US2188809A

US2188809A - Vacuum cleaner

Info

Publication number: US2188809A
Application number: US66882A
Authority: US
Inventors: Dewey M Dow
Original assignee: Air Way Electric Appliance Corp
Current assignee: Air Way Electric Appliance Corp
Priority date: 1936-03-03
Filing date: 1936-03-03
Publication date: 1940-01-30
Anticipated expiration: 1957-01-30

Description

D. M. DOW

VACUUM CLEANER Jan. 30, 1940.

INVENTOR 29g/H nljw BY Patented Jan. so, 1940' UNITED STATES VACUUM CLEANER Dewey M. Dow, Toledo, Ohio, assigner to Air- Way Electric Appliance Corporation, Toledo,

Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Application' March a, 1936, sei-iai No. 66,882

Claims.

arrangement in which the motor is positioned above a suction chamber with its axis parallel to lthe axis of the suction chamber; i. e., in which both axes lie transverse of the cleaner as a whole.

'I'he cleaner embodies a casing member which extends generally tangent to both motor and suction chamber. The adjacent regions of motor and suction chamber being of .cylindrical or substantially cylindrical formation a roughly prismatic space is thus formed between the adjacent wall regions of suction chamber, motor, and cover casing, which spaceI accommodates the headlight and its 'reflecting and mounting mechanism.

Another object of the invention is to provide an arrangement wherein the headlight is readily accessible without providing for it a separate detachable cover or grill.4 This is accomplished by making the cover casing readily detachable, such detachability serving to provide access not only to the headlight and its mounting but-also to the' power transmitting mechanism connecting the motor to the rotary agitator with which the cleaner is equipped. It also serves to provide access to the power transmitting-'mechanism for connecting the motor to the fan, which is mounted on an axis separate to that of the motor.

Another object. of the invention is to provide a reflecting visor for directing the light rays from the headlight downwardly upona carpet being cleaned without providing a separate member for such purpose. To this end the reflecting visor is made integrally with the lower end of the bumper which protects the cover casing against damage from impact with furniture, etc. Other objects will appear during the p'erusa of the following detailed description of the inven-v 50 tion in connection with the accompanying draw- .l ing in which- Fig. 1 is a plan view of a vacuum cleaner embodying the invention,

through the cleaner,

Fig. 2 is a center longitudinal sectional view PA'rlazNrv OFFICE alsaos Fig. 3 is an inverted plan view of the combined bumper andhead light visor,

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the headlight lamp and its reector, v

Fig. 5 is an end view of the same,

Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view through the bumper taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. l,

Fig. 7 is a detailed sectional view of the bump taken on the line 'l-'l of Fig. 1,` and erf Fig. 8 is a detailed sectional view of a modification of the visor construction.

The invention comprises a suction clean which embodies generally a suction chamber er Ay a suction producing unit B, swivelled with relation to the suction chamber A, a rotary agitator unit C 'mounted in the suction chamber A, an electric motor and power transmitting mechanism D for driving the fan and rotary agitator, handle assembly E rigidly attached -to the su tion mechanism B, an air filtering `and dust co1- lecting unit (not illustrated), conversion mechanism F Fig. 1 for changing the cleaner from onrloor to ofi-floor operation, a removable cover unit G including bumper mechanism, the headlight assembly H, and floor wheel mechanism I for'sup porting the entire assembly for travelling over the surface to be cleaned. I

'I'he suction chamber A is formed between the casting I0 and a removable sheet metal botto plate Il. The forward region' of the casting and theformer in the form of a sheath secured extremity an upward bent iiange I6 by means which it is riveted at I'I to the forward wall the agitator chamber I2. The rivets also serve of of to secure a peripheral bumper I8 to the agitator chamber I2.

In' the chamber I2 is mounted the rotary agitator C which comprises a hollow spindle I9 with brush elements and exible beater elements 2| mounted therein. A guard 22 has two spaced members projected across the mouth oi the su tion chamber and is sprung into hooking engag ment with buttons 23 in' thev respective lips and I 4.

A 'I'he upper wall of the suction chambercastng I0 is depressed'in a region intermediate its en to accommodate the motor housing 24.'

