Fan having blades with flanges

• Main Authors: KUBLI, ROBERT ALFRED, BENT, PAUL HENRY, QUINLAN, DANIEL A
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 12.03.1997
• Edition: 6
• Subjects: BLASTING; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER; DYNAMO-ELECTRIC MACHINES; ELECTRICITY; GENERATION; HEATING; INDEXING SCHEME FOR ASPECTS RELATING TONON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT MACHINES OR ENGINES, GAS-TURBINES ORJET-PROPULSION PLANTS; INDEXING SCHEMES RELATING TO ENGINES OR PUMPS IN VARIOUSSUBCLASSES OF CLASSES F01-F04; LIGHTING; MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; NON-POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT PUMPS; POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS; ROTARY-PISTON, OR OSCILLATING-PISTON, POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENTMACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; ROTARY-PISTON, OR OSCILLATING-PISTON, POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENTPUMPS; WEAPONS

An air moving device such as an axial cooling fan comprises a fan housing (12), a rotatable shaft assembly (13) supported by the fan housing (12), and a plurality of fan blades (14) coupled to the rotatable shaft assembly (13), each of the fan blades (14) having a blade tip in close proximity to the fan housing (12). In accordance with the invention, at least one of the fan blades (14) has a flange (15) located at the blade tip thereof and integrated therewith. By reducing the air flow through the gap between the blade tip and the fan housing (12), the flanges (15) result in the aeroacoustic noise generated by the fan being advantageously reduced. In one illustrative embodiment, the flanges (15) are substantially perpendicular to the fan blade (14) and extend in both substantially perpendicular directions therefrom. The flanges (15) may consist of a separately manufactured component which has been physically attached to a (separately manufactured) fan blade, or the fan blade and the flange may be parts of a single integrally manufactured component.