Patent Application
20200220426
The application claims the benefit of Taiwan application serial No. 108100378, filed on Jan. 4, 2019, and the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention generally relates to a motor and an air-driving device including the motor and, more particularly, to a motor and a ceiling fan including the motor.
Large ceiling fans with a diameter size of 4 meters or more have been developed for use in occasions such as plants, warehouses, venues or livestock fanning houses. In this regard, when the size of the ceiling fan becomes larger, the inner space of the rotary member 93 is deeper. This makes it difficult to insert the upper bearing 92a into the rotary member 93 from below and to properly position the upper bearing 92a in the inner space of the rotary member 93. As a result, the assembly efficiency is low. When the upper bearing 92a and/or the lower bearing 92b is slanted in the inner space of the rotary member 93 or is not properly installed, the operation of the ceiling fan 9 would be unstable.
In light of this, it is necessary to improve the conventional ceiling fan 9.
It is therefore the objective of this invention to provide a motor and a ceiling fan including the motor whose rotating mechanism can be separated into independent parts for separate assemblies, thereby improving convenience, efficiency and quality in assembly.
It is another objective of the invention to provide a motor and a ceiling fan including the motor which ensure the concentricity between the individual parts of the rotating mechanism as separated, thus improving the stability in rotation.
It is a further objective of the invention to provide a motor and a ceiling fan including the motor, in which the individual parts of the rotating mechanism can be made of different materials in order to attain the required wearability of the individual parts of the rotating mechanism or to reduce the weight of the motor and the ceiling fan.
It is yet a further objective of the invention to provide a motor and a ceiling fan including the motor which permit the use of different types of bearings to securely support the ceiling fan components while reducing the cost.
In an aspect, a motor including a support unit, a first rotating part, a second rotating part, a rotor and a stator is disclosed. The support unit includes an axle and a bearing coupled with the axle. The first rotating part is fit around the axle and is coupled with the bearing. The second rotating part is coupled with the first rotating part. The rotor is coupled with the second rotating part. The stator is connected to the support unit.
In another aspect, a ceiling fan including the motor and a plurality of air-driving units is disclosed. The plurality of air-driving units is coupled with the second rotating part.
Based on the above, in the motor and the ceiling fan including the motor according to the invention, the rotating mechanism of the motor can be separated into different parts, in which each of the rotating parts is coupled with the respective bearing at the end thereof In this arrangement, the assembly of the motor is convenient. Also, it can be easily checked that whether the individual rotating parts are properly assembled, thereby significantly improving the convenience, efficiency and quality in assembly.
In a form shown, the bearing includes an inner race coupled with the axle and an outer race radially aligned with the inner race, and an inner periphery of each of the first rotating part and the second rotating part abuts the outer race of the bearing. This ensures the concentricity between the first rotating part and the second rotating part and improves the stability in rotation.
In the form shown, an interconnected part of the first rotating part and the second rotating part is around a middle of an outer periphery of the outer race of the bearing. This ensures that the outer race has substantially the same contact area with the second rotating part and the first rotating part, reinforcing the engagement between the outer race and the second rotating part and the first rotating part.
In the form shown, the support unit includes a support bearing coupled with the axle. The support bearing includes a retaining ring fit around the axle and a rotating ring rotatable relative to the retaining ring. The rotating ring abuts an abutting portion formed on the inner periphery of the first rotating part. In this regard, the weight of the motor or the rotating mechanism of the ceiling fan is mainly transmitted to the rotating ring of the support bearing through the first rotating part, significantly lowering the burden of the bearing. Thus, the bearing can be implemented by a regular bearing instead of an expensive specific-purpose bearing that is particularly used to support a heavy weight. In this regard, the total cost of the support bearing and the other bearings is even significantly lower than the cost of a single specific-purpose bearing, thereby reducing the cost of the motor as well as the likelihood of breakage.
In the form shown, the motor further includes a buffering pad sandwiched between the retaining ring and the inner race of the bearing and fit around the axle, and the buffering pad is off contact with the rotating ring and the outer race of the bearing. The arrangement of the buffering pad reduces the vibration force between the support bearing and the bearing and reinforcing the engagement between the support bearing and the bearing.
In the form shown, the first rotating part includes an oil chamber, and the support bearing is disposed in the oil chamber. As such, the oil chamber is filled with lubricant to improve the smoothness in rotation of the rotating ring of the support bearing.
