1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to chimneys. More specifically, the invention is a funnel attachment for a chimney sweep vacuum which removes soot from a fireplace flue or work space without the need for tarps and the like to catch excavated soot spillage.
2. Description of the Related Art
The general use of particle removing apparatuses have been in existence as early as 1920. It was A. E. Burges (U.S. Pat. No. 1,371,468) who was credited with the idea of harvesting or removing cotton in its natural state by a suction based apparatus. This principle took root in the minds of others such as E. Gray (U.S. Pat. No. 1,465,711) and Engstrom (U.S. Pat. No. 1,979,873) which utilized suction channels for removing soot from furnaces in 1922 and 1933, respectively. As one might expect, these systems where often quite cumbersome to operate, and often include fixed mechanical attachments for limited use to clean up residual debris in difficult to reach areas. U.S. Pat. No. 3,795,181 issued to Lawson discloses a flue cleaning device as a fixed attachment to a flue housing. As described therein, a turbine is used having a plurality of discharge jets which discharge fluid within the housing to remove particles therefrom.
Later developments by Evans (U.S. Pat. No. 4,807.590) and Broussard (US) sought to provide a vacuum system as a portable device, but were met with mechanical limitations which inhibit the effective use of vacuum heads and the like in and around flue mechanisms of various sorts. Thus, a chimney vacuum system which is not messy, easy to use and which can be used in and around various flue mechanism or fixtures uninhibited is needed. Other patents granted to Clarkson et al. (GB 421,664), Newell (GB 622,943), Neuman (CA 1 181 55), Holter (DE 3529310), Seiji (JP 3102112), Asaph (CA 2010630) and Kupracz (CA 2040616) provided conventional chimney vacuum features which were face with the same limitations recited above, and thus are considered to be generally relevant to the invention as herein described.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a chimney vacuum solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
The chimney vacuum system according to the invention includes an adapter head and hose assembly for quick and mess free removal of soot from interior rooms in residential and commercial buildings. The adapter is substantially conically shaped and has a neck portion for attaching an effluent or extension hose thereto. The shape of the adapter head is defined by an outer diameter which tapers in volume to an inner diameter which terminates a predetermined length to define a cylindrical channel or neck. The area defined between the outer diameter end and the inner diameter end forms the body of the adapter. Defined therein is a sealing gasket which forms conic section of predetermined area and distinct material properties (i.e rigidity, flexibility and expandability) from the body portion of the adapter head for providing a mechanical and fluid seal between at least one flue mechanism element such as a flue handle or the like.
The adapter is mechanically secured to an effluent hose at the neck for transporting contained flue soot under a vacuum from a work space to a remote location. The adapter is made as a single unitary structure with transparent plastic features for visually identifying soot removal. An excavation brush is used as another elemental feature of the system having tines or brush fibers which span the entire area of the flue to excavate and flush accumulated soot from the interior walls of the flue at selective heights within the chimney.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a chimney vacuum system for removing accumulated soot from flues.
It is another object of the invention to provide a chimney vacuum system having an adapter which accommodates at least one chimney or flue mechanism without inhibiting an effective mechanical and fluid seal for removing accumulated soot from flues.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a chimney vacuum system which is simple to operate and deploy within interior rooms residential and commercial buildings.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a chimney vacuum system which minimizes dust and soot residue in a work space.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.