JP7353840B2 - Air blower and air blower installation structure - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an air blower and a mounting structure for the air blower.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, the configuration of a blower device is known that is mounted on an automobile and blows cooling air to an internal combustion engine such as an engine or a radiator by rotating a fan. BACKGROUND ART In cold regions or in winter, blower devices are sometimes provided with a drainage structure to prevent rainwater or water from washing a car that adheres to the fan from freezing and causing the fan and shroud to join together (fan lock).

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a water drainage structure for a fan that includes a fan and a shroud, and has a concave portion and vertical grooves provided on both end faces of the shroud in the thickness direction below the shroud. ing. According to the technology described in Patent Document 1, water droplets that tend to stay in the gap between the fan and the shroud in the vicinity of the recess are guided to the vertical groove, thereby making it possible to discharge the water droplets from the gap.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-106500

Incidentally, a configuration is generally known in which a downwardly recessed concave portion (drain) is provided in the gap between the fan and the shroud to discharge water droplets.
FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective view showing the vicinity of the drain 137 according to the prior art.
As shown in FIG. 9, when the drain 137 is provided toward the outside in the radial direction of the shroud 3, when the motor operates and the blades 23 rotate, a portion of the air W is blown from the front to the rear of the blower 101. passes through drain 137. As a result, noise may be generated due to air leakage from the drain 137 during operation of the motor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention provides an air blower that suppresses fan lock and suppresses the generation of noise due to air leakage, and a mounting structure for this air blower.

In order to solve the above problems, an air blower according to the present invention includes a fan having a plurality of blades protruding radially from a rotating shaft, an opening in which the fan is housed, and an opening provided on the outer periphery of the fan. a shroud arranged with a gap in between, the fan has a ring member that connects the plurality of blades in the circumferential direction of the rotation shaft, and the ring member is configured to control the rotation of the plurality of blades. The tips of the shafts in the radial direction are connected to each other, and the shroud is formed in a cylindrical shape coaxial with the rotating shaft, and includes a cylindrical portion that at least partially overlaps the wing when viewed from the radial direction, and a cylindrical portion that is coaxial with the rotating shaft. a constriction part that is connected to one end on the upstream side of the air flow from the fan in the section and whose inner diameter increases as it moves away from the cylindrical part along the axial direction of the rotating shaft; a drain communicating with the opening, and the drain is formed to match a projected width along the axial direction in the radial projection area of the ring member onto the cylindrical portion. It is a feature.

In the air blower according to the present invention, the shroud has a reinforcing part, and the reinforcing part is arranged at both ends of the drain in the circumferential direction of the rotating shaft, and the reinforcing part is arranged from the cylindrical part and the contracting part to the shroud. two side wall portions extending radially outward and rising from the covering surface of the shroud; and a bottom wall portion extending from the covering surface and extending over an end of each of the side wall portions opposite to the cylindrical portion; It is characterized by having the following.

In the blower device according to the present invention, the reinforcing portion is formed in a U-shape that opens toward the opening side when viewed from the axial direction.

In the air blower according to the present invention, the drain is opposite to the one end portion of the blade in the radial projection area of the blade from the boundary between the cylindrical portion and the contracted flow portion to the cylindrical portion. It is characterized by being formed between the sides and the other end.

The air blower according to the present invention is characterized in that the shroud has a pair of drains that face each other about the rotation axis.

A mounting structure for a blower device according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the above-described structure for mounting a blower device to a vehicle body, the blower device is fixed with the drain facing vertically downward.

Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an air blower that suppresses fan lock and suppresses the generation of noise due to air leakage, and a mounting structure for this air blower.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the front of a vehicle body equipped with a blower device according to a reference example . FIG. 3 is a front view of a blower device according to a reference example . FIG. 3 is a rear view of a blower device according to a reference example . FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing section IV in FIG. 2; FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a fan and a drain according to a reference example viewed from the radial direction. An enlarged view of the V section in FIG. 3. 3 is a graph showing the relationship between the length and noise of a drain according to a reference example . FIG. 1 is a front view of an air blower according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing the vicinity of a drain according to the prior art.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

( Reference example )
(Blower)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the front of a vehicle body 10 on which a blower device 1 according to a reference example is mounted. In the following description, the longitudinal direction corresponds to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body 10, and the vertical direction (vertical direction in the claims) corresponds to the vertical direction of the vehicle body 10.
The vehicle body 10 is equipped with an internal combustion engine (engine 11), such as an engine vehicle or a hybrid vehicle. The blower device 1 is arranged in an engine room provided at the front of the vehicle body 10. A heat source such as an engine 11 is arranged behind the blower 1 . The blower device 1 cools the engine 11 by blowing air W taken in from the front of the vehicle body 10 toward the rear.

