U.S. patent application number 11/378938 was filed with the patent office on 2007-09-20 for fan fastening structure.
This patent application is currently assigned to Inventec Corporation. Invention is credited to Lin-Wei Chang, Chi-Kang Hsieh.
Application Number | 20070217910 11/378938 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38518023 |
Filed Date | 2007-09-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070217910 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chang; Lin-Wei ; et
al. |
September 20, 2007 |
Fan fastening structure
Abstract
The present invention proposes a fan fastening structure for
securing a fan having at least a connector and a cable having at
least a connection port. The fan fastening structure includes a
framework and at least a securing rack, wherein the framework is
formed with a first side, a second side opposing to the first side,
a third side connected to the first side and the second side, and a
fourth side opposing to the third side for storing the fan, and the
securing rack is secured to the fourth side for securing the cable
so as to fasten the fan to the fan fastening structure and overcome
the defects such as taking spaces inside the framework, resulted
from forming a circuit board within the framework of the
conventional structure.
Inventors: |
Chang; Lin-Wei; (Taipei,
TW) ; Hsieh; Chi-Kang; (Taipei, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
EDWARDS ANGELL PALMER & DODGE LLP
P.O. BOX 55874
BOSTON
MA
02205
US
|
Assignee: |
Inventec Corporation
Taipei
TW
|
Family ID: |
38518023 |
Appl. No.: |
11/378938 |
Filed: |
March 17, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
415/213.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F04D 29/601 20130101;
H05K 7/20172 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
415/213.1 |
International
Class: |
F01D 25/28 20060101
F01D025/28 |
Claims
1. A fan fastening structure for securing a fan with a connector
and a cable with a connection port, comprising: a framework formed
with a first side, a second side opposing to the first side, a
third side connected to the first side and the second side, and a
fourth side opposing to the third side for storing the fan; and at
least a securing rack secured to the fourth side for securing the
cable, wherein the connector is coupled to the connection port for
fastening the fan to the fan fastening structure.
2. The fan fastening structure of claim 1, wherein the first side
is formed with a plurality of openings that each opening is
corresponding to another and the second side is formed with a
plurality of holes that each hole is corresponding to another.
3. The fan fastening structure of claim 1, wherein the third side
and the fourth side are formed with protruded portions that each
protruded portion is corresponding to another.
4. The fan fastening structure of claim 3, wherein the protruded
portions respectively comprise a plurality of protruded plates.
5. The fan fastening structure of claim 1, wherein the fourth side
comprises a protruded portion and a first coupling portion.
6. The fan fastening structure of claim 5, wherein the protruded
portion further comprises a plurality of protruded plates.
7. The fan fastening structure of claim 5, wherein the first
coupling portion further comprises a plurality of bulges.
8. The fan fastening structure of claim 7, wherein the bulge is
formed with a head and a relatively smaller body.
9. The fan fastening structure of claim 1, wherein the securing
rack is formed with a plurality of cavities, a second coupling
portion and a hook-like portion.
10. The fan fastening structure of claim 9, wherein the second
coupling portion further comprises a plurality of gap-like
domains.
11. The fan fastening structure of claim 9, wherein the hook-like
portion is at least one of a L-shape hook and a U-shape hook.
12. The fan fastening structure of claim 10, wherein the gap-like
domain is formed with a passage, a first opening connected to the
passage, and a second opening connected to the first opening.
13. The fan fastening structure of claim 12, wherein the second
opening is smaller than the first opening.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to fan fastening structures,
and more particularly, to a fan fastening structure that is applied
to a server.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Generally, a mega Computer Blade Server System may contain
more than sixteen Blade Servers, wherein each blade server may be
designed to be 1U (1.75 inches) or 2U (3.5 inches) in height.
[0003] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional blade server.
