Vacuum cleaner condition indicator and safety device
First Claim
1. In a vacuum cleaner having a housing including a suction compartment, an air permeable filter bag mounted in said compartment, means defining an air inlet in said housing communicating with said filter bag, means defining an outlet in said housing, an air-moving unit in flow communication with said compartment and said outlet for drawing dirt-laden air through said inlet and discharging filtered air through the outlet, the improvement comprising:
- clog detection means for determining the existence of a predetermined excessively low pressure in said suctin compartment and for bleeding ambient air into said compartment to maintain a sufficient flow of air through said air-moving unit, said detection means comprising pressure responsive means for monitoring the pressure difference between the suction compartment and ambient air, said pressure responsive means including a chamber having a port, a valve normally closing said port and operable to open said port in response to said pressure difference when the pressure in said suction compartment is substantially equal to said predetermined pressure, means defining a bleed hole in said suction compartment, a relief valve normally closing said bleed hold, said relief valve having a pressure responsive member operable to open said hole in response to said pressure difference across said member when the pressure in said suction compartment is substantially equal to said predetermined pressure, means for communicating ambient air to one side of said member, and means for communicating said chamber with the other side of said member, whereby when the pressure in said compartment drops below said predetermined pressure said port is opened and allows said predetermined pressure to vent to said other side of said member to thereby effect opening of said bleed hole.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A vacuum cleaner detector that indicates when the hose is clogged and bleeds in cooling air to the vacuum chamber so as to prevent overheating of the motor blower. The indicator comprises an actuator valve and a relief valve. The actuator valve includes a pressure responsive member having filter bag compartment pressure applied to one side thereof and atmospheric pressure applied to the other side. When the absolute pressure within the filter bag chamber drops, the pressure responsive member is moved toward the low pressure side moving a plunger which opens a port when the pressure drops below that desired to allow filter bag chamber pressure to vent to the low pressure side of a pressure responsive member in the relief valve. The other side of the relief valve pressure responsive member is acted upon by atmospheric pressure which thereby forces the pressure responsive member away from a bleed hole to allow atmospheric pressure to flow into the filter bag chamber to insure that the motor blower has sufficient air flow for cooling, and simultaneously the pressure responsive member forces an indicator button out of the cleaner. Also disclosed is a vacuum cleaner filter bag condition indicator that detects when the bag is substantially full and should be replaced. The use of the two indicators together allows the determination of whether the filter bag is full or whether the hose is clogged.
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Citations
6 Claims
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1. In a vacuum cleaner having a housing including a suction compartment, an air permeable filter bag mounted in said compartment, means defining an air inlet in said housing communicating with said filter bag, means defining an outlet in said housing, an air-moving unit in flow communication with said compartment and said outlet for drawing dirt-laden air through said inlet and discharging filtered air through the outlet, the improvement comprising:
- clog detection means for determining the existence of a predetermined excessively low pressure in said suctin compartment and for bleeding ambient air into said compartment to maintain a sufficient flow of air through said air-moving unit, said detection means comprising pressure responsive means for monitoring the pressure difference between the suction compartment and ambient air, said pressure responsive means including a chamber having a port, a valve normally closing said port and operable to open said port in response to said pressure difference when the pressure in said suction compartment is substantially equal to said predetermined pressure, means defining a bleed hole in said suction compartment, a relief valve normally closing said bleed hold, said relief valve having a pressure responsive member operable to open said hole in response to said pressure difference across said member when the pressure in said suction compartment is substantially equal to said predetermined pressure, means for communicating ambient air to one side of said member, and means for communicating said chamber with the other side of said member, whereby when the pressure in said compartment drops below said predetermined pressure said port is opened and allows said predetermined pressure to vent to said other side of said member to thereby effect opening of said bleed hole.
- View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. In a vacuum having a housing including a suction copartment, an air permeable filter bag mounted in said compartment, means defining an air inlet in said housing communicating with said filter bag, means defining an outlet in said housing, an air-moving unit in flow communication with said compartment and said outlet for drawing dirt-laden air through said inlet and discharging filtered air through the outlet, the improvement comprising:
- clog detection means for determining the existence of a predetermined excessively low pressure in said suction compartment and for bleeding ambient air into said compartment to maintain a sufficient flow of air through said air-moving unit, said detection means comprising an actuator and a relief valve, said actuator having a casing supported in the housing, pressure responsive means including a movable partition member mounted in and separating said actuator casing into first and second chamber, means communicating said suction compartment with the first chamber, means communicating ambient air to said second chamber, a third chamber associated with said actuator having a portal in communication with the suction compartment, closure means movable with said partition member for normally closing said portal and for opening said portal when the pressure in said suction compartment equals said predetermined pressure, said relief valve having a casing supported in the housing, pressure responsive means including a movable partition member mounted in and separating said valve casing into first and second chambers, means communicating said third chamber of said actuator with the first chamber of said relief valve, means communicating ambient air to the second chamber of said relief valve, the casing of said second chamber of said relief valve having a wall including a bleed hole communicating said second chamber with said suction compartment and normally closed by said partition member, said partition member being movable to open said bleed hole when the pressure in said first chamber of the relief valve equals said predetermined pressure, and means for normally balancing the pressure across said relief valve partition member, whereby upon detection of said low pressure said closure means opens said portal to vent said first chamber of said relief valve of said suction compartment thereby to open said bleed hole to allow ambient air to enter said suction chamber.
- View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6)
Specification