GB2134647A - Improvements in or relating to a ventilator - Google Patents

Abstract

A ventilator is adapted to be fitted in an opening in a wall of a building. The ventilator comprises a parallelepipedic casing 2 having a long outer wall 9 and a long inner wall 3. The outer wall is provided with an air flow orifice than may be closed by means of a slide 11. An air flow directing box 15 is located within the casing to direct an air flow coming through the airflow orifice into two oppositely directed air passages 39. The air flow directing box is constituted by two interconnected members, one having 16 a central opening 30 aligned with the air flow orifice, the other 17 being of substantially "U" shaped in section and having two apertures 33 formed in the arms of the U communicating with the oppositely directed air passages. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in or relating to a ventilator The present invention relates to a ventilator and more particularly to a ventilator intended to be fitted in an opening in a wall of a building, such as a window opening, a door opening or an opening specifically prepared for the purpose.

It has been proposed to provide ventilators of this type before, and conventionally such ventilators comprise a parallelepipedic casing which extends substantially parallel to the plane of the wall. Typically such a casing will have an outer long wall, an inner long wall, a base, a top and two end walls. The casing defines air flow ducts, and in certain prior ventilators the air flow ducts intercommunicate in a central region of the ventilator in an air flow directing box which is mounted within the casing. In many prior proposed ventilators the air flow directing box has been formed as a unitary member or mouiding, such as an injection moulding or die casting. Such air flow directing boxes are thus expensive to produce and are an impediment to rapid and thorough inspection of the ventilator once it has been installed.

According to the broadest aspect of this invention there is provided a ventilator adapted to be fitted in an opening in a wall of a building, the ventilator comprising a substantially parallelepipedic casing adapted to extend substantially parallel to the plane of the wall and defining an outer wall and an inner wall, the outer wall being provided with an air flow orifice openable and closable by means of a slide or flap or the like, said orifice communicating with an air flow directing box which is located within the casing and which is constituted by two interconnected members, one member having a substantially central opening substantially aligned with the said air flow orifice, the other member being substantially "U" shaped in section and having apertures formed in the arms of the "U" thus forming air passages which extend in the direction of the wall plane, and which intersect in the central region of the ventilator within said air flow directing box, the inner wall being provided with one or more openings communicating with said air passages. The two interconnected members may each be produced from a flat blank of sheet material, for example by punching and bending, and may readily be made from a dimensionally stable material such as metal or a suitable plastics material. The two members can be removed from the ventilator individually, in a sequential manner, or simultaneously as required.

This facilitates not only the production, but also the subsequent inspection, servicing and cleaning of a ventilator in accordance with the invention.

Preferably, the first said member is configured to have the central region thereof spaced further from the said outer wall than the end regions thereof.

Advantageously end regions of the said two members contact one another at or adjacent the said outer wall of the casing, and bear on shoulders provided on a top wall and on a bottom wall of the casing.

Conveniently, the end portions of the "U" shaped member engage sound damping inserts disposed within the casing. Suitably said sound damping inserts are in engagement with said outer wall of the casing.

In a preferred embodiment the said two members are vertical, and the bottom and top edges of the members are located directly on sound absorbing inserts located within the casing.

Preferably the central region of the "U" shaped member has a sound-absorbent covering on the surface thereof facing the said one member.

The sound damping effect of a ventilator constructed in accordance with the invention may be optimised if the inner surfaces of the chamber within the air flow directing box consist partly of sound-reflecting material and partly of sound absorbent material, since it has been found that the interplay between sound-reflecting and sound absorbing boundary surfaces provides an excellent barrier to the passage of sound waves.

It is to be understood that the air flow directing box may merely serve to direct the flow of air passing through the ventilator due to a pressure differential between the interior or the exterior of the building. However, a fan or some other air pumping device may be associated with the ventilator to direct the flow of air through the ventilator.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the central region of the "U" shaped member extends parallel to and at a distance from the inner wall of the casing.

