KR20000002406U - Apparatus for mounting a cooling fan to an electronic device and a portable computer having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The cooling fan mounting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention prevents vibration and noise generated when the cooling fan is operated directly from the housing of the electronic device. The cooling fan mounting apparatus has a propeller rotatably mounted on the hub containing the main mover in the frame, and mounts a cooling fan in which a hole for fixing a screw to the frame is formed inside the housing of the electronic device. The cooling fan mounting apparatus includes a boss, a supporting member and a spacer. The boss is formed at a predetermined height on the inner surface of the housing. The supporting member has a first hole for coupling the cooling fan by a screw on a position corresponding to the hole of the cooling fan, and a second hole on a position corresponding to the boss. The spacer is formed of an acoustic damping material, is coupled to the first hole of the supporting member to isolate the cooling fan and the supporting member, and has a hole formed to insert a screw through the first hole.

Description

AN APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING A COOLING FAN INTO AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND A PORTABLE COMPUTER WITH THE APPARATUS

The present invention relates to a device for mounting a cooling fan in an electronic device, and more particularly, to a mounting device for installing a cooling fan inside a computer.

In general, various types of computers have one or more internal cooling fans. The cooling fans prevent an increase in internal heat that can gradually damage the internal electronic actuating elements of the computers. Each fan is usually operated when the computers are running. These fans continuously introduce external air into the interior of the housing through an air inlet formed in the housing of the computer. The flow of air by the fans traverses the operating elements and absorbs heat generated from them. The heated air is then discharged from the interior of the housing through a suitable air outlet formed in the housing.

The cooling fans have a propeller installed to be rotatable in the frame on a hub containing the main mover. In the corners of the frame are arranged holes for receiving screws that secure the fan to the housing of the computer. Although the cooling fans are further miniaturized, the cooling fans can generate undesirable vibrations, and therefore, there is additionally a need for a structure for accommodating vibration noise. If they do not adequately isolate them from the inner housing, they provide a structure in which they are mounted.

As shown in FIG. 1, one method of mounting a conventional cooling fan is to install a cooling fan 104 in a pocket 102 formed inside the computer housing 100. The pocket 102 is formed to be in close contact with the frame of the cooling fan 104. The cooling fan 104 is accommodated and installed in the pocket 102 to be in close contact with the housing 100. In addition, U.S. by Liu. Pat. No. 5,448,495 shows how to mount a cooling fan in a separate frame that fits into a computer housing.

With the recent development of technology, the internal electronic operating elements of computers are becoming highly integrated and miniaturized. At the same time, the heat generated by the internal electronic actuating elements of computers is increasing, so the capacity of cooling fans is increasing. The cooling fans are further miniaturized and are being developed in a direction of increasing the capacity by increasing the number of revolutions of the propeller. In particular, portable computers such as notebook computers have tended to use cooling fans as small as possible due to the limitation of the internal space.

However, conventional cooling fan mounting apparatus has a problem that does not effectively block the vibration and noise generated in the cooling fan. This is because conventional cooling fan mounting apparatuses have a structure in which vibration and noise generated from the cooling fan are inevitably transmitted to the computer housing. For example, in the cooling fan mounting apparatus of FIG. 1, the cooling fan 104 is coupled to a pocket 102 formed integrally with the housing 100, such that vibrations or noise generated by the cooling fan 104 may be connected to the housing 100. It is delivered directly to the pocket 102. At this time, the vibration or noise transmitted to the housing 100 and the pocket 102 is further amplified. In addition, U.S. by Liu. Pat. No. The cooling fan mounting apparatus at 5,448,495 uses a separate frame to accommodate the cooling fan, but the same problem appears as described above.

The present invention is to solve such a conventional problem, the purpose is a new form that can effectively dampen the vibration and noise generated from the cooling fan installed inside the electronic device to the housing or outside of the electronic device To provide a device for mounting the cooling fan of the electronic device. Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable computer having a new type of cooling fan mounting apparatus capable of efficiently using the internal space in a portable computer having a narrow internal space such as a notebook computer.

