Air diffuser and method for assembling the same
The present invention is directed to an air diffuser and a method of assembling the same. The air diffuser provides an air flow with an angular direction with respect to a vertical plan. The air diffuser may be made of different sections configured, when assembled, to direct and disperse the air all around the room or preferably a large area such a warehouse or the like.
The present patent application claims the benefits of priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/650,172, entitled “Air diffuser and method for assembling the same”, and filed at the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Mar. 29, 2018, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention generally relates to system and method for diffusing air. More specifically, the present invention relates to system and method for diffusing air of ventilation units producing large debit of air.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONAir diffusers adapted for directing and dispersing air or other compressible fluids are well known in the art. Such air diffusers are generally configured to be integrated to ceilings or to ventilation systems. Typically, a diffuser comprises different layers of louvered surfaces or comprises vanes permanently attached one to the other. Such surfaces or vanes are generally configured to direct and disperse the air throughout a room or an area.
Existing air diffusers are generally configured to receive low debit airflow, such as airflow from a residential or commercial building ceiling duct. Such solutions are not designed to resist to important airflow debit from larger fans such as industrial fans found in large warehouses or farming buildings.
An apparatus for a discharge vent on an air circulation system including structures for controlling the direction and quantity of airflow is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,554,880. Preferred methods for assembling and using the apparatus are also disclosed. Such design aims at providing an air flow adjustability for the convenience and comfort of the occupants, it should also be easy to use and replace at reasonable price. Furthermore, the apparatus disclosed slidable panels configured to control air flow through a vertical direction with regard to the ceiling.
There is thus a need for an improved air diffuser especially for use with medium or large debit fans such as those used for ceiling diffusers for a large warehouse, farms or the like.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe shortcomings of the prior art are generally mitigated by providing an air diffuser having a general conical shape and comprising attachment means adapted to attach to a fan or ventilator. Such air diffuser is adapted to direct airflow about the inclined surface of the air diffuser.
In another aspect of the present invention, an air diffuser with at least one sloped area to guide the air coming from a duct is provided.
In another aspect of the present invention, an air diffuser adapted to disperse the air throughout a large room such as a warehouse or the like is provided.
In a further aspect of the present invention, an air diffuser adapted to be easily assembled and adjusted when needed is provided.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, an air diffuser adapted to avoid vertical air flow blowing with regard to the ceiling when mounted to a fan is provided.
In another aspect of the present invention, an air diffuser for an airflow producing at least 5,000 cubic feet per minute (CFM) is provided. The air diffuser comprises a reflecting member maintained at a fixed distance from a source of the airflow. The reflecting member further comprises a reflecting surface having an outer periphery, the reflecting surface being inclined with regard to the direction of the airflow and being adapted to direct the airflow toward all directions of the outer periphery at angle being function of the inclination of the reflecting surface.
The reflecting surface may comprise an aperture adapted to let at least a portion of the airflow through the air diffuser.
The air diffuser may further comprise a covering member adapted to mate the general shape of a top portion of the reflecting surface and to cover at least a portion of the aperture.
The reflecting member may further comprise a plurality of reflecting sections adapted to be mounted to each another to form the reflecting surface. The reflecting member may have a frustoconical shape or each reflecting member may be shaped as section of the frustoconical shape of the reflecting member. Each reflecting section may comprise a male portion, a female portion, an outer side and an inner side, the female side of a first reflecting section may be adapted to receive the male side of a second reflecting section.
Each reflecting section may comprise two side walls angled according to the inclination of the reflecting member and an outer wall forming a portion of the periphery of the reflecting member.
The air diffuser may further comprise an attachment mechanism adapted to attach the reflecting member to the airflow source. The attachment mechanism may further comprise a plurality of linking members, each linking member being adapted to be mounted at a first end to the airflow source and at a second end to the reflecting member. Each first end of the linking members may be adapted to be attached to the airflow source.
