Vacuum cleaner head with supersonic gas jets

Claim 2

A vacuum cleaner head with supersonic gas jets comprising: a shell having a top and side walls forming a sealed enclosure and having a bottom opening therein, the portion of the bottom having the opening therein defining a plane, a suction tube mounted on the shell and openly communicating with the interior of the shell for connecting the latter to a source of vacuum, at least one high pressure gas tube mounted within the shell parallel to, and substantially tangent to, a plane defined by the shell bottom portion having the opening therein, said gas tube having a plurality of small diameter jet orifices through the under side thereof, said orifices being of such size and shape, and so directed as to eject jets of gas at supersonic speed from the interior of the gas tube outwardly through the shell bottom opening when supplied with gas at a predetermined pressure, the portion of the tube having the jet orifices therein being sufficiently close to such plane that the jets impinge at supersonic speed against a surface on which the shell is supported, and means for connecting a supply of pressurized gas to the gas tube at said predetermined pressure to eject jets of such gas at supersonic speed through such orifices and against such surface of an article being cleaned.

Claim 3

A vacuum cleaner head as claimed in claim 1 wherein the pressurized gas is to be supplied to the gas tube at a pressure of the order of 40 p.s.i.

Claim 4

A vacuum cleaner head as claimed in claim 1 wherein the axes of the orifices are aligned to define a plane.

Claim 5

A vacuum cleaner head as claimed in claim 3 wherein the plane defined by the orifice axes is disposed at an angle of the order of 15* to an upright plane perpendicular to the plane defined by the shell bottom portion having the opening therein.

Claim 6

A vacuum cleaner head as claimed in claim 1 wherein each orifice has a diameter at its inward end of the order of 0.010 -0.040 inch and flares outwardly toward its discharge end.

Claim 7

A vacuum cleaner head as claimed in claim 1 wherein the shell is substantially rectangular in plan form and the high pressure gas tube comprises two intercommunicating straight portions, one of said straight portions being disposed adjacent and parallel to one side of the shell, and the other straight portion being disposed adjacent and parallel to an opposite side of the shell.

Claim 8

A vacuum cleaner head with high speed gas jets comprising: a shell having a top and side walls forming a sealed enclosure and having a bottom opening therein, the portion of the bottom having the opening therein defining a plane, a suction tube mounted on the shell and openly communicating with the interior of the shell for connecting the latter to a source of vacuum, at least one high pressure gas tube mounted within the shell parallel to, and substantially tangent to, a plane defined by the shell bottom portion having the opening therein, said gas tube having a plurality of small diameter jet orifices through the under side thereof, said orifices being of such size and shape, and so directed as to eject jets of gas at supersonic speed from the interior of the gas tube outwardly through the shell bottom opening when supplied with gas at a predetermined pressure, means for connecting a supply of pressurized gas to the gas tube at said predetermined pressure to eject jets of such gas at supersonic speed through such orifices onto a surface of an article being cleaned, and a marginal band fitted around the sides of the shell for slidable adjustment thereon, the bottom edge of the band having a plurality of notches therein, and means for releasably anchoring the band to the shell with a selected portion of the width of the band projecting below the plane defined by the bottom portion of the shell having the opening therein.

Claim 9

A vacuum cleaner head with high speed gas jets comprising: a shell having a top and side walls forming a sealed enclosure and having a bottom opening therein, the portion of the bottom having the opening therein defining a plane, a suction tube mounted on the shell and openly communicating with the interior of the shell for connecting the latter to a source of vacuum, at least one high pressure gas tube mounted within the shell parallel to, and substantially tangent to, a plane defined by the shell bottom portion having the opening therein, said gas tube having a plurality of small diameter jet orifices through the under side thereof, said orifices being of such size and shape, and so directed as to eject jets of gas at supersonic speed from the interior of the gas tube outwardly through the shell bottom opening when supplied with gas at a predetermined pressure, means for connecting a supply of pressurized gas to the gas tube at said predetermined pressure to eject jets of such gas at supersonic speed through such orifices onto a surface of an article being cleaned, and a marginal band fitted around the sides of the shell for slidable adjustment thereon, the bottom edge of the band having a plurality of notches therein, and means for releasably anchoring the band to the shell with a selected portion of the width of the band projecting below the plane defined by the bottom portion of the shell having the opening therein.

Claim 10

A vacuum cleaner head as claimed in claim 1 wherein means are provided for adjusting the height of the discharge ends of the high pressure gas tube discharge orifices relative to a surface to be cleaned upon which the vacuum head shell is supported, thereby to provide maximum impact upon such surface of shock waves from the supersonic jets discharged from such orifices.