U.S. patent application number 11/349764 was filed with the patent office on 2007-08-09 for apparatus and method for using a compressed air flow and a vacuum to clean surfaces.
This patent application is currently assigned to LCtank LLC. Invention is credited to Thaddeus John Gabara.
Application Number | 20070180650 11/349764 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38332514 |
Filed Date | 2007-08-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070180650 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Gabara; Thaddeus John |
August 9, 2007 |
Apparatus and method for using a compressed air flow and a vacuum
to clean surfaces
Abstract
The basic invention uses a positive air pressure port to loosen
foreign objects into a cavity and a negative air pressure port to
vacuum these objects from the cavity. The positive air pressure
port can be used as a substitute for a mechanical beater brush.
Removing the beater brush allows the weight of the housing unit to
be reduced. The number of positive air pressure ports can be
reduced to increase the exit velocity of the air flow out of a
single port focusing the energy of the compressed air to a smaller
area of the surface which loosens hard to remove foreign objects
from the surface. A motor can be used to sweep a single positive
air pressure port in a back and fort motion to automatically clean
the surface. Finally, the housing unit can be made transparent to
view the surface as it is being cleaned.
Inventors: |
Gabara; Thaddeus John;
(Murray Hill, NJ) |
Correspondence
Address: |
THADDEUS GABARA
62 BURLINGTON ROAD
MURRAY HILL
NJ
07974
US
|
Assignee: |
LCtank LLC
|
Family ID: |
38332514 |
Appl. No.: |
11/349764 |
Filed: |
February 8, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
15/345 ; 15/346;
15/383 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47L 9/08 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
015/345 ;
015/346; 015/383 |
International
Class: |
A47L 5/14 20060101
A47L005/14 |
Claims
1. A surface cleaning system comprising; a housing unit coupled to
the surface being cleaned; a cavity formed between the housing unit
and the surface; a first port of positive air pressure coupled to
the housing unit; a second port of negative air pressure coupled to
the housing unit; and a flow of positive air pressure from the
first port that loosens a plurality of foreign objects from the
surface into the cavity; whereby a flow of negative air pressure
from the second port removes the plurality of foreign objects from
the cavity.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the housing unit is
transparent.
3. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one wheel
coupled to the housing unit.
4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a handle coupled to
the housing unit.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the surface cleaning unit can be
moved to clean at least one additional section of the surface.
6. The system of claim 1, further comprising a means for agitating
the cleaning surface with a beater brush.
7. The system of claim 1, further comprising a means for agitating
the cleaning surface with a liquid stream.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the first port comprises at least
one nozzle; and the second port comprises at least one port
opening.
9. The system of claim 8, further comprising a compressor
generating the positive air pressure applied to the first port; and
a vacuum creating the negative air pressure extracted from the
second port.
10. The system of claim 8, wherein one or more nozzles of the first
port are switched between an open or closed state in a sequential
order.
11. The system of claim 8, wherein the first port is in close
proximity to the surface and the second port is in close proximity
to the housing unit.
12. The system of claim 8, wherein the flow of positive air
pressure from the first port matches the flow of negative air
pressure from the second port.
13. The system of claim 8, wherein the flow of air pressure from
the first or second port can be independently adjusted.
14. The system of claim 8, wherein the flow of positive air
pressure from the first port can be adjusted in a preferred
direction via a control selected from the group consisting of
manual, automatic and computer driven.
15. A method of cleaning a surface comprising the steps of; forming
a cavity between the surface and a housing unit; applying a flow of
positive air pressure to the surface; loosening a plurality of
foreign objects from the surface into the cavity; and using a flow
of negative air pressure to remove the foreign objects from the
cavity; thereby cleaning the surface.
16. The method of claim 15, further comprising the steps of moving
the housing unit to clean at least one additional section of the
surface.
17. The method of claim 15, further comprising a means for
agitating the cleaning surface with a beater brush.
18. The method of claim 15, further comprising a means for
agitating the cleaning surface with a liquid stream.
19. The method of claim 15, further comprising the steps of
coupling at least one wheel to the housing unit.
