U.S. patent application number 10/976925 was filed with the patent office on 2006-05-04 for pressure-boosting axial-flow heat-dissipating fan.
This patent application is currently assigned to Sunonwealth Electric Machine Industry Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Yin-Rong Hong, Alex Horng.
Application Number | 20060093479 10/976925 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36262137 |
Filed Date | 2006-05-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060093479 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Horng; Alex ; et
al. |
May 4, 2006 |
Pressure-boosting axial-flow heat-dissipating fan
Abstract
A pressure-boosting axial-flow heat-dissipating fan includes a
housing and an impeller. The housing includes an annular wall
including an air inlet in a first end thereof and an air outlet in
a second end thereof. A base and a pressure-boosting device are
mounted in the air outlet. The impeller is rotatably mounted to the
base. The impeller includes a hub and a plurality of blades on an
outer periphery of the hub. Two of the blades adjacent to each
other partially overlap with each other along an axis parallel to a
rotating axis of the impeller. The number of the blades on the
impeller is increased such that the overall air-driving area of the
blades is increased, improving the overall heat-dissipating
efficiency.
Inventors: |
Horng; Alex; (Kaohsiung,
TW) ; Hong; Yin-Rong; (Kaohsiung, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BACON & THOMAS, PLLC
625 SLATERS LANE
FOURTH FLOOR
ALEXANDRIA
VA
22314
US
|
Assignee: |
Sunonwealth Electric Machine
Industry Co., Ltd.
Kaohsiung
TW
|
Family ID: |
36262137 |
Appl. No.: |
10/976925 |
Filed: |
November 1, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
415/208.2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F04D 29/384 20130101;
F04D 29/544 20130101; F04D 25/0613 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
415/208.2 |
International
Class: |
F04D 29/44 20060101
F04D029/44 |
Claims
1. A pressure-boosting axial-flow heat-dissipating fan comprising:
a housing including an annular wall, the annular wall including an
air inlet in a first end thereof and an air outlet in a second end
thereof, a base and a pressure-boosting device being mounted in the
air outlet; and an impeller rotatably mounted to the base, the
impeller including a hub and a plurality of blades on an outer
periphery of the hub, two of the blades adjacent to each other
partially overlapping with each other along an axis parallel to a
rotating axis of the impeller.
2. The pressure-boosting axial-flow heat-dissipating fan as claimed
in claim 1 wherein the hub is substantially inverted U-shaped and
includes an arcuate portion adjacent to the air inlet side.
3. The pressure-boosting axial-flow heat-dissipating fan as claimed
in claim 1 wherein each said blade includes an air-inlet-side tip
substantially flush with an end face of the housing that is
adjacent to the air inlet of the housing.
4. The pressure-boosting axial-flow heat-dissipating fan as claimed
in claim 1 wherein the hub extends out of the air inlet of the
housing.
5. The pressure-boosting axial-flow heat-dissipating fan as claimed
in claim 1 wherein the blades suck axial airflow and ambient radial
airflow into the housing.
6. The pressure-boosting axial-flow heat-dissipating fan as claimed
in claim 5 wherein the hub and the blades extend out of the air
inlet of the housing.
7. The pressure-boosting axial-flow heat-dissipating fan as claimed
in claim 1 wherein each said blade includes an air-inlet-side tip
at a level higher than the hub.
8. The pressure-boosting axial-flow heat-dissipating fan as claimed
in claim 1 wherein the air inlet of the housing is circular.
9. The pressure-boosting axial-flow heat-dissipating fan as claimed
in claim 1 wherein the pressure-boosting device includes a
plurality of radially extending plates each having a first end
fixed to the base and a second end fixed to the annular wall.
10. The pressure-boosting axial-flow heat-dissipating fan as
claimed in claim 1 wherein each said plate has a slant opposite to
that of the blades with respect to the rotating axis of the
impeller.
11. The pressure-boosting axial-flow heat-dissipating fan as
claimed in claim 1 wherein the pressure-boosting device includes a
plurality of parallel plates.
