US20120190289A1 - Fan apparatus and fan gate thereof - Google Patents
Fan apparatus and fan gate thereof Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20120190289A1 US20120190289A1 US13/151,209 US201113151209A US2012190289A1 US 20120190289 A1 US20120190289 A1 US 20120190289A1 US 201113151209 A US201113151209 A US 201113151209A US 2012190289 A1 US2012190289 A1 US 2012190289A1
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- United States
- Prior art keywords
- fan
- cooling fan
- airflow
- gate
- mounting frame
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
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Classifications
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
- H05K7/00—Constructional details common to different types of electric apparatus
- H05K7/20—Modifications to facilitate cooling, ventilating, or heating
- H05K7/20009—Modifications to facilitate cooling, ventilating, or heating using a gaseous coolant in electronic enclosures
- H05K7/20136—Forced ventilation, e.g. by fans
- H05K7/20145—Means for directing air flow, e.g. ducts, deflectors, plenum or guides
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
- F04D—NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT PUMPS
- F04D25/00—Pumping installations or systems
- F04D25/02—Units comprising pumps and their driving means
- F04D25/06—Units comprising pumps and their driving means the pump being electrically driven
- F04D25/0606—Units comprising pumps and their driving means the pump being electrically driven the electric motor being specially adapted for integration in the pump
- F04D25/0613—Units comprising pumps and their driving means the pump being electrically driven the electric motor being specially adapted for integration in the pump the electric motor being of the inside-out type, i.e. the rotor is arranged radially outside a central stator
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
- F04D—NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT PUMPS
- F04D25/00—Pumping installations or systems
- F04D25/02—Units comprising pumps and their driving means
- F04D25/08—Units comprising pumps and their driving means the working fluid being air, e.g. for ventilation
- F04D25/12—Units comprising pumps and their driving means the working fluid being air, e.g. for ventilation the unit being adapted for mounting in apertures
- F04D25/14—Units comprising pumps and their driving means the working fluid being air, e.g. for ventilation the unit being adapted for mounting in apertures and having shutters, e.g. automatically closed when not in use
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
- H05K7/00—Constructional details common to different types of electric apparatus
- H05K7/20—Modifications to facilitate cooling, ventilating, or heating
- H05K7/20009—Modifications to facilitate cooling, ventilating, or heating using a gaseous coolant in electronic enclosures
- H05K7/20136—Forced ventilation, e.g. by fans
- H05K7/20172—Fan mounting or fan specifications
Definitions
- the disclosure generally relates to cooling devices for electronic apparatuses, and particularly to a fan apparatus incorporating a fan gate.
- Cooling fans are often applied in electronic devices, such as a computers or servers, to dissipate heat from electronic components of the electronic devices.
- the cooling fans are arranged side by side, in parallel. Air outlets of the cooling fans are located at a same side of the bank of cooling fans, thus increasing an area that airflow of the cooling fans flows to. Accordingly, the cooling fans are capable of cooling many more electronic components simultaneously.
- one or another of the cooling fans may fail, due to, e.g., aging.
- the other cooling fans continue working and drive air from their air inlets to their air outlets.
- air pressure at the air outlets of the bank of cooling fans exceeds that at the air inlets of the bank of cooling fans, and an air pressure difference is thus formed between the air inlet and the air outlet of the failed cooling fan. Therefore, the air at the air outlet of the failed cooling fan has a tendency to flow to the air inlet of such cooling fan due to the air pressure difference.
- FIG. 1 is an exploded, isometric view of a fan apparatus in accordance with an exemplary embodiment, wherein the fan apparatus includes a fan gate and a fixing frame.
- FIG. 2 is an assembled view of the fan gate and the fixing frame of the fan apparatus of FIG. 1 .
- FIG. 3 is a cross section of the assembled fan gate and fixing frame of FIG. 2 , taken along line thereof.
- FIG. 4 is an assembled view of the fan apparatus of FIG. 1 , showing positions of flaps of the fan gate when the fan apparatus is working.
- FIG. 5 is a right side plan view of the fan apparatus of FIG. 4 .
