Abstract:
A blower system comprising a housing and a fan assembly. The housing defines a housing chamber, at least one inlet opening, a primary outlet opening, and a secondary outlet opening. The fan assembly is mounted within the housing chamber. Operation of the fan assembly draws air into the housing chamber through the at least one inlet opening and forces air out of the housing chamber through at least one of the primary outlet opening and the secondary outlet opening.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/752,697 filed Dec. 20, 2005, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The present invention generally relates to blower systems and, more specifically, to blower systems adapted to remove moisture from structures. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    For many reasons, water may leak, flood, or otherwise enter a dwelling such as a commercial or residential building. If such water is not relatively quickly removed from the building, the water can damage components of the building such as the floor materials and/or interior walls. Restorative drying may be defined as the controlled removal of moisture from building contents and components to alleviate or eliminate water damage. 
         [0004]    The field of restorative drying often employs the movement of air along the surface of wet materials. For example, a blower or air mover may be configured to direct a stream of air along a floor surface to remove moisture from the carpet defining the floor surface. 
         [0005]    Blowers and air movers typically comprise a housing that contains a motor and fan blade. The motor rotates the fan blade to draw air into the housing through one or more inlets and then out of the housing through an outlet defined by the housing. The outlet is typically an elongate opening formed in one wall of the housing adjacent to a corner of the housing. To dry a floor, the housing would typically be arranged at a desired location on the floor so that the stream of air exiting the outlet moves along the floor surface. Often, a plurality (two or more) of blowers or air movers is provided to decrease drying time. 
         [0006]    The housing of the blower or air mover typically occupies a portion of the floor surface. Accordingly, even though a plurality of air movers may be used, these air movers are typically repositioned at least once to allow the portion of the floor surface occupied by the housing or housings to be dried. The repositioning of the air movers can significantly increase the amount of time required to dry a given floor area. 
         [0007]    The need thus exists for improved blowers and air movers that do not require repositioning to allow the area under the housing to be dried. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    The present invention may be embodied as a blower system comprising a housing and a fan assembly. The housing defines a housing chamber, at least one inlet opening, a primary outlet opening, and a secondary outlet opening. The fan assembly is mounted within the housing chamber. Operation of the fan assembly draws air into the housing chamber through the at least one inlet opening and forces air out of the housing chamber through at least one of the primary outlet opening and the secondary outlet opening. 
         [0009]    The present invention may also be embodied as a method of causing air to flow along a target surface comprising the following steps. A housing is provided, where the housing defines a housing chamber, at least one inlet opening, a primary outlet opening, and a secondary outlet opening. A fan assembly is arranged within the housing chamber. The housing is arranged on the target surface. The fan assembly is operated such that air is drawn into the housing chamber through the at least one inlet opening and forced air out of the housing chamber through the primary outlet opening and the secondary outlet opening. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a bottom perspective view of an example blower system of the present invention; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a side elevation view of the blower system of  FIG. 1 , the opposite side view being a mirror image; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a top plan view of the blower system of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is a bottom plan view of the blower system of  FIG. 1 ; and 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is a section view taken along lines  5 - 5  in  FIG. 3 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0015]      FIGS. 1-5  of the drawing illustrate an example blower system  20  constructed in accordance with, and embodying, the principles of the present invention. As perhaps best shown in  FIG. 5 , the blower system  20  comprises a housing assembly  22  and a fan assembly  24 . The fan assembly  24  is located within the housing assembly  22 , and operation of the fan assembly  24  displaces air such that air moves relative to the housing assembly  22 . The fan assembly  24  is or may be conventional, and the details of operation and construction of the fan assembly  24  will not be described in detail herein. 
         [0016]    In the following discussion, the terms “front” and “rear” and the like refer to the directions to the left and right, respectively, in  FIGS. 2-5 . The terms “up” and “down” and the like refer to the directions to the top and bottom, respectively, in  FIGS. 2 and 5 . 
         [0017]    The housing assembly  22  comprises a housing structure  30  defining a housing chamber  32 . The housing structure  30  further defines an inlet opening  34 , a primary outlet opening  36 , and a secondary outlet opening  38 . The fan assembly  24  is mounted within the housing assembly  22  such that air is drawn into the housing chamber  32  through the inlet opening  34  and forced out of the housing chamber  32  through the primary outlet opening  36  and the secondary opening  38 . 
         [0018]    During normal use, part of the air displaced by the fan assembly  24  flows out of the primary outlet opening  36  and part of this air flows out of the secondary outlet opening  38 . In the example blower system  20 , a large proportion of the air displaced by the fan assembly  24  flows out of the primary outlet opening  36  in front of the blower system  20 , while a small proportion of the air displaced by the fan assembly  24  flows out of the secondary outlet opening  38  underneath the blower system  20 . 
         [0019]    The air flowing out of the primary outlet opening  36  thus accelerates the drying of materials in front of the blower system  20 , while air flowing out of the secondary outlet opening  38  accelerates the drying of materials underneath the blower system  20 . 
         [0020]    With the foregoing general understanding of the operation of the example blower system  20  of the present invention, the details of construction and operation of the example blower system  20  will now be described in further detail. 
         [0021]    Referring now to  FIGS. 2 and 5 , it can be seen that the example housing structure  30  is configured such that air flows out of the primary outlet opening  36  along a first flow axis  40  from a first flow location  42  and out of the secondary outlet opening  38  along a second flow axis  44  from a second flow location  46 . The flow axes  40  and  44  may or may not be parallel and may or may not extend in the same direction. In the example blower system  20 , the housing structure  30  is configured such that second flow location  46  is located behind the first flow location  42  and the second flow axis  44  extends in substantially the same direction as, but is angled slightly downwardly with respect to, the first flow axis  40 . The housing structure  30  is further configured such that the flow locations  42  and  46  are spaced from each other. 
