CA1072888A - Precleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF DISCLOSURE: An apparatus for separating particulate matter entrained in a gas, as air, from the gas. The apparatus has a housing surrounding a separation chamber. A vane assembly carrying a cylindrical bowl is secured to an upper portion of the hous-ing. The vane assembly has a plurality of circumferentially spaced inclined vanes providing air inlet passages open to the separation chamber for directing the gas and particulates entrained in the gas in a circular motion in the separation chamber. A stack mounted on the bowl forms an annular chamber above the vanes in communication with the inlet of the passages formed by the vanes. An open mesh screen surrounds the annular chamber. An impeller assembly located in the lower portion of the separation chamber has a plurality of arms carrying paddles. The paddles arc located in an annular discharge chamber in communication with the lower portion of the sepa-ration chamber. A plurality of downwardly open exit openings are in communications with the exit chamber. Circumferentially extended blades separate the exit chamber from the exit open-ings. The impeller assembly has centrally located propeller means located in the clean air outlet. As the clean air moves in a spiral direction through the clean air outlets, it causes the propeller means to rotate and thereby turn the impeller assembly. The rotating paddles pump gas and particulates from the exit chamber through the exit openings into the outside environment.

Description

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION:
Air precleaners are used for removing particulates from the air prior to moving the air through an air cleaner con-nected to a carburetor or air intake structure of an internal `
combustion engine. Petersen in U. S. Patent No. 3,670,480 discloses an air precleaner having a rotatable impeller or spinner operable to separate particles from air, discharge air and particles circumferentially from a housing, and direct clean air to the air intake structure o~ an engine. The clean air moves centrally through a stack to an engine in responseto a vacuum pressure on the air moving to the engine. This precleaner has an air inlet vane assembly located in the bottom of the housing for directing air upwarclly in a circular path into a centrifugal separation chamber. The air flows upwardly and then turns downwardly into the centrally located clean air exit open:ing. The impeller is used to pump air and particu-late matter out through side discharge openings. While this device is operative, it does not take full advantage of the power of the vortex-like air flow in the mouth region of the clean air outlet passage.
Air clean;ng devices having propeller blades located in ;
air flow passages for turning a rotor having vanes have been proposed to separate dirt from air. Examples of this type of ~
device are disclosed by Quam in U. S. Patents No. 1,434,562 -and No. 1,438,553 and Grimes in U. S. Patent No. 1,530,825.
The vanes move the incoming air in a circumferential direction ~'72~ 8 to a scpar~ting chamber wherc thc ~lirt particles are subjected to centrifugal force which moves them outwardly. The outside strata of air and dirt is pumped by the moving vanes out of the bottom of the separation chamher. I`he vanes must be in the separation chamber to providc thc necessary circumferen-tial motion to the air.
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SU~RY OF INVENTION~
The inventlon reiates to an apparatus for separating particulate matter, as dirt, dust, snow and the like, from a:
carrier gas, as air. More specifically, the apparatus of the invention is used in conjunction with the air inlet to an internal combustion engine for separating airborne particles from the air prior to introdilctioll of the air into the engine, such as the air cleaner and carburetor oE the engine. The apparatus;has a housing surrounding a separation chamber. A
, circumferentially positione(l VallC a~scmbly delivers air in a circular swirling or Elow pattern to the upper portion oE the chamber. A bowl-shaped ho~using is mounted on the vane assembly.
The bowl-shaped houslng has an annular air inlet chamber located above the vane assembly. An annular screen surrounds the bowl to separate the annular intake~chamber ~rom the surround-ing envlronment. An impeller or spinner assembly is located in the separation chamber. The impeller assembly is rotatably mounted on a bearing supported from the bowl. The impeller assembly includes a plurality of propeller blades. The blades have major portions located in the clean air exit passage so that the vortex-like movement of the air in the passage spins the impeller. The impeller !las a plurality of outwardly directed arms carrying pumping blades or paddles. The blades are located in an annular air and partlcle discharge or exit chamber. The -. .
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~ 07Z8~3~3 discharge chamber is open to the lower portion of the separation chamber and a plurality of exit openings. Circumferentially dis-posed arcuate blade members separate the air exit chamber from the discharge or outlet openings.
An ohject of the invention i~ to providc an air precleaner operable to efficiently separate particulate matter, as dirt, dust, snow, ice and the like, from the air prior to its intro-duction into an internal combustion engine. Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for separating dirt and other foreign matter from a gas having vane structure for directing the gas in a circumferential direction'to a separa-tion chamber and impeller structure having pumping paddles locate~ in a separate annular exit or discharge chamber posi-tioned o~ltwardly of the sel)aration chamber to expel gas and dirt from the apparatus.' A further objcct o~ the ;nvention is to pro-vide an air pre'cleaner with an im~eller assembly having propeller means located in the clcan air passagc so that the propeller means ~is driven by the vortex movement of the air flowing in .
the clean air passage. Yet Dnother object of the invention is to provide an effective and efficient apparatus to separate' dirt particlès and the like from a gas that uses the ~low of the gas through the apparatus to power an impeller pump and does not have external power requirements. Still another 'object of the invention is to provide an alr precleaner with a removablè cover and screen to facilitate scrvicing and cleaning of the precleaner. A still further object of the inventi`on is to`provlde an air precleaner having a spinner with a bearing assembly that has a minimum of rotational fric-tion and does not freeze up under adverse conditions. These and other objects and advantages of the invention are dis-closed in the following description of the preferred embodi-ment of the invention and the drawings associated therewith.

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1~72B~38 IN T11E DRA1~INGS: .
Figure l is a side elevational view of a f1rst modification of the air precleaner of the invention;
Figure 2 is a bottom plan ViC~Y of the air precleaner of Figure l;
Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Figure l;
Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Figure 3;
. Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of Figure 4;
Figure 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of Figure 3;
Figure 7 is an ènlargec1 sectional view taken along line 7-7 of Figure 3;
Figure 8 lS a sectional view taken along line 8-8 of Figure 7;
Figure 9 is a sid'e elevational view oE a second modifica-. tion of the air precl,eaner o~,the invention;
Figure 1'0 is a bottom plan:view of the air precleaner of Figure 9; - , ~ . . -' Figure ll is an enlarged sectional view taken along the 'l1ne ll-ll of Figure 9;
, Figure'12 is a sectional view taken along the li,ne 12-12 '; of Figure ll; ' : .
. Figure 13 is an enlarged sectional'view taken along the line 13-13 of Figure 12;
Figure 14 is-a sectlonal view;taken aIong the line 14-14 of Figure ll; '' '30 ' Figure.. l5 is a side elevational view of a third modiica-tion of the air precleaner of the invention, ' Figure 16 is a top plan view of Figure l.5;

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~072~388 Figure 17 is a sidc elevational view of a fourth modifica-tion o-f the air precleaner of the invention;
Figure 18 is a bottom plan.view of the air precleaner of Figure 17;
Figure 19 is an cnlarged sectional view taken along ~he line 19-19 of Figure 17;
Figure 20 is a sectional view taken along the line 20-20 of Figure lg; - -. Figure 21 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the .line 21-21 of Figure 20; and Figure 22 is a se.ctional view taken along the line 22-22 of Figure 19.

DBSCRIPTION OF PREFERRED E~IBODI~I~NT:
Referring to the drawings, therc is shown in Figure 1 the air precleaner of the invcntion indicated generally at 10 mounted on a low pressure air i.ntake stack 11. Stack 11 ls a tubular air intak~ pipe that is connected to an air cleaner mounted on or connectecl to the carburetor or air intake manifold of an internal combustion engine. An example .of an air intake pipe and structuFe to mount.the:pipe on a vehi-cle having an internal-combustion engine is shown in applicant's . co-pending U. S. application Serial No. 571,584 filed Apr11 25, 1975, now U. S. Patent No. 4,013,137. Precle~aner 10 is usable with internal combustion.engines, such as those used in trac- :
tors, trucks, buses or the like, and stationary engines.
Intake stack 11 has a passage 12 for carrying air to a selected location, such as the air cleaner for a carbure~or.

