Cooling fan and cooling assembly

Abstract

A cooling fan includes a fan blade and a frame having a central opening for receiving the fan blade. The frame includes a sidewall portion and at least one protruding portion. The sidewall portion is arranged around the central opening and has a side opening communicating with the central opening. The protruding portion extends outward from the sidewall portion, and the protruding portion covers a side of the side opening adjacent to an intake side of the central opening.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A cooling fan, comprising:
 a fan blade; and   a frame having a central opening for receiving the fan blade, the frame comprising a sidewall portion and at least one protruding portion, wherein the sidewall portion is arranged around the central opening and has a first side opening communicating with the central opening, wherein the at least one protruding portion extends outward from the sidewall portion and covers a first side of the first side opening, the first side is adjacent to an intake side of the central opening.   
     
     
         2 . The cooling fan of  claim 1 , wherein the sidewall portion has an outer surface, the protruding portion is disposed on the outer surface and has a lower surface, an angle between the lower surface of the protruding portion and the outer surface of the sidewall portion is at least 30 degrees and is at most 150 degrees. 
     
     
         3 . The cooling fan of  claim 1 , wherein the sidewall portion has an outer surface, the protruding portion is disposed on the outer surface and has at least one lateral edge, an angle between the lateral edge of the protruding portion and the outer surface of the sidewall portion is at least 30 degrees and is at most 150 degrees. 
     
     
         4 . The cooling fan of  claim 1 , wherein the sidewall portion has an outer surface, and the protruding portion projects from the outer surface of the sidewall portion by at least one millimeter. 
     
     
         5 . The cooling fan of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one protruding portion comprises a first protruding portion and a second protruding portion, the first protruding portion and the second protruding portion are separated by a gap. 
     
     
         6 . The cooling fan of  claim 1 , wherein the sidewall portion further has a second side opening communicating with the central opening, the at least one protruding portion covers both the first side of the first side opening and a second side of the second side opening, the second side is adjacent to the intake side of the central opening. 
     
     
         7 . A cooling assembly, comprising:
 a heatsink comprising a baseplate and a plurality of fins, the fins being disposed on the baseplate; and   a cooling fan disposed on the baseplate of the heatsink, the cooling fan comprising a fan blade and a frame, the frame having a central opening for receiving the fan blade, the frame comprising a sidewall portion and at least one protruding portion, wherein the sidewall portion is arranged around the central opening and has a first side opening communicating with the central opening, wherein the at least one protruding portion extends outward from the sidewall portion and covers a first side of the first side opening, the first side is adjacent to an intake side of the central opening,   wherein at least one of the fins of the heatsink is positioned to face the first side opening of the frame of the cooling fan.   
     
     
         8 . The cooling assembly of  claim 7 , wherein the at least one protruding portion of the frame comprises a first protruding portion and a second protruding portion, the first protruding portion and the second protruding portion are separated by a gap, wherein the fins comprise at least one first fin, at least one second fin and a third fin, the third fin is disposed in the gap, the first fin and the second fin are located on two different sides of the third fin and extend towards different directions. 
     
     
         9 . The cooling assembly of  claim 7 , wherein the sidewall portion of the frame further has a second side opening communicating with the central opening, the at least one protruding portion of the frame covers both the first side of the first side opening and a second side of the second side opening, the second side is adjacent to the intake side of the central opening. 
     
     
         10 . The cooling assembly of  claim 9 , wherein the fins comprise at least one first fin and at least one second fin, the first fin and the second fin are positioned to face the first side opening and the second side opening, respectively, and the first fin and the second fin extend towards different directions. 
     
     
         11 . The cooling assembly of  claim 9 , wherein the fins comprise at least one first fin and at least one second fin, the first fin and the second fin are positioned to face the first side opening and the second side opening, respectively, wherein a height of the first side opening is less than a height of the second side opening, and a height of the first fin is less than a height of the second fin. 
     
     
         12 . The cooling assembly of  claim 7 , wherein the protruding portion of the frame at least partially covers the fins, such that at least one air passage is formed between the protruding portion, the fins, and the baseplate. 
     
     
         13 . The cooling assembly of  claim 7 , wherein the sidewall portion has an outer surface, the protruding portion is disposed on the outer surface and has a lower surface, an angle between the lower surface of the protruding portion and the outer surface of the sidewall portion is at least 30 degrees and is at most 150 degrees. 
     
     
         14 . The cooling assembly of  claim 7 , wherein the sidewall portion has an outer surface, the protruding portion is disposed on the outer surface and has at least one lateral edge, an angle between the lateral edge of the protruding portion and the outer surface of the sidewall portion is at least 30 degrees and is at most 150 degrees. 
     
     
         15 . The cooling assembly of  claim 7 , wherein the sidewall portion has an outer surface, and the protruding portion projects from the outer surface of the sidewall portion by at least one millimeter.