Draw-down cyclonic vacuum cleaner

• US 5,080,697 A
• Filed: 04/03/1990
• Issued: 01/14/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Broan-Nutone LLC (Melrose Industries Plc)
• Original Assignee: NuTone Inc. (Melrose Industries Plc)
• Inventors: Finke, Eugene W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Woo, Jay H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mackey, James P.
• Application Number:
  US07/504,134
• Time in Patent Office: 651 Days
• Field of Search: 55/97, 55/337, 55/459.1, 55/DIG. 3, 55/429, 55/439, 55/467, 55/472, 15/347, 15/353
• US Class Current: 95/268
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/108 Dust compression means
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/122 flat
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/1608 Cyclonic chamber constructions
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/1666 with filtering means
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 55/03 Vacuum cleaner

Abstract

A vacuum cleaning apparatus is provided having a canister, a motor mounted to the exterior of the canister, a cyclonic cone centrally disposed within said canister, an inlet port in the canister wall opposing the cyclonic cone, an outlet port above the cyclonic cone and a primary filter within the canister between the lower end of the cyclonic cone and the canister bottom wall. When the motor pulls air from the canister through the outlet port, dirt laden air entering the inlet port passes the cyclonic cone and downwardly spirals around the cyclonic cone and passes through the primary filter. The filtered air is then pulled upwardly through the interior of the cyclonic cone and exits through the outlet port. A secondary filter can be interposed between the outlet port and the primary filter for additional air filtration.

Claims

1. A vacuum cleaning apparatus comprising:

a receptacle having a side wall, a top wall and a bottom wall to define a volume therebetween;

a first opening in said side wall;

a second opening in said top wall;

means for producing a downwardly spiralling air flow from air entering said receptacle through said first opening, said downwardly spiralling air flow producing means having an imperforate exterior surface, an interior, an upper section, and a lower section, said lower section having an opening therein so that said interior communicates with a portion of said volume outside said imperforate exterior surface, said downwardly spiralling air flow producing means being positioned so that said upper section is opposed to said first opening in said side wall and separates said first opening from said second opening in said top wall, said opening in said lower section of said air flow producing means being proximate said bottom wall of said receptacle;

a filter positioned within said portion of said volume outside said air flow producing means so that said filter is interposed between said first opening in said side wall and said opening in said lower section, said filter substantially spanning said portion of said volume from said side wall to said air flow producing means; and

vacuum producing means operatively connected to said second opening to create subatmospheric air pressure in said volume within said receptacle which pulls air into said receptacle through said first opening, said air tangentially striking and downardly spiralling around said imperforate exterior surface of said downwardly spiralling air flow producing means, passing through said filter, entering said opening in said lower section of said air flow producing means and rising through said interior towards said second opening in said top wall, and exhausting said receptacle through said second opening whereby particulate in said air entering through said first opening is removed by said filter and the removed particulate is compacted atop said filter by said air flow downwardly spiralling about said imperforate exterior surface of said air flow producing means.

2. A vacuum cleaning apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said imperforate exterior surface of said downwardly spiralling air flow producing means has a substantially conical shape.

3. A vacuum cleaning apparatus according to claim 2 further comprising:

a second filter positioned between said second opening in said top wall and said opening in said lower section, said second filter substantially spanning said interior of said air flow producing means whereby the filtered air rising through said interior is filtered a second time before exhausting the receptacle through said second opening.

4. The vacuum cleaning apparatus of claim 1 wherein said top wall is selectively removable from said side wall of said receptacle to expose said interior of said downwardly spiralling air flow producing means whereby said downwardly spiralling air flow producing means is removable from said receptacle without disturbing the compacted particulate so that the compacted particulate may be emptied from the receptacle.

5. A vacuum cleaning apparatus comprising:

a receptacle having a side wall, a top wall and a bottom wall to define a volume therebetween;

a first opening in said side wall;

a second opening in said top wall;

means for producing a downwardly spiralling air flow from air entering said receptacle through said first opening, said downwardly spiralling air flow producing means having an imperforate exterior surface, an interior, an upper section, and a lower section, said lower section having an opening therein so that said interior communicates with a portion of said volume outside said imperforate exterior surface, said air flow producing means being positioned so that said upper section is opposed to said first opening in said side wall and separates said first opening from said second opening, said opening in said lower section being proximate said bottom wall; and

a filter positioned within said volume outside said imperforate exterior surface so that said filter is interposed between said first opening and said opening in said lower section, said filter substantially spanning said portion of said volume outside said exterior surface from said side wall to said exterior surface of said air flow producing means whereby air entering said receptacle through said first opening downwardly spirals about said air flow producing means, passes through said filter, enters said interior through said opening in said lower section and rises through said interior towards said second opening in said top wall whereby particulate in said air passing through said filter is removed by said filter and the removed particulate is compacted atop said filter by said air flow downwardly spiralling about said imperforate exterior surface of air flow producing means.

6. A vacuum cleaning apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said imperforate exterior surface of said downwardly spiralling air flow producing means has a generally conical shape with a decreasing diameter towards said opening in said lower section.

7. A vacuum cleaning apparatus according to claim 6 further comprising:

a second filter positioned between said opening in said lower section and said second opening in said top wall so that the filtered air rising through said interior of said air flow producing means is filtered a second time before exhausting the receptacle through said second opening.

8. A vacuum cleaning apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

said upper section of said air flow producing means is generally funnel shaped;

and

said lower section of said air flow producing means is generally cylindrical, said upper section being joined to said lower section so that said interior of said air flow producing means only communicates with said portion of said volume outside said air flow producing means through said opening in said lower section.

9. The vacuum cleaning apparatus of claim 5 wherein said top wall is selectively removable from said side wall of said receptacle to expose said interior of said downwardly spiralling air flow producing means whereby said downwardly spiralling air flow producing means is removable from said receptacle without disturbing the compacted particulate so that the compacted particulate may be emptied from the receptacle.

10. A method of vacuum cleaning dirt laden air comprising the steps of:

sucking dirt laden air into a receptacle having top, bottom and side walls to define a volume through a first opening in said side wall of said receptacle;

directing said dirt laden air tangentially against a vertically disposed conical imperforate structure having an exterior, an interior, and an open lower end to create a downwardly directed flow of said dirt laden air;

passing said downwardly directed flow of said dirt laden air through a first filter which spans said volume between said side wall and said exterior of said conical structure, said first filter located within said volume between said first opening and said open lower end of said conical structure;

passing said air after it passes through said first filter through said open lower end of said conical structure and upwardly through said interior of said vertically disposed conical structure; and

exhausting the air that passes upwardly through said interior of said conical structure from said receptacle through a second opening in said receptacle.

11. The method of vacuum cleaning dirt laden air according to claim 10 further comprising the step of:

passing said air that passes upwardly through said conical structure through a second filter located between the second opening and the open lower end of the conical structure.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein said downwardly directed flow of said dirt laden air compacts

particulate removed from the dirt laden air by said first filter atop said first filter.