CA1124965A - Foam separator - Google Patents
Foam separatorInfo
- Publication number
- CA1124965A CA1124965A CA314,994A CA314994A CA1124965A CA 1124965 A CA1124965 A CA 1124965A CA 314994 A CA314994 A CA 314994A CA 1124965 A CA1124965 A CA 1124965A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- canister
- screen
- port
- valve
- closing member
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
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- Filtering Of Dispersed Particles In Gases (AREA)
Abstract
A B S T R A C T
A wet/dry cleaner includes a container, and a suction unit for drawing air or liquids into the container.
A valve port is provided between the suction unit and the container, and a float valve member is guided in the container to engage the valve port when the liquid in the container reaches a given level. The float valve and valve port are surrounded by a meshed screen within the container, in order to inhibit the flow of any appreciable quantity of foam into the valve port.
A wet/dry cleaner includes a container, and a suction unit for drawing air or liquids into the container.
A valve port is provided between the suction unit and the container, and a float valve member is guided in the container to engage the valve port when the liquid in the container reaches a given level. The float valve and valve port are surrounded by a meshed screen within the container, in order to inhibit the flow of any appreciable quantity of foam into the valve port.
Description
1124~65 This invention relates to vacuum-type cleaners, and more in particular to an improvement in cleaners of this type adapted to clean either wet or dry surfaces.
Wet/dry cleaners are well known, and generally comprise a canister, and a suction unit removably mounted to the top of the canister. A flexible hose or other inlet is connected to the canister for directing dry or liquid waste from a surface into the canister, the suction unit being mounted to suck the materials into the canister, and to evacuate air from the canister through an exhaust port. I
In order to enable practical operation of the system as a liquid cleaner, it is necessary to provide means for inhibiting the exhaust of liquids in the container from the suction unit. For this purpose, the suction unit il is provided with a valve port, and a floatable valve member, such as a ball, is guided for movement with respect to the valve port. As a consequence, when liquid in the canister exceeds a given level, the floating valve member is urged against the valve port, to inhibit further evacuation of the canister.
While this arrangement has been found satisfactory in general for the cleaning of surfaces covered with liquids, problems do occur when the liquids contain materials such as liquids or soap which can lead to the development of foam in the canister. In this instance, the foam will not cause the closing of the valve port in the canister, so that the materials of the foam may be sprayed by the cleaner from the exhaust port. Since the exhaust port is positioned to normally direct the exhaust air into the ambient atmospnere, it has been found that foam developed in the canister may be llZ4965 inadvertently sprayed on personnel operating the equipment, or on a portion of the floor surface that has just been cleaned. Such inadvertent sprayings may result in damage and is extremely inconvenient and annoying to the operators of the equipment.
The present invention is therefore directed to the provision of means for overcoming the above problem.
Briefly stated, in accordance with the invention, a wet/dry cleaner of the above type is provided with a screen within the canister, the screen enclosing the float valve member and valve port, and having a mesh side to inhibit the flow of any appreciable quantity of foam in the container to the reaching of the valve seat. As a conse-quence, the foam is retained in the canister of the cleaner and is not discharged by the exhaust system.
In order that the invention will be more clearly understood, it will now be disclosed in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a simplified partially cross-sectional view of a wet/dry cleaner that may incorporate the foam separator of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 taken from the front thereof;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged partially cross-sectional view of the suction unit of the wet/dry cleaner of FIG. l;
FIG. 4 is a partially cross-sectional view of a portion of the suction unit of FIG. 3 and including the screen mesh in accordance with the invention; and FIG. 5 is a partially cross-sectional view of the arrangement of FIG. 4 taken along the lines V-V.
llZ4965 Referrlng now to the drawings, and rnore in particular to FIG. 1, therein is illustrated a wet/dry cleaner o~ the type which may inclu~e the foam separator of the present invention. The cleaner is comprised of a canister 10 suitably mountei on wheels 11, and provided with a handle 12 to enable its movement by an operator.
