Living room fan designed for sheer quality  
RINTO

写真:リントを正面から見た写真

The basic design of the electric fan hasn't changed since its invention: blades attached to a strut extending from a base spinning to generate a breeze. Just the sight of an electric fan is enough to make any Japanese person think of summertime.
We have a long history of involvement with electric fans lasting over a hundred years, since we were the first company in Japan to sell household models using alternating current in 1913. This project was launched under the desire to go back to the drawing board and make an electric fan that would blend naturally into interior spaces, with an elegant appearance, yet at the same time perfecting the fan's true function of providing a pleasant breeze.

A design to stand the test of time

We live in an age where new technologies quickly become old, where things are increasingly easy to make, yet soon fall apart or fall out of fashion. We wondered if there was some way we could make electric fans into high quality furniture-style objects that people would want to keep on using over time. The key concepts we hit upon were "elegance of proportion" and "exquisite texture."

写真:リントを横から見た写真 An elegant appearance

The first step was to give the fan a graceful look. We achieved this by adopting an overall vertically-oriented balance, to make it appear that the fan was standing at attention.
The motors of electric fans are generally placed behind the blades, causing them to have a top-heavy look. RINTO's motor is mounted in the base to solve this problem. The overall contour was reduced in size to the back with a cone shape, by shortening as far as possible the distance between the blades and the guard, and bringing the spindle into the guard.
No bolts or screws are visible, creating a sleek form from whatever angle you view it from. Placing the motor in the base can give rise to unsteadiness, but this was solved by steps such as using two bearings in the design, ensuring the fan has high quality as well as appearance.

写真:支柱部分 Emphasis on quality materials

The pole is made of solid natural wood, a high quality material often used in furniture. The idea of using "solid natural wood" was present from the initial concept of wanting the "fan to blend into interior spaces." Yet with natural wood vibrations from the motor in the base would affect the movement of the blades, so a straight hole would have to be bored through the wood, requiring a high level of precision in mass production. We were told that this was technically difficult and that the only way to do it was to glue the wood together in two parts.
The solution was found by encountering a long-established maker of shotguns. The elliptical shape enhances the natural beauty of the grain, while the metallic cap at the edge part serves to accent the whole.

  • rinto SERIES SWICH
    A smoothly textured base
    The base has a ceramic-like texture.
  • rinto SERIES SWICH
    Remote control with an enhanced sense of touch
    The controls are entirely displayed as pictograms. The device seems to fit snugly into your hand as soon you pick it up.

写真:リントの空間設置イメージ A presence that shapes the space around it

By working from scratch to build up the details and textures, we achieved a pleasant and "elegant" looking object that not only cools but also raises the quality of the space around it. We believe that we have perhaps the ultimate shape for a premium electric fan.
But we are not content to rest with this; we will continue to work toward the creation of products that people will adore and use over a long period of time.