US1459968A - Vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Description

VACUUM CLEANER Filed March 21 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet '1 IN VENT OR.

Louis BAILLY June 26, 1923. 1,459,968

L. BAILLY VACUUM CLEANER Filed March 21 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

LOUIS BAILLY June 2 6, 1923. 1,459,968

L. BAILLY VACUUM CLEANER Filed March 21 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet Plaza INVENTOR.

LUUI S BAI LLY 5 A TTORNE S June 2 6, 1923. 1,459,968

L. BAH-LY I VACUUM CLEANER Filed Marbh 21. 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 32 INVENTOR;

Lows. BAILLY l l l l v fl l .ll 'l(!. 6; W

58 ATTORNEYS Patented June 26, 1923.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS BAILLY, or oommnus, OHIO, ASSIGNOR 'ro THE omo MUNICIPAL EQUIPMENT company, or COLUMBUS, OHIO, A CORPORATION or x10.

VACUUM CLEANER.

Application filed March 21, 1921. Serial No. 454,019.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, LOUIS BAILLY, a citizen of the Republic of'France, residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vacuum Cleaners, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates generally to vacuum cleaners, and more particularly to a vacuum street sweeper, my object being the provision of a machine adapted for use as a street sweeper and operated by suction, which will be simple in design and construction, and which will be strong, durable and effective in use.

Various other objects, relating for the most part to certain details of construction to be hereinafter specifically referred to, may be better understood from the following description, in which reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification and v in which,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved street sweeper,

Figure 2 is a rear elevation thereof,

, Figure 3 is a top plan view with a por tion of the cover removed,

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional View showing the arrangement of the pipes to the brushes,

Figure 5 is a detail side view of the sponge basket removed,

Figure 6 is a detail side view of the vacuum pick-up device lwhich cooperates with the brush in use,

Figure 7 is an end elevation thereof,

Figure 8 is a view similar to Fi re 7 showing the arrangement of the pick-up device in connection with the frame and its adjusting means on the frame.

Figure 9 is adetail vertical longitudinal section showing a portion of the shaker mechanism,

Figure 10 is a detail fragmentary transverse section showing a portion of the shaker mechanism, 7

Figure 11 is a partial vertical transverse 50 section through the dust collecting chamber Y and the screens,

Figure 12 is a deta1l side view of one of the screens removed,

Figure 13 is a sectional view through the dirt bag,

Figure 1 4 is a side view of the neck portiog of the dirt bag with its clamping band, an

Figure 15 is a partial plan view of the clamping band of Figure 14.

Referring now to these figures my invention proposes a vacuum street sweeper whose frame, generally indicated at 20, is supported upon wheels 21 by means of WhlCl] it is propelled through the use of any suitable propelling mechanism including electrical generating means which operate also to supply current for a motor 22 located on the frame 20 immediately in the rear of the operators station or cab 23. At the operator s station, a steering wheel 2-1 may be utihzed to control steering movement of the front wheels 21, and a controller mechanism 25 may be utilized to control themotor 22 including its speed of movement.

At the rear of the motor 22 its shaft 26 extends into the lower end of an air discharge flue 27, into the upper end of which a sponge basket 28 having a perforate bottom 29 and an open flanged top 30 i normally disposed and held in place by a cover frame 31' detachahly fastened as at 32'so that outlet air from the fan 33 secured on shaft 26 will be forced to pass through the sponge basket and the sponges therein and the air thus filtered for removal of fine particles of dust and dirt. This outlet air fiue 27 has a damper 34: intermediate its ends so that the outlet of air through the sponge basket may be controlled. This is for the purpose of controlling the amount of air blown rearwardly through a series of blast pipes 35 whose forward ends are connected to the enlarged box 36 intermediate the ends of the air discharge flue 27 at points below the damper 34.

The rear ends of the blast pipes 35 are connected by flexible couplings 37 with tapering blast nozzles 38 leading to the rear side of an inverted U-shaped saddle 39. This saddle seats over the brush 40 and is shown in detail in Figures 6, 7 and 8 with its several blast nozzles 38 along its rear side and corresponding suction nozzles 41 along its forward side. This saddle 39 which forms the suction pick-up device is supported by means of a rod 42 connected to the rear free ends of arms 43 pivoted at 44 on a part of the frame 20, said rear ends resting upon the forwardly projecting arms of bell cranks 45. The rear upright arms of these bellcranks are connected to-flexible members 46 wound upon a drum shaft 47, having a squared end 48 at one side of the frame as seen in Figure 1 and having a ratchet and dog 4921s shown in Patent 1,203,130 of October 31,"

1916,.may be employed.

The several suction pipes 51 just above referred to join at their forward ends with a pipe 52 which leads to the upper forward and smaller end'of a casing forming a dust collecting chamber and with which pipe 52 communicates through an opening 53. This casing has a rear wall 54 and a top 55 and its base 56 has side portions inclining inwardly and downwardly toward one another, the entire baseoinclining downwardly and rearwardly so as to form a trough-like dirt chute in communication at its lower rear portion with a rearwardly and downwardly angular dirt discharge pipe 57 at the 'rear of the machine above the lower platform 58 of a dirt bag holding frame 59.

