U.S. patent application number 10/050572 was filed with the patent office on 2002-08-15 for electric fan.
This patent application is currently assigned to GATE S.p.A.. Invention is credited to Bussa, Marco.
Application Number | 20020110456 10/050572 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 11458404 |
Filed Date | 2002-08-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020110456 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Bussa, Marco |
August 15, 2002 |
Electric fan
Abstract
An electric fan comprises a blade impeller and an electric motor
with a rotor part including a plurality of permanent magnets fixed
to a peripheral ring of the impeller, and a stator part which faces
a portion of the said ring of magnets of the rotor and which
comprises a winding and a support structure in which the impeller
is rotatably mounted and to which the stator part of the motor is
fixed. The support structure comprises a bracket of generally
elongate form having a first end provided with rotation support
means for the impeller and a second end to which the stator part of
the electric motor is fixed.
Inventors: |
Bussa, Marco; (Viarigi
(Asti), IT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
SUGHRUE MION, PLLC
2100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington
DC
20037-3213
US
|
Assignee: |
GATE S.p.A.
|
Family ID: |
11458404 |
Appl. No.: |
10/050572 |
Filed: |
January 18, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
416/204R |
Current CPC
Class: |
F04D 29/5813 20130101;
F04D 25/066 20130101; F04D 29/646 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
416/204.00R |
International
Class: |
F01D 005/30 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jan 19, 2001 |
IT |
TO2001A000038 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An electric fan comprising a blade impeller and an associated
electric drive motor including a rotor part comprising a plurality
of permanent magnets fixed to a peripheral ring of the impeller,
and a stator part which faces a portion of the said ring of magnets
of the rotor and which includes a winding and a support structure
in which the impeller is rotatably mounted and to which the said
stator part of the motor is fixed; the electric fan being
characterised in that the said support structure comprises bracket
of generally elongate shape having a first end provided with
rotation support means for the impeller, and a second end to which
the said stator part of the electric motor is fixed.
2. An electric fan according to claim 1, in the which the second
end of the support bracket has a receptacle formed therein able to
receive control circuit means coupled to the stator part of the
said electric motor.
3. An electric fan according to claim 2, in which the support
bracket is of metal material, in particular aluminium, and is in
heat exchange relationship with at least some components of the
said circuit means to encourage dissipation of heat.
4. An electric fan according to claim 1, in which the ends of the
said support bracket are provided with means able to allow
anchorage to a supporting structure in use.
5. An electric fan according to claim 1, in which the impeller is
of moulded plastics material and the magnets of the rotor part are
fixed, for example by adhesive, to a metal support ring, the said
ring and the magnets being embedded in the plastics material of the
impeller.
6. An electric fan according to claim 1, in which the said first
end of the bracket has a pin fixed to it and operable to function
as a fixed shaft, in which the impeller has a hub provided with
rotation support means rotatably mounted on the said pin or fixed
shaft.
7. An electric fan according to claim 1, in which the intermediate
portion of the support bracket has a plurality of angularly spaced
deflector elements or flow straightener elements formed
therein.
8. An electric fan according to claim 1, in which the winding of
the stat or part is formed with stacks of laminations of
electrically conductive material such as copper or its alloys,
carried by a support plate which also carries connector conductors
for interconnecting them.
Description
DESCRIPTION
[0001] The present invention relates to an electric fan usable, for
example, for cooling a heat exchanger such as a radiator associated
with the internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle.
[0002] More specifically, the subject of the invention is an
electric fan of the type comprising a blade impeller and an
associated electric motor including a rotor part comprising a ring
of permanent magnets fixed to a peripheral ring of the impeller,
and a stator part which faces a portion of the said ring of magnets
of the impeller and which includes a winding and a support
structure in which the impeller is rotatably mounted and to which
the said stator part of the motor is fixed.
[0003] The object of the present invention is to provide an
electric fan of the above-specified type, which has a particularly
simple structure which can be assembled and installed in a simple
and economic manner.
