounted thereto.

2 . The fan assembly according to claim 1 , wherein a ratio of a diameter of the fan rotor to a height extending between the inlet and outlet of the housing is between about 2 and 5.

3 . The fan assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the fan housing includes a converging section adjacent the inlet end and a diverging section adjacent the discharge end.

4 . The fan assembly according to claim 2 , wherein the fan rotor is positioned within the housing such that the plurality of fan blades are arranged adjacent an intersection between the converging section and the diverging section.

5 . The fan assembly according to claim 2 , wherein a throat is defined in the housing between the converging section and the diverging section, and a ratio of a cross-sectional area of throat to a cross-sectional area of the housing at the outlet is between about 0.5 and 1.

6 . The fan assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the converging section of the housing has a generally elliptical shape including a profile major axis and a profile minor axis, wherein a ratio of the profile major axis to the profile minor axis is between about 1 and 3.

7 . The fan assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the converging section of the housing has a generally elliptical shape including a profile major axis and a profile minor axis, wherein a ratio of the profile major axis to a diameter of the fan rotor is between about 0.05 and about 0.25.

8 . The fan assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the housing adjacent the inlet includes a substantially horizontally and radially extending surface, wherein the recess is formed within the substantially horizontally and radially extending surface.

9 . The fan assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the recess has a vertical depth between about 2 mm and 40 mm.

10 . The fan assembly according to claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of a heat exchanger is receivable within the recess, an upper edge of the heat exchanger being positioned between 2 mm and 8 mm within the recess.

11 . The fan assembly according to claim 1 , wherein a header of a heat exchanger tube is receivable within the recess, an upper edge of the header being positioned between 10 mm and 40 mm within the recess.

12 . The fan assembly according to claim 1 , further comprising a stator assembly located adjacent the outlet, the stator assembly including a plurality of outlet guide vanes.

13 . The fan assembly according to claim 12 , further comprising a finger guard connected to the outlet of the housing, wherein the plurality of outlet guide vanes are integrated with the finger guard.

14 . The fan assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the housing is formed from a first housing section and a second housing section coupled together.

15 . The fan assembly according to claim 14 , wherein at least one of the first housing section and the second housing section is formed from a plastic material.

16 . The fan assembly according to claim 14 , wherein at least one of the first housing section and the second housing section is formed from a metal material

17 . An outdoor coil unit, comprising:
a heat exchanger having a first header, a second header, and a plurality of heat exchange tube segments extending between and fluidly coupling the first header and the second header; and a fan mounted to a portion of the heat exchanger, the fan including: a housing having an inlet and an outlet , a recess being formed in the housing adjacent the inlet, wherein a portion of the heat exchanger is positioned within the recess; and a fan rotor positioned within the housing and being configured to rotate about a fan axis, the fan rotor including a hub having a plurality of fan blades mounted thereto.

18 . The outdoor unit according to either claim 17 , wherein the heat exchanger has a multi-pass configuration.

19 . The coil unit of any of the preceding claims, further comprising a fan motor operably coupled to the fan rotor, a floor pan configured to hold the heat exchanger, a grille coupled to the discharge end of the housing, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing.

Assignees

• Carrier Corp

Inventors

• Stauter Richie C
• Bushnell Peter R

Classifications

• F04D29/582

  specially adapted for elastic fluid pumps · CPC title

• F04D19/002 Primary

  Axial flow fans · CPC title

• F04D29/703 Primary

  specially for fans, e.g. fan guards · CPC title

• F05B2260/96

  Preventing, counteracting or reducing vibration or noise · CPC title

• F24F1/38

  Fan details of outdoor units, e.g. bell-mouth shaped inlets or fan mountings · CPC title