Blower with speed lockout

Abstract

Blowers are provided. 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 speed selector in communication with the motor for controlling a motor speed, the speed selector including two or more speed settings for the motor speed; an indicator configured to indicate a locked state of the two or more speed settings of the speed selector; and a controller operably coupled to the motor, the speed selector, and the indicator.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A blower, comprising:
 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 speed selector in communication with the motor for controlling a motor speed, the speed selector including two or more speed settings for the motor speed;   an indicator configured to indicate a locked state of the two or more speed settings of the speed selector; and   a controller operably coupled to the motor, the speed selector, and the indicator, the controller configured to:
 receive a speed lockout signal including a locked speed, the locked speed corresponding to at least one or the two or more speed settings of the speed selector, 
 receive a desired speed setting from the speed selector, 
 determine the desired speed is locked based on the desired speed being equal to the locked speed, 
 activate the indicator based on the desired speed being locked, and 
 prevent operation of the blower based on the desired speed being locked. 
   
     
     
         2 . The blower of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
 determine the desired speed is unlocked based on the desired speed being different than the locked speed; and   operate the motor of the blower at the desired speed based on the desired speed being unlocked.   
     
     
         3 . The blower of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the two or more speed settings include a first speed setting, a second speed setting, and a third speed setting;   the indicator includes a first indicator associated with the first speed setting, a second indicator associated with the second speed setting, and a third indicator associated with the third speed setting;   the locked speed corresponds to one or more of the first speed setting, the second speed setting, and the third speed setting; and   the controller is further configured to activate one or more of the first indicator, the second indicator, and the third indicator corresponding to the locked speed in response to receiving the speed lockout signal.   
     
     
         4 . The blower of  claim 1 , wherein the indicator comprises at least one indicator for each of the two or more speed settings. 
     
     
         5 . The blower of  claim 4 , wherein activating the indicator includes activating the indicator of one or more of the two or more speed settings that corresponds to the locked speed. 
     
     
         6 . The blower of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to activate the indicator in response to receiving the speed lockout signal. 
     
     
         7 . The blower of  claim 6 , wherein:
 the indicator comprises a light-emitting diode (LED); and   activating the indicator in response to receiving the speed lockout signal includes flashing the LED.   
     
     
         8 . The blower of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the controller includes a communications interface; and   receiving the speed lockout signal includes receiving the speed lockout signal from an external device via the communications interface.   
     
     
         9 . The blower of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
 adjust the desired speed setting to an unlocked speed of the two or more speed settings; and   operate the motor of the blower at the unlocked speed.   
     
     
         10 . The blower of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a lock speed actuator, wherein the controller is configured to receive the speed lockout signal from the lock speed actuator; and   a handle coupled to the air duct, the speed selector and the indicator disposed on the handle.   
     
     
         11 . The blower of  claim 1 , further comprising a handle coupled to the air duct, the speed selector and the indicator disposed on the handle. 
     
     
         12 . A method of operating a blower, comprising:
 receiving a speed lockout signal including a locked speed, the locked speed corresponding to one or more of two or more speed settings of a speed selector for controlling a motor speed of the blower;   receiving a desired speed setting from the speed selector;   determining the desired speed is locked based on the desired speed being equal to the locked speed;   activating an indicator disposed on the blower based on the desired speed being locked; and   preventing operation of the blower based on the desired speed being locked.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 determining the desired speed is unlocked based on the desired speed being different than the locked speed; and   operating the blower at the desired speed based on the desired speed being unlocked.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein:
 the two or more speed settings include a first speed setting, a second speed setting, and a third speed setting;   the indicator includes a first indicator associated with the first speed setting, a second indicator associated with the second speed setting, and a third indicator associated with the third speed setting;   the locked speed corresponds to one or more of the first speed setting, the second speed setting, and the third speed setting; and   the method further comprises activating one or more of the first indicator, the second indicator, and the third indicator corresponding to the locked speed in response to receiving the speed lockout signal.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein:
 the indicator comprises at least one indicator for each of the two or more speed settings; and   activating the indicator includes activating the indicator of one or more of the two or more speed settings that corresponds to the locked speed.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising activating the indicator in response to receiving the speed lockout signal. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein:
 the indicator comprises a light-emitting diode (LED); and   activating the indicator in response to receiving the speed lockout signal includes flashing the LED.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein receiving the speed lockout signal includes receiving the speed lockout signal from an external device via a communications interface of the blower. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein receiving the speed lockout signal includes receiving the speed lockout signal from a lock speed actuator disposed on the blower. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 adjusting the desired speed setting to an unlocked speed of the two or more speed settings; and   
       operating the blower at the unlocked speed.