Patent Application

App. No. 12/330,662

Abstract

Claims (12)

1 . A cooling fan assembly for use in an engine compartment of a vehicle comprising:

an electric motor having a motor shaft extending therefrom;

a one-way clutch bearing mounted on and rotatable with the motor shaft; and

a cooling fan including a central hub and a plurality of fan blades extending from the central hub, the central hub operatively engaging the one-way clutch bearing such that torque is transmitted from the motor shaft to the central hub in a first direction of rotation and torque is not transmitted from the motor shaft to the central hub in an opposed direction of rotation.

2 . The cooling fan assembly of claim 1 wherein the one-way clutch bearing includes an outer race that is press fit into the central hub.

3 . The cooling fan assembly of claim 2 wherein the one-way clutch bearing includes an inner race that is press fit onto the motor shaft.

4 . The cooling fan assembly of claim 1 wherein the one-way clutch bearing includes an inner race that is press fit onto the motor shaft.

5 . The cooling fan assembly of claim 1 wherein the cooling fan includes an outer ring connected to radially outer ends of the plurality of fan blades.

6 . A method of providing torque from an electric motor to a cooling fan in an engine compartment of a vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:

activating the electric motor with an electric current to provide torque to a motor shaft in a first rotational direction;

providing torque in the first rotational direction from the motor shaft, through a one-way clutch bearing, to the cooling fan to cause rotation of the cooling fan in the first rotational direction; and

preventing torque from being transmitted in an opposed rotational direction from the motor shaft, through the one-way clutch bearing, to the cooling fan.

Assignments (11)