U.S. patent application number 13/789685 was filed with the patent office on 2013-10-03 for slim fan.
This patent application is currently assigned to ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC.. The applicant listed for this patent is Cheng-Yu Wang, Chun-Chieh Wong, Ming-Hsiu Wu. Invention is credited to Cheng-Yu Wang, Chun-Chieh Wong, Ming-Hsiu Wu.
Application Number | 20130259666 13/789685 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49235278 |
Filed Date | 2013-10-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130259666 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wong; Chun-Chieh ; et
al. |
October 3, 2013 |
SLIM FAN
Abstract
A slim fan includes a casing, a fan module and a ring cover. The
casing includes an upper casing which has an opening, and a lower
casing. The fan module includes a plurality of fans annularly
disposed in the opening, and each of the fans has a first side and
a second side opposite to each other. The ring cover is connected
to the first side of the fans and exposed out of the opening. The
height of the fans is equal to that between the upper casing and
the lower casing.
Inventors: |
Wong; Chun-Chieh; (Taipei
City, TW) ; Wang; Cheng-Yu; (Taipei City, TW)
; Wu; Ming-Hsiu; (Taipei City, TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Wong; Chun-Chieh
Wang; Cheng-Yu
Wu; Ming-Hsiu |
Taipei City
Taipei City
Taipei City |
|
TW
TW
TW |
|
|
Assignee: |
ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC.
Taipei City
TW
|
Family ID: |
49235278 |
Appl. No.: |
13/789685 |
Filed: |
March 8, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61619402 |
Apr 2, 2012 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
415/183 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F04D 29/162 20130101;
F04D 19/002 20130101; F04D 17/16 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
415/183 |
International
Class: |
F04D 19/00 20060101
F04D019/00 |
Claims
1. A slim fan, comprising: a casing including an upper casing and a
lower casing, wherein the upper casing has an opening; a fan module
including a plurality of fans, wherein the fans are annularly
disposed in the opening, and each of the fans has a first side and
a second side opposite to each other; and a ring cover connected to
the first side of the fans and exposed out of the opening; wherein
the height of each of the fans equals to the height between the
upper casing and the lower casing.
2. The slim fan according to claim 1, wherein a first leakproof
part is extended from the ring cover towards the fan, and the first
leakproof part has a curved surface or an inclined plane.
3. The slim fan according to claim 2, wherein the first leakproof
part is annular.
4. The slim fan according to claim 1, wherein an inner space is
between the upper casing and the lower casing and is connected to
the opening, and a second leakproof part is extended from the
position of at least one of the upper casing and the lower casing
near the ring cover and is extended towards the inner space.
5. The slim fan according to claim 4, wherein the second leakproof
part is annular.
6. The slim fan according to claim 1, wherein the slim fan further
includes a leakproof film fixed on the casing or the ring cover, a
gap is formed between the casing and the ring cover, and the
leakproof film covers the gap.
7. The slim fan according to claim 6, wherein the leakproof film is
annular.
8. The slim fan according to claim 1, wherein the fan module
further includes a hub, the fans are disposed around the hub, and
height of the hub and the fans equals to height between the upper
casing and the lower casing.
9. The slim fan according to claim 1, wherein the casing includes a
fastening cover, the lower casing has a hole, the fastening cover
covers the hole and bridges over the lower casing, and a part of
the fan module is exposed out of the hole.
10. The slim fan according to claim 1, wherein the fan module and
the ring cover are integratedly formed.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the priority benefits of U.S.
provisional application Ser. No. 61/619,402, filed on Apr. 2, 2012.
The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby
incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this
specification.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The invention relates to a slim fan and, more particularly,
to a slim fan with better efficiency.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Nowadays, various portable electronic devices, such as a
notebook personal computer (Notebook PC), a mobile phone, a
personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld computer or a tablet
computer, are widely used to meet requirements of high speed, high
efficiency, light, thin and small. Taking the notebook computer as
an example, since the notebook computer cannot provide much space
to accommodate a heat dissipating system, it is important to
improve the heat dissipating efficiency in the limited space.
