FAN AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF

Abstract

A fan and a manufacturing method thereof are provided. The fan includes a hub having a circumference, a plurality of first blades, a mute ring and a plurality of second blades. Each of the plurality of first blades includes a first terminal disposed at the circumference of the hub and a second terminal opposite to the first terminal. The mute ring is disposed at the second terminal of each of the plurality of first blades. The plurality of second blades are disposed at the second terminal of each of the plurality of first blades and connected to the mute ring, wherein the plurality of second blades and the plurality of first blades are alternately arranged.

Claims

1. A fan, comprising: a hub comprising a circumference; a plurality of first blades, each of the plurality of first blades comprising a first terminal disposed at the circumference of the hub and a second terminal opposite to the first terminal; a mute ring disposed at the second terminal of each of the plurality of first blades; and a plurality of second blades disposed at the second terminal of each of the plurality of first blades and connected to the mute ring, wherein the plurality of second blades and the plurality of first blades are alternately arranged.

2. The fan as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of second blades comprises a third terminal toward the hub and a fourth terminal opposite to the third terminal, and a distance between the third terminal and the fourth terminal of each of the plurality of second blades is less than a perpendicular distance between the second terminal of each of the plurality of first blades and the circumference.

3. The fan as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of first blades are made of a metal material, and the plurality of second blades are made of a plastic material.

4. The fan as claimed in claim 3, wherein the mute ring is made of the plastic material and is integrally formed with the plurality of second blades.

5. The fan as claimed in claim 3, wherein the mute ring comprises a metal base and a plastic outer portion, and the plastic outer portion is integrally formed with the plurality of second blades.

6. The fan as claimed in claim 5, wherein the mute ring is stabilized at the second terminal of each of the plurality of first blades through the plastic outer portion thereof.

7. The fan as claimed in claim 5, wherein the mute ring is stabilized through connecting the metal base thereof to the second terminal of each of the plurality of first blades.

8. A manufacturing method of a fan, comprising steps of: (a) providing a hub having a circumference; (b) providing a plurality of first blades, each of the plurality of first blades comprising a first terminal and a second terminal opposite to the first terminal, and disposing the first terminal of each of the plurality of the first blades at the circumference of the hub; and (c) performing an injection molding process to form a mute ring and a plurality of second blades at the second terminal of each of the plurality of first blades, wherein the plurality of second blades and the plurality of first blades are alternately arranged.

9. The manufacturing method of the fan as claimed in claim 8, wherein each of the plurality of second blades comprises a third terminal toward the hub and a fourth terminal opposite to the third terminal, and a distance between the third terminal and the fourth terminal of each of the plurality of second blades is less than a perpendicular distance between the second terminal of each of the plurality of first blades and the circumference.

10. The manufacturing method of the fan as claimed in claim 8, wherein the plurality of first blades are made of a metal material, and the plurality of second blades are made of a plastic material.

11. The manufacturing method of the fan as claimed in claim 10, wherein the mute ring is made of the plastic material and is integrally formed with the plurality of second blades.

12. The manufacturing method of the fan as claimed in claim 10, wherein the mute ring comprises a metal base and a plastic outer portion.

13. The manufacturing method of the fan as claimed in claim 12, wherein the step (c) further comprises steps of: (c1) disposing the metal base at the second terminal of each of the plurality of first blades; and (c2) performing the injection molding process to form the plastic outer portion and the plurality of second blades.

14. The manufacturing method of the fan as claimed in claim 13, wherein the step (c1) further comprises: positioning the metal base at the second terminal of each of the plurality of first blades through a tool.

15. The manufacturing method of the fan as claimed in claim 13, wherein the step (c1) further comprises: connecting the metal base to the second terminal of each of the plurality of first blades.

16. A fan, comprising: a hub comprising a circumference; a plurality of first blades made of a metal material, wherein each of the plurality of first blades comprises a first terminal disposed at the circumference of the hub and a second terminal opposite to the first terminal; and a mute ring made of a plastic material and disposed at the second terminal of each of the plurality of first blades.

17. The fan as claimed in claim 16, wherein the second terminal of each of the plurality of first blades is bent to form a soldering surface, the mute ring comprises a plurality of openings respectively corresponding to the soldering surface of the second terminal of each of the plurality of first blades, and the mute ring is fixed through soldering the soldering surface of the second terminal of each of the plurality of first blades respectively with each of the plurality of openings.

