Impeller, blower, and garment with blower
The impeller with notched blades addresses noise issues in high-output fans by reducing wind noise through phase cancellation, enhancing quiet operation.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- JP2024020104
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-02-14
- Publication Date
- 2025-08-26
AI Technical Summary
Increasing motor output in fans to enhance cooling capacity results in undesirable noise levels, particularly in quiet environments.
An impeller with radially arranged blades featuring notches at the leading edges to reduce noise generation.
Suppresses wind noise by canceling out noise wavelengths through phase differences created by the notches, providing a quieter operation.
Smart Images

Figure 2025124209000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
[Technical Field]
[0001] The present invention relates to an impeller provided in a blower attached to a garment body for blowing outside air into the garment body, a blower equipped with the impeller, and a garment equipped with the blower. [Background technology]
[0002] In order to mitigate the occurrence of heat stroke and other problems in workplaces under high temperature or during summer leisure activities, clothing with a blower (cooling clothing) that cools the inside of the clothing (hereinafter referred to as the "clothing body") by supplying outside air into the clothing body has been put into practical use (see, for example, Patent Document 1 below). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]
[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2019-214948 [Patent Document 2] Registered Utility Model No. 3228173 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]
[0004] This type of garment with a fan is designed to have a fan attached to a hole drilled in an appropriate location on the garment body, and outside air is sent into the garment body through the fan. The fan typically has an impeller (fan) with multiple blades that is rotated by a motor, and for safety reasons, the impeller (and motor) are surrounded by a guard.
[0005] Recently, in order to improve the cooling capacity of clothing equipped with a fan, measures have been taken to increase the motor output in the fan, thereby increasing the number of rotations per unit time of the impeller and thereby increasing the air intake capacity of the fan.
[0006] However, increasing the motor output of the blower increases noise such as wind noise generated by the impeller. While a slight increase in noise volume is not considered a problem in situations where noise generated by the impeller is not a concern, for example, when playing golf, an increase in noise volume may be undesirable in situations where quietness is required.
[0007] The present invention was developed in consideration of the above technical problems, and aims to provide a novel impeller that suppresses an increase in the volume of noise, a blower equipped with the impeller, and blower-equipped clothing equipped with the blower. [Means for solving the problem]
[0008] The impeller of the present invention, which solves the above technical problems, is an impeller provided in a blower that is attached to a garment body and sends outside air into the garment body, and is characterized in that it has a plurality of radially arranged blades, and that the leading edges of the blades are provided with notches that create steps (hereinafter referred to as the "impeller of the present invention").
[0009] In the impeller of the present invention, it is preferable that the notch is provided at the corner formed by the leading edge and the blade tip of the blade.
[0010] In the impeller of the present invention, a preferred embodiment is one in which the width of the notch is 5 to 50% of the length of the leading edge of the blade.
[0011] In the impeller of the present invention, a preferred embodiment is one in which the depth of the notch is 5 to 50% of the length of the blade tip of the blade.
[0012] The blower of the present invention, which solves the above technical problems, is characterized by including the impeller of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "the blower of the present invention").
[0013] The garment with a blower of the present invention, which solves the above technical problems, is characterized by comprising the above-mentioned blower of the present invention and a garment body (hereinafter referred to as "garment of the present invention"). [Effects of the Invention]
[0014] According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the generation of noise such as wind noise. [Brief explanation of the drawings]
[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an impeller according to the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a front view and a partially enlarged view of the impeller of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of a blower of the present invention equipped with the impeller of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a front view showing another embodiment of the impeller of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a front view showing an embodiment of the garment of the present invention to which the air blower of the present invention is attached. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0016] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.
[0017] <Impeller 1 of the present invention> 1 and 2 show one embodiment of the impeller 1 of the present invention. The impeller of the present invention comprises a plurality of "blades (12)" arranged radially.
[0018] -Feather 12- The blades 12 play a role in generating a unidirectional airflow. In this embodiment, the blades 12 are eboshi-shaped and are radially arranged on the circumferential wall of a hollow cylindrical boss 11 having through-holes 110 on its end surface to form a seven-blade rotor. In the present invention, a notch 121 that provides a step is provided on the leading edge (L) of the blade 12. As shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, the notch 121 is provided at the corner formed by the leading edge (L) and the blade tip (B) of the blade 12.
[0019] <Blower 10 of the present invention> Figure 3 shows one embodiment of a blower 10 of the present invention. The blower 10 of the present invention comprises the impeller 1 of the present invention, a "motor (2)" that applies a rotational force to the impeller 1 of the present invention, and a "guard (3)" that surrounds the impeller 1 of the present invention and the motor 2.
