CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202310973775.6, filed Aug. 3, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The application relates to a portable blower, in particular to a portable blower capable of adjusting the angle of an air outlet.
BACKGROUND
Portable blowers are compact blowers designed specifically for small-size cleaning tasks. Portable blowers are lightweight, easy to operate, and can provide a concentrated airflow. Portable blowers are typically battery powered or rechargeable, making them convenient for mobile use.
Lithium battery powered blowers serve as cordless blowers, and thus they become effective, cordless, ecology-friendly tools for homeowners. It is lightweight and portable, making it easy to be used for performing various outdoor cleaning tasks, such as blowing leaves or debris away from lawns and courtyards. In addition, small-size blowers may also be used to clean keyboards and dust and debris generated during operation on a work bench, such as a ceramic workbench, and some small-size blowers also have brushes or other attachments to aid in cleaning.
In the portable blower in the prior art, the air outlet is fixed in a certain position, or the housing comprising the air outlet is fixed in a certain position, and the usage of the blower is restricted for the application of which the installation position is limited and the angle is difficult to adjust. In other designs, an air outlet angle adjustment mechanism or a changeover device is separately provided, which results in a very complicated structure of the blower and increases the operational complexity of the operator and the cost of the blower. In addition, since the blower is generally designed to be an elongated structure so as to be able to operate for a longer range for sweeping, but a too long structure causes inconvenience in storage and transportation, and occupies a large space.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for a portable blower having an air outlet that is capable of being adjusted easily, and that saves space for storage and transportation.
SUMMARY
An object of the present application is to provide a portable blower capable of easily adjusting an angle of an air outlet, and a volute of the blower can be rotated with respect to a body, thereby saving storage and transportation space.
In order to solve the above problem, in an aspect of the present application, there is provided a portable blower including:
- a body including a body housing and formed with a gripping portion;
- an airflow generating device, wherein the airflow generating device is connected with the body housing and comprises a motor and a fan driven by the motor to rotate so as to generate airflow; and
- a volute accommodating the fan therein, the volute including an air intake portion and an air outlet in fluid communication with each other;
- wherein the volute is rotatable, preferably up to 180 degrees, relative to the body so as to adjust the angle of the air outlet.
In an embodiment of an aspect of the application, a seal is provided between the volute and the body housing, and the seal damps rotation of the volute relative to the body housing.
In an embodiment of an aspect of the application, the air outlet extends tangentially outwardly relative to the volute, and the fan is a centrifugal fan, and air enters the volute generally axially via the air intake portion.
In an embodiment of an aspect of the present application, the volute includes a left volute and a right volute, and a seal is disposed between the left volute and the body housing and/or a seal is disposed between the right volute and the body housing.
In an embodiment of an aspect of the present application, a motor shaft of the motor passes through the left volute from the left side, and the fan is fixed to the motor shaft.
In an embodiment of an aspect of the application, the left and right volutes are provided with a groove and a protrusion, respectively, on an interfaces therebetween to prevent airflow from leaking from the interfaces when they are mounted together.
In an embodiment of an aspect of the present application, an air intake cover is attached to the volute from a side opposite the motor and corresponds to an air intake portion of the volute, so as to facilitate the entry of air into the volute via the air intake cover.
In an embodiment of an aspect of the application, the air intake cover is engaged with the volute via an engagement mechanism, and the air intake cover rotates with the volute during rotation of the volute.
In an embodiment of an aspect of the application, the seal is an O-ring seal disposed between the volute and the body housing.
In an embodiment of an aspect of the present application, the portable blower includes a rechargeable battery provided in the body housing, and the body housing includes a gripping portion which accommodates the rechargeable battery.
In an embodiment of an aspect of the application, the portable blower further comprises a blowpipe, and the blowpipe is connected to the air outlet of the volute to facilitate directing the airflow.
In an embodiment of an aspect of the application, the volute is provided with a plurality of recesses which are spaced in a circumferential direction, and the housing is provided with a biasing mechanism to allow the volute to be fixed at a plurality of different angles relative to the housing.
