US20140227085A1

US20140227085A1 - Control system for fan with concealed oscillating mechanism

Info

Publication number: US20140227085A1
Application number: US13/766,416
Authority: US
Inventors: Steven Yu
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2013-02-13
Filing date: 2013-02-13
Publication date: 2014-08-14

Abstract

A fan control system includes an oscillating fan and a portable mobile device. The oscillating fan includes a housing member having a first driving motor arranged therein, and an oscillating mechanism mounted between the first driving motor and the housing member to electrically connect to the first driving motor and a receiving control unit. The portable mobile device has a touch panel forming an operation control interface, and is internally provided with a processor electrically connected to the touch panel and a transmission unit. The operation control interface produces an operation control signal when being touched, and the processor receives the operation control signal and correspondingly generates a control command to the transmission unit, from where the control command is wirelessly transmitted to the receiving control unit in the oscillating fan. The oscillating fan directly controllable via the portable mobile device has largely increased practicality and usability.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a fan with oscillating mechanism, and more particularly to an oscillating fan that can be wirelessly controlled with a portable mobile device to operate in different manners.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

An electric fan usually includes a fan blade assembly having blades with a curved configuration each. The fan blade assembly is driven by a driving motor to rotate, so that air is sucked into the fan from one side of the blades and then blown out of the fan from the other side of the blades to thereby produce airflow toward a target object. However, the blades can only produce linearly moved airflow. To direct the linearly moved airflow produced by the fan to different directions, an oscillating mechanism must be additionally provided for the fan.
According to the oscillating mechanisms thereof, the currently available fans can be generally divided into two types, namely, a cover-rotating fan and an oscillating fan.
The cover-rotating fan includes an air guiding mechanism arranged at a front side of the overall fan structure. The air guiding mechanism normally includes a plurality of parallelly spaced tilted slats. When the air guiding mechanism is rotated, the originally linearly moved airflow produced by the fan meets the rotating tilted slats and is automatically directed to different flowing directions to thereby produce a widened breezy area.
The oscillating fan is a fan provided in a base thereof with a rotary mechanism for producing an oscillating motion of the fan. That is, the rotary mechanism reciprocatingly rotates a main shaft of the fan to thereby change the direction of the produced airflow. When the oscillating fan operates, the whole fan oscillates about the rotary mechanism to swing to and fro sidewardly within a large span.
Both the cover-rotating fan and the oscillating fan use a motor as their power source. To regulate the fan motor's rotational speed, a user has to manipulate a control switch or turn a control knob on the fan to change an input impedance of the fan, so as to change the electric current input to the fan motor and accordingly, increase or decrease the volume and speed of air flow output from the fan.
The conventionally designed fan control structure allows the user to change the air volume and speed of the fan by manipulating the control switch or turning the control knob. However, it is possible the fan is positioned on a relatively high place or mounted on a ceiling and the control switch or the control knob is out of the user's reach. In this case, a pull-cord switch hung from the fan or a wired control unit at a remote location from the fan is usually provided for the user to control the fan. However, the pull-cord switch and the wired remote control unit might not allow the user to conveniently and quickly control the fan when the fan is mounted on some special position for some particular purpose. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a further improved control system for an overall control of a fan.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a control system for fan with concealed oscillating mechanism, which includes a fan internally provided with an oscillating mechanism and a portable mobile device wirelessly linkable to the fan for controlling the operation of the oscillating mechanism, so that a user may directly use the fan via the wireless linking function of the portable mobile device even if the fan is mounted on a place that could not be easily accessed. As a result, the fan has largely increased practicality and usability.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a fan with concealed oscillating mechanism, so that a fan blade assembly of the fan can be driven by driving motors of the fan to rotate in 360-degree directions and accordingly blow air to all directions. Meanwhile, components of the driving motors and the oscillating mechanism of the fan are uniformly loaded to enable stable and smooth operation of the fan, minimize the condition of stress fatigue in the oscillating mechanism, upgrade the fan's air delivery efficiency, and avoid damage of the fan.
To achieve the above and other objects, the control system for fan with concealed oscillating mechanism according to the present invention includes an oscillating fan and a portable mobile device. The oscillating fan has a housing member, a first driving motor arranged in the housing member, an oscillating mechanism mounted between the first driving motor and the housing, a fan blade assembly assembled to a first rotary shaft of the first driving motor to locate in front of the first driving motor, and a receiving control unit electrically connected to the oscillating mechanism and the first driving motor. The portable mobile device is provided on a surface with a touch panel, which forms an operation control interface, and is internally provided with a processor having a control module and a transmission unit wirelessly linkable to the receiving control unit. The processor is electrically connected to the touch panel and the transmission unit. The operation control interface produces an operation control signal when being touched by a user; and the processor receives the operation control signal and correspondingly generates a control command to the transmission unit, from where the control command is wirelessly transmitted to the receiving control unit in the oscillating fan. The transmission unit and the receiving control unit can link to each other via a wireless communication protocol, such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or WIMAX.
The control module of the processor selectively enables the operation control interface to show an actuation icon before actuation or an operation page after actuation. On the operation page, there are shown at least an air speed regulation switch for driving the first driving motor to operate and an oscillation control switch for driving the oscillating mechanism to operate and oscillate.
The operation page further has a time switch shown thereon for turning on or off the first driving motor and the second driving motor, and the receiving control unit in the oscillating fan is correspondingly provided with a timer module for coordinately working with the time switch.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the oscillating mechanism includes a pivoting member, a second driving motor, and a crank connecting member. The pivoting member is configured as a hollow pivoting frame, which is pivotally connected at an outer side to an inner side of the housing member, and the first driving motor is pivotally connected to an inner side of the hollow pivoting frame. The second driving motor is connected to a rear end of the first driving motor and has a second rotary shaft extended in a direction parallel to the first rotary shaft, so that the second rotary shaft is eccentric relative to the first rotary shaft. The crank connecting member is connected at a first end to the second rotary shaft of the second driving motor and at an opposite second end to a connecting member provided in the housing member.
The crank connecting member is provided at the first end thereof with a shaft hole, in which the second rotary shaft is fitted, and on the second end with a ball-shaped supporting head. The connecting member on the housing member is configured as a socket corresponding to the ball-shaped supporting head, such that the engaged ball-shaped supporting head and socket functions like a ball-and-socket bearing.
The oscillating fan further includes a hood structure fixedly fitted around an outer periphery of the housing member and internally defining a forward protruded oscillating space, in which a front portion of the housing member and the fan blade assembly are located. And, a heater can be additionally provided in the oscillating space and electrically connected to the receiving control unit.
The present invention is characterized in that the oscillating fan includes the receiving control unit that is wirelessly linkable to any type of portable mobile device. When a user operates on the touch-type operation control interface of the portable mobile device, a control command is generated by the portable mobile device for driving the oscillating fan to blow air or to oscillate while blowing air. In this manner, the user can still conveniently control and use the fan even if the fan is mounted on a place that could not be easily accessed, such as a higher position or a corner. Therefore, the fan can have largely increased practicality and usability.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention showing an oscillating fan and a portable mobile device thereof;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the oscillating fan of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a housing member in the oscillating fan of FIG. 2 showing a first driving motor and an oscillating mechanism arranged in the housing member;

