Hand-held Cleaning Device Utilizing Air Flow And Broom Action

Abstract

A hand-held cleaning device having a hollow motor chamber communicating with a dust cup. The bottom wall of the motor chamber has an intake opening, and an electric motor is secured within the motor chamber, above the intake opening. The motor has a rotating shaft supporting a cup-shaped spinner which cups the motor. The spinner has a plurality of flexible blades extending radially outwardly therefrom, but not extending out of the intake opening in the bottom wall of the motor housing. The motor rotates the spinner and the blades secured thereto to create an air flow carrying dust and other particles into the intake opening and from there toward the dust cup which has a perforated and filtered rear wall. Additionally, the blades sweep toward the dust cup any larger particles encountered thereby. A scoop plate is provided at the bottom of the cleaning device and is biased toward a down position to assist in picking up dust and other particles and to follow an irregular surface which is being cleaned. The scoop plate has a baffle-like back wall which prevents the dust and other particles collected in the dust cup from spilling out when the device is tilted forward.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention is in the field of devices which utilize vacuum, air flow and broom action for removing dust and other particles from surfaces such as rugs, clothes, table tops and the like. It is particularly concerned with hand-held and portable battery-powered devices for accomplishing such purposes efficiently and inexpensively.

Conventional electrically powered larger vacuum cleaners and electric brooms are used extensively for the applications to which the subject invention is directed. However, there are occasions when the use of the conventional type of vacuum cleaners and electric broom, which must be connected to an outlet of current, is impractical, undesirable, or inconvenient. For example, the conventional vacuum cleaners and electric brooms are often too bulky and require too much effort to take out of the closet and prepare for use for minor jobs such as clothes brushing, cleaning dust or particles from a table top, cleaning car seats or cleaning a small area of a rug. Small, portable, battery operated devices have therefore been developed for such uses. Examples of such devices are described in the U.S. patents to Kravos et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,368,231 and to Evans, Jr. U.S. Pat. No. 3,308,498. Both patents disclose clothes brushes which are portable and battery operated. Another type of similar devices are portable vacuum cleaners of the type disclosed in the U.S. patents to Sever et al. U.S. Pat. No. 1,643,823 and Backer U.S. Pat. No. 969,441. A device which is similar in construction, but is used for fur processing, is disclosed in the U.S. patent to Koch U.S. Pat. No. 2,491,007.

The desirable goals in devices of the type to which the subject invention is directed are to minimize size and weight so that the device would be convenient to use and will have versatility, to minimize power consumption so that the batteries of the device will last long, to maximize efficiency in generating an air flow so that the device will effectively pick up dirt and other particles, to minimize the cost of the device, but to maximize its durability, and to provide for simple construction and operation. Since some of these goals are contradictory, the need still exists to provide a device in which the combination of desirable goals is optimized.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is in the field of portable, hand-held, battery operated cleaning devices utilizing air flow and broom action, and its object is to provide a device of this type which is compact, convenient to use, versatile, low in power consumption, efficient in operation, and inexpensive to manufacture and maintain.

A specific embodiment of the invention is a device comprising a housing provided with a handle adapted to be gripped by the hand of the user and including a hollow motor chamber defined by a pair of transversely spaced side walls, a top wall, and a bottom wall which has a downwardly facing intake opening. An electric motor with a rotatable shaft is secured inside the motor chamber with its shaft extending transversely between the side walls thereof. The motor and its shaft are disposed above the downwardly facing opening in the bottom wall of the motor chamber. The motor is driven by batteries carried in the housing of the device and connected to the motor through an off-on switch. A cup-shaped cylindrical spinner is affixed to the motor shaft to rotate therewith about a common axis of rotation. The spinner cups the motor and extends transversely between the side walls of the motor chamber over the motor, but clears the motor and the inner walls of the motor chamber so that it can rotate freely with the motor shaft within the motor chamber. The spinner supports a number of flexible blades which extend radially outwardly of the spinner and extend transversely within the motor housing.

The arrangement of the spinner affixed to the motor shaft and cupping the motor makes the invented device desirably compact. Additionally, the arrangement obviates the use of gears or other more complex means for transmitting power from the motor to the rotary spinner, and thus makes the device simple and inexpensive to manufacture, and avoids power loss in gears or other means for transmitting power.

The top wall of the motor chamber includes a hinged guard flap which can be locked into position to close the motor chamber, except for its intake opening, and except for a narrow forwardly facing slit in the top wall immediately above the intake opening, but can be swung to an open position to allow for free access to the motor chamber for cleaning it and for otherwise servicing it.

