Blower with User Presence Detection

This application is a non-provisional application claiming the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 (e) to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/663,266, filed on Jun. 24, 2024, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The present disclosure relates generally to blowers, and more particularly to blowers having user presence detection features.

Blowers are generally used to produce and output a stream of air to be directed by the user. Blowers are frequently utilized in outdoor applications, such as to blow leaves and other debris. Homeowners frequently utilized such blowers to clean their yards and outdoor spaces. The types of blowers can vary between backpack-style blowers and handheld blowers, as well as between gas-powered and electric blowers. Electric blowers can be corded and plugged into electrical outlets, or can be cordless and battery powered.

Conventional blowers require users to perform at least two actions before the blower may be operated. Performing multiple actions before the blower may be operated may be perceived as a nuisance for many users. Accordingly, improved blowers are desired in the art. In particular, blowers which reduce the number of actions required by a user for operation of the blower would be advantageous.

Aspects and advantages of the invention in accordance with the present disclosure will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned through practice of the technology.

A blower includes a main body; an air duct extending between an air inlet and an air outlet opposite the air inlet, the air duct including an air duct body; a motor for driving a fan disposed in the air duct body between the air inlet and the air outlet; a handle coupled to the air duct and including a sensor, the sensor configured to detect an engaged state in which an operator engages the handle and a disengaged state in which the operator disengages the handle; and a controller operably coupled to the sensor and the motor. The controller is configured to receive data indicative of operator engagement with the handle from the sensor, determine, using the data indicative of operator engagement with the handle, that the blower is in the engaged state, perform pre-operation actions in response to determining the blower is in the engaged state, determine, based on the pre-operation actions, that the blower is in an armed state, and control operation of the motor in response to determining the blower is in the armed state.

A method of operating a blower includes receiving data indicative of operator engagement with a handle of the blower from a sensor; determining, using the data indicative of operator engagement with the handle, that the blower is in an engaged state; performing pre-operation actions in response to determining the blower is in the engaged state; determining, based on the pre-operation actions, that the blower is in an armed state; and controlling operation of a motor of the blower in response to determining the blower is in the armed state.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the technology and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the technology.

Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. Moreover, each example is provided by way of explanation, rather than limitation of, the technology. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variations can be made in the present technology without departing from the scope or spirit of the claimed technology. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present disclosure covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. The detailed description uses numerical and letter designations to refer to features in the drawings. Like or similar designations in the drawings and description have been used to refer to like or similar parts of the invention.

As used herein, the terms “first”, “second”, and “third” may be used interchangeably to distinguish one component from another and are not intended to signify location or importance of the individual components. The singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The terms “coupled,” “fixed,” “attached to,” and the like refer to both direct coupling, fixing, or attaching, as well as indirect coupling, fixing, or attaching through one or more intermediate components or features, unless otherwise specified herein. As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising.” “includes,” “including.” “has,” “having” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of features is not necessarily limited only to those features but may include other features not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Further, unless expressly stated to the contrary, “or” refers to an inclusive-or and not to an exclusive-or. For example, a condition A or B is satisfied by any one of the following: A is true (or present) and B is false (or not present), A is false (or not present) and B is true (or present), and both A and B are true (or present).

Terms of approximation, such as “about,” “generally,” “approximately,” or “substantially,” include values within ten percent greater or less than the stated value. When used in the context of an angle or direction, such terms include within ten degrees greater or less than the stated angle or direction. For example, “generally vertical” includes directions within ten degrees of vertical in any direction, e.g., clockwise or counter-clockwise.

Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems are described below with regard to specific embodiments. However, the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any feature(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essential feature of any or all the claims.

In general, a user or operator of a blower is required to perform at least two actions before operation of the blower is enabled. Such actions ensure that the blower is functioning properly and able to operate safely. However, requiring multiple actions before the blower can be operated can be a nuisance to users. Accordingly, it is desirable for blowers to automatically detect user presence such that the user is only required to perform a single action to operate the blower.

Referring now to the drawings,illustrates a blower toolhaving a main bodyand a blower unit. While the blower toolillustrated inis a backpack blower configured to be worn on a user's back, e.g., with backpack supports, the features of the present invention may be implemented for a handheld blower (not illustrated), e.g., a handheld axial fan blower or a centrifugal fan blower. A motor (not shown) may be disposed within the main bodyor the blower unit. Additionally, a power sourcemay be removably coupled to the blower tooland configured to supply power to the motor. For example, the power sourcemay include one or more batteries removably coupled to a portion of the blower tool. In other example embodiments, the blower toolmay include a corded electric power source and/or a gas power source.

