Patent ID: 7789622

Claim:
A cooling fan assembly for cooling a heat exchanger of an automotive engine comprising; a heat exchanger for transferring heat from a liquid to cool the engine, a shroud having a cylindrical wall extending about an axis to define a circular opening having an opening radius and extending axially to an exit throat, a plurality of stators extending radially from said shroud and into said circular opening toward said axis, a hub supported by said stators on said axis, a flow-guide surrounding said shroud and extending to said heat exchanger for guiding airflow from said heat exchanger to said circular opening, said flow-guide being generally funnel-shaped having an outer rim extending annularly about said axis and curving concavely inwardly in the axial direction from said heat exchanger to said stators, said flow-guide including an inner rim extending annularly about said axis and curving convexly in the axial direction from said outer rim, a fan unit for moving air across said heat exchanger toward said circular opening and including a motor supported by said hub and a plurality of fan blades extending radially from said motor, each of said fan blades including a leading edge facing said stators and a trailing edge facing in the opposite direction and a blade tip extending axially therebetween, said shroud including a fan section extending from said inner rim and axially about said fan blades of said fan unit, said stators being disposed axially between said heat exchanger and said fan blades of said fan unit, each of said stators having a front edge facing said heat exchanger and a back edge facing said fan blades of said fan unit, and each of said stators being connected to said inner rim with said front edge extending radially outwardly farther than said back edge.