US2550384A - Air intake mechanism for air filter machines - Google Patents

Description

A ril 24,1951 E. P. samv 2,550,384 v Filed Deq. 27, 7194s t I zsheets-sheet 1 AIR INTAKE MECHANISM FOR AIR FILTER MACHINES the hose.

Patented Apr. 24, 1951 7 AIR INTAKE MECHANISM FOR AIR FILTER MACHINES Edgar P. Senn, Rockville Centre, N. Y. Application December 27, 1948, Serial No. 67,497

6 Claims.

7 1 This invention relates to improvements in air intake mechanisms for air filter machines, for

' example, vacuum cleaners either of the relatively fixed position type or those of the type adapted to be freely and easily propelled over a floor in any desired random direction by small manual forces applied by a domestic user such as those disclosed and claimed in my co-pending application Serial No. 749,772, filed May. 22, 1947, and my abandoned application Serial No. 702,389, filed October 10, 1946.

It has among its objects the provision of a yoke-like air inlet mechanism which, while advantageous in many different. types of cleaners whether mobile or stationary, is nevertheless especially advantageous in vacuum cleaners of the type of my aforesaid applications. These advantages arise from several structural charactristics of the yoke mechanism. In the first place, because it directs the intake to a, more convenient point of entry into the filter mechanism, it frees much of the space within the chassis hitherto taken up by hose attachment mechanisms for better employment as space for enlarged filter bag capacity. Secondly, the fact that the yoke is freely rotatable about its own axis and. may be attached at the center of gravity of the machine proper, facilitates turning movements of and prevents the transmission to the machine proper of many of the operator's random. manual forces which would be transmitted normally through the hose to rock and move the machine unnecessarily. The result is that the machine, and especially its chassis which is now free of eccentric hose attachment, has greater tendency to, stay in its normal upright or equilibrium position. Further, the use of the yoke minimizes the amount of flexing of the air intake hose and thereby eliminates to a substantial degree one factor which ordinarily causes wear of It may even be employed as a handle for transportation or as a means for actuating the motor control switch as disclosed and claimed in my co-pending application Serial No. 67,498 filed concurrently herewith.

The features of the invention on which patent protection is sought are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, together with furs ther objects and the advantages thereof may best be understood by reference to the following speci no ation and accompanying drawings illustrating a pref rr d embodiment of the invention. In the drawing, the Fig. 1 illustrates in perspective a machine of the eneral ype of my aforesaid applications and embodying the present inventiom 2 the F 2 represents a vertical cross-section through a longitudinal plane midway between the Wheels Of such a, machine; the Fig. 3 illustrates a horizontal cross-section taken along the line of 33 of the Fig. 2; while the Fig. 4 illustrates a suitable filter bag construction for the machine of the preceding figures.

Referring now to the Fig. 1 in particular, the machine I may comprise, generally, a central chassis I mounted for free rotation about some horizontal axis of support such as that of a pair of supporting wheels 2-7-2 substantially as described in the aforesaid applications. The chassis I may be so arranged on its axis of support that it normally assumes an upright equilibrium position in which it is stabilized by the weight of the motor fan unit 3 (Fig. 2) eccentrically positioned with respect to the axis of support. For the purpose of providing a suitable inlet channel for air sucked in through the portable exploring hose 4 having the exploring wand 5 on the distal v endthereof, there may be provided in accordance with the present invention a hollow yoke-like memberfi having side arms 1 with inwardly projecting ends 8 (Fig. 3) journaled concentrically with the wheels 2. and mounted for free'rotation with respect thereto and also with respect to the chassis I. In order to complete the general spherical appearance of the machine, the bulbous portions 9 may be added and so constructed that the yoke arms extend therethrough as indicated by the Fig. 3.

- With suitable power supply means and connecting circuits (not shown), motor fan unit 3 may be controlled by suitable switch means which may, for example, be of the type disclosed and claimed in my co-pending'application, Serial No. 67,498 filed concurrently herewith in which the switch is actuated on or off by the manipulation of the hose by the operator. The switch is shown in this case'as taking the form of a contact switch In mounted on the chassis I at some predetermined angular relation to the horizontal position of the yoke whereupon small movements of the hose and the attached yoke in the upward direction will switch this switch on and off alternately 'at the will of the operator.

The Figs. 2, 3 and 4 show the construction in somewhat greater detail. As there shown, the chassis I is provided with a central normally horizontal wall II perforated at its outer edges forthe. passage of air therethrough as shown in Fig. 3. Wall ll divides chassis I into upper filter" and lower air-propulsion compartments I2 and I3 respectively. In the air filter compartment there is arranged a suitable removable and replaceable filter bag I4 (Fig. 4) adapted to have its inlet orifices I5 aligned with the inlet portions of the yoke ends 8 and supported by member l6. Member [6 may be a trough-like device having upwardly extending side walls IBA around its peripheral edges. In the lower or air propulsion compartment I3 there is provided a suitable electric driving motor and fan unit 3 which draws the air into the machine through the yoke, through the filter bag, upward and over side wall IBA, downward through the space 11 between side walls 16A and the chassis walls, through the perforations 18 of wall ll respec tively, through the air propulsion compartment 13 and out of the exit orifice l9-all in the path indicated by the arrows. To separate the inlet and outlet ends of motor fan unit 3, and isolate the outlet end from the filter compartment, a suitable wall 3A is provided. For the purpose of removal of the filter bag! a suitable hinge door 20, hinged at 2| and adapted to be retained in normally closed position by manually releasable mechanism 22 is provided.

