Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Title: VACUUM CLEANER
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaning device and,
more particularly, to a vacuum cleaner having a releasable bin.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A typical upright vacuum cleaner comprises a main casing,
which houses a dust separation apparatus, a cleaner head pivotally
mounted to the main casing and a handle attached to the main casing for
moving the device on a set of wheels over a floor. This configuration has
gained wide acceptance for domestic upright vacuum cleaners irrespective
of the mode of dust separation used. Vacuum cleaners of this type typically
employ filter bags (and other types of physical filtration) or cyclonic
filtration
to remove dust and dirt particles from the airflow generated by the device.
These means of dust separation may be used either alone or in conjunction
with one another.
Irrespective of the means of dust separation employed,
however, the collected dirt and dust must ultimately be emptied from the
device. Typically this involves removing a portion of the main casing (i.e. an
access panel) to provide access to a dust collector to be emptied or
replaced. In some cases, the portion of the main casing removed also
functions as the dust collector itself. In all cases, though, it is typical
that the
access panel and/or dust collector is located close to the ground, which
requires the user to stoop or bend over to operate the release mechanism.
Easy removal and replacement is also hindered by the fact that the
removable portions) must be sealed and tightly secured in place while the
device is in operation to ensure minimal air leakage. This design
consideration typically results in a panel or collector which is difficult to
remove and/or replace.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The latching mechanism of the present invention provides an
easily operable and ergonomic mechanism which minimizes user time and
frustration in removing and replacing a canister body on a main casing of
the vacuum cleaner. The result is a device which has a removable
components what are easily sealable by the manufacturer and easily
operated by the user. The present invention provides an upright vacuum
cleaning device comprising a main casing having a handle extending from
an upper end thereof and a cleaning head pivotally mounted to a lower end
thereof, a body having a dust separation apparatus and a dust collection
apparatus disposed substantially therein, and a latching mechanism
adapted to realisably retain the body on the main casing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For a better understanding of the present invention and to
show more clearly how it may be carried into effect, reference will now be
made by way of example to the accompanying drawings which show articles
made according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a vacuum cleaner according
to the present invention;
Figure 2 is a side view of the vacuum cleaner of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the
front of the main casing of the vacuum cleaner of Figure 1;
Figure 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the
front of the main casing of the vacuum cleaner of Figure 1, showing the
canister partially removed therefrom;
Figure 5 is an enlarged perspective view similar to Figure 4,
shown from a different angle;
Figure 6 is an enlarged perspective rear view of the removable
canister of the vacuum cleaner of Figure 1;
Figure 7 is a sectional view of the vacuum cleaner of Figure 1
taken along the lines 7 - 7;
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Figure 8a is an enlarged sectional view of the latch assembly
of Figure 7, shown in the disengaged position;
Figure 8b is an enlarged sectional view of the latch assembly
of Figure 7, shown in the engaged position;
Figure 9 is an enlarged perspective view of the latch assembly
of the present invention with a portion thereof broken away to show detail;
Figure 10 is an enlarged perspective view of the latch
assembly from a different angle with a portion thereof broken away to show
detail; and
Figure 11 is an exploded view of the canister according to the
present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
A vacuum cleaner incorporating the present invention is shown
generally in the figures at 10. Typically, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, an
upright vacuum cleaner 10 has a main casing 12, cleaning head 14 pivotally
mounted to main casing 12, a handle 16 for manually moving vacuum
cleaner 10 over a surface on wheels (which preferably include front wheels,
not shown, and rear wheels 18), and an optional lifting handle 20 for
carrying vacuum cleaner 10. In accordance with the present invention, main
casing 12 has a canister body 22 (Figure 6) mounted thereto which contains
the dust separation mechanism. The dust separation mechanism,
preferably includes a dust separation apparatus 24 and dust collection
apparatus 26. Canister body 22 is removably retained on main casing 12 in
part by a latch assembly 28. Vacuum 10 may optionally include a final filter
30, such as a HEPA filter.
The internal configuration of vacuum cleaner 10 may be typical
of known devices. As will be understood by one skilled in the art, vacuum
cleaner 10 has at least one dirty air inlet (not shown), positioned adjacent
the floor in base 32 of cleaning head 14, and an inlet conduit leading from
the dirty air inlet to dust separation apparatus 24. Likewise, one skilled in
the art will understand that vacuum cleaner 10 has a clean air outlet conduit
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(e.g. 60 as shown in Figure 4), for removing cleaned air from dust
separation apparatus 24 for expulsion from vacuum cleaner 10. A vacuum
source, typically an electric fan and motor assembly, is provided to induce
the air flow through the system and is typically located in cleaning head 14,
although placement of the fan and motor assembly in other locations within
the device is known.