[0006] The notebook computer usually includes a fan to dissipate
heat from the components inside the notebook computer. When the fan
operates, hot air enters a casing of the fan via an inlet, and is
blown out of the computer via an outlet to decrease the temperature
inside the notebook computer.
[0007] The conventional fan includes a motor, a fan module, an
upper casing and a lower casing. Since the fan module is disposed
between the upper casing and the lower casing, the height of the
fan module should be lower than the height of the casing to reserve
space for allowing the fan module to deflect in rotating, so as to
avoid friction with the casing. Generally, a gap of 0.5 mm to 1.5
mm should be reserved between the fan module and the casing. The
height of the fan is about 4 mm to 5 mm, and thus the gap between
the fan module and the casing occupies 30% to 45% of the space
therebetween. Moreover, air quantity and air pressure are in
proportion to the height of the fan module. Consequently, when the
fan is thinner, the height of the fan module is decreased, and the
performance of the fan is affected.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] A slim fan including a casing, a fan module and a ring cover
is provided. The casing includes an upper casing and a lower
casing, and the upper casing has an opening. The fan module
includes a plurality of fans, the fans are annularly disposed in
the opening, and each of the fans has a first side and a second
side opposite to each other. The ring cover is connected to the
first side of the fans, and the ring cover is exposed out of the
opening Height of each of the fans equals to that between the upper
casing and the lower casing.
[0009] In sum, the fan module and the ring cover of the slim fan
are exposed out of the casing and rotate relative to the casing.
Comparing to the conventional fan module disposed in the casing in
limited space so as to reserve space for the deflecting of the fan
module, the height of the slim fan in embodiments equals to the
height between the upper casing and the lower casing, which
improves the efficiency of the fan. Furthermore, a first leakproof
part with a cambered or an inclined plane can be disposed at the
ring cover, or second leakproof parts are extended from the upper
casing and the lower casing towards each other to guide the air
inwards, make the air flow through the outlet of the casing and
prevent the air being leaked out of the gap between the ring cover
and the casing, so as to increase the air quantity and the air
pressure. A leakproof film may also be fixed on the casing or the
ring cover to cover the gap and block the air being leaked out of
the casing or the ring cover.
[0010] These and other features, aspects and advantages of the
present invention will become better understood with regard to the
following description, appended claims, and accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram showing a slim fan in a first
embodiment;
[0012] FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram showing a fan module and a
ring cover of the slim fan in FIG. 1A;
[0013] FIG. 1C is a side view of the slim fan in FIG. 1A;
[0014] FIG. 1D is a rear view of the slim fan in FIG. 1A;
[0015] FIG. 1E is a sectional schematic diagram showing the slim
fan in FIG. 1A;
[0016] FIG. 2 is a partial schematic diagram showing a slim fan in
a second embodiment;
[0017] FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram showing a slim fan in a third
embodiment;
[0018] FIG. 3B is a sectional schematic diagram showing the slim
fan in FIG. 3A; and
[0019] FIG. 4 is a sectional schematic diagram showing a slim fan
in a fourth embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0020] FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram showing a slim fan in a first
embodiment. FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram showing a fan module and
a ring cover of the slim fan in FIG. 1A. FIG. 1C is a side view of
the slim fan in FIG. 1A. Please refer to FIG. 1A to FIG. 1 C, a
slim fan 100 in the first embodiment includes a casing 110, a motor
120, a fan module 130 and a ring cover 140.
[0021] The casing 110 includes an upper casing 112 and a lower
casing 114, and the upper casing 112 has an opening 118. The fan
module 130 includes a plurality of fans 136, the fans 136 are
annularly disposed in the opening 118, and each of the fans 136 has
a first side 136a and a second side 136b. The ring cover 140 is
connected to the first side 136a of the fans 136 and exposed out of
the opening 118. The height of each of the fans 136 equals to that
between the upper casing 112 and the lower casing 114. Thus, in the
embodiment, each of the fans 136 has a same height.
