Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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UPRIGHT VACUUM CLEANER INCORPORATING
TELESCOPIC WAND ASSEMBLY
WITH TRIGGER OPERATION
The present invention claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Application serial no. 60/598,748 filed on August 4, 2004.
Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to the floor care equipment
field and, more particularly, to an upright vacuum cleaner equipped with a
telescopic handle and wand assembly that may be conveniently operated by
means of a trigger.
Background of the Invention
Upright vacuum cleaners have become increasingly popular over
recent years. An upright vacuum cleaner may be generally described as
comprising a canister assembly that is pivotally connected to a nozzle
assembly. The canister assembly includes an operating handle that is
manipulated by the operator to move the vacuum cleaner back and forth
across the floor during the cleaning operation. The canister assembly also
includes a dirt collection vessel, in the form of a dirt cup or filter bag
that
traps dirt and debris. A suction generator, in the form of a motor driven fan,
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is provided on either the nozzle assembly or the canister assembly. It is this
suction generator that provides the drop in air pressure necessary to produce
the desired cleaning action.
The nozzle assembly includes a suction inlet through which dirt and
debris is drawn into the vacuum cleaner by the suction generator. In order
to provide more effective cleaning of the nap of rugs and carpets, most
upright vacuum cleaners are also equipped with a rotary agitator. The rotary
agitator is carried on the nozzle assembly and usually extends substantially
across the full width of the suction inlet. During vacuum cleaner operation
the rotary agitator beats dirt and debris from the nap of the underlying
carpet. That dirt and debris is then drawn in an airstream through the
suction inlet into the vacuum cleaner by the suction generator. The dirt and
debris becomes entrapped in the dirt collection vessel and the suction
generator then moves the clean air through the motor to provide cooling
before exhausting that air back into the environment.
In order to allow above floor cleaning of, for example, baseboards,
draperies and upholstered furniture, many upright vacuum cleaners are
equipped with a wand assembly. Such a wand assembly is generally
connected to the upright vacuum cleaner by means of a flexible hose.
Accordingly, when disconnected from the canister assembly, the wand
assembly may be freely manipulated to provide the desired above floor
cleaning.
The present invention relates to an upright vacuum cleaner equipped
with a telescopic wand assembly which allows the length of the wand to be
adjusted in order to meet the needs of any particular cleaning application.
Advantageously, the telescopic wand assembly is also equipped with a
trigger actuator. Advantageously, such an actuator allows the operator to
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quickly and conveniently extend or retract the telescopic wand as desired.
Summary of the Invention
In accordance with the purposes of the present invention as described
herein, an improved upright vacuum cleaner is provided. The upright
vacuum cleaner comprises a housing including a nozzle assembly and a
canister assembly. A suction generator and dirt collection vessel are both
carried on the housing. In addition the vacuum cleaner includes a
detachable telescopic wand assembly. That wand assembly includes a first
wand section, a second wand section, a wand lock for securing the first and
second wand sections together and a trigger actuator for operating the wand
lock. The trigger actuator is located remote from the wand lock on the
wand assembly.
More specifically describing the invention, a linkage connects the
trigger actuator to the wand lock. The linkage includes a crank and a link
arm. The crank includes a first end, a second end and a hub between the
first and second ends. The first end of the crank is connected to the trigger
actuator while the second end of the crank is connected to the link arm. A
pivot pin is received iri the hub and pivotally connects the crank to the wand
assembly.
Still further describing the invention the wand assembly further
includes a control handle. The control handle includes a hand grip. The
trigger actuator is carried on the control handle adjacent the hand grip where
it may be conveniently manipulated by the operator to control operation of
the wand lock and allow the extension or retraction of the telescoping wand
assembly as needed for any particular cleaning application.
Still further describing the invention the wand lock includes a spring
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loaded latch and the second wand section includes a series of spaced
notches. The latch is selectively received in one of the notches in order to
secure the first wand section relative to the second wand section and thereby
maintain the telescoping wand assembly at a particular length during the
cleaning operation.
In accordance with still additional aspects of the present invention,
the nozzle assembly and the canister assembly are pivotally connected
together. Further, the dirt collection vessel may take the form of a filter
bag
or a dirt cup. The dirt cup may be substantially cylindrical in shape and
include a tangentially directed inlet in order to provide cyclonic cleaning
action. No matter the shape of the dirt cup, the dirt cup may also carry a
filter for stripping dirt and debris from the airstream and maintaining that
dirt and debris in the dirt cup. Still further the vacuum cleaner may also
include a final filter downstream from the suction generator to strip carbon
particles from the suction motor brushes or other contaminants from the
airstream before that airstream is exhausted back into the environment.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention a
method is provided for manufacturing a telescopic wand including a first
wand section, a second wand section, a wand lock and a control handle.
