U.S. patent application number 10/648321 was filed with the patent office on 2004-08-12 for air circulating device.
This patent application is currently assigned to Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Chai, Kyung-Ho, Kim, Jung-Ho, Lee, Jai-Kwon.
Application Number | 20040156716 10/648321 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32677868 |
Filed Date | 2004-08-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040156716 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kim, Jung-Ho ; et
al. |
August 12, 2004 |
Air circulating device
Abstract
An air circulating device including a housing which contains a
blowing fan and a motor. The housing includes an air inlet port and
an air outlet port, with a plug provided at a surface of the
housing to be connected to a power source. The blowing fan is set
in the housing, as is the motor which drives the blowing fan.
Inventors: |
Kim, Jung-Ho; (Suwon City,
KR) ; Lee, Jai-Kwon; (Suwon-City, KR) ; Chai,
Kyung-Ho; (Suwon-City, KR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
STAAS & HALSEY LLP
SUITE 700
1201 NEW YORK AVENUE, N.W.
WASHINGTON
DC
20005
US
|
Assignee: |
Samsung Electronics Co.,
Ltd.
Suwon-city
KR
|
Family ID: |
32677868 |
Appl. No.: |
10/648321 |
Filed: |
August 27, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
415/206 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61L 9/122 20130101;
F24F 2013/221 20130101; F04D 25/08 20130101; F24F 7/007
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
415/206 |
International
Class: |
F01D 001/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 12, 2003 |
KR |
2003-8769 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An air circulating device, comprising: a housing having an air
inlet port and an air outlet port, with a plug provided at a
surface of the housing to be connected to a power source; a blowing
fan set in the housing; and a motor to drive the blowing fan.
2. The air circulating device according to claim 1, wherein the air
inlet port is provided at a front of the housing, and the air
outlet port is provided on an outer circumferential surface of the
housing.
3. The air circulating device according to claim 1, wherein the
housing comprises: a front casing provided with the air inlet port;
and a rear casing assembled with the front casing, wherein the air
outlet port is provided on an outer circumferential surface of the
rear casing.
4. The air circulating device according to claim 1, further
comprising: a power switch; and a mode conversion switch, wherein
the power switch and the mode conversion switch are provided at a
predetermined portion of the housing.
5. The air circulating device according to claim 4, further
comprising a reversible motor, wherein the mode conversion switch
changes a rotating direction of the blowing fan, thus allowing the
air inlet port to serve as an air outlet port while allowing the
air outlet port to serve as an air inlet port.
6. The air circulating device according to claim 1, further
comprising a timer mounted to a predetermined portion of the
housing, wherein the timer controls an operating time of the
blowing fan.
7. The air circulating device according to claim 1, further
comprising a socket provided at a surface of the housing, thus
allowing a plug of another electrical device to be connected to the
socket.
8. The air circulating device of claim 7, wherein the socket is
provided opposite to the surface of the housing having the
plug.
9. The air circulating device according to claim 1, wherein the air
circulating device is structurally supported by the plug when
connected to a wall outlet.
10. The air circulating device according to claim 1, wherein the
housing further comprises a unit to support a scented material, to
affect the olfactory quality of the circulated air.
11. An air circulating device comprising: a housing having an air
inlet port and an air outlet port; a plug provided at a surface of
the housing to be connected to a power source; and a socket
provided at a surface of the housing, wherein a plug of another
electrical device connects to the socket and is powered by the same
source as the air circulating device.
12. An air circulating device comprising: a housing having an air
inlet port and an air outlet port; and a plug provided at a surface
of the housing to be connected to a power source, wherein the air
circulating device is structurally supported by the plug when
connected to a wall outlet.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of Korean Application
No. 2003-8769, filed Feb. 12, 2003, in the Korean Intellectual
Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by
reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates, in general, to air
circulating devices. More particularly, the present invention
relates to an air circulating device which is designed such that
the body thereof is directly connected to an electrical wall socket
to circulate indoor air and ventilate a room.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Recently, air conditioners and cleaners have been widely
used in homes to control the temperature, humidity, and sanitation
of a room, thus keeping the room comfortable. The air conditioners
function to cool or heat indoor air. The air cleaners function to
clean indoor air. Such devices forcibly circulate indoor air by
their blowing means, thus conditioning and cleaning indoor air.
