EP1926916A1

EP1926916A1 - Removable impeller for fan

Info

Publication number: EP1926916A1
Application number: EP06808188A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Olivier Burias
Original assignee: Aereco
Current assignee: Aereco
Priority date: 2005-09-22
Filing date: 2006-09-22
Publication date: 2008-06-04
Anticipated expiration: 2026-09-22
Also published as: WO2007034086A1; PL1926916T3; US20080226447A1; JP2009509090A; CN101268285A; HUE050268T2; FR2891027B1; FR2891027A1; US8292577B2; EP1926916B1

Abstract

The invention concerns a removable impeller (7) designed to be integrated in a fan (1), in particular for controlled mechanical ventilation, and configured in the shape of a wheel provided with a plurality of blades (8) and equipped with locking means to enable its being fixed on a hub. The invention is characterized in that it comprises projecting transmitting means, arranged proximate a central neck whereof the axis of revolution is parallel to that of the wheel, and designed so as to enable the locking means to be alternately engaged or released. The invention also concerns a fan comprising such an impeller.

Description

REMOVABLE TURBINE FOR FAN

The present invention relates to a removable turbine intended to be integrated in a fan, in particular for controlled mechanical ventilation, and made in the form of a wheel provided with a plurality of blades and equipped with locking means to enable it to be fixed. on a hub, and a hub and a latch for cooperating with said turbine.

Many systems, such as the humidity-controlled inlet systems used in the context of controlled mechanical ventilation, require the use of a fan providing a constant depression over time. This constant vacuum can be obtained for a reduced cost by speed regulation of a motor driving an action turbine. Nevertheless, the disadvantage of such an action turbine is to be sensitive to fouling by the dust and grease contained in the extracted air. A first known solution to overcome this problem is to permanently fix the turbine on the associated engine, and to have a filter upstream of the fan. However, this filter creates a loss of load unfavorable to the performance of the system, is cumbersome, is a significant cost, and it is necessary to change or clean it regularly.

A second known solution consists in the use of a removable turbine, capable of being cleaned once, disassembled. Systems equipped with such a turbine provide that the latter is fixed by screwing on an axis. This step is nevertheless relatively difficult to implement, especially in the case of controlled mechanical ventilation since the occupant of the housing itself dismantles and cleans.

The object of the invention is to remedy these drawbacks and for this purpose consists in a removable turbine intended to be integrated in a fan, in particular for controlled mechanical ventilation, and produced in the form of a wheel provided with a plurality of blades. and equipped with locking means to allow its attachment to a hub, characterized in that it comprises projecting transmission means, positioned near a central neck whose axis of revolution is parallel to that of the wheel, and designed to alternately allow engagement or extraction of the blocking means. According to a first preferred embodiment of the invention, the locking means are formed in the central neck in the form of a first series of locking clips regularly spaced from each other and each provided at the bottom of a bead radial outward. In addition, each locking clip preferably has a lower radial shoulder oriented inwards.

Advantageously, the transmission means are formed in the central neck in the form of a second series of transmission clips regularly spaced from each other and interposed with the locking clips, each transmission clip being equipped with a first stop and a second abutment positioned one below the other and facing inwards, said first abutment forming a protrusion more pronounced than the second abutment.

Advantageously, the first stop is formed in the upper part, and the second stop is made in the form of a longitudinal boss, extending in the middle portion, and extended by an inclined pan at each of its upper and lower ends.

The present invention also relates to a hub and a closing latch designed so as to cooperate with such a turbine. The hub preferably comprises a side wall in which is formed a series of notches, each of them being able to accommodate one of the turbine blocking means, and the closing lock comprises a gripping member and suitable means to slide through the central neck of the turbine. Also preferably, the gripping member is extended by a series of longitudinal plane walls intercalated with a series of longitudinal hollow walls, said flat walls and hollow walls being regularly spaced from each other and being able to slide through the central collar of the turbine.

In such a configuration, it is then possible to proceed to a sequenced opening and closing.

