Air cleaner with improved unloading apparatus

Claim 1

For use in an air cleaner of the dry type having a generally cylindrical housing with a generally cylindrical filter element assembly mounted therein, said housing and filter element assembly defining an annular space therebetween and constructed to set up a helical swirling motion of air therein to centrifuge the dust to the outside of said housing, a dust unloading apparatus including a dust port in the housing opposite the filter element for dust removal communicating with the annular space between the housing and the filter element assembly, an electric motor and fan unit mounted on the housing aligned with and directly adjacent the dust port, and an annular discharge around the motor and fan unit such that dust discharged from the dust port will be exhausted throughout the 360* periphery thereof, the dust port being in the cylindrical sidewall of the housing so the dust removal is effected radially from the annular space between the housing and filter element assembly, the motor and fan unit being mounted generally radially on the housing opposite the dust port, a fitting on the sidewall of the housing over and surrounding the dust port and defining a closed passage between the dust port and fan unit, the fan unit being mounted axially on the other end of the closed passage defined by the fitting and having a fan impeller directly adjacent the other end of the passage, the impeller having a slightly larger diameter than the passage so that it radially bounds the open end of the passage to effect maximum dust discharge from the port through the passagE and out the annular discharge around the motor and fan unit.