U.S. patent application number 13/186746 was filed with the patent office on 2012-07-05 for fan module.
This patent application is currently assigned to HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to JIN-BIAO JI, LI-FU XU, ZHI-JIANG YAO, MAO-HE ZHU.
Application Number | 20120171012 13/186746 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46380899 |
Filed Date | 2012-07-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120171012 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
ZHU; MAO-HE ; et
al. |
July 5, 2012 |
FAN MODULE
Abstract
A fan module includes a fan, a temperature sensor, and a shield.
The temperature sensor includes a cable. The shield is mounted on
the fan. The shield includes a clip. The clip includes two elastic
pieces. A restricting slot and a receiving space are located
between the two elastic pieces. The cable has an outer diameter
which is wider than the restricting slot but narrower than the
receiving space. The two elastic pieces can be elastically deformed
to expand the restricting slot so that the cable can be placed in
the receiving channel via the restricting slot.
Inventors: |
ZHU; MAO-HE; (Shenzhen City,
CN) ; JI; JIN-BIAO; (Shenzhen City, CN) ; YAO;
ZHI-JIANG; (Shenzhen City, CN) ; XU; LI-FU;
(Shenzhen City, CN) |
Assignee: |
HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO.,
LTD.
Tu-Cheng
TW
HONG FU JIN PRECISION INDUSTRY (ShenZhen) CO., LTD.
Shenzhen City
CN
|
Family ID: |
46380899 |
Appl. No.: |
13/186746 |
Filed: |
July 20, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
415/47 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 1/20 20130101; H05K
7/20172 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
415/47 |
International
Class: |
F04D 15/00 20060101
F04D015/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 30, 2010 |
CN |
201010614499.7 |
Claims
1. A fan module, comprising: a fan; a temperature sensor comprising
a cable; a shield mounted on the fan, the shield comprising a clip,
the clip comprising two elastic pieces, a restricting slot and a
receiving space located between the two elastic pieces, an outer
diameter of the cable being greater than a width of the restricting
slot and smaller than a width of the receiving space; wherein the
two elastic pieces is adapted to be elastically deformed to expand
the restricting slot to have the cable placed in the receiving
space via the restricting slot.
2. The fan module of claim 1, wherein the clip comprises a bottom
piece which is secured on the shield, two side pieces are
perpendicularly connected to opposite edges of the bottom piece,
and the two elastic pieces are connected to free ends of the two
side pieces.
3. The fan module of claim 2, wherein the two elastic pieces are
symmetrical about a center line of the bottom piece.
4. The fan module of claim 1, wherein each of the two elastic
pieces is in an "S" shape.
5. The fan module of claim 4, wherein each of the two elastic
pieces comprises a first portion, a second portion and a connection
portion, the connection portion is connected between the first
portion and the second portion, the restricting slot is located
between the two connection portions of the two elastic pieces, and
the receiving space is located between the two first portions of
the two elastic pieces.
6. The fan module of claim 5, wherein an opening is located between
the two second portions of the two elastic pieces, a width of the
opening is greater than that of the restricting slot.
7. The fan module of claim 1, wherein the temperature sensor
comprises a sensing unit connected to the cable, and the sensing
unit is located on the shield.
8. The fan module of claim 1, further comprising a heat sink,
wherein the heat sink comprises four securing posts located on four
corners of the heat sink, each securing post defines a securing
hole, the fan comprises four mounting holes, and four fastener are
mounted in the four securing holes and the four mounting holes to
mount the heat sink to the fan.
9. A fan module, comprising: a fan comprising a frame in which
blades of the fan are guarded, the frame comprising an uncovered
side; a temperature sensor comprising a cable; a shield mounted on
the uncovered side of the fan, the shield comprising a clip, the
clip comprising a bottom piece, two elastic pieces connected to the
bottom piece and symmetrical about a center line of the bottom
piece, each of the two elastic pieces comprising a first portion
connected to the bottom piece, a second portion, and a connection
portion connected between the first portion and the second portion;
an outer diameter of the cable being greater than a distance
between the two connection portions of the two elastic pieces;
wherein the cable is adapted to cross the two connection portions
and push the two connection portions away from each other to be
placed between the two first portions of the two elastic
pieces.
10. The fan module of claim 9, wherein the shield comprises a cross
shaped bracket, a plurality of concentric circular iron wires is
secured on the cross shaped bracket, and a plurality of vent holes
is located among the plurality of concentric circular iron
wires.
11. The fan module of claim 10, wherein the bottom piece is secured
on a central portion of the cross shaped bracket.
12. The fan module of claim 9, wherein a receiving space is located
between the two first portions of the two elastic pieces, and the
outer diameter of the cable is smaller than a width of the
receiving space.
13. The fan module of claim 9, wherein an opening is located
between the two second portions of the two elastic pieces, and a
width of the opening is greater than the distance between the two
connection portions of the two elastic pieces.
14. The fan module of claim 9, wherein the temperature sensor
comprises a sensing unit connected to the cable, and the sensing
unit is located on the shield.