The inclination of the reflecting member may be between about 10 and 40 degrees.
The air diffuser further may further comprise a bottom covering member adapted to cover an opening formed by a bottom surface of the redirecting member.
In another aspect of the present invention, an air diffuser for an airflow is provided. The air diffuser comprises a reflecting member maintained at a fixed distance from a source of the airflow. The reflecting member further comprises a reflecting surface having an outer periphery, the reflecting surface being inclined with regard to the direction of the airflow and being adapted to direct the airflow toward all directions of the outer periphery at angle being function of the inclination of the reflecting surface, the reflecting surface comprising an aperture adapted to let at least a portion of the airflow through the air diffuser. The reflecting member further comprises a plurality of reflecting sections adapted to be mounted to each another to form the reflecting surface.
The reflecting member may have a frustoconical shape, each reflecting member being shaped as a section of the frustoconical shape of the reflecting member. Each reflecting section may further comprise an inner wall shaped to form a section of a periphery the aperture.
The air diffuser may further comprise an attachment mechanism adapted to attach the reflecting member to the airflow source. The attachment mechanism may further comprise a plurality of linking members, each linking member being adapted to be mounted at a first end to the airflow source and at a second end to the reflecting member.
The air diffuser further may further comprise a plurality of bottom covering members adapted to cover a bottom surface of the redirecting member, each covering member being shaped to cover a bottom surface of at least one of the reflecting sections.
Each covering member may comprise an inner wall, each inner wall being shaped to form a section of a periphery a bottom aperture to let air pass through the diffuser.
The air diffuser may further comprise a structure adapted to attach the reflecting sections to one another.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, a method of diffusing air of from a large airflow source is provided. The method comprises assembling a plurality of redirecting sections to form a redirecting surface inclined with regard to the direction of the airflow source and having a periphery, maintaining the formed redirecting surface at a predetermined distance from a source of the airflow, blowing an airflow from the airflow source toward the formed redirecting surface and redirecting the airflow toward all directions of the outer periphery at angle being function of the inclination of the reflecting surface.
The method further may further comprise letting at least a portion of the airflow passing through the reflecting surface and/or the assembling of the redirecting sections forming a frustoconical redirecting surface.
Other and further aspects and advantages of the present invention will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiments about to be described or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.
The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which:
A novel air diffuser and method for assembling the same will be described hereinafter. Although the invention is described in terms of specific illustrative embodiments, it is to be understood that the embodiments described herein are by way of example only and that the scope of the invention is not intended to be limited thereby.
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In other embodiments (not shown), the largest width of the reflecting member 2 is equal or superior to the largest of width or length of the source of airflow outlet, such as the duct or the fan.
In yet other embodiments, the air diffuser 100 may be made of rigid or semi-rigid material, such as but not limited to metal or plastic. More particularly, the reflecting member 2 or its components may be made of light yet rigid material such as plastic.
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The reflecting member 2 is inclined or angled with regard to the airflow direction about an angle α2. The angle α2 typically ranges between about 10 degrees and about 40 degrees.
In embodiments comprising an aperture 228, the air diffuser 100 may further comprise a covering member 21. The covering member 21 is generally shaped to mate the general shape of the reflecting member 2 and to cover at least a portion of the aperture 228. As an example, as shown in
The covering member 21 may be inclined or angled with regard to the airflow direction about an angle α1. The angle α1 typically ranges between about 10 degrees and 40 degrees. In a preferred embodiment, the angles α1 and α2 are equal or about the same.
In some embodiments, the diameter d1 is linked to the angle α1 or α2. In a preferred embodiment, the relation between diameter d1 and the angle α1 or α2 follows the following: α1=21.8° and d1=84″. Thus, the angle α1 may be adapted with regard to the diameter d1 and vice-versa.