Precleaner 10 is useful in other environment:s, machines, 3.0 engines,.burners, and the llke to remove particulate matter from gas. The following disclosure is limited to the use of . . , ~ ' . .
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11~)728~8 the precleaneT 10 with an internal combustion engine for sep-arating airborne particles, as dust, fibers, tailings, sand, snow, ice~ and the like, from the air prior to passage of the air to the air cleaner and the carburetor of the engine. The - rcmoval of these particulatcs from the air prior to movement of the air to the air cleaner provides a more efficient and clean air cleaner, thus extending tlle life of the air cleaner, carburetor and the engine.
Precleaner'10 has an upright.tubular or cylindrical housing indica~ed generally at 13 mounted on stack 11. The'housing 13 includes a downwardly directed cylindricaI air or gas'outlét sleeve 14 positioned over thc top Or stack ll. Sleeve 14 has an outlet passage 15 in axial alignment ~ith passage 12 of stack 11. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, a band clamp 16 located about sleeve 14 holds the sleeve in.firm engagement with the stack 11.' 'A nut and bolt assemhly 17 cooperates with clamp 16 to releasably mount ~he.clamp on slecve 1'4.
. Housing 13, as shown in Figure 3, comprises an upright : tube or cylindrical membçr 18 surrounding a particl'e.separation chamber 19. A ~ane assembly indicated generally at 21 is loc'ated 'within the upper part of chamber 19. The outside of vane assem-.
bly 21 is secured by wel`.ds to the upper portion or side wall 18 and the inside of vane-assembly 21 i:s secured by welds'to a cen-' trally located bowl or center member indicated generally at: 22.
. . Vane assembly 21 compri~ses a plurality of pairs of vanes 23 and 24 extended circumferentially around bowl 22.. As shown in Figure '~ 4, pairs of vànes 23 and '24 are spaced from each`other by a pass-` age 26 to provide for the flow of air into the.chamber 19. Vanes ` 23 and 24 are short arcuate segments which slope downwardly in a circumferential clockwise direction. The pairs of vanes 23 and 24 cir.cumferentially overlap each other. In other words, ' ' - ' :`
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~7Z8138 upper part of vane 24 i~s above the lower part of vane 23. As shown in Figure 5, the upper end section 23A of vane 23 curves upwardly in an axial direction. Vane 24 has a similar cùrved upper section 24A. The upper sections 23A and 24A of each of the pairs of vanes are spaced from the adjacent inside wall of tube 18 forming therewith a recess or cavity 27.
Returning to Figure 3, bowl 22 has an upright cylindrical side wall 28. The pairs of vanes 23 and 24 are secured by welds or the like to ~he side wall 28. Side wall 28 is integral with a convex curved bottom wall 29. Bottom wall 29 curves down-wardly from the vane assembly 21 and is located in the midsection -;
of chamber 19.
~ second bowl or velocity stack indicated generally at 31 is mounted on top of bowl 22. Bowl 31 has an annular convex curved side wall 32 joined to a flat circular bottom 33. Side wall 32 effectively forms an up'per extension of center member wall 28. The outer peripheral ledge of bottom 33 has an inwardly directed annular shoulder 34. Shoulder 3~ forms an annular recess for accommodating the top edge of side wall 28. The shoulder 34 nests in a telescopic concentric~relationship with side wall 28 and thereby centers nnd mounts the second bowl 31 on the first bowl 22. The top section of side wall 32 has an axially extended cylindrical annular flange 35. Flange 35 has an outside cylindrical wall engageable with a circular screen 36.
Screen 36 is a wire mesh preferably having 4 wires per cm.
Other size screens can be used. The lower section of screen 36 fits into the ca~ities 27 between the vanes 23 and 24 and the inside of tube 18.
` A generally flat, dome-shaped cover 37 closes the top o bowl 31. Cover 37 has a clownwardly~directed annular lip 38 locate~ around the outside of the upper portion of screen 36 .` `.'~ ~, ~ `.'-' '' ' " '' , .. .... ..... . ., . .. ... , . . ~ . .

11~7Z888 and holds the screen around the flange 35. Lip 38 terminates in an outwardly directed annular flange 39. Flange 35, lip 38 and vanes 23 and 24 and tube 18 support the screen 36 on the housing 13. An axially extended rod 41 longitudinally extends through the bottom 29. Rod 41 is clamped to bottom 29 with an upper nut 42 and a lower nut 43. Washers 44 and 46 are located on opposite sides of the bottom 29 and are held in clamping engagement with bottom 29 by th~ nuts 42 and 43 respectively.
Rod 41 exten~s upwardly from nut,42~through a hole 47'in bottom 33 and a hole 48 in cover 37. A l~ing'nut 49 threaded on the 'upper end of rod 41 holds the cover 37 in firm engagement wlth the top annular edge of flangc 35.
A rotatable impeller or spinner assembly indicated gener-ally at 51 is lo,cated below housing member or tube 18 in the bottom part of chambcr l9. Spinner assembly 51 has an up'right cylindrical hub 52 having four outwardly directed linear ribs 53, 54, 55 and 56. The ribs 53-56 are circumEerentially spaced 90 from each other and are attached to upright generally rec-tangular blades 57, 58, 59 and 60 respectively. Suitablè fas-tening means 61, as a pluraiity of rivets, secure the blades' .. . .
'to their respective ribs. The ribs and blades can be-lntegral with the hub 52. For example, thè hub, ribs and blades can be - a one-piece plastic or other rigid member.
Referring to Figure 8, hub 52 is a bearing assembly ' '' rotatably mounted on a downward]y directed portion 41A of rod 41. A pair of roller-bearings'62 and 63 rotatably mount hub 52 on rod portion 41A. The lower end of thè hub 52 carries a cap or plug 64 to protect the bearings 62 and 63 from foreign material. ~ , Rods or arms 66, 67, 68 and 69 extend outwardly from the ,respective ribs 53, 54, 56 and 55. Secured to the outer end . ' , - ~

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1~728~8 of each arm 66, 67, 68 and 69 are paddles or impellers 71, 72, 73 and 74 respectively. Each paddle is a blade-like member having a convex curved forward or leading face. The paddles 71-74 are surrounded by an annular skirt or sleeve 76 and are located in an annular exit or discharge chamber 77. Chamber 77 surrounds and is located outwardly of separation chamber 19. '~
Skirt 76 has an upwardly directed cylindrical flange 78 secured by welds or the like to the lower portion of side wall 18. Skirt 76 is connec.te.d to the outlet sleeve 14 with a base or disc 79 providing a second or lower wall for chambers l9 and 77. Disc 79 has a downwardly directed inner annular flange 81 secured 'by welds or the like to outlet sleeve 14. The outer peripheral edge of disc 79 has downwardly dircctecl outer annular Elange 82 accommodating a plurality of nut and bolt assemblies 83 which attach the skir.t 76 to disc 79. A plurality of separa-tors or arcuate blades' 84, 85, 86 and 87 are located in the chamber 77 between the outer ends of the paddles 71, 72, 73 and 74 and skirt 76.' Blade 84 has an end 84A, as"shown in .` ~igure 6j attached to the skirt 76. Bladès 85, 86~and 87 ha~e similar ends 85A, 86A and 87A attached to the skirt 76.' The ~:
opposit`e.or forward end's of the blades 84-87 are spaced inwardly from the skirt 76 with washers or'spacers 88 surround.lng the . ~ -nut and bolt assembl.ies' 83. As shown in Figures 2 and.6, the' blades 8~, 85, 86 and 87 are spaced from each other equal cir-cumferential distances and form a'plurality of arcuate discharge passages 89 leading tp downwàrdly'directed outiets between the ~`
skirt 76 and the outside flange.8~ of base 79, as seen in Figures 3 and.6. The forward'inlet portions or mouths of the ' .
passages 89 are upright and thereby define the entrances to elongated passages separated 90~ from each other and are locatèd radially outwardly from the paddles 71-74.

