FAN DEVICE

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a fan device with at least one radial fan, comprising a fan housing in which an impeller is arranged that is driven rotatorily about an axis of rotation, wherein the fan housing has a guide wall extending around the impeller in a circumferential direction and equipped with several arcuate wall sections, which defines air discharge openings, wherein each of the air discharge openings is associated with an arcuate wall section of the guide wall, wherein the fan housing has a front cover plate equipped with an air intake opening and a rear cover plate arranged downstream of the front cover plate with respect to the flow direction, and wherein a frame-shaped circumferential wall of an outer housing is arranged around the guide wall.which has a rear frame opening on its rear side, positioned in front of the rear cover plate and serving as an exit opening, and a front frame opening on its front side.

[0002] Radial fans can basically be classified into two different categories: one group consists of radial fans with spiral housings and the other group consists of free-running radial fans.

[0003] The spiral casing of the radial fans in the first group has two functions. It collects the air flowing from the impeller, guides it to a common outlet, and converts some of the kinetic energy (dynamic pressure) into pressure energy (static pressure) through the continuous expansion of the cross-section in the direction of flow (diffuser effect). In free-running radial fans, the air is deflected radially within the impeller and flows out at the blade outlet diameter. Diffusers are already known for increasing the static efficiency, in which the top and bottom plates of the impeller have outer edge regions extending beyond the blade outlet diameter.

[0004] A fan device of the type mentioned above is known, for example, from DE 10 2015 226 575 A1. The fan device comprises a fan housing in which an impeller is driven rotationally about an axis of rotation. The fan housing has a guide wall extending spirally around the impeller in one circumferential direction. The guide wall has spirally shaped guide wall segments, each of which transitions into its own air discharge opening, such that the fan housing has a plurality of air discharge openings distributed in the circumferential direction of the impeller. It is further disclosed to insert the radial fan into a climate housing, for example, a climate box or climate duct, such that an outflow zone is formed between the air discharge openings and at least one associated climate housing wall.

[0005] CN 208 311 150 U discloses a fan device with a radial fan housed in an outer casing, wherein the fan casing has a guide vane extending around the impeller in a circumferential direction and equipped with four arcuate guide vane elements, and wherein the guide vane elements are attached to the side walls of the outer casing. US 5 803 721 A and DE 10 2006 012356 A1 disclose further fan devices from the prior art.

[0006] The object of the invention is to create a fan device of the type mentioned above that is simple in design, requires few components, and is therefore inexpensive to manufacture. Furthermore, the advantages of free-running radial fans are to be combined with the operating principle of classic housing fans.

[0007] This problem is solved by a fan device having the features of independent claim 1. Further developments of the invention are described in the dependent claims.

[0008] The fan device according to the invention is characterized in that the front cover plate of the fan housing simultaneously forms a front end wall of the outer housing that projects beyond the guide wall all around, with which the fan housing is attached to the frame-shaped circumferential wall of the outer housing in the area of ​​the front frame opening by means of fastening means.

[0009] The fan assembly according to the invention requires few components, since in particular the front cover plate of the fan housing simultaneously forms the front end wall of the outer housing. The fan housing can therefore be flanged to the frame-shaped circumferential wall of the outer housing via the front cover plate. Assembly of such units is simple and relatively quick, and therefore cost-effective.

[0010] The fan unit is a directly driven radial fan with spiral air guides. The fan unit according to the invention is suitable, for example, as a so-called "filter fan unit" for use in cleanrooms.

[0011] In a further development of the invention, the front and rear frame openings have essentially the same opening cross-section. This makes it possible for the frame-shaped circumferential wall of the outer housing to be designed as a pure frame part, without end walls.

[0012] In a particularly preferred embodiment, the front cover plate forming the front end wall of the outer housing projects all around beyond the opening cross-section of the front frame opening and is fastened to the front end edge of the frame-shaped or frame-like perimeter wall by means of fastening means. The frame-like perimeter wall can thus serve as a kind of flange to which the front cover plate is attached. The fastening means are preferably screw fasteners, in particular fastening screws and associated fastening holes on the one hand on the front cover plate and on the other hand on the end edge of the perimeter wall.

[0013] Outside the scope of protection of the invention, it would also be possible for the front cover plate to have an outline area that is smaller than the opening cross-section of the front frame opening and for a contact rib, in particular a circumferential one, to be formed on the inside of the frame-shaped circumferential wall, which then serves to fasten the front cover plate.

[0014] In a further development of the invention, the frame-shaped circumferential wall of the outer housing has a rectangular, in particular square, cross-section. In principle, however, it would also be possible for the frame-shaped circumferential wall to be designed as a cylinder.