Indeed, when the manipulator exerts sufficient traction on the gripping member of the latch, the transmission clips having a radial stiffness greater than that of the hollow walls, each hollow wall undergoes an elastic deformation so that the lower part of its outline is caused to slide successively along the lower inclined pan, the boss, and finally the upper inclined pan of the second stop. The hollow wall then returns to its rest position in the interval between the first stop of the second stop, and the lower portion of the contour finally comes into contact with the first stop. In doing so, the flat walls of the lock are no longer positioned in front of the locking clips, and these can be extracted from the notches presented by the hub if the manipulator continues to exert sufficient traction on the gripping member. The turbine and its lock are then disengaged from the hub, and it is possible to clean the blades of the turbine. This disassembly is done in one movement decomposed in two steps, simply, quickly and without tools.

Once the turbine is properly cleaned, the manipulator seizes the latch gripper and correctly positions the turbine on its hub. It suffices then to exert sufficient thrust on the gripping member to force the lower part of the contour of each hollow wall to slide successively along the upper inclined face, the boss, and finally the lower inclined face. In doing so, each flat wall of the lock slides along the associated locking clip, until the lower end of its contour comes into abutment against the radial shoulder of the locking clip. This then has the effect of elastically deforming the locking clip outwardly so that its radial bead is properly housed in the corresponding notch. This blocking is therefore also simple .simple, fast and without tools.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the turbine comprises, at the periphery of the central neck, a central wall on which are formed longitudinal ribs regularly spaced and oriented inwardly. In addition, the side wall of the hub is advantageously equipped on its outer face with V-shaped indexing means. Thus, with such an arrangement, when the lock and the turbine are attached to the associated hub, a sufficient thrust exerted on the gripping member, which is reflected on the upper inclined portion of each second abutment by the lower portion of the contour of the corresponding hollow wall of the latch, automatically centers the turbine on the hub. Indeed, this follows from the fact that the upper inclined pan is designed so that the minimum stresses to be exerted by the longitudinal ribs of the turbine on the V-shaped indexing means to force the hub to rotate until to what he are perfectly oriented are less than those necessary to cause the elastic deformation of each hollow wall due to the sliding of the lower part of its contour along said corresponding upper inclined pan. However, once the turbine is correctly positioned in abutment against the hub, the continuation of the thrust exerted by the manipulator on the gripping member then has the effect of forcing the latch to slide through the central neck, up to it comes to block the locking clips in the notches associated through its flat walls. Once the blocking of the turbine is ensured, the rotation of the turbine by the hub is then performed through the longitudinal ribs.

The turbine, the lock and the hub are advantageously made using plastic moldings. According to a second preferred embodiment of the invention, the locking means consist of at least two magnets, and the transmission means consist of at least two links each comprising a first substantially cylindrical end having a longitudinal edge forming a stop, and connected by a rod to a second end projecting parallel to the axis of the first end.

The present invention also relates to a closing latch designed to cooperate / with a turbine according to the second preferred embodiment of the invention. This lock advantageously comprises a gripping member extended by a longitudinal rod in which is formed a circular groove.

The second end protruding from each link is housed in the circular groove of the lock so that the translation of the latter forces the first end of the link to rotate. Therefore, as well in the first as in the second preferred embodiment of the invention, it must be understood that the turbine and the lock can be extracted and replaced by a single movement, simply, quickly , without learning and without tools. The present invention also relates to a ventilator, in particular for controlled mechanical ventilation, comprising a body forming a volute in which is fixed a rotary motor, a hub being secured to said motor and supporting a removable turbine provided with a central neck, a plurality of blades and equipped with locking means to allow its attachment to the hub, characterized in that - the locking means are formed in the central neck in the form of a first series of locking clips regularly spaced from each other and each provided at the bottom, on the one hand, with a radial bead directed towards the outside, and on the other hand, an inwardly directed radial shoulder, the turbine comprises transmission means arranged in the central neck in the form of a second series of regularly spaced clips. the others and interposed with the locking clips, each transmission clip being provided with a first abutment and a second abutment positioned one below the other and facing inwards, said first stop forming a protrusion more pronounced than the second stop, said first stop being formed in the upper part and said second stop being made in the form of a longitudinal boss, extending in the middle part, extended respectively by a steeply inclined pan; at its upper end and a slightly inclined pan at its lower end,

- The hub comprises a side wall in which is formed a series of notches, each of them being adapted to accommodate one of the locking clips of the turbine,

- A closing lock is attached to the turbine, the latch comprising a gripping member extended by a series of longitudinal plane walls interposed with a series of longitudinal hollow walls, said flat walls and hollow walls being regularly spaced from each other and being slidable through the central neck so as to each respectively disposed opposite a locking clip and a transmission clip.