The blower device 1 includes two fans 2, 2 that rotate around a rotating shaft 21 (see FIG. 2) to generate a flow of air W from the front to the rear, and a rectangle surrounding each fan 2. A shroud 3 having a shape. The two fans 2, 2 are lined up in the vehicle width direction.

(fan)
FIG. 2 is a front view of the blower device 1 according to the reference example viewed from the front. FIG. 3 is a rear view of the blower device 1 according to the reference example seen from the rear.
Since the two fans have the same configuration, only one fan 2 is illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, and illustration of the other fan 2 is omitted. In addition, in the following explanation, the direction along the axis C of the rotating shaft 21 of one fan 2 is referred to as the axial direction, the direction perpendicular to the axis C is referred to as the radial direction, and the direction around the axis C is referred to as the circumferential direction. There is.
The fan 2 is made of resin material. The fan 2 includes a boss portion 22 fixed to a rotating shaft 21 of a motor 15 (see FIG. 3), a plurality of blades 23 protruding outward in the radial direction from the boss portion 22, and a plurality of blades 23 that are connected to each other in the circumferential direction. and a connecting ring member 25. The fan 2 is an axial fan that blows air W along the axial direction of the axis C by rotating around the rotating shaft 21 of the motor 15. As shown in FIG. 3, the motor 15 is arranged behind the boss portion 22. As shown in FIG. The motor 15 is fixed to the shroud 3, which will be described in detail later, and connects the fan 2 and the shroud 3 so that the fan 2 rotates relative to the shroud 3. The rotating shaft 21 of the motor 15 is arranged so that its axial direction is parallel to the horizontal direction and coincides with the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body 10.

The boss portion 22 is provided in front of the motor 15. The boss portion 22 is formed into a bottomed cylindrical shape that is coaxial with the rotating shaft 21 .
The wings 23 protrude radially from the outer peripheral surface of the boss portion 22. The wings 23 are formed integrally with the boss portion 22. A plurality of wings 23 (seven in this reference example ) are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. Viewed from the axial direction, the wings 23 have a circumferential width that increases from the inside to the outside in the radial direction, and are curved so as to be convex in one direction in the circumferential direction.
The ring member 25 that connects the plurality of wings 23 in the circumferential direction is formed in an annular shape coaxial with the axis C. The ring member 25 annularly connects the blades 23 at a position offset radially inward from the radially outermost tip 26 .

(shroud)
The shroud 3 that surrounds the fan 2 formed in this manner includes a cover surface 32 having a plane that intersects with the axial direction, an opening 31 provided in a large part of the center of the cover surface 32, and a cover surface 32 having a plane that intersects with the axial direction. It has a cylindrical portion 33 and a contraction portion 34 provided between the surface 32 and the opening 31. The shroud 3 prevents the air W blown out from the fan 2 from being sucked into the fan 2 again. The shroud 3 is made of resin material.

The cover surface 32 is formed into a rectangular plate shape whose thickness direction is in the axial direction.
The opening 31 is a hole that passes through the cover surface 32 in the axial direction. The fan 2 is housed in the opening 31 . The opening 31 is formed in a circular shape coaxial with the axis C of the rotating shaft 21 of the fan 2 when viewed from the axial direction. The shroud 3 is arranged on the outer periphery of the fan 2 with a gap S therebetween.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of section IV in FIG. 2 viewed from an oblique direction. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the fan 2 and the drain 37 according to the reference example viewed from the radial direction.
A cylindrical portion 33 and a contraction portion 34 are provided in the shroud 3 at a position corresponding to the outer peripheral portion of the opening 31 .
The cylindrical portion 33 forms the outer periphery of the opening 31 . Specifically, the cylindrical portion 33 is formed into a cylindrical shape coaxial with the axis C of the rotating shaft 21 . As shown in FIG. 5, at least a portion of the cylindrical portion 33 overlaps the wing 23 in the axial direction when viewed from the radial direction.

A flow contraction part 34 is connected to a front end of the cylinder part 33 located on the upstream side (front) of the air W. The connecting portion between the cylindrical portion 33 and the contraction portion 34 is a boundary portion 35 . The contracting portion 34 is formed in a tapered shape whose inner diameter increases as it moves away from the cylindrical portion 33 along the axial direction. A covering surface 32 is connected to the front end of the contraction section 34 .

A drain 37 is formed in the cylindrical portion 33 of the shroud 3 and extends in the axial direction. Drain 37 communicates with opening 31 . The drain 37 is recessed from the outer periphery of the opening 31 toward the outside in the radial direction. The drain 37 discharges water droplets that have entered the gap S between the shroud 3 and the fan 2 to the outside of the gap S.

