An air gun in combination with a vacuum source is powered by pressurized gas that is received through a gas inlet. The air gun and the vacuum source are configured to be simultaneously operable using the pressurized gas, which provides a method for conveniently air cleaning various objects.
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1. An air gun system comprising:
an air gun;
a vacuum source;
an air inlet configured to be connected to a source of pressurized air; and
an air gun air tube for providing air traveling through the air inlet to the air gun; and
the air gun and the vacuum source both connected to the air inlet, wherein the air gun and the vacuum source are simultaneously operable using the pressurized air wherein the vacuum source comprises a fan for generating suction, the fan connected to an air motor configured to be driven by the pressurized air, wherein the air gun comprises a nozzle and a trigger, the trigger for opening an air passage in the air gun for discharging the pressurized air through the nozzle when the trigger is squeezed and further comprising a valve assembly connected to the air gun air tube, the air motor air tube, and the air inlet, the valve assembly configured to allow pressurized air to travel from the air inlet to the air motor air tube and the air gun air tube when the valve assembly is in an open state and to block pressurized air from traveling from the air inlet to the air motor air tube when the valve assembly is in a closed state, the valve assembly alternating between the open and closed states in response to the trigger being squeezed and released.
0. 2. The system of
0. 3. The system of
an air gun air tube for providing air traveling through the air inlet to the air gun; and
an air motor air tube for providing air traveling through the air inlet to the air motor.
0. 4. The system of
5. The system of claim 4 1, wherein the vacuum source and the air gun are simultaneously operable when the valve assembly is in the open state, and wherein the air gun further comprises a valve connected to the trigger, the valve opening the air passage when the trigger is squeezed.
6. The system of
7. The system of
8. The system of
9. The system of
10. The system of
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The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a device that is powered by compressed gas and, in particular, to a portable device for ejecting gas that is used to clean objects.
Various air driven devices for air cleaning industrial or electronic parts have been developed. Some of these devices use sand, or other forms of gritty material to air blast objects for cleaning purposes. Some equipment requires an overhanging tent to prevent grit from contaminating surrounding areas or must be used in a cabinet. Vacuum devices are commonly used to remove debris but cannot direct a stream of air toward a particular desired target for cleaning purposes. Other equipment that utilizes an air gun may adequately clean objects but can also disperse the removed dirt and other contaminants, such as oil, into the surrounding environment. Such dispersion requires cleanup at a later time or may pollute the environment where the equipment is used and cause airborne contaminants to be inhaled. Many such systems are electrically powered and, if they are used intermittently, require frequent turn off/on cycles, which can be inconvenient. To avoid constant turning on and off, they may be kept powered on when not actively in use which can lead to a noisy work environment.
It would be useful to develop an air gun cleaning system that can be used to direct an air stream toward articles of manufacture to remove dirt, debris, and oils from machined parts and other objects while simultaneously vacuuming (suctioning) away the contaminants. This background discussion is merely provided for general information and is not intended to be used in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
An air gun in combination with a vacuum source is powered by pressurized gas that is received through a gas inlet. The air gun and the vacuum source are configured to be simultaneously operable using the pressurized gas, which provides a method for conveniently air cleaning various objects. An advantage provided by such a system is that oil and debris can be forcefully blown off of manufactured parts and the oily mist and debris is simultaneously suctioned off into a waste container.
In one embodiment, an air gun in combination with a vacuum source is powered by pressurized gas that is received through a gas inlet. The air gun and the vacuum source are configured so as to be simultaneously activated using the pressurized gas.
In another embodiment, a method of operating an air pressure based cleaning system comprises connecting a tank of pressurized air to the system, and squeezing a trigger of an air gun which simultaneously opens an air channel from the tank to the air gun and from the tank to a vacuum source.
In another embodiment, an air gun system comprises an air gun and an air motor. A valve assembly is connected to the air gun via an air gun air tube and to the air motor by an air motor air tube. The valve assembly is configured to be connected to a source of pressurized air for diverting the pressurized air to the air gun through the air gun air tube and to the air motor through the air motor air tube for simultaneously activating the air gun and the air motor.
This brief description of the invention is intended only to provide a brief overview of subject matter disclosed herein according to one or more illustrative embodiments, and does not serve as a guide to interpreting the claims or to define or limit the scope of the invention, which is defined only by the appended claims.
