JP7175544B1 - Fan - Google Patents

Abstract

A fan adaptable to various usage environments including outdoors is provided. A fan includes a main body including a fan and a fan motor that drives the fan, and a support that supports the main body. The main body includes a housing that houses the fan motor, a swinging mechanism configured to swing the main body in a predetermined direction, and a swinging mechanism that drives the swinging mechanism. A motor and a battery that powers the fan motor and the oscillating motor. In addition to the fan motor, the swing motor and the battery are accommodated in the housing. [Selection diagram] Fig. 1

Description

The present invention relates to electric fans.

Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which an oscillating motor for reciprocating the head of an electric fan in the left-right direction is arranged below a column 4 that supports the head.

JP 2016-098740 A

A portable electric fan is assumed to be used outdoors. If the motor for driving the swing mechanism is arranged on the stand (supporting portion), the motor is exposed to the outside, which is not preferable from the viewpoint of dustproof and dripproof performance.

The present invention provides an electric fan that can be used in various environments including outdoors.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electric fan including: a body portion including a fan and a fan motor that drives the fan; and a support portion that supports the body portion, wherein the body portion includes the fan motor. an oscillating mechanism configured to perform an oscillating motion in which the orientation of the main body portion oscillates in a predetermined direction; an oscillating motor that drives the oscillating mechanism; the fan motor; a battery for supplying power to an oscillating motor, the housing further housing the oscillating motor and the battery, the support section being detachably connected to the body section, The support portion is selected from among a plurality of types of support portions having the same configuration of a connection portion with the main body portion and different configurations of portions other than the connection portion. A cooling fan is provided.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the electric fan which can be adapted to various usage environments including the outdoors can be provided.

The perspective view which shows the whole structure of an electric fan. FIG. 2 is a side view of the electric fan with the supporting portion removed from the main body; 4 is a perspective view of a support having a pedestal; FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a support with clips; Sectional drawing of a main-body part. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of a detection unit that detects attachment or detachment of a support portion to or from a main body; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration example of a control device; The figure explaining the adjustment mechanism of an elevation/depression angle. The figure explaining the adjustment mechanism of an elevation/depression angle. The figure explaining the adjustment mechanism of an elevation/depression angle. The figure which shows the electric fan in the state which the cartridge for pest control was attached to the front guard.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the invention. Two or more of the features described in the embodiments may be combined arbitrarily. Also, the same or similar configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations are omitted.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of an electric fan 1 according to this embodiment. The purpose of an electric fan is to give people a feeling of coolness by blowing the airflow generated by rotating the fan onto people. is also available. Therefore, as used herein, the term "fan" is intended to include circulators as well.

The electric fan 1 includes a body portion (head) 10 including a fan and a support portion 20 that supports the body portion 10 . Specifically, the main body 10 includes a fan 11, a front guard 12 and a rear guard 13 that accommodate the fan 11, a housing 14 that accommodates driving parts (a motor, a control board, etc.) of the fan 11, and the housing 14. and an operation unit 15 arranged on the back side. A grip portion 16 may be provided above the housing 14 . The support portion 20 has a leg portion 21 and a connection portion 22 that connects the main body portion 10 . Further, an adjusting mechanism 23 is interposed between the leg portion 21 and the connecting portion 22 to adjust the elevation/depression angle of the connecting portion 22 (and thus the main body portion 10). The connecting portion 22 connects the main body portion 10 so as to be rotatable (swingable) about a swing axis that intersects the direction in which the rotation axis of the fan 11 extends.

In this embodiment, the main body part 10 and the support part 20 are detachably connected by the user. FIG. 2 shows a side view of the electric fan 1 with the support portion 20 removed from the main body portion 10 . The body portion 10 is formed with an adapter 17 which is a fitting hole for fitting with the attachment 24 of the connection portion 22. When the attachment 24 is completely inserted into the adapter 17, a latch 25 arranged on the attachment 24 is opened. Thus, the attachment 24 and the adapter 17 are locked, thereby connecting the main body portion 10 and the connection portion 22 . A pressing portion 26 that presses the latch 25 is formed in the connection portion 22 , and the user can release the lock by pressing the pressing portion 26 . The user can remove the support part 20 from the main body part 10 by pulling out the support part 20 from the main body part 10 while pressing the pressing part 26 . Such a structure of the connection portion 22 is an example, and the present invention is not limited to a specific structure of the connection portion. Therefore, other configurations may be adopted for the connecting portion 22 .