It will be understood that in a preferred embodiment of the invention the outer wall of the casing, and a slide associated with the outer wall of the casing, are each formed with a plurality of air slots which are separated from one another by a plurality of webs. The arrangement is preferably such that the air slots can be brought into registration with one another to permit the flow of air through the ventilator, or may be offset from one another to inhibit the flow of air through the ventilator. A sheet of resilient material, such as foam material, may be located between the slide and the outer wall, the foam material also being provided with a corresponding set of slots. This particular construction has been found to help provide good sound-damping, whilst permitting a substantial throughput of air when in the "open" position.An advantage of having such a slide adjacent to the outer wall of the casing is that when the slide is actuated the ventilator will stabilize into an ambient condition corresponding to the condition existing within the building being ventilated. Thus, if the building is warm the ventilator will not fill up with cold air from the outside, and if the building is cool the ventilator will not fill up with warm air from the outside.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the stator of an axial flow fan is secured to the first said member, the fan rotor extending through the said central opening. In a preferred arrangement of this embodiment, the first said member is constituted by two identically shaped side members disposed in inverted relationship to one another and a central member connected to the side members, the central member being formed on one side with a neck which is directed towards the outer wall of the casing. Preferably, the length of the neck is less than the width of the rotor vane, the rotor vane inside edges being substantially flush with the inner end of the neck. It has been found that if the rotor vanes are exposed over some of their length and are surrounded by a neck over the remainder of their length, a very satisfactory air conveyance can be provided.

Whilst the air flow ducts provided on the opposed sides of the air-guiding box may extend in the direction of the plane of the wall, in an alternative embodiment of the invention, the air flow ducts may extend transversely of the length of the casing. In such an embodiment the ducts may have a sound-absorbent covering at least on the wall surface which is disposed opposite the end portions of the "U" shaped member. In this embodiment the length of the air flow duct will be substantially equal to the depth of the casing, and the ducts may extend to opposite ends of an air distribution chamber bounded by the inner long wall of the casing and by the "U" shaped member.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood, and so that further features thereof may be appreciated, the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatically simplified horizontal cross-sectional view through a ventilator in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is an exploded substantially diagrammatic view showing the components which together form the fan housing of the ventilator; Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on line Il-Il of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on the line lV-IV of Figure 1; Figure 5 is a partial view on an enlarged scale of the detail Vindicated in Figure 1; and Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 1 illustrating a modified embodiment of a ventilator in accordance with the invention.

A ventilator 1, in accordance with the invention, is shown in a diagrammatic form in Figure 1, and is adapted to be fitted in a window opening, a door opening, or an opening that has been specialiy provided to receive the ventilator in the wall of a building. The ventilator 1 has a casing 2 which is of generally parallelepipedic form and which extends parallel to the plane of the wall. The casing 2 has a vertical inner wall 3 adapted to be located towards the interior of the building, a horizontal base 4 and a horizontal top 5. The casing is bounded externally by a weathering strip 6. The casing has two end walls 7, 8 which are shown most clearly in Figure 1, and the casing also has an outer long wall 9 which serves as a connecting element between the weathering strip 6, the base 4 and the top 5 of the casing 2, as can be seen most clearly in Figures 3 and 4.

Each of the above described elements 3 to 6 can be formed as an extruded metal section, for example aluminium. The end walls 7 and 8 may also be made of extruded aluminium or the like.

Advantageously, however, the outer long wall 9 may be formed as a plastics material extrusion, the outer long wall 9 then constituting a thermal barrier between the weathering strip 6, the base 4 and the top 5 of the casing when the casing 2 is assembled. Such a thermal-barrier will inhibit the passage of cold or heat from the exterior of the building to the interior of the building through the ventilator.

It will be appreciated that the weathering strip 6 is formed with grooves which slidably receive beads formed on the outer long wall 9, and thus the weathering strip 6 and the outer long wall 9 may readily be connected by aligning the appropriate parts and sliding the components relatively to each other. The remaining components of the ventilator are interconnected in a corresponding manner, the various components being secured in their desired relative locations when the two end walls 7, 8 are finally mounted in position.

A thin sheet 10 of a resilient material, such as foam plastics or sponge rubber, is secured to the inside face of the long wall 9. Preferably the sheet 10 extends over the entire length of the wall 9. In any event, the sheet 10 is provided in the central region of the casing 2, and extends over a specific portion of the length of the casing 2.

A slide 11 is provided which also extends substantially over the entire length of the wall 9.

The slide 11 is formed as an extrusion of a dimensionally stable plastics material and is guided so as to be slidably movable either manually, or by a powered adjusting mechanism.

The slide 11 may be moved by a predetermined amount lengthwise of the casing 2 relatively to the wall 9. The slide cooperates with the resilient sheet 10, in at least one end position of the slide 11, to ensure a satisfactory sealing between the casing wall 9 and the slide 11. Inwardly directed ledges or strips 12 are formed on the inside of rearwardly directed flanges 13 which are formed on, and which extend perpendicularly to the main plane of, the wall 9. The flanges 13 are substantially parallel to the casing base 4 and top 5, and the ledges or strips 12 are substantially vertical. The ledges or strips 12 are inserted into longitudinal grooves 1 4 formed in the edges of the slide 11, thus serving to guide the longitudinal sliding movement of the slide 11. The ledges or strips 12 and the grooves 14 are so dimensioned as to be maintained in guiding engagement with one another by spring strips (not shown) located in one of the longitudinal grooves 14. However, the components may be disengaged by compressing the spring strips when an appropriate force is applied to the slide 11 to release the other of the grooves 14 from the corresponding ledge or strip 12.