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1~728138 'I'ube 18 has a lower extension 18A that separa~es a portion of the chamber 19 from chamber 77. The base 79 has a down-wardly directed shoulder 79A providing an annular bottom recess 91. The paddles 71, 72, 73 and 74 are located in an /upright position generally parallel to the rotational axis of `
spinner assembly 51. Each of the paddles, being mounted at an outer end of arms 66, 67, 68 and 69, is located in the annular chamber 77. The lower ends of paddles 71-74 are located in recess 91. The upper ends of paddles 71-74.are located in the annular space radially outwardly of extensio.n l8A. .Chamber 77 is in communication with the chamber 19 via an annular open-ing or passage 80 and thc dischargc outlets 89 via the upright and elongated mouths of outlets 89.
The impeller blades 57, 58, 59 and 60 extend into tlle passage 15 formed by outlet sleeve 1~. Outlet sleeve 14 has an upwardly directed top section 14~ that extends above the top of base 79. ~lore than one-half of tlle length of blades 57, 58, 59 and 60 are located in passagc 15. The remaining or upper portions of.the blades are located imme~iately above the mouth or top end of passage 15., Referring to Figures 7 and 8, a bearing filter assembly indicated generally at 90 is located above hub 52. A cap 91 ' having an open upper end is mounted on'the top of hub 52 and ' surrounds the rod 41A. An annular felt washer 92 surrounds the rod 41A,and engages the top o'f:cap 91. A metal washer 93 engages ~he top of the felt washer 92 and lS freely located ,. about tlle rod 41A. The metal washer 93 functions as a weight , to hold the ~elt washer 92 in engagement with the top of cap ' . 91. In operationj the.rotation of spinner assembly 51 and 30 ''vor'tex or circular motion of the-air movlng in passage 15 causes a vacuum'pressure in the center portion of outlet passage lS.

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~7288i3 The air and fine particles entralned in the air will flow through bearings 62 and 63 under the influence of the vacuum pressure.
The felt washer functions as a filter to minimize the amount of foreign material that can flow with the air into bearings 62 and 63. The weight 93 insures that tlle felt washer remains in an effective filtering location with respect to the top of the cap 91.
In use, the precleaner lO is mountcd on the intake stack 11 leading to the intake manifold or air intake structure of an internal combustion engine via the air cleaner and carburetor.
The engine creates a suction force that draws the air.through passage 12 of the stack. This causcs the air to flow through the screen 36. The a,ir enters inlet opening or an annular cham-ber 94 surrounded by screen 36 adjacent the annular side wall 32 of the second bowl 31. The ~ir flows through the passages 26 betwecn the pairs o:~ vancs 23 and 24. Tlle angular inclination of vanes 23,and 24 causes the air to move or swirl in.a circum-' ferential direction as,it is discllarged into chamber l9. The circumferential movement of ilir ancl particlcs in chamber 19 causes,the heavier particles to move outwardly toward the in-side surface of tube 18.. The air and particles move downwardly ~along the inside wall of tube 18 and flow 'outwardly over the - 'bottom edge of.the extension.18A into annular exit chamber 77.
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The ai~ and particles move through an annular opening.'or pass-age 80 between the lower end of tube 18 and bottom wall 79.
The cleaner air in the center of the chamber 19 moves into the outlet.passage 15 of the outlet sleeve ,14. The air moving through passage 15 rotates in a c1rcumferenti;a1 direction. The circumferentially moving air engages the blades 57, 58, 59 and 60 to thereby rotate the spinner assembly 51. The rotating spinner assembly 51 moves paddles 71,'72, 73 and 74 around .
'- ~ :', ` ` '. , ~07281~3 annular chamber 77. This forces or pumps the air and particles in chamber 77 out to the atmosphcre through the discharge passages or outlets 89. The pumping efficiency of paddles 71-74 is en-hanced by having the annular chamber 77 larger than the width of passage 80. The stationary separating blades 84, ~5, 86 and' 87 guide t]le air outwardly and ~ownwardly through the discharge outlets 89.
The air ~noving,througll the chambcr 19 moves circumferen-tially and axially. A portion of the air with the heavler particles moves axially outwardly and is discharged through the arcuate passages or outlet discharge openings 89. Another portion of the air moves inwardly to the outlet gas passage 15 where it engages blades 57, 58, 59 and 60 to thereby rotate spinner assembly 51. The relatively clcan air moving through the passage 15 is in a circular or vortex-type flow. This flow provides su~ficient speed of rotation o~ the paddles 71-74 so that they create a pumping force to move air from exit chamber 77 through the discharge outlets 8~.
, In the event the screen 36 needs cleaning or replacement, it can be removed. ~ing nut 49 is removed from rod 41 and the cover 37 is separated from,the bowl 31. Screen 36 can be axially moved from around bowl 31 so that both screen 36 and passage 94 can be cleaned.
Referring to Figures 9-14, there is shown a second modifica~ion of the air precleaner of the invention indicated generally at 100. Pre'cleaner 100 can be mounted on an upright air intake stack. A stack carrying a precleaner is disclosed in applicant's co-pending U. S. application Serial No. 571,584 filed April 25, 1975j now U. S, Patent No. 4,013,137.
Precleaner 100 has an upright or tubular housing indicated generally at '113 having a downwardly directed cylindrical outlet , ~ . , ' ' -- ~ . .., . ~ :
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sleeve 114. Slceve 114 is adapted to be connected to the outlet end of the stack. Sleeve 114 has a central outlet passage 115 for directing clean air into the stack. Housing 113, shown in Figure 11, comprises an upright tube or cylindrical member 118 defining a particle separation chamber 119. A vane assembly, indicated generally at 121, is located within the upper part of chamber 119. The outside of vane assembly 121 is secured by welds or the like to the inside of tube 118. The inside portions of vane assembly 121 is secured by welds or the like to a centrally located bowl or center member indicated generally at 122.
Vane assembly 121 comprises a plurality of pairs of vanes or blades 123 and 124. The vanes 123 and 124 are circumferen-tially spaced from each other and cxtend around bowl 122.
Referring to Figures 12 and 13, each pair of vanes 123 and 124 are circumferentially spaced from each other by an inclined pas-sage 126 which allows air to flow ;n a circumferential direction into chamber 119.' Vancs 123 an-l l2~ are short arcuate sheet metal segments whlch slope downwar~ly in a circumferential clockwise direction.' Trailing and leading portions-of each pair of vanes 123 and 124 circumferentially overlap each other so that àll of ' the air is moved in a circumferential direction as it enters the separation chamber 119. In other words, the upper part of vane 124 is above the lo~er'part of vane 123.
Referring to Figure 13,,the upper end sec,tion 123A of vane 123 cùrves in an axial or longitudinal direction. Vane 124 has a similar curved upper or inlet end section 124A.
Returning to ~lgure 12, the upper or inlet sections 123A and 124A of each of the pairs of vanes 123 and 124 are spaced from the adjacent inside wall 118 of the tube to form short recesses or cavities 127.