FIG. 3 shows an example of a support 20 having a configuration different from that shown in FIGS. In the support portion 20 shown in FIG. 3, instead of the leg portion 21, a pedestal portion 31 having a flat bottom surface is employed. Such a pedestal portion 31 is suitable for being stably placed on a flat surface such as a desk, table, floor, or the like. On the other hand, since the leg portion 21 of the support portion 20 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a small contact area with the mounting surface, it is difficult to install the leg portion 21 in a place having a lower degree of flatness than the base portion 31, such as uneven ground. Suitable for Thus, in one example, the support 20 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 can be classified as for outdoor use, and the support 20 illustrated in FIG. 3 as for indoor use. FIG. 4 shows an example of the support portion 20 having a configuration that is further different from that shown in FIGS. The support portion 20 shown in FIG. 4 employs a clip 40 that clamps the installation location between the first member 41 and the second member 42 by the biasing force of the spring 33 . Although a plurality of types of support portions 20 are illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4, the structure of the connection portion 22 is common to each type.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the main body portion 10 and the support portion 20 are configured to be freely attachable/detachable by the user. By providing a lineup of a plurality of types of support portions that share the structure of the connection portion 22, the user can select a support portion according to the use environment and preference.

In particular, when lining up a plurality of types of support parts, it is desired that the support parts have as simple a structure as possible and are excellent in portability. Therefore, there is a demand to avoid arranging a large and heavy structure such as an oscillating mechanism and/or an oscillating motor for driving the same on the supporting portion. Further, when the swinging mechanism and the swinging motor are arranged in the supporting portion, it is inevitable that they are exposed to the outside or the gap is large. If so, the dustproof and dripproof performance of the mechanical section cannot be ensured, which is disadvantageous when used outdoors.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the swing motor is housed in the housing 14 of the main body 10 .

FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the body portion 10. As shown in FIG. 5, the housing 14 contains a fan motor 52 having the rotation shaft 51 of the fan 11 as an output shaft, an oscillation motor 53 for driving the oscillation mechanism 50, and at least the fan motor 52 and the oscillation motor 53 with electric power. and a battery 56 for supplying the power.

In one example, fan motor 52 can be a DC motor. In that case, the rotation speed of the fan 11 can be controlled by adjusting the duty cycle of the pulse drive signal supplied to the DC motor.

In the example of FIG. 5, the swing mechanism 50 is also housed inside the housing 14 . The swinging mechanism 50 is a mechanism that swings the main body 10 in a predetermined direction (for example, the horizontal direction in FIG. 1). In other words, the oscillating mechanism 50 is a mechanism for rotating (oscillating) the main body 10 around an oscillating axis (for example, an axis extending vertically in FIG. 1) that intersects the direction in which the rotating shaft 51 of the fan 11 extends. is. The swing mechanism 50 can include a driving gear 54 and a rotating gear 55 . In one example, the oscillating motor 53 can be a stepping motor. In that case, the swinging angle and swinging speed of the main body 10 can be controlled by adjusting the pulse drive signal supplied to the stepping motor. The swing motor 53 rotates a drive gear 54 attached to its output shaft. A rotary gear 55 that meshes with the driving gear 54 is attached to the adapter 17 which is a fitting hole. It may be understood that the rotating gear 55 constitutes the outer peripheral wall of the fitting hole. By transmitting the rotational force of the driving gear 54 to the rotating gear 55 , the attachment 24 is attached to the support portion 20 fitted to the adapter 17 , and the neck of the body portion 10 intersecting with the direction in which the rotating shaft 51 of the fan 11 extends is provided. Rotation (oscillation) around the swing axis is realized.

The battery 56 supplies electric power to the fan motor 52, the swing motor 53, the operating section 15, the control device 70 (see FIG. 7), and the like. The battery 56 can be a rechargeable battery (secondary battery) such as a lithium ion battery. Alternatively, the battery 56 may be composed of an electric double layer capacitor such as a lithium ion capacitor.

Thus, according to this embodiment, the fan motor 52 , the swing mechanism 50 , the swing motor 53 , and the battery 56 are housed in the housing 14 integrally. These structures accommodated in the housing 14 are ensured to be dustproof and dripproof, which is advantageous when used outdoors.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b), the configuration of the detection section that detects attachment or detachment of the support section 20 with respect to the main body section 10 will be described.

