Fan device

Abstract

A fan device consists of at least - an electric fan (10), - a printed circuit board (12), and - a fastening device (14). The fan (10) is fastened to the printed circuit board (12) and can be supplied with electric current by the printed circuit board (12), and the fastening device (14) serves to fasten the printed circuit board (12) and the fan (10) to third components, such as mounting strips (16) in switchgear cabinets.

Description

[0001] FRIEDRICH LÜTZE GMBH

[0002] Bruckwiesenstr. 1 7-19, 71384 Weinstadt-Großheppach, Germany

[0003] Fan device

[0004] The invention relates to a fan device consisting at least of an electric fan.

[0005] EP 3 024 310 A2 discloses an air conditioning arrangement, in particular a cooling arrangement, comprising at least one switch cabinet which, in its usual operating configuration, is provided with a support device having horizontally extending mounting webs, on the front side of which, facing the switch cabinet doors, electrical and / or electronic devices to be air-conditioned are arranged in tiers above and next to one another, wherein an air conveying device is provided with which an air flow from top to bottom can be forced on the rear side of the support device, and wherein partial air flows of the air flow pass between adjacent mounting webs to the front side of the mounting webs and to devices to be air-conditioned which are attached to the front side of the mounting webs, wherein for a targeted, area-by-area reinforcement of the air conditioning effect at at least one selected,A device that actively increases the flow velocity of the relevant partial air flow is provided in the form of an electric fan at a location spatially assigned to a device to be air-conditioned. The known solution uses so-called built-in fans as electrically operated fans, which, for example, with a power consumption of 4 watts, have very low heat loss and allow the desired orientation of the generated air stream by means of the electric fan.

[0006] In this way, intensive air conditioning, especially cooling, can be achieved within a control cabinet for selected devices, so that the formation of heat pockets, known as hot spots, can be avoided by means of increased localized heat dissipation.

[0007] Based on this prior art, the invention is based on the object of further improving known fan devices.

[0008] A fan device having the features of patent claim 1 in its entirety solves this problem.

[0009] The fan device according to the invention consists of at least an electric fan, a printed circuit board, and a fastening device, wherein the fan is fastened to the printed circuit board and can be supplied with power via this printed circuit board and wherein the fastening device serves to fix the printed circuit board and fan to third-party components, such as mounting bars in control cabinets.

[0010] Because the printed circuit board is fundamentally suitable as a carrier for electronic components, it serves for mechanical fastening and electrical connection. The printed circuit boards used here are made of electrically insulating material with adhesive, conductive connections in the form of individual conductor tracks. Fiber-reinforced plastic is to serve as the insulating material, and the conductor tracks in question are preferably etched from a thin layer of copper. Thus, in the invention, the printed circuit board serves to mount the respective fan and implement its power supply. This is implemented in a cost-effective and space-saving manner, eliminating the otherwise usual high wiring effort.

[0011] Thanks to the mounting device, the combination of fan and circuit board can be removably attached to third-party components, such as mounting bars in control cabinets, at defined locations within the control cabinet, in order to regulate the temperature, and in particular, cool, of adjacent electrical and / or electronic components. Should a different positioning of the fan unit within the control cabinet prove advantageous during operation, the fan unit can also be easily implemented in this way. Since the combination of fan, circuit board, and mounting device requires extremely little installation space, the solution described is also particularly suitable for very compact control cabinets, for example, with only one control cabinet door.

[0012] The electric fans used here can be operated with conventional 24 volts, and with the use of an additional power supply, the 24 volts can also be regulated down to 12 volts, allowing the use of 12 volt fans. The use of 12 volt fans, in particular, allows for energy-efficient operation and ensures reliable cooling even in small, heat-generating control cabinets.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment of the fan device according to the invention, the circuit board has individual conductor tracks which, provided with at least one cable clamp, serve to connect electrical conductors connected to a power supply source, preferably in the form of a power supply unit. In this respect, the respective free strand of an otherwise electrically insulated conductor or cable can be detachably connected to the cable clamp via a plug-in or clamp connection, thus establishing an electrical connection to the associated conductor track. In this respect, the wiring effort required to establish an electrical connection to the fan device in the control cabinet is significantly reduced and, moreover, is designed to be safe, which increases operational reliability.

