Patent Publication Number: US-2022225543-A1

Title: Case, fan module and fan frame

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) to Patent Application No. 110101353 filed in Taiwan, R.O.C. on Jan. 13, 2021, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Technical Field 
     A fan module, and in particular, a fan module loaded to a fan frame and applicable to a case are provided. 
     Related Art 
     In a conventional rack-mounted server system, there are a printed circuit board and a fan connected to the printed circuit board in a pluggable manner. A fan plug structure is located below the fan and is vertically plugged to a connector on the printed circuit board, and such a design occupies vertical space between the printed circuit board and the fan. As a result, a height that may be used in a server case is reduced. 
     When the printed circuit board is faulty, due to the fan plug structure, if the faulty printed circuit board needs to be taken out, operating of the entire system needs to be stopped, and the printed circuit board is taken out together with the fan and handled, or the printed circuit board is replaced after the fan above the printed circuit board is stopped and then taken out. However, these methods may affect heat dissipation performance of the fan on front and rear channels that may be cooled by the fan originally. As a result, system performance is reduced. 
     SUMMARY 
     In view of this, according to some embodiments, a fan module is provided, including a fan assembly and a matching connector located on a side edge of the fan assembly and connected to the fan assembly, the matching connector including a matching connector body and a plurality of matching terminals, the matching terminals being located in the matching connector body and one side of each of the matching terminals being exposed from one side of the matching connector body. 
     In some embodiments, the matching connector further includes a guiding portion, and the guiding portion is located in the matching connector body. 
     In some embodiments, the fan assembly further includes a bearing piece and a bearing platform, the bearing piece is fixed to the side edge of the fan assembly, the bearing platform protrudes out from one side of the bearing piece, and the matching connector is fixed to the bearing platform. 
     In some embodiments, the matching connector body further includes a matching end and an opposite end, the matching end and the opposite end are two ends opposite to each other, the matching terminals and the guiding portion are exposed from the matching end, and the opposite end is fixed to the bearing platform and connected to the fan assembly. 
     In some embodiments, a width of each of the matching terminals is less than a width of the guiding portion. 
     In some embodiments, the width of the guiding portion is  2 . 5  mm to  3 . 0  mm. 
     In some embodiments, the fan assembly further includes a bearing piece, a bearing platform, and an adapter plate, the bearing piece is fixed to the side edge of the fan assembly, the bearing platform protrudes out from one side of the bearing piece, the adapter plate is fixed to the bearing platform, and the matching connector and a clamping connector are fixed to the adapter plate. 
     In some embodiments, the clamping connector includes a clamping connector body and a plurality of clamping terminals, the clamping terminals are located in the clamping connector body and one side of each of the clamping terminals is exposed from one side of the clamping connector body, and an extending direction of the clamping terminals is perpendicular to an extending direction of the matching terminals. 
     According to some embodiments, a case is provided, including a shell, a fan frame, and a fan module. The shell is internally provided with a backplane and a motherboard, where the motherboard is connected to the backplane along a first axis, the backplane is connected with a plug connector, the plug connector includes a plug connector body and a plurality of connection terminals, and the connection terminals are located in the plug connector body. The fan frame is fixed in the shell and located on one side of the motherboard. The fan module is located in the fan frame, the fan module includes a fan assembly and a matching connector, and the matching connector is located on a side edge of the fan assembly and connected to the fan assembly; and the matching connector includes a matching connector body and a plurality of matching terminals, and the matching terminals are located in the matching connector body. The matching connector is connected to the plug connector along a second axis. 
     In some embodiments, the plug connector further includes a plurality of sockets and a matching portion, the connection terminals are disposed in the sockets, and the matching portion is located in the plug connector body; and the matching connector further includes a guiding portion, and the guiding portion is located in the matching connector body. 
