GB2210775A - Vehicle vacuum cleaning system - Google Patents

Description

AUTOMOBILE VACUUM CLEANER 2210775 This invention relates to portable

vacuum cleaners and more particularly to portable vacuum cleaners installed in automobiles for vacuuming therein, having more than one vacuuming inlet and being adapted to run off the automobile power supply.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:

it is inevitable that the interior of an automobile becomes dirty and dusty during use, and that vacuuming is a necessary step to help return the automobile's interior to a clean and tidy state. There are a number of choices available to the automobile owner, the most common of which is to periodically use a normal household vacuum cleaner. Also available are small portable hand held vacuum cleaners, which generally do not develop enough power to clean the automobile's interior properly. An alternative to using one's own vacuum cleaner is to use a coin operated vacuum cleaner typically found at gas stations, but this is not very handy. Various problems such as portability, availability, power, and ease of use can be encountered when using any of these above stated alternatives.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART:

Vacuum cleaning arrangments have been installed in cars in one form or another for a numbe---r of years. Some are merely normal.

household vacuum cleaners mounted within the car. Some are powered by engine rotation and are therefore installed in the engine compartment. There ar'e none known to be portable or easily removeable, or small enough to take up a minimum amount of room when installed in a vehicle.

U.S. Patent No. 1.722#265 to BEAULIEU, issued July 30.

1929, discloses a vacuum cleaner having suction created by the exhaust of the car engine. The speed of the exhaust past the vacuum cleaner creates a low pressure area in the vacuum hose, thus creating a vacuuming force at the cleaning nozzle. No electrics are involved in this device; but'needless to say, it is not energy efficient# and it is potentially hazardous.

U.S. Patent No. 2,725,587 to COLES, issued December 6, 1955, shows a vacuum cleaner for motor vehicles that is powered by the rotational movement of a car's engine, and again involves no electrics and again is inefficient and potentially hazardous.

The unit is turned on from inside the automobile by remotely engaging a clutch, which allows power to be transmitted from the fly-wheel of the car through a flexible hose to the vacuum cleaner.

U.S. Patent No. 3,230,567 to NICHOLAS, issued January 25, 1966, discloses a vacuum cleaner also located in the engine compartment, but one that is powered by electricity. The main unit however, is installed permanently in the automobile and can be installed in one orientation only. It is switch operable.

U.S. Patent No. 3,384,961 HOCKIN, issued May 28, 1968 to an automobile vacuum cleaning system that is electrically powered and also located in the engine compartment. The unit is switch operable, and has four inlets in the passenger compartment. All of the inlets are right angled to the main flow of air in the duct system. The dust bag is not within a protective container.

U.S. Patent No. 3,431,581 to BOOTH, issued March 11, 1969 discloses a combination vacuum cleaner and defroster device.

The system is electrically powered and is not easily removeabie from an automobile. The air filtering and waste collection means 2 are internal to the unit, and are not easily removeable for cleaning and disposal of collected waste.

U.S. Patent No. 3,449,787 ROTHSTEIN et al, issued June 17, 1969, shows a typical household vacuum cleaner of the period installed in the' floor of the trunk of the automobile. The inlet of the hose is mounted in the rear window shelf behind the back seat, and is not centrally located. The unit is turned on whenever the lid 13 of the inlet is lifted up, and a contiguous switch is thereby activated.

U.S. Patent No. 4,113,658 to CALLEWYN, issued January 9, 1979, shows an industrial dust collection system and apparatus having an intake that branches to a multiplicity of inlets. Each branch is open, however, unless shut off right at each inlet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:

There are a number of problems, associated with most known automobile vacuuming systems. The most prevalent problem is that of efficiency, which comprises a number of factors. Firstly, no prior art automobile vacuum system discloses means for automatically shutting off the vacuum hose path not in use at the point where the two or more hoses diverge. The prior art vacuum cleaning systems merely locate the ends of each path, thus leaving a large orifice emanating from the hose in use. Such an orifice can create stray swirling air currents, known as Weddies", in the air flow, thus lessening the suctioning capability of the system. Secondly, only two of the prior art patents have hoses that form a path to the main unit that is as short as reasonably possible, so as to minimize suction losses.

O'ne of these systems, however, has a plurality of substantially 3 right angled corners in the path.

Another important consideration not addressed by the prior art is installation of the unit, both in initial installation of the system and removing and replacing parts of the system for cleaning and maintenance, or for disposal of collected waste. None of the systems is configured s'uch that the main unit is installable in a variety of orientations so as to be more easily fit into the trunk or hatch-back of a car, especially a small car. Only one of these systems can be considered to be somewhat easily removeable and replaceable after installation, and portable when removed. It is much more difficult to remove, transport, and replace any of the prior art main unit than

Applicant's main unit.

