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  Fan cover structureThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070231157. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention is related to fan cover structures, and more particularly, to a fan cover structure that can be installed at the draft direction of a fan, and can allow a fan to be fixed on the casing. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] In a technologically advanced society where information flows freely, the computer is gradually becoming an indispensable electronic product for the common people, and the server has become the integral part to the provision of various services. But as the computer industry becomes ever more advanced, the development of electronic components also proceed toward the direction of higher level and higher integration, so that the demand of consumers can be satisfied and high computing speed can be attained. [0003] However, as the development of electronic components continues, the problem of how to deal with the heat generated from running the electronic components also needs to be considered. For example, the computing capability and clock speed of CPU (central processing unit) have been continually elevated, and this also generates relatively more heat. On the other hand, the North bridge is another source of heat in the handling of lane bridging regarding computing at high frequency, and the working frequency of memory has also been elevated continually, which means the heat generated from running the memory cannot be neglected either, and the hard disk is another major source of heat as well. If the heat is allowed to accumulate inside of an electronic product and is not dissipated to the surrounding atmosphere in time, the internal electronic components or parts may be damaged, which in turn reduces the life span of the electronic products. Therefore, the heat inside the electronic products is generally dispelled to the outside by utilizing a heat sink fan. In order to dispel the heat inside the electronic products effectively, the assemblage of heat sink fan and its installation location are two important issues to be considered in design. [0004] FIG. 1 displays the method for fixing a heat sink fan of prior arts on the casing, wherein the protective mesh 12 is fixed on fixing opening 111 of frame 11 that has an internal heat sink fan 10 by a screw 120, so that heat sink fan module 1 with the completed assemblage of protective mesh can be fixed on holding frame 13, then latching piece 131 that protrudes from holding frame 13 is allowed to latch onto latching part 141 on top of casing 14, so that heat sink fan module 1 is fixed on casing 14 by holding frame 13. [0005] But since holding frame 13 is used to support heat sink fan module 1, hence its size needs to be larger than that of heat sink fan module 1, and because holding frame 13 also needs to be fixed firmly, a latching part 141 must be formed on casing 14, which in turn takes up larger space in casing 14 and leads to problems like less useable space in casing 14 and higher production cost for casing 14. On the other hand, heat sink fan 10, frame 11 and protective mesh of heat sink fan module 1 described above have to be assembled by using tools, which makes the assemblage of fan more inconvenient. Moreover, heat sink fan module 1 is placed on top of holding frame 13, and the vibration resulted from running the assembled fan 1 will spread out to the surface of the casing, which will make the whole casing become a resonance chamber for the fan, and thus will engender noises and affect the stability of the fan while it is running. [0006] Due to the above problem, a fan cover structure with the protective mesh and holding frame combined together has been offered as a solution to it; as shown in FIG. 2, fan cover structure 5 and fan 1 have both been fixed by screws, which makes them opposite to fixing opening 11 of frame 12, and the function of fixing the fan has been imparted to fan cover structure 5, thereby allowing the holding frame in FIG. 1 to be discarded. In addition, a fixing opening 51 has been formed on the base 55 of fan cover structure 5, and screw hole is formed on the position on casing where the fan is to be fixed, so that screws can be fixed at fixing opening 51, thereby allowing the fan to be fixed on the casing; a handle 54 is formed at the bent extension of base 55 to enable users to install, remove, and carry the fan with ease. [0007] Although the previous design can save the space for holding frame and simplify the method for fixing the casing and holding frame, it still requires the use of tools for installation, which means tools are still necessary to fix fan 1 on the casing by the use of fan cover structure 5, and the noises of vibration can still spread to the surface. On the other hand, it is necessary to form handle 54 at the air inlet and air outlet of fan in order to facilitate the installation and removal processes, but handle 54 also takes up a lot of space and is located at the air inlet and outlet of fan, which not only affects the convection pathway of air, but also generates suction effect at the air outlet and consequently gives rise to noises. [0008] Therefore, the most urgent issue is to find a fan cover structure that does not have the drawbacks of the prior arts and can reduce the noises generated from vibration of fan, can be installed without assistance tools, can be assembled and disassembled easily, can save space and lower production cost. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0009] In light of the shortcomings of the prior arts, the main objective of the present invention is to provide a fan cover structure that has simple structure, can be assembled easily, and installed without assistance tools. [0010] Another objective of the present invention is to provide a fan cover structure that can be fixed on the casing easily, and can reduce the noises resulted from the vibration of fan. [0011] A further objective of the present invention is to provide a fan cover structure that can utilize the space for installation efficiently and can be cost-effective as well. [0012] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a fan cover structure that can be installed at the draft direction of a fan, and allows the fan to be fixed on the casing; it comprises: a mesh frame; a latching component that protrudes vertically from the edge of the mesh frame; the fixing opening that is used to fix the mesh frame onto the preset frame of the fan; an extension part that protrudes from the bottom of the mesh frame, a tooling hole is also formed at the center of the extension part, so that the fan can be connected to the preset tooling pin on the casing by the tooling hole; as well as a flexible component that protrudes from the top of the mesh frame, which is set against the top cover of the casing and used to reduce the vibration of the fan. Additionally, the fan cover structure further comprises a handle that is formed at the top of the mesh frame, which allows the user to remove the fan by hand. Therefore, the present invention allows the fan to be assembled, as well as installed into and removed from the casing without the assistance of tools, it does not take up additional space for installation and is cost-effective, which satisfies the demand of users. [0013] In addition, according to the present invention, the tooling hole and the tooling pin of the fan cover structure are used together in order to fix the fan on the casing, and the fan cover structure is installed at the fixing openings on the frame located at the air inlet and air outlet of the fan, thus the tooling pins that are opposite to the fixing openings are required on the board of the casing in order to fix the fan and prevent it from sliding out of alignment. The latching components are located at the edge of mesh frame in the fan cover structure; it is perpendicular to the fan frame and can be fitted into the fixing opening, after the part that is shaped as a hook has been snapped onto the other side of the frame, the fan cover structure and frame can be fixed together firmly. The flexible component is located on the top edge of the mesh frame in fan cover structure, and is bent upwards slightly; a protruding piece is located at the end and is slightly higher than the outer edge of the frame, so that after the top cover of the casing has been shut, the protruding piece on the end of the flexible component can decrease the friction area and hence reduce the vibration of fan and the resulted noises by its flexibility. [0014] Therefore, the fan cover structure of the present invention can be fitted onto the fan by the latching components, and the space required for fixing the fan can be shrunken by utilizing the preset tooling pins on the casing and the tooling holes on the fan cover structure; on the other hand, the flexible components can reduce vibration and noises. As a result, the structure of fan cover has been simplified, and is easy to assemble and change parts without assistance tools; on the other hand, its size has been minimized and its production cost has been lowered. Moreover, the fan cover structure can be used on fans with frames of the same size, which makes it easy to use, install, and is cost-effective, thereby satisfying the demand of general consumers. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0015] The present invention can be more fully comprehended by reading the detailed description of the preferred embodiments listed below, with reference made to the accompanying drawings, wherein: [0016] FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the method for assembling a fan on the holding frame and thereby fixing it on the casing in the prior art; [0017] FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the fan cover structure for integrating a fan in the prior art; [0018] FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing the fan cover structure that has been assembled on the fan in accordance with the present invention; and [0019] FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a fan with the fan cover structure of the present invention that is fixed on the casing. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Continue reading... 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