Crossflow fan and method of manufacturing same

Abstract

To improve a degree of freedom of design of a cross flow fan.SOLUTION: A cross flow fan 10 comprises: a plurality of first fan segments 12 made of a first resin material, and each comprising an annular support plate 12a, an annular ring 12b, and a plurality of blades 12c supported by the support plate 12a and the ring 12b; and a plurality of second fan segments 14 made of a second resin material having higher light transmittance than that of the first resin material, and each comprising an annular support plate 14a, an annular ring 14b, and a plurality of blades 14c supported by the support plate 14a and the ring 14b. The support plate 12a of each of the first fan segments 12 is in surface contact with the ring 14b of each of the second fan segments 14, and a surface contact portion is laser-welded. The ring 12b of each of the first fan segments 12 is in surface contact with the support plate 14a of each of the second fan segments 14, and a surface contact portion is laser-welded.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a crossflow fan and a method for manufacturing the same. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a crossflow fan installed in an air conditioner. This crossflow fan is constructed by connecting in series multiple fan blocks, each of which has a support plate and multiple blades extending from the support plate. Specifically, the multiple blades of a fan block are ultrasonically bonded to the support plate of an adjacent fan block. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5590081 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the case of the crossflow fan described in Patent Document 1, the blades need to have high rigidity in order to prevent deformation and damage of the blades when ultrasonically bonding the blades to the support plate. As a result, there is an upper limit to the length of the blade (the length in the direction of extension of the rotation center line of the crossflow fan), and the blade thickness becomes large. In other words, ultrasonic bonding reduces the degree of freedom in designing the crossflow fan.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to improve the degree of freedom in designing a crossflow fan. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to one aspect of the present invention, a plurality of first fan segments made from a first resin material, the first fan segments including an annular support plate, an annular ring, and a plurality of blades supported by the support plate and the ring; a plurality of second fan segments made of a second resin material having a higher light transmittance than the first resin material, the second fan segments including an annular support plate, an annular ring, and a plurality of blades supported by the support plate and the ring; a support plate of the first fan segment and a ring of the second fan segment are in surface contact with each other, and a surface contact portion is laser welded; A crossflow fan is provided, wherein a ring of the first fan segment and a support plate of the second fan segment are in surface contact with each other, and the surface contact portion is laser welded.

[0007] According to another aspect of the present invention, A method for manufacturing a cross flow fan, comprising: providing a first fan segment made of a first resin material, the first fan segment including an annular support plate, an annular ring, and a plurality of blades supported by the support plate and the ring; providing a second fan segment made of a second resin material having a higher light transmittance than the first resin material, the second fan segment including an annular support plate, an annular ring, and a plurality of blades supported by the support plate and the ring; the first fan segment and the second fan segment are alternately arranged such that a support plate of the first fan segment is in surface contact with a ring of the second fan segment, and a ring of the first fan segment is in surface contact with a support plate of the second fan segment; a first laser beam is transmitted through the second fan segment and irradiated onto a surface contact portion between a support plate of the first fan segment and a ring of the second fan segment; A method for manufacturing a crossflow fan is provided, in which a second laser light is transmitted through the second fan segment and irradiated onto a surface contact portion between a ring of the first fan segment and a support plate of the second fan segment. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the degree of freedom in designing a crossflow fan. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of an air conditioner equipped with a crossflow fan according to one embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 1 is a perspective view of a crossflow fan according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 3A] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first and second fan segment as viewed from one end side; [Figure 3B] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the first and second fan segments as viewed from the other end face side. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 illustrates an engagement between a first fan segment and a second fan segment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a method of fixing a first fan segment and a second fan segment; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] A crossflow fan of one embodiment of the present invention has a plurality of first fan segments made from a first resin material and comprising an annular support plate, an annular ring, and a plurality of blades supported by the support plate and the ring, and a plurality of second fan segments made from a second resin material having a higher light transmittance than the first resin material and comprising an annular support plate, an annular ring, and a plurality of blades supported by the support plate and the ring, wherein the support plate of the first fan segment and the ring of the second fan segment are in surface contact and the surface contact portions are laser welded, and the ring of the first fan segment and the support plate of the second fan segment are in surface contact and the surface contact portions are laser welded.

