Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Upright vacuum cleaner
The present invention relates to the field of vacuum
cleaners for cleaning carpets and other floor surfaces.
The invention particularly relates to upright cleaners
which have a cleaning head portion and an upstanding
handle portion which typically carries a collection
device, such as a filter bag, for collecting detritus
lifted by a vacuum induced airflow.
The handle portion typically has a lower region pivotally
connected to the cleaning head portion so as to permit
push-pulling of the cleaning head portion over a floor
surface by user-manipulation of a grip provided at an
upper region of the handle portion. The cleaning head
typically has a roller brush having a transverse axis of
rotation, which may be disposed over a floor-facing
aperture in the front underside region of the cleaning
head. In use the brush acts to lift dirt and dust and
other detritus so that it becomes entrained in a vacuum-
induced airflow drawn through the aperture and up to the
collection device in the handle.
Such cleaners may be distinguished from wand and bin type
cleaners in which a tubular wand is used to lift and
convey detritus from a floor surface remote from the
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collection device. The wand is connected by a flexible
tube to a wheeled bin or drum portion which contains a
collection bag or receptacle. The wand (or hose) may be
used to tow the bin/drum over a floor surface. The
bin/drum is typically supported on castors/and or
rollers. These cleaners are particularly useful for
cleaning surfaces above the floor level, such as
curtains, stairs or furniture upholstery, because the
wand may be easily directed above the floor.
GB-A-1 022 662 discloses a vacuum cleaner in which a
connection between a vacuum hose collar portion and a
tubular receiving member on a cleaner body portion is
made via a male/female engagement in which the hose
portion is retained by means of an elongate flexible
locking member accommodated in a circumferential annular
cavity defined between an inner surface of the receiving
member and an outer surface of the hose collar.
EP-A-1,647,219 discloses a swivelling connection between
male and female portions of vacuum tubes in an upright
vacuum cleaner. A circumferential channel is formed in
the overlapped region of the tubular members. An aperture
into the channel permits individual rigid ring segments
to be inserted in turn into the channel. in a preferred
embodiment there are six segments uniformly spaced around
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the circumferential channel. The segments provide
constraint against detachment of one tubular member from
the other, whilst permitting one tube to swivel with
respect to the other around the longitudinal tubular
axis. The aperture is closed by a tab to prevent the
segments working their way out of the channel.
The present invention seeks to provide an improved
upright-type vacuum cleaner which allows steering of the
cleaning head and in which the cleaning head may be
readily detached from the upright portion.
According one aspect of the present invention there is
provided an upright vacuum cleaner comprising a cleaning
head portion supporting an upright portion which includes
a collector for vacuumed detritus, the cleaning head
portion being provided with wheel means which allow the
cleaner to be moved and directed over a floor surface by
a user holding a handle provided at an upper region of
the upright portion, wherein a lower region of the
upright portion is structurally attached to the cleaning
head by a tubular conduit in which air-entrained detritus
can be conveyed from the cleaning head to the collector,
and wherein the tubular conduit is provided with a swivel
25, connection in which a first tubular member associated
with the upright portion engages with a second tubular
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member associated with the cleaning head portion, so that
a male end of one of the tubular members is seated co-
axially in a female end of the other, and wherein the
tubular members are retained in engagement by an elongate
flexible locking member which is accommodated in an
annular circumferential channel formed between the seated
male and female members, the channel being defined at
least in part by raised or depressed constraint features.
The arrangement may be such that with the locking member
in place, swivelling of one tubular member with respect
to the other is possible but axial disengagement of the
male and female portions is prevented by the abutment of
one or more constraint features against the locking
member. With the locking member withdrawn from the
channel the constraint features are not obstructed so
that the male and female members may be detached from
each other by travel apart in the axial direction,
thereby to permit detachment of the cleaning head from
the upright portion.
Thus the cleaning head may be steered by the user
swivelling the upright portion relative to the cleaning
head. Furthermore, the upright portion may be detached
from the cleaning head by removal of the elongate locking
member. This facilitates the cleaning of the machine
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interior, especially clearing blockages of the conduit
caused by accumulated detritus. Re-attachment is simply a
matter of re-engaging the mating male and female tubular
members and inserting the locking member.
5
Typically, and especially for domestic carpet cleaning, a
brush roller may be provided in the cleaning ahead, which
brush has a transverse axis of rotation and is disposed
above an elongate transverse sweeping aperture formed in
a front underside region of the work head.
The annular circumferential channel for the locking
member may be oblong in cross-section. The long side of
the oblong is preferably parallel to the axial direction,
and the width is parallel to the radial direction. This
provides enhanced axial constraint.
More generally the cross-section of the locking member
typically corresponds to the cross-section of the annular
circumferential channel.
The elongate locking member should be a sliding fit in
the annular circumferential channel.
An outer wall of the female tubular portion may be formed
with an aperture communicating with the annular channel
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through which aperture the locking member may be
slideably threaded into the channel.
A tail end of the locking member is preferably provided
with a release tab or graspable feature which remains
outside the annular channel when the locking member is
accommodated inside. The tab facilitates manual
withdrawal of the locking member for detachment of the
members.
In one embodiment the constraint feature for the locking
member comprises an annular circumferential lip provided
in the male and/or female portion. The constraint may in
particular comprise an annular circumferential depression
or trough provided in the male and/or female tubular
member(s).
In another aspect of the invention, the lower region of
the tubular member associated with the cleaning head
portion is provided with at least one transverse
cylindrical axle feature which is seated in a
corresponding bearing provided in the cleaning head
portion and which permits the tubular member (and
therefore the whole upright portion of the cleaner) to
pivot fore and aft.
