US20070231157A1

US20070231157A1 - Fan cover structure

Info

Publication number: US20070231157A1
Application number: US11/395,936
Authority: US
Inventors: Chih-Peng Chuang
Original assignee: Inventec Corp
Current assignee: Inventec Corp
Priority date: 2006-03-30
Filing date: 2006-03-30
Publication date: 2007-10-04

Abstract

A fan cover structure installed in a draft direction of a fan and for fixing the fan to a casing, includes: a mesh frame; a plurality of latching components that protrude outwards and are perpendicular to the edge of the mesh frame, so as to fix the mesh frame to preset fixing openings of the fan; an extension part that protrudes from the bottom of the mesh frame, and formed with a tooling hole, so that the fan can be connected to a preset tooling pin on the casing by the tooling hole; and a flexible component that protrudes from the top of the mesh frame and abuts against a top cover of the casing so as to reduce vibration from the fan. The fan cover structure facilitates the installation and removal of the fan.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is related to fan cover structures, and more particularly, to a fan cover structure that can be installed at the draft direction of a fan, and can allow a fan to be fixed on the casing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In a technologically advanced society where information flows freely, the computer is gradually becoming an indispensable electronic product for the common people, and the server has become the integral part to the provision of various services. But as the computer industry becomes ever more advanced, the development of electronic components also proceed toward the direction of higher level and higher integration, so that the demand of consumers can be satisfied and high computing speed can be attained.
However, as the development of electronic components continues, the problem of how to deal with the heat generated from running the electronic components also needs to be considered. For example, the computing capability and clock speed of CPU (central processing unit) have been continually elevated, and this also generates relatively more heat. On the other hand, the North bridge is another source of heat in the handling of lane bridging regarding computing at high frequency, and the working frequency of memory has also been elevated continually, which means the heat generated from running the memory cannot be neglected either, and the hard disk is another major source of heat as well. If the heat is allowed to accumulate inside of an electronic product and is not dissipated to the surrounding atmosphere in time, the internal electronic components or parts may be damaged, which in turn reduces the life span of the electronic products. Therefore, the heat inside the electronic products is generally dispelled to the outside by utilizing a heat sink fan. In order to dispel the heat inside the electronic products effectively, the assemblage of heat sink fan and its installation location are two important issues to be considered in design.
FIG. 1 displays the method for fixing a heat sink fan of prior arts on the casing, wherein the protective mesh 12 is fixed on fixing opening 111 of frame 11 that has an internal heat sink fan 10 by a screw 120, so that heat sink fan module 1 with the completed assemblage of protective mesh can be fixed on holding frame 13, then latching piece 131 that protrudes from holding frame 13 is allowed to latch onto latching part 141 on top of casing 14, so that heat sink fan module 1 is fixed on casing 14 by holding frame 13.
But since holding frame 13 is used to support heat sink fan module 1, hence its size needs to be larger than that of heat sink fan module 1, and because holding frame 13 also needs to be fixed firmly, a latching part 141 must be formed on casing 14, which in turn takes up larger space in casing 14 and leads to problems like less useable space in casing 14 and higher production cost for casing 14. On the other hand, heat sink fan 10, frame 11 and protective mesh of heat sink fan module 1 described above have to be assembled by using tools, which makes the assemblage of fan more inconvenient. Moreover, heat sink fan module 1 is placed on top of holding frame 13, and the vibration resulted from running the assembled fan 1 will spread out to the surface of the casing, which will make the whole casing become a resonance chamber for the fan, and thus will engender noises and affect the stability of the fan while it is running.
Due to the above problem, a fan cover structure with the protective mesh and holding frame combined together has been offered as a solution to it; as shown in FIG. 2, fan cover structure 5 and fan 1 have both been fixed by screws, which makes them opposite to fixing opening 11 of frame 12, and the function of fixing the fan has been imparted to fan cover structure 5, thereby allowing the holding frame in FIG. 1 to be discarded. In addition, a fixing opening 51 has been formed on the base 55 of fan cover structure 5, and screw hole is formed on the position on casing where the fan is to be fixed, so that screws can be fixed at fixing opening 51, thereby allowing the fan to be fixed on the casing; a handle 54 is formed at the bent extension of base 55 to enable users to install, remove, and carry the fan with ease.
Although the previous design can save the space for holding frame and simplify the method for fixing the casing and holding frame, it still requires the use of tools for installation, which means tools are still necessary to fix fan 1 on the casing by the use of fan cover structure 5, and the noises of vibration can still spread to the surface. On the other hand, it is necessary to form handle 54 at the air inlet and air outlet of fan in order to facilitate the installation and removal processes, but handle 54 also takes up a lot of space and is located at the air inlet and outlet of fan, which not only affects the convection pathway of air, but also generates suction effect at the air outlet and consequently gives rise to noises.
Therefore, the most urgent issue is to find a fan cover structure that does not have the drawbacks of the prior arts and can reduce the noises generated from vibration of fan, can be installed without assistance tools, can be assembled and disassembled easily, can save space and lower production cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In light of the shortcomings of the prior arts, the main objective of the present invention is to provide a fan cover structure that has simple structure, can be assembled easily, and installed without assistance tools.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a fan cover structure that can be fixed on the casing easily, and can reduce the noises resulted from the vibration of fan.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide a fan cover structure that can utilize the space for installation efficiently and can be cost-effective as well.
To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a fan cover structure that can be installed at the draft direction of a fan, and allows the fan to be fixed on the casing; it comprises: a mesh frame; a latching component that protrudes vertically from the edge of the mesh frame; the fixing opening that is used to fix the mesh frame onto the preset frame of the fan; an extension part that protrudes from the bottom of the mesh frame, a tooling hole is also formed at the center of the extension part, so that the fan can be connected to the preset tooling pin on the casing by the tooling hole; as well as a flexible component that protrudes from the top of the mesh frame, which is set against the top cover of the casing and used to reduce the vibration of the fan. Additionally, the fan cover structure further comprises a handle that is formed at the top of the mesh frame, which allows the user to remove the fan by hand. Therefore, the present invention allows the fan to be assembled, as well as installed into and removed from the casing without the assistance of tools, it does not take up additional space for installation and is cost-effective, which satisfies the demand of users.
