COOLING DEVICE FOR VEHICLE

Abstract

A cooling device for a vehicle may include a heat exchanger provided to cool an engine of the vehicle, a radiator provided near a side of and in parallel with the heat exchanger to cool an inside of the vehicle, and a cooling fan provided near a side of the radiator to coercively introduce external air into the heat exchanger and the radiator, wherein the cooling fan includes a hub connected to a driving shaft, and a plurality of blades radially arranged on an outer circumferential surface of the hub, wherein the plurality of blades are arranged so that a spaced area between two neighboring blades is different from a spaced area between other two neighboring blades, and wherein a sum of all vectors for the plurality of blades is not zero, the vector being reached from the center of the hub to a reference point of each blade.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2009-0059301 filed on Jun. 30, 2009, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is directed to a field of cooling a vehicle, and more specifically to a cooling device for a vehicle, having a cooling fan that coercively introduces external air into a heat exchanger and a radiator provided in the vehicle for convective heat transfer.

2. Discussion of Related Art

In general, a vehicle includes a cooling fan that coercively introduces external air into a heat exchanger, which is provided for cooling an engine received in an engine chamber, and a radiator, which is provided for cooling the inside of the vehicle, in order to cause a convective heat transfer.

The cooling fan includes a hub connected to a driving shaft and a plurality of blades that are provided on the outer circumferential surface of the hub and adapted to be rotated with the hub. The plurality of blades are arranged so that the interval between two neighboring blades is equal to the interval between other two neighboring blades.

Such introduction of the external air into the heat exchanger and the radiator causes an air flow, whereby the cooling fan makes noises and vibrations.

A noise from the cooling fan may be separated into a wind sound and a segmental sound. The segmental sound has a BPF (Blade Passing Frequency) and may cause a high-frequency “buzz” in the vehicle, thus making a driver troublesome.

The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Various aspects of the present invention are directed to provide a cooling device for a vehicle, which may reduce a segmental sound made when a cooling fan included in the cooling device coercively introduces external air into heat exchanger and radiator and to provide a cooling device for a vehicle, which may prevent a high-frequency “buzz” from being generated in the vehicle when the segmental sound is transferred to the inside of the vehicle, thus guaranteeing a pleasant drive.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a cooling device for a vehicle, may include a heat exchanger provided to cool an engine of the vehicle; a radiator provided near a side of and in parallel with the heat exchanger to cool an inside of the vehicle; and a cooling fan provided near a side of the radiator to coercively introduce external air into the heat exchanger and the radiator, wherein the cooling fan includes a hub connected to a driving shaft, and a plurality of blades radially arranged on an outer circumferential surface of the hub, wherein the plurality of blades are arranged so that a spaced area between two neighboring blades is different from a spaced area between other two neighboring blades, and wherein a sum of all vectors for the plurality of blades is not zero, the vector being reached from the center of the hub to a reference point of each blade.

The cooling fan may further include a band that holds distal ends of the each blade to prevent the plurality of blades from vibrating upon rotation.

The plurality of blades may be arranged so that an air flow generated when the external air passes through the plurality of blades is distributed.

A spaced area between two neighboring blades may have a size to form the plurality of blades.

The plurality of blades may be arranged so that a spaced area between two neighboring blades increases or decreases two consecutive times or more.

An angle between vectors of two neighboring blades may be different from an angle between vectors of other two neighboring blades.

An angle between two neighboring vectors for the plurality of blades may be adapted to allow for forming the cooling fan.

The plurality of blades may be odd-numbered, wherein the number of the plurality of blades is 7, and wherein vectors of any two neighboring blades is not less than approximately 37°.

One of the seven blades may be selected as a first blade which is a reference blade, and wherein in terms of the vectors for the plurality of blades, an angle between the first blade and a second blade is approximately 43.4°, an angle between the second blade and a third blade is approximately 69.5°, an angle between the third blade and a fourth blade is approximately 48.4°, an angle between the fourth blade and a fifth blade is approximately 37.4°, an angle between the fifth blade and a sixth blade is approximately 58.7°, an angle between the sixth blade and a seventh blade is approximately 63.3°, and an angle between the seventh blade and the first blade is approximately 39.3°.

