Description:Field of Invention
The present invention relates to the field of home appliances, in particular relates to electric fans, and more specifically to fan blades with multiple funnels like structures with narrow openings which enables air to flow at a much lower temperature than the surroundings by reducing the ambient air temperature to certain level.
Background of the Invention
As seen in prior art, the fan is a simple electrical device that converts electrical energy into kinetic energy and ensures stable air circulation in a given environment. Contrary to popular perceptions, fans do not ‘change the temperature’, whereas they simply push the dense warm air below and help pull the lighter cool air up and then on making contact with the rotating blades the air is dispersed around with force. This forceful push is what gives rise to the sensation of “cool/warm air hitting us”. The famous physicist Bernoulli postulated that fluids when moving at greater speeds will exert less pressure on contacting surfaces while slower moving fluids will exert more pressure on the contacting surface. This principle is known as ‘Bernoulli’s Principle of Fluid Dynamics’. Aeroplanes and all flying objects make use of this principle to generate ‘Lift’ and then to stably negate the gravitational pull forces to keep flying.

Since the 1920s, the fan has become a domestic necessity found in most homes and enclosed places where the public frequent. The ability to circulate warm or cool air depends on the general atmospheric temperature and the direction of fan blade rotation. Counter-clockwise rotation will gather the low-lying cool air and make them rise up before the blades slash them and push them around whereas a clockwise rotation will push the denser warm air down and then spread them out. By the 1920s fans had become a must have domestic appliance second only to the light bulb, commercial establishments and industries started using them too. Over the years the industry found many applications for the fan as a part of mechanical setups to drive the enterprise and they became a part of machines and computers too. In all instances the fan was used primarily as a device to cool down the area or in some cases alone as a source of kinetic energy in a bigger industrial process. These different applications necessitated changes to the fan make in terms of materials used, number of blades, size of blades (span of the fan), degree of blade attachment to the bottom canopy (pitch of the fan). Materials like aluminium, copper, plastic etc. were used to make the blades and as affordability became easier fans were produced to be portable too and for different domestic functions ranging from central source of cooling a room to exhausting fumes, dust and water.

The minor area below the physical line on the fan blade is called the trailing edge of the blade and the major area above the line is called the leading edge of the blade. From the 1970s and 1980s with the various global energy crises biting in and global warming and energy conservancy taking a more prominent front seat in business and retail decisions, modifications have been done to the fan designs to provide energy efficient offerings to the customers. It is also to be noted that the production for industrial use too underwent specific modifications to increase operational efficiency of the fan so as to consume the same or slightly more energy to deliver greater outputs. Also, the source of powering the fan has been changed quite a few times by having different types of motors or power sources to increase rotational speed for judicious amounts of energy.

Commercial designers and manufacturers have been experimenting and designing different blades to increase the cooling effect while providing users with cost and energy efficient choices.

The US patent : US20170030369A1 has modified the blade design by have stepped edges along the leading edge of the blade to provide a high-velocity, low-speed (HVLS) fan. The major drawback is that it needs greater energy to achieve sufficient rotational increase of the blades. The blade is also to be set at a certain height of 16 feet to achieve its objectives, this doesn’t address the fact the commercial users might be living in accommodations of various sizes and population density, they are the main customer base who seek economical, environmentally friendly fans. Also, the above invention uses HVLS to the volume of air and circulation using stepped edge and does not focus on the user comfort as the air generated will not produce a sustained cooling effect.
Another US patent US9017038B2 discloses modification of the fan’s pitch, rotor’s pitch and motor’s revolutions per minute to achieve a vaneaxial flow and better flow rates. This does increase the air circulation rate but it has been found that to produce vaneaxial fans need reinforcement in the cup and blade which increases the cost of production. Also, vaneaxial flow produces air flow in a direction parallel to the fan’s axis which is less efficient than a vortex like flow driving circulation. The focus is predominantly on catering to industrial applications by having variable flow rates and being able to moderate the pressure created by the fan, this does not serve to benefit commercial users’ comfort.

The Australian patent AU2013209789B2 discloses modification of the blade by making the leading edge a concave like structure to increase airflow but the particular structure doesn’t generate enough cool air to sustain itself after some time of running the appliance.

