US1541567A - Electric suction cleaner - Google Patents

Description

H. E HOOVER ELECTRIC SUGTION CLEANER June '9,1 1925.`

2 Sheets-Sheet .l

,Filed Feb. 24,- 1921 l Wzjm/SJS H.' E. HOOVER 4- v"rnmsu'cytTR'Ic scTJoN LEANER Filed Feb. 24 1921 j 2 sheetysheet '2 @Me/37% Cata.

.Patented June 9, 19,215. t

:UNITED v'siA'rl-:s

'PATENT orricla.;

HOWARD HOOVER., OE CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AssIGNOR, `EY MEsNE ASSIGNMENTS,

To THEHOOVER COMPANY, OE NOE-'rn CANTON, OHIO, 'A CORPORATION OE OHIO. t

ELECTRIC SUCTIONCLEANER.

Application filed Februaryv 24, 1921. Serial No. 447,589.

To all whom t may concern: l Be it known that I, HOWARD EARL HOOVER, a Citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and Stateof Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Electric Suction Cleaners7 of which the following is a speci? fication.I v

My invention relates .to electric suction cleaners, particularly such as contain in connection with the-nozzle a brush and av motorA adapted to rotatefwthe brush, andV y guard fingers, and my inveii'on particularly relates to the guard finger-s. It forms in parta continuation of my'pendingUnited States applications Serial Number 185,201, filed AugustS, 1917, and Ser. No. 265,350 filed Dec. 5,1918. l' Y In such a machine it is desirable that the brush should pick up and throw into the suction chamber toward the fan the surface litter such as hair, threads, ravelings and the like, and it is desirable that suchlitter should not adhere toor remain in or on the brush. The'fingers are necessary to keep the floor covering from being drawn too far into the suction chamber. Such guard fingers are, however, likely to have various objections. If they are short theyr not infrequently catch on the loops or threads which form part of the floor covering and which are drawn up into the suction `chamber by the movement of air, Which is due to the fact that the machine is being moved back F and forth by the operator during the operationof sucking up the dust laden air. Such fingers may also if they are too long or pro-ject too far' in towthe` suction Achamber tend to arrest or aid in thearrestof the inwardly moving litter of the'classreferred to which may tend to fall out of the streaml of air withwvhich it is moving upon thel inne'r lower Wall of the. casing adjacent-thc ends of the brush. fngcrs. .Theifinge'rsif not properly'shaped Wil1-notsufiiciently aid in preventing the adhesion of such surface litter to the brush. The fingersshould preferably be of such length as to deliver the litter in question into the stream of dust and litter laden air and at exactly the point Where that delivery is made the brush should svveep the ends of`the-fingers so'as to free such material from the brush and lingers to facilitate its delivery into thel air stream. the arrangement were such that the brush.

occasionally'v reversed its motion then -the fingers should be projected above this air stream so as to prevent the ,catching ofA -air stream in which event they will b e so long and extend so far into the suction chamber that theyvcnuld not Well engage the A loops and threads of the floor covering.

Under all these conditions the best possible arrangement ofthe fingers is that their ends are swept bythe brush( The object of my invention therefore is to associate such brusli with fingers in such Way as to facilitate the clearing of the brush and the delivery of all such litter from the fingers to the air stream, and for the prevention of the entanglement of the ends ofthe fingers with the loops. threads and other such loose pieces of the floor covering as may be' drawn up into the suction chamber by the action of the air stream. Another object of my invention is to provide U-shaped 4fingers and means for properly connecting them. I

My invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings wherein Figure 1 is a part vertical section and part side elevation of a suction cleaner containing my invention.

Figure 2 is a. detailed view showing the arrangement of the- U-shaped fingers.

i. Figure 3 is a detail of one means of attaching them.

Likeparts are indicated by like characters throughout'all the drawings.

A is a suction sweeper casing having 'mounted-and secured to it, a motor casing B.

C is a handle -bail pivoted to the 'sweeper casing and having in its upper end, the handle shaft C. C2 is a handle bail stop adapted when in-the position shown in full lines.

invention and are not described inv great detail. The suction sweeper casing has the forwardly and downwardly extending open .suctionmcuth'D'across which are xed 'the guard fingers D. They may be mounted therein-in 'any suitable manner as for eirample in the frame D2 which may or may not be removable fro-m the suction sweeper casing or they may be shaped in joined U- shaped pairs as shown in Figures 2 and 3 and may be positioned in the suction sweeper by being inserted through perforations D3 'in the wallof the casing. When so mounted, they are secured in position -by means of the screws D4. The side of the U-shaped inember may or may not be fiattened as at D5 for. better engagement with the screw D4.

