Fan blade fabrication system

Claim 1

A fan blade assembly comprising, in combination, a flat hub plate having a central opening, a periphery, and front and rear sides, a plurality of elongated linear notches defined in said hub plate intersecting said sides and having a substantially uniform width, each notch having an inner end and an outer end intersecting said hub plate periphery, a plurality of sheet metal elongated blades mounted upon said hub plate, each blade having a central elongated axis, an outer end region, and inner end region, leading and trailing lateral edges, a thickness and a concave-convex transverse cross section in the direction of the thickness defined by a concave front side and a convex rear side, a homogeneous hub connection portion defined on said blade at said inner end region, said hub connection portion including flat first and second lands lying in separate planes angularly disposed to the concave-convex configuration of the blade, said first and second lands lying in parallel offset planes and interconnected by an elongated linear transition portion having a transverse cross section including arcuate bends blending said transition portion into said first and second lands, said lands being directly adjacent said transition portion, each land having a front surface disposed on said blade front side and a rear surface disposed on said blade rear side, said blade being mounted on said hub by said hub connection portion being mounted upon said hub plate wherein said transition portion extends through a notch whereby said first land rear surface engages said hub plate front side adjacent the associated notch and said second land front surface engages said hub plate rear side adjacent the associated notch, said notch having a width greater than the width of said transition portion whereby said transition portion including bends are located within the associated hub plate notch, and fastening means connecting said lands to said front plate.