These, and other, aspects and objects of the present invention will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the following description, while indicating preferred embodiments of the present invention and numerous specific details thereof, is given by way of illustration and not of limitation. For example, the summary descriptions above are not meant to describe individual separate embodiments whose elements are not interchangeable. In fact, many of the elements described as related to a particular embodiment can be used together with, and possibly interchanged with, elements of other described embodiments. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof, and the invention includes all such modifications. The figures below are intended to be drawn neither to any precise scale with respect to relative size, angular relationship, or relative position nor to any combinational relationship with respect to interchangeability, substitution, or representation of an actual implementation.
The air gun system includes an air gun 101 which may be used to activate, or open, the system by manually squeezing the air gun trigger 111. The trigger is connected to a valve (not shown) within the air gun which opens an air passage in the air gun (not shown), thereby activating the air gun system. Upon activation, the opened air passage allows pressurized air to be discharged from the nozzle 112 of the air gun. The pressurized air stream is sufficient to blow off debris from various objects placed in the path of the discharging air. The air passage in the air gun is connected to the nozzle and to a supply of pressurized air or other gas (not shown), via an air gun air tube 102 which may comprise a flexible tube such as a rubber or flexible plastic tube, a rigid tube such as a rigid plastic or metal tube, or a combination thereof. One embodiment of an air gun comprises ¼″ Blow Gun made by Prevost Corp., P/N 27202OSH, (prevostusa.com). The supply of pressurized air (or other gas) may comprise a tank of finite size containing compressed air that is connected via a flexible or rigid tube to the pressurized air tube 106. Typically, such as in a work shop, pressurized air in the supply tank may be maintained at a pressure of about 40 psi to about 90 psi. It should be noted that the actual pressure may vary in a wide range and any mention herein of a range of pressures is not intended to limit embodiments included within the scope of the claimed subject matter.
When the trigger is released, a release mechanism (not shown), connected to the trigger and to the air passage valve within the air gun, biases the trigger to return to its initial resting position which closes the valve, thereby shutting off the air passage within the air gun and deactivating the air gun system. As will be used herein, the term “open state” refers to a state of the air gun system wherein the valve in the air gun is open, in response to the trigger being squeezed, and pressurized air flows through the air gun system from the pressurized air supply; while the term “closed state” refers to a state of the air gun system wherein the valve in the air gun is closed, in response to the trigger being released, and blocks the air passage in the air gun, thereby shutting down the flow of pressurized air through the air gun system, as will be described below. In one embodiment, squeezing and releasing the trigger causes the air gun system to alternate between the open (activated) and closed (deactivated) states, respectively. The terms “vacuum” and “suction”, as used herein, are intended to be synonymous.
When the air gun system is activated, the air motor 113 also receives pressurized air via the air motor air tube 110, which may comprise a flexible tube such as a rubber or flexible plastic tube, a rigid tube such as a rigid plastic or metal tube, or a combination thereof. When so activated, the air motor rotates a fan 104 connected to the air motor and causes air to be drawn downward through the vacuum tube and creates suction at the vacuum tube top opening 103. Dirt, oil, dust, and various debris drawn by the suction at the vacuum tube opening travels downward through the vacuum tube past vacuum tube bottom opening 115 and into the waste container 108. Air filter 107 filters air exiting the vacuum tube that is driven downward by the fan. A screen may be fitted within the vacuum tube for preventing cleaned objects from being accidentally sucked into the waste container while allowing smaller debris and/or oil mist to pass therethrough into the waste container.
The vacuum tube itself is made of a rigid plastic or metal, or a combination thereof. The air motor is mounted to an inside surface (or wall) of the vacuum tube using an air motor mount 117, such as a suitable bracket, or other means, secured to the air motor and attached to the inside surface of the vacuum tube using, for example, screws. One embodiment of the air motor comprises a ¼″ die grinder made by JET Tools (jettools.com), part No. JNS-7032. The air filter is a common cylindrical shaped canister filter that is attached to the top of the waste container cover 118 along the filter's bottom rim and to a bottom surface of support plate 114 along the filter's top rim. Both attachments should be sufficiently tight so as to eliminate gaps and prevent an undue amount of dust or debris exiting the vacuum tube from bypassing the filter. Pressurized air flows into the waste container through the bottom opening of the vacuum tube and flows out of the waste container through slots or openings in the waste container cover. These slots or openings are located in the waste container cover between the opening for the vacuum tube and the bottom rim of the air filter. Thus, the pressurized air exiting the waste container passes through the filter and any remaining dust or oil mist therein is trapped by the filter. Most of the suctioned debris, oil, dust, and other fragments fall into the waste container through the vacuum tube and remain there by force of gravity. The arrows in
The vacuum tube is attached to openings in the support plate and the waste container cover along an outer surface of the vacuum tube such that the vacuum tube extends into the waste container beyond the waste container cover for a short distance. The outer diameter of the vacuum tube matches the size of the openings in the support plate and the waste container cover through which it passes for easy attachment thereto, such as by brackets, press fit, plastic weld, or adhesives. In one embodiment, the vacuum tube and the waste container cover may be made from one piece of molded plastic, or the vacuum tube and the support plate may be made from one piece of molded plastic. These two attachment locations (support plate and waste container cover) along the outer surface of the vacuum tube serve to secure the vacuum tube in a vertical orientation when the bottom 116 of the waste container is placed on a floor, for example. Although the bottom of the vacuum tube is shown having a circular opening, the bottom of the vacuum tube may be cut at an angle.
