Fan assembly for an induction cooking appliance
AssigneeHaier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
InventorsCharles David Christensen Phillips, Eric Scott Johnson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A cooking appliance includes an insulated cooking chamber positioned within a cabinet and an air plenum defined between the cabinet and the insulated cooking chamber. A fan assembly includes a first fan and a second fan positioned adjacent each other and having a void region immediately downstream of their outlets. The fan housings may be positioned in direct contact with each other such that the flows of cooling air exiting each fan interact with each other to reduce or eliminate expansion losses. Alternatively, the fan housings may be separated by a small airgap to reduce expansion losses while entraining additional cooling air.
Claims20
A cooking appliance defining a vertical direction, a lateral direction, and a transverse direction, the cooking appliance comprising:
- a cabinet;
- an insulated cooking chamber positioned within the cabinet;
- an air plenum defined between the cabinet and the insulated cooking chamber;
- and
- a fan assembly in fluid communication with the air plenum, the fan assembly comprising:
- a first fan rotating about a first axis for urging a first flow of air, the first fan comprising a first housing defining a first outlet;
- and
- a second fan positioned adjacent the first fan and rotating about a second axis that is spaced apart from and parallel to the first axis, the second fan rotating in an opposite direction of the first fan for urging a second flow of air, the second fan comprising a second housing defining a second outlet, wherein a void region is defined immediately downstream of the first fan and the second fan to permit interaction between the first flow of air and the second flow of air, and wherein the first housing and the second housing are separated by an airgap proximate the first outlet and the second outlet.
A fan assembly for a cooking appliance, the cooking appliance comprising a cabinet, an insulated cooking chamber positioned within the cabinet, and an air plenum defined between the cabinet and the insulated cooking chamber, the fan assembly comprising:
- a first fan comprising a first housing defining a first outlet and rotating about a first axis for directing a first flow of air;
- and
- a second fan positioned adjacent the first fan and comprising a second housing defining a second outlet, the second fan rotating about a second axis that is spaced apart from and parallel to the first axis, the second fan rotating in an opposite direction of the first fan for directing a second flow of air, wherein a void region is defined immediately downstream of the first fan and the second fan to permit interaction between the first flow of air and the second flow of air, and wherein the first housing and the second housing are separated by an airgap proximate the first outlet and the second outlet.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.