Fluid reaction surfaces (i.e. – impellers) – Support mounting – carrier or fairing structure
Reexamination Certificate
2002-05-28
2003-11-11
Verdier, Christopher (Department: 3745)
Fluid reaction surfaces (i.e., impellers)
Support mounting, carrier or fairing structure
C416S005000, C416S14600A
Reexamination Certificate
active
06644927
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a suspension rod adapted to connect a ceiling fan to a ceiling bracket that is used to suspend the ceiling fan from a ceiling. More particularly, this invention relates to a suspension rod provided with a sheath member to enable the suspension rod to match the color, shape or texture of the ceiling fan.
2. Description of the Background Art
Nowadays, ceiling fans are not merely used to produce a current of air, they are also endowed with an ornamental function. As such, the color, shape and texture of a ceiling fan is generally selected so as to highlight the ornamental effect thereof.
Referring to
FIG. 1
, a conventional ceiling fan
10
is shown to include a motor casing
11
in which a motor (not shown) is mounted, a plurality of fan blade brackets
12
mounted on a bottom portion of the motor, a plurality of fan blades
13
mounted to the fan blade brackets
12
, and a suspension rod
14
(sometimes referred to as a down-rod) that extends from a top portion of the motor casing
11
and that is adapted to permit electrical cables to pass therethrough for supplying electricity to the motor. The motor casing
11
has an upper major wall
11
W defining a central hole
11
H of a first dimension. The central hole
11
H extends in an axial direction and communicates the upper major wall
11
W with the motor. The suspension rod
14
has an upper end
14
U connected to a ceiling bracket
15
that is used to suspend the ceiling fan
10
from a ceiling, and a lower end
14
L inserted into the central hole
11
H in the motor casing
11
.
In general, the standard length of the suspension rod
14
is 6″. In places where the ceiling is high such as a cathedral ceiling, a ceiling fan with a 6″ suspension rod cannot provide the desired ventilating effect or clearance. Therefore, there are available on the market 12-inch (or longer) extended suspension rods
14
. With reference to
FIG. 2
, an extended suspension rod
14
replaces the standard-length suspension rod
14
.
As the surface of the suspension rod
14
usually has a metallic color of bronze or silver with a circular cross-sectional configuration, it may not match the color, shape (e.g., multi-faceted appearance) or texture (e.g., wood-grain textured appearance) of the ceiling fan
10
, and may impair the ornamental aspect of the ceiling fan
10
.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus which overcomes the aforementioned inadequacies of the prior art devices and provides an improvement which is a significant contribution to the advancement of the ceiling fan suspension rod art.
Another object of this invention is to provide a ceiling fan suspension rod adapted to connect a ceiling fan to a ceiling bracket that is used to suspend the ceiling fan from a ceiling, and provided with a sheath member to enhance the ornamental aspect of the ceiling fan.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is defined by the appended claims with a specific embodiment shown in the attached drawings. For the purpose of summarizing the invention, the invention comprises a ceiling fan suspension rod adapted to connect a ceiling fan to a ceiling bracket that is used to suspend the ceiling fan from a ceiling, and provided with a sheath member to enhance the ornamental aspect of the ceiling fan.
More particularly, a typical ceiling fan includes a motor, a motor casing, and a plurality of fan blades. The motor casing is disposed to enclose the motor therein, and has an upper major wall defining a central hole of a first dimension. The central hole extends in an axial direction and communicates the upper major wall with the motor. The fan blades are disposed to be distal to the upper major wall in the axial direction, and to be driven by the motor to rotate relative to the motor casing.
According to the present invention, the suspension rod includes a ball portion, an elongated tubular portion, and a sheath member. The ball portion is adapted to be fitted into a socket portion of the ceiling bracket. The elongated tubular portion is adapted to permit electrical cables to pass therethrough for providing electricity to the motor, and includes an upper end, a lower end, and an intermediate portion. The upper end is integrally formed with or rigidly connected to the ball portion. The lower end is distal to the ball portion and is adapted to be inserted into and rigidly secured to the central hole in the motor casing. The intermediate portion is disposed between the upper end and the lower end, and has an outer diameter of a second dimension that is smaller than the first dimension. The sheath member is disposed to surround and extend along the length of the intermediate portion, thereby enabling a display of color, shape or texture different from that of the intermediate portion so as to be the same color, shape or texture or an aesthetically-pleasing coordinated color, shape or texture of the ceiling fan. In this manner, the sheath member may include many different colors, shapes and textures, or combinations thereof, as may be desirable to be aesthetically coordinated with the particular ceiling fan. For example, the sheath may comprise a brown color with a wood-grain texture and a multi-faceted cross-sectional shaped that is more coordinated (than prior art metallic suspension rods) with a corresponding brown ceiling fan having a multi-faceted wood-grain appearance.
The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the more pertinent and important features of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood so that the present contribution to the art can be more fully appreciated. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and the specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
REFERENCES:
patent: 636871 (1899-11-01), Wait
patent: 763237 (1904-06-01), Young
patent: 1385192 (1921-07-01), Sprecher
patent: 4402649 (1983-09-01), Laurel
patent: 4884947 (1989-12-01), Rezek
patent: 6199813 (2001-03-01), Oliva
patent: 6394756 (2002-05-01), Bucher et al.
patent: 6394757 (2002-05-01), Lackey
patent: 2002/0141873 (2002-10-01), Lackey
Bucher Charles E.
Bucher John C.
Holland & Knight LLP
King of Fans Inc.
Verdier Christopher
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