In an embodiment of an aspect of the application, the biasing mechanism comprises a spring-biased pin, and the recess is rounded such that the pin can be disengaged from the recess when a user applies a force sufficient to overcome the spring-biasing force.
In an embodiment of the present application, the portable blower of the present application can easily adjust the angle of the air outlet, and the volute of the blower can be rotated with respect to the body, thereby saving storage and transportation space.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
The objects and features of the present application will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are used solely for the purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the application.
FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a portable blower according to an embodiment of the present application.
FIG. 2 illustrates a partially exploded perspective view of a portable blower in accordance with an embodiment of the present application, in which a motor side of the portable blower is shown in an exploded perspective view.
FIG. 3 illustrates a partially exploded perspective view of a portable blower according to an embodiment of the present application from another perspective, in which an air intake side of the volute of the portable blower is shown in an exploded perspective view.
FIG. 4 illustrates a front view of a portable blower according to an embodiment of the present application, wherein the upper view illustrates a maximum extended state of the volute of the portable blower while in operation, and the lower view illustrates a folded state of the volute after a rotation of 180 degrees.
FIG. 5 illustrates a sectional view of the portable blower according to the embodiment of the present invention, taken along line A-A of FIG. 4, in which the motor and the volute and the fan are illustrated in a cutaway manner.
FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective view of a volute and fan of a portable blower according to an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 7 schematically shows a perspective view of an example of a blowpipe of a portable blower according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 schematically illustrates a partial perspective view of a portable blower in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, in which a housing is shown as being provided with a biasing mechanism to allow the volute to be fixed at a plurality of different angles relative to the housing.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The technical solutions of the present invention will be described clearly and fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, and it is to be understood that the described embodiments are only some of the possible embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be obtained by a person skilled in the art without making any creative effort based on the embodiments in the present invention, belong to the protection scope of the present invention.
In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified or limited, the term “connected/connection” or the like is to be interpreted broadly, and may be, for example, a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; may be mechanically or electrically connected; may be directly connected or indirectly connected via an intermediate component. The specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood in a specific case to those of ordinary skill in the art. In addition, in the description of the present invention, “a plurality of” means two or more unless otherwise specified. It will also be understood that the terms “central,” “longitudinal,” “lateral,” “upper,” “lower,” “front,” “rear,” “left,” “right,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” “top,” “bottom,” “inner,” “outer,” “axial,” “radial,” “circumferential,” and the like are used in an orientation or positional relationship indicated in the drawings for convenience in describing the invention and to simplify the description, but do not indicate or imply that the device or element so referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and thus are not to be construed as limiting the invention.
In the description of the specification, reference to the description of “one embodiment,” “some embodiments,” “an example,” “a specific example,” or “some examples” or the like means that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the invention. In this specification, schematic representations of the terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.
To facilitate understanding of the present invention by those skilled in the art, reference will now be made to the drawings in which the same reference numerals refer to the same or like elements.
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a portable blower 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The portable blower is used to perform various outdoor cleaning tasks, such as blowing leaves or debris away from lawns and courtyards. Alternatively, the portable blower may also be used to perform cleaning tasks, for example indoors, such as cleaning keyboards and dust and debris generated during operations on a work bench, such as a ceramic workbench.
As shown in FIG. 1, the blower 1000 includes a body 1, a blowpipe 10, and an airflow generating device 100. The body 1 forms a main body of the blower 1000 and extends in a longitudinal direction L. Preferably, in the rear half of the body 1, the body is formed with a gripping portion or handle to facilitate the gripping of an operator during operation. In an embodiment of the invention, the gripping portion is formed by the body housing itself. The airflow generating device 100 is used for generating airflow, and the airflow generating device 100 is at least partially exposed to the outside of the body 1, and air is intaken via an exposed portion of the airflow generating device, and the generated airflow is discharged via the air outlet 23 (see FIG. 3). The blowpipe 10 is attached to the airflow generating device 100, and more specifically to the air outlet 23. The blowpipe 10 serves to guide the airflow so as to achieve that the airflow is blown out in a fixed orientation. The blowpipe 10 as shown in FIG. 1 is only an example of a cleaning attachment and it may also be a flat-mouth blowpipe to enable blowing operations in confined spaces such as slots. In another example, the blowpipe includes a brush to facilitate sweeping or moving debris or dirt to be cleaned that may be located in corners or concealed locations, such as for cleaning keyboards and the like. Also shown in FIG. 1 is a trigger switch 111, which trigger switch 111 can switch on and off the blower 1000 and can be provided with two or more gears, including for example a low gear and a high gear, to adjust the speed of the air blown out of the blower 1000.
