U.S. patent application number 11/709205 was filed with the patent office on 2008-03-06 for fan and impeller thereof.
This patent application is currently assigned to DELTA ELECTRONICS, INC.. Invention is credited to Hung-Chi Chen, Chen-Mo Jiang, Chung-Kai Lan.
Application Number | 20080056899 11/709205 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39151794 |
Filed Date | 2008-03-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080056899 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Jiang; Chen-Mo ; et
al. |
March 6, 2008 |
Fan and impeller thereof
Abstract
An impeller includes a hub, a plurality of blades, and an
annular structure. The blades are disposed around the hub. The
annular structure is connected to the blades. The annular structure
includes a plurality of apertures. A balance material is filled in
the apertures to achieve rotational balance of the impeller.
Furthermore, a fan with the described impeller is provided. The fan
and the impeller improve rotational stability, reliability and
product life.
Inventors: |
Jiang; Chen-Mo; (Taoyuan
Hsien, TW) ; Lan; Chung-Kai; (Taoyuan Hsien, TW)
; Chen; Hung-Chi; (Taoyuan Hsien, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BIRCH STEWART KOLASCH & BIRCH
PO BOX 747
FALLS CHURCH
VA
22040-0747
US
|
Assignee: |
DELTA ELECTRONICS, INC.
|
Family ID: |
39151794 |
Appl. No.: |
11/709205 |
Filed: |
February 22, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
416/186R |
Current CPC
Class: |
F01D 5/22 20130101; F04D
29/325 20130101; F04D 29/326 20130101; F04D 29/662 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
416/186.R |
International
Class: |
F01D 5/22 20060101
F01D005/22 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Aug 30, 2006 |
TW |
95131983 |
Claims
1. An impeller comprising: a hub; a plurality of blades disposed
around the hub; and an annular structure connected to the blades,
wherein the annular structure comprises a plurality of
apertures.
2. The impeller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the annular
structure and the hub are arranged concentrically.
3. The impeller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the annular
structure is disposed at a periphery of blades, at the free ends of
the blades, close to the hub, or at any position of the blades.
4. The impeller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shape of the
aperture is rectangular, semicircular, or other any shape.
5. The impeller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the aperture further
comprises at least one tooth formed therein.
6. The impeller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the apertures are
disposed at inner edge of an end surface or an outer edge of the
annular structure.
7. The impeller as claimed in claim 1, wherein any two adjacent
apertures comprise a partition which can be removed by a tool.
8. The impeller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the aperture has a
cross section obliquely shaped along the centrifugal direction of
the impeller.
9. The impeller as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a balance
material filled in the aperture to achieve the rotational balance
of the impeller.
10. The impeller as claimed in claim 9, wherein the balance
material is epoxy resin or clay.
11. A fan comprising a motor and an impeller, the impeller
comprising: a hub; a plurality of blades disposed around the hub;
and an annular structure connected to the blades, wherein the
annular structure comprises a plurality of apertures.
12. The fan as claimed in claim 11, wherein the annular structure
and the hub are arranged concentrically.
13. The fan as claimed in claim 11, wherein the annular structure
is disposed at a periphery of blades, at the free ends of the
blades, close to the hub, or at any position of the blades.
14. The fan as claimed in claim 11, wherein the shape of the
aperture is rectangular, semicircular, or other any shape.
15. The fan as claimed in claim 11, wherein the aperture further
comprises at least one tooth formed therein.
16. The fan as claimed in claim 11, wherein each aperture is
disposed at the inner edge of an end surface or an outer edge of
the annular structure.
17. The fan as claimed in claim 11, wherein any two adjacent
apertures comprise a partition which can be removed by a tool.
18. The fan as claimed in claim 11, wherein the aperture has a
cross section obliquely shaped along the centrifugal direction of
the impeller.
19. The fan as claimed in claim 11, further comprising a balance
material filled in the aperture to achieve the rotational balance
of the impeller.
