CA2008802A1 - Vacuum cleaner switch - Google Patents

Abstract

VACUUM CLEANER SWITCH

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A control switch is disclosed for a two-speed vacuum cleaner motor and the like. The switch provides three sensors which operate in response to the mounting of three different types of accessories on a vacuum cleaner. One sensor causes low motor speed operation when an accessory is mounted requiring low speed operation. Another sensor operates to provide high speed motor operation when a high speed accessory is mounted. The third sensor prevents motor operation when an accessory is not mounted on the outlet of the vacuum cleaner. The control switch provides a high speed/low speed switch and a power switch. The power switch is automatically moved to its open or OFF position in response to the mounting of an accessory. Consequently, the high speed/low speed switch cannot operate to start the motor, and is therefore provided with low cost contacts. The con-trol switch and motor provide plug-type connectors which automatically connect the internal motor wiring when the switch is installed.

Description

r~t~5~

VACUUM CLEANER SWITCH

-2 This invention relates generally to control 3 switches, and more particularly to an improved control 4 switch for appliances such as suction cleaners and the like.

6 Prior Art 7 It is known to provide suction cleaners with 8 electric motor-driven fans that operate at a first low 9 speed for cleaning operations using a removable first attachment, such as a rug cleaning nozzle having a 11 powered brush or beater, and that operate the fan at a 12 second high speed to create more suction when the 13 cleaner is used with removable attachments which rely 14 upon suction or vacuum alone to remove dirt or dust.
It is also known to provide a speed selector 16 switch which automatically changes the motor speed in 17 response to the mounting of a given attachment on the 18 cleaner so that the fan automatically operates at the 19 correct speed for the particular attachment which is mounted on the cleaner.
21 It is also known to arrange the speed selec-22 tor switch so that the fan motor cannot run unless an 23 attachment is mounted at the suction end of the clean-24 er. Examples of suction cleaners providing such controls are illustrated and described in United ,.,. i : -.. . . .

~ S~fi~ ~

1 States Letters Patents Nos. 3,319,282; 4,336,626; and 2 4,398,316 (all assigned to the assignee of the present 3 invention). such patents are incorporated herein by 4 reference in their entirety.
In each of these systems, the speed control 6 switch is separate from the main power switch, whlch 7 is manually operated by the cleaner user to start and 8 stop the cleaner. In such systems, the installation 9 of an attachment while the main power switch is ln its ON position causes the selector switch to start the 11 motor. Similarly, if an attachment is removed while 12 the motor is running, the selector switch operates to 13 stop the motor. Consequently, the contacts for the 14 selector switch can operate to start and stop the motor. Therefore, the contacts of the s~lector switch 16 must be of sufficient quality to withstand motor 17 startlng and stopping functlons.
18 Further, the motor can start, in some in-19 stances, before the attachment is fully installed, making it difficult to complete the installation of 21 the attachment. Additionally, such systems only 22 function in response to the installation or removal of 23 an attachment from the suction end of the cleaner.
24 Therefore, cleaner operation can occur even when a filter bag or other attachment is not mounted at the 26 discharge end of the cleaner.

..

o~

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

2 There are a number of aspects to the present 3 invention. In accordance with one important aspect of 4 this invention, a manually operable power switch is combined with a speed selector switch so that a single 6 switch system functions to automatically establish the 7 proper motor speed for the particular attachment 8 mounted on the cleaner, and also provides a switch 9 structure for manually turning the cleaner motor on and off.
11 In accordance with another aspect of this 12 invention, a switch system is provided for motor~
13 driven suction cleaners or the like combining a manu-14 ally operable power switch and a speed selector switch in which the speed selector switch cannot operate to 16 start and stop the motor. Since the speed selector 17 switch contact cannot be operated to start and stop 18 the motor, less expensive contacts can be provided in 19 the selector switch.
In accordance with another important aspect 21 of this invention, a combined power and speed selector 22 switch ls provided for suction cleaners or the like in 23 which the motor cannot start unless the power switch 24 is manually operated to an ON position after the attachment is installed.
26 In accordance with still another important 27 aspect of this invention, a combined power switch and 28 speed selector switch is provided for suction cleaners 29 or the like in which one or more of the power switch .. .

