FAN WHEEL STRUCTURE

Abstract

A fan wheel structure includes a ring member and a rotor. The ring member has two opposite open ends and an inner space defined between and communicable with the two open ends. A blade seat having a plurality of blades formed therearound is insert-molded on an outer side of the ring member. The rotor includes a hub fitted in the inner space of the ring member to associate with the ring member and the blade seat, and a rotary shaft having a coupling end inserted into the hub. The rotor can be fitted in the inner space of the ring member from either of the two open ends thereof for the completed fan wheel structure to have either a clockwise or a counterclockwise blade rotating direction. Therefore, only one mold, and accordingly an effectively reduced cost, is needed for manufacturing the fan wheel structures of different rotating directions.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a fan wheel structure, and more particularly to a fan wheel structure that includes a ring member with a blade seat and a plurality of blades insert-molded on an outer side thereof and a rotor adapted to be fitted in the ring member from either of two open ends thereof to thereby enable manufacturing of fan wheel structures of different blade rotating directions without the need of making two molds.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With the constantly increased density of the electronic circuits on one single integrated circuit (IC) chip in recent years, the heat produced by each IC chip during operation thereof is also constantly increased. When a personal computer operates, the IC chips with high circuit density, such as the central processing unit (CPU) and the graphics processing unit (GPU), of the computer will produce a large amount of heat. For these IC chips to maintain normal operation over a long period of time, it is necessary to maintain them at an optimal working temperature, so as to avoid lowered performance or damage of these IC chips due to overheating. For this purpose, a heat dissipation device is usually provided for directly contacting with a surface of the heat-producing electronic element, so that the heat produced by the electronic element is transferred via the heat dissipation device to dissipate into ambient air to ensure normal operation and prolonged service life of the electronic element.

Among different heat dissipation devices, the cooling fan is featured by its ability of quickly removing the heat absorbed by the radiating fin assembly to enable good air circulation and heat transfer. Therefore, the cooling fan has become an indispensable element for all heat-producing electronic devices.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are two conventional fan wheel structures having blades oriented to different rotating directions. Both of the two conventional fan wheel structures include a rotor 10 and a blade assembly 12. The rotor 10 has a hub 101 and a rotary shaft 103. The rotary shaft 103 has an end inserted into the hub 101 and another opposite end received in a bearing cup (not shown). The blade assembly 12 includes a plurality of blades 121, which can be formed on the hub 101 in two ways. In the first way, the blade assembly is directly insert-molded on the hub 101, so that the whole blade assembly 12 and the blades 121 thereof are integrally formed on the hub 101 to complete the fan wheel structure. In the second way, the hub 101 is directly press-fitted in the already molded blade assembly 12 to associate with the latter and complete the fan wheel structure.

It is noted the blade assemblies 12 of the conventional fan wheel structures are generally divided into two types according to their rotating directions, namely, a clockwise rotating blade assembly as shown in FIG. 1A, and a counterclockwise rotating blade assembly as shown in FIG. 1B. Therefore, in practical manufacturing, two different molds are required for forming fan wheel structures having different types of blade assemblies 12. More specifically, a mold is needed for forming the fan wheel structure having the clockwise rotating blades 121, and another mold is needed for forming the fan wheel structure having the counterclockwise rotating blades 121. Since the conventional fan wheel structure having the clockwise blade assembly 12 and that having the counterclockwise blade assembly 12 must be produced with two different molds instead of the same one mold, extra manufacturing processes and mold cost are required.

In brief, the prior art fan wheel structures have the following disadvantages: (1) requiring increased manufacturing cost; and (2) involving more complicated manufacturing processes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a fan wheel structure, which includes a ring member having a blade seat and a plurality of blades insert-molded on an outer side thereof and a rotor fitted in the ring member, such that the fan wheel structure can be manufactured at lowered cost.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a fan wheel structure, which may have either a clockwise or a counterclockwise blade rotating direction simply by fitting a rotor in a ring member from either of two open ends thereof without the need of using two molds.

To achieve the above and other objects, the fan wheel structure according to the present invention includes a ring member and a rotor. The ring member has two opposite open ends and an inner space defined between and communicable with the two open ends. A blade seat is integrally connected to an outer side of the ring member by insert-molding and has a plurality of blades formed therearound. The rotor includes a hub and a rotary shaft. The rotary shaft has a free end and an opposite coupling end inserted into the hub. The hub can be fitted in the inner space of the ring member from either of the two open ends to associate with the ring member and the blade seat. The blades of the fan wheel structure can be changed to a different rotating direction simply by fitting the rotor in the inner space of the ring member from a different open end thereof. Therefore, only one mold is needed to manufacture fan wheel structures of different blade rotating directions to effectively reduce the cost for manufacturing the fan wheel structure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a conventional fan wheel structure;

FIG. 1B is a perspective view of another conventional fan wheel structure;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a fan wheel structure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a ring member for the fan wheel structure of the present invention with a blade seat and blades thereof located around the ring member through insert-molding;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a rotor for the fan wheel structure of the present invention;

FIG. 5A is an assembled perspective view of the fan wheel structure according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention being assembled in a first way; and

FIG. 5B is an assembled perspective view of the fan wheel structure according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention being assembled in a second way.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be described with some preferred embodiments thereof and with reference to the accompanying drawings. For the purpose of easy to understand, elements that are the same in the preferred embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals.

