Cooling fan mechanism for a motor-driven pressure washer

Abstract

An improved cooling fan mechanism for an motor-driven pressure washer which includes a generally toroidal drive pulley rotatably mounted within the pressure washer which is driven by an engine, the drive pulley including a generally cylindrical outer rim, a central hub and a plurality of spokes extending between the central hub and the outer rim for supporting the outer rim with at least some of the plurality of spokes of the drive pulley each consisting of an angled, generally planar fan blade having a forward air-engaging edge generally adjacent the outer side of the outer rim and a rearward edge generally adjacent the inner side of the outer rim, the forward air-engaging edges of the fan blades operative to engage air upon rotation of the drive pulley and force air into the pressure washer via the fan blades to cool the interior of the pressure washer.

1 . An improved cooling fan mechanism for a motor-driven pressure washer comprising; 
 a generally toroidal drive pulley rotatably mounted within the pressure washer, said drive pulley driven by a motor within the pressure washer;    said drive pulley including a generally cylindrical outer rim having inner and outer sides, a central hub having a central rotational axis and a plurality of spokes extending between said central hub and said outer rim for supporting said outer rim in spaced relation from said central hub;    at least some of said plurality of spokes of said drive pulley each consisting of an angled fan blade having a forward air-engaging edge generally adjacent said outer side of said outer rim and a rearward edge generally adjacent said inner side of said outer rim;    said forward air-engaging edges of said fan blades operative to engage air upon rotation of said drive pulley and said angled fan blades operative to force the engaged air into the pressure washer via said fan blades to cool the interior of the pressure washer thereby reducing the internal temperature of the pressure washer.    
   
   
       2 . The cooling fan mechanism for motor-driven pressure washers of  claim 1  wherein said fan blades are angled between approximately ten to forty-five degrees (10° to 45°) from perpendicular to the central rotational axis of said center hub of said drive pulley thereby deflecting air encountered during the rotation of said drive pulley towards said inner side of said drive pulley and inwards to internal elements of a motor-driven pressure washer.  
   
   
       3 . The cooling fan mechanism for motor-driven pressure washers of  claim 1  wherein each of said spokes of said drive pulley consist of one of said angled fan blades.  
   
   
       4 . The cooling fan mechanism for motor-driven pressure washers of  claim 1  wherein said angled fan blades each further comprise an air deflection plate having a slight concave curvature for enhancing air propulsion towards internal elements of a motor-driven pressure washer.  
   
   
       5 . In combination: 
 an motor-driven pressure washer including a base platform, a motor mounted on said base platform including a rotating power output shaft, a generally toroidal drive pulley mounted on said rotating power output shaft for rotating said drive pulley, water pump means mounted on said base platform, a drive belt extending between said drive pulley and said water pump means for operating said water pump means and a safety housing having at least one wall structure at least partially enclosing said drive pulley, said water pump means and said drive belt; and    an improved cooling fan mechanism for said motor-driven pressure washer including;    said drive pulley including a generally cylindrical outer rim having inner and outer sides, a central hub having a central rotational axis and a plurality of spokes extending between said central hub and said outer rim for supporting said outer rim in spaced relation from said central hub;    at least some of said plurality of spokes of said drive pulley each consisting of an angled fan blade having a forward air-engaging edge generally adjacent said outer side of said outer rim and a rearward edge generally adjacent said inner side of said outer rim;    said forward air-engaging edges of said fan blades operative to engage cooling air upon rotation of said drive pulley by said motor and pull cooling air into said safety housing of said motor-driven pressure washer via said fan blades to circulate cooling air through the interior of said motor-driven pressure washer thereby reducing the internal temperature of said motor-driven pressure washer.    
   
   
       6 . The combination of  claim 5  wherein said safety housing further comprises at least one air passage opening generally adjacent said outer side of said drive pulley to permit air flow into said safety housing for cooling of the internal temperature of said motor-driven pressure washer.  
   
   
       7 . The combination of  claim 6  wherein said safety housing further comprises at least one air passage opening generally adjacent said inner side of said drive pulley to permit air flow out of said safety housing towards said motor for cooling of temperature of said motor.  
   
   
       8 . The combination of  claim 5  wherein said fan blades are angled between approximately ten to forty-five degrees (10° to 45°) from perpendicular to the central rotational axis of said center hub of said drive pulley thereby deflecting air encountered during the rotation of said drive pulley towards said inner side of said drive pulley and inwards to internal elements of said motor-driven pressure washer.  
   
   
       9 . The combination of  claim 5  wherein each of said spokes of said drive pulley consist of one of said angled fan blades.  
   
   
       10 . The combination of  claim 5  wherein said angled fan blades each further comprise an air deflection plate having a slight concave curvature for enhancing air propulsion towards the internal elements of said motor-driven pressure washer.  
   
   
       11 . The combination of  claim 5  wherein said central hub of said drive pulley further comprises a center air-seal disk which is operative to generally prevent negative airflow into the center of said central hub of said drive pulley.