- FIG. 6 is a front plan view of the fan apparatus of FIG. 4 , but showing the positions of the flaps of the fan gate when the fan apparatus is not working.
- FIG. 1 shows a fan apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
- a plurality of the fan apparatuses 100 can be installed in an electronic device, such as a server or a computer, side by side in parallel to dissipate heat from electronic components of the electronic device.
- the fan apparatus 100 includes a cooling fan 10 , a fan gate 20 , and a fixing frame 30 for fixing the fan gate 20 onto the cooling fan 10 .
- the cooling fan 10 includes a fan housing 11 , and a rotor 12 for generating a forced airflow.
- the fan housing 11 is square-shaped and hollow, and the rotor 12 is received in the fan housing 11 .
- a rear side of the fan housing 11 defines an air inlet 14 of the cooling fan 10 for the forced airflow to enter the fan housing 11
- a front side of the fan housing 11 defines an air outlet 15 of the cooling fan 10 for the forced airflow to exit the fan housing 11 .
- a base 16 is received in the fan housing 11 and arranged at the air outlet 15 of the cooling fan 10 .
- the base 16 is substantially circular.
- An outer periphery of the base 16 is spaced from an inner surface of the fan housing 11 .
- a plurality of ribs 17 is connected between the outer periphery of the base 16 and the inner surface of the fan housing 11 , thereby fixing the base 16 in the fan housing 11 .
- a stator (not shown) is received in the fan housing 11 and mounted on the base 16 .
- the rotor 12 is rotatably mounted on the stator.
- a passage 13 is defined between the inner surface of the fan housing 11 and the rotor 12 for allowing the forced airflow through the cooling fan 10 .
- the fan gate 20 includes an outer mounting frame 22 , and an inner airflow valve 24 extending substantially from an inner periphery of the mounting frame 22 .
- the fan gate 20 is a single, monolithic body of the same material which comprises the mounting frame 22 and the airflow valve 24 (see also below).
- the mounting frame 22 is attached to the fan housing 11 of the cooling fan 10 , to fix the fan gate 20 to the cooling fan 10 .
- the airflow valve 24 has a square periphery.
- the mounting frame 22 is substantially in the shape of a square frame.
- the mounting frame 22 includes four elongated, straight beams 225 joined end to end. Each two neighboring beams 225 are perpendicular to each other.
- the mounting frame 22 has an inner dimension matching an outer dimension of the outer periphery 112 of the fan housing 11 of the cooling fan 10 .
- the airflow valve 24 is substantially flat and generally square-shaped.
- the airflow valve 24 includes four flaps 25 extending inwardly substantially from inner edges of the beams 225 of the mounting frame 22 , respectively.
- the flaps 25 integrally extend from the beams 225 of the mounting frame 22 .
- the flaps 25 extend towards the center of the mounting frame 22 .
- Each flap 25 is generally isosceles trapezoid, except that an inmost side of the flap 25 is concave. In the illustrated embodiment, the inmost side is arc-shaped.
- Each flap 25 includes a connected end extending from the mounting frame 22 , and a free end which has the concave side.
- each flap 25 defines a top edge 252 at the free end, a bottom edge 254 at the connected end, and two side edges 256 each running between the top edge 252 and the bottom edge 254 .
- the bottom edge 254 extends from a corresponding beam 225 of the mounting frame 22 .
- the top edge 252 is located at a central area of the mounting frame 22 , far away from the beam 225 of the mounting frame 22 .
- the top edge 252 is shorter than the bottom edge 254 .
- a width of each flap 25 measured from one side edge 256 to the other side edge 256 , gradually decreases from the bottom edge 254 to the top edge 252 .
- the side edges 256 of each flap 25 abut the side edges 256 of two neighboring flaps 25 when the fan apparatus is not working. Neighboring side edges 256 of neighboring flaps 25 are connected at the connected ends, but unconnected at the free ends.
- the top edges 252 of the flaps 25 cooperatively define a ventilating hole 27 therebetween.
- the ventilating hole 27 is aligned with the base 16 of the cooling fan 10 .
- a size of the ventilating hole 27 is slightly smaller than that of the base 16 .
