Patent Application
20080237900
The present invention discloses an improved handheld water misting fan. More specifically, the present invention discloses a handheld version misting fan both rugged in construction and more stylish than conventional handheld water misting fan. The present invention improves upon one or more of the features which include air flow, fluid volume of the reservoir and grippability.
The water misting fan is a device for providing personal and environmental cooling by spraying atomized water droplets into an air stream. The droplets evaporate thereby drawing heat out of the surrounding air. Non-evaporated droplets impinge on the user and further evaporation draws heat out of clothing and skin of the user or surrounding surfaces. These are sometimes called “swamp coolers”. For the benefit of the cooling, the cost is increased humidity, which can decrease comfort. Swamp coolers work poorly in confined or very humid environments and are more suited to hot, but low humidity, environments like the desert.
The utility of the device is improved by increasing the amount of water evaporated in the air stream as opposed to wetting the user and then trying to evaporate water off the skin and clothing. This is achieved by increasing the air flow and/or making water droplets smaller.
Portable units usually use a manually-actuated piston pump to generate the high pressures needed for fine atomization of the water. Portable water misting fans usually incorporate DC motors with dry cell batteries for portability.
In the art there are numerous instances of coupling a sprayer nozzle with a fan to produce an improved personal or environmental cooling apparatus. In the handheld realm, the portable misting fan described in Steiner '495 is the benchmark for the battery operated misting fans where a trigger or pushbutton operated sprayer discharges a fine mist of water into the air stream. These are typically single nozzle/single blower apparatuses.
In use, the user fills the reservoir through a fill port by removing the fill cap. Here, the port is large enough to accept ice cubes to keep the water in the reservoir cool. The user squeezes the pump trigger to manually pump water from the reservoir to moderate pressures through a narrow orifice on the nozzle. The water comes out as a spray of droplets. An electric motor driven fan is located proximate to the nozzle. There is typically an enclosure that surrounds the batteries, motor and pump body. Here the fan body is supported on the sprayer which, in turn, mounts to the top of the bottle. If the nozzle is located behind the fan blades, and the fan is turned on, the droplet spray will be directed into the air stream to be directed at the user and to enhance evaporation. The fan can be operated independently of the pump so the unit can act in a fan-only capacity.
In the case of designs such as Steiner '495, the water misting fan exhibits a problem with aesthetics and durability. Durability is an important feature because these products are sold for outdoor use and at amusement parks where they don't receive tender care. Also, as with any consumer good, the aesthetics are important to achieve greater customer satisfaction and commercialization of the product.
The durability problem comes from the interface between the reservoir, sprayer and the fan enclosure. At some point, there is a coupling between the motor enclosure and sprayer (further attached to the reservoir) or motor enclosure and reservoir that ends up being a weak link. The coupling has to be undone and reattached for various purposes of changing the batteries, filling the reservoir or removing the fan for separate use. If these couplings could be removed, the water misting fan could be made much more durable.
Further, conventional water misting fans have vulnerable triggers and attachment collars where the sprayer mates with the top of the bottle. These are two areas where the end user tends to break the misting fan. As such, the fan should be evaluated for its durability by evaluating how it performs in drop testing, how it holds up when packed away in a purse or beach bag, and the strength of its attachment points like straps and belt clips.
The aesthetic problem comes from the compromises of the separable component design. In the instance of portable bottle type misting fan designs, there is an unsightly, cheap-looking screw collar that detracts from the smooth lines of the fan head. Similarly, the use of the standard sprayer requires the use of the blocky nozzle and cheap-looking trigger that detract from the overall design. The design does not allow us to hide the chunky-looking sprayer and nozzle within the enclosure because of size and functional reasons. The grip is often uncomfortable because it is too large around for smaller hands or the weight is not well balanced.
What is lacking in the prior art is a water misting fan that can withstand the rigors of outdoor use while still looking sleek and stylish. The design should also store compactly and possess a minimum of parts that can be lost. Moving or wearing parts should be kept to a minimum. The handle or grippable feature of the enclosure should be narrow enough for smaller hands to grasp and the trigger should be located conveniently to the index finger and not pinch adjacent fingers.
Further, to be economical, the design should have a minimum number of seals and as many integrated components as possible, these using economical injection molding or blow molding to render the features. For performance, it has been found that a flexible fan blade without any guard in front or back provides better air flow without compromising user safety. A guard around the periphery of the impeller improves durability. Other considerations of the misting fan design should make efficient use of the space inside the enclosure, especially to maximize reservoir volume.
Further, it has now been determined that by re-locating the battery compartment to a location removed from air flow stream created by the impeller blade, air flow is improved. This is especially realized in the variation of the portable misting fan which includes a shroud surrounding the impeller blades which serves the function of protecting the impeller blades from breakage and protects the user from possible injury from the impeller blades.
The present device re-locates the battery compartment to a separate compartment which may be positioned in the base of the shroud, or to a separate compartment which may be formed in the wall of the reservoir.