Initially, none of the prior art units are capable of is handling water or slush, or are auto-starting upon insertion of a vacuuming hose into an inlet, and do not have finger operable switches located at the inlets for turning the unit on without a hose installed.

in order to provide a proper automobile vacuuming system, several features are highly desirable. The unit must be small enough to install in the trunk or hatch-back of a small automobile without taking up an unacceptable amount of room. It is desirable that the unit be installable in a plurality of orientations such that it can fit into the desired location in the trunk or hatch-back. Such orientable installation means that the waste collecting and containing member must be specifically adapted to contain waste, including water, while in these various orientations. It is also preferable that the unit be portable for maintenance and space considerations so as to use the unit 4 4 elsewhere if necessary or so as to allow the unit to be installed in another vehicle Thus, the unit is preferably portably mountable such that it is quickly and easily removable.

Additionally, any hose extending into the passenger compartment should be easy to install, and also must not interfere with the comfort of any passenger sitting in the back seat.

It is important that the waste collecting and containing member, which is preferably part of the unit, be able to contain water and slush. It is also necessary that the motor unit be protected from these elements, and it is very important that they be contained in their collecting and containing member without leaking, even when the collecting and-containing member is removed from the main unit. The above considerations are difficult to accommodate in a unit that can be located in various orientations.

In use, the unit must provide easy access to all areas of the passenger compartment and the trunk. Preferably, this is accomplished with a minimum of inlets, with the path from each inlet being reasonably short and straight so as to minimize vacuuming suction losses. Also, to minimize vacuuming suction losses, only the vacuum pathway in use should be open, with all other pathways from the inlets being shut off at the point where the pathways adjoin one another.

The vacuum cleaning system of the present invention is to be a multi-inlet system with only the inlet in use. and all other areas sealed off. It is easily installable in a pluralit of orientations, and is sized such that it can be accommodated in virtually any vehicle trunk or hatch-back. Additionally, it is easily removable. and replaceable for maintenance or other purposes.

Two inlets are contemplated in the preferred embodiment, to be located one in the trunk and one under the rear seat of the passenger compartment, thus minimizing the number of inlets required and the distances from each inlet to the main vacuum unit. Also, the hose from each inlet to the main vacuum unit is as straight and obstruction free as possible.

The unit also provides a waste collecting and containing member that can hold waste and water in more than one orientation. Additionally, the collecting and containing member is easily removable and replaceable. and is sealed off when removed from the main unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:

is This invention will now be described in association withthe accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side view of an automobile with the central.

vacuuming system installed therein; Figure 2 is a schematic representation of the main unit; Figure 3 is a schematic view of the dual inlet system; Figure 4 is a cut-away view of the inlet housing inside the passenger compartment of the automobile, with the closing flap in a closed position; Figure 5 is a cut-away view of the inlet housing inside the passenger compartment of the automobile, with the closing flap in an open position; and Figure 6 is a cut-away top view of the retractable' hose mechanism, with the hose withdrawn therein.

6 DETAILED_ DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED E1BODIMENTS:

Referring to Figure 1, a tYpical North American automobile 20 is depicted having a CENTRAL AUTO-VACC- vacuuming system 22, in keeping with the present invention installed therein. The system 22 consists of a main unit 24, and a two piece hose member 26 comprising an extension hose portion 28 and an end hose portion 30. Extension hose portion 28 leads from the main unit of the vacuum cleaner and into the passenger compartment under the rear seat. The distal inlet 32 of extension hose portion 28 is located at the bottom of the rear seat of the automobile at the front side thereof. End hose portion 30, which is used to reach throughout the interior of the automobile, is preferably made of a flexible type of hosing and is adapted to plug into the distal inlet 32 of extension hose portion 28. As with any vacuum cleaning system, the end hose portion is adapted to receive various head attachments 34. In the preferred embodiment, the head attachment can rotate such that it may be more readily positioned into a preferrd orientation. Such rotation of the head attachment precludes the hose from experiencing torque that might otherwise be placed on the hose.

The main uni t 24, as seen in Figure 2, which is removeably and replaceably installed preferably in the trunk or hatch-back of an automobile, comprises a waste collecting and containing member 40 and a suction chamber 42. Suction chamber 42 uses an electrical motor 44, powered by the automobiles battery (not shown) as a source of power. This motor turns the specially designed fan blade 46 that induces air flow within the suction chamber 42. Air is drawn into the inlet aperture 48 through the through passage 50 and out the outlet aperture 52 and 'into the 7 waste collecting and containing member 40. Air drawn in through the inlet aperture 48 contains waste material that is passed thereto through the hose member 26.