The invention will be better understood with the aid of the detailed description which is set out below with reference to the appended drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a fan according to the invention, with omission of the closure cap; Figure 2 is a perspective view from above of a turbine according to the first preferred embodiment of the invention;

Figure 3 is a perspective view from below of the turbine shown in Figure 2; Figure 4 is a perspective view of a locking latch according to the invention adapted to cooperate with the turbine shown in Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a hub according to the invention adapted to cooperate with the turbine shown in Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the turbine shown in Figure 2 with its lock, before fixing on its corresponding hub;

Figure 7 is a top view of the turbine shown in Figure 6, once fixed on its hub;

Figure 8 is a sectional view along the line A-A of the assembly shown in Figure 7, the latch being in the closed position; Figure 9 is a sectional view along the line B-B of the assembly shown in Figure 7, the latch being in the closed position;

Figure 10 is a sectional view along the line A-A of the assembly shown in Figure 7, the latch being in the open position;

Figure 1 1 is a sectional view along the line B-B of the assembly shown in Figure 7, the latch being in the open position;

Figure 12 is a perspective view of a turbine according to the second preferred embodiment, with omission of the rods;

Figure 13 is a perspective view of a link;

Figure 14 is a perspective view of a lock according to the invention adapted to cooperate with the turbine shown in Figure 12;

Figure 15 is a perspective view of a hub according to the invention adapted to cooperate with the turbine shown in Figure 12;

Figure 16 is a perspective view of a turbine half shown in Figure 12, cut longitudinally at the rods, before fixing on its corresponding hub;

Figure 17 is a perspective view of another turbine half shown in Figure 12, cut longitudinally at the magnets, before fixing on its corresponding hub.

A fan 1 according to the invention, as shown in FIG. 1, is intended for controlled mechanical ventilation and comprises a box 2 whose closing cap has been omitted, and in which is fixed a volute

3.

The casing 2 has four air intake connectors 4, and each of them is connected to a part of the housing to be ventilated via an air duct (not shown).

The volute 3 is made of plastic material, and conventionally comprises an air inlet 5 and an air outlet 6, the air inlet 5 being bordered by a removable inlet 60 fixed with clips ( not shown). As shown more specifically in FIGS. 1 to 3, the volute 3 contains a turbine 7, according to the first preferred embodiment of the invention, designed to create a depression in the casing 1 so as to suck stale air from the connections. air intake 4.

This turbine 7 is molded in plastic in the form of a wheel equipped with a plurality of blades 8, and comprises a cylindrical central wall 9 of revolution surrounding a central neck 10 whose vertical axis of revolution coincides with that of the wheel.

More precisely, four vertical locking clips 1 1 regularly spaced from each other are formed in the central neck 10 of the turbine 7. Each locking clip January 1 has in the lower part, on the one hand, a radial bead 12 oriented outwardly, and secondly, a shoulder 1.3 radially oriented inwards.

In addition, four vertical transmission clips 14 regularly spaced from each other, interposed with the locking clips January 1, of the same length as the latter but of greater width so as to have an increased resistance to radial deformation, are also provided in the central collar 10.

Each transmission clip 14 is equipped with a first stop

15 and a second stop 16 oriented inward and arranged at a distance one below the other, said first stop 15 forming a protrusion more pronounced than the second stop 16. The first stop 15 is formed in the upper part of the central neck 10, and the second stop 16 is formed in the form of a vertical boss 17, extending in the middle portion of the central neck 10, and extended by an inclined face 18, 19 to each of its upper and lower ends, the upper inclined pan 18 being more inclined than the inclined pan 19 lower. In addition, four vertical ribs 20 regularly spaced from each other and oriented towards the inside are formed in the central wall 9 facing the central neck 10.

