US2393788A - Vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 29, 1946.

G. E. LOFGREN VACUUM CLEANER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Q INVEN'IIQRQ mm Filed Oct. 10, 1942 ATTORNEY.

Jan. 29; 1946.

G. E. LOFGREN VACUUM CLEANER 3 SHeetS Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 10, 1942 OOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOO 0000C BY W ATTORNEY. Y

Jan. 29, 1946.

G. EILOFG REN v VACUUM CLEANER Filed Oct. 10, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VENT OR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Jan. 29, 1946 VACUUM CLEANER Gustaf Einar Lofgren, Riverside, Conn., assignor to Electrolux Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application October 10, 1942, Serial No. 461,520

1 Claims. (01. 183-37) I serted therebetween. At the bottom of'the ss- This invention relates to improvements in vacuum cleaners. In particular, it relates to a vacuum cleaner or the type embodying a casing housing a motor-fan unit and a dirt separator which is adapted for connection to a flexible hose on the end of which a cleaning tool may be placed. 'When it is desired to clean in different parts of a room, the casing, which is mounted on wheels or runners, may be pulled around by the hose. The invention also relates to animproved device including a vacuum cleaner for discharging a mothprooflng material into a garment bag.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide an improved disposition of the parts of a vacuum cleaner. Another object of the invention is to provide an improved arrangement of the parts of a combined vacuum. cleaner and vaporizer. Other objects and advantages of the device will appear hereinafter as the description of the invention proceeds.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the vacuum cleaner showing the parts assembled for cleaning a floor. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the vacuum cleaner showing the parts assembled for the vaporization of a mothproofing material and the discharge thereof into a garment bag.

Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are front and rear elevations and a top view respectively. Fig. 6 is an elevation of the vacuum cleaner mostly in section. Fig. '7 is a sectional view in elevation of the motor-fan and fine particle filter unit. Fig. 8 is a. bottom view partly in section of the last mentioned unit. Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale of the junction between the unit and the rest of the vacuum cleaner. Fig. -11 is asection taken on the line Il--ll of Fig. 6. 'Fig..1.2 is a section taken on the line l2-l2' of Fig. .11," but with the elements ii and 52 in overlapping closed position. Fig. 13 is a sectional view through the dirt drawer of the vacuum cleaner, showing the latching mechanism therefor.

Referring to Fig. 1, there is shown a hollow casing 2 for the main portion of the vacuum cleaner designated generally by the reference character I. A flexible hose 3 is connected to an opening 5 in thecasing 2 and may be disengaged therefrom by means of the latch 19. The other end of the hose is provided with a combination handle and tool-connector 6 which is shown to be in the shape of an elbow to facilitate the use of a tool connected thereto. A suction cleaning tool 1 may be directly connected to the handle 6 or an extension tube 8 may be ining 2 there is a sliding dirt drawer lohavins a latching mechanism controlled by handle [8. Thelatching'mechanism engages catch'mean's in the wall of the casing shown at 64. The casing 2 is supported on runners H which space the bottom of the casing from a flat supporting surface and permit the casing to be easily pulled over the surface. The casing may be lifted and carried. by means of a handle l2 pivoted at I3. There isan electric plug connector 14 to which an electric cord from a suitable power supply may be connected. A switch I! controls the completion of the electric circuit to the electric motor inside of the cleaner. A unit l6 containing all of the moving parts of the cleaner is inserted through an opening in the top of the casing 2 and is held in place by manual latchmeans ll.

There is an opening IS in the top of the casing at one side thereof leading into a pocket or compartment 69 of the casing which may be used either for carrying cleaning tools orfor sup-.

porting a vaporizable substance used in mothprooflng, as is indicated at in Fig. 2. There is an opening 2| in the side of the casing 2 leading into the pocket. As shown in Fig. 5, there is a perforated plate 20 near the bottom of the pocket separating the opening l9 from the opening 2|. There is an exhaust opening 9 in the top of the unit ii.

