Fan device

Abstract

A fan arrangement comprising at least: an electric fan (10); a circuit board (12); the fan (10) is fixed on the circuit board (12) through which electric current can be supplied, and the fixing device (14) is used for fixing the circuit board (12) and the fan (10) on a third-party component, such as a mounting bar (16) in a switch cabinet.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a fan device comprising at least an electric fan. Background Art

[0002] An air conditioning component, in particular a cooling component, is known from EP3024310A2, which has at least a switch cabinet, which in a commonly used installation is provided with a supporting device having horizontally extending mounting strips during operation, and at its front side and facing the switch cabinet door, the electrical and / or electronic equipment to be air-conditioned are arranged in layers on top of each other and side by side, wherein an air conveying device is provided, by means of which an air flow from top to bottom can be forced to be generated on the back side of the supporting device, and the sub-air flows of the air flow pass between adjacent mounting strips to reach the front side of the mounting strips and reach the equipment to be air-conditioned arranged at the front side of the mounting strip, wherein, in order to specifically locally enhance the air conditioning effect, a device in the form of an electric fan that actively increases the flow speed of the relevant air flow is provided at at least one selected location that is spatially matched to the equipment to be air-conditioned.

[0003] In the known solution, a so-called built-in fan is used as an electrically operated fan which, for example, has only a very low heat loss input at a power consumption of 4 Watts and which can achieve the desired orientation of the generated air jet by means of the electric fan.

[0004] In this way, intensive air conditioning, in particular cooling, can be achieved for selected devices in the switch cabinet, so that the formation of heat nests (so-called hot spots) can be avoided by increased heat dissipation occurring in a localized manner. Summary of the invention

[0005] Starting from this prior art, the present invention is based on the object of further improving the known fan arrangement in this way.

[0006] The fan device having the features of claim 1 achieves this object in its entirety.

[0007] The fan device according to the present invention comprises at least an electric fan, a circuit board and a fixing device, wherein the fan is fixed to the circuit board and can be supplied with current through the circuit board, and the fixing device is used to fix the circuit board and the fan to a third-party component, such as a mounting bar in a switch cabinet.

[0008] Since the printed circuit board is a carrier for electronic components that is suitable in principle, the printed circuit board is used for mechanical fixing and electrical connection, wherein the printed circuit board used here consists of an electrically insulating material with electrically conductive connections in the form of a plurality of individual conductor tracks attached to the electrically insulating material. Fiber-reinforced plastic should be used as insulating material, while the conductor tracks mentioned are preferably etched from a thin layer of copper. Thus, in the present invention, the printed circuit board is used to fix the corresponding fan and to realize the current supply of the fan, which is realized in a cost-effective and space-saving manner and can save the otherwise common high wiring expenditure.

[0009] Due to the fastening device, the combination of fan and printed circuit board can be fastened in a removable manner at a defined location in the switch cabinet to a third component, such as a mounting strip in the switch cabinet, so that adjacently arranged electrical and / or electronic components can be temperature-controlled, in particular cooled. If a different positioning of the fan device in the switch cabinet proves to be suitable during operation, the fan device can also be repositioned without problems. Since the combination of fan, printed circuit board and fastening device requires very little installation space, the solution mentioned is also suitable in a particularly suitable manner for very small switch cabinets, which, for example, have only one switch cabinet door.

[0010] The electric fans used here can be operated with conventional 24 volts, and when using additional power supply components, the 24 volts can also be stepped down to 12 volts, so that 12 volt fans can also be used. The use of 12 volt fans allows energy-saving operation in particular and also enables reliable cooling inside small switch cabinets, even when a correspondingly large heat development occurs.

[0011] In a preferred embodiment of the fan device according to the invention, it is provided that the printed circuit board has a plurality of individual conductor tracks which are provided with at least one cable clamp for connecting an electrical conductor which is connected to a current supply source, preferably in the form of a power grid. In this respect, otherwise electrically insulated conductors or correspondingly free strands of a cable can be connected to the cable clamp in a removable manner by means of a plug connection or a clamping connection and thus establish an electrical connection with the connected associated conductor tracks. In this respect, the wiring effort for establishing an electrical connection to the fan device in the switch cabinet is significantly reduced and is also designed to be safe, which increases operational safety.