As shown in FIG. 1, the blade server is formed with a receiving end
11, a fan fastening structure 13 deposited at the receiving end 11
and a plurality of fans 15 deposited within the fan fastening
structure 13, wherein the fan fastening structure 13 is formed with
a framework 131 and a base 133 which is employed to support and
carry the framework 131. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a
conventional fan fastening structure showing that the base 133 is
formed with a plurality of fasteners 13 and a plurality of first
coupling portions 1333, and the framework 131 is formed with a
plurality of boards 1311 and a plurality of second coupling
portions 1313, wherein the board 1311 is employed for isolating a
plurality of fans (not shown) and forming a passage and the second
coupling portion 1313 is used for coupling to the first coupling
portion 1333. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a conventional fan
fastening structure for fastening a fan 15. As shown in FIG. 3, a
circuit board 2 with a plurality of openings corresponding to a
plurality of fasteners 1331 is formed on the base 133 first, and
the circuit board 2 is fastened to the base 133 by coupling a
plurality of screws to a plurality of holes (not shown). The
framework 131 is then deposited at the base 133 making the first
coupling portions 1333 of the base 133 corresponding to the second
coupling portion 1313 of the framework 131, so that the first
coupling portions 1333 could be coupled to the second coupling
portion 1313 via the use of a plurality of screws for coupling the
framework 131 to the base 133. Furthermore, the circuit board 2
fastened to the base 133 comprises a plurality of connection ports
21. A plurality of connection ports 21 are employed to electrically
connect to as well as fasten a plurality of fans 15, wherein each
fan 15 is formed with a connector 151 that is coupled to the
connection port 21 of the circuit board 2.
[0004] While assembling the fan 15 into the fan fastening structure
13, as shown in FIG. 3, the connector 151 of the fan 15 must face
toward the connection port 21 of the circuit board 2 first, and
then the fan 15 is moved in the direction of arrow A so as to
couple the connector 151 to the connection port 21. However, as the
passages formed in the fan fastening structure 13 by the boards
1311 are very narrow and the height of the framework 131 is much
higher than the height of the fan 13, it is not easy to align the
connector 151 with the connection port 21. Unfortunately,
arrangement as such is expected to have a severe impact on the
assembling process of fastening the fan 15, making the task of
placing the fan 15 into the right position extremely difficult to
be achieved. This thereby makes the assembling process difficult
and unlikely to be implemented.
[0005] While disassembling the fan 15 from the fan fastening
structure 13, the bonding force generated from the mutually coupled
connector 151 and connection port 21 makes the fan 15 difficult to
be removed from the fan fastening structure 13, as there is no
enough room for a person to apply force for unplugging.
[0006] In addition, as the framework 131 of the fan fastening
structure 13 formed with the circuit board 2 and the connection
port coupled to the circuit board 2 have occupied a portion of the
height and space of the framework 131, the framework 131 could only
receive the size-limited fan 15. If a larger fan is stored, that
larger fan would expose from the framework 131, and consequently,
making the framework 131 storing with the larger fan unable to be
put into the blade server 1.
[0007] Moreover, as aforementioned, in the conventional fan
fastening structure 13, the circuit board 2 is required for
electrically connecting the fan 15 to the external power supply in
order to actuate the fan 15 and the base 133 is required for
securing the circuit board, thereby leading to a higher cost of
production for fabricating a fan fastening structure as such.
[0008] Therefore, the problems to be solved here is to provide a
new technique that is capable of reducing the cost of production,
avoiding the tiresome processes during assembling and
disassembling, and storing a larger fan, so as to eliminate the
drawbacks in the prior art, as aforementioned.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] In light of the above prior-art drawbacks, a primary
objective of the present invention is to provide a space-saving fan
fastening structure.
[0010] Another objective of the present invention is to provide a
fan fastening structure, which can reduce the cost of production
significantly.
[0011] Still another objective of the present invention is to
provide a fan fastening structure, which can be assembled and
disassembled fast and easily.
[0012] In accordance with the foregoing and other objectives, the
present invention proposes a fan fastening structure for securing a
fan having at least a connector and a cable having at least a
connection port, comprising: a framework and at least a securing
rack. The framework is formed with a first side, a second side
opposing to the first side, a third side connected to the first
side and the second side, and a fourth side opposing to the third
side for storing the fan, the securing rack is secured to the
fourth side for securing the cable, and the connector is coupled to
the connection port so as to fasten the fan to the fan fastening
structure.
[0013] The foregoing first side is formed with a plurality of
openings that each opening is corresponding to another and the
foregoing second side is formed with a plurality of holes that each
hole is corresponding to another. The third side is formed with a
protruded portion and the fourth side is formed with a
corresponding protruded portion. Preferably, the protruded portions
may comprise a plurality of protruded plates. However, the fourth
side may comprise not only a protruded portion but also a first
coupling portion, wherein the protruded portion may comprise a
plurality of protruded plates and the first coupling portion may,
preferably, comprise a plurality of bulges. Each bulge may be
formed with a head and a relatively smaller body. The securing rack
is formed with a plurality of cavities, a second coupling portion
and a hook-like portion. Preferably, the second coupling portion
may comprise a plurality of gap-like domains, wherein each gap-like
domain is formed with a passage, a first opening that may be
connected to the passage, and a second opening that may be
connected to the first opening. Further, the second opening may be
smaller than the first opening, and the hook-like portion may be a
L-shape hook or a U-shape hook.