~ , . , .. , .. : . . :

2~08802 1 contacts is disabled when an attachment is not proper-2 ly mounted on the cleaner. This prevents motor opera~
3 tion unless an attachment is properly mounted on an 4 associated cleaner.
S In accordance with a still further important 6 aspect of this invention, a power switch is provided 7 for suction cleaners or the like in which the mounting 8 of the attachment on the cleaner automatlcally moves 9 the power switch to its open motor OFF position. The illustrated embodiment of this invention provides a 11 control switch system for vacuum cleaners and the like 12 having a double-pole power switch and a speed selector 13 switch mounted within a single body. The power switch 14 is a manually operable switch which sequentially moves between an ON and an OFF position each time the swltch 16 operator is manually operated. The speed selector 17 switch operates automatlcally to provide the proper 18 fan speeds for the attachment or attachments mounted 19 on the cleaner.
For example, when a carpet cleaning nozzle 21 attachment having a beater brush is mounted on the 22 cleaner, the selector switch causes the motor and fan 23 to operate at a slower speed. Conversely, when an 24 attachment which relies entirely on vacuum to pick up dirt or dust is mounted on the cleaner, the selector 26 switch automatically causes the motor and the fan to 27 operate at a higher speed.
28 Sensors are provided which are engaged by 29 the mounted attachment and which move the selector switch between its high speed and low speed conditions 31 so that the motor is automatically operated at the .. .. .

~ ,'' '' - ", ' ': . '~, - '~ ' , ' . , 20Q8:802 1 proper speed for the particular attachment which is 2 mounted on the cleaner. These same sensors also move 3 one contact of the power switch to a position in which 4 the main power switch is open except when an attach-ment is mounted on the suction end of the cleaner.
6 The illustrated embodiment also provides a 7 sensor which prevents motor operation when an attach-8 ment is not mounted on the outlet or blower end of the 9 cleaner. Such outlet attachment may, for example, be a filter bag or any other attachment which utilizes 11 cleaner exhaust air for its operation.
12 This outlet sensor also functions to move 13 one of the power switch contacts to a position in 14 which the main power switch is open to prevent motor operation when an attachment is not mounted on the 16 cleaner outlet. Therefore, the cleaner cannot operate 17 unless attachments are mounted both on the cleaner 18 inlet and the cleaner outlet.
19 In the illustrated embodiment in which the power switch is a double-pole switch, the sensors at 21 the suction end of the cleaner move a contact which is 22 part of one switch pole of the switch to an open or 23 disabled position and a sensor on the outlet moves a 24 contact which is part of the other switch pole to its open or disabled position when associated accessories 26 are not mounted.
27 Further, the illustrated embodiment provides 28 a double-pole switch in which each pole includes two 29 movable contacts. One movable contact of each pole is moved by a sensor in response to the mounting or 31 removal of an attachment. The other movable contact ` 20~8802 1 of each pole is moved by the manually operated switch 2 operator.
3 In the illustrated embodiment, the sensors 4 each provide a finger which automatically moves the switch operator of the power switch to its switch-open 6 position in response to the mounting of any attach-7 ment. Therefore, the motor cannot start while an 8 attachment is being mounted. Consequently, there is 9 no interference with the mounting of an attachment by the premature starting of the motor. In the illus-11 trated embodiment, the motor can only be started by 12 the manual operation of the power switch after attach-13 ments are mounted on both the inlet and the outlet of 14 the cleaner.
With this invention, an efficient, reliable, 16 and low-cost switch system is provided which is par-17 ticularly suited for use on suction cleaners having 18 removable attachments.
19 These and other aspects of this invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and are 21 more fully described in the following specification.

