US2895564A - Dirt compactor unit for vacuum cleaning systems - Google Patents

Description

July 21, 1959 H. P. BoRlE, 1Rv 2,895,564

'DIRT `COMPACI'OR UNIT FOR VACUUM CLEANING SYSTEMS Filed Qcl'.. 25, 1956 nner ooMPAcroR UNIT Fon VACUUM CLEANING SYSTEMS Henry P. Borie, r., Cleveland Heights, Ohio, assigner to General fElectric Company, a corporation of New York My invention relates generally to means for separating solids and gases, and more particularly to devices for separating dirt from a dirt-laden air stream and compacting the separated dirt.

The wide and ever increasing use of vacuum cleaning systems has intensified the problem of collecting and disposing of dirt which has been removed out of a dirt1aden air stream. For the purposes of this patent application, the term, vacuum cleaning systems contemplates both the portable and built-in varieties. The portable variety includes both the relatively small type of vacuum cleaner which is used commonly in households, and the larger type which is used in industrial or business establishments. The built-in variety is normally bulky, hence, non-portable, and comprises a `dirt separator which is located in some portion of the building, usually the basement, a suction creating means, usually a motor-fan unit which may be located near the dirt separator, and appropriate piping throughout the building with outlets in different rooms which are adapted to have a vacuum cleaning hose connected to them. The drawings illustrate my new dirt separator and compactor unit incorporated in a built-in vacuum cleaning system. However, it should be clearly understood that the instant invention is applicable to portable vacuum cleaners as well. Regardless of the variety of vacuum cleaning system in which the instant invention is incorporated, it performs the same function and serves the same purpose of providing a means for collecting and comp-acting dirt. Prior art7 vacuum cleaning systems have utilized various types of dirt collecting means, such as the permanent cloth filter bag, the disposable, paper filter receptacle, and centrifugal separators; however, to the knowledge of the applicant, prior art devices are not capable of compacting dirt, i.e., compressing it to reduce its bulk. Therefore, the problem of frequently disposing of co1- lected dirt exists in prior art devices, and represents both an unpleasant and unhealthful task. The instant invention deals particularly with the problem of minimizing the frequency of removing collected dirt and disposing of it.

It is an object of this invention to provide a dirt separator and `compactor unit which may be readily incorporated in either a portable or built-in vacuum cleaning system, which efficiently and effectively removes dirt from a dirt-laden air stream and compacts it, and which requires emptying relatively infrequently.

The above and other objects of this invention are accomplished in one form by providing a dirt separator and compactor unit which may be incorporated in a vacuum cleaning system, and which has a rotatable cylinder assembly comprising a pair of concentric cylinders, the inner one being perforate and the outer one being imperforate, and means for initially directing a dirt-laden air stream between the cylinders, then radially outwardly toward and against the inner surface of the outer cylinder, then radially inwardly through the openings in the inner cylinder, and out through an outlet in the inner 2,895,564 Patented July 21, 1959 cylinder. The speed of rotation of the cylinder assembly is such that dirt which is entrained in the air stream is separated out of the air stream and compacted along the inner surface of the outer cylinder. The operation of the device is such that any given volume of dirt which is separated out of the air stream `is reduced in volume to approximately one-half of its original volume before compacting depending upon the precise type of dirt and size of the device, particularly its diameter.

Other objects and details of that which l believe to be novel and my invention will be clear from the following description and claims taken with the accompany drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 shows a vertical sectional view of the dirt separator and compactor unit incorporated in a vacuum cleaning system, some of latters elements being illustrated somewhat schematically;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 2--2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the outer cylinder partially opened;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 4 4 of Fig. l, and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a part of the cylinder assembly.

Referring to Fig. l, it will be observed that the vacuum cleaning system illustrated comprises, in addition to my novel dirt separator and compactor unit 10, the inlet pipe l2, the outlet pipe 14, the suction creating unit S, which is schematically illustrated and which may comprise any conventional suction creating means, and the motor M, which is also illustrated somewhat schematically and may be conventional.

The inlet pipe 12 is illustrated as being supported by support member 16, and in turn supporting at one of its ends a vacuum cleaner hose 18, and at its other end a rotary bearing 2l). It will be understood that the free end of the vacuum cleaner hose 18, which is not illustrated, may have attached to it a conventional vacuum cleaning tool.

The outlet pipe 14 is supported by a support member 22, and in turn supports at one of its ends a rotary bearing 24, and at its other end communicates with the suction creating unit S. The outlet pipe 14 may include a detachable, filter disk assembly comprising the filter disk 26 and the coupling `collar 28, which may have a threaded connection with the adjacent portions of the pipe 14 and have an inwardly directed flange 30 which assists in positioning the filter disk 26 in place.

