Low Profile Fan and Method of Using Same

Abstract

A method includes providing a fan unit that has an elongate housing and supports that support the fan unit on a support surface. The elongate housing has an intake, a discharge, and a hollow interior in which a blower is rotatably disposed such that when the fan unit is energized, the blower draws air from the intake into the hollow interior and discharges air from hollow interior through the discharge. The intake has a length that extends in a direction parallel to a longitudinal axis of the housing. The discharge has a length that extends in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the housing. A user is directed to place the fan unit on the support surface in a manner such that the fan is supported by the supports and the longitudinal axis of the housing is horizontal.

Claims

1. A method comprising: providing a fan unit, wherein the fan unit has an elongate housing and supports that are adapted and configured to support the fan unit on a support surface, the elongate housing has an intake, a discharge, and a hollow interior in which a blower is rotatably disposed such that when the fan unit is energized, the blower draws air from the intake into the hollow interior and discharges air from hollow interior through the discharge, the intake has a length that extends in a direction parallel to a longitudinal axis of the housing, the discharge has a length that extends in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the housing; and directing a user to place the fan unit on the support surface in a manner such that the fan is supported by the supports and the longitudinal axis of the housing is horizontal.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of directing the user to place the fan unit on the support surface includes directing the user to place the fan unit on a floor.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of directing the user to place the fan unit on the floor comprises a bathroom floor.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of directing the user to place the fan unit on the bathroom floor comprises placing the fan unit adjacent a bathroom sink vanity.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the step of directing the user to place the fan unit on the bathroom floor adjacent the bathroom sink vanity comprises directing the user to point the discharge of the housing vertically upward.

6. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of directing the user to place the fan unit on the floor comprises directing the user to point the discharge of the housing horizontally toward the floor.

7. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of directing the user to place the fan unit on the floor comprises placing the fan unit adjacent a cabinet.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the step of directing the user to place the fan unit on the floor adjacent a cabinet comprises directing the user to point the discharge of the housing vertically upward.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising directing the user to enable the fan unit to oscillate the housing.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising directing the user to operate the fan unit via a remote control.

11. A method comprising: accessing a fan unit, wherein the fan unit has an elongate housing and supports, the supports are adapted and configured to support the fan unit on a support surface, the elongate housing has an intake, a discharge, and a hollow interior in which a blower is rotatably disposed such that when the fan unit is energized, the blower draws air from the intake into the hollow interior and discharges air from hollow interior through the discharge, the intake has a length that extends in a direction parallel to a longitudinal axis of the housing, the discharge has a length that extends in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the housing; and placing the fan unit on the support surface in a manner such that the fan is supported by the supports and the longitudinal axis of the housing is parallel to the support surface.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the step of placing the fan unit on the support surface includes directing the user to place the fan unit on a floor.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the step of placing the fan unit on the floor comprises a bathroom floor.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the step of placing the fan unit on the bathroom floor comprises placing the fan unit adjacent a bathroom sink vanity.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the step of placing the fan unit on the bathroom floor adjacent the bathroom sink vanity comprises pointing the discharge of the housing vertically upward.

16. The method of claim 12 wherein the step of placing the fan unit on the floor comprises pointing the discharge of the housing horizontally toward the floor.

17. The method of claim 12 wherein the step of placing the fan unit on the floor comprises placing the fan unit adjacent a cabinet.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the step of placing the fan unit on the floor adjacent a cabinet comprises pointing the discharge of the housing vertically upward.

19. The method of claim 1 further comprising enabling the fan unit to oscillate the housing.

20. The method of claim 11 further comprising operating the fan unit via a remote control.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary fan unit used in the method with a housing structure of the fan unit oriented with a discharge pointed upwards and an intake generally aligned horizontally.

[0006] FIG. 2 is an alternate perspective view of the fan unit of FIG. 1 with the housing structure in the same orientation as in FIG. 1.

[0007] FIG. 3 is an alternative perspective view of the fan unit of FIG. 1 with the housing structure of the fan unit oriented with the discharge generally horizontal and the intake generally vertical.

[0008] FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of the housing structure cut-away to show additional detail of the blower and an air flow from the intake to the discharge along the entire longitudinal axis of the housing structure of the fan unit.

