US-20260126047-A1 - FAN STRUCTURE

Abstract

A fan structure includes a housing extending along a first axis, a fan blade rotatably disposed within the housing and along the first axis, and a gear assembly. The gear assembly includes a sun gear coaxially arranged with the fan blade, a ring gear disposed on an inner wall of the housing, a plurality of planet gears meshing between the sun gear and the ring gear, and a decorative plate mounted on the planet gears. When the fan blade is driven to generate airflow, rotation of the fan blade drives the sun gear to rotate, the rotating sun gear causes the planet gears to revolve between the sun gear and the ring gear, and the revolving planet gears drive the decorative plate to rotate.

Inventors

• JIA-HONG SHEN

Assignees

• COOLER MASTER CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20251106

Priority Date

20241106

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A fan structure, comprising: a housing arranged along a first axis, a fan blade rotatably arranged within the housing and along the first axis, and a gear assembly including: a sun gear coaxially arranged with the fan blade, a ring gear arranged on an inner wall of the housing, a plurality of planet gears meshing between the sun gear and the ring gear, and a decorative plate arranged on the planet gears, wherein when the fan blade is driven to generate airflow, the driven fan blade rotates the sun gear, the rotating sun gear drives the planet gears to revolve between the sun gear and the ring gear, and the revolving planet gears drive the decorative plate to rotate.
2. 2 . The fan structure of claim 1 , further comprising a transmission gear meshing with the planet gears.
3. 3 . The fan structure of claim 2 , wherein at least one of the planet gears is dual-layer gear, one layer of each dual-layer gear meshing between the sun gear and the ring gear, and the other layer of each dual-layer gear meshing with the transmission gear.
4. 4 . The fan structure of claim 2 , wherein the transmission gear is coaxially positioned with the sun gear, and the transmission gear is rotatably positioned on the fan blade.
5. 5 . The fan structure of claim 2 , wherein the decorative plate is driven by the transmission gear through the planet gear.
6. 6 . The fan structure of claim 1 , wherein a rotating area of the decorative plate covers a rotating area of the transmission gear.
7. 7 . The fan structure of claim 1 , further comprising a lighting element positioned within the housing.
8. 8 . The fan structure of claim 1 , wherein the rotation of the decorative plate defines a circular area.
9. 9 . The fan structure of claim 1 , wherein the decorative plate is axially arranged on the top of the housing.
10. 10 . The fan structure of claim 1 , wherein the decorative plate is coaxially arranged with the fan blade.
11. 11 . The fan structure of claim 1 , wherein the decorative plate is axially positioned beyond a rotation area of the fan blade.
12. 12 . The fan structure of claim 1 , wherein the decorative plate is axially positioned opposite to the fan blade.
13. 13 . The fan structure of claim 1 , wherein a rotating speed ratio of the decorative plate relative to the sun gear is 1:200.
14. 14 . The fan structure of claim 1 , wherein the sun gear is secured to the fan blade via snap-fit or riveting.
15. 15 . A fan assembly, comprising: a housing; a fan rotor rotatably arranged within the housing; a sun gear coaxially connected to the fan rotor; a ring gear secured relative to the housing; a plurality of planet gears meshing with the sun gear and the ring gear; a transmission gear meshing with the planet gears; and a decorative plate coupled to the transmission gear, wherein rotation of the fan rotor drives the sun gear to rotate, the rotation of the sun gear propels the planet gears to revolve between the sun gear and the ring gear, the revolving planet gears drive the transmission gear to rotate, and the rotating transmission gear drives the decorative plate to rotate about the first axis.
16. 16 . The fan assembly of claim 15 , wherein the sun gear is connected to the fan blade via snap-fit or riveting.
17. 17 . The fan assembly of claim 16 , wherein at least one of the planet gears is dual-layer gears, one layer of each dual-layer gear meshing between the sun gear and the ring gear, and the other layer of each dual-layer gear meshing with the transmission gear.
18. 18 . The fan assembly of claim 16 , wherein the transmission gear is coaxially arranged with at least one of the sun gear and the fan rotor.
19. 19 . The fan assembly of claim 15 , further comprising a lighting element positioned within the housing.