Some or all of the walls of the through passage 50, especially around the fan blade 46, may contain a heating element, so as to allow for the thawing of ice during use in cold weather. The waste collecting and containing member 40 has a receptacle portion 54 that is divided into two areas, bottom area 56 and end area 58. The purpose of having these two areas is to be able to collect waste when the main unit 24 of the vacuum cleaning system is oriented in one of a plurality of orientations. When the main unit 24 is oriented such that the suction chamber 42 is beside the waste collecting and containing member 40, waste will collect in the bottom area 56. When the main unit 24 is oriented such that the suction chamber 42 is above the waste collecting and containing member 40, the waste will be collected in end area 58. Window 59 (in ghost outline) allows for visual checking of the waste collecting and containing member 40 to determine the amount of waste therein.

The waste exits the suction chamber 42 through outlet aperature 52 and enters the waste collecting and containing member 40 through collection aperture 60 where it comes in contact with deflector flap 62. The deflector flap 62 is closed against the collector and aperture 60 when the waste collecting and containing member 40 is removed froffi the suction chamber 42.

When waste collecting and containing member 40 is attached to the suction chamber 42, the deflector-flap 62 is forced open (means not shown).

8 Exhaust screen 64 provides means for the escape Of air that enters the waste collecting and containing member 40, and is positioned thereon such that the waste will not escape therefrom when the waste collecting and containing member 40 is oriented properly, with either bottom area 56 or end area 58 oriented downwardly. Preferably,- exhaust screen 64 exists on more than one side of the waste collecting and containing member 40 such that the ex haust screen 40 it would not be blocked by a portion of the trunk wall when installed. Additionally, a cap can be provided to prevent the waste from escaping when the waste collecting and containing member 40 is removed from the suction chamber 42 for emptying. Clearly, the waste collecting and containing member 40 is reusable, and more than one of these members can be provided so that when one is full another empty one can be attached and used.

Figure 3 shows a dual inlet system that is used to automatically shut off the inlet not in use. Most often, the end hose portion 30 is plugged into the extension hose portion 28 at distal inlet 32. In this case the closing flap 70 closes off the proximate inlet 72 and opens the pathway to extension hose portion 28 and ultimately distal inlet 32. Thus, air flow from the extension hose portion 28 and end portion 30 has a clear pathway to the suction chamber 42. Since the proximate inlet is blocked off, air passing by it cannot create weddies", that could be created by the orifice that would be present if adjoining proximate inlet 32. When the end hose portion 30 is plugged into the proximate inlet 72, which allows for cleaning of the trunk of the automobile, the closing flap 70 is forced to a position 71 as shown in ghost outline, over the opening to the extension hose - 9 portion 28, thus blocking it off, with minimal disruption of the surrounding air passages.

Figures 4 and 5 show a more detailed views of distal inlet 32. The inlet housing 80 houses a closing flap 82 which closes off the distal inlet 32 from the extension hose portion 28, thus preventing any sort of waste or dust from re-entering the automobile passenger compartment. The closing flap 82 is opened upon insertion of end hose portion 30, which lifts lever 84 thereby moving closing flap 82 upwardly. Channelling flap 85 moves upwardly in conjunction with closing flap 82, to provide a substantially. straight path for airflow, and to preclude waste from dropping into the area 86 below. The lever 84 comes in contact with momentary contact switch 87 thus turning on electrical power to the motor 44, which in turn causes suction in the unit. The lever 84 is also finger operable, which precludes the necessity of plugging the end hose portion 30 into the distal inlet 32 if one wants to simply put a piece of waste into the distal inlet 32 and have it suctioned away. The closing flap 82 is returned to its closed position by spring means 88.

Figure 5-ditfers from Figure 4 in that the lever 84 has been raised to open a passageway for airflow through inlet housing 80.

Figure 6 discloses a retractable hose mechanism 90, which is part of an alternative embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the retractable hose mechanism 90 is typically located under the rear seat 92 of the automobile, with an outlet area 94 located in the bottom front portion 96 of the rear seat' 92. The outlet area is adapted to hold a head attachment (not shown) that is att ached to the; retract-abe hose portion 98, such that the head attachment is out of the way when not in use. When the retractable hose portion 98 is pulled outwardly from its housing, a switch means could be triggered such that the vacuum cleaner is activiated. It is contemplated that an auxilliary motor and fan arrangement 100 could be included within the housing to increase the amount of suction available, since there may be suction losses associated with a coil retracted hose.

In an alternative embodiment, it is contemplated that the distal end of the end hose portion includes means for indicating the state of fullness of the waste collecting and containing member 40. Such means could be a simple indicator light or even a LCD display.

