Ceiling Fan Blade Mounting System with Pivot Catch
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for mounting ceiling fan blades to blade irons are cumbersome and difficult, especially when the motor is suspended from the ceiling, as it requires aligning holes from a position below, making it hard to view and align screws properly.
Innovation Solution
The ceiling fan design incorporates a pivot mounting hole and notch system with a releasable catch and spring-biased pivot pin, allowing the blade to be easily locked and unlocked relative to the blade iron, enabling quick and secure attachment and detachment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If mounting screws are passed from the top of the blade to hide screw heads, then aesthetic appearance is improved, but mounting operation becomes difficult and tedious
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the traditional mounting approach by passing screws from the bottom of the blade upward, rather than from the top downward. This allows the installer to easily access and drive screws while the blade's design conceals the screw heads from above, maintaining aesthetic appearance. The blade includes recessed channels that receive and hide the screw heads, solving both the aesthetic requirement and the mounting difficulty simultaneously.
2Ease of operation
If installer positions below ceiling fan to drive screws, then screw access is improved, but viewing and alignment capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the dimensional approach to mounting by designing the blade with bottom-accessible screw holes and alignment features. The blade includes protruding alignment tabs on its bottom surface that engage with corresponding recesses in the blade iron, providing visual and physical alignment cues that work when the installer is positioned below the fan. This dimensional reconfiguration maintains easy screw access while improving alignment capability.
3Volume of moving object
If blades are packed separately from blade irons, then shipping compactness is improved, but mounting time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates preliminary mounting aids directly into the blade and blade iron designs. Alignment tabs, recesses, and guide features are pre-formed during manufacturing, enabling quick visual and physical alignment when assembly time arrives. The blade includes pre-positioned screw holes with integrated sealing elements, eliminating the need for complex alignment procedures. This preliminary preparation maintains shipping compactness while dramatically reducing actual mounting time through intuitive assembly.
Data Source
AI summary
A ceiling fan (10) has an electric motor (13) which rotatably drives an annular array of blade irons (14) coupled to blades (15). Each blade has a fastener mounting hole (18) and an end notch (19). Each blade iron (14) has a blade mounting portion (23) with a blade fastener (24) configured to pass through the fastener mounting hole, and a releasable spring biased catch (27). The fastener has main post (30) and stops (25) configured to overlay the top surface of the blade once the blade is coupled to the blade iron. The catch has a moveable flat spring (28) straddled by two L-shaped guides (29) having an upright wall portion (31) and a horizontal top portion (32). The horizontal top portion is spaced a select distance from the blade iron top surface (26) through the height of the vertical wall portion so as to catch the blade therebetween. The flat spring has a hand gripping portion (34) extending above the top surface of the blade.