[0015] In a further development of the invention, the frame-shaped perimeter wall consists of several perimeter wall elements connected to one another by means of connecting elements. Preferably, screw fasteners serve as connecting elements, in particular corresponding fastening holes formed on the perimeter wall elements and associated fastening screws. Alternatively, however, it would also be conceivable for the frame-shaped perimeter wall to be a single-piece component.

[0016] In a further development of the invention, the front cover plate of the fan housing, which forms the front end wall of the outer casing, has a larger outline area than the rear cover plate of the fan housing, wherein the outline area of ​​the rear cover plate is smaller than the cross-section of the front frame opening, such that the radial fan with its fan housing, as a single, manageable assembly, is inserted, with the rear cover plate leading, into a receiving space known laterally by the frame-like circumferential wall. The outline area, as defined in the application, is the area spanned by the outline of the component in question, in particular the cover plates.

[0017] In a further development of the invention, the front cover plate has at least one carrying handle. This allows the fan housing, designed as a single, easily handled assembly, to be transported and inserted into the receiving space in a simple manner. Advantageously, four carrying handles are provided, one at each corner of the front cover plate.

[0018] According to the invention, the guide wall is attached to the front cover plate on one side and to the rear cover plate on the other by means of guide wall fastening means. The guide wall fastening means are expediently designed as screw fastening means, with fastening holes formed in the guide wall and corresponding fastening holes on the front and rear cover plates on the other, and associated fastening screws.

[0019] According to the invention, the guide wall is constructed from several guide wall elements forming the arc-shaped wall sections, each designed as a separate component.

[0020] According to the invention, the guide wall elements each have an arcuately curved base section and, arranged at the longitudinal edges of the base section, opposing, web-shaped fastening sections extending in the plane of the cover plates for attachment to the associated cover plate. Preferably, the base section of the guide wall element is arranged relative to the outlet cross-section of the impeller such that radially expelled air is guided in a spiral pattern to the associated air outlet openings.

[0021] In a particularly preferred configuration, the front end faces of the base section of the guide wall element and the rear end faces of the adjacent guide wall element form lateral boundaries for the air outlet openings. The upper and lower boundaries for the air outlet openings then form the rear and front cover plates, respectively.

[0022] It is possible that the front end faces of the base sections of the guide wall elements have a bent end section relative to the rest of the base section.

[0023] In a further development of the invention, the web-shaped fastening sections associated with the front cover plate are attached directly to the inside of the front cover plate or indirectly by means of an intermediate fastening plate to which the fastening sections are attached on the one hand and which is attached on the other hand to the inside of the front cover plate.

[0024] It is possible that at least two, and in particular four, of the air outlet openings are diametrically opposed to each other with respect to the axis of rotation of the impeller.

[0025] In a particularly preferred manner, the air discharge openings each have a discharge surface which is aligned at an angle, in particular at an angle of < 90°, to an associated side edge of the front cover plate.

[0026] In a particularly preferred manner, a fastening interface for attaching a filter element is formed in the area of ​​the rear end face of the frame-shaped circumferential wall.

[0027] In a further development of the invention, a filter element is attached to the mounting interface.

[0028] A preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawing and is explained in more detail below. The drawing shows: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the fan device according to the invention, Figure 2 is a top view of the fan device of Figure 2 Figure 3 shows a section through the fan assembly of Figure 2 along line III-III from Figure 2 Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the frame-like circumferential wall of the fan device according to the invention, Figure 5 shows a perspective, schematic view of the uniformly handleable assembly in the form of the fan housing, Figure 6 shows a perspective view of the fan device according to the invention. Figure 1 without front end wall with view of the fan housing, Figure 7 a perspective view of a guide wall element and Figure 8 a perspective view, partially cut away, of the fan device, with view of the guide wall segments of the fan housing.

[0029] The Figures 1 to 8Figure 11 shows a preferred embodiment of the fan device according to the invention. Such a fan device is suitable for use in air conditioning and ventilation technology, particularly in cleanroom technology. In semiconductor manufacturing, as well as in pharmaceutical technology, there is a need to protect production processes from contamination in the form of particles, aerosols, and so on. For this purpose, cleanrooms are designed to ensure that a certain number of particles per cubic meter of air is not exceeded. As a rule, such cleanrooms are designed so that a large number of so-called "filter fan units" are arranged on a cleanroom grid ceiling, which makes it possible to generate a so-called "laminar flow," meaning that the air flowing out of the filter fan unit exits in the form of a laminar flow, thus preventing the stirring up of particles, unlike a turbulent flow.