In some embodiments, the reflecting member 2 may further be made of a plurality of sections 20. Each section 20 is adapted to be mounted to each another to form the reflecting member 2. In a preferred embodiment, each section 20 has a general triangular shape, pie shape or frusto-pie shape. In a preferred embodiment the side walls 221 of each section 20 are substantially perpendicular to the bottom wall 224.
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The embodiments comprising a plurality of sections 20 generally aim at facilitating transport of the air diffuser 100 from a place or location to another. In yet other embodiments, each section 20, when dismantled, may be adapted to be inserted or combined to another section 20. Such configuration generally aims at reducing the volume of the different section and to reduce transportations costs.
In embodiments in which the top surface of the reflecting member 2 comprises a closed top surface, either being flat or curved, each of the inner wall 224 of each section 20 is adapted to form a top enclosure adapted to reflect the airflow.
The air diffuser 100 may further comprise a structure 23 adapted to attach the sections 20 to one another. In a preferred embodiment, the structure 23 comprises a plurality of bracket members 230 mounted one to another to form ribs adapted to receive each of the sections 20. In some embodiments, the bracket members 230 may be shaped to mate with the shape of the side wall 221 of each section 20.
In a preferred embodiment, the air diffuser 100 may further comprises a central attachment structure 27 adapted to mount the bracket members 230 to form a desired structure. The attachment structure 27 may comprise or be formed of a central aperture 271 allowing air to pass through the air diffuser 100. The attachment structure 27 may further comprise attachment brackets 270 adapted to attach to the bracket members 23. The central aperture 271 may further be adapted to attach each of the attachment brackets 270 together. In a preferred embodiment, the central aperture has a circular shape. Understandably, the central aperture 271 may be shaped or adapted according to the needs of the bracket members 23.
In some embodiments, each bracket 23 is T-shaped and is adapted to mate with the side walls 221 of two sections 20. In other embodiments, the bracket member 230 may be adapted to attach to the bottom walls of two sections 20.
Understandably, the bracket member 230 may be attached to sections 20 using any means known in the art. The bracket 230 may comprise a surface 231 adapted to receive a plurality of apertures configured to be similarly positioned and dimensioned to aperture that may be present on the side wall 221 of one of the sections 20.
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In yet other embodiments, the attachment member 10 may further comprise male segments 18 and female segments 11. Each segment 18 and 11 may comprise an inner radial surface 12, an outer radial surface 13 and two substantially parallel side surfaces 16. The male segment 18 and the female segment 11 may further be adapted to be preferably pivotally attached at their junctions.
The attachment member 10 may further comprise one or more protruding portions 17 adapted to attach the said attachment member 10 to the airflow source using any fasteners or any other method known in the art.
The air diffuser 100 may further comprise a linking member 3 adapted to be mounted, at one end, to the reflecting member 2 and, at another end, to the airflow source attachment mean 1. In a preferred embodiment, as shown in
In some embodiments, the air diffuser 100 may further comprise a bottom covering member 24 adapted to close or cover the bottom end of the air diffuser 100. In some embodiments, the bottom covering member 24 is adapted or shaped to at least reduce the turbulences created by the air flow passing through the air diffuser 100.
In a preferred embodiment, the covering member 24 is made of different sections 240 being shaped to mate with the bottom wall of the sections 20 of the reflecting member 2. The covering member 24 may further comprise an inner surface 241 and an outer surface 242. The inner surface 241 is generally configured to mate with the bottom wall 224.
Understandably, the resulting shape of the bottom covering member 24 may comprise an aperture to let air pass through the diffuser.
In another embodiment, the air diffuser 100 may further comprise a detachable central bottom covering member 26 to cover the aperture formed by the bottom covering member 24 and thus block air to go through the central aperture of the air diffuser 100.
In yet other embodiments, the covering members 24 may further comprise one or more aperture 244. Such aperture is generally use to install a lighting fixture or a lamp.
In another embodiment (not shown), the attachment member 1 and the reflecting member 2 may be integral.