The method comprises providing the control handle adjacent a first end of
the first wand section, providing the wand lock adjacent a second end of the
first wand section and providing a control trigger for said wand lock
adjacent said control handle and remote from said wand lock.
In the following description there is shown and described a preferred
embodiment of this invention, simply by way of illustration of one of the
modes best suited to carry out the invention. As it will be realized, the
invention is capable of other different embodiments and its several details
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are capable of modification in various, obvious aspects all without
departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions
will be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.
Brief Description of the Drawing
5 The accompanying drawing incorporated in and forming a part of
this specification, illustrates several aspects of the present invention, and
together with the description serves to explain certain principles of the
invention. In the drawing:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of an upright vacuum cleaner
constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a perspective view similar to Figure 1 but showing the
wand assembly withdrawn from the canister assembly to allow for above
floor cleaning;
Figure 3 illustrates a dirt cup of cylindrical construction including a
tangentially directed inlet and a centrally located filter so as to provide
for
cyclonic airflow;
Figure 4 is a detailed cross-sectional view illustrating the trigger
actuator of the present invention for releasing the wand lock and allowing
the telescoping wand assembly to be extended or retracted; and
Figures Sa and Sb are schematical illustrations of the operation of the
trigger assembly and wand lock.
Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred
embodiment of the invention, an example of which is illustrated in the
accompanying drawing.
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Detailed Description of the Invention
As illustrated in Figure l, the present invention relates to an upright
vacuum cleaner 10 including a housing comprising both a nozzle assembly
12 and a canister assembly 14. The canister assembly 14 is pivotally
connected to the nozzle assembly 12. The upright vacuum cleaner 10 rides
over the floor surface being cleaned on wheels 15 carried on the housing.
The nozzle assembly 12 includes a suction inlet 16. A rotary agitator
18 carried on the nozzle assembly 12 is mounted in the suction inlet 16.
The rotary agitator 18 includes bristle tufts 20, brushes, wipers or the like
to
beat dirt and debris from the nap of an underlying carpet being cleaned as
the agitator 18 is rotated at high speeds with respect to that carpet and the
nozzle assembly 12.
The canister assembly 14 includes a dirt collection vessel 22 housed
in an internal cavity 23. As illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 the dirt
collection
vessel 22 is a dust bag of permeable filter material adapted to entrap dirt
and debris while allowing the passage of clean air through the bag. In an
alternative embodiment the dirt collection vessel 22 may take the form of a
dirt cup 24. As illustrated in Figure 3, such a dirt cup 24 may include a
cylindrical dirt collection chamber 26 having a tangentially directed inlet 26
and an axial outlet 28. Such an arrangement promotes cyclonic airflow in
the chamber 26 which efficiently removes dirt and debris from the airstream
in a manner well known in the art. A filter 30 may be concentrically
mounted within the dirt collection chamber 26 over the outlet 28. Such a
filter 30 strips any remaining fine dirt and debris from the airstream as it
moves through the filter toward the outlet 28.
The canister assembly 14 also includes a telescopic wand assembly
generally designated by reference numeral 32. The wand assembly 32
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includes first and second telescopic wand sections 34, 36. The second
wand section 36 is telescopingly received in the first wand section 34. The
wand sections 34 and 36 are connected together by a wand lock, generally
designated by reference numeral 38, that is carned on the end of the section
34. A control handle 40 having a hand grip 42 is provided at the end of the
first wand section 34 opposite the wand lock 38. The end of the second
wand section 36 opposite the wand lock 38 is received in a connector 44
mounted to the rear of the canister assembly 14. A flexible hose 46 extends
from the control handle 40 to the inlet 48 connected to the dirt collection
vessel22.
During standard floor cleaning operation, the rotary agitator 18
scrubs and beats dirt and debris from the nap of an underlying carpet being
cleaned. A suction generator 50 carried on the housing draws air entrained
with that dirt and debris through the suction inlet 16, the connector 44, the
wand section 36, the wand section 34, the control handle 40, the hose 46
and the inlet 48 into the dirt collection vessel 22. The dirt and debris is
captured in the vessel 22 while relatively clean air is drawn over the motor
of the suction generator 50 in order to provide cooling. That air is then
exhausted through a final filter (not shown) and returned to the
environment through an exhaust port 54.