     In some embodiments, the plug connector body further includes a fixing end and a connecting end, the fixing end and the connecting end are two ends opposite to each other, and the sockets and the matching portion are disposed at the connecting end; and the matching connector body further includes a matching end and an opposite end, the matching end and the opposite end are two ends opposite to each other, the matching terminals and the guiding portion are exposed from the matching end, and the opposite end is fixed to the bearing platform and connected to the fan assembly. 
     In some embodiments, a width of each of the sockets is less than a width of the matching portion, a width of each of the matching terminals is less than a width of the guiding portion, the guiding portion is a guiding piece, the width of the socket is approximately equal to the width of the matching terminal, and the width of the guiding portion is approximately equal to the width of the matching portion. 
     In some embodiments, the fixing end further includes a plurality of fixing terminals, the fixing terminals are exposed from the fixing end, and the plug connector is fixed to the backplane of the shell through the fixing terminals. 
     In some embodiments, the fan frame further includes a support structure, and the support structure is located on a bottom side of the fan frame. 
     In some embodiments, the fan frame further includes a plurality of partition plates separating the fan frame into a plurality of accommodation spaces. 
     In some embodiments, the fan assembly further includes a bearing piece, a bearing platform, and an adapter plate, the bearing piece is fixed to the side edge of the fan assembly, the bearing platform protrudes out from one side of the bearing piece, the adapter plate is fixed to the bearing platform, and the matching connector and a clamping connector are fixed to the adapter plate. 
     In some embodiments, the clamping connector includes a clamping connector body and a plurality of clamping terminals, the clamping terminals are located in the clamping connector body and one side of each of the clamping terminals is exposed from one side of the clamping connector body, and an extending direction of the clamping terminals is perpendicular to an extending direction of the matching terminals. 
     According to some embodiments, a fan frame is provided, including a fan frame body and a matching connector. The matching connector is located on a side edge of the fan frame body and is adapted to connect to a fan module; and the matching connector includes a matching connector body, a plurality of matching terminals, and a guiding portion, the matching terminals are located in the matching connector body and one side of each of the matching terminals is exposed from the matching connector body, and the guiding portion is located in the matching connector body. 
     Based on the above, according to some embodiments, by disposing a plug connector on an upright backplane in a case and disposing a matching connector on a side edge of a fan module, a user may unplug the fan module from or plug the fan module into a fan frame through a side edge of the backplane and in parallel to the backplane, to separate or connect the plug connector and the matching connector. A motherboard located below the fan module and the fan module are independent of each other, the motherboard may be individually dismounted or mounted, namely, unplugged from or plugged into the backplane, so that the fan module and the motherboard may be plugged or unplugged independently of each other, and operating of the fan module is not affected when the motherboard is repaired. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows a three-dimensional diagram of a case in a state of mounting a single fan module on a single fan frame according to some embodiments. 
         FIG. 2  shows a schematic enlarged view of a centerline frame of a mark  2  in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  shows a schematic exploded view of a fan module, a backplane, and a fan frame according to some embodiments. 
         FIG. 4  shows a schematic local side view of the case in a state of connecting a motherboard to a backplane according to some embodiments. 
         FIG. 5  shows a schematic local side view of the case in a state of dismounting a motherboard according to some embodiments. 
         FIG. 6  shows a top view of a plug connector and a matching connector in a state of separating the plug connector and the matching connector according to some embodiments. 
         FIG. 7  shows a three-dimensional diagram of a plug connector and a matching connector in a state of separating the plug connector and the matching connector according to some embodiments. 
         FIG. 8  shows a schematic three-dimensional diagram of another case in a state that a plurality of fan modules may be mounted on a single fan frame according to some embodiments. 
         FIG. 9  shows a schematic three-dimensional diagram of another embodiment of a fan module provided with an adapter plate according to some embodiments. 
         FIG. 10  shows a schematic three-dimensional diagram of a single fan module according to some embodiments. 
         FIG. 11  shows a schematic exploded view of a backplane and a fan frame in a state that the fan frame is provided with a matching connector according to some embodiments. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a case  100  includes a shell  10 , a fan frame  20 , and a fan module  30 . 