In another embodiment (not shown), the airflow source is supported by a vertical supporting member, such as a pole or the like. In such embodiment, the air diffuser 100 comprises an aperture in the top portion of the reflecting member 2 to let the vertical supporting member through the diffuser 100. In such an embodiment, the covering member 24 may further comprise an aperture 248 to let the vertical supporting member through. Typically, the vertical supporting member is rigidly attached to the ground or to a surface in order to support both the air diffuser 100 and the fan. Understandably, in such embodiments, the central bottom covering member 26 and covering member 21 may be removed or adapted to allow the passage of the vertical supporting member through the air diffuser 100.
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In another embodiment comprising an aperture 328, the air diffuser 300 may further comprise a covering member (now shown). The covering member is generally shaped to mate the general shape of the reflecting member 302 and to cover at least a portion of the aperture 328. Understandably, the shape of the reflecting member 302 is not limited to a conical or frusto-conical shape. In other embodiments, the reflecting member 302 could be generally shaped as a pyramid, a frusto-pyramidal shape or any other sloped shape surface. The shape of the aperture 328 is not limited to any particular shape, as long as the said aperture 328 allows portion of the airflow to pass through the air diffuser 300.
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In some other embodiments, each section 320 is a panel adapted to be attached to adjacent panels. In such embodiments, each panel 320 may be curved or lightly curved so the attached panels 320 form the desired shape of the reflecting or redirecting member 302. In other embodiments, the panel may be made of light yet rigid material, such as fiberglass or plastic.
In such embodiments, each section 320 generally comprises side walls 321 and 322, an inner side wall 325 and an outer side wall 326. The inner side wall 325 is typically shaped as a section of the periphery of the aperture 328. The side walls 321 are adapted to mate with each another. In a typical embodiment, a first side wall 321 comprises a lip or protruding portion 323 adapted to fit a receiving portion on the second side wall 322. In a preferred embodiment, the receiving portion overlaps the protruding portion 323 when mated to one another. The receiving portion may be attached to the protruding portion 323 using any attachment member, such as fasteners through the holes or openings 324. The outer wall 326 typically forms a section of the periphery of the air diffuser 300.
A method to assemble an air diffuser 100 is provided. The method comprising assembling the different sections of the attachment member 1 to form a shape mating with the fan or ventilator, assembling the sections 20 to one another to assemble the reflecting member 2 and attaching the reflecting member to the attachment member. The method may further comprise attaching each of the bracket members 23 to a central attachment structure 27 and attaching each of the sections 20 to the bracket members 23.
The method may further comprise attaching one end of each linking member 3 to the bracket member 23 and attaching the other end of the each linking member 3 to the attachment member 1.
In yet another embodiment, the method may further comprise installing a covering member 21 on top of the reflecting member 2.
The method may also comprise clipping or installing a bottom covering member 24 to the bracket 23. In some embodiments having a multi-section bottom covering member, the method may comprise attaching each section 240 of the bottom covering member to two bracket members 23.
While illustrative and presently preferred embodiments of the invention have been described in detail hereinabove, it is to be understood that the inventive concepts may be otherwise variously embodied and employed and that the appended claims are intended to be construed to include such variations except insofar as limited by the prior art.
Claims
1) An air diffuser for an airflow producing at least 5,000 cubic feet per minute (CFM), the air diffuser comprising a reflecting member maintained at a fixed distance from a source of the airflow, the reflecting member comprising a reflecting surface having an outer periphery, the reflecting surface being inclined with regard to the direction of the airflow and being adapted to direct the airflow toward all directions of the outer periphery at angle being function of the inclination of the reflecting surface.
2) The air diffuser of claim 1, the reflecting surface comprising an aperture adapted to let at least a portion of the airflow through the air diffuser.
3) The air diffuser of claim 2, the air diffuser further comprising a covering member adapted to mate the general shape of a top portion of the reflecting surface and to cover at least a portion of the aperture.