- the top edge 252 of each flap 25 is one fourth of a circle, and the top edges 252 of the flaps 25 cooperatively form a whole circle 28 .
- the airflow valve 24 is made of light and soft material which is hard to tear, such as cloth or MylarTM (i.e., polyester).
- cloth or MylarTM i.e., polyester.
- the airflow valve 24 of the fan gate 20 is blown open. In such a state, the flaps 25 move away from the cooling fan 10 and extend obliquely outwardly along directions corresponding to the direction of the airflow due to a force of the airflow.
- the fan gate 20 is made of cloth to achieve low noise during operation of the cooling fan 10 , and the airflow valve 24 is integrally formed with the mounting frame 22 .
- the fixing frame 30 includes a four-sided front plate 32 , and a four-sided side plate 34 extending rearward from an outer circumference of the front plate 32 .
- the front plate 32 corresponds to a circumferential portion of the airflow valve 24 of the fan gate 20
- the side plate 34 corresponds to the mounting frame 22 of the fan gate 20 .
- the front plate 32 is flat and substantially square shaped.
- An opening 35 defined in the front plate 32 corresponding to a central portion of the airflow valve 24 of the fan gate 20 .
- the front plate 32 has an outer dimension slightly greater than that of the airflow valve 24 of the fan gate 20 .
- the side plate 34 extends perpendicularly rearward from an outer circumference of the front plate 32 .
- the side plate 34 has a shape similar to the mounting frame 22 of the fan gate 20 . That is, the side plate 34 is substantially in the shape of a square frame.
- the side plate 34 has an inner dimension matching an outer dimension of the mounting frame 22 of the fan gate 20 , such that the mounting frame 22 of the fan gate 20 can be fittingly attached to an inner side of the side plate 34 .
- the fan gate 20 is fixed to the inner side of the fixing frame 30 , with the mounting frame 22 of the fan gate 20 attached to the inner side of the side plate 34 of the fixing frame 30 .
- the side plate 34 of the fixing frame 30 fittingly surrounds and abuts against the mounting frame 22 of the fan gate 20 .
- the front plate 32 of the fixing frame 30 abuts against the outer circumferential portion of the airflow valve 24 of the fan gate 20 .
- the central portion of the airflow valve 24 of the fan gate 20 is aligned with the opening 35 of the fixing frame 30 .
- the combined fan gate 20 and fixing frame 30 is attached to the fan housing 11 of the cooling fan 10 , with the mounting frame 22 of the fan gate 20 fittingly surrounding and abutting against the outer periphery 112 of the fan housing 11 .
- the mounting frame 22 of the fan gate 20 is sandwiched between the outer periphery 112 of the fan housing 11 and the side plate 34 of the fixing frame 30 .
- a tight fit is formed between the fixing frame 30 and the fan housing 11 of the cooling fan 10 , such that the fan gate 20 is stably fixed on the fan housing 11 .
- the rotor 12 is driven to rotate by the stator to produce the forced airflow flowing from the air inlet 14 to the air outlet 15 .
- the airflow pushes the flaps 25 to bend with respect to the mounting frame 22 of the fan gate 20 to cause the air outlet 15 to be exposed.
- the flaps 25 extend through the opening 35 of the fixing frame 30 , and slant forward along directions corresponding to the direction of the airflow.
- the free ends of the flaps 25 are spaced from each other, and thus the size of the ventilating hole 27 of the fan gate 20 is increased to facilitate the passage of the airflow through the fan gate 20 .
- the airflow valve 24 of the fan gate 20 is generally funnel-shaped. An area of a cross section of a passage defined between the flaps 25 gradually decreases along the direction of the airflow.
- the cooling fan 10 fails, the airflow pushing force applied to the flaps 25 of the fan gate 20 is removed.
- the cooling fans 10 of the other fan apparatuses 100 continue driving air from their air inlets 14 to their air outlets 15 .
- air pressure at the air outlets 15 of the bank of cooling fans 10 exceeds that at the air inlets 14 of the bank of cooling fans 10 , and an air pressure difference is thus formed between the air inlet 14 and the air outlet 15 of the failed cooling fan 10 .