6A shows a state in which the support portion 20 is removed from the body portion 10, and FIG. 6B shows a state in which the support portion 20 is attached to the body portion 10. FIG. A magnetic sensor 61 is arranged above the adapter 17 of the main body 10 , for example, at a position between the rotating gear 55 and the battery 56 . The magnetic sensor 61 can be, for example, a Hall sensor configured using a Hall element. On the other hand, a magnet 62 is arranged above the connection portion 22 of the support portion 20 , for example, on the inner or outer peripheral surface of the attachment 24 . Magnet 62 is, for example, a permanent magnet. The magnet 62 is configured as a magnetic field applying section for the magnetic sensor 61 . When the support portion 20 is connected to the main body portion 10, the distance between the magnetic sensor 61 of the main body portion 10 and the magnet 62 of the support portion 20 is minimized. Therefore, the connection (attachment) of the support portion 20 can be detected by the magnetic sensor 61 detecting the magnetic force of the magnetic field applied from the magnet 62 .

Next, a functional configuration example of the control device 70 will be described with reference to FIG. Controller 70 may be mounted within housing 14 as a control circuit board.

A control unit 71 that controls the operation of the electric fan 1 includes one or more processors and memories. The processor can be, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a microcontroller. The control unit 71 loads a program (firmware) stored in the storage unit 73 into a memory and executes the program, thereby controlling all functions of the electric fan 1 . The storage unit 73 may be, for example, a non-volatile memory. The storage unit 73 stores operation setting data and the like of the electric fan 1 in addition to the computer.

A fan motor controller 52a and an oscillation motor controller 53a are connected to the controller 71 . The control unit 71 outputs a control command to the fan motor controller 52a in accordance with the operation signal regarding air blowing received via the operation unit 15 . The fan motor controller 52 a outputs a drive signal to the fan motor 52 according to the control command from the control section 71 . Similarly, the control unit 71 outputs a control command to the swing motor controller 53a according to the operation signal regarding the swing motion received via the operation unit 15 . The swing motor controller 53 a outputs a drive signal to the swing motor 53 according to the control command from the control unit 71 .

The connection I/F 74 is a wired interface having a terminal for connecting the electric fan 1 to an external device. The connection I/F 74 is, for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface, and can be used to charge the battery 56 from an external power supply (charger or commercial power supply).

The display unit 15a can be a display or a light-emitting unit arranged, for example, at the same position as or near the operation unit 15, or at another position. The control unit 71 causes the display unit 15a to display the operating state of the electric fan, the remaining battery level, and the like.

The detection section 72 detects connection/disconnection (attachment or detachment) between the main body section 10 and the support section 20 . The detection unit 72 can be configured by the magnetic sensor 61 described above. The detection unit 72 sends a connection detection signal indicating whether the main unit 10 and the support unit 20 are connected or not (that is, whether the attachment 24 is attached to the adapter 17) to the control unit 71. Output. When the received connection detection signal indicates that the body portion 10 and the support portion 20 are not connected, the control portion 71 prohibits the driving of the swing motor 43 . That is, when the main body portion 10 and the support portion 20 are not connected, the control portion 71 does not permit the driving of the swing motor 43 even if the user performs a swing operation on the operation portion 15 . After prohibiting the driving of the swing motor 43, the controller 71 cancels the prohibition of driving the swing motor 43 when receiving a connection detection signal indicating that the main body 10 and the support portion 20 are connected.

In this way, by prohibiting the driving of the swing motor 43 when the main body portion 10 and the support portion 20 are not connected, it is possible to suppress unnecessary swing motions. This is beneficial because it leads to delaying exhaustion of the battery 56 and deterioration in the performance of the swing motor 43 .

(Waterproof structure for magnetic sensor)
As described above, the electric fan 1 according to this embodiment is also assumed to be used outdoors. Therefore, it is important to waterproof the magnetic sensor 61, which is a component of the detection unit 72, particularly when used outdoors.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6(a), a waterproof coating is provided inside or near the connecting portion between the main body portion 10 and the support portion 20 (for example, the inlet inner peripheral surface of the adapter 17 (fitting hole)). A sealing material 63 is arranged. As the waterproof sealing material 63, rubber, silicone, urethane, acryl, or the like can be used. With such a waterproof sealing material 63, the waterproofing of the magnetic sensor 61 is strengthened.

(Realization of a wide range of elevation/depression angles)
When the outdoor support 20 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is used, a wide range of elevation/depression angles can be achieved. Specific examples are shown below.

