Patent ID: 7687966

Claim:
A stator assembly detachably mounted within a fan housing, the stator assembly comprising: a stator including a first central hole, one or more first mounting feet disposed about the first central hole, and one or more second mounting feet disposed apart from the one or more first mounting feet; a printed circuit board (PCB) including a second central hole and one or more first openings disposed about the second central hole; and a fan housing including a base member fixedly coupled to a bearing liner, the base member including one or more second openings disposed about the bearing liner; wherein: the stator is coupled to the PCB into a stator-PCB assembly with each of the one or more first mounting feet being locked with one of the one or more first openings, each of the one or more first mounting feet comprises two prongs each having a first length and a first end structure including at least a first locking tang and an interference tab disposed apart from each other by a gap along the first length; the two prongs are spaced apart by a predetermined distance substantially equal to a lateral dimension of said one of the one or more first openings and deformable to allow the corresponding first mounting feet being inserted through said one of the one or more first openings; and the stator-PCB assembly is coupled to the fan housing with each of the one or more second mounting feet locked with one of the one or more second openings and with both the first central hole and the second central hole center-aligned with respect to and disposed around the bearing liner.