From the foregoing, and viewing from Fig. l, it will be `apparent that the inlet and outlet pipes have adjacent ends which are spaced and which respectively support rotary bearings. The dirtV separator and compactor unit llt), which hereinafter will be referred to simply as the compactor unit, is disposed between the adjacent pipe ends and supported by the rotary bearings 20 and 24. The compactor unit essentially comprises a cylinder assembly having a pair of concentric cylinders, the outer one of which is imperforate and removable to allow access to the interior of the compactor unit, and the inner one of which is perforate.

From the drawings it will be apparent that the cylinder assembly structurally comprises an integral sub-unit 32, illustrated by itself in Fig. 5, and a removable outer cylinder 34. The integral sub-unit comprises an inner perfo'rate cylinder 36, which is closed at one end by a conical wall 38 that has a plurality of radial vanes 40 formed externally thereon and extending axially away therefrom. 'Ihe other end of the inner cylinder 36 is open and supports a radially outwardly extending, flangelike wall 42, which in turn supports at its periphery, an axially extending, narrow cylindrical wall 44 at one axial .surface (see Figs. l and 3 side thereof, and the ends of a plurality of spaced, axially extending bars 46 at its other axial side. At the axial ends of the bars 46 which are remote from the wall 42, an axially extending, narrow cylindrical wall 48 and radially inwardly extending, flange-like Wall 50 having au opening 51 therein are supported.

As can best be seen in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the outer cylinder 34 is detachably secured to the integral sub-unit 32 by being formed of halves 52 which are hinged at one pair of their adjacent edges by hinge 54; at their other a pair of adjacent edges, halves 52 have latch means for selectively maintaining these edges in abutment. The latch means is illustrated as comprising a protuberance 56 formed on one of the halves and a spring latch 58 formed on the other. Ille latch arrangement is such that the spring latch is adapted to snap over the protuberance and maintain the adjacent edges in juxtaposition. Centrally in each of the halves 52 are formed a plurality of openings 60 which allow the headed screws 62 to pass therethrough and be threadedly secured in openings 64 formed in a pair of opposed bars 46 (see Fig. l). From the foregoing, it should be apparent that the outer cylinder 34 is manually detachable from the integral sub-unit 32 by removing the headed screws 62 and forcing the halves 52 away from each other about the hinge 54; when this is done, the entire outer cylinder may be removed from the sub-unit.

As can be seen in Fig. l, the compactor unit is supported on the pipes 12 and 14 by the narrow cylindrical walls 44 and 48 which are, respectively, supported on the rotary bearings 24 and 20. The outer surface of the narrow cylindrical wall 44 is formed with a gear The motor M is adapted to rotate the drive shaft 66, which in turn rotates the driving gear 68. The driving gear 68 and the gear surface on cylindrical wall 44 are meshed and thereby provide a mechanical driving arrangement for the compactor unit 10.

Fig. 1 illustrates schematically the flow of air through the vacuum cleaning system by the schematic arrows. To operate the system, the suction creating unit S is energized to thereby create a flow of air as indicated by the arrows, and the motor M is energized to thereby rotate the compactor unit 10 on the bearings 20 and 24. Both the suction creating unit and motor, being conventional, may operate in a conventional manner. Dirtladen air enters the vacuum cleaning tool (not shown) and flows through the vacuum cleaner hose 18 and the inlet pipe 12, and enters into the compactor unit 10 through the opening 51 in wall 50. Shortly after passing through the opening 51, the air contacts the vanes 40 and Wall 38 and is directed radially outwardly toward the inner surface of the outer cylinder 34; due to the combined effort of the rotating vanes and suction in the system, the path of the air is somewhat that of an axial spiral in addition to its radially outward motion. When the dirt-laden air stream contacts the inner surface of the outer cylinder, dirt is separated from the air stream and deposited thereon by the action of centrifugal force. Air which is substantially free of dirt is reflected off the inner surface of the outer cylinder and directed radially inwardly, and passes through the openings formed in the inner cylinder 36, and exits out the open end of the inner cylinder into the outlet pipe 14. If a filter disk 26 is mounted in the outlet pipe 14, it will operate to remove any fine particles of dirt which have not been removed by the compactor unit. After passing through the filter disk, substantially dirt-free air passes through the suction creating unit S and is discharged into the surrounding atmosphere.

