US2514280A

US2514280A - Suction cleaner

Info

Publication number: US2514280A
Application number: US584552A
Authority: US
Inventors: Kemper M Hammell
Original assignee: EUREKA WILLIAMS CORP
Current assignee: EUREKA WILLIAMS Corp
Priority date: 1945-03-24
Filing date: 1945-03-24
Publication date: 1950-07-04
Anticipated expiration: 1967-07-04

Description

July 4, 1950 i K. M. HAMMELL SUCTION CLEANER Filed March 24, 1945 IN VEN TOR. Ken/yer M f/ rrmzell.

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Patented July 4, 1950 SUCTION CLEANER Kemper M. Hammell, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Eureka Williams Corporation, a corporation of Michigan Application March 24, 1945, Serial No. 584,552

Claims. (Cl. 183-37) This invention relates to suction cleaners and has particular reference to certain new and useful improvements in the construction of tank type cleaners.

Principal objects of the invention are to provide:

A new and improved suction cleaner;

A new and improved suction cleaner of the tank type embodying a new and more efficient dirt collecting means;

A dirt collecting means for a tank cleaner comprising a, single-use, disposable filtering element and dirt container, and means for readily assembling the same and disassembling the same from a tank cleaner;

An improved construction for tank cleaners for increasing the effective filtering area thereof without increasing the overall size of the cleaner.

Other and further objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and will be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, of which there is one sheet, which, by way of illustration, show a preferred embodiment and the principles thereof and what I now consider to be best mode in which I have contemplated applying those principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims. I also contemplate that of the several different features of my invention, certain ones thereof may be advantageously employed in some applications separate and apart from the remainder of the features.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a tank type cleaner embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view illustrating certain details of the construction of a cleaner embodying my invention;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a part of a dirt collecting element and filter for use in practicing the invention;

Fig. 4 is an end elevational view of the dirt collecting and filter element shown in Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the quickly detachable coupling connection.

A tank cleaner embodyin my invention comprises a casing It provided with means such as runners l2 for supporting the casing for movement on a floor. The casing houses and supports a suitable suction creating means such as an electric motor-driven fan, as is well known in the art, and a dirt filtering and collecting element. The casing includes front and rear end bells l4 and I6, each of which is provided with an air port and socket so as to permit the circulation of air through the machine, and such sockets are adapted for detachably receiving a coupling I8 carried at one end of a, flexible hose, to the other end of which a. suction cleaning tool may be attached. The front end bell l4 forms a removable closure for the front of the casing and is detachably held thereon by means of several clamps 20.

The casing l0 may be provided by a cylinder 22 which defines a suction compartment 24 in which the dirt collecting and filtering element indicated generally at 26 is arranged. The front end bell l4 includes a flanged rim 28 which forms an internal seat for a bag ring 30, such bag ring when the end bell I4 is clamped to the cylinder 22 being clamped between the end of the cylinder and the seat formed by the flanged rim 28.

The bag ring 30 forms a support for a ring or throat 32 which projects rearwardly into the suction compartment 24 and forms a support for a cage 34' of wire, such as screen wire or other suitable material. The cage 34 forms a porous pocket within the compartment 24 and spaced from the walls thereof, the material of which the cage 34. is formed at the open end of the pocket being suitably secured to the rearwardly extending portion 36 of the ring or throat 32. The ring 32 is provided with a series of apertures 38 which permit a substantially free fiow of air from the space within the end bell l4 into the space in the compartment 24 outwardly of the cage 34. The end bell M, as previously indicated, is provided with an air inlet opening or port 40.

A collar 42 is secured to the inside of the end bell and projects rearwardly from the opening 40 so as to define a socket for receiving the end of the coupling H3. The coupling may be frictionally secured or latched in the socket for detachable connection therewith. A retainer sleeve 44' is fitted over the collar 42 and removably secured thereon, such for example as by means .of a bayonet lock joint, the pin of which is indicated at 4B. Thus the retainer sleeve 44 may be detached from the collar 42 and the end bell by slight rotational movement of the sleeve 44 relative tothe collar 42. The bayonet lock 46 is adapted to retain the sleeve 44 assembled to the collar 42 and the fit therebetween is substantially close so as to prevent the escape of any appreciable quantity of dirt laden air from the joint between the collar 42 and the sleeve 44 when the parts are assembled.