[0006] However, an air conditioner or air cleaner is installed at a
fixed place in a room. Thus, in the case where the room is large,
air around the air conditioner or the air cleaner is smoothly
circulated, thus accomplishing a high air conditioning effect or a
high air cleaning effect. But air in a place distant from the air
conditioner or the air cleaner is not smoothly circulated, so an
air conditioning effect or an air cleaning effect is somewhat poor.
Thus, it takes a long time to uniformly condition or clean indoor
air.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present invention to
provide an air circulating device which allows indoor air to be
smoothly circulated and allows a room to be effectively ventilated.
Another aspect of the present invention is that the air circulating
device be small in size, thus being easy to carry and store.
[0008] It is another aspect of the present invention to provide an
air circulating device which is designed such that it is connected
to and held by a socket, and is designed to allow a plug of another
electrical device to be connected to a portion of the air
circulating device.
[0009] Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be
set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part,
will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice
of the invention.
[0010] The foregoing and/or other aspects of the present invention
are achieved by providing an air circulating device, including a
housing having an air inlet port and an air outlet port, with a
plug provided at a surface of the housing to be connected to a
power source, a blowing fan set in the housing, and a motor to
drive the blowing fan.
[0011] The air inlet port may be provided at a front of the
housing, and the air outlet port may be provided on an outer
circumferential surface of the housing.
[0012] Also, the housing may include a front casing provided with
the air inlet port, and a rear casing assembled with the front
casing and provided on an outer circumferential surface thereof
with the air outlet port.
[0013] The air circulating device may also include a mode
conversion switch to change a rotating direction of the blowing fan
by converting power applied to the motor, thus allowing the air
inlet port to serve as an air outlet port while allowing the air
outlet port to serve as an air inlet port.
[0014] Further, the air circulating device may include a timer
mounted to a predetermined portion of the housing so as to control
an operating time of the blowing fan.
[0015] A socket may be provided at a surface of the housing, thus
allowing a plug of another electrical device to be connected to the
socket.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] These and/or other aspects and advantages of the present
invention will become more apparent and more readily appreciated
from the following description of the preferred embodiments, taken
in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:
[0017] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an air circulating device,
according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0018] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating an
interior of the air circulating device, according to an embodiment
of the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an air circulating device,
according to another embodiment of the present invention;
[0020] FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an example of an
operation of the air circulating device of FIG. 1; and
[0021] FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating another example of
an operation of the air circulating device of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0022] Reference will now be made in detail to the present
preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which
are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like
reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. The
embodiments are described below in order to explain the present
invention by referring to the figures.
[0023] As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, an air circulating device
according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a
housing 10 which has a front casing 11 and a rear casing 12. The
front and rear casings 11 and 12 are removably assembled with each
other. An air inlet port 13 is provided at a front of the front
casing 11 of the housing 10 to suck indoor air into the housing 10.
An air outlet port 14 is provided on an outer circumferential
surface of the rear casing 12 of the housing 10 to discharge air to
a room.
[0024] Further, an axial blowing fan 15 and a motor 16 are set in
the housing 10. The blowing fan 15 forcibly circulates indoor air
so that indoor air is sucked into the air inlet port 13 of the
housing 10, and is discharged through the air outlet port 14 to the
room. The motor 16 drives the blowing fan 15. In this case, the
motor 16 comprises a reversible motor which is able to rotate in
alternating directions. The motor 16 is mounted at a surface
thereof to a center of an inner surface of the rear casing 12.