[0011] According to this aspect, it is possible to improve the degree of freedom in designing the crossflow fan.

[0012] For example, a support plate of the first fan segment may be provided with ribs that engage with a ring of the second fan segment and a support plate of the second fan segment may be provided with ribs that engage with a ring of the first fan segment, thereby positioning the first and second fan segments relative to one another.

[0013] For example, the first fan segment and the second fan segment may have the same shape, which allows the first fan segment and the second fan segment to be molded using the same mold.

[0014] For example, the first and second resin materials may be the same transparent resin material, with the first resin material containing a higher content of dye or pigment than the second resin material, thereby providing the first and second fan segments with different light transmittances.

[0015] A method of manufacturing a crossflow fan according to another embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of: preparing a first fan segment made of a first resin material and comprising an annular support plate, an annular ring, and a plurality of blades supported by the support plate and the ring; preparing a second fan segment made of a second resin material having a higher light transmittance than the first resin material and comprising an annular support plate, an annular ring, and a plurality of blades supported by the support plate and the ring; arranging the first fan segment and the second fan segment alternately so that the support plate of the first fan segment is in surface contact with the ring of the second fan segment and the ring of the first fan segment is in surface contact with the support plate of the second fan segment; allowing a first laser beam to pass through the second fan segment and irradiating the surface contact portion between the support plate of the first fan segment and the ring of the second fan segment; and allowing a second laser beam to pass through the second fan segment and irradiate the surface contact portion between the ring of the first fan segment and the support plate of the second fan segment.

[0016] According to this alternative embodiment, the degree of freedom in designing the crossflow fan can be improved.

[0017] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0018] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an air conditioner equipped with a crossflow fan according to an embodiment of the present invention. Note that the XYZ orthogonal coordinate system shown in the figure is intended to facilitate understanding of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention. The X-axis indicates the extension direction of the rotation center line of the crossflow fan, and the Y-axis and Z-axis indicate the radial directions of the crossflow fan.

[0019] As shown in Fig. 1, the crossflow fan 10 is mounted on, for example, an air conditioner 50. The air conditioner 50 has a housing 52, and within the housing 52, the crossflow fan 10 and a heat exchanger 54 that exchanges heat between a refrigerant and air are provided. When the crossflow fan 10 rotates, air A1 is sucked into the housing 52 and passes through the heat exchanger 54. Air A2 that has exchanged heat with the refrigerant in the heat exchanger 54 is blown out of the housing 52 by the crossflow fan 10.

[0020] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the crossflow fan.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 2, the cross flow fan 10 is a cylindrical fan that is configured to take in air in a radial direction and blow out the taken-in air in a different radial direction.

[0022] The crossflow fan 10 according to this embodiment includes a plurality of first fan segments 12, a plurality of second fan segments 14, an end plate 16, and an end plate 18. In this embodiment, the first fan segment 12 and the second fan segment 14 have the same shape. This allows the first fan segment 12 and the second fan segment 14 to be molded using the same mold. The end plates 16, 18 are fixed to the adjacent first and second fan segments 12, 14, respectively, by welding or the like.

[0023] Figure 3A is a perspective view of the first and second fan segments as viewed from one end face side, and Figure 3B is a perspective view of the first and second fan segments as viewed from the other end face side.

[0024] 3A and 3B, the first and second fan segments 12, 14 each have an annular support plate 12a, 14a, an annular ring 12b, 14b, and a plurality of blades 12c, 14c supported by the support plate 12a, 14a and the ring 12b, 14b. Each of the plurality of blades 12c, 14c has a curved rectangular shape, with one end fixed to the support plate 12a, 14a and the other end fixed to the ring 12b, 14b. The plurality of blades 12c, 14c are arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction of the rotation center line C.

