Patent ID: 7510225

Claim:
A combined manure fork and air blower, directed to conservation of bedding material in cleaning of livestock environments, comprising: a tined portion of the fork in an open configuration with a substantially flat main floor region of which a major portion is made solid and a minor portion extends forward therefrom as a row of tines; a handle attached to and extending from said tined portion; at least one fan-type air blower, attached to said handle near said tined portion, made and arranged to generate a sufficient flow of air directed in a manner to blow loose livestock bedding material off said tined portion, thus enabling a worker, manipulating the tined portion in a conventional manner for cleaning the livestock environments, to blow off and recycle the bedding material; said air blower comprising an electric motor, cylindrical in shape, having a rotational central shaft, and a fan having a plurality of fan blades affixed onto a hub secured onto the central shaft of said electric motor, the fan blades extending radially substantially beyond an outer diameter extent of said electric motor; a tubular inner sleeve closely surrounding and attached to said electric motor; a tubular outer shell, co-axially surrounding said motor, made, arranged and dimensioned internally to provide working clearance around said fan and to provide an annular passageway for air-flow associated therewith; sleeve-to-shell spacer means made and arranged to locate and support said inner sleeve co-axially relative to said outer shell in a manner that allows the air-flow through the annular passageway; and handle-mounting means made and arranged to attach said tubular outer shell to said handle in a location selected to direct the air-flow onto said tined portion in an optimal manner to remove bedding material.