Fan apparatus
AssigneeGe Global Sourcing LLC
InventorsLeroy Eugene Learn, Joel Terence Montione
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A fan apparatus (e.g., for a vehicle radiator) includes a hub and plural fan blades. The hub has an annular hub body with an outer peripheral wall, an interior, and a central axis. The hub body defines plural blade retention apertures spaced apart from one another around the hub body and extending radially outward from the interior through to the outer peripheral wall. The fan apparatus also includes plural fan blades respectively removably disposed in the plural blade retention apertures. The fan blades and the blade retention apertures are complimentary in shape for the fan blades to be retained by the hub solely by centrifugal force when the hub is rotated for operation of the fan apparatus.
Claims20
A fan apparatus comprising:
- a hub comprising an annular hub body having an outer peripheral wall, an interior, and a central axis, wherein the hub body defines plural blade retention apertures spaced apart from one another around the hub body and extending radially outward from the interior through to the outer peripheral wall;
- and
- plural fan blades respectively removably disposed in the plural blade retention apertures, wherein the fan blades and the blade retention apertures are complementary in shape to one another for the fan blades to be retained by the hub at least solely by centrifugal force when the hub is rotated for operation of the fan apparatus, and wherein the blade retention apertures comprise respective slots that extend from respective openings in the interior through to openings in the outer peripheral wall, the slots being partially tapered where, for each respective slot, a first portion of the slot is tapered in a direction extending from the interior to the outer peripheral wall and a second portion of the slot is not tapered in the direction extending from the interior to the outer peripheral wall.
A fan apparatus comprising:
- a hub comprising an annular hub body having an outer peripheral wall, an interior, a central axis, and a top surface, wherein the hub body defines plural blade retention slots spaced apart from one another around the hub body, the blade retention slots extending radially outward from the interior through to the outer peripheral wall and having top openings across at least part of the top surface of the hub body;
- plural fan blades having respective base portions attached to respective blade portions, wherein the base portions are respectively removably disposed in the plural blade retention slots with the blade portions extending radially outwards from the outer peripheral wall, wherein the plural blade retention slots are angled, as defined by long central axes of the plural blade retention slots being oriented at one or more non-zero degree angles relative to a radius of the hub body, the radius extending perpendicularly between the central axis and the outer peripheral wall, and wherein the base portions are at least one of tapered or flared for engagement with complementary features of the hub body for the fan blades to be retained by the hub at least solely by centrifugal force when the hub is rotated for operation of the fan apparatus;
- and
- an end cap fastened to the hub body and configured to at least partially cover the top openings of the slots to prevent the fan blades from being longitudinally removed from the slots in a direction of the central axis.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.