Fisher & Paykel Appliances Limited

David James Hammond

Zhuang Tian

Mervyn John Davies

An electric fan with a self-cleaning mode to energise rotating fan blades in alternate forward and reverse directions to create a vibration in order to shake built-up dust or dirt particles from the blades in a frequency at which the rotational direction is alternated set to a known or detected resonant frequency of the blades thereby excite resonant modes and maximise the amplitude of vibrations. The self-cleaning operation may be triggered by detection of excessive/abnormal loading on the motor. The fan may be operated in a vibration detecting mode over a range of rotational speeds to locate speeds that produce resonance, or to detect a fault with the fan. Motor reversal frequencies corresponding to resonance-inducing speeds may be used in the self-cleaning mode. The vibration detecting mode may be carried out while the at least one blade is rotated in a direction opposite to its normal operational rotational direction.

Growing community of inventors

Auckland, New Zealand

David James Hammond