[0030] The fan assembly 11 according to the invention is therefore particularly suitable for such cleanrooms and can thus be used there as a filter fan unit. However, it is of course also possible to use the fan assembly 11 according to the invention in other areas of air conditioning and ventilation technology.

[0031] In the following, however, the fan unit will be explained in the form of a filter fan unit.

[0032] An important component of the fan assembly 11 is a radial fan 12, which has a fan housing 13 in which an impeller 14 driven about a rotational axis is arranged.

[0033] The impeller 14 has a blade ring 15, which consists of several blades 16, which may be inclined from the inside out against the direction of travel, in particular curved in an arc or alternatively designed with a straight course.

[0034] As especially in the Figures 5 to 8 As shown, the fan housing 13 has a guide wall 18 extending around the impeller 14 in a circumferential direction 17 and equipped with several arcuate wall sections, which defines air discharge openings 19a-d, each of which is associated with an arcuate wall section of the guide wall 18. The fan housing 13 also has a rear cover plate 20a and a front cover plate 20b equipped with an air intake opening 21.

[0035] How in particular the synthesis of Figure 7 and 8 As shown, the guide wall 18 is constructed from several canvas elements 22a-d forming the arc-shaped wall sections as separate components.

[0036] One such guide wall element 22a-d is exemplified in Figure 7The guide wall elements 22a-d each have an arcuately curved base section 23 and, arranged on the longitudinal edges 24 of the base section 23, opposing, web-shaped fastening sections 25a, 25b extending in the plane of the cover plates 20a, 20b for attachment to the associated cover plate 20a, 20b. The guide wall elements 22a, 22b are advantageously bent sheet metal parts, in particular metal sheet parts. The fastening sections 25a, 25b can be integrally connected to the base section and formed by bending over an originally flat base section. Furthermore, the curvature of the guide wall elements 22a, 22b can also be achieved by bending.

[0037] In the example shown, the mounting sections 25a and 25b each have two sections. A first, elongated section 26 has two guide vane mounting holes 27, which interact with corresponding mounting holes 28 on the rear cover plate 20a. Mounting screws (not shown) protruding through the guide vane mounting holes 27 and the mounting holes 28 on the front cover plate 20a secure the respective guide vane element 22a-d to the rear cover plate 20a. Mounting sections 25a and 25b each have a further second section 29, which, unlike the elongated first section 26, has, for example, a single guide vane mounting hole 27. The connection in the area of ​​the second section 29 to the rear cover plate 20a is made in the same way as in the front first section 26.The other fastening section 25b, which is assigned to the front cover plate 20b, is designed in the same way as the first fastening section 25a and has a first section area 26, which is relatively elongated, on which there are two guide wall fastening holes 27 and a further second section area 29 with, for example, a single fastening hole 27.

[0038] As particularly in Figure 7 As shown, each guide wall element 22a-d has a terminal section 31 bent over the rest of the base section 23 at the front end 30 of the base section 23. The rear end 32 opposite the front end 30 is free of such a terminal section 31 and is flat.

[0039] As especially in the Figure 6 and 8As shown, the fan housing 13 in the example shown has four air outlet openings 19a-d, each arranged at the corners of the fan housing 13. As shown in particular in Figure 8 As shown, the front end faces 30 of the base section 23 of a guide wall element 22a-d, together with the rear end faces 32 of the adjacent guide wall element, form lateral boundaries for the air outlet openings 19a-d. The upper and lower boundaries for the air outlet openings 19a-d are formed by the front and rear cover plates 20a and 20b, respectively. Thus, in the example shown, four partial spirals are formed, each collecting a portion of the air radially deflected by the impeller 14 and supplying it to the corresponding air outlet openings 19a-d. In the example shown, the outlet surfaces 33 of the respective air outlet openings have a rectangular shape.

[0040] How in particular the synthesis of Figures 5 and 8As shown, the front cover plate 20b has a larger outline area than the rear cover plate 20a, which leads to the advantages described below.

[0041] In addition to the radial fan 12 with its fan housing 13 and impeller 14, another essential component of the fan assembly 11 is an outer housing 35, which is arranged around the guide wall 18. The outer housing 35 has a frame-shaped circumferential wall 36, which has a rear frame opening 38a on its rear side 37, serving as an outlet opening in front of the rear cover plate 20a, and a front frame opening 38b on its front side 39.

[0042] As particularly in Figure 4 As shown, the frame-shaped perimeter wall 36 has a square cross-section in the example. In the example shown, the front and rear frame openings 38a, 38b have essentially the same opening cross-section.

