Fan Assembly and Method

Abstract

In one aspect, a fan assembly is provided that can be manufactured while producing a significantly reduced amount of scrap material. More specifically, the fan assembly utilizes a hub ring and one or more hub strips to support a plurality of blades rather than a solid center disc or end disc used by some prior approaches. In another aspect, a method is provided that includes bending a member into an annular configuration and joining end portions of the member together to rigidly fix the member in the annular configuration. The rigid annular member may be used as an end ring, a hub ring, an orifice, or other component, while producing significantly less scrap material than traditional approaches.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of manufacturing a fan assembly, the method comprising:
 bending an elongated, flat member having a pair of straight edges into an annular configuration wherein the edges are annular;   joining end portions of the annular member together to rigidly fix the annular member in a flat, annular configuration;   connecting the flat, annular member to end portions of a plurality of curved blades; and   connecting a hub support to the curved blades at a position spaced from the annular member along the curved blades.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising forming openings in the flat, annular member; and
 connecting the flat, annular member to the end portions of the curved blades includes advancing portions of the curved blades into the openings of the flat, annular member. 
 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein bending the elongated, flat member into the annular configuration includes bending the elongated, flat member so that one of the edges is a radially inner edge having a first radius and the other of the edges is a radially outer edge having a second radius lager than the first radius. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the elongated, flat member has a length, a width perpendicular to the length defined between the edges, and a thickness perpendicular to the width that is less than the width; and
 bending the elongated, flat member into the annular configuration includes bending the flat member around an axis extending parallel to the thickness. 
 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein bending the elongated, flat member includes advancing the elongated, flat member toward a forming roller and bending the elongated, flat member using the forming roller. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5  wherein bending the elongated, flat member using the forming roller includes advancing the elongated, flat member into a slot of the forming roller. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising advancing the elongated, flat member off of a coil of material. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein bending the elongated, flat member into the annular configuration includes forming the member into a helix, the method further comprising:
 removing the annular member from the helix. 
 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 bending an elongated, flat second member having a pair of straight edges into an annular configuration wherein the edges are annular; 
 joining end portions of the second member together to rigidly fix the second member in a flat, annular configuration; 
 connecting the second annular member to the curved blades so that the hub support is intermediate the annular member and the second annular member along the curved blades. 
 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1  wherein joining end portions of the annular member together includes welding ends of the member together. 
     
     
         11 . A fan assembly comprising:
 a plurality of curved blades each having a first end and an opposite second end;   a flat first end ring connected to each of the plurality of curved blades at the first end of each of the plurality of curved blades, the first end ring having a split-ring configuration with ends that are fixed relative to one another;   a first weld fixing together the ends of the first end ring;   a flat second end ring connected to each of the plurality of curved blades at the second end of each of the plurality of curved blades, the second end ring having a split-ring configuration with ends that are fixed relative to one another;   a second weld fixing together the ends of the second end ring;   a hub support connected to the plurality of curved blades intermediate the first and second end rings along the plurality of curved blades, the hub support having a circular outer periphery; and   through openings in the hub support spaced about the circular outer periphery and the plurality of curved blades extend through the openings of the hub support.   
     
     
         12 . The fan assembly of  claim 11  wherein the through openings of the hub support each include a curved slot, the curved slot having a radially inner closed end and a radially outer closed end and the curved slot extends between the radially inner and radially outer closed ends. 
     
     
         13 . The fan assembly of  claim 11  further comprising a hub mounted to the hub support. 
     
     
         14 . The fan assembly of  claim 11  wherein the first end ring and the second end ring are directly connected to the plurality of curved blades. 
     
     
         15 . The fan assembly of  claim 11  wherein the ends of the first and second end rings are bevel cut. 
     
     
         16 . The fan assembly of  claim 11  wherein the first end ring includes a plurality of openings and the first end of the curved blades include tabs extending through the openings of the first end ring.