COOLING FAN MODULE FOR A MOTOR VEHICLE

Abstract

A radiator fan module for a motor vehicle has a fan shroud with a fan impeller aperture and a motor support disposed within the fan impeller aperture, for an electric motor, and has a support-side housing part and has a plurality of struts that are connected to the fan shroud. A fan impeller is disposed in the fan impeller aperture and is driven in rotation about an axis of rotation. The fan impeller has a hub-side housing part and a plurality of radially outwardly directed radiator fan blades disposed on the hub-side housing part. The support-side housing part and the hub-side housing part have different diameters, wherein the support-side housing part or the hub-side housing part that has a greater diameter overlaps the other of the support-side housing part or the hub-side housing part, with an air gap being formed.

Claims

1. A radiator fan module for a motor vehicle, the radiator fan module comprising: a fan shroud having a fan impeller aperture formed therein; a motor support, disposed within said fan impeller aperture, for an electric motor, having a support-side housing part and having a plurality of struts that are connected to said fan shroud; a fan impeller disposed in said fan impeller aperture, and is driven in rotation about an axis of rotation, said fan impeller having a hub-side housing part and a plurality of radially outwardly directed radiator fan blades disposed on said hub-side housing part; and said support-side housing part and said hub-side housing part have different diameters, wherein said support-side housing part or said hub-side housing part that has a greater diameter overlaps the other of said support-side housing part or said hub-side housing part, with an air gap being formed.

2. The radiator fan module according to claim 1, wherein said struts of said motor support are disposed in front of said radially outwardly directed radiator fan blades in relation to a main flow direction.

3. The radiator fan module according to claim 1, wherein: a diameter of said support-side housing part is greater than a diameter of said hub-side housing part; or the diameter of said hub-side housing part is greater than the diameter of said support-side housing part.

4. The radiator fan module according to claim 1, wherein: said support-side housing part has a housing wall or housing edge extending in an axial direction, which overlaps a housing wall or housing edge, extending in an opposite direction, of said hub-side housing part; or said hub-side housing part has said housing wall or said housing edge, extending in the axial direction, which overlaps said housing wall or said housing edge, extending in an opposite direction, of said support-side housing part.

5. The radiator fan module according to claim 1, wherein: said housing part which overlaps said other housing part has an incident-flow surface which is inclined relative to a main flow direction; or said housing part which overlaps said other housing part has an incident-flow surface which runs at an angle of between 0° and 20° with respect to an axial direction and/or the axis of rotation.

6. The radiator fan module according to claim 1, wherein: said hub-side housing part and said support-side housing part have a gap formed therebetween; and/or said hub-side housing part and said support-side housing part have a first, radial, gap portion formed therebetween and is covered by an overlapping edge of said housing part which has the greater diameter, with a second, axial, gap portion being formed.

7. The radiator fan module according to claim 1, wherein: said radially outwardly directed radiator fan blades are sickle-shaped; and/or said radially outwardly directed radiator fan blades each have a leading edge and/or a trailing edge being of undulating form.

8. The radiator fan module according to claim 1, wherein: said hub-side housing part is of shell-shaped form; and/or said support-side housing part is of annular-shell-shaped form.

9. The radiator fan module according to claim 1, wherein said struts (9) of said motor support are integrally formed on an outside of said support-side housing part.

10. The radiator fan module according to claim 1, wherein: said fan impeller aperture is delimited by a shroud ring; and/or said fan impeller has an outer ring that connects said radially outwardly directed radiator fan blades.

11. The radiator fan module according to claim 5, wherein said angle (α) runs between 0° and 20°.

12. The radiator fan module according to claim 7, wherein said radiator fan blades are backwardly sickle-shaped.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0025] FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic, perspective view of a radiator fan module having a fan shroud, having a motor support that is fixed to the shroud, and having a fan impeller with a blade arrangement, in a view directed toward a hub-side housing part of the fan impeller;

[0026] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a detail of a hub-side housing part with radiator fan blades integrally formed thereon;

[0027] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a detail of a support-side housing part with an annular housing base and with integrally formed struts for retention on the fan shroud;

[0028] FIG. 4 is a perspective and sectional view in a region of the housing parts that overlap so as to form a gap;

[0029] FIG. 5 shows the sectional illustration as per FIG. 4 in a plan view, with the hub-side housing part being overlapped by the support-side housing part in a first variant,

[0030] FIG. 6 is a sectional view, as per FIG. 5, of a second variant with the support-side housing part being overlapped by the hub-side housing part; and

[0031] FIGS. 7A and 7B schematically show the first and the second variant, with the direction of a gap volume flow between the overlapping housing parts being indicated.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0032] Mutually corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference designations in all of the figures.