[0012] In another preferred embodiment of the fan device according to the invention, it is provided that, in order to realize the parallel connection of at least two fans, two cable clamps are arranged on the circuit board and connected to the associated conductor paths. In this way, so-called fan groups can be realized, which have a plurality of fans arranged spatially side by side, in order to increase the fan power in the case of a plurality of individual fans of identical construction.

[0013] In another preferred embodiment of the fan device, it is provided that the circuit board has an opening which forms an inlet opening for a fan, preferably designed as an axial flow fan. Preferably, the opening in the circuit board is overlapped by a fan cover strip, which is preferably cross-shaped or arc-shaped, and which is at least partially fixed to the circuit board with its free end and simultaneously forms part of a holder for a fan housing of the fan. In this way, the air inlet opening of the fan, in particular the axial flow fan, is integrated into the circuit board in a space-saving manner and preferably an air flow in the switch cabinet in a conventional installation arrangement of the switch cabinet is achieved during operation in the direction from top to bottom by means of the axial flow fan.

[0014] In another embodiment of the fan device according to the invention, it is provided that the fixing device is connected to the circuit board in a plate-shaped manner as an extension of the circuit board and has at least one elastically yielding clamping body, the clamping gap of which is smaller than the wall thickness of the third-party component, especially the third-party component in the form of a mounting strip, which can be provided in the initial position before the clamping position is taken. In this way, a fixing possibility is created for the fan device in the switch cabinet, in which the cooling air flow is guided from top to bottom in the rear area of ​​the switch cabinet, and the structural elements to be cooled are arranged in the front area of ​​the switch cabinet, wherein the front area and the rear area are separated from each other by a carrier device with a mounting strip and a wiring comb arranged thereon. In this regard, the cable wiring structure for the fan can be well approached on such a mounting strip arrangement structure together with the front side of the carrier device. Due to the plate-shaped, forward-extending fixing device with a cable guide, a pairing weight is formed, which relieves the load of the clamping body in the clamping position and thus leads to an improved clamping effect at the mounting strip.

[0015] For this purpose, the clamping body projects toward the same side as the fan, and the fastening device has a plurality of individual through-holes on its side facing away from the circuit board for guiding electrical conductors at least partially from a power supply source to an attachable cable clamp on the upper side of the fan device as a whole. Preferably, the clamping body is located in the same mounting plane as a terminal comb laterally adjacent to the fan device, which terminal comb is placed on the mounting strip.

[0016] In order to achieve such a balanced arrangement, which is maintained even when the fan is in operation and there are vibrations introduced into the structure due to the fan blades, it is advantageous if the plate-shaped fixing device is designed in an angled manner and is fixed to the circuit board with one sub-region by means of the clamping body on the bottom side of the circuit board in the direction of the fan housing of the fan, and the other sub-region is arranged on the top side as an extension of the circuit board extending in a common plane. The fan housing, which is preferably made of plastic, has a thermal insulation effect, while the plate-shaped fixing device, which is preferably made of a metal material, with its lead-through for guiding the conductors, allows good heat dissipation in the air-conditioning area of ​​the front side of the switch cabinet. It has proven to be particularly advantageous here if the clamping body is arranged on the opposite bottom side of the fixing device in a plane transverse to the common plane formed by the top side of the circuit board and the fixing device, so that the fan in one direction and the fixing device with the cable lead-through on the other side extend out of the mounting bar by the same distance.

[0017] The present invention also relates to an air conditioning component, in particular a cooling component, which has at least a switch cabinet, wherein the switch cabinet has at least one horizontally extending mounting strip, and electrical and / or electronic equipment to be air-conditioned are arranged in layers one on top of the other and side by side at the front side of the mounting strip and facing at least one switch cabinet door, wherein an air conveying device is provided, by means of which an air flow from top to bottom can be forced to be generated on the back side of the corresponding mounting strip, and in order to achieve a targeted air conditioning effect, a fan device that actively increases the flow speed of the relevant sub-air flow is provided at at least one selected location that is spatially matched to the equipment to be air-conditioned, the fan device comprising the above-mentioned electric fan together with a circuit board and a combination of relevant fixing devices, which form a structural unit.