In the form shown, the first rotating part has a screw hole extending from an outer periphery to the inner periphery of the first rotating part and intercommunicating with the oil chamber of the first rotating part. A screwing ring is engaged with the screw hole. This permits the lubricant to be injected into the oil chamber from the outside while the screwing ring is used to prevent the leakage of the lubricant from. The motor can be taken out of the package box by hanging up the screwing ring, thereby assisting in the removal of the motor. As a result, the convenience in oil injection and assembly is improved.
In the form shown, a rigidity of the second rotating part is lower than a rigidity of the first rotating part. This ensures that the first rotating part, which is the main component for supporting the weight of the rotating mechanism of the motor, has a sufficiently high rigidity. In this regard, the second rotating part which is not the main component for supporting the weight of the rotating mechanism of the motor can be made of a different material from the first rotating part. This can reduce the weight and/or cost of the motor, and provide the required wearability of the individual rotating parts of the motor according to the requirement. Thus, the flexibility of the material design is improved.
In the form shown, the first rotating part is made of iron or steel, and the second rotating part is made of aluminum, magnesium, aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy or aluminum-magnesium alloy. In this arrangement, the weight of the second rotating part can be reduced, advantageously lowering the weight of the motor or the ceiling fan.
In the form shown, the support unit further includes an auxiliary bearing having an inner race coupled with the axle and an outer race radially aligned with the inner race thereof An inner sleeve is coupled with the inner periphery of the second rotating part and abuts the outer race of the auxiliary bearing. A rigidity of the inner sleeve is larger than a rigidity of the second rotating part. In this arrangement, the auxiliary bearing can be abutted by the inner sleeve which has a higher rigidity, which prevents the second rotating part from being abraded by the auxiliary bearing. Advantageously, the repair rate of the motor is lower.
In the form shown, the inner sleeve is made of iron or steel, and the second rotating part is made of aluminum, magnesium, aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy or aluminum-magnesium alloy. Thus, the convenience in manufacturing is improved.
In the form shown, the second rotating part includes a tubular portion coupled with the first rotating part and a disc portion connected to an outer periphery of the tubular portion, and each of the plurality of air-driving units includes a blade having an inner end face. The shape of the inner end face of the blade matches the shape of an outer periphery of the disc portion. Thus, the blades can better fit the outer periphery of the disc portion to avoid forming an obvious gap therebetween, improving the look of the motor.
In the form shown, the inner end face of each blade is formed by laser cutting. Thus, the convenient and precise processing is attained.
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinafter and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:
In the various figures of the drawings, the same numerals designate the same or similar parts. Furthermore, when the terms “first”, “second”, “third”, “fourth”, “inner”, “outer”, “top”, “bottom”, “front”, “rear”, “axial”, “radial”, “longitudinal”, “transverse”, “length”, “width”, “height” and similar terms are used hereinafter, it should be understood that these terms have reference only to the structure shown in the drawings as it would appear to a person viewing the drawings, and are utilized only to facilitate describing the invention.
Referring to
With regard to the motor suitable for use in a large ceiling fan, the support unit 1 preferably further includes a support bearing 13 coupled with the axle 11. The support bearing 13 includes a retaining ring 131 fit around the axle 11. The retaining ring 131 can abut the inner race 121 of the bearing 12. Alternatively, a buffering pad 14 is sandwiched between the retaining ring 131 and the inner race 121 of the bearing 12. The buffering pad 14 is flexible (such as rubber or the like) and is fit around the axle 11 for absorption of the vibration, reducing the vibration force between the support bearing 13 and the bearing 12 and reinforcing the engagement between the support bearing 13 and the bearing 12. The support bearing 13 further includes a rotating ring 132 outwardly of or located above the retaining ring 131. The rotating ring 132 can rotate relative to the retaining ring 131. Each of the retaining ring 131 and the rotating ring 132 includes a force-bearing face mainly for bearing the axial force. In the presence of the buffering pad 14, the buffering pad 14 is preferably not in contact with the rotating ring 132 and the outer race 122 of the bearing 12.
Besides, to improve the stability in rotation, the support unit 1 in this embodiment further includes an auxiliary bearing 15 below the bearing 12. The auxiliary bearing 15 is spaced from the bearing 12 at a predetermined distance. The bearing 12 is located between the auxiliary bearing 15 and the support bearing 13. Similar to the bearing 12, the auxiliary bearing 15 also includes an inner race 151 and an outer race 152. The inner race 151 is fit around the axle 11 and abuts another shoulder portion 111. The inner race 151 is concentric with the outer race 152. The outer race 152 is outward of the inner race 151 and can rotate relative to the inner race 151.