18. The fan as claimed in claim 16, wherein the second terminal of each of the plurality of first blades comprises a first engaging structure, the mute ring comprises a plurality of second engaging structures respectively corresponding to the first engaging structure of the second terminal of each of the plurality of first blades, and the mute ring is fixed through engaging the plurality of second engaging structures respectively with the first engaging structure of the second terminal of each of the plurality of first blades.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] The above contents of the present disclosure will become more readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, in which:

[0028] FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a fan according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0029] FIG. 2 is a comparison table showing data of a fan adopting a metal mute ring according to the present disclosure and a control fan with non-metal mute ring;

[0030] FIG. 3A is a schematic view showing a fan according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0031] FIG. 3B is a schematic view showing the fan according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure from another view angle;

[0032] FIG. 4A is an enlarged view of square A in FIG. 3A;

[0033] FIG. 4B is an enlarged view of square B in FIG. 3B;

[0034] FIG. 5 is a top view of the fan according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0035] FIG. 6 is a graph comparing performances of a fan adopting metal first blades and plastic second blades and a fan adapting metal blades only;

[0036] FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a manufacturing method of a fan according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0037] FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating a manufacturing method of a fan according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0038] FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating a manufacturing method of a fan according to further another embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0039] The present disclosure will now be described more specifically with reference to the following embodiments. It is to be noted that the following descriptions of embodiments of this disclosure are presented herein for purpose of illustration and description only. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to the precise form disclosed.

[0040] Please refer to FIG. 1 which is a schematic view showing a fan according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. A fan 10 includes a hub 11, a plurality of blades 12 and a mute ring 13. Each blade 12 has a first terminal 121 and a second terminal 122. The first terminal 121 is annularly disposed at a circumference of the hub 11, and the mute ring 13 is disposed at respective second terminals of the blades 12. In this embodiment, the blades 12 and the mute ring 13 both are made of metal material, such as stainless steel, titanium, aluminum alloy etc., but not limited thereto, and other suitable metal materials also can be adopted in accordance with the practical requirements. In other words, in this embodiment, the purpose of improving the performance of the fan 10 is achieved by adopting a mute ring 13 which is made of metal material to reduce the thickness thereof.

[0041] The combination of the blades 12 and the mute ring 13 can be achieved by for example soldering, but not limited thereto. When the soldering process is employed, other than directly soldering the mute ring 13 and the blades 12 which are attached together, a structural cooperation therebetween also can be adopted for further smoothing the soldering process. For example, a portion of the second terminal 122 of each blade 12 can be laterally bent to form a soldering surface (not shown), namely, each blade 12 can have a portion of the second terminal 122 at a position corresponding to where the mute ring 13 is disposed be bent to form the soldering surface perpendicular to the surface of the blade 12, and the mute ring 13 can be formed to have openings (not shown) corresponding to each soldering surface of respective blades 12, so that when the blades 12 and the mute ring 13 are attached together, the combination therebetween can be achieved by filling solders in the openings and then proceeding the soldering process, or by directly performing the soldering process in the openings.

[0042] In other embodiments, each blade 12 and the mute ring 13 are implemented to respectively employ a first engaging structure (not shown) and a second engaging structure (not shown) for further ensuring a stable combination therebetween. For example, the mute ring 13 can be implemented to have notches for inserting the blades 12 therein; or each blade 12 can be implemented to have a recess for receiving the mute ring 13; or each blade 12 can be implemented to have an engaging element and the mute ring 13 can be implemented to have receiving portions corresponding thereto, so the combination therebetween can be ensured through penetrating the engaging elements into the receiving portions. Therefore, various kinds of matched engaging structures can be adopted without limitation.

[0043] FIG. 2 is a comparison table showing data of the fan adopting the metal mute ring according to the present disclosure and a control fan with non-metal mute ring. As shown, it is known that compared with the fan adopting a non-metal mute ring with thicker thickness (0.5 mm) which provides an air flow of about 3.65 CFM, the fan of the present disclosure adopting the metal mute ring with thinner thickness (0.2 mm) can provide an air flow of about 4.03 CFM, in which the performance is significantly improved at least 10%. This also proves that the expected performance improvement of fan indeed can be achieved through reducing the thickness of the mute ring by changing the material thereof.

