Abstract:
A vacuum fitting for connection to a remote source of vacuum, the vacuum fitting comprising a main body mountable to a fixed structure. The main body includes an inlet opening and an outlet opening; an openable closure mounted to the main body and being moveable between an open position and position covering the inlet opening; a latch member selectively positionable to keep the closure in said covering position when positioned between the main body and the closure and to permit said closure to move to an open position when not positioned between said main body and the closure; and a biaser to urge the closure to an open position. A switch is also provided to initiate the remote source of vacuum when the closure is moved to the open position by the biaser.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to the field of vacuum fittings of the type that are connected to a source of vacuum. One type of vacuum source is a central vacuum system used to clean building enclosures, such as houses. In particular, this invention relates to a vacuum fitting of the type that may be permanently mounted adjacent to a floor so that dust, dirt and debris may be swept along the floor and passed into the vacuum system through the fitting by means of the suction or vacuum. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Attempts have been made in the past to develop a vacuum fitting which is permanently mounted into a wall or floor adjacent to a surface to be swept. Such fittings may be for use in association with either a central vacuum system or a portable vacuum cleaner system. The vacuum fitting ideally opens to permit air suction to flow through the fitting to pick up and carry dirt, debris and the like through the fitting and into a remote collection chamber associated with the vacuum source. Early attempts at such fittings involved cumbersome moving assemblies having nozzles which advanced out into a room to direct the suction to a place where the sweepings were collected. The sweepings would then would then be sucked up through the nozzle and taken away. However, these devices were awkward, expensive, and generally impractical. Examples of these may be found in Canadian patents 642,539, 670,879 and 675,552 to Bierstock. 
     More lately, there have been a number of devices developed which are somewhat simpler and which provide a fixed vacuum inlet fitting adjacent to a floor to be swept. For example, Klassen Canadian Patent 2,101,484, teaches a device which can be mounted in a floor or a wall and which is connected to the remote source of vacuum so that when a seal in the device is opened, by a foot activated lever, the remote source of vacuum is energized. This causes suction through the opening and removes undesirable sweepings from the surface being swept. Unfortunately, the Klassen device impractically requires that a person maintain their foot on the lever in order to maintain the electrical connection to energize the source of vacuum and also to keep the seal open. This is awkward and impractical as it means that the sweeping must be finished while standing on one foot. 
     Even more recently, a device to an inventor named Graham has been disclosed in Canadian Patent 2,123,179 which includes a closure member mounted within a housing. A lever extends out through an open front inlet and pivots the closure between two positions which open and close an outlet opening located in a top wall of the housing. A double acting spring is associated with the closure member and acts to hold the closure member in both open and closed positions. In this manner, the unit can be activated by a foot of the user. Sweepings can then be swept up to the mouth of the unit and taken away by the suction. When finished, the operator may again use their foot to move the lever to cause the closure to cover the outlet opening and to disengage the electrical contact. This switches off the remote source of vacuum. 
     While simple in approach, this device suffers the disability that the foot operated lever or switch extends from the front face of the fitting. Thus the front face must be always open to accommodate the lever. While this may be partially acceptable when the unit is partially hidden, for example, by being installed under a toe rail of a kitchen counter, this opening is not acceptable in, for example a front hall, mud room or other plain view application. The open front means the inside of the device, which often becomes dirty and unattractive over time is in plain view. This require s more maintenance in terms of cleaning and the like. 
     Further, in use, typically a user will sweep back and forth across the inlet opening to ensure that all of the crumbs or debris are swept up. Such sweeping action often accidentally switches the unit off, because the foot operated lever projects out, unprotected, from the housing. Rapid on/off energization of the central vacuum motor causes undue wear and can lead to premature failure of the motor. Finally, the top outlet opening makes installation awkward, since often the source of vacuum is from below. A top opening requires multiple elbow fittings and short tubing sections to plumb in the connection to a below grade vacuum source. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     What is desired is a simple to use device which overcomes the limitations of the prior art. Preferably the device should be simple to make and involve a minimum of parts and expense. Further the device should be robust, and not prone to accidental rapid on/off switching during sweeping. As well the device should not provide an open front which both unsightly and a source of dirt collection which requires more maintenance. Also the device should be easy to install either under a cabinet or in a wall. Most preferably the device should be equally easy to plumb to a source of vacuum no matter whether the vacuum tubing leads up, down or sideways from the fitting. 
