Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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VACUUM CLEANER EQUIPPED WITH
SOUND CANCELLATION GENERATOR
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent
Application serial no. 60/615,779 filed on 4 October 2004.
Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to the floor care equipment
field and, more particularly, to a floor cleaning apparatus equipped with a
sound cancellation generator so as to provide more quiet operation.
Background of the Invention
Floor care cleaning equipment such as canister, upright and
handheld vacuum cleaners as well as extractors have long been known in
the art. Such equipment is generally equipped with a suction generator
including a fan and cooperating drive motor. Some of the devices are also
equipped with a separate drive motor for a rotary agitator. Still further,
self
propelled units are equipped with an additional unit drive motor.
During operation of the floor care cleaning equipment the motor or
motors generate a significant amount of sound or noise. The present
invention relates to a floor cleaning apparatus equipped with a sound
cancellation generator to allow for more quiet operation as well as to a
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method for reducing operating noise in a floor cleaning apparatus or
appliance.
Summarv of the Invention
In accordance with the purposes of the present invention as
described herein, a floor cleaning apparatus is provided. The floor cleaning
apparatus comprises a housing, a suction generator including a motor that is
carried on the housing and a sound cancellation generator. The suction
generator motor produces a first sound during operation of the floor
cleaning apparatus. The sound cancellation generator produces a second
sound during operation of the floor cleaning apparatus. The second sound
is substantially 180 degrees out of phase with the first sound so that noise
generated during operation of the floor cleaning apparatus is reduced.
More specifically describing the invention the sound cancellation
generator includes a controller and a sound transducer. Further the sound
cancellation generator includes a sound sensor for detecting an amplitude A
and frequency F of the first sound. The controller is responsive to detected
amplitude and frequency signals from the sound sensor. The sound
transducer is responsive to the controller to then produce a second sound
having an amplitude of substantially A and a frequency of substantially F,
substantially 180 degrees out of phase with the first sound.
In accordance with additional aspects of the present invention the
housing may include a nozzle assembly and a canister assembly. The
canister assembly may be pivotally connected to the nozzle assembly. The
nozzle assembly includes a suction inlet. In one possible embodiment a
rotary agitator is carried on the nozzle assembly adjacent the suction inlet.
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Still further the floor cleaning apparatus may include a dirt collection
vessel carried on the nozzle assembly and the canister assembly. In one
possible embodiment the dirt collection vessel takes the form of a porous
dust bag. In another possible embodiment the dirt collection vessel is a dirt
cup. That dirt cup may include a cylindrical dirt collection chamber and a
tangentially directed inlet. Further a first filter may be provided in the
dirt
cup. A second filter may be provided downstream from the suction
generator.
In accordance with additional aspects of the present invention the
floor cleaning apparatus may include a wireless control interface. The
wireless control interface includes a control actuator, a transmitter
connected to the control actuator, a receiver remote from the transmitter and
a CPU connected to the receiver.
The floor cleaning apparatus may also include a control handle and
wand assembly displaceable between a first, floor cleaning position
wherein the handle and wand is carried on the housing and a second,
remote cleaning position wherein the handle and wand assembly is
removed from the housing. In such an embodiment the control actuator and
the transmitter may be carried on the control handle and wand assembly.
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
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.
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Brief Description of the Drawing_Fi~ures
The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of
the specification, illustrate several aspects of the present invention, and
together with the description serve to explain certain principles of the
invention. In the drawings:
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 schematic illustration of the wireless control interface
provided on the floor cleaning apparatus of the present invention; and
Figure 5 is a schematical block diagram showing the suction
generator motor and the sound cancellation generator held in a single
housing.
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.
Detailed Descr~tion of the Invention
As illustrated in Figure 1, 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
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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
5 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 filter 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 27
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
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 3 8, that is carried on the end of the section
34. A control handle 40 having a hand grip 42 is provided at the end of the
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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 I4. 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
IO 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 53 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 32 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
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
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through the final filter 52 and exhaust port 54 into the environment.