Rearwardly of the motor housing 24 the su tion chamber is bifurcated to form two tubular portions 25 integral with the upper wall portion l0 and terminating in a horizontal plane 26 in upwardly facing openings. A pair of ducts 21 are secured to the bifurcated portions 25 of the suction chamber in the plane 26 as by coacting flanges 28 bolted together at 29. The ducts 21 extend upwardly and rearwardly and terminate in elbows 30 directed toward each other. The suction mechanism B includes a fan housing 3| having dual opposed inlets 32 in swivelling connection with the elbows 30. The housing 3| is made of stamped sheet metal in two halves which vare secured together by interlocking peripheral anges 33. A partition wall 34 divides the housing 3| into two fan chambers. The partition 34 is peripherally secured between the interlocking flanges 33 and has a central opening 35 in which is mounted the double impeller 36 providing air driving means in each of the two f an chambers. The impeller 36 is mounted on a shaft 31 which is journalled in the respective ducts 21 and which extends through and beyond said ducts and is there provided with pulleys 38-38.

The driving mechanism D includes the motor 39 built into the housing 24 and having a shaft 40 projecting from-both ends f the housing and provided with pulleys 4| and 4| a which are connected by belts 42-42 to the respective pulleys 38-38. Formed integrally with the pulley 4|z is a smaller pulley 43 which drives the pulley 44 -on the agitator Aspindle I9 by means of a belt 45.

'I'he discharge outlet 46 of the fan housing 3| is formed in two halves integral with the two halves o-f the housing. The partition 34 is cut away at 41 in the discharge outlet 46 to allow the two air streams to come together. To secure an eilicient designv of discharge outlet and air cut-oliV I provide a cut-oli wedge 48 formed of sheet metal welded or riveted to the partition 34.

The handle assembly- E comprises a tubularv handle 49 which is preferably of aluminum with inner and outer steel ferrules 50v and 5| respectively reenforcing its lower ends. 'Ihe outer reeni'orcing ferrule 5| is formed integrally with a pair of skirt members 52 projecting downwardly and spaced just sufhciently to receive a. pair of ears 53 formed integrally with the respective halves of the fan housingV outlet 46 and projecting upwardly. Bolts 54 project through the skirt members 52 and ears 53 and secure them together. Engagement of the skirt members 52 with the periphery of the fan housing 3| aids in bracing the handle inv its engagement with the fan housing.

'A cord shield 55 embraces the entire assembly of ferrule 5|, skirt 52 and vears 53, and projects forwardly around a portion o-f the periphery of the fan housing 3| on an arc concentric with the axis of the shaft 31. Current is conveyed to -the motor 39 through av short motor cord 56 extended partially around the fan housing 3| and supported against the periphery thereof Whichacts Aas a reel. To a laterally extending .portion of the cord 51, extending from the point where it enters the motor housing 24,1 may be `vsecured one endof va spring 5,8 .the other: end of Hwhich is secured .to the casting I0 of the-suction chamber As the han'dlelis lifted, the section 51 of the cord will loop downwardly being pulled taut by the 'spring 58 if a spring is used or sim- Ply hanging under its own weight if a spring is not use lEither method may be employed successfully.v l`An intermediate region of the cord is secured to the fan housing by a staple 59 which holds itin engagement with the fan housing and the opposite end of the cord is provided with a separable connector plug 60 which is plugged into a socket or female element 6| mounted in the lower end of the ferrule 50.

Current is conveyed to the element 6| by a cord 62 connected thereto and extended through the handle.

Sockets 63 for receiving the lower ends of the bag supporting rods (not shown) are formed integrally with the4 ears 53 and project laterally therefrom.

According to the herein claimed invention, a. roughly prismatic space 64 is formed between the motor housing 24, kthe suction chamber casting 0' and the cover G, such space extending transversely between a side wall 65 of the cover G and a. partition 66"(Fig. 1) which separates the space in which the belt 45 is housed from the motor compartment. In the space 64 is se' cured the headlight mounting 61 which is formed of sheet metal and includes a pair of feet 68 screwed down upon the top of the suction cham.-

. ber casting I0 by screws 69, and a semi-cylindrical hood portion.10 in which is secured the reflector 1 I. The latter is formed of a thin sheet of stainless steelwelded to the hood portion 10. Formed integrally with the mounting 61 and projecting upwardly between the feet 68 is a bracket 12 terminating in a downwardly inclined ear having a threaded opening 14 to receive a securing screw 15 for securing the forward end of the cover G.

Also formed integrally with the mounting 61, spaced from one end of the hood 10, is a clip 16 in which is held the socket 11 of the headlight lamp 18. The socket 11 may be either welded or soldered to the clip 16 or simply held frictionally. Spot welding is preferred. The lamp 18 is threaded into the socket 11 in the conventional manner and the socket 11 receives current from a conductor attached to the brush terminals of the motor 59 and held preferably by the same binding posts that secure the wires of the conduit 51. These brush terminal binding posts are not shown, but are of a conventional construction.