The canister 10 is generally in the form of a cylinder with a vertical axis and a closed bottom. A vacuum unit 14 is mounted to the top of the canister 10. In addition, a flexible hose 15 is coupled to the canister, the hose 15 being provided with a cleaning head 16 on the end thereof remote from the canister. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the hose 15 is connected to the top of the canister 10, and an internal baffle 17 in the canister directs materials from the hose downwardly into the canister. The vacuum unit 14 is provided with an exhaust port 18 for exhausting air from the unit after the removal of solids or liquids therefrom in the canister 10.
In general, in the system illustrated in FIG. 1, the vacuum unit 14 includes a suction pump and a motor for driving the suction pump. In addition, the unit may include a valve to inhibit passa~e of water through the suction pump.
In operation, the apparatus in accordance with FIG. 1 may be conventionally employed as a dry vacuum cleaner in which case suitable conventional filters (not shown) are mounted within the canister 10. In this case, the operator merely manipulates the hose and head 16 across a dry surface. The operation of the apparatus is similar for removing liquids from the surface, with the ;
-- 3 -- :
llZ4965 exception that in this case, as above discussed, a valve is necessary in the unit in order to inhibit passage of the liquid material from the suction pump. It will, of course, be appreciated that, if liquids were to pass through the suction pump they would then be discharged through the outlet port 18, thereby resulting in undesirable distribution of the liquids, perhaps over a surface that has just been cleaned as well as over nearby personnel and equipment.
FIG. 2 illustrates the vacuum unit 14 removed from the canister 10. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the vacuum unit 14 may be held to the top of the canister by conventional clips 20, so that an operator can remove the unit 14 for cleaning and replacement of filters. FIG. 2 illustrates a cage 21, for example, a metal cage, depending downwardly from the vacuum unit 14 and restraining a ball 22. The ball 22 is of a material such as plastic that enables it to float on a liquid in the canister 10 and the cage 21 aligns the ball 22 vertically with respect to a valve port 23 in the bottom of the vacuum unit 14. As a consequence, when liquid in the canister 10 rises to a sufficient level, the ball 22 is urged against port 23 in order to inhibit further passage of air, and hence liquids, through the vacuum unit 14.
FIG. 3 illustrates the vacuum head 14 in greater detail, the cage and valve ball being omitted in this figure for the sake of clarity. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the vacuum unit 14 may comDrise a support cover 30 adapted to engage the upper rim of the canister and having a downwardly extending flange and a seal 32 at its outer lower periphery, in order to enable the support cover to be sealed to the top of the canister by the clips 20 as illustrated in FIG. 2.
A dome shaped casing 33 is affixed to the top of the support cover 30 and an internal baffle 34 is mounted within the cover 33. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the baffle 34 is comprised of a lower frustro-conical portion 35 extending generally from the support cover 30 and an inverted frustro-conical portion 36 extending upwardly from the top of the portion 35 and being sealed by conventional seals 37 to the inside of the dome 33 above the outer port 18. The outer port 18 extends through the side of the dome 33.
A suction pump 39 is resiliently mounted between the center top portion of the support cover 30 and the top of the lower portion 35 of the baffle 34. The portion of the pump 39 illustrated in FIG. 3 is comprised of the outer fixed cylinder casing 40 having outlet ports 41 directed into the space between the lower portion 35 o f the baffle and the suction pump casing 40. The lower portion 35 of the baffle is provided with a plurality of holes 42 about its periphery whereby air exhuasted from the ports 41 of the suction pump casing 40 is directed through the holes 42 and into the annular chamber 43 between baffle 34 and the dome 33, and thence out of the exhaust port 18.
The suction pump 39 has a rotor (not shown) adapted to rotate about a vertical axis within the pump casing 40, in conventional manner, the rotor being driven by a conven-tional motor 45 mounted on top of the suction pump. A
central port 46 is provided in the support cover 30, whereby air may be drawn by the pump 39 through the port 46 for exhaust from the vacuum unit. An annular resilient valve seat 47 is affixed to the bottom of the support cover 30 /
llZ4965 surrounding the port l16 in order to cooperate with the ball 22 in preventing the passage of liquids through the port 46 into the suction pump.
A radially inwardly extending flange 50 may be provided on the top of the dome 33 with a resilient cylinder 51 dependin~ therefrom to resiliently seal the top of the motor, as well as to serve as a further baffle.