A scoop plate is provided at the bottom wall of the motor chamber and acts as a dust pan to assist in picking up dust and other particles and in following irregular surfaces which are being cleaned. The scoop plate has a transversely extending, relatively sharp forward end which fits within the downwardly facing opening of the motor chamber. The back end of the scoop plate is pivotally attached to the housing of the device, and the scoop plate is biased downwardly, so that its sharp end would follow the surface which is being cleaned when the device is pressed down over that surface. The back end of the scoop plate serves as a baffle to prevent spilling out of the dust and other particles collected in the dust cup as the device is tilted forwardly.

In operation, the motor is driven by the batteries to rotate the spinner so that the flexible blades carried thereby create an air flow backwardly toward a dust cup at the back end of the device, and to sweep backwardly any particles that come in their way. The dust cup has a perforated rear wall provided with a dust filter. Dust and other particles are carried by that air flow or are swept, in a broom-like action, backwardly into the dust cup and are collected therein. It is noted that the spinner blades do not touch the inner walls of the motor chamber and do not extend outwardly of the intake opening therein, so that they do not touch the surface which is being cleaned. Thus, the main purpose of the brush is to create an air flow and to sweep back particles that come in their way, and no power is wasted in friction between the brushes and the motor chamber or between the brushes and the surface which is being cleaned.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, a cleaning device according to the invention comprises a hollow housing 10 made of a material such as molded thermoplastic, which includes a handle 12 adapted to be gripped by the hand of a user, a battery compartment 14 containing suitable batteries, a removably secured dust cup 16 for collecting dust and other particles, and a motor chamber 18. Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 5, the motor chamber 18 is defined by a pair of side walls 20 and 22 which are transversely spaced from each other, a curved top wall 24 and a bottom wall 26 which has an intake opening 26a through which dust and other particles can enter the housing 10 to be collected in the dust cup 16. In intake opening 26a is rectangular in shape, its transverse sides are defined by the lower edges of the side walls 20 and 22, its forward side is defined by the lower forward edge of the top wall 24, and its back side is defined by a sharp edge 26d of the bottom wall 26.

For the purpose of assisting in picking up dust and other particles, the rear portion of the intake opening 26a receives a pivoted and downwardly biased scoop plate 28 which serves a function similar to that of a dust pan. The scoop plate 28 is nearly parallel to the bottom wall 26 and extends transversely between the side walls 20 and 22. The back end of the scoop plate 28 is pivotally secured to the side walls 20 and 22 by means of a pair of pivot pins 28a and 28b which are integral with the scoop plate 28 and extend transversely outwardly of the back ends of the transverse sides of the scoop plate 28. The pins 28a and 28b are pivotally received within suitable inwardly facing openings 20c and 22c in the side walls 20 and 22 respectively. This pivotal arrangement allows the scoop plate 28 to move between a down position shown in solid lines in FIG. 3 and an up position shown in dash lines in the same figure. The scoop plate 28 has a sharp transversely extending forward edge 28c, a flat bottom wall 28d, and a pair of short side walls 28e and 28f which make it channel-shaped in transverse section.

In order to prevent spilling out the contents of the dust cup 16 when the device is tilted forwardly, the scoop plate 28 has a baffle-like back end formed by a back wall 28g which is recessed forwardly of the back ends of the side walls 28e and 28f and of the bottom wall 28d and is integral therewith. The back end of the scoop plate 28 thus forms a backwardly facing cup 28h which collects and holds the contents of the dust cup 16 which may roll forwardly upon forward tiling of the device.

For the purpose of causing the sharp forward edge of the scoop plate to follow an irregular surface as the cleaning device passes over that surface, the scoop plate 28 is biased downwardly by means of a leaf spring 30 whose forward end is secured to the scoop plate 28 by means of a friction fit within a suitable opening 28e at the back end of the scoop plate 28, and whose back end rests against the upper side of the bottom wall 26, as best seen in FIG. 2.

In order to allow convenient access into the motor chamber 18, for purposes such as cleaning and the like, the curved top wall 24 includes a hinged guard flap 24a which forms the forward portion of the top wall 24. The guard flap 24a is pivotally secured to the top wall 24 by means of hinge pins 24c and 24d which are integral with the guard flap 24a and extend transversely outwardly of its back portion. The hinge pins 24c and 24d are received pivotally within suitable inwardly facing openings 22d and 20d in the side walls 22 and 20 respectively. By means of this hinge arrangement, the guard flap 24a moves between a closed position, shown in solid lines in FIG. 2, in which it is releasably locked by means of a snap fit between a pin 206 integral with the side wall 20 and a groove 24b in the guard flap 24a which receives the pin 20b. A similar pin and a similar notch (not shown) are utilized at the other lower transverse end of the guard flap 24 a to lock it releasably in its closed position. From its closed position, the guard flap 24a can be pivoted upwardly to its open position shown in dash lines in FIG. 2 so as to allow convenient access into the motor chamber 18.

