IMPELLER FOR VORTEX FLOW BLOWER AND METHOD OF MAKING SAID IMPELLER

Abstract

 This invention relates to an impeller for a vortex flow blower provided with blades in a three-dimensional shape, formed independently of a blade-casing, and then fixed to said casing, and further relates to a method of making said impeller comprising steps of forming the blade-casing only independently of the other members, forming the blades only independently of the other members, and fixing the blades to the blade casing. This invention can easily accomodate an impeller in an extremely complicated shape and provides a vortex flow blower of high performance at low cost without fail.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD:

[0001] The present invention relates to an impeller for a vortex flow blower and manufacturing method thereof, and particularly to an impeller preferable to a vortex flow blower comprising three-dimension configuration blade and manufacturing method thereof.

BACKGROUND ART:

[0002] Recently, in response to the needs to a vortex flow blower such as compact in size and light weight, or high blow pressure and less noise, there have been proposed various configurations or constructions for the impeller, and there is known a three-dimensional production of the impeller as one of these proposals.

[0003] And, in accordance with practical use of such a blade of a three-dimensional configuration, its manufacturing method is becoming big problem. That is, since a conventional impeller for a vortex flow blower having a blade of a two-dimensional configuration is relatively simple configuration, it is chiefly manufactured by means of casting such as a die-cast. However, as long as manufacturing of the impeller relies on such casting, it is apparent that the manufacturing of the impeller becomes difficult in accordance with increasing needs of the three-dimensional production for the impeller blade.

[0004] To resolve such a problem, there is proposed a method in for example Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. SHO 51-57011 such that, when manufacturing this kind of impeller in casting, the impeller is constituted to be divided into two parts in a direction of a rotational shaft, and after finishing the casting, the impeller is in turn assembled, thereby eliminating a core for the casting mold.

[0005] There was a problem in the above prior art such that it was not able to realize the manufacturing of the impeller having a more complicated configuration, since there was no sufficient consideration for highly advanced three-dimensional production of the impeller blade. That is, generally speaking, though the die-cast or the metal molding casting is utilized in the manufacturing of such an impeller of a complicated configuration, if the blade has a three-dimensional shape, it becomes impossible to remove the product out of the casting mold. Therefore, it was not able to realize the manufacturing of the impeller having a complicated configuration.

[0006] In the manufacturing of such an impeller, the die-cast method or the low-pressure casting method is usually utilized. In this case, if the conventional technique is applied, it was difficult to reduce the thickness size due to a problem of run etc.

[0007] And, consequently, it was difficult to reduce an inertial geometrical moment (GD2) of the impeller and, thus, the driving motor could not reduced its size.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION:

[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide an impeller for a vortex flow blower and manufacturing method thereof which is capable of manufacturing the impeller having a highly complicated configuration and, therefore, further promoting the three-dimensional production of the impeller blade, and as a result, sufficiently attaining a highly advanced performance of the vortex flow blower.

[0009] In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provide an impeller for a vortex flow blower comprising a blade casing and a plurality of blades, said blade casing and said blades being formed separately, and said impeller for the vortex flow blower being constituted by installing the plurality of blades on the blade casing.

[0010] Further, another aspect of the present invention comprises a step for independently manufacturing the blade casing only, a step for independently manufacturing the blade only, and a step for installing the blade on the blade casing.

[0011] Since the blade casing and the blades can be manufactured separately, the impeller can configurate a three-dimensional shape as a whole. When the blade casing and the blades are allowed to manufacture as a separate member, the casting die is normally sufficient if it is a two-dimensional casting of opening and closing type, therefore, it becomes possible to easily manufacture the impeller by the die-cast or the metal molding casting.

