Combination Window and Floor Fan

The present invention relates to a combination floor fan and window fan, and in particular to means for conveniently and simply mounting the fan unit in a window opening.

There has long been a need for a multidirectional household fan which is versatile enough to be used both as a window-mounted fan and as a floor fan. One type of well known prior art fan comprises a rectangular frame which can be supported either on the floor, when it is utilized to recirculate air within a room, or on a windowsill, when it is used as an intake or exhaust fan. One problem with this type of fan, however, is that many windows do not have sills which are sufficiently large to accommodate the fan so that special brackets or a shelf must be mounted to the window frame to provide the necessary support. A further disadvantage is that the fan customarily sets completely within the window opening so that the only air which is exhausted by it, in the exhaust mode, comes from behind. As is known, this is quite inefficient in terms of the volume of airflow per unit time in comparison to havng the unit set back from the window where air can be drawn into the sides of the airstream produced by the fan.

In some window fans of this type, a reversible electric motor is provided so that the fan can operate in the intake as well as the exhaust mode. Due to the fact that the fan blades do not operate efficiently in the reverse direction, however, this is unsatisfactory. Manual reversal of the fan in the window is inconvenient because the fan must be completely removed from the window.

Another type of prior art fan, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,857,095, comprises a tubular open frame wherein the motor driven fan is pivotally connected thereto for rotation about a horizontal axis. Although this fan functions well as a floor fan, special brackets are required to enable its being mounted to the window opening. This substantially reduces the versatility of the fan because it can be mounted only in those windows which have been provided with special mounting brackets.

The present invention overcomes the problems and disadvantages of the prior art by providing a fan unit which is capable of being used both as a floor fan and as a window fan, and which may be securely mounted within virtually any window opening such as an attic opening without the necessity for special mounting brackets, sill extensions, or the like. Furthermore, when mounted within a window opening in the exhaust mode, the motor driven fan is spaced inwardly from the opening so that air may be drawn into the airstream laterally between the fan blades and the window opening. As is known, this substantially increases the volume of airflow exhausted by the fan.

The constructional features of the fan which enable it to be so mounted within a window opening are the provision of a protruding element or elements, such as pins, blocks, hooks, ridges, plates or the like, on the forward portion of the fan frame. The upper portion of the frame extends through the window opening and the upper protruding element or elements hook around the means defining the window opening, whether it be the upper window in the case of a vertical sash-type window, the window and frame in the case of horizontal sliding windows, or the perimeter of any type of opening in a wall. The lower protruding elements abut against the windowsill in the case of vertical sash-type windows, and abut or are received within one of the horizontal tracks in the case of horizontal sliding windows. Because the motor driven fan is suspended inwardly from the window, the cantilever effect produced by this arrangement pulls the upper protruding elements inwardly and pushes the lower protruding elements outwardly thereby locking the fan in place, and also exerting a force laterally against the movable part of the window tending to make it bind so that it is less likely to move accidentally. In a preferred form of the invention, the frame is constructed so that it diverges vertically in the forward direction. This causes the frame to be wedged in the window opening in the case of vertical sash-type windows and is even less likely to be dislodged from the window opening if it should be jolted accidentally.

The primary advantages of the present invention are that it enables a very simply constructed multidirectional fan to serve both as a floor fan and as a window fan, and to be easily mounted in and be spaced back from virtually every type of window without the necessity for auxiliary mounting hardware, and also be readily removable.

Specifically, the present invention contemplates a portable fan unit comprising a frame having a front portion and a rear portion separated by side means connected to and extending between the front and rear portions, motor driven fan means for producing a stream of moving air mounted to the frame and spaced rearwardly of the front portion, the side means of the frame being constructed so as to permit airflow therethrough into the stream of air in directions transverse to the stream of air. Means are provided on the front portion of the frame for suspending the frame from the window opening such that the motor driven fan is spaced from the opening whereby air may be drawn into the airstream through the side means between the fan blades and the window opening. The means for suspending comprises means on the frame front portion adapted for extending into the window opening and hooking around the means defining the window opening.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the fan unit according to the present invention mounted within a vertical sash-type window;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the window-mounted fan shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertically shortened sectional view taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 2 and viewed in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 3 and viewed in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged detail of one of the pivotal connections between the fan guard and frame;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the fan unit being used as a floor fan;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view looking in from the outside of a sliding window showing the fan unit according to the present invention mounted therein;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8--8 of FIG. 7 and viewed in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged detail of one of the support brackets shown in FIG. 7; and

FIG. 10 is a front elevational view of a modified bracket arrangement.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the fan unit 12 according to the present invention is illustrated and comprises a generally U-shaped frame 14 to which blade guard 16, which is generally fabricated of wires that are welded together, is pivotally secured. The fan blades 18 are driven by electric motor 20, the latter being provided with electric wires (not shown) for connection to a suitable source of electric current.

