Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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HAND-HELD VACUUM CIE~NER
This invention relates to hand-held vacuum
cleaners and in particular to hand-held vacuum
cleaners having improved air-flow resulting in
improved performance.
AC powered hand-held vacuum cleaners have
become increasingly popular in the past several
years. Such cleaners are particularly useful
where conventional larger size vacuum cleaners
such as large canister or upright types are
inconvenient for the user. Such hand-held vacuum
cleaners are particularly useful in cleaning
stairs and ~urniture. Examples of these AC
powered hand-held vacuum cleaners are found in
United States patents 4,700,428 and 4,891,861.
Due to their reduced size, such hand-held
vacuum cleaners, do not have the same suction
power as do the larger conventional cleaners. To
minimize the loss of suction power, the working
air path through the cleaner should be designed to
provide an unobstructed, generally continuous air
flow channel from the inlet nozzle to the
collector bag ~or receiving the dirty air.
Heretofore, the conventional hand-held vacuum
cleaners of the type described, as exemplified by
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the unit illustrated in U.S. Patent 4,891,861,
have wasted suction power by causing the working
air to flow through a rather circuitous air path
within the cleaner. The loss of suction power has
reduc~d the operating efficiency of the unit.
In United States patent 2,184,446 there is
illustrated a vacuum cleaner having a motor
mounted in a vertical orientation. However, the
illustrated cleaner is not a hand-held type, but
is rather a large upright cleaner.
Very often it is desirable to extend the
working air flow path of the cleaner by attaching
a hose or other attachment to the cleaner.
Heretofore, many of the commercially available
hand-held vacuum cleaners have reguired that the
user disengage or remove the drive belt employed
to operate the rotary brush of the cleaner making
the rotary brush inoperable. Removal of the drive
belt has generally been relatively time consuming
and inconvenient to the user.
A connector for attaching the hose to a
hand-held vacuum cleaner is illustrated in United
States Patent 4,700,42~. The connector
illustrated in this patent is relatively costly to
manufacture and is not as simple to use as might
be desired.
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~ ccordingly, it is an object of this
invention to provide a hand-held vacuum cleaner
having an air-flow channel which directs the air
in a generally straight flow path from the inlet
nozzle to the dirt collector bag.
Accordingly, it is another object of this
invention to provide a connector for a hand-held
vacuum cleaner which permits an accessory to be
readily connected to the cleaner without requiring
any removal of the drive belt.
The foregoing object and other objects of the
invention are attained in a hand-held vacuum
cleaner including a housing comprising mating
first and second half housing elements. The
housing has a handle and a nozzle. A motor is
mounted within the housing for driving a shaft. A
fan is mounted on the shaft for rotation
therewith. A selectively separable bag assembly is
mounted on said housing. Means defining a working
air channel within the housing communicates the
nozæle with the bag assembly. The air channel
terminates in a working air outlet chute
positioned within the bag assembly at its open
upper end.
Further, the sha~t is positioned within the
housing generally normal to the direction o~ air
flow within the working air channel. The air
drawn into the housing flows through the nozzle
axially towards the bag assembly and thence
upwardly through the fan and again axially into
the ~ag assembly.
A connector for joining a hose or similar
attachment to the vacuum cleaner extends the flow
path of the working air from the attachment to the
nozzle. The connector comprises a first section
for direct engagement with the attachment and a
second section adapted for fitting over the
housing in underlying registration with the
nozzle. The second section includes a fluid flow
channel~ an edge wall surrounding the fluid flow
channel and having an extent and configuration to
fit in substantially fluid tight engagement with
the nozzle, a pair of spaced apart hook-shaped
projections extending outwardly from the edge wall
and releasable latch means movably connected to
the edge wall on the side thereo~ opposite the
hook shaped projections. The nozzle includes
first wall means for pivoting engagement with the
hook-shaped projections and second wall means for
releasable enyagement with said latch means.
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FIGURE 1 of the drawing is a side view,
partially in cross section, oE a hand-held vacuum
cleaner embodying the present invention;
FIGURE 2 of the drawing is a fragmentary
sectional view of a detail of the cleaner
illustrated in FIGURE 1.
FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view,
partially in cross section, illustrating the
connector of the present invention as attached to
the vacuum cleaner of FIGURE l;
FIGURE 4 is a perspective view illustrating
the manner in which the connector is attached to
the cleaner by the user;
FIGURE 5 is a perspeckive view of the
connector; and
FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of
a detail o~ the connector and cleaner illustrated
in FIGURE 3.
ReEerring now to the drawing, there is
disclosed a hand-held vacuum cleaner generally
designated by the reference numeral 10. Vacuum
2 ~ .s ~
cleaner 10 comprises a housing generally
desiynated by reference numeral 11. The housing
has two mating half elements 12, 14 which are
joined together via a tongue and groove joint. A
handle 16 extends outwardly from the top of
housing 11.