The cover G is formed of drawn sheet metal and includes a top wall 80, aI forward inclined wall 8|, a curved wall portion 82 joining the por-` tions 80 and 8| and curved on the same radius as the periphery of the motor case 24, and end wall portions 65. The latter are stepped for decorative purposes and ta form belt housing which does not require thev height of space that is required by the motor housing 24. The end wall region 65 on one side ofthe cover is cut away opposite. `the upper region of the agitator...

belt 45 `and is provided with a detachable belt cover 83 which allows access to that belt without detaching the cover G.

The rear region of the cover G isv cut away to form a central longitudinal slot s4 through which the-fan housing 3| projects. vThe edge regionof the cover wall 80 defining the slot 84 is beaded as at 84a. The bifurcated portions of the cover thus formed coverthe ducts 30.

The lower marginaledges of the cover G lie in the plane 26 in engagementwith the marginal region of the casting Ill surrounding the depression in which the motor housing 24 is accommo dated, which latter' marginal region also lies in the plane 26. A portion at least ofthis marginal region of the casting |.0 is provided with an upstanding-ange 86 around which the edge region tending longitudinally along the -central region of the cover from the light opening around the curved brow portion 82 and back to the fan housing slot 84. The bumper 89 is.vulcanized toa metal backing strip 90 which in turn is secured to the wall portions 80, 8|, and 82 of the cover by means of a tongue 9| formed on the edges of the.

strip 90, projected through slots in the cover, and bent fiat against the under surface of the cover.

The plate 90 may cover the entire underface" of the visor 88 as shown in Fig. 8 in which case it would be formed as a conic section arched upwardly, or it may be cut awayA so as to leave just two lingers 92 vulcanized to the edge regions of the visor 88 as shown in Fig. 3, which shows in inverted plan View of the visor shown in Fig. 2.v The visor in this case is preformed with the upwardly arched conic section shape and all metal portions are in direct contact with the cover wall 80, 8|, and 82.l 'I'his form of the invention has the advantage over that shown in Fig. 8 in that a softer and thinner metal may be used for the backing strip without danger of deformation of the visor. Should the cleaner be run against a piece of furniturev in such a position as to 'impose the impact against the visor thel latter would 1 simply collapse to the plane of the coverland would spring back to its normal position as soon as the contact was severed.

'I'he inner face of the visor Figs. 2 and 3 is iinishedwith a white or aluminum paint so as to reflect the light from the lamp 18 downwardly upon the surface beingcleaned. In the form shown in Fig. 8 the reflecting surface, of course, is provided on the metal strip 90.

1 For decorative purposes it is desirable to provide longitudinal stripes in the bumper G. The latter is finished in a common black rubber finish and stripes are desirable of a contrasting bright metallic 'nish. To avoid striping with a paint brushand to give a sharper contrast I provide a metal wire insert 94, embedded in grooves 95 in the bumper 89. The insert 94 is U shaped and is held in place by a staple 96 extended throughv its return bend portion and through thebacking plate 90 and the cover wall 8| and its ends bent over. The ends of the insert 84 have downwardly hooked portions -9| (Fig. 7) which are extended through openings 98 in the bumper and cover wall 80 and hooked under the latter.

The conversion mechanism F although not claimed herein will be briefly described. It comprises a flat valve secured to a shaft |0| extended through the side walls of the casting I0 just forwardly of the region where the latter branches into two forkedvportlons 25. To the outer end of the shaft |0| is secured an arm |02 in which is slidably mounted a pin. |08 carrying a cover plate |04 which normally is springpressed against and into the mouth of the cylindrical auxiliary inlet communicating with one of the forked regions 25 of the suction chamber. l

ber fork 25 opposite By pulling the pin |03 outwardly the cover |04 is disengaged from the mouth of the inlet |05 and the lever |02 may thence be moved upwardly so as to bring the valve |00 downwardly to the dotted line position shown and simultaneously to allow the coupling of an auxiliary tool hose to the inlet |05. When in this position, the cover |04 may be allowed to move into engagement with a suitable depression in the end wall 65 of the cover -G to hold the valve in the dotted line position, or the cover may be held in such position by .the auxiliary tool hose. The suction is thereby cut off from the agitator chamber I2 and a narrow communicating passage is established between the forks 25 whereby the suction of both fans is applied to the inlet |05.

