Collector apparatus

Claim 1

A portable, heavy-duty three stage vacuum collector for use with a material collection hopper in the sequential removal of heavier, residual, and most finely divided airborn particulate material from an airstream, said collector comprising: a platform base; means for mounting said base in airtight relation atop said material collection hopper; blower means on said base; a cyclone separator first stage mounted on said base, said first stage including, a. inlet and outlet ports for respectively receiving a stream of air and airborn particulate material, and withdrawing an exhaust stream of air, and b. means, in open communication through said base, for substantially separating said heavier particulate material from said stream and directing said heavier material toward said collection hopper; a particulate material accelerator second stage mounted on said base immediately adjacent said cyclone separator first stage, said second stage including, a. a substantially vertically extending nozzle means having one end communicating with said outlet port for receiving said airstream and accelerating said particulate material in said airstream, b. chamber means vertically disposed below said nozzle means, for receiving said airstream and particulate material accelerated by said nozzle means, c. orifice means at the top end of said chamber means, disposed beneath said nozzle means, for permitting entry into said chamber means from said nozzle means of said airstream and particulate material accelerated by said nozzle means, and permitting exit of said air-stream from said chamber means; d. means at the bottom end of said chamber means, in communication through said base, for substantially separating said residual particulate material from the exhaust stream of said cyclone separator first stage and directing it toward said collection hopper, e. closure means associated with said last recited separating and directing means, f. means mounting said closure means for movement between an open position, which permits passage of said separated residual particulate material into said collection hopper, and a closed position in which such passage is prevented, and g. means, responsive to operation of said blower, for urging said closure means to said closed position when said blower is blowing and to said open position when said blower is not blowing; a vertical channel having an upper end thereof for receiving said airstream exiting from said orifice means, including means for directing said airstream downwardly within said vertical channel toward an exit bottom end thereof; an air permeable particulate material-entrapping third stage mounted on said base immediately adjacent said particulate material accelerator second stage, said third stage including, a. an air filter chamber having a lower air inlet end and an upper air exhaust end; b. a filter element mounted in said filter chamber; c. means communicating said vertical chamber bottom end to the lower air inlet end of said filter chamber for receiving said airstream from said vertical channel bottom and exit; d. means at the bottom end of said filter chamber, in communication through said base, for substantially separating the most finely divided of said particulate material from the exhaust stream of said particulate material accelerator second stage and directing said separated particulate material toward said collection hopper; e. closure means associated with said last-recited separating and dIrecting means, f. means mounting said closure means for movement between an open position, which permits passage of said separated most finely divided particulate material into said collection hopper, and a closed position in which such passage is prevented, and g. means, responsive to operation of said blower, for urging said closure means to said closed position when said blower is blowing and to said open position when said blower is not blowing, said blower means being in communication with said first, second and third stages for drawing into said first stage a stream of air and airborn particulate material and exhausting from said third stage a stream of air from which said particulate material has been substantially separated.