JP7465783B2 - Fan - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an electric fan.

Portable electric fans that can be worn around the neck have been proposed in the past. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a small personal electric fan with a strap attached to the grip of the case that can be hung around the neck. The fan's airflow direction can be adjusted by moving the head, and it can blow air toward the face even when worn around the neck.

Utility Model Registration No. 3080137

When using a fan hung around the neck with a strap as in Patent Document 1, the fan swings from side to side when the user moves, such as by walking, making it difficult to blow air toward the neck and face. On the other hand, for example, by supporting the fan at one point with a strap, it is possible to make it easier to blow air toward the face even if the fan swings, but it is expected that the fan will rotate around the connection point with the strap, making it easier for the strap to become twisted.

The present invention aims to provide a fan that reduces twisting of the strap while stabilizing airflow to the target area.

The electric fan of the present invention comprises an electric fan body, and a hanging member to which a strap can be attached and which is provided rotatable relative to the electric fan body , the electric fan body being formed into a cylindrical shape by an upper case and a lower case, the interior of which is hollow and houses a control unit and an impeller unit, the upper case on which the hanging member is provided has an exhaust grill on the top surface thereof, the exhaust grill being provided in an annular shape around the attachment portion of the hanging member, and an intake grill on the outer peripheral side surface and part of the bottom surface of the lower case. The hanging member is provided on the top surface of the upper case at a single point on the central axis of the fan body, which is the rotation axis of an impeller placed within the fan body, the exhaust grill has a plurality of partition plates extending radially around the central axis of the fan body on the top surface to separate the flow path, and the intake grill has a plurality of partition plates arranged radially, extending continuously from the outer circumferential side surface to the bottom surface, and radially arranged around the central axis of the fan body .

The present invention provides a fan that reduces twisting of the strap while stabilizing airflow to the target area.

1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an electric fan according to an embodiment of the present invention; 1A and 1B are perspective views of an electric fan according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is a perspective view seen from above, and FIG. FIG. 1 is a plan view of an electric fan according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an electric fan according to an embodiment of the present invention; 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV of the electric fan of FIG. 2(a) according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the electric fan of FIG. 4 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the electric fan of FIG. 4 along line VII-VII according to an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is an enlarged view of the periphery of the suspension member in the VV cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 5 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1A to 1C are diagrams illustrating an example of how to use an electric fan according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to Figs. 1 to 9. The electric fan 1 shown in Fig. 1 can be used by attaching a strap 8 to the electric fan body 2 and hanging it around the neck, etc. In the following description of the electric fan 1, the side of the hanging member 42 to which the strap 8 is attached is referred to as the top, and the opposite side as the bottom.

The fan body 2 of the electric fan 1 is formed with a generally cylindrical exterior shape by a lower case 3 and an upper case 4. The interiors of the lower case 3 and the upper case 4 are formed to be hollow. Inside the fan body 2, a control unit 5, a first impeller unit 6 on the intake side, and a second impeller unit 7 on the exhaust side are provided (see also Figures 4 and 5).

The lower case 3 has an outer peripheral side surface 3a curved around an axis P coaxial with the rotation axis of the first impeller 62 and the second impeller 72 (see FIG. 5), and an intake grill 31 on a part of the bottom surface portion 3b. The intake grill 31 has a partition plate 311 that divides a flow path extending in the radial direction of the fan body 2 centered on the axis P. The partition plates 311 are arranged radially around the axis P (see FIG. 6). Therefore, the intake grill 31 has a plurality of openings 312a that penetrate inward and outward in the radial direction. On the outer peripheral side surface 3a, the partition plate 311 provides a plurality of slit-shaped openings 312a in the axial direction (up and down direction). In addition, the intake grill 31 has a plurality of openings 312b on the bottom surface portion 3b that open from the bottom surface portion 3b to the inside of the fan body 2 upward. The opening 312a on the outer peripheral side surface 3a of the intake grille 31 and the opening 312b on the bottom surface 3b are connected together to form a single opening 312 (see also Figures 2(b) and 6).

As shown in FIG. 2(b), the air intake grill 31 on the bottom surface 3b is arranged around the flat portion 3b1, which is a circular region approximately centered on the axis P. In addition, a push button switch 32 is provided on the axis P, which is approximately the center of the flat portion 3b1.