12. The pressure-boosting axial-flow heat-dissipating fan as
claimed in claim 11 wherein each said plate is substantially
triangular in section.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to an axial-flow
heat-dissipating fan. In particular, the present invention relates
to a pressure-boosting axial-flow heat-dissipating fan that
provides increased air output and an air pressure-boosting
effect.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 6,244,818 discloses a fan guard structure for
additional supercharging function. The fan guard comprises a main
frame, a motor holder, and a set of guard blades radially arranged
inside the main frame and fixed onto an inner surface of the main
frame by each one end thereof. A motor is mounted in the motor
holder for driving a shaft ring with rotor blades. The set of guard
blades can be arranged either upstream or downstream of the rotor
blades. Each guard blade is preferred to have a shape similar to
that of the rotor blades. The tangential velocity of the airflow is
transformed into a static pressure when the motor turns.
Accordingly, the blast pressure further rises through the fan
guard, and the fan is thus supercharged.
[0005] However, due to limitation to the molding process, each
rotor blade on the shaft ring is not overlapped with an adjacent
rotor blade along an axis parallel to a rotating axis of the shaft
ring such that the number of the rotor blades on the shaft ring is
limited. The total air-driving area of the rotor blades is thus
limited, leading to limitation to the surcharging (or
pressure-boosting) effect. Further, the overall air output is still
limited by the structure of the shaft ring although the guard
blades provide a certain surcharging effect. In recent years, the
shaft rings (or impellers) are manufactured by assemblage to
increase the number of rotor blades. However, the shaft rings
manufactured by assemblage have never been used with a fan guard
providing an air pressure-boosting effect, nor has innovation in
structure been made for improving air intake efficiency or
improving air intake smoothness.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide an
axial-flow heat-dissipating fan with increased air input and
increased air output pressure, thereby improving the overall
heat-dissipating efficiency.
[0007] Another object of the present invention is to provide an
axial-flow heat-dissipating fan with increased air intake
range.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a
pressure-boosting axial-flow heat-dissipating fan comprises a
housing and an impeller. The housing includes an annular wall
including an air inlet in a first end thereof and an air outlet in
a second end thereof. A base and a pressure-boosting device are
mounted in the air outlet. The impeller is rotatably mounted to the
base. The impeller includes a hub and a plurality of blades on an
outer periphery of the hub. Two of the blades adjacent to each
other partially overlap with each other along an axis parallel to a
rotating axis of the impeller. The number of the blades on the
impeller is increased such that the overall air-driving area of the
blades is increased, improving the overall heat-dissipating
efficiency.
[0009] The hub is substantially inverted U-shaped and includes an
arcuate portion adjacent to the air inlet side. Preferably, the air
inlet of the housing is circular to allow smooth air intake.
[0010] In an embodiment of the invention, each blade includes an
air-inlet-side tip substantially flush with an end face of the
housing that is adjacent to the air inlet of the housing. The hub
extends out of the air inlet of the housing.
[0011] In another embodiment of the invention, hub and the blades
extend out of the air inlet of the housing, allowing the blades
suck axial airflow and ambient radial airflow into the housing.
Each blade includes an air-inlet-side tip at a level higher than
the hub.
[0012] In an embodiment of the invention, the pressure-boosting
device includes a plurality of radially extending plates each
having a first end fixed to the base and a second end fixed to the
annular wall. Preferably, each plate has a slant opposite to that
of the blades with respect to the rotating axis of the
impeller.
[0013] In another embodiment of the invention, the
pressure-boosting device includes a plurality of parallel plates
each of which is substantially triangular in section.
[0014] Other objects, advantages and novel features of this
invention will become more apparent from the following detailed
description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a first embodiment
of a pressure-boosting axial-flow heat-dissipating fan in
accordance with the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 2 is a top view of the pressure-boosting axial-flow
heat-dissipating fan in FIG. 1;
[0017] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the pressure-boosting
axial-flow heat-dissipating fan in FIG. 1;
[0018] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a second
embodiment of the pressure-boosting axial-flow heat-dissipating fan
in accordance with the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the pressure-boosting
axial-flow heat-dissipating fan in FIG. 4;
[0020] FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a third embodiment
of the pressure-boosting axial-flow heat-dissipating fan in
accordance with the present invention; and
[0021] FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the pressure-boosting
axial-flow heat-dissipating fan in FIG. 6.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0022] Referring to FIG. 1, a first embodiment of a
pressure-boosting axial-flow heat-dissipating fan in accordance
with the present invention comprises an impeller 1 and a housing 2.
