US935919A - Sanitary carpet-cleaner. - Google Patents

Description

A. J. MEIER. SANITARY CARPET CLEANER. APPLICATION rum) APR. 25,1907.

935,9 1 9. Patented Oct. 5, 1909.

a 64, 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1. 2 4/ 1721 97226 ifnair en Jhzfifzez A. J. MEIER.

SANITARY CARPET CLEANER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 25,1907.

935,919. I v Patented 0@t.5,1909.

v s k- A 4 ma s:

gM 7P Rama? Y Bait known that I, ANDREW JOHN MEIER, =a-cit1zen of the United States,

, the like, all moved therefrom in the dry state, and which UNITED sra'ras PATENT OFFICE.

ANDREW JOHN MEIER, or Los ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

- SANITA c arm-CLEANER.

Te rill whom it may concern:

residing at Longbeach, in the county of Los Angeles .and State of California, have invented a new and useful Sanitary Carpet-Cleaner, of which the following is a specification.

It of the objects of this invention to in'ovide a carpet cleaner which will perfcctly remove from carpets and rugs and dirt and dust that can be rewill dispose of .the dust without expelling it into the open air; to accomplish such "rqvide for treating the carpet or rug chemas by ammonia or other cleaning agent,;as.the carpetor rug passes through the rrraphine; to tICCODlPllSh the cleaning without wrmkling or massing the carpet or rug; to enable the operator to operate at will for a greater or less time upon any portion or portions of the'carpet or rug as the same may require greater or less clean- ;ing action thereon; to immediately release from eachiportion of the fabric the dust and dirt contained therein, and to carry it away invention in the form I at present deem mostdes rable.

t-l ,at would otherwise be hidden.

Figure 1 'is a plan View of a sanitary carpet-cleaning device embodying this invention, parts being broken away to expose parts that would otherwise be hidden. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same, portions being'broken' away to expose interior parts Fig. 3 is {a section on line 'm a1 Figs. 1 and 2, looking to the right. Fig. 4 is a section on line w -40'", Figs. 1 and 2, looking to the left. Fig. 5 is a fragmental detail partly 1nsec-,

tion, showing the spraying means for treat- Speeification ofLettei'sPate'nt Application filed April 25, 1907. Serial No. 370,323.

cleaning without damage to the fabric; to'

Pa-pcnted Oct. 5, 1909;

ing the carpet or rug chemically or with cleansing agents, as ammonia and the like.

1 is the frame of the machine provided with a cleaning chamber 2, portions of the front and rear sides of which are ,formed of swinging panels or doors 3, 4;, at front and back, provided with transparent panes a.

5, 6,. designate front and rear take-up rollers at t front and rear sides respectively of the cleaning .chamber,"each provided with fastening means in the usual manner, by which the carpet or rug to be cleaned may be attached at} its ends to the front and rear rollers respectively; ofthe rug extendin through the cleaning chamber and b'eneat the hinged doors or panels 3 and 4. Said fastening means may consist of a strip of flexible material as canvas, or the like, fastened to the rollers front and rear and of sufficient length to pass from one roller to the other, so that when a rug has been cleaned and wound upon one of 'the rollers, the fastenin strip of the other roller will have been awn through the the body cleaning chamber and brought onto the side thereof on which the rugor carpet has been fully wound, so that the-strip may be unfastened from the rug or carpet and will be in position to be attached to the next rug'or carpet to be operated upon and will be ready to draw the same through the cleaning chamber.

The fabric to be cleaned may be fastened to thefastening strips 7 by any suitable means, as by safety pins 8. The cleanmg chamber 2 is open at both ends above and below the plane in which the carpet or rug will extend when stretched from roller to roller. One end of said. chamber is ar ranged'to receive air from a direct source of air supply, and may be open to receive andirectly from the open air, as indicated by the inlet orifices 9 and 10. r

Upper and lower outlet orifices 11 and 12 open into the dust-chamber 13 which communicates at the top with a stack or any other suitable air outlet 14. The upper end of the dust-chamber may be formed by the lower end of the stack. It tapers upwardly, and a sprinkler 15 is arranged to her so as to wash the dust out of the air and prevent the dust'and dirt from passing up out of the dust-chamber. The bottom of the dust-chamber is formed as a WiLtGF-llOldlIlg receptacle 16 having an overflow 17 .through which the water may flow after the dust has been deposited in the receptacle 16. Draft appliances, as the blowers or fans 18, 19, and the suction-fan 20 are provided, the

blowers at the inlet orifices and the suctionfan at the outlet orifice directing air through the cleaning-chamber to the dust-chamber.

