Patent Grant
11019970
The invention relates to a vacuum cleaning appliance and particularly, but not exclusively, to a portable or hand-held electrical appliance for vacuum cleaning.
Various types of electrical vacuum cleaning appliances, including cylindrical and hand-held vacuum cleaners, have been widely used in both domestic and industrial settings. A common vacuum cleaner generally comprises a main body having a vacuum pump and a dust collecting bag or chamber, and a pipe or hose for connecting the main body to a suction head. The required suction of the vacuum cleaner is generally provided by a partial vacuum generated by the vacuum pump, with any dirt, dust, debris or the like being sucked in and thereby lifted from a surface by the generated suction via the suction head. The lifted dirt is then conveyed along the connecting hose and subsequently filtered from the suction airstream and stored at the collecting bag or chamber for disposal.
To facilitate easy positioning of the suction head at a specific location to be cleaned, which can be any reachable surface ranging from, for example, floors, stairs, ceilings and/or surfaces of furniture, vacuum cleaners have typically been designed with a length adjusting functionality on the connecting handle or pipe of the suction head, such that the handle or the pipe can be lengthened or shortened as desired by the user to meet their specific cleaning needs. The length adjustment is generally conducted manually by the user, for example, by hand sliding of two telescopically connected handle or pipe units, followed by the manual locking of any movable parts of the handle or pipe units by a lock or the like to thereby fix the length of the extended or retracted handle or pipe units. In use and when a length adjustment of the handle or the pipe is required, the user will generally have to stop the cleaning activity, manually adjust the handle or the pipe to a newly desired length, and then manually lock the movable parts to again fix the length of the extended or retracted handle or pipe units before he or she can continue with the vacuum cleaning. The process is therefore understandably tedious and highly inconvenient for the user. In addition, the length adjustment available on a conventional vacuum cleaner may typically be restricted to a limited number of adjustment or connection points, for example, one to two extendable or retractable connection points. Accordingly, even where the handle or pipe of the vacuum cleaner is length adjustable, it is highly likely that the user will still have to, in practice, occasionally physically adjust his or her working distance from the location to be cleaned as a consequence of the fixed length of the extended or retracted handle or pipe units.
An object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum cleaner, in which the aforesaid shortcomings are mitigated or at least to provide a useful alternative.
Another object of the invention is to mitigate or obviate to some degree one or more problems associated with known appliances for vacuum cleaning.
The above object is met by the combination of features of the main claim; the sub-claims disclose further advantageous embodiments of the invention.
One skilled in the art will derive from the following description other objects of the invention. Therefore, the foregoing statements of object are not exhaustive and serve merely to illustrate some of the many objects of the present invention.
In one main aspect, the invention provides a vacuum cleaner. The vacuum cleaner comprises a head portion; a body; a vacuum module positioned in the body, the vacuum module being adapted to generate suction for collecting dust via the head portion; a hose member adapted to connect the head portion with the vacuum module; and a guide member associated with the hose member; wherein the guide member is adapted to guide movement of the hose member such that, in response to movement of the guide member, the hose member automatically extends between a retracted position and an extended position to thereby position the head portion relative to the body.
The summary of the invention does not necessarily disclose all the features essential for defining the invention; the invention may reside in a sub-combination of the disclosed features.
The foregoing and further features of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments which are provided by way of example only in connection with the accompanying figures, of which:
The following description is of preferred embodiments by way of example only and without limitation to the combination of features necessary for carrying the invention into effect.
Reference in this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, various features are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirements for some embodiments but not other embodiments.
In the claims hereof, any element expressed as a means for performing a specified function is intended to encompass any way of performing that function. It is thus regarded that any means that can provide those functionalities are equivalent to those shown herein.
Referring to
The vacuum cleaner 10 also comprises a main body 12, with a housing 14 of the main body 12 for encasing a number of functional parts including, but not limited to, a dust collection module 16 for receiving and storing the collected dust and debris; and a vacuum module 20 for generating the required suction force. In this embodiment, the vacuum module 20 may comprise a vacuum pump 22 for generating a partial or substantial vacuum for the suctioning action, and one or more dust filters such as, but not limited to, an air inlet filter 24a for filtering a dust-laden incoming air stream, and an air outlet filter 24b for filtering an outgoing air stream, for example.