The upper case 4 has an exhaust grill 41 on the top surface 4b. The exhaust grill 41 is provided in a ring shape around the flat portion 4b1, which is a circular area centered on the axis P of the top surface 4b. As shown in FIG. 2(a) and FIG. 3, the exhaust grill 41 has a plurality of partition plates 411 that divide the flow path extending in the radial direction of the fan body 2 centered on the axis P. The partition plates 411 are arranged radially around the axis P. Therefore, in the top surface 4b, the partition plates 411 provide a plurality of elongated slit-shaped openings 412b radially inward and outward from the axis P side. The openings 412b in this exhaust grill 41 penetrate the inside and outside of the fan body 2 in the vertical direction.

A suspension member 42 is attached to the axis P of the flat portion 4b1 so as to be rotatable relative to the fan body 2. A detailed description of the suspension member 42 will be given later.

Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of the electric fan 1. The control unit 5 has a housing 5a including a circuit board 51 and a power source 52 (see also Figure 5), and a number of columnar supports 53 standing upright from the top surface of the housing 5a. The housing 5a is formed in a long box shape. The housing 5a may also be formed in a frame shape with openings on the bottom and other sides. As shown in Figure 5, the control unit 5 is disposed inside the bottom surface 3b side of the lower case 3. The circuit board 51 is provided with a switch element for detecting operation by the switch 32, etc.

Returning to FIG. 4, the first impeller unit 6 has a motor unit 61 including a motor housing portion 611 and a wiring portion 612. The wiring portions 612 are provided in two locations and extend in opposite directions from both sides of the motor housing portion 611.

The first impeller unit 6 has a first impeller 62 that is connected to the shaft of the motor 611a provided in the motor housing 611 and arranged to be rotatable. The first impeller 62 is configured as an axial flow fan and has multiple blades. The first impeller 62 in this embodiment has five blades. As shown in FIG. 5, the first impeller 62 is arranged between the motor unit 61 and the control unit 5 (closer to the intake grill 31 than the motor unit 61). The lower end of the shaft of the first impeller 62 is slightly spaced from and close to the control unit 5. The shaft of the first impeller 62 may be configured to be rotatably supported by a shaft core or bearing (not shown) provided on the upper surface of the control unit 5. The first impeller 62 rotates counterclockwise when viewed from above, taking in air from below and to the sides and blowing it toward the second impeller 72 above.

The second impeller unit 7 has a motor unit 71 including a motor housing portion 711 and a wiring portion 712. The wiring portions 712 provided in two locations extend in opposite directions from both ends of the motor housing portion 711, similar to the wiring portion 612.

The second impeller unit 7 also has a second impeller 72 that is rotatably arranged and connected to the shaft of the motor 711a provided in the motor housing 711. The second impeller 72 is configured as an axial fan and has multiple blades. In this embodiment, the second impeller 72 has seven blades. As shown in FIG. 5, the second impeller 72 is arranged above the motor unit 71 (closer to the exhaust grill 41 than the motor unit 71). The second impeller 72 rotates clockwise when viewed from above, taking in air from below and blowing it toward the exhaust grill 41 above.

The first impeller 62 and the second impeller 72 rotate in opposite directions. Therefore, when blowing air using one impeller, the air blown downstream (upper side of FIG. 5) may be twisted in the direction of rotation, and a spiral wind may be blown from the exhaust grill 41. However, by using two impellers (the first impeller 62 and the second impeller 72) that rotate in opposite directions, the rotation (twist) of the air can be canceled and a linear, approximately parallel wind can be blown from the exhaust grill 41. In addition, each opening 312 (312a, 312b) of the intake grill 31 can straighten the air sucked in by the partition plate 311, so that the first impeller 62 can take in air with a reduced rotation component around the axis P. Each opening 412b of the exhaust grill 41 can also straighten the air to be exhausted by the partition plate 411. Therefore, the electric fan 1 can blow a stable linear wind from the exhaust grill 41.

The motor unit 61 and the motor unit 71 are arranged adjacent to or close to each other so as to overlap vertically. The motor housing 611 and the motor housing 711 are arranged on the axis P of the rotation shafts of the first impeller 62 and the second impeller 72. As shown in the VII-VII cross-sectional view of FIG. 7, the lower wiring part 612 and the upper wiring part 712 are arranged so as to overlap vertically. Therefore, compared to when the wiring parts 612 and 712 are arranged offset from each other, it is possible to suppress the reduction in the opening area of the internal flow path of the fan body 2 and reduce the increase in the flow path resistance of the circulating air.