[0025] As illustrated in FIG. 1, a plug 20 is integrally provided
at an upper portion of the rear casing 12 of the housing 10 to be
connected to a wall-mounted socket 100. Such a construction allows
the housing 10 to be held by the wall-mounted socket 100 while
allowing power to be applied to the motor 16, when the plug 20 is
connected to the socket 100.
[0026] A built-in electrical socket 21 is integrally provided at a
surface of the housing 10 opposite to the surface having the plug
20, thus allowing a plug 30 of another electrical device to be
connected to the socket 21. Thus, although the air circulating
device is connected to the wall-mounted socket 100 and covers the
socket 100, it is possible to connect the plug 30 of another
electrical device to the built-in socket 21 which is provided at
the upper portion on the front of the housing 10.
[0027] Further, a power switch 41 and a mode conversion switch 42
are provided at a predetermined portion of the housing 10. The
power switch 41 functions to control the operation of the motor 16.
The mode conversion switch 42 functions to change the rotating
direction of the blowing fan 15 by converting power applied to the
motor 16. When the rotating direction of the blowing fan 15 is
changed by the mode conversion switch 42, the air blowing direction
is changed, so the air inlet port 13 serves as an air outlet port,
while the air outlet port 14 serves as an air inlet port.
[0028] FIG. 3 illustrates an air circulating device according to
another embodiment of the present invention. According to the air
circulating device illustrated in FIG. 3, a timer 50 is mounted to
a predetermined portion of the front casing 11 so as to control an
operating time of the blowing fan 15. The timer 50 allows a user to
preset the operating time, thus making the air circulating device
more convenient to use.
[0029] Examples of use of the air circulating device according to
the present invention will be described in the following.
[0030] The air circulating device of the present invention may
serve as an auxiliary air circulating device in a room where an air
conditioner or an air cleaner is installed, thus enhancing
circulating efficiency of indoor air. Alternatively, the air
circulating device may be installed in a room without the air
conditioner or the air cleaner, thus circulating indoor air and
ventilating the room.
[0031] When one desires to use the air circulating device, as
illustrated in FIG. 4, the plug 20 of the housing 10 is connected
to the wall-mounted socket 100. Next, the power switch 41 is turned
on to operate the air circulating device. At this time, the blowing
fan 15 set in the housing 10 is operated, so indoor air is sucked
into the air inlet port 13 of the housing 10 and is discharged
through the air outlet port 14 to the room in a radial direction,
thus circulating the indoor air. When one desires to change the air
blowing direction, the mode conversion switch 42 is manipulated so
that the blowing fan 15 is rotated in an opposite direction.
Further, it is possible to preset a desired operating time using
the timer 50.
[0032] Meanwhile, when one desires to use another electrical device
during an operation of the air circulating device, as illustrated
in FIG. 1, a user has only to connect the plug 30 of another
electrical device to the built-in socket 21 which is integrated
with the housing 10 of the air circulating device.
[0033] As illustrated in FIG. 5, when one desires to place the air
circulating device at a center or other desired position of a room
to enhance air circulation as well as a ventilating effect, a user
has only to use an extension cable 60.
[0034] In another embodiment of the present invention the housing
10 of the air circulating device is equipped with a unit to support
a scented material, such as an oil or other liquid or solid air
freshener, which will add a pleasant fragrance to the indoor air
that is being circulated. In normal operation of the air
circulating device, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the scented material
would be mingled with the air before it leaves the air outlet port
14, producing a pleasing smell with the circulated indoor air.
[0035] As is apparent from the above description, the present
invention provides an air circulating device, which serves to
circulate indoor air as an auxiliary device of an air conditioner
or an air cleaner, and which also serves as an independent air
circulating device, thus keeping a comfortable circulation of
indoor air inside a room.
[0036] The present invention provides an air circulating device,
which is small in size, thus being easily connected to a socket,
and thus being easy to carry and store.
[0037] Furthermore, the present invention provides an air
circulating device which allows a plug of another electrical device
to be connected to a socket provided at an upper portion of a
housing.
[0038] Although a few embodiments of the present invention have
been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled
in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without
departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the
scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.
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