System structure and fan module thereof

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a system structure, and in particular to a system structure provided with a fan module.

2. Description of the Related Art

For a PC or server host, a fan assembly is provided to dissipate heat generated. In general, the fan assembly is fixed on the inner wall of a housing by several screws. When the fan assembly is installed, several elements such as interface cards, memories, etc., must be removed first. Thus, it is time-consuming to assemble or disassemble the fan assembly to or from the host.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,215,659B1 discloses a fan assembly detachably engaged to a computer enclosure. Although the fan assembly is easily attached to or removed from the computer enclosure, several elements still must be removed to enable the process.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,375,440B2 discloses a fan unit disposed on a housing frame and a fan housing cover. The fan is supported by a fan case and disposed in a housing.

However, since the housing frame and the fan housing cover can only accommodate fans of a particular size, it is inconvenient to change fan sizes or configurations.

Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a system structure with a fan module providing more convenient removal and installation of fans, as well as accommodation of a variety of fan sizes and types.

The system structure of the invention has a housing and a fan module. The housing has a substrate with the fan module is detachably disposed thereon. The substrate is provided with a plurality of guide ports, several first positioning portions, and a second positioning portion. The fan module has a body, two plates and a fan unit. Each plate is detachably disposed on the body and provided with several positioning portions and a fourth positioning portion.

When the fan module is attached to the substrate of the housing, the third positioning portions of the fan module are fixed by the first positioning portions of the substrate, and the fourth positioning portion of the fan module fits into the second positioning portion of the substrate. Thus, the fan module is fixed on the system structure, and more convenient removal and installation of fans, as well as accommodation of a variety of fan sizes and types, is enabled.

A detailed description is given in the following embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The present invention is more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1A is an exploded perspective view of a system structure (H) and a fan module (B′) according to the invention;

FIG. 1B is another exploded perspective view of the system structure (H) and the fan module (B′) of FIG. 1A ;

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the fan module (B′) of FIG. 1A ;

FIG. 2B is an exploded perspective view of the fan module (B′) of FIG. 2A ;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the fan module (B′) subject to an external force (N);

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the system structure (H) and the fan module (B′), wherein the fan module (B′) is about to be installed on the system structure (H) by an external force (K);

FIG. 5A is a partial plane view of a substrate (B) of the system structure (H) of FIG. 4 , wherein the fan module (B′) is about to be installed on the substrate (B) by the force (K);

FIG. 5B is a partial plane view of a substrate (B) of the system structure (H) of FIG. 4 , wherein the fan module (B′) is installed on the substrate (B);

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the system structure (H) and the fan module (B′), wherein the fan module (B′) is about to be removed from the system structure (H) by two forces (N) and (Q);

FIG. 7A is a partial plane view of the substrate (B) of the system structure (H) of FIG. 6 , wherein the fan module (B′) is about to be removed from the substrate (B) by the two forces (N) and (Q);

FIG. 7B is a partial plane view of a substrate (B) of the system structure (H) of FIG. 4 , wherein the fan module (B′) has been removed from the substrate (B).

In FIGS. 1A and 1B , a system structure H of the invention has a housing C and a fan module B′. The housing C has a substrate B. The substrate B is a front plate of the housing C, and the fan module B′ is detachably installed on the substrate B, for cooling and ventilation. The substrate B has a plurality of guide ports b 0 , four first positioning portions b 1 and a second positioning portion b 2 . The guide ports b 0 , the first positioning portions b 1 and the second positioning portion b 2 are all through holes penetrating the substrate B. The first positioning portions b 1 function as vents in a matrix on the substrate B, the four first positioning portions b 1 are located at the periphery of the first positioning portions b 1 , and the second positioning portion b 2 is located in the middle of the first positioning portions b 1 . The distances from each first positioning portion b 1 to the second positioning portion b 2 are the same. Each of the first positioning portions b 1 is a trapezoidal opening.

