Fan with impeller based on an audio spread-spectrum
AssigneeMicrosoft Technology Licensing, LLC
InventorGregory M. Daly
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fan for cooling an electronic device is described, wherein the fan can include an enclosure and a motor secured within the enclosure. The fan can also include an impeller to be turned by the motor, the impeller having a plurality of blades, wherein an angular spacing of the blades results in an audio spread-spectrum within a range of audio frequencies. In some examples, an arrangement of the blades has a center of mass below a threshold, and the angular spacing of the blades and a blade pass frequency (BPF) results in sound that is distributed in the range of audio frequencies.
Claims20
A fan for cooling an electronic device, the fan comprising:
- an enclosure;
- a motor secured within the enclosure;
- and
- an impeller to be turned by the motor, the impeller having a plurality of blades in an arrangement so that a blade with a smallest angle is adjacent to a blade with a largest angle, wherein an angular spacing of the blades results in an audio spread-spectrum within a range of audio frequencies, and wherein the angular spacing of the blades and a blade pass frequency (BPF) results in sound that is distributed in the range of audio frequencies.
A method of operating a fan, comprising:
- driving a fan with a motor, the fan having an impeller with a plurality of blades in an arrangement so that a blade with a smallest angle is adjacent to a blade with a largest angle, the blades being angularly spaced around a hub to provide an audio spread-spectrum within a range of audio frequencies, and wherein the angular spacing of the blades and a blade pass frequency (BPF) results in sound that is distributed in the range of audio frequencies.
A method for designing impellers, comprising:
- detecting a number of blades to be included in an impeller design and a mechanical tolerance of the blades;
- detecting a plurality of algorithms corresponding to the impeller design, wherein the plurality of algorithms identify an angular spacing of the blades that results in an audio spread-spectrum within a range of audio frequencies;
- generating the impeller design based on the plurality of algorithms, wherein the impeller design comprises an arrangement of the plurality of blades in an arrangement so that a blade with a smallest angle is adjacent to a blade with a largest angle, and wherein the angular spacing of the blades and a blade pass frequency (BPF) results in sound that is distributed in the range of audio frequencies;
- and
- transmitting instructions to a fabrication device to manufacture an impeller based on the impeller design.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.