As represented in FIG. 4, a closing latch 21 according to the invention capable of cooperating with the turbine 7 is molded in plastic and is broken down into a discoid-shaped gripping member 22 extended by four longitudinal flat walls 24 oriented towards the external and intercalated with four longitudinal hollow walls, said planar walls 24 and hollow walls 25 being regularly spaced from each other and of the same length.

The flat walls 24 are in fact interconnected by plastic so as to form a rigid cross-shaped subset in cross section, which makes it possible to avoid any radial deformation of the flat walls 24. Moreover, It should be understood that this latch 21 is designed so that, on the one hand, the distance separating two flat walls or two diametrically opposite hollow walls is very slightly less than that separating two diametrically opposed clips of the turbine 7, and on the other hand, the length of said flat walls 24 and hollow walls 25 is sufficient to act respectively on the beads 12 and the shoulders 13 presented by the locking clips January 1 and the transmission clips 14 of the turbine 7 at the time of l inserting the lock 21.

As shown in FIG. 5, a hub 26 according to the invention adapted to cooperate with the turbine 7 is molded in plastic, and comprises a side wall in which have been formed four notches 27 regularly spaced from each other and sufficiently wide to accommodate each one of the locking clips January 1 of the turbine 7. In addition, this side wall is equipped on its outer face with four indexing means 28 V-shaped, regularly spaced from each other. As shown schematically in Figures 6 to 1 1, the hub 26 is secured to a rotary motor 29 fixed in the volute 3 (not shown).

When the fan 1 is installed in the housing of the end user, the turbine 7 and its latch 21 have been previously fixed on the hub 26 at the factory. It should be noted that this lock 21 can then translate only between two extreme positions, namely, on the one hand, as shown in FIG. 11, an open position in which the lower part 30 of the contour of each hollow wall 25 is kept locked between the first stop 15 and the upper inclined face 18 of the second stop 16 of the transmission clip 14 associated, and on the other hand, as shown in Figure 9, a closed position in which the lower portion 30 of the contour of each hollow wall 25 is held blocked by the inclined pan 19 lower the second stop 16 of the transmission clip 14 associate.

When the user wishes to proceed to the cleaning of the turbine 7 after a certain period of time, he then acts as follows.

First, it begins by declawing the removable hearing 60 by pulling on it.

Once this operation is performed, the user grasps the gripping member 22 of the latch 21 and pulls. The latch 21 which was hitherto in the closed position, as shown in Figures 8 and 9, is then caused to slide upwards. Indeed, since the radial rigidity of the hollow walls 25 is less than that of the transmission clips 14, the force exerted has the effect of forcing the lower part 30 of the contour of each hollow wall 25 to deform elastically during the successive sliding along the inclined pan 19 lower, the boss 17, and finally the upper inclined portion 18 of the transmission clip 14 arranged opposite.

As represented in FIGS. 10 and 11, each hollow wall 25 returns to its rest position when the lower part 30 opens into the space separating the second stop 16 from the first stop 15. The lower part 30 then comes into contact with the latter. which has been designed sufficiently protruding to constitute a stop.

The continuation of the traction movement forces the bead 12 of each locking clip January 1 to abut against the upper edge of the notch 27 corresponding. However, the flat wall 25 associated with each locking clip 1 1 is no longer there to act as a radial abutment, it follows that each locking clip 1 1 undergoes an elastic radial deformation oriented inwardly. Each bead 12 is finally extracted from its corresponding notch 27 under the effect of traction, and the subassembly formed by the turbine 7 and the lock 21 is separated from the fan 1. The user, who has carried out a quick, simple and tool-less disassembly of the turbine 7, can then clean the blades 8 thereof.

