Resilient mounting for motor and fan unit

Claim 1

A VACUUM CLEANER COMPRISING AN OUTER CASING ADAPTED TO BE SUPPORTED ON A HORIZONTAL SURFACE; A PARTITION WITHIN SAID CASING INCLUDING A LATERALLY EXTENDING FLANGE; SAID CASING HAVING AN UPPER SUCTION CHAMBER AND AN EXHAUST CHAMBER BELOW SAID SUCTION CHAMBER SEPARATED BY SAID PARTITION; AN AIR INLET COMMUNICATING WITH SAID SUCTION CHAMBER; AN AIR OUTLET COMMUNICATING WITH SAID EXHAUST CHAMBER; A MOTOR AND FAN UNIT POSITIONED WITHIN SAID CASING AND EXTENDING THROUGH AN OPENING DEFINED BY SAID PARTITION FLANGE SO AS TO WITHDRAW AIR FROM SAID SUCTION CHAMBER AND DISCHARGE IT INTO SAID EXHAUST CHAMBER; MEANS FOR MOUNTING SAID MOTOR AND FAN UNIT IN SAID OPENING INCLUDING A FLEXIBLE RESILIENT GENERALLY ANNULAR RELATIVELY THIN SUPPORTING WALL MEMBER; SAID MOTOR AND FAN UNIT INCLUDING A LATERALLY EXTENDING PORTION POSITIONED ABOVE SAID RESILIENT WALL MEMBER AND OVERLAPPING SAID PARTITION FLANGE SO THAT SAID FLANGE POSITIVELY SUPPORTS SAID UNIT IN A LOWERMOST POSITION WHEN SAID UNIT IS DEENERGIZED; THE SIZES OF SAID AIR INLET AND SAID AIR OUTLET AND THE AIR MOVING CAPACITY OF SAID MOTOR AND FAN UNIT BEING SO PROPORTIONED THAT DURING OPERATION SAID UNIT IS SUPPORTED ABOVE SAID LOWERMOST POSITION BY AIR PRESSURE; SAID LATERALLY EXTENDING PORTION OF SAID MOTOR AND FAN UNIT HAVING A DIAMETER SLIGHTLY GREATER THAN THE DIAMETER OF SAID OPENING SO THAT A SMALL ANNULAR PORTION OF SAID WALL MEMBER IS UNDER A COMPRESSIVE FORCE PERPENDICULAR TO THE PLANE OF SAID PARTITION FLANGE WHEN SAID UNIT IS DEENERGIZED; FIRST FASTENING MEANS SECURING THE RADIAL INNER PORTION OF SAID RESILIENT WALL MEMBER TO SAID LATERALLY EXTENDING PORTION OF SAID MOTOR AND FAN UNIT IN AIR TIGHT RELATION; AND SECOND FASTENING MEANS SECURING THE RADIAL OUTER PORTION OF SAID WALL MEMBER TO SAID PARTITION FLANGE IN AIR TIGHT RELATION; SAID FIRST AND SECOND FASTENING MEANS BEING RADIALLY SPACED FROM ONE ANOTHER A DISTANCE GREATER THAN THE THICKNESS OF SAID WALL MEMBER SO THAT THE PORTION OF SAID RESILIENT WALL MEMBER LOCATED RADIALLY INWARDLY FROM SAID SECOND FASTENING MEANS FLEXES AND MOVES UPWARDLY ABOVE THE SURFACE OF SAID PARTITION FLANGE TO PLACE SAID WALL MEMBER IN TENSION AND TO POSITION SAID WALL MEMBER AT AN ACUTE ANGLE WITH RESPECT TO SAID PARTITION FLANGE WHEN SAID UNIT IS ENERGIZED.