HANDHELD AIR BELLOWS WITH EXPANDABLE AND RETRACTABLE AIR TUBE

Abstract

Handheld air bellows with expandable and retractable air tubes. The handheld air bellows includes an air pump carried by a housing, an electric motor that drives the air pump, and an air tube operatively coupled with the air pump to direct a stream of air from the air pump through an exit orifice of the air tube. The air tube is extendable and retractable along an axis from a distal end to a proximal end between a retracted length and an extended length longer than the retracted length. The air tube may be coupled to the housing with a hinged joint such that the air tube can be pivoted about the hinged joint between a folded configuration and an unfolded configuration relative to the housing.

Claims

1. A handheld air bellows comprising: an air pump carried by a housing; an electric motor that drives the air pump; and an air tube operatively coupled with the air pump to direct a stream of air from the air pump through an exit orifice of the air tube; wherein the air tube is extendable and retractable along an axis from a proximal end to a distal end between a retracted length and an extended length longer than the retracted length.

2. The handheld air bellows of claim 1, wherein the exit orifice is located at the distal end and the proximal end is coupled to the housing.

3. The handheld air bellows of any one of the previous claims, wherein the air tube comprises a hollow telescoping tube that is rigid and heat resistant.

4. The handheld air bellows of any one of the previous claims, wherein the air tube is made of at least one of stainless steel, titanium, tungsten, molybdenum, nickel, tantalum, aluminum, hafnium carbide, and alloys thereof.

5. The handheld air bellows of any one of the previous claims, further comprising a ceramic coating on the air tube.

6. The handheld air bellows of any one of the previous claims, further comprising a hinge joint that couples the air tube with the housing, wherein the air tube pivots about the hinge joint relative to the housing between a folded position and an unfolded position.

7. The handheld air bellows of any one of the previous claims, further comprising a battery configured to power the motor driven air pump.

8. The handheld air bellows of claim 7, wherein the battery comprises a rechargeable battery.

9. The handheld air bellows of any one of the previous claims, wherein the air pump comprises a fan.

10. The handheld air bellows of any one of the previous claims, further comprising a switch carried by the air pump, wherein the switch is configured to turn the air pump on and off.

11. The handheld air bellows of any one of the previous claims, wherein the housing is sized to be grasped and manipulated in a single hand, and wherein the retracted length is about 5 cm to about 15 cm inches and the extended length is about 15 cm to about 120 cm.

12. A method of using a handheld air bellows according to any one of the previous claims, the method comprising: grasping the housing in one hand; extending the air tube; placing the exit orifice of the extended air tube near a flame; and blowing air on the flame through the exit orifice in the extended air tube with the air pump.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising: pivoting the air tube about the hinge from the folded position against the housing to the unfolded position projecting away for the housing.

14. The method of any one of claims 12 and 13, further comprising: engaging the switch to activate the electric motor.

15. The method of any one of claims 12 to 14, further comprising: recharging the rechargeable battery.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] FIG. 1 is a side view of an air bellows according to a nonlimiting embodiment of the invention, wherein the air bellows is depicted in a compact configuration with an air tube of the bellows in a collapsed (retracted) position.

[0012] FIG. 2 is a side view of the air bellows of FIG. 1, wherein the air bellows is depicted in a use configuration with the air tube of the bellows in an expanded (deployed) position.

[0013] FIG. 3 schematically represents use of the air bellows of FIG. 1 to direct a stream of air toward a fire.

[0014] FIG. 4 is a side view of the air tube of the air bellows of FIG. 1 with certain internal components of the air bellows represented with broken lines.

[0015] FIG. 5 is an isolated view of the air tube of the air bellows of FIG. 1.

[0016] FIGS. 6 and 7 represent a nonlimiting embodiment by which the air tube may be coupled to a housing of the air bellows.

[0017] FIGS. 8 and 9 are side views of an air bellows according to another nonlimiting embodiment of the invention, wherein the air bellows is depicted in a compact configuration with an air tube capable of being pivoted.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] The intended purpose of the following detailed description of the invention and the phraseology and terminology employed therein is to describe what is shown in the drawings, which depict and/or relate to one or more nonlimiting embodiments of the invention, and to describe certain but not all aspects of the embodiment(s) depicted in the drawings. The following detailed description also identifies certain but not all alternatives of the embodiment(s) depicted in the drawings. As nonlimiting examples, the invention encompasses additional or alternative embodiments in which one or more features or aspects shown and/or described as part of a particular embodiment could be eliminated, and also encompasses additional or alternative embodiments that combine two or more features or aspects shown and/or described as part of different embodiments. Therefore, the appended provisional claims, and not the detailed description, are intended to recite what at least provisionally are believed to be aspects of the invention, including certain but not necessarily all of the aspects and alternatives described in the detailed description.

