Patent Publication Number: US-2012037762-A1

Title: Cable retaining bracket and fan using same

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a cable retaining bracket, and more particularly to a cable retaining bracket that can be conveniently assembled to a fan frame to hold down a set of cables in a cable slot on the frame. The present invention also relates to a fan using the cable retaining bracket. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Currently, with the constant progress in technological fields, people rely more and more on various kinds of electronic devices in their daily life. Electronic elements in the electronic devices, such as computers and notebook computers, will produce a large amount of heat during operation thereof. The produced heat must be timely removed from the electronic devices to avoid the problem of overheat. 
     For example, in a computer, the heat-producing elements thereof include the central processing unit (CPU), the power supply, etc. When the computer works, the CPU operates at high speed to produce high temperature, which will dangerously bring the CPU to an unstable state, resulting in shutdown or even damage and burnout of the computer. To solve this problem, one of the generally measures being taken is to provide at least one cooling fan in the computer. With the cooling fan, or briefly referred to as a fan, the heat produced by the CPU is forced out of the computer to ambient air. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 1A , in which a conventional fan  10  is shown. The fan  10  includes a frame  20  and a blade assembly  30 . The frame  20  has an air-in side  21  and an opposite air-out side  22 . The blade assembly  30  is fixedly connected to the air-out side  22 . A plurality of blades (not shown) is oriented toward the air-in side  21 . The frame  20  is provided at a predetermined position with a sunken cable slot  23 , a first receiving slot  24  and a second receiving slot  25 . The cable slot  23  has a first opening  231  and a second opening  232  corresponding to an inner and an outer side of the frame  20 . A cable-guiding slot  233  is further provided at the second opening  232 . The first and the second receiving slot  24 ,  25  are separately located at two opposite lateral sides of the cable slot  23 , and are respectively internally provided with a first and a second retaining hole  241 ,  251 . A set of cables  26  electrically connected to the fan  10  is held in the cable slot  23 . 
     As can be seen from  FIGS. 1A and 1B , after the set of cables  26  is extended through the first opening  231  and the second opening  232  to set in the cable slot  23 , a cable retaining bracket  40  must be correspondingly assembled to the cable slot  23  to locate on the set of cables  26 . The cable retaining bracket  40  has two retaining arms  41  separately downward extended from two opposite ends of the bracket  40  for inserting into the first and the second receiving slot  24 ,  25 , such that the retaining arms  41  are stopped by the first and second retaining holes  241 ,  251  from moving out of the first and second receiving slots  24 ,  25 . In this manner, the set of cables  26  is held in the cable slot  23  and is further guided by the cable-guiding slot  233  at the second opening  232  to extend toward and be received in the frame  20 . 
     However, after the set of cables  26  is held in the cable slot  23  by the cable retaining bracket  40 , there are still portions of the cables  26  exposed to external environment at the first and the second opening  231 ,  232  without being orderly and flatly located at the first and second openings  231 ,  232 . That is, the set of cables  26  tends to disorderly protrude beyond the cable slot  23  and the frame  20  at the first and second openings  231 ,  232  to cause undesirable pulling of the cables  26  against the frame  20 . To overcome this problem, an additional mounting procedure is needed to guide the cables  26  through the second opening  232  into the frame  20 . It is noted the conventional cable retaining bracket  40  is generally in a reverse-U shape corresponding to the cable slot  23  and has a relatively small contact area, which prevents a user from easily applying a force to the bracket  40  for assembling the latter to the cable slot  23 . In other words, the conventional cable retaining bracket  40  requires more time and energy to be assembled to the frame  20 . 
     In conclusion, the conventional cable retaining bracket for a cooling fan has the following disadvantages: (1) the set of cables of the fan tends to protrude beyond the frame and expose to the ambient environment; (2) the exposed and protruded set of cables is subject to undesirable pull against the frame; (3) the cable retaining bracket does not allow convenient application of force thereto; and (4) it takes more time and energy to assemble the cable retaining bracket to the cable slot on the fan frame. 
     It is therefore tried by the inventor to develop an improved cable retaining bracket for cooling fan and a cooling fan for using with such improved cable retaining bracket. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A primary object of the present invention is to provide a cable retaining bracket that includes an extended shoulder portion to hold down a set of cables orderly against a frame, so as to effectively prevent the cables from disorderly protruding beyond the frame. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a cable retaining bracket to avoid a set of cables from being undesirably pulled against a frame. 
     A further object of the present invention is to provide a cable retaining bracket that can be conveniently assembled to a frame with reduced energy and time for orderly holding down a set of cables against the frame. 
     To achieve the above and other objects, the cable retaining bracket according to the present invention can be assembled to a frame for holding at least one cable in place against the frame. The cable retaining bracket includes a main body having a pair of opposite first and third end and a pair of opposite second and fourth end; a first and a second retaining arm respectively extended from the first and the third end of the main body; and a first shoulder portion extended from one of the second and the fourth end. 
