Method of assembling a serial fan

A serial fan assembling method includes the steps of providing a first and a second fan; providing a union member having a bottom panel and two side panels, which together define a receiving space having a top forming a first open side and two axially opposite ends respectively forming a second open side; connecting the first fan to the side panels of the union member via the first open side; and connecting the second fan to the side panels of the union member via the first open side, or connecting the second fan to the bottom panel of the union member via one of the second open sides, so that the first and the second fan connected to the union member are serially located in the receiving space and connected to each other.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method of assembling a serial fan, and more particularly to a serial fan assembling method that effectively reduces the vibration produced by the assembled serial fan during operation thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

People's reliance on various electronic devices increases with the constant progress in the electronic technology. It is known that internal electronic elements of various electronic devices, such as desktop computers, notebook computers and the like, will produce a large amount of heat during operation thereof. The produced heat must be timely guided off the electronic devices to avoid overheating of the electronic device. Therefore, most electronic devices are internally provided with a cooling fan for the devices to always operate at a predetermined working temperature.

Please refer toFIGS. 1A and 1B. A serial fan1known in the electronic industrial field includes a plurality of size-identical fan frames10, a plurality of fan wheels11and a motor (not shown), which are assembled together to form the serial fan1. When the serial fan1operates, it produces vibration as a result of the motor's operating torque. The conventional serial fan1is formed by serially connecting the fan frames10to one another via a fastening structure12provided on between any two adjacent fan frames10. More specifically, the conventional serial fan1is formed by serially assembling a plurality of fan frames10in a direction parallel to a central axis thereof. With this assembling method, it is not able to change the serial fan's vibrating state. When the fan wheels11in the fan frames10rotate simultaneously, the vibration frequencies of the fan wheels11influence one another to induce a serious resonance effect between the fan frames10. The vibration caused by this resonance effect is directly propagated from the fan frames10to other electronic elements of the electronic device, on which the serial fan1is mounted, such as the highly vibration-sensitive hard disk drive in a computer unit of the electronic device. Moreover, since the fan frames10in the conventional serial fan design are respectively formed as one single part, they are not able to effectively reduce the fan vibration. In some worse condition, the vibration produced by the motor and the fan wheels11would interfere with the normal operation of other electronic elements, preventing the whole system of the electronic device from reaching its best performance. Another disadvantage of the conventionally assembled serial fan1is that the resonance effect between the fan frames11also brings loud noise.

In brief, the prior art serial fan assembling method has the following disadvantages: (1) failing to effectively reduce the fan vibration; (2) being unable to eliminate noise caused by fan vibration; and (3) largely lowering the system hard disk drive access efficiency.

It is therefore tried by the inventor to develop an improved serial fan assembling method to eliminate the above-mentioned disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a method of assembling a serial fan, so that the assembled serial fan can largely reduce its vibration during operation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of assembling a serial fan, so that the assembled serial fan can largely reduce its vibration during operation and therefore eliminate noise caused by the fan vibration.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a method of assembling a serial fan, so that two or more fans that together form the serial fan can be more quickly and precisely aligned with one another in the assembling process.

To achieve the above and other objects, the method of assembling a serial fan according to the present invention includes the following steps:

providing a first fan and a second fan, and the first fan having a first connection section;

providing a union member having a bottom panel and two side panels upward extended from two lateral sides of the bottom panel, such that a receiving space is defined between the bottom panel and the two side panels; and one side of the receiving space opposite to the bottom panel forming a first open side, while two axially opposite ends of the receiving space respectively forming a second open side; and
connecting the first fan to the union member via the first open side with the first connection section on the first fan engaged with the two side panels of the union member, and connecting the second fan to the two side panels of the union member via the first open side or connecting the second fan to the bottom panel of the union member via one of the two second open sides, such that the first and the second fan connected to the union member are serially located in the receiving space.

