Waterproof overhead fan

DETAILED DESCRIPTION As shown in FIGS.
1 and 3, an overhead suspended fan in accordance with the invention includes an upper mounting structure generally indicated at 10, a hollow support shaft 12 depending from the upper mounting structure, a motor assembly indicated generally at 14 mounted at the lower end of the shaft, fan blades 16 mounted on the motor assembly, and a canopy 18 with an upper seal 20 and a lower seal 22 protecting the fan motor from any water which may impinge upon the fan.
The upper mounting structure 10 includes a rubber bushing 30 secured by a mounting pin 32 and a cotter pin 33 between the upper ends of arms 34 and 36 cf a supporting yoke.
In a prior art structure, this supporting yoke was U-shaped with a threaded annulus formed in the bottom of the U-shaped yoke screwed onto the upper end of the support shaft 12.
The arms 34 and 36 are separate members which are mounted at their lower ends by a bolt 37 on the upper end of the hollow shaft 12.
The nut 38 of the bolt 37 is prevented from vibrating off by a cotter pin 39.
The bushing 30, similar to the patented bushing, has an annular groove for fitting on a hook (not shown) on the lower end of a support rod (not shown) mounted on a ceiling, overhead beam, or other overhead building structure.
Alternatively, any other suitable arrangement for mounting the fan on a ceiling or an overhead structure can be used.
Similar to the prior art, a nut 40 is threaded on the upper end of the shaft 12 and secures a rubber grommet 42 to form a water tight seal around the electrical cable 44 extending through the shaft 12 to supply electrical power to the fan motor.
A generally inverted bell-shaped plastic canopy 46 with an integral mounting collar 48 is secured to the shaft 12 by a set screw 50 to cover the lower side of the mounting structure.
The motor assembly 14 has a hollow motor shaft 60 secured by a bolt 62 to the lower ends of yoke members 64 and 66 which are mounted at their upper ends by a bolt 68 on the lower end of the support shaft 12