     In some embodiments, the case  100  is a rack-mounted server system, the fan module  30  is borne by the fan frame  20 , and the fan module  30  is, for example, but is not limited to a fan with a model 6056, where a size of the fan with the model 6056 is 60 mm*60 mm*56 mm. A height of the rack-mounted server uses U as a unit (1 U is equal to 1.75 inches and equal to 44.45 mm), and generally, there are servers with several standards of 1 U to 7 U. In some embodiments, the case  100  is sleeved on a 2 U server, and according to this design manner, some space below the fan module  30  may be spared for other applications, such as a departure walk of a motherboard or a design for another structure. The fan module  30  may exhaust heat air generated when elements (for example, a CPU and a front-facing SSD) in the case  100  operate, to perform heat dissipation. 
     In some embodiments, the fan module  30  is an independent kit (which may be described in detail below), and the case  100  may include one or more fan modules  30  (as shown in  FIG. 1 ). In some embodiments, the fan frame  200  is an independent kit (which may be described in detail below) and may fit cases with different sizes, such as rack-mounted servers with different heights, and may also bear fan modules with different sizes and specifications. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 2 , and  FIG. 3 , a backplane  11  and a motherboard  12  that are matched to each other are mounted in the shell  10 . The backplane  11  is connected with a plug connector  13 , the plug connector  13  includes a plug connector body  131  and a plurality of connection terminals  133 . The connection terminals  133  are located in the plug connector body  131  and one side of each of the connection terminals  133  is exposed from one side of the plug connector body  131 . In some embodiments, the backplane  11  is upright in a vertical direction (a second axis Y) of the case, and the motherboard  12  is horizontally placed in a horizontal direction (a first axis X) of the case, so that the backplane  11  and the motherboard  12  are orthogonal. In some embodiments, the plug connector  13  may be a receptacle-type electrical connector or a plug-type electrical connector. 
     The fan frame  20  is fixed in the shell  10  and located on one side of the motherboard  12 . In some embodiments, the fan frame  20  is fixed to a side wall of the shell  10  in a locking, soldering, or riveting manner, and an operation space  40  for mounting the motherboard  12  is formed from a bottom side of the fan frame  20  to a bottom side of the shell  10 . In some embodiments, the motherboard  12  may be dismounted or mounted along the first axis X. 
     In some embodiments, the fan frame  20  bears the fan module  30 . The fan module  30  includes a fan assembly  31  and a matching connector  32 , the matching connector  32  is located on a side edge of the fan assembly  31  and is connected to the fan assembly. The matching connector  32  includes a matching connector body  321  and a plurality of matching terminals  322 , the matching terminals  322  are located in the matching connector body  321  and one side of each of the matching terminals  322  is exposed from one side of the matching connector body  321 . In some embodiments, the fan assembly  31  and the matching connector  32  are connected to each other and transmit signals by using a signal line  33 . In some embodiments, the matching connector  32  may be a receptacle-type electrical connector or a plug-type electrical connector. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , in some embodiments, the plug connector  13  and the matching connector  32  are designed correspondingly. Specifically, the plug connector  13  is a receptacle-type electrical connector, the matching connector  32  is a plug-type electrical connector, the plug connector  13  is female, the matching connector  32  is male, and the connection terminals  133  and the matching terminals  322  may be connected to each other correspondingly and transmit signals. In some embodiments, when the matching connector  32  and the plug connector  13  are connected to each other, the fan module starts to operate and exhausts heat air generated by the operating of the elements. In some embodiments, when the fan module  30  is dismounted or mounted, as shown in  FIG. 3 , the plug connector  13  is fixed to the upright backplane  11 , and the matching connector  32  is located on one side of the fan assembly  31 , so that a user may vertically unplug the fan module  30  from or plug the fan module into the fan frame  20  through a side edge of the backplane  11  along the second axis Y. Referring to  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 , in some embodiments, there is a gap between the bottom side of the fan frame  20  and the bottom side of the shell  10 , and the gap forms the operation space  40 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , when the motherboard  12  is dismounted or mounted, the user may horizontally dismount or mount the motherboard  12  along the first axis X in the operation space  40  without dismounting the fan module  30  first. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3  again, in some embodiments, the plug connector  13  further includes a plurality of sockets  132  and a matching portion  134 , the connection terminals  133  are disposed in the sockets  132 , and the matching portion  134  is located in the plug connector body  131 ; and the matching connector  32  further includes a guiding portion  323 , and the guiding portion  323  is located in the matching connector body  321 . In some embodiments, the plurality of sockets  132  are disposed in the plug connector body  131  along a third axis Z, and the connection terminals  133  are disposed in the sockets  132 . In some embodiments, the matching portion  134  is a concave portion, and the matching portion  134  is, for example, located between a plurality of sockets  132  at the outermost side. That is, the matching portion  134  is disposed between two sockets  132  at a side edge (the outermost side) of a plurality of sockets  132  of the same row (as shown in  FIG. 6 ), but is not limited thereto. Alternatively, the matching portion  134  may be adjacent to at least one socket  132  of the sockets  132 . That is, the matching portion may be disposed at a side edge of one socket  132  at a side edge (the outermost side) of the plurality of sockets  132  of the same row. In some embodiments, the guiding portion  323  is a protrusion, the guiding portion  323  is exposed from one side of the matching connector body  321 , and the guiding portion  323  is located between the matching terminals  322  at the outermost side, or the guiding portion  323  may be adjacent to at least one matching terminal  322  of the matching terminals  322 . Based on the above, in some embodiments, the matching terminals  322  may be clamped to the sockets  132  correspondingly along the second axis Y, and the matching terminals and the connection terminals  133  may be connected to each other and transmit signals. The guiding portion  323  of the matching connector  32  may be positioned to the matching portion  134  of the plug connector  13 , to assist the plug connector  13  in matching with the matching connector  32 . In some embodiments, the plug connector  13  is male, and the matching connector  32  is female. For example, the matching connector  32  is provided with sockets and a concave portion for clamping and alignment of the connection terminals  133  and a protrusion of the plug connector  13 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 3  again, in some embodiments, the fan assembly  31  further includes a bearing piece  311  and a bearing platform  312 , the bearing piece  311  is fixed to the side edge of the fan assembly  31 , the bearing platform  312  protrudes out from one side of the bearing piece  311 , and the matching connector  32  is fixed to the bearing platform  312 . In some embodiments, the bearing piece  311  is fixed to an air exhaust side  34  of the fan assembly  31 , and the air exhaust side  34  is a side facing the backplane  11 . In some embodiments, the bearing platform  312  extends toward one side of the backplane  11  from the bearing piece  311 , and the matching connector  32  is fixed to the bearing platform  312 . In some embodiments, the matching connector  32  is fixed to an upper side of the bearing platform  312 , and the matching terminals  322  of the matching connector  32  extend toward one side of the backplane  11  from one side of the matching connector body  321  and extend beyond the bearing platform  312 , so that the matching connector  32  may be vertically clamped to the plug connector  13  from the above of the plug connector  13  through the air exhaust side  34  of the fan assembly  31 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7 , in some embodiments, the plug connector body  131  further includes a connecting end  131   a  and a fixing end  131   b,  the connecting end  131   a  and the fixing end  131   b  are two ends opposite to each other, and the sockets  132  and the matching portion  134  are disposed at the connecting end  131   a.  