U.S. patent application number 11/666120 was filed with the patent office on 2008-04-17 for vacuum cleaner.
This patent application is currently assigned to JACM LIMITED. Invention is credited to Graham Capron-Tee.
Application Number | 20080086833 11/666120 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35607123 |
Filed Date | 2008-04-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080086833 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Capron-Tee; Graham |
April 17, 2008 |
Vacuum Cleaner
Abstract
A floor-care vacuum cleaner comprising a floor-contracting body
having an air inlet (16) for vacuuming-up dust, a fan (26) driven
by a motor (22) permanently installed in the body, and means for
accommodating at least one on-board battery (34) as a source of
power for the motor.
Inventors: |
Capron-Tee; Graham; (Slough,
GB) |
Correspondence
Address: |
HARNESS, DICKEY & PIERCE, P.L.C.
P.O. BOX 828
BLOOMFIELD HILLS
MI
48303
US
|
Assignee: |
JACM LIMITED
583 Warwick Road
Solihull
GB
B91 1AW
|
Family ID: |
35607123 |
Appl. No.: |
11/666120 |
Filed: |
October 25, 2005 |
PCT Filed: |
October 25, 2005 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/GB05/04139 |
371 Date: |
November 16, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
15/331 ;
15/300.1; 15/339; 15/347; 15/363; 15/410; 15/412; 15/413 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47L 9/0081 20130101;
A47L 9/2884 20130101; A47L 9/0072 20130101; A47L 9/08 20130101;
A47L 9/2873 20130101; A47L 5/30 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
015/331 ;
015/300.1; 015/339; 015/347; 015/363; 015/410; 015/412;
015/413 |
International
Class: |
A47L 9/00 20060101
A47L009/00; A47L 5/00 20060101 A47L005/00; A47L 9/10 20060101
A47L009/10; A47L 9/32 20060101 A47L009/32; A47L 7/00 20060101
A47L007/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 25, 2004 |
GB |
0423680.8 |
Nov 12, 2004 |
GB |
0425065.0 |
Claims
1-18. (canceled)
19. A floor-care vacuum cleaner comprising a floor-contacting body
having an air inlet for vacuuming-up dust, a fan driven by a motor
permanently installed in the body, and means for accommodating at
least one on-board battery as a source of power for the motor.
20. A vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 19 wherein the motor is of
at least 200 w rated power.
21. A vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 19 comprising a battery or
batteries having a total capacity of at least 2.5 Ah.
22. A vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 19 wherein the fan is
located upstream of dust collecting means.
23. A vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 22 comprising means for
passing an airflow from the fan through the dust collecting means,
and means for diverting at least part of the airflow if the exit
thereof from the dust collecting means is impeded, the arrangement
being such that at least a substantial proportion of dust entrained
in the to-be-diverted air is captured.
24. A vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 23 wherein the diverting
means is a porous conduit between the fan and the dust collecting
means.
25. A vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 24 wherein the dust
collecting means comprises a disposable container formed of porous
filtering material.
26. A vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 24, being an upright
vacuum cleaner and wherein the dust collecting means is contained
within or is carried by a handle of the vacuum cleaner, the porous
conduit extending upwardly to deliver dust-laden air to an upper
part of the dust collecting means.
27. A vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 19 wherein the fan is
located upstream of the air inlet, the arrangement being such that
a flow of air from the fan draws in dust-bearing air through the
air inlet.
28. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 27 comprising an agitator
for disturbing dust from a carpeted floor so that it is entrained
by air entering the air inlet.
29. A vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 19 comprising means for
passing a portion of the airflow from the fan through the motor as
cooling air and thence returning it to the airflow.
30. A vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 19 wherein the motor has a
cooling fan for passing cooling air through the motor and thence
delivering it to the airflow from the first-mentioned fan.
31. A vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 19, being an upright
vacuum cleaner.
32. A vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 31 comprising a fence
bounding at least a substantial proportion of a rear periphery of
the air inlet, the fence being displaceable between a retracted
position when the floor surface is carpeted and a deployed position
when the floor surface is uncarpeted, so as to reduce the ingress
of air to the air inlet around the periphery thereof.
33. A vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 31 comprising a handle
wherein the means for accommodating the at least one battery are
provided.
34. A vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 19 wherein the at least
one battery is rechargeable, the vacuum cleaner being in
combination with a docking station having battery charging means,
the cleaner and the docking station having complementary electrical
connectors whereby the at least one battery of the cleaner can be
charged without removal from the cleaner.
35. A floor-care vacuum cleaner having an air inlet for
vacuuming-up dust from a floor, a fan driven by a motor of at least
200 w rated power and located upstream of dust collecting means,
and means for accommodating at least one on-board battery as a
source of power for the motor.
36. A vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 35 comprising means for
passing an airflow from the fan through the dust collecting means,
and means for diverting at least part of the airflow if the exit
thereof from the dust collecting means is impeded, the arrangement
being such that at least a substantial proportion of dust entrained
in the to-be-diverted air is captured.
37. A vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 36 wherein the diverting
means is a porous conduit between the fan and the dust collecting
means.