[0014] In a further preferred embodiment of the fan device according to the invention, two cable terminals are arranged on the circuit board and connected to the associated conductor tracks to enable a parallel connection of at least two fans. This allows the creation of so-called fan banks with several fans arranged spatially adjacent to one another, thus increasing the fan performance of individual fans of the same design.

[0015] In a further preferred embodiment of the fan device, the circuit board has an opening which forms the inlet opening for the fan, which is preferably designed as an axial fan. The opening in the circuit board is preferably overlapped by fan webs, preferably in an arc or cross shape, which are at least partially fastened to the circuit board with their free ends and simultaneously form part of the holder for a fan housing of the fan. In this way, the intake opening of the fan, in particular of the axial fan, is integrated into the circuit board in a space-saving manner, and an air flow in a top-to-bottom direction is preferably achieved by means of the axial fan in the control cabinet in its usual installation arrangement during operation.

[0016] In a further embodiment of the fan device according to the invention, it is provided that the fastening device in plate form adjoins the circuit board as an extension of the latter and has at least one elastically flexible clamping body whose clamping gap, in the initial position before assuming a clamping position, is smaller than the assignable wall thickness of the third component, in particular in the form of the mounting web. In this way, a fastening option for the fan device within the switch cabinet is created, in which a cooling air flow is guided from top to bottom in a rear area of ​​the switch cabinet and the components to be cooled are arranged in the front area of ​​the switch cabinet, wherein the front and rear areas are separated from one another by the support device with the mounting webs and the wiring combs arranged thereon.The fan's wiring is easily accessible on the front of the mounting bracket assembly and support structure. The forward-extending plate-shaped mounting structure with the cable guide creates a kind of counterweight, which relieves the load on the clamp body parts in the clamped position and thus improves the clamping effect on the mounting bracket.

[0017] For this purpose, the terminal body protrudes on the same side as the fan, and on the side facing away from the circuit board, the fastening device has individual openings for at least partially routing the electrical conductors from the power supply source to the associated cable terminal on the top of the fan device as a whole. Preferably, the terminal bodies are located in the same installation plane as the wiring combs adjacent to the sides of the respective fan device, which are mounted on the mounting bars.

[0018] To achieve this balanced arrangement, which is maintained even during fan operation with vibrations introduced into the structure by the fan blades, it is advantageous if the plate-shaped fastening device is offset and one section, with the terminal body on the underside of the circuit board, is attached to the circuit board in the direction of the fan housing, while the other section is arranged on the top side as an extension of the circuit board in a common plane. The fan housing, preferably made of plastic, has a thermally insulating effect, and the plate-shaped fastening device, preferably made of a metal material, with its openings for the conductor routing, allows for good heat dissipation in the front air conditioning area of ​​the control cabinet.It has proven particularly advantageous that the terminal body is arranged in a plane transverse to the common plane formed by the top side of the circuit board and the fastening device, on the opposite underside of the fastening device, so that the fan projects over a mounting web by the same distance in one direction and the fastening device with the cable openings on the other side.

[0019] The invention further relates to an air conditioning arrangement, in particular a cooling arrangement, at least comprising a switch cabinet with at least one horizontally running mounting web, on the front side of which and facing at least one switch cabinet door, electrical and / or electronic devices to be air-conditioned are arranged in tiers above and next to one another, wherein an air conveying device is provided with which an air flow from top to bottom can be forced on the rear side of the respective mounting web, and wherein, for a targeted air conditioning effect, a fan device is provided at at least one selected location spatially associated with a device to be air-conditioned, which fan device actively increases the flow velocity of the relevant partial air flow, consisting of the aforementioned combination of an electric fan with a printed circuit board and associated fastening device, which are combined to form a structural unit.In a further advantageous embodiment, several horizontally extending mounting bars can be provided as part of a support device in the control cabinet, and partial air flows of the air flow between vertically adjacent mounting bars reach the front of the mounting bars and the devices to be air-conditioned, which are attached to the front of the mounting bars. This enables intensive air conditioning, particularly cooling, for selected devices, so that the formation of hot spots can be avoided by increased localized heat dissipation, which also applies to extremely small-sized control cabinets. In particular, the use of fan devices according to the invention eliminates the need for additional air-conditioning measures such as heat exchangers, gold plates, roller fans, etc.