The matching connector body  321  further includes a matching end  321   a  and an opposite end  321   b,  the matching end  321   a  and the opposite end  321   b  are two ends opposite to each other, the matching terminals  322  and the guiding portion  323  are exposed from the matching end  321   a,  and the opposite end  321   b  is fixed to the bearing platform  312  and connected to the fan assembly  31 . In some embodiments, the opposite end  321   b  of the matching connector  32  may be fixed to the bearing platform  312  in a locking, soldering, or riveting manner, and the matching connector  32  is connected to the fan assembly  31  from the opposite end  321   b  by using the signal line  33 . The fan assembly  31  and the matching connector  32  are connected to each other and transmit signals by using the signal line  33 , and the fixing end  131   b  of the plug connector  13  may be fixed to the backplane  11  in a locking, soldering, or riveting manner. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , in some embodiments, each of the sockets  132  is provided with a first width L 1 , the matching portion  134  is provided with a second width L 2 , and the second width L 2  is greater than the first width L 1 . Each of the matching terminals  322  is provided with a third width L 3 , the guiding portion  323  is a guiding piece, the guiding portion  323  is provided with a fourth width L 4 , and the fourth width L 4  is greater than the third width L 3 . The third width L 3  is approximately equal to the first width L 1 , and the fourth width L 4  is approximately equal to the second width L 2 . The “approximately equal” herein means that the length may have a tolerance/allowance range. In some embodiments, the matching terminals  322  and the sockets  132  are provided with corresponding sizes to make the matching terminals and the sockets clamped to each other. To make the matching connector  32  aligned to the plug connector  13 , a size of the guiding portion  323  and a size of the matching portion  134  are increased, and the matching terminals  322  are clamped to the sockets  132  by aligning the guiding portion  323  to the matching portion  134 . In some embodiments, the width of the guiding portion  323  is 2.5 mm to 3.0 mm. In some embodiments, each of the matching terminals  322  of the matching connector  32  has a relatively high tolerance/allowance, which may reduce a risk of bending pins when a fan is plugged or unplugged. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7 , in some embodiments, each of the matching terminals  322  is in a shape of a leaf or a blade. In some embodiments, each of the matching terminals  322  is in a shape of a hay cutter and includes a first side surface  322   a  and a second side surface  322   b,  and the first side surface  322   a  and the second side surface  322   b  are surfaces opposite to each other. Each of the sockets  132  includes a first side wall  132   a,  a second side wall  132   b  and a bearing surface  132   c,  the first side wall  132   a  and the second side wall  132   b  are surfaces opposite to each other, and the bearing surface  132   c  is matched to the first side wall  132   a  and the second side wall  132   b  respectively. In some embodiments, each of the connection terminals  133  is disposed on the first side wall  132   a  and the second side wall  132   b  of each of the sockets  132 . In some embodiments, a structure of each of the sockets  132  corresponds to a structure of each of the matching terminals  322 , so that the matching terminals may be clamped to the sockets correspondingly. The first width L 1  from the first side wall  132   a  to the second side wall  132   b  is approximately equal to the third width L 3  from the first side surface  322   a  to the second side surface  322   b,  and the bearing surfaces  132   c  of the sockets  132  may bear the matching terminals  322 . In some embodiments, the guiding portion  323  includes a third side surface  323   a  and a fourth side surface  323   b,  and the third side surface  323   a  and the fourth side surface  323   b  are surfaces opposite to each other. The matching portion  134  includes a third side wall  134   a  and a fourth side wall  134   b,  and the third side wall  134   a  and the fourth side wall  134   b  are surfaces opposite to each other. In some embodiments, a structure of the matching portion  134  corresponds to a structure of the guiding portion  323 , and the second width L 2  from the third side wall  134   a  to the fourth side wall  134   b  is approximately equal to the fourth width L 4  from the third side surface  323   a  to the fourth side surface  323   b.    