[0004] This and other objects are achieved according to the
invention with an electric fan of the above-specified type,
characterised in that the said support structure comprises a
bracket of generally elongate form having a first end provided with
means for supporting rotation of the impeller and a second end to
which the said stator part of the electric motor is fixed.
[0005] In a preferred embodiment of the invention a receptacle is
formed in the said second end of the bracket, which can receive
control circuit means coupled to the stator part of the electric
motor. Advantageously the bracket is made of a metal material such
as aluminium, and is in heat exchange relation with at least some
components of the said circuit means in order to encourage the
dissipation of heat.
[0006] According to a further advantageous characteristic of the
invention the winding of the stator part is made with stacks of
laminations of electrically conductive material such as copper or
its alloys, carried by a support plate which also carries
connection conductors for interconnecting them.
[0007] Further characteristics and advantages of the electric fan
according to the invention will become apparent from the following
detailed description given purely by way of non-limitative example,
with reference to the attached drawings, in which:
[0008] FIG. 1 is a partly exploded perspective view of an electric
fan according to the invention;
[0009] FIG. 2 is an axially sectioned partial view of a peripheral
portion of the impeller of the electric fan of the invention;
[0010] FIG. 3 is an axially sectioned partial view of the hub of
the impeller;
[0011] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a support bracket of the
electric fan;
[0012] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a variant embodiment of the
support bracket;
[0013] FIG. 6 is a perspective view which shows the bracket of FIG.
5 in association with an air conveying support structure for the
electric fan;
[0014] FIGS. 7 and 8 are sectioned views taken on the lines VII-VII
and VIII-VIII respectively of FIG. 5;
[0015] FIG. 9 is a partial perspective view which shows a
particular way of making the stator part of an electric fan
according to the invention;
[0016] FIG. 10 is a perspective view, on an enlarged scale, of a
detail seen from the direction of the arrow X of FIG. 9; and
[0017] FIG. 11 is a perspective view which shows the detail of FIG.
10 seen from the direction of the arrow XI of this Figure.
[0018] With reference to FIG. 1, an electric fan 1 according to the
invention comprises a support casing 2 in which there is defined an
essentially circular passage 3. At the exit from this passage, that
is to say essentially on the rear side of the support body 2,
extends a support ring 4 interconnected with the body 2 by means of
a series of spokes 5.
[0019] The electric fan 1 comprises an impeller generally indicated
6, having a hub 7 from which extends a ring of arcuate blades 8.
The outer ends of these blades are joined to a peripheral ring
9.
[0020] Conveniently, according to a technique already known per se,
the hub 7, the blades 8 and the peripheral ring 9 of the impeller
are made in one piece of moulded plastics material.
[0021] In FIGS. 1 and 2 the reference numeral 10 indicates a metal
ring on the outer surface of which is fixed, for example by
adhesive, a ring 11 of permanent magnets 12.
[0022] As seen in FIG. 2, the ring 2 and the ring 11 formed by the
magnets 12 are embedded in the peripheral ring 9 of the bladed
impeller 6 upon moulding of this latter, in such a way that the
rotor part of the motor associated with this impeller is
practically integral with it.
[0023] As seen in FIG. 3, a tubular metal insert 13 is conveniently
embedded, upon moulding, in the hub 7 of the impeller 6, at the
ends of which are defined two seats 14 and 15 of greater diameter
to allow respective bearing supports 16 and 17 (FIG. 1) to be
fitted to them.
[0024] The electric fan 1 further includes a support bracket
generally indicated 20 in FIG. 1 and 4.
[0025] This support bracket 20 is conveniently made of metal such
as aluminium or its alloys. It has a generally elongate form and
one end 20a thereof carries a pin 21 which is inserted into the
bearing support 16 and 17 of the impeller 6 to act as a fixed shaft
for the rotation of this latter.
