Fan motor assembly

Abstract

A fan motor assembly includes two or more fans adjoining each other and arranged in line. Each fan includes a motor having an impeller, a frame supporting the motor, a housing defining a passage of air flow, at least one rib supporting and fixing the frame to the housing, a lead wire connecting an external power source and the motor, and a lead wire guide portion from which the lead wire is led out of the fan motor assembly. The fan motor assembly includes a primary fan and at least one additional fan. The lead wire of the additional fan is arranged at a surface of an air inlet side or air outlet side of the primary fan, and the lead wire of the additional fan extends out of the primary fan.

1 . A fan motor assembly comprising: 
 a primary fan and at least one additional fan, each of the primary fan and the at least one additional fan including:    a motor having an impeller;    a frame supporting the motor;    a housing defining a passage of air flow generated by the impeller;    at least one rib supporting and fixing the frame to the housing;    a lead wire arranged to connect the motor to an external power source; and    a lead wire guide portion from which the lead wire is led out of the fan; wherein    the primary fan and the at least one additional fan are arranged side by side; and    the lead wire of the at least one additional fan is arranged on a surface of an air inlet side or an air outlet side of the primary fan, and the lead wire of the at least one additional fan is led to the exterior of the fan motor assembly.    
   
   
       2 . The fan motor assembly as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the housing includes a flange portion arranged outside of the passage of air flow; the flange portion is located at an end portion, an air inlet side, or an air outlet side of the housing; and the lead wire of the at least one additional fan is arranged to be latched by the flange portion.  
   
   
       3 . The fan motor assembly as set forth in  claim 2 , wherein the lead wire of the at least one additional fan is latched by the flange portion of the primary fan and the flange portion of the at least one additional fan, the flange portion of the primary fan and the flange portion of the at least one additional fan adjoining each other.  
   
   
       4 . The fan motor assembly as set forth in  claim 2 , wherein the lead wire of the at least one additional fan is arranged along an end surface of the housing at the air inlet side or the air outlet side of the primary fan.  
   
   
       5 . The fan motor assembly as set forth in  claim 4 , wherein a portion of the end surface of the housing on which the lead wire is arranged is recessed relative to the other portions of the end surface of the housing.  
   
   
       6 . The fan motor assembly as set forth in  claim 5 , wherein the housing of the primary fan is integral with the housing of the at least one additional fan.  
   
   
       7 . The fan motor assembly as set forth in  claim 1 , further comprising a lead wire guide groove arranged on the at least one rib of each of the primary fan and the at least one additional fan, wherein the lead wire of the at least one additional fan extends from the at least one additional fan to the frame of the primary fan through the lead wire guide groove arranged on the at least one rib of the at least one additional fan, extends past the frame of the primary fan, and is led out of the fan motor assembly through the lead wire guide groove formed on the at least one rib of the primary fan.  
   
   
       8 . The fan motor assembly as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the housing includes a flange portion arranged outside of the passage of air flow; the flange portion is located at an end portion, an air inlet side, or an air outlet side of the housing; and the flange portion further includes a lead wire groove through which the lead wire extends from the fan motor assembly.  
   
   
       9 . The fan motor assembly as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the lead wire of the at least one additional fan is arranged along an end surface of the air inlet side or the air outlet side of the primary fan, and extends from the fan motor assembly via the lead wire guide portion of the primary fan.  
   
   
       10 . The fan motor assembly as set forth in  claim 9 , wherein a portion of the end surface of the housing on which the lead wire is arranged is recessed relative to the other portions of the end surface of the housing.  
   
   
       11 . The fan motor assembly as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the lead wire of the at least one additional fan is arranged to cross the passage of air flow at an air inlet side or at an air outlet side of the primary fan.  
   
   
       12 . The fan motor assembly as set forth in  claim 11 , wherein the lead wire of the at least one additional fan extends past the frame of the primary fan.  
   
   
       13 . The fan motor assembly as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the lead wire of the at least one additional fan is arranged along an end surface at an air inlet side or an air outlet side of the primary fan, is bundled together with the lead wire of the primary fan at the air inlet side or the air outlet side of the primary fan, and the lead wires of the primary fan and the at least one additional fan extend out of the fan motor assembly from the lead wire guide portion arranged on the housing of the primary fan.  
   
   
       14 . The fan motor assembly as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the housing further includes an additional lead wire guide portion which latches and holds the lead wires.  
   
   
       15 . The fan motor assembly as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the housing includes a flange portion arranged outside of the passage of air flow; the flange portion is arranged at an end portion, an air inlet side, or an air outlet side of the housing; and the flange portion further includes an additional lead wire guide portion which latches and holds the lead wires.  
   
   
       16 . The fan motor assembly as set forth in  claim 1 , further including a binding member arranged to bind the lead wires of the primary fan and the at least one additional fan together outside of the primary fan.  
   
   
       17 . The fan motor assembly as set forth in  claim 16 , wherein the binding member is a binding band or a heat shrinkable tube.  
   
   
       18 . The fan motor assembly as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the housing of the primary fan is integral with the housing of the at least one additional fan.  
   
   
       19 . A fan motor assembly including a primary fan and an additional fan, comprising: 
 a housing of the primary fan and a housing of the additional fan arranged laterally adjacent to each other, each of the housings of the primary fan and the additional fan including a circular inside wall defining a cylindrical bore, axes of cylindrical bores of the housings being parallel to each other;    a lead wire of the primary fan and a lead wire of an additional fan, first ends of leads wires of the primary fan and the additional fan being connected to the primary fan and the additional fan respectively; and    a motor of the primary fan and a motor of the additional fan, motors of the primary fan and the additional fan being accommodated in the cylindrical bores of the primary fan and the additional fan respectively; wherein    the lead wires of the primary fan and the additional fan are arranged between imaginary tangential planes which are tangential to both of the first cylindrical bore and the second cylindrical bore and sandwich both of the cylindrical bores therebetween; and    the lead wires of the primary fan and the additional fan are bound together at a position which is between the two imaginary tangential planes radially outside of the cylindrical bore of the primary fan and is not placed between an imaginary first sectional plane which connects two tangential points of the cylindrical bore of the primary fan and an imaginary second sectional plane which connects two tangential points of the cylindrical bore of the additional fan.    
   
   
       20 . The fan motor assembly as set forth in  claim 19 , wherein the lead wire of the additional fan is arranged at least partially along a periphery of the cylindrical bore of the housing of the primary fan.  
   
   
       21 . The fan motor assembly as set forth in  claim 19 , wherein the primary fan and the additional fan further include a plurality of ribs extending from the motor to the housing;  
     the lead wire of the additional fan is arranged along at least one of the ribs of the primary fan.