Bladeless fan

Abstract

A bladeless fan including a housing, an impeller within the housing, a motor within the housing for rotatably driving the impeller, an outlet device having an at least partially circular outlet, and a diffuser configured to receive air from the impeller and direct the air into the outlet device, the diffuser at least partially changing a direction of the air being directed into the outlet device.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A bladeless ceiling fan comprising:
 a housing;   an impeller within the housing;   a motor within the housing for rotatably driving the impeller;   an outlet device having an at least partially circular outlet; and   a diffuser configured to receive air from the impeller and direct the air into the outlet device.   
     
     
         2 . The bladeless ceiling fan of  claim 1 , wherein the diffuser at least partially changes a direction of the air being directed into the outlet device. 
     
     
         3 . The bladeless ceiling fan of  claim 1 , wherein the diffuser redirects at least a portion of the air from a vertical direction to a horizontal direction into the outlet device. 
     
     
         4 . The bladeless ceiling fan of  claim 1 , wherein the outlet device is a circular ring having a hollow cavity for receiving the air, wherein the outlet extends around a bottom surface of the outlet device. 
     
     
         5 . The bladeless ceiling fan of  claim 4 , wherein the housing is positioned within an inner circumference of the circular ring. 
     
     
         6 . The bladeless ceiling fan of  claim 5 , wherein the housing is cylindrical in shape and positioned perpendicular to the circular ring. 
     
     
         7 . The bladeless ceiling fan of  claim 4 , further comprising a barrier within the hollow cavity of the circular ring preventing air from flowing entirely around the hollow cavity. 
     
     
         8 . The bladeless ceiling fan of  claim 4 , wherein the ring includes a first portion proximate the diffuser having a first volume and a second portion spaced from the diffuser having a second volume less than the first volume, and wherein the change from the first volume to the second volume is configured to provide more uniform airflow through the ring. 
     
     
         9 . The bladeless ceiling fan of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one lighting component includes a light in a bottom of the housing. 
     
     
         10 . The bladeless ceiling fan of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one lighting component includes a light extending around the bottom surface of the outlet device adjacent to the outlet. 
     
     
         11 . The bladeless ceiling fan of  claim 1 , wherein the outlet device includes a first disk positioned above to a second disk defining a passage therebetween, wherein the outlet is defined between distal edges of the first disk and the second disk. 
     
     
         12 . The bladeless ceiling fan of  claim 11 , wherein the first disk has a first diameter greater than a second diameter of the second disk. 
     
     
         13 . The bladeless ceiling fan of  claim 11 , further comprising at least one lighting component including a light shade and a light positioned below the first disk and the second disk. 
     
     
         14 . The bladeless ceiling fan of  claim 13 , further comprising a third disk positioned between the second disk and the light shade. 
     
     
         15 . The bladeless ceiling fan of  claim 14 , wherein the first disk has a first diameter, the second disk has a second diameter, and the third disk has a third diameter, wherein the third diameter is less than the first and second diameters. 
     
     
         16 . The bladeless ceiling fan of  claim 11 , further comprising at least one lighting component including a plurality of light rings attached to the housing, each of the light rings having a circular light around the respective light ring. 
     
     
         17 . The bladeless ceiling fan of  claim 16 , wherein the circular light extends around an interior or exterior surface of the respective light ring. 
     
     
         18 . The bladeless ceiling fan of  claim 16 , wherein the circular light extends around a bottom surface of the respective light ring. 
     
     
         19 . The bladeless ceiling fan of  claim 11 , wherein the diffuser is formed integrally with the second disk. 
     
     
         20 . A bladeless ceiling fan comprising:
 a housing having a mount configured to be connected to a ceiling support and a plurality of inlets configure to receive air;   an impeller within the housing;   a motor within the housing for rotatably driving the impeller to draw air through the inlets into the housing and to discharge air from the housing;   an outlet device in fluid communication with the housing; and   a diffuser configured to receive air from the impeller and direct the air into the outlet device.