Low speed cooling fan
AssigneeMechanization Systems Company, Inc.
InventorsWalter K. Boyd, William C. Fairbank
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A low speed cooling fan that is designed to cool individuals located in large industrial buildings. A fan with a diameter between 15 to 40 feet consisting of a plurality of blades, with each in the shape of a tapered airfoil, is driven by an electric motor to produce a very large slowly moving column of air. The moving column of air creates a uniformly gentle circulatory airflow pattern throughout the interior of the building thus promoting the natural evaporative cooling process of the human body at all locations inside the building.
Claims28
A method of cooling individuals in an industrial building, the method comprising:
- mounting a fan having a lateral width of at least approximately 20 to 24 feet and a plurality of blades of at least approximately 10 to 12 feet in length to a ceiling of the industrial building;
- and
- rotating the fan so as to produce a moving column of air that extends substantially across the lateral width of the fan, wherein the rotation of the fan imparts a velocity of approximately 3 to 5 miles per hour at a distance of 10 feet from the fan so that the fan entrains a volume of air to flow in a pattern throughout the industrial building so that the entrained air in the pattern disrupts the boundary layer of air adjacent the individuals so as to facilitate evaporation of sweat from the individuals.
A fan assembly for cooling individuals within an industrial building, the assembly comprising:
- a support adapted to allow the mounting of the fan assembly to the roof of the industrial building;
- a motor coupled to the support, the motor engaged with a rotatable shaft so as to induce rotation of the shaft;
- a plurality of fan blades attached to the rotatable shaft, wherein each of the plurality of fan blades are approximately at least 7.5 feet in length and have an air foil cross-section, wherein the motor is adapted to rotate the fan blades at approximately 50 rotations per minute so that the plurality of fan blades produce a column of moving air that is approximately 20 feet in diameter at a position immediately adjacent the fan blades wherein air within the column has a velocity of approximately 3-5 mph at a distance of approximately 10 feet from the blade so that a moving volume of air is entrained in flow in a circulating pattern throughout the industrial building to thereby disrupt the boundary layer of air adjacent the individuals so as to facilitate evaporation of sweat from the individual, wherein the airfoil cross-section of the fan blades enables the fan blades to be disposed with a reduced angle of attack which reduces a lateral component of velocity of the air within the column, thereby enabling the column to travel a greater distance.
A method of efficiently cooling individuals, the method comprising:
- extracting energy from a first energy source at a rate of less than 370 Watts;
- and
- converting the extracted energy into a gentle airflow pattern so as to promote evaporative cooling of the individuals, wherein the airflow pattern comprises a generally cylindrical first section of moving air that has a diameter of at least approximately 20 feet measured in a first transverse plane, and wherein the speed of the air measured along a second transverse plane of the first section displaced approximately 10 feet downstream from the first plane is approximately between 3 and 5 miles per hour.
A device for efficiently cooling individuals, the device comprising:
- a plurality of fan blades disposed in a radial manner, wherein each fan blade has a length is at least 7.5 feet;
- a motor coupled to the fan blades that converts an input flow of energy into mechanical work that maintains the fan blades in a state of rotation about a first axis, wherein the rotating fan blades create a gentle cylindrically shaped airflow pattern centered along the first axis that has a diameter of at least approximately 20 feet measured in a first transverse plane adjacent the fan blades, wherein the speed of the air within the airflow pattern measured along a second transverse plane displaced approximately 10 feet downstream from the first plane is approximately between 3 to 5 miles per hour, and wherein the fan blades have an airfoil shape which reduces lateral expansion of the airflow pattern and, therefore, extends the length of the airflow pattern as measured along the first axis.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.