Frame 14 includes a pair of bent tubular members 22 and 24 comprising upper legs 26 and 28 and lower legs 30 and 32, which are connected to their respective upper legs 26 and 28 by means of intermediate legs 34 and 36. The angles between intermediate legs 34 and 36 and the respective upper and lower legs 26, 28 and 30, 32 are approximately one hundred degrees. The forward ends 38, 40 and 42, 44, respectively, are bent inwardly at angles of ninety degrees.

Members 22 and 24 are connected together by means of upper connecting leg 46, which is telescopically received within the forward ends 44 and 40 of upper legs 26 and 28, and lower connecting leg 48, which is telescopically received within the forward ends 42 and 38 of lower legs 30 and 32 (FIG. 3). Plastic pins 50 extend through clearance holes 54, 56, 58 and 60 in upper connecting leg 46 and the forward ends 44 and 40 of upper legs 26 and 28, and are locked thereto by resilient locking ears 61, as shown in FIG. 4. Pins 50 are made of a material designed so as to prevent marring of the surface with which they come into contact. Flexible rubber sleeves 64 are disposed around connecting leg 46 and the forward ends 44 and 40 of upper legs 26 and 28 for the identical purpose and to cover the exposed ends of connecting leg 46. Due to the rigidity of the structure, lower connecting leg 48 need not be provided with connecting pins, such as pins 50.

Pins 66, similarly to pins 50, extend through clearance holes in lower legs 32 just behind the bent portions 38 and 42. By way of example, pins 66 are spaced rearwardly from the forward edges 67 of lower legs 30 and 32 by a distance of two inches. Rubber sleeves 69 around leg 48 prevent marring of the surfaces with which they come into contact, and also cover the exposed ends of leg 48 where it joins forward ends 38 and 42 of lower legs 30 and 32.

In the frame structure described above, the corresponding legs of tubular members 22 and 24 are parallel, as are upper and lower connecting legs 46 and 48. The distance in the horizontal direction between the plane of intermediate legs 36 and the plane of the forward edges 67 of members 22 and 24 is approximately twelve inches, and the distance between upper and lower connecting legs 46 and 48 is approximately nineteen inches. The width of the fan unit 12 as between legs 26 and 28, for example, is approximately twenty inches, and blade guard 16 is approximately nineteen inches in diameter. Pins 50 and 66 protrude approximately one inch and three quarters of an inch, respectively, beyond the respective portions of the frame to which they are connected. It should be noted that the above dimensions are merely exemplary of one possible size of fan, and do not in any way limit the invention.

With particular reference to FIG. 5, blade guard 16 is pivotally connected to frame 14 by means of bolts 70, which pass through plates on the inside of guard 16, rubber grommet 74, which is on the other side of guards 16, and a flattened portion 76 of intermediate legs 34 and 36. Nuts 78 and cap nuts 80 serve to lock the assembly together. The fractional contact between grommets 74 and flattened portions 76 serve to fractionally hold the guard 16 against rotation relative to frame 14 unless force sufficient to overcome the frictional forces is exerted. This enables the fan to be oriented in any desired direction about the axis extending between bolts 70. FIGS. 1 through 4 show the fan unit 12 mounted within a standard vertical sash-type window comprising window frame 82, which includes sill 84, and a vertically slidable window 86, which together define window opening 88. In FIG. 1, the fan unit 12 is shown mounted in the air intake mode, and in FIG. 2 it is mounted in the exhaust mode wherein guard 16 is rotated one hundred and eighty degrees about the axis defined by pivot bolts 70. Obviously, any other orientation through a vertical plane is possible simply by adjusting the position of guard 16.