[0043] In the example shown, the frame-shaped perimeter wall 36 consists of several perimeter wall elements 40a-d connected to each other by means of connecting elements. In the example, four perimeter wall elements 40a-d are provided, which are of the same length and are fastened to each other at their joints by means of the connecting elements, which include connecting openings and associated connecting screws.

[0044] A key aspect of the invention is that the front cover plate 20b simultaneously forms a front end wall of the outer housing 35 that projects beyond the guide wall 18 all around, with which the fan housing 13 is attached to the frame-shaped circumferential wall 36 of the outer housing 35 at the rear in the area of ​​the front frame opening 38b by means of fastening means 41.

[0045] The front cover plate 20b of the fan housing 13, which forms the front end wall, has a larger outline area than the rear cover plate 20a, the outline area of ​​the rear cover plate 20a being smaller than the cross-section of the front frame opening 38b, such that the fan housing 13 is inserted as a single, manageable assembly with the rear cover plate 20a facing forward into a receiving space 42 laterally bounded by the frame-like circumferential wall 36.

[0046] As particularly in Figure 1 or 2As shown, fastening holes 43 are provided on the front cover plate 20b as fastening means. These holes are arranged in the edge region of the front cover plate 20b, in particular at regular intervals along its circumference. The fastening holes 43 on the front cover plate 20b are aligned with fastening holes on the upper edges of the perimeter wall elements 40a-40d, and the front cover plate 20b is simply screwed to the upper edge of the frame-shaped perimeter wall 36 by means of fastening screws 44.

[0047] To make handling the radial fan assembly 12 easier, carrying handles 44 are located on the top of the front cover plate 20b. In this example, four carrying handles 44 are provided, each assigned to one of the corners of the front cover plate 20b.

[0048] As particularly in Figure 6As shown, the rear cover plate 20a, in contrast to the front cover plate 20b, which forms the rear end wall of the outer housing 35, has a non-square, in particular irregularly shaped outline surface, which is adapted to the shape of the arcuately curved base sections 23 of the guide wall elements 22a-d.

[0049] As further in Figure 6 As shown, stiffening areas 45 are formed on the rear cover plate 20a, which ensure that the vibrations caused by the impeller 14 are reduced. Advantageously, the stiffening areas 45 are circular material thickenings in the center of the rear cover plate 20a.

[0050] The rear cover plate 20a further has a particularly circular opening 46 through which electrical contact with the impeller is possible. As shown particularly in Figure 6, a control unit 48 for controlling the impeller 14 is located on the outer housing, particularly on the front cover plate forming the front end wall, with contact being made by means of a cable routed between the control unit 48 and the impeller 14 via the opening 46.

[0051] As especially in the Figure 1 and 2 As shown, the air intake opening 21 is equipped with a particularly circular grille 49. This prevents the intake of parts that could potentially damage the impeller.

[0052] As already mentioned, the air outlet openings 19a-d form discharge surfaces 33 which are oriented at an angle, in particular at an angle of < 90°, to an associated side edge of the front cover plate 20b. As shown in particular in Figure 6 As shown, the rear cover plate 20a is rotated relative to the front cover plate 20b. The inclined arrangement of the outlet surfaces 33, when the radial fan assembly is installed, ensures that a wedge-shaped air discharge chamber 50 is formed between the outer surfaces of the guide wall elements 22a-d and the inner surfaces of the circumferential wall elements 40a-d for each air discharge opening 19a-d. The distance between the outlet surface 33 at the respective air discharge opening 19a-d and the corner of the associated circumferential wall 40a-d is greatest in this configuration.

[0053] As already mentioned, the fan unit can be used as a filter fan unit in cleanrooms. For this purpose, a mounting interface 52 for attaching a filter element is provided in the area of ​​the rear end face of the frame-like perimeter wall. As particularly in Figure 3 As shown, such an air filter is attached to the mounting interface 52. In this case, the air filter is located downstream of the rear frame opening in the direction of airflow.

[0054] As already mentioned, the uniformly handled radial fan assembly can be easily attached to the upper edges of the frame-like perimeter wall 36 by handling it by the carrying handles 44 and connected to the perimeter wall elements 40. The impeller with the rear cover plate 20a protrudes into the receiving space 42.

[0055] During operation, air is drawn in axially through the air intake opening 21 and enters the impeller 14, where it is deflected radially and expelled radially at the outer diameter of the blade ring 15. The radially expelled air then enters a discharge zone and is guided through the baffle elements to the air discharge openings 19a-d, before entering the wedge-shaped air discharge chambers 50. The expelled air is then deflected along the inside of the circumferential wall 36 and reaches the discharge opening, which is equipped with the aforementioned filter element 51. The air is then expelled from the fan assembly 11 via the filter.