In Fig. 2 there is shown the apparatus set up for use in connection with a garment bag for producing rapid vaporization of a mothprooflng material into the air inside of the bag. The garment bag 49 has an opening in the bottom thereof at 48 which is slipped over the top of the vacuum cleaner. This opening may have a draw string or an elastioband or other means for making a tight connection with the sides of the casing 2. Thecleaning tool I has been disconnected from the connector 8 and the connector 6 has been inserted in the opening 2| so that air entering the vacuum cleaner must ente through the opening l9 and pass over the vaporizable material 65. After passing over the vaporizable mothprooflng material 65, the air enters the connector 6 and flows through the hose 3 into the inlet opening Sin 'the casing 2. The motor-fan unit inside of the casing draws the air into the casing 2 and exhausts it through the opening 4! into the interior of the garment bag 49. Since all air entering the cleaner comes. from within the garment ba it ls seen that a recirculating system is provided by means of which the air in the garment bag, which is quickly heated from connected thereto by a suitable fastening means designated by the reference character 50 (see Fig. The ring '23 and the fabric 22 need be removed only on those infrequent occasions who it is necessary to replace the fabric. The semi-permeable fabric 22 divides the casing 2 into an upper and lower chamber, the fabric 22 being formed generally into the shape of a bag or cup. Within the upper chamber the periphery of the casing 34 and the cover 38, re-

- openings in the sides of the cover 38. The genunit It is mounted. The unit "rests upon the flange 66. The unit 16 contains a motor 25, the

housing of which is connected, as at 28, by means of bolts and a gasket, in airtight relationship drawer.

eral path of the flow of air is indicated in Fig. 9 by arrows.

Referring now to Figs. 11 through 13, there is shownthe construction of the dirt drawer 10.

'At one endof the dirt drawer there are swinging doors I! and 52 pivoted at '53 and Shrespectively.. When the drawer is removed from the vacuum cleaner. the springs 55 and 55 force the doors into a position to close the end of the When the drawer is inserted into the cleaner, however, the tube 4 for coupling the air conduit penetrates within the drawer and opens the doors 5! and 52. The springs 53 and 55 are normally e not sufliciently strong to force the drawer out of the cleaner against the friction caused by the weight of the drawer. In any case, however, the drawer will be held in place in the cleaner by means of latches 63 which engage recesses formed in the casing asat 64 (see Fig. 1).

Fig. 13 shows the arrangement of the latching with the casing 21 of a two stage fan 26,. The

motor 25 is preferably a series motor adapted to be operated either from alternating or direct current. The casing 21 is provided with atubular opening 3 t, by means of which the fan and of the motor-fan unit is, resiliently supported in bulkhead 36 on a rubber ring 29. The ring has slots cuttherein to improve the vibration deadening qualities thereof. The bearing at the commuta-l tor end of the motor-fan unit is resiliently supq ported in bulkhead 33 by means of a rubber ring perforations 31 therein. I

"The bottom of the casing 34 surrounding the motor-ia'n unit is open and a wire screen or other ioraminous member 43 is supported therein within a rolled bead 61. The screen protects the motor-fan unit against the entrance of pins and needles, etc., should it be operated separately irom the rest'oi the cleaner. Against the screen 43 there is placed a pad of matted or felted .fibres which serves as a fine particle filter to re, move from the air tiny particles which pass through the semi-permeable fabric 22. The pad 45 preferably is made up of a layer of cotton padding and a layer of carded cotton enclosedbetween two layers of napped flannel. The fine particle filter is held in place by means oi a cover 3:8 which fits over the end of the casing '34-and is held thereto by means of knurled nuts 39 which engage studded bolts on the casing 34. The cover 38 has an inwardly dished portion 40 which contacts the center of the fine "particle filter 45. There are apertures 41 in the sides of the cover '38 and apertures 42 in the bottom thereof. v

As best shown in Figs. 6,=--'8 and 9., therge are perforatedmembers 46 and 41 comprising a bumber or flanged plates spaced .around-the outer mechanism. On the end of the handle ll there are crown gear sectors 51 (see also Fig. 6). The handle I 8 is pivoted at 58 to the end of the drawer I0 and has fixed thereto crown gear sectors '51 which engage spur gears '59 which in turn engage spur gear. sectors 60. The spur gear sectors Bl also include.cam faces 5| which are held in contact with cam follower rollers 68 on latch member 83 by means of springs '62. .It can be seen from the drawings that when the handle 18 is pulled outwardly, the cam 61 is operated in a direction to permit the retraction of the latch member 63, thereby permitting the drawer to be withdrawn by a motion of the handle 18 in the same direction as the drawer moves when it is withdrawn.

