NZ790376B2 - Respiratory pressure therapy system - Google Patents

Abstract

blower for a respiratory pressure therapy (RPT) system, the blower being configured to generate a flow of air at a therapeutic pressure of at least 6 cmH2O above ambient air pressure, the blower comprising: a motor having a first end and a second end; a shaft having a first shaft end extending from the first end of the motor and a second shaft end extending from the second end of the motor; an impeller arranged on each of the first shaft end and the second shaft end such that both impellers are driven simultaneously by the motor; a stator corresponding to each of the first end of the motor and the second end of the motor, the stator positioned downstream of the impeller along the flow of air at said therapeutic pressure generated by the blower in use; a blower outlet positioned downstream of each stator; a housing corresponding to each of the first end of the motor and the second end of the motor, each housing being shaped and dimensioned to at least partially enclose each impeller and each stator and at least partially define a blower inlet, and each housing at least partially defining the corresponding blower outlet such that the blower outlets are adjacent to one another; and a flow path for the flow of air passing from each blower inlet, past each impeller, through each stator, and out each blower outlet.

Claims (14)

1. A blower for a respiratory pressure therapy (RPT) system, the blower being configured to generate a flow of air at a therapeutic pressure of at least 6 cmH2O above ambient air pressure, the blower comprising: a motor having a first end and a second end; a shaft having a first shaft end extending from the first end of the motor and a second shaft end extending from the second end of the motor; an impeller arranged on each of the first shaft end and the second shaft end such that both impellers are driven simultaneously by the motor; a stator corresponding to each of the first end of the motor and the second end of the motor, the stator positioned downstream of the impeller along the flow of air at said therapeutic pressure generated by the blower in use; a blower outlet positioned downstream of each stator; a housing corresponding to each of the first end of the motor and the second end of the motor, each housing being shaped and dimensioned to at least partially enclose each impeller and each stator and at least partially define a blower inlet, and each housing at least partially defining the corresponding blower outlet such that the blower outlets are adjacent to one another; and a flow path for the flow of air passing from each blower inlet, past each impeller, through each stator, and out each blower outlet.

2. The blower of claim 1, wherein each impeller and each stator are at least partially contained within the corresponding housing such that the flow of air travelling along the flow path past the impeller and through the stator also passes through the housing.

3. The blower of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein each housing comprises a mounting structure to connect the blower to the RPT system. ResMed Ref: P1285NZ4 / JAWs Ref: 506229NZDIV3 87

4. The blower of claim 3, wherein each mounting structure further comprises a pair of mounting rails extending around the outer circumference of each housing.

5. The blower of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein each housing is constructed to dampen sound and vibration.

6. The blower of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein each housing comprises a rigid material to provide structural integrity and a less rigid, elastically deformable material overmolded to the rigid material to dampen sound and vibration.

7. The blower of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein each impeller comprises an impeller hub, impeller vanes extending radially from the impeller hub, and an impeller shroud.

8. The blower of claim 7, wherein each of the impeller vanes comprises a first impeller vane portion that extends only in a radial direction and a second impeller vane portion that extends in a radial and axial direction.

9. The blower of claim 8, wherein the first impeller vane portion of each of the impeller vanes of each first impeller and each second impeller has a constant crosssection and is radially inward relative to the second impeller vane portion, wherein the second impeller vane portion has a variable cross-section and is radially outward relative to the first impeller vane portion, and wherein the constant cross-section of the first impeller vane portion is thinner than the variable cross-section of the second impeller vane portion.

10. The blower of any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein each impeller shroud comprises a first impeller shroud portion that extends only in a radial direction and a second impeller shroud portion that extends in a radial and axial direction.

11. The blower of any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the impeller vanes of each impeller are swept forward relative to the direction of rotation during operation.

12. The blower of any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein each stator further comprises a top ring, a base ring, and a plurality of stator vanes that join the top ring and the base ring, and ResMed Ref: P1285NZ4 / JAWs Ref: 506229NZDIV3 88 wherein the plurality of stator vanes direct the flow of air from the impeller to the blower outlet in a radial and axial direction, reduce the velocity of the flow of air from the impeller, and increase the pressure of the flow of air from the impeller.

13. The blower of claim 12, wherein each of the plurality of stator vanes has a constant depth in a radial direction and an increasing width in a circumferential direction from the top ring to the base ring.

14. The blower of claim 12 or claim 13, wherein each top ring includes a top ring recess and each base ring includes a base ring recess, the top ring recess and the base ring recess allowing a flexible printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) to pass therethrough