The first rotating part 2 is fit around the axle 11. The support bearing 13 is located in and coupled with the first rotating part 2. The first rotating part 2 can rotate relative to the axle 11. Specifically, the inner periphery of the first rotating part 2 in the embodiment can form an abutting portion 21 through the diameter difference. The rotating ring 132 of the support bearing 13 can abut the abutting portion 21 to permit synchronous rotation of the first rotating part 2 and the rotating ring 132.
Since the first rotating part 2 and the support bearing 13 are the main components that support the rotating parts of the motor, the first rotating part 2 is preferably made of a material with a higher rigidity such as iron or steel. The first rotating part 2 preferably includes an oil chamber 22 for accommodation of the support bearing 13. The oil chamber 22 is filled with lubricant (such as grease), such that the lubricant can improve the smoothness in rotation of the rotating ring 132 of the support bearing 13. Besides, the first rotating part 2 in this embodiment can have a screw hole 23 extending from the outer periphery to the inner periphery of the first rotating part 2, allowing for the injection of the lubricant into the oil chamber 22. Afterwards, a screwing ring 24 is engaged with the screw hole 23 to prevent the lubricant from flowing out of the oil chamber 22. The motor can be taken out of the package box by hanging up the screwing ring 24, thereby assisting in the removal of the motor.
The second rotating part 3 is coupled with the first rotating part 2, such that the first rotating part 2 and the second rotating part 3 can rotate jointly. The second rotating part 3 is coupled with the rotatable part of the motor such as the rotor 4. The stator 5 is connected to the support unit 1 and is lower than the auxiliary bearing 15. The stator 5 is electrified to excite the magnetic field of the rotor 4, permitting the rotor 4 to drive the rotatable part of the motor to jointly rotate about the axle 11.
Specifically, the second rotating part 3 in this embodiment includes a tubular portion 31 and a disc portion 32. The disc portion 32 is coupled with the outer periphery of the tubular portion 31 at the bottom end of the tubular portion 31. The top of the second rotating part 3 can abut the bottom of the first rotating part 2 while several fasteners S extend through the first rotating part 2 to be screwed into the second rotating part 3. A plurality of air-driving units 7 is mounted to the disc portion 32 to form a ceiling fan, as elaborated later.
In this embodiment, the inner periphery of each of the tubular portion 31 and the first rotating part 2 jointly abuts the outer periphery of the outer race 122 of the bearing 12, thereby ensuring the concentricity between the first rotating part 2 and the second rotating part 3. In the axial direction of the axle 11, the interconnected part of the tubular portion 31 and the first rotating part 2 is preferably around the middle of the outer periphery of the outer race 122. This ensures that the outer race 122 has substantially the same contact area with the tubular portion 31 and the first rotating part 2, reinforcing the engagement between the outer race 122 and the tubular portion 31 and the first rotating part 2. Furthermore, the inner periphery of the disc portion 32 is coupled with the tubular portion 31 of the second rotating part 3, or with the outer periphery of the outer race 152 of the auxiliary bearing 15. In this arrangement, the rotation of the second rotating part 3 can remain stable through the use of the bearing 12 and the auxiliary bearing 15.
It is noted that the weight of the rotor 4 and the plurality of air-driving units 7 (which are mounted to the second rotating part 3) is mainly transmitted to the rotating ring 132 of the support bearing 13 through the abutting portion 21 of the first rotating part 2. As a result, the second rotating part 3 supports less weight than the first rotating part 2 does. Thus, in the embodiment, the second rotating part 3 can be made of a different material from the first rotating part 2. In other words, the second rotating part 3 can have a lower rigidity than the first rotating part 2 as long as the second rotating part 3 can provide a reliable engagement for the rotor 4 and the plurality of air-driving units 7. Preferably, the second rotating part 3 is made of a lightweight material such as aluminum, magnesium, aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy or aluminum-magnesium alloy to reduce its weight, which consequently reduces the weight of the motor.
Moreover, when the rigidity of the second rotating part 3 is lower than that of the first rotating part 2, the motor preferably further includes an inner sleeve 6 coupled with the inner periphery of the second rotating part 3. This permits the second rotating part 3 to indirectly abut the outer race 152 through the inner sleeve 6. In the above arrangement, the rigidity of the inner sleeve 6 is higher than that of the second rotating part 3. Thus, the auxiliary bearing 15 can be abutted by the inner sleeve 6 (which has a higher rigidity) rather than the second rotating part 3 (which has a lower rigidity), which avoids the abrasion of the second rotating part 3. In a non-limiting example, the inner sleeve 6 is made of steel or iron which is the same as the first rotating part 2. In this embodiment, the inner sleeve 6 includes an annular wall 61 and an annular flange 62 extending outwards from the bottom end of the annular wall 61. The annular wall 61 abuts the inner periphery of the tubular portion 31. The annular flange 62 abuts the bottom face of the disc portion 32. In this regard, a plurality of fasteners S extends through the annular flange 62 to securely screw the inner sleeve 6 to the disc portion 32. Alternatively, the inner sleeve 6 is press fit with the tubular portion 31. The invention is not limited to either option.