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~L07Z~381 3 Returning to Figure 11, bowl 122 has an upright cylindrical side wall 128 faced radial]y inwar~lly from the tube 118. A
convex shaped dome 130 is inte~ral with the upper edge of wall 128. A cup-shaped bottom wall 129 is attached to the lower end of wall 128. Bottom wall 129 has an annular outside downwardly directed lip or flange 129A that i~ secured by welds or the like to a lower section of wall 128.
As shown in ~igures.9 and 11, a cyllndrical screen 136 ex-tends upwardly from the top o wall 118. Screen 136 is a cylin-drical screen sleeve having a lower section located within the cavities 126 formed by vanes 123 and 124 and wall 118. Screen 136 surrounds an inlet chamber 140 having an annular bottom portion open to inlet of housing 11~ or passages 126. Screen 136 is a wire mesh member, prefcrably llaving four wires per centimeter. Other size screens can be used for screen 136~
A generally flat ~ome cover 137 closes the top of screen 136. Cover 137 has a downwardly directed annular peripheral lip 138 located in enga~cmcnt with an uppcr annular section of screen 136. An outwardly projected annular flange 139 is attached to-the lower end of lip 138. Cover 137 forms the top wall of the inlet chamber 140.
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An upright rod 141 is located along the central longitu-dinal axis of chamber 140. Rocl 141 is clamped onto the mid-section of botto~ wall 129 with.a pair of nuts 142 and 143.
Washers 144 and 146 are interposed adjacent opposite sides of wall 129. Rod 141 projects through a central hole 147 in wall 129 and extends downwardly into separation chamber 119. The upper end of rod 141 projects through a centrai hole 148 in cover-137. -A wing nut 149~threaded onto the upper end of rod :~
141 holds the cover 137 in assemb.led relation with screen 136. :
l~ing nut 149 can be readily removed whereby the cover can be ;:
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1~72B~8 remove~ from rod 141. Screen 136 can be lifted from the vane assembly 121 l~hereby it can be readily cleaned and replaced.
Referring to Figures 11 and 14, a rotatable impeller or spinner assembly, indicated generally at 151, is located below the lower end of wall 118 in the bottom part of separation chamber 119. Spinner asscmbly 151 has an upright cylindrical central hub 152. Four upright flat blades 157, 158, 159, and 160 are secured to and project radially outwardly from hub 152.
Blades 157-160 are integral with the hub and are circumferentially spaced 90 from each other. About the lower one-third of each of the blades 157-160 project downwardly into the upper portion of passage 115. Hub 152 has a central bore accommodating a bearing assembly 162 rotatably mounting the spinner assembly 151 on the lower en~ of rod 141. Bearing assembly 162 can be a sleeve bearing or a roller bearing, as shown in ~igure 14.
Preferably, bearing assembly 162 has a minimum of friction or resistance to rotation of spinner asscmbly 151. Returning to ~igure 11, a cap 164 located abovc hub 152 closes the top entrance ' into hub 152. Cap 164 can be the air-pervious washer as shown in Figure 8.
Referring to Figure 14, a plurality of arms or rods'l66, 167, 168 and 169 extend radially in an outward direction from hub 152. Rods 166-169 are l'ocated in the vertical planes of blades 157, 158, 159, and 160 respectively. Rods 166-169 are .
located in the common horizontal plane in the lower portion of separation chamber 119. Upright paddles or impellers 171, 172, 173, and 174 are secured to the outer ends of each arm. Paddles 171, 172, 173, and 174'are upright convex members located in an 'annular exit chamber 177. The leading or forward sections of paddles 171-174 are convex in shàpe. Chamber 177 is surrounded by an~annular skirt or sleeve 176. Sleeve 176 has an upwardly -16'- ` .

72~88 directed flange 178 sccured to a lower portion o~ wall 118. The lower or bottom side of chamber 177 is closed with a base or dish plate 179. As shown in Figure 11, plate 179 has a downwardly directed annular step portion 179A forming the bottom area of chamber 177. The inner portion of plate 179 has an upwardly directed annular flange 181 secured to the top of sleeve 114.
The outer peripheral edge of plate 179 has a downwardly directed flange 182 located in inwardly spaced relationship relative to the lower portion of skirt 176.
~A plurality of circumferentially spaced nut and bolt assem-blies 183 attach the skirt 176 to outer annular flange 182. A
plurality of arcuate separators or blades 184, 185, 186, and 187 are located in chamber 177 between the outer ends of paddles 171-174 and skirt 176. Blade 184 has an end 184A attached by welds or the like to the inside of skirt 176, as seen in Figure '' 10. Blades 185, 187 have similar ends attached to the inside of skirt 176. The opposite,or orl~ard ends of blades 184-187 are spacecl inwardly from skirt 176 Wit]l washers or spacers 188 sur-rounding the bolts of the nut and bolt assemblies 183. As shown in Figures lO`and 14, blades 184-187 are spaced from each other equal circumferential distances and form a plurality of air dis-charge outlets 189 between skirt 176 and outside flange 182 of base `179. The forward portions or mouths of the outlet 189 are upright, elongated passages separated about 90 from each other and are located radially outwardly of paddles 171-174.
Returning to Figure 11~ the cylindrical wall or tube 118 , has a lower portion or'extension 118A that separates a portion , of chamber 119 from the outside annular chamber 177 fo,r paddles.
171-174. Paddles 171-17~ are located in an upright positlon ,generally par~llel~to the rotational axis of the spinner assembly '' 151. The lower ends of the paddles are located in a recess 177A.

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Tlle ul~pcr cnds of the pa(kllcs 171-174 are located in the top annular pocket or recess 177B. Recesses 177A and 177B form the top and bottom portions of the ~nnular chamber 177. Chamber 177 is in direct communication with the separation chamber 119 via a large annular opening or passage 180 defined by the lower edge of the extension 118A and the base 179. Chamber 177 is also in communication with the outside atmosphere via the arcuate outlet passages 189 defined by the separators 184-187 and the inside of skirt 176.
Referring to Figures 15 and 16~ there is shown a -third modification of the air precleaner indicated generally at 200 of the invention. Precleaner 200 has a cylindrical housing 213 carrying an annular sleeve or skirt 276. Skirt 276 has a flange 278 attached to the lower portion of housing 213. A
downwardly directed outlet sleeve 214 is attached to the lower portion of housing 213. Housing 213 contains a vane assembly and a spinner assembly as shown in the precleaner of Figures 9-14. All of the structure shown and described relativ~to precleaner 100 is incorl~orated into precleaner 200.
The top of housing 213 is closed with a dome shape or hemispherical shaped screen 236. An upright rod 241 extends through the top of screen 236 and carries a wing nut 249. Nut 249 holds the screen 236 in àssembled relation with the top of housing 213.
Precleaner 200 is used in locations where it is not necessary to have a solid cover or roof structure for the precleaner. For example, precleaner-200 can be used under a vehicle hood and located in a horizontal position. Wing nut 249 can be removed -and the screen 236 pulled from the rod 241 so that it can be readily cleaned, repaired or replaced.
Referring to Figures 17-22, there is shown a fourth modi--lS-:~