In FIGS. 2A and 2B , the fan module B′ has a body 1 , two plates 2 , 2 ′ and a fan unit 3 . The body 1 has a hollow structure and the fan unit 3 is a revolvable element disposed thereon. Four positioning holes h 1 are provided on the side surfaces 10 S 1 , 10 S 2 of the body 1 . The plates 2 , 2 ′ are detachably disposed on the side surfaces 10 S 1 , 10 S 2 of the body 1 , respectively, and each plate 2 , 2 ′ has the same structure.

For example, the plate 2 has a helical resilient portion 20 , four third positioning portions 21 , a fourth positioning portion 22 , four L-shaped hooks 23 , four cylindrical posts 24 are provided and integrally formed. The resilient portion 20 is a grille formed in the middle of the plate 2 and provided with different sizes of holes penetrating the surfaces 20 S 1 , 20 S 2 . Four third positioning portions 21 are L-shaped hooks formed on the surface 20 S 1 and located corresponding to the four first positioning portions b 1 of the substrate B respectively. The fourth positioning portion 22 is a cylindrical protrusion formed on the resilient portion 20 extending from a central surface 200 of the resilient portion 20 . The position of the fourth positioning portion 22 corresponds to the second positioning portion b 2 of the substrate B. Each pair of L-shaped hooks 23 extends from the surface 20 S 1 toward the surface 20 S 2 by passing the end surface 20 S 3 . The four cylindrical posts 24 (referring to the plate 2 ′) extend from the surface 20 S 2 in positions corresponding to the four positioning holes h 1 of the body 1 .

In FIG. 2A , the plates 2 , 2 ′ are fixed on the body 1 by attaching the L-shaped hooks 23 of the plate 2 and the L-shaped hooks 23 of the plate 2 ′ to the end surfaces 10 S 3 , 10 S 4 of the body 1 .

In FIG. 3 , external force N is applied to the fourth positioning portion 22 of the resilient portion 20 of the plate 2 , such that the fourth positioning portion 22 moves from a first position I to a second position II through the flexibility of the deformed resilient portion 20 (dotted line), and a displacement “d” is formed from the first position I to a second position II. When force N is released, the fourth positioning portion 22 returns to the first position I from the second position II.

For better understanding of the relationship between the substrate B and the fan module B′, the guide ports b 0 of the substrate B in FIGS. 5A , 5 B, 7 A, and 7 B are omitted.

In FIGS. 4 and 5A , the fan module B′ is about to be installed on the substrate B of the housing C by an external force K. In FIG. 5A , the fan module B′ is attached to the inner surface b 100 of the substrate B and the four third positioning portions 21 of the fan module B′ are inserted into the four first positioning portions b 1 of the substrate B. An external force K is applied to the fan module B′ to move the fan module B′ in a direction corresponding to the force.

In FIG. 5B , the fourth positioning portion 22 of the fan module B′ is then fit into the second positioning portion b 2 of the substrate B, and all the L-shaped third positioning portions 21 of the fan module B′ are fixed to the first positioning portions b 1 of the substrate B.

In FIGS. 6 and 7A , the fan module B′ is about to be removed from the substrate B of the housing C by two forces N and Q. In FIG. 7A , the fan module B′ is attached to the inner surface b 100 of the substrate B, and the four third positioning portions 21 of the fan module B′) are fixed on the four first positioning portions b 1 of the substrate B, and the fourth positioning portion 22 of the fan module B′ fits into the second positioning portion b 2 of the substrate B. First, the force N is applied to the fourth positioning portion 22 of the fan module B′, such that the positioning portion 22 of the fan module B′ is pushed and moved from the first position I to the second position II (as shown in FIG. 3 ) and disengaged from the second positioning portion b 2 of the substrate B. Then, the force Q is applied to the fan module B′ to move the fan module B′ in a direction corresponding to the force.

In FIG. 7B , the fourth positioning portion 22 of the fan module B′ is disengaged from the second positioning portion b 2 of the substrate B, and all the L-shaped third positioning portions 21 of the fan module B′ are disengaged from the first positioning portions b 1 of the substrate B.

It is noted that the fan unit 3 of the fan module B′ disposed on the substrate B corresponds to the guide ports b 0 of the substrate B. With the fan unit 3 , cooling and ventilation are provided via the guide ports b 0 .

While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to accommodate various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.