Patent ID: 7855882

Claim:
A fan unit comprising: a housing defining an internal volume and supporting a motor in the internal volume; and, an impeller coupled to the motor and configured to rotate in relation to the housing, wherein the impeller comprises a plurality of blades configured to move air past the housing and at least one pair of scoops configured to force air into the internal volume; wherein each scoop of each pair of scoops is defined in a surface of a hub of the impeller, wherein the surface of the hub is generally transverse to an axis of rotation of the impeller, and wherein each scoop is an approximate conoid in shape; wherein the conoid shape of each scoop defines an opening that is radially offset from the axis of rotation of the impeller, wherein rotation of the hub causes rotation of the scoops in a circular path, and wherein rotation of the scoops causes air to enter the opening by movement that is generally orthogonal to the axis of rotation of the impeller; wherein the surface of the hub defines a hole adjacent to each scoop to allow passage of air, forced by the adjacent scoop, into the housing; wherein each pair of the at least one pair of scoops consists of two scoops in an inverse symmetrical relationship to each other; and wherein the impeller and housing are separated by a gap, and wherein the gap allows the air forced into the housing to exit from the housing.