According to the method of the present invention, after the first fan is connected to the union member via the first open side, the second fan can be connected to the union member via the first open side or the second open side. In either way, the first and the second fan, after being connected to the union member, are serially located in the receiving space in a manner capable of reducing the fan vibration. In addition, by connecting the first fan to the union member in a vertical direction relative to the union member and connecting the second fan to the union member in a vertical or a horizontal direction relative to the union member, the first and the second fan can be more quickly assembled together and more precisely aligned with each other.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be described with some preferred embodiments thereof and with reference to the accompanying drawings. For the purpose of easy to understand, sections that are the same in the preferred embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals.

The present invention provides a method of assembling a serial fan. Please refer toFIGS. 2A to 2C, whereinFIG. 2Ais a flowchart showing the steps included in a first embodiment of the method,FIG. 2Bis an exploded perspective view showing the assembling of a serial fan using the method ofFIG. 2A, andFIG. 2Cis an assembled view ofFIG. 2B. As shown, in the first embodiment, the method of assembling a serial fan according to the present invention includes three steps S1, S2and S3.

In the first step S1, a first fan and a second fan are provided, and the first fan includes a first connection section.

More specifically, in the first step S1of the method of the present invention, a first fan2and a second fan3are provided. The first fan2includes a first connection section21, and the second fan3includes a second connection section31. In the first embodiment, the first and the second connection section21,31are respectively illustrated as a channel. However, it is understood, in practical implementation of the present invention, the first and second connection sections21,31are not necessarily limited to channels but can be otherwise slide rails, projected tongues or grooves.

In the second step S2, a union member is provided. The union member includes a bottom panel and two side panels upward extended from two lateral sides of the bottom panel, such that a receiving space is defined between the bottom panel and the two side panels. The receiving space has a top located opposite to the bottom panel and forming a first open side, and two axially opposite ends respectively forming a second open side.

More specifically, in the second step S2, a union member4is provided. The union member4includes a bottom panel41and two side panels42upward extended from two lateral sides of the bottom panel41, such that a receiving space43is defined between the bottom panel41and the two side panels42. One side of the receiving space43opposite to the bottom panel41, i.e. a top side of the receiving space43, forms a first open side44, via which the receiving space43can be accessed in a vertical direction relative to the bottom panel41; and two axially opposite ends of the receiving space43adjacent to two axially opposite ends of the bottom panel41form two second open sides45, via any one of which the receiving space43can be accessed in a horizontal direction relative to the bottom panel41.

In the third step S3, the first fan is connected to the union member via the first open side with the first connection section on the first fan engaged with the two side panels of the union member, and the second fan is also connected to the two side panels of the union member via the first open side, such that the first and the second fan connected to the union member are serially located in the receiving space.

More specifically, a first mating connection section421is provided on the two side panels42of the union member4for correspondingly engaging with the first connection section21, and a second mating connection section422is further provided on the two side panels42of the union member4for correspondingly engaging with the second connection section31. In the third step S3, the first fan2is connected to the side panels42of the union member4via the first open side44, so that the first connection section21is engaged with the first mating connection section421; and the second fan3is also connected to the side panels42of the union member4via the first open side44, so that the second connection section31is engaged with the second mating connection section422. In this manner, the first and the second fan2,3connected to the union member4are serially located in the receiving space43to connect with each other end to end. In the first embodiment, the first and the second mating connection section421,422are illustrated as slide rails. However, it is understood, in practical implementation of the present invention, the first and second mating connection sections421,422are not necessarily limited to slide rails but can be otherwise channels, grooves or projected tongues.

In brief, in the first embodiment, while the first and second fans2,3are connected to the union member4via engagement of channels with slide rails, it is understood the first and second fans2,3can be connected to the union member4in many other different manners, such as clamping, screw fastening, gluing or snap fitting.

According to the present invention, the first fan2is connected to the union member4via the first open side44with the first connection section21correspondingly engaged with the first mating connection section421, and the second fan3is also connected to the union member4via the first open side44with the second connection section31correspondingly engaged with the second mating connection section422. That is, both of the first fan2and the second fan3are connected to the union member4in a vertical direction relative to the union member4. In this connection manner, it is able to reduce or damp the serial fan's vibration effect. In addition, with the serial fan assembling method of the present invention, the first and second fans2,3can be precisely and quickly located in the union member4to align with each other.

