Patent ID: RE40048

Claim:
A dust collection system for collecting production dust from a source machine that generates such dust in a production operation, said source machine having a blower means for picking up said dust and exhausting the dust entrained in a stream of air to an exhaust outlet on the source machine; comprising a cyclone separator mounted on said source machine, said cyclone separator including a circular upper inlet portion, an inner tubular baffle coaxial with the upper inlet portion and having open ends, the upper inlet portion and inner baffle defining between them an annular inlet space, a frustoconic portion beneath the upper inlet portion and having a wide end joined to the upper inlet portion and a narrow lower end, a dust outlet duct at said narrow lower end, and inlet duct extending from outside the upper inlet portion into said annular inlet space; air cleaning means above upper inlet portion for cleaning air that passes out through said inner tubular baffle and permitting the air to return into ambient air in the vicinity of said source machine; a first conduit coupled between the exhaust outlet on the source machine and the inlet duct of the cyclone separator; and an elongated flexible duct coupled from said dust outlet duct to a dust collection station positioned remote from said source machine, for conveying a minor flow of air plus dust entrained therein to the dust collection station.