In another alternative embodiment# it is contemplated to inlcude means for reversing the direction of air flow through the vacuum cleaner such that air exhausts fromthe end hose portion.

In order to preclude waste, that is already in the waste collecting and containing member 40 from being expelled back out through the vacuum cleaner, means to allow the deflector flap to close off the inlet aperture# could be provided.

Other modifications and alterations may be used in the design and manufacture of the vacuum cleaning system of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the accompanying claims.

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Claims (1)

1. WHAT 15 CLAIMED IS:

   A vacuum cleaning system for use in transportation vehicles such as automobiles or boats, comprising:

   suction chamber means including a lightweight high-speed electrical motor and a fan attached thereto adapted for generating suction, with said motor and fan enclosed within a compartment, said compartment having an inlet aperture and an outlet aperture; wherein said motor and fan are adapted so as to partially evacuate the air in said compartment through said outlet apert.re, which in turn creates a suction inwardly through said inlet aperture; a hose memberer connected in substantially sealed relation to said inlet aperture; a through passage extending from said inlet aperture through said containr to said outlet aperture, wherein said through passage permits the passage of waste suctioned by said vacuum cleaning system; wherein said inlet aperture has an extension hose attached thereto so as to'form a substantially airtight seal, said hose being adapted to allow passage of waste that has been suctioned up; a waste collecting and containing member having a receptacle portion suitable for containing waste, a collection aperture suitable for allowing inwardly directed airflow and the passage of said waste into said receptacle portion, an egress for allowing said airflow to exit said waste collecting and containing member, and means for-fastening said waste collecting and containing mefnber - 12 to said suction chamber at said outlet aperture; wherein said waste collecting and containing member is adapted to collect and contain said waste while oriented in any one of a plurality of orientations; and wherein said waste collecting and containing member, is adapted to be removably attachable to said outlet orifice with the interface therebetween being substantially airtight.

   2. The vacuum cleaning. system of claim 1, having a multiple inlet aperture, each aperture being adapted for -1-tachment of said hose member thereto.

   2. The vacuum cleaning system of claim 2, wherein said multiple inlet aperture is a dual inlet aperture comprising a first inlet aperture and second inlet aperture.

   4. The vacuum cleaning system of claim 3, wherein said second inlet aperture is closed off by a movable flap until said hose member is attached thereto.

   5. The vacuum cleaning system of claim 3, wherein said dual inlet aperture is substantially Y-shaped.

   6. The vacuum cleaning system of claim 1, wherein said vacuum cleaning system is adapted to be mounted in an automobile.

   7. The vacuum cleaning system of claim 1, wherein said vacuum cleaning system is adapted to be removably mounted in an automobile.

   - 13 8. The vacuum cleaning system of claim 1, wherein said vacuum cleaning system is portable.

   9. The vacuum cleaning system of claim l# wherein said suction chamber is located in the trunk of said automobile.

   10. The vacuum cleaning system of claim 9, wherein said inlet has an extension hose attached thereto, said hose adapted to pass from said trunk to the passenger comparment of an automobile.

   11. The vacuum cleaning system of claim 1, wherein said hose member has an electrical switch disposed near the distal end thereof for the purpose of turning on the power supply to said electrical motor.

   12. The vacuum cleaning system of claim 11, wherein said electrical switch is configured so as to be closed when a vacuuming accessory is attached to the end of said hose.

   13. The vacuum cleaning system of claim 12, wherein said electrical switch is finger o15erable.

   14. A system as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising flap means for closing off the collection aperture of the waste member when the member is not connected to the suction chamber.

   A vacuum cleaning system for installation in a vehicle, the system having a container, for material vacuumed by the system, the container being adapted to hold liquid and solid material whether disposed in a first orientation, or in a second orientation turned through, for example, a right angle with respect to the first orientation about a horizontal axis.

   14 16. A vacuum cleaning system for installation in a vehicle, the system having a branched suction passageway having selectably usable inlets, and the junction between the branches being provided with a change-over valve which closes off the branch not being used.

   17. A vacuum cleaning system for installation in a vehicle, the system having a suction inlet for connection to an extension hose, and a switch adapted to be operated upon connection of the hose to activate the system.

   18. A system as claimed in claim 17, wherein the switch is also manually operable.

   19. A vacuum cleaning systen, substantially as described with reference to the drawings.

   11 1988 C n'e P Off:Ce Sza,e House 66 71 WC1R 4TP F-4r..he: may be obtainei Ircm:!e Pa:en- =.,ce.

   Sales BrLnch, S. Mary Cray. Orpingter. Kent B" 3RD Printed by Multiplex techmques ltd, St Ma--y Cray, Kent. Con. 187.