Blower

Claim 1

A CENTRIFUGAL BLOWER WHEEL COMPRISING, A PLURALITY OF PARALLEL SEPARATE BLADES CIRCUMFERENTIALLY ARRANGED TO FORM A WHEEL HAVING A PREDETERMINED OUTER DIAMETER, EACH SAID BLADE HAVING A SMOOTHLY CURVED BLADE SURFACE WITH A PREDETERMINED RADIUS, SAID BLADE SURFACE HAVING A FREE INNER TRAILING EDGE PORTION AND AN OUTER LEADING EDGE PORTION IN A DIRECTION OF ROTATION OF THE WHEEL, SAID LEADING PORTION TERMINATING IN A LEADING EDGE WHICH IS SUBSTANTIALLY TANGENT TO THE WHEEL PERIPHERY, AN INTEGRAL EXTENSION ON EACH END OF EACH SAID BLADE PROJECTING AXIALLY OUTWARD OF SAID BLADE FROM SAID OUTER EDGE PORTION ONLY AND SUBSTANTIALLY FORWARD THEREOF IN THE DIRECTION OF ROTATION OF THE WHEEL SO THAT THE END OF SAID BLADES ADJACENT SAID TRAILING INNER EDGE PORTIONS ARE FREE FOR AXIAL FLOW OF AIR INTO THE WHEEL THEREBY INCREASING THE INNER INTAKE AREA OF SAID WHEEL, SAID OUTER EDGE PORTION OF SAID BLADE AND SAID EXTENSION HAVING A TAPERED PORTION IN THE AREA OF THEIR JUNCTURE FOR POSITIONING THE OUTERMOST PORTION OF SAID EXTENSION RADIALLY INWARD OF THE WHEEL FROM SAID LEADING EDGES, SAID EXTENSION INCLUDING A RECTANGULAR FLANGE ON SAID OUTERMOST POSTION THEREOF WHICH PROJECTS PERPENDICULARLY THEREFROM RADIALLY OUTWARD OF THE WHELL, SAID FLANGE HAVING UPPER AND LOWER EDGES WHICH ARE PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER AND TO A PLANE EXTENDING TANGENTIALLY OF SAID WHEEL THROUGH SAID LEADING EDGE OF SAID BLADE SURFACE, AND A CONTINUOUS RETAINING RING AT EACH END OF THE WHEEL HAVING A GROOVE CONCENTRIC WITH THE WHEEL FOR RECEIVING AND ENCLOSING SAID FLANGES TO POSITION THE CENTER OF CURVATURE OF SAID BLADE SURFACE AND THE MIDPOINT OF SAID FLANGES ATTACHED THERETO IN A COMMON RADIAL PLANE WITH SAID LEADING EDGE OF SAID BLADE SURFACE SO THAT SAID LEADING EDGES LIE SUBSTANTIALLY TANGENTIAL OF THE WHEEL, SAID RINGS HAVING A RADIAL INNER PORTION WHICH SUPPORTS THE RADIAL INNERMOST SURFACE OF SAID EXTENSION AND LIES RADIALLY OUTWARD OF SAID FREE INNER TRAILING EDGE PORTIONS OF SAID BLADE, AND AN INTEGRAL RADIAL OUTER PORTION ON SAID RINGS WHICH SURROUNDS SAID FLANGE AND HAS AN OUTER DIAMETER SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO SAID PREDETERMINED DIAMETER FOR LOCKING SAID BLADES TOGETHER.