Detailed Description
Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description relating to the structure of the axial flow fan, the direction in which the rotation axis in which the impeller rotates extends is referred to as the "vertical direction". The radial direction centered on the rotation axis is simply referred to as "radial direction", and the circumferential direction centered on the rotation axis is simply referred to as "circumferential direction". However, the vertical direction does not indicate a positional relationship and a direction when the device is incorporated into an actual apparatus.
First, the overall structure of an axial flow fan according to embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 4. Fig. 1 is an overall perspective view showing an axial flow fan 50 according to embodiment 1 of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of an axial flow fan 50 according to embodiment 1 of the present invention. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing an impeller 1 according to embodiment 1 of the present invention. Fig. 4 is a plan view of axial flow fan 50 according to embodiment 1 of the present invention as viewed from the exhaust port side.
The axial fan 50 includes an impeller 1, a motor 2, and a casing 3.
The casing 3 is disposed radially outward of the impeller 1. The housing 3 has a motor base portion 31, a frame portion 32, and a connecting rib 33. The motor base part 31 supports the motor 2. The frame portion 32 is located radially outward of the motor base portion 31. The connecting ribs 33 connect the motor base portion 31 and the frame portion 32. The housing 3 is made of a resin material, and the motor base portion 31, the frame portion 32, and the connection ribs 33 are made of a resin material as the same member.
The motor 2 rotationally drives the impeller 1 about the center axis C1. The motor 2 includes a stator portion 21, a rotor portion 22 that rotates to face the stator portion 21, a bearing portion 23, a shaft 24, and a circuit board 25.
The motor base part 31 supports the motor 2. The motor base part 31 has a base part 311 expanding in the radial direction on the lower surface side and a bearing holding part 312 protruding upward from the central part of the base part 311. The bearing holding portion 312 accommodates the cylindrical bearing portion 23 therein and holds the bearing portion 23. The bearing portion 23 is, for example, a sleeve bearing. The bearing portions 23 may be a pair of ball bearings arranged vertically.
The shaft 24 is a columnar member extending in the vertical direction, and is made of metal such as stainless steel, for example. The bearing portion 23 can hold the shaft 24 to rotate about the center axis C1.
The stator portion 21 is fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the bearing holding portion 312. The stator portion 21 includes a stator core 211, an insulating member (not shown) made of insulating resin, and a coil 213. The stator core 211 is formed of a laminated steel plate in which electromagnetic steel plates such as silicon steel plates are laminated in the vertical direction. The coil 213 is provided by winding a wire around the stator core 211 with an insulator interposed therebetween.
A circuit board 25 is disposed below the stator portion 21. The circuit board 25 is a board on which an electronic circuit for supplying a driving current to the coil 213 is mounted. The lead wire of the coil 213 is electrically connected to the circuit board 25.
The rotor portion 22 has a rotor yoke 221 and a magnet 222. The rotor yoke 221 is a substantially cylindrical member and is formed of a magnetic body. A cylindrical magnet 222 is fixed to an inner peripheral surface of the rotor yoke 221. The magnet 222 is disposed radially outward of the stator portion 21. The magnetic pole surfaces on the inner circumferential side of the magnet 222 are arranged such that N poles and S poles alternate in the circumferential direction. By forming a magnetic path between rotor yoke 221 and magnet 222, leakage flux from magnet 222 to the outside of axial fan 50 can be reduced.
The impeller 1 is made of a resin material, and has an impeller cup 11 and a plurality of blades 12. The impeller cup 11 is a substantially cylindrical member having a cover at the upper part, and more specifically, has a top plate 111 extending in a direction intersecting the center axis C1, and a side surface 112 extending downward from the top plate 111. A rotor yoke 221 is fixed to the inside of the side surface portion 112. A plurality of blades 12 are formed radially outward of the side surface portion 112. In the present embodiment, as an example, 3 blades 12 are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction as shown in fig. 4 in particular. The shaft 24 is fixed to the top plate 111.
In the axial flow fan 50 configured as described above, when a drive current is applied to the coil 213 of the stator portion 21, a magnetic flux in the radial direction is generated in the stator core 211. Then, a circumferential torque is generated by the action of magnetic flux between the stator core 211 and the magnet 222. As a result, the rotating portion constituted by the rotor portion 22 and the impeller 1 rotates about the central axis C1.
When the impeller 1 rotates, an air flow is generated by the plurality of blades 12. That is, air flow is generated with the upper side of the axial fan 50 as the intake side and the lower side as the exhaust side, and air can be blown.