     Therefore according to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a vacuum fitting for connection to a source of vacuum, said vacuum fitting comprising: 
     a main body mountable to a fixed structure, said main body including an inlet opening and an outlet opening; 
     an openable closure mounted to said main body and being moveable between an open position and a closed position; 
     a latch member selectively positionable between said main body and said closure to keep said closure in a closed position when positioned between said main body and said closure and to permit said closure to move to an open position when not positioned between said main body and said closure; 
     a biaser to urge said closure to an open position; and 
     a switch to initiate said remote source of vacuum when said closure assumes said open position. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Reference will now be made to drawings of preferred embodiments of the invention, by way of example only, and in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a front perspective view showing the three main elements of the preferred embodiment of the invention, namely a main body, a door member in exploded position for illustration purposes and a latch member; 
     FIG. 2 is an equivalent view showing the main body and the door member of FIG. 1 without the latch member; 
     FIG. 3 is a side view of the preferred invention with the door member covering a door opening in said main body; 
     FIG. 4 is a front view of the invention showing the door member in an open position with the latch member removed for ease of illustration; 
     FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the invention of FIG. 4 taken along line  5 — 5  with the latch member added; 
     FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the invention of FIG. 4 taken along lines  6 — 6  with the latch member added; and 
     FIG. 7 is a rear perspective view of the invention of FIG. 4 showing the door member in an open position; 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 1 shows a vacuum fitting for connection to a source of vacuum generally at  10 . The vacuum fitting  10  is comprised of three main elements, namely, a main body  12 , a door member  14  and a latch member  16 . The door member  14  is shown in exploded position in FIG. 1 but is normally located under the latch member on the front of the main body  12 . Each of these elements is described in greater detail below. 
     The main body  12  includes a room facing side  18  and a rear or backside  20 . Beginning with the room facing side  18  there are provided side mounting flanges  22 ,  24  on either lateral side of the main body  12 . In each flange  22 ,  24  there is preferably provided a mounting aperture such as  25 ,  26  to receive a fastener, such as a screw (not shown). Most preferably the mounting aperture is chamfered to permit the fastener  30  to be countersunk into the flange  22 ,  24 . In this manner the flange surface is preferable smooth and the fastener head projects very little if at all beyond the outer face of the flange. 
     It will also be noted that the flanges  22 ,  24  are joined across the top of the main body by a top flange  32  which is shown more clearly in FIG.  2 . Extending across the bottom edge of the room facing side is a sweepings ramp  34 . The flanges  22 ,  24 ,  32  and the ramp  34  are configured so that when an appropriately sized opening is cut into a baseboard of a wall, or a kitchen cabinet, the flanges will cover the rough cut edges of the wall or cabinet opening and the sweepings ramp will lie against the floor being swept. 
     FIG. 2 also shows the room facing side  18  having a door receiving opening  40 . The door receiving opening  40  is divided approximately into two halves, an upper half  42  and a lower half  44 , by a partition  46 . The partition  46  extends between side walls  48 ,  50 , a back wall  52  and a front edge of the door receiving opening  40 . Rising out of the partition  46  is an arch  54  of a rearwardly extending shaped passageway  56  as described in more detail below. The partition  46  and the arch  54  of the shaped passageway form a continuous top wall. The shaped passageway  56  below partition  46  forms a suction chamber through which sweepings may be drawn by suction and then exit the chamber through an opening at the back. 
     Shown at one side is a hinge slot  60 , ending in a hinge hole  62  which is located above the partition  46 . The hinge slot  60  is to facilitate the installation of the door member  14  as described in more detail below. 
     Turning now to the door member  14  it is shown in exploded position relative to the main body  12 , but it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that in use the door member  14  is mounted out in front of the main body  12 . The door member  14  is comprised of an actuating or toe press section  70  having gripping means  72  and an angled top section  74 . In addition to the door member  14 , there is a hinge section  76  which extends rearwardly from the top section  74  and the toe press section  72 . On each lateral side of the hinge section  76  are located small circular axles  78  which are sized and shaped to be inserted into the hinge hole  62  described above. It will now be appreciated that the hinge section  76  is sized and shaped to be inserted above the partition  46 . 
     The door  14  is preferably molded with the hinge section  76  from a suitable plastic material and assembled to the main body after molding in a separate manufacturing step. To insert the hinge section  76  into the main body, all that is required is to line up the axles  78  with the hinge slots  60  and then force the hinge section  76  into the front of the main body  122  until the axles  78  rest in the hinge holes  62 . In this manner the hinge holes  62  form, in combination with the axles  78  a pivoting attachment of the door member  14  to the main body  12  with the door member  14  out front of the main body  12 . When so installed, the door member  14  may be pivoted about a horizontal pivot axis to cover and uncover the door opening  40 . 
     As shown in FIG. 3, a seal  79  is also provided to seal the door opening  40  of the suction passageway  56  against suction when the unit  10  is not in use. It will be appreciated that the present unit  10  will be plumbed through the rear facing exit into a central vacuum system (not shown) which will likely have many outlets located throughout a building space. Use of one outlet typically means that a remote source of vacuum is activated, creating suction throughout the system. All of the outlet valves not then in use must be sealed to prevent an unwanted loss of vacuum throughout the system. Hence the desire to provide a seal in the other fittings when not in use. 
     When the present invention is not in use, but an adjoining outlet is, the vacuum in the system will create a negative pressure behind the door member  14 . This negative pressure will act to either draw the door member  14  closed, if it was open slightly, or most preferably to keep the door closed. The seal  79  is sized and shaped to extend around the preiphery of the door opening and will bear flat against the side flanges  22 ,  24  and along the partition  46 . Preferably the seal will project beyond a back face of the door member  14  slightly at a lower edge thereof, so as to engage the surface of the sweepings ramp  34 , which as previously described, forms the lower edge of the door or inlet opening  40 . The projection of the seal  79  may be either in the downward direction or rearward, provided the seal  79  is sized and shaped to seal against the ramp  34 . In this way, when the door  14  is fully closed, a seal can be formed all around the periphery of the lower half  44  of the door opening  40 , thus preserving suction in the suction chamber and in the remote vacuum system. 
     The preferred form of seal  79  is a single piece of foam rubber which is glued or otherwise affixed to the back of the actuating portion of the door member  14 . The seal  79  can be either fixed in the middle and left free along the edges to permit it to flop outwardly to closed the gap with the door opening  40 , or glued along the edges and of sufficient thickness and resiliency to ensure a good fit against the door member  14 . 
     It will further be appreciated that the seal  79  can be of any shape provided the same covers any gap between the door member  14  and the door opening  40 . For example, while the preferred seal  79  is a rectangular shape, the seal  79  could also be made with a rectangular cut out, leaving only the perimeter. Further the seal  79  could be mounted to the door  14  or to the main body  12 , depending upon preferences. It is believed that mounting the seal  79  on the door member  14  is preferred, because that way the seal is moved out of the way as the door opens. In this way the sweepings do not come into contact with the seal  79  and thus are less likely to foul the same which could result in a loss of vacuum. Also, it is less preferable to place the seal  79  on the ramp  34  itself, as that would make it more difficult to take the sweepings up into the main body  12 . All that is required is to have a complete seal around the perimeter when the fitting is not in use but the system is in use. 
     The third element of the device  10  as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 is a latch element  16 . It will be noted that the side flanges  22 ,  24  of the main body  12  have forward offsets  67  for approximately the upper half of the flange. This provides a securing face  69  behind the flange  32  to secure the latch element  16 . It is preferred for the device  10  to be able to lie flat against a vertical surface such as a toe rail of a kitchen cabinet. Thus it is preferred to include the forward offsets  67  to provide a smooth back surface on the fitting. 
     The latch element  16  includes an attachment flange  80 , which is preferably integrally molded to a overhanging member  82 , along a continuous edge  83 . In the preferred embodiment the latch element  16  is bonded to the securing face by means of an adhesive, solvent welding or the like. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the latch element  16  could be attached to the main body  12  in a number of ways including separate mechanical fasteners or heat bonding without departing from the spirit of the present invention. 
