Portable exhaust fan for removing airborne hazardous materials

Abstract

A portable, light-weight exhaust fan that can be easily and quickly carried to and set up in a localized area to safely, efficiently and substantially remove airborne materials thereby overcoming the above and other drawbacks of conventional exhaust fans. Exhaust fans in accordance with aspects of the present invention may be used to ventilate a localized area such as an enclosed room and may be placed in any aperture such as a window or doorway to remove substantially all airborne material from the air passing therethrough, and to exhaust filtered air directly or indirectly to the surrounding environment. An exhaust fan constructed such that air traveling along an exhaust path through the fan is prevented from contacting components of the fan that can be damaged by exposure to the airborne materials. This enables the exhaust fan to efficiently remove airborne materials from a localized area while preventing the same materials from adversely affecting the operation of the fan. This has particular utility in application wherein the airborne material such as paint over spray adheres readily to surfaces. By preventing the accumulation of debris on internal fan components, the fan operates with greater efficiency for longer periods of time, does not require the extensive periodic cleaning that conventional exhaust fans mandate, and has a significantly longer operational life. The fan components that necessarily come into contact with the air; that is, the interior surface of the exhaust chamber and the vanes of the fan, are preferably accessible and/or removable to facilitate cleaning.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.