[0019] To facilitate the description provided below of the embodiment(s) represented in the drawings, relative terms, including but not limited to, proximal, distal, anterior, posterior, vertical, horizontal, lateral, front, rear, side, forward, rearward, top, bottom, upper, lower, above, below, right, left, etc., may be used in reference to the orientation of the air bellows during its use and/or as represented in the drawings. All such relative terms are useful to describe the illustrated embodiment(s) but should not be otherwise interpreted as limiting the scope of the invention.

[0020] FIGS. 1 through 7 represent embodiments of handheld air bellows 10 and components thereof. The bellows 10 represented in FIGS. 1 through 5 includes an air pump 12 (FIG. 3) carried by a housing 14 and a motor 16 that drives the air pump 12. The air pump 12 may be any suitable mechanism for pumping and/or blowing air, such as a fan or blower, that can be driven by the motor 16. The motor 16 is an electrically powered motor, although it is conceivable that motors activated by other types of energy could be used. The housing 14 generally has the shape of a small canister and is sized be grasped and manipulated by one hand of a user. In this example, the housing 14 may have a diameter of about 4 inches (10 cm) and a height of about 5 inches (12.5 cm), but other sizes and shapes are possible. The air pump 12 and motor 16 are both disposed within an interior cavity defined by the housing 14. The housing 14 is also preferably equipped with a battery 18 for providing electrical power to the motor 16. The battery 18 is preferably a rechargeable battery, and can be recharged by various means such as a USB cable (not shown). A switch 20 (FIG. 3) is shown as disposed on the exterior of the housing 14 and configured to selectively turn the motor 16 on and off, for example, when engaged and/or disengaged by a user.

[0021] An air tube 22 is operatively coupled with the air pump 12 so as to direct a stream of air from the air pump 12 through an exit orifice 24 located at a distal end of the tube 22. Though a single exit orifice 24 is represented as disposed at the distal end of the air tube 22, additional orifices and/or an orifice at another location along the air tube 22 are also possible. The air tube 22 is represented as being extendable (deployed) and collapsible (retracted) between a compact (retracted) position represented in FIG. 1 and a fully extended position represented in FIG. 2. The air tube 22 in this example is formed of a telescoping hollow metal tube formed of a plurality of hollow metal tube sections 22a, 22b, and 22c slidingly received within each other so as to be able to extend and retract axially along a common central axis of the tube sections 22a, 22b, and 22c. The air tube 22 defines a passageway extending from an entry orifice 25 (FIG. 4) associated with a tube section 22a at a proximal end of the tube 22, which is coupled to an exit port 34 (FIG. 3) on the housing 14 with a fitting 35, and the exit orifice 24 associated with a tube section 22b at the distal end of the tube 22. The fitting 35 is fluidly coupled with the air pump 12 via the exit port 34 of the housing 14 so as to direct air flow from the air pump 12 into the passageway of the air tube 22 and subsequently out the exit orifice 24. The fitting 35 may be omitted but is preferably provided to enable the tube 22 to be removed from the housing 14 to achieve a more compact configuration of the bellows 10 for transport and storage.

[0022] FIGS. 6 and 7 represent a nonlimiting embodiment by which the tube 22 and its fitting 35 may be coupled to the exit port 34 of the housing 14. FIG. 6 depicts the tube section 22a of the tube 22 loosely assembled with the fitting 35, more particularly, one end of the tube section 22a is received within an internal bore of a tubular portion 35a of the fitting 35. The bore extends throughout the entire axial length of the fitting 35 such that the passageway of the air tube 22 is fluidically coupled to an opening in the fitting 35 disposed within a base portion 35b of the fitting 35 disposed opposite of the tube 22. The base portion 35b is represented as equipped with one or more L-shaped slots 35c by which the fitting 35 can be coupled to the housing exit port 34 with complementary interlocking features, for example, nubs (not shown) protruding from the perimeter of the exit port 34. A crimping ring 36 surrounds the tubular portion 35a of the fitting 35 and the tube section 22a therein. FIG. 7 represents the result of crimping the crimping ring 36 onto the tubular portion 35a to rigidly secure the tube section 22a within the tubular portion 35a of the fitting 35.

