Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Vacuum Cleaner
The present invention is directed to a vacuum cleaner. In more
detail, the invention is directed to a cyclone type vacuum
cleaner.
Cyclone type vacuum cleaners are widely known because of their
benefit in bagless dust collection. Bagless or cyclone type vac-
uum cleaners or respective cyclone dust separating units are
known for example from documents EP 1 042 981 Al, EP 1774887 Al,
EP 1 688 078 A2, EP 1 952 745 A2 and WO 2011/058365.
Cyclone type vacuum cleaners, in particular mentioned in the
state of technology documents listed before, are still compara-
tively large in size and provide comparatively complicated air
guiding and dust collecting devices and units.
Therefore, it is one of the objects of the present invention to
provide a cyclone type vacuum cleaner having a comparatively
compact design. In particular it is an object to provide a mul-
tiple stage cyclonic vacuum cleaner of comparatively compact de-
sign. Further, the vacuum cleaner shall have enhanced usability
and operability, in particular with respect to dust separation
and dust collecting chambers.
These and further objects are solved by the features of claim 1.
Embodiments and variants result from the dependent claims.
m According to claim 1, a vacuum cleaner is provided which com-
prises a horizontal type cleaner body having a front and back
side and two lateral sides.
The term "horizontal type cleaner body" in particular shall re-
fer to the orientation of the cleaner body in normal or intended
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use. Such a horizontal type cleaner body may comprise, as al-
ready implemented with known devices, wheels attached thereto
and provided for easily moving the vacuum cleaner over the floor
underneath during vacuum-cleaning.
A horizontal type vacuum cleaner in the meaning of the present
application is for example shown in EP 1 774 887 Al. Aside from
the horizontal type vacuum cleaners there also exist vertical
type constructions generally comprising a handle to which the
cleaner body is mounted to and by which the cleaner body is
moved in concert with vacuum-cleaning operations. One example of
such a vertical type vacuum cleaner is shown in WO 2011/058365.
The vacuum cleaner comprises at least one primary stage cyclone
dust separator which has a dust outlet opening fluidly connected
to a primary stage dust collecting chamber.
The vacuum cleaner further comprises a secondary cyclonic sepa-
ration step. In more detail, the vacuum cleaner comprises at
least one secondary stage cyclone dust separating unit. The sec-
ondary stage cyclone dust separating unit is coupled and in-
stalled downstream the primary stage cyclone dust separator.
Providing a secondary stage dust separation stage greatly en-
hances overall dust separation efficiency
With the proposed vacuum cleaner, the primary stage dust col-
lecting chamber and the at least one secondary stage cyclone
dust separating unit is mounted at the front side in a lateral
side by side arrangement in between the lateral sides.
The proposed arrangement of primary stage dust collecting cham-
ber and the at least one secondary stage cyclone dust separating
unit enables space saving arrangements and in particular compact
overall designs of the cleaner body and vacuum cleaner.
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With the proposed vacuum cleaner construction, the lateral ex-
tension of the primary stage dust collecting chamber is less
than the overall width of the cleaner body and vacuum cleaner.
Space not occupied by the primary stage dust collecting chamber
in lateral direction can be used as installation space for at
least one of the at least one secondary stage cyclone dust sepa-
rating unit.
Providing the primary stage dust collecting chamber at the front
W side has, amongst others, the advantage that it is easily acces-
sible. Further if adequate front side fill level indicators, in
particular inspection windows, are provided a user can quickly
inspect the filling level of the primary stage dust collecting
chamber. The term "front side fill level indicator" in particu-
lar shall mean that the fill level indicator is accessible and
visible at and from the front side of the vacuum cleaner.
The fill level indicator, in particular inspection window, in
particular when arranged immediately at the front side, is ef-
fective in presenting the filling level of the primary stage
dust collecting chamber to a user, and will contribute to ade-
quate emptying intervals. This in turn secures optimal cleaning
efficiency of the vacuum cleaner. Note that the inspection win-
dow may be implemented as a translucent or transparent wall sec-
tion of the primary stage dust collecting chamber.
