Abstract:
An air blower having an air suction port, vanes, for being propelled about a shaft by air vacuumed towards the air suction port, and blades fixed to the vanes, the blades for blowing air upon propelling thereof, together with the vanes, thereby allowing utilizing an external vacuum machine connected to the air suction port for blowing air, thereby the air blower is lightweight in relation to the air blown therefrom.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to the field of air blowers. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for blowing air using the energy of another appliance. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    A residential fan, for example, of 100 watts, is too heavy to be portable, and the force of the air blown thereby is insufficient for blowing leaves. 
         [0003]    Thus, air blowers, such as leaf blowers, typically use internal combustion engines, due to the relatively high power requirement therefrom. 
         [0004]    However, these engines are noisy and are not suited for applications within a building, due to the pollution thereof. 
         [0005]    All the methods described above have not yet provided satisfactory solutions to the need of a lightweight and powerful air blower. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a solution to the above-mentioned and other problems of the prior art. 
         [0007]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for providing a lightweight and powerful air blower. 
         [0008]    Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds. 
         [0009]    In one aspect, the present invention is directed to an air blower ( 10 ), comprising:
       an air suction port ( 24 );   vanes ( 22 ), for being propelled about a shaft ( 32 ) by air vacuumed ( 14 ) towards the air suction port ( 24 ); and   blades ( 26 ) fixed to the vanes ( 22 ), the blades ( 26 ) for blowing air ( 12 ) upon propelling thereof, together with the vanes ( 22 ),       
 
         [0013]    thereby allowing utilizing an external vacuum machine ( 54 ) connected to the air suction port ( 24 ) for blowing air ( 12 ), 
         [0014]    thereby the air blower ( 10 ) is lightweight in relation to the air ( 12 ) blown therefrom. 
         [0015]    The air blower ( 10 ) may further comprise:
       an air inlet ( 20 ), for allowing air to enter the air suction port ( 24 ).       
 
         [0017]    The air inlet ( 20 ) preferably is disposed shifted from the shaft ( 32 ), 
         [0018]    for vacuuming air ( 14 A) onto the vanes ( 22 ) to be propelled, and 
         [0019]    for substantially not allow air ( 14 B) to be vacuumed onto the vanes ( 22 ) moving to the opposite direction. 
         [0020]    The air blower ( 10 ) may further comprise:
       a handle ( 18 ), for holding the air blower ( 10 ) independently.       
 
         [0022]    The vanes ( 22 ), for being propelled by air vacuumed ( 14 ) towards the air suction port ( 24 ), may comprise parallel-flow vanes, for moving parallel to the air vacuum ( 14 ) direction. 
         [0023]    The blades ( 26 ) for blowing air ( 12 ) may comprise parallel-flow blades for moving parallel to the blown air ( 12 ). 
         [0024]    The blades ( 26 ) for blowing air ( 12 ) may comprise perpendicular-flow blades, for moving perpendicular to the blown air ( 12 ). 
         [0025]    The fixing of the blades ( 26 ) to the vanes ( 22 ) may comprise fixing the blades ( 26 ) and the vanes ( 22 ) to the shaft ( 32 ) being shared thereby. 
         [0026]    The fixing of the blades ( 26 ) to the vanes ( 22 ) may comprise fixing the blades ( 26 ) and the vanes ( 22 ) by a belt ( 36 ). 
         [0027]    In another aspect, the present invention is directed to an air blowing method comprising the steps of:
       resiliently connecting an external vacuum machine ( 54 ) to an air suction port ( 24 ) of an accessory;   propelling vanes ( 22 ) by air, vacuumed by the vacuum machine ( 54 ) through the air suction port ( 24 ) of the accessory;   propelling blades ( 26 ) by the vanes ( 22 ) fixed to the blades ( 26 ); and   blowing air ( 12 ) by the blades ( 26 ),       
 
         [0032]    thereby utilizing the external vacuum machine ( 54 ) connected to the air suction port ( 24 ), for blowing air ( 12 ). 
         [0033]    The reference numbers have been used to point out elements in the embodiments described and illustrated herein, in order to facilitate the understanding of the invention. They are meant to be merely illustrative, and not limiting. Also, the foregoing embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated in conjunction with systems and methods thereof, which are meant to be merely illustrative, and not limiting. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0034]    Preferred embodiments, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention are described herein in conjunction with the following drawings: 
           [0035]      FIG. 1  is a disassembled view of an air blower according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0036]      FIG. 2  is a sectional view of the air blower of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0037]      FIG. 3  depicts the air blower of  FIG. 1  ready to operate. 
           [0038]      FIG. 4  is a sectional view of an air blower according to another embodiment. 
       