FIG. 2 illustrates a partially exploded perspective view of a portable blower 1000 in accordance with an embodiment of the present application, in which a motor side of the portable blower is shown in an exploded perspective view. FIG. 3 illustrates a partially exploded perspective view of a portable blower 1000 according to an embodiment of the present application from another perspective, in which an air intake side of the volute of the portable blower is shown in an exploded perspective view.
Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, the airflow generating device 100 includes at least a motor 7, a fan 24 connected to the motor 7, and a volute 2 surrounding the fan 24. In one embodiment, the motor 7 includes a motor body 70 and a motor shaft 71 extending from the motor body 70, and the fan 24 is fixedly connected to the motor shaft 71 such that rotation of the motor shaft 71 rotates the fan 24 to generate airflow. In the present invention, the direction in which the motor shaft 71 extends is referred to as an axial direction. In one embodiment, the fan 24 is a centrifugal fan including a wheel 241 and guide blades 242 extending in a radially outward curved manner on one side of the wheel 241. When the centrifugal fan 24 is rotated by the motor 7, air filled between the blades 242 of the centrifugal fan 24 is thrown to the outer edges of the blades 242 by centrifugal force of the blades 242, and the pressure energy and the kinetic energy of the air are increased. Then the air flows out from the outer edge of the blade 242, and a negative pressure is formed or a low pressure area is generated in the middle of the blade 242, so that air is sucked into the fan, the generated airflow is thrown to the air outlet 23, and a high pressure area is generated, and a continuous airflow is generated, so that air is continuously sucked in from the outside and discharged out, and an axial suction force for air intake and a radial blowing force for air blowing are generated.
In one embodiment, the volute 2 includes a left volute 22 and a right volute 21, and of course the volute 2 can be formed as a unitary structure. The volute 2 comprises an air intake portion corresponding to the air intake cover 26 and an air outlet 23 extending tangentially outwards, with the air intake portion and the air outlet being in fluid communication with each other. The air outlet 23 may be provided with the aforementioned blowing pipe 10 to guide the airflow, thereby realizing blowing or cleaning operation.
With continued reference to FIGS. 1-3, in one embodiment, the body 1 includes body housings, for example, a left body housing 11 and a right body housing 12 as shown in FIGS. 2-3. In the embodiment of the present invention, a battery housing 120 is further disposed inside the body housing, and a rechargeable battery 110 (or more batteries) is disposed inside the battery housing 120. A battery cover 4 is also provided at the rear of the body housing, and the battery cover 4 is attachable to the battery housing 120 for holding and fixing the rechargeable battery 110 therein. In the embodiment of the present invention, the rechargeable battery 110 is, for example, a lithium battery, and preferably, the body is further provided with a charging interface to facilitate charging of the rechargeable battery 110. The battery cover 4 is removable from the body to facilitate removal and replacement of the rechargeable battery 110. In a preferred embodiment, a battery level display, such as an LED display screen, may be provided on the body, for example to alert the operator when there is a low battery level, so that the operator replaces or recharges the battery timely.