As will be described in more detail further below, arranging the
at least one secondary stage cyclone dust separating unit at the
front side, side to side with the primary stage dust collection
chamber allows a space saving arrangement of secondary stage
dust collecting chambers of respective secondary stage cyclone
dust collecting units.
Note that the primary stage cyclone dust separator may be pro-
vided and adapted to separate coarse dust, debris and other par-
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ticulate matter from air. Secondary stage cyclone dust separat-
ing units may be adapted to separate fine dust from air, in par-
ticular dust that either could not be separated in the first
stage or that is too fine or small to be separated in the first
stage. Combining several dust separation stages in series great-
ly enhances the overall cleaning efficiency.
In a preferred embodiment, the vacuum cleaner comprises two sec-
ondary stage cyclone dust separating units. The two secondary
W stage cyclone dust separating units are mounted at opposite lat-
eral sides, side by side to the primary stage dust collecting
chamber. The primary stage dust collecting chamber in this case
is centered between the two secondary stage cyclone dust sepa-
rating units and lateral sides. In other words, the secondary
stage cyclone dust separating units are respectively positioned
laterally next to the primary stage dust collecting chamber
which is centered with respect to the cleaner body.
In one further embodiment, each secondary stage cyclone dust
separating unit comprises several conical cyclones arranged side
to side in parallel to a respective lateral side.
Preferably, the diameters of the conical cyclones are smaller
than that of the first stage cyclone dust separator. Note that
the first stage cyclone dust separator preferably has a constant
overall circular cross section, i. e. has essentially no conical
sections. The smaller conical cyclones preferably are equally
dimensioned. Providing smaller conical cyclones in the secondary
stage cyclone dust separating units is effective in separating
fine dust and dust particles too small to be effectively removed
in the primary separation stage.
It shall be noted, that more than the above described two dust
separation stages may be combined in series. This will enhance
dust separation efficiency and allow blowing out comparatively
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clean air to the environment again. As an example, one of the
higher order dust separating steps, e. g. a tertiary dust sepa-
ration step, may be a filter type separation, in particular
adapted to retain residual dust particles. But also tertiary
stage cyclone dust separators are conceivable.
In a yet further embodiment, conical cyclones of the at least
one secondary stage cyclone dust separating unit are mounted and
adapted such that their center axes are tilted or slanted from
W top front side to bottom back side. Such a tilted arrangement is
of particular advantage, if a main airflow through the cyclones
is also directed from top front to bottom back. In this case, a
secondary stage dust collecting chamber fluidly connected to
dust outlets of the cyclones can be arranged in a space saving
way underneath and/or in front to back direction behind the re-
spective secondary stage cyclone dust separating unit.
In a preferred variant, the center axes of the conical cyclones
are tilted vis-d-vis the horizontal direction of ordinary use,
in more detail vis-d-vis the front to back direction, by an an-
gle of 10 to 50 degrees, preferably 30 degrees. Such tilt angles
are adequate for compact design, yet allowing sufficient separa-
tion efficiency.
In a further embodiment, and as already indicated further above,
each secondary stage cyclone dust separating unit comprises a
secondary stage dust collecting chamber downstream of and fluid-
ly connected with dust outlet openings of respective secondary
stage cyclones.
The secondary stage dust collecting chambers in particular may
be oriented and mounted as already indicated further above. In
particular, the secondary stage dust collecting chambers may be
located and positioned at respective lateral sides. With regard
to front to back direction, the secondary stage dust collecting
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chambers are preferably arranged behind, i. e. downstream, and
flush with respective secondary stage conical cyclones. The pro-
posed arrangement of the secondary stage dust collecting chamber
may lead to optimal utilization of space, and therefore compact
design.
In another embodiment, with regard to planes running essentially
parallel to a respective lateral side, the secondary stage dust
collecting chamber has a triangular shaped cross section. Irian-
gular shaped cross sections may provide optimal utilization of
space. In particular due to the fact that a triangular shaped
space may be available downstream and underneath a dust outlet
face or plane of conical cyclones of a secondary stage cyclone
dust separating unit. The dust outlet plane shall be understood
to be defined by respective dust outlet openings of conical cy-
clones.