As a consequence, cooling air for the motor may be drawn through the central aperture 52 in the top of the dome, thence through the motor, and into the chamber above the upper portion 36 of the baffle. The dome 33 is provided with cooling vents 54 in order to exhaust the motor cooling air from the annular chamber 53.
The outlet port 18 on the vacuum unit may be provided with a suitable coupling 57 to enable the fixing of a hose thereto, so that the cleaner may be employed as f a source of pressurized air, if it is so desired.
The features of the wet/dry cleaner as above discussed have been employed in the past, and it is hence considered unnecessary to provide herein further details with respect to conventional features of such equipment.
Wet/dry cleaners of the above described type are quite satisfactory when employed as dry cleaners and also when employed as liquid cleaners when a liquid being removed from a surface does not contain materials that cause it to foam. 3n occasion, however, the cleaner must be employed to pick up liquids that have detergents or other foaming materials dissolved therein. The foaming nature of the liquid material is not necessarily apparent to the operator of the equipment, since the foaming llZ4D65 rnaterials may be completely dissolved in the liquid on a floor to be cleaned It has been found, however, that the suction of the liquids fro;~ the surface by the cleaner results in violent agitatlon of the liquids as well as mixing the liquids in the air in the canister 10 so that there is a great tendency for a significant head of foam to form on the top of the liquid within the canister. The valve ball 22 must have sufficient weight that it cannot be .
sucked upwardly into the valve port 46 merely by the suction air passed through the pump, and consequently the foam that is formed within the canister is not capable of lifting the valve ball. As a result, foam that is formed within the canister is sucked through the suction pump 39 and dis-charged from the port 18.
l~hile the discharge of the foam does not result in as disastrous results as if the liquid itself were sucked through the pump, the foam has liquid components which may be as dirty as the liquid itself and it is apparent that these materials will be sprayed from the exhaust port 18. As a result, adjacent personnel and equipment may be sprayed with materials emanating from the port 18, with consequent annoyance and damage, and the materials may also be returned to a previously cleaned floor thereby requiring additional effort on the part of the operator in the cleaning process.
In accordance with the invention, in order to overcome this problem, a mesh screen 60 is provided surround-ing the ball valve and valve seat 47. This arrangement is rnore clearly illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, wherein it is seen that the cage 21 for internally guiding the ball 22 ~;
~`
llZ4965 is provided with a lower extension 61, and the cover support 32 is provided with a downwardly extending flange 62 within the container. The flange 62 is annular, as is the extension 51 of the cage so that the -mesh screen 60 may 5 be formed as a cylindrical mesh affixed by conventional means to the outside of the flange 62, and held away from the cage by the cage extension 61. The mesh screen 60, of course, has a bottom 63, which appears more clearly in FIG.
5. It is also apparent that the mesh screen 60 completely surrounds the cage, and hence separates the ball 22 and valve seat 47 from the remainder of the inside of the canister. The mesh screen 60 may be conveniently of nylon mesh or a mesh of other plastic materials that are not subject to damage by materials in the canister. Alterna-tively, the mesh screen 60 may be metallic, such as of stainless steel. The mesh screen 60 preferably has a mesh ¦ -size between 16 x 16 and 32 x 32, such as, for example, of about 25 x 25, and it has been found that a mesh of this type satisfactorily inhibits the flow or suction of Z0 substantially any substantial amount of foam within the canister to the valve seat. As a consequence, in accordance with the invention, even though a substantial head of foam is formed within the canister, this foam is inhibited from flowing through the valve and hence is inhibited from being sprayed inadvertently from the exhaust port of the 1-cleaner.
In the above disclosure, it has been stated that the foam separator, in accordance with the invention, inhibits the flow of any appreciable quantity of foam into the valve port. In accordance with the invention, the ^`~` ' ~1249165 screen nesh size is not of such small size that no foam can pass therethrough. The mesh should be sufficiently large that it does not interfere with the passage of liquids in order that the operation of the valve by the liquid level not be hindered. It is only necessary, then, to substan-tially reduce the foam which penetrates the mesh, to reach the valve structure. As a consequence, a small level of foam may build up within the screen mesh surrounding the valve ball, it only being necessary to hold the level of the foarn within the screen to be substantially lower than outside of the screen. As a cansequence, since the valve ball has a diameter of several inches, it will be apparent that the valve will be closed by the rising level of liquid in the canister prior to actual entry of any significant amount of foam into the valve port. The mesh must, of course, not have great enough size that the level of foam within the mesh screen is not higher than that outside of the screen, since this obviously would enable the foam to be passed through the pump and sprayed from the exhaust of the cleaner.