Connecting the head portion 2 with the main body 12, and more specifically, the vacuum module 20 of the main body 12 is a hose member 30 as shown in the figure. The hose member 30 may be a flexible, corrugated vacuum hose member of known type. In this embodiment, the hose member 30 is preferably in the form of a stretchable hose, pipe, tube or the like being made of one or more resilient materials such as plastics, for example, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) for its durability and flexibility. The stretchability of the hose member 30 affords positioning of the head portion 2 relative to the main body 12, that is, allows the head portion 2 to be extended away from or retracted towards the main body 12. Although a specific example of the hose member 30 has been described in this embodiment, a person skilled in the art would understand that any variations to the hose member in terms of, for example, size, configuration, construction and/or material, are also encompassed as long as the variations are considered suitable and applicable without departing from the inventive concept of the present invention. For example, in an alternative embodiment, the hose member 30 can be provided in the form of a tube like structure comprising a plurality of tubular units telescopically movable relative to one another. The telescopic movement of the tubular units allows the required extendibility or stretchability of the hose member 30.
Specifically, the hose member 30 is arranged with a guide member 40, with the guide member 40 being capable of guiding movement of the hose member 30, such that, in response to movement of the guide member 40, the hose member 30 automatically extends/retracts, i.e. stretches/collapses, between a retracted position and an extended position to thereby position the head portion 2 relative to the main body 12. Preferably, the guide member 40 is arranged substantially parallel to and is extendable/retractable along a same direction of extension/retraction as the hose member 30. Preferably, the extension of the guide member 40 is extendable/retractable along a handle 7 of the vacuum cleaner 10 to thereby allow the hose member 30 to serve, in effect, as an extended length of the user's arm when the vacuum cleaner is being held at the handle 7 by the user.
In the embodiment as shown in
Preferably, at least one of the plurality of guide units 40A, 40B and/or 40C is arranged relative to the hose member 30 via at least one positioning means 42. In one embodiment, the positioning means 42 can be fixedly connected between part of the hose member 30 and one or more of the plurality of guide units 40A, 40B and/or 40C. Alternatively, the positioning means 42, such as the positioning means 42A, 42B and 42C as shown in
Likewise, although specific arrangements of the guide member 40 and the positioning means 42 have been described in the various embodiments, it will be understood by a skilled person in the art that any variations to the guide member and/or the positioning means in terms of, for example, sizes, configurations, constructions and/or materials, should also be encompassed by the present invention, as long as the variations are considered suitable and applicable without departing from the inventive concept of the present invention.
Preferably, the guide member 40 is controllable by a control module 50 actuatable by but is not limited to electrical power. For example, the control module 50 may comprise one or more transmission systems operable under one or more of an electric mechanism, a hydraulic mechanism, a pneumatic mechanism and/or an electromagnetic mechanism. In one embodiment, the control module 50 may comprise a mechanical transmission system having an electrically powered motor 52 with its output shaft 54 mechanically connecting with a gear system 51 comprising a series of gear members such as gears 56, 58 and 60, as shown in
In one embodiment, the belt member 62 can be arranged to connect with the gear system 51 of the control module 50 at one end, with the other end connected with one or more of the guide units 40A, 40B and/or 40C of the guide member 40, as shown in
In one further embodiment, the control module 50 may comprise at least one clutch system 70 having at least one clutch plate 72 engageable with the gear system 51 such as the output gear 60 as shown in
The clutch plate 72 is adapted to be biased against the output gear 60 via one or more biasing means 78, which can be provided in the form of one or more spring members 78, for example. In the embodiment as shown in
In use and when the motor 52 is electrically actuated, rotation of the gear 58 will cause the connected output gear 60 to rotate in the same rotational direction. For example, a clockwise rotation of the gear 58 and thus a clockwise rotation T1 of the output gear 60 as shown in
When the guide member 40 is telescopically extended to its maximum length of extension or is retracted to its minimum length of retraction, further extension or retraction of the guide member 40 will be physically prevented and thus resistance will be generated at the output gear 60. A counter rotation reaction force T1′ as well as a counter axial reaction force T2′ will be experienced by the clutch plate 72. Particularly, when the counter axial reaction force T2′ is developed to become greater than the biasing force T2 provided by the spring members 78, the clutch plate 74 will be caused to disengage from the output gear 60, thereby preventing further rotation of the output gear 60. No further extension or retraction of the belt member 62 and thus, extension or retraction of the guide member 40 will result. The clutch system 70 is therefore beneficial in allowing an automatic disconnection of the output gear 60 with the drive of the transmission system when the telescopic movement of the guide member 40 has reached a certain maxima or minima, which may otherwise cause damage to the gear system 51, the motor 52 or even the vacuum cleaner 10.
Although the clutch system 70 of the control module 50 is described above as a specific embodiment, it is understandable that the present invention should not be limited to the exemplified system in providing the automatic disconnection of the transmission mechanism. For example, an integrated circuit breaker in any known form can be provided at the control module 50 to electrically disconnect the power supply to, and/or to stop the rotational driving force from the motor 52 thereby preventing further movement of the guide member 40.