[0009] FIG. 5 shows one aspect of a method of using the fan unit adjacent to a bathroom sink vanity.

[0010] FIG. 6 shows another aspect of a method of using the fan unit adjacent to a counter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0011] FIGS. 1-3 show an exemplary fan unit 20 that may be used in accordance with the methods described below. The fan unit 20 includes an elongate housing structure 22 with an intake 24 and discharge 26, and supports 28 for supporting the fan unit on a support surface 30. The supports 28 may be provided on each axial end of the housing structure and/or at other locations on the fan unit. The housing structure 22 may be a hollow member that is preferably elongate in shape and with a small diameter. This allows the fan unit to be tucked under the toe kick of a bathroom sink vanity or other cabinet, for instance, as shown in FIGS. 5-6. The housing structure 22 may pivot relative to the supports 28 to change the general position of the intake 24 and the discharge 26 relative to the support surface. The pivoting motion may be automatic when the fan unit 20 is in an oscillating mode. In the alternative, the user may pivot the housing structure 22 relative to the supports 28 to change the position of the intake 24 and the discharge 26 of the housing structure relative to the support surface 30. The intake 24 and the discharge 26 may be arranged on the housing structure 20 so as to be circumferentially spaced apart at approximately 90 degrees or so. Thus, when the discharge is generally horizontal, the intake is generally vertical and when the discharge is generally vertical, the intake is generally horizontal. The intake 24 has a length 34 that preferably extends along a majority of the length of the housing structure 22, and more preferably, the intake may extend along a substantial portion of the length of the housing structure, and more preferably, the intake may extend along an entirety of the housing structure. Likewise, the discharge 26 has a length 36 that preferably extends along a majority of the length of the housing structure 22, and more preferably, extends along a substantial portion of the length of the housing structure, and more preferably, extends along an entirety of the length of the housing structure. The length 34 of the intake 24 may arranged in a direction parallel to a longitudinal axis 40 of the housing structure 22. The length 36 of the discharge 26 may arranged in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the housing structure 22.

[0012] Within the hollow interior of the housing structure 22, a blower 44 may be rotatably disposed. The blower 44 may be a squirrel cage radial vane blower. A distal axial end of the blower 44 may be operatively rotatably connected with a support 28. For instance, the axial end of the squirrel cage radial vane blower may have an end plate with a stub shaft extending therefrom that is received in a bearing disposed in the support. The opposite, proximal end of the squirrel cage radial vane blower 44 may have an end plate with the shaft that is operatively coupled to a motor (not shown) that is disposed in the support. An oscillating mechanism (not shown) may also be disposed in the same axial end support so as to allow the motor to drive a four bar linkage commonly used with oscillating systems for fans. The housing structure may be operatively connected to the four bar linkage so as to allow the housing structure to pivot relative to the axial end supports when the oscillating mechanism is engaged. As shown best in FIG. 4, the blower 44 has a length 46 that extends in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis 40 of the housing structure 22. The blower 44 has a length 46 extends along a majority of the length of the housing structure, and more preferably, extends along a substantial portion of the length of the housing structure, and more preferably, extends along the entirety of the length of the housing structure.

[0013] The motor for the fan unit may receive power from a power cord 50. The power cord 50 may have one end detachably connected to the fan unit and an opposite end detachably connected to a conventional household outlet. The fan end 52 of the power cord 50 may be a convention style such as C7, C7-P, C13, etc. The power end 54 of the power cord 50 may be a conventional style such as 5-15. The support 28 that houses the motor may have a port 56 to receive the fan end 52 of the power cord 50. In addition or alternative to, the opposite support 28 may also have a port 58 to receive the fan end 52 of the power cord 50. This allows the user to arrange the power cord 50 in a desired manner to accommodate the location of electrical outlets in the room in which the fan unit 20 is located. The power cord 50 may have an on/off switch 60. The switch 60 may be a push button adapted and configured to be operated by the user's foot. In the alternative, the motor for the fan unit 20 may receive power from an on-board power supply such as a battery or rechargeable battery. The rechargeable battery may be recharged through a power cord as described above or through a USB style charging connection. In the configuration with an onboard power supply, the fan unit 20 may be provided with a tether type control to power the fan unit on and off. A switch may be positioned on the tether control and the switch may comprise a push button adapted and configured to be operated by the user's foot.

