Air warmer

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017306984-A1
Application number	US-201715491004-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Apr 19, 2017
Priority date	Apr 21, 2016
Publication date	Oct 26, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

An air blower has an inlet muffler and an outlet muffler to reduce the noise of the air blower during operation. Each of the mufflers may have two sections. One section is configured to attenuate high frequency noise and the other section is configured to attenuate lower frequency noise. A tubular internal wall in each of the mufflers defines the through passage for each of the mufflers. A noise absorbent material may be fitted about the tubular wall within each muffler. A plurality of holes are formed along the tubular wall of each through passage to expose the through passage to the noise absorbent material. A heater plenum may be interposed between the blower plenum and the outlet muffler to heat the air from the blower plenum. A filter at the input muffler filters the air sucked into the air blower.

First claim

1 . An air blower comprising:
a plenum wherein an impeller is movably positioned, the plenum having an inlet and an outlet; a motor working cooperatively with the impeller for rotating the impeller; an inlet noise reduction structure positioned relative to the plenum including a housing having at least one wide section and one narrow section encircling an inlet through passage open to the environment, the one wide section positioned adjacent to the plenum so that an outlet of the inlet through passage is in fluid communication with the inlet of the plenum to establish a fluid communication path between the inlet through passage and the plenum, a noise absorbent material fitted to at least one of the wide and narrow sections to surround a corresponding portion of the inlet through passage; wherein when the motor is activated, the impeller is rotated to draw air into the plenum from the inlet through passage and to output a stream of air flow through the outlet of the plenum; and wherein a portion of the noise resulting from the movement of air in the plenum is reduced by the inlet noise reduction structure.

2 . The air blower of claim 1 , further comprising:
an outlet noise reduction structure including a housing having at least a large section and a small section encircling an outlet through passage, the large section positioned relative to the plenum so that a fluid communication path is established between an inlet of the outlet of the outlet through passage and the plenum, a noise absorbent material fitted to at least one of the large and small sections to surround a corresponding portion of the outlet through passage; wherein the outlet noise reduction structure together with the inlet noise reduction structure substantially reduce the noise resulting from the movement of air through the plenum.

3 . The air blower of claim 2 , wherein the inlet through passage is defined by an internal circumferential wall that extends along the wide and narrow sections, a plurality of holes formed along the circumferential wall, the holes at the circumferential wall along the wide section having a larger dimension than the holes at the circumferential wall along the narrow section;
wherein the outlet through passage is defined by an internal circumferential wall that extends along the large and small sections, a plurality of holes formed along the circumferential wall, the holes at the circumferential wall along the large section having a larger dimension than the holes at the circumferential wall along the small section.

4 . The air blower of claim 2 , wherein each of the wide and narrow sections of the inlet noise reduction structure is fitted with the noise absorbent material; and
wherein each of the large and small sections of the outlet noise reduction structure is fitted with the noise reduction material; whereby the noise resulting from the operation of the blower is measured to be in a range of approximately 41 dBA to 44.5 dBA.

5 . The air blower of claim 1 , further comprising at least one heater element positioned relative to the outlet of the plenum to heat the air flow output from the outlet of the plenum.

6 . The air blower of claim 2 , further comprising a heater plenum wherein at least one heater element is positioned, the heater plenum interposed between the plenum and the outlet noise reduction structure, the heater plenum having an inlet to receive the air output from the plenum and an outlet to output the air having been heated by the heater element to the inlet of the outlet noise reduction structure so that heated air is output from the outlet of the outlet through passage; and
wherein the outlet noise reduction structure includes an outlet extension adapted to connect to one end of an air hose which other end is connectable to a convective blanket so that the blanket may be inflated by the heated air output from the outlet noise reduction structure.

7 . The air blower of claim 1 , wherein the wide section is defined by a wide outer circumferential wall and the narrow section is defined by a narrow outer circumferential wall that has a diameter smaller than the diameter of the wide outer circumferential wall, a circumferential flange formed where the wide section meets the narrow section, the air blower further comprising:
an air filter removably attached to the circumferential flange, the filter including a circumferential air passable barrier defining a cavity encircling the narrow section; wherein air is drawn into the cavity to the inlet through passage when the air blower is in operation.

8 . The air blower of claim 4 , wherein the inlet through passage is formed by an internal circumferential wall that extends along the wide and narrow sections,
wherein the outlet through passage is formed by an internal circumferential wall that extends along the large and small sections; and wherein the internal circumferential wall of each of the inlet and outlet through passages is circumscribed by the noise absorbent material.

9 . The air blower of claim 1 , wherein the inlet through passage is formed within the housing of the inlet noise reduction structure;
wherein one of the wide and narrow sections of the housing is fitted with the noise absorbent material and other of the wide and narrow sections is a Helmholtz chamber,; and wherein the noise absorbent fitted section attenuates low frequency noise and the Helmholtz chamber attenuates high frequency noise.

10 . The air blower of claim 2 , wherein the outlet through passage is formed at least within the large and small sections of the housing of the outlet noise reduction structure;
wherein one of the large and small sections of the housing is fitted with the noise absorbent material and other of the large and small sections is a Helmholtz chamber; wherein the noise absorbent fitted section attenuates low frequency noise and the Helmholtz chamber attenuates high frequency noise.

11 . The air blower of claim 1 , further comprising an air outlet adapted to couple to different types of air hoses each provided at its patient end at least one sensor, at least an other sensor provided at the air outlet of the air blower, the one sensor measuring the temperature of the heated air at the patient end of an air hose coupled to the air outlet and the other sensor measuring the temperature of the heated air at the air outlet, a circuit that utilizes the values of the one and other sensors with reference values to establish a reference table of stepped values that correspond to each type of the different types of air hoses adapted to be coupled to the air outlet, wherein when a given air hose is coupled to the air outlet, the circuit effects the motor to rotate the impeller at a rate in accordance to a step value that corresponds to the type of air hose said given air hose is.

12 . An air blower, comprising:
a motor assembly including a motor, a plenum and an impeller workingly coupled to the motor movably positioned inside the plenum; the plenum having an inlet and an outlet; an inlet muffler coupled to the plenum, the inlet muffler including a first housing having an outer wall and an inlet through passage, the inlet through passage in fluid communication with the inlet of the plenum, a sound absorbent material fitted between the outer wall of the first housing and an inner circumferential wall of the housing that defines the inlet through passage; an outlet muffler including a second housing having an outer wall and an outlet through passage, the outlet muffler positioned relative to the plenum with the outlet through passage in fluid communication with the outlet of the plenum, a sound absorbent materia

Assignees

• Smiths Medical Asd Inc

Inventors

• Peterson Benjamin James
• Reda Ahmed
• Sanborn Jonathan Harold
• Treppa Michael A

Classifications

• A61F7/0097

  Blankets with active heating or cooling sources (warming mats A61F7/08) · CPC title

• A61F2007/0095

  with a temperature indicator · CPC title

• A61F2007/0096

  with a thermometer · CPC title

• A61F2007/0091

  inflatable · CPC title

• F04D29/664 Primary

  by means of sound absorbing material · CPC title