- the air at the air outlet 15 of the failed cooling fan 10 has a tendency to flow to the air inlet 14 of the failed cooling fan 10 .
- the airflow valve 24 of the fan gate 20 of the failed cooling fan 10 is made of light and soft material, when the air at the air outlet 15 flows towards the air inlet 14 , the flaps 25 are pushed to move towards the cooling fan 10 until the fan gate 20 resumes to its original state as indicated in FIG. 1 . In that state, the neighboring side edges 256 of the neighboring flaps 25 abut each other.
- the flaps 25 are coplanar and cooperatively cover the whole air outlet 15 of the cooling fan 10 , thus preventing the air at the air outlet 15 from flowing to the air inlet 14 of the cooling fan 10 . Therefore, reduction of the total airflow provided by the other cooling fans 10 to the electronic components is avoided, and accordingly, the heat dissipation of the electronic components is prevented from being further impaired.
Abstract
An exemplary fan apparatus includes a cooling fan and a fan gate attached to the cooling fan. The cooling fan defines an air inlet and an air outlet at two opposite sides thereof. The fan gate includes a mounting frame fixed on the cooling fan and surrounding the air outlet, and an airflow valve extending from the mounting frame. The airflow valve is bendable relative to the mounting frame. When the cooling fan works, an airflow produced by the cooling fan flows to the fan gate and pushes the airflow valve to bend with respect to the cooling fan to cause the air outlet to be exposed. When the cooling fan does not work, the airflow valve covers the air outlet.
Description
- 1. Technical Field
- The disclosure generally relates to cooling devices for electronic apparatuses, and particularly to a fan apparatus incorporating a fan gate.
- 2. Description of Related Art
- Cooling fans are often applied in electronic devices, such as a computers or servers, to dissipate heat from electronic components of the electronic devices. Typically, the cooling fans are arranged side by side, in parallel. Air outlets of the cooling fans are located at a same side of the bank of cooling fans, thus increasing an area that airflow of the cooling fans flows to. Accordingly, the cooling fans are capable of cooling many more electronic components simultaneously.
- During operation, one or another of the cooling fans may fail, due to, e.g., aging. At that time, the other cooling fans continue working and drive air from their air inlets to their air outlets. Accordingly, air pressure at the air outlets of the bank of cooling fans exceeds that at the air inlets of the bank of cooling fans, and an air pressure difference is thus formed between the air inlet and the air outlet of the failed cooling fan. Therefore, the air at the air outlet of the failed cooling fan has a tendency to flow to the air inlet of such cooling fan due to the air pressure difference. This results in a reduction of the total airflow provided by the other cooling fans to the electronic components. Accordingly, the heat dissipation of the electronic components is further impaired.
- Therefore, an improved fan apparatus is needed to overcome the described limitations.
-
FIG. 1 is an exploded, isometric view of a fan apparatus in accordance with an exemplary embodiment, wherein the fan apparatus includes a fan gate and a fixing frame. -
FIG. 2 is an assembled view of the fan gate and the fixing frame of the fan apparatus ofFIG. 1 . -
FIG. 3 is a cross section of the assembled fan gate and fixing frame ofFIG. 2 , taken along line thereof. -
FIG. 4 is an assembled view of the fan apparatus ofFIG. 1 , showing positions of flaps of the fan gate when the fan apparatus is working. -
FIG. 5 is a right side plan view of the fan apparatus ofFIG. 4 . -
FIG. 6 is a front plan view of the fan apparatus ofFIG. 4 , but showing the positions of the flaps of the fan gate when the fan apparatus is not working. -
FIG. 1 shows afan apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. In typical use, a plurality of thefan apparatuses 100 can be installed in an electronic device, such as a server or a computer, side by side in parallel to dissipate heat from electronic components of the electronic device. - The
fan apparatus 100 includes acooling fan 10, afan gate 20, and a fixingframe 30 for fixing thefan gate 20 onto thecooling fan 10. - The
cooling fan 10 includes afan housing 11, and arotor 12 for generating a forced airflow. Thefan housing 11 is square-shaped and hollow, and therotor 12 is received in thefan housing 11. A rear side of thefan housing 11 defines anair inlet 14 of thecooling fan 10 for the forced airflow to enter thefan housing 11, and a front side of thefan housing 11 defines anair outlet 15 of thecooling fan 10 for the forced airflow to exit thefan housing 11. - A