[0020] In the following, the fan device according to the invention is explained in more detail using an exemplary embodiment. In this case, the following are schematic and not to scale illustrations:

[0021] Figure 1 is a perspective top view of the fan device as a whole;

[0022] Figure 2 shows a side view of the fan device after

[0023] Figure 1 ;

[0024] Figure 3 is a plan view of one layer of the circuit board used for a fan;

[0025] Figure 4 shows the fan device shown in Figures 1 and 2 in the fixed state on a mounting bridge; and

[0026] Figure 5 shows a perspective side view of the mounting bracket shown in Figure 4 with a total of three adjacent fan devices according to Figure 1. The fan device shown in Figure 1 as a whole consists of at least one electric fan 10, a printed circuit board 12, and a fastening device 14. The fan 10 is fastened to the printed circuit board 12 and can be supplied with power via this printed circuit board 12, wherein the fastening device 14 as a whole serves to secure the printed circuit board 12 and fan 10 to third-party components, such as mounting brackets (Figures 4 and 5) in control cabinets. Such control cabinets are state of the art and are known in a variety of embodiments with one or more control cabinet doors (see, for example, EP 3 024 310 A2).

[0027] As shown in particular in the top view of a layer 18 of the circuit board 12 according to Figure 3, one conductor track 20 is designed as a positive pole + and another conductor track 22 as a negative pole -, which together terminate at a connection point 24 of layer 18, to which the electric motor (not shown) of the fan 10 is electrically connected. At the other end, the conductor tracks 20, 22 terminate in individual contact points 26, forming pairs 28 and 30, one functioning as a positive pole + and the other as a negative pole -. Each pair 28, 30 has a cable clamp 32, 34, which, when pressed in the usual manner by applying finger force, each releases a cable opening in the front region 36 into which an electrical connecting strand of an otherwise insulated conductor or cable can be inserted.When each wire is inserted, the free opening cross-section is reduced by removing the finger force and spring-loaded, and the wire is clamped in the respective cable terminal 32, 34 in a current-carrying manner. In this way, the electric motor of the fan 10 can be connected to a voltage or power supply source via appropriate connecting cables (not shown), for example in the form of a 24-volt supply or using a power supply with a reduced supply voltage of preferably 12 volts.By the current-carrying connection of the first cable terminal 32, the fan 10 is supplied and by implementing a parallel connection via the further second cable terminal 32, the power supply of a further fan 38, preferably connected in series, is secured on the input side, which in turn can supply a third fan 40 accordingly (see Figure 5), which is connected with its input side to the output side of the fan 38.

[0028] As can be further seen from Figure 3, the circuit board 12 has a circular opening 42 which forms the inlet opening for the fan 10, which is designed as an axial fan.

