Power Supply Fan Mounting Structure With Concealed Fasteners
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Solution Overview
Problem
Exposed screw heads on power supply cooling fans cause interference, friction, vibration, and an obtrusive appearance, affecting installation quality and consumer desire.
Innovation Solution
A power supply design with a first housing, fan body, connecting members, and a second housing that covers and hides the fixing elements, using orthogonal side walls and extension parts to secure the fan body without exposure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If screw heads are used to fasten the cooling fan to the housing, then the fan can be securely fixed, but the screw heads become exposed on the housing surface
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a covering plate that is nested within the housing structure to hide the exposed screw heads. The covering plate is integrated into the housing design, creating a layered structure where the fastening elements are concealed within the overall assembly, thus maintaining both secure fixation and surface flatness.
Solution Approach 2:
The covering plate acts as an intermediary element between the screw heads and the external environment. It mediates the contradiction by providing a surface that maintains flatness while simultaneously concealing the fastening elements, thus resolving the conflict between exposure and aesthetic appearance.
2Ease of manufacture
If screw heads are exposed on the housing, then the fan can be easily fastened, but interference, friction, and vibration occur during installation
Solution Approach 1:
By nesting the covering plate within the housing structure, the patent creates a protected environment where the fastening elements are concealed. This nested arrangement eliminates interference and friction between exposed screw heads and surrounding components during installation, while still allowing easy fastening through the covering plate's integrated design.
3Strength
If screw heads are exposed on the housing, then the fan can be securely fixed, but the appearance becomes obtrusive and reduces consumer desire
Solution Approach 1:
The covering plate is nested within the housing to create a clean, flat surface appearance. This nested structure conceals the fastening elements from external view, maintaining the aesthetic quality of the housing while preserving the reliability of the fan fixation through the integrated fastening mechanism.
4Shape
If a covering structure is added to hide the screw heads, then the appearance improves and interference is reduced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The covering plate is merged with the housing structure, integrating two functions (aesthetic coverage and structural support) into a single component. This merging approach reduces the overall complexity compared to having separate covering and housing elements, while still achieving the goal of concealing fastening elements and maintaining surface flatness.
Data Source
AI summary
A power supply with a cooling fan includes a first housing, a fan body, a plurality of connecting members, and a second housing. The first housing includes a first bottom wall and two first side walls, and the two first side walls have two first extension parts. Each connecting member includes a strip of connecting part and two fixing parts connected to the connecting part. The fan body is disposed in the first housing, and fixed to the first extension part by each fixing part. The connecting part is supported between the two fixing parts along the side of the fan body. The second housing uses a second bottom wall and two second side walls to cover the first extension parts and the connecting members, and is fixed with the first housing, so that the fixing elements of the fan body are not exposed on the power supply.