This application is the U.S. National Phase application under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No. PCT/EP2019/072193 filed Aug. 20, 2019, which claims the benefit of European Patent Application Number 18192041.4 filed Aug. 31, 2018. These applications are hereby incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a vacuum cleaner utensil, i.e. to a vacuum cleaner nozzle in case of a vacuum cleaner having a separate nozzle, or to a robot vacuum cleaner which has an integrated nozzle. The invention also relates to a vacuum cleaner provided with a vacuum cleaner nozzle.
WO0226097 discloses a floor tool for use in vacuum cleaning floor surfaces comprises a sole plate having a suction channel. The suction channel is bounded on at least one side by a working edge for engaging with the floor surface. Lint pickers are positioned alongside the suction channel and are separated from the suction channel by the working edge. The lint pickers are mounted on a surface of the floor tool which is inclined with respect to the plane in which the working edges lie. A lint picker is a strip of material into which a plurality of tufts of fine hair are secured. All of the tufts are aligned in the same direction with respect to the sole plate. The lint picker acts as a one-way gate, allowing lint to pass under the lint picker when the floor tool is pushed along the floor, but to block the lint when the floor tool is pulled backwards. The repeated forward and backwards action of the floor tool across the floor surface traps the lint and rolls it into a ball such that it can be sucked by the floor tool. Each lint picker is mounted within a recessed portion of the sole plate. However, the pick-up performance of such tools is limited.
DE102012010075 discloses a floor cleaning element (e.g. a floor nozzle), for use in vacuum cleaner. The element has a front brush strip comprising diagonal bristles whose free ends are oriented towards the middle of a receiving opening, and a rear brush strip that is narrower than the front brush strip in direction transverse to a rear edge and/or a front edge. Front and rear suction channels are provided between the front and rear edges and the front and rear brush strips, respectively. The front and rear suction channels respectively extend along the front and rear edges and air flow-conductively connected with the receiving opening.
It is, inter alia, an object of the invention to provide an improved vacuum cleaner utensil. The invention is defined by the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments are defined in the dependent claims.
One aspect of the invention provides a vacuum cleaner utensil, comprising a suction opening, and a lint picker at a side of the suction opening, wherein the lint picker is mounted in a recessed portion having a plurality of rims along lines at an angle between 20° and 70° to a longitudinal axis of the suction opening that form edges pointing towards the suction opening. Preferably, the lint picker has a plurality of triangular-shaped elements. Preferably, the lint picker has a plurality of elements that have first and second boundaries along lines at an angle between 20° and 70° to a longitudinal axis of the suction opening, an angle between the first and second boundaries not exceeding 120°.
Without wishing to be bound by theory, one reason for a les optimal performance of prior art tools may be that coarse dirt particles get stuck at a rim of a recessed portion of the sole plate in which the lint picker is mounted. If the recessed portion has a plurality of rims along lines at an angle between 20° and 70° to a longitudinal axis of the suction opening that form edges pointing towards the suction opening, coarse dirt particles can easier escape from behind the rims, e.g. because of the shape of the pointed elements, coarse dirt particles are gathered in the points close to the suction opening, so that other coarse dirt particles may push a coarse dirt particle over the rim so that it can be sucked up at the suction opening.
Another aspect of the invention provides a vacuum cleaner comprising a suction unit, and a nozzle arranged for being coupled to the suction unit, wherein the nozzle is formed by such a vacuum cleaner utensil.
These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.
It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments illustrate rather than limit the invention, and that those skilled in the art will be able to design many alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. For example, the lint pickers 5 may be mounted in inclined portions of the sole plate of the nozzle 1, and the lint picker 5 does not need to be immediately adjacent to the suction opening 3. For example, there may be a flat portion of the nozzle's sole plate directly adjacent to the suction opening 3, while the lint picker 5 is present on an inclined portion of the sole plate adjacent to that flat portion. The elements of the lint picker 5 do not need to be distinct elements; they may overlap and/or have a common base as long as parts point towards the suction opening 3. In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim. The word “comprising” does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those listed in a claim. The word “a” or “an” preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. The invention may be implemented by means of hardware comprising several distinct elements. In the device claim enumerating several means, several of these means may be embodied by one and the same item of hardware. Measures recited in mutually different dependent claims may advantageously be used in combination.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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18192041 | Aug 2018 | EP | regional |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2019/072193 | 8/20/2019 | WO |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2020/043537 | 3/5/2020 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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20130174374 | Guder | Jul 2013 | A1 |
20170007086 | Kleine-Deopke | Jan 2017 | A1 |
20170049283 | Sorrig | Feb 2017 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
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101610705 | Dec 2009 | CN |
102014721 | Apr 2011 | CN |
102599856 | Jul 2012 | CN |
107743370 | Feb 2018 | CN |
102008021353 | Nov 2009 | DE |
102012010075 | Sep 2013 | DE |
102014012347 | Nov 2015 | DE |
3136935 | Mar 2017 | EP |
0226097 | Apr 2002 | WO |
2008111891 | Sep 2008 | WO |
Entry |
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International Search Report and Written Opinion Dated Oct. 4, 2019 for International Application No. PCT/EP2019/072193 Filed Aug. 20, 2019. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20210290014 A1 | Sep 2021 | US |