In all forms, the fingers are substantially i concentric with the path of thebrush and are -so positioned as to be swept from end to end by the bristles during each revolution of the brush, the brush revolving in the direction of the' free ends of the fingers so as to brush ofinl the lingers anything which may In the form shown in full lines'in Figure 1 the guard fingers are curved concentric with the path l of the brush and extend toward but are short of the rear wall of the suction nozzle mouth D. The fingers may, however, be made longer as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 1 bythe characters E and F. In these forms, 'the fingers are extended upward and out of the path of the dust laden current of air so that it is practically impossible for anything to become entangled with or caught upon the fingers.` All ofvthese three forms are similar in that they are all concentric with the path of the lbristles and are all swept by the bristles, and in each of them the end ofthe guard fingers is out of contact with the rear wall of the suction nozzle. Within the sweeper casing and protruding partially i through the opening D is the' brush G which l is formed of a hollowT brush body in which yare located a series of bristle bunches G. The brush itself is mounted for rotation about the stationary shaft G2 and carries upon its exterior a belt pulley G3 adapted to -be drivenby the. belt G4 which in turn is driven by the driving pulley G5 on the lower "extension of the motor shaft H. The brush is mounted adjustably in the mechanism I,

vwhich forms no part of the present invenare of such height that' -they 4"hold the nozzle of thecasing above the floor'. At the rear of the casing is mounted .a pair of wheels J which are 'justable in height so that the nozzleof the easing may be raised andy lowered with relation to the floor by means Vof the-,adjustment of thewheels J'.;

' In operation, the suction of the machine draws thel carpet K off 'the floor and up against `and partially into lthe nozzle in the .ri-,541, ser

" whereA it may be received by any suitable re-l ceptacle.

The use andcperation of as follows:

In the Vsuction cleaners ofthe class here y e L y invention are there is found a motor and-a rotarybrush illustrated, as they are ordinarily made,

driven by the motor ata relatively high rate of speed normally continuously in the same direction. This brush sweeps up and carries into the machine .the litter, hair, threads, and the like which may be on the floor. The cleaner preferably has a relatively wide nozzle or inlet and the carpet responsive to the action of the suctonof the current of air passingr through the 1nachine rises to the lips of the nozzle as the cleaneris moved back and forth across the floor. To prevent it'fromv passing too far into the nozzle or from interfering with the;

action of the brush and to insure a proper relation between brush and carpet or floor covering guard fingers arc provided. These are preferably fixed at the front edge of the nozzle and -extend rearwardly, and in the form here shown they are preferably curved, aractically throughout their length and concentric with the brush. They also l lie in the path of the ends of the bristles so as preferably to be swept throughout their lengths by such bristles. They are preferably provided with curved ends which also lie in the path of the britles and are swept" by them. These fingers may be of any desired length. They extend across the nozzle in the direction of rotation of the brush and theirA free ends are therefore within the suction chamber. The fingers being concentric with the brush are obviously upwardly bent awa-y from the casing so as to leave a relatively wide gap between fthe rear edge of the nozzle and the ends 0f the fingers. As the machine operates the brush sweeps the fingers i preferably from end to end and particularly it sweeps the ends of the fingers. It must be 'understoo'd that in the operation of such a cleaner it is moved rapidly back'and forth over the floor covering and across-the edges and fringes thereof, and'that there is a strong tendency for-the loose loops, thread ends and the like o f'such fioorrcovering to pass up into the casing. Many of these are in the shape of loops and -said loops frequently lcatch over the ends of the fingers, i if the latter are Anot properlyl formed, shaped, or protected with the result that Cil the'action of the machine is interfered with and the floor-covering is injured. By sweeping the ends of the fingers with the brush not intended `to project far down into thev nap of the carpet and the guard fingers prevent the carpet from rising too high, butv the brush sweeps up the litter referredto and the fingers tend to prevent such litter from adhering to the brush and proceeding with the brush in its rotative movement.

The brush sweeping the fingers prevents the.

litter in question from adheringto the fingers and thus the co-action of the brush and fingers is carried on -effectually each .tending to clear the other of the surface litter which it is so 'necessary to deliver'free from the brush and fingers into the suction chamber. As above indicated these several actions are facilitated when the fingers are concentric, when they, lie within the path of the bristles, when their free ends at least are in the path of the bristles and preferably curved, and when the' brush rotates continuously in the same direction so as to sweep the fingers from their inner fixed towardtheir free ends. The fingers must 'be free from the rear -lip of thecasing nozzle so as to permit the litter' in question and match sticks and the like to passinto thesuction chamber between the rear lipA ofthe nozzle and the guard fingers.' The litter, along with the current of air entering the machine, lies largely or moves to a great extent in a plane which isabove the inner surface `of the rear lip, that -is to say there is a stream of dirt and litter and dust laden-air atv this point andthe fingers preferably extend so as to deliver froml their free ends the object which passes along the fingers into suchl stream. If, however, for any reason, the

brush is to be reversible or adapted /to ro-l tate alternately in opposite directions, then the innerends of the fingers should be' carried higher up so as to be practicallyv out- ,X side of suc'ih stream so that in the event of the brush rotating in a direction opposite to the flow of current of air and litter there will be no opportunityv forthe ends .of the fingers to intercept" or pick up material in the air stream. Indeed, forsome purposes l with respect to certain kindsvof material, it

may be preferable to have'the fingers ex-v tended well up into the suction chamber'and beyond the upper dust and dirt laden stream even in cases where the brush rotates toward the free ends of the fingers.

