U.S. patent application number 11/906515 was filed with the patent office on 2008-09-18 for compact vacuum cleaning device.
Invention is credited to Horst Dilger, Dieter Kaffenberger, Klaus-Dieter Riehl.
Application Number | 20080222837 11/906515 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37309725 |
Filed Date | 2008-09-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080222837 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kaffenberger; Dieter ; et
al. |
September 18, 2008 |
Compact vacuum cleaning device
Abstract
A compact vacuum cleaning device for automatic cleaning of
smooth and textile floor coverings, particularly in the private
home sector, has a housing, a suction mouth on the underside of the
housing, a cleaning roller disposed in a roller chamber, a dust
collection container, a suction fan, an electrical travel drive,
control electronics, and a power source. The device height of the
vacuum cleaning device is less than 180 mm. The maximal suction air
stream that enters through the suction mouth, passes through the
dust collection container, and leaves the vacuum cleaning device
through the suction fan, is greater than 15 l/s. The maximal
suction power is greater than 10 W.
Inventors: |
Kaffenberger; Dieter;
(Wiehl, DE) ; Dilger; Horst; (Morsbach, DE)
; Riehl; Klaus-Dieter; (Drolshagen, DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
COLLARD & ROE, P.C.
1077 NORTHERN BOULEVARD
ROSLYN
NY
11576
US
|
Family ID: |
37309725 |
Appl. No.: |
11/906515 |
Filed: |
October 2, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
15/319 ;
15/340.1; 15/347 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47L 9/2852 20130101;
A47L 9/2805 20130101; A47L 2201/00 20130101; A47L 9/22
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
15/319 ;
15/340.1; 15/347 |
International
Class: |
A47L 5/00 20060101
A47L005/00; A47L 9/10 20060101 A47L009/10 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 20, 2006 |
EP |
06 022 038.1 |
Claims
1. A compact vacuum cleaning device for automatic cleaning of
smooth and textile floor coverings, comprising: a housing; a
suction mouth disposed on an underside of the housing; a cleaning
roller disposed in a roller chamber in the housing; a dust
collection container in the housing; a suction fan in the housing;
an electrical travel drive in the housing; control electronics in
the housing; and a power source in the housing, wherein a height of
the device is less than 180 mm, wherein a maximal suction air
stream q.sub.max that enters through the suction mouth, passes
through the dust collection container and leaves the vacuum
cleaning device through the suction fan, is greater than 15 l/s
(liters per second), and wherein a maximal suction power
P.sub.2,max is greater than 10 watts.
2. A vacuum cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the
height of the device is less than 150 mm.
3. A vacuum cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein a maximal
partial vacuum h.sub.max is greater than 2 kPa (kilopascal).
4. A vacuum cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the
maximal suction power P.sub.2, max is greater than 15 W.
5. A vacuum cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein a base
area (A) of the vacuum cleaning device amounts to 1000 cm.sup.2 to
1500 cm.sup.2.
6. A vacuum cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the
device has a volume of 15 to 25 liters.
7. A vacuum cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the
suction mouth is disposed on an underside of the roller
chamber.
8. A vacuum cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein a volume
of the dust collection container is greater than 1 liter.
9. A compact vacuum cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein
the dust collection container and the suction fan are disposed next
to one another when viewed in a longitudinal direction.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The invention relates to a compact vacuum cleaning device
for automatic cleaning of smooth and textile floor coverings,
particularly in the private home sector. The device has a housing,
a suction mouth on the underside of the housing, a cleaning roller
disposed in a roller chamber, a dust collection container, a
suction fan, an electrical travel drive, control electronics, and a
power source. The height of the vacuum cleaning device is less than
180 mm. The height results from the distance above the floor that
is predetermined by the travel drive, and from the dimensions of
the housing that accommodates the dust collection container, the
suction fan, the travel drive, the cleaning roller, the control
electronics, and the power source. Antennas and any projecting fins
that are intended to prevent the device from going under low pieces
of furniture are not taken into consideration in determining the
device height. Vacuum cleaning devices having the characteristics
described are also referred to as vacuum cleaning robots.