[0044] Please refer to FIG. 3A to FIG. 3B, FIG. 4A to FIG. 4B and FIG. 5. FIG. 3A is a schematic view showing a fan according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure, FIG. 3B is a schematic view showing the fan according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure from another view angle, FIG. 4A is an enlarged view of square A in FIG. 3A, FIG. 4B is an enlarged view of square B in FIG. 3B, and FIG. 5 is a top view of the fan according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. A fan 20 includes a hub 21, a plurality of first blades 22, a mute ring 23 and a plurality of second blades 24. Compared with the fan shown in FIG. 1, the fan 20 further includes the plurality of second blades 24 connected to the mute ring 23. More specifically, in this embodiment, the first blades 221 are disposed at a circumference of the hub 21 through respective first terminals 221 thereof, and the second blades 24 are disposed at respective second terminals 222 of the first blades 22 through the mute ring 23, and further, the second blades 24 and the first blades 22 are alternately arranged. That is, one second blade 24 is disposed between every two adjacent first blades 22, and thus, the numbers of the first blades 22 and the second blades 24 are identical. Under this configuration, compared with a fan with the first blades 22 only, the disposition of the second blades 24 doubles the total number of blades of the fan, which accordingly improves the performance of the fan.

[0045] In particular, the second blades 24 are only disposed at the second terminals 222 of the first blades 22, and there has no additional blade disposed at the first terminals 221 of the first blades 22. In other words, the length of each second blade 24 is smaller than the length of each first blade 22. Namely, as shown in FIG. 5, a distance D2 between a third terminal 241 of each second blade 24 toward the hub 21 and a fourth terminal 241 opposite to the third terminal 241 is less than a perpendicular distance DI between the second terminal 222 of each first blade 22 and the circumference of the hub 21. Through this design, the second blades 24 can be fixed through the mute sing 23, so that the total number of blades of the fan can be increased and the performance of the fan also can be improved without altering the structures of the hub 21 and the first blades 22. Here, the length of the second blade 24, namely, the distance D2 between the third terminal 241 and the fourth terminal 242, can be varied in accordance with the practical situations without limitation.

[0046] More specifically, on the premise that there is limitation on the number of the first blades 22 that can be disposed at the circumference of the hub 21, by utilizing the larger circumference at the second terminals 222 of the first blades 22 to provide more installation spaces and employing the mute ring 23 at the second terminals 222 for disposing the second blades 24, the fan of the present disclosure achieves the purpose of increasing the total number of blades without the need of altering the existing architecture thereof, which provides a novel structure capable of improving the performance of the fan.

[0047] In an embodiment, the first blades 22 are made of metal material, such as stainless steel, titanium, aluminum alloy etc., but not limited thereto, and other suitable metal materials also can be adopted in accordance with the practical requirements. On the other hand, the second blades 24 are made of plastic material, such as LCP, PPE, PBT etc., but not limited thereto, and other suitable plastic materials also can be adopted in accordance with the practical requirements. Through the cooperation between the metal first blades 22 and the plastic second blades 24, the fan of the present disclosure owns advantages of both, so that the performance can be significantly improved, compared to fans with conventional blade structure.

[0048] In another embodiment, the first blades 22 are made of plastic material to cooperate with plastic mute ring 23 and plastic second blades 24. In this configuration, the total number of blades is doubled, so that the purpose of improving the performance of the fan also can be achieved.

[0049] Please refer to FIG. 6 which is a graph comparing performances of a fan adopting metal first blades and plastic second blades and a fan adapting metal blades only. As shown, through increasing the plastic second blades to alternately arrange among the metal first blades, the performance of fan can be improved at least about 15% to 20%. This proves that increasing the number of blades through the way disclosed in the present disclosure can indeed achieve the expected effect of improving the performance of fan.

[0050] The combination of heterogeneous materials between the metal first blades 22 and the plastic second blades 24 could be achieved by the following methods. Notably, the methods described below are only exemplary, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereby.

[0051] A manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown in FIG. 7. In this embodiment, the mute ring 23 is made of plastic material. In step S100, the hub 21 and the first blades 22 are combined to form a fan main body. In step S102, the fan main body is positioned in a tool. In step S104, an injection molding process is performed to form the mute ring 23 at the second terminals 222 of the first blades 22 and also form the second blades 24 on the mute ring 23, thereby alternately arranging each second blade 24 between every two adjacent first blades 22.