[0025] 2, the first fan segment 12 and the second fan segment 14 are arranged alternately in the extension direction of the rotation center line C of the cross flow fan 10 (X-axis direction). The support plate 12a of the first fan segment 12 is fixed to the ring 14b of the second fan segment 14, and the support plate 14a of the second fan segment 14 is fixed to the ring 12b of the first fan segment 12. The fixing method will be described in detail later.

[0026] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3A, the first fan segment 12 and the second fan segment 14 are provided on their respective support plates 12a, 14a with ribs 12d, 14d for engaging with the rings 12b, 14b.

[0027] FIG. 4 shows the engagement of the first and second fan segments.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 4, the ring 12b of the first fan segment 12 comes into surface contact with the support plate 14a of the second fan segment 14 and engages with the rib 14d formed on the support plate 14a. Similarly, the ring 14b of the second fan segment 14 comes into contact with the support plate 12a of the first fan segment 12 and engages with the rib 12d formed on the support plate 12a. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3B, the rings 12b and 14b are generally in the shape of an internal gear. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3A, the ribs 12d and 14d are generally in the shape of a gear. This positions the first fan segment 12 and the second fan segment 14 relative to each other.

[0029] Returning to FIG. 2, an end plate 16 is attached to the support plate 14a of the second fan segment 14 located at one end in the extension direction of the rotation center line C (X-axis direction). An end plate 18 is attached to the ring 12b of the first fan segment 12 located at the other end. Each of the end plates 16, 18 is provided with a support shaft 20 for rotatably supporting the crossflow fan 10 on the housing 52 of the air conditioner 50. Depending on the specifications of the air conditioner 50, specifically the size of the crossflow fan 10, there may be cases where a first fan segment 12 is arranged at both of the two ends, or where a second fan segment is arranged at both of the two ends.

[0030] The method of fixing the first fan segment 12 and the second fan segment 14 to each other will now be described.

[0031] FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a method of fixing the first fan segment and the second fan segment.

[0032] 5, first, the first fan segment 12 and the second fan segment 14 are arranged alternately in the direction of extension of the rotation center line C of the cross flow fan 10. That is, the ring 14b of the second fan segment 14 is in surface contact with the support plate 12a of the first fan segment 12. Also, the ring 12b of the first fan segment 12 is in surface contact with the support plate 14a of the second fan segment 14.

[0033] Next, laser welding is performed using laser light L1 from the laser device 100 to fix the ring 14b of the second fan segment 14 to the support plate 12a of the first fan segment 12. Specifically, the laser device 100 scans the laser light L1 over the surface contact portion between the support plate 12a of the first fan segment 12 and the ring 14b of the second fan segment 14. To do this, the laser light L1 from the laser device 100 passes through the second fan segment 14.

[0034] To enable such laser welding, the second fan segment 14 has a higher optical transmission than the first fan segment 12.

[0035] Specifically, the first fan segment 12 is made of a first resin material, and the second fan segment 14 is made of a second resin material having a higher light transmittance than the first resin material. In the case of this embodiment, the first resin material and the second resin material are, for example, the same transmissive resin material (for example, ABS resin, AS resin, etc.), and the first resin material contains a dye or pigment at a higher content than the second resin material. An example of the contained material is carbon. Note that, although it varies depending on the wavelength of the laser light, it is preferable that the first resin material has a light transmittance of 10% or less, and the second resin material has a light transmittance of 30% or more. As an example, the light transmittance of the first resin material is about 0%, and the light transmittance of the second resin material is 47%.

[0036] Therefore, when laser light L1 is transmitted through the second fan segment 14 and irradiated onto the surface contact portion between the support plate 12a of the first fan segment 12 and the ring 14b of the second fan segment 14, the portion of the support plate 12a of the first fan segment 12 that is in surface contact with the ring 14b of the second fan segment 14 becomes hot and melts, thereby bonding the surface contact portion between the support plate 12a of the first fan segment 12 and the ring 14b of the second fan segment 14. On the other hand, since the second fan segment 14 transmits the laser light L1, it does not melt as much as the first fan segment 12 (the light transmittance of the first and second resin materials is determined for this purpose).