Housing 11 includes a member 22 defining the
lower wall of cleaner 10. Member 22 is removably
connected to first and second half housing
elements 12, 14. Member 22 has an opening 20
defining the intake nozzle for vacuum cleaner 10.
A rotating brush 18 is mounted within the nozzle.
Brush 18 includes a spindle 1~ which is mounted in
opposed bearing housing cavities (not shown)
mounted in the side wall of member 22. An endless
belt 34 is wrapped around spindle 19 for
rotationally driving brush 18.
A motor 24 is supported between the two half
housing elements 12, 14. The motor is mounted in
a vertical orientation with respect to the floor
on which the vacuum cleaner 10 is supported. Motor
24 is operated by a source of AC power. Motor 24
is connected to the source. of power via AC power
plug 26. Each of the half housing elements
includes a plurality of air vents 28 for providiny
cooling air to and from the motor.
Motor 2~ drives a shaft 30 connected thereto.
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Fan 32 is mounted on shaft 30 for rotation
therewith. Shaft 30 also is connected to belt 34
which, as described previously, drives brush 18.
Internal walls of half housing elements
12, 14 define, in part, working air channel 36.
Channel 36 commences at nozzle 20 and terminates
at an outlet chute 38. Outlet chute 38 extends
from backwall 58 of housing ll. Outlet chute 38
directs the working air drawn into the vacuum
cleaner into a dirty air bag assembly 40. The
upper surface o~ outlet chute 38 includes a
generally arcuate or curved wall 54 for directing
the working air towards the rear of the bag.
Curved wall 54 deflects any debris entrained
within the working air away from the user and
enables the velocity of the entrained debris to
decrease before the debris hits any surface of the
bag. Curved wall 54 facilitates the filling of
the bag. It is particularly important to note
that outlet chute 38 is positioned at the top of
the bag assembly. It has been determined that more
dirt can be captured within a given size bag when
the chute is positioned at the top of the bag
assembly rather than at the bottom thereof.
Bag assembly 40 includes a dirt collector bag
41 tshown in phantom) which is attached to a
collar 42. Bay assembly 40 is removably secured
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to housing 11. Collar 42 includes a pair of
depending spaced bosses 43 which provide support
for a pivot pin 44. A combined handle and latch
member 46 is pivotally attached to pivot pin 44.
Collar 42 has an inwardly extending finger 62
formed on its top surface. Finger 62 mates with
an indented section 64 formed in the top of
housing 11 so that the collar and attached bag
assembly 40 are properly aligned on the housing.
Handle and latch member 46 includes a
slightly canted upwardly extending rib 50 provided
at its forward end. Rib 50 mates with a detent 48
formed on member 22 to latch the collar and bag
assembly onto housing 11. Lower wall 22 further
includes a pair of guide ribs 52 for guiding rib
50 on handle and latch member 46 into proper
position with respect to detent 48.
In operation, air is drawn through nozzle 20
and it passes in a generally straight line
through air channel 36 and thence into fan inlet
60. Fan 32 discharges the air khrough outlet
chute 38 with the curved upper wall thereof
directing the air kowards the rear of collector
bag 41. The air flow path from nozzle 20 to
outlet chute 38 is in generally a straight path.
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There are no 90 bends at the fan outlet and
thus air flow losses are maintained at a minimum.
By maintaining the air flow losses at a minimum,
the effective cleaning e~ficiency oE cleaner 10 is
maintained at a relatively high level. The
relatively high cleaning efficiency of the cleaner
is attained primarily because the motor 24 and
shaft 30 are mounted in a relatively vertical
orientation with respect to bottom wall member
~2. Shaft 30 is positioned generally normal to
the direction of the working air flow through
channel 36. In actuality, the motor and shaft are
mounted at a 5 to 12 angle relative to a
vertical axis, with motor 24 being tilted towards
the front of cleaner 10.
In the hand-held vacuum cleaner illustrated
in United States Patent 4,891,861, the motor is
mounted in a horizontal plane. The workiny air
flows through the nozzle into the vacuum cleaner
housing and then is drawn vertically upward to
pass into the ~an inlet. I`he air is then
discharged radially outwardly and must make a 90
bend to pass into the working air channel. The
center of the air inlet for the ~an is
approximately 3 inches above the nozzle. The
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working air channel terminates in an outlet
communicating with the lower open end of a bag
assembly. The aforedescribed air flow path results
in significant ~low losses reducing the overall
cleaning efficiency of the cleaner thus described.
The position of the outlet at the lower open end
of the bag assembly results in the working air
channel becoming clogged with dirt further
degrading the performance of the cleaner.
In the vacuum cleaner embodying the present
invention, the center of the fan is only 3/4 of an
inch above the nozzle as a result of the vertical
mounting of the motor and fan. Further, the air
flow from the fan follows a generally straight
line as the air passes into the collector bag ~1.