[0052] More specifically, in this method, the hub 21 and the metal first blades 22 are combined together to form the fan main body first, and then through performing the secondary processing, not only the formations of the plastic mute ring 23 and the plastic second blades 24 are achieved, but also the combination between the plastic mute ring 23 and the metal first blades 22 is simultaneously completed, thereby forming the mute ring 23 and the second blades 24 which are both made of plastic material at the second terminals 222 of the metal first blades 22. In an embodiment, the mute ring 23 and the second blades 24 are integrally formed.

[0053] Another manufacturing method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown in FIG. 8. In this embodiment, the mute ring 23 includes a metal base and a plastic outer portion. In step S200, the hub 21 and the first blades 22 are combined to form a fan main body. In step S202, the fan main body and the metal base of the mute ring 23 are respectively positioned in a tool and the metal base is located at the second terminals 222 of the metal first blades 22. In step S204, an injection molding process is performed to form the plastic outer portion of the mute ring 23 and also form the plastic second blades 24 among the metal first blades 22, thereby completing the configuration that the metal first blades 22 and the plastic second blades 24 are alternately arranged.

[0054] More specifically, in this method, the hub 21 and the metal first blades 22 are combined together to form the fan main body first, and then through performing the secondary processing, not only the metal base is covered by the plastic material to form the mute ring 23, but also the formation of the second blades 24 and the combination and stabilization between the metal base and the metal first blades 24 through the plastic material are simultaneously completed, thereby forming the mute ring 23 and the plastic second blades 24 at the second terminals 222 of the metal first blades 22. In an embodiment, the plastic outer portion of the mute ring 23 and the second blades 24 are integrally formed.

[0055] Further another manufacturing method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown in FIG. 9. In this embodiment, the mute ring 23 includes a metal base and a plastic outer portion. In step S300, the hub 21 and the first blades 22 are combined to form a fan main body. In step S302, the metal base of the mute ring 23 is connected to the second terminals 222 of the metal first blades 22, for example, through the soldering process described above. In step S304, an injection molding process is performed to form the plastic outer portion of the mute ring 23 and also form the plastic second blades 24 among the metal first blades 22, thereby completing the structure that the metal first blades 22 and the plastic second blades 24 are alternately arranged.

[0056] More specifically, in this method, the hub 21 and the metal first blades 22 are combined together to form the fan main body first. When performing the secondary processing, the metal base is connected to the fan main body first for stabilization, and then, by performing the injection molding process, the plastic outer portion is formed to cover the metal base and the formation of the second blades 24 is also completed, thereby forming the mute ring 23 and the plastic second blades 24 at the second terminals 222 of the metal first blades 22. In an embodiment, the plastic outer portion of the mute ring 23 and the second blades 24 are integrally formed, and the plastic outer portion is implemented to cover at least a portion of the metal base for ensuring the stabilization of the plastic second blades 24.

[0057] For the embodiments described above, the plastic material adopted in the injection molding process can be, such as LCP, PPE, PBT etc., but not limited thereto, and other suitable plastic materials also can be adopted in accordance with the practical requirements.

[0058] In addition, the combination between the first blades and the hub also can be varied in accordance with the practical situations. For example, for the hub made of plastic material, the formation of the hub and the combination thereof with the metal first blades can be completed at the same time through the injection molding process; or for the hub made of metal material, the combination between the hub and the metal first blades can be achieved through soldering; or other processes also can be adopted to combine the two, without limitation. Further, the position of the mute ring can be located at the very ends of the second terminals of the first blades (as shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B), or at positions near the very ends (as shown in FIG. 1), which can be varied in accordance with the practical situations.

[0059] In conclusion, the present disclosure provides the mute ring which is made of metal material and has a reduced thickness for cooperating with the metal blades so as to achieve the purpose of improving the performance of fan. Moreover, in the present disclosure, the mute ring is also used as the medium for disposing the additional blades, so that the total number of blades can be doubled for significantly improving the performance of fan without the need of altering the existing structures of the hub and the blades of the fan.

[0060] While the disclosure has been described in terms of what is presently considered to be the most practical embodiments, it is to be understood that the disclosure needs not be limited to the disclosed embodiment. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.