[0037] It is possible to irradiate the laser beam in the radial direction of the crossflow fan 10 without transmitting the laser beam through the second fan segment 14, and laser weld the support plate 12a of the first fan segment 12 and the ring 14b of the second fan segment 14 together. However, in this case, only the outer peripheral portion of the support plate 12a and the outer peripheral portion of the ring 14b may be joined, and the central portions of the support plate 12a and the ring 14b may not be sufficiently joined together. In contrast, as shown in FIG. 5, when the laser beam L1 is transmitted through the second fan segment 14, the entire surface contact portion of the support plate 12a of the first fan segment 12 and the ring 14b of the second fan segment 14 can be joined together. As a result, the first fan segment 12 and the second fan segment 14 can be firmly joined together.

[0038] Furthermore, the laser welding of this embodiment allows greater freedom in designing the crossflow fan than when ultrasonic welding is used.

[0039] In ultrasonic bonding, a fan segment includes an annular support plate and a number of blades extending from the support plate. The blades of a fan segment are ultrasonically bonded to the support plate of an adjacent fan segment. The ultrasonic bonding is performed with the two fan segments pressed toward each other with a predetermined pressure. To prevent buckling due to the pressure, the blades have an upper limit on their length and a large wall thickness. Therefore, when joining fan segments by ultrasonic bonding, the degree of freedom in designing the crossflow fan is reduced.

[0040] In contrast, in the present embodiment, the first fan segment 12 and the second fan segment 14 are laser welded together without being pressed against each other, allowing for longer blades and thinner blade thicknesses, which provides greater design freedom for the crossflow fan than would be possible with ultrasonic welding.

[0041] 5, laser light L2 from laser device 102 is similarly irradiated through the second fan segment 14 to the surface-to-surface contact portion between ring 12b of the first fan segment 12 and support plate 14a of the second fan segment 14. This causes the portion of ring 12b of the first fan segment 12 in surface-to-surface contact with support plate 14a of the second fan segment 14 to become hot and melt. As a result, the surface-to-surface contact portions of ring 12b of the first fan segment 12 and support plate 14a of the second fan segment 14 are bonded to each other.

[0042] According to the present embodiment as described above, it is possible to improve the degree of freedom in designing the crossflow fan.

[0043] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the above-mentioned embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment.

[0044] For example, in the above embodiment, the first resin material of the first fan segment 12 and the second resin material of the second fan segment 14 are the same resin material but have different carbon contents. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. The first and second resin materials may be different resin materials as long as they have different light transmittances.

[0045] In the above-described embodiment, the first and second fan segments 12, 14 are provided with ribs 12d, 14d for positioning them relative to each other, as shown in Fig. 3A. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, one of the support plates 12a, 14a or rings 12b, 14b of the first and second fan segments 12, 14 may be provided with a plurality of positioning pins, and the other may be provided with positioning holes that engage with the positioning pins.

[0046] Additionally, in the embodiment described above, the first and second fan segments 12, 14 have the same shape. However, this is not a limiting embodiment of the invention. The first and second fan segments may have different shapes, such as different blade lengths.

[0047] Furthermore, in the case of the embodiment described above, the cross flow fan 10 is mounted on an air conditioner 50, as shown in Fig. 1. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. The cross flow fan may also be used in a blower.

[0048] That is, a crossflow fan according to an embodiment of the present invention broadly comprises a plurality of first fan segments made from a first resin material and comprising an annular support plate, an annular ring, and a plurality of blades supported by the support plate and the ring, and a plurality of second fan segments made from a second resin material having a higher light transmittance than the first resin material and comprising an annular support plate, an annular ring, and a plurality of blades supported by the support plate and the ring, wherein the support plate of the first fan segment and the ring of the second fan segment are in surface contact and the surface contact portions are laser welded, and the ring of the first fan segment and the support plate of the second fan segment are in surface contact and the surface contact portions are laser welded.

