Modular industrial vacuum loading apparatus for ingesting and collecting debris and filtering discharged air

Vacuum loader apparatus for ingesting a mixture of partculate material and air, for depositing a major portion of said material in a disposable container, and for filterirg air separated from said mixture to remove suspended residual material therefrom and trap it as disposable filtrate prior to discharging the separated air to atmosphere, said apparatus comprising:

• a vacuum blower;
• at least two filtration units connectable to be operated by said vacuum blower, each unit comprising a tank and filter means in said tank;
• and means for directing a mixture of debris and air being propelled by said blower through both tanks in a direction to effert filtering thereof and collection of filtrate in each tank;
• and for directing air being propelled by said vacuum blower in a reverse direction through one of said tanks to expel a mixture of air and collected filtrate from said one tank and for directing said mixture of air and colllected filtrate being propelled by said vacuum through the other of said tanks to effect filtering thereof.

Vacuum loader apparatus for ingesting a mixture of particulate material and air, for deposting a major portion of said material in a disposable imperforate bag, and for filtering air separated from said mixture to remove suspended residual material therefrom air trap it as disposable filtrate prior to discharging the separated air to atmosphere, said apparatus comprising:

• first means comprising a motor-drive vacuum blower having a suction port and an air discharge port communicating with atmosphere;
• second means comprising a plurality of filtrate tanks, each filtrate tank having a filter tank chamber therein and containing filter means for trapping filtrate and dividing said filter tank chamber into a clean side connectable to said suction port of said first means and a dirty side;
• third means comprising a debris-collection tank having a debris-collectlon chamber therein defined by the tank wall and having upper and lower ends which are in direct communication with each other, said chamber containing said bag for receiving said major portion of ingested particulate material, said bag having an inside and an outside which is spaced away from said tank wall and an open upper end said debris-collection tank having an air port connectable to said dirty side of said filter tank chamber of said second means,
• said debris-collection tank having a mixture inlet port communicating with said debris-collection chamber and disposed with respect to said open upper end of said bag so as to enable said major portion of said material from said mixture ingested through said mixture inlet to be deposited in said bag and to enable unfiltered ingestd air to be directed through said air port to said dirty side of said filter tank chamber;
• and selectively operable valve means for connecting any combination of said filter tanks between said suction port of said first means and said air port of said third means to effect filtration.

An air filtration module for vacuum loader apparatus which comprises a vacuum blower, said air filtration module comprising:

• a pair of filter tanks each having a filter tank chamber therein;
• filter menas in each filter tank and dividing said filter tank chamber into a clean side and a dirty side;
• first and second ports in each tank communicating with said clean and dirty sides, respectively, said first port on each tank being connectable to said vacuum blower;
• an air inlet port in each tank communicating between said clean side and atmosphere;
• valve means on each tank operable to open and close said air inlet port therein;
• first valve means for selectively directing unfiltered air into either or both or neither of said second ports of said tank;
• second valve means for selectively directing filtered air from either or both or neither of said first ports of said tanks;
• a filtrate outlet port in each tank communicating with said dirty side of the tank chamber to remove filtrate therefrom;
• and means to selectively open and close said filtrate outlet port.

A debris-loading module for vacuum loader apparatus comprising:

• a debris-collecting tank having a debris-collection chamber therein defined by the wall of said tank, said chamber having an upper end and a lower end which are in direct communication with each other within said tank, said tank comprising an upper tank section, an axially aligned lower tank section;
• means for supporting said tank sections so that at least one of said sections is axially movable relative to the other of said sections between closed and open position;
• means to releasably secure said tank sections in closed position in sealed relationship to one another;
• means for supporting said lower tank section so that it can be tiltably moved out of axial alignment with said upper tank section to facilitate access to the interior of said lower tank section the said one tank section is moved to open position;
• inlet port means at the upper end of said chamber for admitting a mixture of particulate matter and air;
• means for supporting an imperforate debris-collection removable receptacle in the lower end of said chamber below said inlet port and spaced from air wall of said tank;
• and outlet port means at the upper end of chabmer for expelling air separated from said mixture,
• said inlet port means including a first tube projecting axially downwardly toward said means for supporting said debris-collection receptacle, and said output port means including a perforated tube disposed around said first tube.

An air filtration module for vacuum loader apparatus comprising:

• a pair of filter tanks each having tank chamber therein;
• filter means in each filter tank and dividing said filter tank chamber into a clean side and a dirty side;
• first and second ports in each tank communicating with said clean and dirty sides, respectively:
• an air inlet port in each tank communicating between said clean side and atmosphere;
• valve means on each tank operable to open and close said air inlet port thereof;
• first valve means for selectively directing unfiltered air into either or both or neither of said second ports of said tank;
• second valve means for selectively directing filtered air from either or both or neither of said first ports of said tanks;
• a filtrate outlet port in each tank communicating with said dirty side of the tank chamber to remove filtrate therefrom;
• and means to selectively open and close said filtrate outlet port,
• each of aid first and second valve means for selectively directing unfiltered and filtered air, respectively, comprising:
• a plate having a pair of ports therethrough;
• a housing secured to said plate in sealed relationship and cooperating therewith to define a housing chamber which communicates with said pair of ports;
• said housing having a housing port therethrough which communicates with said housing chamber;
• and means operable from the exterior of each of said first and second valve means to selectively open or close alternately each port of said pair of ports.