Automobile vacuum cleaner

• US 5,189,753 A
• Filed: 05/15/1991
• Issued: 03/02/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: ZEE Investments Limited
• Original Assignee: Central Auto-Vacc Limited, ZEE Investments Limited
• Inventors: Hill, Duncan, Sousa, Lawrence
• Primary Examiner(s): MOORE, CHRISTOPHER K
• Application Number:
  US07/700,417
• Time in Patent Office: 657 Days
• Field of Search: 15/313, 15/353, 15/314, 15/327.7, 180/89.11
• US Class Current: 15/313
• CPC Class Codes: B60S 1/64 for cleaning vehicle interiors, e.g. built-in vacuum cleaners

Abstract

This specification discloses a central vacuum cleaning system for use in a motor vehicle, which is self-contained and portable and is installed in a convenient part of the car such as the trunk. The unit is powered by the battery of the vehicle and does not require access to public power facilities. The cleaning unit is installed for easy placement and removable in the vehicle, with snap-in hose connections for convenience. The vacuum cleaner central unit is formed in two parts which are easily opened by a snap means for emptying the waste collection chamber. The waste collection chamber is designed such that debris and liquid waste remain in the bottom of the chamber during operation and during the emptying procedures, so that such wastes do not reach the filter and the electric motor area of the unit.

Claims

1. A central vacuum cleaning assembly adapted for use in a vehicle comprising a waste collection chamber and an air withdrawal chamber;

said air withdrawal chamber including an electric motor driving a vacuum generating fan impeller;

said waste collection chamber being outside of and contiguous to said air withdrawal chamber and including an intake opening and an outlet opening, said outlet opening communicating directly with said air withdrawal chamber;

said intake opening adapted to cooperate with a tube leading to a vacuum cleaner nozzle,

a baffle means cooperating directly with the intake opening to divert all incoming air flow and transported solids and liquids away from the outlet opening and permit particulate and liquid waste material to fall towards a waste retaining section of the waste collection chamber,

said waste retaining section being located in a lower part of the waste collection chamber in normal use,

said outlet opening leading from a higher part of the waste collection chamber to the air withdrawal chamber,

said outlet opening cooperating with a waste retaining means comprising a partition, said partition being adapted to retain particulate and liquid waste in the waste retaining section of the waste collection chamber,

said outlet opening cooperating directly with an air filter for removal of fine dust, said outlet opening and said filter permitting free exit of filtered air from the waste collection chamber and entry of said filtered air into the air withdrawal chamber,

said air withdrawal chamber and said fan impeller being constructed and arranged to draw said filtered air into the air withdrawal chamber and to expel said air through an outlet in said air withdrawal chamber to the atmosphere, wherein the waste collection chamber and the air withdrawal chamber are releasably held together by a latching means, such that the exterior of the vacuum cleaner assembly is partially formed by the exterior of said waste collection chamber, and partially formed by the exterior of the air withdrawal chamber, which allows for separation of said waste collection chamber and said air withdrawal chamber to allow for emptying of the waste collection chamber.

2. A central vacuum cleaning assembly as in claim 1, wherein the intake opening is provided with a snap-in port for convenient connection and disconnection from the vacuum cleaner line.

3. A central vacuum cleaning assembly as in claim 1, wherein the tube which cooperates with said intake opening is a vacuum cleaner hose.

4. A central vacuum cleaning assembly as in claim 3, adapted for installation in a trunk of an automobile or like vehicle, said trunk being separated from a passenger compartment or the like by a bulkhead, said vacuum cleaner hose traversing said bulkhead and being provided with a snap-in remote port at a point in the automobile passenger compartment which is easily accessible for snap-in with a vacuum cleaner hose and head assembly.