base 16 is received in thefan housing 11 and arranged at theair outlet 15 of thecooling fan 10. Thebase 16 is substantially circular. An outer periphery of thebase 16 is spaced from an inner surface of thefan housing 11. A plurality ofribs 17 is connected between the outer periphery of thebase 16 and the inner surface of thefan housing 11, thereby fixing thebase 16 in thefan housing 11. A stator (not shown) is received in thefan housing 11 and mounted on thebase 16. Therotor 12 is rotatably mounted on the stator. A passage 13 is defined between the inner surface of thefan housing 11 and therotor 12 for allowing the forced airflow through thecooling fan 10. - The
fan gate 20 includes anouter mounting frame 22, and aninner airflow valve 24 extending substantially from an inner periphery of themounting frame 22. Referring also toFIGS. 2 and 3 , in the illustrated embodiment, thefan gate 20 is a single, monolithic body of the same material which comprises themounting frame 22 and the airflow valve 24 (see also below). Themounting frame 22 is attached to thefan housing 11 of thecooling fan 10, to fix thefan gate 20 to thecooling fan 10. Theairflow valve 24 has a square periphery. Themounting frame 22 is substantially in the shape of a square frame. Themounting frame 22 includes four elongated,straight beams 225 joined end to end. Each two neighboringbeams 225 are perpendicular to each other. Themounting frame 22 has an inner dimension matching an outer dimension of theouter periphery 112 of thefan housing 11 of thecooling fan 10. - In an original state, the
airflow valve 24 is substantially flat and generally square-shaped. Theairflow valve 24 includes fourflaps 25 extending inwardly substantially from inner edges of thebeams 225 of themounting frame 22, respectively. In the illustrated embodiment, theflaps 25 integrally extend from thebeams 225 of themounting frame 22. Theflaps 25 extend towards the center of themounting frame 22. Eachflap 25 is generally isosceles trapezoid, except that an inmost side of theflap 25 is concave. In the illustrated embodiment, the inmost side is arc-shaped. Eachflap 25 includes a connected end extending from themounting frame 22, and a free end which has the concave side. - More particularly, each
flap 25 defines atop edge 252 at the free end, abottom edge 254 at the connected end, and twoside edges 256 each running between thetop edge 252 and thebottom edge 254. Thebottom edge 254 extends from acorresponding beam 225 of themounting frame 22. Thetop edge 252 is located at a central area of themounting frame 22, far away from thebeam 225 of themounting frame 22. Thetop edge 252 is shorter than thebottom edge 254. A width of eachflap 25, measured from oneside edge 256 to theother side edge 256, gradually decreases from thebottom edge 254 to thetop edge 252. Theside edges 256 of eachflap 25 abut theside edges 256 of two neighboringflaps 25 when the fan apparatus is not working.Neighboring side edges 256 of neighboringflaps 25 are connected at the connected ends, but unconnected at the free ends. - The
top edges 252 of theflaps 25 cooperatively define aventilating hole 27 therebetween. Theventilating hole 27 is aligned with thebase 16 of thecooling fan 10. A size of theventilating hole 27 is slightly smaller than that of thebase 16. In this embodiment, thetop edge 252 of eachflap 25 is one fourth of a circle, and thetop edges 252 of theflaps 25 cooperatively form awhole circle 28. - The
airflow valve 24 is made of light and soft material which is hard to tear, such as cloth or Mylar™ (i.e., polyester). When the coolingfan 10 produces a forced airflow flowing to thefan gate 20, theairflow valve 24 of thefan gate 20 is blown open. In such a state, theflaps 25 move away from the coolingfan 10 and extend obliquely outwardly along directions corresponding to the direction of the airflow due to a force of the airflow. In this embodiment, thefan gate 20 is made of cloth to achieve low noise during operation of the coolingfan 10, and theairflow valve 24 is integrally formed with the mountingframe 22. - The fixing
frame 30 includes a four-sidedfront plate 32, and a four-sided side plate 34 extending rearward from an outer circumference of thefront plate 32. Thefront plate 32 corresponds to a circumferential portion of theairflow valve 24 of thefan gate 20, and theside plate 34 corresponds to the mountingframe 22 of thefan gate 20. In the present embodiment, thefront plate 32 is flat and substantially square shaped. Anopening 35 defined in thefront plate 32, corresponding to a central portion of theairflow valve 24 of thefan gate 20. Thefront plate 32 has an outer dimension slightly greater than that of theairflow valve 24 of thefan gate 20. - The
