Patent ID: 8621707

Claim:
A blower for use in a vehicle wash system, said blower comprising: a plenum having a cavity inlet opening, an exit port and an interior cavity; an impeller positioned inside said interior cavity, said impeller, when driven by a motor, being operable to draw air into said cavity through said cavity opening, compress said air, and then emit an airflow from said plenum through said exit port; a baffle member positioned in fixed spaced, generally parallel relation to said cavity opening and defining an inlet region between said baffle member and said cavity opening, said baffle member having a peripheral edge and said plenum having an outward facing surface portion proximate said cavity opening; a valve sleeve mounted on and surrounding said peripheral edge of said baffle member in sufficiently close proximity to provide a substantial air seal, said valve sleeve being movable axially relative to said baffle member, said valve sleeve having an inner surface, said inner surface of said valve sleeve and said outward facing surface of said plenum defining an inlet opening to said inlet region, and there being an inlet opening distance defined as a distance between said inner surface of said sleeve and said outward facing surface of said plenum; and a reciprocating movement device interconnected to said valve sleeve, said device operable to axially move said sleeve to vary said distance, thus varying said inlet opening distance wherein during operation of said blower, substantially all the air drawn into said cavity passes through said inlet opening to said inlet region.