In a` modified form of the invention which is not illustrated in the drawings the valve |00 is positioned to completely cut off one of the forks 25 so that the suction applied to the auxiliary tool hose is only that of one fan. This has theV Since the invention contemplates the provision of a much higher suction for carpet cleaning purposes than is customarily achieved in convenof which is an intermediate position for allowing some air to enter through the suction mouth of the agitator chamber so as to reduce the suction applied against the inlet |05. In this way, varying degrees of suction for auxiliary cleaning are obtainable.

The iloo'r wheel mechanism I includes forward wheels |08 journalled in sockets |01 formed integrally with, the casting I0, and rear wheels |08 mounted in a sheet metal bracket |09 which has a portion ||0 looped around a mounting shaft and secured thereto by tongues ||2 struck from the loop l0 and extending into the groove in the shaft closed position by a boltor bolts 3.

The shaft is journalled in bearings ||4 formed on the respective forks 25 of the suction chamber and bearing caps detachably secured thereto. The shaft may be rotated to any of several selective positions of adjustment and held in any of such,positions by a lever and detent mechanism ||8 such as that shown in United States Patent No. 2,102,221. The detent sector is secured to the suction chamthat which carries the inlet |05.

The motor housing 24 is mounted upon the suction chamber casting |0 through the medium of resilient rubber sandwich mountings including arc shaped strips of metal ||1 and ||8 respectively secured to the ends of the motor housing 24 and to brackets ||9 which aremounted upon ledges forming part of the hereinbefore mentioned margin region of the casting |0 surrounding the depression in which the motor housing 24 is received. The metal plates ||1 and ||8 are vulcanized to and connected by rubber cushions |20 carrying the .full load of the motor.

I claim as my invention:

v1. In a vacuum cleaner, a suction chamber in- 'Ihe loop ||0 is4 clamped in' cluding, a transverse agitator chamber, a motor mounted on top of the suction chamber, its axis parallel to that of "the agitator chamber, a casing member covering said motor and part of said suction chamber, said casing member including a, forward downwardly inclined wall roughly tangent to the motor and agitator chamber and forming a roughly prismatic space .therebetween, a headlight mounted on the top wall of the suction chamber and disposed in said space, said casing having an opening in its forward wall, a visor fitting over said opening, said visor including a flexible metal element and a rubberv bumper fitted over said metal element and extending centrally over said Wall and terminating at the rear edge of the casing member, said opening lying substantially opposite said light such that light may be emitted through said opening.

2. In a vacuum cleaner, a suction chamber including a transverse agitator chamber, a motor mounted on top of the suction chamber, its axis parallel to that of the agitator chamber, a casing member covering said motor and part of said suction chamber, said casing member inl cluding a forward downwardly inclined wall roughly tangent to the motor and agitator chamber forming a roughly prismatic space therebetween, a headlight mounted on said chamber in said space, said casing having an opening in its `forward inclined wall through which light is emitted and a visor extending over said opening and secured to the casing, said visor comprising a flexible metal element and a soft rubber bumper element fitted over a said metal element, said bumper element extending up said inclined wall and over the toplof the casing, and terminating at the rear edge of the casing.

3. In a vacuum cleaner, a iloor tool, a motor on said oor tool, said oor tool provided with an upwardly projecting motor cover, a bumper secured to the forward central face of said cover and extending rearwardly of the cover, a head' light visor formed integrally with one end ofA said bumper, said cover having an opening directly below said visor, said bumper an'd visorl comprising a soft rubber element disposed upon a metallic strip and both secured to said cover, and illuminating means disposed beneath the cover in registry with said opening.

4. In a vacuum cleaner, a oor tool, a motor on said floor tool, said floorl tool providedwith an upwardly projecting motor cover, ,a bumper secured to the forward central face of said cover and extending rearwardly of the cover, a flexible metallic headlight visor formed integrally with one end of said bumper, said cover having an opening directly below said visor and illuminating means disposed beneath the cover in registry with .said opening, said bumper being of soft rubber and said bumper and said visor adapted to collapse against the cover under impact and to spring back to its normal position when freed from contact with the impactedobject.

5. In a vacuum cleaner including a floor tool and a motor and having a cover for the motor and a light source, the combination, a visor extending over an opening in the forward part of said cover to emit, light therethrough, said Visor comprising a soft flexible rubber material and a llexible metallic element, supported on a metal strip secured to the cover land both said rubber and said llexible metallic element adjusted to return to normal position following distortion thereof by impact with a non-yielding object.

DEWEY M. DOW.