Forced hot air appliance with swivel handle

Claim 1

A forced hot air appliance which comprises: a main handle assembly which includes a main handle housing that is generally tubular and which defines a front end and a rear end, a heater means which is mounted within the main handle housing for heating air which flows therepast, and a ventilator means which is mounted within the main handle housing for forcing air to flow through said main handle housing from the rear end to the front end thereof and past the heater means therein, a bearing assembly which includes a generally tubular bearing sleeve having a front portion that is fixedly mounted in the rear end of the main handle housing and a rear portion that extends away from the rear end of the main handle housing, two separated metallic contact rings which are positioned around the rear portion of the bearing sleeve, and two electrical wires which are respectively connected to the two contact rings and which extend through the bearing sleeve and connect to the ventillation means and the heater means in the main handle housing, and a swivel handle assembly which includes a swivel handle housing that provides a head portion and a body portion, the head portion having a rear end which defines an air inlet screen and a front end which defines a circular opening through which the rear portion of the bearing sleeve extends for enabling the bearing sleeve and the main handle housing to be rotatably supported by the swivel handle housing, and a submersible switch means which is mounted within the swivel handle housing, the submersible on/off switch means including a switch box and two spaced apart metallic contact paddles which extend away from the switch box and which contact the respective metallic contact rings on the bearing sleeve of the bearing assembly regardless of the rotational position of the bearing sleeve and the main handle housing relative to the head portion of the swivel handle housing.