         [0022]    During normal use, the blower system  20  is supported by a support surface  50  as shown in  FIG. 2 .  FIGS. 1 ,  4 , and  5  show that the housing assembly  22  comprises, in addition to the housing structure  30 , a pair of front foot members  52   a  and  52   b , a pair of intermediate foot members  54   a  and  54   b , and a pair of rear foot members  56   a  and  56   b . The blower system  20  is configured so that the system  20  may be supported on the support surface  50  either in a first support configuration by the front foot members  52   a,b  and the intermediate foot members  54   a,b  or in a second support configuration by the intermediate foot members  54   a,b  and the rear foot members  56   a,b.    
         [0023]    As shown in  FIG. 5 , the front foot members  52   a,b  and intermediate foot members  54   a,b  define a primary reference plane  60 , while the intermediate foot members  54   a,b  and the rear foot members  56   a,b  define a secondary reference plane  62 . When the blower system  20  is in the first support configuration, the primary reference plane  60  is generally parallel to the support surface  50 . However, when the blower system  20  is in the second support configuration, the secondary reference plane  62  is generally parallel to the support surface  50 . 
         [0024]    The first flow axis  40  extends towards the front and is substantially parallel to the primary reference plane  60 , while the second flow axis  44  extends towards the front and at an angle to the secondary reference plane  62 . The first flow location  42  is arranged in front of the front foot members  52   a,b , while the second flow location  46  is arranged between the front foot members  52   a,b  and the intermediate foot members  54   a,b.    
         [0025]    When the blower system  20  is supported by the support surface  50  in the first support configuration during normal use, a gap  64  is defined between the housing structure  30  and the support surface  50 . The depth of the gap  64  depends upon factors such as the dimensions of the front and intermediate foot members  52   a,b  and  54   a,b , the shape of the housing structure  30 , and the material forming the support surface  50  (e.g., carpet, vinyl, etc.). 
         [0026]    Accordingly, during normal use in the first support configuration, air flows out of the secondary outlet opening  38 , into the gap  64 , and along the support surface  50  underneath the blower system  20 . The support surface  50  thus changes the flow of the air flowing out of the secondary opening  38  from along the second flow axis  44  to along a secondary flow path  66  along the support surface  50  within the gap  64 . The air flow through the secondary outlet opening  38  thus moves along an inaccessible portion  68  of the support surface  50  below the blower system  20 , allowing the drying of this inaccessible portion  68  of the support surface  50  also to be accelerated. 
         [0027]    As generally described above, the blower system  20  causes relatively more air to flow out of the primary outlet opening  36  than the secondary outlet opening  38 . In particular, the amount of air flowing out of the secondary outlet opening  38  should be substantially predetermined such that the inaccessible portion  68  of the support surface  50  dries at substantially the same rate as the portion of the support surface  50  in front of the primary outlet opening  36 . 
         [0028]    The example blower system  20  causes approximately 35 cubic feet per minute of air to flow out of the secondary outlet opening  38  during normal operation. This flow rate should be in a first preferred flow range of substantially between approximately 20 to 100 cubic feet per minute and in any event should be in a second preferred flow range of substantially between approximately 10 to 250 cubic feet per minute. 
         [0029]    The relative sizes of the primary outlet opening  36  and the secondary outlet opening  38  affect the flow rate of air out of the secondary outlet openings  38 . In the example blower system  20 , the cross-sectional area of the primary outlet opening  36  is approximately 60 square inches, and the cross-sectional area of the secondary outlet opening  38  is approximately 1.5 square inches. In the example blower system  20 , the secondary outlet opening  38  is thus approximately 3 percent of the size of the primary outlet opening  36 . The size of the secondary outlet opening  38  relative to the primary outlet opening  36  should in any event be within a first preferred size range of substantially between approximately 1.5 percent and 5 percent and in any event should be within a second preferred size range of substantially between 1 percent and 10 percent. 
         [0030]    The shape of the secondary outlet opening  38  can also affect the flow rate out of the secondary outlet opening  38 . In the example blower system  20 , the secondary outlet opening  38  is formed by a plurality of elongate slots. In particular, the example secondary outlet opening  38  is formed by first and second secondary outlet slots  70  and  72 , which are each approximately 3 inches long and ¼ inch wide. 
         [0031]    The secondary outlet slots  70  and  72  are formed in a slot projection  74  that extends from the housing structure  30  between, but slightly in front of, the intermediate foot members  54   a  and  54   b . More specifically, the slot projection  74  is formed by first and second walls  76  and  78  extending from the housing structure  30  into the gap  64 . The first wall  76  is substantially parallel to the second flow axis  44 , and the second wall  78  extends at an angle to the second flow axis  44 . The secondary outlet slots  70  and  72  are formed in the second wall  78 . 
         [0032]    Referring again to  FIG. 1  of the drawing, the construction of the example housing assembly  22  will now be described in further detail. The housing assembly  22  comprises an inlet screen  80  and an outlet screen  82 . The screens  80  and  82  are or may be conventional and restrict access to the housing chamber  32  through the inlet openings  34  and the primary outlet opening  36 . The housing assembly  22  further defines a handle portion  84  that is configured to facilitate hand-carrying of the blower system  20 . A storage projection  86  extending from the handle portion  84  facilitates storage of the blower system  20 . 
         [0033]    The present invention may be implemented using housing assembly configurations other than the example housing assembly  22  described above. The scope of the present invention should thus be determined with reference to the following claims and not the foregoing description of the blower system  20 .