[0022] The motor 120 is disposed in the casing 110 and inside the
fan module 130. In the embodiment, the slim fan 100 includes two
ring covers 140, which is not limited herein. The two ring covers
140 are respectively connected to the first side 136a and the
second side 136b of the fans 136.
[0023] In the embodiment, the fan module 130 and the two ring
covers 140 are integratedly formed by plastic or metal injection
molding. In other embodiment, the fans 136 and one of the ring
covers 140 may be formed first by plastic or metal injection
molding, and if the ring cover 140 is fixed at the first side 136a
of the fans 136, the other ring cover 140 is fixed at the second
side 136b of the fans 136 by hot melt, ultrasonic wave or gluing
after it is injected. The fan module 130 and the two ring covers
140 may also be formed respectively by plastic or metal injection
molding, and then they are combined together. The fan module 130
and the ring covers 140 may be fixed by hot melt, welding, screws,
gluing or locking, which is not limited herein.
[0024] As shown in FIG. 1B, the fan module 130 further includes a
hub 134, the fans 136 are disposed around the hub 134. As shown in
FIG. 1C, the height of the hub 134 and the fans 136 (which means
the height of the fan module 130) equals to the height between the
upper casing 112 and the lower casing 114.
[0025] In the embodiment, the fan module 130 and the ring cover 140
are exposed out of the casing 110 and rotate relative to the casing
110. Comparing to the conventional fan module in the casing, the
fan module 130 and the ring cover 140 are exposed out of the casing
110. When the slim fan operates, the casing 110 keeps still, and
the fan module 130 and the ring cover 140 rotate relative to the
casing 110. Since the fan module 130 is not covered by the casing
110, it does not need to reserve space for the fan module 130 to
deflect along a rotating axis, and the height of the fan module 130
can be equal to the height of the casing 110. Thus, the height for
the fans 136 is increased, and the performance of the slim fan 100
is greatly improved in limited space.
[0026] FIG. 1D is a rear view of the slim fan in FIG. 1A. Please
refer to FIG. 1D, in the embodiment, the casing 110 further
includes a fastening cover 116, and the lower casing 114 includes a
hole 114a. The fastening cover 116 covers the hole 114a and is
connected to the lower casing 114, the motor 120 is disposed on the
fastening cover 116, and a part of the fan module 130 is exposed
out of the hole 114a, which is not limited herein.
[0027] FIG. 1E is a sectional schematic diagram showing the slim
fan in FIG. 1A. In FIG. 1E, the air enters the fan module 130 from
the first side 136a and the second side 136b of the fans 136, and
then flows out via an outlet 117 of the casing 110. Since the fan
module 130 and the ring cover 140 can rotate relative to the casing
110, a gap D exists between the fan module 130, the ring cover 140
and side of the casing 110. In order to avoid the air being leaked
out from the gap D to affect the air quantity and the air pressure
of the outlet 117, a first leakproof part 142 is extended from the
ring cover 140 towards the fans 136, as shown in FIG. 1E. The first
leakproof part 142 includes a curved surface to make the air
concentrate inwardly. Thus, the air does not be leaked out and the
air quantity and the air pressure of the slim fan 100 are improved
easily.
[0028] The first leakproof part 142 also may be an inclined plane,
as long as it can guide the air inwards and make the air flow to
the outlet 117, which is not limited. Moreover, as shown in FIG.
1A, since the gap D between the ring cover 140 and the casing 110
is annular, the first leakproof part 142 of the ring cover 140 is
also annular, so as to ensure that the air in all directions is
gathered and guided to the outlet 117 by the contour of the casing
110.
[0029] FIG. 2 is a partial schematic diagram showing a slim fan in
a second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, inner space 219 is between
the upper casing 212 and the lower casing 214 and connected to the
opening 218. The difference between the slim fan in FIG. 2 and in
FIG. 1E is that two second leakproof parts 212a and 214a in FIG. 2
are extended from the positions of the upper casing 212 and the
lower casing 214 near the ring cover 240, respectively, and
extended towards the inner space 219, to prevent the air from being
leaked out of the gap D between the ring cover 240 and the casing
210. That means, the two second leakproof parts 212a and 214a are
on the upper casing 212 and the lower casing 214 and at the
position near the ring cover 240, and they are extended towards
each other.