1 is a perspective view showing a state before a cooling fan is installed in a housing of a conventional notebook computer;

2 is a perspective view showing a state before installing a cooling fan using a mounting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a spacer and a cooling fan are coupled to a bracket in FIG. 2;

4 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a cooling fan is coupled to a housing of an electronic device using a mounting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 5-5 in FIG. 4;

6 is a perspective view of a notebook computer in which a cooling fan is installed using a mounting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

10 cooling fan 12 fan frame

14 hub 16 propeller

18, 48: screw hole 20: bracket

22: vertical plate 24: spacer hole

26: slot 28, 62: opening

30: horizontal plate 32: boss hole

40 spacer 42 groove

44: first support 46: second support

50, 52: screw 60: housing

70: boss

According to a feature of the present invention for achieving the above object, a cooling fan having a propeller rotatably installed on the hub containing the main motor in the frame, the hole is formed to fix the screw in the frame of the electronic device An apparatus for mounting inside a housing includes: a boss formed at a predetermined height on an inner surface of the housing; A supporting member having a first hole formed on a position corresponding to the hole of the cooling fan and a second hole formed on a position corresponding to the boss; And a spacer formed of an acoustic damping material, coupled to the first hole of the supporting member to isolate the cooling fan from the supporting member, and having a hole configured to pass a screw for coupling the cooling fan.

In the present invention, the supporting member is formed to have a predetermined thickness so as to correspond to one side of the frame on which the hole of the cooling fan is formed, and the first plate on which the first hole is formed; A second plate formed on one side of the first plate, extending from the first plate to be perpendicular to the first plate, and having the second hole; The opening may be formed on the first plate and formed on a position corresponding to the propeller of the cooling fan.

According to another feature of the present invention for achieving the above object, a portable computer has a bottom surface and side, the housing is formed on one side opening; A cooling fan having a propeller rotatably mounted on the hub containing the main mover in the frame, the cooling fan having holes for receiving screws in the frame; A boss formed at a predetermined height from a bottom surface of the housing so as to be close to the opening; A supporting member having first holes formed on positions corresponding to the holes of the cooling fan, and a second hole formed on positions corresponding to the bosses; And spacers formed of an acoustic damping material, each of which is coupled to the first holes of the supporting member to separate the cooling fan from the supporting member, and has holes formed to pass through screws for coupling the cooling fan.

In the present invention, the supporting member is formed to have a predetermined thickness so as to correspond to one side of the frame on which the holes of the cooling fan are formed, and the first plate on which the first holes are formed; A second plate formed on one side of the first plate, extending from the first plate to be perpendicular to the first plate, and having the second hole; Slots formed from an outer circumferential surface of the first plate so as to correspond to the first holes, respectively, and having a predetermined width such that the first holes are respectively opened to the outside; A groove formed on the first plate and having an opening formed on a position corresponding to the propeller of the cooling fan, wherein the spacers are each formed in a cylindrical shape and are joined to the first hole through the slot on an outer circumferential surface thereof; Each may be provided.

According to the apparatus for mounting the cooling fan of the present invention to the electronic device, it is possible to effectively dampen the vibration and noise generated from the cooling fan to the housing or the outside of the electronic device. In addition, since the structure of the cooling fan mounting apparatus is very simple, the production cost can be reduced. In addition, since the cooling fan mounting apparatus can be made compact, it can be very usefully used in small electronic devices that are limited in the internal space such as notebook computers.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6. In addition, in the drawings, the same reference numerals are denoted together for components that perform the same function.