1~7Z~8~3 fication of the air preclcnner o~ the ;nv~ntion indicatedgenerally at 300. Precleaner 300 has an upright housing 313 having a centrally located downwardly directed outlet sleeve 314. Sleeve 314 is adapted to be mounted on the inlet end of a pipe or stack for delivering clean air to the air intake structuTe of an internal combustion cngine. Sleeve 314 has a passage 315 open to the interior of the precleaner.
Referring to Figure 19, precleaner 300 has an upright tube or cylindrical member 318 surroun~ling a particle separation , chamber 319. A vane assembly indicated generally at 321 is located in the upper portion of separation chamber'319. Vane assembly 321 surrounds a central bowl or center member 322 which proYides a support for a spinner assembly 351. Vane assembly 321 comprises pairs of c'ircumferentially oriented vanes 323 and 324. The pairs of vanes are spaced from each other ~o form inclined circumferentially directed passages 326. ' ' As shown in ~igure 21, the upper or inlet ends of each vane has a forward or axially curved end 323A and 324A for directing air into the passages 326. Air and entrained particles flow through the passages 326 and are directed into the separation chamber in a circumferential direction such that the centrlfugal forces acting on the particles move the particles outwardly toward ' the annular wall 318.
Returning to Figure 19, bowl 322 has an upright cylindrical wall 328 secured to a cup-shaped bottom wall 329. The dome-shaped top wall 33n is integral with the top of wall 328.
Thè lower portion of ~all 318 has an outwardly directed an~ular flange 328A terminatlng in an upwardiy directed annular' ' lip 332. -Bowl-328, flange 328A, an~ top wall 330, as well as vane, assembly 321, member 318, flange 331, and lip 332, are'formed ~rom a single piece of material such as plastic. The cup-shaped 107~8~38 bottom wall 329 is a sep~rate piece that fits into the bottom portion of the cylindrical wall 328.
An annular cylindrical open member 336 such as a screen or expanded metal surrounds thc cylindIical wall 318 and rests on the flange 331. A dome-shaped cover 337 rests on the top of screen 336. Cover 337 has an outer downwardly directed lip 338 terminating in an annular flange 339. Cover 337 closes the top of an inlet chamber 340 in commllnication with the top of vane assembly 321. A plurality of circumferentially located bolts 341 extend through suitable holes in the cover 337, holes in flange 331 and aligned holes in outsicle wall 343 of base member 344. Nuts 342 threaded onto the lower end of bolts 341 secure the cover to the top of screen 336 and hold the base 344 in assembled relati.on with flange 331.
An upright threaded rod 345 is located along the central longitudinal axis of thè precleaner. Ro~ 345 extends through the bowl 322 and is mounted thereon with a pair of nuts 346 and 347. Nut 346 engages tlle bottom wall 329 holding the wall 329 in assembled relation witll thc ~all 328. Nut 347 is threaded on the top of rod 345 and engages tlle top wall 330.
The spinner assembly indica~ed generally at 351 is loc.ated below bowl 322 in the separation chamber 319. Spinner assembly is the central upright hub 352 carrying ~our circumferentially spaced flat blades 357, 358, 359, and 36U. As shown in Figure 2Z, hub 352 carries a bearing 362 to rotatably mount the hub on the rod 345. A cap 364, shown in Figure 19, surrounds the rod 345 and is located adjacent the top of hub 352 to prevent foreign materials from interfering wlth the operation of the bearing 362.
: 30 Refe~ring to Figure 22, four radially directed arms 366, 367, 368, and 369 are mounted on the blades 357-360 respectively.

~ ~ ' .. . ~ . . . . .

:l[C72~388 The arms 366-369 l~ave outer ends that terminate adjacent the inside of wall 343. IJpright blades or paddles 371, 372, 373, and 374 are secured to the outer ends of the arms 366, 367, 368, and 369 respectively. Pad~les 371-374 are upright curved impellers having a leading or Lorward convex surface. Wall 343 is located outwardly of downward extension 318 of wall 343 and provides an annular exit chamber 377 for providing a circular path or space for the paddles 371-374.
Referring to Figures 17 and 22, wall 343 has a plurality of tangential exit openings 378 in communication with the cham-ber 377 and in the outside atmosphere. Impellers 371-374 are moved with spinner assembly 351 to pump or force air and parti-culates out through openings 378.
Returning to Figure 19, blades 357-360 extend do~nwardly into passage 315. The central portion of base 344 has a neck 379 having a throat 381 of a di(l1neter smaller than the diameter of the passage 315. ~lades 357 360 extend through throat 381 and into passage 315.
In use, the air and particulates entrained in the air move 20 through the screen 336 into the inlet chamber 340. The large particulate matter is separated from the air by the screen 336.
The air moves through the vane assembly 321. The passages 326 o~ the vane assembly 321 being inclined direct the air in a circumferential direction into separation chamber 319. The circumferentially moving air then carries the particulates in an outer zone adjacent the cylindrical wall 318. The particulates and air adjacent the wall 318 move downwardly toward the annular chamber 377. The particulates being heavier than the air move through annular opening 380 into the chamber 377 and are dispelled 30 from the chamber 377 through the outlet openings 378 by the rapidly moving impellers 371-374. 'I`hc spinner assembly 351 - , . .
~ ' ` ., ~

~07Z1388 is rotatc?cl by tllC ~lir moving into thc? pass<lge 315. The blades 357-360 being located in the inlet end of passage 315 are moved in a circumferential direction by the vortexual flow of the clean air as it moves through throat 381. Throat 381 being a restricted air passage increascs the velocity of the air mov-ing through the passage. This facilitates the rapid rotation of the spinner assem~ly 351. The clean air moves down passage 351 to means to utilize the clcan air, as an internal combustion engine.
~Yhile there has been shown and describecl several embodi-ments of the invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changcs in size, materials and structure may bc made without departing from thc scope ancl spirit of the invention.

- ~ , ,

Claims (94)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. An apparatus operable to separate particles from gas carrying the particles comprising: a housing having a first member surrounding a first chamber, a bowl-shaped member located in the central section of the first chamber, a vane assembly having a plurality of inclined vanes for directing gas and particles into the first chamber in a circular direc-tion whereby the particles move outwardly by centrifugal force, said vane assembly being connected to the first member and bowl-shaped member to support the bowl-shaped member on the housing, a second member having an annular concave curved outside wall mounted on the bowl for directing gas and particles carried by the gas to the vane assembly, a cover mounted on the second member, said cover being spaced from the first member to form a gas and particle entrance, means holding the second member on the bowl-shaped member and the cover on the second member, screen means located between the cover and first member for separating large particles from the gas, an annular skirt attached to the first member surrounding an annular second chamber, a bottom wall attached to the skirt, said bottom wall being spaced from the first member forming an annular passage between the first chamber and the annular second chamber, means providing outlet openings between the bottom wall and the skirt for gas and particles, a gas outlet sleeve secured to the center of the bottom wall, said sleeve having a gas outlet passage in communication with the first chamber, spinner means located in the first chamber and the annular second chamber for moving gas and particles from the annular second chamber through the outlet openings, said spinner means having propeller means extended into the gas outlet passage, outwardly directed arms connected to the propeller means, impeller blades located in the annular second chamber and secured to the arms, and means rotatably mounting the spinner means on the bowl-shaped member whereby said spinner means is rotated by the circular motion of gas moving through the outlet passage of the sleeve and said impeller blades move in a circular path in said annular second chamber to force air and particles out of said annular second chamber through the outlet openings.

2. The apparatus of Claim 1 wherein: the bowl-shaped member has a cylindrical side wall and a convex-shaped bottom wall attached to the side wall.

3. The apparatus of Claim 2 including: a rod mounted on the central portion of the bottom wall, means attachable to the rod to hold the cover on the second member, said means rotatably mounting the spinner on the bowl-shaped member including a part of said rod and bearing means mounted on said rod.

4. The apparatus of Claim 1 wherein: the first member has a cylindrical portion separating a part of the annular second chamber from the first chamber.

5. The apparatus of Claim 4 wherein: the sleeve has a cylindrical portion projected axially into the first chamber.

6. The apparatus of Claim 1 wherein: the sleeve has a cylindrical portion projected axially into the first chamber.

7. The apparatus of Claim 1 wherein: the propeller means, arms and blades are in general transverse alignment.

8. The apparatus of Claim 1 wherein: the second member has a top annular flange and said cover has an annular lip spaced from and surrounding the annular flange, said screen means having a circular top section located between the lip and annular flange.

9. The apparatus of Claim 1 wherein: the propeller means comprise a plurality of generally flat blades, each blade extended axially into the outlet passage of the sleeve.

10. The apparatus of Claim 1 wherein: the means rotat-ably mounting the spinner means on the bowl-shaped member includes a rod, bearing means mounted on the rod, a tubular hub mounted on the bearing means, said propeller means being attached to the hub, a first washer surrounding the rod and located above the hub, and a second washer engageable with the first washer to force the first washer toward the hub.

