The present invention relates in general to a cooling fan mount set by which a cooling fan is secured inside a electrical apparatus, and more particularly, to a quickly detached cooling fan mounting bracket for a computer, by which a cooling fan can be quickly removed away from a computer chassis without detaching any other peripheral devices, whereby a spacious computer inner space is exposed in order to facilitate rapid replacement of electrical components.
The design of electrical instruments today, and especially the desktop computer, focuses not only on processing speed and multifunction capability, but also on attaining a compact size and attractive appearance. In spite of its decreasing size, the desktop computer is even more powerful and has even more functions than ever is. The desktop computer can have this added power and functionality because there are more powerful electrical components installed thereinside.
In order to enhance the processing speed, a more powerful central processing unit (CPU) and a highly efficient chipset are incorporated into the smaller desktop computer. Even these electrical components themselves have more built-in elements than in the past. But because of these added elements, the CPU and the chipset generate more heat than ever. Because of this added heat larger and more effective thermal dissipation modules need to be installed in order to keep up with the increased heat production. Additionally, a desktop computer must have several standard electrical devices installed which include a high capacity storage unit (hard disk), a DVD player or disk burner or so-called COMBO drive, and a power supply, in order to satisfy the demand of the consumer. The interior of the desktop computer is, therefore, crowded by the previously mentioned electrical devices. There is no room left in the interior space of the desktop computer for a consumer to use his hand to replace electrical components. It is even harder for a consumer to reach electrical components located at the bottom of the desktop computer's interior.
The conventional art makes it inconvenient for the consumer to repair or upgrade his desktop computer. To replace an electrical component, a consumer must detach a larger electrical device, or all of the electrical devices which are located above the electrical component to be replaced. In addition to the standard desktop computer devices mentioned above, a large electrical device installed within the desktop computer is the thermal dissipation assembly, which also takes up considerable space within the desktop computer. If a thermal dissipation device can be designed so that it is easily removed, then that would mean more of the computer's interior could be easily exposed for computer servicing. By removing a thermal dissipation device there would be enough room at the bottom of the computer's interior for the consumer to fit his hand into. This added room at the bottom of the computer's interior would make servicing the other parts at that location more easily serviceable.
However, the conventional installment of the thermal dissipation assembly, and especially the cooling fan, has always been fixed according to a stationary method which requires that the fan be screwed onto the computer's chassis. This method does not make it easy for a consumer to remove the cooling fan. Further, because the thermal dissipation device is assembled before it is installed inside the computer's chassis, it is difficult to remove the cooling fan alone. A consumer must sequentially remove all of the electrical components installed above the thermal dissipation assembly in order to replace the cooling fan.
The present invention provides a quickly detached cooling fan mounting bracket for a computer, which is utilized to remedy the installation and replacement problems of the electrical components of the conventional art. By utilizing the present invention, a cooling fan can be quickly removed away from a computer chassis without detaching any other peripheral devices to expose a large enough computer inner space for facilitating rapid replacement of electrical components.
In one preferred embodiment, a pivot axis is formed by the combination of a first connecting member and a second connecting member, which allows the cooling fan receptive mount and the cooling fan installed therein to rotate around the pivot axis and back out from the computer chassis. The cooling fan receptive mount and the cooling fan installed therein are capable of being rotated inverse into the computer chassis, and further secured on the chassis by an orienting member.
In another preferred embodiment, the connecting member formed by the combination of the first connecting member and the second connecting member is a pin axis combination, wherein the cooling fan receptive mount and the cooling fan can be removed easily from the chassis by means of the disconnection of the pin axis combination. The cooling fan receptive mount and the cooling fan installed therein are capable of being installed into the computer chassis by assembling the pin axis combination, and further secured on the chassis by an orienting member.
In other preferred embodiment, the connecting member can employ a set of small size hinges to pivotally connect the cooling fan receptive mount onto the chassis. The cooling fan receptive mount and the cooling fan installed therein are capable of being rotated out from the chassis for maintenance and rotated inverse into the chassis for installation.
These and other objectives of the present invention will become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of preferred embodiments.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.
These as well as other features of the present invention will become more apparent upon reference to the drawings therein:
Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.
Referring to
The cooling fan receptive mount 1 provides the cooling fan 2 with a moveable structure that the cooling fan 2 can be installed into. There is no special requirement regarding the style and the shape of the cooling fan receptive mount 1. The cooling fan receptive mount 1 disclosed in
In other embodiments of the present invention, the cooling fan 1 is not limited to an independent structure member. The cooling fan receptive mount 1 can be incorporated into the cooling fan housing 20, as illustrated in
The cooling fan 2 is installed inside the receptive space 11 in a stationary manner, it can be moved together with the cooling fan receptive mount 1. The cooling fan 2 in actual embodiments may employ a cooling fan used by a conventional thermal dissipation module 6. There is no special requirement for the type or specification of the cooling fan 2, as long as the thermal dissipation rate of the cooling fan 2 satisfies the requirements of the desktop computer.
The connecting member 3 movably assembles the cooling fan receptive mount 1 and the cooling fan 2 onto the chassis 5; therefore, the cooling fan 2 can be easily and quickly moved away from the chassis 5. It needs to be clearly understood that the connecting member 3 as shown in
The connecting member 3, in one preferred embodiment shown in
The first connecting member 31, in the practical embodiment disclosed in
In other practical and preferred embodiments, the connecting member 3 can also apply one or more conventional small hinges, as is illustrated in
Further, because the connecting member 3 pivotally connects the cooling fan receptive mount 1 to the chassis 5, the cooling fan receptive mount 1 and the cooling fan 2 are movable after the installment of the connecting member 3. But during the normal operation, the cooling fan 2 must be secured to directly face the thermal dissipation module 6. The cooling fan 2 must face with the thermal dissipation module 6 in order to provide heat dissipation function; therefore, the orienting member 4 is utilized to further attach the cooling fan receptive mount 1 onto the chassis 5.
The orienting member 4, as illustrated in
Referring to
When compared to the conventional cooling fan installation method, the present invention is much more convenient for the replacement of electrical components and maintenance. With the present invention, the consumer does not need to remove the fixed electrical devices to replace or upgrade the desktop computer. By simply rotating the cooling fan assembly out from the chassis 5, a specific inner space of the chassis 5 is exposed. The exposed space is large enough for a consumer to reach the electrical components in order to perform the desired replacement.
While an illustrative and presently preferred embodiment of the invention has been described in detail herein, it is to be understood that the inventive concepts may be otherwise variously embodied and employed and that the appended claims are intended to be construed to include such variations except insofar as limited by the prior art.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20060003683 A1 | Jan 2006 | US |