Please refer toFIGS. 3A to 3C, whereinFIG. 3Ais a flowchart showing the steps included in a second embodiment of the method of the present invention,FIG. 3Bis an exploded perspective view showing the assembling of a serial fan using the method ofFIG. 3A, andFIG. 3Cis an assembled view ofFIG. 3B. As shown, in the second embodiment, the method of assembling a serial fan according to the present invention also includes three steps S1, S2and S3. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment mainly in the third step S3, in which the first fan is connected to the union member via the first open side with the first connection section on the first fan engaged with the two side panels of the union member, while the second fan is connected to the bottom panel of the union member via the second open side, such that the first and the second fan connected to the union member are serially located in the receiving space.

More specifically, in the second embodiment, the second fan3includes a third connection section32, and the bottom panel41of the union member4is provided with a third mating connection section411for correspondingly engaging with the third connection section32. In the second embodiment, the third connection section32is illustrated as channels. However, it is understood, in practical implementation of the present invention, the third connection section32is not necessarily limited to channels but can be otherwise slide rails, projected tongues or grooves.

And, while the third mating connection section411in the second embodiment is illustrated as slide rails, it is understood, in practical implementation of the present invention, the third mating connection section411is not necessarily limited to slide rails but can be otherwise channels, grooves or projected tongues.

In the third step S3of the second embodiment, the first fan2is connected to the side panels42of the union member4via the first open side44, and the second fan3is connected to the bottom panel41of the union member4via one of the two second open sides45with the third connection section32on the second fan3engaged with the third mating connection section411on the bottom panel41of the union member4. In other words, the first fan2is connected to the union member4in a vertical direction relative to the union member4, while the second fan3is connected to the union member4in a horizontal direction relative to the union member4. After the first and second fans2,3are connected to the union member4in the above manner, the first and second fans2,3are serially located in the receiving space43with reduced fan vibration and can be more precisely aligned with each other.

Please refer toFIGS. 4 and 5that are exploded perspective views showing a third and a fourth embodiment, respectively, of the serial fan assembling method of the present invention. As shown, the steps included in the third and the fourth embodiment of the method of the present invention are generally similar to those in the first and the second embodiment, respectively. However, the first and the second connection section21,31in the third embodiment as well as the first and the third connection section21,32in the fourth embodiment respectively include a plurality of through holes, and the first and the second mating connection section421,422in the third embodiment as well as the first and the third mating connection section421,411in the fourth embodiment respectively include a plurality of openings corresponding to the through holes; and a plurality of fastening elements5is extended through the corresponding openings and through holes to connect the first and the second fan2,3to the union member4. Similarly, the first and the second fan2,3can be both vertically connected to the union member4using the fastening elements5, as in the third embodiment shown inFIG. 4; or alternatively, the first and the second fan2,3can be vertically and horizontally, respectively, connected to the union member4using the fastening element5, as in the fourth embodiment shown inFIG. 5. By assembling the serial fan in the methods according to the third and the fourth embodiment of the present invention, it is also able to achieve the advantages of reduced fan vibration and precise and quick alignment of the first and the second fan2,3with each other.

Please refer toFIGS. 6 and 7that are exploded perspective views showing a fifth and a sixth embodiment, respectively, of the serial fan assembling method of the present invention. As shown, the steps included in the fifth and the sixth embodiment of the method of the present invention are generally similar to those in the first and the second embodiment, respectively, except that the union member4provided in the fifth and the sixth embodiment has a size variable according to the actual need in use, so that the serial fan so assembled can be in an optimal operation state.

According to the method of the present invention, the first and second fans for forming the serial fan can be assembled together by vertically or horizontally connecting them to a union member to eliminate the vibration resonance induced between the two fans and the noise caused by such vibration resonance. In summary, compared to the prior art serial fan assembling method, the present invention has the following advantages: (1) it largely reduces the fan vibration; (2) it minimizes the noise caused by the fan vibration; and (3) it enables all fans in the serial fan to precisely align with one another.