In at least one example embodiment, the blower unitincludes an air ductextending from an air inletto an air outlet. The air ductmay be formed by an air duct bodyand a blower tube. For example, the air duct bodymay define the air inletat one end thereof. The air duct bodymay be coupled, directly or indirectly, with the blower tubeat an opposite end relative to the air inlet. For example, an elbow tubemay be provided between the air duct bodyand the blower tubeas shown in. Alternatively, e.g., in a handheld blower (not shown), the air duct bodymay be directly coupled to the blower tube. In some example embodiments, a bellowsmay be provided between the air duct bodyand the blower tube, e.g., to enable the blower tubeto pivotably move and/or rotate relative to the air duct body.

As shown in, the blower unitmay also include a handle. The handlemay be coupled to the blower tubesuch that a user may grip the handleto move and/or rotate the blower tuberelative to the air duct body. The handlemay be coupled to the blower tubeadjacent the air outlet. For example, the handlemay be positioned between the bellowsand the air outletof the blower tube. Additionally, the handlemay include a base portionextending from the blower tubeand an end portion coupled to the base portionopposite the blower tube. A user may grip the handleduring operation of the blower toolat the base portionand/or the end portion.

In at least one example embodiment, a triggermay be disposed on the handle. For example, the triggermay extend from the base portionand/or the end portionof the handle. The triggermay be actuated by the operator between a depressed position and a released position. For example, the operator may apply a force to the triggerin the depressed position and release the triggerin the released position. Moreover, the triggermay be electrically coupled to the motor, the power source, and/or a controller, and may be configured to control operation of the blower toolby activating and deactivating the motor, as will be discussed with respect tobelow. For example, the motor may be activated when the triggerin in the activated position and the motor may be deactivated when the triggeris in the deactivated position. In at least one example embodiment, the triggermay be used by a user or an operator to select and adjust a desired power output of the blower tool. In other example embodiments, the triggermay include a button or switch disposed on the base portionor the end portionof the handle.

Additionally, the handlemay include a sensor. For example, the sensormay be coupled to the base portionand/or the end portionof the handle. The sensoris configured to detect operator engagement with the handle. For example, the sensormay detect an engaged state in which the operator contacts or grips the handleand a disengaged state in which the operator releases the handle.

The sensormay be positioned at any position along the length of the handleand about an exterior surface of the handle. In other example embodiments, the sensormay be disposed within the handle. The sensormay be in electrical communication with the controller. The controllermay be disposed in the blower unit, as shown in, and configured to control operation of the blower tool. For example, the controllermay receive data indicative of user engagement with the handlefrom the sensor. In other example embodiments, the controllermay be disposed in the main body.

In at least one example embodiment, the sensorincludes a capacitive sensor. The capacitive sensor may be a capacitive touch sensor including a conductor configured to detect a change in capacitance. For example, the capacitance sensor would detect a change in capacitance when the operator of the blower toolgrabs or engages the handle. Accordingly, the sensordetects presence of the operator. Upon detection of such operator presence, the blower toolmay proceed with performing internal pre-operation actions to check that the blower toolis ready for operation.

Additionally, or alternatively, the sensorincludes inertial measurement unit (“IMU”) sensor. The IMU sensor is configured to detect a change in acceleration of the blower tool, such as the blower tube, and/or a change in position of the blower tool, such as the blower tube. Accordingly, the sensordetects presence of an operator based on movement of the blower toolby the operator. Upon detection of such operator presence, the blower toolmay proceed with performing the internal pre-operation actions to check that the blower toolis ready for operation.

is a schematic view of a control systemin accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

In at least one example embodiment, the controllermay be configured as part of the control system. The control systemcan include one or more computing device(s). Notably, the controllermay be one of the one or more computing device(s)of the exemplary control systemdepicted in. The computing device(s)may be configured to execute one or more methods in accordance with exemplary aspects of the present disclosure (such as methoddescribed below with reference to). The computing device(s)can include one or more processor(s)and one or more memory device(s). The one or more processor(s)can include any suitable processing device, such as a microprocessor, microcontroller, integrated circuit, logic device, or other suitable processing device. The one or more memory device(s)can include one or more computer-readable media, including, but not limited to, non-transitory computer-readable media, RAM, ROM, hard drives, flash drives, or other memory devices.

