What is claimed is:
1. In a working chamber system comprising, in combination:
a working chamber wall with at least one aperture;
a robot hand inserted through the aperture into the working chamber; and
a sealing device by means of which a seal of the aperture with the inserted robot hand may be established and removed by remote control;
the improvement wherein the sealing device includes:
(a) a flexible sealing element through which an inner pass-through ring element is connected with the edge of the aperture;
(b) at least two coupling elements attached to at least one of the pass-through ring element and the robot hand; and
(c) at least one locking element connected to at least one of the robot hand and the pass-through element, which locking element may be brought into engagement with the coupling elements by means of positioning elements for the purpose of coupling the robot hand with the pass-through ring element.
2. Working chamber system as recited in claim 1, wherein the two coupling elements are attached to the pass-through ring element and the locking element is connected to the robot hand.
3. Working chamber system as recited in claim 1, wherein the two coupling elements are attached to the robot hand and the locking element is connected to the pass-through ring element.
4. Working chamber system as recited in claim 1, wherein the positioning elements are attached to a coupling receiver flange which is covered with a flexible gasket material.
5. Working chamber system as recited in claim 4, wherein the coupling receiver flange is wheel-shaped, and that it includes a hub section and a ring section that are connected by at least two spoke sections.
6. Working chamber system as recited in claim 1, wherein the coupling elements are in the form of studs that include a cylinder area and a front head area that are connected by means of a radial slot, whereby at least the transition from the head area to the slot is provided with an oblique guide surface.
7. Working chamber system as recited in claim 6, wherein, in the coupling elements, at least the transition from the head area to the slot is provided with an oblique guide surface.
8. Working chamber system as recited in claim 6, wherein the positioning elements include locking elements with two parallel, separated fork arms between which the coupling element may be inserted with its slot.
9. Working chamber system as recited in claim 8, wherein the fork arms are provided with an oblique guide surface.
10. Working chamber system as recited in claim 1, wherein the locking element used to form a bayonet mount includes at least two locking recesses, each of which surrounds a stud pass-through recess and a stud locking recess connected with it.
11. Working chamber system as recited in claim 1, wherein the positioning elements are electromagnets, and that the coupling elements are in the form of ferromagnetic magnetic coupling areas.
12. Working chamber system as recited in claim 1, wherein the coupling elements are formed of at least one collar edge element that is attached at least by sections about the circumference of the pass-through ring element, and that includes a collar edge pointing toward the center point of the pass-through ring element, and
that each of the locking elements may be brought into engagement with at least one collar edge element by means of positioning elements under the collar edge.
13. Working chamber system as recited in claim 12, wherein the collar edge element completely surrounds the pass-through ring element, and that the collar edge includes an oblique guide surface.
14. Working chamber system as in claim 12, wherein each of the coupling elements is in the form of a swivel locking element with an arc edge that includes an oblique guide surface, and that may be at least partially swiveled under the oblique guide surface of the collar edge.
15. Working chamber system as recited in claim 14, wherein the contact point of the positioning element on each swivel locking element is positioned eccentric to its rotation point.
16. Working chamber system as recited in claim 14, wherein the arc edge is in the form of a circular arc, and that the symmetry axis of the arc edge is offset from the rotation point of the swivel locking elements.
17. Working chamber system as recited in claim 12, wherein the locking elements are in the form of sliding locking elements that include oblique guide surfaces which may be moved at least partially under the chamfered collar edge.
18. Working chamber system as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one securing device to secure the pass-through ring element in its initial position is provided on the working chamber wall.
19. Working chamber system as recited in claim 18, wherein the securing device includes:
at least two actuator elements that are positioned opposite to the aperture with extendable pushrods;
centering elements mounted on the pushrods of the actuator elements; and
receiver elements attached to the pass-through ring element to receive the centering elements in the initial position.
20. Working chamber system as recited in claim 18, wherein the actuator elements are pneumatic cylinders.
21. Working chamber system as recited in claim 1, wherein the ratio of the outer circumference of the pass-through ring element to the inner circumference of the aperture in the working chamber wall is 1:2 to 1:5.
22. Working chamber system as recited in claim 1, wherein the robot hand includes a work piece holder with a screw-clamp-type, U-shaped bail that is provided on its one end with a displaceable clamping element, and on its other end with a supporting element.
23. Working chamber system as recited in claim 1, wherein the pass-through ring element possesses a first sealing ring and the robot hand possesses a second sealing ring, by means of which a labyrinth seal is formed after the coupling of the pass-through ring element and the robot hand.