23 FIG. 1 is a view of a switch in accordance 24 with this invention and a typical motor and fan unit illustrated in full-line prior to installation of the :
26 switch on the motor and in phantom illustrating the 27 position of the switch mounted on the motor;
- .
.

:-, . .. .

, , ', ''. ~ ' ' , : . ' :` ', ' . ' :'' ,: .

~-` 2008802 1 FIG. la is a perspective view of a vacuum 2 cleaner providing a switch and motor fan unit il-3 lustrated in FIG. l; ;~
4 FIG. 2 is a plan view, with parts removed for purposes of illustration, showing the position of 6 the swltch components when accessories are not in-7 stalled on either the inlet or the outlet of the 8 cleaner and when the main power switch ls in the OFF
9 position;
FIG. 2A is a line diagram of the motor and 11 switch in the condition of FIG. 2;
12 FIG. 2B is a schematic wiring diagram lllus-13 trating the condition of FIGS. 2 and 2A;
14 FIGS. 3, 3A, and 3B are respectively simllar to FIGS. 2, 2A, and 2B, but illustrate the condltion 16 in which a high-speed accessory is mounted on the 17 inlet of the cleaner, an accessory ls mounted on the 18 outlet of the cleaner, and the power swltch is in the 19 OFF positlon;
FIGS. 4, 4A, and 4B are respectively similar 21 to the corresponding preceding flgures, but illustrate 22 the swltch in a condition in which a high-speed acces-23 sory is mounted on the lnlet of the cleaner, an acces-24 sory ls mounted on the outlet of the cleaner, and the power switch is in the ON posltion;
26 FIGS. 5, SA, and 5~ are respectively simllar 27 to the preceding flgures, but illustrate the switch in 28 a condition in which a low-speed accessory is mounted ~ .
29 on the inlet, an accessory is mounted on the outlet, and the power switch is in the ON position;

,r .. .

,: ,.,, ~,,,,, " . "."," ,,, , , . ' ": . . ' ., " ' :' . , ~ , , . ,~

1FIGS. 6, 6A, and 6B are respectively similar 2to the preceding figures, but illustrate the switch in 3a condltion in which an accessory ls not mounted on 4the inlet, an accessory ls mounted on the outlet, and 5the main power switch is in its ON posltlon; and 6FIGS. 7, 7A, and 7B are respectively similar 7to the preceding figures, but illustrate the switch ln 8a condition in which the low-speed accessory is 9mounted on the inlet of the cleaner, an accessory is 10not mounted on the outlet of the cleaner, and the main 11power switch is in its ON position.

13FIG. 1 illustrates a control switch 10 14incorporating the present invention prlor to its 15installation on the motor. The switch provides a 16switch body 11 having two forwardly extending sensors 1712 and 13 whlch are longitudinally movable with re-18spect to the body 11 between an extended position 19whlch they assume when an accessory is not mounted on 20the lnlet 5 of the cleaner 6 (illustrated iln FIa. la) 21and retracted posltlons to whlch they move ln response 22to engagement with an inlet accessory 7 mounted on the 23cleaner. As described in detail below, the sensor 12 24is engaged and moved to its retracted posltlon by an 25accessory requlring high speed motor operation. The 26sensor 13 is engaged and moved to its retracted ; ~:

~'~" ' :, ' : ,, .' : , :, ' .' " ' "' ' '' ' ' ' ' , ' : ' ': ' ' ~ : , , 1 positlon by an accessory requirlng low speed motor 2 operation. ~ .
3 In addition, an outlet sensor 14 extends 4 from the switch body 11 and is movable relative there- ;
to between a retracted position which it assumes when 6 an accessory is not mounted on the outlet 8 of the 7 cleaner and an extended or operative position which it 8 assumes when it is engaged and moved to the extended 9 position by an accessory 9 mounted on the outlet 8 of the cleaner.
11 Finally, the switch provides a power switch 12 operator 16 which extends from the body 10 and is 13 longitudinally movable to sequentially operate a power 1~ switch contalned withln the control in a stepwise manner. A power switch operator is connected to a 16 manually operated ON/OFF switch pedal on the cleaner, 17 and each time the pedal is depressed, the power switch 18 is opened or closed, provided the proper accessories 19 are mounted. Also provided on a control switch is an electrical power receptacle 17 for connection with the 21 power cord for the cleaner.
22 The underside of the power switch provides 23 plug-in type connectors 18 which mate with connectors ~;:
24 18a on the motor body so that the mounting of the switch on the body automatically provides most of the 26 electrical connectlons with the motor. In addition, 27 two wire leads 21 and 22 extend from the switch body 28 to provide connections with the armature brushes 23 29 and 24 (illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B) which connect to the armature 26 of the motor. Consequently, the 31 control switch 10 can be easily mounted on the motor ~ ~ ;

~ ' , ' ~ ~, ' , ','~:, :: ': ' " ' ' ' ' , ' ''':, " ' . '' , :'~ ~, .,' .' ' ' /,, . '' , :

,S, , ~ , ' ~ ~' . ' " ' ' ' ,, :
,, ~ ~

2~08~802 1 and the electrlcdl connections between the swltch and 2 the motor are completed by merely connecting the wire 3 leads 21 and 22 to the associated armature brushes 23 4 and 24.
It should also be understood that suitable 6 linkages are provided to connect the sensors 12 7 through 14 and the main switch operator 16 for opera-8 tion of each of them when an appropriate accessory ls 9 installed and to connect to the ON/OFF switch button of the cleaner. For purposes of simplicity, such 11 linkages are not illustrated herein, but their ar-12 rangement and operation are within the ordinary skill 13 of persons in the art.
14 Reference should now be made to FIG. 2, which illustrates the basic structure of the control 16 switch, and to FIGS. 2A and 2B, which illustrate the 17 switch in combination with a two-speed series parallel 18 motor. In FIGS. 2, 2A, and 2B, the switch components 19 are lllustrated in the condition they assume when an accessory is not mounted on either the inlet or the 21 outlet, and in which the main power switch is in the 22 OFF position. -23 Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, a control 24 switch provides two basic switch systems. One is the main power switch 27, and the other is the high-26 speed/low-speed switch 28. The power switch is a 27 double-pole switch having four separate, movable 28 contact support arms 31, 32, 33, and 34. The contact 29 support arm 31 connects to one side 36 of the power supply, and the contact support arm 33 is connected to 31 the other side 37 of the power supply. The contact .
-~?
:',', ' ' .' , : ' ' i' ~ . ' '''~'' ' ' ' '' . , . , ' ' '. ' .,j . ' ' . ' ' , , ,~ , . . .

1 support arm 32 is connected to the wire lead 22, and 2 the contact support arm 34 is connected through inter-3 nal motor winding line 38 to one side of a field coil 4 39.
The high-speed/low-speed switch 28 also 6 includes four contact support arms 41, 42, 43, and 44.
7 In this switch, the two contact support arms 41 and 44 8 are not movable and the two contact support arms 42 9 and 43 are movable.
The contact support arm 41 is connected to 11 the wire lead 21 and is also connected to internal 12 motor wiring indicated at 46 to one end of a second 13 field winding 47. The contact support arm 42 is 14 movable and connects through internal motor wiring indicated at 48 to one end of a third field coil 49.
16 The contact support arm 43 is also movable and is 17 connected through internal motor wiring indicated at 18 51 to the other end of the field coll 47.
19 The contact support arm 44 is connected through internal motor wiring indicated at 52 to the 21 other end of the field coil 49, one end of a fourth 22 field coil 53 and one side of a cleaner headlight 54.
23 The other side of the cleaner headlight 54 is con-24 nected by internal motor wiring 56 to the other side of the coil 39 and the other side of the coil 53. In 26 the condition illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the two 27 movable contact support arms 42 and 43 engage and all 28 of the field coils 47, 49, 52, and 39 are connected in 29 series. This is the manner in which the field coils are energized for slow speed operation of the motor.
31 However, as best illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the ~ ,.. --, .. .. . .

