The present invention generally relates to a nebulizer fan and, more specifically, a ceiling nebulizer fan, for use in particular in stables or other livestock buildings.

As is known in the art, nebulizer fans (otherwise known as water fans) are fans equipped with a nebulizer and are therefore able to blow nebulized water sprayed by the nebulizer together with the air. Such fans are becoming more and more widely used in the livestock sector, especially in the cattle breeding sector, as they represent a very effective and efficient system to protect animals from the hot and humid weather in the summer months. In the currently known ceiling nebulizer fans, the nozzle (or nozzles) of the nebulizer is (are) placed next to and above the hub of the bladed rotor so as not to interfere with the blades of the rotor when the latter is set to rotate. Such an arrangement of the nozzle of the nebulizer is, however, not optimal, as the nebulized water sprayed by the nozzle is intercepted by the blades of the rotor, with a frequency that depends on the speed of rotation and the number of blades of the rotor.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved nebulizer fan with respect to the prior art cited above.

This and other objects are fully achieved according to the present invention by virtue of a nebulizer fan having the features specified in the appended independent claim 1.

Advantageous embodiments of the invention are specified in the dependent claims, the content of which is to be understood as forming an integral and integrating part of the description which follows.

In summary, the invention is based on the idea of providing a nebulizer fan wherein the at least one nozzle is arranged beneath the hub and/or on the rotor blades, wherein the fan further comprises a supply conduit for the nebulizer which extends through an axial internal hole of a hollow drive shaft which is vertically oriented and carries the hub of the bladed rotor, and wherein the drive shaft is driven in rotation by a motor, preferably an electric motor, by means of a motion transmission mechanism comprising a driving pulley or gear wheel which is carried by a motor shaft of the motor and a driven pulley or gear wheel which is carried by the drive shaft and is arranged to be driven by the driving pulley or gear wheel by means of a belt or chain.

According to one embodiment, the motor is arranged with its shaft oriented vertically.

Preferably, the motor shaft is oriented coaxially to the drive shaft and the motion transmission mechanism further comprises a lay shaft whereon a first pulley or gear wheel arranged to be connected, by means of a first belt or chain, to the driving pulley or gear wheel, and a second pulley or gear wheel arranged to be connected, by means of a second belt or chain, to the driven pulley or gear wheel are mounted so as to be drivingly connected for rotation with said lay shaft.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description, provided purely by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a nebulizer fan according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is an axial sectional view of the nebulizer fan of Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a nebulizer fan according to a further embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 4 is an axial sectional view of the nebulizer fan of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is an axial sectional view of a nebulizer fan according to yet another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring initially to Figures 1 and 2, a nebulizer fan (hereinafter simply referred to as fan) according to an embodiment of the present invention is generally indicated 10. The fan 10 essentially comprises a support structure 12, a bladed rotor 14 supported rotatably by the support structure 12 for rotation around an axis of rotation z, a motor 16, in particular an electric motor, a motion transmission mechanism 18 arranged to transmit the rotary motion generated by the motor 16 to the bladed rotor 14 to drive in rotation the bladed rotor 14 around the axis of rotation z, and a nebulizer device including at least one nozzle 20 and a primary water supply conduit 22 connected to the nozzle 20.

More specifically, the fan 10 is of the type intended to be fixed to the ceiling, with the axis of rotation z oriented vertically. For this purpose, a pair of support bars 24, for example, are fixed to the support structure 12 and are provided at their ends with eyelets 26 for connection with ropes or cables (not shown) for the suspended mounting of the fan.

The bladed rotor 14 comprises a hub 28 and a plurality of blades 30 (five blades, in the embodiment shown in the drawings) which are fixed to the hub 28 and extend radially from the same, angularly equidistant from each other. The blades 30 are of a known type and will therefore not be further described.

The hub 28 of the bladed rotor 14 is mounted on a hollow drive shaft 32 which extends along the axis of rotation z and has an axial hole 34. The drive shaft 32 is rotatably supported by the support structure 12 by means of bearings 36. The primary water supply conduit 22 extends inside the hole 34 of the drive shaft 32 and is connected at its lower end to a distributor body 38 which is mounted below the hub 28 of the bladed rotor 14 and is provided with the nozzle (or nozzles) 20.

The motor 16 is mounted on the support structure 12 and comprises a motor shaft 40 which is preferably also oriented vertically, i.e. parallel to the axis of rotation z. Preferably, as in the embodiment shown in the drawings, the motor shaft 40 is coaxial with the drive shaft 32.