In a yet further embodiment, a tertiary stage dust separator,
which may be a fine and/or main filter, is provided. The ter-
tiary stage dust separator is, with regard to front to back di-
rection, mounted behind the primary dust collecting chamber and
laterally adjacent to the at least one secondary stage dust col-
lecting chamber. If secondary stage dust collecting chambers are
provided at opposite lateral sides, the tertiary stage dust sep-
arator may be centered in lateral direction between the second-
ary stage dust collecting chambers.
In a further embodiment, the vacuum cleaner comprises air chan-
nels connecting an air outlet of the primary stage cyclone dust
separator to the at least one secondary stage cyclone dust sepa-
rating unit, in particular to an air inlet opening of the at
least one secondary stage cyclone dust separating unit. Further,
the air channels are guided at a top side of the cleaner body.
This is favorable with regard to utilization of space.
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Such air channels are of particular advantage if a longitudinal
main axis of the primary stage cyclone dust separator is orient-
ed essentially parallel to the front to back direction, and an
air outlet of the primary stage cyclone dust separator is locat-
ed at or placed towards the back side.
Each air channel guides at least partially cleaned air from the
primary stage cyclone dust separator to an air inlet, in partic-
ular air inlet chamber, of a respective secondary stage cyclone
dust separating unit. The inlet chamber communicates with air
inlet openings of all conical cyclones of a respective secondary
stage cyclone dust separating unit. The inlet chamber is de-
signed and adapted such that air is guided optimally, preferably
equally, to and into all conical cyclones of a secondary stage
cyclone dust separating unit.
In a further embodiment, the primary stage cyclone dust separa-
tor is, with regard to front to back direction, mounted behind
the dust collecting chamber. In this case, it is advantageous
that the primary stage cyclone dust separator is a horizontal
type dust separator. In this connection, a horizontal type dust
separator shall be understood in particular as indicated further
above, i. e. that a longitudinal main axis of the primary stage
cyclone dust collector is parallel to the front to back direc-
tion. This in particular means that a main airflow through the
primary stage cyclone dust separator is parallel and/or anti-
parallel to the front to back direction. Placing and orienting
the primary stage cyclone dust separator as proposed beforehand
is effective in obtaining comparatively small bottom to top di-
mensions.
Exemplary embodiments will now be described in connection with
the annexed figures, in which:
Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a vacuum cleaner;
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Fig. 2 shows a lateral side view of the vacuum cleaner;
and
Fig. 3 shows vertical cross sectional view of the vacuum
cleaner.
Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a vacuum cleaner 1. The vacu-
um cleaner 1 comprises a horizontal type cleaner body 2 with a
bottom 3, top 4, front 5 and back side 6 and two lateral sides
7.
The term horizontal type shall mean that in the ordinary and in-
tended position of use, the cleaner body 2 is positioned essen-
tially horizontally. In the context of the present invention and
in more general terms this in particular shall mean that, the
cleaner body 2 during normal operation and with regard to front
to back direction is positioned essentially parallel to the
ground underneath. Note that in the figures, the vacuum cleaner
is shown in its ordinary horizontal use position.
The vacuum cleaner 1 comprises a primary stage cyclone dust sep-
arator 8. The primary stage cyclone dust separator 8 is coupled
to a primary stage dust collecting chamber 9. A dust outlet
opening 10 (Fig. 3) of the primary stage cyclone dust separator
8 is fluidly connected to the primary stage dust collecting
chamber 9.
The primary stage dust collecting chamber 8, which may also be
designated as a dust collecting container, is positioned and ar-
ranged at the front side 5 of the cleaner body 2.
In a front side section, the primary stage dust collecting cham-
ber 9 has a fill level indicator, which in the present case is
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implemented as a transparent wall section arranged and visible
from the front. In one implementation, essentially the whole
primary stage dust collecting chamber 9, at least walls at the
front side, are made from a transparent material. Here, a user
can easily observe the fill level of the primary stage dust col-
lecting chamber 9, recognize inadequately high filling levels
and, as a consequence, will timely empty the primary stage dust
collecting chamber 9.