     Also, to achieve the above and other objects, the present invention provides a fan using the above-described cable retaining bracket. The fan includes a frame and the cable retaining bracket. The frame is formed with a cable slot, a first receiving slot, and a second receiving slot. The cable slot is extended through the first and second receiving slots. The first and the second receiving slot are respectively internally provided with a first and a second retaining hole. The cable slot is adapted to receive a set of cables, which is electrically connected to a circuit board of the fan. The cable retaining bracket includes a main body having a pair of opposite first and third end and a pair of opposite second and fourth end; a first and a second retaining arm respectively extended from the first and the third end of the main body; and a first shoulder portion extended from one of the second and the fourth end. The first and the second retaining arm are correspondingly inserted into the first and the second receiving slot; and the first shoulder portion is correspondingly fitted in the cable slot. With the above arrangements, the cable retaining bracket can be conveniently assembled to the fan frame at reduced energy and time, and it is able to effectively prevent the set of cables from disorderly protruding beyond the frame by the cable retaining bracket. Thus, the cable retaining bracket of the present invention provides the following advantages: (1) it effectively prevents cables from disorderly protruding beyond the fan frame; (2) it prevents the cables from being undesirably pulled against the fan frame; (3) it allows an operator to conveniently apply a force thereto for assembling it to the fan frame; and (4) it can be assembled to the fan frame with reduced energy and time. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein 
         FIG. 1A  is an assembled perspective view of a conventional fan; 
         FIG. 1B  is a fragmentary, enlarged and partially exploded perspective view of  FIG. 1A ; 
         FIG. 2A  is a perspective view of a cable retaining bracket according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2B  is an assembled perspective view of a fan with the cable retaining bracket according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2C  is a fragmentary, enlarged and partially exploded perspective view of  FIG. 2B ; 
         FIG. 3A  is a perspective view of a cable retaining bracket according to a second embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3B  is an assembled perspective view of a fan with the cable retaining bracket according to the second embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3C  is a fragmentary, enlarged and partially exploded perspective view of  FIG. 3B ; 
         FIG. 4A  is a perspective view of a cable retaining bracket according to a third embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4B  is an assembled perspective view of a fan with the cable retaining bracket according to the third embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4C  is a fragmentary, enlarged and partially exploded perspective view of  FIG. 4B ; 
         FIGS. 5A ,  5 B and  5 C show that a holding-down element can be provided on the cable retaining bracket according to the present invention at different positions; 
         FIGS. 6A ,  6   b  and  6 C show a different configuration of the holding-down element for the cable retaining bracket of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7A  is an assembled perspective view showing the cable retaining bracket according to the first embodiment of the present invention being used on a fan with another type of frame; 
         FIG. 7B  is a fragmentary, enlarged and partially exploded perspective view of  FIG. 7A ; 
         FIG. 7C  is an assembled perspective view showing the cable retaining bracket according to the third embodiment of the present invention being used on a fan with another type of frame; 
         FIG. 7D  is a fragmentary, enlarged and partially exploded perspective view of  FIG. 7C . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention will now be described with some preferred embodiments thereof by referring to the accompanying drawings. For the purpose of easy to understand, elements that are the same in the preferred embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 2A  that is a perspective view of a cable retaining bracket  50  according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the cable retaining bracket  50  in the first embodiment includes a main body  60  having a first end  61 , a second end  62 , a third end  63 , and a fourth end  64 . The first end  61  and the third end  63  are extended from the main body  60  to form a first retaining arm  611  and a second retaining arm  631 , respectively. The first and the second retaining arm  611 ,  631  are formed at respective one end distal from the main body  60  with a first hook  6111  and a second hook  6311 . One of the second and the fourth end  62 ,  64  is extended from the main body  60  to form a first shoulder portion. In the illustrated first embodiment, it is the second end  62  that extends from the main body  60  to form the first shoulder portion  621 . 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 2A ,  2 B and  2 C. In  FIG. 2B , there is shown a fan  70  with the cable retaining bracket  50  according to the first embodiment thereof.  FIG. 2C  is a fragmentary, enlarged and partially exploded perspective view of  FIG. 2B . As shown, the fan  70  includes a frame  80 , a set of cables  84 , and the cable retaining bracket  50 . The frame  80  is provided on one edge with a cable slot  81 , a first receiving slot  82 , and a second receiving slot  83 . The cable slot  81  has a first opening  811  and a second opening  812  respectively corresponding to an inner and an outer side of the frame  80 . The first receiving slot  82  and the second receiving slot  83  are separately located at two opposite lateral sides of the cable slot  81 , and are respectively internally provided with a first retaining hole  821  and a second retaining hole  831 . The fan  70  has a central base  85  formed at a center of the frame  80 , and a fan circuit board (not shown) is mounted in the central base  85  to electrically connect to the set of cables  84 . The set of cables  84  is extended from the central base  85  through the first opening  811 , the cable slot  81  and the second opening  812  to the outer side of the frame  80 . 