[0049] A manufacturing method for a crossflow fan according to an embodiment of the present invention, in a broad sense, includes: preparing a first fan segment made from a first resin material and including an annular support plate, an annular ring, and a plurality of blades supported by the support plate and the ring; preparing a second fan segment made from a second resin material having a higher light transmittance than the first resin material and including an annular support plate, an annular ring, and a plurality of blades supported by the support plate and the ring; and bonding the support plate of the first fan segment and the second fan segment together. the first fan segment and the second fan segment are alternately arranged so that the ring of the first fan segment is in surface contact with the support plate of the second fan segment and the ring of the first fan segment is in surface contact with the support plate of the second fan segment, a first laser light is transmitted through the second fan segment and irradiated onto the surface contact portion between the support plate of the first fan segment and the ring of the second fan segment, and a second laser light is transmitted through the second fan segment and irradiated onto the surface contact portion between the ring of the first fan segment and the support plate of the second fan segment. [Industrial Applicability]

[0050] The present invention is applicable to any crossflow fan. [Explanation of symbols]

[0051] 10 Crossflow fan 12 First Fan Segment 12a Support plate 12b Ring 12c Feather 14 Second Fan Segment 14a Support plate 14b Ring 14c Feather

Claims

1. a plurality of first fan segments made from a first resin material, the first fan segments including an annular support plate, an annular ring, and a plurality of blades supported by the support plate and the ring; a plurality of second fan segments made of a second resin material having a higher light transmittance than the first resin material, the second fan segments including an annular support plate, an annular ring, and a plurality of blades supported by the support plate and the ring; an outer circumferential portion of a support plate of the first fan segment and a ring of the second fan segment are in surface contact with each other, and an annular surface contact portion is laser welded; a ring of the first fan segment and an outer peripheral portion of a support plate of the second fan segment in surface contact with each other, the annular surface contact portion being laser welded.

2. a support plate of the first fan segment having ribs that engage with a ring of the second fan segment; 2. The crossflow fan of claim 1, wherein a support plate of the second fan segment is provided with ribs that engage a ring of the first fan segment.

3. The crossflow fan of claim 1 or 2, wherein the first fan segment and the second fan segment have the same shape.

4. The first and second resin materials are the same transparent resin material, The cross flow fan according to claim 1 , wherein the first resin material contains a dye or pigment at a content higher than that of the second resin material.

5. A method for manufacturing a cross flow fan, comprising: providing a first fan segment made of a first resin material, the first fan segment including an annular support plate, an annular ring, and a plurality of blades supported by the support plate and the ring; providing a second fan segment made of a second resin material having a higher light transmittance than the first resin material, the second fan segment including an annular support plate, an annular ring, and a plurality of blades supported by the support plate and the ring; the first fan segment and the second fan segment are alternately arranged such that an outer circumferential portion of a support plate of the first fan segment is in surface contact with a ring of the second fan segment, and the ring of the first fan segment is in surface contact with an outer circumferential portion of a support plate of the second fan segment; a first laser beam is transmitted through the second fan segment and irradiated onto an annular surface contact portion between a support plate of the first fan segment and a ring of the second fan segment; A method for manufacturing a crossflow fan, comprising: transmitting a second laser light through the second fan segment and irradiating the annular surface contact portion between a ring of the first fan segment and a support plate of the second fan segment.

6. a support plate of the first fan segment having ribs that engage with a ring of the second fan segment; 6. The method of claim 5, wherein a support plate of the second fan segment is provided with ribs that engage with a ring of the first fan segment.

7. 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the first fan segment and the second fan segment have the same shape.

8. The first and second resin materials are the same transparent resin material, The method for manufacturing a cross flow fan according to claim 5 , wherein the first resin material contains a dye or pigment at a content higher than that of the second resin material.

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