The sleeve 44 is adapted to telescopically receive a resilient sleeve 48 of rubber or rubber-like material, one end of the sleeve 48 being made in the form of a rim 50 and cooperating with the outwardly flared end 52 of the sleeve 44 to frictionally secure the sleeve 48 assembled on the sleeve 44. The sleeve 48 is detachably arranged in a collar 54 forming theneck of the dirt collecting and filtering element 26. preferably is formed of paper or paper-like material. The normal outside diameter of the sleeve 41 is slightly greater than the normal inside diameter of the collar 54. When the sleeve 48-is detached from the sleeve 44 it may be readily inserted in the collar 54 by folding the sleeve 48 parallel with its axis and then allowing it by virtue of the resiliency of the material out of which it is formed, to assume its normal shape and expand into firm frictional engagement with the collar 54.

The collar 54 is confined between the rim 59 of the sleeve and a head 55, and thus is secured against separation although the frictional fit between the outer surface of the sleeve 48 and the inside of the collar 54 should be sufiicient to frictionally retain the parts in assembled relationship under the forces to which they are normally subjected in use.

The collar 54 is arranged so as to define the air inlet to the dirt collecting and filtering element 26 which is in the form of a bag of paper or other suitable material for filtering dirt out of the air which passes through the machine. Thebag 26 may be made in any suitable way and have its inlet end folded in pleats, each pleat being glued or cemented together for closing such inlet end except for the opening in which the collar 54 is inserted. The collar 54 may be cemented or otherwise suitably secured in the reduced opening formed at the inlet end of the bag and projects slightly therefrom so as to expedite securing the bag to the outside of the sleeve 48. The bag as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 is in its folded condition, it being understood that in use the bag tends to assume a cylindrical cross section, although it will be apparent that between the sleeve 48 and the throat 32 the bag will taper in cros section.

Since :the space enclosed by the end bell l4 and ahead of the throat 32 is connected with the suction compartment 24 by means of the openings 38, it will be apparent that substantially all :of the surface of the bag 26 will be exposed to the suction effect of the motor driven fan whichmay be arranged in the cleaner rearwardly of the suction compartment 24 and communicating therewith so that during operation of such motor driven fan air will flow into the compartment through the coupling I8, the sleeves 44 and 48, into the neck 49 of the bag, thence through the walls of the bag 26 directly into the suction compartment 24, or through the neck 49 into the interior of the end bell l4 and thence through the apertures 38 into the suction compartment 24. The dirt entrained in such air of course will be separated therefrom by the bag 26 and collected therein.

The bag 26 preferably has a length and circumferencematerially in excess of that of the The collar 54 cage 34 so that the filtering area of the bag 26 is greatly in excess of that of the cage 34, the material of the bag 26 being arranged in loops or folds so as to fit within the cage 34. As previously indicated, the cage 34 is formed of a material such as screen wire which is sufiiciently porous so as to ofier substantially no resistance to the-flow'of air. One advantage of using material sucha screen wire isthat the form of the cage will be maintained and the screen will provide a certain amount of mechanical strength for supporting the bag 26 so as to prevent the same from becoming torn due to impacts thereon 'by material entrained in the air which enters the bag '26. 'I contemplate, however, that the cage 34 may be made of any other material, such as cloth or fabric mesh.

The bag 26, as previously indicated, preferably ismade of porous paper or paper-like material so that when the bag 26 is full of dirt or partially full of dirt, it may-be discarded and a new bag substituted in place thereof. The bag may be readily disassembled by the user of the machine by releasing the clamps 20 so a to permit the separation of the'end bell l4 from the casing l0. Then by grasping with the hand the sleeve 48 and the neck 49 and collar 54 of the bag 26, such parts together with'the sleeve 44 may be turned so as to unlock the bayonet-coupling 46 so as to permit separation of the sleeve 44 from the collar 42. After the end bell ha been separated from the bag, the sleeve '44 may be withdrawn from the sleeve 48 and thereafter the sleeve 48 may be collapsed and readily separated from the collar 54. By reversing the process just enumerated, a new bag may be assembled in the machine.

