Abstract:
The present invention is directed to fans having a handle that is disposed in a non-radial manner with respect to the center of the fan portion. In preferred embodiments the handle is substantially parallel to an imaginary circumferential tangent of the fan. In an especially preferred embodiment the fan is expanded at two radial spokes. Each of the spokes has a distal end, and the two distal ends are used to support the handle. An angle formed between the two spokes when the fan is in the expanded configuration is at least 15 degrees.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 60/312,119 incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The field of the invention is foldable fans and signs. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Hand-held fans have been known for centuries, as both decorative and functional objects. Recent examples include U.S. design Pat. Nos. D312529, D389301, D338778, and D334951. 
     Fans usually contain a body portion and a handle. The body portion comprises a paper or other flexible sheet, that is folded between two receiving arms. The handle can be one or two pieces, and is generally not known to be foldable. The hand portion always extends radially out from the center of the fan portion. 
     There is a class of fans known as pocket fans. In such fans the fan portion folds about itself to form a tight bundle, which then folds into the handle. U.S. Pat. No. 555,339 to Rubin (1896) is an example of such a fan. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to fans having a handle that is disposed in a non-radial manner with respect to the center of the fan portion. In preferred embodiments the handle is substantially parallel to an imaginary circumferential tangent of the fan. In an especially preferred embodiment the fan is expanded at two radial spokes. Each of the spokes has a distal end, and the two distal ends are used to support the handle. An angle formed between the two spokes when the fan is in the expanded configuration is at least 15 degrees. 
     Other contemplated fans include hand held fans having a foldable material configurable between an open position and a closed position, comprising first and second spokes, and a handle that couples to the spokes to form a substantially triangular arrangement when the fan is in the open position. Such fans may have a handle that has a cavity sized and dimensioned to receive the foldable material and the spokes. 
     Some contemplated fans will have a foldable material portion printed with a warning. It is contemplated that it would be advantageous if the warning were discernable from a distance of at least X feet when the fan is in the open position where X is one of 15, 30, 75, 150, 300, 450, and 900. It is also contemplated that the warning will comprise a non-alphanumeric symbol, a word, or a phrase with any symbol word or phrase being positioned such that the handle is below the word or phrase when the fan is in the open position. Some contemplated words for use in the warning include the following: stop, warning, ped, pedestrian, and crossing. It is contemplated that it may be advantageous to improve visibility of fans by making at least portions of the fans reflective or luminous. 
     It is contemplated that in some embodiments the handle will consist essentially of one unitary piece, while other embodiments will have a multi-piece handle. In a preferred multi-piece handle, the handle comprises a first segment rotatably coupled to an end of the first spoke and a second segment rotatably coupled to an end of the second spoke, and the first and second segments are adapted to be coupled to form an elongated handle coupling the ends of the first and second spokes together. In some embodiments, the handle may be adapted to facilitate holding the fan in a stationary position perpendicular to a surface by a person standing on the surface. Some embodiments may have a handle that is shaped to conform to the shape of a hand gripping the handle. Such shape conforming handles may have a cavity sized and dimensioned to receive the foldable material and the spokes with the handle being substantially larger than the cavity and having an exterior surface dimensioned to fill the interior of a partially closed fist. 
     In a preferred fan the first and second spokes are each coupled to a separate edge of the folded material portion of the fan; the spokes are elongated and each have a first end rotatably coupled to a joining member; the first spoke has a second end rotatably coupled to the handle; the handle is adapted to be coupled to a second end of the second spoke while the fan is in the open position; the handle and spokes are adapted to bias the handle to remain in a fixed position relative to the spokes while the fan is in the open position; the handle has a cavity sized and dimensioned to at least partially receive the fan material and spokes when the fan is in the closed position; the handle and spokes are adapted to bias the spokes to remain at least partially within the handle when the fan is in the closed position; and the folded material portion of the fan comprises a reflective material and a warning, the warning comprising a symbol, word, or phrases visible from a distance of at least 100 feet while the fan is in the open position. 