[0018] In another advantageous embodiment, it can be provided that a plurality of horizontally extending mounting bars are part of the support device in the switch cabinet, and that the partial air flows of the air flow pass between the vertically adjacent mounting bars to the front side of the mounting bars and to the devices to be air-conditioned which are arranged at the front side of the mounting bars. In this way, intensive air conditioning, in particular cooling, can be achieved for the selected devices, so that the formation of heat nests (so-called hot spots) can be avoided by increased heat dissipation in a punctiform manner, which also applies to switch cabinets with particularly small dimensions. In particular, when using the fan device according to the invention, additional air conditioning measures such as heat exchangers, cold plates, ball fans, etc. can be omitted. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] The fan device according to the present invention is described in detail below with the aid of an embodiment. Here, it is shown in a schematic and not to scale diagram:

[0020] Figure 1 shows a perspective top view of the fan device as a whole;

[0021] Figure 2 Show according to Figure 1 A side view of a fan device;

[0022] Figure 3 A top view showing a layer of a circuit board for a fan;

[0023] Figure 4 Shown in a fixed state fixed to the mounting bar Figure 1 and Figure 2 The fan assembly shown in ; and

[0024] Figure 5 Shown with a total of three side-by-side arrangements according to Figure 1 The fan device Figure 4 A perspective side view of the mounting bar shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] Figure 1 The fan device shown in FIG. 1 comprises at least an electric fan 10, a circuit board 12 and a fixing device 14 as a whole. The fan 10 is fixed to the circuit board 12 and can be supplied with current through the circuit board 12, wherein the fixing device 14 as a whole is used to fix the circuit board 12 and the fan 10 to a third-party component, for example, to a mounting strip (Montagesteg) in a switch cabinet ( Figure 4 and Figure 5 Such switch cabinets are prior art and are known in a large number of embodiments with one or more switch cabinet doors (see, by way of example, EP 3 024 310 A2).

[0026] In particular, according to Figure 3As shown in a top view of a layer 18 of a printed circuit board 12, one conductor track 20 is configured as the positive pole + and the other conductor track 22 is configured as the negative pole -, which are connected together at a connection point 24 of the layer 18, and the electric motor (not shown) of the fan 10 is electrically connected to the connection point. At the other end, the conductor tracks 20, 22 lead to a plurality of individual contact-conducting points 26, forming a plurality of pairs 28 and 30, which once serve as the positive pole + and once as the negative pole -. Each pair 28, 30 has a cable clamp 32 and 34 (Kabelklemme), which in the usual way releases a cable opening in the front area 36 when pressed by applying finger force, and the electrically connected stranded wires of the insulated conductor or cable can be introduced into the cable opening. When the stranded wire is introduced accordingly, the free opening cross section is reduced due to the removal of the finger force and the spring load, and the wire is clamped and fixed in the corresponding cable clamp 32, 34 when conducting current. The electric motor of the fan 10 can then be connected via corresponding connecting cables (not shown) to a voltage or current supply source, for example in the form of a 24 V power supply or using a power supply element with a reduced supply voltage of preferably 12 V. The fan 10 is supplied with power via the current-carrying connection of the first cable clamp 32 and, in the case of a parallel connection via the further second cable clamp 32, current is ensured on the input side for a further fan 38 preferably connected in series, which in turn can accordingly supply power to a third fan 40 (see Figure 5 ), which is connected with its input side to the output side of the fan 38.

[0027] So outside Figure 3 It can be seen in FIG. 1 that the printed circuit board 12 has a circular opening 42 which forms an inlet opening for the fan 10 which is designed as an axial fan.

[0028] So outside Figure 1 As shown in FIG. 1 , the opening 42 in the circuit board 12 is overlapped upward by a fan cover strip 44, which is fixed to the circuit board 12 with its free end in a right-angled arc shape and at the same time forms a part of a holder 46 for a fan housing 48 of the fans 10, 38, 40. For this purpose, the holder 46 has four individual screws 50, which penetrate the fan housing 48 at the free corner area of ​​the fan housing and fix the fan housing 48 to the bottom side of the circuit board 12 by means of corresponding screw connections. The through-acting opening 52 provided for the retaining screws 50 is Figure 3 In addition to the two arc-shaped fan cover strips 44, the fan cover strips 44 are Figure 1In the viewing direction, further circular fan cover strips 54 with different diameters are adjacent thereto, which ensure that individual fan blades 56 of the respective fan 10, 38, 40 cannot be accidentally touched by hand, especially during operation. In this way, the respective fan blades 56 are also protected from damage from the outside. Overall, the respective fan 10, 38, 40 is designed as an axial fan and in operation according to Figure 1 In addition, all fans 10, 38, 40 are constructed identically in structure and are composed of similar parts, which helps to reduce manufacturing costs.