FIG. 2 shows an exploded perspective view of the left half of the portable blower 1000. As schematically shown in FIG. 2, the airflow generating device 100 includes the motor 7 and a motor cover 3 fixed to the left body housing 11. The motor cover 3 preferably includes a plurality of openings or grills to facilitate heat dissipation from the motor 7. In an embodiment not shown, an additional fan may also be attached to the motor 7 to help dissipate heat from the main body of the motor 7. In a preferred embodiment, also shown in FIG. 2 is an axial fixing portion 9, the axial fixing portion 9 being configured to be fixed to the left body housing 11, and the axial fixing portion 9 further comprises a cylindrical portion 91 into which the motor shaft 71 is inserted, as shown for example in FIG. 5. Also shown in FIG. 2 are a motor body fixing aid 6 and a support member 8 for more firmly fixing the motor 7 to the left body housing 11.
FIG. 2 also shows that a seal 5 is arranged between the left body housing 11 and the volute 2. The seal 5 is, for example, an O-ring seal. The seal is configured to generate a friction force between the volute 2 and the left body housing 11 during the rotation of the volute 2 with respect to the body 1, and more specifically during the rotation of the left volute 22 (see FIG. 3) of the volute 2 with respect to the left body housing 11. The seal is also configured to hold the volute in a certain position by friction, i.e. in the fixed rotational orientation, after the volute 2 has rotated to that position, thus no longer rotating relative to the body 1.
FIG. 3 shows an exploded perspective view of the right half of the portable blower 1000. As schematically shown in FIG. 3, the airflow generating device 100 includes a fan 24 for connection with the motor 7 and a volute 2 surrounding the fan 24. In the preferred embodiment, the volute 2 includes a left volute 22 and a right volute 21 which accommodate the fan 24 therein. Also shown is a fixing ring 27, which fixing ring 27 is used to fix the left volute 22 to the body. The motor shaft 71 passes through the left volute 22 and the fixing ring 27 and is fixedly connected to the fan 24. Also shown is an air intake cover 26, the air intake cover 26 being secured to the right body housing 12 or to the right volute 21. In a preferred embodiment, the air intake cover 26 is fixed to the right volute 21 so that during rotation of the volute 2, the air intake cover 26 also rotates with the volute 2. In one embodiment, the air intake cover 26 is a mesh grid type structure to increase the area into which air can enter, so that more air can pass through the air intake cover.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, similar to the aforementioned seal 5, a seal 25 is also provided between the right volute 21 and the right body housing 12. The seal 25 is, for example, an O-ring seal. The seal is configured to generate a friction force between the volute 2 and the right body housing 12 during rotation of the volute 2 relative to the body 1, more specifically during rotation of the right volute 21 relative to the right body housing 12. The seal 25 is also configured to hold the volute in a certain position by friction, i.e. in the fixed rotational orientation, after rotation of the volute 2 to that position, thus no longer rotating relative to the body 1. Thereby, the volute 2 is rotatable with respect to the body 1, preferably rotatable up to 180 degrees, for example as shown in FIG. 4, so as to be operable at a plurality of different rotation angles. Referring to FIG. 8, optionally, a biasing mechanism may also be provided to realize a fixed angle of rotation. For example, the left/right volute may be provided with a plurality of recesses 210 corresponding to different rotation angles, and the housing 12 may be provided with a biasing mechanism, for example comprising a pin 121 biased by a spring (not shown). The pin 121 engages with one of the recesses 210 when the pin 121 is aligned with that recess 210 corresponding a certain rotation angle. By providing recesses and corresponding biasing mechanism (e.g., including a spring and pin 121), the volute is allowed to be fixed at a number of different angles relative to the housing. The recess 210 is rounded so that when a user applies a force sufficient to overcome the spring biasing force (e.g., when a user applies a sufficiently large rotational force on the volute), the pin 121 can be disengaged from the recess 210 so that the volute can continue to rotate, e.g., into another adjacent recess, thereby changing the fixed angle of the volute relative to the housing.
FIG. 4 illustrates a front view of a portable blower 1000 according to an embodiment of the present application, wherein the upper view illustrates a maximum extended state of the volute of the portable blower while in operation, and the lower view illustrates a folded state of the volute after a rotation of 180 degrees. Since the volute 2 of the present invention can be rotated, preferably by up to 180 degrees, with respect to the body 1, the portable blower can be stored and transported, for example, in a stowed or folded state in the lower view of FIG. 4, thereby saving space and reducing costs.
