Coaster fan

Abstract

A personal fan generally comprises a source of electrical power such as, for example a power supply unit and a fan motor supported by an interposed arm. Where the fan motor has one or more blades that propel air towards the user. A battery housing that supports a cup or mug situated above it that serve as a beverage holder or holds snacks. The battery housing attached to an on and off switch that interrupts the fan's operation. The handle on the mug that may serve as a battery compartment and may stabilize the fan motor situated on the opposite side.

Description

This application is based on Provisional Patent Application 61/575,775 filed on Aug. 29, 2011 the priority is as follows:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Personal fans for use at sporting events and the like have been widely implemented. In at least one form, such fans have been integrated with drink holders and/or cups or mugs. Unfortunately, such implementations have failed to consider the safety of the user. To this end, it is a specific object of the present invention to improve over the personal fans in the prior art by providing a personal fan having a safe distant, strategically placed fan for the purpose of preventing eye or other injuries while the user enjoys the drink from the cup or mug to which the personal fan is permanently attached. My previous invention, U.S. Pat. No. 6,454,539 is based on the same principle of providing comfort and safety with the difference being the affixed fan on the mug.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the foregoing objects, the present invention—a personal fan—generally comprises a source of electrical power such as, for example a power supply unit and a fan motor with one or more blades dependently supported by an interposed arm that is part of the battery compartment. Present invention further comprises a switch or switches for providing novel functionality to the cup/mug situated above it which may serve as a beverage holder. The motor housing which may take on any form including sporting balls, tires, and any other object, has a gear that allows the tilting of the fan to provide an airflow towards the user. The compartment above the battery compartment allows for a radio; or may be used as a reservoir for water which will allow the user to use a mist for cooling down. The trigger that allows for the dispensing of the water mist is situated alongside the battery compartment. Finally, may other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the relevant arts, especially in light of the foregoing discussions and the following drawings, exemplary detailed description and appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Although the scope of the present invention is much broader than any particular embodiment, a detailed description of the preferred embodiment follows together with illustrative figures, wherein like reference numerals refer to like components, and wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a first preferred embodiment of the coaster personal fan of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the first preferred embodiment of the coaster personal fan of the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows a second preferred embodiment of the personal fan of the present invention;

FIG. 4 show, in a partially cut away view, additional details of the coaster personal fan of FIG. 1,

FIG. 5 shows a top view of the first preferred embodiment of the coaster personal fan of FIG. 1,

FIG. 6 shows a second preferred embodiment of the coaster personal fan of the present invention;

FIG. 7 shows a button view of the first preferred embodiment of the coaster personal fan of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 shows a third preferred embodiment of the coaster personal fan of the present invention;

FIG. 9 shows a fourth preferred embodiment of the coaster personal fan of the present invention;

FIG. 10 shows a coaster personal fan assembly of the coaster personal fan of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Although those of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize many alternative embodiments, especially in light of the illustrations provided herein, this detailed description is exemplary of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the scope of which is limited only by the claims appended hereto.

Referring now to the figures, and FIG. 1 in particular, the preferred embodiment of the present invention—a personal fan 10—is shown to generally comprise a source of electrical power such as, for example a power supply unit 11 and a fan motor 21 with one or more blades 23 dependently supported by an interposed arm 16 also shown is the adaptability of the beverage holding party cup 33 in the cup 29 to hold a beverage holding party cup 33. As particularly shown in the embodiment of FIG. 10, the attachable threaded mug 34 may screw onto the cup 29 through the cup threads 36 onto the threaded mug threads 35.

As particularly shown in the embodiment of FIG. 7, the power supply unit 11 is preferably adapted to house one or more conventional batteries 12 within a conventional battery compartment 13. As also shown in the various figures, the power supply unit 11 is preferably provided with an on-off switch 15. Additionally, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize the substantially equivalent substitutions that may be made for conventional batteries such as, for example, solar cells. As shown in the embodiment of FIG. 7 a substantially water-tight access door 14 is provided over the battery compartment 13 for preventing the ingress of fluids to the battery compartment 13. In this manner, the operator may make use of the personal fan 10 without fear of spilling liquids from within the cup 29 or mug 27 into the electrical components of the power supply unit 11. As also shown in FIGS. 1, 5, 8 and 10 the power supply unit 11 is supplied with a push button switch 20.

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention an insulated sleeve 26 may be provided for removable affixation over cup 29 or mug 27 or may be provided integral with a cup 29 or mug 27. In this alternative embodiment, the cup 29 or mug 27 may be easily

provided with an integral handle 28, as shown in FIGS. 1, 8, and 10, that may also comprise an internal battery compartment. In this case, the power supply unit 11 may be integrated within the handle 28 of the personal fan 10. A push button switch 20 may also be located on the handle 28. As particularly shown in the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 5, the ribs 32 within the cup 25 are provided for the secure holding of beverage cans 30 using an insulated sleeve 26 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 9.