[0003] 2. The Prior Art
[0004] Compact vacuum cleaning devices having the characteristics
described above are described in European Patent No. EP 0 803 224
B1 and corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 5,781,960 and are shown in
various known embodiments. The known embodiments have a
rechargeable battery as the power source, which is charged in a
charging station, manually or automatically, during breaks in
operation. The vacuum cleaning devices that function in automatic
manner are controlled, during the cleaning operation, by control
electronics that act on the electronic travel drive. Various
contact sensors or sensors that work without contact can be
provided for recognizing impeding objects and walls. It is also
known to store the traveled path in the control electronics in the
form of a card, thereby making it possible to achieve cleaning that
covers the entire area in the shortest possible period of time.
[0005] The use of a self-propelled vacuum cleaning device that
works automatically is supposed to make manual cleaning with a
conventional vacuum cleaner superfluous. In order to meet this
requirement and offer the user an actual added value however, the
vacuum cleaner must have a sufficient cleaning effect not only on
large areas of a hard floor but also, in particular, on textile
floor coverings. Furthermore, dust and dirt can collect under
pieces of furniture that stand on legs. In order to avoid having to
remove this dust and dirt manually, the vacuum cleaning devices
must have a low height that enables them to pass underneath such
pieces of furniture.
[0006] With automatic, self-propelled vacuum cleaning devices, the
available electrical power is limited due to the integrated power
source. In order to keep the power consumption low, the cleaning
effect is determined to a decisive extent by the cleaning roller,
which is typically configured as a brush roller with the known
vacuum cleaning devices. The air stream that flows through the
suction mouth is low and merely guarantees that dirt and dust
picked up or loosened by the cleaning roller will be vacuumed up
during cleaning operation. While known vacuum cleaning devices are
suitable for removing coarse, loose particles such as crumbs and
fuzz from smooth floor coverings, the cleaning effect on textile
floor coverings, on the other hand, is insufficient. In many cases,
additional, undesirable manual cleaning of textile floor coverings
with a conventional vacuum cleaner therefore becomes necessary.
[0007] Furthermore, a compact vacuum cleaning device having a
housing, a cleaning roller disposed in a roller chamber, a dust
collection container, a fan, an electrical travel drive, control
electronics, and a power source is described in International
Application No. WO 2006/089 307 A2. During cleaning operation, a
cleaning fluid is dispensed from a cleaning agent tank within the
housing, on the underside of the vacuum cleaning device, so that
damp cleaning of the floor covering takes place, to support the
vacuum cleaning. The cleaning fluid that is dispensed in this way
can be vacuumed up through a separate suction opening on the
underside of the vacuum cleaning device. A good cleaning result can
be achieved on smooth floors with this combined cleaning. However,
the vacuum cleaning device described is not suitable for cleaning
textile floor coverings, and is complicated in design.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a
self-propelled vacuum cleaning device that functions in an
automatic manner, and cleans textile floor coverings better, while
having a compact structure.
[0009] This object is accomplished, according to the invention, in
that the maximal suction air stream q.sub.max that enters through
the suction mouth, is passed through the dust collection container,
and leaves the vacuum cleaning device through the suction fan, is
greater than 15 l/s (liters per second), and that the maximal
suction power P.sub.2,max is greater than 10 W. The suction air
stream in the sense of the invention refers to the volume of the
suction air that enters through the suction mouth per second, is
passed through the dust collection container, and leaves the vacuum
cleaning device through the suction fan. The dust collection
container can be equipped with a bag or a filter. The "maximal
suction air stream" q.sub.max is defined as that air stream that
occurs during operation of the vacuum cleaning device with a freely
exposed suction mouth, for example when the vacuum cleaning device
is lifted off a floor to be cleaned. It is presupposed that the
dust collection container is not contaminated and is equipped with
a factory-new dust bag, if applicable, as well as a factory-new
filter. The testing conditions that must be adhered to in the
determination of the air stream q, in liters per second, as well as
the testing conditions for determining the other air data of the
vacuum cleaning tool, are contained in the European standard "EN
60312: 1998+A1: 2000."
[0010] The vacuum cleaning device is preferably designed in such a
manner that a maximal pressure drop of more than 2 kPa
(kilopascal), preferably a maximal pressure drop of at least 4 kPa,
occurs at the suction mouth. The "maximal pressure drop" (maximal
partial vacuum) is determined while the suction mouth is completely
closed. The test apparatuses are also described in the European
standard "EN 60312: 1998+A1: 2000."
