Captive Fastener Bracket for Flush Mount Fan Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ceiling fan installations are challenging due to the need to handle heavy components while balancing on a ladder, loose screw fasteners often fall out, leading to insecure connections, noise, and increased installation time and cost.
Innovation Solution
The use of captive fasteners and alignment tabs with rubber isolation pads for mounting flush mount fans, eliminating loose fasteners and providing a secure, noise-reduced installation process by aligning pre-installed fasteners on a motor bracket with corresponding holes on a ceiling plate.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional loose screw fasteners are used to mount the ceiling fan motor housing to the ceiling plate, then the installation process requires handling loose fasteners while supporting heavy components, but this leads to fasteners falling out, insecure connections, and increased installation time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the fastener and the bracket into a single integrated component. The captive fasteners are permanently attached to the motor housing bracket, eliminating the need to handle separate loose fasteners during installation. This merging ensures fasteners remain securely in place while maintaining reliable connections to the ceiling plate.
Solution Approach 2:
The fasteners are pre-installed and permanently attached to the bracket during manufacturing, rather than being provided as loose components. This preliminary action ensures that fasteners are already in position and cannot fall out during installation, improving both reliability and ease of operation.
2Reliability
If metal plates are directly attached with metal screw type fasteners, then the mounting connection is secure, but this creates undesirable noise effects when the ceiling fan is running
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces rubber isolation pads as intermediary elements between the metal ceiling plate and the motor housing bracket. These pads act as a mediator that maintains the secure mechanical connection while dampening vibrations and reducing noise transmission, thus resolving the contradiction between mounting security and noise reduction.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting system combines metal components (ceiling plate, bracket) with rubber isolation materials. This composite approach allows the metal parts to provide structural strength and secure mounting, while the rubber material provides vibration damping and noise reduction, simultaneously achieving both reliability and harm reduction.
3Ease of manufacture
If loose screw fasteners are used for mounting, then the components can be assembled, but the fasteners often fall out during installation requiring repeated attempts and additional fasteners
Solution Approach 1:
By merging the fasteners with the bracket into a single integrated component with captive fasteners, the system eliminates the problem of fasteners falling out. The fasteners remain securely attached to the bracket throughout installation, preventing loss and the need for repeated assembly attempts, thus reducing installation time while maintaining assembly capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The captive fastener design allows the bracket to essentially install itself without requiring the installer to manually manage separate fasteners. The pre-attached fasteners automatically engage with the ceiling plate holes, making the installation process more efficient and eliminating time loss from fastener retrieval.
4Ease of operation
If traditional mounting methods are used, then the ceiling fan can be installed, but the connection may loosen resulting in a wobble during operation
Solution Approach 1:
The integration of captive fasteners into the bracket creates a more stable unified structure. The fasteners are permanently positioned and cannot become loose or misaligned during installation, ensuring consistent and stable connections to the ceiling plate that prevent operational wobble while maintaining installation simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The pre-installed captive fasteners ensure proper alignment and positioning before the bracket is mounted to the ceiling plate. This preliminary positioning prevents connection loosening during operation, as the fasteners are already correctly placed and cannot shift or become insecure during the installation process.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method simplifies and speeds up the installation of ceiling fans, ensuring a secure and wobble-free connection while reducing noise and material waste, making the process safer and more efficient.
Implementation Method 1
rubber isolation pads to reduce noise
Data Source
AI summary
Devices, apparatus, mechanisms, systems and methods for flush mounted fans such as hugger fans for easy mounting by pre-attaching a bracket on a motor to a ceiling mounted plate by a hook, the plate having noise isolation pads. Raised alignment tabs and female receptacles on the ceiling plate and motor bracket for easily aligning the bracket to the ceiling plate, along with captive fasteners to attach the motor bracket to the ceiling plate. The alignment tabs allow the installer to position the bracket to the plate by sliding the bracket against the plate so that captive fasteners on the bracket adjacent to the alignment tabs are aligned with fastener holes on the plate. Finally, the installer can easily screw the captive fasteners into the holes for an easy to install, secure and wobble free installation between the motor bracket and the ceiling plate.