[0030] When the air flows from the fan module 230 towards the
casing 210, the second leakproof parts 212a and 214a guide the air
inwards and prevent it from being leaked out of the gap D between
the ring cover 240 and the casing 210. Additionally, the second
leakproof parts 212a and 214a are annular to ensure the air in all
directions is gathered and guided to the outlet 217 by the contour
of the casing 210.
[0031] In another embodiment, the second leakproof part 212a or the
second leakproof part 214a may be extended from the position of one
of the upper casing 212 and the lower casing 214 near the opening
218 and extended towards the inner space 219, and the first
leakproof part is extended from the ring cover 240 on the opposite
side to prevent the air from being leaked.
[0032] FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram showing a slim fan in a third
embodiment. FIG. 3B is a sectional schematic diagram showing the
slim fan in FIG. 3A. Please refer to FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, the
difference between the slim fan 300 in FIG. 3A and the slim fan 100
in FIG. 1E is that, in FIG. 3A, the slim fan 300 further includes a
leakproof film 350 fixed on the casing 310. The leakproof film 350
covers the gap D between the casing 310 and the ring cover 340 to
prevent the air from being leaked.
[0033] In the embodiment, the leakproof film 350 is above the gap D
between the casing 310 and the ring cover 340, and it does not
contact with the ring cover 340. Thus, the leakproof film 350 does
not affect the rotation of the fan module 330 and the ring cover
340. When the fan module 330 and the ring cover 340 rotates
relative to the casing 310, the air is leaked from the gap D
between the ring cover 340 and the casing 310 is blocked by the
leakproof film 350, so as to reduce the air leaked quantity from
the gap D between the ring cover 340 and the casing 310.
[0034] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3A, the leakproof film 350 is
annular, and the shape of the leakproof film 350 can be various
with that of the gap between the casing 310 and the ring cover 340,
which is not limited herein. The leakproof film 350 may be fixed at
the casing 310 by gluing, welding, screws or locking, which is not
limited herein.
[0035] FIG. 4 is a sectional schematic diagram showing a slim fan
in a fourth embodiment. The difference between the slim fan 400 in
FIG. 4 and the slim fan 300 in FIG. 3B is that, the leakproof film
450 of the slim fan 400 in FIG. 4 is fixed on the ring cover 440,
and the leakproof film 450 does not contact with the casing 410.
Thus, the leakproof film 450 rotates with the ring cover 440
relative to the casing 410. When the fan module 430 and the ring
cover 440 rotate relative to the casing 410, the air is leaked from
the gap D between the ring cover 440 and the casing 410 is blocked
by the leakproof film 450 on the ring cover 440.
[0036] In sum, the fan module and the ring cover of the slim fan
are exposed out of the casing and rotate relative to the casing.
Comparing to the conventional fan module disposed in the casing in
limited space so as to reserve space for the deflecting of the fan
module, the height of the slim fan in embodiments equals to that
between the upper casing and the lower casing, which improves the
efficiency of the fan. Furthermore, a first leakproof part with a
curved surface or an inclined plane can be disposed at the ring
cover, or second leakproof parts are extended from the upper casing
and the lower casing towards each other to guide the air inwards,
make the air flow through the outlet of the casing and prevent the
air from being leaked out of the gap between the ring cover and the
casing, so as to increase the air quantity and the air pressure. A
leakproof film may also be fixed on the casing or the ring cover to
cover the gap and block the air being leaked out of the casing or
the ring cover.
[0037] Although the present invention has been described in
considerable detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments
thereof, the disclosure is not for limiting the scope. Persons
having ordinary skill in the art may make various modifications and
changes without departing from the scope. Therefore, the scope of
the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the
preferred embodiments described above.
* * * * *