[0011] The maximal air stream q.sub.max and the maximal pressure
drop h.sub.max represent the limit values of the possible suction
parameters. In the case of usual operation of the vacuum cleaning
device, a value occurs for the air stream q and a related value
occurs for the partial vacuum h, as a function of the floor
covering and of the degree of fullness of the dust collection
container. Both a large air stream, for transporting the dirt
particles, and as great a partial vacuum as possible, for
guaranteeing a good depth effect, are aimed at. In this connection,
the suction capacity can be determined using the suction power
P.sub.2 as the product of air stream q and partial vacuum h, for
different operating parameters. Within the framework of the
invention, the term suction power refers, in agreement with the
European standard "EN 60312: 1998+A1: 2000, " to the power of the
flowing suction air, and is therefore also referred to as air
power, in practice. The value pair of suction air stream and
pressure drop at which the suction power is maximal can be
determined by varying the operating parameters. According to the
invention, the maximal suction power P.sub.2,max is greater than 10
watts, preferably greater than 15 watts.
[0012] In order to be able to use the vacuum cleaning device well
in the private home sector, a low device height and, at the same
time, a small base area are aimed at. Preferably, the vacuum
cleaning device has a base area between 1000 cm.sup.2 and 1500
cm.sup.2. Within the framework of the invention, the base area is
the area that is covered by the vacuum cleaning device in the case
of a vertical projection. If the base area is small, particularly
if the base area lies in the range indicated, it is possible for
the vacuum cleaning device to reach nooks as well, making it
possible to achieve complete cleaning even in regions where access
is difficult. For the purpose of good maneuverability, it is
practical if the base area is configured to be round or oval.
[0013] It is practical if the vacuum cleaning device has a volume
of 15 to 25 liters, and a range of 17 to 20 liters is preferred.
The volume is defined as the space enclosed by the housing bottom
and an upper housing part of the housing, including the roller
chamber.
[0014] In order to achieve a further improvement in the suction
behavior within the framework of an advantageous embodiment of the
invention, seals are provided between the individual components,
along the path of the air stream, in the vacuum cleaning device.
The proportion of useless air that is drawn in not through the
suction mouth but rather through cracks and openings between the
components can be minimized by such seals. The flow cross-sections
and flow transitions along the path of the suction air can also be
optimized, in terms of flow technology, in order to avoid pressure
losses.
[0015] The cleaning roller provided according to the invention is
disposed in an assigned roller chamber, and the suction mouth can
be disposed on the underside of the housing, at a distance from the
roller. However, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the
suction mouth is disposed on the underside of the roller chamber,
and the suction air is guided from the roller chamber to the dust
collection container. The cleaning roller can be driven
electrically or by an air turbine, and contributes to cleaning by
direct contact of the roller surface with the floor covering. In
order to guarantee contact between cleaning roller and floor
covering on different floor coverings, and to avoid increased
friction between floor covering and cleaning roller, the cleaning
roller is preferably mounted in the housing so that it is resilient
in the vertical direction. Alternatively, the roller chamber, with
suction mouth and cleaning roller, can be mounted in the housing,
as a whole, to be resilient in the vertical direction. The roller
chamber can rest on the floor, in sections, with its underside or
with rollers and/or slide surfaces. Both in the case of a
resiliently mounted cleaning roller and in the case of a
resiliently mounted roller chamber, the optimal contact pressure of
the cleaning pressure, and a distance between the suction mouth and
the surface to be cleaned that is advantageous from a
flow-technology point of view can be achieved by a corresponding
spring force of the resilient mounting. For example, the cleaning
roller can be configured as a lamella roller having soft, resilient
lamellae made of plastic, or as a brush roller. Preferably, soft
bristles are provided, which lead to low friction between cleaning
roller and floor covering.
[0016] The vacuum cleaning device according to the invention cleans
different floor coverings well, and is suitable for picking up
large amounts of dirt in a short time, also because of the large
air stream. In order to match the improved suction properties, the
volume of the dust collection container is greater than 1 liter.
Such a configuration can be implemented even in combination with
the compact construction described above, by means of effective
utilization of the available volume.