The wiring parts 612, 712 of each motor unit 61, 71 are supported and connected at the upper end of the support part 53. The motors 611a, 711a in the motor housing parts 611, 711 are supplied with power from the power source 52 via the support part 53 and the wiring parts 612, 712 (detailed wiring is not shown).

Figure 8 shows the configuration around the suspension member 42. The suspension member 42 is provided at one location on the fan body 2. The suspension member 42 has a suspension support portion 421 to which the above-mentioned strap 8 can be attached, and a flange portion 422 with a larger diameter than the suspension support portion 421. The suspension support portion 421 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape. The flange portion 422 is formed in a substantially circular plate shape. The suspension support portion 421 has an opening 421a through which the strap 8 (in this embodiment, a round ring 84 that is part of the strap 8) can be inserted, and which penetrates in a direction different from the direction of the rotation axis (in Figure 8, a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis P). The opening 421a is formed in a substantially circular shape (see also Figure 2(a)).

The upper case 4 has an attachment section 43 that houses the flange section 422 inside and positions the suspended support section 421 above the top surface section 4b. The attachment section 43 has a shaft housing section 431 and a restricting section 432 that are formed by stacking the top surface section 4b, the intermediate plate section 44, and the inner plate section 45. The top surface section 4b, the intermediate plate section 44, and the inner plate section 45 are fastened and fixed with screw members.

The shaft housing 431 and the restricting portion 432 are spaces formed by opening the top surface portion 4b and the intermediate plate portion 44. The shaft housing 431 has a smaller diameter than the restricting portion 432, and the suspended support portion 421 can be rotatably inserted therethrough. The restricting portion 432 can rotatably house the flange portion 422. The upper and lower surfaces of the flange portion 422 of the suspension member 42 abut against the upper and lower inner walls (the plate surfaces of the top surface portion 4b and the inner plate portion 45) of the restricting portion 432, and the vertical movement of the suspension member 42 in the direction of the axis P is restricted. Therefore, the suspension member 42 is supported rotatably around the axis P when attached to the mounting portion 43.

As shown in FIG. 1, the strap 8 has a string 81 and connection members (including a loop stopper 82, a loop 83, and a round ring 84) that connect the string 81 to the hanging member 42. The string 81 is made of cloth, and both ends are attached to safety parts 86 to form a ring as a whole. An adjustment member 85 that adjusts the length of the string 81 is also attached to the string 81. The loop stopper 82 is attached to a part of the string 81 and connected to the loop 83. The loop 83 is detachably connected to the round ring 84. The round ring 84 is inserted into the opening 421a of the hanging member 42 and is connected to the hanging member 42 with a loose fit.

Figure 9 shows an example of how to use the electric fan 1. The electric fan 1 can be used by hanging it around the neck using the strap 8. When the electric fan 1 is driven, air is sucked in through the intake grill 31 and exhausted through the exhaust grill 41 and blown out.

As shown by the solid line of the electric fan 1, when the electric fan 1 is positioned below the face, the air F1 exhausted from the electric fan 1 flows upward toward the neck where the strap 8 is attached. Therefore, the air F1 is blown toward the neck or face.

In addition, when the user walks, etc., the electric fan 1 may swing left and right with respect to the body, centered on the neck side. The electric fan 1 shown by the dashed line in FIG. 9 shows an example in which it is located on the left side as seen from the user. The electric fan 1 of this embodiment is supported at one point by the suspension member 42 located on the axis P of each impeller 62, 72, so even if the position of the electric fan 1 swings left or right as seen from the user, the surface on which the exhaust grill 41 is formed faces the direction of the neck side. Therefore, the air F2 exhausted from the electric fan 1 is blown in the direction of the neck or face to which the strap 8 is hung. The electric fan 1 of this embodiment can blow air in the direction of the neck or face without adjusting the wind direction with hands, etc., even if the position of the electric fan 1 hung around the neck by the strap 8 moves due to walking, etc.

In addition, in the electric fan 1 of this embodiment, the suspension member 42 is supported rotatably relative to the electric fan body 2. Therefore, even if the electric fan body 2 rotates due to the swinging motion of the electric fan 1, it is possible to reduce twisting of the strap 8 while stabilizing the airflow to the target parts such as the neck and face.