In addition, according to the present invention, the tooling hole and the tooling pin of the fan cover structure are used together in order to fix the fan on the casing, and the fan cover structure is installed at the fixing openings on the frame located at the air inlet and air outlet of the fan, thus the tooling pins that are opposite to the fixing openings are required on the board of the casing in order to fix the fan and prevent it from sliding out of alignment. The latching components are located at the edge of mesh frame in the fan cover structure; it is perpendicular to the fan frame and can be fitted into the fixing opening, after the part that is shaped as a hook has been snapped onto the other side of the frame, the fan cover structure and frame can be fixed together firmly. The flexible component is located on the top edge of the mesh frame in fan cover structure, and is bent upwards slightly; a protruding piece is located at the end and is slightly higher than the outer edge of the frame, so that after the top cover of the casing has been shut, the protruding piece on the end of the flexible component can decrease the friction area and hence reduce the vibration of fan and the resulted noises by its flexibility.
Therefore, the fan cover structure of the present invention can be fitted onto the fan by the latching components, and the space required for fixing the fan can be shrunken by utilizing the preset tooling pins on the casing and the tooling holes on the fan cover structure; on the other hand, the flexible components can reduce vibration and noises. As a result, the structure of fan cover has been simplified, and is easy to assemble and change parts without assistance tools; on the other hand, its size has been minimized and its production cost has been lowered. Moreover, the fan cover structure can be used on fans with frames of the same size, which makes it easy to use, install, and is cost-effective, thereby satisfying the demand of general consumers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention can be more fully comprehended by reading the detailed description of the preferred embodiments listed below, with reference made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the method for assembling a fan on the holding frame and thereby fixing it on the casing in the prior art;
FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the fan cover structure for integrating a fan in the prior art;
FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing the fan cover structure that has been assembled on the fan in accordance with the present invention; and
FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a fan with the fan cover structure of the present invention that is fixed on the casing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The invention has been described using exemplary preferred embodiments; anyone who is familiar with the arts can easily comprehend other advantages and effects of the present invention by reading the disclosed content in this claim. Moreover, the present invention can also be implemented or applied by using other embodiments, and anyone can modify and adjust the details in this claim on the basis of different considerations or applications, provided that he or she does not depart from the purpose and scope of the present invention. It should be noted that the figures in this claim are only simple examples and were not drawn according to actual size, which means the figures do not reflect the actual size of the relevant structures.
The following embodiments are only used to elucidate the present invention, and are not to be used to limit the scope of it.
Referring to FIG. 3, which is a schematic view showing the fan cover structure of the present invention to be fitted onto the fan. As shown in the figure, the fan cover structure 6 is fitted at the draft direction of fan 1 to allow fan 1 to be fixed on the casing, and it comprises of: a mesh frame 62; a latching component 63, it is opposite to mesh frame 62 and vertically protrudes from the edge of mesh frame 62, so that mesh frame 62 can be fixed on the preset fixing opening 11 of frame 12; an extension part 61 that protrudes from the bottom of mesh frame 62, and a tooling hole 610 is formed at the center of extension part 61, so that fan 1 can be connected to the preset tooling pin on the casing by utilizing tooling hole 610; as well as a flexible component 65 that protrudes from the top of the mesh frame 62, which is set against the top cover of the casing and used to reduce the vibration from the fan. The fan cover structure 6 can be either made of plastic, wood, metal, or acrylic, so that it has certain flexibility; the fan cover structure can also be manufactured as an all-in-one structure.
Mesh frame 62 has a plurality of openings to allow air to flow through. The latching component 63 is located at the edge of mesh frame 62, and is opposite to and perpendicular to frame 12 of fan 1; it can also be fitted into fixing opening 11 and fixed on the other side of frame 12 by the hooked part 632 at its end, thereby securing fan cover structure 6 and frame 12 together firmly. A supporting component 631 is also located at where latching component 63 and mesh frame 62 connected to one another, so that latching component 63 can be fortified and would not be broken when the applied force is concentrated to where the two pieces connected. As the pieces are fitted into fixing opening 11, the edge around fixing opening 11 also allows fan cover structure 6 to be secured firmly on frame 12 that is located at the air inlet and air outlet of fan 1 by alignment.
FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a fan fitted with the fan cover structure to be fixed on the casing. As shown in the figure, the fixing of fan 1 is achieved by using the tooling hole 610 on extension part 61 that is located at the base of the mesh frame, as well as the tooling pin 410 on the board of casing 40, tooling pin 410 on the board of casing 40 is usually opposite to tooling hole 610, so that the tooling hole and the tooling pin are formed as pairs and effectively fix fan 1, in order to prevent it from sliding out of alignment. Additionally, fan cover structure 6 further comprises a handle 64 that is located at the top of mesh frame 62, which allows the user to change the fan blade by hand with ease. The handle is located at the top of mesh frame 62, it extends from the edge of mesh frame 62 and is perpendicular to the surface of mesh frame 62. As a result, the convection pathway of the fan is not affected, thereby eliminating the problem of suction effect and the occurrence of noises.
Flexible component 65 is located on both sides of the top edge of mesh frame 62 and is bent upwards slightly; it has a protruding piece at its end and is slightly higher than the outer edge of frame 12, so that after the top cover of casing 40 has been shut (not shown in the figure), the protruding piece on the end of flexible component 65 can decrease the friction area and hence reduce the vibration of fan 1 and the resulted noises by its flexibility.
Therefore, the fan cover structure of the present invention can be fitted onto the fan by the latching components, and the space required for fixing the fan can be shrunken by utilizing the preset tooling pins on the casing and the tooling holes on the fan cover structure; on the other hand, the flexible components can reduce vibration and noises. As a result, the structure of fan cover has been simplified, and is easy to assemble and change parts without assistance tools; on the other hand, its size has been minimized and its production cost has been lowered. Moreover, the fan cover structure can be used on fans with frames of the same size, which makes it easy to use, install, and is cost-effective, thereby satisfying the demand of general consumers.
The preferred embodiments described above only serve the purpose of explaining the principle and effects of the present invention, and are not to be used to limit the scope of the present invention. Anyone who is familiar with the art can modify and adjust the above-mentioned embodiments provided that he or she does not depart from the purpose and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be covered by the claims listed in the following pages.