It is further to be noted that the screen in the canister stabilizes the air currents within the control valve area in the machine, in addition to reducing the foarn directed to the valve. This also reduces the possi-bility of premature valve action and danger of the exhaustingof liquid components from the cleaner since it inhibits to a certain degree the splashing of liquid components to the valve port.
When a cleaner of the above described type is employed as a dry cleaner, a filter bag is mounted in the canister on the underside of the suction purnp in order to _ 9 trap dust and dirt particles within the canister. It is to be stressed that when a mesh screen is employed in accordance with the invention it does not serve the function of trapping and collecting dirt, the dirt being entrained in the liquid drawn into the canister. As a consequence, the mesh screen may be of a much more permanent nature than would normally be employed for the filter of a dry cleaner.
Since the primary function of the screen is only to inhibit, i.e. drastically reduce, the flow of foam to the region L0 within the screen, it is apparent that the screen need not be regularly cleaned or replaced. The screen, hence, cannot be considered to be a filter.
While the invention has been particularly described with reference to a wet/dry cleaner, it will be apparent 1;5 that the principle of the invention is applicable in cleaners adapted only for cleaning wet surfaces. In addition, it will be apparent that the mesh screen may be in other forms than illustrated and may be supported by other techniques. Such variation and modifications of the arrangement hence fall within the scope of the invention, and it is intended in the following claims to cover all such variations and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.
While particular embodiments of the invention are Z~ herein illustrated and described, it will be understood that changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, without limitation in this respect, the invention is defined by the following claims.
- 10 ~
Wet/dry cleaners are well known, and generally comprise a canister, and a suction unit removably mounted to the top of the canister. A flexible hose or other inlet is connected to the canister for directing dry or liquid waste from a surface into the canister, the suction unit being mounted to suck the materials into the canister, and to evacuate air from the canister through an exhaust port. I
In order to enable practical operation of the system as a liquid cleaner, it is necessary to provide means for inhibiting the exhaust of liquids in the container from the suction unit. For this purpose, the suction unit il is provided with a valve port, and a floatable valve member, such as a ball, is guided for movement with respect to the valve port. As a consequence, when liquid in the canister exceeds a given level, the floating valve member is urged against the valve port, to inhibit further evacuation of the canister.
While this arrangement has been found satisfactory in general for the cleaning of surfaces covered with liquids, problems do occur when the liquids contain materials such as liquids or soap which can lead to the development of foam in the canister. In this instance, the foam will not cause the closing of the valve port in the canister, so that the materials of the foam may be sprayed by the cleaner from the exhaust port. Since the exhaust port is positioned to normally direct the exhaust air into the ambient atmospnere, it has been found that foam developed in the canister may be llZ4965 inadvertently sprayed on personnel operating the equipment, or on a portion of the floor surface that has just been cleaned. Such inadvertent sprayings may result in damage and is extremely inconvenient and annoying to the operators of the equipment.
The present invention is therefore directed to the provision of means for overcoming the above problem.
Briefly stated, in accordance with the invention, a wet/dry cleaner of the above type is provided with a screen within the canister, the screen enclosing the float valve member and valve port, and having a mesh side to inhibit the flow of any appreciable quantity of foam in the container to the reaching of the valve seat. As a conse-quence, the foam is retained in the canister of the cleaner and is not discharged by the exhaust system.
In order that the invention will be more clearly understood, it will now be disclosed in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a simplified partially cross-sectional view of a wet/dry cleaner that may incorporate the foam separator of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 taken from the front thereof;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged partially cross-sectional view of the suction unit of the wet/dry cleaner of FIG. l;
FIG. 4 is a partially cross-sectional view of a portion of the suction unit of FIG. 3 and including the screen mesh in accordance with the invention; and FIG. 5 is a partially cross-sectional view of the arrangement of FIG. 4 taken along the lines V-V.
llZ4965 Referrlng now to the drawings, and rnore in particular to FIG. 1, therein is illustrated a wet/dry cleaner o~ the type which may inclu~e the foam separator of the present invention. The cleaner is comprised of a canister 10 suitably mountei on wheels 11, and provided with a handle 12 to enable its movement by an operator.