The vacuum cleaner 1 comprises wheels 10 arranged at/in or on
the lateral sides 7 and bottom side 3 of the cleaner body 2, re-
spectively. The wheels 10 are arranged and adapted such that the
vacuum cleaner 1 during normal and ordinary operation can be
easily moved on the surface underneath. The vacuum cleaner 1 may
comprise other functional elements, such as handles and the
like, which will not be described in further detail.
At the front side 5 of the vacuum cleaner 1, an interface 11 is
provided which is adapted and configured to connect a flexible
suction hose (not shown).
The vacuum cleaner 1 further comprises two secondary stage cy-
clone dust separating units 12. The secondary stage cyclone dust
separating units 12 are positioned and mounted at the front side
5.
As can in particular be seen from Fig. 1, the primary stage dust
collecting chamber 9 and the secondary stage cyclone dust sepa-
rating units 12 are mounted in between the lateral sides 7.
Further, it can be seen from Fig. 1 that the primary stage dust
collecting chamber 9 and the secondary stage cyclone dust sepa-
rating units 12 are, with respect to the lateral extension, ar-
ranged in a side by side arrangement, wherein the primary stage
dust collecting chamber 9 is placed, in particular centered, be-
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tween the secondary stage cyclone dust separating units 12. In
other words, at each lateral side of the primary stage dust col-
lecting chamber 9 there is provided one of the secondary stage
cyclone dust separating units 12.
From Fig. 1 it can be readily seen that the proposed arrange-
ment, in particular the arrangement of primary stage dust col-
lecting chamber 9 and the secondary stage cyclone dust separat-
ing units 12, allows a compact and space saving design. Further,
W a functional arrangement combined with good operability of com-
ponents of the vacuum cleaner 1 can be obtained.
Further details of the vacuum cleaner will become apparent in
connection with Figures 2 and 3.
As can be seen in more detail from Fig. 2, representing a par-
tially broken up side view of the vacuum cleaner 1, each second-
ary stage cyclone dust separating unit 12 comprises several con-
ical cyclones 13. The conical cyclones 13 have equal size, i. e.
dimensions, and are arranged side to side in parallel to a re-
spective lateral side 7.
Air channels 14 running at the top side 4 of the cleaner body 2
fluidly connect an air outlet of the primary stage cyclone dust
separator 8 to respective air inlets of the secondary stage cy-
clone dust separating units 12. With the present design, the air
outlet of the primary stage cyclone dust separator 8 is located
towards the back side 6 and centered with respect to the lateral
sides 7. The air channels 14 are guided from a centered back
side location in a curved section towards respective lateral
sides 7 and then are guided along the lateral sides 7 of the
cleaner body 2 to the secondary stage cyclone dust separating
units 12. As can be seen, the air channels 14 can be integrated
without increasing the overall lateral and bottom to top exten-
sion of the cleaner body 2.
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The air channels 14 open into the secondary stage cyclone dust
separating units 12. Air guided into the secondary stage cyclone
dust separating units 12 preferably is equally distributed to
the conical cyclones 13. Here, an air distribution chamber flu-
idly connected to air inlets of the conical cyclones 13 and
adapted to equally distribute incoming air may be used. If re-
quired, air guiding elements may be provided in the air distri-
bution chamber.
With regard to the airflow within the vacuum cleaner 1, the sec-
ondary stage cyclone dust separating units 12 are provided down-
stream the primary stage cyclone dust separator 8. This means,
that the primary stage cyclone dust separator 8 and secondary
stage cyclone dust separating units 12 are connected in series.
In particular with reference to Fig. 2 it can be seen that the
conical cyclones 13 of a respective secondary stage cyclone dust
separating unit 12 are connected in parallel.
With further reference to Fig. 2, the conical cyclones 13 are
mounted and aligned such that their center axes are tilted from
top front to bottom back, which is indicated for one of the con-
ical cyclones by a dotted arrow (v2). In a direction perpendicu-
lar to the center axes, the conical cyclones 13 are positioned
in a line, without axial displacement. This in particular means
that air inlets and dust outlets of the conical cyclones of a
secondary stage cyclone dust separating unit 12 respectively lie
in common planes. As the conical cyclones 13 are of equal de-
sign, the air inlet planes and dust outlet planes are essential-
ly parallel to each other.