FIG. 5 illustrates a sectional view of the portable blower 1000 according to the embodiment of the present invention, taken along line A-A of FIG. 4, in which the motor 7 and the volute 2 and the fan 24 are illustrated in a cutaway manner. As shown in FIG. 5, in the mounted state, the fixing ring 27 is fixed to the left body housing 11 from the right side of the left volute 22, for example by a fastener, thereby compressing the seal 5 between the left body housing 11 and the left volute 22. The left volute 22 is rotatable relative to the left body housing 11, and the seal 5 provides damping against the rotation, and the left volute 22 is held in a selected rotational position or orientation by frictional forces. Similarly, with reference to FIG. 6 in combination, after the air intake cover 26 is snap-fit connected, such as by a tab 261, to the corresponding tab 211 of the right volute 21, the seal 25 is compressed between the right body housing 12 and the right volute 21. The right volute 21 is rotatable relative to the right body housing 12, and the seal 25 provides damping against the rotation, and the right volute 21 is held in a selected rotational position or orientation by frictional forces.
Referring to FIG. 5, in a preferred embodiment, the left and right volutes 22, 21 have grooves and protrusions, respectively, at the interfaces therebetween to achieve a good sealing at the interfaces. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the left volute 22 includes a groove 221 at the interface, and the right volute 21 includes a projection 212 at the interface. When the left and right volutes 22 and 21 are mounted together, the projection 212 is inserted into the groove 221, thereby achieving a good sealing between the interfaces, thereby preventing the airflow from leaking out from the interfaces between the left and right volutes 22 and 21, and thus improving the blowing effect.
In the embodiment of the present invention, the air intake cover 26 and the motor 7 are respectively located at two different sides of the volute 2, and the centrifugal fan 24 is located inside the volute 2, and with such a compact design, a good air blowing effect is advantageously achieved, and the efficiency of air blowing is improved.
FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the volute 2 and the fan 24 of the portable blower 1000 according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which the fan 24 is accommodated in the volute 2. FIG. 6 also shows from another perspective that, the left volute 21 also includes a tab 211 and stoppers 213 at both circumferential sides of the tab 211. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the stopper 213 is close enough to the tab 211 to prevent the air intake cover 26 from rotating relative to the right volute 21 to slide out of the right volute 21 to disengage with the right volute 21 by the stopper 213 stopping the tab 261 of the air intake cover 26 after the air intake cover 26 is snap-fit connected to the corresponding tab 211 of the right volute 21. The tab is an example of an engagement mechanism for engaging the air intake cover 26 with the volute 2. This configuration thus ensures that the air intake cover 26 rotates with the volute 2 during rotation of the volute 2, thereby ensuring that sufficient axial airflow enters the air intake cover 26 without being affected by rotation of the volute 2.
FIG. 7 schematically illustrates a perspective view of an example of a blowpipe of a portable blower 1000 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In one example, as shown in the upper view in FIG. 7, the blowpipe 10′ includes a brush 101′ to facilitate sweeping or moving of the debris or dirt to be cleaned, and in combination with a blowing 5 operation, the brush more conveniently sweeps the debris or dirt. In another example, as shown in the bottom view of FIG. 7, the blowpipe may be a flat-mouth blowpipe 10″ to enable blowing operations in a confined space, such as a slot, to facilitate sweeping.
Although the present specification describes some embodiments, not every embodiment includes only a single solution, and such descriptions are provided for clarity, and it is understood that the specification is incorporated herein by reference, and the solutions as described in each embodiment may be combined as appropriate to form other embodiments, which will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The scope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims, rather than the foregoing description, and all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.
It will be evident to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the details of the foregoing illustrative embodiments, and that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof. Accordingly, the above-described embodiments should be regarded as illustrative, and not restrictive.
Patent Application
20250043800
