Modular tower fan

Abstract

A modular tower fan comprising a fan module having a fan housing wherein the fan housing comprises a blower fan and bearings supporting the blower fan for rotation within the fan housing, and a fan gear provided at a bottom of the fan housing; and a drive module having a drive housing, wherein the drive module comprises a drive motor, control circuitry, wirings and other electrical components within the drive housing, and a drive gear at a top of the drive housing; wherein the fan housing of the fan module is removably/detachably attached to the drive housing of the drive module with the fan gear operational coupled to the drive gear for rotation, and wherein the fan module is detachable from the drive module for cleaning mode, shipping or storage with the fan gear decoupled from the drive gear.

1 . A modular tower fan, comprising:
 a fan module having a fan housing, wherein the fan housing comprises a blower fan and bearings supporting the blower fan for rotation within the fan housing, and a fan gear provided at a bottom of the fan housing for rotating the blower fan;   a drive module having a drive housing, wherein the drive module comprises a drive motor, control circuitry, wirings and other electrical components within the drive housing, and a drive gear at a top of the drive housing driven by the drive motor, wherein the fan housing of the fan module is removably/detachably attached to the drive housing of the drive module with the fan gear operational coupled to the drive gear for rotation, and wherein the fan module is detachable from the drive module for cleaning mode, shipping or storage with the fan gear decoupled from the drive gear,   a wireless control removably/detachably attached to a top surface of the fan housing without any hard wiring to communicate control signals between the wireless control and the drive module, facilitating user control of operational functions of the drive module to control operations of the tower fan,   wherein a docking recess is provided at the top surface of the fan housing, defining a docking location for placement of the wireless control.   
     
     
         2 . The modular tower fan as in  claim 1 , wherein the docking recess is sized to receive at least a portion of the wireless control, wherein the recess has a depth to accommodate at least a partial thickness of the wireless control. 
     
     
         3 . The modular tower fan as in  claim 2 , wherein with the wireless control received in the docking recess, the wireless control appears to be a built-in user control interface provided at the top of the fan module. 
     
     
         4 . The modular tower fan as in  claim 1 , wherein there is no separate user control interface in the fan module other than the wireless control, and there is no electrically conductive interface between the fan module and the drive module. 
     
     
         5 . The modular tower fan as in  claim 1 , wherein the wireless control is magnetically removably/detachably attached to the docking recess at the top of the fan housing. 
     
     
         6 . The modular tower fan as in  claim 2 , wherein the depth of the docking recess is sized to accommodate entire thickness of the wireless control such that top surface of the wireless control is substantially flush against the top of the fan housing. 
     
     
         7 . The modular tower fan as in  claim 6 , wherein the top surface of the wireless control blend in with the top surface of the wireless control to appear as if the wireless control is part of exterior of the fan housing to a casual viewer, with the wireless control appearing to be a built-in user control interface provided at the top of the fan module. 
     
     
         8 . The modular tower fan as in  claim 7 , wherein the wireless control is magnetically attached to the top of the fan housing. 
     
     
         9 . The modular tower fan as in  claim 1 , wherein with the wireless control placed in the docking recess, a user can control the operations of the tower fan by activating buttons/switches on the wireless control. 
     
     
         10 . The modular tower fan as in  claim 9 , wherein with the wireless control placed in the docking recess, the wireless control communicates with the drive module by RF signals. 
     
     
         11 . The modular tower fan as in  claim 1 , wherein the drive module is configured to receive a wireless control signal generated from an application module installed in a mobile electronic device. 
     
     
         12 . The modular tower fan as in  claim 1 , wherein the fan module comprises a fan shaft supported by the bearings for rotation within the fan housing, and wherein the blower fan is supported by the fan shaft for rotation about a vertical longitudinal axis in the fan housing. 
     
     
         13 . The modular tower fan as in  claim 12 , wherein the fan housing comprises an array of vented openings to allow air to flow into the housing and to be blown out of the housing by the blower fan, and wherein the blower fan comprises an array of longitudinal blades arranged radially about the fan shaft, each extending vertically parallel to the fan shaft to form a wheel shaped blower fan. 
     
     
         14 . The modular tower fan as in  claim 12 , wherein the fan gear is provided at the bottom end of the fan shaft outside the bottom of the fan housing for coupling to the drive gear of the drive module. 
     
     
         15 . The modular tower fan as in  claim 14 , wherein the drive motor has a drive shaft supported on a bearing for rotation, extending to outside the top of the drive housing, and wherein the drive gear is provided at the top end of the drive shaft outside the top of the drive housing for coupling to the fan gear below the bottom of the fan housing. 
     
     
         16 . The modular tower fan as in  claim 1 , wherein complementary interlocking features are provided at the interfacing fan housing bottom and drive housing top to removably/detachably engage the fan module to the drive module. 
     
     
         17 . The modular tower fan as in  claim 16 , wherein to removably/detachably engage the fan module to the drive module, the bottom of the fan housing is rested over the top of the drive housing to interlock the complementary interlocking features provided at the interfacing fan housing bottom and drive housing top. 
     
     
         18 . The modular tower fan as in  claim 17 , wherein the drive module further comprises an oscillation support, wherein the oscillation support is located outside the bottom end of the drive housing, and wherein a separate oscillation drive motor is provided in the drive housing to rotate the drive housing in relation to the oscillation support in an oscillating or swinging manner. 
     
     
         19 . The modular tower fan as in  claim 1 , wherein the drive module further comprises an oscillation support, wherein the oscillation support is located outside the bottom end of the drive housing, and wherein a separate oscillation drive motor is provided in the drive housing to rotate the drive housing in relation to the oscillation support in an oscillating or swinging manner. 
     
     
         20 . A modular tower fan, comprising:
 a fan module having a fan housing, wherein the fan housing comprises a blower fan and bearings supporting the blower fan for rotation within the fan housing, and a fan gear provided at a bottom of the fan housing for rotating the blower fan;   a drive module having a drive housing, wherein the drive module comprises a drive motor, control circuitry, wirings and other electrical components within the drive housing, and a drive gear at a top of the drive housing driven by the drive motor, wherein the fan housing of the fan module is removably/detachably attached to the drive housing of the drive module with the fan gear operational coupled to the drive gear for rotation, and wherein the fan module is detachable from the drive module for cleaning mode, shipping or storage with the fan gear decoupled from the drive gear,   an oscillation support located outside the bottom end of the drive housing, wherein a separate oscillation drive motor is provided in the drive housing to rotate the drive housing in relation to the oscillation support in an oscillating or swinging manner, and   a wireless control removably/detachably attached to a top surface of the fan housing without any hard wiring to communicate control signals between the wireless control and the drive module, facilitating user control of operational functions of the drive module to control operations of the tower fan.