[0033] Referring now to the figures of the drawings in detail and first, particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown a modular radiator, or a radiator fan module 1, having a fan shroud 2 in which a circular or round radiator fan aperture 3 for a radiator fan 4 is formed, wherein the fan impeller aperture 3 is delimited by a shroud ring 5. The fan impeller 4 has a number of radiator fan blades 6 that are connected to one another by means of an outer ring 7 that is integrally formed on the blade tips of the radiator fan blades 6. A motor support (motor holder) 8 is arranged within the fan impeller aperture 3 and is connected via struts 9 to the fan shroud 2.

[0034] The motor support 8 holds an electric motor 10 that is not visible here (see FIGS. 3 to 5). The fan impeller 4 is arranged in the fan impeller aperture 3 and is driven in rotation about an axis of rotation D by the electric motor 10. The support-side struts 9 are arranged in front of the fan impeller 4 as viewed in a flow direction HSR (main flow direction). In other words, the struts 9 of the motor support 8 are arranged in front of the radiator fan blades in relation to the main flow direction HSR, that is to say in a direction of travel of a motor vehicle that has the radiator fan module 1.

[0035] The fan shroud 2 has ram pressure openings 12 which are closable by means of ram pressure flaps 11 and which, in the exemplary embodiment, are arranged in three corner regions of the fan shroud 2, outside the fan impeller aperture 3 thereof.

[0036] The radiator fan blades 6 are sickle-shaped, and in this case are backwardly sickle-shaped in relation to the direction of rotation S indicated by the arrow, such that the leading edge 4a of the radiator fan blades 4, which is situated at the front in the direction of rotation S of the fan impeller 4, is convexly bulged, and the trailing edge 4b, which is situated at the back, is concavely indented. The leading edge 4a and preferably also the trailing edge 4b of the radiator fan blades 4 are of undulating form.

[0037] FIGS. 2 and 3 show the radiator fan module 1 in a detail in the region of the hub 13 of the fan impeller 4 which, there, has a hub-side housing part 14, hereinafter also referred to as housing shell. The hub-side housing part has a cylindrical housing wall 14a and a housing base 14b. The radiator fan blades 6 are integrally formed, by way of their blade roots, on the cylindrical housing wall 14a of the fan-impeller-side or hub-side housing part 14.

[0038] A support-side housing part 15, which can be seen relatively clearly in FIG. 3 and which is situated opposite the hub-side housing part 14 and which will hereinafter also be referred to as housing shell of the motor support 8, likewise has a cylindrical housing wall 15a and has a housing base 15b of annular form. The struts 9 that connect the motor support 8 to the fan shroud 2 in the region of the fan impeller aperture 3 thereof are integrally formed on the outside of the cylindrical housing wall 15a of the support-side housing part 15. The electric motor 10 is held in the housing part 15 of the motor support 8.

[0039] It is possible to see a stator-side housing element of the motor housing 16, for example an electronics compartment cover for covering a set of motor electronics of the electric motor 10. The latter is designed here as an internal-rotor motor, the rotor of which is, by means of fastening elements 17 (FIG. 2), for example by means of rivets, connected to the hub 13 of the fan impeller 4, and specifically attached to the housing base 14b of the hub-side housing part 14. The preferably electronically commutated electric motor 10 may also be designed as an external-rotor motor.

[0040] FIGS. 4 to 6 show, in a perspective view or in a plan view, a sectional illustration in the region of the overlapping housing parts 14 and 15 of the radiator fan module 1. As can be seen, the housing parts 14 and 15 have housing edges 14c, 15c, which overlap in an axial direction A, of the respective housing walls 14a and 15a. In the region of this overlap 18, a gap 19 is formed between the housing edges 14c, 15c, or between the housing walls 14a, 15a, of the housing parts 14 and 15.

[0041] It is also possible in FIGS. 4 to 6 to see the electric motor 10 enclosed by the housing parts 14, 15, with its stator 20, which bears a rotating-field winding, and its rotor 21, which is connected to the hub-side housing part 14. The housing parts 14, 15 are for example of shell-like form, and will hereafter also be referred to as support-side and hub-side housing shells respectively.

[0042] In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the gap 19, proceeding from an (axial) gap portion 19a between the housing parts 14, 15, extends initially in a radial direction R and then runs with a (radial) gap portion 19b in an axial direction A. That housing wall 15a of the support-side housing part 15 which extends in the axial direction A partially or regionally overlaps the housing wall 14a, extending in an opposite direction, of the hub-side housing part 14. In other words, the preferably circular, peripherally closed housing edge 15c of the support-side housing part 15 engages over the preferably likewise circular, peripherally closed housing edge 14c of the hub-side housing part 14.