[0012] Especially, regarding the blade, even if it is fairly complicated, it does not require any other means. And, the press molding is also applicable in place of the die-cast and the metal molding casting, thus, it becomes possible to easily manufacture the highly complicated impeller having a three-dimensional configuration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:

[0013] 

Fig. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of a vortex flow blower equipped with an impeller in accordance with the present invention;

Figs. 2, 3, and 4 are front views showing embodiments of the impeller in accordance with the present invention, respectively;

Figs. 5 and 6 are cross-sectional views showing embodiments of the present invention;

Fig. 7 is an explanatory view illustrating a blade casing and a blade in one embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 8 is an explanatory view illustrating a caulking method in one embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 9 is an explanatory view illustrating an insertion groove in one embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 10 is an explanatory view illustrating a bending method in one embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 11 is an explanatory view illustrating a bending manufacturing apparatus used in one embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 12 is an explanatory view illustrating an embodiment of a through hole;

Fig. 13 is an explanatory view illustrating the difference of the bending operation in dependance with configurations of the through holes;

Fig. 14 is an explanatory view illustrating an occurrence of installation force remaining after the bending operation in accordance with the configurations of the through holes;

Fig. 15 is an explanatory view illustrating a caulking method using resistance heating by applying an electric current in one embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 16 is an explanatory view illustrating cutout portions having different configurations;

Fig. 17 is an explanatory view illustrating another embodiment of the bending method in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 18 is an explanatory view illustrating one embodiment using a filler material in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 19 is an explanatory view illustrating an ultrasonic soldering apparatus utilized in the present invention; and

Fig. 20 is an explanatory view illustrating configurations of blades adopted in the present invention.

BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0014] Hereinafter, an impeller for a vortex flow blower and manufacturing method thereof in accordance with the present invention are explained in more detail referring to the drawing of the embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] Fig. 1 is a view showing one embodiment of a vortex flow blower of the present invention, in which a reference numeral 1 denotes an impeller, a reference numeral 2 denotes a casing forming a pressure increasing passage 3, and a reference numeral 4 denotes a motor for driving the impeller 1.

[0016] The pressure increasing passage 3 is formed to be circular-shaped which has a center corresponding to a rotational axis of the impeller 1; i.e. a rotational shaft center line 5 of the motor 4, and is formed in a semi-circular groove which opens in parallel with the rotational shaft center line 5 as shown in the drawing.

[0017] A reference numeral 6 denotes a blade casing, a reference numeral 7 denotes a circular groove, and a reference numeral 8 denotes a blade. The blade casing 6 and the blade 8 are respectively manufactured as a separated member, and are later assembled to construct the impeller 1.

[0018] The circular groove 7 formed on the blade casing 6 is manufactured as a circular groove consisted of a concentric circle having a center of the rotational shaft center line 5. And ,in the circular groove 7, there are provided a plurality of blades 8 which are installed to cross the circular groove 7.

[0019] In this case, these blades 8 can be, as shown in Fig. 2, installed so as to be disposed along radiated directions from the rotational shaft center line 5. Or, these blades 8 can be also, as shown in Fig. 3, installed so as to be disposed inclined from the radiated directions at a predetermined angle. Still further, these blades 8 can be installed such that the blade itself forms a bent-line.

[0020] Furthermore, a cross-sectional configuration being cut along a circumference of a circle having a center of the rotational shaft center line 5 can be disposed in such a manner that each blade is disposed in parallel with the rotational shaft center line 5 as shown in Fig. 5, or can be disposed in such a manner that the blade is bent as shown in Fig. 6.

[0021] Next, the installation of the blade 8 with respect to the blade casing 6 is explained as follows.

[0022] First of all, Fig. 1 shows an embodiment which adopts a caulking method using a protruding portion 9 formed on the blade 8. As shown in Fig.7(a), there is prepared a blade 8 having protruding portions 9a, 9b. On the other hand, there is provided a through hole 10a and a cutout portion 10b on the blade casing 6 so as to fit to the protruding portions 9a, 9b as shown in Fig. 7(b). Then, after inserting the protruding portion 9a into the through hole 10a and also inserting the protruding portion 9b into the cutout portion 10b, the caulking method as one of plastic deformation working is applied on the tip end of the protruding portion 9a so that the blade 8 can be installed on the blade casing 6. In this case, the caulking method can be performed in both ways of the cold working and the hot working. The finished working portion through the hot working has a better appearance than that through the cold working.

