Brushing – scrubbing – and general cleaning – Machines – With air blast or suction
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-21
2001-10-30
Warden, Sr., Robert J. (Department: 1744)
Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning
Machines
With air blast or suction
C015S405000, C015S340100, C406S173000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06308375
ABSTRACT:
This invention relates to vents formed at the minimum inner radius of curvature of a curved blower exhaust conduit through which entrained solid particles are carried by an advancing stream of air, and more particularly to such vents formed in a blower conduit carrying organic debris, leaves, twigs, grass clippings and the like from a blower fan to a debris collector enclosure or bag, minimizing internal pressure in the collector and expediting the deposit of debris in the collector enclosure.
These vents are improvements on the blower exhaust conduits illustrated and described in my U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,029,312, issued Feb. 29, 2000, and 6,003,195 issued Dec. 21, 1999.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The collection of leaves, grass clippings and other organic debris from lawn mowers into either fabric collector bags, or into rigid containers of metal or plastic, is well known.
However, in order to keep the air stream, and its attendant debris moving, means must be provided for venting the high-velocity air. In vacuum cleaners and lawnmowers which employ collector bags, this is commonly done by using a bag of porous weave which permits the air to perfuse through the fabric. However, as the bag fills up, the pores become clogged with debris which substantially blocks the air flow and greatly reduces the vacuum effect, sometimes reducing it to near zero. In addition, when such fabric bags become clogged, they are subjected to high internal pressure from the blower air stream. If the blower is very powerful, the bag can rip apart at the seams.
If the weave of the bag is made larger to avoid clogging, a great quantity of material is lost through the mesh, and the equipment operator may be exposed to quantities of choking dust and debris particles. Furthermore, the higher air pressure inside the bag tends to “plaster” the leaves, grass and other debris against the inside of the mesh, effectively blocking the air flow and reducing the vacuum effect.
In yet other types of lawn vacuum equipment, the collector container is made of rigid metal or plastic, or solid weave fabric which does not breathe at all thereby forming a substantially sealed chamber. In all such cases, either a clear opening or an open-mesh screen must be provided to vent the air, in order to provide the vacuum effect. These arrangements have just the same problems as described above. Either a great quantity of material is lost through the vent area, or the vent mesh itself clogs from the higher inside air pressure, which forces the debris against the vent screen, thus reducing or eliminating the vacuum effect.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It has now been discovered that one or more vents diverting a portion of the blower exhaust stream downward or sidewise, transverse to its direction of travel through an upwardly arched curved sector of the blower delivery conduit, will almost completely eliminate the problems described above. With this arrangement it is possible to completely fill a collector container of any type, whether solid metal, rigid plastic, or closed mesh fabric, even when the container has no venting means or vent screen at all. Nearly full vacuum effect is maintained all the way to the top of the collector container, with virtually no escape of debris. In addition, the high internal pressure which can develop inside a vent-clogged collector bag or container is substantially reduced. The effect is quite startling when observed in actual operation.
In organic material collection systems, the relief vents are preferably formed in the curved delivery conduit's lower wall near the smallest radius of curvature on the “inside” of the curve. Since the curved delivery conduit is often convexly arched upward, a vent facing directly downward would cause a downdraft like a helicopter's downwash, scattering organic debris on the ground below the blower and trailer which ideally should remain in place until it is drawn in by the blower and delivered to the collector bag. The vents shown in the drawings divert and eject air sidewise, away from the vicinity of the blower, the operator and the collector bag, reducing to a minimum the scattering of debris.
The entrained organic particles in the air stream are believed to be carried by the “outside” maximum radius region of the curved sector of the delivery conduit, and venting the “inside” minimum radius region of the curved sector releases very few entrained particles or bits of debris.
Accordingly, a principal object of the invention is to maximize the effectiveness of blower-driven air streams carrying entrained organic debris into a collector enclosure by eliminating the need for venting the air flow from inside the collector container, and thereby eliminating the problems of debris escape, vent mesh clogging, and the loss of vacuum effect described above.
Another object is to reduce the pressure developed inside the collector container which results when the air escape path is completely blocked. This is particularly important in fabric collector bags, which can be over stressed or even torn apart by blower pressure if the vents become clogged.
Still another object is to form vents in the delivery conduit, ejecting air from a curved region of the conduit while minimizing ejection of entrained particles therefrom.
Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.
The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.
REFERENCES:
patent: 608990 (1898-08-01), McCutcheon
patent: 1818367 (1931-08-01), Wallace
patent: 1821857 (1931-09-01), Stoetzel
patent: 3924899 (1975-12-01), Salete
patent: 4773205 (1988-09-01), Hansen et al.
patent: 4821495 (1989-04-01), DeBuhr et al.
patent: 5265984 (1993-11-01), Nakagawa
patent: 6003195 (1999-12-01), Whitney
patent: 6029312 (2000-02-01), Whitney
patent: 6076231 (2000-06-01), Bucher
Snider Theresa T.
Warden, Sr. Robert J.
Ware Fressola Van Der Sluys & Adolphson LL
Woodland Power Products
LandOfFree
Organic debris collection device with curved blower conduit does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Organic debris collection device with curved blower conduit, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Organic debris collection device with curved blower conduit will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2584328