Dust separation apparatus 24 may comprise any means for
separating particles (e.g. dirt and dust) from a fluid flow (e.g. air), and
dust
collection apparatus 26 may be any dust collection means suited to the dust
separation means employed. In this embodiment, dust separation
apparatus 24 comprises a cyclonic separator 40 and dust collection
apparatus 26 is a transparent, cylindrical bin 42. One skilled in the art will
appreciate that either a single- or multi-stage cyclonic apparatus may be
employed, either alone or in combination with other separation means (e.g.
physical filtration members and/or electrostatic filtration). In an alternate
embodiment dust separation apparatus 24 and dust collection apparatus
26 may comprise a filter bag and housing as are known in the art.
Typically, a cyclonic separator 40 has an air inlet (e.g. 44) in
communication with a dirty air stream, e.g., from cleaning head 14 via inlet
duct 54 and second aperture 58 for introducing "dirty" air to separator 40 in
a
manner causing a cyclonic flow therein (e.g. air inlet 44 is a tangential air
inlet). The cyclonic flow deposits particles in collector bin 42 and an air
exit
(e.g. 46) in separator 40 delivers "clean" air to an outlet conduit (e.g. 60)
for
expulsion from vacuum cleaner 10.
In the preferred embodiment of Figures 3 and 4, canister body
22 is generally cylindrical, with an upper end 50 and a lower end 52. Latch
assembly 28 on upper end 50 securely maintains canister body in position
with respect to main casing 12. Main casing 12 has an inlet duct 54
provided internally thereof which defines a dirty air passage leading
upwardly from cleaning head 14 and communicating with dust separation
apparatus 24 via first aperture 56 on the inner surface of main casing 12
(see Figure 4) which communicates with a second aperture 58 in canister
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body 22 (see Figures 5 and 6) leading to the air inlet (not shown) of cyclone
separator 40 when canister body 22 is secured in position. Main casing 12
also has an outlet duct 60 provided internally thereof which defines a clean
air outlet passage leading downwardly from cyclone separator 40 to the
vacuum motor (not shown) in cleaning head 14. Outlet duct 60
communicates with cyclone separator 40 via a third aperture 62 in canister
body 22, which is in communication with cyclone air exit 46, and a fourth
aperture 64 in main casing 12 when canister body 22 is secured in position.
It will be apparent that the air flow passages and their apertures may be
located in different positions.
A receiving bay 66 is defined between inlet duct 54 and outlet
duct 60 for receiving canister body 22 in main casing 12, with bay 66 being
adapted to receive canister body 22 in an aesthetically pleasing manner.
Receiving bay 66 is substantially concavely cylindrical, to matingly receive
cylindrical canister body 22, and has a base 68 (see Figures 5 and 7) with a
locating pin 70 extending therefrom. Base 68 is adapted to receive lower
end 52 of canister body 22, which also has a dimple 72 for receiving at least
a portion of locating pin 70 therein. Locating pin 70 and dimple 72 co-
operate to secure and position lower end 52 of canister body 22 in receiving
bay 66 and, together with latch assembly 28, retain canister body 22 on
main casing 12. Base 68 may alternately utilize other alignment means
known in the vacuum cleaner art.
Latch assembly 28 is positioned adjacent upper end 50 of
canister body 22 to permit a user to actuate latch mechanism, preferably
without essentially any stooping or bending. For example, latch assembly
28 may be positioned on lifting handle 20, near handle 16. However, it will
be appreciated that latch mechanism 28 could be positioned elsewhere on
upper end 50, e.g. top surface 48. Referring to Figures 8a and 8b, latch
assembly 28 has a latch portion 80 mounted to main casing 12, and a catch
portion 82 mounted to canister body 22. Latch portion 80 includes a pawl
84, having a tooth 86, which extends outwardly from the inner surface of
receiving bay 66. Latch portion 80 also has a lower skirt 110, and a
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depending portion 112. Depending portion 112 is spaced apart from tooth
86 of pawl 84 so that a recess 114 exists therebetween. Latch portion 80
also has an upper skirt portion 116. Pawl 84 is moveable between a first
position, in which it engages with latch portion 82 and a second position in
which it is disengaged from latch portion 82. While pawl 84 could be
designed as a rocker switch, pawl 84 is preferably biased, preferably to the
first position. To this end a resiliently deformable member (e.g. an
elastomeric member, a compression spring on a tension spring) may be
used. Referring to Figures 8a, 8b, base 88 is provided distal to pawl 84. A
compression spring 92 extends between base 88 and lower skirt 110.
When pawl 84 is moved to the disengaged position, spring 92 is
compressed. The compression in spring 92 biases base 88, and pawl 84,
to the engaged position shown in Figure 8a.
Catch portion 82 has a vertically extending lip 94. Catch
portion 82 further includes a release means 98 which acts on tooth 86 to
move pawl 84 between its engaged and disengaged positions. Pawl 84
and tooth 86 may be of any construction which will cause pawl 84/tooth 86 to
move when acted upon by a longitudinal or rotational motion. Preferably, a
longitudinal motion is used. For example a release cam 100, which is
movable between a disengaged position (see Figure 8a) and an engaged
position (see Figure 8b) may be used. A biasing means 102 urges cam
100 to a disengaged position, e.g. upwardly. A button 106 permits manual
operation of cam 100. Biasing means 102 may be an elastomeric member
or a spring. Biasing means may be a tension or compression spring. As
shown in Figures 8a and 8b, handle 20 is provided with a skirt 108. Spring
104 extends between skirt 108 and button 106 to urge button 106 upwardly.
