# US 5,707,205 A · Fan device

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- Number: US 5,707,205 A
- Document ID: US5707205A
- Status: Granted
- Kind: A
- Application number: 08/707,716
- Filed: 1996-09-04
- Granted: 1998-01-13
- Earliest claimed: 1996-07-04
- Assignees: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Shigeru Otsuka
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US5707205A

## CPC

- F04D 29/547: {having a special shape in order to influence fluid flow}
- F04D 25/0613: {the electric motor being of the inside-out type, i.e. the rotor is arranged radially outside a central stator}
- F04D 29/526: {Details of the casing section radially opposing blade tips (ducts F04D29/545)}
- Y10S 415/914: Device to control boundary layer
- F04D: NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT PUMPS (engine fuel-injection pumps F02M; ion pumps H01J41/12; electrodynamic pumps H02K44/02)
- Y10S: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS

## Abstract

An air moving device for improving P-Q characteristics and noise by suppressing the production of vortices. An annular wall spaced from blade tips, is formed of a plurality of annular plates and spacers with a slit defined between adjacent annular plates. The width of each slit is set to satisfy the formula W.ltoreq.(.nu..multidot.R.sub.ec /v) where .nu. is the kinematic viscosity of air, v is the peripheral speed of the blade tips, W is the width of the slits and R.sub.ec is the critical Reynold's number. Thus, as a fan is rotated, air is drawn in a laminar flow through the slits to the inner periphery of the annular wall. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the separation of air flow on the suction side of blade surfaces and the production of vortices, thus improving the air moving state.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An air moving device, comprising:
a fan having blades which terminate at blade tips; and
an annular wall spaced from the blade tips of the fan, said annular wall having slits that establish communication between inner and outer peripheral portions of the annular wall, the width of said slits being set to satisfy the formula
W.ltoreq.(.nu..multidot.R.sub.ec /v),
where .nu. is the kinematic viscosity of air, v is the peripheral speed of the blade tips, W is the width of the slits, and R.sub.ec is the critical Reynolds' number, whereby as the fan is rotated, air is drawn in a laminar flow through the slits to the inner periphery of the annular wall.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

An air moving device as set forth in claim 1, wherein the annular wall is defined by a plurality of annular plates that are laminated along the axial direction of the fan to define spaces between adjacent annular plates.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

An air moving device as set forth in claim 2, further comprising spacers provided between adjacent annular plates, said spacers being positioned along a direction that is inclined with respect to the axis of the fan.

### Claim 4 (depends on 2)

An air moving device as set forth in claim 2, further comprising spacers provided between adjacent annular plates, each said spacer being increasingly curved with respect to a respective radial line extending from an innermost periphery of the spacer to an outermost periphery of a respective spacer.

### Claim 5 (depends on 2)

An air moving device as set forth in claim 2, further comprising spacers provided between adjacent annular plates, said spacers being grouped together in plural sets that are spaced apart from each other along a circumferential direction of the annular plates, wherein the air moving device comprises a prime number of said sets which is not less than 3.