U.S. patent application number 13/337177 was filed with the patent office on 2013-04-25 for fan assembly.
This patent application is currently assigned to HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD.. The applicant listed for this patent is HAI-QING ZHOU. Invention is credited to HAI-QING ZHOU.
Application Number | 20130101396 13/337177 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 48104931 |
Filed Date | 2013-04-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130101396 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
ZHOU; HAI-QING |
April 25, 2013 |
FAN ASSEMBLY
Abstract
A fan assembly includes a fan and a casing receiving the fan.
The casing is formed by one-step injection molding and includes a
base portion, a cover portion, a connection portion, and a
plurality of anti-vibration members. The connection portion is
formed by thermal-pressing and rotatably connects the cover portion
and the base portion. The anti-vibration members are attached to
the cover portion and the base portion and located between the fan
and the cover portion and the base portion when the cover portion
and the base portion are locked together to absorb vibration and
prevent the transmission of the vibration to the casing.
Inventors: |
ZHOU; HAI-QING; (Shenzhen
City, CN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
ZHOU; HAI-QING |
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: |
48104931 |
Appl. No.: |
13/337177 |
Filed: |
December 26, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
415/119 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F04D 29/602 20130101;
F04D 29/522 20130101; F04D 29/688 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
415/119 |
International
Class: |
F04D 29/66 20060101
F04D029/66 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 24, 2011 |
CN |
201110325827.6 |
Claims
1. A fan assembly comprising: a fan; and a casing receiving the
fan, formed by one-step injection molding, and comprising: a base
portion; a cover portion; a connection portion formed by
thermal-pressing and rotatably connected to the cover portion and
the base portion; and a plurality of anti-vibration members
attached to the cover portion and the base portion and located
between the fan and the cover portion and the base portion when the
cover portion and the base portion are locked together to absorb
vibration generated by the fan and prevent transmission of the
vibration to the casing.
2. The fan assembly as described in claim 1, wherein the base
portion comprises at least one hook, at least one latch slot is
defined at the cover portion to accommodate and secure the at least
one hook, thereby allowing the hook and the latching slot to be
snapped together to lock the casing.
3. The fan assembly as described in claim 2, wherein the base
portion comprises two hooks, and the cover portion correspondingly
defines two latch slots.
4. The fan assembly as described in claim 1, wherein the
anti-vibration members are glued to the cover portion and the base
portion.
5. The fan assembly as described in claim 4, wherein the
anti-vibration members are made of a flexible material.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] 1. Technical Field
[0002] The present disclosure relates to fan assemblies, and more
specifically to a fan assembly having a casing.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] Electronic equipments which generate heat need to be kept at
a normal working range of temperature. Fans within their own
casing, to prevent users from being accidentally hurt by the
rapidly rotating blades of the fan, may be mounted to the
electronic equipment. The casing usually includes a cover portion
and a base portion secured together by means of bolts. Therefore,
either the cover portion or the base portion must define a series
of internally-threaded holes, which substantially increases the
manufacturing expense because of the extra machining of the casing,
as well as the costs of the bolts and the time spent actually
bolting the cover and base portions to each other.
[0005] Therefore, what is needed is a fan assembly to solve the
problems described above.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a fan assembly, in accordance
with an embodiment.
[0007] FIG. 2 is an exploded isometric view of the fan assembly
shown in FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0008] Referring to FIGS. 1-2, an exemplary embodiment of a fan
assembly 1 is illustrated. The fan assembly 1 includes a casing 20
and a fan 10 received in the casing 20. In the embodiment, the
casing 20 includes a cover portion 21 and a base portion 22 that
can rotate on the cover portion 21. The base portion 22 and the
cover portion 21 are connected together by a connection portion 23.
In the embodiment, a one-step injection molding process is first
performed to form a first wall and a second wall connected to the
first wall. A thermal-pressing process is then performed to create
a reduced-thickness portion on the first wall. The
reduced-thickness portion (the connection portion 23) has a lesser
thickness and allows a first portion of the first wall (the cover
portion 21) to rotate with respect to the other portion of the
first wall and the second wall (the base portion 22). In an
alternative embodiment, the connection portion 23 may be a
hinge.
[0009] The cover and base portions 21, 22 defines a variety of
vents 24 allowing the air to be drawn in and discharged. In the
embodiment, at least one hook 220 is formed on the base portion 22,
extending from a first edge 221 of the base portion 22. A second
edge 211 of the cover portion 21 defines at least one latch slot
210 which accommodates and secures a hook 220. When the cover
portion 21 is rotated to a closed position, the hook 220 snaps into
the latching slot 210 which locks the cover portion 21 in the
closed position. To unlock the casing 20, a user can push the hook
220 out with finger pressure to disengage the hook 220 from the
latching slot 210. FIGS. 1-2 show two hooks 220 and two latch slots
210. However, the numbers of the hook 220 and the latch slot 210
are not limited thereto and can be varied according to need.
[0010] In an alternative embodiment, a magnet may be arranged at
each of the first and second edges 211, 221, thereby locking the
casing 20 in a closed position by virtue of the attractive force
between the magnets.
[0011] A variety of anti-vibration members 25 are attached to the
inner side of the cover and base portions 21, 22. When the casing
20 is locked, the anti-vibration members 25 are located between the
fan 10 and the cover and base portions 21, 22, and are capable of
absorbing the major portion of the vibration generated due to the
rotation of the fan 10, and preventing the transmission of the
vibration to the casing 20. The anti-vibration members 25 can be
made of flexible material, such as rubber. In the embodiment, the
anti-vibration members 25 are glued to the cover and base portions
21, 22. In an alternative embodiment, each of the cover and base
portions 21, 22 may define a variety of grooves or depressions (not
shown) to receive the anti-vibration members 25.
[0012] Although the present disclosure has been described in
accordance with the embodiments shown, one of ordinary skill in the
art will readily recognize that there could be variations to the
embodiments and those variations would be within the spirit and
scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, many modifications
may be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing
from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *