Abstract:
A vacuum nozzle or suction head for efficiently and effectively removing standing liquid from fabric surfaces such as carpeting. The nozzle is formed by a nozzle body defining an internal enclosed vacuum chamber and an upper vacuum source port opening into the chamber. A sleeve adapted to receive a vacuum source tube is affixed to the nozzle body and opens into the port. The nozzle body has a bottom plate defining an outer bottom surface with a plurality of vacuum suction ports opening between the chamber and the bottom surface. Each port has a throat portion opening into the chamber and an outer enlarged portion opening into the surface. Moving the nozzle, when connected to a suction source, across a liquid saturated, typically water saturated surface effects removal of water therefrom.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a nonprovisional application claiming the benefit under 35 USC 119(e) of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/136,645, filed May 27, 1999. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to nozzles or suction heads for vacuum apparatus. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A wide variety of nozzles or suction heads for vacuum cleaners and vacuum apparatus are old and well-known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 1,000,383 issued Aug. 15, 1911, to O. Drake for “Shoe for Vacuum Cleaners” shows a vacuum nozzle or shoe for a vacuum cleaner. This nozzle includes an interior vacuum chamber and a bottom plate with slots or openings therein. The slots include stock or wedding, apparently to prevent dirt from dropping back through the slots when the vacuum cleaner is not running. U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,361, issued Mar. 21, 1995, to K. Cason for “Vacuum Cleaner for Submerged Non-Parallel Surfaces” discloses a vacuum pool cleaner with a nozzle having an open bottom face. U.S. Pat. No. 2,280,751, issued Apr. 21, 1942, to H. Davis for “Vacuum Cleaner Nozzle” discloses a vacuum cleaner nozzle having a plurality of slots in a bottom plate opening through the plate into a relatively deep vacuum nozzle chamber leading directly to the vacuum hose. The nozzle is intended for dry vacuuming, being provided with an electrostatic bottom plate. 
     OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
     The principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved nozzle or suction head finding particular but not necessarily exclusive utility for vacuum removal of water or other liquids from a surface such as a carpet and/or fabrics including upholstery, padding, garments, mattress and wall coverings, etc. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a nozzle or suction head of the foregoing character which efficiently and rapidly removes standing water, stain removal solutions and other liquids from fabric or carpeting installed on a floor. 
     A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved nozzle or suction head of the foregoing character which increases the flow of water therethrough upon the application of suction to facilitate rapid and thorough removal of water and thereby prevent moisture damage to a carpet, its pad and/or floor. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is embodied in an efficient vacuum nozzle for removing liquid from a surface which may be almost any surface. It works well on carpeting and extremely well on padded carpeting. 
     The nozzle or suction head is formed by a nozzle body defining a shallow, internal, enclosed vacuum chamber. A vacuum source connector is in fluid communication with the chamber and is adapted to receive a vacuum source conduit or hose. 
     The nozzle body also defines an outer bottom surface and a plurality of vacuum suction ports opening between the chamber and the nozzle body&#39;s bottom surface. As such, when the nozzle is connected to a vacuum source, its movement across a water or fluid saturated surface effects removal of water therefrom through the ports and chamber to the vacuum source. 
     Each port preferably has a throat portion opening into the chamber and a conical outer enlarged portion opening into the bottom surface. In a preferred embodiment of the nozzle, the outer surface of the vacuum source connector serves as a handle for the nozzle. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a nozzle or suction head embodying the present invention with a portion cut away for clarity. 
     FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the nozzle or suction head embodying the present invention head shown in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the nozzle or suction head shown in FIG. 1 with a portion cut away for clarity. 
     FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of another nozzle or suction head of the present invention with a portion also cut away for clarity. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention is embodied in an improved nozzle or suction head  10  finding particular but not necessarily exclusive utility for rapidly removing standing water from floors, particularly carpeted floors, following either accidental flooding or purposeful flooding, i.e. water saturation, for spotting and cleaning purposes. The nozzle  10  is formed as a hollow, preferably generally rectangular body  11  having an upper plate or wall  12 , a bottom plate or wall  14 , and side walls  15  defining a shallow, enclosed vacuum or suction chamber  16 . The bottom plate  14  defines a plurality of suction ports  18  opening into the bottom surface  19  of the nozzle  10 . 
     For applying suction to the suction chamber  16 , a vacuum source connector such as a suction sleeve or tube  20  opens through a port  21  in the top plate  12  and receives an inserted end of a suction wand, tube, hose or conduit  22  connected to a vacuum or suction producing and water collecting apparatus (not shown). As such, the vacuum source connector is in fluid communication with the chamber, thereby enabling a vacuum to be established in the chamber when a vacuum hose is attached to the connector and the vacuum source, i.e. suction producing apparatus, is activated. 
     The suction ports  18  are defined by a throat portion  24  opening into the water chamber  16 , and a tapered or cylindrical counterbore  25  opening into the outer surface  19  of the base plate  14 . 
     To facilitate moving the nozzle or suction head  10  across a surface such as carpet  26  against the friction forces between the carpet surface  26  and the suction head surface  19 , a handle  28  or set of handle supporting brackets (not shown) is provided on the nozzle  10 . Alternatively, the handle may be incorporated as a part of the vacuum connector as shown in FIG.  4 . 
     In use, the nozzle  10  is connected to a vacuum tube, wand, hose or conduit  22  by inserting an end thereof into the upwardly extending fitting tube  20  on the nozzle body  11 . The vacuum and water or solution collecting device (not shown but known to those skilled in the art) is turned on to provide a vacuum or suction, causing air to flow through the nozzle ports  18  in to the chamber  16 . When the nozzle is applied to a water-soaked surface such as a carpet, water is sucked through the ports  18  into the chamber  16  and then through the outlet port  21  and tube  20  into the vacuum hose or tube through which it flows to the collection device. In this manner, water is rapidly and efficiently removed from the carpet and its padding  29  (or other surface) by moving the nozzle  11  along the surface, using the handle  28  to apply the necessary sliding force. 
     The nozzle may be constructed of plastic, such as a high impact moldable plastic, polycarbonate for example, or a lightweight metal such as aluminum. The nozzle is preferably formed by a pair of spaced plates forming the upper and lower plates  12 ,  14 , joined by a hollow frame defining the side walls  15  and establishing the depth of the chamber  16 . The chamber  16  must be of a size and depth so that it provides adequate suction and water flow, and of a depth sufficiently shallow to preclude collection of water therein. 
     The plates and side wall frame may be welded or glued together or secured together with appropriate fasteners such as screws with any necessary seal such as a gasket or o-ring. 
     The nozzle  10  thus formed may be square, rectangular, elongated, circular, elliptical or the like. The ports  18  may be arranged thereon in any suitable pattern, including columns and rows, a random arrangement, a spiral, concentric circles, or other appropriate geometric design. The outlet portion  25  of the ports  18  may be conical, semi-spherical, cylindrical or other appropriate shape or configuration. The bottom surface  19  of the nozzle into which the suction ports  18  open is relatively smooth and free of projections in order to permit the suction device  10  to be readily moved across the surface of the carpet or floor without biting into the carpet or floor  18 . 
     The suction hose receiving sleeve or tube  20  on the upper plate  12  of the nozzle or suction head  11  may be at any position thereon, and may be either perpendicular or at an angle to the surface of the upper plate  12 . The handle  28  may be short or long, or a bracket may be provided for attaching a long or short handle to the nozzle. 
     In one preferred form as shown in FIGS. 1-3, the nozzle or suction head is formed of high impact plastic such as thermoplastic resin, with square upper and lower walls of 8 in.×8 in. and a thickness of ½ inch. The side wall forming spacer has of a thickness of ½ inch and provides a chamber of a depth of approximately ½ inch. The edges or corners of the nozzle materials are rounded in order to present catching and dragging on carpet. When the nozzle is formed of plastic material, a liquid glue or solvent can be utilized to securely fasten the pieces together in vacuum-tight and watertight relation. Vacuum water collecting sources suitable for attachment to the nozzle include any wet/dry shop vac, any portable carpet cleaning machine and any truck mounted carpet cleaning machine as such are known to those skilled in the art. 
     The nozzle or suction head may be utilized to remove spots or stains on carpeting by purposefully flooding the stained area with water and stain remover, allowing the water/stain remover solution to set for a period of time (30 seconds to 72 hours) which is sufficient to saturate the stained area of the carpet, and then vacuuming the liquid from the carpeting and its padding (or other surface particularly fabrics as discussed above) with a nozzle preferably embodying the present invention. 
     The stain remover should be of a type for removing the particular stain being treated. For example, if pet or urine stain is to be removed suitable stain removers include Nature&#39;s Miracle available from Pets and People, Inc. of Rolling Hills Estates, Calif. and Aqua Pet Zyme available from Innovative Products of Englewood, Colo. These products should be mixed with water in accordance with the product&#39;s instructions which when mixed provide the above water/stain remover solution. 
     It has been observed that a nozzle constructed as described above is capable of removing approximately 98 percent of the solution utilized from the carpeting and doing it very quickly. 
     In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention, at least 50% of the solution is vacuumed out of the carpeting, preferably between about 70 and 98%. In addition and as alluded to above, the method of the present invention is capable of quickly removing solution from the carpeting (including the padding). Indeed, it has been found that (depending on the thickness and density of the carpeting and padding) 70% or more of the water or solution can be removed (or vacuumed) from the carpeting (including the padding) at rates of less than two minutes per square foot. Less than one minute per square foot is also easily achievable. In fact, if the vacuum source is strong enough (for example, similar to that provided by a truck mounted system known to those skilled in the art) rates of less than 30 seconds per square foot have been found to remove up to 98% of the liquid from the carpeting (and its padding). 
     Vibration devices such as a rotary head device known to those skilled in the art may be applied to the nozzle to enhance water extraction. Further enhancement of water extraction can be obtained by making the device large and strong enough to allow a user to stand on it. This increases pressure on the carpet which enhances liquid removal. 
     FIG. 4 illustrate another nozzle  110  of the present invention which is similar to nozzle  10  of FIGS. 1 through 3 except that handle  28  and suction connector sleeve  20  have been replaced by a single suction handle  128 . As will be appreciated, suction handle  128  serves as, i.e. provides the functions of, both handle  28  and connector sleeve  20 . 
     While certain illustrative embodiments of the present invention have been shown in the drawings and described above in detail, it should be understood that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form disclosed. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, equivalents and uses falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims. Such modifications could include, for example, slit shaped, slot-like or oval shaped ports or any other shape providing good water extraction.