Dyson unveils bladeless fan

James Dyson, inventor of the famous range of Dyson bagless vacuum cleaners, has taken the wraps off his latest invention: a fan that, he claims, eliminates the uneven airflow created by more conventional electric designs.

Uniquely, the so-called Dyson Air Multiplier fan has no visible fan blades on its exterior. To create airflow, an impeller driven by a brushless motor brings air into the fan from openings in its base, which is then accelerated into a circular chamber that the company calls the loop amplifier.

The loop amplifier comprises an airfoil-shaped ramp through which the air from the motor is blown into, around and then out of - a process that channels it towards the user. At the same time, surrounding air is drawn into the airflow, amplifying the amount of air projected by the fan by up to 15 times.

According to Dyson, there are several advantages of the new design, including the fact that the user can precisely adjust the air speed with a dimmer-switch control on the unit, rather than be limited by the fixed number of settings on existing designs.

The fact that it has no external blades will mean that it is simple and safe to clean. In addition, as its motor is at its base, the Dyson Air Multiplier fan can be tilted with a touch, unlike a conventional top-heavy fan, which needs to be positioned with two hands and can topple easily.

Dyson said: 'I’ve always been disappointed by fans. Their spinning blades chop up the airflow, causing annoying buffeting. They’re hard to clean and children always want to poke their fingers through the grille. So we’ve developed a new type of fan that doesn’t use blades.'

A short video highlighting the operation of the fan can be found here.