The blade 12 extends radially outward from the side surface portion 112. Further, the blade 12 has a leading edge portion 121 positioned at the forefront in the rotation direction and a trailing edge portion 122 positioned at the rearmost in the rotation direction, and the blade 12 is shaped so as to be inclined upward from the trailing edge portion 122 toward the leading edge portion 121 from below.
By reducing the axial height of the motor 2, the length of the side surface portion 112 of the impeller cup 11 can be reduced, and as a result, the amount of resin used can be reduced. However, when the blades 12 are formed at the same angle, if the top plate and the front edge of the impeller cup are located at the same position as in the conventional impeller, the circumferential length of the blades 12 becomes short, and as a result, the air volume decreases. Since the leading edge 121 is located above the top plate 111, the circumferential length of the blade can be maintained, and the air volume can be ensured.
A wall portion 123 extending from the front edge portion 121 to the top plate portion 111 is provided. More specifically, the wall portion 123 extends in the axial direction from the outer edge of the top plate portion 111, and is connected to the surface of the blade 12 on the impeller cup 11 side from the front edge portion 121 to the rear edge portion 122.
When the leading edge portion 121 is not connected to the top plate portion 111, the leading edge portion 121 vibrates when the impeller 1 rotates, which causes noise, because the rigidity of the blade 12 is weak. By providing the wall portion 123, the rigidity of the leading edge portion 121 can be improved, and vibration and noise during rotation of the impeller 1 can be reduced.
The radially inward surface of the wall portion 123 is curved in the circumferential direction. This allows air to flow smoothly along the curved wall portion 123 when the impeller 1 rotates, and prevents turbulence from occurring in the wall portion 123 when the impeller rotates.
A radially outward surface of the wall portion 123 extends in the axial direction so as to be flush with the side surface portion 112 of the impeller cup 11. Thus, when the impeller 1 rotates, air flows smoothly along the curved wall portion 123, and turbulence is prevented from being generated in the wall portion 123 when rotating.
The top plate 111 has a groove 1111 recessed downward in the axial direction. The groove 1111 is located radially inward of a radially inward surface of the wall portion 123. A balancer (not shown) for correcting the balance of the impeller 1 is disposed in the groove 1111. By disposing the groove 1111 of the top plate 111 inside the wall portion 123, balance correction can be easily performed.
Next, the structure of the housing 3 will be described in detail with reference to fig. 4.
The frame portion 32 has an inner wall portion 321 extending in the axial direction, and the inner wall portion 321 has an air inlet on the upper side in the axial direction and an air outlet on the lower side in the axial direction. The inner wall 321 is formed in a cylindrical shape so that an inner peripheral surface thereof faces an outer edge portion of the blade 12 and so that wind flows in an axial direction inside. The inner wall 321 is connected to the connecting rib 33.
Frame portion 32 has an outer wall portion 322 extending in the axial direction, and outer wall portion 322 is located radially outward of inner wall portion 321. The outer wall portion 322 is rectangular when viewed from the axial direction. Having a1 st side 3221 and a2 nd side 3222 constituting the outer wall portion 322. Side 1 3221 and side 2 3222 are connected to each other at right angles. A fixing portion 323 is provided at a corner portion formed by the 1 st side 3221 and the 2 nd side 3222. The fixing portion 323 has a through hole 3231 to which a screw or the like for fixing an actual device such as a home appliance is attached.
The inner wall 321 and the outer wall 322 are disposed separately. More specifically, the inner wall 321 and the outer wall 322 are open at one axial side. This can reduce the amount of resin used for the case 3. In order to reduce the amount of resin used for the housing 3, the housing may have a shape that penetrates in the axial direction.
A1 st rib 324 is provided between the inner wall 321 and the outer wall 322 to connect the inner wall 321 and the outer wall 322. In more detail, the 1 st rib 324 extends from the connection rib 33 in the same direction as the connection rib 33, and is connected to the 1 st side 3221. Also, the 1 st rib 324 is not connected to the fixing portion 323, i.e., is connected to the 1 st side 3221 at a position apart from the fixing portion 323.
When the motor is driven, the connection rib 33 is stressed by vibration of the motor 2 and wind pressure, and a force for deforming the inner wall 321 is applied. The deformation of the inner wall 321 causes the position of the motor 2 to move, that is, the motor 2 to vibrate, which causes noise of the axial flow fan. By providing the 1 st rib 324, the rigidity of the inner wall 321 is increased, and deformation of the inner wall 321 due to a force from the connecting rib 33 is reduced. As a result, since the position of the motor 2 is maintained, vibration and noise can be reduced.