As shown in the various figures, the fan motor 21 is preferably housed in a motor housing 24 dependently supported upon the interposed arm 16 as shown in FIG. 6, the spherical motor housing 24 may be modified to represent a golf ball, baseball or any similarly shaped sport ball. In FIG. 4, the interposed arm 16 incorporates two pieces, whereby a first piece has a motor housing with the teeth of a gear that are designed to insert and hold on to the second piece of the interposed arm in one end and the other end of the hollow shaft 18 thereby preventing disconnection. As shown in the various figures, one or more blades 23 are operably provided with the fan motor 21 through a prop spinner 22, which may be removable for compact storage of the personal fan 10. Likewise, the blades 23 may be affixed to the prop spinner 22. in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the motor casing 19 affixed to the interposed arm 16, is attached to the power supply unit 11 through a pivotal attachment 17. In this manner, the blades 23 of the personal fan 10 may be easily directed as desired by the operator as shown in FIGS. 3 and 9. The motor casing 19 attached to the interposed arm 16 also preferably comprises a hollow shaft 18 thereafter in order to conveniently an inconspicuously contain the necessary wiring between the power supply 11 and fan motor 21. As will be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art, the motor housing 19 may also be in spherical form 24 or formed in various other sports ball shapes such as a baseball, basketball, tennis, golf, billiards, volleyball, as shown in particularly in FIG. 6. The motor casing 19 may also be formed in various other shapes such as a tire, football, shoe, helmet and is without limits in forms. Because it is envisioned that the present invention may find wide spread applicability in the advertisement of refreshment beverages, those of ordinary skill in the art will also recognize that the motor casing 19 and/or the power supply unit 11 may be shaped and provided with ornamentation reflective of a particular beverage product such as, for example, a beverage can 30

For operation of the present invention, with the distant placement of the fan motor 21, the user may freely drink from the cup 29 or mug 27 without fear of impact from the blades 23. Additionally, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the blades 23 comprise a foam, flexible rubber or other polymeric material as a further safety feature. As will be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art, a light or diodes may also be activated at the time the fan 10 is operating.

While those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that many materials of construction may be utilized for the implementation of the present invention, it is preferable that a light weight and inexpensive material be utilized in order that the personal fan 10 may be distributed as widely as possible. To this end, a plastics or like material is preferred. It is also preferred that all electrical components of the present invention be housed in a substantially fluid impervious manner, thereby preventing damage to the personal fan 10 or battery compartment 13 consequently extending its useful product life. As a result weatherproof and/or water-tight switches should be used where possible. While the foregoing description is exemplary of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, those of ordinary skill in the relevant arts will recognize the many variations, alterations, modifications, substitutions and the like as are readily possible, especially in light of this description, the accompanying drawings and claims drawn thereto. For example, the adjustable arm 31 may be telescopically extendable in order for use with a wide variety of cup or mug sizes. The arm may also be made of thick wire that is pliable and can be hollow and maintain the necessary wiring from the power supply to the fan motor. Likewise, the personal fan 10 may be implemented with an additional switch for reversing the operation of the fan motor 31, which is especially desirable when used in close proximity to the person. The cup or mug may take different designs and may have an adaptable lid for keeping pollutants out of their cups or mugs or for sipping. In any case, because the scope of the present invention is much broader than any particular embodiment, the foregoing detailed description should not be construed as a limitation of the scope of the present invention, which is limited only by the claims appended hereto.

Claims

1. A personal fan comprising an interposed that is part of the stable base, said stable base in the form of a cup or a mug; said cup or mug base housing a power supply box; said power supply box having electrical communication through the hollow interposed arm to the motor housing through an on and off switch.

2. The personal fan assembly as recited in claim 1, wherein cup holds liquids.

3. The personal fan assembly as recited in claim 2, wherein cup holds beverage cans.

4. The personal fan assembly as recited in claim 3, wherein cup holds can with insulated sleeve.

5. The personal fan assembly in claim 1, wherein said beverage holder comprises a mug.

6. The personal fan assembly in claim 5, wherein said mug has an insulated sleeve.

7. The personal fan assembly in claim 1, wherein the interposed arm is adjustable.

8. The personal fan assembly in claim 1, wherein the motor housing on the interposed arm is adjustable.

9. The personal fan assembly in claim 8, wherein the motor housing can be in the form of any sporting ball.

10. The personal fan assembly in claim 8, wherein the motor housing can be in the form of a tire.

11. The personal fan assembly in claim 1, wherein the cup portion is threaded for attachable an attachable mug.

12. The personal fan assembly in claim 11, wherein the attachable threaded mug portion attaches to the cup.

13. The personal fan assembly in claim 1, wherein the on and off switch is a push button.

14. The personal fan assembly in claim 1, wherein the on and off switch is a variable switch.

15. The personal fan assembly in claim 1, wherein said fan comprises a plurality of blades, each blade being constructed of a substantially flexible material such that risk for injury with the user is eliminated.

16. The personal fan assembly as recited in claim 1, wherein cup has transistor radio.

17. The personal fan assembly as recited in claim 1, wherein motor housing comprises light emitting diodes.

18. The personal fan assembly as recited in claim 1, wherein a push-button switch activates a recorded sound bite.

19. The personal fan assembly as recited in claim 1, wherein interposed arm may revolve around the cup to the opposite side.