Rotatable ceiling fan accessory

An accessory (10) mounted for relative rotation with respect to a conventional ceiling fan (100); wherein, the accessory (10) includes a housing unit (13) suspended from the ceiling fan (100) and bearing visual elements (60) whose appearance will change relative to a stationary viewer, in response to the rotation of the housing unit (13) due to air currents generated by the ceiling fan (100) impinging upon a propulsion unit (14) contained within the housing unit.

TECHNICAL FIELD 
The present invention relates to the field of fan constructions in general, 
and in particular to an independently rotatable accessory for a ceiling 
fan. 
BACKGROUND ART 
As can be seen by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,581,185; 
4,863,346; 2,711,165; and 4,666,670; the prior art is replete with myriad 
and diverse accessories and housings for fans in general and ceiling fans 
in particular, such as lights, scent holders, and sound markers. 
While all of the aforementioned prior art constructions are more than 
adequate for the basic purpose and function for which they have been 
specifically designed, these patented devices are neither suited for, nor 
adapted to serve the particular purpose and function provided by the 
subject matter of the present invention. 
While mobile sculptures are well recognized as a source of visual 
entertainment for both adults and children, to date no one has combined a 
moveable accessory that can be attached directly to, and driven by the air 
currents generated by the blades of a ceiling fan. 
As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a 
longstanding need for a ruggedly constructed moveable accessory for a 
ceiling fan that will produce an aesthetically pleasing, changeable, yet 
sequential visual appearance for a ceiling fan which is both directly and 
indirectly moveable in response to the actuation of the ceiling fan; and, 
the provision of such a construction is a stated objective of the present 
invention. 
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 
Briefly stated, the moveable accessory for ceiling fans that forms the 
basis of the present invention comprises in general: an axle unit, a hub 
unit; a rotatable housing unit; and, a propulsion unit. 
The axle unit is suspended from the bottom portion of the ceiling fan 
accessory and operatively attached to the hub unit. In addition, the hub 
unit is rotatably connected to the axle unit and secured to the housing 
unit; wherein, the housing unit contains the propulsion unit that reacts 
to the air currents generated by the blades of the ceiling fan. 
As will be explained in greater detail further on in the specification, the 
outer surface of the housing unit is provided with one or more decorative 
items such as a variable pattern, a plurality of spaced figures, etc. 
whose relative appearance with respect to a stationary viewer will change 
in response to the rotating movement of the housing unit relative to the 
axle unit.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION 
As can be seen by reference to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 
and 3 the rotatable accessory for ceiling fans that forms the basis of the 
present invention is designated generally by the reference numeral (10). 
The accessory comprises in general: an axle unit (11); a hub unit (12); a 
housing unit (13); and a propulsion unit (14). These units will now be 
described in seriatim fashion. 
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the accessory (10) is designed to be connected 
to the stationary hub housing (101) of a conventional ceiling fan (100) 
such that the rotatable movement of the accessory (10) will occur 
independently of the rotation of the blades (102) of the ceiling fan (100) 
Turning now to FIGS. 2, 3 and 5 it can be seen that the axle unit (11) 
comprises an elongated threaded axle rod member (20) having an upper end 
(21) that is adapted to engage a suitably threaded opening (104) in the 
hub housing (101) of the ceiling fan (100); and, having a lower end (22) 
dimensioned to engage a threaded cap element (25) for reasons that will be 
explained presently. 
As can best be seen by reference to FIGS. 2, 3 and 5, the hub unit (12) 
comprises a pair of generally flat circular hub members (30) having a 
central opening dimensioned to receive the threaded axle rod member (20); 
wherein at least one of the hub disk members (30) is provided with a 
roller bearing element (31) which will permit the rotation of the hub unit 
(12) relative to the axle unit (11). 
In addition the axle member (20) is further provided with a threaded nut 
(27) for moving the hub disk members (30) towards one another for reasons 
that will be explained presently. 
Referring now to FIGS. 3 through 5, it can be seen that the housing unit 
(13) comprises a generally circular base member (40) having a central 
aperture (41); wherein, the periphery of the base member (40) is 
surrounded by a generally cylindrical raised sidewall (42). In addition, 
the propulsion member (14) comprises a plurality of angled vane members 
(50) arrayed in a radial fashion around the interior of the housing unit 
(13). 
As can be seen in particular by reference to FIG. 5, the axle rod member 
(20) is dimensioned to be received by the central aperture (41) in the 
base member (40) wherein the hub members (30) are adapted to be brought 
into captive engagement with opposite sides of the base member (40) by the 
combined cooperation between the threaded nut (27) and the cap element 
(25). 
At this juncture the upper end (21) of the axle rod member (20) is 
operatively attached to the bottom of the hub (101) of the ceiling fan 
(100), to suspend the accessory (10) in a freely rotatable manner relative 
to the ceiling fan (100). 
Now when the ceiling fan (100) is turned on, the air current generated by 
the rotating blades (102) of the ceiling fan (100) will impinge upon the 
angled vanes (50) within the housing unit (13) to cause the housing unit 
(13) to rotate in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction 
relative to the ceiling fan (100) depending upon the angular orientation 
of the vanes (50). 
In addition as was previously mentioned in the specification and depicted 
in FIGS. 1 and 2 the sidewalls (42) of the housing unit (13) are provided 
with visual elements (60) such as a printed pattern (61) and/or three 
dimensional objects (62) such as small stuffed animals whose visual 
appearance relative to a stationary viewer will change as the housing unit 
(13) rotates in response to the air currents generated by the ceiling fan 
(100). 
Having thereby described the subject matter of the present invention, it 
should be apparent that many substitutions, modifications and variations 
of the invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is 
therefore to be understood that the invention as taught and described 
herein is only to be limited to the extent of the breadth and scope of the 
appended claims.