     Referring to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 7 , in some embodiments, the fixing end  131   b  of the plug connector  13  further includes a plurality of fixing terminals  14 , the fixing terminals  14  are exposed from one side of the fixing end  131   b,  and the plug connector  13  is connected to the backplane  11  of the shell  10  through the fixing terminals  14 . In some embodiments, an extending direction of the fixing terminals  14  is parallel to the backplane  11 , and the fixing terminals extend vertically. The fixing terminals  14  may be fixed to the backplane  11  in a soldering manner and connected to the backplane to transmit signals. In some embodiments, specifically, the backplane  11  transmits signals to the plug connector  13  through the fixing terminals  14 , then transmits signals to the matching terminals  322  of the matching connector  32  through the connection terminals  133 , and transmits signals to the fan assembly  31  through the signal line  33 . 
     In some embodiments, a protruding direction of the fixing terminals  14  is perpendicular to the backplane  11 , and the fixing terminals extend horizontally. The backplane  11  is provided with a plurality of holes, the fixing terminals  14  are plugged into the holes of the backplane  11  in an embedding manner, and the fixing terminals are connected to the backplane to transmit signals. 
     Referring to  FIG. 8 , in some embodiments, the fan frame  20  may include a support structure  22 , and the support structure  22  is located between the fan frame  20  and the shell  10 . In some embodiments, the support structure  22  is fixed to the bottom side of the fan frame  20  or the shell  10  in a locking, soldering, or riveting manner. The support structure  22  is located in the operation space  40  between the bottom side of the fan frame  20  and the bottom side of the shell  10  and located on two sides of the motherboard  12 , so as to provide strength to support the fan frame  20  and not to interfere with the dismounting or mounting of the motherboard  12 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 8 , in some embodiments, the fan frame  20  may include a plurality of partition plates  23 , separating or arranging the fan frame  20  into a plurality of accommodation spaces  60  along the third axis Z. In some embodiments, as shown in  FIG. 1 , one or more fan frames  20  may be disposed according to the shell  10  to mount required fan modules  30 . Alternatively, as shown in  FIG. 8 , one fan frame  20  may be disposed in the shell  10 , and the fan frame  20  is separated into a plurality of accommodation spaces  60  by using a plurality of partition plates  23  to mount a plurality of fan modules  30 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 9 , the fan assembly  31  may include a bearing piece  311 , a bearing platform  312 , and an adapter plate  313 . The bearing piece  311  is fixed to the side edge of the fan assembly  31 , the bearing platform  312  protrudes out from one side of the bearing piece  311 , the adapter plate  313  is fixed to the bearing platform  312 , and the matching connector  32  and a clamping connector  35  are fixed to the bearing platform  312 . In some embodiments, the bearing piece  311  is fixed to the air exhaust side  34  of the fan assembly  31  in a locking, soldering, or riveting manner, and the air exhaust side  34  is a side facing the backplane  11 . 
     In some embodiments, the bearing platform  312  extends toward one side of the backplane  11  from the bearing piece  311 . The adapter plate  313  is fixed to a lower side of the bearing platform  312  in a locking, soldering, or riveting manner and is connected to the fan assembly  31  through the signal line  33  to transmit signals. In some embodiments, the matching connector  32  is fixed to the adapter plate  313  in a locking, soldering, or riveting manner, and the matching terminals  322  of the matching connector  32  extend toward one side of the backplane  11  from one side of the matching connector body  321  and extend beyond the bearing platform  312 , so that the matching connector  32  may be vertically clamped to the plug connector  13  from the above of the plug connector  13  through the air exhaust side  34  of the fan assembly  31 . 
     In some embodiments, a clamping connector  35  is further fixed to the adapter plate  313 . The clamping connector includes a clamping connector body  351  and a plurality of clamping terminals  352 , the clamping terminals  352  extend outward from one side of the clamping connector body  351 , and an extending direction of the clamping terminals  352  is perpendicular to an extending direction of the matching terminals  322 . In some embodiments, the matching connector  32  and the clamping connector  35  may be interchanged for use, and in order to fit connectors with different forms or structures, signals may alternatively be transmitted by clamping the upright clamping terminals  352  of the clamping connector  35  to a connector with a corresponding structure. 