20. The method of claim 15, further comprising the steps of
coupling a handle to the housing unit.
21. The method of claim 15, wherein the first port comprises at
least one nozzle; and the second port comprises at least one port
opening.
22. The method of claim 21, further comprising the steps of
generating the positive air pressure applied to the first port by
using a compressor; and creating the negative air pressure
extracted from the second port by using a vacuum.
23. The method of claim 21, further comprising the steps of
switching one or more nozzles of the first port between an open or
closed state in a sequential order.
24. The method of claim 21, wherein the first port is in close
proximity to the surface; and the second port is in close proximity
to the housing unit.
25. The method of claim 21, further comprising the steps of
matching the flow of positive air pressure from the first port to
the flow of negative air pressure extracted from the second
port.
26. The method of claim 21, further comprising the steps of
adjusting the flow of air pressure from the first port; and
adjusting the flow of air pressure to the second port independently
of each other.
27. The method of claim 21, further comprising the steps of
adjusting the flow of positive air pressure from the first port in
a preferred direction via a control selected from the group
consisting of manual, automatic and computer driven.
28. An apparatus for cleaning a surface comprising; means for
forming a cavity; means for applying a flow of positive air
pressure to the surface; means for loosening a plurality of foreign
objects from the surface into the cavity; and means for applying a
flow of negative air pressure to remove the foreign objects from
the cavity.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] Vacuum cleaners have been a household product for nearly 100
years. Some of the first products applied a vacuum within a cavity
to a surface where the foreign objects can be pulled out. The
cavity is formed between the housing unit of the vacuum cleaner and
the surface being cleaned. The next enhancement was the addition of
a rotating beater brush into the cavity which helped to agitate the
surface as the vacuum extracted the objects. The beater brush
caused the vacuum head to weigh more and often wrapped hair and
strings around the beater brush which required frequent
maintenance.
[0002] In addition, a wet vacuum (wet vac) applies water with a
soap solution to the surface of a carpet within the cavity. The
beater brush would help agitate the carpet fibers while the vacuum
would extract the water mixed in with the foreign objects. Then,
the carpet required a drying period before the carpet could be
used.
[0003] Fifty years ago, a futuristic vacuum was developed which was
unusual. A housing unit (which formed a cavity with the surface)
was connected to a flexible hose. The hose was then connected to
the canister which contained the motor for the vacuum cleaner. The
vacuum extracted the foreign objects into the canister whereby the
exhaust air was exited out the bottom of the canister causing the
canister to float off the surface.
[0004] It would be desirable to have further improvements in the
vacuum cleaner. An additional method to knock loose the foreign
objects would help to clean the surface more thoroughly. In
addition, a way of cutting down the drying time of a moist carpet
would be beneficial. Finally, in some cases, the beater brush can
be eliminated to decrease the weight of the unit and prevent the
previous mentioned maintenance. This invention can achieve these
and other results to provide further improvements in the vacuum
cleaner as described in the remainder of the specification.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The basic invention uses at least one positive air pressure
port to loosen foreign objects into a cavity while at least one
negative air pressure port vacuums these objects from the cavity.
The positive air pressure port or compressed air nozzle can be used
as a substitute for the beater brush. By removing the beater brush,
the weight of the housing unit can be reduced, hair is not trapped
around the beater brush unit and the beater brush's bristles do not
wear out the carpet. This makes it easier to move the housing unit,
reduce the maintenance issue and increase the life of the
carpet.
[0006] A wet vac can take advantage of the positive air pressure
port to help dry the carpet quicker. After the solution is applied
to the carpet, the high velocity air blasts the liquid and foreign
objects from the carpet. This helps to dry the carpet and allows
the carpet to be used sooner.
[0007] The number of positive air pressure ports can be reduced
(either manually or by computer control) to increase the exit
velocity of the air flow out of a reduced number of ports or
nozzles. This provides an additional cleaner power in that all of
the energy of the compressed air is applied to a smaller area of
the surface which loosens hard to remove foreign objects from the
surface.
[0008] A motor can be used to sweep a single positive air pressure
port in a back and forth motion to automatically clean the surface.