The above cited patents point to the fact that there is market appetite for fans that produce cooler air in a more energy efficient manner by going over and above the current modifications to the blade. Although all of the prior arts are effective in their intended purposes and despite achieving a cooling effect, the prior art focuses on achieving this in a motor vehicle housing so there is more heat generated due to power consumption and has a vane axial flow as opposed to a vortex flow, which is accepted to better circulate the air around the given surface.

The present invention aims at solving the above-mentioned problems by disclosing a fan assembly by providing the blade design with appendage to increase cool air circulation by increasing the air pressure in the region of the appendage. This will ensure that for the same levels of input energy the cool air is being generated and, most importantly, spread and maintain the typical specified cubic feet per minute (CFM), the measure of a fan’s efficiency. Not only is energy efficiency being achieved but the air being generated is directed towards enhancing the user experience so the value for money is also being increased.
This is proposed to be implemented in domestic environments with no explicit commercial/industry usage being mooted. Most fan modifications where the blade was modified, was done to increase air flow in an axial manner in industrial settings while domestic use fans haven’t had blade modifications with the express purpose of increasing cool air circulation at a constant rate, so that over time even after the appliance is turned off the temperature is maintained. So, it is proposed to design the fan blade by appending it with a funnel like structure to create a vortex air flow that over time will create cooler air with respect to the ambient temperature of the surrounding and give the user a better experience.
Objects of the Invention:
The main object of the present invention is to provide a sustainable fan system for air circulation which improves energy efficiency and performance levels.
The primary object of the present invention is to provide a ceiling fan with blades comprising of appendages in the shape of conical funnels.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a ceiling fan to generate vortex airflow currents at a sustained rate.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a ceiling fan to not change the pitch or span of the fan blades to increase energy efficiency.
It is another object of the present invention to deliver airflow at a much lower temperature than that of the surroundings by reducing the ambient air temperature to a certain level.
It is another object of the present invention to create a vortex flow which enables improvised air circulation around the given surface, for the same or negligibly more amount of energy that fans of similar blade spans sans the appendages achieve.
Summary of the Invention
The present invention provides a ceiling fan blade assembly for improvised air circulation with a standard domestic fan comprising of a shank housed in a mounting bracket, which is an extension rod that supports the frame from the ceiling vertically, forming the first and uppermost layer of the fan. Beneath them is the canopy made up of the yoke to facilitate the fan to tilt about and rotate around its axis and a motor that converts electrical energy to mechanical energy to rotate the fan at a constant, the yoke and motor’s wires are also housed here. A hub that holds the blades is present below the canopy and has blades attached at regular intervals and fastened to the hub using clamps, nuts, and bolts.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the blades have winglets attached at the tip of the blades to negate the drag of the air currents and push the swirling air currents around. The blades are all uniform dimensions and on these blades are the appendages, in the shape of the conical funnels that are made of the same materials as the fan blades. These funnels generate mini vortexes which has air at temperatures lower than the ambient temperature and when spread out create and provide air with a cooling effect.
Other features and advantages of embodiments will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed description that follows.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Fig. 1a illustrates the top-view of the ceiling fan assembly in accordance with the present invention.
Fig. 1b illustrates the wingspan of the fan with approximate measurements in accordance with the present invention.
Fig. 2a illustrates blade variant 1 with conical funnels comprising of small surface openings in accordance with the present invention.
Fig. 2b illustrates blade variant 2 with conical funnels (14) comprising of eyelets (21) in accordance with the present invention.
Fig. 2c illustrates blade variant 3 with conical funnels (14) comprising of hollowed out eyelets (22) in accordance with the present invention.
Fig. 3 illustrates the flow of air through the funnels in the fan assembly in accordance with the present invention.
While the invention is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the intention is not to limit the invention to the particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Prior to this, terms and words used in the present specification and claims should not be construed as limited to ordinary or dictionary terms, and the inventor should appropriately interpret the concept of the term appropriately to describe its own invention in the best way. The present invention should be construed as meaning and concept consistent with the technical idea of the present invention based on the principle that it can be defined. Therefore, the embodiments described in this specification and the configurations shown in the drawings are only the most preferred embodiments of the present invention and do not represent all the technical ideas of the present invention. Therefore, it should be understood that equivalents and modifications are possible.
Detailed Description of the Invention with Respect to the Drawings
The present invention as embodied by "A ceiling fan blade assembly for improvised air circulation" succinctly fulfils the above-mentioned need(s) in the art. The present invention has objective(s) arising as a result of the above-mentioned need(s), said objective(s) being enumerated below. In as much as the objective(s) of the present invention are enumerated, it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that, the enumerated objective(s) are not exhaustive of the present invention in its entirety, and are enclosed solely for the purpose of illustration. Further, the present invention encloses within its scope and purview, any structural alternative(s) and/or any functional equivalent(s) even though, such structural alternative(s) and/or any functional equivalent(s) are not mentioned explicitly herein or elsewhere, in the present disclosure. The present invention therefore encompasses also, any improvisation(s)/ modification(s) applied to the structural alternative(s)/functional alternative(s) within its scope and purview. The present invention may be embodied in other specific form(s) without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof.
Throughout this specification, the use of the word "comprise" and variations such as "comprises" and "comprising" may imply the inclusion of an element or elements not specifically recited.
The part names and reference numerals with respect to the drawings are given below:
Part Name Reference Numeral
Blade 11
Shank 12
Fan Motor 13
Winglet 14
Eyelet 21
Hollowed out eyelet 22
Highest flow area, significant
swirling component, divergent flow 31
Winglet area 32
Air not driven downward due to
the blockage caused by motor of the
fan 33
Area Void of any air circulations
(Static Air) 34

