A fan wheel and a fan

Abstract

The application relates to a fan impeller for electronic and digital product heat dissipation occasions. The fan impeller comprises a hub and a plurality of blades arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction and extending radially from the hub, the plurality of blades comprise a plurality of first blades made of metal materials and a plurality of second blades made of plastic materials, and the radial length of the first blades is greater than that of the second blades; the fan impeller further comprises a first mute ring and a second mute ring arranged on the axial two sides of the blades respectively, the first mute ring and the second mute ring are fixedly connected with the radial outer ends of the blades, so that the radial outer ends of the blades are circularly limited and supported on the axial two sides. Through the combination of long metal blades and short plastic blades, the total number of blades is increased under the premise of controlling the rotational inertia, the air volume and air pressure are improved; through the double-sided mute ring, the outer edge of the blade is double-sidedly supported and constrained, the blade vibration and blade tip leakage are reduced, the operation noise is reduced, and the structural strength and reliability of the impeller are improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of fans, and in particular to impellers for cooling fans used in air conditioners and digital products. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, many digital products, such as laptops, use small, high-speed axial flow fans for airflow or heat dissipation. Existing fan impellers typically only have a sound-dampening ring on one side of the blade's axial direction, or none at all. Insufficient constraint on the outer edge of the blades easily leads to increased blade vibration, uneven stress on the sound-dampening ring, and even breakage, affecting airflow stability and service life. To reduce costs and control rotational inertia, blades are often made of a single material and the number of blades is limited, making it difficult to simultaneously achieve blade stiffness, airflow / pressure increase, and dynamic balance control. This easily results in insufficient airflow, excessive noise, and excessive imbalance. Current technology lacks a fan impeller structure that effectively constrains both sides of the blade's outer edge while considering blade strength, mass distribution, and noise performance. Summary of the Invention Summary of the Invention

[0003] This invention aims to solve the problems of insufficient blade edge constraint, difficulty in balancing blade strength and mass distribution, limited airflow and air pressure enhancement, and excessive operating noise in fan impellers used in digital products such as laptops. In existing technologies, impellers mostly use blades made of a single material, the number of blades is limited, and a silencing ring is usually only set on one side of the blade axis or not set at all. This leads to large vibrations and tip leakage eddies when the blades are running at high speeds, which not only affects the air supply / heat dissipation capacity of the whole machine, but also easily causes fatigue fracture of the silencing ring and poor dynamic balance, resulting in poor reliability.

[0004] Therefore, the present invention provides a fan impeller and a fan including the fan impeller. The fan impeller includes a hub and a plurality of blades arranged circumferentially and extending radially from the hub. The plurality of blades includes a plurality of first blades and a plurality of second blades, wherein the first blades are made of metal material, the second blades are made of plastic material, and the radial length of the first blades is greater than the radial length of the second blades.

[0005] Preferably, the first and second blades are arranged alternately circumferentially, with at least one second blade positioned between two adjacent first blades, and the number of second blades is not less than the number of first blades. This increases the total number of blades while controlling the moment of inertia, thereby improving airflow and air pressure. The impeller of this invention also includes a first and a second silencing ring respectively disposed on both sides of the blade's axial direction. Both the first and second silencing rings are fixedly connected to the radially outer ends of each blade, providing circumferential limiting and support for the outer edges of the blades on both sides of the axial direction. The first silencing ring is disposed on the air inlet side of the blade, and the second silencing ring is disposed on the air outlet side of the blade. The two silencing rings are axially opposite each other and respectively connected to the outer edges of each blade, forming a double-sided circumferential support structure. The first and / or second silencing rings can be integrally formed with the blades or fixed to the radially outer ends of the blades by insertion, riveting, welding, or adhesive bonding.

[0006] Furthermore, the installation angles of the first and second blades are set according to the flow channel principle of the fan impeller, so that a radial guide channel for guiding airflow is formed between the circumferentially adjacent first and second blades; simultaneously, the circumferential width and / or radial position of the first and second noise-reducing rings are set according to the blade rotation speed and diameter to reduce tip leakage and tip vortices. Based on the above fan impeller, The present invention also provides a fan, including a housing, a drive motor disposed within the housing, and a fan impeller mounted on the output shaft of the drive motor. The fan impeller is any of the fan impellers described above. The fan is preferably a cooling fan installed in a laptop computer, tablet computer, desktop computer, server, game console, or storage device.

