Patent Application
20250060111
This application claims the benefit of priority to Taiwan Patent Application No. 112131093, filed on Aug. 18, 2023. The entire content of the above identified application is incorporated herein by reference.
Some references, which may include patents, patent applications and various publications, may be cited and discussed in the description of this disclosure. The citation and/or discussion of such references is provided merely to clarify the description of the present disclosure and is not an admission that any such reference is “prior art” to the disclosure described herein. All references cited and discussed in this specification are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties and to the same extent as if each reference was individually incorporated by reference.
The present disclosure relates to a relay fan, and more particularly to a relay fan that can enhance the smoke exhausting capability of a range hood and cool a circuit board.
For an existing range hood, when extending an air duct to properly discharge the oil fumes to the outside through the air duct, problems such as the oil fumes being unable to be efficiently discharged due to an excessive length of the air duct may arise. Therefore, in order to improve on the above-mentioned problem, in the relevant art, a relay fan is usually installed outside of the range hood, and the air duct is connected to the relay fan (also known as a relay motor), such that the relay fan can further discharge the oil fume outward.
In addition, in order to control the relay fan and provide power, a control box is usually provided, where one end of the control box is connected to the utility power, and another end of the control box is connected to the relay fan through an extension cord to control the relay fan and provide power. However, as the power consumption of the relay fan increases, the heat generated by high-power electronic components installed on a circuit board in the control box also increases. A common method for dissipating the high heat generated by the high-power electronic components is to install a heat dissipation device in the control box. Furthermore, to enhance the heat dissipation capability of the heat dissipation device, a cooling fan is commonly provided. However, the cooling fan not only requires additional power, but also tends to malfunction in high-temperature environments, such that the cooling fan often requires repairs, causing a long-term point of concern for businesses and users.
In response to the above-referenced technical inadequacies, the present disclosure provides a relay fan capable of cooling a circuit board.
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, one of the technical aspects adopted by the present disclosure is to provide a relay fan capable of cooling a circuit board. The relay fan includes an air extraction motor, a heat dissipation base, and the circuit board. The air extraction motor includes an outer housing and a motor body. The outer housing has a first opening and a second opening opposite to each other, and the motor body is disposed in the outer housing. One end of the motor body has an exhaust outlet corresponding to the second opening. The heat dissipation base disposed on the outer housing of the air extraction motor. The circuit board is electrically connected to the motor body of the air extraction motor and disposed on the heat dissipation base; therefore, an airflow of the air extraction motor that is in an operation cools the heat dissipation base, so as to cool the circuit board.
In one of the possible or preferred embodiments, the outer housing further has a third opening corresponding to the heat dissipation base, and the heat dissipation base is sunken into the outer housing through the third opening.
In one of the possible or preferred embodiments, the relay fan further includes an outer cover covering a periphery of the circuit board. At least one flow-guiding hole is formed on the outer cover.
In one of the possible or preferred embodiments, the heat dissipation base is a metal heat dissipation base that is a rectangular hollow column, the heat dissipation base is partially sunken into the outer housing, and the heat dissipation base has a heat dissipation wall and two side openings. The two side openings are located on two lateral sides of the heat dissipation wall, a plurality of heat dissipation holes are formed on the heat dissipation wall and in fluid connection with the two side openings, and the two side openings are connected to an interior of the outer cover and the at least one flow-guiding hole.
In one of the possible or preferred embodiments, the outer cover includes two side cover plates that are opposite to each other, and each of the two side cover plates has the at least one flow-guiding hole formed thereon.
In one of the possible or preferred embodiments, a pipe sleeve is disposed on the first opening of the outer housing, such that the first opening can be connected to an air duct of the range hood body through the pipe sleeve.
In one of the possible or preferred embodiments, the relay fan further includes a relay transceiver electrically connected to the circuit board. The relay transceiver is configured to amplify and transmit a relay fan activation signal sent by the range hood body when the range hood body is turned-on.
These and other aspects of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of the embodiment taken in conjunction with the following drawings and their captions, although variations and modifications therein may be affected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure.
The described embodiments may be better understood by reference to the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which:
The present disclosure is more particularly described in the following examples that are intended as illustrative only since numerous modifications and variations therein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Like numbers in the drawings indicate like components throughout the views. As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, the meaning of “a,” “an” and “the” includes plural reference, and the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on.” Titles or subtitles can be used herein for the convenience of a reader, which shall have no influence on the scope of the present disclosure.
The terms used herein generally have their ordinary meanings in the art. In the case of conflict, the present document, including any definitions given herein, will prevail. The same thing can be expressed in more than one way. Alternative language and synonyms can be used for any term(s) discussed herein, and no special significance is to be placed upon whether a term is elaborated or discussed herein. A recital of one or more synonyms does not exclude the use of other synonyms. The use of examples anywhere in this specification including examples of any terms is illustrative only, and in no way limits the scope and meaning of the present disclosure or of any exemplified term. Likewise, the present disclosure is not limited to various embodiments given herein. Numbering terms such as “first,” “second” or “third” can be used to describe various components, signals or the like, which are for distinguishing one component/signal from another one only, and are not intended to, nor should be construed to impose any substantive limitations on the components, signals or the like.