[0026] The end 20a of the bracket 20 further has three holes for
the passage of screws which, being engaged in corresponding holes
of the ring 4 of the support body 2, contribute to the fixing of
the bracket 20 to this body.
[0027] The other end 20b of the bracket 20 forms a receptacle 23 in
which is conveniently housed a circuit board (not illustrated)
carrying the control circuit components associated with the motor
of the electric fan. In particular at least some of these
components, in the mounted condition, are in heat exchange
relationship with the bracket 20 which therefore also acts as a
dissipater for heat developed in operation of these components.
[0028] The end portion 20b of the bracket 20 has a pair of through
holes 24 (only one of which is visible in FIG. 4) for the passage
of corresponding fixing screws which allow this end of the bracket
20 also to be fixed to the support body 2. Adjacent the receptacle
23 defined in the bracket 20 there is fixed to this latter a
terminal block of 25 of electrically insulating material from which
extend terminals 26 which are intended to be connected to the
circuits housed in the said receptacle, and a plurality of
electrical terminals 27 intended for connection of the windings of
the stator part of the motor of the electric fan.
[0029] The stator part comprises a stack of stator laminations 28
in the form of arcuate segments, forming a plurality of teeth 29
alternating with recesses 30. Around these teeth and in the said
recesses are wound conductors which form the winding 31 (FIG. 1) of
the stator part.
[0030] The stack of stator laminations 28 and the terminal block 25
are conveniently fixed to the bracket 20 by means of the same pair
of screws.
[0031] In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4 the
intermediate portion of the support bracket 20 has a plurality of
longitudinal slots 32 intended to allow the passage of air which in
operation is blown by the impeller 20 into the passage 3 of the
support body 2.
[0032] A variant embodiment of the support bracket 20 will now be
described with reference to FIGS. from 5 to 8. In these Figures the
parts and elements which are the same as or essentially equivalent
to parts and elements already described have been again allocated
the same reference numerals.
[0033] In the variant illustrated in particular in FIG. 5 the
intermediate portion of the support bracket 20 forms a plurality of
angularly spaced deflector elements or flow straighteners 40. A
similar series of deflector elements or flow straighteners
indicated 41 in FIG. 6 extend from the support ring 4 to the outlet
of the conveyor duct 3. The deflectors or flow straighteners 41
form an angularly complementary assembly to that formed by the
deflectors or flow straighteners 40 of the support bracket 20. In
other words, when the bracket 20 is mounted in position on the body
2 its deflectors or flow straighteners 40 combine with the
deflectors or flow straighteners 41 to form, overall, a ring of
angularly equally spaced deflectors or straighteners.
[0034] As is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, each deflector or flow
straightener 40 has in its radially innermost region an essentially
straight cross section as shown in FIG. 7, which progressively
curves in the direction of its radially outer portion in
correspondence with which, as seen in FIG. 8, its cross section has
an accentuated curvature. The same is obviously true for the flow
straighteners 41 of the support body 2.
[0035] For the rest, the support bracket 20 essentially corresponds
to that previously described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4.
[0036] In general, in an electric fan of the type described above,
the winding of the stator part of the electric motor must be made
with conductors having a large cross section for the purpose of
ensuring a high performance. However, the formation of windings
with conductors of large cross section is a complicated
operation.
[0037] The problems connected with the winding of wires of large
cross section can be avoided with the arrangement which will now be
described with a reference to FIGS. from 9 to 11.
[0038] These Figures illustrate portions of the stator part of the
motor associated with the electric fan, in which the winding 31 is
made with stacks 50 of laminations 51 of electrically conductive
material such as copper or its alloys, carried by a support plate
52 of electrically insulating material which carries connection
conductors 53 for interconnecting them (FIG. 11).
[0039] Naturally, the principle of the invention remaining the
same, the embodiments and details of construction can be widely
varied with respect to what has been described and illustrated
purely by way of non-limitative example, without by this departing
from the ambit of the invention as defined in the attached
claims.
* * * * *