[0007] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects: By combining a radially longer first metal blade with a radially shorter second plastic blade, and preferably making the number of second blades no less than the number of first blades, while ensuring the strength and stiffness of the key load-bearing blades, the total number of blades is increased by using lightweight plastic blades, which is beneficial to increase air volume and air pressure without significantly increasing mass and rotational inertia, and improves dynamic balance performance; by setting a first silencing ring and a second silencing ring on both sides of the blade axis respectively, a double-sided circumferential limit and support is formed on the outer edge of the blade, which significantly improves the constraint stiffness of the outer edge of the blade, reduces vibration and stress concentration, reduces the risk of silencing ring breakage, and effectively suppresses tip leakage and tip vortex by reasonably setting the circumferential width and radial position of the silencing ring, reducing operating noise; by determining the installation angle of the first and second blades according to the impeller flow channel principle of the wind pump, a continuous and smooth flow channel is formed between adjacent blades, which further improves airflow organization and improves the wind turbine's air delivery / heat dissipation efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0008] Figure 1This is a top view of the impeller structure of the wind turbine of the present invention.

[0009] Figure 2 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the wind turbine impeller of the present invention.

[0010] Figure 3 This is a partially enlarged view of the wind turbine impeller silencer ring and blades of the present invention.

[0011] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a blade in the impeller of the wind turbine of the present invention.

[0012] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the assembly of the fan and its impeller inside the casing of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0013] The fan impeller and fan provided in this application are mainly used for forced air cooling in various electronic and digital products, especially suitable for devices with limited installation space and high heat dissipation requirements, such as cooling fans in laptops, tablets, desktop computers, servers, game consoles, and storage devices. By increasing airflow and air pressure and reducing operating noise within a limited volume, the fan impeller of this application can significantly improve the heat dissipation performance and overall reliability of the aforementioned products. It can also be applied to other electronic devices requiring air cooling as needed. In this embodiment, as Figure 1 As shown, the hub 110 of the wind turbine impeller 100 includes a central mounting shaft 111 for cooperating with the motor output shaft and a disc-shaped hub body 112 integrally formed with the mounting shaft 111. An annular connecting seat 113 for connecting the inner ends of each blade is formed on the outer side of the hub body 112. Several limiting bosses or mounting holes for positioning the blades can be provided on the connecting seat 113. Through the above structural arrangement, the wind turbine impeller 100 of this application, while ensuring the blade assembly and noise reduction ring functions, has a more stable overall structure, facilitating assembly with motors and complete machine products of different specifications.

[0014] like Figure 2 and Figure 4 As shown, the fan impeller 100 is mounted on the output shaft of the fan motor and is used for conveying or dissipating airflow. A plurality of blades 120 extending radially outward from the hub 110 are arranged circumferentially at intervals on the outer side of the hub 110, including a plurality of first blades 121 and a plurality of second blades 122. The first blades 121 are preferably made of metal, such as stamped metal sheet; the second blades 122 are preferably made of plastic, such as injection molded. To ensure that the metal blades are the main load-bearing blades, in this embodiment, the radial length L1 of each first blade 121 is greater than the radial length L2 of each second blade 122.

[0015] like Figure 2 and Figure 3 In order to constrain the outer edge of the blade, a first silencing ring 131 and a second silencing ring 132 are respectively provided on both sides of the axial direction of the blade 120. The two silencing rings are in the form of a ring structure and are sleeved on the radial outer side of the blade 120. The first silencing ring 131 and the second silencing ring 132 are fixedly connected to the radial outer end of each first blade 121 and second blade 122. This can be achieved by integral molding, insertion or riveting, etc., so as to circumferentially limit and support the radial outer end of the blade on both sides of the axial direction, improve the rigidity and stability of the blade outer edge and help reduce operating noise.