When latch assembly 28 is assembled in the 'latched' position
(Figure 8a), pawl 84 extends past gap 96 so that tooth 86 and depending
portion 112 engage lip 94 in recess 114. Upper skirt portion 116 also abuts
against button 106. Spring 104 maintains cam 100 out of contact with tooth
86. When button 106 is depressed to 'unlatch' latch assembly 28, cam 100
pushes pawl 84 downwardly (Figure 8b) so that tooth 86 is moved
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downwardly out of engagement with lip 94, thereby permitting pawl 84 to be
withdrawn from gap 96.
Referring to Figure 11, collection apparatus 26 is separable
from the remainder of canister body 22 to permit collected dust and dirt
particles to be emptied therefrom such as into a garbage can located
outside of a house. Dust separation apparatus 24 has a central post
portion 120 which terminates at an end portion 122 which has a curvilinear
slot 124 therein. Collection apparatus 26 has a central socket 126 with a
pin 128 projecting internally therein. End portion 122 of central post 120 is
insertable in socket 126, and pin 128 is engageable with curvilinear slot 124
to provide a bayonet-mount assembly 118 to mount collection apparatus 26
to dust separation apparatus 24. As will be understood by one skilled in the
art, pin 128 and curvilinear slot 124 are adapted to permit dust collection
apparatus 26 to be rotatable from a first position, in which dust collection
apparatus 26 is securely attached to dust separation apparatus 24 by way of
the interaction between pin 128 and curvilinear slot 124, and a second
position wherein dust collection apparatus 26 is releasable from dust
separation apparatus 24 by releasing pin 128 from curvilinear slot 124 by
moving dust collection apparatus 26 to said second position. A locating ring
130 is provided on a lower portion of dust separation apparatus 24 to
position and secure upper lip 132 of dust collection apparatus 26 against
dust separation apparatus 24 when canister body 22 is assembled as
described above.
Referring again to Figure 1, in use vacuum 10 is operated by
energizing the motor and fan assembly to activate an air flow stream
through the device. Vacuum cleaner 10 is moved over a floor surface to be
cleaned and dirt and dust is entrained in the airflow drawn into the device
through cleaning head 14 and provided via intake duct 54 to dust separation
apparatus 24. The entrained dirt/dust is separated from the air flow by dust
separation apparatus 24 and is deposited in dust collection apparatus 26.
The cleaned air is removed from the dust separation apparatus 24 and may
be delivered via the outlet duct 60 to the motor to cool the motor, after
which
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it is expelled from vacuum cleaner 10 though optional final filter 30. When
the floor is satisfactorily cleaned, the vacuum motor is deactivated by the
user.
Referring to Figure 8b, to empty dust collection apparatus 26,
as will be periodically necessary, button 106 is manually depressed to
move cam 100 downwardly to depress cam tooth 86 of pawl 84 out of
engagement with lip 94. This releases pawl 84 from lip 94 and permits
pawl 84 to be withdrawn from gap 96 by grasping handle 20 (while button
106 is depressed), and then tipping upper end 50 of canister body 22 away
from main casing 12 to pivot canister body 22 about locating pin 70 and
disengage latch assembly 28 (see Figures 4 and 5). Canister body 22 is
then lifted upwardly to disengage locating pin 70 from dimple 72 and
canister body 22 is thus removed it from receiving bay 66. It will be
appreciated that bin 42 is still sealed. Collection bin 42 may then be moved
to a desired location before it is opened by rotating bin 42 relative to the
rest
of canister body 22 to disengage bayonet-mount assembly 118 to release
collection bin 42 from dust separation apparatus 24 (Figure 11). Collection
bin 42 is then inverted and emptied, and then re-assembled with canister
body 22 and re-mounted in receiving bay 66 of main casing 12 by repeating
the above steps in reverse order. When canister 22 is installed on main
casing 12, and latch assembly 28 is in this 'latched' position (Figure 8a),
upper skirt 116, lower skirt 110 (through depending portion 112) and tooth
86 cooperate with lip 94 and button 106 to provide a secure connection
between canister body 22 and main casing 12. Locating pin 70 and dimple
72 at lower end 52 of canister body 22, further secure and stabilize the
connection.
The latching mechanism of the present invention is
advantageously positioned on vacuum cleaner 10 and adapted to permit the
easy removal of canister body 22 from main casing 12 with minimal
stooping or bending by the user. The latching device provides an easily
operable and ergonomic mechanism which minimizes user time and
frustration in removing and replacing canister body 22 on main casing 12.
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The latching mechanism permits the canister body to be easily and reliably
sealed in the latched position and therefore easy to operate.
While the above description constitutes the preferred
embodiment, it will be appreciated that the present invention is susceptible
to modification and change without departing from the fair meaning of the
accompanying claims.