The lower edge 24e of the guard flap 24a does not extend all the way down to the plane of the intake opening 26a, but is raised by a small distance to provide a forwardly facing slit 24f which allows the lower edge 24e of the guard flap 24a to override larger particles, such as cigarette butts and larger crumbs, so that they can be swept back toward the dust cup 16 rather than simply pushed forward by the flap 24a as the device is moved forwardly over the surface which is being cleaned.

The sweeping broom action and the air flow which take in dust and other particles through the intake opening 26a and collect the same into the dust cup 16 are effected by means of a motor 22 which rotates a cup-shaped spinner 36 provided with resiliently flexible blades 40. The motor 32 and the spinner 36 with its blades 40 are located within the motor chamber 18, above the intake opening 26a. The motor 32 is secured to the side wall 20 by means of a cylindrical motor housing 34 which is friction fitted over the motor 32 and has an integral annular flange 32 secured to the side wall 20 by means of suitable screws 34a, as best seen in FIG. 5. The motor 34 has a shaft 32a which extends transversely from the motor 32 towards the side wall 22, and which supports the cup-shaped spinner 36. The spinner 36 comprises a cylindrical portion cupping the motor 32 and its housing 34, and an end portion which is parallel to the side wall 22 and includes an opening 36a which is friction fitted over the shaft 32a. The spinner 36 is coaxial with the shaft 32a of the motor 32 and rotates with it. The spinner 36 clears the motor 32 and its housing 34, and clears the walls of the motor chamber 18 so that it can rotate freely within that motor chamber.

The side wall 20 may be provided with a number of apertures 20e for providing a limited air flow assisting in cooling the motor 32.

To generate air flow and to provide broom-like sweeping, the spinner 36 is provided with blades 40 which are T-shaped in a section parallel to the side walls 20 and 22, and whose base portions fit within key grooves 36b extending transversely between the side walls 20 and 22 and affixed to the circumference of the spinner 36. The brushes 40 may be made of a suitable resilient plastic material of rubber, or of a rubber-like material.

In order to make sure that the air flow created by the blades 40 is toward the dust cup 16, and that dust and other particles are drawn into the forwardly facing slit 24 and into the intake opening 26a, the guard flap 24a has an inner wall 24g whose lower ends is progressively curved inwardly.

The motor 32 is powered by means of batteries 42 which are held within the battery housing 14 and which are connected to the motor 32 through an off-on switch 46 which is biased to its open position, but can be closed, to complete the circuit between the batteries at the motor 32, by pushing down a button 46a which is conveniently located at the handle 12. The motor chamber 18 communicates directly with the dut cup 16, but does not communicate with any other cavity within the housing 10.

In operation, the cleaning device is placed on or just above a surface to be cleaned, with the intake opening 26a being substantially closed by the surface which is being cleaned and with the slit 24f facing forwardly, and is moved forwardly. In this position, the scoop plate 28 would normally be pushed up by the surface which is being cleaned, such that its sharp forward edge 28a is at or close to its up position shown in dash lines in FIG. 3. However, the sharp forward edge 28c of the scoop plate 28 follows irregularities in the surface as the cleaning device is moved forwardly over it, because it is biased downwardly by means of the leaf spring 30. The button 36a of the switch 46 is pressed down to close the circuit between the batteries 42 and the motor 32, and the motor 32 rotates the spinner 36 in the clockwise direction in FIG. 2, such that the blade 40 which is immediately above the intake opening 26a moves from the front toward the back of the intake opening 26a. The rotation of the spinner 36 and of the blades 40 creates an air flow into the intake opening 26a toward the dust cup 16 and also sweeps back any particles which come in the way of the blades 40. The rear wall 16a of the dust cup 16 is perforated and the air flow exits therethrough, but dust and other particles carried by the air flow or swept back by the broom action of the blades 40 are retained within the dust cup 16 by a filter 16b which is disposed at the inner side of the back wall 16a of the dust cup 16. The blades 40 serve the dual function of creating an air flow toward the dust cup 16, and of directly sweeping toward the dust cup 16 particles which come in their way. When it is desirable to empty the dust cup 16 or to clean or replace its filter 16b, the dust cup 16 is pulled back to slide it off the housing 10. The filter 16 is then replaced by fitting it in a sliding fit to the housing 10. The batteries 42 may be replaced by opening a lock 44 to release a removable rear wall 14a of the battery compartment 14.