[0016] In this embodiment, as Figure 1 As shown, a plurality of first blades 121 and a plurality of second blades 122 are arranged alternately along the circumference of the hub 110. Specifically, a first blade 121 is arranged at certain intervals along the circumference, and at least one second blade 122 is inserted between two adjacent first blades 121, so that the first blades 121 and the second blades 122 form repeating circumferential units. In this embodiment, each second blade 122 is located between two adjacent first blades 121, and the tip of the second blade 122 is connected to both the first silencing ring 131 and the second silencing ring 132. Through the above-mentioned alternating arrangement, on the one hand, the longer metal first blades 121, as the main load-bearing blades, provide sufficient rigidity and wind pressure; on the other hand, the shorter plastic second blades 122 are used to fill the flow channel between the two metal blades and increase the total number of blades, making the aerodynamic load and mass distribution of the impeller more uniform in the circumferential direction, which is beneficial to increasing the air volume and improving the dynamic balance performance.

[0017] In this embodiment, the first silencing ring 131 and the second silencing ring 132 are both closed ring structures and are arranged opposite each other in the axial direction. They are fixedly connected to the outer edge of each first blade 121 and second blade 122, thereby forming a double-sided circumferential support structure on the air inlet side and air outlet side of the blade, and clamping and limiting the outer edge of the blade.

[0018] When the impeller is working, the motor drives the impeller 100 to rotate at high speed. The airflow is drawn in from the inlet area near the hub, accelerated in the guide channel between the first blade 121 and the second blade 122, and transported radially outward. Because the first and second noise-reducing rings 131 and 132 form a closed loop around the outer edge of the blade 120, the inter-blade channel is enclosed at the outer edge by the two noise-reducing rings 130 and the blades, forming a nearly closed annular flow channel 134. This makes the impeller structure more similar to that of a wind pump (a centrifugal impeller with front and rear cover plates). The airflow undergoes circular motion within this annular flow channel 134 and is continuously worked upon, further increasing its kinetic energy and static pressure, thus achieving higher airflow and air pressure output under the same diameter and rotational speed conditions.

[0019] On the other hand, the first and second silencing rings 131 and 132 form double-sided support on the outer edge of the blade 120, which is equivalent to setting two reinforcing ribs at the free end of the blade. This significantly improves the bending and torsional stiffness of the outer edge of the blade and reduces blade vibration and deformation during high-speed rotation. Compared with structures with only a single-sided silencing ring or no silencing ring, in this embodiment, the two silencing rings 130 share the centrifugal load and aerodynamic force, which can reduce the peak stress and fatigue stress of a single silencing ring 130, reduce the risk of silencing ring 130 fracture, and improve the structural reliability of the impeller. At the same time, the double-sided silencing rings 130 effectively suppress tip leakage and tip vortices, reduce the additional losses and turbulent noise caused by airflow leakage from the blade tip, and enable the fan to achieve higher air volume and pressure while having lower operating noise and more stable aerodynamic performance.

[0020] In this embodiment, both the first blade 121 and the second blade 122 adopt a blade profile that curves backward along the direction of rotation, and their installation angles are set according to the flow channel principle of the pump impeller. Specifically, taking the tangent at the median diameter of the impeller 100 as a reference, the installation angle α1 of the first blade 121 at this position is preferably 20° to 40°, and in this embodiment, it is about 30°; the installation angle α2 of the second blade 122 at the median diameter is slightly smaller than that of the first blade 121, preferably 15° to 35°, and in this embodiment, it is about 25°, so as to form a gradually curved and contracting guide channel between adjacent first blades 121 and second blades 122.

[0021] From the perspective of airflow direction, at the blade inlet near the hub, the inlet placement angle β1 of the first blade 121 and the second blade 122 is preferably set to 15° to 25°, and in this embodiment it is about 20°, in order to reduce the angle of attack when the airflow enters the blade passage; at the blade outlet near the silent ring, the blade outlet placement angle β2 is preferably 60° to 75°, and in this embodiment it is about 68°, so that the airflow is sufficiently tangentially accelerated in the blade passage and then thrown radially outward at a certain backward bending angle, thereby taking into account both the increase in air volume and air pressure.