side plate 34 extends perpendicularly rearward from an outer circumference of thefront plate 32. Theside plate 34 has a shape similar to the mountingframe 22 of thefan gate 20. That is, theside plate 34 is substantially in the shape of a square frame. Theside plate 34 has an inner dimension matching an outer dimension of the mountingframe 22 of thefan gate 20, such that the mountingframe 22 of thefan gate 20 can be fittingly attached to an inner side of theside plate 34. - Referring to
FIGS. 2 and 3 , in preassembly of thefan apparatus 100, thefan gate 20 is fixed to the inner side of the fixingframe 30, with the mountingframe 22 of thefan gate 20 attached to the inner side of theside plate 34 of the fixingframe 30. In particular, theside plate 34 of the fixingframe 30 fittingly surrounds and abuts against the mountingframe 22 of thefan gate 20. Thefront plate 32 of the fixingframe 30 abuts against the outer circumferential portion of theairflow valve 24 of thefan gate 20. The central portion of theairflow valve 24 of thefan gate 20 is aligned with theopening 35 of the fixingframe 30. - Referring to
FIG. 4 , in assembly of thefan apparatus 100, the combinedfan gate 20 and fixingframe 30 is attached to thefan housing 11 of the coolingfan 10, with the mountingframe 22 of thefan gate 20 fittingly surrounding and abutting against theouter periphery 112 of thefan housing 11. Thus the mountingframe 22 of thefan gate 20 is sandwiched between theouter periphery 112 of thefan housing 11 and theside plate 34 of the fixingframe 30. A tight fit is formed between the fixingframe 30 and thefan housing 11 of the coolingfan 10, such that thefan gate 20 is stably fixed on thefan housing 11. - Referring to
FIGS. 4 and 5 , during operation of thefan apparatus 100, therotor 12 is driven to rotate by the stator to produce the forced airflow flowing from theair inlet 14 to theair outlet 15. The airflow pushes theflaps 25 to bend with respect to the mountingframe 22 of thefan gate 20 to cause theair outlet 15 to be exposed. Theflaps 25 extend through theopening 35 of the fixingframe 30, and slant forward along directions corresponding to the direction of the airflow. The free ends of theflaps 25 are spaced from each other, and thus the size of the ventilatinghole 27 of thefan gate 20 is increased to facilitate the passage of the airflow through thefan gate 20. In such a state, theairflow valve 24 of thefan gate 20 is generally funnel-shaped. An area of a cross section of a passage defined between theflaps 25 gradually decreases along the direction of the airflow. - Referring to
FIG. 6 , if the coolingfan 10 fails, the airflow pushing force applied to theflaps 25 of thefan gate 20 is removed. In the above-described typical use of thefan apparatus 100, there are alsoother fan apparatuses 100 that continue working. That is, the coolingfans 10 of theother fan apparatuses 100 continue driving air from theirair inlets 14 to theirair outlets 15. As a result, air pressure at theair outlets 15 of the bank of coolingfans 10 exceeds that at theair inlets 14 of the bank of coolingfans 10, and an air pressure difference is thus formed between theair inlet 14 and theair outlet 15 of the failed coolingfan 10. Accordingly, the air at theair outlet 15 of the failed coolingfan 10 has a tendency to flow to theair inlet 14 of the failed coolingfan 10. - Since the
airflow valve 24 of thefan gate 20 of the failed coolingfan 10 is made of light and soft material, when the air at theair outlet 15 flows towards theair inlet 14, theflaps 25 are pushed to move towards the coolingfan 10 until thefan gate 20 resumes to its original state as indicated inFIG. 1 . In that state, the neighboring side edges 256 of the neighboring flaps 25 abut each other. Theflaps 25 are coplanar and cooperatively cover thewhole air outlet 15 of the coolingfan 10, thus preventing the air at theair outlet 15 from flowing to theair inlet 14 of the coolingfan 10. Therefore, reduction of the total airflow provided by theother cooling fans 10 to the electronic components is avoided, and accordingly, the heat dissipation of the electronic components is prevented from being further impaired. - It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of certain embodiments have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structures and functions of the embodiments, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the disclosure to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
Claims (20)
1. A fan apparatus, comprising:
a cooling fan defining an air inlet and an air outlet at two opposite sides thereof; and
a fan gate attached to the cooling fan at the air outlet, the fan gate comprising:
a mounting frame fixed on the cooling fan; and
an airflow valve extending from the mounting frame, the airflow valve being bendable relative to the mounting frame; wherein
when the cooling fan works, airflow produced by the cooling fan flows to the fan gate and pushes the airflow valve to bend with respect to the cooling fan to cause the air outlet to be exposed; and
when the cooling fan does not work, the airflow valve covers the air outlet.