[0023] Now, an embodiment through the hot working is explained. As shown in Fig. 8(a), there are prepared an upper electric pole 11 which is made of a material having a predetermined conductivity and a predetermined durability against high temperature such as a heat resistant steel or a stainless steel, and a lower electric pole 12 which is made of a conductive material such as a copper. First, the blade casing 6 is placed on the lower electric pole 12 so as to fix its location and, in turn, the protruding portion 9a is pressed by the upper electric pole 11 while these electric poles 11 and 12 are applied an electric current. Thus, the working of the protruding portion 9a using the caulking method which applies pressure through the hot working is accomplished.

[0024] Though, the electric poles 11 and 12 can be manufactured by using conductive material such as copper, it is preferable to use as well a heat resistant steel or a stainless steel as the material of the electric pole 11 located close to the protruding porion 9a, if the reduction of input energy is required.

[0025] In this case, as shown in Fig. 8(b), if the blade 8 is manufactured through a press working to have an edge portion 8a so as to fit to the circular groove 7, the stability of the blade 8 during the caulking operation is increased and, further, the superior sealing ability can be obtain.

[0026] Next, Fig. 9 shows another one embodiment of the present invention, which illustrates a cross-sectional configuration obtained by cutting the impeller 1 along the circumferential circle having the center of the rotational shaft center line 5. First of all, in the embodiment of Fig. 9(a), there is formed an insertion groove 13 on the inner circumferential surface of the blade casing 6. The insertion groove 13 has a slightly narrow width than the width of the blade 8 and, therefore, the installation of the blade 8 on the blade casing 6 can be accomplished by press-fitting the blade 8 into the insertion groove 13. In accordance with this embodiment, the sealing ability between the blade casing 6 and the blade 8 is further improved and, therefore, it is effective to increase the blow pressure.

[0027] Moreover, an embodiment of Fig. 9(b) adopts a blade 8 having a protruding portion 9 for caulking use, so that the embodiment of Fig. 9(a) can be also manufactured through the caulking method to obtain further superior strength.

[0028] Fig. 10 shows still another one example of the present invention, in which the protruding portion 9a of the blade 8 is inserted into a through hole 10a opened on the blade casing 6. While the blade 8 is pressed by a blade fixer 14, an edge portion 9a' of the protruding portion 9a projecting out of the blade casing 6 is processed through the bending working which uses a roller 15 shifting along a direction of an arrow A and forcibly rotated in a direction of an arrow B. By the way, it is needless to mention that this bending working is also one of plastic deformation working.

[0029] Though, in the embodiment of Fig. 10, under the condition that the blade casing 6 is stationarily fixed, the roller 15 is moved along the direction of the arrow A and rotated in the direction of the arrow B to perform the bending operation, to the contrary the roller 15 can be stationarily fixed. In this case, the roller 15 is fixed not to shift but rotates, and the blade casing 6 needs to be shifted in the opposite direction of the arrow A so as to accomplish the bending operation.

[0030] In this embodiment, the roller 15 is forcibly rotated in the direction of the arrow B; that is, the direction which the edge portion 9a' is fallen under the bending operation. Consequently, a sufficiently strong caulking condition through the bending operation can be obtain. Thus, it is also needless to mention that the roller 15 can be left to rotate freely so as to rotate toward the opposite direction of the arrow B during the bending operation.

[0031] Fig. 11 is a view showing a manufacturing method in the embodiment of Fig. 10 in more detail. Fig. 11(a) is a plane view seen from the top, and Fig. 11(b) is a side view. The roller 15 is fixed on a turning disk 15a and, accordingly, under the condition that a pressure is applied between the turning disk 15a and the blade fixer 14 the turning disk 15a is effected to rotate in a direction of an arrow C, so that the bending operation of the edge portion 9a' projecting out of the blade casing 6 can be carried out. In this case, it is technically sufficient if there is provided at least one roller 15, but it is preferable to provide at least three rollers as shown in the drawing if the stable manufacturing condition is required.

[0032] The following is an explanation as to a configuration of the through hole 10a opened on the blade casing 6 in the above embodiment, referring to Fig. 12.