20. 20 . The fan assembly of claim 15 , wherein a rotating speed ratio of the decorative plate relative to the sun gear is 1:200.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This U.S. application claims the benefits of priority to Taiwan application No. 113212071, filed on Nov. 6, 2024, titled “Fan Structure” of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. BACKGROUND The advancement of technology has enhanced the performance of electronic products, which generates waste heat. To dissipate the heat produced by electronic products, cooling fans are typically mounted near heat sources to provide airflow for heat dissipation. However, in general, fans serve only one purpose—cooling. As a result, figuring out how to allow fans to offer more functionality has emerged as a challenge to address. SUMMARY In general terms, this disclosure is directed to a fan structure. In some embodiments, and by non-limiting example, the present disclosure provides a fan structure with distinctive decorative functionality. Aspects of the present disclosure provide a fan structure. The fan structure includes a housing arranged along a first axis, a fan blade rotatably arranged within the housing along the first axis, and a gear assembly. The gear assembly includes a sun gear coaxially arranged with the fan blade, a ring gear arranged on an inner wall of the housing, a plurality of planet gears meshing between the sun gear and the ring gear, and a decorative plate arranged on the planet gears. Rotation of the fan blade drives the sun gear to rotate, the rotating sun gear drives the planet gears to revolve between the sun gear and the ring gear, and the revolving planet gears drive the decorative plate to rotate. In some embodiments, the fan structure further includes a transmission gear meshing with the planet gears. In some embodiments, at least one of the planet gears is dual-layer gears, one layer of each dual-layer gear meshing between the sun gear and the ring gear, and the other layer meshing with the transmission gear. In some embodiments, the transmission gear is coaxially positioned with the sun gear and rotatably supported by the fan blade. In some embodiments, the decorative plate is driven by the transmission gear through the planet gears. In some embodiments, a rotating area of the decorative plate covers a rotating area of the transmission gear. In some embodiments, the fan structure further includes a lighting element positioned within the housing. In some embodiments, rotation of the decorative plate defines a circular area. In some embodiments, the decorative plate is axially arranged on a top side of the housing. In some embodiments, the decorative plate is coaxially arranged with the fan blade. In some embodiments, the decorative plate is axially positioned beyond a rotation area of the fan blade. In some embodiments, the decorative plate is axially positioned opposite to the fan blade. In some embodiments, a rotating speed ratio of the decorative plate relative to the sun gear is 1:200. In some embodiments, the sun gear is secured to the fan blade via snap-fit or riveting. Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a fan assembly. The fan assembly includes a housing, a fan rotor rotatably arranged within the housing, a sun gear coaxially connected to the fan rotor, a ring gear secured relative to the housing, a plurality of planet gears meshing with the sun gear and the ring gear, a transmission gear meshing with the planet gears, and a decorative plate coupled to the transmission gear. Rotation of the fan rotor drives the sun gear to rotate, the rotation of the sun gear propels the planet gears to revolve between the sun gear and the ring gear, the revolving planet gears drive the transmission gear to rotate, and the rotating transmission gear drives the decorative plate to rotate about the first axis. In some embodiments, the sun gear is connected to the fan blade via snap-fit or riveting. In some embodiments, at least one of the planet gears is dual-layer gears, one layer of each dual-layer gear meshing between the sun gear and the ring gear, and the other layer meshing with the transmission gear. In some embodiments, the transmission gear is coaxially arranged with at least one of the sun gear and the fan rotor. In some embodiments, the fan assembly further includes a lighting element positioned within the housing. In some embodiments, a rotating speed ratio of the decorative plate relative to the sun gear is 1:200. This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a bottom view of a fan structure according to embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the fan structure, with a decorative plate and a transmission gear omitted. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the fan structure