Referring to
The relay fan essentially includes an air extraction motor 10, a heat dissipation base 20, and a circuit board 30. The air extraction motor 10 is located outside of the range hood body, and includes an outer housing 11 and a motor body 12. The outer housing 11 can be a metallic hollow housing. The outer housing 11 has a first opening 111 and a second opening 112, and the first opening 111 and the second opening 112 can be formed on opposite sides of the outer housing 11. The motor body 12 is disposed in the outer housing 11. One end of the motor body 12 has an exhaust outlet 121, and the exhaust outlet 121 corresponds to the second opening 112. The exhaust outlet 121 of the motor body 12 can also extend out from the outer housing 11 through the second opening 112, such that the oil fumes extracted by the air extraction motor 10 can be discharged outward. In addition, a pipe sleeve S can be disposed on the first opening 111 of the outer housing 11, such that the first opening 111 can be in fluid connection with the air duct P that is connected to the main body of the range hood body through the pipe sleeve S.
The circuit board 30 is electrically connected to the motor body 12 of the air extraction motor 10 and can be used to provide power and control the activation/deactivation and rotation speed of the motor body 12 of the air extraction motor 10. The circuit board 30 has high-power electronic components disposed thereon such as power transistors. The power transistors can be a single power component, such as a MOSFET or an IGBT, or can be a power module. The circuit board 30 is disposed on the heat dissipation base 20, and the heat dissipation base 20 can be directly disposed on the outer housing 11 of the air extraction motor 10 to form thermal contact and thermal conduction with the outer housing 11, such that the heat dissipation base 20 is cooled through an exhaust airflow A1 formed in the outer housing 11 during the operation of the air extraction motor 10. In this embodiment, a third opening 113 can be formed on the outer housing 11, and a shape or a size of the third opening 113 corresponds to the heat dissipation base 20. The heat dissipation base 20 can also be sunken into the outer housing 11 through the third opening 113, and can be partially or completely sunken into the outer housing 11. Therefore, when the air extraction motor 10 is operated at a higher rotational speed and consumes more power, the circuit board 30 becomes hotter; at this time, a volume of the extraction airflow A1 in the outer housing 11 also becomes greater, such that the heat dissipation base 20 can be cooled, thereby effectively cooling the circuit board 30.
Furthermore, in this embodiment, an outer cover 40 can be provided in order to better assist in cooling of the circuit board 30. The outer cover 40 covers a periphery of the circuit board 30, and at least one flow-guiding hole 401 is formed on the outer cover 40. When the rotational speed and the power consumption of the air extraction motor 10 becomes higher, the circuit board 30 becomes hotter, and the volume of the extraction airflow A1 becomes greater; therefore, in addition to cooling the heat dissipation base 20 through the greater extraction airflow A1 in the outer housing 11, an external airflow A2 can also be guided to pass through the flow-guiding hole 401 of the outer cover 40, the circuit board 30, and the heat dissipation base 20 to cool the circuit board 30 more effectively.
Furthermore, the heat dissipation base 20 can be a plate-shaped metal heat dissipation base or an aluminum extrusion heat dissipation base, preferably a metal heat dissipation base that is a rectangular hollow column having two side walls and two side openings 201, and one of the side walls is a heat dissipation wall 21. The two side openings 201 are located on two lateral sides of the heat dissipation wall 21. A plurality of heat dissipation holes 210 are formed on the heat dissipation wall 21 and in fluid connection with the two side openings 201, and the two side openings 201 are connected to an interior of the outer cover 40 and at least one flow-guiding hole 401; therefore, the external airflow A2 flowing in from the flow-guiding hole 401 can flow into the heat dissipation base 20 through the two side openings 201, and then flow into the interior of the outer housing 11 through the plurality of heat dissipation holes 210. Moreover, through the heat dissipation base 20 being partially sunken into the outer housing 11, the extraction airflow A1 formed in the outer housing 11 during the operation of the air extraction motor 10 can also flow through the heat dissipation base 20 through the side openings 201. Therefore, the external airflow A2 and the extraction airflow A1 that simultaneously flow through the heat dissipation base 20 can be used to cool the heat dissipation base 20, such that the circuit board 30 is cooled more effectively.
Moreover, the outer cover 40 can be made of a metal plate or a plastic plate and in a shape of a hollow box that has two side cover plates 41 opposite to each other, and each of the two side cover plates 41 has at least one flow-guiding hole 401 formed thereon. The external airflow A2 can flow into the outer cover 40 through the two opposite flow-guiding holes 401 of the outer cover 40. In addition, the periphery of the outer cover 40 is tightly connected to edges of the third opening 113. In other words, the length and width of the outer cover 40 are greater than or equal to the length and width of the third opening 113.
In addition, reference is further made to
In conclusion, the relay fan provided by the present disclosure capable of cooling a circuit board includes an air extraction motor 10, a heat dissipation base 20, and a circuit board 30. The air extraction motor 10 includes an outer housing 11 and a motor body 12. The outer housing 11 has a first opening 111 and a second opening 112 opposite to each other, and the motor body 12 is disposed in the outer housing 11. One end of the motor body 12 has an exhaust outlet 121 corresponding to the second opening 112. The heat dissipation base 20 is disposed on the outer housing 11 of the air extraction motor 10. The circuit board 30 is electrically connected to the air extraction motor 10 and disposed on the heat dissipation base 20; therefore, an extraction airflow A1 of the air extraction motor 10 that is in an operation cools the heat dissipation base 20, so as to cool the circuit board 30. This greatly improves the convenience and safety of using the range hood, thereby addressing a long-term problem for users and businesses.
The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure has been presented only for the purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching.
The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the disclosure and their practical application so as to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the disclosure and various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains without departing from its spirit and scope.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 112131093 | Aug 2023 | TW | national |
