Damper to control fluid flow and associated methods

A damper for a heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system comprising:

• a main body;
• a stator carried by said main body, said stator including at least one blade having an arcuate shape;
• and
• a rotor moveably connected to said stator and carried by said main body, said rotor including at least one blade having an arcuate shape and said rotor being moveable between an opened position and a closed position;
• wherein said stator and said rotor are carried by said main body so that airflow through said main body is substantially perpendicular thereto;
• wherein the opened position is defined as the at least one stator blade being aligned with the at least one rotor blade, and wherein the closed position is defined as the at least one stator blade being offset from the at least one rotor blade.

A damper for a heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system comprising:

• a main body;
• a stator carried by said main body and integrally formed therewith, said stator including a plurality of blades having a substantially triangular shape;
• and
• a rotor moveably connected to said stator and carried by said main body, said rotor including a plurality of blades having a substantially triangular shape and said rotor being moveable between an opened position and a closed position;
• wherein the bases of each of the triangular shaped blades of said stator are positioned to face the bases of each of the triangular shaped blades of said rotor;
• wherein the opened position of said rotor is defined as the bases of each of the triangular shaped blades of said stator being aligned with the bases of each of the triangular shaped blades of said rotor, and wherein the closed position is defined as the bases of the triangular shaped blades of said stator being positioned offset from the bases of the triangular shaped blades of said rotor.

A damper for a heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system comprising:

• a main body having a substantially cylindrical shape and including sidewalls, said main body having a first side defined as an entrance side, and a second side opposite the first side and defined as an exit side;
• a stator having a substantially cylindrical shape that is carried by said main body and integrally formed therewith, said stator including a plurality of blades having a substantially triangular shape positioned so that a base of each blade faces the exit side of said main body;
• and
• a rotor having a substantially cylindrical shape that is moveably connected to said stator and carried by said main body, said rotor including a plurality of blades having a substantially triangular shape positioned so that a base of each blade faces the entrance side of said main body, said rotor being moveable between an opened position and a closed position;
• wherein the opened position of said rotor is defined as the bases of each of the blades of said stator being aligned with the bases of each of the blades of said rotor, and wherein the closed position is defined as the bases of each of the blades of said stator being positioned offset from the bases of each of the blades of said rotor;
• wherein airflow through said main body is directed into the entrance side, through said stator and said rotor and out of the exit side;
• and
• wherein said rotor is spaced apart from said stator when the airflow travels through main body to form an air bearing.

A method of using a damper for a heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system, the damper comprising a main body having a substantially cylindrical shape, a first side defined as an entrance side and a second side opposite the first side and defined as an exit side, a stator having a substantially cylindrical shape carried by the main body and integrally formed therewith, the stator including a plurality of blades, and a rotor having a substantially cylindrical shape that is moveably connected to the stator and carried by the main body, the rotor including a plurality of blades, the method comprising:

• moving the rotor from an opened position to a closed position responsive to a signal received by a controller in communication with the rotor to minimize airflow through the damper;
• and
• moving the rotor from the closed position to the opened position responsive to a signal received by the controller to maximize airflow through the damper;
• wherein the opened position of the rotor is defined as each of the blades of the stator being aligned with each of the blades of the rotor, and wherein the closed position is defined as each of the blades of the stator being positioned offset from each of the blades of the rotor;
• and
• wherein the plurality of blades of each of the stator and the rotor are spaced between about 2 and 10 degrees apart.