The single positive air pressure port can also be controlled by a
joystick on the handle of the vacuum cleaner to target specific
certain regions of the surface.
[0009] Finally, the housing unit can be made transparent to view
the surface as it is being cleaned. This condition provides the
consumer the ability to view the cleaning power of the vacuum which
provides an immediate feedback to the user as to where further
attention may be required.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 illustrates a cross sectional view of the cavity of a
prior art vacuum housing unit.
[0011] FIG. 2 shows a cross sectional view of the cavity of a prior
art vacuum housing unit with a beater brush.
[0012] FIG. 3 depicts a cross sectional view of the cavity of a
vacuum housing unit showing a positive air pressure port made in
accordance with the present invention.
[0013] FIG. 4 illustrates a cross sectional view of the cavity of a
vacuum housing unit showing a wand containing multiple positive air
pressure ports made in accordance with the present invention.
[0014] FIG. 5 depicts a cross sectional view of the cavity of a
vacuum housing unit showing a wand containing multiple positive air
pressure ports and a beater brush made in accordance with the
present invention.
[0015] FIG. 6 shows a cross sectional view of the cavity of a
vacuum housing unit showing a positive air pressure port and a wet
solution port made in accordance with the present invention.
[0016] FIG. 7a illustrates the prior art upright vacuum
cleaner.
[0017] FIG. 7b depicts an upright vacuum cleaner made in accordance
with the present invention.
[0018] FIG. 8a shows the prior art vacuum housing unit connected to
a vacuum tube which serves as a handle.
[0019] FIG. 8b illustrates a vacuum housing unit connected to a
vacuum and compressed air tubes which together serve as a handle
made in accordance with the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 9 shows a vacuum housing unit connected to a vacuum and
compressed air tubes that lead to a window mounted unit made in
accordance with the present invention.
[0021] FIG. 10a depicts a vacuum wand with multiple positive air
pressure ports where the wand can be rotated or the ports
selectively opened and closed in accordance with the present
invention.
[0022] FIG. 10b illustrates a vacuum nozzle with a single positive
air pressure port where the nozzle can be moved in a back and forth
motion in accordance with the present invention.
[0023] FIG. 11 shows a flow chart indicating the cleanup steps for
a surface made in accordance with the present invention.
[0024] FIG. 12 illustrates another flow chart indicating the
cleanup steps for a surface made in accordance with the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0025] A cross sectional view 1-1 of a cavity 1-4 formed between a
vacuum housing unit 1-2 and the surface 1-3 being cleaned is
provided in FIG. 1. A tube 1-6 provides a negative air pressure
port 1-5 connected to the housing unit 1-2. Since the cavity 1-4
has negative pressure applied within it, an air flow leakage 1-7a
through 1-7c illustrates the flow of air between the housing unit
1-2 and the surface 1-3 to equalize the pressure within the cavity
14 via the small gap 1-8. Note that if the gap 1-8 is reduced to
zero, the housing unit may become vacuum attached to the surface
1-3 and prevent the housing unit 1-2 from being moved. Thus, a gap
1-8 is required to insure easy movement of the housing unit
1-2.
[0026] All of the components identified with the same numeric
throughout these drawings corresponds effectively to the same
component. For example, in FIG. 2, the new components include the
cross sectional view 2-1 and the beater brush 2-2. All the
remaining numerics represent the components indicated in FIG. 1.
Note that the beater brush 2-2 can be used to agitate the surface
by rotating to loosen or set free foreign objects (not shown) into
the cavity 1-4. The negative air pressure port 1-5 removes these
objects via the tube 1-6.
[0027] FIG. 3 illustrates a first version of the invention. The
cross section view 3-1 depicts several new components. These
include the positive air flow 3-2 generated by a compressor motor
(not shown) and applied to the air tube 3-3. The tube has a port or
nozzle 3-4 and ejects the compressed air at high velocities. The
high velocity air 3-5 is applied to the surface to eject foreign
objects into the cavity 14. The negative air flow within tube 1-6
removes the objects from the cavity. The height of the gap 1-8 can
be reduced since the positive pressure is introduced by the air
tube 3-3. This gap 1-8 can be reduced to zero if the positive air
flow 3-2 matches the negative air flow within the tube 1-6. Thus,
this invention prevents the housing unit 1-2 from becoming vacuum
attached to the surface 1-3.
