Claims
- 1. A manually operated blow-drying device for drying a vehicle, said blow drying device comprising:
an overhead support assembly; a hose coupled to the support assembly and extending generally downwardly therefrom; a blower fluidically coupled to a base end of the hose and operable to force air through the hose and out of a distal end of the hose; and a handle coupled to the distal end of the hose and operable to aid in manual manipulation of the hose.
- 2. A blow-drying device according to claim 1,
said handle being rotatable relative to the distal end of the hose.
- 3. A blow-drying device according to claim 1; and
a heater coupled to the blower and operable to heat the air forced through the hose.
- 4. A blow-drying device according to claim 1,
said support assembly including an elongated boom and a support housing, said elongated boom being pivotally coupled to the support housing, said support housing defining a protected interior space, said blower being received in the protected interior space.
- 5. A blow-drying device according to claim 4,
said boom extending substantially horizontally from the support housing, said boom being vertically positioned higher than the vehicle.
- 6. A blow-drying device according to claim 5,
said support housing being vertically positioned higher than the vehicle.
- 7. A blow-drying device according to claim 4,
said boom and said support housing being coupled to one another via a flow-through swivel joint, said flow-through swivel joint including a first member rigidly coupled to the support housing and a second member rigidly coupled to the boom, said first member defining a flow-through opening for allowing the air forced through the hose to flow through the first member.
- 8. A blow-drying device according to claim 7,
said base end of the hose being coupled to the second member, said hose extending along and being coupled to the boom.
- 9. A blow-drying device according to claim 4,
said boom being rotatable relative to the support housing on a boom pivot axis, said boom pivot axis being skewed from vertical by a tilt angle in the range of from about 1 degree to about 5 degrees.
- 10. A blow-drying device according to claim 9,
said tilt angle being about 2 degrees.
- 11. A blow-drying device according to claim 4,
said support housing being rigidly coupled to an upright support structure rigidly coupled to the ground.
- 12. A manually operated blow-drying device for drying vehicles, said blow-drying device comprising:
an upright support structure having a lower portion rigidly coupled to the ground and an upper portion which extends at least five feet above the ground; a support housing rigidly coupled to the upper portion of the support structure; an elongated boom pivotably coupled to the support housing and extending laterally therefrom; a hose having an attached portion extending along and coupled to the boom and a detached portion extending generally downwardly from the boom; a blower positioned in the support housing and fluidically connected to the hose, said blower operable to force air into a base end of the hose; and a handle coupled to a distal end of the hose and operable to aid in manual manipulation of the distal end of the hose.
- 13. A blow-drying device according to claim 12; and
a holster rigidly coupled to the upright support structure and defining a handle opening for receiving the handle.
- 14. A blow-drying device according to claim 12; and
a timer control assembly rigidly coupled to the upright support structure and electrically connected to the blower, said timer control assembly operable to turn the blower off in response to a predetermined lapse in time.
- 15. A blow-drying device according to claim 12,
said upright support structure being a substantially vertical pole or wall.
- 16. A blow-drying device according to claim 12,
said support housing including an outlet opening proximate a top portion of the support housing and an inlet opening proximate a bottom portion of the support housing, said outlet opening being fluidically connected to the base end of the hose.
- 17. A blow-drying device according to claim 12,
said boom being supported only by the support housing.
- 18. A vehicle cleaning system comprising:
a support housing defining a protected interior space and an outlet opening; an air displacement assembly received in the protected interior space and operable to displace air through the outlet opening; a flow-through swivel joint having an open inner collar, a concentric outer collar, and a ball bearing, said open inner collar being rigidly coupled to the support housing and positioned over the outlet opening so that air flowing through the outlet opening flows through the inner collar, said outer collar being concentrically disposed generally around the inner collar, said ball bearing being positioned generally between the inner and outer collars and operable to reduce frictional resistance to the rotation of the outer collar relative to the inner collar; an elongated overhead boom having a proximal boom end rigidly coupled to the outer collar and a distal boom end laterally spaced from the support housing; and a hose having an attached portion coupled to and extending along the boom and a detached portion extending generally downwardly from the distal boom end, said hose being in fluid flow communication with the outlet opening.
- 19. A vehicle cleaning system according to claim 18,
said outer collar having a generally cylindrical inner surface, said inner collar having a generally cylindrical outer surface, said inner and outer surfaces including corresponding grooves that cooperatively define a bearing race for receiving the ball bearing.
- 20. A vehicle cleaning system according to claim 19,
said outer collar including a bearing opening for inserting the bearing into the bearing race.
- 21. A vehicle cleaning system according to claim 20; and
a cap screw threadably received in the bearing opening and operable to keep the ball bearing from exiting the bearing race via the bearing opening.
- 22. A vehicle cleaning system according to claim 18,
said inner and outer collars being rotatable relative to one another on a boom pivot axis, said boom pivot axis being skewed from vertical by a tilt angle in the range of from about 1 degree to about 5 degrees.
- 23. A vehicle cleaning system according to claim 22,
said tilt angle being about 2 degrees.
- 24. A vehicle cleaning system according to claim 18,
said boom being supported only by the support housing.
- 25. A vehicle cleaning system according to claim 18,
said support housing and said boom being vertically positioned higher than the vehicle.
- 26. A vehicle cleaning system according to claim 18,
said air displacement assembly including a centrifugal fan and an electric motor, said centrifugal fan including a fan housing and a fan blade assembly, said electric motor being operable to rotate the fan blade assembly relative to the fan housing.
- 27. A vehicle cleaning system according to claim 18; and
a heater positioned proximate the outlet opening and operable to heat the air flowing through the outlet opening.
- 28. A method of drying a vehicle, said method comprising the steps of:
(a) actuating a blower which forces air through a hose; (b) manually grasping a handle coupled to a detached portion of the hose; (c) pivoting an overhead boom to which an attached portion of the hose is coupled by manually moving the handle; and (d) discharging air out of the detached portion of the hose and onto a vehicle, thereby drying the vehicle.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the priority benefit under 35 U.S. C. Section 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/272,225, filed Feb. 28, 2001, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60272225 |
Feb 2001 |
US |