[0023] The air tube 22 can be extended and retracted between the extended and retracted positions shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 by manually pulling the distal end (e.g., the tube section 22b) of the tube 22 axially away from the proximal end of the tube 22 and pushing the distal end of the tube 22 axially toward the proximal end of the tube 22. The air tube 22 is preferably rigid such that it does not bend transversely along its axis under its own weight in order to facilitate precisely placing the exit orifice 24 in a desired location and pointing the air tube 22 toward a selected location in a fire when extended. The air tube 22 is preferably heat resistant so that it will not melt or otherwise deform when disposed near a flame. The air tube 22 may be made of metal, such as stainless steel, titanium, tungsten, molybdenum, nickel, tantalum, aluminum, hafnium carbide, and/or alloys of the same. Other stiff and heat resistant materials could be used. For example, the air tube 22 may include a ceramic coating to provide further heat resistance. To facilitate handling with a single hand, the air tube 22 preferably has a retracted length of about 2 inches (5 cm) and about 6 inches (15 cm) in its retracted configuration and an extended length of about 12 inches (30 cm) and about 48 inches (120 cm) in its extended configuration. Other lengths are also possible. In this example, the air tube 22 has a retracted length of about 4 inches (10 cm) in its retracted configuration and an extended length of about 26 inches (65 cm) in its extended configuration.

[0024] With reference to FIG. 5, the air bellows 10 is represented as being used to selectively direct a stream 28 of air to a precise location in a fire 26 to provide more oxygen to the fire 26. In the nonlimiting example represented in FIG. 5, the air bellows 10 can be used by a user can grasping the housing 14 in one hand 30, and extending the air tube 22 to its extended position by pulling the distal end axially away from the proximal end to cause the several tube sections 22a, 22b, and 22c to slide axially relative to each other. With the air tube 22 thus extended, the user then places the exit orifice 24 at or near a specific selected location in the fire 26, such as at the base of the flame or onto a glowing ember, and then blows the stream 28 of air through the exit orifice 24 by turning on the motor 16 with the switch 20 to drive the air pump 12 and thus force the stream 28 of air out the exit orifice 24 toward the selected location in the fire 26.

[0025] If the battery 18 loses sufficient electric charge to run the motor 16 and air pump 12, it can be recharged as necessary, for example via a charging port or other suitable recharging mechanism. In this way, the air bellows 10 can be used to oxygenate a fire, as nonlimiting examples, in a grill, hearth, furnace, etc., while the user maintains a safe distance from the fire so as to avoid the need to place the user's hands or face close to the fire. In addition, the distal end of the air tube 22 can fit through small openings, such as commonly found in a grill, vent, or partly open door of a furnace. After using the air bellows 10 to oxygenate a fire, the air tube 22 may be withdrawn from the fire and, once sufficiently cool, collapsed to its retracted position to provide for more compact storage.

[0026] Turning now to FIGS. 8 and 9, an embodiment of the air bellows 110 is represented as generally similar to the air bellows 10 of FIGS. 1 through 5, except that a hinge joint 32 couples the air tube 12 to the housing 14 to provide for more compact storage of the air bellows 110 when not in use. The proximal end of the air tube 22 is operatively coupled to the hinge joint 32 such that the air tube can pivot about the hinge joint 32 relative to the housing 14 between a folded configuration shown in FIG. 8, such as extending straight away from the housing 14, and an unfolded position shown in FIG. 9. In the folded configuration, the air tube 22 is disposed generally along and/or adjacent the body of the housing 14. In the unfolded configuration, the air tube 22 is disposed projecting generally radially or axially outwardly from the housing 14. The axis of the air tube 22 subtends an angle of approximately 90 between the folded configuration and the unfolding configuration; however, other arrangements and angles are also possible. Other aspects of the bellows 10 represented in FIGS. 8 and 9 can be as described for the bellows 10 of FIGS. 1 through 7, and therefore will not be repeated here.

[0027] As previously noted above, though the foregoing detailed description describes certain aspects of one or more particular embodiments of the invention, alternatives could be adopted by one skilled in the art. As nonlimiting examples,, the air bellows 10 and their components could differ in appearance and construction from the embodiments described herein and shown in the drawings, functions of certain components of the air bellows 10 could be performed by components of different construction but capable of a similar (though not necessarily equivalent) function, and various materials could be used in the fabrication of the air bellows 10 and/or their components. As such, and again as was previously noted, it should be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited to any particular embodiment described herein or illustrated in the drawings.