As can be seen in Figure 1 a fan housing 1 5 is located in the central portion of the casing 2. The fan housing 1 5 effectively constitutes an air directing box. The fan housing 1 5 is constituted by a first substantially upright sheet member 1 6 which is relatively thin, and which has dimensions less than the overall dimensions of the casing 2.

The central region of the sheet member 1 6 is located more towards the centre of the housing than are the ends 1 8 of the sheet member.

Forwardly inclined or sloping parts of the sheet member 1 6 connect the vertical central region thereof to vertical end regions thereof. The fan support housing 1 5 is also partially constituted by a second substantially upright member 1 7 of sheet material, the member 1 7 having two forwardly protruding end portions 32, so that the member 17 may be considered as being of substantially "U" cross-section.

The members 1 6 and 1 7 are located adjacent one another in an upright position between the base 4 and the top 5 of the casing 2, as can be appreciated from Figures 1 and 3. End regions 1 8 of the member 1 6, and end regions 1 9 of the member 1 7 contact one another in such a way that the two members are firmly interconnected, as will be described. The end regions 18 of the member 1 6 bear on inwardly directed shoulders 20, 21 formed integrally with the base 4 and top 5 respectively so that the fan housing 1 5 is located firmly in position.

As can be seen from Figure 3 the top and bottom edges 22, 23 of the member 16, and the top bottom edges 24, 25 of the member 17 are located on sound absorbent inserts, 26, 27 which may be made, for example, of foam plastics or sponge rubber. The inserts 26, 27 engage with the casing base 4 and the top 5. Thus the various edges 22, 23, 24 and 25 mentioned above effectively bound a chamber 28 defined within the fan housing 15.

As can be seen most clearly in Figures 1 and 2 the member 1 6 is formed, in its central region 29, with a circular aperture 30 which serves as an air passage. A protruding neck 31 is provided on one side of the aperture 30 directed towards the outer long wall 9 of the casing.

Near their end regions 1 9 the two end portions 32 of the member 1 7 are each formed with a rectangular aperture 33. The apertures 33 serve as air passages.

The member 1 6 is so located in the ventilator casing 2 that its central zone 29, formed with recess 30 and the neck 31, is parallel to the outer long wall 9 of the casing 2 and is spaced further away from the wall 9 than are the two end regions 18 of the member 16. Thus, a chamber 34 which is substantially trapezoidal in cross-section is located between the chamber 28 formed in the fan housing 1 5 and the outer long wall 9. Because of the shape of the members 16 and 17 the fan housing 1 5 has, in the cross-sectional view shown in Figure 1, a shape whose width is minimal near the central region of the member 1 6 and which then widens out, in a wedge like fashion towards the two apertures 33.

As can be seen from Figures 1 and 3 the central zone 35 of the member 17 has on the inside, i.e.

on the side near the member 16, a soundabsorbent covering 36 for example of foam plastics or sponge rubber. The inside surfaces of the end portions 32 of the member 1 7 and the inside surfaces of the member 1 6 are not provided with a sound-absorbent covering but present a sound-reflecting surface to the chamber 28 within the fan housing 1 5.

Each of the end portions 32 of the member 17 effectively forms one wall of a respective chamber 39 which constitutes an air flow duct. The air flow duct 39 is defined between sound-absorbent inserts 37, 38 which are mounted on the various components of the ventilator. Each air flow duct 39 extends lengthwise of the casing 2 and, therefore, in the direction of the plane of the wall.

The length of each air flow duct is substantially the same as the depth of the casing. The inserts 37 are each of substantially channel section, each having its major portion disposed near the wall 9 or slide 11 of the casing 2, and having the two flange parts in contact with the base 4 and top 5 of the casing 2 near the inner long wall 3 thereof.

The end surfaces of the two flange parts form supports for the insert 38 which is of a rectangular cross-section as can be seen most clearly in Figure 4. One foam insert is positioned at the end of the air-flow duct that is opposite the opening 33 in the respective end portion of the member 1 7.