     Various objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention, along with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals represent like components. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a front view of a fan embodying the invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a front view of the fan of FIG. 1 in a partially folded configuration. 
     FIG. 3A is a front view of the fan of FIG. 1 in a fully folded configuration. 
     FIG. 3B is a side view of the fan of FIG. 1 in a fully folded configuration. 
     FIG. 3C is a end view of the fan of FIG. 1 in a fully folded configuration. 
     FIG. 4 is a front view of a second fan embodying the invention. 
     FIG. 5 is a front view of a third fan embodying the invention. 
     FIG. 6 is a front view of a fourth fan embodying the invention. 
     FIG. 7 is a front view of a fifth fan embodying the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In FIG. 1, an opened fan  1  according to the inventive subject matter generally has a fan portion  10  and a handle portion  20 . The fan portion  10  has a paper, cloth or other foldable material  12 , and two spokes  14 A and  14 B that are rotated about center hinges  16 A and  16 B, thereby folding the material  12  upon itself in a manner known to the art. Spoke  14 A has another hinge  17  near its distal end, about which the handle  20  pivots. Spoke  14 B has a dimple latch or other latching mechanism  18  used to detach and reattach the handle  20  to spoke  14 B. An angle  14 C is formed at the apparent intersection of  14 A and  14 B, and is contemplated to be at least 15 degrees. In a preferred embodiment, the angle  30  is between 15 and 75 degrees. In a more preferred embodiment, the angle  30  is between 20 and 60 degrees. In FIG. 1 the handle  20  is considered to be disposed in a substantially triangular relationship with the spokes  14 A and  14 B, even though the spokes are not technically joined to one another at an apex. 
     As shown in FIGS. 1-3C, the first and second spokes  14 A and  14 B of fan  1  are each coupled to a separate edge of the folded material portion  12 ; the spokes  14 A and  14 B are elongated and each have a first end ( 14 F and  14 G) rotatably coupled to a joining member  15 ; the first spoke  14 A has a second end  14 D rotatably coupled to the handle  20 ; the handle  20  is adapted to be coupled to a second end  14 E of the second spoke  14 B while fan  1  is in the open position; the handle  20  and spokes  14 A and  14 B are adapted to bias the handle to remain in a fixed position relative to the spokes while the fan is in the open position by dimple latch  14 H; the handle has a cavity  22  sized and dimensioned to at least partially receive the fan material  12  and spokes  14 A and  14 B when the fan is in the closed position; the handle  20  and spokes  14 A and  14 B are adapted to bias the spokes to remain at least partially within the handle  20  when fan  1  is in the closed position by dimple latch  141 ; and the folded material portion  12  of fan  1  comprises a reflective material and a warning  13 , the warning  13  comprising a symbol, word, or phrases visible from a distance of at least 100 feet while fan is in the open position. 
     FIG. 2 depicts the fan  1  in a partially folded configuration. As shown in FIG. 2, the handle  20  contains an elongated cavity  22 , and is open along one of its long sides. This permits the folded material  12  and spokes  14 A and  14 B to fold up inside the cavity as shown. 
     Fan  1  operates in a typical fashion in regard to spokes  14 A and  14 B, and folding material  12  in that rotation of spokes  14 A and  14 B about hinges  16 A and  16 B coupling them to joining member  15  results in the folding or unfolding of fan material  12 . 
     As shown in FIG. 2, handle  20  rotates about hinge  17  relative to spoke  14 A to permit spokes  14 A and  14 B, joining member  15 , and folding material  12  to be positioned within handle  20 . FIGS. 3A-3C shown fan  1  in a closed position. 
