Air valve for electronics enclosures

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9482349-B2
Application number	US-201414151097-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 9, 2014
Priority date	Jan 9, 2014
Publication date	Nov 1, 2016
Grant date	Nov 1, 2016

Abstract

An air valve includes a frame and a sheet of thin material. The frame may have an outlet-side member configured mounted on a fan housing and an inlet-side member rotatably coupled to the outlet-side member. The material may have top and bottom edges, and a plurality of folds perpendicular to the top and bottom side edges that divide the sheet into a plurality of sections. The material may be attached to the outlet-side member and the inlet-side member, and configurable between folded and expanded positions. An attraction between a magnetic component on the inlet-side member and a magnetic component on a rotating fan blade may cause the inlet-side member to rotate, moving the material into the folded configuration. When the fan blade is not rotating, a spring attached at a pivot point may cause the inlet-side member to rotate in an opposite direction, moving the material into the expanded position.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An air valve, comprising:
a frame having:
a first elongated, outlet-side member having a first centrally located pivot point for attachment of a pin and a spring, and configured to be mounted in a fixed position, and
a first elongated inlet-side member having a second centrally located pivot point for receiving the pin, and a first end having a first magnetic component attached thereto, the inlet-side member being rotatably coupled to the outlet-side member by the pin,

a first sheet of thin material having top, bottom, first, and second side edges, and a plurality of folds perpendicular to the top and bottom side edges that divide the sheet into a plurality of sections, wherein the material is configurable between a folded position in which the sections are folded together and an expanded position in which the sections are unfolded, the first side edge of the sheet being attached to the first elongated outlet-side member and the second side edge of the sheet being attached to the first elongated inlet-side member;
wherein the air valve is in an open configuration when the first sheet of thin material is in a folded position and a closed configuration when the material is in an expanded position; and
wherein an attraction between the first magnetic component and a second magnetic component in a fan blade translates rotational energy of the fan blade to the first elongated inlet-side member when the fan blade is rotating, causing the first elongated inlet-side member to rotate toward the open configuration, and the spring causes the first elongated inlet-side member to rotate toward the closed position when the fan blade is not rotating.

2. The air valve of claim 1 , wherein the frame further comprises a frame having:
a second elongated, outlet-side member attached to the first elongated outlet-side member, and
a second elongated, inlet-side member attached to the first elongated inlet-side member; and
wherein the air valve further comprises: second, third, and fourth sheets of thin material.

3. The air valve of claim 1 , further comprising a first fan, wherein the air valve is attached to the fan.

4. The air valve of claim 1 , further comprising an enclosure having first and second fans, wherein the air valve is attached to the first fan.

5. The air valve of claim 1 , wherein the material is biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate.

6. An air valve, comprising:
a frame having:
a first elongated outlet-side member having a first centrally located pivot point for attachment of an axle and a spring, and configured to be mounted in a fixed position, and
a first elongated inlet-side member having a second centrally located pivot point for receiving the axle, and a first end having a first magnetic component attached thereto, the first elongated inlet-side member being rotatably coupled to the first elongated outlet-side member by the axle,

a plurality of interleaved sections, each section constructed of a thin material having a triangular shape and a hook flange at opposite edges to interlock with an adjacent section, wherein the thin material is configurable between a folded position in which the sections are folded together and an expanded position in which the sections are unfolded,
wherein the air valve is in an open configuration when the material is in the folded position and a closed configuration when the material is in the expanded position; and
wherein an attraction between the first magnetic component and a second magnetic component in a fan blade translates rotational energy of the fan blade to the first elongated inlet-side member when the fan blade is rotating, causing the first elongated inlet-side member to rotate toward the open configuration, and the spring causes the first elongated inlet-side member to rotate toward the closed configuration when the fan blade is not rotating.

7. The air valve of claim 6 , wherein the frame further comprises a frame having:
a second elongated, outlet-side member attached to the first elongated outlet-side member, and
a second elongated, inlet-side member attached to the first elongated inlet-side member; and
wherein the air valve further comprises: second, third, and fourth sheets of thin material.

8. The air valve of claim 6 , further comprising a first fan, wherein the air valve is attached to the fan.

9. The air valve of claim 6 , further comprising an enclosure having first and second fans, wherein the air valve is attached to the first fan.

10. The air valve of claim 6 , wherein the thin material is biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate.

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Anderl William J
• Elison Bret P
• Mann Phillip V
• Moore Arden L
• Sinha Arvind K

Classifications

• G06F1/20

  Cooling means · CPC title

• F16K3/10 Primary

  with special arrangements for separating the sealing faces or for pressing them together · CPC title

• H05K7/20727

  within server blades for removing heat from heat source · CPC title

• H05K7/20181

  Filters; Louvers · CPC title

• F16K3/03

  with a closure member in the form of an iris-diaphragm · CPC title