FIG. 4 is a modular view showing the wireless linking between the portable mobile device and the oscillating fan of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 illustrates an operation control interface on the portable mobile device of the present invention before being actuated; and

FIG. 6 illustrates the operation control interface on the portable mobile device of the present invention after being actuated.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be described with a preferred embodiment thereof and with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Please refer to FIGS. 1 to 3, in which a control system for fan with oscillating mechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown. For the purpose of conciseness and clarity, the present invention is also briefly referred to as “the control system” herein. As shown, the control system of the present invention includes an oscillating fan 10 and a portable mobile device 20 wirelessly linkable to the oscillating fan 10. The oscillating fan 10 includes a housing member 11, a hood structure 12, a stand 13, a driving structure, and a fan blade assembly 14. The housing member 11 is fixedly assembled to the hood structure 12. The stand 13 is assembled to two lateral outer sides of the hood structure 12, so that the oscillating fan 10 can be placed on a floor surface or a ground surface during operation. The driving structure is arranged in the housing member 11, and the fan blade assembly 14 is connected to the driving structure.
Please refer to FIGS. 2 and 3. In the illustrated preferred embodiment, the housing member 11 is formed of a front cover 115 and a mating rear cover 116; and the front cover 115 further includes an upper front cover 117 and a lower front cover 118 that are connected together to define an axially extended through hole 110 between them. That is, the through hole 110 is located at a front end of the housing member 11. As can be seen in FIG. 3, the front cover 115 of the housing member 11 is provided on an inner wall surface at two symmetrical positions 111 (which are two laterally symmetrical positions in the illustrated preferred embodiment) with a pair of locating members 112, and the rear cover 116 of the housing member 11 is provided on a rear inner surface 113 with a connecting member 114.
The hood structure 12 is fixedly connected to an outer periphery of the housing member 11 and internally defines a forward protruded oscillating space 120, in which the front cover 115 of the housing member 11 and the fan blade assembly 14 are located. In the illustrated preferred embodiment, the hood structure 12 is assembled from a first hood 121 and a second hood 122. The first hood 121 includes a fitting opening 123 sized corresponding to the housing member 11, so that the hood structure 121 can be fitted around and connected to the housing member 11 at the fitting opening 123. The second hood 122 is shaped corresponding to the first hood 121, and the oscillating space 120 is defined in between the first and the second hood 121, 122. Further, to enable the fan 10 to blow out hot air, a heater 124 can be additionally provided in the oscillating space 120 to locate within an air path in front of the fan blade assembly 14.
The stand 13 is used to position the oscillating fan 10 in place for operation. In the illustrated preferred embodiment, the stand 13 includes two supporting bars 130 connected at their front ends to two lateral outer sides of the hood structure 12, and a base 131 connected to rear ends of the two supporting bars 130 and shaped for stably supporting the whole oscillating fan 10 on a floor surface or a ground surface. The stand 13 is provided mainly for holding the oscillating fan to a place for operation, and the stand 13 with the above-described configuration is only illustrative and not intended to limit the present invention in any way. That is, according to different requirements in application, the stand 13 for the oscillating fan 10 can be differently designed as, for example, a suspension rod hung from a ceiling or a locating bracket mounted on a wall.
As can be seen in FIG. 3, the driving structure includes a first driving motor 15 and an oscillating mechanism 16. The first driving motor 15 is connected with the fan blade assembly 14, and the oscillating mechanism 16 is assembled to between the first driving motor 15 and the rear inner surface 113 of the housing member 11. The oscillating mechanism 16 has a first end and an opposite second end. The second end of the oscillating mechanism 16 is connected to the connecting member 114 on the rear inner surface 113 of the housing member 11, and is driven by the first end to rotate about a center axis of the housing member 11 at a distance from the center axis. In the illustrated preferred embodiment, the oscillating mechanism 16 includes a pivoting member 17, a second driving motor 18, and a crank connecting member 19.
The first driving motor 15 has a first rotary shaft 151 forward extended through the through hole 110 on the housing member 11, and two connecting pins 152 separately projected from an upper and a lower end thereof for connecting to an upper side and a lower side of the pivoting member 17, such that the first driving motor 15 is horizontally pivotable about the two connecting pins 152 in and relative to the pivoting member 17.