The fan unit 12 is mounted in the window opening 88 by resting lower sleeves 69 on sill 84, raising window 86 until pins 50 can be passed thereunder, and then lowering window 86 slightly behind pins 50. When fan unit 12 is released, the weight of the blades 18, motor 20 and the rear portion of frame 14 will produce a cantilever effect tending to rotate the unit 12 in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 2. This will pull upper pins 50 inwardly against window 86 and push lower pins 66 outwardly against sill 84. It will be noted that a substantial portion of lower legs 30 and 32 extend within the opening beyond lower pins 66, and, due to the fact that tubular members 22 and 24 diverge in the forward direction, frame 14 will be, in effect, wedged into the opening 88 defined by window 86, frame 82 and sill 84. Should the unit be accidentally pulled inwardly, as by a small child, the frame 14, because it is wedge-shaped, will more likely resist this movement which could disengage it from the window opening. Although it is preferred that both the upper legs 26 and 28 and the lower legs 30 and 32 of members 22 and 24 be angled with respect to the horizontal direction, the wedging effect described above can be achieved to some degree even if only the lower legs 30 and 32 are so angled.

It will be noted that the fan unit 12 can be mounted in a window of this type without the necessity for any additional hardware, and without the necessity for removing the window screen, if one is installed outside the window. Furthermore, the fan blades 18 are spaced inwardly from the window opening 88 by a frame which is substantially open thereby permitting air to flow not only from the rear through blade guard 16, but also laterally into the airstream in front of guard 16 as illustrated by the arrows in FIG. 2. This is in accordance with the principle that the pressure within a stream of moving air is lower than that of the surrounding air so that the surrounding air will be pulled into the main stream. The effect produced by this arrangement is a substantial increase in the volume of air moved by the fan per unit time, when the fan is mounted in the exhaust mode as shown in FIG. 2.

To remove the fan unit 12, it is merely necessary to raise window 86 until it clears pins 50, and then swing the unit inwardly.

FIG. 6 illustrates how the fan unit 12 can be used as a floor fan. In this case, the unit 12 is supported on all four of the rubber sleeves 64 and 69. The frame is dimensioned such that guard 16 may be rotated to any position about the axis defined by bolts 70. FIGS. 7 through 10 illustrate the fan unit 12 mounted in a sliding window comprising frame 92 having horizontal tracks 94 in which window 96 is received for horizontal sliding movement. In this case, a pair of L-shaped brackets 98 are adjustably secured to lower legs 30 and 32 by means of bolts 100 extending through legs 30 and 32 and secured thereto by wing nuts 102. With frame 14 inverted from the position shown in FIG. 1, window 96 is opened, pins 50 are inserted in one of the tracks 94 of frame 92, or, alternatively, against the inner surface 104 of frame 92, the unit 12 is rotated outwardly such that brackets 98 are disposed beyond frame 92 and window 96, unit 12 is slid to the left (as viewed in FIG. 7) until the left bracket 98 extends laterally beyond frame 92, and then window 96 is closed to the point where it is disposed behind the right bracket 98. When the fan unit 12 is released, the cantilever effect produced by the mass of the unit spaced inwardly from the window opening will cause brackets 98 to be pulled inwardly against frame 92 and window 96, and will cause pins 50 to be pushed outwardly against the wall 106 of the track 94 in which they are disposed, or alternatively against the inner surface 104 of frame 92.

An alternative embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 10 wherein L-shaped brackets 98 may be replaced by essentially straight brackets 108, which are adjustably connected to the forward ends 38 and 42 of members 22 and 24 by bolts 110 which extend through portions 38 and 40 of members 22 and 24 and elongated slots 112 or holes in brackets 108. Wing nuts 114 or other fasteners serve to tighten the assembly. In this case, one bracket 108 will extend laterally beyond window frame 92, and the other beyond the sliding window 96. Brackets 98 and 108 need not be adjustably mounted to frame 14, although this may be desirable in some cases.

Although the construction for the fan unit as described above is a preferred embodiment of the invention, many alternative constructions are possible. For example, pins 50 and 66 could be replaced by a plate or flat protrusions with greater surface area welded, bolted, or otherwise secured in place. Also, rubber sleeved bolts could be threadedly secured to the frame. Furthermore, rubber sleeves 64 and 69 may be replaced by rigid plastic sleeves which are secured by means of set screws.

Alternatively, frame 14 could be made of one-piece construction with a single seam, or of two-piece construction with two seams. Rather than four rubber sleeves such as sleeves 64, a tripod supporting arrangement could be employed whereby only three sleeves would be necessary. This may result in a more stable unit when it is supported on the floor. In some cases, sliding window installations may require only a single bracket, such as bracket 98.

While this invention has been described as having a preferred design, it will be understood that it is capable of further modification. This application is, therefore, intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following the general principles thereof and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the part to which this invention pertains and fall within the limits of the appended claims.