[0033] First, Fig. 12(a) shows that the through hole 10a is formed to have a straight transverse cross section. Fig. 12(b) shows that blade casing 6 has a tapered portion 16 inside thereof, and Fig. 12(c) shows that there is formed a cutout portion 17 outside of the blade casing 6 in addition of the tapered portion 16. Furthermore, it would be applicable to combine these embodiments.

[0034] Next, in considering the advantages or disadvantages of these embodiments, the embodiments of Figs. 12(b) and 12(c) which have a tapered portion 16 are superior to the embodiment of Fig. 12(a) in view of easiness in inserting the protruding portion of the blade 8 into the through hole 10a.

[0035] Then, these embodiments of Figs. 12(b) and 12(c) are compared as follows. In the embodiment of Fig. 12(b), when manufactured under the bending operation as shown in Fig. 13(a), a minimum radius of curvature of the protruding portion 9a becomes R1=0. As a result of this, a maximum expanding rate at a bending outer peripheral portion 18 approaches to 100% and, therefore, it is feared that bending crack is caused if the blade 8 is made of a material having less durability.

[0036] On the other hand, in the embodiment of Fig. 12(c), as shown in Fig. 13(b), the minimum radius of curvature of the protruding bportion 9a becomes R1>0 by virtue of an clearance of the cutout portion 17. As a result of this, it becomes possible to sufficiently prevent the occurrence of the bending crack and, thus, it results in attaining superior manufacturing easily.

[0037] Thus, it is supposed that the blade 8 is made of a material having no or less probability of causing bending crack and the embodiment of Fig. 12(b) is adopted. If the bending operation by the roller 15 is applied as shown in Figs. 14(a), (b) and (c), the through hole 10a of the blade casing 6 causes a deformation A1 adjacent to the bending portion within the limit of elastic deformation during the bending operation. After this, as shown in Fig. 14(c), even after finishing the bending operation, there is remaining an elastic deformation A2 by this deformation A1. As a result of this phenomenon, after this operation, the blade 8 is continuously applied a force by this remaining elastic deformation A2 and, consequently, this embodiment can realize to obtain sufficient function for preventing looseness at the bending operation portion.

[0038] Next, Fig. 15 is a view showing still further another embodiment of the present invention, in which the protruding portion 9b of the blade 8 is inserted into the cutout portion 10b of the blade casing 6 and, later, applied a hot caulking using resistance heating by applying an electric current to fasten the protruding portion 9b of the blade 8 and the cutout portion 10b.

[0039] To this end, in the embodiment of Fig. 15(a), as shown in the drawing, the blade casing 6 is located at a predetermined condition between the upper electric pole 11, which is made of the material having a predetermined conductivity and a predetermined durability against high temperature such as a heat resistant steel or a stainless steel, and a lower electric pole 12. The protruding portion 9b is pressed by the upper electric pole 11 while the upper electric pole 11 and the lower electric pole 12 are applied an electric current therebetween. As a result, the protruding portion 9b is processed through the hot caulking operation by the resistance heating.

[0040] By the way, in this embodiment of Fig. 15(a), it is necessary that both the blade casing 6 and the blade 8 are made of a conductive material and, therefore, it is not suitable when the material of the blade casing 6 needs to avoid influence by the heat.

[0041] Upon this, as an embodiment which is applied in case of avoiding such a restriction, there is proposed an embodiment of Fig. 15(b). That is, in the embodiment of Fig. 15(b), there is provided a work receiver 19 to adjust the location of the blade casing 6. The protruding portions 9b provided at both sides of the blade 8 are pressed by the upper electric pole 11 which is made of the material having a predetermined conductivity and a predetermined durability against high temperature such as a heat resistant steel or a stainless steel, while an electric current is supplied in series between these protruding portions 9b in order to accomplish the hot caulking operation.

[0042] Accordingly, in accordance with this embodiment of Fig. 15(b), it is sufficient if the blade 8 has a conductivity, and it is not a problem as to whether the blade casing 6 has a conductivity or not. Therefore, the blade casing 6 can be made of a non-conductive material. Furthermore, since the blade casing 6 is not directly heated, it is possible to manufacture by using the hot caulking operation even in the case that the material required to avoid heat influence is used.

