1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner and more particularly to a vacuum cleaner which enables the user to detect when a filter unit of the cleaner is absent.
2. State of the Art
Modern vacuum cleaners generally operate on a “clean-air fan” principle, according to which the airflow through the cleaner is created by a fan located in the airstream at a point downstream of the separator arrangement which removes dirt and dust from the incoming suction airflow. Dirty air is drawn into the cleaner through a floor-engaging nozzle or other suction inlet and passes through a conduit to the separator arrangement, connected in fluid communication with the inlet of the fan. The airflow thus passes through the separator arrangement and the fan, and is then expelled from the cleaner, to ambient, through an exhaust outlet. The separator arrangement may take any one of several forms, of which filter bags and cyclone separators are the most common, although other arrangements including rigid porous dirt containers are also known. In conventional vacuum cleaner fan systems, the fan and the electric motor which drives the fan are integrated into a compact unit in which the air leaving the fan passes over the motor to effect cooling of the motor. It will be appreciated that should the separator arrangement fail effectively to remove dirt and impurities from the airflow before this airflow reaches the fan, then this dirt could cause damage to the fan and its motor. For this reason it is conventional to provide an additional stage of filtration between the separator arrangement and the inlet to the fan, this additional filtration stage generally being known as the pre-motor filter.
Since pre-motor filters must be removed from the cleaner periodically for cleaning or renewal, it will be appreciated that situations can arise where the user operates the cleaner with the pre-motor filter absent. This is clearly undesirable, and a number of arrangements have been proposed hitherto for preventing the occurrence of such situations. For example, European patent application EP 0,895,744 discloses an arrangement in which the presence of the pre-motor filter is detected by an electronic scanning system: an electronic sensing device is mounted on the body of the vacuum cleaner and co-operates with a sensing element attached to the filter to produce a signal dependent on the presence or absence of the filter, or indeed on the presence of the correct type of filter and/or its correct installation in the cleaner; the signal may be used to initiate a filter-absent warning to the user and/or to prevent the fan motor from starting. This filter-presence detection system is complicated and is expensive to manufacture, rendering it unsuitable for simple low-cost products.
A number of other detection systems have been proposed, for detecting the presence or absence of the pre-motor filter, based on the principle of preventing the use of the cleaner unless the cover which closes the separation chamber is correctly installed. A typical arrangement of this type is disclosed in European patent application EP 1,214,903, in which correct installation of the filter results in a spring-loaded tongue being withdrawn from a position in which it would obstruct closure of the dirt receptacle: without the dirt receptacle being properly closed, the cleaner cannot function. This and other mechanical arrangements are generally complicated and increase the manufacturing costs unduly.
We have now devised arrangements which are of simple and inexpensive construction, for indicating to the user when a filter of the cleaner is absent and preventing the cleaner from being used with the filter absent, whilst maintaining a flow of clean air over the fan motor to effect cooling.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a vacuum cleaner which includes a filter assembly or unit arranged for a part thereof to occlude at least one aperture provided in the structure of the cleaner and through which, in the absence of the filter assembly or unit, the suction airflow path of the cleaner is in fluid communication with ambient.
In use of this vacuum cleaner, should the filter assembly or unit be absent, air is drawn in from ambient through the at least one aperture, rather than along the suction path from the suction nozzle or other suction inlet of the cleaner. The cleaner is thus ineffective in picking up dirt through the suction inlet and this situation is immediately apparent to the user, and must be remedied by replacing the filter assembly.
Preferably said at least one aperture is arranged (typically as a result of the dimensions of the aperture or apertures and of its location) so that, in the absence of said filter assembly, the majority of the suction airflow entering the cleaner does so through said at least one aperture.
Preferably the filter assembly is located to provide a filtration stage between the main separation stage of the cleaner and the inlet to the suction fan. The main separation stage comprises a separator, typically in the form of a filter bag, disposed in a chamber to which the fan applies a suction.
The filter assembly preferably comprises a filter element mounted to or in a supporting structure (for example in the form of an open frame) a part of which forms the part of the assembly which occludes said at least one aperture in the structure of the cleaner, when the filter assembly is installed in the cleaner. Preferably said part of the filter supporting structure comprises a projecting part of that structure. Preferably this projecting part fits sealingly into, or seats sealingly over, said at least one aperture.
Preferably said at least one aperture is formed in a wall of the chamber in which the filter bag or other separator unit is disposed, and is preferably formed in a detachable or hinged cover of that chamber.
Preferably said at least one aperture is provided by a grill which comprises an array of openings.
In an embodiment which will be described herein, the filter assembly is removably disposed within the cleaner across the suction airflow path therethrough, for the air to pass through the filter as it passes along an internal conduit of the cleaner: said at least one aperture is formed through the structure of the cleaner, to ambient, adjacent the filter assembly, so that should the filter assembly be absent, air is drawn in from ambient through said at least one aperture, instead of being drawn into the cleaner from a suction nozzle or other suction inlet and along said conduit.
Also in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a filter assembly for a vacuum cleaner, the filter assembly comprising a filter element for the suction airflow to pass through, and a part arranged to occlude at least one aperture formed in the structure of the cleaner and communicating with ambient. Preferably said part of the filter assembly is provided with a sealing means for sealing against said structure of the cleaner, around said at least one aperture.
An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring firstly to
The motor chamber 13 is divided into two separate regions, one in fluid communication with the bag chamber 7 via a grill 16, and the other in fluid communication with an exhaust-air outlet 11. The grill 16 comprises a wall or partition formed with an array of openings and, in the example shown, effectively forms the floor of the bag chamber 7 and supports a filter element 12 which is disposed on the upper or upstream side of the grill 16.
In operation, the motor/fan unit 6 applies suction to the bag chamber 7, generating an airflow from the bag chamber 7 and out through the exhaust outlet 11. The resulting negative pressure in the bag chamber 7 gives rise to a flow of air from the suction inlet 4 to the interior of the bag 9 via a duct 10, which is operably coupled to the bag 9 via aperture 25 disposed within the bag chamber as shown in
Referring now to
Should however the filter assembly 12 be absent from the cleaner, as shown in
In the embodiment shown in
It will be appreciated that the above-described vacuum cleaner incorporates a simple and inexpensive arrangement for providing a clear indication to the user in the event that the filter assembly being absent and accordingly preventing the fan and motor from being damaged by incoming dirt.
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0514014.0 | Jul 2005 | GB | national |
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