With reference to
The valve assembly 200 is connected to the pressurized air tube via the pressurized air inlet 219, the air motor air tube via the air motor outlet 220, and to the air gun air tube via air gun outlet 222. By operation of the valve assembly, when the air gun system is in the open state, pressurized air enters the air gun system via the pressurized air inlet and travels through the valve assembly to both the air motor air tube and to the air gun air tube. Thus, the pressurized air traveling to the air motor through the air motor air tube is also activated by squeezing the trigger. The valve assembly 200 comprises a cylinder shaped valve body 223, as seen from its exterior (
The pressurized air inlet is connected to receive pressurized air from the pressurized air tube, wherein the pressurized air tube extends into the pressurized air inlet of the valve body, as is illustrated by the terminal end 203 of the pressurized air tube within the pressurized air inlet, and is attached thereto by, for example, threading the inlet and the pressurized air tube and screwing them together. Similarly, the air motor outlet is connected to the air motor air tube, wherein the air motor air tube extends into the air motor outlet of the valve body, and is attached thereto by, for example, a similar threaded connection. Similarly, the air gun outlet in the valve cap is connected to the air gun air tube, wherein the air gun air tube extends into the air gun outlet of the valve cap 227, and is attached thereto by, for example, a similar threaded connection. The cylinder shaped valve body encloses a piston mechanism, as described below.
The valve assembly of
Pressurized air that powers the air motor travels through the pressurized air tube from the supply of pressurized air, enters the valve body through the pressurized air inlet, travels through an opening in the bushing 224 facing the pressurized air inlet, and around the piston rod bevel 202, through another opening in the bushing facing the air motor outlet, and through the air motor outlet and into the air motor air tube, as indicated by arrow 204, to the air motor. The openings in the bushing substantially match the diameter of the pressurized air inlet and the air motor outlet. Thus, a vertical distance, from the perspective of
Several other features of the valve assembly will now be described followed by further operational details of the valve assembly. The piston assembly comprises the piston, which has a circular contour as viewed from the top, matching the circular contour of the piston chamber (
The plug depression is formed by an opening through the valve body being closed off by plug 208 and leaving a depression on the inside surface of the piston chamber sufficiently deep to provide an air gap to allow air to bypass the piston when the piston is positioned at the plug depression, as shown in
As described above, the valve assembly of
When the trigger is manually released the system transitions from the open state, as shown in
With reference to
When the trigger is again squeezed the valve in the air passage of the air gun opens and releases the air pressure built up in the piston chamber in the region above the piston, and causes the air gun system to transition from the closed state to the open state. This will rapidly reduce the prevailing downward force of the air pressure against the piston top surface, and so the pressurized air entering the piston chamber in the region below the piston through the pressurized air inlet and through the valve interior air channel pushes the piston upward to the open state of the air gun system as shown in
With reference again to
With reference to
Advantages provided by the air gun system as described and illustrated herein include a portable cleaning system entirely powered by a pressurized air supply, which is useful for cleaning objects that may be damaged by liquid based cleaners, or where liquid based cleaning is unnecessary, inconvenient, or time inefficient. The air gun system becomes activated by squeezing the trigger of the air gun and is immediately usable and productive. The combination of a pressurized air stream and a vacuum source maintains a work space that is mostly free of debris, dust, and other contaminants. In a typical application, a user can hold in one hand an object, such as a manufactured part having debris and/or oil clinging thereto, above the vacuum tube opening while simultaneously holding the air gun in the other hand. Because both the vacuum and the pressurized air stream of the air gun system are activated and deactivated solely by the user squeezing and releasing the trigger in one hand, cleaning of various objects can be easily performed.
This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. It will be understood that, although specific embodiments of the invention have been described herein for purposes of illustration and explained in detail with particular reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, numerous modifications and all sorts of variations may be made and can be effected within the spirit of the invention and without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of protection of this invention is limited only by the following claims and their equivalents.
Petranek, Diana C., Guglielmi, Paul Mark
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