Patent ID: 8373103

Claim:
An apparatus for heating and impelling air, the apparatus comprising: a housing having an interior and an air inlet and an air outlet; an air heating impeller assembly positioned in the interior and configured to impel air through the housing and heat the air moving through the housing between the air inlet and air outlet, the impeller assembly being rotatable about an axis of rotation, the air heating impeller assembly comprising: a support shaft extending along the axis of rotation and having an outer surface; a plurality of annular disks positioned along the support shaft, each of the annular disks having a central aperture defined by an aperture edge, the support shaft extending through the central aperture of the disks; a plurality of paddles radiating outwardly from the axis of rotation; wherein each of the paddles is positioned between the support shaft and the annular disks to space the aperture edge of at least one of the disks from the outer surface of the support shaft to form a portion of an air path between the support shaft and the at least one disk; and wherein the paddles space the disks from each other in an axial direction to form gaps between the disks to form a portion of the air path between the paddles; and a magnetic assembly configured to apply a magnetic field of adjustable intensity to the disks to cause heating of the disks.