Once the cleaning operation has been carried out, the user reports the subassembly formed by the turbine 7 and the lock 21 on the associated hub 26, and exerts sufficient vertical thrust on the gripping member 22. This vertical thrust is echoed on the upper inclined face 18 of each second abutment 16 by the lower portion 30 of the contour of the corresponding hollow wall 25 of the latch 21, and allows to automatically center the turbine 7 on the hub 26. In fact, this follows from the fact that the upper inclined section 18 is designed so that the minimum stresses to be exerted by the vertical ribs of the turbine 7 on the indexing means 28 in the form of a V to force the hub 26 to pivot about its axis until 'that it is perfectly oriented are less than those necessary to cause the elastic deformation of each hollow wall 25 due to the sliding of the lower portion 30 of his contou r along said corresponding upper inclined section 18.

However, once the turbine 7 is properly positioned in abutment against the hub 26, the continuation of the vertical thrust exerted by the user then has the effect of forcing the latch 21 to slide through the central neck 10. More specifically, the lower part 30 of the contour of each hollow wall 25 is caused to slide successively along the upper inclined face 18, the boss 17, and finally the inclined pan 19 lower. In doing so, each flat wall 24 slides along the associated locking clip 11, until the lower end of its contour abuts against the radial shoulder 13 of said locking clip January 1. This then has the effect of elastically deforming the locking clip 1 1 outwardly so that its radial bead 12 is properly housed in the corresponding notch 27 of the hub 26. This blocking is also done in a simple manner, fast and without tools.

Once the blocking of the turbine 7 is ensured, the rotation of the latter by the hub 26 under the effect of the motor 29 is then performed through the ribs 20 vertical.

FIGS. 12 to 17 show a turbine 107 without its blades and according to the second preferred embodiment, as well as the associated locking latch 121 and hub 126. The turbine 107 has a central neck 1 10 and differs mainly from the turbine 7 in that it has in the lower part two protuberances 130, arranged opposite one another on either side of the central neck 1 10, each equipped with a magnet January 1 constituting a locking means, and each provided with a longitudinal rib 120 oriented outwardly.

Two links 1 14 are fixed in each protuberance 130 as shown more specifically in FIGS. 16 and 17. More specifically, each link 1 14 has a first substantially cylindrical end 131, having a longitudinal edge 132 forming an abutment, and is connected by a rod 133. at a second end 134 projecting parallel to the axis 135 of said first end 131. Each rod 1 14 is then secured to the turbine 107 through the axis 135 which is housed in two bores 137, formed in the protuberances 130 and located opposite one another.

The lock 121 comprises a gripping member 122 of discoid shape extended by a rod 138 in which is formed a groove 139 circular near its lower end.

The hub 126 is secured to a rotating motor 129, and is in the form of a metal disc 140 having a hollow circular central portion 141 in which are formed two notches 142 each intended to accommodate one of the ribs 120.

The factory assembly of the turbine 107 and the lock 121 in the hub 126 is made as follows. First, the second end 134 projecting from each link 1 14 is inserted into the groove 139 of the axis 140 of the lock 121 so that the lock 121 can only translate between two extreme positions, namely a closed position (not shown) and an open position shown in Figures 16 and 17. This subset thus formed is then attached to the hub

126. When the latch 121 is lowered to come to the closed position, each link 14 pivots about its axis 135 in a direction forcing the edge 132 to move away from the bottom of the disc 140. Each link 1 14 thus constitutes a transmission means enabling the magnets 1 1 1 to come into contact with the bottom of the disc 140. When the user wishes to proceed with the cleaning of the turbine 107, he grasps the gripping member 122 and pulls on it. Each link 1 14 is then driven in a rotational movement of opposite direction. The edge 132 thus comes into abutment against the bottom of the disc 140, which has the effect of multiplying the action of the traction exerted on the gripping member 122, and greatly facilitates the separation of the magnets 1 1 1 of the The bottom of the disc 140. Each link 1 14 thus constitutes a transmission means for extracting the locking means connecting the turbine 107 to the hub 126. Although the invention has been described in connection with particular embodiments, it is it is quite obvious that it is in no way limited and that it includes all the technical equivalents of the means described and their combinations if they fall within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1 .- Turbine (7; 107) removable intended to be integrated in a fan (1), in particular for controlled mechanical ventilation, and carried out in the form of a wheel provided with a plurality of blades (8) and equipped with locking means (1 1; 1 1 1) to allow its attachment to a hub (26; 126), characterized in that it comprises projecting transmission means (14; 1 14), positioned near a central neck (10; 1 10) whose axis of revolution is parallel to that of the wheel, and designed to alternately allow the engagement or extraction of the locking means.

