Cleaning machine utilizing non-liquid cleaning agents
OwnerJoseph Leibinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Cleaning drapes, furs or other objects by the aid of powdered and/or granular cleaning agents involves a two part operation. During the first part of the cycle, the material to be cleaned and the cleaning agent are tumbled together in an oscillating drum. During the second part of the cycle, the cleaning agent is drawn off by vacuum. Tumble vanes in the drum are apertured whereby the vanes themselves serve as effluent conduits. Interior baffles in the tumble vanes keep the powdered and/or granular cleaning agent in the drum while the effluent conduits remain open. An efficient removal of the used cleaning agent is accomplished since the material cleaned cannot block all the effluent conduits.
Claims5
In a cleaning machine for use with powdered and/or granular cleaning agents:
- a. a cleaning drum having a front air influent opening;
- b. means supporting the cleaning drum for angular movement about a substantially horizontal axis;
- c. means forming an enclosure for the drum, including an access door registering with said drum front opening;
- d. said door having openings for admission of air to the drum;
- e. means operable to exhaust air from said enclosure;
- f. a plurality of hollow tumble vanes in the drum and extending inwardly from the periphery of the drum;
- said tumble vanes having a series of openings for flow of air and entrained cleaning agents from the drum to the interior of the tumble vanes;
- g. means forming effluent openings at the region of the bases of the tumble vanes and providing communication between the interior of the tumble vanes and said enclosure at the periphery of said drum;
- and
- h. baffle plates in said tumble vanes for gravity return of cleaning agent to the interior of said drum in the absence of a current of air induced by said air exhausting means.
In a cleaning machine for use with powdered and/or granular cleaning agents:
- a. a cleaning drum having a circular edge forming front air influent opening;
- b. means supporting the cleaning drum for angular movement about a substantially horizontal axis;
- c. means forming an enclosure for the drum, and having a frontal opening registering with and surrounded by said drum opening, the said circular edge of said drum located in close proximity to said enclosure to form a substantially sealed relationship thereto;
- d. an access door for said enclosure opening, and itself having air passages therethrough for entry of air into the drum;
- e. an air pump operable to exhaust air from said enclosure following a cleaning cycle;
- f. a plurality of tumble vanes in the drum of generally triangular cross-sectional configuration, each tumble vane having surfaces on opposite sides, one of which is provided with an array of openings for entry of air into the tumble vane;
- g. said drum having effluent openings at the periphery thereof and located at the bases of said tumble vanes for registry with the interior spaces thereof;
- h. and a baffle plate for each tumble vane and located behind the array of openings to form a trap for cleaning agent entering the tumble vane, and having a distal edge located to prevent direct movement of cleaning agent to corresponding effluent opening;
- said baffle forming a trough at the periphery of the drum when the tumble vane is near the top of the drum, the distal edge of the baffle ensuring shuttling of cleaning agent across the openings inside the tumble vane upon rotation of the tumble vane for return of cleaning agent to the drum.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.