[0043] The following is an explanation of the configuration of the cutout portion 10b which is formed on the blade casing 6.

[0044] First of all, Fig. 16(a) shows the cutout 10a of a simple configuration having a flat wall surface 10c. Though, the effect of the present invention is sufficiently obtained by this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 16(b), if there are provided a concave portion 10d in part of the wall surface 10c and second protruding portion 9c on the protruding portion 9b of the blade 8 so as to correspond to the concave portion 10d, a plastic-deformed portion of the protruding portion 9c is entered and filled in the concave portion 10d during the caulking operation, thereby obtaining further strong connection and facilitating the manufacturing of highly strengthened impeller.

[0045] Next, Fig, 17 shows yet further one embodiment of the present invention.

[0046] The embodiment of Fig. 17 adopts the bending operation for installing both the protruding portions 9a, 9b of the blade 8 on the blade casing 6. Fig. 17(a) is a plane view, Fig, 17(b) is a cross-sectional view taken along a line A-A, and Fig. 17(c) is a cross-sectional view taken along a line B-B. As apparent from these drawings, the bending operation by the roller 15 is applied not only on the protruding portion 9a but also the protruding portion 9b of the blade 8.

[0047] Fig. 18 (a) shows moreover another one embodiment of the present invention, in which there is provided a filling material 20 at a corner of the inner surface of the circular groove 7 of the blade casing 6 and the blade 8.

[0048] The filling material 20 not only serves to improving the sealing ability but also smoothes air flow by forming the corner portion in a curved configuration. Therefore, it is extremely effective to improve the performance of the scroll blower.

[0049] Fig. 18(b) shows one embodiment for providing the filling material 20, in which the blade 8 is materially constituted by a main body material 8a and a cover material 8b. The cover material 8b is provided at both sides of the main body material 8a and is made of a metal material having a lower melting point than the main body material 8a. Then, after the blade 8 is installed on the casing 6, the cover material 8b is melted in a heated atmosphere to form the filling material 20 sa shown in Fig. 18(a). Namely, by heating and melting the cover material 8b, the liquefied cover material 8b gathers to the corner portion. Therefore, if cooled down, the liquefied cover material 8b becomes hard and, as a result, the filling material 20 is formed.

[0050] By the way, in such a forming process of the filling material by utilizing the melting phenomenon of the cover material, it requires a coating of a predetermined amount of rosin-core since it is one of hard solderings. As a result, it becomes necessary to remove the rosin-core.

[0051] Therefore, Fig. 19 shows one example of the present invention which does not have such a problem accompanying to the utilization of resin-core.

[0052] The embodiment of Fig. 19 is the one which adopts the soldering method of ultrasonic jet stream type. In the drawing, a reference numeral 21 denotes a jet stream type soldering tank, and a reference numeral 22 denotes an ultrasonic oscillator. A reference numeral 23 denotes a melted solder. When the ultrasonic oscillator 22 is operated, the melted solder 23 flows in a jet stream condition and appears upward.

[0053] Then the impeller 1, in which the blades 8 are installed on the blade casing 6 by means of the caulking of the protruding portion or the press-fitting into the insertion groove, is fixed its location as shown in the drawing. In this condition, if the impeller 1 is rotated in a direction of an arrow D, the melted solder is sprayed in the circular groove of the blade casing 6 and, in turn, the filling 20 is formed by the solder as shown in Fig. 18(a). Furthermore, the installation of the blade 8 to the blade casing 6 is strengthened.

[0054] In accordance with this embodiment, by virtue of an erosion function of ultrasonic wave, an oxide film formed on the soldering surface is destroyed. Therefore, it is not necessary to coat the resin-core. And, it can be achievable to effectively and easily obtain an extremely advanced impeller having good sealing ability and aerodynamic performance.

[0055] Moreover, in the embodiment of Fig. 9, it is preferable to put appropriate amount of adhesive material in the insertion groove 13 before the blade 8 is inserted into the insertion groove 13 of the blade casing 6.