24. A seal integrity monitoring system for sealing a working chamber system as in claim 1, comprising a two-piece sealing element that includes a flexible inner liner and a flexible outer shell that are connected at the edges by the formation of an inner container, wherein the inner container includes at least one exit aperture positioned in the lower area of the sealing element with at least one particle sensor.
25. Seal integrity monitoring system as recited in claim 24, wherein the particle sensor is a magnetic sensor.
26. Sealing element as recited in claim 24, wherein the particle sensor is an optical sensor.
27. Sealing element as recited in claim 24, wherein the particle sensor is a thermal sensor.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A vacuum cleaner comprising:
(a) a cleaner head having a dirty air inlet; and,
(b) a casing having a filtration member, the filtration member having an inlet in fluid flow communication with the dirty air inlet and an outlet in fluid flow communication with a source of suction, the filtration member comprising at least one upstream particle separator having an associated upstream particle collector and at least one downstream particle separator having an associated downstream particle collector disposed adjacent the upstream particle separation member, the particle collectors are configured such that the downstream particle collector is emptied by transferring its contents into the upstream particle collector.
2. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1 wherein at least a portion of the upstream particle separator is removable from the casing.
3. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1 further comprising a particle transfer member positioned between one of the particle separation members and its associated particle collector whereby particles separated by the said particle separation member are conveyed to said particle collector.
4. The vacuum cleaner of claim 3 wherein at least a portion of the particle transfer member is angled downwardly whereby particles travel to said particle collector at least partially under the influence of gravity.
5. The vacuum cleaner of claim 2 wherein the downstream particle collector has side walls and a bottom that is mounted for movement between a closed position and an open position and the bottom moves to the open position as the upstream particle collector is prepared for emptying.
6. The vacuum cleaner of claim 5 wherein the bottom is maintained in the closed position by interaction between the bottom and a member positioned on a portion of the vacuum cleaner that is not removed with the upstream particle collector.
7. A separator for separating entrained particles from a fluid flow, the separator comprising:
(a) a first particle separation member;
(b) a reusable particle collector disposed beneath the particle separation member, the particle collector having a moveable member movably mounted between a closed position and an open position; and,
(c) a particle receiving chamber disposed beneath the particle collector, wherein when the moveable member moves from its closed position to its open position, particles collected in the particle collector are substantially transferred to the particle receiving chamber.
8. The separator of claim 7 further comprising a second particle separation member, wherein the particle receiving chamber receives particles separated from the fluid flow by the second particle separation member.
9. A separator comprising:
(a) an inlet in fluid flow communication with a source of fluid having particles therein;
(b) a particle separation member;
(c) a first particle collector disposed below the particle separation member; and,
(d) a particle transfer member positioned between the particle separation member and the particle collector whereby particles separated by the particle separation member are conveyed to the particle collector.
10. The separator of claim 9 wherein at least a portion of the particle transfer member is angled downwardly to the first particle collector whereby particles travel to the first particle collector at least partially under the influence of gravity.
11. The separator of claim 9 wherein the first particle separation member is chosen from the group of a cyclone, a Prandtl layer turbine and an electrostatic filter.
12. The separator of claim 9 wherein the first particle collector is positioned in the second particle separation member.
13. The separator of claim 12 wherein the second particle collector is removably mounted in a casing and the first particle collector is constructed to empty into the second particle when the second particle collector is removed from the casing.
14. The separator of claim 9 wherein the first particle collector is disposed adjacent the second particle separation member.
15. The separator of claim 9 wherein the particle transfer member comprises a pivotally mounted disc.
16. A separator for separating entrained particles from a fluid flow, the separator comprising:
(a) a housing having a first separation stage and a first particle collector in communication with the first separation stage;
(b) a second separation stage; and,
(c) a second particle collector in communication with the second separation stage and positioned in the housing, the first and second particle collectors are configured such that the second particle collector is emptied when the first particle collector is emptied.
17. The separator of claim 16 wherein the second separation stage is positioned downstream from the first separation stage.
18. The separator of claim 16 wherein the second particle collector has a collector housing including a bottom panel and the bottom panel is movably mounted between a closed position in which the second particle collector collects material separated by the second separation stage and an open position in which the second particle collector is emptied.
19. The separator of claim 16 wherein each of the first and second separation stage comprise at least one cyclone.
20. The separator of claim 16 wherein the first separation stage comprises a cyclone and the second separation stage comprises a plurality of cyclones.
21. The separator of claim 16 further comprising a cleaning head having a dirty air inlet and the separator is connectable in fluid flow communication with the dirty air inlet wherein the separator comprises a filtration stage of a vacuum cleaner.