21 designates a foraminous resilient fabric supporter in the form of an open resilient woven 'wire sheet, corresponding in its character to ordinary woven wire mattress springs; the same being supported at the opposite ends of the machine by any suitable means, preferably comprising bars 22 and nuts 23.

24, 24, 24" designate carpet pounders in the form of coil springs arranged above the fabric support 21 and supported at their ends respectively by fastening means 25 in the form of' screw-eyes screwed into the frame 1 atopposite ends of the cleaning chamber. The tension of the mattress springs is maintained by the bars 22 secured by the nuts 23 and the tension of the coil springs that form the carpet pounder is maintained by the screw-eyes. Suitable means are provided for drawing the resilient pounders thus formed away from the fabric support and then releasing the same -to allow the tension thereof to operate to cause the pounders to forcibly strike the rug, carpet or other fabric supportedl by the fabric support 21. A plurality of the pounders is provided and the means for drawing the same away from the fabric support are severally connected to said pounders at different distances from the end thereof, respectively, so that one of said pounders may most forcibly strike the carpet, rug or other fabric to be cleaned at the middle thereof, while others'of the pounders may be made to strike said fabric most forcibly at one or the other ends thereof.

In practice I have used three coil springs for the purpose of pounding the carpet or rug. .In actual practice the several pounders will be operated in alternation. The operation of the pounders may be accomplished by various means. The means 1 have employed comprise levers 27 connected by connections 27 -witl1 the pounders respectively,

and operated by cams 28, mounted on a shaft 29, driven by a pulley 30, which may be driven by a belt 34 from a pulley 31, on line shaft 32. An idler 33 is provided on shaft 29 upon which belt 34 may run freely when 1t 1s desired to stop the pounding apparatus.

for operating the apparatus.

The levers 27 are adjustably mounted by means of shifting frame 26, which is p1voted at 35 and is adjustable by a cam 36, mounted on a shaft 37 controlled by a lever 38.

Various inter-connections for the simultaneous and intermittent driving of the various parts of the machine may be provided and will be hereinafter described.

For the purpose of chemically treating the carpet as by ammonia or germicides, or other cleansing materials, a spraying device comprising nozzles 39 mounted on and opening from a reciprocating pipe 40, is provided;

said pipe being connected by flexible hose 41 with a suitable supply" receptacle, not shown, for the cleansing agent. The several nozzles are controlled by valves 42, and mayhave a. plurality of outlets, as the central outlet 7'43, and other outlets 44 arranged around the central outlet. These nozzles are arranged to direct the cleansing agent upwardly against the underside of the fabric to be treated, and extend in a line across the machine underneath the space between the two rollers, and preferably on that side of the machine from which the cleaned fabric finally emerges.

45 designates ways for supporting rods 46 which carry the pipe 40.

47 is a pitman connecting the spray pipe with the wrist-pin 48 of the pulley 49 driven with the other machinery of the apparatus, so that when the belt 50 is driven, the spraypipe and its nozzles will be rapidly reciprocated transversely of the machine, under- .neath the fabric that is to be cleaned. The

cleansingagent will be placed undersufliclent pressure in the source from which it is drawn, to' cause the cleansing material to be driven up against and into the fabric to be cleansed. The purpose of this is to purify the fabric that isbeing wound upon the final take up roller. i

The line shaft 32 has mounted on its extremity a pulley 51 which is connected by a belt 52 with any source of power, not shown, A grooved wheel 53 is likewise mounted on the shaft 32, and is connected by a crossed belt 54 with pulley 55 mounted on the counter shaft 56, for the purpose of drivingv the fan or blower 20 located in the dust chamber. 7

Upon the shaft 56 is mounted a large grooved wheel 57 which drives a small grooved wheel 59 by means of belt 60. The required additional speed of the fan 20 is obtained by the drive to the counter-shaft 56 and thence to'the grooved'wheel 59 which is fixed to the fan 20. On said shaft 32 is a friction-clutch-pulley 61 which is connected by the crossed belt 50 with the pulleyand connected by a belt 64 on the countershaft .on the shaft 32 with pulley 65 66cm which is mounted a pulley 67 arranged to operate the'fans 18 and 19, the former through belt 67' and pulle 18 and the latter through belt 67 and pulley 19. Said pulleys 18' and 19 are fixed to their fans 18 and 19 respectively.