' ' - ' "
, .. . .
' ' . : , . . .
, -, 1 power switch 24 is open, so motor operatlon does not 2 occur.
3 Referring to FIG. 2, the low-speed sensor 13 4 extends into the body 10 and is connected at its inner end with a first sllde member 61. This slide member 6 61 is biased to the right, as viewed in FIG. 2, by a 7 spring 62. The sensor 12 is also provided with a 8 first leg 63 having an upstanding projection 64 ex-9 tending up between two movable contact support arms 42 and 43 adjacent to offsets therein 42a and 42b. The 11 sensor 12 is also provided with a second leg 66 ex-12 tending into alignment with an engaging and mating 13 surface on a second slide 67. The slide 67 is also 14 biased to the right, as viewed in FIG. 2, by a spring 68.
16 The inner end of the second sensor 13 con-17 nects with the end of the second slide 67 and is 18 normally held in an extended position by the spring 19 68, as illustrated in FIG. 2.
The second slide 67 is formed with gear 21 teeth 69 which mesh with the teeth of a gear 71 pi-22 voted in the switch body for rotation about the axis 23 72. Mounted within the switch body 10 is a third 24 slide 73, also fcrmed with gear teeth 74 which mesh with the opposite side of the pivoted gear 71. The 26 interconnection between the two slides 67 and 73 27 provided by the pivoted gear 71 causes the slide 73 to 28 move to the right, as viewed in FIG. 2, when the slide 29 67 moves to the left.
The slide 73 is provided with an upstanding 31 projection 76 which engages an offset 77 in the .-. ,; . . "
, .

, , - : .
;- , .

',",:. . : .

1 contact support arm 34 and allows the contact support 2 arm 34 to move to a disabled position, illustrated in 3 FIG. 2. However, movement of the slide 73 to the 4 right, as viewed in FIG. 2, in response to the instal-lation of an accessory on the inlet of the cleaner 6 causes the projection to move to the right and deflect 7 the contact support arm 34 in an anticlockwise direc-8 tion to an enabled position in which such contact 9 support arm can be engaged by the contact support arm 33.
11 The slide 73 also provides a resilient 12 pusher or finger 78 which operates to engage the power 13 switch operating cam 79 and move it to the OFF posi-14 tion illustrated in FIG. 2 if the power switch operat-ing cam is in the ON position when an accessory is 16 being mounted on the inlet of the cleaner. This 17 prevents the premature starting of the motor during 18 installation of an accessory on the inlet of the 19 cleaner by automatically moving the power switch operating cam to its OFF position as an accessory is 21 mounted on the inlet of the cleaner.
22 The outlet sensor 14, which projects beyond 23 the face of the switch body, is provided by an outlet 24 sensor lever 81 pivoted in the switch body 10 for pivotal oscillating movement about an axis 82. This 26 lever at its opposite end is provided with a projec-27 tion 83 which engages a fourth slide 84 biased to the 28 right as viewed in FIG. 2 by a spring 85. This slide 29 84, like the slide 73, is provided with an upstanding projection 86 which engages an offset 87 in the con-~31 tact support arm 32. Here again, the spring arm 32 .

14 2008~02 and the pro~ection 86 are proportioned so that the 2spring arm 32 moves to its disabled positlon when the 3slide 84 is in its rlghthand position, which it as-4sumes when an accessory is not mounted on the outlet 5of the cleaner. However, when the slide 84 moves to 6the left in response to the mounting of an accessory 7on the outlet of the cleaner, the pro~ectlon 86 moves 8the contact support arm 32 to its enabled position, in 9which it can be engaged by the contact support arm 31.
10This slide also provides a flexible pusher 11finger 88 which is engageable with the power switch 12operating cam 79 and operates to move such cam to the 13power switch open position illustrated in FIG. 2 when 14it moves to the left as viewed in FIG. 2 during the 15installation of an accessory on the cleaner outlet.
16The power switch operatlng cam ls rotated 17through 90 degrees in a stepwise manner each tlme the 18power switch operator 16 is moved to the right through 19an engagement between the power switch operator 16 and 20a step swltch operating wheel 91.