     Referring to  FIG. 10 , a fan module  30  is provided. The fan module includes a fan assembly  31  and a matching connector  32 , the matching connector  32  is located on a side edge of the fan assembly  31  and is connected to the fan assembly. The matching connector  32  includes a matching connector body  321  and a plurality of matching terminals  322 , the matching terminals  322  are located in the matching connector body  321  and one side of each of the matching terminals  322  is exposed from one side of the matching connector body  321 . In some embodiments, one side of each of the plurality of matching terminals  322  is located on one side of the matching connector body  321  along a third axis Z. In some embodiments, the matching connector  32  includes a guiding portion  323 , and the guiding portion  323  is located in the matching connector body  321 . In some embodiments, the guiding portion  323  is, for example, located between two matching terminals  322  at a side edge (the outermost side) of a plurality of matching terminals  322  of the same row (as shown in  FIG. 6 ), but is not limited thereto. The guiding portion  323  may alternatively be adjacent to at least one matching terminal  322  of the matching terminals  322 . In some embodiments, the guiding portion  323  may be a protrusion or a concave portion. Specifically, the matching connector  32  may be male or may be female. That is, the matching connector  32  may be a plug-type electrical connector or a receptacle-type electrical connector to fit a corresponding receptacle-type electrical connector or plug-type electrical connector. 
     In some embodiments, the fan module  30  is adapted to fit the foregoing case  100  or another type of case, and one fan module  30  or more fan modules  30  are disposed. In some embodiments, the fan assembly  31  and the matching connector  32  are connected to each other and transmit signals through the signal line  33 . In some embodiments, the matching connector  32  is male and is a connector disposed and adapted to fit the foregoing case  100  or another type of case, and the matching connector is clamped to a connector of a corresponding structure by using the matching terminals  322  to transmit signals. 
     Referring to  FIG. 11 , a fan frame  200  is provided, including a matching connector  220 . The matching connector  220  is located on a side edge of the fan frame  200  and is adapted to connect to a fan module. The matching connector  220  includes a matching connector body  221 , a plurality of matching terminals  222 , and a guiding piece  223 , the matching terminals  222  are located in the matching connector body  221  and one side of each of the matching terminals  222  is exposed from one side of the matching connector body  221 , and the guiding piece  223  is located in the matching connector body  221 . In some embodiments, the fan frame  200  is adapted to be mounted in a case with another model and is adapted to bear fan modules with different models, and the matching connector  220  located on the side edge of the fan frame  200  is adapted to connect to the fan module and transmit signals through a signal line  230 . 
     In some embodiments, as shown in  FIG. 11 , a fan frame  200  may be disposed in a to-be-fitted case  100 . In some embodiments, the fan frame may be similar to the fan frame  20  in  FIG. 1 , and one or more fan frames  200  may be disposed to bear one or more fan modules. In some embodiments, the fan frame may be similar to the fan frame  20  in  FIG. 6 , and one fan frame  200  is disposed and the fan frame  200  is separated into a plurality of accommodation spaces by using a plurality of partition plates to mount a plurality of fan modules. 
     In some embodiments, as shown in  FIG. 8 , the fan frame  200  may include a support structure, and the support structure is located on a bottom side of the fan frame  200 . In some embodiments, the support structure is fixed to the bottom side of the fan frame  200  in a locking, soldering, or riveting manner to provide strength to support the fan frame  200 . 
     Based on the above, in some embodiments, according to the plug connector disposed on the backplane and the matching connector disposed on the side edge of the fan module, the user may vertically unplug the fan module from or plug the fan module into the fan frame from a side edge of the backplane along the second axis Y and reserve the operation space between the bottom side of the fan frame body and the bottom side of the shell to provide a horizontal dismounting or mounting walk for the motherboard below the fan module along the first axis X, so that the fan module and the motherboard may be plugged or unplugged independently of each other, and operating of the fan module is not affected when the motherboard is repaired.