The canister 10 is generally in the form of a cylinder with a vertical axis and a closed bottom. A vacuum unit 14 is mounted to the top of the canister 10. In addition, a flexible hose 15 is coupled to the canister, the hose 15 being provided with a cleaning head 16 on the end thereof remote from the canister. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the hose 15 is connected to the top of the canister 10, and an internal baffle 17 in the canister directs materials from the hose downwardly into the canister. The vacuum unit 14 is provided with an exhaust port 18 for exhausting air from the unit after the removal of solids or liquids therefrom in the canister 10.
In general, in the system illustrated in FIG. 1, the vacuum unit 14 includes a suction pump and a motor for driving the suction pump. In addition, the unit may include a valve to inhibit passa~e of water through the suction pump.
In operation, the apparatus in accordance with FIG. 1 may be conventionally employed as a dry vacuum cleaner in which case suitable conventional filters (not shown) are mounted within the canister 10. In this case, the operator merely manipulates the hose and head 16 across a dry surface. The operation of the apparatus is similar for removing liquids from the surface, with the ;
-- 3 -- :
llZ4965 exception that in this case, as above discussed, a valve is necessary in the unit in order to inhibit passage of the liquid material from the suction pump. It will, of course, be appreciated that, if liquids were to pass through the suction pump they would then be discharged through the outlet port 18, thereby resulting in undesirable distribution of the liquids, perhaps over a surface that has just been cleaned as well as over nearby personnel and equipment.
FIG. 2 illustrates the vacuum unit 14 removed from the canister 10. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the vacuum unit 14 may be held to the top of the canister by conventional clips 20, so that an operator can remove the unit 14 for cleaning and replacement of filters. FIG. 2 illustrates a cage 21, for example, a metal cage, depending downwardly from the vacuum unit 14 and restraining a ball 22. The ball 22 is of a material such as plastic that enables it to float on a liquid in the canister 10 and the cage 21 aligns the ball 22 vertically with respect to a valve port 23 in the bottom of the vacuum unit 14. As a consequence, when liquid in the canister 10 rises to a sufficient level, the ball 22 is urged against port 23 in order to inhibit further passage of air, and hence liquids, through the vacuum unit 14.
FIG. 3 illustrates the vacuum head 14 in greater detail, the cage and valve ball being omitted in this figure for the sake of clarity. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the vacuum unit 14 may comDrise a support cover 30 adapted to engage the upper rim of the canister and having a downwardly extending flange and a seal 32 at its outer lower periphery, in order to enable the support cover to be sealed to the top of the canister by the clips 20 as illustrated in FIG. 2.
A dome shaped casing 33 is affixed to the top of the support cover 30 and an internal baffle 34 is mounted within the cover 33. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the baffle 34 is comprised of a lower frustro-conical portion 35 extending generally from the support cover 30 and an inverted frustro-conical portion 36 extending upwardly from the top of the portion 35 and being sealed by conventional seals 37 to the inside of the dome 33 above the outer port 18. The outer port 18 extends through the side of the dome 33.
A suction pump 39 is resiliently mounted between the center top portion of the support cover 30 and the top of the lower portion 35 of the baffle 34. The portion of the pump 39 illustrated in FIG. 3 is comprised of the outer fixed cylinder casing 40 having outlet ports 41 directed into the space between the lower portion 35 o f the baffle and the suction pump casing 40. The lower portion 35 of the baffle is provided with a plurality of holes 42 about its periphery whereby air exhuasted from the ports 41 of the suction pump casing 40 is directed through the holes 42 and into the annular chamber 43 between baffle 34 and the dome 33, and thence out of the exhaust port 18.
The suction pump 39 has a rotor (not shown) adapted to rotate about a vertical axis within the pump casing 40, in conventional manner, the rotor being driven by a conven-tional motor 45 mounted on top of the suction pump. A
central port 46 is provided in the support cover 30, whereby air may be drawn by the pump 39 through the port 46 for exhaust from the vacuum unit. An annular resilient valve seat 47 is affixed to the bottom of the support cover 30 /
llZ4965 surrounding the port l16 in order to cooperate with the ball 22 in preventing the passage of liquids through the port 46 into the suction pump.