According to one embodiment, the motion transmission mechanism 18 comprises a driving pulley 42 mounted on the motor shaft 40 so as to be drivingly connected for rotation therewith, a driven pulley 44 mounted on the drive shaft 32 so as to be drivingly connected for rotation therewith, a lay shaft 46 arranged parallel to and at a distance from the drive shaft 32 and the motor shaft 40, a first intermediate pulley 48 mounted on the lay shaft 46 so as to be drivingly connected for rotation therewith and arranged to receive the motion from the driving pulley 42, a second intermediate pulley 50 mounted on the lay shaft 46 so as to be drivingly connected for rotation therewith and arranged to transmit motion to the driven pulley 44, a first belt 52 wound onto the driving pulley 42 and the first intermediate pulley 48 and a second belt 54 wound on the driven pulley 44 and the second intermediate pulley 50. The rotational motion generated by the motor 16 is thus transmitted from the motor shaft 40 to the lay shaft 46 through the driving pulley 42, the first belt 52 and the first intermediate pulley 58, and then from the lay shaft 46 to the drive shaft 32, and hance to the bladed rotor 14, through the second intermediate pulley 50, the second belt 54 and the driven pulley 44. Preferably, the dimensions of the pulleys are chosen so as to provide a first speed reduction in the motion transmission from the driving pulley 42 to the first, intermediate pulley 48 and a second speed reduction in the motion transmission from the- second intermediate pulley 50 to the driven pulley 44.

The pulleys and belts described above might naturally be replaced with gear wheels and; chains, respectively. As is apparent from the description provided above, the particular configuration of the motion transmission system proposed herein allows the primary water supply conduit 22 to pass through the cavity 34 of the drive shaft 32 and therefore the nozzle (or nozzles) 20 of the nebulizer to be arranged beneath the hub 28 of the bladed rotor 14. In this way, the flow of nebulized water sprayed by the nozzle (or nozzles) 20 is not obstructed by the blades 30, in contrast to what occurs in the nebulizer fans according to the prior art.

A further embodiment of a nebulizer fan according to the invention is illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, where the same reference numerals have been assigned to parts and elements identical or corresponding to those of Figures 1 and 2.

Such an embodiment differs from the one described above with reference to Figures 1 and 2 in that the nozzles 20 are arranged on the blades 30 of the bladed rotor 14 and are supplied by secondary water supply conduits 39 connected to the primary water supply conduit 20 through the distributor body 38, which is still arranged, as in the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2, below the hub 28 of the bladed rotor 14. Also in this case, therefore, the flow of nebulized water sprayed by the nozzles 20 is not obstructed by the blades 30, in contrast to what occurs with the nebulizer fans according to the prior art.

Furthermore, according to the embodiment of Figures 3 and 4 the motor 16 is arranged with its motor shaft (not shown) parallel to, but spaced apart from, the axis of rotation z of the drive shaft 32. In this case, the motion transmission mechanism 18 comprises a single reduction stage formed by the driving pulley 42 drivingly connected for rotation with the motor shaft, the driven pulley 44 drivingly connected for rotation with the drive shaft 32 and the belt 52 wound around the pulleys 42 and 44. As mentioned earlier, instead of a pair of pulleys and of the belt there may be provided a pair of gear wheels and a chain, respectively. Naturally, the arrangement of the motor 16 and the configuration of the motion transmission mechanism 18 may be of the type shown in Figures 1 and 2.

According to a further embodiment (not shown) the nozzles might be arranged in part beneath the hub and in part on the blades of the bladed rotor.

Finally, Figure 5, where the same reference numerals are assigned to parts and elements identical or corresponding to those of the preceding figures, shows a further embodiment of a nebulizer fan according to the invention, wherein the arrangement and supply of the nozzles 20 are similar to those of the embodiment of Figures 3 and 4, while the arrangement of the motor 16 and the configuration of the motion transmission mechanism 18 are similar to those of the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2. Therefore, what has already been said for the embodiment of Figures 3 and 4 still applies as far as the nozzles 20 and the respective supply system are concerned, and what has already been said for the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2 still applies insofar as the motor 16 and the motion transmission mechanism 18 are concerned. Naturally, the principle of the invention remaining unchanged, the embodiments and the constructional details may vary widely from those described and illustrated purely by way of non-limiting example, without thereby departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.