The outdoor support 20, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, has a pipe-shaped leg 21 which is inserted into an adjustment mechanism 23, which pipe-shaped leg 21 is inserted into FIG. As shown in (b), it can be rotated with respect to the adjustment mechanism 23 . FIG. 8(a) shows a state in which the tips of the legs 21 are directed toward the front end (that is, the same state as in FIG. 1). This state is called "first pattern". On the other hand, FIG. 8C shows a state in which the tip of the leg 21 is turned rearward by rotating the leg 21 with respect to the adjustment mechanism 23 . This state is called "second pattern".

FIGS. 9A to 9C show an example of adjusting the elevation/depression angle in the first pattern. Here, the state in which the longitudinal direction of the housing 14 (the direction in which the rotating shaft 51 of the fan 11 extends) is horizontal as shown in FIG. 9B is assumed to be 0 degrees. In the first pattern, the adjustment mechanism 23 can adjust the elevation/depression angle within a range of −10 degrees (10 degrees of depression angle) shown in FIG. 9(a) to +45 degrees (45 degrees of elevation angle) shown in FIG. 9(c). FIGS. 10(a) and 10(b) show an example of adjustment of the elevation/depression angle in the second pattern. In the second pattern, the depression angle can be adjusted by the adjustment mechanism 23 within a range from the elevation angle of 80 degrees shown in FIG. 10(a) to the elevation angle of 135 degrees shown in FIG. 10(b).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the adjustment mechanism 23 adjusts the holding form of the legs 21 to the first angle range (-10 to +45 degrees in the above example) that allows the elevation/depression angle to be adjusted. 1 holding form (first pattern) and a second holding form (second pattern ) can be changed between By changing the orientation of the leg portion 21 in the support portion 20 in this manner, a wide elevation/depression angle can be ensured. Note that the specific numerical values of the elevation/depression angles described above are merely examples, and other angles may be applied.

(Regarding pest control)
The electric fan 1 of the present embodiment is provided with anti-insect measures in consideration of being used outdoors. In one example, as shown in FIG. 11 , a cartridge 110 containing pest control chemicals is detachably attached to a front guard 12 arranged in front of the fan 11 . By rotating the fan 11 and blowing air, the medicine contained in the cartridge 110 can be diffused.

This enhances the pest control performance and makes the fan more suitable for outdoor use.

The invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the invention.

1: Fan, 10: Body, 11: Fan, 12: Front guard, 13: Rear guard, 14: Housing, 20: Support part, 21: Leg part, 22: Connection part, 23: Adjustment mechanism

Claims (8)

a main body including a fan and a fan motor that rotates the fan;
a support portion that supports the main body;
A fan comprising
The main body is
a housing that houses the fan motor;
a swinging mechanism configured to swing the main body in a predetermined direction;
an oscillating motor that drives the oscillating mechanism;
a battery that supplies power to the fan motor and the swing motor;
including
The housing further accommodates the swing motor and the battery,
The support portion is detachably connected to the body portion,
The support portion is a support portion selected from among a plurality of types of support portions having the same configuration of a connection portion with the main body portion and different configurations of portions other than the connection portion.
An electric fan characterized by: 2. The electric fan according to claim 1 , wherein said oscillating mechanism is further accommodated within said housing. The support portion has an attachment that fits into a fitting hole formed in the housing,
The swing mechanism is
a drive gear attached to the output shaft of the swing motor;
a rotating gear forming an outer peripheral wall of the fitting hole and meshing with the driving gear;
3. The electric fan of claim 2 , comprising: a detection unit that detects attachment or detachment of the support to or from the main body;
a control unit that controls the swing motor to prohibit driving of the swing motor when the detection unit detects removal of the support unit;
The electric fan according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , further comprising: The control unit cancels the prohibition of driving the swing motor when the detection unit detects removal of the support unit after prohibiting the drive of the swing motor. The electric fan according to claim 4 . 6. The electric fan according to claim 4 , further comprising a waterproof sealing material arranged at a connecting portion between the main body and the support so as to waterproof the detection section. The support part is
an adjusting mechanism for adjusting the elevation/depression angle of the main body;
a leg extending from the adjustment mechanism;
including
The adjustment mechanism adjusts the elevation/depression angle within a first angle range and a second angle range different from the first angle range. 7. A fan according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is changeable between a second holding configuration that allows. a front guard arranged in front of the fan;
a cartridge containing a pest control agent;
further comprising
The electric fan according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , wherein the cartridge is detachably attached to the front guard.

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