     Fan  10  may have innumerable formats of text, images, colors, and so forth. In one class of embodiments, the fan may be used as cross-walk or other warnings. The material  12  may be brightly colored, have reflective properties, glow-in-the-dark, etc. The material may also be printed with large letters or symbols on either or both sides of the fan portion  10 . For example, one side may be bright red with “STOP” lettering, while the other side may be yellow or green with “GO” lettering. Other examples of contemplated warnings  13  are shown in FIGS. 4,  5 , and  7 . As has been described, the warning may comprise a non-alphanumeric symbol as shown in FIG. 7, a word as in FIGS. 4 and 5, or a phrase (not shown). Fans with warning preferably have the warning  13  positioned such that the handle  20  is below the word or phrase when the fan  1  is in the open position as shown in FIGS. 4,  5 , and  7 . Some contemplated words for use in the warning include, but aren&#39;t limited to, the following: stop, warning, ped, pedestrian, and crossing. 
     It is contemplated that it may be advantageous to improve visibility of fans by making at least portions of the flans reflective or luminous. As such, fans comprising reflective folding material are contemplated, as are fans comprising reflective letters on a non-reflective folding material. It is also contemplated that some fans may be made luminous by incorporating one or more lights, LEDs or other devices. 
     It is contemplated that it would be advantageous if the warning were discernable from a distance of at least X feet when the fan is in the open position where X is one of 15, 30, 75, 150, 300, 450, and 900. Making the warning discernable for larger distances permits the fan to function as a sign or signal to motorists or others that they should take notice of a condition of a thing that exists at or beyond the position of the fan. 
     It is contemplated that in some embodiments the handle will consist essentially of one unitary piece as shown in FIG. 1, while other embodiments will have a multi-piece handle as shown in FIG.  7 . In the multi-piece handle  20  of FIG. 7, the handle comprises a first segment  21 A rotatably coupled to an end of the first spoke  14 A and a second segment  21 B rotatably coupled to an end of the second spoke  14 B, and the first and second segments  21 A and  21 B are adapted to be coupled to form an elongated handle  20  coupling the ends of the first and second spokes  14 A and  14 B together. 
     Some embodiments may have a handle that is shaped to conform to the shape of a hand gripping the handle as shown in FIG. 4, or may comprise grooves or other griping mechanisms to enable a person to properly grip the fan. Depending on the intended use of the fan, the handle may be adapted to enable a person to obtain leverage and easily sway the fan back and forth, or may be adapted to facilitate holding the fan in a fixed position such as in position perpendicular to a surface by a person standing on the surface. 
     It is contemplated that shape conforming handles may have a cavity  22  sized and dimensioned to receive the foldable material and the spokes with the handle being substantially larger than the cavity and having an exterior surface dimensioned fill the interior of a partially closed fist similar to the grip of a bicycle handle, joystick, or an automobile steering wheel. 
     It should be appreciated that pivot/hinge  17  could be replaced by some other mechanism, such as another latching mechanism. In that manner, the handle  20  could be detached entirely from the remainder of the fan  1 . As shown in FIG. 6, detachable handle  20  also comprises channels  23 A and  23 B adapted to receive ends  14 D and  14 E of spokes  14 A and  14 B when the fan is in the open position. The embodiment of FIG. 5 is one that may utilize either a handle  20  coupled to the spokes or detachable from the spokes. If detachable from the spokes, the ends of the spokes are inserted into cavity  22  when the fan is in the open position, and substantially all of the spokes and folding material are inserted into cavity  22  when the fan is in the closed position. 
     Handle  20  may also contain any manner of writing, images, colors, and so forth. In FIG. 1 the handle  20  contains lettering for a possible trademark “PEDX”. 
     Thus, specific embodiments and applications of fans have been disclosed. It should be apparent, however, to those skilled in the art that many more modifications besides those already described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. The inventive subject matter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims. Moreover, in interpreting both the specification and the claims, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with the context. In particular, the terms “comprises” and “comprising” should be interpreted as referring to elements, components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that the referenced elements, components, or steps may be present, or utilized, or combined with other elements, components, or steps that are not expressly referenced.