US3099386A

US3099386A - Portable blower

Info

Publication number: US3099386A
Application number: US59702A
Authority: US
Inventors: Howard B Pieper
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1960-09-30
Filing date: 1960-09-30
Publication date: 1963-07-30
Anticipated expiration: 1980-07-30

Description

July 30, 1963 H. B. PIEPER PORTABLE BLOWER Filed Sept. so, 1960 HOW/'0' B, P/eper INVENTOR.

BY MIA/WWO} 19mg United States 3,099,386 PORTABLE BLOWER Howard B. Pieper, 1141 Easton Ave., Waterloo, Iowa Filed Sept. 30, 1960, Ser. No. 59,702 3 Claims. (Cl. 230-117) The present invention generally relates to a portable blower and more particularly to a hand carried blower for use in many different ways but primarily constructed for aid in starting small fires such as normally are employed in backyard barbecue pits and the like.

In recent years, there has been a considerable increase in the use of backyard barbecue pits and the like due to rthe increase in outdoor cooking. In fact, portable barbecue pits are employed by many persons and it quite often is difficult to properly ignite the charcoal. Many different solutions have been attempted including the use of a highly flammable liquid, highly flammable blocks or the like which are employed for initially producing a relatively large flame for properly igniting the charcoal. Such devices are relatively dangerous to use and there have been many accidents due to an excessive flame being produced. Therefore, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide a small portable blower generally of the size of a two cell flashlight which includes a small electrically driven motor powered by two flashlight batteries and a blower driven by the motor for discharging onto the charcoal for supplying an abundance of oxygen thereto for more easily igniting the charcoal.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable blower incorporating a fractional horsepower high speed motor driving a squirrel cage type of blower for producing a relatively high volume output of air for supporting combustion.

Still another important [feature of the present invention is to provide a portable blower having means on the housing of the blower for supporitingly retaining a pack of matches and revealing the striking surface of the pack of matches for use thereof in initially starting the starting material for igniting the charcoal.

Still another important object of the present invention is to provide a portable blower which is simple in construction, easy to use, easy to carry, effective for its particular operation and generally inexpensive to manufacture.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a portion of the blower illustrating the structural details thereof the portable blower FIGURE 3 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 3-3 of FIGURE 2 illustrating fiurther structural details of the invention; and

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary view illustrating tails of the bookmatch holder.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral generally designates the portable blower of the present invention including a blower head generally designated by the numeral 12 and a battery case generally designated by numeral 14. The battery case 14 is of the conventional type employed in flashlight structures and includes a cylindrical housing 16 having a removable end cap 1-8 thereon which normally has a the deice 2 spring for engaging the base end of one of a plurality of flashlight batteries 20. The upper end of the housing 16 is provided with a bulbous semi-spherical portion 22 having external screw threads 24 which normally receives a lens, cap, bulb and reflector.

In the present invention, the customary bulb and separable reflector (not shown) are replaced by a fractional horsepower motor 26 mounted on a plastic disc or adapter plate 28 forming a part of the blower head 12. The disc 28 is retained against the end of the portion 22 by an inwardly extending flange 29 rigid with a depending cylindrical attaching flan-ge or collar 30 having screw threads 32 screw threadedly engaged with the screw threads 24 on the semi-spherical portion 22 of the housing 16. The motor 26 is supported from the adapter plate 28 in any suitable manner such as by bolts 33 or the like and is provided with a contact 36 for engaging the central post or contact 38 of the flashlight battery 20. The circuit to the motor 26 is completed through a metallic ring 39 and back to the base of the outermost flashlight battery 20 in the usual manner of a flashlight by the movable switch operated contact member 41.

Extending longitudinally outwardly from the partition plate 28 is a generally cylindrical impeller housing 40 having a spiral enlargement 42 at one side thereof which communicates and extends tangentially outwardly as a discharge opening 44 for a blower rotor or impeller generally designated by the numeral 46 disposed within the cylindrical housing 40.

The blower rotor or impeller 46 includes a circular plate 48 having a central cylindrical hub 50 press fitted onto the output shaft 52 of the electric motor 26- which retains the impeller 46 in place on the shaft 52. In assembly the motor 26 and disc or adapter plate 28 are secured together and the plate 48 and hub 50 are pressed onto the motor shaft 52. This assembly is checked for clearance between disc 28 and plate 48 and then is positioned on the outer edge of the portion 22 for clamping engagement by the flange 29 on cylindrical screw threaded flange 30.

Rigid with the circular plate 48 is a plurality of radial fins 58 terminating at their outer edges coincident with the outer edge of the circular plate 48 and having their inner edges spaced from the hub 50 thus defining a central intake area 60. The upper outer corner of each fin 58 is provided with a recess which receives an annular ring 62 for retaining the fins 58 in properly spaced relation. The outer edge of the cylindrical housing 40 as well as the spiral enlargement 42 and the discharging opening 44 is provided with an outer closure plate 64 having an enlarged central opening 66 which is slightly greater than the diameter of the circle defined by the inner edges of the fins 58 thus forming an air inlet for the blower. The blower may be considered a squirrel cage blower with certain modifications whereby the air is taken in through the aperture 66 and discharged through the discharge tube or housing portion 44.

Mounted on the outer surface of the discharge housing 44 is a clip 68 for receiving a pasteboard book of matches 70. There is also provided a transverse projection 72 resting under the heads of the book of matches 70 for retaining them in position with the striking area of the book of matches being received under the clip 68. The clip 68 is also provided with a transverse slot 74 for exposing the striking surface of the book of matches thereby enabling the matches to be removed fromthe book of matches and ignited in the usual manner without removing the book of matches from the clip 68. This provides for ready accessibility of the book of matches so that the tindering material used in igniting the charcoal may be easily ignited and further providing assurance that a match will always be available.