As it is well known in the art, ceiling fans are attached to a ceiling in a downward facing manner to cool/warm a definitive area using a motor (13) to achieve rotation, wherein the motor is encased in a housing along with the attached wires. This setup consists of a shank (12) housed in a mounting bracket attached to which is the downrod, serving as the principal pivot of the contraption. A canopy covers these two to protect them from external sources of contamination. A yoke and motor along with the wires are housed in a casing just below the canopy. The motor (13) powers the rotation while the yoke provides the required mechanical power to carry the generated flux over to the fan blades. Beneath them is the fan’s hub which holds the blades (11) that are secured by bolts and nuts.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the fan system is provided with plurality of blades (11) wherein the blades (11) are of similar physical specifications. The blades (11) are further provided with appendages in the form of conical funnels (14) as seen in figs. 1a and 1b. The blades (11) are provided with appendages to increase cool air circulation by increasing the air pressure in the region of the appendages.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein the blades (11) are provided with winglets (15) and appendages that are conical funnels (14) comprising of small surface openings as seen in fig. 2a. The funnels (14) are made of the same material as the blades, wherein the blades (11) are made of aluminium.
In another embodiment of the present invention, wherein the blades (11) are provided with winglets (15) and the conical funnels (14) comprising of eyelets (21) as seen in fig. 2b.
In another embodiment of the present invention, wherein the blades (11) are provided with winglets (15) and the conical funnels (14) comprising of hollowed out eyelets (22) as seen in fig. 2c.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the blades’ edges are designed to have broader openings for the funnels (14) near the leading edge and the diameters of the funnels (14) taper as the edge gets narrower.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, as seen in FIG.1 the fan operates with the help of electricity and motor (13) to power the rotation. On turning on the switch, the motor’s mechanical energy pushes the fan in a cyclical direction, which in turn pushes the air too in a cyclical direction. Wherein the winglets (15) attached to the fan blades (11) negates the drag forces affecting the fan.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, as seen in fig.3, wherein over a few rotations of the fan blades (11), the airflow forms a swirling pattern over the area of intended coverage. The airflow caused by the swirling pattern results in highest flow area, significant swirling component, divergent flow of the air (31). This flow produces torque that affects the laminar flow generated by the winglets, and this is rectified by the vortex flow of air generated in the pockets under the fan blade wherein the conical funnel appendages are present on the leading edge of the blade. During rotation of the fan, air speed increases and development of swirling component increases below the motor of the fan (31). Whereas above the motor (13) of the fan as seen in fig.3, air is not driven downward due to the blockage caused by motor of the fan (33).

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein the fan rotation pulls the less dense cool air upwards and spreads it around with velocity, and this flow is amplified by the mini vortexes generated under the funnels (14), and the winglets (15) act to spread these air currents around the room at a constant rate, ensuring wider and consistent coverage. Over time this flow is normalized and with respect to the existing ambient temperature the area of desired coverage is cooled and even after the switch is turned off the area shall remain cool.

