U.S. patent number 3,910,781 [Application Number 05/516,992] was granted by the patent office on 1975-10-07 for vertical-tank-type vacuum cleaner.
Invention is credited to Samuel Bryant, Jr..
United States Patent |
3,910,781 |
Bryant, Jr. |
October 7, 1975 |
Vertical-tank-type vacuum cleaner
Abstract
A vacuum cleaner tank has superimposed separate top and bottom
sections and is provided in its side with an air inlet for
connection to a hose. Electrically operated suction means at the
top of the tank draw air in through the hose and inlet and
discharge it at the top of the tank after it has passed through a
filter in the top section of the tank. The bottom section is
provided with means for removably holding an open-top collection
bag beneath the filter in a position to receive dirt from the air
inlet and the upstream surface of the filter. Vertical pivot means
secured to the side of the tank permit its top section to be swung
to the side to uncover its bottom section so that the
dirt-collection bag can be lifted out of the bottom section.
Inventors: |
Bryant, Jr.; Samuel
(Zelienople, PA) |
Family
ID: |
24057925 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/516,992 |
Filed: |
October 22, 1974 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
55/305; 15/347;
55/429; 55/478; 15/314; 15/352; 55/470 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47L
9/1418 (20130101); A47L 9/106 (20130101); A47L
5/365 (20130101); A47L 9/125 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47L
5/36 (20060101); A47L 7/00 (20060101); A47L
9/10 (20060101); A47L 5/22 (20060101); B01D
041/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;15/314,327D,347,352,353,327R,344
;55/300,304,366,429,DIG.3,305,478,470 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Hornsby; Harvey C.
Assistant Examiner: Moore; C. K.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Brown, Murray, Flick &
Peckham
Claims
I claim:
1. A vacuum cleaner comprising a tank having superimposed separate
top and bottom sections and provided in its side with an air inlet
for connection to a flexible hose, electrically operated suction
means at the top of the tank for drawing air in through said inlet
and discharging it at the top of the tank, a filter mounted in said
top section in the path of air flowing from said inlet to said
suction means and having an upstream surface and an opposite
downstream surface, means in said bottom section for removably
holding an open-top collection bag therein beneath said filter in a
position to receive dirt from the upstream surface of the filter,
and vertical pivot means secured to the side of the tank to permit
its top section to be swung laterally to uncover its bottom
section, whereby a dirt-filled collection bag can be lifted out of
said bottom section.
2. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, in which said pivot means
include a vertical sleeve secured to one of said tank sections, and
a vertical post secured to the other tank section and extending
into said sleeve, the post and sleeve being rotatable relative to
each other on a vertical axis.
3. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, in which said pivot means
include a vertical sleeve secured to said bottom tank section, and
a vertical post secured to the top tank section and extending down
into the sleeve, the post being rotatable in the sleeve to permit
said lateral swinging of the top section.
4. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 3, including a vertical
sleeve secured to said top section and aligned with said
first-mentioned sleeve below it, the post being tubular and rigidly
mounted in the upper sleeve, an electric switch at the top of said
upper sleeve, electric wires connecting the switch with said
suction means, and electric wires extending from said switch down
through said sleeves and post for connection to a source of
electricity.
5. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, including a first metal
band extending from said pivot means substantially half way around
the tank in one direction, the band being secured to the top of
said bottom section and extending above it, a second metal band
extending from said pivot means around the tank in the opposite
direction to said first band, the second band being secured to the
bottom of said top section and extending below it, and a resilient
sealing strip secured to the exposed inner surface of each band and
compressed against the outer surface of the tank section carrying
the other band when said sections are in vertical alignment.
6. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, in which said filter is a
bag open at its bottom and closed at its top, the vacuum cleaner
including means in said top section of the tank supporting the top
of the filter bag, and means forming a seal between the bottom of
the filter bag and the side of said top section, said air inlet
being disposed below the bottom of the filter bag but above said
means for holding a collection bag.
7. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 6, said sealing means
including a ledge extending around the inside of the lower portion
of said top section, a ring extending around the open bottom of the
filter bag directly beneath said ledge and secured to the bag, and
said bag-supporting means pulling the bottom of the filter bag
tightly against said ledge.
8. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 6, in which said filter bag
supporting means include springs and manually operable means
extending slidably through the side of said top section for shaking
the filter bag.
9. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, in which said collection
bag supporting means includes a ring adapted to fit in the open top
of a collection bag and hold it against the side of said bottom
section, and means projecting inwardly from the side of said bottom
section directly beneath said ring to support it, said ring being
adapted to be flexed inwardly to remove it from the collection
bag.
10. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, including lugs extending
inwardly from the bottom of said bottom section and provided with
vertical holes to receive fasteners for mounting the tank on a
base, and a bottom plate removably mounted in said bottom section
above said lugs.
11. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 10, including a ledge
extending around the inside of said bottom section above said lugs,
a sealing gasket on said ledge, and means fastening said bottom
plate to the ledge with said gasket between them.
Description
Large vertical tank-type vacuum cleaners, generally coin operated,
are used at car washes and other locations. Air is drawn into the
tank through a flexible hose with a suitable nozzle and flows
through a filter before being discharged at the top of the tank.
Vacuum cleaners of this type now in use have doors in the sides of
their lower portions, through which the dirt that is collected in
the tank can be removed. In some cleaners the dirt falls into a
rigid container that can be pulled out through the door and then
emptied and replaced, while in others there is no such container,
so the dirt has to be shoveled out through the door and into a
disposable container. Both of these ways of emptying vacuum
cleaners are messy and are objectionable.
It is among the objects of this invention to provide a vertical
tank-type vacuum cleaner in which the tank has no door in its side,
in which all of the dirt is collected in a disposable bag inside
the tank, in which the tank can be opened easily to permit the
dirt-collecting bag to be lifted out of the bottom of the tank, and
in which a filter bag can be shaken manually to remove dirt from
it.
The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the
accompanying drawings, in which
FIG. 1 is a side view of the vacuum cleaner;
FIG. 2 is a reduced plan view;
FIG. 3 is a side view showing the tank partly open;
FIG. 4 is an enlarged vertical section taken on the line IV--IV of
FIG. 1; and
FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 are horizontal sections taken on the lines V--V,
VI--VI, and VII--VII, respectively, of FIG. 4.
Referring to the drawings, a vertical cylindrical tank is divided
more or less centrally along a horizontal plane into top and bottom
sections 1 and 2 that normally rest on each other in axial
alignment. The side of the tank is provided near the joint between
the two sections with an air inlet in which a short tube 3 is
welded. This tube receives one end of a flexible hose 4, at the
other end of which there is a suitable suction nozzle 5. Inside the
bottom of the tank circumferentially spaced lugs 7 are welded to it
and are provided with vertical holes so that the tank can be bolted
down to a foundation. A flat metal ring 8 on top of the lugs also
is welded to the inside of the tank. On this ring there is a
sealing gasket 9 that is compressed between the ring and a bottom
plate 10 resting on the gasket and secured to the ring by bolts 11.
At the top of the tank are means for drawing air into the tank
through the hose and discharging it from the top of the tank. For
this purpose one or more electric suction blowers 13 are used, two
being shown in the drawings. The blowers are rigidly mounted on a
top plate 14 over openings through it. The plate rests on a sealing
gasket 15 that seats on a flanged ring 16 encircling the inside of
the tank and welded to it. The plate is bolted to the ring.
Inside the top section of the tank is an air filter, preferably in
the form of an inverted filter bag 18, the bag being closed at its
top and open at its bottom, from which it tapers upwardly. As shown
in FIGS. 4 and 5, the top of the bag is connected by loops 19 to a
rigid horizontal ring 20 supported at circumferentially spaced
points, 120.degree. apart for example. With three points of
support, coil springs 21 are hooked onto the ring at two points,
with the outer ends of the springs hooked into the flanged ring 16
that supports the top plate. These springs are inclined from the
ring downwardly so that they exert an upward pull on the bag. The
third point of the ring is connected to the inner end of a rod 22
that extends out through a hole in the side of the tank. The outer
end of the rod is formed into a loop to serve as a handle. Between
this loop and the tank a short rubber sleeve 23 is mounted on the
rod as a bumper. A large rigid ring 25 with a diameter nearly as
great as the inside of the tank is sewed into the bottom of the
filter bag. This ring is disposed directly below a ledge formed by
an annular angle bar 26 secured to the inside of the tank as shown
in FIGS. 4 and 6. The springs 21 at the top of the filter bag pull
ring 25 upwardly to clamp the bag against the bottom of the ledge
to form a seal. Consequently, air entering the tank through its
inlet flows up into the bag and through its sides and top and then,
the dirt having been filtered out of the air, is drawn up through
the blowers and blown out into the atmosphere, all as indicated by
the arrows in FIG. 4. The top of the tank should be covered by a
dome 27, the lower portion of which encircles the top of the tank
and is provided with inwardly extending brackets 28 that rest on
the tank and that are fastened to it by screws 29 as shown in FIGS.