Coming back to the tilt or declination of the center axes of the
conical cyclones 13, it has been proven advantageous that a tilt
angle a is in the range of 10 to 50 degrees. A preferred tilt
angle is 30 degrees. Note that the tilt angle shall be under-
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stood to be defined between a vector vi parallel to the front to
back direction and a vector v2 parallel to a center axis of a
respective conical cyclone 13 and running in a direction top
front to bottom back. Note that the direction top front to bot-
tom back corresponds to the main air flow direction in respec-
tive conical cyclones 13.
With further reference to Fig. 2, each secondary stage cyclone
dust separating unit 12 comprises a secondary stage dust col-
lecting chamber 15 downstream of and fluidly connected to dust
outlet openings 16 of respective conical cyclones 13. In Fig. 2
only one of the secondary stage dust collecting chambers 15 is
visible.
On a side of a respective secondary step dust collecting chamber
15 facing the dust outlet openings 16 of the conical cyclones
13, the secondary step dust collecting chamber 15 has corre-
sponding dust inlet openings. The dust inlet openings and dust
outlet openings 16 are adapted such that a tight, in particular
fluid and dust tight, connection between secondary step dust
collecting chamber 15 and respective conical cyclones 13 is ob-
tained.
The secondary step dust collecting chamber 15 may be detachably
coupled to a section of the secondary stage cyclone dust sepa-
rating unit 12, such that it can be easily removed for discharg-
ing dust collected therein, and such that the conical cyclones
13 can easily be cleaned. It shall however be noted, that the
secondary step dust collecting chamber 15 may alternatively be a
non-detachable integrated part of the secondary stage cyclone
dust separating unit 12. In this case it may be that the second-
ary stage cyclone dust separating unit 12 as a whole is detacha-
bly mounted to the cleaner body 2.
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From Fig. 2 it can further be seen, that with regard to front to
back direction each secondary stage dust collecting chamber 15
is positioned and mounted behind respective secondary stage cy-
clones 13. From Fig. 1 it can be seen that with regard to front
to back direction the secondary stage dust collecting chambers
are arranged flush with respective secondary stage cyclones
13 and respective cyclone units. Optimal and favorable utiliza-
tion of space can in particular be obtained if the secondary
stage dust collecting chambers 15, as shown in Fig. 2, have tri-
10 angular shaped cross sections in planes running parallel to the
lateral sides 7.
The arrangement as described before is advantageous for obtain-
ing compact overall designs. In addition, the proposed arrange-
is ment allows favorable usability and handling of components of
the vacuum cleaner 1, and of the vacuum cleaner 1 as a whole.
With reference to Fig. 3, the vacuum cleaner may comprise a ter-
tiary stage dust separator 17. Note that even higher order dust
separating stages may be provided. The tertiary stage dust sepa-
rator 17 is mounted, with regard to front to back direction, be-
hind the primary stage dust collecting chamber 9 and with regard
to bottom to top direction below the primary stage cyclone dust
separator 8. In combination with Fig. 2 it becomes clear, that
the tertiary stage dust separator 17 is centered between the
secondary stage dust collecting chambers 15. By this, optimal
utilization of space and compact designs can be obtained.
The tertiary stage dust separator 17 may be a fine filter, in
particular a main filter, of the vacuum cleaner, and be arranged
immediately upstream an air exhaust of the vacuum cleaner.
In all, it can be seen, that the proposed vacuum cleaner pro-
vides a compact design, enhanced usability and satisfactory
cleaning efficiency.
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List of reference numerals
1 vacuum cleaner
2 cleaner body
3 bottom side
4 top side
5 front side
6 back side
7 lateral side
8 primary stage cyclone dust separator
9 primary stage dust collecting chamber
10 wheel
11 interface
12 secondary stage cyclone dust separating unit
13 conical cyclone
14 air channel
15 secondary stage dust collecting chamber
16 dust outlet opening
17 tertiary stage dust separator
a tilt angle
vi, v2 vectors
14