It will be understood that the drawings are intended `merely as an illustration of one form of the invention, for the device illustrated and' described might be altered' and changed considerably .without departing from the spirit of my invention. In

the preferred form of myinvention as it,

now appears the brush rotates continuously in the same direction at a relatively high speed, and wherein the fingers are' conce'ntric throughout the greater portion of their lengths and lie slightly within the brush bristles so that they ,are swept by the brush, for the fingers protect the brush from the,

ladhesion of the class of 'surface litter referred to and the' brush protects the fingers bysweeping such litter from them into thestream of air. Itis importan-t that whatever the shape ofthe' finger, generally speaking, its ends should extend into -the bristles andbe swept by the brush.

Another form 'of the invention is that wherein the fingers are extended beyond the streamof litter laden air so as to deliver the dust laden air.v

While I have stated that the brush mounting revolves always in the lsame direction, in certain circumstances the direction of its rotation might be reversed, and I do not wish to be limited to a construction wherein the-brush is driven always in the same direction.

'I claim:

1. In a suction cleaner, a suction nozzle, a brush rotatably mounted therein, a. plurality` of guard fingers `extending across the open mouth of the nozzle, said fingers be- Jing arranged in pairs, each pair being joined together at one side by a part perpendicular` to each of them, a supporting y' member having perforations through which each finger separately passes and means located between such lingers for holding each pair in position.

2.' A brush guardv for suction cleanervnozzles comprising-a plurality of U-shaped fingers each separately mounted in the hood and means for permanently fastening each finger in position independent of the others.

3. 'A brush guard for suction cleaner nozzles comprising a`plurality of U-shaped fingers each separately mounted in the hood.

'4. A brush guard for suction cleaner nozzles comprising a plurality of pairs of joined fingers each pair being separately .mounted in the hood, vmeans for permanently. fastening each pair in position, inde.

pendent of the other7 and means for holding the fingers in place comprising a member engaging the connecting part intermediate the fingers.

5. In a suction cleaner a suction nozzle having a plurality of perforations adjacent,

the open mouth -of the nozzle, a plurality ofbrush guard fingers extending through said perforations and extending across the nozzle, said fingers being arranged in pairs, means for fastening each pair of fingers independently in position, said means comcontinuously in the same dir ection and guard fingers which are fixed at one end and free at the otherand projecting across the nozzle in the direction of the rotation of the brush and concentric throughout the major portion of their` lengths with the brush and whose free ends lie in the path of the bristles so as to be swept thereby.

7. 'Ilia suction cleaner, the combination of a caslng having an inlet nozzle with a brush mounted adjacent said nozzle, means for rotating'the brush continuously in the same direction and guard fingers which are fixed at one end and free at the other projecting across the nozzle in the direction of rotation Aof the .brush and concentric throughout the major portion of their lengths with the brush and whose free ends lie in the path of the bristles so as to be swept thereby.

8. In a suction cleaner,vthe combination of `a casing havin an inlet nozzle with a brush mounted adjacent said nozzle, means for rotating the brush and guard fingers which are fixed at one end and Vfree at the other projecting transversely of the nozzle and concentric throughout the major portion of their lengths with the brush and whose free ends lie in. thev path `of its bristles so as to be swept thereby.

j 9. In'a suction cleaner, the combination of acasing havin an inlet nozzle with a brush mounted adjacent said nozzle, means for rotating the brush, and guard fingers fixed at one end and free at the other projecting transversely of the nozzle, and whose free ends lie in the path or" the brush bristles so as to be swept thereby.

10. In a suction cleaner, the combination fof a .casing having an inlet nozzle with a brush mounted adjacent said nozzle, means for rotating the brush continuously in the same direction and guard fingers which are fixed at one end and free at, the other projecting transversely of the nozzle in the direct-ion of the rotation of the brush and whose free .ends liein the path of' the brush bristles so as to be swept thereby.

11.. In a suction cleaner, the combina-tion of a casing having anin'let nozzle with a brush mounted adjacentsaid nozzle, means for rotating thebrush ycontinuously in the same direction, and guard fingers which are fixed at one end and free at the other projecting transversely of the nozzle in the direction ofv the rotation of the brush and having curved freeends which lie in the path of the bristles of the brush so as to be swept thereby.

12. In Va suction cleaner, the combination of a casing having an inlet nozzle with a brush ymounted adjacent said nozzle; means for rotating the'brush continuously in -the same direction and guard fingers which are fixed at one end and free at the other pr ojecting transversely of the nozzle in the direction of the rotation of the brush and concentric throughout the major portion ofi their lengths with the brush and whose free ends lie 1n the path of its bristles so as to be swept thereby. v

Signed at Chicago county of Cook and State of Illinois, this 23rd day of February,

A'HOWARD EARL HOOVER.

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