11. The apparatus of Claim 1 wherein: the first member has a cylindrical lower end portion and the bottom wall has an annular portion separated from said end portion to form an annular passage between the first chamber and the second chamber.

12. The apparatus of Claim 1 wherein: said means pro-viding outlet openings for gas and particles including a plurality of separate blades secured to the skirt and forming with the skirt discharge outlet passages leading to the outlet openings.

13. The apparatus of Claim 12 wherein: the skirt has an annular inside wall, and each blade is an arcuate plate having one end secured to the inside wall of the skirt and the opposite end spaced from the inside wall of the skirt, said opposite end forming with the inside wall an elongated upright opening of the discharge outlet passage, said opening being in communication with the annular second chamber.

14. An apparatus operable to separate particles from a gas comprising: a housing having a side wall surrounding a first chamber and a gas inlet opening, a bottom wall, gas outlet means having a gas outlet passage mounted on the bottom wall, a center member vane means mounted on said side wall and sur-rounding and secured to the center member, said vane means having gas inlet passages open to the inlet opening and first chamber for directing gas and particles entrained in the gas into the first chamber, skirt means surrounding an annular second chamber secured to the housing, means connecting the skirt means to the bottom wall, an annular opening connecting the first chamber and second chamber, said skirt means being separated from the bottom wall to provide gas and particle discharge outlet means, spinner means located in the first and second chambers, said spinner means including paddles, arm means secured to the paddles and locating the paddles in the annular second chamber, means rotatably mounting the arm means on the center member, impeller blades secured to the arm means, said impeller blades having portions located in the gas outlet passage whereby gas flowing through the out-let passage rotates the spinner means moving the paddles to pump gas and particles out of the second chamber through the gas and particle outlet means.

15. The apparatus of Claim 14 wherein: the side wall of the housing is a cylindrical member having an upper section and a lower section, said vane means being mounted on the upper section of the cylindrical member so that the gas and particles are directed into the upper portion of the first chamber, and said skirt means are secured to the lower portion of the cylindrical member whereby the bottom wall is located below the vane means.

16. The apparatus of Claim 14 including: a plurality of separated blades secured to the skirt means and forming with the skirt means discharge passages leading to the dis-charge outlet means.

17. The apparatus of Claim 16 wherein: the skirt means has an inside wall and each blade is an arcuate plate having one end secured to the inside wall of the skirt means and the opposite end spaced from the inside wall of the skirt means, said opposite end forming with the inside wall an elongated upright opening of the discharge outlet means.

18. The apparatus of Claim 14 wherein: the side wall of the housing is a cylindrical member and the skirt means is an annular sleeve surrounding and secured to the cylindrical member, said opening connecting the first chamber and second chamber being an annular passage located between the cylin-drical member and the bottom wall.

19. The apparatus of Claim 14 wherein: the means rotat-ably mounting the arm means includes a rod, a bearing assembly rotatably mounted on the rod and secured to the arm means and said center member having wall means attached to the vane means supporting the rod.

20. The apparatus of Claim 19 wherein: the bearing assembly includes a tubular hub having an upper open end located around the rod, bearing means rotatably mounting the hub on the rod, a felt washer closing the upper end of the tubular hub, and weight means acting on the felt washer to hold the felt washer in its closed position relative to the hub.

21. The apparatus of Claim 19 wherein: the center mem-ber is a bowl-shaped member having a bottom wall, and means mounting the rod to said bottom wall.

22. The apparatus of Claim 21 including: stack means mounted on the bowl-shaped member, and screen means surround-ing the stack means to separate large particles from the air moving toward the vane means.

23. The apparatus of Claim 22 including: a cover mounted on the stack means, said rod extended through the stack means and attachable to the cover to hold the cover on the stack means.

24. The apparatus of Claim 22 including: a cover mounted on the stack means, said cover having a lip surrounding a portion of the screen to hold the screen around the stack means.

25. The apparatus of Claim 14 wherein: the center member has an upright wall secured to the vane means and top and bottom walls attached to the upright wall.

26. The apparatus of Claim 25 wherein: the means rotat-ably mounting the arm means on the center member includes a rod mounted on the bottom wall, and a bearing assembly rotatably mounted on the rod and secured to the arm means.

27. The apparatus of Claim 14 including: cylindrical screen means mounted on the vane assembly, a cover closing the top end of the cylindrical screen, and means connecting the cover to the center member.

28. The apparatus of Claim 27 wherein: the means rotat-ably mounting the arm means on the center member includes a rod mounted on the center member, said rod carrying a removable member engageable with the cover whereby the rod and removable member comprise the means connecting the cover to the center member.

29. The apparatus of Claim 14 wherein: the means rotat-ably mounting the arm means on the center member includes a rod mounted on the center member, and a bearing assembly rotat-ably mounted on the rod and secured to the arm means.

30. The apparatus of Claim 14 including: a dome-shaped screen means mounted on the vane assembly covering the inlet opening, and means connecting the screen means to the center member.

31. The apparatus operable to separate particles from a gas comprising: a housing having a side wall surrounding a first chamber and a gas inlet opening, said side wall having an upper section and a lower section, vane means mounted on the upper section of the side wall operable to direct air and particles in a circumferential direction into the upper por-tion of the first chamber, skirt means surrounding an annular second chamber secured to the lower section of the side wall, a bottom wall, means attaching the bottom wall to the skirt means, said skirt means being separated from the bottom wall to provide gas and particle discharge outlet means, gas outlet means having a gas outlet passage mounted on the bottom wall, and spinner means located in the first and second chambers and means rotatably mounting the spinner means whereby the air moving through the first passage rotates the spinner means, said spinner means including paddles located in the annular second chamber, said paddles on rotation of the spinner means operable to pump gas and particles out of the second chamber through the gas and particle outlet means.

32. The apparatus of Claim 31 including: a plurality of separate blades secured to the skirt means and forming with the skirt means discharge passages leading to the dis-charge outlet means.

33. The apparatus of Claim 32 wherein: the skirt means has an inside wall, and each blade is an arcuate plate having one end secured to the inside wall of the skirt means and the opposite end spaced from the inside wall of the skirt means, said opposite end forming with the inside wall an elongated upright opening of the discharge outlet means.

34. The apparatus of Claim 33 wherein: the side wall of the housing is a cylindrical member and the skirt means is an annular sleeve surrounding and secured to the cylindrical member, said opening connecting the first chamber and second chamber being an annular passage located between the cylin-drical member and the bottom wall.

35. The apparatus of Claim 34 wherein: the cylindrical member has a cylindrical extension directed toward the bottom wall and forming with a bottom wall an annular passage con-necting the first chamber with the second chamber.

36. The apparatus of Claim 31 including: wall means secured to the vane means, and means rotatably mounting the spinner means on the wall means.

37, The apparatus of Claim 36 wherein: the wall means has a bottom wall, said means rotatably mounting the spinner means on the wall means including a rod secured to the wall and bearing means rotatably mounted on the rod.

38. The apparatus of Claim 37 wherein: the bearing means includes a tubular hub having an open upper end located around the rod, bearing members rotatably mounting the hub on the rod, a felt washer closing the upper end of the tubular hub, and weight means acting on the felt washer to hold the felt washer in its closed position relative to the hub.

39. An apparatus operable to separate particles from air comprising: a housing having an inside wall surrounding a first chamber, an air inlet opening and an air exit opening;
vane means mounted on the wall around the inlet opening for directing air into the first chamber, a base attached to the housing, said base having a second annular chamber in communi-cation with the first chamber, first clean air outlet passage means in communication with the first chamber and a second air outlet passage means in communication with the second chamber, spinner means located in the first chamber and second annular chamber, means rotatably mounting the spinner means whereby air moving through the first chamber rotates the spinner, said spinner means including paddles located in the second annular chamber, said paddles on rotation of the spinner means operable to pump air and particles out of the second chamber through the second air outlet passage means.