The reference point may be positioned at the center of gravity of the each blade.

The cooling device for a vehicle according to various aspects of the present invention is formed so that a spaced area between any two neighboring ones of the plurality of blades included in the cooling fan is different from that between other two neighboring blades, when it is assumed that a vector for the blade reaches from the center of the hub via a reference point of the blade to a band, a sum of all vectors for the plurality of blades is not zero. Thus, an air flow passing through the spaced is unevenly distributed, so that the segmental sound may be reduced.

The reduction of the segmental sound leads to prevention occurrence of the high-frequency “buzz”, thereby allowing for a pleasant drive.

The methods and apparatuses of the present invention have other features and advantages which will be apparent from or are set forth in more detail in the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, and the following Detailed Description of the Invention, which together serve to explain certain principles of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a cooling device for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view illustrating a cooling fan shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating in a vector representation a plurality of blades included in the cooling fan shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a graph for comparing noises generated from the cooling fan shown in FIG. 1 with noises generated from a cooling fan according to the prior art, which has a plurality of blades uniformly spaced.

It should be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarily to scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of various features illustrative of the basic principles of the invention. The specific design features of the present invention as disclosed herein, including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations, and shapes will be determined in part by the particular intended application and use environment.

In the figures, reference numbers refer to the same or equivalent parts of the present invention throughout the several figures of the drawing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the present invention(s), examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described below. While the invention(s) will be described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments, it will be understood that present description is not intended to limit the invention(s) to those exemplary embodiments. On the contrary, the invention(s) is/are intended to cover not only the exemplary embodiments, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalents and other embodiments, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a cooling device for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view illustrating a cooling fan shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a view illustrating in a vector representation a plurality of blades included in the cooling fan shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a graph for comparing noises generated from the cooling fan shown in FIG. 1 with noises generated from a cooling fan according to the prior art, which has a plurality of blades uniformly spaced.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, the cooling device for a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a heat exchanger 1, a radiator 2, and a cooling fan 10.

The heat exchanger 1 is provided in an engine chamber of the vehicle to cool the engine. The radiator 2 is provided near a side of and in parallel with the heat exchanger 1 to cool the inside of the vehicle. The cooling fan 10 is arranged near a side of the radiator 2 to coercively introduce external air into the heat exchanger 1 and the radiator 2.

An engine is accommodated in the engine chamber of the vehicle to operate the vehicle. The heat exchanger 1 is arranged near a side of the engine to cool the heated engine.

As described above, the radiator 2 is arranged near a side of the heat exchanger 1 (generally, at the rear side of the heat exchanger 1) in parallel with the heat exchanger 1 to cool the inside of the vehicle.

The cooling fan 10 is provided to introduce external air into the heat exchanger 1 and the radiator 2 when the heat exchanger 1 and the radiator 2 operate to cool the engine and the inside of the vehicle, respectively. A shroud 3 is provided near a side of the cooling fan 10 to prevent unwanted materials from entering the cooling fan 10, so that the external air may smoothly flow into the heat exchanger 1 and the radiator 2.

The cooling fan 10 includes a hub 10a connected to a driving shaft of a motor provided for driving the cooling fan 10 and a plurality of blades 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 that are radially arranged on the outer circumferential surface of the hub 10a.

As the cooling fan 10 rotates by the motor, the plurality of blades 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 rotate correspondingly. Such rotation of the blades 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 causes the cooling fan 10 to be vibrated. To prevent such vibration, the cooling fan 10 further includes a band 10b that holds one ends of the blades 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17.

The plurality of blades 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 are arranged so that an air flow generated when the external air introduced into the heat exchanger 1 and the radiator 2 passes through the blades 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 is distributed and the spaced area between any two neighboring blades is different from the spaced area between other two neighboring blades.

The spaced area between any two neighboring blades is adapted to allow for forming the plurality of blades 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17.