2 to 4, the cooling fan mounting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention prevents vibration and noise generated when the cooling fan 10 is operated directly from the housing 60 of the electronic device. This is made possible through the spacer 40 formed of acoustic damping material. The acoustic damping material is a material capable of absorbing vibration and noise, and may use an elastomeric material such as neoprene or rubber, and is called C-3201-50 PSA / PSA. EAR, Indianapolis, USA Vibration damping material made by the company can be used. The cooling fan 10 has a propeller 16 installed to be rotatable in the frame 12 on a hub 14 containing a main mover such as a motor. In the corners of the frame 12, holes 18 for accommodating a screw 50 or a bolt for fixing the cooling fan 10 are disposed.

The fan mounting apparatus has a bracket 20, spacers 40, and a boss 70. The boss 70 is formed on the bottom surface of the housing 60. The boss 70 is installed in close proximity to the opening 62 formed on one side of the housing 60. The distance between the side on which the opening 62 is formed and the boss 70 is maintained to allow the cooling fan 10 to be positioned. The opening 62 is a passage through which the outside air and the inside air can flow by the cooling fan 10. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the opening 62 can be formed in a variety of shapes. As will be described in detail later, the boss 70 allows the bracket 20 to be fixed to the housing 60 by using a screw 52.

The bracket 20 is a supporting member for supporting the cooling fan 10 in the housing 60. The bracket 20 is composed of a vertical plate 22 and a horizontal plate 30. The boss hole 32 is formed in the horizontal plate 30. The boss hole 32 is formed on a position corresponding to the boss 70 and smaller than the outer diameter of the boss 70. The vertical plate 22 is formed at one side of the horizontal plate 30. The vertical plate 22 is formed to be symmetrical with respect to the boss hole 32. In each corner of the vertical plate 22, spacer holes 24 corresponding to the screw holes 18 of the cooling fan 10 are formed. The spacers 40 are coupled to the spacer holes 24. The spacer holes 24 are open to the outside by the slots 26 cut out from the outside of the vertical plate 22. The spacers 40 are coupled to the spacer holes 18 through the slots 26, respectively. An opening 28 is formed in the vertical plate 22. This opening 28 is formed on a position corresponding to the propeller 16 of the cooling fan 10 in order not to block the flow of air.

The spacers 40 are coupled to the spacer holes 24 of the bracket 20, respectively. The spacers 40 have a cylindrical shape. The spacers 30 have an annular groove 42 in the middle portion. The grooves 42 are respectively coupled to the spacer holes 24 through the slots 24 of the bracket 20. The spacers 40 are divided into a first support 44 and a second support 46 by the grooves 42. In addition, screw holes 48 are formed in the middle of the spacers 40, respectively. The screws 50 are coupled to the screw holes 18 of the cooling fan 10 through the screw holes 48 of the spacers 40, respectively. The first support 44 is positioned between the bracket 20 and the cooling fan 10 to isolate the bracket 20 from the cooling fan 10. The second support 46 is positioned between the bracket 20 and the screw 50 to isolate the bracket 20 from the screw 50.

Cooling fan mounting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention having such a configuration as shown in Figure 2, to combine the spacers 40 and the cooling fan 10 to the bracket 20. As shown in FIG. 3, the assembly couples the spacers 40 to the spacer holes 24 of the bracket 20, respectively. The screws 50 are coupled to the screw holes 18 of the cooling fan 10 through the screw holes 48 of the spacers 50, respectively. The boss hole 32 of the bracket 20 is positioned in the boss 70. By coupling the screw 52 to the boss 70 through the boss hole 32, as shown in FIG. 4, the cooling fan mounting device is coupled to the housing 60.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a coupling state of main parts in FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 5, since the cooling fan 10 is coupled to the bracket 20, which is a supporting member, the cooling fan 10 is not in contact with the housing 60. The bracket 20 is isolated from the cooling fan 10 by the first support 44 of the spacers 40. The bracket 20 is isolated from the screws 50 by the second support 46 of the spacers 30. That is, the bracket 20 separates the cooling fan 10 and the cooling fan 10 from the housing 50 in an isolated state from the screws 50 fixing the cooling fan 10 and the cooling fan 10 to the bracket 20. 60). By such a configuration, vibration and noise generated when the cooling fan 10 is operated are not transmitted to the housing 60.