[0028] Thus, this vacuum system is more efficient than the previous
prior art cases for several reasons. First, the compressed air 3-5
focuses the energy into a given location. Second, as the gap 1-8 is
reduced, the air flow leakage 1-7 shown earlier is reduced. This
insures that the jet 3-4 further focuses the energy. The drag on
the housing unit 1-2 is reduced since the force between the housing
unit 1-2 and the surface 1-3 can be reduced. This makes it easier
to move the housing unit 1-2. Lastly, if the housing unit 1-2 is
transparent, the user can see the cleaning action within the cavity
1-4 which provides a positive feedback to the user allowing the
user to know when the surface 1-3 is clean.
[0029] FIG. 4 illustrates a second version of the invention. The
cross section view 4-1 shows a wand containing several port opening
4-3. The positive air flow 3-2 is applied to the air tube 3-3. The
tube is connected to a wand and ejects the high velocity air 4-2
from several nozzles 4-3. The high velocity air 4-2 is applied to
the surface to eject foreign objects into the cavity 1-4. The
negative air flow within tube 1-6 removes the objects from the
cavity. The wand can also be rotated to position the high velocity
air 4-2 at different angles to the surface 1-3.
[0030] The cross section view 5-1 in FIG. 5 illustrates the
addition of a beater brush 5-2 introducing another version of the
invention. Now there are two methods of agitating the surface 1-3.
The first is the high velocity air 4-2 emitted from the nozzles 4-3
to loosen foreign objects. The second is the mechanical rotation of
the beater brush 5-2 to loosen the objects.
[0031] The cross section view 6-1 in FIG. 6 depicts the addition of
a second tube 6-3 introducing another version of the invention.
This tube can be a soapy solution dispenser 6-4. The soap and water
mixture 6-2 flows as shown. The high velocity air 3-5 stream can
then eject the solution from the surface 1-3 into the cavity 1-4 to
be vacuumed by the tube 1-6. Although not shown, a beater brush can
be added to the assembly and use the soapy solution to help wash
the surface 1-3 further.
[0032] A conventional upright vacuum cleaner is shown as 7-1 in
FIG. 7a. The housing unit 1-2 is connected to the main body
assembly 7-4. Within the assembly 7-4 is a block 7-6 which contains
the vacuum motor and components (filter, fan, etc.). The assembly
is connected to a handle 7-5 to easily manipulate the vacuum unit
7-1. The housing unit also has wheels 7-3. The air leakage is
provided by 7-7 while the exhaust of the vacuum cleaner is
illustrated as 7-2.
[0033] An upright vacuum cleaner 7-8 version of the invention is
shown in FIG. 7b. However, there is the input air flow 7-9 being
provided to the compressor 7-10. The compressor then generates a
positive air flow into the cavity of the housing unit 1-2. The
wheels 7-3 can be adjusted so that the gap between the housing unit
and reduced when compared to the vacuum unit 7-1.
[0034] A conventional vacuum head unit is shown as 8-1 in FIG. 8a.
The housing unit 1-2 is connected to the tube 1-6 which also serves
as a handle. The tube 1-6 has a negative air flow 8-2 vacuuming the
foreign objects from the cavity. The air flow leakage 8-3 supplies
the air to loosen the objects.
[0035] A vacuum head unit 8-4 version of the invention is shown in
FIG. 8b. Another air tube 3-3 carries the positive air flow 3-2.
Thus, the air flow leakage 8-3 in FIG. 8a can be reduced while the
housing unit 1-2 can be placed closer to the surface. The
combination of the two tubes 1-6 and 3-3 can function as a
handle.
[0036] A window unit of the invention 9-1 is illustrated in FIG. 9.