     As shown in FIG. 2 the overhanging member  82  includes a portion  84 , which is gently rounded in plan and extends outwardly (when viewed from above) for approximately one half of the side to side width of the device  10 . The outward extension provides a toe lift latch  85 . It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that many different shapes could be used for the overhanging portion  84  of the latch element  16 , but the disclosed shape provides easy access and use of both the latch element  16  and the door member  14  as described in more detail below. What is desired is to configure the latch element  16  to allow it to be easily manipulated by the foot or toe of a user. What is also desired is to also keep the door member  14  accessible to the toe of a user. In the preferred design this is accomplished by extending the toe lift portion  85  across approximately one half of the device 10  to expose the door member  14  underneath to easy toe contact on the other half. 
     FIG. 3 shows the door member  14  in the position the door assumes when the device  10  is not in use, namely the door member  14  is covering the door opening  40 . From FIG. 3 the inter-action between the door member  14  and the latch member  16  can be appreciated. Extending downwardly and inwardly from the latch  16  is a stop  90  to catch a top of the door at  92 . The stop  90  may be continuous across the latch member  16  or it may be intermittent. What is required is to provide enough of a projection that the stop  90  extends behind the top angled portion  74  of the door  14  to prevent the door  14  from rotating about the horizontal hinge axis to an open position. It can be appreciated that the latch member  16  is resiliently deformable along edge  83 . Thus when a person inserts their toe under the toe latch portion  84  and lifts, the latch member  16  is temporarily raised, causing the stop  90  to come free of the door member  14  freeing the door  14  to rotate to an open position. In this manner the latch member  16  is selectively positionable between the door element and the main body lo keep the door in a closed position or to permit the door to move to an open position. 
     Turning again to the position of the elements as shown in FIG. 3, the seal  79  preferably lies adjacent to the flange  22 ,  24  but is not pressed there against when the door member  14  cover the opening. Rather it is prefered if the suction in the main body  12 , which arises when another outlet of the same vacuum system is in use, causes the door  14  to seal shut. In this sense it is preferred if the latch member  16  holds the door  14  in a covering, but not closed position. This has the added benefit of not keeping the compressible seal under constant compression which could over time lead to a loss of resiliency in the seal, by reason of permanent deformation. Rather it is preferred if the seal  79  is under compression only during the operation of the vacuum system, where the sealing force is provided by the suction in the system. This will enable the seal  79  to last longer and because it will not be permanently compressed will have less of a tendency to develop leaks around the edges over time. 
     Another element of the present invention is the biaser, or spring  100 . The biaser  100  is most preferably in the form of a wire spring as shown, which has one end  102  secured in a hole  104  on the side of the main body  12 . The spring then extends around a first electrical contact post  106  and then doubles back towards a front of the fitting at  107 . This limb  107  of the spring  106  contacts a pin  108  which extends through a slot  110  through the side of the main body. The pin  108  is secured to the door member  14 . The spring continues with a downwardly extending limb  112  with a hairpin section  114  and ends in a contact portion  116 . A second electrical contact  118  is formed on the main body and the spring is preferably made from an electrically conducting material such as metal wire. It can now be appreciated that if the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact are wired to a circuit, the circuit may be closed if the spring  100  extends between the two. 
     Also shown in FIG. 3 is the door hinge  120 . The door hinge is comprised of the axle extensions  78  of the door member  14  which are sized and shaped to fit closely within a circular hinge opening  62  in the main body as previously described. As can be seen from FIG. 3, the axle extension of the door member  14  is below the spring  100  and does not impede its movement in any way. 
     It can now be appreciated how the door member  14 , the latch member  16 , the main body  12  and the biaser  100  interact. In the position as shown in FIG. 3, the spring  100  is resiliently bent around the first electrical contact post  106  and is trying to return to an unbent position which results in a force in the direction of arrow  124 . The spring  100  acts on the pin  108  urging the pin along (down) the slot  110 . The door covering portion of door member  114  is on the opposite side of the door hinge  120  and thus the door covering portion is urged in the opposite direction, namely up, as shown by arrow  125  by spring force. In other words, the door is being urged by the spring to an opened position. The door is prevented from moving by the stop  90  of the latch member  16  which catches the top  92  of the angled portion  74  of the door  14 . In this position the latch member  16  is operatively positioned between the main body  12  and the door member  14  to prevert the door from assuming a fully opened position. 