     The cable retaining bracket  50  is assembled to the cable slot  81  to locate on the set of cables  84 . More specifically, the main body  60  of the cable retaining bracket  50  is covered onto the set of cables  84  to hold down the latter while the first retaining arm  611  at the first end  61  and the second retaining arm  631  at the third end  63  of the main body  60  are downward inserted into the first receiving slot  82  and the second receiving slot  83 , respectively, with the first hook  6111  and the second hook  6311  being respectively extended through and stopped by the first and the second retaining hole  821 ,  831  from moving out of the first and the second receiving slot  82 ,  83 . At this point, the first shoulder portion  621  at the second end  62  is correspondingly located at the second opening  812 , bringing the set of cables  84  to flatly and orderly lie in the cable slot  81  without disorderly protruding beyond the frame  80 . Further, the main body  60  and the first shoulder portion  621  together form a relatively large contact area, at where an operator can conveniently apply a force to easily assemble the cable retaining bracket  50  to the frame  80  with reduced energy and time. 
       FIGS. 3A ,  3 B and  3 C illustrate a cable retaining bracket  50  according to a second embodiment of the present invention and the use of it on the fan frame  80 . The cable retaining bracket  50  in the second embodiment has elements, connecting manner and functions generally similar to the first embodiment, therefore, the elements that are the same in the two embodiments are not repeatedly described herein. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that an end of the first shoulder portion  621  corresponding to the outer side of the frame  80  is downward extended to form at least one projected portion  622 . When the first shoulder portion  62  holds down the set of cables  84  to a flat and orderly state in the cable slot  81 , the projected portion  622  guides the set of cables  84  toward the frame  80 , so that the set of cables  84  can be orderly received in the frame  80  without additional energy and time. This further enables convenient assembly of the cable retaining bracket  50  to the cable slot  81  at reduced energy and time and prevents the set of cables  84  from being undesirably pulled against the frame  80 . 
       FIGS. 4A ,  4 B and  4 C illustrate a cable retaining bracket  50  according to a third embodiment of the present invention and the use of it on the fan frame  80 . As shown, the cable retaining bracket  50  in the third embodiment has a first shoulder portion  621  and a second shoulder portion  641  extended from the second end  62  and the fourth end  64  of the main body  60 , respectively. When the cable retaining bracket  50  is assembled to the frame  80 , the first and the second shoulder portion  621 ,  641  are correspondingly located on the first opening  811  and the second opening  812 , respectively, to hold down the set of cables  84  at the first and the second opening  811 ,  812 . The first and second shoulder portions  621 ,  641  and the main body  60  together provide an increased contact area, at where an operator can easily apply a force to assemble the cable retaining bracket  50  to the frame  80 . 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 5A to 5C . The cable retaining bracket  50  can be provided on the main body  60  at one side facing toward the frame  80  with at least one first holding-down element  65  (see  FIG. 5A ), or on the first shoulder portion  621  at one side facing toward the frame  80  with at least one second holding-down element  66  (see  FIG. 5B ), or on the second shoulder portion  641  at one side facing toward the frame  80  with at least one third holding-down element  67  (see  FIG. 5C ), such that when the cable retaining bracket  50  is assembled to the cable slot  81  to locate on the set of cables  84 , the set of cables  84  is brought to pass through the first holding-down element  65 , the second holding-down element  66  or the third holding-down element  67  and held orderly in the cable slot  81  by the holding-down element  65 ,  66  or  67 . Since the first, the second and the third holding-down element  65 ,  66 ,  67  are provided for holding the set of cables  84  orderly in the cable slot  81 , they can be of any configuration without being restricted to a specific form.  FIGS. 6A to 6C  illustrate the first, the second and the third holding-down element  65 ,  66 ,  67  in a form different from that shown in  FIGS. 5A to 5C . 
     The frame  80  of the fan is not particularly restricted to the shape as shown in the first to the third embodiment of the present invention, but can also be, for example, a curved frame, as shown in  FIGS. 7A to 7D . In this case, the cable retaining bracket  50  for assembling to the curved frame  80  can also be formed corresponding to the curvature of the frame  80 , so as to be fitly locked to the cable slot  81  to hold the set of cables  84  orderly in the cable slot  81 . Again, the first and the second shoulder portion  621 ,  641  can assist in holding down and guiding the set of cables  84  to the curved frame  80  and effectively prevent the set of cables  84  from becoming disorderly protruded beyond the frame  80 . 
     The present invention has been described with some preferred embodiments thereof and it is understood that many changes and modifications in the described embodiments can be carried out without departing from the scope and the spirit of the invention that is intended to be limited only by the appended claims.