U.S. patent application number 11/687723 was filed with the patent office on 2008-09-25 for spiral blower.
This patent application is currently assigned to Belanger, Inc.. Invention is credited to Thomas E. Weyandt.
Application Number | 20080232958 11/687723 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39774888 |
Filed Date | 2008-09-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080232958 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Weyandt; Thomas E. |
September 25, 2008 |
SPIRAL BLOWER
Abstract
A dryer blower for carwash facilities comprising a volute
housing for an impeller having an axial intake and a tangential air
outlet. The volute housing is characterized by a spiral channel of
increasing cross-sectional area as a result of an increasing width
and substantially constant radial dimension. The spiral housing
terminates in a long, narrow output to create an air knife which
effectively strips water from the surfaces of a just washed
vehicle. The housing can be asymmetric or symmetric and housings
can be arranged in side by side tandem to create additional length
in the air outlet.
Inventors: |
Weyandt; Thomas E.;
(Northville, MI) |
Correspondence
Address: |
YOUNG & BASILE, P.C.
3001 WEST BIG BEAVER ROAD, SUITE 624
TROY
MI
48084
US
|
Assignee: |
Belanger, Inc.
Northville
MI
|
Family ID: |
39774888 |
Appl. No.: |
11/687723 |
Filed: |
March 19, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
415/206 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F04D 29/4226 20130101;
F04D 25/166 20130101; F04D 29/441 20130101; F04D 29/4233
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
415/206 |
International
Class: |
F04D 1/00 20060101
F04D001/00 |
Claims
1. A blower for drying just washed vehicles comprising:: an annular
impeller; a motor for driving the impeller; and a volute housing
surrounding the impeller having an axis of rotation and an axial
intake for air, an outlet, and a volute air channel leading to the
outlet, characterized by a substantially constant radius and
gradually increasing cross-sectional area.
2. The blower as defined in claim 1 wherein the outlet is in the
shape of a narrow rectangle having an aspect ratio of about
12:1.
3. The blower defined in claim 1 wherein the volute is
symmetric.
4. The blower defined in claim 1 wherein the volute is
asymmetric.
5. The blower defined in claim 4 wherein one side of the volute is
defined by a wall which is substantially planar and orthogonal to
the axis of rotation while the opposite wall is non-planar to
define said gradually increasing cross-sectional area.
6. The blower defined in claim 1 wherein the housing is made of
plastic.
7. The blower defined in claim 6 wherein the plastic is
high-density polyethylene.
8. The blower as defined in claim 1 wherein the motor is at least
partially enclosed by the volute housing.
9. A tandem blower arrangement for drying just washed vehicles
comprising: a pair of volute housing blower arranged in
side-by-side relationship and including for each blower an impeller
having an axis of rotation and an axial air inlet, the volute
housing of each blower terminating in a long, narrow outlet, the
blowers being arranged such that the long, narrow outlets are in
alignment and are adjacent one another and the axes of rotation of
the respective impellers essentially coincide.
10. The tandem blower arrangement of claim 9 wherein the volute
blower housings are asymmetric and are characterized by outside end
walls that are essentially planar and inside end walls that diverge
from the outside end walls and converge upon one another in a
tandem arrangement.
11. A housing for a volute air blower for car wash installations
characterized by a spiral air channel which increases in
cross-sectional area but remains substantially constant in radial
dimension as it progresses toward a long narrow tangential
outlet.
12. A blower arrangement for directing air toward a wet vehicle
comprising: a gantry; at least one blower arranged on the gantry
immediately over a vehicle position to direct a substantially
continuous long, narrow, volume of high velocity air at the vehicle
to drive water along the length of the vehicle as the vehicle moves
longitudinally relative to the gantry.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to blowers for drying just-washed
vehicles in an automatic or semi-automatic car wash.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] It is common in automatic and semi-automatic car washes to
use electric motor-driven blowers to remove rinse water from just
washed vehicles. In a typical drive through car wash, the blowers
are mounted in multiples near the exit. They may also be mounted on
rollover gantries.
[0003] Dryer blowers can take various forms; for example, rows of
cylindrical tubes may be connected to an air plenum to direct air
toward the surfaces of a vehicle. As another example, an air plenum
or housing may be connected by rigid or flexible structures having
long narrow outlets to create an air blade effect which drives
rinse water from the surfaces of the vehicle, typically pushing the
water from the front to back of the vehicle as it passes a dryer
station.
[0004] Another example of dryer blower structures is the so-called
"volute" or spiral blower wherein a motor driven impeller is
mounted in a spiral housing with an axial air inlet. Air is
collected around the impeller and spun toward a generally
tangential outlet. The cross-sectional area of the air channel may
be increased toward the outlet by gradually increasing the radial
dimension of the housing such that it is a maximum next to the
outlet.
[0005] Such a blower can be used essentially as is by mounting the
blower housing such that the outlet is directed toward the exterior
surface of a just-washed vehicle. The blower may also be converted
to a blade-type dryer blower by adding a transition structure to
the housing outlet. It is well known, however, that frictional drag
in the transition section causes energy losses in the air stream
and lowers the efficiency of the overall dryer system.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] In the broadest sense, the present invention is an improved
volute or spiral blower housing which accommodates a motor driven
impeller to admit air axially to the impeller and in which the
spiral air channel has a substantially constant radial dimension
but increases in cross-sectional area as it progresses toward an
outlet by virtue of increasing width such that the housing defines
an air channel which progresses from a minimum width to a maximum
width adjacent a tangential outlet. The outlet opening is
preferably long and narrow so as to create an air knife or air
blade effect without the need for an add-on transition section
which produces energy losses.