The reservoir may be formed as a separate compartment which is then surrounded by a handle portion and includes an enlarged neck portion which extends outwardly from a bottom opening in the handle portion. The lower portion of the reservoir and surrounding handle portion is enlarged which serves a two-fold purpose of improving the fluid volume of the reservoir and providing a dog-bone shaped configuration allowing for improved grippability.
Reference will now be made to the attached drawings, when read in combination with the following detailed description, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views, and in which:
Referring now to
Referring again to
An actuator button 26 is illustrated at an intermediate mounting location, see interior shelf 27, associated with the body interior and is accessible, from the rearward side of the open shroud 18, and in order to be downwardly actuated (see to phantom illustration in
A grommet 34 is fixedly secured at an interior and intermediate shelf location of the body such that the upwardly extending actuator button 26 is positioned atop the intermediate portion. In use, and upon downwardly actuating the button 26, a resultant spray mist pattern 36 is created at an upwardly angled direction and relative to a forwardly generated air path, see arrow 38, in order to create the desired evaporative cooling effect.
A pair of batteries (e.g. AA sized alkaline) 40 and 42 are supported within mating recess configured nesting area, see at 41 and 43 in
As will be appreciated from a view of
Reviewing
A gasket seal (not shown) is provided for establishing a watertight seal upon the rotatable tightening of the cap 44 and, upon removal of the same, creates a suitably sized opening (such as 40 mm or greater) to allow for refilling ice cubes or the like within the fluid holding reservoir 32. The end user can further grasp the fill port on the finger hold to remove the cap (by one of several means: unscrewing, pulling off an interference fit, partial turn and pull as with a bayonet mount). Also, the user can fill the water from a tap or add ice through the port.
As is also known, the user can install the batteries 40 and 42 into the enclosure 41 and 43 respectively, the batteries again being noted as kept aligned by the recess features on the reservoir and alignment features on the battery cover. As shown in
It will also be observed that the reservoir 32 exhibits a thin wall construction and follows closely the inner surface of the enclosure forming the handle portion and the batteries (these forming a battery nest). It is understood that the reservoir 32 can exhibit a thinner wall than in prior art designs wherein the reservoir is located external to the motor (or any) enclosure. This has the advantage of reducing the likelihood of breaking and leaking.
As is also shown, the fan blades 18 are protected by a shroud 12 and which, in the illustrations provided, forms an extension of the enclosure. In the preferred design, the shroud 12 should come close to the surface defined by the revolution of the leading and trailing edges of the fan blades 18, however not touching it. It is also envisioned that the shroud 12 should extend as far forward (see again side view of
As again shown in
Referring now to
In
When actuated inwardly by the button 50, the guiding cam surface 52 co-acts against an idler 62 located in a central, forward facing and intermediate location of the body whereas a lower cam surface 54 co-acts against nozzle idler (button) 50. This operates the pump idler 56 which, when downwardly depressed, discharges a mist spray 58 (see
Other considerations include idler supporting elements (see at 60 and again at 62) affixed within the body to ensure straight line motion upon the idler by co-acting upon the upper cam surfaces (see at 63 in
It is further understood that the geometry of the idlers is such that they would have to be suitably wide to allow the left and right (or front and back) actuator buttons to bypass each other. As such, this makes the device suitable for both right and left handed persons. It is further noted that the actuators could be left/right oriented or front/back oriented, according to the desires of the designer.
Referring finally to
Additional considerations include an associated on/off switch (again not shown) constructed of any conventional type like alternate action pushbutton, slide or toggle, further such that anyone skilled in the art could select and locate in a satisfactory location the correct switch. Other considerations also include a variety of ways to provide for a fill cap, a suitable one of which capable of being selected based on requirements by someone skilled in the art.
It is also understood that the term “idler” is interpreted to include by definition a wheel and axle type mechanism, or simply a smooth rounded surface that minimizes the amount of friction between the cams and the idler. The idlers can also preferentially be configured upon the surface or dispersed at some location within the base material and may further exhibit any of a number of lubricating elements such as wax, silicone, Teflon or molybdenum disulphide.
In this embodiment, a pair of compartments 95 and 96 respectively are provided in the lower section of the shroud portion 12. Appropriate electrical connections are provided to the motor 20 through the interior of the shroud portion 12, and through the motor supporting struts, 96 and 97 respectively. It will be appreciated in this embodiment that the battery compartments 95 and 96 are located in the lower portion of the shroud 12, and therefore beneath the blades 18. It is therefore clearly understood that the air stream 97 created by the blades 18 is unimpeded since there is no bulky structure formed either forwardly or rearwardly of the blades 18.
It will be appreciated from the above description that the ability to improve the air flow as generated by the fan blades, and to maximize reservoir capacity, as well as improving grippability is achieved by the redesigning and reconfiguration of the various parts and elements of the fan device in the present invention. Hence, the relocation of the battery compartments away from the motor housing which operates the fan to a remote location, is either in the base of the shroud as illustrated in
While there has been disclosed what is at present to be considered the preferred embodiments of the invention, various modifications may be made therein without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
