Patent Publication Number: US-8523378-B2

Title: Combination ceiling fan and track light

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not applicable. 
     FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
     Not applicable. 
     REFERENCE TO MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
     Not applicable. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention is directed to a ceiling fan, more particularly to a ceiling fan for use with a track lighting fixture. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A typical ceiling fan includes a light fixture. The design of light fixtures for use with ceiling fans has been limited to light being reflected towards the ceiling or towards the floor from light fixtures connected directly to the ceiling fan housing. Contemporary designs of light fixtures, such as track lighting, allow the consumer to direct light in a variety of directions. 
     Track lighting typically requires power from a ceiling junction box. A ceiling fan also typically requires power from a ceiling junction box. Before the current invention, however, ceiling fans have not been used in combination with track lighting fixtures for a variety of reasons. First, ceiling fans require substantial support and motion stabilization to support the weight of the ceiling fan as well as the forces arising when the ceiling fan is rotating. Track lighting fixtures do not provide sufficient holding strength to support and control such forces. Second, many track lighting fixtures utilize low voltage lamps which require power conversion from standard line voltages. Ceiling fans, on the other hand, utilize standard line voltages. Thus, track lighting systems do not supply sufficient voltage to power a ceiling fan. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Embodiments of the invention provide a combination ceiling fan and track light rail having a support stem coupled to a ceiling; a hanging mechanism coupled to the support stem and a ceiling fan, the ceiling fan electrically coupled to a junction box; a track light rail electrically coupled to the ceiling fan. In some embodiments, the hanging mechanism is a standard hanger ball. The track light may be electrically coupled to the ceiling fan by one or more wires from the ceiling fan. The one or more wires may be connected to a transformer electrically coupled to the track light. The transformer preferably transforms the line voltage to track light rail voltage. The support stem may be coupled to the ceiling by the junction box. The support stem may be a hollow tube having a removable faceplate having apertures for allowing the track light rail to pass through the apertures. The support stem and hanging mechanism may be fabricated from a single piece of material. The combination ceiling fan and track light may also include a remote control capable of operating the ceiling fan and track light. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  is an enlarged exploded view showing an embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     To one of skill in this art who has the benefit of this invention&#39;s realizations, teachings, disclosures, and suggestions, other purposes and advantages will be appreciated from the following description and the accompanying drawings. The following description illustrates certain preferred embodiments and is not to be used to improperly limit the scope of the invention, which may have other equally effective or legally equivalent embodiments. 
     Embodiments of the invention provide a support mechanism for providing a combination ceiling fan and track light. The support mechanism supports the ceiling fan which supplies the power to the track light. Where the track light utilizes a voltage different from line voltage, a converter is further included. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a combination ceiling fan and track light includes a support stem  10 , a ceiling fan  20  (not fully shown) and a track light rail  30 . In some embodiments, the support stem  10  includes a mounting ring  11  and a support tube  12  which includes a faceplate  13 . The mounting ring  11  is coupled to the junction box in a ceiling (not shown) by attachment means. Some examples of attachment means include, but are not limited to, clamps, screws, and the like. The faceplate  13  is preferably removable from the support tube  12 . The support tube  12  is coupled to the faceplate  13  by attachment means. Some examples of attachment means include, but are not limited to, clamps, screws, and the like. In a preferred embodiment, the mounting ring  11  and support tube  12  are fabricated from a single piece of material. Alternatively, the mounting ring  11  and support tube  12  may be fabricated from multiple pieces of material. 
     The support tube  12  further includes a hanging mechanism  17 . In a preferred embodiment, the hanging mechanism  17  includes means for coupling to a standard hanger ball  22 . The standard hanger ball  22  may be similar to those currently used in the mounting of ceiling fans to ceilings. Alternatively, the hanging mechanism  17  is any mechanism or hanger ball form which will couple the ceiling fan  20  to the support stem  10 . 
     The support tube  12  is preferably hollow and capable of housing a power connector  16  and allowing for the passage of one or more electrical wires  18  from the junction box to the ceiling fan  20 . The support tube  12  may include one or more notches  14 . The faceplate  13  may include one or more notches  15 . In a preferred embodiment, the notches  14  of the support tube  12  align with the notches  15  on the faceplate  13  and form an aperture allowing passage of the track light rail  30 . The notches  14  and  15  may be of any shape which would accommodate any shape of the track light rail  30 . The track light rail  30  may also be supported by ceiling standoffs (not shown) which are directly connected to the ceiling. 
     The power connector  16  is electrically coupled to one or more wires  19  from the ceiling fan  20 . In a preferred embodiment, the wires  19  are similar to those supplied for a ceiling fan light kit. Where the ceiling fan is required to power both the track light and a ceiling fan light kit, wires  19  may be split to supply power to both such lights. In some embodiments, a voltage converter (not shown) is placed between wires  19  and power connector  16 . The power connector  16  may be mechanically coupled to the track rail light  30  in certain embodiments. The power connector  16  is also electrically coupled to the track rail light  30 . The power connector  16  may include a power transformer, in some embodiments, to transform the power from the ceiling fan to the appropriate voltage necessary for the track light rail  30 . 
     The ceiling fan  20  is coupled to the ceiling by the support stem  10 . The ceiling fan  20  is electrically coupled to the ceiling by standard electrical means, preferably wires  18 . The ceiling fan  20  supplies the electricity to the track light rail  30  by the coupling of the wires  19  from the ceiling fan to the power connector  16 . The materials of the support stem  10  include, but are not limited to, aluminum, steel, stainless steel, fiber reinforced plastics and any material able to support the forces encountered from an operating ceiling fan. 
     In some embodiments, the ceiling fan and track lighting may be operated by a remote control. The remote control may operate the ceiling fan&#39;s speed, whether the fan is on or off, the dimming of the ceiling fan wattage, whether the track fan is on or off, the dimming of the track lighting wattage, and any combination of these functions. Some exemplary remote controls which may be used include those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,196,485 and 6,120,262, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. The remote control may be similar to co-pending patent application Ser. No. 12/485,486 filed on Jun. 16, 2009 and assigned to the same owner, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     In conclusion, therefore, it is seen that the present invention and the embodiments disclosed herein are well adapted to carry out the objectives and obtain the ends set forth. Certain changes can be made in the subject matter without departing from the spirit and the scope of this invention. It is realized that changes are possible within the scope of this invention, and it is further intended that each element or step recited is to be understood as referring to all equivalent elements or steps. The description is intended to cover the invention as broadly as legally possible in whatever forms it may be utilized.