As illustrated in Figure 2 the wand assembly 32 includes a distal end
that is removable from the canister assembly 14 to allow manipulation and
specialty cleaning. More specifically, the distal end of the wand section 36
is removable from the connector 44. The telescopic sections 34, 36 of the
wand assembly 24 may then be retracted or extended as desired to produce
a wand of desired length. The wand assembly 32 is then manipulated by
the operator through the control handle 40. In this mode of operation air
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including dirt and debris is drawn into the open distal end of the wand
assembly 32. That air then travels through the wand section 36, the wand
section 34, the control handle 40, the hose 46 and the inlet 48 into the dirt
collection vessel 22. There the dirt becomes trapped and clean air then
passes over the motor of the suction generator 50 before being exhausted
through the final filter 52 and exhaust port 54 into the environment.
The vacuum cleaner 10 is equipped with a user friendly feature for
operating the telescopic wand 32. More particularly, as illustrated in Figure
4, the control handle 40 is equipped with a trigger actuator 60 for operating
the wand lock 38. A lug 62 on the trigger actuator 60 is connected by a
linkage, including a crank 64 and a link arm 66, to a sliding lock actuator 68
for locking the two sections 34, 36 of the wand assembly 32 together. The
lock actuator 68 is of the type described in U.S. Patent 6,148,474 to Ohara
et al., the full disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
As best illustrated schematically in Figures Sa-Sb, the lock actuator
68 is received for sliding movement in a chamber 70 formed in the sheath
72 carried on the wand section 34. More specifically, the chamber 70 is
formed between the end wall 74, the outer sheath wall 76 and the stop or
bulkhead 78. A coil spring 79 biases the lock actuator 68 toward the stop
78 into a home position. In this position, the lock actuator 68 engages a
locking pin 80 and holds that pin in a locking notch 82 formed in the wall of
the wand section 36 thereby securing the wand sections 34, 36 together in a
selected position (see Figure Sa).
The telescopic wand assembly 32 may be extended or retracted by
manipulating the trigger actuator 60. More specifically, by pulling the
trigger actuator 60 toward the hand grip 42, the crank 64 is rotated about the
pivot pin 84 in a clockwise direction (see action arrow A in Figures Sb).
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This in turn moves the rigid link arm 66 in the direction of action arrow B
sliding the lock actuator 68 against the biasing force of the spring 79 toward
the end wall 74. As a result of this movement, the slot 90 in the actuator 68
is aligned over the locking pin 80.
As the operator moves the wand section 36 relative to the wand
section 34 in order to extend or retract the wand assembly 32 as desired, the
locking pin 80 rides up the sloped sidewall of the locking notch 82 and
retracts into the slot 90 in the actuator 68. With the locking pin 80 free of
the notch 82, the wand section 34 moves freely relative to the wand section
36 and the wand assembly 32 may be lengthened or shortened as desired to
meet the operator's needs for any particular cleaning application.
Once the wand assembly 32 is extended or retracted as desired, the
operator releases the trigger actuator 60. The spring 79 then biases the lock
actuator 68 back toward the stop 78 and its home position. The sloped cam
surface 92 in the slot 90 functions to force the locking pin 80 down into the
new locking notch 82 now aligned therewith. As this occurs, the lock
actuator 68 continues to slide in the direction of action arrow C in Figure Sb
until the pin 80 is captured in the notch 82 by the bottom wall of the
actuator as illustrated in Figure Sa. In this position, the wand sections 34,
36 are again locked together and the wand assembly 32 may not be
lengthened or shortened until the trigger actuator 60 is again manipulated to
release the wand lock 38 in the manner previously described.
The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the
invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It
is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form
disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the
above teachings. For example, while the link arm 54 is illustrated in Figure
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3 as being exposed, it could run through a sheath connected between the
control handle 40 and the actuator 68.
The embodiment was chosen and described to provide the best
illustration of the principles of the invention and its practical application
to
5 thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in
various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the
particular use contemplated. All such modifications and variations are
within the scope of the invention as determined by the appended claims
when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly,
10 legally and equitably entitled. The drawings and preferred embodiment do
not and are not intended to limit the ordinary meaning of the claims and
their fair and broad interpretation in any way.