The 2 nd rib 325 extending perpendicularly from the 1 st side 3221 toward the inner wall 321 is connected to the connecting rib 33 as viewed in the axial direction. The strength of the 1 st side 3221 is maintained by the 2 nd rib 325, reducing vibration.
The 3 rd rib 326 extending perpendicularly from the 2 nd side 3222 toward the inner wall 321 is connected to the inner wall 321 as viewed in the axial direction. The 3 rd rib 326 maintains the strength of the 2 nd side 3222 and the inner wall 321, thereby reducing vibration.
Next, embodiment 2, which is a modification of embodiment 1, will be described. Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing an impeller 1A according to embodiment 2 of the present invention. Fig. 6 is a graph showing characteristics of the impeller 1A according to embodiment 2 of the present invention.
The blade 12A of the impeller 1A includes: a thin-walled portion 125 having a short axial length; a thick portion 126 that is longer than the thin portion 125 in the axial direction on the leading edge portion 121A side; and a step portion 127 connecting the thin portion 125 and the thick portion 126.
Fig. 6 is a graph showing characteristics of the impeller 1A according to embodiment 2 of the present invention. More specifically, the present invention is a graph showing static pressure-air volume characteristics (P-Q curve) obtained by comparing the impeller 1A of the present invention (the present invention in the figure) with a conventional impeller (conventional art in the figure) having no thin portion 125, thick portion 126, and stepped portion 127. According to the graph of fig. 6, surge increases in the middle region a1 of the P-Q curve, which causes vibration and noise. By forming the impeller 1A in a distorted shape such that the axial length thereof becomes thinner from the leading edge portion 121A side toward the trailing edge portion 122A, the flow of wind flowing on the surface of the blade 12A is less likely to separate from the blade 12A, and the region where surging occurs in the intermediate region a1 of the P-Q curve can be reduced.
Further, the axial length of thick portion 126 becomes shorter from wall portion 123A toward outer edge 124A of blade 12A. That is, the outer edge portion 124A is formed in a streamline shape having the same length, i.e., the length from the leading edge portion 121A side to the trailing edge portion 122A.
The outer edge portion 124A has an action of preventing the reverse flow of wind by a slight gap from the inner peripheral portion of the casing 3, and is not a distorted shape but a streamline shape having the same length in order to give priority to the action.
Next, embodiment 3, which is a modification of embodiment 1, will be described. Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing an impeller 1B according to embodiment 3 of the present invention. Fig. 8 is a side view showing an impeller 1B according to embodiment 3 of the present invention. Fig. 9 is a side view showing an axial flow fan 50B according to embodiment 3 of the present invention. Fig. 10 is a graph showing characteristics of the impeller 1B according to embodiment 3 of the present invention.
As shown in fig. 7 and 8, the blade 1B has a blade end portion 128 extending in the axial direction downward on the trailing edge portion 122B side of the outer edge portion 124B of the blade 12B. When impeller 1B is viewed from the side, blade end 128 has a rectangular plate shape. As shown in fig. 9, the axial flow fan 50B further has a casing 3B. The casing 3B is disposed radially outward of the impeller 1B.
As shown in fig. 8, when the impeller 1B is viewed from the side, the blade end 128 is located between the axial upper end and the axial lower end of the impeller cup 11B. In more detail, the wing tip 128 is located within the housing 3B, as shown in fig. 9, in a position hidden by the housing 8.
Fig. 10 is a graph showing characteristics of the impeller 1B according to embodiment 3 of the present invention. More specifically, the graph shows static pressure-air volume characteristics (P-Q curve) obtained by comparing the impeller 1B of the present invention (the present invention in the figure) with a conventional impeller (conventional technique in the figure) having no blade end 128. According to the graph of fig. 10, the surge becomes large in the middle region a2 of the P-Q curve, which becomes a cause of vibration and noise. By providing the blade end 128 as in the impeller 1B of the present invention, the ventilation resistance with the inner peripheral portion of the casing 3 becomes large, and the backflow is less likely to occur. As a result, the region in the P-Q curve of fig. 10 where surging occurs can be reduced.
Further, the longer the length of the blade end 128, the smaller the region where surging occurs, but if the length of the blade end 128 is too long, the flow of wind in the blowing direction is also obstructed, and the blowing capability is lowered. By positioning the length of the blade tip portion 128 between the axial upper end and the axial lower end of the impeller cup 11B, surge and blowing performance can be balanced.
The present invention can be applied to, for example, an axial fan mounted on a refrigerator.