2. The fan apparatus of claim 1 , wherein when the cooling fan works, the airflow valve of the fan gate forms a funnel-shaped arrangement, with an area of a cross section of a passage defined by the funnel-shaped airflow valve gradually decreasing along a flowing direction of the airflow.
3. The fan apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the airflow valve of the fan gate comprises a plurality of flaps extending inward from a periphery of the mounting frame, each of the flaps of the fan gate comprises a connected end and a free end at opposite sides thereof, the connected end extends from the mounting frame, the free ends of the flaps cooperatively define a ventilating hole therebetween.
4. The fan apparatus of claim 3 , wherein each two neighboring flaps are connected with each other at their connected ends, but unconnected with each other at their free ends.
5. The fan apparatus of claim 4 , wherein each flap is approximately an isosceles trapezoid, and comprises a bottom edge, a top edge and two side edges running between the bottom edge to the top edge, the bottom edge extends from the mounting frame, the top edge is shorter than the bottom edge, and side edges of each flap abut the side edges of two neighboring flaps when the airflow valve covers the air outlet of the cooling fan.
6. The fan apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the top edge of each flap is concave, and the top edges of the flaps cooperatively define the ventilating hole.
7. The fan apparatus of claim 6 , wherein when the airflow valve of the fan gate covers the air outlet of the cooling fan, the ventilating hole aligned with a central area of the cooling fan.
8. The fan apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a fixing frame, the fixing frame fixed on the cooling fan, and the mounting frame of the fan gate sandwiched between the fixing frame and the cooling fan.
9. The fan apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the fixing frame comprises a front plate and a side plate extending from an outer circumference of the front plate, the side plate corresponds to the mounting frame of the fan gate, the front plate corresponds to a circumferential portion of the airflow valve of the fan gate, and the front plate defines an opening corresponding to a central portion of the airflow valve of the fan gate, when the cooling fan works, the airflow of the cooling fan pushes the central portion of the airflow valve of the fan gate to extend through the opening.
10. The fan apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the airflow valve of the fan gate is made of material selected from the group consisting of cloth and polyester.
11. The fan apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the airflow valve is integrally formed with the mounting frame.
12. A fan gate for attaching to an air outlet of a cooling fan, the fan gate comprising:
an airflow valve facing the air outlet of the cooling fan; and
a mounting frame surrounding the airflow valve, the mounting frame being configured for fixing the fan gate to the air outlet of the cooling fan; wherein
the airflow valve is configured to bend with respect to the mounting frame to facilitate airflow through the fan gate when the cooling fan works and airflow produced by the cooling fan pushes the airflow valve; and
the airflow valve is configured to cover the air outlet when the cooling fan does not work.
13. The fan gate of claim 12 , wherein the airflow valve is configured to form a generally funnel-shaped arrangement with an area of a cross section of an air passage defined by the funnel-shaped airflow valve gradually decreasing along an airflow direction when the cooling fan works and airflow produced by the cooling fan pushes the airflow valve.