20. The fan as claimed in claim 19, wherein the balance material is
epoxy resin or clay.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The invention relates to a fan and an impeller thereof, and
more particularly, to a fan and an impeller capable of stabilized
rotational balance.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Fans are widely utilized. A pressure difference of airflow
occurs when the impeller of the fan rotates. Thus, the stabile
impeller rotation is a basic requirement for all fans.
[0005] A conventional fan includes an impeller and a motor for
driving the impeller. As shown in FIG. 1, an impeller 10 includes a
hub 11 and a plurality of blades 12 disposed around the hub 11. The
hub 11 includes a plurality of grooves 13 for adjusting the
impeller 10 during the rotating and shaking test. Thus, a suitable
quantity of the balance material can be filled in the groove 13 for
adjusting the rotational balance of the impeller 10.
[0006] Subsequent to assembly of the hub and motor of another
conventional impeller, a remainder space is necessary to fill with
balance materials in order to achieve the rotational balance of the
impeller. As shown in FIG. 2, another conventional impeller 10A
includes a hub 11 and a plurality of blades 12 disposed around the
hub 11. The interior of the hub 11 includes a space 14 for
accommodating the motor (not shown). A plurality of grooves 13A of
the hub 11 are disposed around the space 14. The grooves 13A can be
filled with balance materials for adjusting the rotational balance
of the impeller 10A.
[0007] Balance materials can be high-viscosity material such as
epoxy resin or clay. When balance material is filled in the groove
by a tool, however, it is difficult to remove by the tool since of
the high-viscosity characteristic of the balance materials. Thus,
adjustment to achieve a rotational balance is time-consuming.
Additionally, balance materials may overflow from the groove during
rotation of the impeller, hindering form the rotational balance.
Therefore, the impeller must be separated from the motor to adjust
rotational balance.
[0008] Thus, an impeller, which is capable of easily adjusting
rotational balance and reducing overflow of balance materials
during rotation, is desirable.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] Impellers, improving the stability of the rotation and the
reliability and lifespan of the fan, are provided.
[0010] To achieve the described purpose, an exemplary embodiment of
an impeller includes a hub and a plurality of blades. The blades
are disposed around the hub. An annular structure is connected to
the blades. The annular structure and the hub are arranged
concentrically. The annular structure has a plurality of apertures
for filling in balance materials to achieve increasing balance when
adjusting the rotational balance of the impeller.
[0011] To achieve the described purpose, the annular structure
further includes at least one tooth in each of the apertures, the
tooth can be removed by a tool to achieve decreasing balance when
adjusting the rotational balance of the impeller without requiring
balance materials to be filled in the apertures.
[0012] Furthermore, to achieve the described purpose, a partition
between the apertures is removed by a tool to achieve decreasing
balance when adjusting the rotational balance of the impeller.
[0013] Furthermore, to achieve the described purpose, the aperture
has a cross-section obliquely shaped along the centrifugal
direction of the hub, and thus, the balance materials do not
overflow the apertures during rotation.
[0014] In summary, the annular structure of the impeller includes a
plurality of apertures and a plurality of teeth therein. The teeth
can be removed from the apertures. Thus, by filling balance
materials to achieve increasing balance or removing the convex
teeth to achieve decreasing balance when adjusting the rotational
balance of the impeller is more convenient than the conventional
impeller.
[0015] Thus, rotational stability, reliability, and life span of
the impeller of the fan are increased.
[0016] A detailed description is given in the following embodiments
with reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] The invention can be more fully understood by reading the
subsequent detailed description and examples with references made
to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0018] FIG. 1 is schematic view of a conventional impeller;
[0019] FIG. 2 is a schematic view of another conventional
impeller;
[0020] FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an embodiment of an
impeller;
[0021] FIG. 4A is an enlarged view of X part of the impeller shown
in FIG. 3;
[0022] FIGS. 4B-4D show the variations of FIG. 4A;
[0023] FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional schematic view of an embodiment
of the impeller; and
[0024] FIG. 5B is an enlarged view of Y part of the impeller shown
in FIG. 5A.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0025] The following description is of the best-contemplated mode
of carrying out the invention. This description is made for the
purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention and
should not be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the invention
is best determined by reference to the appended claims.