4) The air diffuser of claim 1, the reflecting member further comprising a plurality of reflecting sections adapted to be mounted to each another to form the reflecting surface.
5) The air diffuser of claim 4, the reflecting member having a frustoconical shape;
6) The air diffuser of claim 5, each reflecting member being shaped as section of the frustoconical shape of the reflecting member.
7) The air diffuser of claim 4, each reflecting section comprising a male portion, a female portion, an outer side and an inner side, the female side of a first reflecting section being adapted to receive the male side of a second reflecting section.
8) The air diffuser of claim 4, each reflecting section comprising:
- two side walls angled according to the inclination of the reflecting member; and
- an outer wall forming a portion of the periphery of the reflecting member.
9) The air diffuser of claim 1, the air diffuser further comprises an attachment mechanism adapted to attach the reflecting member to the airflow source.
10) The air diffuser of claim 10, the attachment mechanism further comprising a plurality of linking members, each linking member being adapted to be mounted at a first end to the airflow source and at a second end to the reflecting member.
11) The air diffuser of claim 10, each first end of the linking members being adapted to be attached to the airflow source.
12) The air diffuser of claim 1, the inclination of the reflecting member being between about 10 and 40 degrees.
13) The air diffuser of claim 1, the air diffuser further comprising a bottom covering member adapted to cover an opening formed by a bottom surface of the redirecting member.
14) An air diffuser for an airflow, the air diffuser comprising a reflecting member maintained at a fixed distance from a source of the airflow, the reflecting member comprising:
- a) a reflecting surface having an outer periphery, the reflecting surface being inclined with regard to the direction of the airflow and being adapted to direct the airflow toward all directions of the outer periphery at angle being function of the inclination of the reflecting surface, the reflecting surface comprising an aperture adapted to let at least a portion of the airflow through the air diffuser;
- b) a plurality of reflecting sections adapted to be mounted to each another to form the reflecting surface.
15) The air diffuser of claim 14, the reflecting member having a frustoconical shape, each reflecting member being shaped as a section of the frustoconical shape of the reflecting member.
16) The air diffuser of claim 14, each reflecting section further comprising an inner wall shaped to form a section of a periphery the aperture.
17) The air diffuser of claim 14, the air diffuser further comprising an attachment mechanism adapted to attach the reflecting member to the airflow source.
18) The air diffuser of claim 17, the attachment mechanism further comprising a plurality of linking members, each linking member being adapted to be mounted at a first end to the airflow source and at a second end to the reflecting member.
19) The air diffuser of claim 14, the air diffuser further comprising a plurality of bottom covering members adapted to cover a bottom surface of the redirecting member, each covering member being shaped to cover a bottom surface of at least one of the reflecting sections.
20) The air diffuser of claim 19, each covering member comprising an inner wall, each inner wall being shaped to form a section of a periphery a bottom aperture to let air pass through the diffuser.
21) The air diffuser of claim 14, the air diffuser further comprising a structure adapted to attach the reflecting sections to one another.
22) A method of diffusing air of from a large airflow source, the method comprising:
- a) assembling a plurality of redirecting sections to form a redirecting surface inclined with regard to the direction of the airflow source and having a periphery;
- b) maintaining the formed redirecting surface at a predetermined distance from a source of the airflow;
- c) blowing an airflow from the airflow source toward the formed redirecting surface;
- d) redirecting the airflow toward all directions of the outer periphery at angle being function of the inclination of the reflecting surface.
23) The method of claim 22, the method further comprising letting at least a portion of the airflow passing through the reflecting surface.
24) The method of claim 22, the method further comprising the assembling of the redirecting sections forming a frustoconical redirecting surface.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 29, 2019
Publication Date: Oct 3, 2019
Inventors: Alexandre Mathieu (Longueuil), Terry Morin (Varennes)
Application Number: 16/369,570