14. The fan gate of claim 13 , wherein the airflow valve comprises a plurality of flaps extending inward from a periphery of the mounting frame, each of the flaps comprises a connected end and a free end at opposite sides thereof, the connected end extends from the mounting frame, and the free ends of the flaps cooperatively define a ventilating hole therebetween.
15. The fan gate of claim 14 , wherein each two neighboring flaps are connected with each other at their connected ends, but unconnected with each other at their free ends.
16. The fan gate of claim 14 , wherein each flap is approximately an isosceles trapezoid, and comprises a bottom edge, a top edge and two side edges running between the bottom edge to the top edge, the bottom edge extends from the mounting frame, the top edge is shorter than the bottom edge, and side edges of each flap abut side edges of two neighboring flaps when the airflow valve has a configuration that is able to cover the air outlet.
17. The fan gate of claim 16 , wherein the top edge of each flap is concave, and the top edges of the flaps cooperatively define the ventilating hole.
18. The fan gate of claim 12 , wherein the airflow valve is made of material selected from the group consisting of cloth and polyester.
19. A fan apparatus, comprising:
a cooling fan defining an air inlet and an air outlet at two opposite sides thereof, and comprising a base at a middle of the air outlet; and
a fan gate comprising:
a mounting frame fixed on the cooling fan at the air outlet; and
an airflow valve extending from the mounting frame, the airflow valve comprising a plurality of bendable flaps each extending inward from the mounting frame toward a middle of the fan gate; wherein
when the cooling fan does not work and ambient air pressure is exerted on the flaps, the flaps are substantially aligned with each other and cover the air outlet as well as a peripheral portion of the base; and
when the cooling fan works, airflow produced by the cooling fan flows to the fan gate and pushes the flaps to bend in directions corresponding to a direction of the airflow.
20. The fan apparatus of claim 19 , wherein each of the flaps is approximately an isosceles trapezoid, and comprises a bottom edge, a top edge and two side edges running between the bottom edge to the top edge, the bottom edge extends from the mounting frame, the top edge is shorter than the bottom edge, side edges of each flap abut side edges of two neighboring flaps when the airflow valve has a configuration that is able to cover the air outlet, top edge of each flap is concave, and the top edges of the flaps cooperatively define a ventilating hole when the airflow valve has a configuration that is able to cover the air outlet.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
TW100102436 | 2011-01-24 | ||
TW100102436A TW201233314A (en) | 2011-01-24 | 2011-01-24 | Fan apparatus |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
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US20120190289A1 true US20120190289A1 (en) | 2012-07-26 |
Family
ID=46544509
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US13/151,209 Abandoned US20120190289A1 (en) | 2011-01-24 | 2011-06-01 | Fan apparatus and fan gate thereof |
Country Status (2)
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US (1) | US20120190289A1 (en) |
TW (1) | TW201233314A (en) |
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CN103945673A (en) * | 2013-01-18 | 2014-07-23 | 鸿富锦精密工业(深圳)有限公司 | Container data center |
US20150216076A1 (en) * | 2014-01-30 | 2015-07-30 | International Business Machines Corporation | Resilient deformable air valve |
US9609784B2 (en) | 2013-01-17 | 2017-03-28 | Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. | Container data center |
US20180080571A1 (en) * | 2016-09-19 | 2018-03-22 | Fortinet, Inc. | Check valve for preventing air backflow in a modular cooling system |
US10165696B1 (en) * | 2017-08-10 | 2018-12-25 | Adtran, Inc. | Removable module with spring latch |
US20180376614A1 (en) * | 2017-06-23 | 2018-12-27 | Fortinet, Inc. | Check valve fan cover |
US11399447B2 (en) | 2020-02-20 | 2022-07-26 | Seagate Technology Llc | Collapsible assemblies for air flow control |
US11737245B2 (en) | 2020-02-20 | 2023-08-22 | Seagate Technology Llc | Air flow control in data storage systems |
FR3135925A1 (en) * | 2022-05-31 | 2023-12-01 | Psa Automobiles Sa | COOLING DEVICE FOR THE BATTERY CHARGER OF ELECTRIC MOTOR VEHICLES |
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