In practice it has been found that extremely ecient dirt separation and compacting results when the compactor unit is rotated at speeds in the range of 2000 to Y 4000 r.p.m., with a suction creating unit creating vacuums which would operate conventional vacuum cleaning systems. It has also been found in practice that the separation of dirt out of the dirt-laden air stream is principally effected by centrifugal separation which occurs in the compactor unit 10. In practice it has also been found that with rotational speeds in the indicated range,

its original volume.

sary significantly less frequently than with prior art dirt separating devices. On the basis of dirt compacting ability alone, the compactor unit contemplated by thef instant invention requires removal of dirt one-half as frequently as prior art devices.

It should be realized that while the instant invention has been illustrated as being embodied in a built-in vacuum cleaning system, it may readily be adapted to any portable, vacuum cleaning system of the household or industrial type, and further that the arrangement for removing the compacted dirt illustrated; namely, the structure for allowing removal of outer cylinder 34 to gain access to the interior of the compactor unit, is merely one mechanical arrangement for allowing access to the interior of the compactor unit, and that it is contemplated that many equivalent mechanical variations 'may be used without departing from the spirit of the in- Vention. Lastly, it should be noted that whereas centrifugal dirt separators were known prior to my invention, to my knowledge no known device has operated in the manner of my invention nor incorporated the principle of centrifugal separation and compacting to reduce the volume of separated dirt.

As will be evident from the foregoing, certain aspects of my invention are not limited to the particular details of construction of the example illustrated, and I contemplate that various and other modifications and applications will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, my intention that the appended claims shall cover such modifications and applications as do not depart from the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A compactor unit for separating solids out of an air stream and compacting them, comprising a pair of substantially coaxial, concentric, coextensive cylinders, said pair of cylinders comprising an outer one which is imperforate and an inner one which is perforate, a radial wall extending between and secured to both of said cylinders at one of their axial ends, said inner cylinder being open at its end adjacent said radial wall and communicating with an air outlet, the other axial ends of said cylinders being spaced, the annular space between said cylinders communicating with an air inlet through the space between the spaced ends of said cylinders, the other axial end of said inner cylinder being closed and having radial vanes formed exteriorly thereon, whereby when said compactor unit is rotated and an air stream is forced through it, air flows into said inlet, axially into said dirt compactor unit through the space between said spaced cylinder ends, whereby air contacts said vanes and is directed radially outwardly against the inner surface of said outer cylinder, where dirt is separated from the air stream, deposited and compacted by the action of centrifugal force, and the air is then directed axially and radially inwardly through said angular space and through said perforate cylinder, and axially out the open end of said perforate cylinder to said outlet.

2. A device as defined in claim l wherein means is provided for removing compacted solids from said compactor-unit.

3. A device as defined in claim l wherein a disk filter is provided in the path of the air stream downstream of said compactor unit.

5. A dirt compacter Aunit for use in a vacuum cleaning system comprising an integral sub-unit and a detachable member, said sub-unit comprising a perforate cylinder open at one end and closed at the other end, a plurality of vanes formed on the exterior of said closed end, a radially outwardly extending wall formed at and connected -to said open end, a cylindrical wall connected to and supported by said first-mentioned wall, a plurality of spaced, elongated bars connected to and supported by said first-mentioned wall at one of their respective axial ends and extending on axes that are parallel to the axis of said perforate cylinder to and beyond the closed end of the latter, a cylindrical wall connected to and supported at the other ends of said bars, said cylindrical walls being adapted to have rotary bearing contact with supporting bearings, and said member being adapted to be detachably secured to said sub-unit in such a manner that it surrounds said bars and encloses the portion of said sub-unit between said cylindrical walls.

6. A device as defined in claim 5 wherein one of said cylindrical walls has a gear surface formed thereon which is adapted to mesh with a power driven gear te thereby rotate said compacter unit.

7. A device as dened in claim 5 wherein said memberl pacter unit, means for rotating said dirt compacter unit. and means for causing a llew of air through said dirt compacter unit, said dirt compacter `unit comprising a pair of substantially coaxial, concentric, ce-extensive cylinders which dene entrance means for allowing entry of dirt-laden air centrally into one axial end of said compacter unit, means for directing the dirt-laden air radially outwardly against the inner surface of the outer cylinder, then radially inwardly and then axially out the other end, of said dirt compacter, whereby the dirt is separated from the air and compacted in said dirt compacter unit at the time the radial direction of the air is reversed from, radially outwardly te radially inwardly.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,948,791 Halstead Feb. 27, 1934 2,007,631 Bieth July 9, 1935 2,104,683 Van Rosen et al. Jan. 4, 1938 2,244,165 McFarland et al. June 3, 1941 2,484,491 Daugherty Oct. 1l, 1949 2,648,396 Kirby Aug. 11, 1953 2,709,500 Carter May 31, 1955 2,747,687 Carter May 29, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 82,993 Germany Jan.v 1, 1895

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