Fan

Abstract

A fan may include a housing with an air inlet and an air outlet, a motor disposed in the housing, and an impeller disposed in the housing and coupled to the motor. The impeller may be operable to be rotated by the motor for drawing air into the air inlet and expelling the air from the air outlet. The fan may also include a diffuser disposed at least partially in the housing. The diffuser may have a bowl-shape and the bowl-shape may define an air diffusing surface over which the air moves towards the air outlet.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A fan comprising:
 a housing including:
 an air inlet, and 
 an air outlet; 
   a motor disposed in the housing;   an impeller disposed in the housing and coupled to the motor,
 the impeller operable to be rotated by the motor for drawing air into the air inlet and expelling the air from the air outlet; and 
   a diffuser disposed at least partially in the housing,
 the diffuser having a bowl-shape, and 
 the bowl-shape defining an air diffusing surface over which the air moves towards the air outlet. 
   
     
     
         2 . The fan of  claim 1 , wherein the air outlet comprises an annular shape. 
     
     
         3 . The fan of  claim 1 , wherein the bowl-shape is inverted relative to the housing. 
     
     
         4 . The fan of  claim 1 , wherein the diffuser includes one or more openings. 
     
     
         5 . The fan of  claim 1 , wherein the diffuser is devoid of one or more openings. 
     
     
         6 . The fan of  claim 4 , wherein the diffuser is disposed between the air inlet and the air outlet. 
     
     
         7 . The fan of  claim 1 , wherein a portion of the diffuser is disposed downstream of the air outlet. 
     
     
         8 . The fan of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the housing includes a shroud positioned around a portion of the diffuser, and   a portion of the shroud is bowl-shaped and generally congruent to the diffuser.   
     
     
         9 . The fan of  claim 1 , wherein a portion of the air diffusing surface faces the impeller, and wherein the air diffusing surface is at least partially convex toward the impeller. 
     
     
         10 . The fan of  claim 1 , further comprising a light. 
     
     
         11 . The fan of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the fan is configured to be mounted to a ceiling, and   the air is expelled from the air outlet in a direction that is approximately orthogonal to the ceiling.   
     
     
         12 . The fan of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the fan is configured to supported on a floor surface, and   the air is expelled from the air outlet in a direction that is generally parallel to the floor surface.   
     
     
         13 . The fan of  claim 1 , wherein the impeller is rotatable about an axis of rotation, and wherein a center of the diffuser is aligned with the axis of rotation. 
     
     
         14 . The fan of  claim 13 , wherein the air outlet is configured to expel air in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation. 
     
     
         15 . The fan of  claim 13 , wherein the air outlet is configured to expel air in a direction perpendicular to the axis of rotation. 
     
     
         16 . A fan comprising:
 a housing including an air inlet and a shroud,
 the shroud including an inner periphery surface; 
   an inverted bowl-shaped diffuser positioned at least partially within the housing,
 the diffuser including an outer periphery surface; and 
   an air outlet defined between the inner periphery surface of the shroud and the outer periphery surface of the diffuser.   
     
     
         17 . The fan of  claim 16  further comprising:
 a motor positioned within the housing; and 
 an impeller positioned within the housing,
 wherein the impeller is operable to be rotated by the motor for drawing air into the air inlet and expelling the air from the air outlet. 
 
 
     
     
         18 . The fan of  claim 17 , wherein, the impeller is positioned between the housing and the diffuser. 
     
     
         19 . The fan of  claim 18 , wherein the outer periphery surface of the diffuser is convex toward the impeller. 
     
     
         20 . The fan of  claim 16 , wherein the air outlet is defined between a terminal end of the shroud and a terminal end of the diffuser.