Fan assembly for a packaged terminal air conditioner unit

Abstract

A packaged terminal air conditioner unit (PTAC) includes a vent aperture defined in a bulkhead of the PTAC and a fan assembly for urging a flow of make-up air through the vent aperture. The fan assembly includes a fan duct fluidly coupled to the bulkhead over the vent aperture, the fan duct defining an inlet that extends away from the bulkhead toward a rear of the PTAC. An auxiliary fan is mounted to the fan duct for urging the flow of make-up air through the vent aperture, the auxiliary fan including a plurality of fan blades and a stabilizer ring extending about the circumferential direction between the plurality of fan blades.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A packaged terminal air conditioner unit defining a vertical, a lateral, and a transverse direction, the packaged terminal air conditioner unit comprising:
 a bulkhead defining an indoor portion and an outdoor portion separated along the transverse direction;   a vent aperture defined in the bulkhead; and   a fan duct defining a flow passage having an inlet and an outlet, the outlet of the fan duct being attached to the bulkhead to fluidly couple the flow passage to the vent aperture, and the inlet extending away from the bulkhead toward a rear of the packaged terminal air conditioner unit.   
     
     
         2 . The packaged terminal air conditioner unit of  claim 1 , wherein the inlet is positioned proximate a rear grill of the packaged terminal air conditioner unit. 
     
     
         3 . The packaged terminal air conditioner unit of  claim 2 , wherein an outside depth is defined between the bulkhead and the rear grill along the transverse direction, and a duct length is defined between the inlet and the outlet of the fan duct along the transverse direction, the duct length being greater than or equal to half of the outside depth. 
     
     
         4 . The packaged terminal air conditioner unit of  claim 1 , wherein the inlet of the fan duct is positioned between the rear of the packaged terminal air conditioner unit and a shroud inlet of a fan shroud along the transverse direction. 
     
     
         5 . The packaged terminal air conditioner unit of  claim 1 , wherein the inlet and the outlet of the fan duct are offset along the transverse direction. 
     
     
         6 . The packaged terminal air conditioner unit of  claim 1 , wherein there is no direct line of sight of the outlet of the fan duct when looking through the inlet along the transverse direction. 
     
     
         7 . The packaged terminal air conditioner unit of  claim 1 , wherein the fan duct comprises an upper portion and a lower portion joined using an adhesive. 
     
     
         8 . The packaged terminal air conditioner unit of  claim 7 , wherein the upper portion and the lower portion are separately formed by compression molding. 
     
     
         9 . The packaged terminal air conditioner unit of  claim 7 , wherein the upper portion and the lower portion are formed from sheet molding compound (SMC) thermoset plastic. 
     
     
         10 . The packaged terminal air conditioner unit of  claim 7 , wherein the lower portion defines a lower flange having a lower channel and the upper portion defines an upper flange having an upper channel, the lower channel and the upper channel being filled with adhesive and the lower flange and the upper flange being joined to form the fan duct. 
     
     
         11 . The packaged terminal air conditioner unit of  claim 1 , comprising:
 an auxiliary fan mounted to the fan duct and being configured for urging a flow of make-up air from the outdoor portion through the flow passage and the vent aperture to the indoor portion.   
     
     
         12 . The packaged terminal air conditioner unit of  claim 11 , wherein the auxiliary fan defines an axial, a radial, and a circumferential direction, the auxiliary fan comprising:
 a plurality of fan blades, each fan blade extending between a root and a tip; and   a stabilizer ring extending about the circumferential direction between the plurality of fan blades.   
     
     
         13 . The packaged terminal air condition unit of  claim 12 , wherein the plurality of fan blades define a root diameter and a tip diameter, and wherein the stabilizer ring defines a ring diameter, the ring diameter being between about 50 percent greater than the root diameter and 10 percent less than the tip diameter. 
     
     
         14 . The packaged terminal air condition unit of  claim 12 , wherein the plurality of fan blades comprise seven fan blades and wherein the stabilizer ring is positioned proximate a tip of the seven fan blades. 
     
     
         15 . The packaged terminal air conditioner unit of  claim 12 , wherein the stabilizer ring is attached at a forward end or an aft end of the plurality of fan blades. 
     
     
         16 . The packaged terminal air conditioner unit of  claim 12 , wherein the plurality of fan blades define a blade depth along the axial direction, the stabilizer ring extending along substantially the entire blade depth of the fan blades. 
     
     
         17 . A fan assembly for a packaged terminal air conditioner unit, the packaged terminal air conditioner unit defining a vertical, a lateral, and a transverse direction, the packaged terminal air conditioner unit comprising a bulkhead defining a vent aperture, the fan assembly comprising:
 a fan duct defining a flow passage having an inlet and an outlet, the outlet of the fan duct being attached to the bulkhead to fluidly couple the flow passage to the vent aperture, and the inlet extending away from the bulkhead toward a rear of the packaged terminal air conditioner unit; and   an auxiliary fan mounted to the fan duct and being configured for urging a flow of make-up air through the vent aperture, the auxiliary fan defining an axial, a radial, and a circumferential direction and comprising:
 a plurality of fan blades, each fan blade extending between a root and a tip; and 
 a stabilizer ring extending about the circumferential direction between the plurality of fan blades. 
   
     
     
         18 . The fan assembly of  claim 17 , wherein the inlet of the fan duct is positioned between the rear of the packaged terminal air conditioner unit and a shroud inlet of a fan shroud along the transverse direction. 
     
     
         19 . The fan assembly of  claim 17 , wherein the inlet and the outlet of the fan duct are offset along the transverse direction. 
     
     
         20 . The fan assembly of  claim 17 , wherein the plurality of fan blades comprise seven fan blades and wherein the stabilizer ring is positioned proximate a tip of the seven fan blades.