15. The fan module of claim 9, further comprising a heat sink,
wherein the heat sink comprises four securing posts located on four
corners of the heat sink, each securing post defines a securing
hole, the fan has four mounting holes, and four fastener are
mounted in the four securing holes and the four mounting holes to
mount the heat sink to the fan.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] 1. Technical Field
[0002] The present disclosure relates to fan modules, and
particularly to a fan module equipped with a temperature
sensor.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] With the development of the computer industry, operating
frequencies of most components in computer systems become higher
and higher, and the heat generated by these components becomes
greater as well. If the heat is not dissipated in a timely fashion,
the computer system may be seriously damaged. So, a fan is usually
used for preventing the temperature in the computer system from
becoming too high. Generally, the faster the fan speed is, the
better the effect of dissipating the heat. However, greater, fixed
fan speeds add noise and use a lot of energy which is wasteful and
unnecessary during those times when the heat generated within a
computer enclosure is not so great. So, it is necessary to control
the fan speed.
[0005] A conventional fan speed control system generally comprises
a temperature sensor which senses a temperature adjacent the fan.
However, securing the temperature sensor is usually not easy.
[0006] Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] Many aspects of the embodiments can be better understood
with references to the following drawings. The components in the
drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead
being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the
embodiments. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals
designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
[0008] FIG. 1 is an isometric and exploded view of an exemplary
embodiment of a fan module.
[0009] FIG. 2 is an isometric view of a clip of the fan module of
FIG. 1.
[0010] FIG. 3 is an isometric and assembled view of the fan module
of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0011] The disclosure is illustrated by way of example and not by
way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in
which like references indicate similar elements. It should be noted
that references to "an" or "one" embodiment in this disclosure are
not necessarily to the same embodiment, and such references mean at
least one.
[0012] Referring to FIG. 1, a fan module in accordance with an
embodiment includes a heat sink 10, a fan 20, a shield 30, and a
temperature sensor 40.
[0013] The heat sink 10 includes a plurality of fins 11. The heat
sink 10 contacts a heat generating apparatus (not shown), and
transmits heat generated by the heat generating apparatus to the
fins 11. The heat sink 10 includes four securing posts 13 located
on four corners of the heat sink 10. Each securing post 13 defines
a securing hole 131.
[0014] The fan 20 includes a frame 21 in which blades of the fan 20
are shielded The frame 20 is annular and defines an uncovered side
28. Four first ear pieces 22 are located on four corners of a top
portion of the frame 21. Four second ear pieces 23 are located on
four corners of a bottom portion of the frame 21. The four second
ear pieces 23 are aligned with the four first ear pieces 22. Each
first ear piece 22 defines a first mounting hole 221. Each second
ear piece 23 defines a second mounting hole 231.
[0015] The shield 30 is mounted on the uncovered side 28. The
shield 30 includes a cross-shaped bracket 31. Four ends of the
bracket 31 define four through holes 311. A plurality of concentric
circular iron wires is secured on the bracket 31. A plurality of
vent holes 35 is located among the plurality of concentric circular
iron wires.
[0016] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a clip 50 is mounted on a
central portion of the bracket 31. The clip 50 includes a bottom
piece 51 which is secured on the bracket 31. Two side pieces 52 are
perpendicularly connected to opposite edges of the bottom piece 51.
Two "S"-shaped elastic pieces 53 are connected to free ends of the
two side pieces 52. The two elastic pieces 53 are symmetrical about
a center line of the bottom piece 51. Each elastic piece 53
includes a first portion 531, a second portion 532, and a
connection portion 537. The first portion 531 is connected to the
free end of the corresponding side piece 52. The connection portion
537 is connected between the first portion 531 and the second
portion 532. A distance between the two first portions 531 is
greater than a distance between the two connection portions 537. A
distance between the two second portions 532 is greater than the
distance between the two connection portions 537. A opening 533 is
located between the two second portions 532. A restricting slot 536
is located between the two connection portions 537. The restricting
slot 536 have an opening smaller than the opening 532. A receiving
space 534 is located between the two first portions 531. The
receiving space 534 is wider than the restricting slot 536.
[0017] The temperature sensor 40 includes a sensing unit 41 and a
cable 42 connected to the sensing unit 41. The diameter of the
cable 42 is wider than the restricting slot 536, but narrower than
the receiving space 534.
[0018] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, in assembly, the fan 20 is
firstly located on the fins 11. The second mounting holes 231 are
aligned with the securing holes 131. A plurality of first fasteners
81 is secured in the second mounting holes 231 and the securing
holes 131 to mount the fan 20 on the heat sink 10. Then, the shield
30 is moved to the uncovered side 28 of the fan 20. The through
holes 311 are aligned with the first mounting holes 221. A
plurality of second fasteners 82 is secured in the first mounting
holes 221 and the through holes 311 to mount the shield 30 on the
fan 20.
[0019] In succession, the sensing unit 41 is placed on the shield
30. The cable 42 is located in the opening 533 of the clip 50.
Then, the cable 42 is moved to elastically deform the two elastic
pieces 53. The restricting slot 536 is expanded. The cable 42
passes through the restricting slot 536 and is placed in the
receiving space 534. The two elastic pieces 53 rebound to clamp the
cable 42 in the receiving space 534. Therefore, the temperature
sensor 40 is mounted on the shield 30.
[0020] It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous
characteristics and advantages of the embodiments have been set
forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the
structure and functions of the embodiments, the disclosure is
illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in
matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the
principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the
broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are
expressed.
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