Winglet-enhanced fan
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorChristian L. Belady
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Small winglets placed at the outer end of each fan blade substantially reduce the vortices created in conventional fans by the pressure differential between the low pressure and high pressure sides of the blade. The winglet acts as a barrier, which substantially blocks leakage around the blade tip, thus suppressing vortices. Technical advantages include noise reduction, because there are no shedding vortices to create noise as the blades pass the struts; increased aerodynamic efficiency of the fan, providing higher air flow for the same fan speed, size, and power, because less energy is lost in vortices; and minimal cost impacts, because housings currently used for fans can still be used with standard finger guards and because winglets and blades can be formed integrally of injection molded plastic.
Claims12
A fan operable to generate a flow of air from a low pressure region to a high pressure region comprising:
- a base;
- a hub rotatably mounted to said base;
- a plurality of blades attached at proximal ends thereof to said hub and toward the distal ends thereof projecting in a substantially radial direction away from said hub;
- a winglet attached to at least one blade of said plurality of blades distal from said hub, said winglet extending generally in a plane perpendicular to said radial direction of said blade;
- and
- said winglet providing a barrier operable to substantially block a leakage flow of air around said distal end of said blade from said high pressure region to said low pressure region.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.