This in effect means after running the fan blade assembly of the invention for some time the effects of the cycle will linger on reducing the cost of cooling the desired domestic areas for longer periods and the amount of power consumed to do so.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method of improvising air circulation by the fan blade assembly, comprises the steps of:
a) The fan rotation pulls the less dense cool air upwards and spreads it around with velocity,
b) Air flow is amplified by generating mini vortexes under the funnels (14) in the blades (11).
c) Over a few rotations of the fan blades (11), the airflow forms a swirling pattern over the area of intended coverage.
d) The air flow produces torque that affects the laminar flow generated by the winglets (15), which is further rectified by the vortex flow of air generated in the funnels (14) under the fan blade (11).
e) The winglets (15) negates the drag of the air currents and creates and spreads these swirling air currents around the room at a constant rate.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the two blades (11) from end-to-end measure 1400 mm approximately. This is not a fixed and static representation of the design but an indicative one of what general domestic fans incorporating the proposed design modifications shall appear like.
ADVANTAGES:
The present invention enables the following:
• Facilitates Increased airflow.
• Conserves energy and/or results in negligible increase in energy consumption to achieve (a).
• Produces a continuous circulation of cool air stream and reduces the ambient temperature over time.
• Provides 3 variants of conical funnels, each of which differs only on the size and design of the funnel openings to produce changed degree of cooling.
• Provides cost effective solution.

EXAMPLE
The present invention provides a fan blade assembly for improvised air circulation comprising of blades (11) provided with winglets (15) having winglet area (32) attached at the tip of the blades (11) to negate the drag of the air currents and push the swirling air currents around. The blades (11) are all uniform dimensions and on these blades are the appendages, in the shape of the conical funnels (14) that are made of the same materials as the fan blades (11). These funnels (14) generate mini vortexes which has air at temperatures lower than the ambient temperature and when spread out create and provide air with a cooling effect. Over a few rotations of the fan blades (11), the airflow forms a swirling pattern over the area of intended coverage. This flow produces torque that affects the laminar flow generated by the winglets, and this is rectified by the vortex flow of air generated in the funnels/ pockets under the fan blade (11) wherein the conical funnel (14) appendages are present on the leading edge of the blade. The fan rotation pulls the less dense cool air upwards and spreads it around with velocity, and this flow is amplified by the mini vortexes generated under the funnels, and the winglets (15) act to spread these air currents around the room at a constant rate, ensuring wider and consistent coverage.
It will be apparent to a person skilled in the art that the above description is for illustrative purposes only and should not be considered as limiting. Various modifications, additions, alterations, and improvements without deviating from the scope of the invention may be made by a person skilled in the art.
, Claims:We claim,
1. A ceiling fan blade assembly to provide improvised air circulation with a cooling effect, comprising of:
a motor (13) attached to the fan;
a plurality of blades (11) attached to the fan, wherein the blades (11) are provided with appendages in the form of conical funnels (14);
a plurality of winglets (15) attached to the fan blades (11);
wherein during rotation of the fan blades (11), said conical funnels (14) generate mini vortexes which has air at temperatures lower than the ambient temperature and the airflow forms a swirling pattern over the area of intended coverage,
wherein the funnels (14) increase cool air circulation by increasing the air pressure in the region of the appendages.

2. The ceiling fan blade assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conical funnel (14) appendages are present on the leading edge of the blades (11).

3. The ceiling fan blade assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conical funnels (14) comprise of small surface openings.

4. The ceiling fan blade assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conical funnels (14) comprise of eyelets (21).

5. The ceiling fan blade assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conical funnels (14) comprise of hollowed out eyelets (22).

6. The ceiling fan blade assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the blade (11) edges have broader openings for the funnels (14) near the leading edge and the diameters of the funnels (14) taper as the edge gets narrower.

7. The ceiling fan blade assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conical funnels (14) are made of the same materials as the fan blades (11).

8. The ceiling fan blade assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the blades (11) are all of uniform dimensions.

9. A method of improvising air circulation by the ceiling fan blade assembly, comprises the steps of:

a) pulling the less dense cool air upwards by the rotation of fan and spreading it around with velocity;
b) amplifying air flow by generating mini vortexes under the funnels (14) in the blades (11);
c) forming a swirling pattern of the air flow over the area of intended coverage;
d) the air flow producing torque that affects the laminar flow generated by the winglets (15), which is rectified by the vortex flow of air generated in the funnels (14) under the fan blade (11);
e) the winglets (15) negating the drag of the air currents and spreading these swirling air currents around the room at a constant rate.