Description
[0001] This invention relates to vacuum cleaners.
[0002] The development of the modern vacuum cleaner in recent years
has been characterised by the use of more and more powerful motors.
Installed powers of 1500 w or even more are now common, most of
which is expended in sucking air through ever more complicated
filtration systems. Yet these formidable machines (at least when
sold for domestic use) have a very low utilisation; the average
person spends only a few minutes a week vacuuming his/her home.
[0003] We have recognised that the conventional approach to vacuum
cleaner design is in fact misconceived. Because utilisation is so
low, we have determined that it is possible with appropriate design
to provide a vacuum cleaner which can dispose of a practical weekly
duty cycle using no more energy than can be stored in a reasonably
sized battery or set of batteries, for example of the Ni--Cd
type.
[0004] Therefore, the present invention provides in one aspect a
floor-care vacuum cleaner comprising a floor-contacting body having
an air inlet for vacuuming-up dust, a fan driven by a motor
permanently installed in the body, and means for accommodating at
least one on-board battery as a source of power for the motor.
[0005] Preferably the motor is of at least 200 w, and more
preferably at least 250 w, rated power.
[0006] Preferably the battery or batteries have a total capacity of
at least 2.5 Ah, and more preferably at least 3 Ah.
[0007] A significant advantage brought by the invention is that the
vacuum cleaner can be "cordless" and the user is spared the
inconvenience of trailing an electric cable connected to a mains
socket.
[0008] One important preferred feature of a vacuum cleaner
according to the first aspect of the invention is that the fan is
located upstream of dust collecting means.
[0009] In a second aspect the invention provides a floor-care
vacuum cleaner having an air inlet for vacuuming-up dust from a
floor, a fan driven by a motor of at least 200 w rated power and
located upstream of dust collecting means, and means for
accommodating at least one on-board battery as a source of power
for the motor.
[0010] In an embodiment of the invention the fan may be located
upstream of the air inlet, the arrangement being such that a flow
of air from the fan draws in dust-bearing air through the air
inlet.
[0011] There may be an agitator for disturbing dust from a carpeted
floor so that it is entrained by air entering the air inlet.
[0012] There may be means for passing an airflow from the fan
through the dust collecting means, and means for diverting at least
part of the airflow if the exit thereof from the dust collecting
means is impeded, the arrangement being such that at least a
substantial proportion of dust entrained in the to-be-diverted air
is captured.
[0013] Preferably the diverting means is a porous conduit between
the fan and the dust collecting means.
[0014] There may be means for passing a portion of the airflow from
the fan through the motor as cooling air and thence returning it to
the airflow. Alternatively the motor can have its own internal fan
to take in clean air for cooling and then to discharge it into the
main dust-laden airflow.
[0015] A preferred form of the invention is an upright vacuum
cleaner, although its application to the cylinder type of cleaner
is not excluded. In an upright cleaner, the handle may include the
means for accommodating at least one battery.
[0016] The dust collecting means may comprise a disposable
container formed of porous filtering material. Alternatively a
re-usable and preferably washable bag or rigid container may be
employed.
[0017] In an upright cleaner according to the invention, the dust
collecting means may be contained within or may be carried by a
handle of the vacuum cleaner, the porous conduit extending upwardly
to deliver dust-laden air to an upper part of the dust collecting
means.
[0018] The cleaner may comprise a fence bounding at least a
substantial proportion of the rear periphery of the air inlet, the
fence being displaceable between a retracted position when the
floor surface is carpeted and a deployed position when the floor
surface is uncarpeted, so as to reduce the ingress of air to the
air inlet around the periphery thereof.
[0019] Preferably the battery is rechargeable, the vacuum cleaner
being in combination with a docking station having battery charging
means, the cleaner and the docking station having complementary
electrical connectors where by the at least one battery of the
cleaner can be charged without removal from the cleaner.
[0020] An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way
of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings,
wherein:
[0021] FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a first embodiment of a vacuum
cleaner of the invention.
[0022] FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic vertical cross-section through the
vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1;
[0023] FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic horizontal cross-section on line
3-3 of FIG. 2;
[0024] FIGS. 4 and 5 are respectively whole and partial side
elevations of other vacuum cleaners according to the invention;
and
[0025] FIGS. 6 and 7 are respectively horizontal (plan) and
vertical sections through a further vacuum cleaner according to the
invention.
[0026] Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, an upright floor-care vacuum
cleaner comprises a body 10 which contacts a floor 12 to be cleaned
via wheels 14. As known per se, the underside of the body, at least
when standing on a hard floor surface, is close to but not touching
the floor and has an air inlet 16 for sucking in air and entrained
dust from the floor.
[0027] A handle 18 is provided for manipulation of the cleaner, and
a dust-collecting bag is suspended from the handle in a
well-ventilated casing 20 and connected to an air outlet 21 from
the body.
