Air flow responsive outlet from tank of vacuum cleaner

Abstract

An electric vacuum cleaner includes a tank for collecting suctioned liquid and particulate materials, an inlet to the tank, an air exit from the tank and a blower motor for drawing air out the air exit. The filter supporting cage surrounding the air exit has a floatable ball unit which is floated up to seal the air exit as the level of liquid in the collecting tank rises. The invention is designed to make the level of maximum fill of liquid in the collecting tank uniform, whether the vacuum cleaner is suctioning mixed liquid and air, which causes higher amounts of air through the air exit, or is suctioning liquid alone, which causes reduced amounts of air at the air exit, at the time that the floatable ball is floating up toward the air exit. An expansible bellows is positioned around the air exit and it collapses upwardly away from the floatable ball beneath it upon high air flow or velocity passing through the air exit and expands downwardly toward the floatable ball upon reduced air flow or velocity through the air exit.