6 shows a portable computer using a cooling fan mounting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The portable computer is a notebook computer 80 which is widely used. The notebook computer 80 is largely composed of a base 82 and a display panel 84. The base 80 may be formed in the inner space by the bottom housing 84 and the top housing 86. Various electronic circuits, such as a CPU, are comprised in the internal space of the said base 80, and a cooling fan is arrange | positioned inside. On one side of the bottom housing 84 in which the cooling fan is disposed, an air hole 90, like the aforementioned opening, is formed. The cooling fan is installed in the bottom housing 84 by a mounting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Of course, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the cooling fan mounting apparatus can be readily applied to other types of portable computers.

Applying the present invention, it is possible to effectively dampen the leakage of vibration and noise generated from the cooling fan to the housing or the outside of the electronic device. In addition, since the structure of the cooling fan mounting apparatus is very simple, the production cost can be reduced. In addition, since the cooling fan mounting apparatus can be made compact, it can be very usefully used in small electronic devices that are limited in the internal space such as notebook computers.

Claims (4)

An apparatus for mounting a cooling fan in a housing of an electronic device having a propeller rotatably mounted on a hub containing a main mover in a frame and having a hole for fixing a screw to the frame. A boss formed at a predetermined height on the inner surface of the housing; A supporting member having a first hole formed on a position corresponding to the hole of the cooling fan and a second hole formed on a position corresponding to the boss; And a spacer formed of an acoustic damping material, coupled to the first hole of the supporting member to isolate the cooling fan from the supporting member, and having a hole formed to pass a screw for coupling the cooling fan. A fan is coupled to the supporting member by a screw passing through the hole of the spacer, the supporting member is isolated from the cooling fan by the spacer, and the supporting member is coupled to the boss through the second hole. And coupled to the housing by damping vibrations and noise generated during operation of the cooling fan. The method of claim 1, The supporting member is formed to have a predetermined thickness so as to correspond to one side of the frame on which the hole of the cooling fan is formed, and the first plate is formed with the first hole; A second plate formed on one side of the first plate, extending from the first plate to be perpendicular to the first plate, and having the second hole; And an opening formed on the first plate and formed on a position corresponding to the propeller of the cooling fan. In a portable computer, A housing having a bottom surface and side surfaces and having an opening formed on one side thereof; A cooling fan having a propeller rotatably mounted on the hub containing the main mover in the frame, the cooling fan having holes for receiving screws in the frame; A boss formed at a predetermined height from a bottom surface of the housing so as to be close to the opening; A supporting member having first holes formed on positions corresponding to the holes of the cooling fan, and a second hole formed on positions corresponding to the bosses; And spacers formed of an acoustic damping material, the spacers being coupled to the first holes of the supporting member to separate the cooling fan from the supporting member, and having holes formed to pass a screw for coupling the cooling fan. A cooling fan is coupled to the supporting member by screws passing through each hole of the spacers, the supporting member is isolated from the cooling fan by the spacers, and the supporting member is connected to the boss through the second hole. And a vibration and noise generated during operation of the cooling fan by being coupled to the housing by a screw coupled to the portable computer. The method of claim 3, wherein The supporting member is formed to have a predetermined thickness so as to correspond to one side of the frame on which the holes of the cooling fan are formed, and the first plate on which the first holes are formed; A second plate formed on one side of the first plate, extending from the first plate to be perpendicular to the first plate, and having the second hole; Slots formed from an outer circumferential surface of the first plate so as to correspond to the first holes, respectively, and having a predetermined width such that the first holes are respectively opened to the outside; An opening formed on the first plate and formed on a position corresponding to the propeller of the cooling fan, And the spacers are each formed in a cylindrical shape and each has grooves coupled to the first holes through the slots on an outer circumferential surface thereof.