[0022] Furthermore, the mid-arc lines of the first blade 121 and the second blade 122 are preferably approximate circular arcs or spline curves, with the arc radius R being 0.6 to 0.8 times the outer diameter of the impeller. In this embodiment, R is approximately 0.7 times the outer diameter of the impeller 100, ensuring a smooth radial transition in the blade passage and avoiding significant diffusion abrupt changes. The blade chord length can be appropriately reduced radially to maintain continuous acceleration and moderate diffusion of the airflow as it passes through the blade passage. Through the aforementioned angle and arc settings, adjacent first blades 121 and second blades 122 form a continuous and smooth guide channel in the radial direction. Within this channel, the airflow is guided to perform circular motion and gain energy according to the principle of a wind pump impeller, thereby effectively increasing the air volume and air pressure of the fan impeller 100 under limited diameter conditions.

[0023] In this embodiment, the dimensions and positions of the first silencing ring 131 and the second silencing ring 132 are determined in conjunction with the diameter of the impeller 100 and the design speed. Taking a fan impeller for laptop cooling as an example, the outer diameter D of the impeller 100 is approximately 70 mm, and the rated speed is approximately 5000–7000 rpm. To effectively suppress tip leakage while considering strength and weight, the radial positions of the first silencing ring 131 and the second silencing ring 132 are preferably arranged near the outer edge of the blade, with their inner diameter D1 being smaller than the outer diameter of the blade, taking D1 < 0.6D, which is approximately 57 mm in this embodiment; the outer diameter of the silencing ring 130 is basically flush with or slightly larger than the outer edge of the blade, taking D2 ≈ (0.99–1.01) * D, so that the silencing ring 130 basically covers the tip area radially, thereby reducing the leakage channel between the tip and the external flow field. Regarding the circumferential width, the circumferential width W of the first silencer ring 131 and the second silencer ring 132 can be taken as 3% to 8% of the impeller outer diameter. In this embodiment, W is approximately 4 mm, i.e., W≈0.057D. This width ensures that the silencer ring 130 has sufficient cross-sectional area to withstand the centrifugal force and aerodynamic force of the blades, thereby improving the fatigue strength of the blade outer edge; on the other hand, it is not too wide, which would significantly increase the moment of inertia and channel resistance. For models with higher rotational speeds or larger impeller diameters, the radial coverage range and circumferential width of the silencer ring 130 can be appropriately increased. For example, D1 can be set to 0.94D, and W can be increased to 0.08D to further improve the sealing degree of the blade tip region. By optimizing the circumferential width and radial position of the silent ring 130 according to the blade diameter and design speed, a narrow and smooth gap channel is formed between the blade tip and the external flow field, which significantly reduces tip leakage and tip eddies, reduces turbulent noise generated during high-speed rotation, and improves the stiffness and fatigue resistance of the blade outer edge, thereby improving the overall aerodynamic and reliability indicators of the fan.

[0024] In this embodiment, combined with Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown in the structure, the first silencing ring 131 and the second silencing ring 132 are preferably integrally formed with the blade 120 or fixed by mechanical / adhesive means. Specifically, in one embodiment, the first silencing ring 131 and the second silencing ring 132 are integrally formed with the radial outer ends of the plurality of blades 120. For example, for the second blade 122 made of plastic material, the second blade 122 and the silencing rings 130 on both sides can be formed simultaneously by injection molding, so that there is no assembly gap between the silencing ring 130 and the outer edge of the blade 120, which further improves the connection strength and sealing performance, helps to suppress blade tip leakage and improve the overall rigidity of the blade outer edge.

[0025] In another embodiment, the first silencing ring 131 and / or the second silencing ring 132 are individually machined into annular components, with insertion grooves, riveting holes, welding pre-reserved portions, or adhesive bonding surfaces on their inner sides that mate with the outer ends of the blades 120. During assembly, the radially outer ends of the blades 120 are inserted into the insertion grooves on the inner side of the silencing rings 130 and fixed by means of rivets, spot welding, laser welding, or structural adhesive curing, so that the silencing rings 130 are reliably connected to the outer edges of each blade 120. Through the above-mentioned insertion, riveting, welding, or adhesive bonding methods, it is not only convenient to select the appropriate silencing ring 130 structure according to blades 120 of different materials and sizes, but also convenient to replace or repair the silencing rings 130 later. At the same time, it ensures that a stable circumferential connection is formed between the silencing rings 130 and the outer edges of the blades 120, thereby achieving effective support and limitation of the outer ends of the blades by the double-sided silencing rings 130.

