Ceiling fans provide both air circulation and decoration to the rooms in which they are mounted. Conventional ceiling fans have long blades made of wood or other rigid materials which circulate air upward or downward according to the pitch of the blades and the direction of rotation of the set of blades. There are disadvantages to these conventional fans. First, the blades are large and heavy, adding considerable weight to the fan and thereby stressing the fan's mounting in the ceiling. Often such blades are not properly matched in weight, and when the fan is turning, the weight imbalance of such unmatched blades causes the entire fan to wobble on its ceiling mounting, thereby putting additional stress on the mounting and presenting a risk of mounting failure. Mounting failure results in the falling of the fan from the ceiling.
Second, the weight of the blades necessitates use of a large fan motor, to drive the blades through the air at any of the desired speeds of the fan. The size of the motor dictates the amount of electrical power it consumes and the larger motors consume more power.
Third, the composition and mounting requirements of the blades restrict the role the fan can play in the decorative scheme of the room in which the fan is mounted. A change in decor can make the fan appear out of place in the room. Given the makeup of the fan blades, the only means of solving this problem is to paint the blades a different color, or to coat them in some manner with a decorative layer.
Several patents provide for decorative covering of the fan blades. U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,686, “Fan blade covers” (Keyes) teaches the use of sleeves made of cloth or other flexible, washable material to cover each fan blade, with each sleeve secured by tabs of material. U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,006 “Decorative cover for ceiling fan blade” (DeMeo, et al.) teaches the use of sleeves made of stretchable fabric which are held in position by friction caused by the tightness of fit of the fabric against the fan blade surface. U.S. Pat. No. 6,019,479 “Multi-fastening, one-piece, decorative fan blade cover and strobe light” (Barker) teaches the use of folding covers with tabs and slots for securing the covers over the fan blades. All of these approaches to changing the appearance of the fan blades add weight and bulk to the fan and blades, which are already heavy. Furthermore, none of these conventional approaches substantially changes the shape of the fan blade.