[0014] Compared with the conventional fastening technique, the
present invention provides a fan fastening structure having a
securing rack fastened to a fourth side of a framework for securing
a connection port of a cable so as to increase the storage space of
the framework, as well as overcoming the defects caused by the
conventional technique such as forming a circuit board within the
framework where the height of the circuit board and the connection
port formed thereon would take up the free spaces and make the
available spaces of the framework smaller. However, as
aforementioned, with the arrangement and the structure of the
present invention, a lot of spaces could be saved.
[0015] Furthermore, the fan fastening structure of the present
invention is capable of making the fan easier to be actuated by
simply coupling the connector of the fan to the connection port of
the cable and connecting the other end of the cable to a power
supply, and overcoming the problems of high production cost caused
by implementing the conventional technique such as forming a
circuit board in the framework for electrically connecting to the
fan and forming a base for supporting and carrying the framework.
As the present invention does not need to form with a circuit board
and a base to carry the framework, the present invention could
thereby reduce the production cost significantly.
[0016] In addition, as proposed in the present invention, through
an arrangement such as securing the connection port of the securing
rack of the fan fastening structure to the fourth side of the
framework allows the connector located on the fan to be coupled to
the connection port located on the securing rack easily and
quickly, and thereby overcomes the defects of having problems of
connecting the connector formed on the fan to be coupled to the
connection port formed on the circuit board because of poor or
improper alignment, resulted from forming the circuit board at the
bottom of the framework in the conventional structure.
[0017] Accordingly, by providing the space-saving fan fastening
structure that is easy to assemble and disassemble and capable of
lowering the cost of production significantly, the fan fastening
structure of the present invention has overcome the defects
existing in the prior art, and has a high utility value in the
industry.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] The present invention can be more fully understood by
reading the following detailed description of the preferred
embodiments, with reference made to the accompanying drawings,
wherein:
[0019] FIG. 1 (PRIOR ART) is a perspective view of a conventional
blade server;
[0020] FIG. 2 (PRIOR ART) is a perspective view of a conventional
fan fastening structure;
[0021] FIG. 3 (PRIOR ART) is a perspective view of a conventional
fan fastening structure for fastening a fan;
[0022] FIG. 4A is a perspective view of a fan fastening structure
with a cable connected thereto, in accordance with an exemplary
embodiment of the present invention;
[0023] FIG. 4B is a magnified drawing of a portion of a framework
of a fan fastening structure, as shown in FIG. 4A, in accordance
with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
[0024] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a securing rack of the fan
fastening structure, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of
the present invention;
[0025] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a fan for being fastened by
the fan fastening structure in accordance with an exemplary
embodiment of the present invention.
[0026] FIG. 7A is an exploded view of assembling a fan with a fan
fastening structure in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of
the present invention; and
[0027] FIG. 7B is a perspective view of a fan assembled with a fan
fastening structure in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of
the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0028] Preferred embodiments of a securing structure for a fan
proposed in the present invention are described in detail as
follows with reference to FIGS. 4A-4B, FIGS. 5-6 and FIGS.
7A-7B.
[0029] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a fan fastening structure 3
with a cable 5 connected thereto, in accordance with an exemplary
embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4B is a magnified drawing
of a portion of a framework 31 of the fan fastening structure 3, as
shown in FIG. 4A, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the
present invention. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a securing rack
33 of the fan fastening structure 3, in accordance with an
exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a
perspective view of a fan 4 for being fastened by the fan fastening
structure 3 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the
present invention. As shown in FIG. 4A, the fan fastening structure
3 is employed for fastening the fan 4 with at least a connector 41
(as shown in FIG. 6) and the cable 5 with at least a connection
port 51, wherein the fan fastening structure 3 comprises a
framework 31 and at least a securing rack 33.
[0030] As shown in FIGS. 4A to 6, the framework 31 formed with a
first side 311, a second side 313 opposing to the first side 311, a
third side 315 connected to the first side 311 and the second side
313, and a fourth side 317 opposing to the third side 315 is
employed for storing the fan 4 (as shown in FIG. 6). The first side
311 is formed with a plurality of openings 3111 that each opening
is corresponding to another and the second side 313 is formed with
a plurality of holes 3131 that each hole is corresponding to
another. The third side 315 is formed with a protruded portion 3151
and the fourth side 317 is formed with a corresponding protruded
portion 3171, wherein the protruded portions 3151 and 3171
respectively comprise two protruded plates. The fourth side 317
comprises not only a set of protrusions 3171 but also a first
coupling portion 3173, wherein the first coupling portion 3173
further comprises two bulges. Each bulge 3174 is formed with a head
3173a and a relatively smaller body 3173b. It is to be noted that
the first coupling portion 3173 may be formed, but not limited to,
at the third side 315 of the framework 31 as well as the fourth
side 317.
