Detachable ceiling fan switch unit

DETAILED DESCRIPTION A switch unit for a ceiling fan comprises a housing including an upper housing part securable to a motor housing and having, or being adapted to receive, first wiring means for connection to said motor and to an electrical power supply.
The housing also includes a lower housing part which contains the switch-gear for the motor and is readily removable from and connectible to said upper housing part by a user.
Said lower housing part contains a second wiring means for connecting said switch-gear to the motor and the electrical power supply, said second wiring means being adapted to be readily connectible to and disconnectible from said first wiring means by a user.
In a preferred embodiment, said first and second wiring means terminate in respective unitary electrical connectors, as in the form of at least one plug and socket respectively for ready interconnection and disconnection.
Thus, firstly the lower housing part containing the switch-gear may readily be removed from the upper housing part, for example by first undoing just a few screws and then readily disconnecting said first and second wiring means, so as to enable the switch-gear in the lower housing part to be serviced at ground level, e.
g.
on a table.
Secondly, with the lower housing unit so disconnected, a light fitting may readily be connected to or disconnected therefrom, a procedure which alleviates electrical hazards due to the removal of the lower housing unit from the power source.
Thirdly, as the upper and lower housing parts of the switch unit are readily interconnectible and disconnectible by a user, the lower housing part containing the switch-gear may be worked upon as an individual component by the manufacturer at a later stage in production than has hitherto been possible.
Such detachability also allows manufacturers to assemble the motor housing and the switch unit on two separate production lines simultaneously and, thereby, to greatly increase production without necessarily increasing the work force