Each of the inserts 38 is formed, near the end adjacent the casing end wall 7 and 8, with an aperture 40 which serves as an air passage. The apertures 40 open into a chamber 41 which is located inside the casing 2, and which extends over substantially the entire interior face of the ventilator. The chamber 41 is bounded by the inner long wall 3, the base 4 and the top 5 of the ventilator and by the inserts 38. In the central region of the casing 2 the inner boundary of the chamber 41 is formed by the central zone 35 of the member 1 7.

Extending substantially over the whole length of the inner long wall 3 of the casing 2 is a uniform grid 42, and a screening plate 43 is disposed in the chamber 41 at a distance from the grid 42.

The effect of the plate 43 is to produce, in the chamber 41, a division of the air flow resulting in a very uniform passage of air over the whole length of the grid 42.

As a comparison of Figures 3 and 4 will show, the chamber 41 has, in the region near the inserts 38, a larger cross-section than in the region where it is near the central region 35 of the member 1 7.

However, this does not impair uniform air distribution over the whole length of the grid 42 since the plate 43 assists air distribution.

The casing outer long wall 9 is formed, in that part of its length disposed between the end regions 18 of the member 1 6 i.e. in the region adjacent the outer chamber 34 with a number of air slots 43 separated from one another by webs 42. The slide 11 is formed with a corresponding number of correspondingly spaced and shaped slots 45 separated from one another by webs 44, the slots 43 extending through the resilient covering 10 on the inside of the wall 9. It will be appreciated that the slide 11 can be moved lengthwise within the casing 2 to bring its slots 45 into registration with the slots 43 in the wall 9, to permit the passage of air, or to bring the slots 45 into position laterally offset from the slots 43, in order to inhibit the passage of air.In the latter case the slide slots 45 are located in alignment with the webs 42 of the wall 9, and the slots 43 and the wall 9 are aligned with the webs 44 of the slide 11. In the illustrated embodiment the slide 11 may be manually actuated by a control knob as shown at the bottom of Figure 1. The control knob is accessible from the interior of the building even though the slide 11 is adjacent the exterior of the building.

Advantageously, to ensure satisfactory sealingtightness between the slide 11 and the wall 9 when the slide slots 43 are offset from the wall slots 45, wedges 46 are provided at both ends of the chamber 34 which cooperate with inwardly protruding abutments 47 on the slide 11. The wedges 46 are rigidly disposed in the casing, and when the slide 11 is moved to such a position that the slide slots 43 are offset from the wall slots 45 the abutments 47 will engage the wedges 46 and thus press the slide 11 firmly onto the resilient covering 10 provided on the inside of the long wall 9.

As can be seen from Figure 5 the wedges 46 are formed by portions pressed out from the end regions 18 of the member 1 6 so as to be located directly adjacent the shoulders 20, 21 of the casing base 4 and top 5, respectively.

Thus the wedges 46 are located to cooperate with the abutments 47 which are located near the edge of the slide 11. As can also be seen from Figure 5 the end regions of the member 17 can have, in the region where they engage operatively with the shoulders 20, 21, bevelled and knife-edge regions which can indent in to the softer material of the shoulders 21 , thus ensuring automatic location of the fan housing 1 5 within the casing 2. This feature prevents longitudinal movement of the members 17 and 1 6 and, therefore, also prevents longitudinal movement of the fan housing 15 within the casing 2.

The member 1 7 is retained in position within the casing 2 by means of locking tabs 48 which are pivotally mounted at the edges of the central region 35 of the member 17. The pivotally mounted locking tabs 48 can be engaged in respective slots 49 formed in the inside of the casing base 4 and top 5, as shown in Figure 3.

To facilitate correct location of the ends 1 8 of the member 1 6 within the casing the end portions 32 of the member 17 have tongues or fingers or the like 50 which extend inwardly from the plane of the end portions 32. The tongues 50 establish an initial contact with the ends 1 8 of the member 16 and serve to clamp these ends against the shoulders 20,21. Alternatively, the end regions of the member 1 6 could be located or secured on the shoulders 20, 21 by means of self-tapping screws.

All the components of a ventilator 1 of the type described above, can, after removal of the inner wall 3, be removed quite simply and quickly from the casing 2 when necessary for inspection or cleaning or repair. Since the members 1 6, 17 as well as the inserts 37, 38 are relatively easily removable, the slide 11 is readily accessible over its whole length and thus it can be disengaged from the strips or ledges 1 2 by moving it against the force of the retaining springs within the grooves 14.

Figure 3 shows how the stator 51 of an axial flow fan 52 can be secured to the member 16, with the fan rotor 53 extending into the neck 31.