[0017] In order to achieve a compact construction, the dust
collection container and the suction fan can be disposed next to
one another, seen in the longitudinal direction, for example, at
approximately the same height. The suction fan is connected to the
dust collection container at the side. In order to avoid dead
volumes within the housing, the shape of the power source, for
example in the form of rechargeable batteries, can also be adapted
to the outside contour of the housing. Furthermore, the components
of the vacuum cleaning device are preferably coordinated with one
another in terms of their shape, and disposed packed as close
together as possible. Drive motors for the travel drive or the
cleaning roller, as well as the control electronics, can be
disposed in narrow interstices between the other components.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] Other objects and features of the present invention will
become apparent from the following detailed description considered
in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is to be
understood, however, that the drawings are designed as an
illustration only and not as a definition of the limits of the
invention.
[0019] In the drawings, wherein similar reference characters denote
similar elements throughout the several views:
[0020] FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of the components of
a vacuum cleaning device according to one embodiment of the
invention; and
[0021] FIG. 2 shows a schematic side view of a vacuum cleaning
device according to an embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0022] Referring now in detail to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a
compact vacuum cleaning device 1 for automatic cleaning of smooth
and textile floor coverings, particularly in the private home
sector, having a housing 2, a suction mouth 3 that is disposed on
the underside of a roller chamber 4, a cleaning roller 5 disposed
in the roller chamber 4, a dust collection container 6, a suction
fan 7, an electrical travel drive 8, control electronics 9, and a
power source 10 in the form of two rechargeable batteries 11. Dust
collection container 6 can be equipped with an air-permeable bag,
and with a filter on the outlet side. The various components are
disposed packed closely together in housing 2, for optimal
utilization of space. Roller chamber 4 is mounted resiliently in
housing 2, and cleaning roller 5, which is disposed in roller
chamber 4 and configured as a brush roller, is driven by an
electric motor 13, by way of a drive belt 12. From roller chamber
4, the air stream that enters through suction mouth 3 is guided
into dust collection container 6 by way of a short connection 14.
Suction fan 7 is connected with dust collection container 6 by way
of a side opening 15, and suction fan 7 draws the suction air in
axially, and blows it out radially, for example at a slant towards
the top. Travel drive 8 has drive wheels 16, each having an
assigned drive motor 17, controlled by control electronics 9,
whereby precise travel movements are possible even in the tightest
space by separate control of drive motors 17. Despite the compact
construction of vacuum cleaning device 1, with a base area A
between 1,000 cm.sup.2 and 1,500 cm.sup.2, the vacuum cleaning
device is characterized by a very good cleaning effect. The fact
that the maximal air stream q.sub.max, when suction mouth 3 lies
free, amounts to more than 15 l/s, contributes to the invention in
an essential manner. The maximal partial vacuum h.sub.max, when
suction mouth 3 is closed, is greater than 2 kPa, and preferably
amounts to at least 4 kPa. The maximal suction power P.sub.2,max is
always greater than 10 W, and preferably lies in the range of 15 to
25 W or more.
[0023] FIG. 2 shows a compact vacuum cleaning device 1 according to
the invention in a side view. Device height z is less than 180 mm,
preferably less than 150 mm. Device height z results from the
distance from the floor predetermined by the travel drive, and the
dimensions of housing 2 that accommodates dust collection container
6, suction fan 7, travel drive 8, cleaning roller 5, control
electronics 9, and power source 10. Additional structures on the
top or to the side, such as a sensor or an antenna 18, which are
resilient or can bend away in resilient manner when the device
moves under an impeding object, are not taken into consideration in
the determination of device height z. Furthermore, projecting fins
can be disposed on the top of the housing, which prevent it from
traveling underneath low pieces of furniture, whose distance from
the floor is not, or only slightly, greater than the device height
of the vacuum cleaning device. Such fins are also not taken into
consideration in determining the device height. Dust collection
container 6 and suction fan 7 are disposed next to one another and
extend almost over the device height of the vacuum cleaning device
1, thereby making it possible to achieve optimal space utilization.
Despite the compact dimensions, dust collection container 6 can be
configured to be larger than 1 liter, preferably larger than 1.5
liters.
[0024] The vacuum cleaning device has a volume between 15 and 25
liters, whereby a range of 17 to 20 liters is preferred. The volume
is defined as the space enclosed by the housing bottom and an upper
housing part, including the roller chamber.
[0025] Accordingly, while only a few embodiments of the present
invention have been shown and described, it is obvious that many
changes and modifications may be made thereunto without departing
from the spirit and scope of the invention.
* * * * *