Having now described the general construction of the combined vacuum cleaner and vaporizer,

its use and operation may be briefly outlined.

With the hose 3 connected to the opening '5 of the vacuumcleaner and the connector 6 coupled to a cleanin tool, as shown in Fig. 1, the apparatus aybe operated as an ordinary vacuum cleaner. Air. will be drawn in through the cleaning tool I and conduit 3 into the opening 5 and thence through the semi-permeable fabric 22 into the unit Hi. When the sair enters the drawer lli its velocity is decreased and its direction is changed so that heavy dirt and dust particles entering with the air will be thrown toward the far side of the drawer and will settle to the bottom. Smaller particles which are not thus caught will be stopped y the semi-"permeable :fabric .22 and will either be caught-thereon or 'wi1l fa'1l into the'dirt drawer Microscopic particles of material which may pass through the semipermeable falbric will :be carried with the air to the openings in the bottom of the unit il i. In

" order to enter the interior of the .unit IB, they and into the motordan :the air passes by the motor it serves to cool same. I=leaves the motor after passing over the :commu tator'and out through openings in the end cap and finally passes around the rubbersound deadening member Ill through openings 31 in the bulkhead 33 and out the exhaust port 9'.

Continued operation of the cleaner will cause dirt to accumulate in the dirt drawer and on the semi-permeable fabric. To maintain manimum cleaner efilciency' the fabric should be shaken'to free it from particles of dirt caught thereon and the dirt drawer should be emptied after each use of the cleaner. The fabric should be shaken while the drawer is in place so that the dirt falling therefrom can be removed with that already in the drawer. .To get at the fabric the latches II are unfastened and the unit It removed. The fabric can then be turned inside out and shaken into the drawer. To remove .the drawer it is necessary only to pull on its handle which automatically unlatches it. After the drawer is emptied and replaced, pressure on the handle in shoving the drawer home automatically latches it in place.

It is only after protracted operation of the cleaner that the passages of the fine particle illter becomes suiilciently clogged to impair the efilciency of the machine; When this ,does happen the unit It is removed from the cleaner casing and the thumb screws 39 are unscrewed so that the cover 38 may be taken 011. The fine particle fllteris then removed and replaced and themachine may again be assembled for use.

If it is desired to usethe vacuum cleaner to operate a blowing device such as a sprayer, the hose 3 may be disconnected from the opening 5 and connected to the opening 9. The sprayer or other blower device may be connected to the connector 6. When the push button switch I5 is operated to close the circuit to the electric motor, the fan 28 will draw air in through the opening 5 and over the path previously described and out through the opening 9 into the conduit 3 to operate the blowing device.

If it is desired to use the vacuum cleaner as a vaporizer for a mothproofer or other air conditioning material, the connector 6 01' the hose 3 may be inserted into the opening 2| and the other end of the hose connected either to opening 5 or opening 9. Operation of the motor-fan unit will then cause air either to be drawn in or blown out through the opening I! and in either case, it will pass over the air conditioning material resting on the perforated plate 20. If the vacuum cleaner is connected so that air is drawn into the opening [9, a flaked or granulated material may be used in the pocket 60. However, if the cleaner is connected so as to blow air out through the opening l8, it would be preferable to use a solid cake of material within the pocket 89 or else to enclose the flakes within a porous container. When used as a vaporizer, the vacuum cleaner can be connected to a garment bag as shown in Fig. 2 or it can be placed within a closed closet. In either case, the vacuum cleaner serves to rapidly vaporize a mothproofer or other air conditioning agent and to saturate the air in the garment bag or the closet with the vapor. The vacuum cleaner may also be connected as Just described and placedin an open room to purify the air therein by removing pollen, dust, and microscopic organisms floating therein and to kill bacteria therein. When the cleaner is thus used as an air-conditioner, the pocket 89 may be filled with some material which has a germicidal action and also preferably which has a pleasant ticle filter 45' may also be impregnated with a germicide similar to that placed in the pocket ll.