[0029] As can also be seen from Figure 1, the opening 42 in the printed circuit board 12 is overlapped at the top by fan webs 44, which are each attached in an arc shape at right angles to the printed circuit board 12 with their free ends, and at the same time form part of the holder 46 for a fan housing 48 of the fan 10, 38, 40. For this purpose, the holder 46 has four individual bolts 50 which penetrate the free corner areas of the fan housing 48, and the fan housing 48 is fixed to the underside of the printed circuit board 12 by means of a corresponding screw connection. The access openings 52 provided for this purpose for the retaining bolts 50 are shown in the form of holes in Figure 3.In addition to the two curved fan webs 44, as viewed in the direction of Figure 1, further circular fan webs 54 with different diameters are arranged underneath, ensuring that unintentional manual access to the individual fan blades 56 of the respective fan 10, 38, 40 is not possible, particularly during operation. This also protects the respective fan blades 56 from external damage. Overall, the respective fan 10, 38, 40 is designed as an axial fan and, during operation, forces the air from top to bottom as shown in Figure 1. Furthermore, all fans 10, 38, 40 are structurally identical and composed of identical parts, which helps reduce manufacturing costs. As can be seen from the figures and in particular from Figure 2, the fastening device 14 in plate form is connected to the circuit board 12 as an extension of the latter.The fastening device 14 has a clamping body 58 on its underside with two mutually elastically flexible clamping legs 60, which define a clamping gap 62 between them. The free width of the clamping gap 62, in the initial position shown in Figure 2 before assuming a clamping position, is in any case smaller than the assignable wall thickness of the third component to which the fan device is to be attached, here in the form of the mounting web 16, which is particularly evident from the illustration in Figure 4. As a result, the fan device is attached to the assignable mounting web 16 with a predeterminable clamping force. Accordingly, the clamping body 58 protrudes to the same side as the fan 10 with its fan housing 48.

[0030] As further shown in Figure 1, the fastening device 14 has, on its side 64 facing away from the circuit board 12, individual openings 66, which are designed as longitudinal slots and arranged parallel to one another, each serving to guide a single cable that is routed to the associated cable terminals 32, 34. In this way, the cable routing and, in particular, the cable fastening to the cable terminals 32, 34 are relieved of tensile forces, so that a secure connection is established via the stranded wires in the terminal openings of the cable terminals 32, 34.

[0031] As can further be seen from Figure 2, the plate-shaped fastening device 14 is designed to be offset along two groove lines 68 and is secured to the underside of the printed circuit board 12 by one of its partial areas 70, together with the clamping body 58, in the direction of the fan housing 48 of the fan 10. This is achieved using two rivets 72, which, as shown in Figure 3, pass through an associated opening 74 in the printed circuit board 12 opposite one another. The other partial area 76 is arranged as an extension of the printed circuit board 12 on the top side of the fan device, running in a common horizontal plane. In this way, the clamping body 58 runs in a fictitious vertical plane transverse to the common plane formed by the top side of the printed circuit board 12 and the fastening device 14, and is otherwise arranged on the opposite underside of the fastening device 14.

[0032] The invention also relates to an air conditioning arrangement, in particular a cooling arrangement, comprising at least one switch cabinet, as exemplified by EP 3 024 310 A2, with at least one mounting web 16 extending horizontally in the operating position of the switch cabinet, on the front side 78 of which, facing at least one switch cabinet door (not shown), electrical and / or electronic devices to be air-conditioned are arranged in tiers above and next to one another. Regarding this arrangement, reference is also made to the aforementioned EP 3 024 310 A2 (Figure 3).

[0033] With the respective fan 10, 38, 40, an air flow can be forced from top to bottom as viewed in the direction of Figures 4 and 5, wherein for a targeted air conditioning effect, a fan device which actively increases the flow speed of the air flow in question is provided at at least one selected location spatially associated with a device to be air-conditioned, which fan device in the embodiment according to Figure 3 consists of three fan devices with fans 10, 38, 40 arranged next to one another.

[0034] Individual wiring combs 80, which are only shown stylized in Figure 5, can be used on the mounting web 16 to guide the cables for the electrical and electronic devices. The wiring combs 80 are interrupted to allow the individual fan units with fans 10, 38, 40 to be inserted into the gap created in this way. The terminal body 58, with its clamping gap 62, overlaps the outer, free web end 82 of each mounting web 16 (see Figure 4).