[0014] The fan unit 20 may be equipped with a variable speed motor to allow the user the opportunity to control the rotational speed of the blower as desired. In the alternative, the fan unit may be provided with discrete fan speed selections (e.g., low, medium, high) that may be activated by the user as desired. The speed selections may be chosen by a switch. There may be a switch for each speed (e.g., a low speed button, a medium speed button and a high speed button). Alternatively, sequential activation of the same switch may change the speed to a desired level, and in this configuration, the speed selections may be integrated with the on/off switch 60 of the power cord 50 or the tether control. In addition or alternative to, the fan unit 20 may be provided with a remote control 64 that interfaces with the motor control and/or oscillation function. The remote control 64 may include an on/off switch, speed selections, and oscillation enable/disable functions. The remote control 64 may interface with the fan unit 20 via Bluetooth, IR remote control, RF remote control, etc.

[0015] In using the fan unit 20, a user may access the fan unit and place the fan unit on the support surface 30 in a manner such that the fan unit is supported by the supports 28 and the longitudinal axis 40 of the housing structure 22 is horizontal. A user may also access the fan unit 20 and place the fan unit on the support surface 30 in a manner such that the fan unit is supported by the supports 28 and the longitudinal axis 40 of the housing structure 22 is parallel to the support surface 30. The support surface 30 may be a floor, for instance, a bathroom floor as shown in in FIG. 5 or a kitchen floor as shown in in FIG. 6. In particular, as shown in FIG. 5, the user may place the fan unit 20 on the bathroom floor adjacent to a bathroom sink vanity 70, for instance, adjacent to the toe kick 72 of the bathroom sink vanity. The user may point the discharge 26 of the housing structure 22 vertically upward. Once the fan motor is energized, the blower 44 may draw cooler air from a surface level of the floor into the intake and direct the airstream generally vertically upward in front of the user as desired. Because the length of the discharge 26 is arranged parallel to the support surface 30 or horizontal, the discharging air flows vertically upward as a curtain of cooling air that may be directed in front of the user along the user's body to enhance cooling. In a similar way, as shown in FIG. 6, the user may place the fan unit 20 on the floor (e.g., a kitchen floor) adjacent to a cabinet 80, and in particular, adjacent to the toe kick 82 of the cabinet. The user may point the discharge 26 of the housing structure 22 vertically upward. Because the length of the discharge 26 is arranged parallel to the support surface or horizontal, the discharging air flows vertically upward as a curtain of cooling air that may be directed in front of the user along the user's body to enhance cooling.

[0016] In another aspect of the method of using the fan unit 20, the user may place the fan unit on the floor and point the discharge 26 of the housing horizontally toward the floor, for instance, as shown in FIG. 3. Once the fan motor is energized, the blower 44 may draw air from above the fan unit 20 and direct the airstream generally horizontally across the floor. This flow may allow the user to dry a wet floor. Because the length of the discharge 26 is arranged parallel to the support surface or horizontal, the discharging air flows horizontally across the floor, more evenly drying the floor.

[0017] In another aspect of the method of using the fan unit 20, the user may place the fan unit on a support surface and enable the fan unit to oscillate the housing. Once the fan motor is energized, this mode provides general airflow in a oscillating pattern.

[0018] In another aspect of the method, the user may be provided with instructions with the fan unit 20 directing the user to perform any one or more of the aforementioned steps. The instructions may include text or indicia on the fan unit, packaging for the fan unit, or point of sale displays for the fan unit showing the user how to use the fan unit. In connection with the sale or distribution of the fan unit 20, the user (e.g., a purchaser of the fan unit) is instructed that the purpose of the fan unit is to use the fan unit in a manner as described previously. Thus, the user is induced to use the fan unit in a manner as described previously.

[0019] As various modifications could be made in the constructions and methods herein described without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the foregoing description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not as limiting. The breath and scope the present invention should not be limited by any of the above described exemplary embodiments.