[0020] -Motor 2- The motor 2 is a mechanical element that outputs rotational motion by utilizing a force generated by the Lorentz force (the interaction between a magnetic field and an electric current). In this embodiment, a motor (a commercially available brushless motor) is used as the motor 2, which rotates a rotating shaft 21 by power supplied via a cable connected to a connector. The motor 2 and the impeller 1 of the present invention are connected by exposing the rotating shaft 21 of the motor 2 from the end face of the boss 11 through a through-hole 110 provided in the impeller 1 of the present invention, and threading a screw 4 onto the rotating shaft 21.
[0021] -Guard 3- The guard 3 encloses the impeller 1 and the motor 2 to ensure safety during use of the fan 10. The guard 3 must be constructed to allow airflow generated by the rotation of the impeller 1 to pass through. Therefore, at least the portions of the guard 3 facing the front and back surfaces of the blades 12 of the impeller 1 are provided with mesh-, net-, or lattice-like openings. In this embodiment, the guard 3 is made up of two components: a dome-shaped guard body 31 and a guard cover 32 that covers the opening of the guard body 31. The guard body 31 and the guard cover 32 are screwed together to form a space that encloses the impeller 1 and the motor 2. The motor 2 is fixed to the center of the guard body 31.
[0022] The fan 10 of the present invention having the above-described configuration includes the impeller 1 of the present invention, which has a notch 121 formed on the leading edge (L) of the blade 12. The fan 10 of the present invention produces less noise, such as wind noise, than a conventional fan equipped with an impeller of the same dimensions but without the notch 121.
[0023] The mechanism behind this reduction in noise is not yet clear. It is presumed that the wavelength of the wind noise generated by the leading edge (L) of the blade 12 during rotation of the impeller 1 of the present invention is canceled out by the wavelength of the wind noise generated by the portion where the notch 121 is located, which is out of phase with the wavelength of the wind noise.
[0024] In this embodiment, the notch 121 is provided at the corner formed by the leading edge (L) and the blade tip (B) of the blade 12, but as shown in Fig. 4, it has been confirmed that the noise suppression effect can be obtained regardless of where the notch 121 is provided as long as it is at the leading edge (L) of the blade 12. However, in consideration of the rigidity of the blade 12, it is preferable to provide the notch 121 at the corner formed by the leading edge (L) and the blade tip (B) of the blade 12.
[0025] It has also been confirmed that the larger the width dimension (w) of the notch 121, the greater the noise suppression effect (see FIG. 2). It is preferable that the width dimension (W) of the notch 121 is set to 5 to 50% (more preferably 10 to 30%) of the length dimension (W) of the leading edge (L) of the blade 12.
[0026] Furthermore, it has been confirmed that the noise suppression effect tends to be greater even when the depth dimension (d) of the notch 121 is set to be larger (see FIG. 2). It is preferable that the depth dimension (d) of the notch 121 is set to 5 to 50% (more preferably 10 to 30%) of the length dimension (D) of the blade tip (B).
[0027] <100 invention garments> FIG. 5 shows a garment 100 of the present invention equipped with the inventive fan 10. The garment 100 of the present invention has the inventive fan 10 attached to the garment body (W). The garment 100 of the present invention uses the inventive fan 10 to generate an air flow from the outside to the inside of the garment body (W), thereby sending outside air into the garment body (W) and cooling the inside of the garment body (W). In this embodiment, the garment 100 of the present invention is constructed by drilling holes in multiple locations (two locations) in the garment body (W) and attaching the inventive fan 10 to each hole. Power to drive each inventive fan 10 is supplied via a cable from power stored in a battery (C).
[0028] The present invention can be embodied in various other forms without departing from its spirit or main features. Therefore, the above-described embodiments are merely illustrative in all respects and should not be interpreted as limiting. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims and is not limited to the text of the specification. Furthermore, all modifications and variations within the equivalent scope of the claims are within the scope of the present invention. [Industrial Applicability]
[0029] The present invention is suitably used as a means for cooling the inside of a clothing body by supplying outside air into the clothing body. [Explanation of symbols]
[0030] 1 Impeller of the present invention (impeller) 11 Boss 12 Feathers 121 Notch 2 motors 3 Guard 4 screws 10 Blower of the present invention (blower) 100 Inventive garment L leading edge B. Wingtip
Claims
1. An impeller provided in a blower attached to a garment body to send outside air into the garment body, It comprises a plurality of blades arranged radially, An impeller characterized in that a notch that provides a step is provided on the leading edge of the blade.
2. The impeller according to claim 1, The impeller has the notch provided at the corner formed by the leading edge and the blade tip of the blade.
3. The impeller according to claim 1, The width of the notch is 5 to 50% of the length of the leading edge of the blade.
4. The impeller according to claim 1, The depth of the notch is 5 to 50% of the length of the blade tip of the impeller.
5. A blower comprising an impeller according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
6. The blower according to claim 5; The garment itself, A garment with a blower, comprising:
Citation Information
Patent Citations
JP2019‐214948A
Cooling inside clothes with a blower, blower attached to clothes
JP3228173U