Claims

1. Fan device with at least one radial fan (12), with a fan housing (13) in which an impeller (14) which is rotationally driven about a rotation axis is arranged, wherein the fan housing comprises a guide wall (18) which extends in a circumferential direction (17) of the impeller (14) around this, is equipped with several arcuate wall sections and delimits air blow-out openings (19a-d), wherein an arcuate wall section of the guide wall (18) is assigned to each of the air blow-out openings (19a-d), wherein the fan housing (13) comprises a front cover plate (20b) which is provided with an air suction opening (21), and a rear cover plate (20a) which with regard to the flow direction is arranged downstream of the front cover plate (20b), and wherein a frame-shaped peripheral wall (36) of an outer housing (35) is arranged around the guide wall (18) and at its rear side (37) comprises a rear frame opening (38a), said rear frame opening being arranged in front of the rear cover plate (20a) and serving as an outflow opening, and at its front side (39) comprises a front frame opening (38b), wherein the front cover plate (20b) of the fan housing (13) simultaneously forms a front terminating wall of the outer housing (35) with which the fan housing (13) is fastened to the frame-shaped peripheral wall (36) of the outer housing (35) in the region of the front frame opening (38b) at the front side by way of fastening means, wherein the guide wall (18) is constructed from several guide wall elements (22a-d) which form the arcuate wall sections and are designed as separate components, wherein the front cover plate protrudes beyond the guide wall all around and wherein the guide wall (18) is fastened by way of guide wall fastening means on the one hand to the front cover plate (20b) and on the other hand to the rear cover plate (20a), wherein the guide wall elements (22a-b) each comprise an arcuately bent base section (23) and web-like fastening sections (25a, 25b) which are arranged on the longitudinal edges (24) of the base section (23), lie opposite one another and each extend in the plane of the cover plates, for fastening to the assigned cover plate (20a, 20b).

2. Fan device according to claim 1, characterised in that the front and the rear frame opening (38a, 38b) have an essentially equally large opening cross section.

3. Fan device according to claim 1, characterised in that the front cover plate (20b) projects around and beyond the opening cross section of the front frame opening (38b) and is fastened to the front face edge of the frame-like peripheral wall (36) by way of fastening means (41).

4. Fan device according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the frame-shaped peripheral wall (36) of the outer housing (35) has a rectangular, in particularly square cross section.

5. Fan device according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the frame-shaped peripheral wall (36) consists of several peripheral wall elements (40) which are connected to one another by way of connection means.

6. Fan device according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the front cover plate (20b) of the fan housing (13) which forms the front terminating wall of the outer housing (35) has a larger outline area than the rear cover plate (20a) of the fan housing (13), wherein the outline area of the rear cover plate (20a) is smaller than the cross section of the front frame opening (38b) to the extent that the radial fan (12) with its fan housing (13) as an assembly able to be handled as a unit is inserted with the rear cover plate (20a) in front into a receiving space (42) which is laterally delimited by the frame-like peripheral wall (36).

7. Fan device according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the front cover plate (20b) comprises at least one carrier grip (44), in particular four carrier grips (44) which are assigned to the respective corners of the front cover plate (20b).

8. Fan device according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that front face-side ends (30) of the base section (23) of the guide wall element (22a-d) together with the rear face-side ends (32) of the adjacent guide wall element (22a-d) form lateral delimitations for the air blow-out openings (19a-d), wherein preferably the front face-side ends (30) of the base sections (23) of the guide wall element (22a-d) comprise a terminating section (31) which is bent over with respect to the remainder of the base section (23).

9. Fan device according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the web-shaped fastening sections (25a, 25b) which are assigned to the front cover plate (20b) are fastened to the inner side of the front cover plate (20b) in a direct manner or indirectly by way of an intermediately arranged fastening plate, on which on the one hand the fastening sections (25a, 25b) are fastened and which on the other hand is fastened to the inner side of the front cover plate (20b).

10. Fan device according to one of the preceding claims characterised in that of the air blow-out openings (19a-d), at least two, in particular four lie diametrically opposite with regard to the rotation axis of the impeller (14).

11. Fan device according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the air blow-out openings (19a-d) each comprise a mouth area (33) which is directed at an angle, in particular at an angle < 90° to an assigned side edge of the front cover plate (20b).

12. Fan device according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that a fastening interface (52) for fastening a filter element is formed in the region of the rear face-side end of the frame-like peripheral wall, wherein preferably a filter element (51) is fastened to the fastening interface (52).