Hard Hat with Fan and Fan Control System

Abstract

A hard hat fan system is provided. The hard hat fan system includes a shell, a fan coupled to the shell, and a sensor communicably coupled to the processing unit of the fan. The sensor is configured to detect environmental condition data and generate a data signal that is indicative of the environmental condition data. When the processing unit of the fan receives the data signal, the processing unit compares the environmental condition data to a threshold condition to determine if the environmental condition data is above the threshold condition. If the environmental condition data is above the threshold condition, the processing unit generates a control signal configured to change the speed of the fan.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A hard hat fan system, comprising:
 a shell comprising an inner surface configured to receive a head of a user and an outer surface opposite the inner surface;   a fan coupled to the outer surface of the shell, the fan comprising:
 an inlet; 
 an outlet; 
 a processing unit; 
 a motor configured to be turned on and off; 
 a fan blade coupled to the motor, wherein when the motor is on, the motor rotates the fan blade and the fan blade draws air into the fan through the inlet and pushes air out through the outlet; and 
 a power supply configured to provide power to the motor; and 
   a sensor communicably coupled to the processing unit of the fan, the sensor configured to detect environmental condition data and generate a data signal that is indicative of the environmental condition data, wherein the sensor communicates the data signal to the processing unit;   wherein when the processing unit receives the data signal, the processing unit compares the environmental condition data to a threshold condition to determine if the environmental condition data is above the threshold condition; and   wherein, if the environmental condition data is above the threshold condition, the processing unit generates a control signal configured to change a first speed of the fan blade to a second speed different from the first speed.   
     
     
         2 . The hard hat fan system of  claim 1 , wherein if the environmental condition data is above the threshold condition, the control signal is configured to turn the motor off by inhibiting power from being delivered from the power supply to the motor. 
     
     
         3 . The hard hat fan system of  claim 1 , further comprising a duct coupled to the outlet of the fan, wherein the duct is configured to direct air in a direction towards the inner surface of the shell. 
     
     
         4 . The hard hat fan system of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor is physically coupled to the fan. 
     
     
         5 . The hard hat fan system of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor is physically coupled to the outer surface of the shell, and wherein the fan further comprises a receiver, the receiver configured to receive the data signal from the sensor and deliver the data signal to the processing unit. 
     
     
         6 . The hard hat fan system of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor is a temperature sensor and the environmental condition data is temperature data. 
     
     
         7 . The hard hat fan system of  claim 6 , wherein the temperature data is representative of an ambient temperature of the air surrounding the shell. 
     
     
         8 . The hard hat fan system of  claim 6 , wherein the temperature data is representative of an ambient temperature of the air within the shell. 
     
     
         9 . The hard hat fan system of  claim 6 , wherein the temperature data is representative of a body temperature of the user of the hard hat fan system. 
     
     
         10 . The hard hat fan system of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor is a humidity sensor and the environmental condition data is humidity data, wherein the humidity data is representative of the humidity of the air surrounding the shell. 
     
     
         11 . A hard hat fan system, comprising:
 a shell comprising an inner surface configured to receive a head of a user and an outer surface opposite the inner surface;   a fan coupled to the outer surface of the shell, the fan comprising:
 a housing comprising an inlet and an outlet; 
 a processing unit; 
 a receiver communicably coupled to the processing unit; 
 a motor configured to be turned on and off, wherein when the motor is on air enters the fan through the inlet and exits through the outlet; and 
   a power supply coupled to the fan and configured to provide power to the motor;   wherein the receiver is configured to receive environmental condition data from a personal electronic device and generate a data signal that is indicative of the environmental condition data;   wherein the receiver communicates the data signal to the processing unit;   wherein when the processing unit receives the data signal, the processing unit compares the environmental condition data to a threshold condition to determine if the environmental condition data is above the threshold condition; and   wherein, if the environmental condition data is above the threshold condition, then the processing unit generates a power control signal configured to change a first power level provided by the power supply to the motor to a second power level different from the first power level.   
     
     
         12 . The hard hat fan system of  claim 11 , wherein the second power level is less than the first power level. 
     
     
         13 . The hard hat fan system of  claim 11 , wherein the power control signal turns the motor of the fan off. 
     
     
         14 . The hard hat fan system of  claim 11 , wherein the fan further comprises at least one fan blade positioned within the fan housing and coupled to the motor, wherein when the motor is on, the at least one fan blade rotates and draws air into the fan through the inlet and pushes the air out through the outlet, and wherein the motor is configured to rotate the at least one fan blade at different speed levels. 
     
     
         15 . The hard hat fan system of  claim 14 , wherein the power supply is a rechargeable battery cell, and wherein the processing unit is configured to detect a battery charge level of the rechargeable battery cell. 
     
     
         16 . The hard hat fan system of  claim 15 , wherein, when the processing unit detects that the battery charge level is below a predetermined battery charge, the processing unit sends a speed control signal to change a first speed level of the at least one fan blade to a second speed level providing a haptic indicator of the battery charge level to the user of the hard hat fan system. 
     
     
         17 . A hard hat fan system, comprising
 a shell;   a fan coupled to an outer surface of the shell, the fan comprising:
 an inlet; 
 an outlet; 
 a processing unit; 
 a motor configured to be turned on and off; and 
 a fan blade coupled to the motor, wherein when the motor is on, the motor rotates the fan blade and the fan blade draws air into the fan through the inlet and pushes air out through the outlet; and 
   a battery cell coupled to the fan and configured to provide power to the motor;   wherein, the processing unit is configured to detect a battery charge level of the battery cell, and when the processing unit detects the battery charge level, the processing unit compares the battery charge level to a predetermined battery charge to determine if the battery charge level is below the predetermined battery charge; and   wherein, if the battery charge level is below the predetermined battery charge, then the processing unit generates a first control signal configured to change a first speed level of the fan to a second speed level different from the first speed level to provide a haptic indicator of the battery charge level to a user of the hard hat fan system.   
     
     
         18 . The hard hat fan system of  claim 17 , wherein after a predetermined amount of time, the processing unit generates a second control signal configured to change the second speed level of the fan to the first speed level of the fan. 
     
     
         19 . The hard hat fan system of  claim 18 , wherein the processing unit with repeats sending the first control signal followed by the second control signal after the predetermined amount of time, a predetermined number of times. 
     
     
         20 . The hard hat fan system of  claim 17 , further comprising a sensor communicably coupled to the processing unit of the fan, the sensor configured to detect environmental condition data and generate a data signal that is indicative of the environmental condition data, wherein the sensor communicates the data signal to the processing unit.