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In this way the attached upright portion of the vacuum
cleaner may be reclined from a vertical storage
orientation to an inclined work orientation. Preferably
there are two diametrically opposed axle features, and
corresponding bearing seats formed in the cleaning head.
At least one of the cylindrical axles may be formed with
an axial bore which provides a transverse fluid flow path
for detritus-laden air into an interior of the tubular
member and then upwards into the upright portion.
The material from which the locking member is formed
should be sufficiently resilient to permit the member to
be accommodated in the circular channel. It should
however maintain sufficient rigidity to prevent the
member failing under constraint loading causing unplanned
detachment of the connected members. Suitable materials
include polyethylene, polyamide (e.g. nylon), PTFE, and
other engineering plastics materials.
Following is a description by way of example only and
with reference to the drawings of one way of putting the
present invention into effect.
In the drawings:
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Figure 1 is a perspective three quarter view of a vacuum
cleaner in which a connection according to the present
invention is utilised.
Figure 2 is the same vacuum cleaner viewed from one side.
Figure 3 is a perspective view of a tubular swivelling
connection in accordance with the present invention.
Figure 4 is a longitudinal cross-section through the
connection, showing detail of the internal arrangement.
In figure 1 a vacuum cleaner is shown generally as 10.
The cleaner has an upright portion 11 and a floor
cleaning head portion 12. The floor cleaning portion
includes a roller carpet brush (not visible) accommodated
in a front semi-cylindrical portion 9. The floor cleaning
portion is provided with two rear wheels 8 (only one
visible), and a castor wheel (not shown) which is
disposed depending from a central recess in an underside
of the cleaning head. The upright portion houses a dirt
collection bag.and a vacuum generating motor (not
visible). An upper region of the upright portion is
provided with a handle loop 7 for use by an operator in
steering and push-pulling the cleaner. An ancillary
cleaning wand is accommodated on a rear side region of
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the upright. The wand is provided with an upwardly
projecting handle portion 6 and an ancillary vacuum hose
5. The wand may be detached from its mount for ancillary
cleaning tasks.
A structural connection 30 between the floor cleaning
portion head and the upright portion is made between
mating lower 31 and upper 32 tubular vacuum conduit
members as shown in figure 2. The tubular members are
shown detached in figures 1 and 2. The members are shown
isolated and engaged in figure 3.
In figure 3 the lower tubular member 31 has an inverted T
form, and is formed from a single piece of moulded
engineering plastics material. A lower transverse tubular
bore portion 34 of the member has open opposite end
regions 35,36. Each end region is provided with an
annular flange 37. The portions of the transverse bore
outboard of the flanges provide axle surfaces 38,39 for
pivoting of the lower bore portion about the longitudinal
axis of the bore (which is parallel to a notional
transverse diametric chord of the upper end region 16 of
the member).
The axles are seated in corresponding plain bearings (not
shown) provided in the cleaning head interior. In this
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way the tubular members (and whole upright portion 11 of
the vacuum cleaner) may be pivoted fore and aft relative
to the cleaning head, thereby permitting reclining of the
upright portion and handle for use. A conventional foot
5 operated latching mechanism (not shown) is provided to
permit locking of the upright in a vertical orientation
unlatching for reclining.
An interior of the engaged tubular members provides a
10 fluid conduit 14 through which air-entrained carpet
detritus lifted by the brush may be conveyed (see arrows
D inletting through the lower bore and upwards and out of
the upper tubular member 32), ultimately to the
collection bag in the upright portion.
The lower tubular member 31 has a cylindrical male end
region 16. The upper tubular member is formed with a dog-
leg bend 40 and has an upper tubular region 41 and a
lower end region 15 which has a greater diameter than the
end region 16 and which thereby acts as a sleeve in which
the end region of lower member sits. This is shown in
more detail in figure 4.
An outer surface 33 of the end region 16 is formed with a
circumferential annular groove 17. The groove is oblong
in section, with a length in a tubular axial direction
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and a width in the radial direction. The end region 15 of
the upper tubular member 32 is therefore able to engage
with, and overlap, the end region 16 of the lower tubular
member. An inner surface of the overlapped upper portion
is formed with a circumferential annular groove 19. This
groove corresponds in dimensions with the groove 17 in
the upper tubular member. The grooves 17 and 19 are
aligned with each other so that they face one another and
together form a single annular oblong-section
circumferential channel between the two end regions 15
and 16.
The overlapped end region 15 is formed with a rectilinear
cut-out 21 (see figure 3) which provides access to the
interior of the channel from outside the connection. A
locking member 22 is a flexible band of plastics material
22 which is accommodated in the channel. The locking
member may be threaded into the channel via the cut-out
21. The locking member is threaded completely around the
circumference of the channel. This locking member is
constrained by the upper and lower channel grooves.
Together the grooves and locking member block axial
movement of the upper tubular member 32 apart from the
lower tubular member 31. The band does however permit
swivelling rotation of the upper female sleeve 15 about
the male end region 16.
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The band is rigid enough to be pushed and threaded
through the cut-out into the channel, but should have
sufficient flexibility to follow the circumference of the
channel 20-when in situ in the connection. The band is
formed with a release tab 35 which is shown in figure 3.
This resides outside the channel and may be held by a
user to draw the locking member band from the channel to
permit detachment of the tubular members from each other.
Similarly the tab may be used to push the locking member
back into position in the channel when re-attachment is
required.
As compared to the device of the prior art EP-A-1647219
the connection of the present invention only requires a
single threading step to lock (or a single pull to
unlock) two engaged tubular members. As there is only a
single locking member (rather than six in the prior art)
the detachment process is simpler and more reliable. The
unlocking process in particular is much easier with the
invention arrangement as a single pull will unlock rather
than having to align and remove several rigid segment
members as in the prior device.