40. The apparatus of Claim 39 wherein: said housing has an upright cylindrical member having said inside wall and an outwardly directed flange secured to said cylindrical member, said base having an outside cylindrical wall engageable with said flange and means securing said outside wall to said flange.

41. The apparatus of Claim 40 including: a cylindrical open member surrounding the cylindrical member of the housing and engageable with said flange, cover located over the open member and means attaching said cover to said flange thereby holding the cover on the open means.

42. The apparatus of Claim 39 wherein: said spinner means includes propeller means extended into the first outlet passage means and outwardly directed arms connected to the propeller means, said paddles being connected to the outer ends of said arms,

43. The apparatus of Claim 39 wherein: said housing has a cylindrical extension combining with said base an annular passage between the first chamber and the second chamber.

44. The apparatus of Claim 39 wherein: the spinner means includes propeller means extended into the first air outlet passage means, said propeller means including a plurality of generally flat blades, each blade having a portion thereof ex-tended axially into said first air outlet passage means.

45. The apparatus of Claim 39 wherein: the means rotat-ably mounting the spinner means includes a center member surrounded by and secured to the vane means and means rotatably mounting the spinner means on the center member.

46. The apparatus of Claim 45 wherein: the means rotat-ably mounting the spinner means on the center member includes a rod mounted on the center member and a bearing assembly rotatably mounted on the rod.

47. The apparatus of Claim 39 wherein: the means rotat-ably mounting the spinner means includes a center member having an upright wall secured to the vane means and top and bottom walls attached to the upright wall, and means rotatably mounting the spinner means on said center member.

48. An apparatus for separating particles from gas carry-ing the particles comprising: a housing having a separation chamber, said housing having a first wall member surrounding said chamber, a bowl-shaped member disposed centrally of said chamber, a vane assembly disposed between said members and having a plurality of vanes, said vanes being generally similarly inclined and circum-ferentially spaced from each other forming passages for inducing swirling motion of gas and particles in a circular direction pass-ing therethrough whereby the particles move outwardly by centri-fugal force, said vane assembly being connected to said first wall member and bowl-shaped member to support said bowl-shaped member on said housing, a second wall member mounted on said bowl-shaped member adjacent the gas inlet side of said vane assembly, said second wall member having a concavely curved wall for directing gas and particles toward said vane assembly with said curved wall having an end terminating in spaced relation to said first wall member to define a gas and particle entrance, a cover mounted on said second wall member at said end thereof, means holding said cover on said second member and said second member on said bowl-shaped member, screen means extending between said cover and said first member at said entrance for separating large particles from the gas passing therethrough, an annular skirt attached to said first wall member adjacent said separation chamber and spaced outwardly therefrom to define therein an annular discharge chamber communicating with said separation chamber, a bottom wall attached to said skirt extending inwardly therefrom in spaced relation thereto thereby to define discharge openings for movement of gas and particles from said discharge chamber, a gas outlet sleeve disposed centrally of said bottom wall and extending therethrough communicat-ing with said separation chamber and defining a gas outlet passage therefrom, spinner means, means mounting said spinner means on the bowl-shaped member for free rotation in said chamber, said spinner means including propeller means having at least a part thereof disposed in said gas outlet passage whereby swirling gas in said separation chamber and gas outlet passage contacts said propeller means and solely effects rotation thereof, said spinner means further including outwardly extending arms connected to said propeller means terminating in impeller paddles located in said discharge chamber, whereby rotation of said propeller means causes said paddles to rotate in said discharge chamber and force particles and gas therefrom and through said discharge openings.

49. The apparatus of Claim 48 wherein: the bowl-shaped member has a cylindrical side wall and a convex-shaped wall attached to the side wall.

50. The apparatus of Claim 49 wherein: said holding means includes a rod mounted on the central portion of the convex-shaped means attachable to the rod to hold the cover on the second member, said means rotatably mounting the spinner means on the bowl-shaped member including a part of said rod and bearing means mounted on said rod.

51. The apparatus of Claim 48, wherein: the first member has a cylindrical portion separating a part of the annular separation chamber from the discharge chamber.

52. The apparatus of Claim 51 wherein: the gas outlet sleeve has a cylindrical portion projected axially into the separa-tion chamber.

53. The apparatus of Claim 48 wherein: the gas outlet sleeve has a cylindrical portion projected axially into the separation chamber.

54. The apparatus of Claim 48 wherein: the propeller means, arms, and blades are in general transverse alignment.

55. The apparatus of Claim 48 wherein: the second wall member has an annular flange, and said cover has an annular lip spaced from and surrounding the annular flange, said screen means having a circular section located between the lip and annular flange.

56. The apparatus of Claim 48 wherein: the propeller means comprise a plurality of generally flat blades, each blade extended axially into the gas outlet passage of the gas outlet sleeve.

57. The apparatus of Claim 48 wherein: the means rotatably mounting the spinner means on the bowl-shaped member includes a rod, bearing means mounted on the rod, a tubular hub mounted on the bear-ing means, said propeller means being attached to the hub, a first washer surrounding the rod and located above the hub, and a second washer engageable with the first washer to force the first washer toward the hub.

58. The apparatus of Claim 48 wherein: the first wall member has a cylindrical lower end portion and the bottom wall has an annular portion separated from said end portion to form an annular passage between the first chamber and the second chamber.

59. The apparatus of Claim 48 including; a plurality of separate blades secured to the skirt and forming with the bottom wall said discharge openings.

60. The apparatus of Claim 59 wherein: the skirt has an annular inside wall, and each blade is an arcuate plate having one end secured to the inside wall of the skirt and the opposite end spaced from the inside wall of the skirt, said opposite end forming with the inside wall an elongated upright opening of the gas outlet passage, said opening being in communication with the discharge chamber.

61. An apparatus for separating particles from gas carrying the particles comprising: a housing having a separation chamber, said housing having a side wall surrounding said chamber and an adjacent gas and particle inlet opening, and a member disposed centrally of said chamber, vane means extending between and connected to said side wall and said member, said vane means having a plurality of vanes, said vanes being generally similarly inclined and circumferentially spaced from each other forming passages for inducing swirling motion of gas and particles in a circular direction passing therethrough whereby the particles move outwardly by centrifugal force, annular skirt means attached to said side wall adjacent said separation chamber and spaced radially outwardly therefrom to define therein a discharge chamber radially outwardly of said separation chamber, and annular opening connecting the separation chamber and the discharge chamber, said housing including a wall attached to said skirt means extending inwardly therefrom in spaced relation thereto thereby to define discharge openings for gas and particles from said discharge chamber, a gas outlet sleeve disposed centrally of said wall attached to said skirt means and extending therethrough communicating with said separation chamber and defining a gas outlet passage therefrom, spinner means, means mounting said spinner means on the housing for free rotation in said chamber, said spinner means including propeller means adjacent said gas outlet passage whereby swirling gas in said separation chamber contacts said propeller means and solely effects rotation thereof, said spinner means further including outwardly extending arm means connected to said propeller means terminating in impeller paddles located in said discharge chamber, whereby rotation of said propeller means causes said paddles to rotate through said discharge chamber and force particles and air therefrom and through said discharge openings.

62. The apparatus of Claim 61 wherein: the side wall of the housing is a cylindrical member having a first portion and a second portion, said vane means being mounted on the first portion of the cylindrical member so that the gas and particles are directed into the separation chamber, and said skirt means are secured to the cylindrical member to locate the wall in spaced relation to the vane means.

63. The apparatus of Claim 61 including: a plurality of separated blades secured to the skirt means and forming with the wall attached to the skirt means the discharge openings.

64. The apparatus of Claim 63 wherein: the skirt means has an inside wall and each blade is an arcuate plate having one end secured to the inside wall of the skirt means and the opposite end spaced from the inside wall of the skirt means, said opposite end forming with the inside wall an elongated upright opening of the discharge openings.