[0035] The special feature of the invention lies, among other things, in having created a holder in the form of a single- or multi-layer printed circuit board 12 for the individual fans 10, 38, 40. The fan device as a unit can be used in a predeterminable grid spacing on mounting bars 16 in control cabinets, whereby the mentioned grid spacing takes into account the required grid with the wiring combs 80. The printed circuit board 12 thus serves as a central, mechanically supporting element that can additionally be equipped with electronic components, for example in the form of the conductor tracks 20, 22 shown. However, it is also possible to attach additional sensors to the printed circuit board 12, for example in the form of temperature sensors, which can be supplied with power via a cable guide 84 in the form of angular recesses arranged on the side of the printed circuit board 12 and, in particular, can transmit their measurement data to a central evaluation device.

[0036] Due to the conductor routing, the cable terminals 32, 34 serving as connection terminals can also be integrated into the circuit board 12 as part of the electrical control of the respective fans 10, 38, 40. As already explained, the terminals 32, 34 for connecting and operating the respective fans 10, 38, 40 are accessible from the front via the front panel 78 and can be operated while installed in the control cabinet. This allows the electrical supply lines to be connected quickly and error-free, thus promoting timely installation. In particular, this allows the fans 10, 38, 40 to be retrofitted behind modules in the control cabinet with minimal assembly effort.In addition to attaching sensors, a voltage conversion from 24 volts to 12 volts can also be implemented additionally or alternatively using power supply components directly on circuit board 12, without the need for additional external components. This has no equivalent in the state of the art.

Claims

Patent claims 1 . Fan device consisting of at least - an electric fan (10), - a printed circuit board (12), and - a fastening device (14), wherein the fan (10) is fastened to the circuit board (12) and can be supplied with power via this circuit board (12), and wherein the fastening device (14) serves to fix the circuit board (12) and the fan (10) to third-party components, such as mounting webs (16) in control cabinets.

2. Fan device according to claim 1, characterized in that the printed circuit board (12) has individual conductor tracks (20, 22) which, provided with at least one cable clamp (32, 34), serve to connect electrical conductors which are connected to a power supply source, preferably in the form of a power supply unit.

3. Fan device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that for the realization of a parallel connection of at least two fans (10, 38, 40), two cable terminals (32, 34) are arranged on the printed circuit board (12) and connected to the associated conductor tracks (20, 22).

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

5. Fan device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the opening (42) in the circuit board (12) is overlapped by fan webs (44), preferably in cross or arc shape. which, at least partially fastened with their free ends to the circuit board (12), simultaneously form part of the holder (46) for a fan housing (48) of the fan (10). Fan device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fastening device (14) in plate form adjoins the circuit board (12) as an extension of the latter and has at least one elastically flexible clamping body (58), the clamping gap (62) of which, in the initial position before assuming a clamping position, is smaller than the assignable wall thickness of the third component, in particular in the shape of the mounting web (16).Fan device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the terminal body (58) protrudes to the same side as the fan (10), and on its side (64) facing away from the circuit board (12), the fastening device (14) has individual openings (66) for at least partially guiding the electrical conductors from the power supply source to the associated cable terminal (32, 34). Fan device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the plate-shaped fastening device (14) is designed to be offset and is secured to the circuit board (12) by one of its partial regions (70) with the terminal body (58) on the underside of the circuit board in the direction of the fan housing (48) of the fan (10), and that the other partial region (76) is arranged on the upper side as an extension of the circuit board (12) and running in a common plane.Fan device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the terminal body (58) is in a plane transverse to the common plane, formed from the top side of the printed circuit board. (12) and fastening device (14) is arranged on the opposite underside of the fastening device (14). Air conditioning arrangement, in particular a cooling arrangement, at least comprising a switch cabinet with at least one horizontally extending mounting web (16), on the front side (78) of which, facing at least one switch cabinet door, electrical and / or electronic devices to be air-conditioned are arranged in tiers above and next to one another, wherein an air conveying device is provided with which an air flow from top to bottom can be forced on the rear side of the respective mounting web (16), and wherein, for a targeted air conditioning effect, a fan device that actively increases the flow velocity of the relevant air flow is provided at at least one selected location spatially associated with a device to be air-conditioned, characterized in that a fan device according to one of the preceding claims is used.

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