[0043] The support-side housing shell 15, which overlaps or axially regionally covers the hub-side housing shell 14, has an incident-flow surface 22 which is inclined relative to the main flow direction HSR. The incident-flow surface 22 runs at an angle (of incidence) a of preferably 5° to 15° relative to the axial direction A or the axis of rotation D of the fan impeller 4, as is merely indicated below FIG. 5 by a line representation for the sake of clarity.

[0044] In the embodiment as per FIG. 6, the gap 19 between the housing parts 14, 15 extends in the axial direction A. That housing edge 14c of the hub-side housing part 14 which extends in the axial direction A overlaps the housing edge 15c, extending in an opposite direction, of the support-side housing part 15.

[0045] FIGS. 7a and 7b schematically show, in a sectional illustration, the embodiments of FIGS. 5 and 6 as a first and a second variant of the overlapping housing parts 14, 15. The illustrations show a region of the housing parts 14, 15 above the axis of rotation D of the fan impeller 4. The housing parts or housing shells 14 and 15 have different diameters d1, d2 or different radii r1=d1/2 and r2=d2/2.

[0046] In the variant as per FIG. 7A, the (support-side) housing part 15 of the motor support 8 with the greater diameter d1=r1/2 overlaps the (hub-side) housing part 14 of the fan impeller 14 with the smaller diameter d2=r2/2 so as to form, in the axial direction A, the air gap 19 that extends in a radial direction R. In this variant, the gap volume flow in the main flow direction HSR, as indicated by the flow arrows PL, arises in the region of the overlap 18 of the housing shells 14, 15.

[0047] In the variant as per FIG. 7B, the (hub-side) housing part 14 of the fan impeller 14, which in this case has the greater diameter d1=r1/2, overlaps the (support-side) housing part 15 of the motor support 8, which in this case has the smaller diameter d2=r2/2. In the region of the overlap 18 of the housing shells 14, 15, the air gap 19 extends in an axial direction A counter to the main flow direction HSR. In this variant, a gap volume flow in an opposite direction in relation to the main flow direction HSR, as indicated by the flow arrows PL, thus arises in the region of the overlapping housing shells 14, 15.

[0048] In summary, the invention relates to a radiator fan module 1 having a fan shroud 2, having a motor support 8 which has a (support-side) housing part and having a rotationally driven fan impeller 4 with a number of radiator fan blades 6 which are arranged on a hub-side housing part 14, wherein the housing parts 14, 15 have different diameters d1, d2, and wherein the housing part 14, with the greater diameter d1 overlaps the other housing part 15, 14, with an air gap 19 being formed. Owing to the different diameters d1, d2 of the support-side and fan-impeller-side housing parts 14, 15 and the (radial) overlap 18 thereof (in the axial direction A), adverse flow influences are avoided, and high system efficiency is thus achieved.

[0049] The radiator fan module 1 is particularly suitable for motor vehicles having an internal combustion engine, and in particular also for a hybrid vehicle or for an electric vehicle for the purposes of cooling the (drive) battery.

[0050] The claimed invention is not restricted to the exemplary embodiments described above. Rather, a person skilled in the art may also derive other variants of the invention from these within the scope of the disclosed claims, without departing from the subject matter of the claimed invention. In particular, all individual features described in conjunction with the various exemplary embodiments may also be combined in other ways within the scope of the disclosed claims, without departing from the subject matter of the claimed invention.

[0051] The following is a summary list of reference numerals and the corresponding structure used in the above description of the invention.

LIST OF REFERENCE DESIGNATIONS

[0052] 1 Radiator fan module [0053] 2 Fan shroud [0054] 3 Fan impeller aperture [0055] 4 Fan impeller [0056] 4a Leading edge [0057] 4b Trailing edge [0058] 5 Shroud ring [0059] 6 Radiator fan blades [0060] 7 Outer ring [0061] 8 Motor support/holder [0062] 9 Strut [0063] 10 Electric motor [0064] 11 Ram pressure flap [0065] 12 Ram pressure opening [0066] 13 Hub [0067] 14 Hub-side housing part [0068] 14a Housing wall [0069] 14b Housing base [0070] 14c Housing edge [0071] 15 Support-side housing part [0072] 15a Housing wall [0073] 15b Housing base [0074] 15c Housing edge [0075] 16 Motor housing [0076] 17 Fastening element [0077] 18 Overlap [0078] 19 Air gap/Gap [0079] 19a Axial gap portion [0080] 19b Radial gap portion [0081] 20 Stator [0082] 21 Rotor [0083] 22 Incident-flow surface [0084] α Angle (of incidence) [0085] A Axial direction [0086] D Axis of rotation [0087] PL Flow arrow [0088] R Radial direction [0089] S Direction of rotation [0090] HSR Main flow direction