Vehicle Cooling Fan Direct Rotor Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cooling fans with brushless internal rotor motors are bulky and heavy, requiring a drive shaft and multiple parts, which increases axial length, manufacturing costs, and reduces cooling efficiency due to longer air flow paths.
Innovation Solution
A compact cooling fan design where the fan wheel is directly connected to the internal rotor, eliminating the need for a drive shaft and reducing axial length, with fan blades arranged in two groups to create efficient air flows through the rotor and stator, enhancing cooling effectiveness and reducing weight and manufacturing costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a drive shaft is used to connect the fan wheel to the internal rotor, then the motor can be enclosed in a housing, but the axial length increases and the device becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The drive shaft is completely removed from the system. Instead of enclosing the motor in a housing with a drive shaft connecting the internal rotor to the fan wheel, the invention extracts the drive shaft function by directly integrating the fan wheel with the internal rotor, eliminating the intermediate mechanical connection and reducing axial length.
Solution Approach 2:
The fan wheel is merged directly with the internal rotor, combining two previously separate components into one integrated structure. This eliminates the need for a drive shaft and housing enclosure, reducing device complexity and axial length while maintaining motor protection through alternative means.
2Length of moving object
If the fan wheel is directly connected to the internal rotor, then the axial length and weight are reduced, but the air flow paths become shorter which may reduce cooling efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The fan wheel is segmented into two distinct groups of fan blades with different functions. The first group creates air flow through the open central area of the internal rotor for cooling, while the second group creates air flow through the groove slots of the stator, optimizing cooling efficiency despite the compact design.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the fan wheel are assigned different functions through the two blade groups. The first blade group targets the central rotor area for cooling, while the second blade group targets the stator groove slots, creating localized optimized air flows throughout the motor structure.
3Reliability
If multiple components (housing, drive shaft, end shields) are used, then the motor is protected and structured, but manufacturing costs and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple separate components (housing, drive shaft, end shields) are merged into a simplified integrated structure where the fan wheel is directly connected to the internal rotor. This reduces the number of parts and assembly steps while maintaining structural integrity through the integrated design.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated fan wheel-rotor structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides the rotating component, the cooling fan function, and the structural framework, eliminating the need for separate dedicated components and reducing overall device complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design achieves a significant reduction in size and weight, improved heat removal efficiency, and increased reliability by minimizing pressure drop and turbulence, while maintaining power output, resulting in enhanced cooling performance and reduced manufacturing costs.
Implementation Method 1
the one group serving primarily to create a flow of air through an open central area of the internal rotor which cools the windings of the rotor and of the stator
Implementation Method 2
the other serving primarily to create a flow of air through groove slots of the stator
Data Source
AI summary
A cooling fan (1) for a motor vehicle has a fan wheel (4) and a brushless fan motor (2) which is used to drive the fan wheel (4). The fan motor (2) has an internal rotor (3). The fan wheel (4) is directly connected to the internal rotor (3) in order to reduce the size of the type of cooling fan (1) whilst retaining the power output.