This unit takes (sources) and ejects (sinks) all of the air used in
the vacuum head unit to/from the outdoors. It consists of a vacuum
head unit connected to a window 9-2. The tubes 1-6 and 3-3 are
flexible and are connected to the motor unit 9-3 that can be
inserted and fit snugly into an open component of the window 9-2.
The motor unit 9-3 contains the vacuum motor to create the negative
air flow 8-2, a compressor to generate the positive air flow 3-2,
and filters, fans, etc. Thus, all foreign objects from the surface
are vacuumed, sent up the tube 1-6 to the motor unit 9-3 where the
foreign objects smaller than the filter openings are ejected via an
ejection tube to the outside. The source of the compressed air is
provided by using a source tube from the outside. The motor unit
9-3 compresses this air and sends it down the tube 3-3 to the
vacuum head unit. If the openings of the two outside tubes are
close together, then there is a possibility that the dirty air will
be re-circulated back into the vacuum unit. To minimize this
situation, the source for the positive air flow can be a short tube
while the sink for the negative air flow can be applied to a longer
tube to minimize the interaction between the openings of the source
and sink tubes. This system is healthier since dirty air is
minimized from coming back into the house. Second, the noise is
reduced.
[0037] FIG. 10a shows a closeup of the positive air flow wand 10-3
within the unit 10-1. The wand 10-3 can be moved back and forth
within a given angle as indicated by the arrow 10-2. In addition,
the ports 4-3a to 4-3c in the wand 10-3 generate the high velocity
air sources 4-2a to 4-2c. The openings 4-3a to 4-3c can be opened
and closed in sequence or in random order. Thus, when all but one
are closed the increased high velocity can be used to provide a
through cleaning in a given region.
[0038] FIG. 10b shows a closeup of a single source for compressed
air 3-5 with the unit 10-4. In this case, the tube 3-3 is moved
back and forth as indicated by the arrows 10-5 and 10-6. The
movement can be controlled manually joystick), automatically or by
computer control. Thus, one source with a very high velocity air
3-5 can be applied to all regions of the surface being cleaned.
[0039] FIG. 11 shows a flow chart 11-1 illustrating the cleaning
operation. Block 11-2 is the starting location, while block 11-3
indicates that a cavity is formed between the surface and the
housing unit. Block 11-4 indicates the application of a positive
pressure to the surface, and block 11-5 shows the step to loosen
foreign objects from the surface. Block 11-6 applies a negative
pressure to the cavity to remove the objects, while block 11-7
indicates that cleaning is completed.
[0040] FIG. 12 shows a flow chart 12-1 illustrating another
cleaning operation. Block 12-2 is the starting location, while
block 12-3 indicates that a transparent housing allows the user to
view the cleaning action. Block 12-4 questions if surface is clean;
if yes then go to block 12-8 to see if there are any uncleaned
surfaces, otherwise, go to block 12-5 to enable the automatic
pressure wand. Block 12-6 questions if surface is clean; if yes
then go to block 12-8 to see if there are any uncleaned surfaces,
otherwise, go to block 12-7 to enable the joystick pressure wand to
apply air pressure in a specific area. At block 12-8 a
determination is made if there are any unclean surfaces left; if
yes then go to block 12-9 and move to new surface and then go to
block 12-3. Otherwise, move to block 12-10 and the cleaning is
complete.
[0041] Finally, it is understood that the above descriptions are
only illustrative of the principles of the current invention. In
accordance with these principles, those skilled in the art may
devise numerous modifications without departing from the spirit and
scope of the invention. For example, there can be a plurality of
positive air pressure wands, a plurality of negative pressure
ports, and a manual, automatic or computer controlled coordination
between the position of the positive air pressure ports and the
negative air pressure ports to achieve an improved surface cleaning
capability. The surface 1-3 can be a soft surface, hard surface,
fabric, carpet, hardwood, or any usable surface. The housing unit
1-2 can contain any combination of positive and negative pressure
ports, any number of beater brushes 5-2, and a soapy solution
dispenser 6-4. The air tube 3-3 carrying the positive air flow can
be inserted within the air tube 1-6 providing the negative air
pressure. In addition, these units are powered either by an AC or
DC source as is well know in the art.
* * * * *