Please refer to FIGS. 2, 3, 4, 5A and 5B at the same time. A fan wheel structure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a ring member 2 and a rotor 4. The ring member 2 has two opposite open ends 21, namely, a first and a second open end, and an inner space 23 defined between and communicable with the two open ends 21. A blade seat 3 is integrally connected to an outer side of the ring member 2 and has a plurality of blades 31 formed on an outer surface thereof. The blades 31 are equally spaced on the outer surface of the blade seat 3. The blade seat 3 and the blades 31 thereof are directly molded on the outer side of the ring member 2 by way of insert molding, so that the ring member 2, the blade seat 3 and the blades 31 form an integral unit, as shown in FIG. 3.

The rotor includes a hub 41 and a rotary shaft 43. The rotary shaft 43 has a free end 431 and an opposite coupling end 432. The coupling end 432 is inserted into the hub 41, and the free end 431 is received in a corresponding bearing cup (not shown). The hub 41 is fitted in the inner space 23 of the ring member 2 to associate with the ring member 2 and the blade seat 3. The hub 41 can be fixedly held in the inner space 23 by riveting, inserting, snap-fitting, screwing, welding, and the like. In the illustrated preferred embodiment, the hub 41 is fixedly held in the inner space 23 by riveting.

Since the ring member 2 has two open ends 21 communicable with the inner space 23, the rotor 4 can be associated with the ring member 2 in two ways.

In the first way, the hub 41 of the rotor 4 is extended into the ring member 2 from the first open end 21 and is then moved toward the second open end 21 until the hub 41 is fully fitted in the inner space 23 and riveted to the ring member 2 to complete the fan wheel structure. In this way, the blades 31 on the fan wheel structure are oriented for rotating clockwise to produce air flows, as shown in FIG. 5A.

On the other hand, in the second way, the hub 41 of the rotor 4 is extended into the ring member 2 from the second open end 21 and is then moved toward the first open end 21 until the hub 41 is fully fitted in the inner space 23 and riveted to the ring member 2 to complete the fan wheel structure. In this way, the blades 31 on the fan wheel structure are oriented for rotating counterclockwise to produce air flows, as shown in FIG. 5B.

As can be seen in FIG. 2, the ring member 2 is provided on its outer side with at least one lip portion 25. In the illustrated preferred embodiment, there is a plurality of lip portions 25 protruded from the outer side of the ring member 2 and located adjacent to one of the two open ends 21. However, it is understood the lip portions 25 may be otherwise located at other positions on the outer side of the ring member 2. The lip portions 25 are provided for more firmly holding the blade seat 3 to the ring member 2 in the process of insert-molding. The hub 41 includes a top 411 and a sidewall 412 rearwardly extended from and located perpendicular to a periphery of the top 411, such that a receiving space 414 is defined between the top 411 and the sidewall 412. The top 411 includes a base portion 4110 and a plurality of supporting arms 4113. The base portion 4110 is located at a center of the top 411. The supporting arms 4113 are respectively connected to and extended between an outer edge of the base portion 4110 and the periphery of the top 411, such that an opening 4114 is formed on the top 411 between any two adjacent supporting arms 4113 to communicate with the receiving space 414 and a corresponding one of the two open ends 21 of the ring member 2, forming an aid to heat dissipation. For instance, when the rotor 4 spins, the rotary shaft 43 will produce heat due to a frictional contact with the bearing cup. In this case, the openings 4114 allow the heat produced by the rotary shaft 43 to pass them and be quickly dissipated into ambient air, and are therefore helpful in effective heat dissipation.

The base portion 4110 has a centered through hole 4111, in which a shaft holder 45 is fixedly fitted. The rotary shaft 43 is inserted into the shaft holder 45. More specifically, the coupling end 432 of the rotary shaft 43 is inserted into the shaft holder 45 that is fixedly fitted in the base portion 4110 of the hub 41.

According to the present invention, the blade seat 3 and the blades 31 are directly insert-molded on the lip portions 25 of the ring member 2, and the rotor 4 can be fitted in the inner space 23 and riveted to the ring member 2 from either of two opposite open ends thereof to complete a fan wheel structure having either a clockwise or a counterclockwise blade rotating direction. Therefore, only one mold (not shown) is needed for manufacturing both clockwise and counterclockwise rotatable fan wheel structures to largely save the manufacturing cost.

In conclusion, the fan wheel structure of the present invention has the following advantages: (1) enabling lowered manufacturing cost; and (2) enabling different blade rotating directions simply by fitting the rotor in the ring member 2 from a different direction.

The present invention has been described with some preferred embodiments thereof and it is understood that many changes and modifications in the described embodiments can be carried out without departing from the scope and the spirit of the invention that is intended to be limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A fan wheel structure, comprising:

a ring member having two opposite open ends, and an inner space defined between and communicable with the two open ends; the ring member being integrally connected at an outer side to a blade seat, and the blade seat including a plurality of blades formed around an outer surface thereof; and

a rotor including a hub and a rotary shaft; the rotary shaft having a free end and an opposite coupling end inserted into the hub; and the hub is fitted in the inner space of the ring member to associate with the ring member and the blade seat.

2. The fan wheel structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the blade seat is insert-molded to the outer side of the ring member.

3. The fan wheel structure as claimed in claim 2, wherein the ring member further includes at least one lip portion protruded from the outer side of the ring member, and the blade seat being insert-molded to the at least one lip portion to thereby integrally connect to the outer side of the ring member.

4. The fan wheel structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hub includes a top and a sidewall; the top including a base portion and a plurality of supporting arms respectively connected to and extended between an outer edge of the base portion and a periphery of the top; and the top and the sidewall together defining a receiving space in the hub.

5. The fan wheel structure as claimed in claim 4, wherein any two adjacent ones of the supporting arms define an opening between them; and the openings being communicable with the receiving space in the hub and a corresponding one of the two open ends of the ring member.

6. The fan wheel structure as claimed in claim 4, wherein the base portion has central through hole, in which a shaft holder is fixedly fitted.