     Thus, when the toe latch is lifted by a toe of a user, the stop  90  disengages from the door  14  and the spring  100  opens the door  14 . At the same time, the pin  108  moves along the slot  110  and the spring  100  then moves to a position where the end contact portion  116  of the spring can contact the second electrical contact post  118 . This completes a low voltage circuit as described and initiates a remote source of vacuum. Because the spring  100  is urging the door member  14  to the open position, the unit will stay in operation until the user is finished, without needing any further contact from the user. It will be appreciated that hair pin section  114  allows the end contact portion  116  of the spring early contact with the electrical contact post, without exerting a reaction force that causes the pin  108  to stop in the slot  110  leaving the door only partly open. The hair pin section  114  permits early electrical contact while permitting a full range of travel along the slot  110 . 
     When sweeping is finished, the user merely presses with their foot or toe on the exposed part of the door member  14 , on the actuator portion  70 . This will overcome the spring force and cause the door member  14  to rotate about the hinge and to lower to cover the opening  40 . To assist in ease of use the door actuator portion is preferably provided with friction enhancing features such as gripping means  72 . These may be in the form of ridges as shown, stippling or other roughening of the surface to allow the toe of the user to easily grip the door surface to press the same down. 
     Also shown in FIG. 3 is the rear opening  140  of the main body  12  which is the exit from suction chamber  56 . It will be noted that the opening is defined by an attachment rim  200 , which is sized and shaped to allow conventional fittings to be attached thereto. The exit or outlet from the main body is directed rearwardly. Thus, the exit can be easily joined to a short elbow fitting and plumbed to connect to vacuum piping whether coming from below or behind with equal ease. 
     In the most preferred form of the present invention the front to back dimension of the unit is small enough to fit within a standard wall. Thus, to allow room for an elbow, it is preferred if the fitting not exceed four inches in depth and most preferably not more that about three inches. 
     It can now be appreciated that to achieve such a compact configuration requires certain internal features of the main body  12 . At the front the inlet opening  40 , it is preferred to have a relatively long compared to its height opening to draw the suction through. At the rear it is preferred to have a circular exit to facilitate the connection of the fitting to vacuum piping. Thus the transition must be made from the front opening to the rear opening over a compact body with a continuous top wall, side walls and bottom wall to form the suction chamber. 
     This is accomplished by providing an internal wall or partition  46  in the main body  12  to define a lower suction chamber and an upper housing area as previously described. The internal configuration of the suction area can be more fully understood with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. As can be seen in FIG. 5 which is a section along lines  5 — 5  in FIG. 4, the vacuum chamber  56  extends upwardly and rearwardly from front opening  40 . In FIG. 5 it can be seen that apart from the rear outlet  140  the vacuum chamber has a solid back wall  138  at the sides. Most preferably this back wall is also angled (see FIG. 7) from back to front to encourage the flow of debris carried by suction to the rear exit  140 . 
     FIG. 6 shows a section through the outlet  140 , showing the vacuum chamber rising from the ramp under the partition  46  and out the outlet  140 . 
     It will also be noted that in the open position as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 the angled portion lies against the opening of the main body above the partition in such a way that the opening is substantially closed. In this manner short circuiting of the suction, around the partition and then around the top edge of the door is prevented, causing more of the suction to pass through the open front and improving the effectiveness of the device. 
     It can now be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present invention provides an easy to make and install fitting which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art. In particular when not in use the device presents a covered front face which hides the internal workings of the device so that there is no need to have to clean or maintain the same Further the configuration of the latch, holding the door member in a door covering position, while the spring  100  urges the door open, provides for a long lasting seal which is only compressed by the suction in the system. 
     It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that while reference has been made in the foregoing description to preferred embodiments of the present invention various modifications and alterations can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the following claims. Some of these modifications have been discussed above and others will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, there are many forms of toe latch that would provide adequate results, provided that enough of an overhang is present to easily allow the stop to be disengaged from the door member on the one hand and yet not to cover the door so as to prevent a user from being able to easily close the door against the spring when required. Further, while preferred dimensions are provided for a compact device, minor variations will not have too great an input on how the device functions.