In one further embodiment, a wheel cap or belt cover 90 may optionally be provided to cover the output gear 60 and the engaged belt member 62 for protection, as shown in
The vacuum cleaner 10 as embodied in the present invention may generally be powered by an AC power supply, but may optionally include a DC battery and/or a rechargeable battery pack as a supportive or alternative power source. As shown in
In one further embodiment, the plurality of guide units of the guide member 40 are adapted to be manually movable relative to one another to thereby allow a manual, i.e. physical, extension and retraction of the hose member 30 along its extension axis. Particularly, one or more of the guide units 40A, 40B and 40C may further be manually positioned relative to one another and/or be locked in place via one or more corresponding manual locking means (not shown). Manual extension/retraction of the plurality of guide units and thus the hose may be assisted by configuring the clutch to disengage or the friction of the clutch to be overcome when said plurality of guide units are manually manipulated. The provision of a manual adjusting mechanism in addition to the automatic extension and retraction of the hose member controllable by the control module 50 allows further flexibility for the user to easily position the head portion 2 at the location to be cleaned.
Without limited by the described embodiments, it will be readily understood by a skilled person in the art that any variations to the vacuum cleaner in terms of, for example, dimensions, configurations, constructions, designs and/or materials forming one or more parts thereof, should also be encompassed by the present invention, as long as the variations are considered suitable and applicable without departing from the inventive concept of the present invention. For example, in one embodiment, the hose member 30 can be arranged to connect with the main body 12 via one or more connecting means such as one or more interconnected conduits which allow fluid communication between the hose member 30 and the vacuum module 20 of the main body 12. In this embodiment, the conduit is preferred to be releasably engageable with a holding portion provided at the housing 16 of the main body 12 such that, in use, the user is allowed to manually detach the conduit from the housing 16 thereby enabling further physical extension of the hose member 30 away from the main body 12. The conduit may further be formed of a stretchable material and/or be configured to be stretchable or extendable for additional extendibility. In one further embodiment, the vacuum module 20 may further be arranged to be releasably detachable from the main body 12 to thereby provide further flexibility to the user.
The present invention is advantageous in that it provides a vacuum cleaner, and particularly but not exclusively, a portable vacuum cleaner which is capable of automatically extending and retracting a hose connecting the suction head with the main body of the vacuum cleaner upon actuation of an electrical control module. No manual assembling and/or adjusting of the hose is required, although manual adjustment of the hose extension length amount may be optionally provided. The automatic adjustment is independently operable regardless of the operating condition of the vacuum cleaner, for example, the extension and retraction of the hose is controllable without the need of switching on or off the vacuum pump. Accordingly, the user may electrically adjust the length of the hose to position the suction head at any desired location to be cleaned without the need to power off the vacuum pump of the cleaner. The automatic extension and retraction also negates any manual locking and unlocking steps to the extendable or movable parts of the guide units and/or hose, which may otherwise interfere with the vacuum cleaning process. In addition, the automatic extension and retraction of the hose can be continuously controlled, that is, the length adjustment is not be restricted by any preset adjustment points or sessions of extension or retraction, but has an infinite length adjustability between its maxima and minima. The retractability of the hose further enables a more compact configuration of the vacuum cleaner, which allows easy and convenient handling of the hand-held vacuum cleaner during use, as well as to facilitate a more user-friendly storage of the vacuum cleaner after use. Furthermore, the clutch system of the present invention enables the transmission mechanism to stop automatically when the hose has reached its maximum length of extension or its minimum length of retraction. This is of particular significance in preventing the transmission mechanism and thus the vacuum cleaner from being damaged by excessive extension or retraction, and thus to ensure safety of the user.
The present description illustrates the principles of the present invention. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the invention and are included within its spirit and scope.
Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of the invention, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include both currently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in the future, i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function, regardless of structure.
While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only exemplary embodiments have been shown and described and do not limit the scope of the invention in any manner. It can be appreciated that any of the features described herein may be used with any embodiment. The illustrative embodiments are not exclusive of each other or of other embodiments not recited herein. Accordingly, the invention also provides embodiments that comprise combinations of one or more of the illustrative embodiments described above. Modifications and variations of the invention as herein set forth can be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and, therefore, only such limitations should be imposed as are indicated by the appended claims.
In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word “comprise” or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising” is used in an inclusive sense, i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention.
It is to be understood that, if any prior art publication is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201611106166.7 | Dec 2016 | CN | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CN2017/113963 | 11/30/2017 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2018/103587 | 6/14/2018 | WO | A |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3739421 | Fukuba | Jun 1973 | A |
| 5095577 | Jonas | Mar 1992 | A |
| 5199996 | Jonas | Apr 1993 | A |
| 5740581 | Harrelson, II | Apr 1998 | A |
| 6108861 | Vystrcil | Aug 2000 | A |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20190282053 A1 | Sep 2019 | US |