The particular configuration of the motor 32 and the spinner 36 described above minimizes the space occupied by the motor and the spinner, and additionally makes the construction of the disclosed device simple and inexpensive in that gearing or other more complex power transmission means are completely avoided, and there is no energy loss in transmitting power between the motor and the spinner. The hinged guard plate 24a allows for convenient access to the motor chamber for cleaning purposes and the like and assists in properly directing the air flow. The blades 40 can be conveniently removed and replaced by sliding out of and into the key channels 36d. The biased scoop plate 28 assists in following an irregular surface which is being cleaned and serves as a dust pan, and also serves in a baffle to prevent spilling out the contents of the dust cup 16 when the device is tilted forwardly. The invented device is compact, and efficiently draws and sweeps into the dust cup 16 dust and particles such as crumbs, ashes, butts, hairpins, paper clips, sand, tacks, broken glass, saw dust and the like.

Claims

I claim:

1. A hand-held cleaning device comprising:

a housing having a handle adapted to be gripped by the hand of a user and having means defining a hollow motor chamber, said means comprising a top wall, a pair of side walls transversely spaced from each other and a bottom wall with means defining a downwardly facing intake opening therein and a dust cup communicating with the motor chamber for collecting dust taken in through said intake opening;

a motor having a rotatable shaft, and support means for securing the motor to the housing, with the motor and its shaft located within the motor chamber and extending transversely therein between the side walls of the motor chamber, with said motor and shaft disposed above said downwardly facing intake opening in the bottom wall of the motor chamber;

a cup-shaped spinner secured only to the motor shaft to rotate therewith about a common axis of rotation, said spinner cupping the motor and extending transversely between the side walls of the motor chamber over the motor, but clearing the motor, the motor support and the walls defining the motor chamber so that the spinner can rotate freely with the motor shaft within said motor chamber free of contact with any stationary part of the device; and

a plurality of blades and means for securing the blades to the spinner, with the blades extending radially outwardly of the spinner and extending transversely between the side walls of the motor chamber, all of the blades on the spinner being shorter than the distance between the spinner and the plane of the intake opening so that each blade terminates before it can reach the intake opening, said blades extending radially outwardly of the spinner said blades causing air turbulence in the vicinity of the intake opening, to thereby raise dust particles from nearby surfaces by said air turbulence, said spinner rotating in a direction causing the blades to strike dust particles that they encounter and to move such dust particles toward the dust cup for collection therein, whereby no element rotating with the spinner contacts any surface which is in the plane of the intake opening.

2. A cleaning device as in claim 1 wherein the top wall of the motor chamber includes means defining an opening, and including a guard flap and means for pivotally securing the guard flap to the housing for movement of the guard flap between a closed position in which it closes said opening in the top wall of the motor chamber and an open position in which it is away from said opening in the top wall of the motor chamber to allow access to the inside of the motor chamber, and lock means for selectively securing the guard flap in its closed position.

3. A cleaning device as in claim 1 including a scoop plate having a bottom wall and pair of transversely spaced side walls extending upwardly therefrom, at least a portion of the scoop plate being channel-shaped in transverse section, said scoop plate having a forward portion dimensioned to fit slidingly within the opening in the bottom wall of the motor chamber, and means for pivotally securing the scoop plate to the housing for movement of the forward end of the scoop plate between a down position in which its forward end extends downwardly of the opening in the bottom wall of the motor chamber and an up position in which said forward end of the scoop plate is substantially flush with the bottom wall of the motor chamber, the scoop being gravity-biased towards its down position.

4. A cleaning device as in claim 1 wherein the motor is cylindrical and the support means for securing the motor to the housing comprises a hollow cylinder receiving the motor in a friction fit and having a first side wall having an opening for loosely receiving the motor shaft to allow for free rotation thereof and a second side wall including a flange portion, and means for securing said flanged portion to a side wall of the motor chamber.

5. A cleaning device as in claim 1 wherein the motor is an electric motor, and wherein said housing includes a battery compartment for receiving electrical batteries and means for supplying current from batteries in the battery compartment to the electric motor and a switch for selectively completing and breaking the electrical connection between the batteries and the motor.

6. A cleaning device as in claim 1 wherein the housing includes means for removably securing the dust cup rearwardly of the motor chamber, said dust cup having a rear wall having a plurality of perforations and including a dust filter disposed on the inner side of the rear wall of the dust cup for allowing the escape of air but for retaining particles moved into the dust cup from the motor chamber by the blades.