On the other hand, the electric fan 1A shown in FIG. 9 shows an example in which the attachment point of the strap 8 is changed from one-point support in the case of the electric fan 1 to two-point support. The other configurations (e.g., internal configurations) of the electric fan 1A, except for the configuration for attaching the strap 8, are the same as those of the electric fan 1. The electric fan 1A is supported at two points by the strap 8 at a position away from the axis P of each impeller 62, 72. When the user walks, the electric fan 1A may swing left and right with respect to the body, centered on the neck side. The electric fan 1A in FIG. 9 shows an example in which the electric fan 1A is located on the right side as seen from the user. However, unlike the electric fan 1, the electric fan 1A is supported at two points and moves approximately in translation while the surface on which the exhaust grill 41 is formed faces upward. Therefore, the air F3 exhausted from the electric fan 1A is blown in a direction away from the direction of the neck and face to which the strap 8 is hung. As a result, the amount of air blown to the face and neck is reduced, and the trouble of adjusting the air blowing direction is generated. On the other hand, the electric fan 1 described in this embodiment reduces these problems.

Although an embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and various modifications can be made to the present invention. For example, in this embodiment, the first impeller 62 has five blades, and the second impeller 72 has seven blades. However, the first impeller 62 and the second impeller 72 may have a different number of blades than in this embodiment. In this case, the first impeller 62 and the second impeller 72 may have an odd number of blades, and the second impeller 72 may have a greater number of blades than the first impeller 62.

In addition, instead of the first impeller 62 and the second impeller 72, a single impeller that is an axial fan (for example, one of the first impeller 62 and the second impeller 72) may be provided.

The string 81 is not limited to being made of cloth, and may be made of other materials such as a ball chain. Furthermore, the strap 8 may be formed by inserting the string 81 directly into the opening 421a of the hanging member 42.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1, 1A Electric fan 2 Main body 3 Lower case 3a Outer peripheral side surface 3b Bottom surface portion 3b1 Flat portion 4 Upper case 4b Top surface portion 4b1 Flat portion 5 Control unit 5a Housing 6 First impeller unit 7 Second impeller unit 8 Strap 31 Intake grill 32 Switch 41 Exhaust grill 42 Suspension member 43 Mounting portion 44 Intermediate plate portion 45 Inner plate portion 51 Circuit board 52 Power source 53 Support portion 61 Motor unit 62 First impeller 71 Motor unit 72 Second impeller 81 Cord body 82 Slotted loop stopper 83 Slotted loop 84 Round ring 85 Adjustment member 86 Safety part 311 Partition plate 312a (312) Opening 312b (312) Opening 411 Partition plate 412b Opening 421 Suspended support portion 421a Opening 422 Flange portion 431 Shaft accommodating portion 432 Restricting portion 611 Motor accommodating portion 611a Motor 612 Wiring portion 711 Motor accommodating portion 711a Motor 712 Wiring portions F1 to F3 Air P Axis

Claims (3)

The fan body and
A suspension member to which a strap can be attached and which is rotatable relative to the fan body;
Equipped with
The electric fan body has an outer shape formed of an upper case and a lower case, has a hollow interior, and incorporates a control unit and an impeller unit. The electric fan body has an exhaust grill on a top surface of the upper case on which the suspension member is provided.
The exhaust grill is provided in an annular shape around the mounting portion of the hanging member,
The lower case has an intake grill on a part of an outer peripheral side surface and a part of a bottom surface thereof,
The suspension member is provided at one point on the central axis of the electric fan body, which is the rotation axis of the impeller disposed in the electric fan body, on the top surface of the upper case,
The exhaust grill has a plurality of partition plates extending radially around the central axis of the electric fan body on the top surface portion to separate the flow path,
A fan characterized in that the air intake grill has a plurality of partition plates that extend radially from the outer peripheral side surface to the bottom surface, centered on the central axis of the fan body, and are arranged radially . The suspension member has a suspended support portion to which the strap can be attached and a flange portion having a larger diameter than the suspended support portion,
The electric fan according to claim 1 , wherein the flange portion is housed inside the electric fan body and the suspended support portion is disposed protruding therefrom. The electric fan according to claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that the hanging support part has an opening through which the strap can be inserted and which penetrates in a direction different from the direction of the rotation shaft.

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