Propeller Construction

The present invention relates generally to propeller construction and particularly to one having blades of generally looped configuration.

Shown to be old by the prior art are propellers and fan blade wheels having blade members formed in a looped or closed configuration with the blade ends being attached to a propeller or fan wheel hub and the outermost segment of the blade being curvilinear. The prior art blades are typically symmetrically formed from metal strips. Disadvantages to known blade designs are their complexity and consequent cost of manufacture.

U.S. patents disclosing propellers or fan wheels with the above noted features are U.S. Pat. Nos. 46,004; 467,323; 467,824 and 2,552,651. U.S. Pat. No. 2,576,294 shows an aircraft propeller having blade ends joined by a web.

The present invention is embodied within a propeller lending itself to low cost manufacture from sheet material.

The present propeller may be formed from pliable sheet stock of the type and thickness to permit manual shaping of the blade during manufacture. Each blade of the propeller is initially die cut to form an elongate member of irregular shape. When completed, each blade of the present propeller has a somewhat looped configuration (in plan view) to provide, in effect, multiple air foils per blade both of which are similarly inclined to a plane normal to the axis of propeller rotation. An end segment of each blade is adapted for securement to the inner portion of an adjacent blade, such as for example, by adhesive or a mechanical fastener. Each blade is attached to a propeller hub by a reduced blade root.

Important objects include the provision of a propeller having blades of looped configuration each configured so as to permit one blade to be secured to an inner blade segment of an adjacent blade to avoid complex hub structure; the provision of a propeller which lends itself to low cost fabrication from pliable sheet material to provide a fan blade wheel permitting injury-free accidental contact with a person; the provision of a propeller having blades, blade roots and a hub all formed from a sheet of material by a low cost stamping operation; the provision of a propeller which may be economically coupled to the driven shaft of a fan motor using fastener elements in friction tight engagement with said shaft; the provision of a propeller of low production cost and one readily attachable to a motor output shaft to provide a low cost personal use fan.

In the accompanying drawing:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a propeller embodying the present invention in place on the output shaft of a small electric motor;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of the present propeller subsequent to a forming operation;

FIGS. 5, 6, 7, and 8 are similar to FIG. 2 but show modified forms of coupling adjacent blades to one another; and

FIG. 9 is a vertical elevational view taken approximately along line 9--9 of FIG. 1.

With continuing reference to the drawing wherein applied reference numerals indicate parts similarly hereinafter identified, the reference numeral 1 in FIGS. 1 and 9 indicates an elongate motor housing having a powered output shaft 2 to which is attached the present propeller. Motor housing 1 may also include a battery storage capability such as found in motor housings of miniature personal electric fan units. While referred to as a propeller, it is to be understood that the term "propeller" comprehends both air and water applications of the present invention.

For ease of understanding the following description of one blade is equally applicable to all blades of the propeller the number of which blades may vary in different embodiments.

A first blade segment at 3 is integral with a blade root at 4 the latter of lesser transverse dimension than the blade. A secondary blade segment is indicated at 5 and in completed form extends inwardly from the blade's outermost curved segment at 6. Said second blade segment extends inwardly for substantially right angular attachment to the first segment of an adjacent primary or first blade segment.

With attention to FIGS. 1 and 4, a blade hub area is indicated at 7 which area defines an opening 8 for motor shaft attachment purposes. Each blade root 4 merges at one end with hub 7 while its remaining or outer end is integral with the inner end of the first segment 3 of each blade.

With continuing attention to FIG. 4, it will be seen that the propeller cut from sheet stock has planar blades each of reverse curvature so as to position a blade end 10 for convenient inward repositioning and attachment to the first or primary blade segment 3 of an adjacent blade. Such attachment results in blades segments 3 and 5 being transversely inclined (blade pitch) in a like degree to a plane normal to the propeller axis of rotation. The pitch angles of blade segments 3 and 5 progressively increase outwardly toward mergence with outermost curved or folded segment 6.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention coupling means is a pressure sensitive adhesive material at 11 on a blade end 10 to enable coupling thereof to an adjacent blade inner segment 3 simply by fingertip pressure. If so desired, adhesive material 11 may be dispensed with and instead a mechanical coupling, such as a staple 12 (FIG. 8) may be applied for the above noted attachment purposes. Additional coupling means are disclosed in FIGS. 6 and 7 wherein attachment is achieved by upper and lower adhesive strips 13 and 14 or, per FIG. 8, fusing of blade material at 15.

For purposes of propeller attachment to output shaft 2 of a small fan motor, I provide apertured disk members 16 and 17 which frictionally engage, at their inner peripheries 16A-17A, the tapered output shaft 2 to secure sandwiched hub portion 7 therebetween. Accordingly, propeller securement to the output shaft of a fan motor may be rapidly accomplished without the aid of costly fasteners to contribute to the low production cost of a personal miniature fan unit.

While I have shown but a few embodiments of the invention it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied still otherwise without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.