The plurality of blades 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 are arranged so that the spaced area between any two neighboring blades increases or decreases two consecutive times or more.

The blades 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 may be represented in terms of vectors as shown in FIG. 3. The angle θ refers to the angle between two neighboring vectors.

The vector for each blade may reach from the center of the hub 10a via a reference point of the blade up to the band 10b.

The reference point of each blade may be randomly selected by a user as long as the reference point for one blade is identical to that for the others in terms of the position. For example, the reference point for each blade may be positioned at the center of gravity of the blade.

The plurality of blades 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 may be odd-numbered. In this exemplary embodiment, the number of the blades 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 is seven. And, when the blades 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 are represented as vectors, the sum of the overall vectors is not zero.

Referring to FIG. 3, a comparison is made between the plurality of blades 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 according to this exemplary embodiment and another plurality of blades according to the prior art, which are spaced from each other at the same interval.

As shown in FIG. 3, the angle θ between any two neighboring vectors is adapted to allow for forming the blades 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17.

The angle θ may be adapted to be at least not less than 37° to, in addition to allow for forming, prevent the blades from being subjected to increase of the amount of deviation or distortion when the cooling fan 10 is formed.

As described above, the cooling fan 10 according to this exemplary embodiment includes seven blades 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17.

One of the seven blades is selected as a first blade which is a reference blade. In this exemplary embodiment, the first blade 11 shown in FIG. 2 is chosen as the reference blade. The other six blades than the first blade 11 are radially arranged so that the bending parts thereof are oriented counterclockwise as viewed from the radiator 2.

Assuming that the vector for the first blade 11 has an angle of 0°, the vector of a second blade 12 is spaced from the first blade 11 by an angle of 43.4°, a third blade 13 112.9°, a fourth blade 14 161.3°, a fifth blade 15 198.7°, a sixth blade 16 257.4°, a seventh blade 17 320.7°.

In this exemplary embodiment, in terms of vectors, the angle θ between the first blade 11 and the second blade 12 is 43.4°, the angle θ between the second blade 12 and the third blade 13 69.5°, the angle θ between the third blade 13 and the fourth blade 14 48.4°, the angle θ between the fourth blade 14 and the fifth blade 15 37.4°, the angle θ between the fifth blade 15 and the sixth blade 16 58.7°, the angle θ between the sixth blade 16 and the seventh blade 17 63.3°, the angle θ between the seventh blade 17 and the first blade 11 39.3°.

It can be seen from the angle θ between any two neighboring ones among the plurality of blades that the angle θ increases or decreases two consecutive times or more, and this also means that the spaced area between any two neighboring blades increases or decreases two consecutive times or more.

From the fact that the minimum angle θ between any two neighboring blades is 37.4°, it can be seen that the angle between any two neighboring blades should be at least not less than the minimum angle, 37°, to allow for forming the blades 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17.

It can also be seen that the angles θ between the two neighboring blades substantially draw a sine curve in the graph.

If the angle θ between the two neighboring blades continuously increases or decreases two times or more as described above, it can be possible to obtain various sizes of spaced areas between the plurality of blades.

When the heat exchanger 1 and the radiator 2 operate to cool the engine and the inside of the vehicle, respectively, the cooling fan 10 operates correspondingly. At this time, the hub 10a rotates, which is provided in the cooling fan 10 and connected to the driving shaft of the motor.

As the hub 10a rotates, the plurality of blades, which are radially arranged on the outer circumferential surface of the hub 10a, revolve along with the hub 10a. The rotation of the blades allows external air to be introduced into the heat exchanger 1 and the radiator 2. When the external air passes through the spaced areas, an air flow occurs.

In this exemplary embodiment as described above, the spaced area between any two neighboring blades is adapted to be different from that between other two neighboring blades and similarly, the angle θ between two neighboring blades is adapted to be different from that between other two neighboring blades.

Since the angle θ between the two neighboring blades increases or decreases two consecutive times or more so that the spaced area between two neighboring blades is different from that between other two neighboring blades, an air flow generated when the external air passes through the spaced area is distributed, thereby reducing the segmental sound.

