Fan system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9546664-B2
Application number	US-201314034565-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 24, 2013
Priority date	Apr 15, 2013
Publication date	Jan 17, 2017
Grant date	Jan 17, 2017

Abstract

A fan system suitable for an electronic device is provided. The fan system includes a fan module and a fan protecting module. The fan module includes a base and a fan blade assembly. The base is disposed at the electronic device and has a chamber. The fan blade assembly includes a fan blade and a shaft portion. The fan blade is fixed on the shaft portion. The shaft portion is rotatably contained in the chamber. The fan protecting module includes an electromagnetic component and an accelerometer. The electromagnetic component is disposed at a position adjacent to the shaft portion. The accelerometer is disposed in the electronic device and coupled to the electromagnetic component. When an acceleration of the electronic device detected by the accelerometer is greater than a threshold value, the electromagnetic component applies magnetic force to the shaft portion to prevent the shaft portion from overly shifting or deflecting.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A fan system suitable for an electronic device, the fan system comprising:
a fan module comprising:
a base disposed at the electronic device and having a chamber; and
a fan blade assembly comprising at least one fan blade and a shaft portion, wherein an end of the at least one fan blade is fixed on the shaft portion, the shaft portion is rotatably contained in the chamber so that the fan blade assembly is adapted to rotate relative to the base around the shaft portion, and at least one first end of the shaft portion comprises a material attractive to magnetic force; and

a fan protecting module comprising:
an electromagnetic component disposed at a position adjacent to the first end of the shaft portion and outside the chamber, wherein the electromagnetic component is located on a rotation axis of the shaft portion; and
an accelerometer disposed in the electronic device and coupled to the electromagnetic component, wherein when an acceleration of the electronic device detected by the accelerometer is greater than a threshold value, the electromagnetic component generates a magnetic force applied to the first end of the shaft portion to prevent the shaft portion from overly shifting or deflecting.

2. The fan system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the electromagnetic component generates the magnetic force to attract the shaft portion, so that the first end is abutted against an end surface of the chamber.

3. The fan system as recited in claim 2 , wherein the chamber has a position limiting groove, the first end of the shaft portion has a position limiting structure, the position limiting structure is position-limited within the position limiting groove, the end surface is located within the position limiting groove, and the magnetic force generated by the electromagnetic component drives the position limiting structure to move and to be abutted against the end surface.

4. The fan system as recited in claim 3 , wherein a size of the position limiting groove along a direction is greater than a size of the position limiting structure along the direction, and the position limiting structure is capable of moving along the direction so as to abut against the end surface.

5. The fan system as recited in claim 2 , wherein the end surface is perpendicular to an axial direction of the shaft portion, the magnetic force generated by the electromagnetic component drives the first end of the shaft portion to move along the axial direction of the shaft portion and to be abutted against the end surface.

6. The fan system as recited in claim 1 , wherein when the acceleration of the electronic device detected by the accelerometer is greater than the threshold value within a predetermined length of time, the electromagnetic component generates the magnetic force applied to the first end of the shaft portion to prevent the shaft portion from overly shifting or deflecting.

7. The fan system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the at least one fan blade is fixed at a second end of the shaft portion that is opposite the first end.

8. The fan system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the fan protecting module further comprises a control unit and a power supply unit, the power supply unit is coupled to the electromagnetic component, the control unit is coupled to the accelerometer and the power supply unit, and the control unit receives a signal from the accelerometer and controls the power supply unit to supply power to the electromagnetic component, so that the electromagnetic component generates the magnetic force.

9. The fan system as recited in claim 8 , wherein the control unit is further coupled to the fan blade assembly and controls an operation thereof, when the fan blade assembly rotates and the acceleration of the electronic device detected by the accelerometer is greater than the threshold value, the control unit controls the fan blade assembly to stop rotating.

10. The fan system as recited in claim 1 , wherein when the electromagnetic component generates the magnetic force applied to the shaft portion, the electronic device displays a warning message.

11. The fan system as recited in claim 1 further comprising a switch interface, wherein the switch interface is configured to switch the fan protecting module into a deactivated state or an activated state, when the fan protecting module is in the activated state and the acceleration of the electronic device detected by the accelerometer is greater than the threshold value, the electromagnetic component generates the magnetic force, and when the fan protecting module is in the deactivated state and the acceleration of the electronic device is greater than the threshold value, the electromagnetic component does not generate the magnetic force.

12. A fan system suitable for an electronic device, the fan system comprising:
a fan module comprising:
a base disposed at the electronic device and having a chamber; and
a fan blade assembly comprising at least one fan blade and a shaft portion, wherein an end of the at least one fan blade is fixed on the shaft portion, the shaft portion is rotatably contained in the chamber so that the fan blade assembly is adapted to rotate relative to the base around the shaft portion, and at least one first end of the shaft portion comprises a material attractive to magnetic force; and

a fan protecting module comprising:
an electromagnetic component disposed at a position adjacent to the first end of the shaft portion and outside the chamber, and capable of receiving a signal corresponding to a dropping state and transmitted from the electronic device, so as to generate a magnetic force applied to the first end of the shaft portion to prevent the shaft portion from overly shifting or deflecting, wherein the electromagnetic component is located on a rotation axis of the shaft portion.

13. The fan system as recited in claim 12 , wherein the signal corresponding to the dropping state and transmitted from the electronic device comes from an accelerometer assembled on the electronic device, and the signal is being sent when an acceleration of the electronic device detected by the accelerometer is greater than a threshold value.

Assignees

• Wistron Corp

Inventors

• Hsu Chia-Lung
• Chen Po-Cheng
• Kao Ming-Chi
• Chen Ming-Chih

Classifications

• F04D19/002 Primary

  Axial flow fans · CPC title

• F04D29/058

  magnetic; electromagnetic · CPC title

• F04D29/052

  Axially shiftable rotors (F04D29/051 takes precedence {; control by creating a by-pass F04D27/0246}) · CPC title

• F04D25/0613 Primary

  the electric motor being of the inside-out type, i.e. the rotor is arranged radially outside a central stator · CPC title

• F04D27/008

  Stop safety or alarm devices, e.g. stop-and-go control; Disposition of check-valves · CPC title