[0026] In this embodiment, the fan 200 includes a housing 210, a drive motor 220 disposed within the housing 210, and a fan impeller 100 mounted on the output shaft 221 of the drive motor 220. The housing 210 is preferably made of metal or high-temperature resistant plastic material, and its inner cavity forms an installation space 101 for accommodating the fan impeller 100. An air inlet 211 and an air outlet 212 are provided axially or in the axial direction. The drive motor 220 is fixedly mounted on the housing 210, and the motor output shaft 221 extends into the inner cavity through the mounting hole of the housing 210. Its end is connected to the hub mounting hole of the fan impeller 100 through an interference fit or fasteners, so that the fan impeller 100 rotates synchronously with the motor output shaft 221. The fan impeller 100 includes a first blade 121 and a second blade 122, as well as a first noise reduction ring 131 and a second noise reduction ring 132 arranged on both sides of the outer edge of the blade 120, thereby achieving a high air volume, high air pressure and low noise air supply or exhaust effect in the flow channel defined by the housing 210.

[0027] In a preferred embodiment, the aforementioned fan 200 is installed as a cooling fan in the heat dissipation module inside digital products such as laptops, tablets, desktop computers, servers, game consoles, or storage devices. Taking a laptop as an example, the fan housing 210 is fixed to the bottom shell or mid-frame of the entire machine by screws or clips. The fan inlet 211 is connected to the air intake grille on the bottom or side wall of the housing, and the outlet 212 is arranged opposite to the heat dissipation fin assembly or air guide shroud, forming a closed or semi-closed heat dissipation air duct. When the drive motor 220 drives the fan impeller 100 to rotate, external cold air is drawn in through the air inlet 211 and accelerated in the guide channel formed by the first blade 121, the second blade 122, and the double-sided silent rings 130. Subsequently, carrying the heat from the heat-generating components such as the CPU, GPU, and memory chips conducted through the heat pipes / heat sinks, it is discharged to the outside of the entire machine through the outlet 212, achieving efficient air cooling for the key electronic components of the aforementioned digital products. Similarly, in desktop computers, servers, game consoles, or storage devices, the fan 200 of this embodiment can be used as a system cooling fan simply by adjusting the size and interface shape of the casing 210 according to the installation space and airflow requirements.

Claims

1. A wind turbine impeller, comprising a hub and a plurality of blades spaced circumferentially and extending radially from the hub, characterized in that: The plurality of blades includes a plurality of first blades and a plurality of second blades. The first blade is made of metal, and the second blade is made of plastic. The radial length of the first blade is greater than the radial length of the second blade; It also includes a first silencing ring and a second silencing ring respectively disposed on both sides of the blade axial direction. The first silencing ring and the second silencing ring are fixedly connected to the radial outer end of each blade to circumferentially limit the radial outer end of the blade on both sides of the blade axial direction.

2. The fan impeller as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The first blade and the second blade are arranged alternately in the circumferential direction. And at least one second blade is disposed between two adjacent first blades.

3. The fan impeller as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The number of the second blade is not less than the number of the first blade, so as to increase the air volume and air pressure by increasing the total number of blades.

4. The fan impeller as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The first and / or the second noise ring are integrally formed with the blade, or the noise ring is fixed to the radial outer end of the blade by means of insertion, riveting, welding or gluing.

5. The fan impeller as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The circumferential width and / or radial position of the first and second silencing rings are set according to the rotational speed and diameter of the blade.

6. A fan, characterized in that, It includes a housing, a drive motor disposed within the housing, and a fan impeller mounted on the output shaft of the drive motor, wherein the fan impeller is the fan impeller as described in any one of claims 1-5.

7. The fan as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The fan is a cooling fan installed in laptops, tablets, desktop computers, servers, game consoles, and storage devices.

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