The length of the neck 31 is less than the rotor vane width. The fan 52 is arranged so as to be fitted so that the rotor vane inside edges are substantially flush with the inner end of the neck, whereas over the remainder of its width the rotor 53 extends freely into the chamber 34 which effectively preceeds the chamber 28 within the fan housing 1 5. It has been found that arranging the fan 52 in this way promotes a very good flow of air through the ventilator, with particular advantages for the air flow near the chamber 34.

The member 16 may be of unitary construction, or may be formed from a first element constituting the central region, and two further elements constituting the inclined or sloping regions. The elements may be interconnected by welding or screwing. The members 1 6 and 1 7 which constitute the fan housing 1 5 may be made of any appropriate durable sheet material such as sheet metal, or sheets of appropriate plastics material.

They may be produced cheaply from flat blanks by stamping and/or bending operations.

Figure 6 shows a modified embodiment of a ventilator in accordance with the invention. In practical terms the only significant difference between the ventilator shown in Figure 6 and that shown in and described with reference to Figures 1 to 5 is that the flow ducts 39 in Figure 6 follow on directly from the end portions 32 of the member 17, extending transversely of the length of the casing 2, and at least those wall surfaces of the ducts 29 which are opposite the end portions 32 of the members 1 7 have a sound-absorbent covering. Conveniently, inserts of U-section sound-absorbent material are used to form the ducts 39, with their webs engaging the end walls 7, 8 of the casing 2 while the two flanges bear on the casing base 4 and top 5, with their end surfaces abutting the end portions 32 of the member 17. In this case the length of the ducts 39 corresponds approximately to the depth of the casing 2 and the ducts extend to opposite ends of the air distribution chamber 41 which is bounded by the casing inner wall 3 and the central region 35 of the member 17.

Claims (14)

1. A ventilator adapted to be fitted in an opening in a wall of a building, the ventilator comprising a substantially parallelepipedic casing adapted to extend substantially parallel to the plane of the wall and defining an outer wall and an inner wall, the outer wall being provided with an air flow orifice openable and closable by means of a slide or flap or the like, said orifice communicating with an air flow directing box which is located within the casing and which is constituted by two interconnected members, one member having a substantially central opening substantially aligned with the said air flow orifice, the other member being substantially "U" shaped in section and having apertures formed in the arms of the "U" thus forming air passages which extend in the direction of the wall plane, and which intersect in the central region of the ventilator within said air flow directing box, the inner wall being provided with one or more openings communicating with said air passages.

2. A ventilator according to claim 1, wherein the first said member is configured to have the central region thereof spaced further from the said outer wall than the end regions thereof.

3. A ventilator according to any one of the preceding claims wherein end regions of the said two members contact one another at or adjacent the said outer wall of the casing, and bear on shoulders provided on a top wall and on a bottom wall of the casing.

4. A ventilator according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the end portions of the "U" shaped member engage sound damping inserts disposed within the casing.

5. A ventilator according to claim 4, wherein said sound damping inserts are in engagement with said outer wall of the casing.

6. A ventilator according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the said two members are vertical, and the bottom and top edges of the members are located directly on sound absorbing inserts located within the casing.

7. A ventilator according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the central region of the "U" shaped member has a sound-absorbent covering on the surface thereof facing the said one member.

8. A ventilator according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the central region of the "U" shaped member extends parallel to and at a distance from the inner wall of the casing.

9. A ventilator according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the stator of an axial flow fan is secured to the first said member, the fan rotor extending through the said central opening.

10. A ventilator according to claim 9, wherein the first said member is constituted by two identically shaped side members disposed in inverted relationship to one another and a central member connected to the side members, the central member being formed on one side with a neck which is directed towards the outer wall of the casing.

11. A ventilator according to claim 10, wherein the length of the neck is less than the width of the rotor vane, the rotor vane inside edges being substantially flush with the inner end of the neck.

12. A ventilator according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein air flow ducts are provided which extend away from the end portions of the "U" shaped member, extending transversely of the length of the casing, said ducts having a sound-absorbent covering on at least the wall surfaces thereof which are disposed opposite the end portions of the "U" shaped member.

13. A ventilator according to claim 11, wherein the length of the air flow ducts adjacent the end portions of the "U" shaped member is substantially equal to the depth of the casing, the ducts extending to opposite ends of an air distribution chamber bounded by an inner wall of the casing and by the "U" shaped member.

14. A ventilator substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figures 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings.

1 5. A ventilator substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figure 6 of the accompanying drawings.

1 6. A ventilator substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figures 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings, 1 7. A ventilator substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figure 6 of the accompanying drawings.

1 8. Any novel feature or combination of features disclosed herein described.