A radially inwardly extending flange 50 may be provided on the top of the dome 33 with a resilient cylinder 51 dependin~ therefrom to resiliently seal the top of the motor, as well as to serve as a further baffle.
As a consequence, cooling air for the motor may be drawn through the central aperture 52 in the top of the dome, thence through the motor, and into the chamber above the upper portion 36 of the baffle. The dome 33 is provided with cooling vents 54 in order to exhaust the motor cooling air from the annular chamber 53.
The outlet port 18 on the vacuum unit may be provided with a suitable coupling 57 to enable the fixing of a hose thereto, so that the cleaner may be employed as f a source of pressurized air, if it is so desired.
The features of the wet/dry cleaner as above discussed have been employed in the past, and it is hence considered unnecessary to provide herein further details with respect to conventional features of such equipment.
Wet/dry cleaners of the above described type are quite satisfactory when employed as dry cleaners and also when employed as liquid cleaners when a liquid being removed from a surface does not contain materials that cause it to foam. 3n occasion, however, the cleaner must be employed to pick up liquids that have detergents or other foaming materials dissolved therein. The foaming nature of the liquid material is not necessarily apparent to the operator of the equipment, since the foaming llZ4D65 rnaterials may be completely dissolved in the liquid on a floor to be cleaned It has been found, however, that the suction of the liquids fro;~ the surface by the cleaner results in violent agitatlon of the liquids as well as mixing the liquids in the air in the canister 10 so that there is a great tendency for a significant head of foam to form on the top of the liquid within the canister. The valve ball 22 must have sufficient weight that it cannot be .
sucked upwardly into the valve port 46 merely by the suction air passed through the pump, and consequently the foam that is formed within the canister is not capable of lifting the valve ball. As a result, foam that is formed within the canister is sucked through the suction pump 39 and dis-charged from the port 18.
l~hile the discharge of the foam does not result in as disastrous results as if the liquid itself were sucked through the pump, the foam has liquid components which may be as dirty as the liquid itself and it is apparent that these materials will be sprayed from the exhaust port 18. As a result, adjacent personnel and equipment may be sprayed with materials emanating from the port 18, with consequent annoyance and damage, and the materials may also be returned to a previously cleaned floor thereby requiring additional effort on the part of the operator in the cleaning process.
In accordance with the invention, in order to overcome this problem, a mesh screen 60 is provided surround-ing the ball valve and valve seat 47. This arrangement is rnore clearly illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, wherein it is seen that the cage 21 for internally guiding the ball 22 ~;
~`
llZ4965 is provided with a lower extension 61, and the cover support 32 is provided with a downwardly extending flange 62 within the container. The flange 62 is annular, as is the extension 51 of the cage so that the -mesh screen 60 may 5 be formed as a cylindrical mesh affixed by conventional means to the outside of the flange 62, and held away from the cage by the cage extension 61. The mesh screen 60, of course, has a bottom 63, which appears more clearly in FIG.
5. It is also apparent that the mesh screen 60 completely surrounds the cage, and hence separates the ball 22 and valve seat 47 from the remainder of the inside of the canister. The mesh screen 60 may be conveniently of nylon mesh or a mesh of other plastic materials that are not subject to damage by materials in the canister. Alterna-tively, the mesh screen 60 may be metallic, such as of stainless steel. The mesh screen 60 preferably has a mesh ¦ -size between 16 x 16 and 32 x 32, such as, for example, of about 25 x 25, and it has been found that a mesh of this type satisfactorily inhibits the flow or suction of Z0 substantially any substantial amount of foam within the canister to the valve seat. As a consequence, in accordance with the invention, even though a substantial head of foam is formed within the canister, this foam is inhibited from flowing through the valve and hence is inhibited from being sprayed inadvertently from the exhaust port of the 1-cleaner.