Here, the drain 37 is connected to the rear end portion 27 of the wing 23 in a radial projection area of the wing 23 from the boundary portion 35 located between the cylindrical portion 33 and the contraction portion 34 to the cylindrical portion 33. The other end (see FIG. 5) is formed between the two ends. In other words, the drain 37 is formed only in the cylindrical portion 33 and not in the contraction portion 34.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the V section in FIG. 3.
A reinforcing portion 39 is provided on the back surface of the shroud 3 facing rearward so as to surround the outer periphery of the drain 37. The reinforcing portion 39 is formed in a U-shape that opens toward the opening 31 when viewed from the axial direction. Specifically, the reinforcing portion 39 is arranged so as to straddle two side wall portions 41 arranged at both ends of the drain 37 in the circumferential direction and an end of each side wall portion 41 on the opposite side from the opening 31. It has a bottom wall part 42.
The side wall portion 41 is formed in a plate shape along the radial direction. The side wall portion 41 projects radially outward and rearward in the shroud 3 from the cylinder portion 33 and the contraction portion 34 and stands up from the cover surface 32 of the shroud 3 .
The bottom wall portion 42 connects the outer ends of the two side wall portions 41 in the radial direction. The bottom wall portion 42 is formed into a plate shape along the circumferential direction. The bottom wall portion 42 is disposed radially outward from the drain 37. The bottom wall portion 42 stands up from the cover surface 32 toward the rear.

As shown in FIG. 3, a pair of the drain 37 and the reinforcing portion 39 formed in this way are provided vertically facing each other with the rotating shaft 21 as the center.

(Blower installation structure)
The above-described air blower 1 is attached to the vehicle body 10 so that the axial direction of the fan 2 and the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body 10 coincide with each other, and blows air W from the front to the rear of the vehicle body 10. At this time, the blower device 1 is fixed to the vehicle body 10 with the drain 37 facing downward in the vertical direction. That is, one of the pair of drains 37 is arranged at the lower end of the opening 31, and the other of the pair of drains 37 is arranged at the upper end of the opening 31.

(action, effect)
Next, the functions and effects of the above-described blower device 1 and the mounting structure for the blower device 1 will be explained.
The shroud 3 of the blower 1 is formed in a cylindrical shape coaxial with the axis C of the rotating shaft 21 of the motor 15, and includes a cylindrical portion 33 that at least partially overlaps the blades 23 of the fan 2 when viewed from the radial direction; A drain 37 is provided only in the cylindrical part 33. Since the drain 37 communicates with the opening 31 and is recessed outward in the radial direction, water droplets that have entered the gap S between the fan 2 and the shroud 3 are prevented from accumulating between the cylindrical portion 33 and the fan 2. It can be quickly discharged from the drain 37. This makes it possible to suppress the occurrence of fan lock due to freezing of water droplets, even in cold regions or in winter, for example.

Here, as shown in FIG. 9, in the conventional technology in which a drain 137 is formed extending from the cylindrical part 33 to the contraction part 34 of the shroud 3, air W flows inside the drain 37 when the motor 15 is operated. There was a risk that noise would be generated due to air leakage from the drain 37 due to the passage.
FIG. 7 is a graph showing the relationship between the length L of the drain 37 and the noise level P according to the reference example . The horizontal axis in FIG. 7 represents the length L from the rear end of the shroud 3 to the front end of the drain 37, and the vertical axis represents the magnitude P of wind noise according to the length L of the drain 37. Further, the figures below the graph are a top view and a side view of the drain 37 formed in the shroud 3 in order from the top.
As shown in region A of FIG. 7, when the front end of the drain 37 is located closer to the cylindrical portion 33 than the boundary portion 35, the magnitude P of wind noise is greater than that in the case where the drain 37 is not provided. The size will be the same or smaller. On the other hand, as shown in region B, when the front end of the drain 37 is located closer to the contraction part 34 than the boundary part 35, the magnitude of wind noise increases as the drain 37 becomes longer in the axial direction. . Therefore, in order to suppress the generation of wind noise, it is desirable that the front end of the drain 37 be located closer to the cylindrical portion 33 than the boundary portion 35 .