[0031] Referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 4A, the securing rack 33 is
secured to the fourth side 317 for securing the cable 5. The
securing rack 33 is formed with two cavities, a second coupling
portion 333 and a hook-like portion 335. Each cavity 331 is
employed for securing each connection port 51 of the cable 5. The
second coupling portion 333 comprises two gap-like domains, wherein
each gap-like domain 334 is formed with a passage 3331, a first
opening 3333 connected to the passage 3331, and a second opening
connected to the first opening 3333. The second opening 3335 is
smaller than the first opening 3333. The hook-like portion 335 may
be a L-shape hook or a U-shape hook. By employing the framework 31
and the securing rack 33, when the connector 41 of the fan 4 is
coupled to the connection port 51 of the cable, the fan 4 is thus
fastened in the fan fastening structure 3. Since the fan fastening
structure 3 comprises only the framework 31 and the securing rack
33 that is secured to the fourth side 317 of the framework 31, the
cost of production would be therefore much lower than a well-known
fastening structure in the prior art. Moreover, it is to be noted
that the securing rack 33 may be formed, but not limited to, at the
second side 313 of the framework 31 as well as the fourth side
317.
[0032] As shown in FIG. 6, a perspective view of a fan 4 for being
fastened by the fan fastening structure 3 in accordance with an
exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the fan 4 is coupled
to the connector 41 of the fan 4 via a plastic member 43, wherein
the connector 41 faced downward is employed for coupling to the
connection port 51 of the securing rack 33.
[0033] When the securing rack 33 is to be fastened to the framework
31, as shown in FIG. 4 and also referred to FIGS. 4B and 5, the
second coupling portion 333 of the securing rack 33 is aligned
above the first coupling portion 3173 of the framework 31, and then
the body part 3173b of the bulge 3174 of the first coupling portion
3173 of the framework 31 is placed in the first opening 3333 of the
second coupling portion 333 through the passage 3331 of the second
coupling portion 333. Meanwhile, the securing rack 33 is moved in
the direction of arrow B so as to place the body part 3173b of the
bulge 3174 in the second opening 3335 of the second coupling
portion 333, in order to fasten the securing rack 333 to the
framework 31. As the securing rack 33 is secured at the outer
surface of the framework 31, with arrangement as such, the securing
rack 33 does not have to occupy any space within the framework
31.
[0034] When the fan 4 is to be fastened to the framework 31, as
shown in FIG. 7A, the fan would be placed into a first compartment
31 a of the framework 31 that is formed with the first side 311 and
the protrusions 3151 and 3171 of the third side 315 and fourth side
317, or into a second compartment 31b of the framework 31 that is
formed with the second side 313 and the protrusions 3151 and 3171
of the third side 315 and fourth side 317. At the moment, the
connector 41 of the fan 4 should be corresponded to the connection
port 51 of the cable 5 secured to the securing rack 33, and then
the fan 4 is moved in the direction of arrow C. As shown in FIG.
7B, when the fan 4 fastened to the framework 31 is to be removed,
the fan 4 would be moved in the direction of arrow D so as to
depart the connector 41 from the connection port 51 for the removal
of the fan 4. As the connection port 51 of the securing rack 33 is
fastened to the fourth side 317 of the framework 31, arrangement as
such allows the connector 41 located on the fan 4 to be coupled to
the connection port 51 of the securing rack 33 easily, thereby
making assembly and disassembly fast and effortless.
[0035] As aforementioned, the design of the securing rack 33 in the
present invention allows the securing rack 33 to be placed at the
outer surface of the framework 31, and thereby saves the spaces of
the framework 31, so that it is capable of storing a larger fan.
Further, as the structures of the framework 31 and the securing
rack 33 are simple and the framework 31 does not have to form with
any circuit board, the cost of production could therefore be
reduced significantly. Accordingly, with foregoing advantages and
with benefits of easy assembly and disassembly of the fan 4, it is
proved that the present invention has overcome the defects caused
by the prior art and has a high utility value in the industry.
[0036] The invention has been described using exemplary preferred
embodiments. However, it is to be understood that the scope of the
invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the
contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar
arrangement. The scope of the claims therefore should be accorded
the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such
modifications and similar arrangements.
* * * * *