As best seen in the Fig. 3, the wheels 2 may be mounted, preferably by friction reducing means, to rotate freely about the ends 8 of the yoke 5. For example, collars 23 affixed to arms 8 may be formed to receive hubs 24 of the wheels 2. In a similar manner, the chassis -l may be mounted to rotate freely about the ends 8. The means are shown in this'embodiment as comprising the collar or end plate 25 concentrically mounted on the collar 23 by use of a ring 26.

The outer walls of the chassis I may be aiifixed,

as by Welding, at the points 21 to end plate 25 which thereby also forms a wall of the chassis. As already indicated, the side walls 28 aiilxed to the yoke and rotatable therewith, may be provided with the bulbous portions 9 Welded to the outer periphery thereof in order to complete the general spherical shape of the machine. The member :5 which forms the immediate support for the filter bag 54 may be affixed by any suitable means as by attachment to the chassis central wall H by any suitable supports (not shown). The filter bag [4 may take the general form of a semi-cylinder as shown by the Fig. 4 and may be of the usual fiexible or semi-rigid construction or may embody the invention claimed and described in my co-pending application, Serial No. 27,277, filed May 15, 1948, now Patent No. 2,543,556, dated February 27, 1951. Preferably it will include some means for forming a dust tight seal between the bag and the yoke. For example, resilient collars 29 of rubber or like material may be arranged to engage firmly the collars 35 mounted on the yoke ends 8 to facilitate firm fitting between the collars of the filter bag, the collars 30 are slidable along the longitudinal direction of the yoke end 8 and biased inwardly by suitable means such as springs 3|. Suitable stop members are provided to prevent the collars from sliding completely off the end of the shaft.

7 I have shown the filter bag and yoke arrangement as providing inlets for the air from either side, but it will be apparent that the machine may be modified to provide such inlet on only one side. In that case, the one arm of the yoke may be left without connection to the filter bag and the filter bag may be provided with an inlet orifice only on the one side.

While I have shown and described a specific embodiment of the invention, it will be under-' stood that numerous modifications thereof will occur to those skilled in the art to which it pertains. All such as fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention I aim to include within the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An air filtering machine of the type adapted to be propelled over a floor comprising a pair of wheels and a chassis suspended between said wheels for free rotation about the'axis' thereof, said chassis including a filter chamber, and a hollow yoke having an inlet port and ends journ'aled in said machine concentrically with said axis on opposite sides of said chassis, said yoke defining a flow path for the flow of air to be filtered from said inlet port into said chamber.

2. An air filter machine of the type adapted to be propelled over a floor comprising a pair of wheels and a chassis suspended between said wheels for free rotation about the axis thereof, said chassis including a filter chamber, and a hollow generally u-shaped yoke having ends journaled coaxially with said axis on opposite sides of said chamber and an air inlet port in the crossarm of said yoke adapted to connect with the end of a flexible cleaning hose, means connecting at least one of said yoke ends to said chamber whereby said yoke and said latter means define a flow path for the flow of air to be filtered from said inlet port into said chamber.

3. A vacuum cleaner of the type adapted to be propelled over a fioor by forces exerted on a port.

able exploring hose comprising in combination a pair of wheels and a chassis suspended between said wheels for free rotation about the axis thereof, said chassis including a filter chamber, and a hollow yoke having an inlet port adapted to connect with the end of a portable exploring hose and ends journaled in said cleaner concentrically with said axis, said yoke defining a flow path for the fiow of air to be filtered from said inlet port into said chamber and constituting a means for transmitting propulsion forces exerted on such a hose to said cleaner.

4. A vacuum cleaner of thetype adapted to be propelled over a floor by forces exerted on a portable exploring hose comprising in combination a pair of wheels and a chassis suspended between said wheels for free rotation about the axis thereof, said chassis including a filter chamber, a hollow generally U-shaped yoke having ends journaled in said cleaner coaxially with said axis on opposite sides of said chamber and an air inlet port in the crossarm of said yoke adapted to connect with the end of a portable exploring hose, and means connecting at least one of said be propelled over a floor by forces exerted on a portable exploring hose comprising in combination a pair of wheels and a chassis suspended between said wheels for free rotation about the axisthereof, said chassis including a filter. cham-.

ber and air propulsion means weighted and posi-.

tioned normally to stabilize said chassisin an upright equilibrium position, and a hollow yoke having an inlet port adapted to connect with the end of a portable exploring hose and ends journaledinsaid cleaner concentrically with said axis, said yoke defining a fiow path for the flow of air to be filtered from said inlet port into said chamber and constituting a means for transmitting propulsion forces exerted on such a hose to said cleaner. V

6. A vacuum cleaner of the type adapted to be propelled over a floor by forces exerted on a portable exploring hose comprising in combination a pair of wheels and a chassis suspended between said wheels for free rotation about the axis thereof, said chassis including a filter chamber and air propulsion means weighted and positioned normally to stabilize said chassis in an upright equilibrium position, a hollow generally U-shaped yoke having ends journaled in said cleaner coaxially with said axis on opposite sides of said chamber'and an air inlet port in the crossarm of said yoke adapted. to connect with the end of a portable exploring hose, and means connecting at least one of said yoke ends to said chamber, all whereby said yoke and said latter means define a fiow path for the flow of air to be filtered from said inlet port into said chamber and said yoke constitutes a means for transmitting propulsion forces exerted on such a hose to said cleaner.

EDGAR P. SENNE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Germany Aug, 7, 1935

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