The pivoting member 17 is configured as a hollow pivoting frame 171 having two pivot pins 172 separately projected from two lateral outer sides thereof. The two pivot pins 172 are separately engaged with the two locating members 112 in the housing member 11, such that the hollow pivoting frame 171 is vertically pivotable about the two pivoting pins 172 relative to the housing member 11. Further, the hollow pivoting frame 171 is correspondingly provided on the upper and the lower side thereof with two pivot holes 173, with which the two connecting pins 152 of the first driving motor 15 are engaged.
The second driving motor 18 is connected to a rear end of the first driving motor 15, and has a second rotary shaft 181 extended in a direction parallel to the first rotary shaft 151, so that the second rotary shaft 181 is eccentric relative to the first rotary shaft 151.
The crank connecting member 19 has a first end connected to the second rotary shaft 181 of the second driving motor 18, and an opposite second end connected to the connecting member 114 on the rear inner surface 113 of the housing member 11. The crank connecting member 19 is formed on the first end with a shaft hole 191, in which the second rotary shaft 181 is fitted, and on the second end with a ball-shaped supporting head 192. Meanwhile, the connecting member 114 on the rear inner surface 113 of the housing member 11 is configured as a socket corresponding to the ball-shaped supporting head 192, so that the engaged ball-shaped supporting head 192 and socket 114 functions like a ball-and-socket bearing. With the ball-and-socket bearing, the crank connecting member 19 is allowed to rotate and oscillate relative to the housing member 11 by 360 degrees.
With the two sets of pivotal connecting structures provided in between the housing member 11 and the first and second driving motors 15, 18, the oscillating fan 10 of the present invention can vertically and horizontally pivot while rotating to achieve the effect of delivering air flow in 360-degree directions.
Please refer to FIGS. 3 and 4 at the same time. The oscillating fan 10 of the present invention is further internally provided with a receiving control unit 30 electrically connected to the oscillating mechanism 16, the first driving motor 15 and the heater 124. The receiving control unit 30 can receive a control command from the portable mobile device 20 to drive the oscillating fan 10 to oscillate for sending air in all directions, to just blow air in one direction, or to raise the temperature of the blown-out air.
As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 4, the portable mobile device 20 of the present invention is provided on a surface with a touch panel 21, which forms an operation control interface 210, and is internally provided with a processor 22 having a control module 220 and a transmission unit 23 wirelessly linkable to the receiving control unit 30. The processor 22 is electrically connected to the touch panel 21 and the transmission unit 23.
An operation control signal is generated when a user touches the operation control interface 210 on the portable mobile device 20. The processor 22 receives the operation control signal and correspondingly generates a control command to the transmission unit 23, from where the control command is wirelessly transmitted to the receiving control unit 30 in the oscillating fan 10. In the present invention, the transmission unit 23 and the receiving control unit 30 can link to each other via a wireless communication protocol, such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or WIMAX.
FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate the operation control interface 210 on the portable mobile device 20 of the present invention before and after being actuated, respectively. The control module 220 of the processor 22 selectively enables the operation control interface 210 to show an actuation icon 211 before actuation or an operation page 212 after actuation. On the operation page 212, there are shown at least an air speed regulation switch 213 for driving the first driving motor 15 to operate and an oscillation control switch 214 for driving the oscillating mechanism 16 to operate and oscillate.
On the operation page 212, there is further shown a time switch 215 for turning on or off the first driving motor 15 and the second driving motor 18. Meanwhile, the receiving control unit 30 in the oscillating fan 10 is correspondingly provided with a timer module 31, which coordinately works with the time switch 215.
In the present invention, the fan with concealed oscillating mechanism can be wirelessly controlled with the portable mobile device, so that a user may directly control the operation of the oscillating fan with the wireless linking ability of the portable mobile device. Therefore, the fan can be mounted to a position that is not easily accessible by the user to largely increase the practicality and usability of the fan. Further, with the oscillating mechanism arranged in the housing member, the fan blade assembly and the driving motors can work to continuously blow air in 360-degree directions. Meanwhile, with the present invention, different components in the driving motors and the oscillating mechanism are uniformly loaded to enable stable and smooth operation of the fan. As a result, the condition of stress fatigue in the oscillating mechanism can be minimized, the fan's air delivery efficiency can be upgraded, and the damage of fan can be avoided.
The present invention has been described with a preferred embodiment thereof and it is understood that many changes and modifications in the described embodiment can be carried out without departing from the scope and the spirit of the invention that is intended to be limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A control system for fan with concealed oscillating mechanism, comprising:

an oscillating fan having a housing member, a first driving motor arranged in the housing member, an oscillating mechanism mounted between the first driving motor and the housing, a fan blade assembly assembled to a first rotary shaft of the first driving motor to locate in front of the first driving motor, and a receiving control unit electrically connected to the oscillating mechanism and the first driving motor, the oscillating mechanism includes a pivoting member, a second driving motor, and a crank connecting member; the pivoting member being configured as a hollow pivoting frame, which is pivotally connected at an outer side to an inner side of the housing member, and the first driving motor being pivotally connected to an inner side of the hollow pivoting frame; the second driving motor being connected to a rear end of the first driving motor and having a second rotary shaft extended in a direction parallel to the first rotary shaft, so that the second rotary shaft is eccentric relative to the first rotary shaft; and the crank connecting member being connected at a first end to the second rotary shaft of the second driving motor and at an opposite second end to a connecting member provided in the housing member; and

a portable mobile device being provided on a surface with a touch panel, which forms an operation control interface, and being internally provided with a processor having a control module and a transmission unit wirelessly linkable to the receiving control unit; and the processor being electrically connected to the touch panel and the transmission unit; and

wherein the operation control interface produces an operation control signal when being touched by a user, and the processor receives the operation control signal and correspondingly generates a control command to the transmission unit, from where the control command is wirelessly transmitted to the receiving control unit in the oscillating fan.

2. The control system for fan with concealed oscillating mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transmission unit and the receiving control unit are linked to each other via a wireless communication protocol selected from the group consisting of Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and WIMAX.

3. The control system for fan with concealed oscillating mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control module selectively enables the operation control interface to show one of an actuation icon before actuation and an operation page after actuation.

4. The control system for fan with concealed oscillating mechanism as claimed in claim 3, wherein, on the operation page, there are shown at least an air speed regulation switch for driving the first driving motor to operate and an oscillation control switch for driving the oscillating mechanism to operate and oscillate.

5. The control system for fan with concealed oscillating mechanism as claimed in claim 4, wherein the operation page further has a time switch shown thereon for turning on or off the first driving motor and the second driving motor, and the receiving control unit in the oscillating fan is correspondingly provided with a timer module for coordinately working with the time switch.

6. The control system for fan with concealed oscillating mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the crank connecting member is provided at the first end thereof with a shaft hole, in which the second rotary shaft is fitted, and on the second end with a ball-shaped supporting head; and the connecting member on the housing member being configured as a socket corresponding to the ball-shaped supporting head, such that the engaged ball-shaped supporting head and socket functions like a ball-and-socket bearing.

7. The control system for fan with concealed oscillating mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the oscillating fan further includes a hood structure, the hood structure being fixedly fitted around an outer periphery of the housing member and internally defining a forward protruded oscillating space, in which a front portion of the housing member and the fan blade assembly are located.

8. The control system for fan with concealed oscillating mechanism as claimed in claim 7, further comprising a heater provided in the oscillating space, and the heater being electrically connected to the receiving control unit.