FIG. 4 is a graph for comparing noises generated from the cooling fan shown in FIG. 1 with noises generated from a cooling fan according to the prior art, which has a plurality of blades uniformly spaced.

Assuming that both of the cooling fan according to this exemplary embodiment and the cooling fan according to the prior art have seven blades, the angle θ′ between any two neighboring blades as included in the cooling fan according to the prior art would be 51.4°, and the angle θ between any two neighboring blades would be equal to that as described above. Here, the maximum value of a frequency is set up to 50 Hz.

It can be seen as indicated by “A” shown in FIG. 4 that when two types of cooling fans, each having the above-mentioned conditions, are measured the segmental sound, the segmental sound is reduced minimally on the order of 4 dB in the cooling fan according to this exemplary embodiment in comparison with the cooling fan according to the prior art.

Here, it should be noted that the value, 4 dB, refers to a minimally reduced value, and as shown in FIG. 4, the cooling fan according to this exemplary embodiment makes a large difference from the cooling fan according to the prior art as to the degree of drop of the segmental sound.

As the segmental sound is reduced in the cooling fan 10, it can be possible to eliminate the high-frequency “buzz” generated when the segmental sound is transferred to the inside of the vehicle, thus preventing unnecessary noises in the vehicle.

As described above, since the cooling device according to the present invention may distribute the air flow generated when its cooling fan introduces external air into the heat exchanger and the radiator, noises may be reduced, thereby guaranteeing a pleasant drive.

The foregoing descriptions of specific exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain certain principles of the invention and their practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to make and utilize various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, as well as various alternatives and modifications thereof. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the Claims appended hereto and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A cooling device for a vehicle, comprising:

a heat exchanger provided to cool an engine of the vehicle;

a radiator provided near a side of and in parallel with the heat exchanger to cool an inside of the vehicle; and

a cooling fan provided near a side of the radiator to coercively introduce external air into the heat exchanger and the radiator,

wherein the cooling fan includes a hub connected to a driving shaft, and a plurality of blades radially arranged on an outer circumferential surface of the hub,

wherein the plurality of blades are arranged so that a spaced area between two neighboring blades is different from a spaced area between other two neighboring blades, and

wherein a sum of all vectors for the plurality of blades is not zero, the vector being reached from the center of the hub to a reference point of each blade.

2. The cooling device for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein the cooling fan further includes a band that holds distal ends of the each blade to prevent the plurality of blades from vibrating upon rotation.

3. The cooling device for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein the plurality of blades are arranged so that an air flow generated when the external air passes through the plurality of blades is distributed.

4. The cooling device for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein a spaced area between two neighboring blades has a size to form the plurality of blades.

5. The cooling device for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein the plurality of blades are arranged so that a spaced area between two neighboring blades increases or decreases two consecutive times or more.

6. The cooling device for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein an angle between vectors of two neighboring blades is different from an angle between vectors of other two neighboring blades.

7. The cooling device for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein an angle between two neighboring vectors for the plurality of blades is adapted to allow for forming the cooling fan.

8. The cooling device for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein the plurality of blades are odd-numbered.

9. The cooling device for a vehicle of claim 8, wherein the number of the plurality of blades is 7.

10. The cooling device for a vehicle of claim 9, wherein vectors of any two neighboring blades is not less than approximately 37°.

11. The cooling device for a vehicle of claim 10, wherein one of the seven blades is selected as a first blade which is a reference blade, and wherein in terms of the vectors for the plurality of blades, an angle between the first blade and a second blade is approximately 43.4°, an angle between the second blade and a third blade is approximately 69.5°, an angle between the third blade and a fourth blade is approximately 48.4°, an angle between the fourth blade and a fifth blade is approximately 37.4°, an angle between the fifth blade and a sixth blade is approximately 58.7°, an angle between the sixth blade and a seventh blade is approximately 63.3°, and an angle between the seventh blade and the first blade is approximately 39.3°.

12. The cooling device for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein the reference point is positioned at the center of gravity of the each blade.