The one or more memory device(s)can store information accessible by the one or more processor(s), including computer-readable instructionsthat can be executed by the one or more processor(s). The instructionscan be any set of instructions that when executed by the one or more processor(s), cause the one or more processor(s)to perform operations. The instructionscan be software written in any suitable programming language or can be implemented in hardware. In some example embodiments, the instructionscan be executed by the one or more processor(s)to cause the one or more processor(s)to perform operations, such as the operations for regulating fuel flow, as described herein, and/or any other operations or functions of the one or more computing device(s). Additionally, and/or alternatively, the instructionscan be executed in logically and/or virtually separate threads on processor. The memory device(s)can further store datathat can be accessed by the processors. The datamay include date indicative of operator engagement from the sensor.

The computing device(s)can also include a communications interfaceused to communicate, for example, with the components of blower tool, such as the triggerand the motor, and/or other computing device(s). The communications interfacecan include any suitable components for interfacing with these components or one or more communications network(s), including for example, transmitters, receivers, ports, controllers, antennas, wired communication buses, or other suitable components. The control systemmay also be in communication (e.g., via communications interface) with various sensors, such as the sensordescribed above, and may selectively operate the motor of the blower toolin response to user input and feedback from these sensors. Moreover, the control systemmay be configured to control operation of the motor of the blower toolvia data received from the sensorand the trigger.

The technology discussed herein makes reference to computer-based systems and actions taken by and information sent to and from computer-based systems. It should be appreciated that the inherent flexibility of computer-based systems allows for a great variety of possible configurations, combinations, and divisions of tasks and functionality between and among components. For instance, processes discussed herein can be implemented using a single computing device or multiple computing devices working in combination. Databases, memory, instructions, and applications can be implemented on a single system or distributed across multiple systems. Distributed components can operate sequentially or in parallel.

is a flow chart of a methodof operating a blower, such as the blower tool, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

In at least one example embodiment, the methodincludes detecting the blower tool is in a disarmed state at, operator engaging a handle at, detecting operator engagement of the handle with a sensor at, performing pre-operation actions at, determining blower tool is in an armed state at, activating the blower tool at, determining the blower tool is in an operating state at, deactivating the blower tool at, and determining disengagement with the handle for a predetermined amount of time at.

In at least one example embodiment, detecting the blower tool is in the disarmed state atincludes detecting that the blower toolis in a disarmed state. The disarmed state is a state of the blower toolin which the blower toolis not in use or not operational. For example, the blower toolmay be in the disarmed state prior to use by the operator.

In at least one example embodiment, the operator engages the handleof the blower toolat. After the operator engages the handle, the methodproceeds to detecting operator engagement of the handle with the sensor at. For example, the sensordetects the engaged state and communicates that the blower toolis in the engaged state to the controller.

In at least one example embodiment, the methodproceeds to performing the pre-operation actions atafter the controllerreceives data indicating that the blower toolis in the engaged state from the sensor. The pre-operation actions may be performed by the one or more computing devices, such as the controller. The pre-operation actions may include determining that electronics of the blower toolare working properly; determining that the power source, such as the power source, is operational and/or installed correctly; or a combination thereof. If the pre-operations are successful, indicating that the blower toolis safe for use, the methodproceeds to determining that the blower is in an armed state at. In the armed state, the blower toolmay be operated by the operator. For example, the controllermay control operation of the motor of the blower toolupon interaction by the user, as will be discussed below. If the pre-operation actions are unsuccessful, which may indicate an error within the electronics of the blower tooland/or that the blower toolis unsafe for operation, the methodmay return to stepwhere the blower toolis in the disarmed state.

After determining that the blower toolis in the armed state at, the methodproceeds to the operator activating the blower tool at. The operator may activate the blower toolat, and more specifically the motor of the blower tool, by actuating the triggerto the depressed position. After the operator activates the blower toolat, the methodproceeds to determining the blower tool is in an operating state at. Determining whether the blower tool is in an operating state atincludes determining that the motor of the blower toolis activated.