[0029] Thus, in addition to the figure and especially from Figure 2 As shown in FIG. 1 , the fixing device 14 is connected to the circuit board 12 in a plate-shaped manner as an extension of the circuit board 12. The fixing device 14 has a clamping body 58 on its underside with two clamping legs 60 that yield elastically relative to each other and delimit a clamping gap 62 between them. Figure 2 In the initial position shown in FIG. 1 , before the clamping position is assumed, the free width of the clamping gap 62 is in any case smaller than the configurable wall thickness of the third-party component (here in the form of the mounting strip 16) to which the fan device is to be fixed, which is particularly due to the fact that Figure 4 Thus, the fan device is fixed to the configurable mounting strip 16 with a pre-set clamping force. Accordingly, the clamping body 58 extends toward the same side as the fan 10 together with its fan housing 48.

[0030] In addition, according to Figure 1 As can be seen from the figure, the fixing device 14 has a plurality of individual through-portions 66 on its side 64 facing away from the circuit board 12, which are implemented as longitudinal slots and are arranged parallel to each other, respectively used to guide individual cables, which are guided to the configurable cable clamps 32, 34. In this way, the cable guidance and especially the cable fixing at the cable clamps 32, 34 are reduced in tension, so that a reliable connection structure is established in the clamping openings of the cable clamps 32, 34 by the twisted wire.

[0031] So outside Figure 2 As shown in FIG. 1 , the plate-shaped fixing device 14 is bent along two folding lines 68 and is fixed with a sub-area 70 thereof together with the clamping body 58 on the underside of the circuit board 12 in the direction of the fan housing 48 of the fan 10. This is done using two rivets 72, which are fixed according to the embodiment of the present invention. Figure 314 and 15. The clamping bodies 58 extend in an imaginary vertical plane transverse to the common plane formed by the upper side of the circuit board 12 and the fastening device 14 and are otherwise arranged on the opposite lower side of the fastening device 14.

[0032] The invention also relates to an air conditioning assembly, in particular a cooling assembly, having at least a switch cabinet, as shown by way of example in EP 3024310 A2, which has at least one mounting bar 16 extending horizontally in the operating position of the switch cabinet, at whose front side 78 and in this respect facing at least one switch cabinet door (not shown), the electrical and / or electronic equipment to be air conditioned are arranged in layers one above the other and side by side. With regard to this arrangement, reference is also made to the aforementioned EP 3024310 A2 ( Figure 3 ).

[0033] exist Figure 4 and Figure 5 In the viewing direction, the corresponding fans 10, 38, 40 can be used to force air flow from top to bottom, wherein, for a targeted air conditioning effect, a fan device that actively increases the flow speed of the relevant air flow is provided at at least one selected location that is spatially matched with the device to be air-conditioned, and the fan device is arranged according to Figure 3 In the embodiment of the present invention, the fan device is composed of three fan devices with fans 10, 38, 40 arranged side by side.

[0034] A plurality of individual wiring combs 80 may be used on the mounting strip 16 (which are located at Figure 5 The cable routing for electrical and electronic devices is carried out by means of a cable comb 80, which is only depicted in a stylized manner. In this regard, the extension is interrupted by means of a cable comb 80, so that the individual fan devices with fans 10, 38, 40 can be inserted into the gap created in this way. In this respect, the clamping body 58 overlaps with its clamping gap 62 with the free outer bar end 82 of each mounting bar 16 (see Figure 4 ).