7. A cleaning device as in claim 1 wherein the means for securing the blades to the spinner comprises means defining a plurality of transversely extending key grooves in the outer circumferential wall of the spinner and wherein each blade includes a key portion dimensioned to be received within a key groove in the spinner.

8. A cleaning device as in claim 1 wherein the top wall of the motor chamber has a lower forward edge which terminates above the plane of the downwardly facing opening in the bottom wall to define an unobscured, forwardly facing opening in the top wall whch is immediately above the downwardly facing opening in the bottom wall and continuous therewith.

9. A cleaning device as in claim 8 wherein the top wall of the motor chamber includes means defining an upper opening which is immediately above and continuous with said forwardly facing opening therein, and including a guard flap and means for pivotally securing the guard flap to the housing for movement of the guard flap between a closed position in which it closes said upper opening in the top wall of the motor chamber and an open position in which it is away from said upper opening to allow access to the inside of the motor chamber.

10. A cleaning device as in claim 1 including a scoop plate comprising a forward portion dimensioned to fit slidingly within the rear portion of the opening in the bottom wall of the motor chamber, means for pivotally securing the scoop plate to the housing for movement of the forward end of the scoop plate between a down position in which its forward end extends downwardly of the opening in the bottom wall of the motor chamber and an up position in which said forward end of the scoop plate is substantially flush with the bottom wall of the motor chamber, said scoop plate being pivoted behind its center of gravity to thereby gravity-bias its forward end towarwd its down position.

11. A cleaning device as in claim 10 wherein the dust cup is rearwardly of the scoop plate and the scoop plate includes a back wall extending upwardly and partly blocking said communication between the motor chamber and the dust cup, to thereby serve as a baffle tending to prevent spillage of dust from the dust cup when the device is tilted forwardly.

12. A hand-held cleaning device comprising:

a housing having means defining a hollow motor chamber, said means comprising a top wall having a forward end and a rear end, a pair of side walls transversely spaced from each other and a bottom wall having means defining a downwardly facing intake opening therein;

a motor having a rotatable shaft, and support means for securing the motor to the housing, with the motor and its shaft located within the motor chamber and extending transversely between the side walls of the motor chamber, with said motor and shaft disposed above said intake opening;

a cup-shaped spinner secured only to the motor shaft to rotate therewith about a common axis of rotation, said spinner cupping the motor and extending transversely between the side walls of the motor chamber over the motor, but clearing the motor, the motor support and the walls defining the motor chamber so that the spinner can rotate freely with the motor shaft within said motor chamber free of contact with any stationary part of the device;

a plurality of blades and means for securing the blades to the spinner, with the blades extending radially outwardly of the spinner and extending transversely between the side walls of the motor chamber, but clearing the inside walls of the motor chamber; and

a hollow dust cup and means for securing the dust cup to the housing rearwardly of the motor chamber and in direct communication therewith;

said blades being at all times above the plane of the intake opening and above a surface on which the cleaning device may be placed and extending radially outwardly of spinner said blades rotating with the spinner to create air turbulence that lifts up dust particles in the vicinity of the intake opening and physically pushing any particles that the blades encounter rearwardly, toward the dust cup, for collection therein, whereby there is no rotating element contacting any surface in the plane of the intake opening.

13. A cleaning device as in claim 12 wherein the forward end of the top wall of the motor chamber curves downwardly and terminates in a bottom edge which is above the bottom wall to define an unobscured, forwardly facing opening which is immediately above the intake opening and continuous therewith.

14. A hand-held cleaning device comprising:

a hollow motor chamber, dust collecting means and a passageway connecting the chamber and the dust collecting means, said chamber having an intake opening;

a motor fixedly supported in the motor chamber, said motor having a rotatable shaft;

a spinner fixedly supported only by the motor shaft and out of contact with any other means, said spinner cupping the motor, and having radial extensions all extending by a distance less than that between the spinner and the intake opening, with no rotating part extending to or past the intake opening, whereby no rotating part contacts any surface in the plane of the intake opening and the spinner can rotate free of friction with such surface, to create an air turbulence in the vicinity of the intake opening and to strike and move toward the dust collecting means particles raised from such surface by said air turbulence.

15. A device as in claim 14 including a scoop plate having a flat front end and pivotally supported by the device to move between a first position in which its flat front end is substantially in the plane of the intake opening and forms one side edge thereof, and a second position, in which its flat front end is in a plane at an angle to that of the intake opening and the front edge of said flat front end is away from the spinner side of the intake opening.

16. A device as in claim 15 wherein the scoop plate is biased toward its second position.