68 is a long driving pulley on the shaft 32 designed to be connected alternately with idlers 69 and 70, and with a fixed'pulley 71; all of which are mounted on a countershaft 72. a Y

- Crossed and strai ht belts 7 3, 73' are ar ranged to be driven y the pulley 68 and to alternately drive the fixed pulley 71, the

A pulley 64 is mounted idler 69 being provided for the straight belt 7 3' and the idler being provided for the cross belt 73 to carry said belts respectively, when running idle. By this construction when belts 7 3, 73' arerespect ively running on pulleys 70 and 69, the countershaft 72 will remain stationary. By shifting either the one or the other belt onto the fixed pulley 71, the shaft will be driven in one or the other direction depending on whether a- The Y straight or cross belt is in action. countershaft 72 is connected by suitable means with the rollers 5 and 6 to drive the carpet in one and the other direction as the countershaft is rotated. On. the end of the countershaft 72 is a small pulley 74: connected by belt 75 with the pulley 7 6 which is mounted on 78 ismounted on the countershaft 77 and connected with a pulley 7 9 mounted on the. roller shaft 80 by a belt 81 thus connecting the'rollers for operating the wind-up of the carpet, as is clear. The forward or rearward motion of the carpet within the cleaning chamber is controlled by the and 83 which shift the belts 73' and 73 respectively.

In practical operation the carpets or rugs maybe placed with their right sides undermost so that the force of gravity will assist in removing the dirt in the same course in which it entered the fabric; when the same was in use as a floor covering, whereby the dirt will fall out from within the pile of the fabric without any tendency to enter the fabric any farther than it had entered the same before the fabric was placed in the machine; Furthermore the pounders are made to operate on the side of the fabric which was undermost when the fabric was in use as afloor covering, and which side isuppermost in the machine so that the action of the pounders serves'to drive the dirt downward out of the fabric into the bottom of the cleaning channel from whence it is carried by the draft into the dust chamber 13 to be there acted on by .the spray and thus carried belt-shifters 82 the roller shaft? 7 A pulley ers to a into the. basin 16 while the free airflows on increased or dnninishedby shifting the ec-" centric means 36, thereby carrying the ends of levers 27 into various positions relative tothe centers of the cams 28 whereby said cams are caused to lift the levers more or less, thus to stretch the spiral sprin poundgreater or less tension be ore they are released.

The pulley 7 8 that drives the belt 81 and pulley 7 9 for winding and unwinding the carpet is loose on the roller shaft 77 and is connected therewith through pulley 76 which is controlled by clutch 83 so that by shifting the clutch the shaft 77 and roller 6 may be allowed to turn independently to'unwind drawn through the cleaning chamber, while in Figs. 3 and 4: the canvas is shown in the cleaning chamber position for drawing the carpet through such chamber. By reason of the resilient support for the carpet the same iscaused to spring up and down in response to the action of the pounders and is relieved of any strain that might tear the fabric.

The transparent panes a allow the operator to inspect the operation and he may stop the travel of the carpet at any time that the presence of dust in the cleaning chamber may warn him that the fabric has not been fully cleaned. The pounders may thus be made to act on one portion until it is cleaned. Or the fabric may be run back and forth one or more times slowly or rapidly until the absence of dust in the cleaning chamber indicates that complete cleaning has been eff fected.

Whatl claim is z- 1. In a carpet cleaner, a frame forming a cleaning chamber and ports for admission to the chamber, a coiled wire fabric stretched horizontally in the chamber, means for pass ing a carpet taut through the chamber over the coiled wire fabric, coil springs stretched in the chamber above the-coiled wire fabric, said carpet passing under the coil springs, and means for snapping the coil springs against the carpet.

2. In a carpet cleaner, means forming a cleaning chamber, a coiled wire fabric stretched horizontally in the cleaning chamber, front and rear take-up rollers atthe front and rear sides of the cleaning chamber, means for attaching a carpet to said rollers, .means pass the carpet ber upon stretched l the coiled wire fabric, said carpet passing under the coil springs, and means for snap- I snapping the coil springs against the carping the coil springs against the carpet. pet, each spring being operated independ- 3. In a carpet cleaner, means forming a ently. cleaning chamber, a coiled Wire fabric I In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set 5 stretched horizontally in the cleaning chainmy hand at Los Angeles California thislSth .5

ber, means for passing a carpet through the day of April 1907.

cleaning chamber over the coiled Wire fabric, ANDREW JOHN MEIER.

coil springs stretched in the cleaning cham- In presence of'- her in position for the carpet to pass under JAMES R. TOWNSEND, 10 the coil spr ngs, and ad ustable means for i M. BEULAH TOWNSEND.

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