4 and 5. The filtered air leaving the blowers is deflected by the
dome downwardly between its bottom and the top of the tank.
Resting on the bottom plate 10 of the tank is the bottom of a
dirt-collection bag 31, which may be a plastic bag like those used
for garbage cans and grass clippings. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7,
the top of the bag is hold open by means of a flexible metal ring
32 disposed inside the top of the bag and pressing it outwardly
against the side wall of the tank a short distance below the inlet.
To prevent this ring from slipping downwardly in the tank, it is
placed directly above supporting means projecting inwardly from the
side of the tank, such as an annular ledge formed by a metal bar 33
extending around the inside of the tank and welded to it. At one
point the flexible ring is provided with an inwardly projecting
knob 34, which can be pulled to flex it inwardly in order to
release it from the bag so that the bag can be removed from the
tank. As long as the bag is in place, dirt drawn into the tank
through the hose will either fall directly into the bag or cling to
the inside of the filter bag, which is its upstream surface, until
shaken loose by manually pulling or releasing shaker rod 22,
wherefrom the loosened dirt will fall into the collection bag.
It is a feature of this invention that when the dirt-collection bag
has become filled with dirt and debris it can be lifted out of the
bottom section of the tank and disposed of. The removal of the bag
is accomplished by first swinging the top section 1 of the tank
laterally to one side as indicated in dotted lines in FIG. 2 to
uncover the bottom section 2. In order to permit this to be done,
the two sections of the tank are connected by vertical pivot means.
Preferably, such means include a vertical sleeve secured to one of
the tank sections and a vertical post secured to the other tank
section and rotatably mounted in the sleeve. Most suitably, the
sleeve 36 is welded to the bottom section of the tank and the post
37 is secured to the top section, such as by rigidly mounting the
upper end of the post in a vertical sleeve 38 welded to the top
section of the tank and seated on the lower sleeve in alignment
with it as shown in FIG. 4. When the top section of the tank is
swung to the side, as shown in FIG. 3, the post turns in the lower
sleeve and also serves to support the top section in its swung-out
position. The collection bag then can be easily lifted out of the
exposed open top of the bottom section of the tank and replaced by
a new bag, after which the top section is swung back over the
bottom section again to form the tank. There is no door in the side
of the tank, no container to remove and empty and return to the
tank, and no shoveling of loose dirt from the tank.
To maintain the two sections of the tank in alignment while the
vacuum cleaner is being used, and also to seal the joint between
the tank sections, metal bands extend from the upper sleeve 38 in
opposite directions around the tank and meet at its opposite side.
One of these bands 40 is welded to the top of the bottom section of
the tank and overlaps the top section. The other band 41 is welded
to the bottom of the top section and overlaps the bottom section.
When the upper section of the tank is swung out to the side, it
will move away from band 40 and carry band 41 away from the lower
section 2. The projecting inner surface of each band is covered by
a resilient sealing strip 42, which is compressed between the tank
and the band when the tank is closed. Preferably, the exposed
surface of each strip is covered by a strip of fabric 43 so that
there will be no danger of the sealing strips sticking to the
adjoining surfaces of the tank. The free ends of the two bands are
pulled toward each other by a suitable toggle latch 44 of
well-known construction in order to press the sealing strips
tightly against the tank so that the joint will not leak air.
The vacuum cleaner disclosed herein will usually be used as a
coin-operated machine. In such a case a conventional coin operated
meter is mounted in a box secured to the top of the upper pivot
sleeve 38 and the adjoining side of the tank. This meter includes
an electric switch 46 that is connected by wires 47 to the two
blowers 13. The switch receives its power through an electric cord
48 that extends down through the pivot post 37, which is hollow for
this purpose, and through the lower sleeve 36 and then in beneath
the bottom plate 10 of the tank, where the cord can be plugged into
an electric outlet in the foundation.
According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have
explained the principle of my invention and have illustrated and
described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment.
However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of
the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than
as specifically illustrated and described.
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