The operation of the suction generator 50 and rotary agitator 18 are
controlled by the operator through manipulation of the control actuator or
user interface 60 provided on the control hand grip 42. As best illustrated in
Figure 4, the control actuator 60 is connected to a transmitter 62 through a
control line 63. The user selected control setting is transmitted (see action
arrow A) by the transmitter 62 to one or more remote receivers 64 provided
in the nozzle assembly 12 and/or the canister assembly 14. The receiver 64
is connected to the controller/CPU 66 of the vacuum cleaner 10 through the
signal line 68. Thus, the user selected setting information signal is passed
from the receiver 64 to the controller 66 along the line 68. The controller
66 then sends control signals to the motor 80 of the suction generator 50, the
motor 82 of the rotary agitator 18 and/or the self propulsion motor 84 so
that both operate in accordance with the user selected settings.
The vacuum cleaner 10 of the present invention is characterized by
relatively quiet operation. This is achieved by equipping the vacuum
cleaner 10 with a sound cancellation generator, generally designated by
reference numeral 100 (see Figure 5). The sound cancellation generator
100 includes a controller 102, a sound sensor 104 and a sound transducer
106. The sound cancellation generator 100 functions to produce a sound
wave that partially or completely cancels the sound generated by the motor
of the suction generator 50 during vacuum cleaner operation.
More specifically, during vacuum cleaner operation, the motor of the
suction generator 50 turns the fan to generate suction for drawing dirt and
debris into the vacuum cleaner. Simultaneously the motor of the suction
generator 50 produces a first sound. That sound may be characterized as
having an amplitude A and a frequency F. The sound wave 110 produced
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by the suction generator motor is schematically illustrated in Figure 5.
The sound cancellation generator 100 functions to produce a second
sound that is substantially 180 degrees out of phase with the first sound.
More specifically, the sound cancellation generator 100 produces a second
sound wave 112 schematically illustrated in Figure 5. The second sound
wave 112 has an amplitude A and a frequency F substantially equivalent to
the amplitude A and frequency F of the first sound wave 110 generated by
the suction generator motor but also substantially 180 degrees out of phase
with that first sound wave. The additive effect of the first and second
sound waves 110, 112 produces a significant reduction in the operating
noise of the vacuum cleaner 10 thereby providing for more quiet operation.
More particularly describing the operation of the invention, the
sound sensor 104 detects the amplitude and frequency of the first sound
generated by the motor of the suction generator 50 and sends appropriate
amplitude and frequency signals to the controller 102. The controller 102
responds to the detected amplitude and frequency signals and substantially
instantaneously sends a frequency amplitude and phase signal to the sound
transducer 106. The sound transducer 106 responds to the control signals
of the controller 102 to produce the second sound having an amplitude of
substantially A and a frequency of substantially F all substantially 180
degrees out of phase with the first sound. The resulting cancellation effect
between the first sound wave 110 produced by the suction generator motor
and the second sound wave 112 produced by the sound transducer 106 of
the sound cancellation generator 100 substantially reduces the operating
noise of the vacuum cleaner 10.
In an effort to enhance the noise suppression it should be appreciated
that both the suction generator motor and the sound cancellation generator
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100 may also be mounted in a sound dampening compartment 114 of the
housing of the vacuum cleaner (i.e. either in the nozzle assembly 12 or
canister assembly 14). Such a compartment 114 may be lined with
acoustical insulating material.
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 sound cancellation generator 100
is illustrated and described as cancelling the sound generated by the motor
of the suction generator 50, the sound cancellation generator could just as
easily be utilized to cancel sound generated by a separate agitator drive
motor and/or self propulsion motor if the vacuum cleaner 10 is so equipped.
Further, multiple sound cancellation generators 100 could be provided on a
single vacuum cleaner 10 if desired.
The embodiment was chosen and described to provide the best
illustration of the principles of the invention and its practical application
to
thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in
various embodiments and with various modif canons 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,
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.
