Fan housing and assembly method

Abstract

A fan assembly and associate methods are shown. Fan assemblies are shown having one or more components, where a location of the components is adjustable with respect to a base. In one example the components can be located at a specified distance from a motor shaft for a number of different motor sizes.

1 . A fan assembly, comprising:
 a motor, having a motor shaft;   an impeller coupled to the motor shaft;   a support frame coupled to the motor, wherein the support frame includes;
 a base, having a motor mounting surface; and 
 a number of components, mountable to the base, wherein a location of the components is adjustable with respect to the base to locate the components at a specified distance from the motor shaft for a number of different motor sizes. 
   
     
     
         2 . The fan assembly of  claim 1 , further including markings to indicate a vertical location of the components within a pre-selected range. 
     
     
         3 . The fan assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the markings include indented features in a metal portion of the support frame and the components. 
     
     
         4 . The fan assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the number of components includes an inlet plate. 
     
     
         5 . The fan assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the number of components includes one or more mounting feet. 
     
     
         6 . The fan assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the number of components includes one or more thrust isolator brackets. 
     
     
         7 . A fan assembly, comprising:
 a motor, having a motor shaft;   an impeller coupled to the motor shaft;   a support frame coupled to the motor, wherein the support frame includes;
 a base, having a motor mounting surface; 
 a number of components, attached to the base; and 
 a number of markings on the base and the number of components to locate the components at a specified distance from the motor shaft for a number of different motor sizes. 
   
     
     
         8 . The fan assembly of  claim 7 , wherein the number of markings are indented features in a metal portion of the support frame and the components. 
     
     
         9 . The fan assembly of  claim 7 , wherein the impeller is a centrifugal impeller. 
     
     
         10 . The fan assembly of  claim 7 , wherein the number of components includes an inlet plate. 
     
     
         11 . The fan assembly of  claim 10 , wherein the number of components includes one or more mounting feet. 
     
     
         12 . The fan assembly of  claim 11 , wherein the number of components includes one or more thrust isolator brackets. 
     
     
         13 . A method of making fan assemblies, comprising:
 forming a first fan assembly, including:
 selecting a first motor having a first motor size; 
 mounting the selected motor to a support frame base; 
 attaching an impeller to a motor shaft of the first motor; 
 attaching a plurality of components to the support frame base, including attaching a faceplate, wherein a faceplate location is centered on the motor shaft of the first motor; and 
   forming a second fan assembly having a different motor size than the first motor size, using an identical support frame base and an identical plurality of components, wherein locations of the plurality of components on the support frame are different than in the first fan assembly, and are placed with respect to the different motor size.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein attaching a plurality of components to the support frame base includes aligning markings between the components and the support frame base wherein the markings correspond to the selected motor. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein attaching a plurality of components includes attaching a number of mounting feet to the support frame base, wherein a distance from each mounting foot to the motor shaft is substantially the same in the first fan assembly and the second fan assembly. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein attaching a plurality of components includes attaching a thrust isolator bracket to the support frame base, wherein the thrust isolator bracket is centered on the motor shaft in the first fan assembly and the second fan assembly. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein attaching a number of components to the support frame base includes welding. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein attaching a number of components to the support frame base includes attaching a fastener between the number of components and the support frame base.