[0035] The invention is particularly special in that a holder in the form of a single-layer or multi-layer printed circuit board 12 is provided for each fan 10, 38, 40. The fan device can be placed as a unit on the mounting bar 16 in the switch cabinet in a predeterminable grid size, wherein the mentioned grid size takes into account the required grid with the wiring combs 80. The printed circuit board 12 thus serves as a central mechanical load-bearing element, which can be additionally equipped with electronic components, for example in the form of the conductor tracks 20, 22 shown. However, there is also the possibility of arranging additional sensor devices, for example in the form of temperature sensors, on the printed circuit board 12, which can be supplied with current via cable guides 84 in the form of angular cutouts arranged on the sides of the printed circuit board 12, and in particular in this way their measured data can be transmitted to a central evaluation device.

[0036] Due to the conductor line guide, the cable clamps 32, 34 used as connection clamps can also be integrated on the circuit board 12 within the scope of the electrical control of the corresponding fans 10, 38, 40. As already explained, the clamps 32, 34 for connecting and operating the corresponding fans 10, 38, 40 can be approached from the front through the front side 78 and can be operated in the installed state installed in the switch cabinet. In this way, the electrical supply wires can be connected without error in the shortest time, which is conducive to timely installation. In particular, the placement of the fans 10, 38, 40 behind the structural group in the switch cabinet can also be achieved afterwards with minimal installation costs. In addition to installing sensors, it is also possible to directly use the power grid components on the circuit board 12 in addition or alternatively to achieve voltage conversion from 24 volts to 12 volts without having to add other external components. This does not have a corresponding solution in the prior art.

Claims

1. A fan device, comprising at least: - an electric fan (10); - a circuit board (12); and - fixing means (14); The fan (10) is fixed to the circuit board (12), current can be supplied through the circuit board (12), and the fixing device (14) is used to fix the circuit board (12) and the fan (10) to a third-party component, such as a mounting strip (16) in a switch cabinet.

2. The fan device according to claim 1, characterized in that The printed circuit board (12) has a plurality of individual conductor tracks (20, 22) which are provided with at least one cable clamp (32, 34) for connecting an electrical conductor which is connected to a power supply source, preferably in the form of a power grid element.

3. The fan device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: In order to realize the parallel connection of at least two fans (10, 38, 40), two cable clamps (32, 34) are arranged on the printed circuit board (12) and connected to the associated conductor tracks (20, 22).

4. A fan device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The printed circuit board (12) has an opening (42) which forms an inlet opening for a fan (10), which is preferably designed as an axial fan.

5. A fan device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The opening (42) in the circuit board (12) is overlapped by a fan cover strip (44), which is preferably in a cross shape or an arc shape. The fan cover strip is at least partially fixed to the circuit board (12) with its free end and forms a part of a holding portion (46) of a fan housing (48) for the fan (10).

6. A fan device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The fixing device (14) is connected to the circuit board in a plate-shaped manner as an extension of the circuit board (12) and has at least one elastically yielding clamping body (58), the clamping gap (62) of which is smaller than the wall thickness that can be configured of a third-party component, in particular a third-party component in the form of a mounting strip (16) in an initial position before assuming the clamping position.

7. A fan device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The clamping body (58) projects toward the same side as the fan (10), and the fixing device (14) has a plurality of individual apertures (66) on its side (64) facing away from the printed circuit board (12) for guiding electrical conductors at least partially from a power supply source to an assignable cable clamp (32, 34).

8. A fan device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The plate-shaped fixing device (14) is designed in an angled manner and is fixed with one sub-region (70) thereof on the underside of the circuit board (12) in the direction of a fan housing (48) of the fan (10) by means of the clamping body (58), and the other sub-region (76) is arranged on the upper side as an extension of the circuit board (12) extending in a common plane.

9. A fan device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The clamping body (58) is arranged on the opposite underside of the fixing device (14) in a plane transverse to a common plane formed by the upper side of the printed circuit board (12) and the fixing device (14).

10. An air conditioning assembly, in particular a cooling assembly, comprising at least a switch cabinet, the switch cabinet having at least one horizontally extending mounting strip (16), on the front side (78) of the mounting strip and facing at least one switch cabinet door, the electrical and / or electronic equipment to be air conditioned are arranged in layers one above the other and side by side, wherein: An air conveying device is provided, by means of which an air flow from top to bottom can be forced to be generated on the back side of the corresponding mounting strip (16), and a fan device that actively increases the flow speed of the relevant air flow is provided at at least one selected location spatially associated with the device to be air-conditioned for a targeted air conditioning effect, characterized in that a fan device according to any of the preceding claims is used.

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