[0007] In one form hereinafter described, the volute portion of the
housing is asymmetric; i.e., one end wall is substantially planar
while the other end wall moves progressively farther and farther
away from the planar end wall to effect the increase in
cross-section of the volute. In this embodiment, the motor itself
is preferably mounted substantially within the volute such that the
housing appears to "swallow" the motor while at the same time
allowing substantial air circulation for cooling purposes. A
screened inlet is created in or adjacent the essentially planar end
wall and a transition section of conical shape may be employed to
draw air into the impeller.
[0008] In another embodiment, two of the asymmetric housing blowers
may be mounted side by side as to create a double-width, long,
narrow air outlet, which can be used to remove water along the
entire vertical or lateral dimension of a vehicle, even a large
vehicle such as a van or truck. The air intakes are on the opposite
outside ends of the tandem arrangement.
[0009] In a still third embodiment, a substantially symmetrical
volute housing is created wherein both of the end walls
progressively flare out and away from one another to create the air
channel of increasing cross-sectional area.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an asymmetric housing blower
in accordance with the invention;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the blower of FIG.
1.
[0012] FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the embodiment of FIG. 3;
[0013] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of car wash dryer system using
three sets of tandem mounted blowers of the type shown in FIGS. 1
and 2; and
[0014] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a symmetrical housing blower
in accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS
[0015] Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 there is shown a dryer blower
10 for directing a high-velocity air stream at the exterior
surfaces of a just-washed vehicle in a car wash facility. The
blower 10 comprises an electric motor 12 having an output shaft 38
connected to spin an impeller 14 mounted within the confines of a
volute housing 16, The housing may be rotoformed of a suitable
material such as high-density polyethylene. The housing may be
formed of other materials using other construction processes as
will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
[0016] The housing 16 has on one side an essentially planar end
wall 18 and on the other side an end wall 20 defining an air
channel which increases in width, i.e., in the direction parallel
to the axis of rotation of the motor 12 as it progresses toward an
outlet section 22 having a long, narrow outlet opening 24. Air is
inlet to the impeller through a cone 28 which is supported by a
screw-mounted spacer 26 also supporting a safety screen 30. Annular
plates 32 and 34 are provided for structural support to receive the
screws 35. The impeller 14 is of conventional design with backward
curved blades 36 and is mounted for rotation on the motor shaft 38
as previously described. The motor 12 has a typical switch box 44
and is mounted on a support bracket 42, partially enclosed within
but spaced from the interior surface 45 of the housing 16.
[0017] In operation, the motor 12 is energized to rotate the
impeller 14 drawing air through the screening 30 and the conical
section 28 into the impeller 14. Air is collected by the impeller
and rotated along the air channel defined by the housing 16 toward
the transition section 22 and the long, narrow outlet 24. In this
case, the length-to-width aspect ratio of the outlet 24 is
approximately 12:1. It is to be understood that this aspect ratio
is illustrative rather than limiting in nature.
[0018] FIG. 4 illustrates the manner in which blowers of the type
illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 can be arranged in tandem to create
even longer and higher aspect ratio outlets. In FIG. 4 a structural
frame is constructed using aluminum or steel uprights 48 and 50
connected by an overhead horizontal beam 52. Clamping structures 54
and 56 are used to secure the horizontal beam 52 to the uprights 48
and 50 at a height which permits a vehicle to pass between the
uprights 48 and 50 and under the horizontal beam 52.
[0019] The horizontal beam carries blowers 58 and 60 with the axial
air intakes on the opposite outside surfaces; the intake safety
screen 78 is shown on the far left side of the tandem combination
58, 60 as shown in FIG. 4. Therefore, the spiral end walls converge
on one another as shown. Each blower 58, 60, has an impeller (not
shown) driven by an electric motor 80 in exactly the same manner as
was described with reference to the single blower arrangement of
FIGS. 1 and 2. The two blowers 58 and 60 provide a long, narrow air
outlet (not shown) which is aimed downwardly toward the top
surfaces, windshield and rear window of a vehicle (not shown). A
filler section 84 of plastic or other suitable material may be used
to fill the conical gap between the two blowers 58 and 60 if
desired.
[0020] Blowers 62 and 64 are mounted in tandem on the upright 48
with the air outlets 66 and 68 in side by side alignment to create
a double length air blade, the dimensions of which can, by way of
example, be up to about 90 inches.
[0021] On the other side, blowers 70 and 72 having outlet
transition sections 74 and 76 respectively are mounted on the
upright 50 to dry the opposite side of a vehicle passing between
them. Transition sections such as that shown at 84 may be used in
combination with all of the tandem mounted blowers 62, 64 and 70,
72 for aesthetic purposes as desired.
[0022] Referring now to FIG. 5, a blower 86 of alternative design
is shown to comprise a symmetrical spiral housing 88 partially
enclosing a motor 90 driving an impeller 92. Air is taken into the
blower through a screened axial inlet 94. The housing 88 has
opposite end walls 96 and 98 which spirally diverge from one
another toward the outlet 100. Whereas one of the end walls in the
embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 was essentially planar, both of the end
walls 98 and 96 are non-planar and diverge evenly about a vertical
center plane (not shown) which can be defined as passing through
the center of the structure shown in FIG. 4.
[0023] Purely by way of illustration, the motors 12 and 90 may be
of a ten horsepower rating and rotate at 3600 rpm to produce an air
flow of between about 5,000 and 6,000 cubic feet of air per minute.
Although the invention is not limited to these figures, they have
been found to represent a commercially viable design suitable for
use in many automatic and semi-automatic carwash installations.
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