The present invention may be transported and stored in a very small area such as is necessary for a flashlight and is controlled in the same manner as the usual flashlight, that is, by a suitable switch mechanism 17, the details of which are not illustrated. With a small fractional horsepower motor turning approximately 8,000 r.p.m., the blower will discharge approximately 50 c.f.m. which is clearly adequate to support combustion of charcoal once it has been ignited. This device enables the 'blower or air supply to be moved around the flame or around the charcoal to provide it in the most desirable area. This enables a blower to be used where there is no regular supply of electrical energy and it is especially desirable when a fire is to be started such as when on a camping or picnicking outing where considerable difficulty is normally experienced in starting fires.

The number of cells or flashlight batteries may be varied depending upon the particular desires and power requirements. However, it has been found that two flashlight cells supply adequate electrical energy for extended use of the portable blower. The simplicity of the device renders it quite inexpensive to manufacture and, in fact, the motor and blower head may be attached directly to a conventional flashlight housing and switch structure.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the priciples of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In combination, an elongated switch-equipped flashlight casin-g constituting a handle and housing, open at an outer end, dry cell batteries mounted in said casing, an electric motor telescoping removably into the outer end portion of said casing, operable by the switch, and axially aligned with and having a contact at an inner end engaging an adjacent one of said batteries, a motor posit-ioning adapter plate removably seated on said outer end and constituting a closure therefor, said plate also abutting and being separably fastened to the outer end of said motor, said motor having a power shaft extending through and beyond an opening provided therefor in said plate, a bladed impeller embodying an imperforate plate having an axial hub operatively connected to said shaft and spaced from but in parallel relation with said adapter plate, the latter, motor and impeller constituting a readily applicable and removable subassembly, a blower head embodying an in line hollow housing enclosing said impeller and having an inner attachable side provided with a collar encircling and separably joined to the outer end of the casing, provided with means engaging and clamping said plate to said outer end, having an outer side with a central air inlet aperture aligned with the blades of said impeller, and also having a tangential air discharge nozzle on its body portion extending normal to the axis of the motor and casing.

2. For use in conjunnction with a conventional-type flashlight having a hollow handle-forming battery case and provided at an outer end thereof with an open top part normally designed and adapted to accommodate an insertable and removable reflector and bulb assembly, the outer end portion of said top part being externally screwthreaded; a flashlight attachment by way of which said flashlight can be converted to a blower, said attachment comprising an adapter plate to be substituted for the usual lens and resting removably on an edge of said top part and provided on one side with a supported motor and on the other side with a bladed impeller, said motor having a shaft connected to and for operating the impeller, and a housing for said impeller separate from the impeller and enclosing the impeller, said impeller housing having a central air intake opening in a wall thereof and being provided peripherally with a tangential air discharge nozzle in communication with the impeller space in said housing, and having a screw-threaded collar screwed on the threads provided therefor on the aforementioned top part.

3. The structure defined in claim 2, and wherein said collar is of an outside diameter less than the outside diameter of said impeller housing, the junctional connection between sai dcollar and an adjacent wall of said impeller housing having an inwardly projecting assembling and clamping flange, said flange overlying-the outer marginal edge portion of the aforementioned adapter plate and clampingly retaining the adapter plate between the flange and the aforementioned edge on said top part, the inside diameter of said flange being slightly greater than the outside diameter of said impeller whereby to permit the adapter plate and motor and bladed impeller thereon to be put in position as an assembly before fitting the collar and flange-equipped impeller housing in position on said top part.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,504,003 Trumbull Aug. 5, 1924 1,637,652 Ness Aug. 2, 1927 1,749,373 Breuer Mar. 4, 1930 2,595,406 Popovich May 6, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 795,118 Great Britain May 14, 1958

Claims

1. IN COMBINATION, AN ELONGATED SWITCH-EQUIPPED FLASHLIGHT CASING CONSTITUTING A HANDLE AND HOUSING, OPEN AT AN OUTER END, DRY CELL BATTERIES MOUNTED IN SAID CASING, AN ELECTRIC MOTOR TELESCOPING REMOVABLY INTO THE OUTER END PORTION OF SAID CASING, OPERABLE BY THE SWITCH, AND AXIALLY ALIGNED WITH AND HAVING A CONTACT AT AN INNER END ENGAGING AN ADJACENT ONE OF SAID BATTERIES, A MOTOR POSITIONING ADAPTER PLATE REMOVABLY SEATED ON SAID OUTER END AND CONSTITUTING A CLOSURE THEREFOR, SAID PLATE ALSO ABUTTING AND BEING SEPARABLY FASTENED TO THE OUTER END OF SAID MOTOR, SAID MOTOR HAVING A POWER SHAFT EXTENDING THROUGH AND BEYOND AN OPENING PROVIDED THEREFOR IN SAID PLATE, A BLADED IMPELLER EMBODYING AN IMPERFORATE PLATE HAVING AN AXIAL HUB OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID SHAFT AND SPACED FROM BUT IN PARALLEL RELATION WITH SAID ADAPTER PLATE, THE LATTER MOTOR AND IMPELLER CONSTITUTING A READILY APPLICABLE AND REMOVABLE SUBASSEMBLY, A BLOWER HEAD EMBODYING AN IN LINE HOLLOW HOUSING ENCLOSING SAID UMPELLER AND HAVING AN INNER ATTACHABLE SIDE PROVIDED WITH A COLLAR ENCIRCLING AND SEPARABLY JOINED TO THE OUTER END OF THE CASING, PROVIDED WITH MEANS ENGAGING AND CLAMPING SAID PLATE TO SAID OUTER END, HAVING AN OUTER SIDE WITH