GB2233218A - Suction apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A suction device 10 for collecting animal faeces comprising housing 14 containing suction fan/motor units is provided with a disposable nozzle 50. The nozzle may be of constant cross-section or tapered and may include an air-permeable bag. A flap valve may be arranged at the inlet end of the nozzle. The motors may be battery-driven. The housing may be provided with a lamp to illuminate opening 15, and a charging socket for engagement with a jack of a suitable charger for recharging a battery of rechargeable type. <IMAGE>

Description

SUCTION APPARATUS This invention relates to suction apparatus and, in particular, to self-contained portable suction apparatus primarily but not exclusively for use in the collection of animal faeces.

It is well-known that in cities with large populations of canine pets, the volume of excrement produced daily by these pets is considerable, with the result that sidewalls, pavements and public places become fouled and unpleasant. Some cities have gone so far as to employ special operatives on motor cycles equipped with scoops and other excrement retrieval apparatus.

There remains however an urgent need to provide a convenient, hygienic and simple tool for effective excrement collection.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a portable, suction apparatus for collecting animal faeces, which apparatus comprises a housing containing an electric motor and a suction fan mounted

the motor and a suction inlet, and excrement containment and retention means, releasably attachable to the suction inlet, said means being adapted to be disposable in its entirety after use.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided disposable containment and retention means for animal excrement or other material for releasable attachment to a suction inlet of a suction device, e.g. a vacuum cleaner, which means is adapted to be disposable in its entirety after use.

Preferably the containment and retention means is in the form of a detachable, disposable nozzle for attachment to the suction inlet of a suction device.

Preferably the suction device of the present invention includes its own power source in the form of one or more electric cells. Such cells may be conventional replaceable dry cells such as zinc/carbon cells or alkaline/manganese cells.

Preferably however the cells are rechargeable cells, e.g nickel/cadmium cells or lead/acid cells and preferably the suction device is provided with a recharging jack or socket for receiving a recharging current supply for the rechargeable cells. It is also envisaged that in certain circumstances the suction device may be powered from an external power source e.g. from an AC mains supply although the primary utility of the device lies in its portability and for this purpose it is clearly desirable that it include its own power source. In preferred embodiments of the device of the invention five or six 1.2 volt NiCad batteries are employed to drive a pair of electric motors arranged electrically in parallel, each motor being provided with a said suction fan and the motors lying on a common axis.

Preferably the suction device extends generally longitudinally and is provided with handle means, e.g. in the form of an umbrella or walking stick e handle. Preferably a switch is located in the handle for operating the device. In a preferred embodiment such a switch is mechanically connected to a micro switch within the housing by means of a lever or rod, since it has been found - that electrical connection from the handle switch can unduly increase the resistance of the electrical circuitry.

Preferably the housing includes a light whose beam is directed towards the nozzle end of the suction device and which is arranged to be switched on and off at the same time as the power to the motor(s).

Because the device of this invention is preferably portable, it is desirable to reduce its weight as far as possible. For this purpose as many parts as practicable may be made of lightweight plastics materials, e.g. polystyrene, polypropylene, polycarbonate or polyvinyl chloride.

Turning now to the containment and retention means of the present invention, this may comprise a nozzle which may be of constant cross-section or which may taper from an outlet end to an inlet end thereof and which includes a bag-like container which is air-permeable but which will retain solid or semi-solid matter. The nozzle may be made of plastics material such as polystyrene or polypropylene or may be made of other suitable materials such as, for example, laminated paper or cardboard. The material of the bag may be, for example, cloth or filter paper. Preferably the material of the bag is treated e.g. with a silicone to render its surface hydrophobic whilst still permitting air to pass therethrough.

In order to prevent the contents of the bag from falling out of the nozzle when the apparatus is switched off, one-way valve means is generally provided at an inlet end of the nozzle. Such a one-way valve means may comprise a simple flap valve e.g. of resilient material, arranged to lie across the inlet end of the nozzle or may be in the form of a slotted (e.g. cruciform) resilient membrane.

In preferred embodiments, the nozzle is adapted to be nestable with similar nozzles, thereby to reduce the space taken up by a plurality of such nozzles. Altenatively, the nozzles may be provided initially in a collapsed state e.g. an axially collapsed state for example-by having an outlet end and an inlet connected together by telescoping elements or by articulated arms, so that for use the nozzle can be extended to its working length. The containment means may be in the form of a bag attached to the inlet end of the nozzle. Preferably such a collapsed extendable nozzle is provided with one way means e.g. in the form of a ratchet, to prevent re-collapse of the nozzle.

An embodiment of a suction device in accordance with the present invention and an embodiment of a nozzle means according to the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an embodiment of a suction device according to the present invention; Fig. 2 is a view in the direction of the arrow A of figure 1.

Fig. 3 is a side cross-sectioned view in the direction B-B of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a nozzle for attachment to the suction device of Figs. 1-3.

Fig. 5 is a side cross sectioned view of the nozzle in the plane C-C of Fig. 4.

Fig. 5 is an end view of the nozzle in the direction of arrow D of Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 shows details of a catch of the suction device of Figs. 1-3 for connecting the nozzle thereto.

With reference to the drawings, an embodiment of suction apparatus of the invention is shown. The apparatus comprises a suction device, generally designated 10 and a disposable nozzle, generally designated c0, which is connectable to device 10.

The suction device 10 is of hand-portable size, preferably of the approximate dimensions and shape of an umbrella, having a plastics handle 12 connected to a plastics casing 14 by means of a metal or plastics tube 13. The tube 13 is partially covered for aesthetic purposes, by cloth or elastic material 17.