[0026] An impeller is described with reference to the related
drawings, wherein the same elements share the same references.
[0027] FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an embodiment of an impeller.
The impeller 20 includes a hub 21 and a plurality of blades 22. The
blades 21 are disposed around the hub 21. Each blade 22 is
connected with an annular structure 26. The annular structure 26
and the hub 21 are arranged concentrically.
[0028] FIG. 4A is an enlarged view of X part of the impeller shown
in FIG. 3. In FIG. 4A, an end surface of the annular structure 26
includes a plurality of the apertures 23A. Balance materials can be
filled in the apertures 23A to achieve increasing balance when
adjusting of the rotating balance of the impeller 20.
[0029] The position of the annular structure 26 is not limited to
that shown in FIG. 3, and can instead be disposed at a periphery of
blades, at the free ends of the blades, or close to the hub. That
is, the annular structure can be at any position of the blades. The
only limitation is that the annular structure 26 and the hub 21 are
arranged concentrically.
[0030] The balance materials filled in the apertures 23A can be
high-viscosity matter such as epoxy resin or clay.
[0031] FIGS. 4B-4D show the variations of FIG. 4A. The following
description of the same elements is omitted.
[0032] In FIG. 4B, a plurality of apertures 23B are disposed on the
inner edge of an end surface of the annular structure 26 and the
outer edge of the annular structure 26, wherein the shape of each
pair of apertures 23B is two corresponding semi-circles. The
apertures 23B have the same function as apertures 23A in FIG. 4A.
Balance materials also can be filled into the apertures 23B to
balance the impeller. The shape of each pair of apertures 23B is
not limited to a pair of semi-circles, the shape can also be
rectangular or other irregular shape. The position of the apertures
23B can also be disposed only on the inner edge of an end surface
of the annular structure 26 or only on the outer edge of the
annular structure 26. The apertures 23B can also be rectangular or
other irregular shape. The apertures, which can only be filled with
balance materials to adjust the rotational balance of impeller, are
provided.
[0033] In FIG. 4C, the end surface of the annular structure 26
includes a plurality of apertures 23C. Each aperture 23C includes
at least one tooth 24. Thus, adjustment of the impeller is not
limited to increasing the amount of balance materials. The tooth 24
can also be removed by a tool such as tweezers to achieve
decreasing balance when adjusting the rotational balance of the
impeller. The shape of the aperture, which is not limited to
rectangular as shown in FIG. 4C, can be circular, irregular, or
other. The shape of the tooth, which is not limited to the shapes
corresponding to the aperture, can be circular, irregular, or
other.
[0034] In FIG. 4D, the end surface of the annular structure 26
includes a plurality of the apertures 23D. Different from FIG. 4A,
a partition 25 between any two adjacent apertures 23D is narrower,
and thus, the partition 25 can be removed by a tool such as
tweezer, to achieve decreasing balance when adjusting the
rotational balance of the impeller. Furthermore, balance materials
can be filled in the apertures 23D to achieve increasing balance
when adjusting the rotational balance of the impeller.
[0035] FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional schematic view of an embodiment
of the impeller. FIG. 5B is a detailed enlarged schematic view of
the impeller. FIG. 5B is an enlarged view of Y part of the impeller
20 shown in FIG. 5A. The following description of the same elements
is omitted. As shown in FIG. 5A, the annular structure obliquely
shaped along the centrifugal direction of the impeller, thus, the
aperture has a cross section obliquely shaped along the centrifugal
direction of the impeller. When the impeller is rotating, a
centrifugal force F shown in FIG. 5B do not make balance materials
filled in the apertures overflow. Additionally, the annular
structure of the impeller is not oblique toward the centrifugal
direction of the impeller, only the apertures must be oblique
toward the centrifugal direction of the impeller. The shape of the
aperture is not limited.
[0036] Thus, when the impeller of the fan is used, rotational
stability, reliability, and life span of the impeller of the fan is
increased.
[0037] While the invention has been described by way of example and
in terms of the preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that
the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. To the
contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar
arrangements (as would be apparent to those skilled in the art).
Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the
broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications
and similar arrangements.
* * * * *