Within the dust collecting chamber is a wire screen 60 having portions spaced from the front of the casing and also spaced from the base 56, forwardly of and below a screen chamber in which are a plurality of screen units 61 arranged in a transverse series, each resting at its upper end in a frame 62 and depending through lengthwise slots of this frame as particularly seen in Figure 11. Each of these screen units includes a frame 63 flanged at its top as at 64 so as to rest onthe holding frame 62, each frame 63 being covered with canvas or cloth 64 as particularly shown in- Figures 11 and 12. The holding frame 62 rests upon brackets 65 carried by the casing and preferably having felt strips 66 which frame 62 directly engages. Frame 62 has at its forward portion depending arms 67 resting on arms 68 pivoted at their forward ends as at 69 to the casing and in turn resting at their rear ends upon squared collars 70 rigidly secured to a cross shaft 71 all as particularly seen I in Figures 9 and 10. Shaft 71 has a squared extension 72 at one side of the frame or casing by which it may be rotated so as to raise and lower the screen holding frame chamber is a vertical suction flue 73, whose upper end'communicates through an opening in the upper portion of the rear wall 54 with the space above the holding frame 62, the lower end of the flue 73 communicating with the main suction flue 74 which extends forwardly to the lower end of the flue 27 adjacent to the fan 33 so that the upper ends of the several screen units 61 are thus subjected to suction at all times while the fan 33 is in operation.

As shown particularly in Figures 13, 14 and 15 the base 58 of the-dust and dirt receptacle holding frame 59 has clamps 75 arranged to engage side handles 76 of the lower rigid bottom 77 of a dust holding bag 7 8, preferably formed of flexible material permitting of collapse when empty so that.

a number of such bags can be conveniently stored on the frame. Each bag is preferably supported by metallic rings or hooks 79 and has, a reduced upper open neck portion 80 adapted to telescope around the lower open end of the dirt discharge pipe 57 to which the neck portion 80 may be connected by a clamping band 81 detachably fastened as at 82. This construction permits of removal of a filled bag 78 and disposition of an empty bag in place during operation of the machine, it being intended that the filled bags may be removed from time to time and deposited along the roadway or street being swept, for subsequent collection and dumping at any'convenient point.- V

In operation the suction of the fan. through the main suctionv pipe 74 creates a suction above the several cloth covered screen units 61 and of course places the entire dust collecting chamber under the in fluence of this suction,.as well'as the several suction pipes'51 leading to the suction nozzles '41 of the suction pick-up saddle 39. In view however of the fact that the area of the dust collecting chamber is many times that of its forward opening 53, larger particles of dirt and refuse including paper, which are caught by the wire screen 60, will drop within the dust collecting chamber and pass downwardly and rearwardly along its trough-like base 56 to the dirt discharge pipe 57, and smallerv particles of dirt'and' I dust only will be carried against the cloth covered screen units 61.. Then from time to time the shaft 72 may be rotated to agitate the holding frame 62 of these sev- I eral cloth covered screen units 61 whereupon the dust and dirt clinging to the outer surface of-the cloth will be shaken oil and will fall on to the base 56 of the dust collecting chamber for passage by gravity rear- Wardly t0 the discharge pipe 57. s

It is thus obvious that the air sucked from the dust collecting chamber through the rear suction pipe 73 will be free of dust and dirt except for the very finest particles of dust, the latter of which are carried through the fan 33 and forced upwardly through the air discharge flue 27 and through the sponge basket 28 where the fine dust will be caught by the sponges before final discharge of the air through the screened top cover 31 shown in Figures 1 and 3. Upon removal of this top cover 31 the sponges can be taken out of the sponge basket and cleansed from time to time.

By manipulation of the damper 34: more or less of the air from the blast side of the fan 33 may be caused to pass through the blast pipes 35 and nozzles 38 to the forward portion of the brush saddle 39 so as to force air against the forward side of the brush in order to hold against the brush for subsequent suction into the nozzles 41 particles of dirt and refuse that may have previously escaped the-suction. i

It is obvious from the foregoing that the machine provided by my invention is highly practical both in design and construction, is capable of efl'ective and efficient use, and will be strong and durable,

I claim:

In a vacuum street sweeper havinga rotating brush, a hollow saddle over the brush, suction and blast pipes, suction and blast nozzles connected to the said saddle and flexibly joined to the suction and blast pipes, a wheeled frame, and manually actuated connections on the frame for ad usting the saddle and its nozzles vertically with respect to the brush, including a ,rod carried by the said saddle and its nozzles, bell cranks mounted on the frame and engaging the rod, and a manually actuated winding shaft having flexible connections secured to the bell cranks.

In testimony whereof I allix m si nature.

' LQUIS AI LY.

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