Bag clamp for suction cleaners

Application filed April 24,

This invention relates to improvements in bag clamps or bag holders adapted for use on suction cleaners, and has for its object to provide a bag clamp which may be attached 5 to the outlet member of a suction cleaner and to which a dust bag may be readily attached in operative position to receive dust and dirt from the suction cleaner, and from which the said dust bag may be readily detached.

Another object is to provide a clamp or holder for dust bags to which said dust bags may be readily attached and detached by means of a wire clamp within which the end of a dust bag may be placed, said wire clamp 15 held in such position that the end of said dust bag will be at all times exposed to view, so that the housewife or operator may be able to place the end of the dust bag in proper position before tightening the clamp around

Another object is to provide a bag clamp or holder having a flexible band adapted to surround the neck of a dust bag and having clamping means which will give the said band ²⁸ a comparatively large lateral movement in contracting and expanding said band.

Another object is to provide a clamp, as a new article of manufacture that will be of low cost, will be capable of comparatively ⁸⁰ large expansion and contraction, will be compact and its operating members open to the view of operator at all times.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists in certain new and use⁸⁸ ful constructions and arrangement of parts, clearly described in the following specifications and fully illustrated in the drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevation, in section of the bag ⁴⁰ clamp through 1—1 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view of the bag clamp through 2—2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a front view of the bag clamp with clamping means in dotted lines, and ⁴⁵ Fig. 4 is a front view of the clamping means.

Similar characters of reference denote like parts in the several figures.

Referring now to the drawing, 1 is an annular neck piece adapted to be attached to ^eu the outlet member of a suction cleaner to re, 1931. Serial No. 532,602.

ceive. air, dust and dirt through its tube like interior, and attached to this neck piece is another tube like member 2, the purpose of which js to hold the open end neck of a dust bag 3 in position to be clamped around it by 55 the flexible band 4 between which and the tube like member 2 the neck of a dust bag may be placed. A projecting flange member 5 is also provided to form a seat or guide for the end of the dust bag and also to act eo as a support for the flexible band member and the clamping means, to accomplish which an annular wire band 6 is mounted upon the periphery of the flange member 5 and the adjacent ends of this wire band are turned 65 ^UP (—7 and are bent in loop form around the flexible band 4 as indicated at 8. The clamp is provided with a supporting plate 9 which latter is hinged upon the wire band 6 as shown at 10—10, so that it is free to rock backward 70 and forward to a slight extent upon its hinges 10—10. This supporting plate is provided with a stud or pin 11 and with guide members 12—12 within which latter the ends of the flexible band 8 may move laterally to con- 75 tract and expand.

Upon the pin 11 is mounted the oval shaped clamping member 13 which is provided with two double raced cams 14—14, each of which is adapted to receive a projecting end of the ⁸⁰flexible band 15—15. The clamping member is provided with a projecting thumb piece or lever 16 by which it may be partially rotated when it is desired to expand the flexible band 4 to open the clamp, in the direction ⁸⁵indicated by the arrow 17.

I preferably use a spring wire for the flexible band 4, with its tension normally outward, so that as the clamping member 13 is partially rotated in the opposite direction to that shown by the arrow 17 the spring tension of the flexible band will cause said band to expand along its entire length and will thus force outwardly the upper ends of the 95 supporting members 7—7 and also the top of the supporting plate 9 so that the space between the flexible band and tubular member 2 is enlarged around the periphery of said tube like member. 100

1,861,402

The operation of the bag holder is as follows :

The neck of a dust bag may be placed around the tube like member 2 and its end 5 seated upon the annular flange member 5 * which is always open to the view of the operator, then the lever 16 may be rotated in the direction of the arrow 17 for the distance of approximately 180 degrees or half way ₁₀ around until the lever 16 stands at the top.

This movement causes the pro j ecting ends 15— 15 of the flexible band to follow in the double faced cams 14—14 until they reach the outer ends of said cams, thus expanding the wire ₁₆ band so that the end of the dust bag may be freely inserted between the tube like member 2 and the flexible band 4, and as this band is supported in its longitudinal position by the wire supports 7—7 and by the supporting 20 plate 9 the neck end of the dust bag is left open to the view of the operator as indicated at 18, thus the operator will make no mistake and cannot fail to properly seat the end of the dust bag within the annular groove 19 25 as would often occur if this portion of the bag holder were enclosed or surrounded by an annular flange extending above the wire clamp band and outside of same as is the case in some bag holders now in general use. 30 It will be noted that when the clamp is contracted in the position shown in Fig. 4, that the projecting ends 15—15 of the flexible band are exerting an outward tension or pull toward the ends of the oval shaped clamping 85 member 13 and that the double cams 14—14 may be so shaped that when the lever 16 is rotated in the direction of the arrow 17 the ends 15—15 will at first be drawn slightly together and will then expand as the lever 16 40 is rotated further, until a position of approximately 180 degrees, in this instance, from its position shown in Fig. 4 has been reached. By reason of this arrangement the clamping member is securely locked when the flexible 45 band is contracted as shown in Fig. 4 and the ends 15—15 of the flexible band are exerting a pressure upon the clamping member 13 in an opposite direction to each other, against the inner ends of the double faced SO cams 14—14, thus causing the clamping member to lock itself in the closed and operative position shown in Fig. 4.