Claims

1. A fan cover structure mounted in a draft direction of a fan, for fixing the fan to a casing, the fan cover structure comprising:

a mesh frame;

at least one latching component, which is perpendicular to a surface of the mesh frame and protrudes outwards from an edge of the mesh frame, so as to fix the mesh frame to a preset fixing opening of the fan;

an extension part that protrudes outwards from a bottom portion of the mesh frame, and formed with a tooling hole, so as to allow the fan to be connected to a preset tooling pin on the casing by the tooling hole; and

a flexible component protruding from a top portion of the mesh frame, for abutting against a top cover of the casing to reduce vibration from the fan.

2. The fan cover structure of claim 1, wherein an end of the latching component has a hooked part.

3. The fan cover structure of claim 2, wherein the latching component is located at the edge of the mesh frame and is perpendicular to a frame of the fan, and the latching component is capable of being fitted into the preset fixing opening on the frame so as to be fixed to the frame of the fan by the hooked part thereof, thereby securing the fan cover structure and the fan together firmly.

4. The fan cover structure of claim 1, wherein a supporting component is formed at a position where the latching component and the mesh frame are joined together.

5. The fan cover structure of claim 1, wherein the fan cover structure is made of one of plastic, wood, metal, and acrylic material.

6. The fan cover structure of claim 1, wherein the fan cover structure is integrally formed.

7. The fan cover structure of claim 1, further comprising a handle located at the top portion of the mesh frame, and extending from the edge of the mesh frame and being perpendicular to the surface of the mesh frame, thereby protecting a convection pathway of the fan from being affected.

8. The fan cover structure of claim 1, wherein the flexible component is located on a top edge of the mesh frame, and is bent upwards slightly, with a protruding piece being formed at an end of the flexible component.

9. The fan cover structure of claim 1, wherein the mesh frame has a plurality of openings to allow air to flow therethrough.

10. The fan cover structure of claim 1, wherein the tooling hole of the extension part corresponds to the tooling pin on the casing, and the tooling hole and the tooling pin are coupled together so as to fix the fan effectively.