[0028] Within the body 10 is provided a permanently-installed 24V
DC motor 22 of 250 w rated power. On an output shaft 24 of the
motor is provided a centrifugal fan 26 for sucking air in through
the inlet 16. The output shaft 24 also carries a pulley which via a
belt 29 drives a beater rotor or agitator 28 which extends across
the air inlet. As known per se the rotors carry respective
oppositely-handed helical beater bars or brushes 30 which beat a
carpet being cleaned to dislodge dust so that it can be entrained
by the air entering the air inlet. The bars or brushes also serve
(due to their helical shape) to sweep dust towards the centre of
the air inlet, whereat the entry to the fan 26 is located. A fence
or air dam 32 is slidably mounted in a slot extending across the
rear and sides of the periphery of the air inlet. When the cleaner
is used on carpet, the fence is pushed up into the slot by the
carpet or can be retracted manually or automatically. When the
cleaner is used on a hard floor, the fence drops downwardly to
contact the floor and reduce the ingress of air other than from the
front of the cleaner, when it is drawn across the area swept by the
beater bar.
[0029] The motor is shown here as having a fore-and-aft orientation
with an inclined axis, but other dispositions are possible eg. with
a vertical axis (see FIG. 6) or cross-wise across the cleaner body.
The latter avoids the need to wist the belt drive through
90.degree..
[0030] The motor 22 is powered by a Ni--Cd battery 34 (or other
battery type having adequate capacity within the space available
for it) removeably received in a housing 36 on the top of the
cleaner. The battery has a capacity of 3 Ah, which would give
around 15 minutes usage of the cleaner per charge at full motor
power of 250 w. Using the cleaner at reduced power (less power is
required for a hard floor) will give a longer duty cycle. A power
control advantageously can be provided on the handle 18 for this
purpose, together with an on-off switch.
[0031] A recessed plug 38 is provided on the body 10 so that the
cleaner can be parked in a docking station when not in use, and the
battery connected to a charger within the docking station. Thus the
cleaner can be kept fully charged and ready for use; a modern
electronically-controlled charger can maintain the battery in
optimum condition and ensure maximum life. Alternatively the
battery can be removed for charging separately, and preferably
replaced by a further previously-charged battery so that the
cleaner remains immediately available.
[0032] Air is taken in by the fan through the air inlet and
discharged radially outwardly into a plenum chamber 40 and then
into an delivery passage 42. Some of the air passes through the
motor to cool it, and rejoins the main air flow further
downstream.
[0033] The delivery passage delivers the air and entrained dust to
the air outlet 21, and thence into the bag 50. The bag is of a
small-pored permeable filter material which due to its large
surface provides only a small resistance to the escaping air whilst
effectively retaining dust and other debris. The bag can be
re-usable but preferably is disposable and discarded when full.
[0034] FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment in which the battery 34 is
replaced by several (eg. three or four) smaller batteries 52
stacked in series in a hollow portion of the handle 18. This
enables the body 10 to be made flatter, and thus more able to be
directed under furniture etc. This embodiment is otherwise as
described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.
[0035] Referring to FIG. 5, in this embodiment a sintered porous
tube 54 extends from the air outlet 21 upwardly to the top of a
disposable dust bag 56 which is carried by the handle 18. Entrained
dust is carried at high velocity up the tube 54 by the airflow and
is delivered to the bag.
[0036] The porous tube acts as a bypass for the air if the bag
surface becomes clogged. Air can escape through its permeable
surface, but much of the entrained dust will still pass into the
bag, (unless the bag is badly clogged) due to its momentum and to
the velocity of the remaining airflow into the bag. The small-pored
material of the sintered tube prevents substantial escape of dust
through the wall of the tube, and the tube itself can be washed
periodically to remove dust adhering to its wall. The porous tube
has the advantage that the cleaner can be operated for a short
period without significant loss of suction if the bag 56 is
clogged. Thus a cleaning cycle may be completed and the bag emptied
more conveniently at the end of the cycle, rather than mid-way
through it.
[0037] It will be noted that in all described embodiments and
contrary to conventional practice, the fan 26 is upstream of the
dust-collecting bag. This enables the fan to drive the air through
the filter constituted by the bag, rather than suck it through a
filter downstream of a dust-collecting bag as in conventional
cleaners. This more efficient arrangement is preferred because it
permits a significantly smaller motor to be used, and assists in
making a self-contained battery-powered cordless design
practicable.
[0038] In the embodiment of FIGS. 6 and 7 the fan 26 also is
upstream of the vacuuming air inlet 16. Air is drawn into the fan
at fan inlet 60 and directed along a shaped duct 62 which delivers
it through an elongated nozzle 64 extending across the full width
of vacuuming air inlet 16, where it passes at high velocity through
an agitator chamber 66 across the top of beater rotors (agitators)
28. This high velocity flow causes suction at the air inlet 16,
causing air to be drawn in together with loose dust, which has been
disturbed by the rotors 28 which rotate clockwise as seen in FIG.
7. The dust-laden air then passes as previously described via
delivery passage 42 to the dust-collecting bag 50. This embodiment
avoids the contamination of the fan 26 by dust-laden air.
[0039] Each feature disclosed in this specification (which term
includes the claims) and/or shown in the drawings may be
incorporated in the invention independently of other disclosed
and/or illustrated features.
* * * * *