According to the blower device 1 of the present invention, since the drain 37 is provided only in the cylindrical portion 33, the cross-sectional shape of the drain 37 viewed from the axial direction can be made small. Thereby, the air W blown along the axial direction when the motor 15 is operated is suppressed from passing through the drain 37, and the generation of wind leakage noise from the drain 37 can be suppressed. Here, the gap S between the fan 2 and the cylindrical part 33 of the shroud 3 is narrower than the gap S between the fan 2 and the veneer part 34 of the shroud 3. Water droplets tend to accumulate. Therefore, by providing the drain 37 in the cylindrical portion 33 where water droplets tend to accumulate, the water droplets that have entered the gap S can be efficiently discharged. Further, as the constriction part 34 is separated from the cylindrical part 33, the distance from the fan 2 increases. The water is discharged from the drain 37. Therefore, even if a drain is provided only in the cylindrical portion 33, noise during operation of the motor 15 can be suppressed without reducing the efficiency of draining water droplets.
Therefore, it is possible to provide the blower device 1 that suppresses fan lock and suppresses the generation of noise due to air leakage.

The contracting portion 34 is formed in a tapered shape whose inner diameter increases as it moves away from the cylindrical portion 33 along the axial direction. Therefore, the distance between the contracted flow section 34 and the fan 2 can be ensured to be larger than the distance between the cylindrical section 33 and the fan 2. Therefore, even if the drain 37 is not formed in the contraction section 34, it is possible to prevent water droplets from accumulating.

The shroud 3 has a reinforcing part 39, and the reinforcing part 39 includes a side wall part 41 provided at both ends of the drain 37 in the circumferential direction, and a bottom part provided across the end part of the side wall part 41 on the opposite side to the cylindrical part 33. It has a wall part 42. In this way, the reinforcing part 39 is provided integrally with the shroud 3 so as to surround the drain 37, so that the part near the drain 37 can be reinforced by the reinforcing part 39. Further, it is possible to suppress the water droplets discharged from the drain 37 to the outside in the radial direction from scattering.

Since the reinforcing portion 39 is formed in a U-shape that opens toward the opening 31 when viewed from the axial direction, the reinforcing portion 39 can surround the drain 37 . Thereby, the portion near the drain 37 can be reinforced by the reinforcing portion 39, and water droplets discharged from the drain 37 can be suppressed from scattering.

The drain 37 is formed between the boundary part 35 between the cylindrical part 33 and the contraction part 34 and the rear end part 27 of the vane 23 in the projection area of the vane 23 onto the cylindrical part 33, when viewed from the radial direction. There is. In this manner, the drain 37 is formed only at a position of the cylindrical portion 33 that corresponds to the projection area of the fan 2, so the length L of the drain 37 along the axial direction is shortened. Thereby, the amount of air W passing through the drain 37 can be reduced, and the generation of wind leakage noise can be further suppressed. Furthermore, water droplets tend to accumulate in a portion of the cylindrical portion 33 that corresponds to the projection area of the fan 2 compared to other cylindrical portions 33 . Therefore, by providing the drain 37 in a portion where water droplets tend to accumulate, it is possible to suppress the generation of wind leakage noise without reducing the water droplet discharge efficiency.

The fan 2 has a ring member 25 that connects the plurality of blades 23 in the circumferential direction. Thereby, the strength of the wings 23 can be increased. Since the ring member 25 is provided at the intermediate portion of the wing 23 in the radial direction, the ring member 25 and Water droplets can be prevented from accumulating in the gap S between the shroud 3 and the shroud 3. Therefore, the blower device 1 can suppress fan lock.

Since a pair of drains 37 are provided centered on the axis C of the rotating shaft 21, water droplets can be discharged from each drain 37. In particular, when the shroud 3 is installed on the vehicle body 10 and the drains 37 are provided vertically downward and upward, the lower end where water droplets are most likely to accumulate in the gap S due to gravity, and the second where water droplets are most likely to accumulate. A drain 37 can be placed at the upper end where water tends to accumulate. Therefore, the number of drains 37 can be minimized and the efficiency of draining water droplets by the drains 37 can be increased.

In the mounting structure of the blower device 1, the blower device 1 is fixed to the vehicle body 10 with the drain 37 facing vertically downward. Accordingly, the drain 37 can be disposed at the lower end where water droplets are most likely to accumulate due to gravity, so that the efficiency of draining water droplets by the drain 37 can be increased.
Therefore, by using the above-described blower device 1, it is possible to provide a mounting structure for the blower device 1 that suppresses fan lock and suppresses the generation of noise due to air leakage.

( Embodiment )
Next, an embodiment according to the present invention will be described based on FIG. 8.
FIG. 8 is a front view of the air blower 1 according to the embodiment . In the following description, the same components as those in the reference example described above will be given the same reference numerals, and the description will be omitted as appropriate. Further, regarding the symbols not shown in FIG. 8, please refer to FIGS. 1 to 7 as appropriate.
The difference between this embodiment and the above-mentioned reference example is that in this embodiment , the ring member 225 is provided at the tip portion 26 of the wing 23.