[0056] By doing so, when the blade 8 is inserted into the insertion groove 13, part of the adhesive material is pushed out and accumulated at the corner portion and, in turn, hardened as if the filling material 20. Therefore, it becomes possible to easily form the filling 20 without carrying out the working process to provide the filling 20 later. Accordingly, it can be claimed that it is also one of the embodiment of the present invention.

[0057] As is explained in the foregoing description, in accordance with the present invention, it becomes possible to manufacture the impeller which has a fairly complicated three-dimensional configuration. Therefore, it is explained hereinafter with respect to the blade of a three-dimensional configuration which is utilized in the present invention, referring to Fig. 20.

[0058] First of all, Fig. 20(a) shows an example of a blade having a circular cross-sectional configuration. And next, Fig. 20(b) shows an example of a blade having a configuration bent at the central portion, and Fig. 20(c) shows an example of a blade having an S-shaped cross-sectional configuration.

[0059] In accordance with the present invention, it becomes possible to adopt a complicated three-dimensional shaped blade as shown in Figs. 20(a) to 20(c), therefore, the shape of the impeller is manufactured in any shape which is logically or experimentally led, thereby enabling to seek the highly advanced performance of the vortex flow blower.

[0060] Furthermore, in accordance with the present invention, since the blade casing and the blade which constitute the impeller of the vortex flow blower are manufactured as a separate member, the manufacturing method of the impeller is also separated into a step for manufacturing the blade casing itself, a step for manufacturing the blades, and a step for installing the impeller by assembling these members.

INDUSTRIAL UTILITY

[0061] According to the present invention, in the impeller for the vortex flow blower having the blade casing and the plurality of blades, the blade casing and the blade are manufactured separately and, in turn, the blade is installed on the blade casing to construct the impeller, therefore, superior effects are easily obtained as follows.

(1) It is possible to manufacture the blade casing and the blade separately, therefore it becomes possible to reduce the thickness without considering the run and so on. As a result, the motor required to drive the impeller can be made compact in size.

(2) Even if the impeller for the vortex flow blower has a fairly complicated configuration as a whole, the blade casing itself and the blade itself are manufactured in a relatively simple configuration. Accordingly, the die-cast or the metal mold used for the casting is made at a low cost, Thus, it is applicable even in the case that the manufacturing quantity is small.

(3) Since the blade casing and the blade can be manufactured separately, it is possible to obtain further different feature of the impeller by combining them, thereby enabling to produce various kind of blowers at a low cost.

(4) Without using the core in the casting mold, it is possible to produce an impeller of an extremely complicated configuration such as, for example, a three-dimensional configuration. Thus, it becomes possible to provide a vortex flow blower having a highly advanced performance at a low cost.

Claims

1. An impeller for a vortex flow blower comprising a blade casing having a circular groove with a center of a rotational shaft, and a plurality of blades partitioning the blade casing in a circumferential direction across the circular groove, said blade casing and said blades being formed separately, and said impeller for the vortex flow blower being constituted by installing the plurality of blades in the circular groove of the blade casing.

2. An impeller for a vortex flow blower in accordance with claim 1 in which said blade casing has a blade insertion groove in the circular groove, and a peripheral portion of said blade is inserted in this blade insertion groove.

3. An impeller for a vortex flow blower in accordance with claim 1 or 2 in which said blade casing has a through hole in the circular groove and the blade has a protruding portion on its peripheral portion, respectively, and an installation of said blade against said blade casing is performed by utilizing a plastic deformation method applied to the protruding portion after inserting said protruding portion into the through hole.

4. An impeller for a vortex flow blower in accordance with claim 3 in which said plastic deformation method applied to the protruding portion after inserting said protruding portion into the through hole is a caulking method.

5. An impeller for a vortex flow blower in accordance with claim 3 in which said plastic deformation method applied to the protruding portion after inserting said protruding portion into the through hole is a bending method.

6. A manufacturing method of an impeller for a vortex flow blower which includes a blade casing having a circular groove with a center of a rotational shaft, and a plurality of blades provided partitioning the blade casing in a circumferential direction across the circular groove, said manufacturing method comprising a step for independently manufacturing said blade casing only, a step for independently manufacturing the blade only, and a step for installing the plurality of blades into the groove of the blade casing.

Drawing