    
    
       [0039]    It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0040]    The present invention will be understood from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments (“best mode”), which are meant to be descriptive and not limiting. For the sake of brevity, some well-known features, methods, systems, procedures, components, circuits, and so on, are not described in detail. 
         [0041]      FIG. 1  is a disassembled view of an air blower, according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0042]    An air blower  10  includes a handle  18  for holding the air blower independent from a vacuum cleaner; an air suction port  24 , for connecting a vacuum machine, such as a vacuum cleaner thereto, for receiving air sucking flow power; an air inlet  20 , for allowing air to enter air suction port  24 ; vanes  22  for being propelled by the air flow  14  vacuumed from inlet  20  to outlet  24 ; a package  28 , for packaging vanes  22 , for avoiding air flow other than air flow  14  between inlet  20  and outlet  24 ; and blades  26  for blowing air  12 . 
         [0043]      FIG. 2  is a sectional view of the air blower of  FIG. 1 . 
         [0044]    Blades  26  are fixed to vanes  22  via a shared shaft  32 . 
         [0045]    The term “axial-flow vanes” refers to vanes moving parallel to the air flow. 
         [0046]    Vanes  22  are parallel-flow vanes, as they move parallel to the air flow  14 . 
         [0047]    The term “perpendicular-flow blades” refers to blades moving perpendicular to the air flow. 
         [0048]    Blades  26  are perpendicular-flow blades, as they move perpendicular to the air flow  12  they produce. 
         [0049]    Package  28  is designed such that air inlet  20  thereof preferably must not be disposed facing shaft  32 , but rather must be disposed shifted to the side of shaft  32 , such that air flow  14  entering air inlet  20  includes flow  14 A at one side encountering the vanes  22 A to be blown, such that flow  14 B at the other side is not present, for not encountering the vanes  22 B moving in the opposite direction. 
         [0050]      FIG. 3  depicts the air blower of  FIG. 1  ready to operate. 
         [0051]    Thus, upon resiliently connecting a hose  16  of a vacuum machine  54  to outlet  24 , for sucking air from outlet  24 , blades  26  blow air  12 . Thus, air blower  10  may function as a leaf blower. 
         [0052]    Most of the components of air blower  10  may be lightweight materials, such as plastic, thus providing convenient holding by handle  18 . Thus, air blower  10  may be advantaged of being very strong, depending on the airflow  14  produced by the vacuum cleaner, in relation to the weight thereof. 
         [0053]    For example, air blower  10  being a relatively lightweight accessory, e.g., 200 grams, may be connected to even a high-powered central vacuum cleaner, e.g., 3 kW, together providing massive air blow  12 . Thus, preferably air blower  10  should include a grill  30 , for avoiding injury by blades  26 . 
         [0054]      FIG. 4  is a sectional view of an air blower according to another embodiment. 
         [0055]    In this embodiment, blades  26  of  FIG. 1 , being perpendicular-flow blades, are replaced by axial-flow blades  38 . 
         [0056]    The rotary movement about shaft  32  is converted to rotary movement of blades  38  about a shaft  52  moved by a belt  36 . Blades  38  are packaged within a package  44 , including an air outlet  42  for releasing the blown air  12 , and an air inlet  40 . 
         [0057]    In the figures and/or description herein, the following reference numerals (Reference Signs List) have been mentioned:
       numeral  10  denotes an air blower, according to one embodiment of the present invention;   numeral  12  denotes the blown air as the product;   numeral  14 ,  14 A, and  14 B denote intake air flows produced by a vacuum machine, such as a vacuum cleaner;   numeral  16  denotes a hose of the vacuum machine;   numeral  18  denotes a handle;   numeral  20  denotes an air inlet;   numeral  22  denotes vanes;   numeral  24  denotes an air outlet;   numeral  26  denotes a blade for blowing air;   numeral  28  denotes a package of the vanes;   numeral  30  denotes a grill for physical protection;   numeral  32  denotes a shaft;   numeral  36  denotes a joining belt;   numeral  38  denotes a blade for blowing air;   numeral  40  denotes an air inlet;   numeral  42  denotes an air outlet;   numeral  44  denotes a package;   numeral  52  denotes a shaft; and   numeral  54  denotes a vacuum machine, such as a vacuum cleaner.       
 
         [0077]    In the description herein, the following references have been mentioned: 
         [0078]    The foregoing description and illustrations of the embodiments of the invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the above description in any form. 
         [0079]    Any term that has been defined above and used in the claims, should to be interpreted according to this definition. 
         [0080]    The reference numbers in the claims are not a part of the claims, but rather used for facilitating the reading thereof. These reference numbers should not be interpreted as limiting the claims in any form.