Recessed Bath Fan Housing With Telescoping Joist Brackets
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bathroom ventilation fans are difficult to install due to housing incompatibility with off-center joists, require numerous parts leading to increased manufacturing and labor costs, and often necessitate complex wiring, resulting in higher installation expenses.
Innovation Solution
A 70 CFM ventilation fan system with a recessed can and telescoping side-mounted slide suspension brackets, featuring a motor and blower as a single unit for easy installation and maintenance, using minimal components and elastomeric sealing rings to prevent moisture and air ingress, allowing for centralized power connections and easy access for inspection and replacement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional bath fan housings are used, then the housing structure is simple, but the housing cannot be easily attached to off-center joists in the ceiling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs telescoping side suspension brackets that can slide and adjust to different positions, transforming a static housing structure into a dynamic one that adapts to off-center joists. The brackets extend and retract to accommodate varying distances from the housing center to the joist center, enabling flexible attachment while maintaining structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing is divided into separate functional components: the main housing body, the telescoping brackets, and the motor assembly. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently - the housing remains simple while the brackets provide the necessary adaptability through their telescoping mechanism.
2Ease of repair
If traditional bath fans with separate motor and blower components are used, then component replacement is difficult, but manufacturing costs are lower
Solution Approach 1:
The motor and blower wheel are combined into a single integrated assembly that functions as one unit. This merging simplifies manufacturing by reducing the number of separate parts that need to be produced and assembled, while simultaneously improving repairability by allowing the entire motor-blower assembly to be removed and replaced as a single component.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated motor-blower assembly serves multiple functions - the motor drives the blower wheel which moves air through the housing. By combining these functions into one assembly, the design achieves both manufacturing efficiency and ease of replacement, as the entire functional unit can be installed or replaced without disassembling individual components.
3Reliability
If traditional bath fans with numerous parts are used, then functional requirements are met, but manufacturing and labor costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple components into fewer integrated units - the motor and blower wheel form one assembly, the brackets are integrated with the housing, and the deflectors are positioned to work with the single motor-blower unit. This reduction in part count lowers manufacturing and assembly costs while maintaining all necessary functional performance through the coordinated design of the integrated components.
4Ease of operation
If traditional bath fans requiring on-site wiring connections are used, then installation flexibility is achieved, but labor costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The motor assembly is pre-wired during manufacturing, with electrical connections prepared in advance. This preliminary action eliminates the need for complex on-site wiring connections during installation, reducing labor costs while maintaining installation flexibility. The pre-wired motor assembly can be simply connected to power sources at the installation location without requiring skilled electrical work.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Facilitates easier installation and reduces labor costs by allowing for centering on off-center joists, minimizing components, and ensuring efficient airflow while preventing moisture and air from reaching internal components, thus enhancing installation efficiency and reducing material costs.
Implementation Method 1
a blower wheel inside of the housing... wherein air enters into the housing about the large open end of the can about the can, and not through the can, with the air exhausted from the outlet of the housing by the motor run blower
Implementation Method 2
sealing members that prevent air and moisture from a bathroom from entering into and contacting light components such as bulbs inside of the fan
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus, systems and methods of 70 (seventy) CFM (cubic feet per minute) ventilation fans for bathrooms with recessed cans for lights with the motor inside and beneath the blower. A housing for the bath fan can be attached to joists in the ceiling by a telescoping brackets. The motor and blower can be removed as a single unit to allow the motor to be easily replaced or repaired, and to allow for the inside to be inspected during and after installation. A decorative ring shaped pan about the light can have vents that receive the incoming air into the fan, which is exhausted by the blower. Sealing members can seal the can to the light, and to the decorative ring shaped pan.