accessible while those parts which need rarely be touched are so mounted as to be out of the way where they will not unnecessarily be disturbed. While one preferred embodiment of the invention has been described, it is obvious that many modifications therein may be made without departing from'the invention. For example, other forms of coupling means than those shown might be used in'the openings I, 9 and 2|. The dirt drawer It might be formed with no end wall thereby eliminating'the necessity for the doors 5| and 52. A variety of other forms of latching means might be substituted for that connected to the handle l8. The cleaner might be supported on wheels instead of the runners I I. The spacing members 46 and 41 might be formed as a separate unit removable from the cleaner separately from the unit [6 or they might be formed as a single'perforated cylinder bolted to the top of the unit It. The motor-fan unit mightbe resiliently suDDQ fted in a single central plane instead of by means of the two bulkheads '33 and 36. It is intended to protect by these Letters Patent all forms of the invention falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

I. A vacuum cleaner comprising a first hollow casing having a first opening near the bottom thereof and a second opening near the top thereof, a bag shaped semi-permeable fabric sup ported in said casing with a mouth of the bag coincident and adjacent said second opening, said fabric separating said easing into upper and lower chambers, the lower chamber constituting casing that all air flowing through the second casing must pass through the fine particle filter, an electric cord connector for connecting said electric means to a source of power, and an electric switch for controlling said electric means,

said connector and switch being mounted on said second casing at the top thereof, said unit including said fine particle filter being removable through said second opening.

2. A vacuum cleaner comprising a hollow casing divided by a semi-permeable fabric into two chambers,.said fabric having a cupshaped portion with its mouth adjacent an opening in one of the chambers of the casing, and a, unit insertable through said opening into said cup shaped odor. In such case, or in any case, the w...

an electric connector, and wires connecting the motor with said connector, whereby said unit including said filter and electric connector is removable as an integral unit from said casing. 1

3. A vacuum cleaner comprising a housing divided by a. semi-permeable fabric into two chambers and a unit insertable through an opening in said housing into one of said chambers, means for removably securing said unit in place, said unit comprising a hollow casing having apertures at opposite ends thereof, a direct coupled motorfan a'ssembly resiliently supported therein, a fine particle filter supported therein in such a position that air flowing through said'casing must pass through the pad, an electric connector mounted on the casing, and wires connecting the connector to the motor, whereby said unit including said filter and electric connector is removable as an integral unit from said casing.

4. In a vacuum cleaner, a casing formed with an inlet opening and a second opening, a bag shaped dust separating member having an open mouth permanently fixed in sealing relation to 'said casing around said second opening and normally extending into said casing, a motor-fan unit removably secured to said casing around said second opening and extending into said casing within said dust separating member, said unit including an imperforate cylindrical casing, constituting the exterior portion, a perforated rigid structure secured in spaced relationship to the exterior portion of said unit which is within said dust separating member for spacing the latter from said unit, said unit having an air inlet within said dust separating member and an exhaust opening outside said casing.

' 5. In a vacuum cleaner, a casing formed with an inlet opening and a second opening, said sec: ond opening being in an upper substantially horizontal wall of said casing, a bag shaped dust separating member having an open mouth fixed to said casing around said second opening'and normally dependinginto said casing, a motorfan unit removably secured to said casing around said second opening and extending into said casing within said dust separating member, said unit including an imperforate cylindrical casing having an air inlet within said dust separating mem ber and an exhaust opening outside said casing, and a removable dust receiving receptacle normally positioned below said dust separating member. 6. A vacuum cleaner comprising a hollow casing, a dust separating screen within said casing, a hose coupling in the lower portion thereof, extending inwardly from an opening in said lower portion, a dirt receptacle removably mounted in said lower portion and removable through a second opening thereof, said receptacle having an aperture in one side thereof through which said hose coupling extends when said receptacle is o seated within said casing and means for automatically closing said aperture as an incident to removal of said receptacle from said casing.

7. A vacuum cleaner comprising a hollow casing, a dust separating screen within said casing, a hose coupling in the lower portion thereof, extending inwardly from an opening in said lower portion, a dirt receptacle removably mounted in said lower portion and removable through a second opening thereof, said receptacle having an aperture in one side through which the hose coupling extends, closure means for said aperture operable to open position by contact with said coupling, spring means automatically closing said aperture on removal of said receptacle,

said spring means being too weak to cause movement of said receptacle due to the pressure exerted thereon after the reception through said opening ofsaid hose coupling.

GUSTAF EINAR LOFGREN.

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