In the above disclosure, it has been stated that the foam separator, in accordance with the invention, inhibits the flow of any appreciable quantity of foam into the valve port. In accordance with the invention, the ^`~` ' ~1249165 screen nesh size is not of such small size that no foam can pass therethrough. The mesh should be sufficiently large that it does not interfere with the passage of liquids in order that the operation of the valve by the liquid level not be hindered. It is only necessary, then, to substan-tially reduce the foam which penetrates the mesh, to reach the valve structure. As a consequence, a small level of foam may build up within the screen mesh surrounding the valve ball, it only being necessary to hold the level of the foarn within the screen to be substantially lower than outside of the screen. As a cansequence, since the valve ball has a diameter of several inches, it will be apparent that the valve will be closed by the rising level of liquid in the canister prior to actual entry of any significant amount of foam into the valve port. The mesh must, of course, not have great enough size that the level of foam within the mesh screen is not higher than that outside of the screen, since this obviously would enable the foam to be passed through the pump and sprayed from the exhaust of the cleaner.
It is further to be noted that the screen in the canister stabilizes the air currents within the control valve area in the machine, in addition to reducing the foarn directed to the valve. This also reduces the possi-bility of premature valve action and danger of the exhaustingof liquid components from the cleaner since it inhibits to a certain degree the splashing of liquid components to the valve port.
When a cleaner of the above described type is employed as a dry cleaner, a filter bag is mounted in the canister on the underside of the suction purnp in order to _ 9 trap dust and dirt particles within the canister. It is to be stressed that when a mesh screen is employed in accordance with the invention it does not serve the function of trapping and collecting dirt, the dirt being entrained in the liquid drawn into the canister. As a consequence, the mesh screen may be of a much more permanent nature than would normally be employed for the filter of a dry cleaner.
Since the primary function of the screen is only to inhibit, i.e. drastically reduce, the flow of foam to the region L0 within the screen, it is apparent that the screen need not be regularly cleaned or replaced. The screen, hence, cannot be considered to be a filter.
While the invention has been particularly described with reference to a wet/dry cleaner, it will be apparent 1;5 that the principle of the invention is applicable in cleaners adapted only for cleaning wet surfaces. In addition, it will be apparent that the mesh screen may be in other forms than illustrated and may be supported by other techniques. Such variation and modifications of the arrangement hence fall within the scope of the invention, and it is intended in the following claims to cover all such variations and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.
While particular embodiments of the invention are Z~ herein illustrated and described, it will be understood that changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, without limitation in this respect, the invention is defined by the following claims.
- 10 ~
Claims (6)
1. In a vacuum cleaner for removing liquids from a surface to be cleaned, and including a canister having an open top, a cover means removably fitted to said open top and having a valve port extending therethrough and lead-ing into said canister, a substantially free fluid path from said port externally of said cleaner and including suction pump means on said cover for evacuating said canister by way of said valve port, inlet means coupled to said canister for directing said liquids into said canister, and an open cage affixed to said cover and extending into said canister around said port and guiding a floatable valve closing member for cooperation with said valve port, whereby said valve closing member floats on liquid in said canister to engage and close said port at a given liquid level therein; the improvement comprising screen means mounted on said cage, said screen means extending from said cover to completely surround said valve closing member at the sides and bottom thereof and being spaced from said valve closing member by said cage, said screen means having a mesh size to inhibit substantial flow of foam in said canister to said valve closing member without substantially inhibiting the flow of liquids therethrough to said valve closing member.
2. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1 wherein said screen means is mounted on the external surface of said cage.
3. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1 wherein said screen means comprises a mesh screen surrounding said cage within said canister.
4. The vacuum cleaner of claim 3 wherein said mesh screen has a mesh size between 16 x 16 and 32 x 32.
5. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1 wherein said floatable valve closing member has a weight sufficiently small to float on water and sufficiently great to inhibit its floating on foam.
6. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1 wherein said screen means comprises a screen having a mesh size to perform substantially no filtering function in said vacuum cleaner.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA314,994A CA1124965A (en) | 1978-10-31 | 1978-10-31 | Foam separator |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA314,994A CA1124965A (en) | 1978-10-31 | 1978-10-31 | Foam separator |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1124965A true CA1124965A (en) | 1982-06-08 |
Family
ID=4112775
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA314,994A Expired CA1124965A (en) | 1978-10-31 | 1978-10-31 | Foam separator |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1124965A (en) |
-
1978
- 1978-10-31 CA CA314,994A patent/CA1124965A/en not_active Expired
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