Tennant Company

Castex Incorporated

Nilabh Narayan

Bruce F Field

Richard F Wulff

Daniel G Giddings

Dick Mason

A vacuum cleaner comprising a housing having an elongated transverse brush cavity with an elongated cylindrical brush therein, a duct having an air flow nozzle adjacent the brush cavity for receiving dirt-entrained air from the brush cavity, a vacuum motor operably associated with the duct and nozzle to draw dirt-entrained air through the nozzle and duct, and the brush cavity having a wrap configuration geometry over the brush including an elongated reflective ledge angled laterally upwardly toward the nozzle.

Vacuum cleaner brush wrap geometry

A sweeping machine includes a housing, wheels for moving the housing and a sweeping brush mounted on the housing. There is a hopper positioned adjacent the brush to receive dust and debris from the rotating brush. A dust collection chamber is located on the housing and a vacuum fan mounted on the housing creates an air flow path from the brush through the hopper into the dust collection chamber. A filter element is positioned in the air flow path with the filter element including a plurality of generally parallel pleats extending in a direction transverse to the air flow path. There is a plurality of electric coils positioned adjacent the pleats. A plurality of metal elements are associated with the pleats. Pulsed electric power is applied to the coils with the electromagnetic fields caused thereby moving the metal elements reciprocally back and forth and the pleats associated therewith to impart a shaking, cleaning movement to the pleats.

Sweeper with electromagnetic filter cleaning

A sweeping machine has a body, wheels supporting the body for movement over a surface to be swept and a rotatable brush mounted to the body transversely of the direction of movement of the sweeping machine. There is a debris hopper adjacent the rotatable brush and positioned generally forwardly of the direction of rotation of the brush. The body mounts a dust collection chamber and a vacuum fan, with the vacuum fan drawing dust laden air from the area about the brush through the debris hopper and into the dust collection chamber. The improvement is directed to a dust control side skirt assembly mounted on each side of the body generally in alignment with the brush. Each assembly includes an inner skirt and an outer skirt spaced outwardly from the inner skirt throughout at least a substantial portion of its length. There is an ambient air opening between the skirts generally at the rear end thereof. There is an opening in the inner skirt adjacent a forward portion thereof whereby the vacuum fan creates an air flow path from the ambient air opening, between the skirts, and through the inner skirt opening and into the debris hopper and dust collection chamber.

Growing community of inventors

Plymouth, MN, United States of America

Nilabh Narayan