65. The apparatus of Claim 61 wherein: the side wall of the housing is a cylindrical member and the skirt means is an annular sleeve surrounding and secured to the cylindrical member, said opening connecting the separation chamber and discharge chamber being an annular passage located between the cylindrical member and the wall attached to the skirt means.

66. The apparatus of Claim 61 wherein: the means rotatably mounting the spinner means includes a rod mounted on the member, a bearing assembly rotatably mounted on the rod and secured to the spinner means.

67. The apparatus of Claim 66 wherein: the bearing assembly includes a tubular hub having an upper open end located around the rod, bearing means rotatably mounting the hub on the rod, a felt washer closing the upper end of the tubular hub, and weight means acting on the felt washer to hold the felt washer in its closed position relative to the hub.

68. The apparatus of Claim 67 wherein: the member is a bowl-shaped member having a wall, and means mounting the rod to said wall of the bowl-shaped member.

69, The apparatus of Claim 68 including: stack means mounted on the bowl-shaped member, and screen means surrounding the stack means to separate large particles from the air moving toward the vane means.

70. The apparatus of Claim 69 including: a cover mounted on the stack means, said rod extended through the stack means and attachable to the cover to hold the cover on the stack means.

71. The apparatus of Claim 69 including: a cover mounted on the stack means, said cover having a lip surrounding a portion of the screen means to hold the screen means around the stack means.

72. The apparatus of Claim 61 wherein: the member has a side wall secured to the vane means and walls attached to the side wall.

73. The apparatus of Claim 72 wherein: the means rotatably mounting the arm means on the member includes a rod mounted on one of the walls attached to the side wall, and a bearing assembly rotatably mounted on the rod and secured to the arm means.

74. The apparatus of Claim 61 including: cylindrical screen means mounted on the vane assembly, a cover closing the top end of the cylindrical screen, and means connecting the cover to the member.

75. The apparatus of Claim 74 wherein: the means rotatably mounting the spinner means on the member includes a rod mounted on the member, said rod carrying a removable member engageable with the cover whereby the rod and removable member comprise the means connecting the cover to the center member.

76. The apparatus of Claim 61 wherein: the means rotatably mounting the spinner means on the member includes a rod mounted on the member, and a bearing assembly rotatably mounted on the rod and secured to the spinner means.

77. The apparatus of Claim 61 including: a dome-shaped screen means mounted on the vane means covering the inlet opening, and means connecting the screen means to the member.

78. An apparatus for separating particles from gas carrying the particles comprising: a housing having a separation chamber, said housing having a side wall member surrounding said chamber and an adjacent gas and particle inlet opening, said side wall having upper and lower portions, inclined vane means attached to said upper portions forming passages for inducing swirling motion of gas and particles in a circular direction passing therethrough and into said separation chamber whereby the particles move outwardly by centrifugal force, annular skirt means attached to said side wall lower portion adjacent said separation chamber and spaced outwardly therefrom to define therein an annular discharge chamber communi-cating with said separation chamber, a bottom wall attached to said skirt means extending inwardly therefrom in spaced relation thereto thereby to define discharge openings for accommodating the flow of gas and particles from said discharge chamber, gas outlet passage means mounted on said bottom wall and extending therethrough communi-cating with said separation chamber, spinner means, means mounting said spinner means in association with the housing for free rotation in said separation and discharge chamber, said spinner means includ-ing means located adjacent said gas outlet passage means whereby swirling gas in said separation chamber and gas outlet passage means solely effects rotation thereof, said spinner means further including paddles located in said discharge chamber, whereby rotation of said spinner means causes said paddles to rotate in said discharge chamber and force particles and gas therefrom and through said discharge openings.

79. The apparatus of Claim 78 including: a plurality of separate blades secured to the skirt means and forming with the skirt means discharge passages leading to the discharge openings.

80. The apparatus of Claim 79 wherein: the skirt means has an inside wall, and each blade is an arcuate plate having one end secured to the inside wall of the skirt means and the opposite end spaced from the inside wall of the skirt means, said opposite end forming with the inside wall an elongated upright opening of the discharge openings.

81. The apparatus of Claim 80 wherein; the side wall of the housing is a cylindrical member and the skirt means is an annular sleeve surrounding and secured to the cylindrical member, and an annular passage located between the cylindrical member and the bottom wall providing gas and particle flow communication between the separation chamber and discharge chamber.

82. The apparatus of Claim 81 wherein: the cylindrical member has a cylindrical extension directed toward the bottom wall and forming with a bottom wall an annular passage connecting the chambers.

83. The apparatus of Claim 78 including: wall means secured to the vane means, and means rotatably mounting the spinner means on the wall means.

84. The apparatus of Claim 83 wherein: the wall means has a bottom wall, said means rotatably mounting the spinner means on the wall means including a rod secured to the bottom wall and bearing means rotatably mounted on the rod.

85. The apparatus of Claim 84 wherein: the bearing means includes a tubular hub having an open end located around the rod, bearing members rotatably mounting the hub on the rod, a felt washer closing the open end of the tubular hub, and weight means acting on the felt washer to hold the felt washer in its closed position relative to the hub.

86. An apparatus for separating particles from gas carrying the particles comprising: a housing having a separation chamber, said housing having an inside wall surface surrounding said chamber, a gas and particle inlet opening thereto and a gas and particle exit opening therefrom, vane means mounted on said wall surface around the inlet opening and having a plurality of vanes, said vanes being generally similarly inclined for inducing swirling motion of gas and particles carried thereby in a circular direction into said separation chamber whereby the particles move outwardly by centri-fugal force, a base attached to said housing adjacent said separation chamber and having portions spaced outwardly therefrom to define an annular discharge chamber in communication with said separation chamber, said discharge chamber having outwardly directed discharge openings for gas and particle means having a clean gas outlet passage disposed centrally of said base and extending there-through communicating with said separation chamber, spinner means, means mounting said spinner means in association with the housing for free rotation in said separation chamber and discharge chamber, said spinner means including means adjacent said gas outlet passage whereby swirling air in said separation chamber and gas outlet passage solely effects rotation thereof, said spinner means further including members terminating in paddles located in said discharge chamber whereby rotation of said spinner means causes said paddles to rotate in said discharge chamber and force particles and gas therefrom and outwardly through said discharge openings.

87. The apparatus of Claim 86 wherein: said housing has an upright cylindrical member having said inside wall surface and an outwardly directed flange secured to said cylindrical member, said base having an outside cylindrical wall engageable with said flange and means securing said outside wall to said flange.

88. The apparatus of Claim 87 including: a cylindrical open member surrounding the cylindrical member of the housing and engage-able with said flange, a cover located over the open member and means attaching said cover to said flange thereby holding the cover on the open means.

89. The apparatus of Claim 86 wherein: said spinner means adjacent the passages includes propeller means extended into the outlet passage and said members are outwardly directed arms con-nected to the means adjacent said gas outlet passage, said paddles being connected to the outer ends of said arms.

90. The apparatus of Claim 86 wherein: said housing has a cylindrical extension defining with said base an annular passage between the separation chamber and the discharge chamber.

91. The apparatus of Claim 86 wherein: the spinner means adjacent the passage includes propeller means extended into the air outlet passage, said propeller means including a plurality of generally flat blades, each blade having a portion thereof extended axially into said outlet passage.

92. The apparatus of Claim 86 wherein: the means rotatably mounting the spinner means includes a center member surrounded by and secured to the vane means, and means rotatably mounting the spinner means on the center member.

93. The apparatus of Claim 92 wherein: the means rotatably mounting the spinner means on the center member includes a rod mounted on the center member and a bearing assembly rotatably mounted on the rod.

94. The apparatus of Claim 86 wherein: the means rotatably mounting the spinner means includes a center member having an upright wall secured to the vane means and walls attached to the upright wall, and means rotatably mounting the spinner means on said center member.