Operation of brush 18 assists in propelling the
debris towards fan inlet 60. The debris tends to
follow a tangential flow path when thrown from the
brush. The tangential flow path is co axial with
working air channel 36. When the motor is mounted
in a horizontal plane, the brush does not provide
the same assistance in throwing the debris towards
the fan inlet as it does when the motor is mounted
in a vertical plane.
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ll--
The position of the outlet at the open upper
end of bag 41 minimizes clQgging o~ the working
air channel. Thus, the efficiency of the cleaner
embodying the present invention is greater than
the ef~iciency of vacuum cleaners of the type
represented in the previously described United
States patent.
A further advantage of mounting the motor in
a vertical plane as compared to mounting the motor
in a horizontal plane is manifested when it is
necessary to replace belt 34. To replace the
belt, wall 22 is easily removed to provide access
to the belt shaft 30 and spindle 19. With
cleaners mounted in a horizontal plane, a front
panel on the cleaner is removed providing only
limited access to the belt and its associated
mechanisms. In some instances, manufacturers have
provided the users with special tools to replace
the belt.
At times, the user of vacuum cleaner 10 may
desire to employ an attachment such as a hose and
crevice tool. The hose extends the working air
~low path. In some o~ the prior art hand-held
vacuum cleaners, it has been necessary to detach
belt 34 and render brush 18 inoperable when an
attachment is connected to the cleaner.
2 ~
Detachment of tha belt is generally not 2 user
friendly operation. In other cleaners of the type
described, a connector has been inserted between
the attachment and nozzle of the cleaner. The
connector of the prior art has been relatively
more expensive to manufacture and has not been as
user friendly as the connector to be more fully
described hereinafter.
Referring now to FIGURES 3 - 6, the
attachment connector of the present invention will
be described in detail. The attachment connector
is generally designated by the reference numeral
70.
Connector 70 includes a first section 72 and
a second section 74. First section 72 includes a
generally cylindrical portion 76 which mates
directly with the attachment such as a hose.
Portion 76 extends from a generally rhomboid
shaped housing portion 78. An operating lever 81
of a latch assembly 80 extends through the top
surface of housing 78. Latch assembly 80 further
includes a latch member 88 to be more fully
described hereinafter. A leaf spring 90 biases
latch assembly 80 towards cylindrical portion 76.
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Connector 70 includPs a fluid flow path.
first portion 102 of the flow path is defined by
first section 72 and a second portion 104 of the
flow path is defined by second section 74. Second
portion 104 of the flow path i~ in fluid flow
communication with nozzle 20.
Second section 74 includes an outer wall 106
extending along the front and both sides of
connector 70; the rear of second section 74 is
open. A four sided inner edge wall 92 is spaced
from outer wall 106 and is dimensioned to fit in
substantially fluid tight engagement with nozzle
20 when placed in underlying registration
th~rewith. A gasket 94 is held between the outer
surface of edge wall 92 and the inner surface of
the wall defining nozzle 20 to insure a fluid
tight seal between the respective walls. The
space betwe~n opposed surfaces of walls 92 and 106
is designated by reference numeral 110.
The front wall deEining nozzle 20 includes a
pair of spaced vertically extending ribs 98, 100
which define a pocket 96. As illustrated in
Figures 4 and 6, nozzle 20 is bisected by a rib 97
which includes base 99 defining a bottom wall for
pocket 96. Pocket 96 is sized so that it receives
latch member 88 of latch assembly 80 in a snap-fit
engagement when connector 70 is placed on cleaner
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10. Each o~ the side wal.ls definillg nozzle 20
includes a depending rib 108.Depending ribs 10~
fit in space 110 when connector 70 is attached to
housing 11.
A pair of angled ribs 112 are spaced
laterally to and equidistantly from latch member
88.
As illustrated in FIGURE 3, when the user of
the cleaner desires to place connector 70 onto the
cleaner, the user grabs handle 16 of the cleaner
with one hand and uses the other hand to place the
connector onto housing 11 of cleaner 10. In
particular, hook-shaped projections 84 extending
from the rear of second section 74 are placed into
engagement with the rear wall of the housing
defining nozzle 20. Hook-shaped projections 84
enable the user to pivot connector relative to the
housing so that the connector rotates in a counter
clockwise direckion as viewed in FIGURE 2
resulting in latch member 88 of latch assembly 80
being forced into pocket 96. The combination of
inner edge wall 92, gasket 94 and the inner
surface of the housing defining nozzle 20 defines
a seal between connector 70 and cleaner 10.
Depending ribs 108, angled ribs 112 and
hook-shaped projections 84 cooperate to prevent
any lateral or axial movement of connector 70
relative to housing 11 when cleaner 10 is in use.
When it is desired to remove connector 70
from cleaner 10, operating lever 81 is moved
towards the cleaner housing in opposition to the
force provided by leaf spring 90. This moves
latch member ~8 from pock~t 96 thereby enabling
the user to pivot connector 70 about project.ions
84 and out of engagement with noz~le 20.