In this embodiment, the ring member 225 that connects the plurality of blades 23 in the circumferential direction connects the tip portions 26 of the blades 23 located at the outermost radial direction in an annular manner. Thereby, the shroud 3 is disposed at the outer peripheral portion of the ring member 225 with a gap S therebetween.
The width dimension of the drain 237 is formed to match the dimension of the projected width along the axial direction in the projection area of the ring member 225 onto the cylindrical portion 33 .

According to this embodiment, the ring member 225 circumferentially connects the tip portions 26 located on the radially outer side of the wings 23, so that the strength of the wings 23 can be increased. Further, the ring member 225 can reduce noise when the fan 2 rotates.
Furthermore, since the drain 237 is provided in a portion of the cylindrical portion 33 that corresponds to the projected area of the ring member 225 where water droplets tend to accumulate, the dimension along the axial direction of the drain 237 can be reduced without reducing the water droplet discharge efficiency. The generation of wind leakage noise can be suppressed.

Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. Additions, omissions, substitutions, and other changes to the configuration are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention. The invention is not limited by the foregoing description, but only by the scope of the appended claims.
For example, in the embodiment described above, the drain 37 is provided at the upper end and the lower end of the opening 31, but the present invention is not limited to this. The drain 37 may be provided only at the lower end of the opening 31. Further, a plurality of drains 37 may be provided in the circumferential direction in addition to the upper end portion and the lower end portion. However, the configuration of this embodiment in which drains 37 are provided at the lower end where water droplets are most likely to accumulate in the gap S and the upper end where water droplets are the second most likely to accumulate has the advantage that water droplets can be efficiently discharged with a minimum number of drains 37. There is an advantage.

Although the configuration has been described in which the blower device 1 is disposed in the engine room provided at the front of the vehicle body 10, the arrangement of the blower device 1 is not limited to the above-described embodiment. Further, the axial direction of the fan 2 may intersect with the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body 10.

The shape of the reinforcing portion 39 viewed from the axial direction may be formed in a shape other than the U-shape, such as a triangular shape or a rectangular shape. Further, the reinforcing portion 39 may not be provided.

In addition, the components in the embodiments described above can be replaced with known components as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and the embodiments described above may be combined as appropriate.

1...Blower device 2...Fan 3...Shroud 10...Vehicle body 21...Rotating shaft 23...Blades 25, 225...Ring member 26...Tip 27...Rear end (other end)
31...Opening part 32...Covering surface 33...Cylinder part 34...Contraction part 35...Boundary part 37, 237...Drain 39...Reinforcement part 41...Side wall part 42...Bottom wall part S...Gap

Claims (6)

a fan having a plurality of blades protruding radially from a rotating shaft;
a shroud having an opening in which the fan is housed and disposed around an outer periphery of the fan with a gap therebetween;
Equipped with
The fan includes a ring member that connects the plurality of blades in a circumferential direction of the rotating shaft,
The ring member connects the tips of the plurality of wings in the radial direction of the rotation shaft ,
The shroud is
a cylindrical portion formed in a cylindrical shape coaxial with the rotational axis, and at least a portion thereof overlaps with the wing when viewed from the radial direction;
a flow contraction part that is connected to one end of the cylindrical part on the upstream side of the air generated by the fan, and whose inner diameter increases as it moves away from the cylindrical part along the axial direction of the rotating shaft;
a drain provided only in the cylindrical portion and communicating with the opening;
has
The air blower is characterized in that the drain is formed to match a projected width along the axial direction in the radial projection area of the ring member onto the cylinder portion. The shroud has a reinforcement portion,
The reinforcement part is
two side wall portions that are disposed at both ends of the drain in the circumferential direction of the rotating shaft, extend from the cylindrical portion and the contraction portion toward the outer side of the shroud in the radial direction, and rise from the covering surface of the shroud;
a bottom wall portion extending from the end portion of each of the side wall portions opposite to the cylindrical portion and rising from the covering surface;
The blower device according to claim 1, characterized in that it has: The blower device according to claim 2, wherein the reinforcing portion is formed in a U-shape that opens toward the opening when viewed from the axial direction. The drain extends from the boundary between the cylindrical part and the contraction part to the other end of the vane on the opposite side to the one end in the radial projection area of the vane onto the cylindrical part. The blower device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it is formed in a. The blower device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the shroud has a pair of drains that face each other about the rotation axis. A mounting structure for a blower device that attaches the blower device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 to a vehicle body,
A mounting structure for an air blower, characterized in that the air blower is fixed with the drain facing vertically downward.

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