Air-filter vacuum sweep apparatus

Claim 2

Sweep apparatus in a system which includes a plate having an array of openings therein, a plurality of filter bags mounted on one side of said plate and communicating with said openings, and a vacuum sweep arm disposed on the other side of the plate and mounted for recurrent movement with respect thereto, said apparatus comprising a base conduit section mounted on said arm for movement therewith as a unit, said base section including a pair of ports, with one port in direct fluid communication with the interior of said arm, a head conduit section having a mouth and a throat, a flexible, fluid-tight skirt joining the other port in said base section in sealed fluid communication with said throat in said head section, said skirt accommodating limited multi-directional movement of said head section with respect to said base section, a plate-contact member carried on said head section and extending over the mouth therein, said member having a contact face including an aperture therein which opens to said mouth and which is adapted for successive registries with different openings in said plate, with the contact face disposed adjacent the plate's said other side, and biasing means interposed between said base section and said head section for biasing said contact member's contact face toward said other side of said plate.

Claim 3

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said contact face is substantially planar, and includes an apron portion adjacent said aperture, which portion, with such recurrent movement of said arm, and prior to each successive registry between said aperture and an opening in said plate, completely covers such opening.

Claim 4

Sweep apparatus in an air-filter system which includes a horizontally disposed substantially planar plate having an array of openings therein, a plurality of filter bags mounted on the upper side of said plate and communicating with said openings, and a vacuum sweep arm mounted below said plate for rotation in a plane substantially parallel thereto, said apparatus comprising a base conduit section mounted on said arm for rotation therewith as a unit, said base section including a pair of ports, with one port in direct fluid communication with the interior of said arm, a head conduit section having a mouth and a throat, a flexible, fluid-tight skirt joining the other port in said base section in sealed fluid communication with said throat in said head section, said skirt accommodating limited multi-directional movement of said head section with respect to said base section, a plate contact member carried on said head section and extending over the mouth therein, said member having a contact face including aperture means therein which opens to said mouth and which is adapted for successive registries with different openings in said plate, with the contact face disposed adjacent the plate's lower side, and biasing means interposed between said base section and said head section for biasing said contact member's contact face toward the lower side of said plate.

Claim 5

Sweep apparatus in an air-filter system which includes a horizontally disposed substantially planar plate having an array of openings therein, a plurality of filter bags mounted on the upper side of said plate and communicating with said openings, and a vacuum sweep arm mounted below said plate for rotation in a plane substantially parallel thereto, said apparatus comprising a base conduit section mounted on said arm for rotation therewith as a unit, said base section including a pair of ports, with one port in direct fluid communication with the interior of said arm, a head conduit section having a mouth and a throat, a flexible, fluid-tight skirt joining the other port in said base section in sealed fluid communication with said throat in said head section, said skirt accommodating limited multi-directional movement of said head section with respect to said base section, a plate contact member carried on said head section and extending over the mouth therein, said member having a contact face including aperture means therein which opens to said mouth and which is adapted for successive registries with different openings in said plate, with the contact face disposed adjacent the plate's lower side, and biasing means interposed between said base section and said head section for biasing said contact member's contact face toward the lower side of said plate.

Claim 6

The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said contact face is substantially planar, and includes an apron portion adjacent said aperture means, which portion, with such rotation of said arm, and prior to each successive registry between said aperture means and an opening in said plate, completely covers such opening.

Claim 7

The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the openings in said plate are of substantially uniform cross-sectional area, and are distributed in plural, radially spaced rings concentric with the axis of rotation of the arm, said aperture means includes an aperture associated with each ring radially spaced with respect to said axis of rotation and positioned for registry with the openings in the associated ring, and adjacent apertures have progressively larger cross-sectional areas progressing radially outwardly from said axis.

Claim 8

The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the cross-sectional size differences between radially adjacent apertures are selected to produce, for each registry between an aperture and an opening, substantially like air-flow characteristics.

Claim 9

An air-filter system including a plate having an array of openings, and a plurality of filter bags mounted on one side of said plate and communicating with said openings, wherein the improvement comprises, a vacuum arm assembly mounted for recurrent movement over the other side of said plate, said assembly having an air-flow conduit terminating at one end in a port, a vacuum head adapted for successive fluid-communicative registries with different ones of said openings, with such recurrent movement of said arm assembly, said vacuum head including a conduit head section having a mouth and throat, and articulation means operatively coupling said head and said arm assembly enabling multidirectional articulation of the head relative to the assembly to accommodate pressure-biased sealed registry between said head and said openings with the arm and said plate in different relative positions, said articulation means including a flexible, fluid-tight skirt joining said port in said assembly in sealed fluid communication with said throat in said head section, said skirt accommodating limited multidirectional movement of said head section with respect to said assembly, and biasing means interposed between said assembly and said head section for biasing said head sections toward said other side of said plate.

Claim 10

An air-filter system including a plate having an array of openings, and a plurality of filter bags mounted on one side of said plate and communicating with said openings, wherein the improvement comprises, a vacuum arm assembly mounted for recurrent movement over the other side of said plate, said assembly having an air-flow conduit terminating at one end in a port, a vacuum head adapted for successive fluid-communicative registries with different ones of said openings, with such recurrent movement of said arm assembly, said vacuum head including a conduit head section having a mouth and throat, and articulation means operatively coupling said head and said arm assembly enabling multidirectional articulation of the head relative to the assembly to accommodate pressure-biased sealed registry between said head and said openings with the arm and said plate in different relative positions, said articulation means including a flexible, fluid-tight skirt joining said port in said assembly in sealed fluid communication with said throat in said head section, said skirt accommodating limited multidirectional movement of said head section with respect to said assembly, and biasing means interposed between said assembly and said head section for biasing said head sections toward said other side of said plate.