In at least one example embodiment, deactivating the blower tool atincludes the operator disengaging the trigger. For example, the operator releases the triggersuch that the triggeris in the released position and the motor is deactivated. After the blower toolis deactivated at, such that the triggeris released by the operator, the methodreturns to determining that the blower toolis in the armed state at. For example, the controllerreceives the data indicative of operator engagement with the handlefrom the sensorto determine whether the operator is engaged with the handlewhile the triggeris in the released position. If the operator is engaged with the handle, the controllerdetermines that the blower tool is in the armed state atand the methodmay proceed to step.

If the controllerdetermines that the operator is not engaged with the handleat step, such that the sensordetects the disengaged state, the methodproceeds to detecting disengagement of the handle for a predetermined amount of time at. For example, if the operator disengages the handlefor the predetermined amount of time, the methodreturns to stepwhere the controllerdetects that the blower toolis in the disarmed state.

Further aspects of the invention are provided by one or more of the following embodiments:

A blower includes a main body; an air duct extending between an air inlet and an air outlet opposite the air inlet, the air duct including an air duct body; a motor for driving a fan disposed in the air duct body between the air inlet and the air outlet; a handle coupled to the air duct and including a sensor, the sensor configured to detect an engaged state in which an operator engages the handle and a disengaged state in which the operator disengages the handle; and a controller operably coupled to the sensor and the motor. The controller is configured to receive data indicative of operator engagement with the handle from the sensor, determine, using the data indicative of operator engagement with the handle, that the blower is in the engaged state, perform pre-operation actions in response to determining the blower is in the engaged state, determine, based on the pre-operation actions, that the blower is in an armed state, and control operation of the motor in response to determining the blower is in the armed state.

The blower of any one or more embodiments, wherein the sensor includes a capacitive sensor.

The blower of any one or more embodiments, wherein the sensor includes an inertial measurement unit.

The blower of any one or more embodiments, wherein the pre-operation actions include determining that electronics of the blower are working properly, a power source of the blower is operational, or a combination thereof.

The blower of any one or more embodiments, wherein: the handle further comprises a trigger operably coupled to the motor; the operator may selectively actuate the trigger between a depressed position and a released position; and the motor is activated in the depressed position and deactivated in the released position.

The blower of any one or more embodiments, wherein the controller is further configured to activate the motor in response to the sensor detecting the blower is in the armed state and in response to actuating the trigger to the depressed position.

The blower of any one or more embodiments, wherein the controller is further configured to deactivate the motor in response to the sensor detecting the blower is in the armed state and in response to actuating the trigger to the released position.

The blower of any one or more embodiments, wherein the controller is further configured to: determine, using the data indicative of operator engagement with the handle, that the blower is in a disengaged state; determine that the blower is in a disarmed state in response to determining that the blower is in the disengaged state; and prevent activation of the motor of the blower in the disarmed state.

The blower of any one or more embodiments, wherein the controller is further configured to: in response to determining the blower is in the armed state, determine that the blower is in a disengaged state for a predetermined amount of time; determine that the blower is in a disarmed state in response to determining that the blower is in the disengaged state for the predetermined amount of time; and prevent activation of the motor of the blower in the disarmed state.

The blower of any one or more embodiments, wherein the main body includes a backpack support configured to be worn on an operator's back.

The blower of any one or more embodiments, wherein: the air duct includes a blower tube coupled to a downstream end of the air duct body, the air outlet being disposed at a downstream end of the blower tube; and the handle is coupled to the blower tube.

The blower of any one or more embodiments, wherein the downstream end of the air duct body is configured to nest inside an upstream end of the blower tube.

A method of operating a blower includes receiving data indicative of operator engagement with a handle of the blower from a sensor; determining, using the data indicative of operator engagement with the handle, that the blower is in an engaged state; performing pre-operation actions in response to determining the blower is in the engaged state; determining, based on the pre-operation actions, that the blower is in an armed state; and controlling operation of a motor of the blower in response to determining the blower is in the armed state.

The method of any one or more embodiments, wherein controlling operation of the motor includes selectively activating and deactivating the motor of the blower based on actuating a trigger operably coupled to the motor.

The method of any one or more embodiments, wherein controlling operation of the motor includes: activating the motor in response to the sensor detecting the blower is in the armed state and in response to activation of the trigger to a depressed position; and deactivating the motor in response to the sensor detecting the blower is in the armed state and in response to actuating the trigger to a released position.