It also is possible to separate the collar '54 from the sleeve 48 without separating the sleeve 44 from the end bell by squeezing the collar 54 so as to contract the sleeve 48, but it may be more convenient, particularly for assembling the parts, to separate the sleeve 44 from the end bell so that the end bell [4 does not limit the accessibility of the parts of the coupling.

While I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is understood that this is capable of modification and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth but desire to avail myself of such changes and alterations which fall within the purview of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a suction cleaner a casing having a compartment provided with an opening, a closure for closing said opening, 'a dirt filtering and collecting element in said compartment and provided with an air inlet to said element; the improvement comprising said closure being provided with a tubular part, a ring of resilient material having a slip onpull oif frictional securing fit on said tubular part so as to provide a quickly attachable and detachable connection between said part and said ring, said ring being coupled with the air inlet ofsaid dirt filtering and collecting element, said fit between said ring and tubular part securing said ring and bag in assembled relation with said tubular part during operation of the cleaner, said closure being provided with an air inlet within the confines of said tubular part and which air inlet communicates with the interior of said dirt filtering and collecting element through said tubular part.

2. Ida suction cleaner a casing having a compartment provided with anopening, a closure for closing said opening, a dirt filtering and collecting element in said compartment and provided with an air inlet to said element; the improvement comprising said closure being provided with a tubular part, a ring of resilient material one end of which has a telescoping frictional securing fit on said tubular part so as to provide a slip on-- pull off connection between said part and said ring, the other end of said ring being coupled with the air inlet of said dirt filtering and collecting element, said frictional securing fit between said ring and tubular part securing said ring and bag in assembled relation with said tubular part during operation of said cleaner, said closure being provided with an air inlet within the confines of said tubular part and which air inlet communicates with the interior of said dirt filtering and collecting element through said tubular part.

3. In a suction cleaner an air conducting conduit terminating in a socket provided with a tubular part, a sleeve of resilient material having a telescoping frictional securing fit on said tubular part in slip on--pull off relationship, a dirt collecting and filtering bag of paper material having an inlet opening detachably secured to said sleeve independently of the connection between said sleeve and said tubular part, and a suction compartment having an opening and a closure for said opening, said socket being provided in said closure and said bag being arranged in said compartment, said frictional fit between said sleeve and said tubular part securing said sleeve and said bag in assembled relation with said tubular part during operation of said cleaner.

4. In a suction cleaner an air conducting conduit terminating in a socket provided with a tubular part, a sleeve having a frictional securing fit on said part in slip on-pull 01f relationship so as to provide a quickly attachable and detachable connection between said part and said sleeve, a dirt collecting and filtering bag having an inlet opening detachably coupled to said sleeve independently of the connection between said sleeve and said part, a suction compartment having an opening and a closure for said opening, said socket being arranged on said closure and said bag being arranged in said compartment, said frictional fit between said sleeve and said tubular part securing said sleeve and said bag in assembled relation with said tubular part during operation of said cleaner.

5. In a suction cleaner a casing having a suction compartment provided with an opening, a ring removably arranged in said opening and having air pervious means defining a pocket in said compartment, a closure cooperable with said casing for closing said opening and provided with an air inlet, a dirt filtering and collecting element in the form of a bag arranged within said pocket and having an inlet opening, and means for detachably connecting said inlet opening of said bag to said closure comprising a ring of resilient material having a slip on-pull off frictional securing connection with a part of said closure and a quickly detachable connection with said bag inlet opening, said frictional fit between said ring and said part of said closure securing said ring and said bag in assembled relation with said part of said closure during operation of said cleaner.

KEMPER M. HAMMELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,124,684 Allen Jan. 12, 1915 1,999,826 Snell Apr. 30, 1935 2,022,250 Lofgren Nov. 26, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 469,379 Great Britain July 23, 1937