The impeller 1 improves the air-driving efficiency and the housing
2 increases the outputted air pressure, thereby improving the
overall heat-dissipating efficiency.
[0023] Still referring to FIG. 1 and further to FIGS. 2 and 3, the
impeller 1 comprises a hub 11, a plurality of blades 12 on an outer
periphery of the hub 11, and a shaft 13. The hub 11 is
substantially inverted U-shaped in section such that the hub 11 has
an arcuate portion adjacent to the air inlet side. The blades 12
are inclined and symmetrically arranged on the outer periphery of
the hub 11. Further, two blades 12 adjacent to each other partially
overlap with each other along an axis X parallel to a rotating axis
of the impeller 11. By this arrangement, the number of the blades
12 on the impeller 1 can be increased and the total air-driving
area of the blades 12 is increased. In other words, the impeller 1
may drive more axial airflow. Further, the shaft 13 is fixed on a
center of an inner side of the hub 11 for rotatably mounting the
impeller 1 in the housing 2.
[0024] The housing 2 comprises an annular wall 20, a base 23 to
which the shaft 13 is rotatably mounted, and a pressure-boosting
device 24. The annular wall 20 includes an air inlet 21 in an end
thereof and an air outlet 22 in the other end thereof. Preferably,
the air inlet 21 is circular to provide smooth air intake. The base
23 and the pressure-boosting device 24 are mounted in the air
outlet 22 of the housing 2. In this embodiment, the
pressure-boosting device includes a plurality of radially extending
plates 24 each having a first end fixed to the base 23 and a second
end fixed to an inner periphery of the annular wall 20. Each plate
24 has a slant opposite to that of the blades 12 with respect to
the rotating axis of the impeller. The pressure-boosting device 24
increases the outputted air pressure of the impeller 1.
[0025] As illustrated in FIG. 3, the impeller 1 is substantially
received in the annular wall 20 of the housing 2, with an
air-inlet-side tip 121 on each blade 12 being substantially flush
with an end face of the housing 2 adjacent to the air inlet 21 and
with the hub 11 of the impeller 1 slightly protruding out of the
air inlet 21 of the housing 2. When the impeller 1 turns, more
axial airflow is sucked into the air inlet 21 by the blades 12, as
the total air-driving area of the blades 12 is greater than that of
conventional designs. The arcuate portion of the hub 11 and the
circular air inlet 21 smoothly guide axial airflow into the housing
2, and the pressure-boosting device 24 in the air outlet 22
increases the pressure of the axial airflow, providing an air
pressure-boosting effect.
[0026] FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate a second embodiment of the
invention, wherein the blades 12 of the impeller 1 extend out of
the air inlet 21 of the housing 2 for driving ambient air
surrounding the housing 2 into the air inlet 21. The air intake
range is increased. It is noted that the air-inlet-side tip 121 on
each blade 12 is at a level higher than the hub 11. Further, the
hub 11 and the blades 12 are outside the air inlet 21 of the
housing 2. Thus, the blades 12 may drive axial airflow as well as
ambient radial airflow into the housing 2.
[0027] FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate a third embodiment of the invention
modified from the first embodiment, wherein the pressure-boosting
device includes a plurality of parallel plates 24' in the air
outlet 22 of the housing 2, forming a grill-like structure. Each
plate 24' is substantially triangular in section. The plates 24'
compress the output airflow to increase the air pressure. Further,
the plates 24' allow output of parallel airflows and/or guide the
outputted airflow to dissipate heat in a specific direction.
[0028] While the principles of this invention have been disclosed
in connection with specific embodiments, it should be understood by
those skilled in the art that these descriptions are not intended
to limit the scope of the invention, and that any modification and
variation without departing the spirit of the invention is intended
to be covered by the scope of this invention defined only by the
appended claims.
* * * * *