The casing 14 is open at one end 1D and houses first and second fans 16, 18 driven by respective motors 20, 22, the fans and motors being coaxially arranged within casing 14. The motors 20, 22 are electrically connected in parallel to a battery 24, via a normally open microswitch 26. The battery is preferably of rechargeable type and is electrically connected to a charging socket 25, for engagement with a jack of a suitable charger (not shown).

The mtcroswitch 26 has a projection 27 which, when moved, will close the switch. The projection is selectively contacted by a rod 28 disposed in tube 13. Rod 28 is biased by spring 29 away from projection 27 connected to a button 30 provided in handle 12. Button 30 is slidably mounted on handle 12 so that, when moved, rod 28 will be caused to depress projection 27, thus closing microswitch 26 and actuating fans 16, 18. Button 30 is biased away from rod 28 by spring 32.

Casing 14 is provided, on opposed sides, with a plurality of slots 34 which are disposed downstream of fans 16, 18, air being drawn by fans 16, 18 through opening 15 and expelled through slots 34.

A lamp 36 is connected to casing 14 and is electrically connected in parallel with motors 20, 22. The lamp 36 serves to illuminate the region in front of opening 15 when the fans are actuated.

A nozzle 50, shown in Figs. 4-6 is connected, in use, to open end 15 of casing 14. The nozzle 50 comprises a hollow frusto-conical casing, 51 (to allow nesting of nozzles) in which an air-porous excrement retention bag 52 is disposed. The bag 52 is preferably formed from cloth or filter paper treated so as to render it waterproof and is attached around the circumference of its open end to an annular support member 56. The member 56 interlocks with opening 57:of casing 51 as shown in Fig. 5. A closure flap 58 formed of resilient plastics material is connected to the member 56 over a limited circumferential arc (e.g. 300).

Open end 59 of casing 51 is provided with a circumferential lip 60 which is adapted to engage end 15 of casing 14 in a substantially air-tight manner.

Two catches 40, of which one is shown in more detail in Fig. 7, are connected to casing 14 of suction device 10, for holding nozzle 50 in place. The catches are each provided with part-annular projections 42 which clip behind lip 60 to hold nozzle 50 in place. The catches 40 are suitably mounted and are biased into the engaged position shown in Fig. 7 by means of spring 44. The projections 42 each have a bevelled leading edge 46 allowing the catches 40, to provide snap-fit engagement of the nozzle 50, with the suction device 10. The nozzle 50 may be released from the suction device 10 by depressing catches 40 in the directions of arrow E. A sinusoidal annular spring washer may be provided adjacent end casing 15 to cause spring-release of the nozzle 50 when catches 40 are depressed.

In use, the suction apparatus may be used to remove excrement by actuating the suction fans 16, 18 by operation of button 30, The resulting suction force will draw air through nozzle 50, opening flap 58 and causing the excrement to be sucked into bag 52. Subsequent deactivation of the fans 16, 18 will cause resilient flap s8 to close preventing the faeces from falling out of the bag 52. The nozzle 50 may then be disposed of in a suitable place by releasing catches 40, without the nozzle 50 needing to be physically touched. Another nozzle may then by connected to suction device 10.

The above description of the preferred embodiment is not to be construed as limitative and many variations of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example a plurality of nozzles may be nested in place on the suction device 10, removal of one nozzle after use exposing a replacement. Furthermore, although the invention has been described for the specific application of removal and disposal of animal excrement, other applications for the device will be apparent to those skilled in the art, within the scope of the invention. For such other applications the nozzle may be shaped as desired, e.g. with a distal flare or with an angled.distal end.

Claims (24)

1. Suction apparatus comprising a housing, suction means contained in the housing, and excrement retention means releasably attachable to a suction inlet of the housing, said excrement retention means being adapted to be disposable in its entirety after use.

2. Suction apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said suction means comprises an electric motor and a suction fan supported for rotation by the electric motor.

3. Suction apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein said suction means comprises two electric motors and two corresponding suction fans supported by the motors for rotation about substantially the same axis.

4. Suction apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein said retention means is in the form of a detachable, disposable nozzle.

5. Suction apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein said retention means comprises an air-permeable filter.

6. Suction apparatus as claimed in Claim 5, wherein the air-permeable filter is in the form of a container.

7. Suction apparatus as claimed in Claim 5 or Claim 6, wherein the surface of the air-permeable filter is hydrophobic.

8. Suction apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein said retention means includes a non-return valve.

9. Suction apparatus as claimed in Claim 8, wherein the non-return valve is a flap valve.

10. Suction apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein snap-fit means is provided for snap-fittably attaching said retention means to the suction inlet.

11. Suction apparatus as claimed in Claim 10, wherein said snap-fit means comprises at least one sprung catch which is provided on the housing.

12. Suction apparatus as claimed in Claim 10 or Claim 11, wherein biassing means is provided for biassing said retention means apart from the housing when said retention means is attached to the housing.

13. Suction apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein a handle is provided on the housing at a position distal from the suction inlet.

14. Suction apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein switch means is provided for controlling the operation of said suction means.

15. Suction apparatus as claimed in Claim 14 when dependent upon Claim 13, wherein said switch means is actuable at the handle.

16. Suction apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, further comprising a lamp provided on the housing and arranged to illuminate a region adjacent said retention means when said retention means is attached to the housing.

17. Suction apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, being battery-operated.

18. Suction apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, resembling a collapsible umbrella.

19. Suction apparatus, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

20. Retention means for use in the suction apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims.

21. Retention means as claimed in Claim 20, being adapted to be nestable in another retention means of like form.

22. Retention means as claimed in Claim 20 or Claim 21, having a substantially frusto-conical shape.

23. Retention means as claimed in any one of Claims 20 to 22, said retention means being collapsible.

24. Retention means, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 4 to 7 of the accompanying drawings.