Ceiling Fan Blade Iron Pivot Mounting for Wobble Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ceiling fans often experience wobble and vibration due to imbalanced blades, which leads to noise, reduced service life, and aesthetic issues, as existing systems lack an efficient method for automatic balancing.
Innovation Solution
A ceiling fan system featuring an electric motor with an annular array of blade irons that can pivot laterally and radially, coupled with a balancing ring allowing for centrifugal force correction, automatically adjusts blade positions to achieve equilibrium and prevent wobbling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional fixed blade mounting is used, then assembly is simple, but blade imbalance causes wobble and vibration
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting system transitions from a fixed rigid connection to a dynamic adjustable connection. The blade iron includes a pivotable mounting bracket that can rotate about a mounting screw, allowing the blade position to be adjusted dynamically to achieve balance. This dynamic adjustment capability resolves the contradiction by enabling balance correction without fundamentally changing the overall mounting structure complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-balancing through the pivotable mounting bracket that allows the blade to self-adjust to an equilibrium position. The gravity force acting on the blade causes the mounting bracket to pivot automatically until the blade achieves a balanced position, eliminating the need for complex external balancing mechanisms or manual adjustment procedures.
2Extent of automation
If blade position is fixed, then manufacturing is simple, but automatic balancing cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting bracket is designed with rotational freedom about the mounting screw, transforming the static fixed position into a dynamic adjustable position. This simple mechanical degree of freedom enables automatic balancing through gravity-induced pivoting during operation, while maintaining ease of manufacture by using standard screw-and-bracket components that are simple to produce and assemble.
3Reliability
If blade mounting allows movement, then balancing is improved, but structural stability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting bracket provides conditional stability: it is rigid and stable in the mounted position but allows rotational movement about the mounting screw for balancing adjustments. During normal operation, once the blade achieves its equilibrium position through pivoting, the system becomes stable again. This dynamic-static transition resolves the contradiction by providing both movement capability for balancing and structural stability for operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The self-balancing mechanism uses the blade's own weight and gravity to automatically adjust the mounting bracket to the correct angular position. The system self-regulates without external intervention, pivoting the bracket until the blade achieves balance, then maintaining that position stably during operation. This eliminates the need for additional stabilization components while ensuring both balance and operational stability.
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
The system effectively balances rotating blades, reducing wobble and vibration, thereby minimizing noise and extending the service life of the ceiling fan by automatically adjusting blade positions in response to weight discrepancies.
Implementation Method 1
an annular array of blade irons wherein each blade iron is coupled to the motor for lateral pivotal movement between the motor and the blade iron
Data Source
AI summary
A ceiling fan is disclosed having an electric motor (81) with a bottom plate (80) having two internally threaded screw mounting holes (82) associated with each blade iron (83). Each blade iron has two, elongated, arcuate mounting holes (84) therethrough which are alignable with motor bottom plate mounting holes (82). A mounting screw (85) passes through the blade iron mounting hole (84) and is threaded into the motor mounting hole (82). Screws (85) allow limited pivotal movement of the blade irons (83) relative to the motor bottom plate. Each blade iron is coupled to a blade (86) by three mounting screws (87). Each blade includes a first round mounting hole (88) adjacent the motor and two, elongated, arcuate mounting holes (89) distal the motor. Again, the screws allow for limited pivotal movement between the blade and its associated blade iron.