Kite fan blade

Abstract

A fan blade for a ceiling fan includes a blade member and a support for the blade member. The blade member and the support are disassembled in a first mode to occupy a compact space for storage and transport and are assembled in a second mode to form a substantially rigid fan blade for assembly into a ceiling fan.

1 . A fan blade for a ceiling fan comprising:
 a blade member; and   a support for said blade member having a first rod member, a second rod member, and a mount, each of the rod members being pivotally connected to the mount at one end;   wherein said blade member and said support are disassembled in a first mode to occupy a compact space and are assembled in a second mode to form a substantially rigid fan blade for assembly into a ceiling fan.   
   
   
       2 . The fan blade of  claim 1  wherein said blade member includes flexible material. 
   
   
       3 . The fan blade of  claim 2  wherein said support includes a spreader rod member. 
   
   
       4 . The fan blade of  claim 3  wherein said flexible material is attached to said first and second rod members. 
   
   
       5 . The fan blade of  claim 4  wherein the first mode comprises a configuration of said fan blade wherein said first and second rod members are positioned adjacent to each other, said blade member is collapsed, and said spreader rod member is contiguous to said first rod member. 
   
   
       6 . The fan blade of  claim 5  wherein a clasp on said first rod member secures the spreader rod member to the first rod member in the first mode. 
   
   
       7 . The fan blade of  claim 5  wherein said blade member is gathered between said first and second rod members in the first mode. 
   
   
       8 . The fan blade of  claim 4  wherein the second mode comprises a configuration of said fan blade wherein said first and second rod members are pivotally separated to hold said flexible material taut, and said third spreader rod member is attached to the other ends of said first and second to members to form said substantially rigid fan blade. 
   
   
       9 . The fan blade of  claim 8  wherein the first and second rod members each define a socket at another end, and wherein the spreader rod member engages each socket at opposite ends of the spreader rod member. 
   
   
       10 . The fan blade of  claim 2  wherein said flexible material is one of plastic or fabric material. 
   
   
       11 . The fan blade of  claim 2  wherein said flexible material is pleated. 
   
   
       12 . The fan blade of  claim 1  further comprising graphics printed on the blade member. 
   
   
       13 . The fan blade of  claim 1  wherein the first and second rod members are connected to the mount by a common pivot. 
   
   
       14 . The fan blade of  claim 1  further comprising one or more additional rod members situated between the first and second rod members, and one or more spreader rod members each connected between to the first and second rod members. 
   
   
       15 . A collapsible fan blade, comprising:
 a flexible blade member having a curved side and a substantially straight side;   a sleeve contiguous with the curved side, the sleeve having an open end and a closed end; and   a bendable rod partially inserted into the sleeve and having a free end, the bendable rod being biased to a straight position.   
   
   
       16 . The fan blade of  claim 15  said fan blade having a first mode and a second mode wherein the bendable rod is in the straight position and the blade member is collapsed for the first mode and the blade member is pulled taught to curve the bendable rod for the second mode. 
   
   
       17 . The fan blade of  claim 15  further comprising a fastener connected to the bendable rod and being operable to engage the sleeve to secure the fan blade in the second mode. 
   
   
       18 . The fan blade of  claim 17  wherein the fastener comprises a hook attached to a flexible, inelastic band. 
   
   
       19 . A method of providing a fan blade, comprising the steps of:
 providing a fan blade having a support and a flexible blade member, the fan blade having a compact, unassembled form and a usable form; and   providing the fan blade to an end user in the compact, unassembled form.   
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising the step of instructing the end user on how to assemble the fan blade into the usable form.