2. Turbine (7) according to claim 1, characterized in that the locking means are formed in the central neck in the form of a first series of locking clips (1 1) regularly spaced from each other and provided with each in the lower part of a bead (12) radially oriented outwardly.

3. Turbine (7) according to claim 2, characterized in that each locking clip (1 1) has in the lower part a shoulder (13) radially oriented inwardly.

4. Turbine (7) according to any one of claims. 2 or 3, characterized in that the transmission means are formed in the central neck (10) in the form of a second series of transmission clips (14) regularly spaced from each other and interposed with the locking clips ( 1 1), each transmission clip being provided with a first stop (15) and a second stop (16) positioned one below the other and facing inwards, said first stop forming a protrusion more pronounced than the second stop.

5. - Turbine (7) according to claim 4, characterized in that the first stop (15) is formed in the upper part, and in that the second stop (16) is formed as a boss (17) longitudinal, extending in the median portion, and extended by an inclined section (18, 19) at each of its upper and lower ends.

6. Turbine (7) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that it comprises, at the periphery of the central neck (10), a central wall (9) on which are formed longitudinal ribs (20) regularly spaced and oriented inwardly.

7. Turbine (107) according to claim 1, characterized in that the locking means are constituted by at least two magnets (1 1 1), and in that the transmission means are constituted by at least two links (1 14) each having a first substantially cylindrical end (131) having a longitudinal edge (132) forming a stop, and connected by a rod (133) to a second end (134) projecting parallel to the axis of the first end .

8. Lock (21; 121) for closure to be mounted on a turbine (7; 107) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it comprises a gripping member (22; 122) and means (24, 25; 138) slidable through the central neck (10; 1 10) of the turbine.

9. A latch (21) according to claim 8, characterized in that the gripping member (22) is extended by a series of longitudinal flat walls (24) interposed with a series of hollow walls (25) longitudinal, said walls planes and hollow walls being regularly spaced from each other.

10. Lock (121) according to claim 8, characterized in that the gripping member (122) is extended by a rod (138) longitudinal in which is formed a groove (139) circular.

1 1 .- Hub (26) for supporting a turbine (7) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it comprises a side wall in which is formed a series of notches (27), each of them being able to accommodate one of the locking means (1 1) of the turbine.

12. Hub (26) according to claim 1 1, characterized in that the side wall is equipped on its outer face with indexing means (28) V-shaped.

13, - Fan (1), in particular for controlled mechanical ventilation, comprising a body forming a volute (3) in which is fixed a motor (29) rotating, a hub (26) being secured to said motor and supporting a turbine (7). ) removable provided with a central neck (10), a plurality of blades (8) and equipped with locking means to allow its attachment to the hub, characterized in that, - The locking means are formed in the central neck in the form of a first series of locking clips (1 1) regularly spaced from each other and each provided at the bottom, on the one hand, with a bead ( 12) radially outwardly, and secondly, a shoulder (13) radially oriented inwardly,

- The turbine comprises transmission means formed in the central neck in the form of a second series of transmission clips (14) regularly spaced from each other and interposed with the locking clips, each transmission clip being equipped with a first stop (15) and a second stop (16) positioned one below the other and facing inwards, said first stop forming a protrusion more pronounced than the second stop, said first stop being provided at the top and said second stop being in the form of a boss (17) extending longitudinally in the median portion, extended by an inclined section (18, 19) at each of its upper and lower ends,

- The hub comprises a side wall in which is formed a series of notches (27), each of them being adapted to accommodate one of the locking clips of the turbine, - a latch (21) is closed on the turbine, this lock comprising a gripping member (22) extended by a series of longitudinal plane walls (24) interposed with a series of. hollow walls (25) longitudinal, said flat walls and hollow walls being regularly spaced from each other and being able to slide through the central neck so as to be respectively disposed opposite a locking clip and a clip of transmission.