Based on the above structure, during the assembly of the motor of the embodiment, the inner race 121 and the retaining ring 131 are fit around the axle 11 first. Next, the first rotating part 2 is fit around the axle 11, such that the rotating ring 132 abuts the abutting portion 21 and the inner periphery of the first rotating part 2 is securely coupled with the outer periphery of the outer race 122. Next, the axle 11 is tipped over to fit the second rotating part 3 around the axle 11. Therefore, the inner periphery of the second rotating part 3 is securely coupled with the outer periphery of the outer race 122 at one end of the second rotating part 3. Then, the inner race 151 of the auxiliary bearing 15 is fit around the axle 11, in which the inner periphery of the second rotating part 3 (or of the inner sleeve 6) is coupled with the outer race 152 of the auxiliary bearing 15 at the other end of the second rotating part 3. Finally, the first rotating part 2 is screwed to the second rotating part 3 to complete the assembly. In the above, since the first rotating part 2 is coupled with the bearing 12 at the end thereof and since the second rotating part 3 is coupled with the auxiliary bearing 15 at the end thereof, the assembly of the motor of the embodiment is convenient. Also, it can be readily checked that whether the bearing 12 and the auxiliary bearing 15 are properly mounted, thereby significantly improving the convenience, efficiency and quality in assembly.
On the other hand, the motor according to the embodiment can support the weight of the entire rotating parts of the motor via the support bearing 13 that is configured to support the axial force, thus significantly reducing the burden of other bearings 12 and 15. Advantageously, the other bearings 12 and 15 can be implemented by general ball bearings instead of expensive specific-purpose bearings that are particularly used to support a heavy weight. This also ensures the stable rotation of the rotating parts of the motor while the total cost of the support bearing 13 and the other bearings 12 and 15 is significantly lower than the cost of a single specific-purpose bearing. Thus, the embodiment can reduce the cost of the motor and accordingly improves the competitiveness of the product.
Referring to
Referring to
Based on the above structure, during the assembly of the motor, the inner race 121 of the bearing 12 can be fit around the axle 11. Then, the first rotating part 2 is fit around the axle 11 such that the inner periphery of the first rotating part 2 is coupled with the outer race 122 of the bearing 12. Next, the axle 11 is tipped over to fit the second rotating part 3 around the axle 11. Therefore, the inner periphery of the second rotating part 3 is securely coupled with the outer periphery of the outer race 122 at one end of the second rotating part 3. Then, the inner race 151 of the auxiliary bearing 15 is fit around the axle 11, in which the inner periphery of the second rotating part 3 (or of the inner sleeve 6) is coupled with the outer race 152 of the auxiliary bearing 15 at the other end of the second rotating part 3. Finally, the first rotating part 2 is screwed to the second rotating part 3 to complete the assembly. In the above, since the first rotating part 2 is coupled with the bearing 12 at the end thereof and since the second rotating part 3 is coupled with the auxiliary bearing 15 at the end thereof, the assembly of the motor of the embodiment is convenient. Also, it can be easily checked that whether the bearing 12 and the auxiliary bearing 15 are properly mounted, thereby significantly improving the convenience, efficiency and quality in assembly.
In summary, in the motor and the ceiling fan including the motor according to the invention, the rotating mechanism of the motor can be separated into different parts (two parts in the above embodiments), in which each of the rotating parts is coupled with the respective bearing at the end thereof In this arrangement, the assembly of the motor is convenient. Also, it can be easily checked that whether the individual bearings are properly assembled, thereby significantly improving the convenience, efficiency and quality in assembly.
Besides, in the motor and the ceiling fan including the motor according to the invention, the rotating mechanism can be separated into different parts such that said parts of the rotating mechanism can have different material design choices according to the location thereof Advantageously, the weight and cost of the motor can be reduced while the required wearability of the rotating parts can be maintained. Thus, the flexibility of the motor design is improved.
Although the invention has been described in detail with reference to its presently preferable embodiments, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention, as set forth in the appended claims
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 108100378 | Jan 2019 | TW | national |