21Operation 22In the condition illustrated in FIGS. 2, 2A, 23and 2B, the power switch 24 is open and the high-24speed/low-speed selector switch 28 connects the four 25field coils 47, 49, 53, and 39 in series for low~speed 26operation of the motor. However, in such condition, 27in which there are no accessories installed on elther . .

~,,''', ', ~ : . , ~:',, .
~;'' ',: ' '' 1 the lnlet or the outlet of the cleaner, the sensors 12 2 and 13 are extended and the sensor 14 is in its non-3 operative position. In such condltion, the two con-4 tact support arms 31 and 34 are both in their disabled position so that if the power switch operating cam 6 were rotated to a switch-on position in which it 7 extended perpendicular to the illustrated position of 8 FIG. 2, the movable contact support arms 32 and 33 9 would not engage the associated contacts 31 and 34.
Therefore, even if the power switch were operated to a 11 closed position, it would not cause operation of the 12 motor.
13 FIGS. 3, 3A, and 3B illustrate the condition 14 of the operating switch when a high-speed accessory is mounted on the inlet of the cleaner and an outlet 16 accessory is mounted on the outlet of the cleaner.
17 When the high-speed accessory is mounted on the inlet 18 of the cleaner, it causes the high-speed sensor 12 to 19 move to the left. such movement moves the projection 64 past adjacent offsets 42a and 43a in the two con-21 tact support arms 42 and 43, causing the contact 22 support arm 42 to move into engagement with the con-23 tact support arm 41, and also causing the contact 24 support arm 43 to move into engagement with the con-tact support arm 44. This changes the condition of 26 the high-speed/low-speed switch from the series con-27 nection of the field coils of the motor to a high-28 speed connection in which the two field coils 47 and 29 49 are connected in parallel with the two parallel connected coils 47 and 49 in series with the coils 53 31 and 39 for high-speed operation of the motor.

, - , ., ~'~''- .
~" , , .

,...... . .
~,: ~: :.
,,~ - : ,, ~ , . - , ~, . . .
, Z~ -16 2008802 :

1 The movement of the high-speed sensor 12 to 2 the left also operates through the second leg 66 to 3 move the second slide 67 to the left. This, in turn, 4 through the action of the gear 71, moves the slide 73 S to the right, causing its projection 76 to move the 6 contact support arm 34 to its enabled position in 7 which it can be engaged by the power switch contact 8 support arm 33. If, for any reason, the power switch 9 operating cam 79 is in the ON position during the installation of an accessory on the inlet, the move-11 ment of the slide 73 to the right causes the pusher 12 flnger 78 to automatically turn the power switch 13 operating cam to an OFF position prior to the movement 1~ of the contact support arm 34 to its enabled position.
This ensures that the motor will not prematurely start 16 during the installation of an accessory on the inlet.
17 In FIG. 3, the outlet accessory sensor 14 is 18 also moved to its operative position in which the 19 slide 74 has been moved to the left. In such posi-tion, the contact support arm 32 of the power switch 21 is moved to its enabled position, in which it can be 22 engaged by the contact support arm 31 when the power 23 switch i5 turned to an ON position by the rotation of 24 the power switch operating cam 79.
Here again, however, if the power switch 26 operating cam 79 is in an ON position at the time the 27 accessory is being installed on the outlet of the 28 cleaner, the pusher finger 88 automatically operates 29 to move the power switch operating cam 79 to its OFF
position before the contact support arm 32 is moved to 31 its enabled position. Therefore, premature starting ,~,i -", ,' :
~'-''" ' ' ' ~ .
~"'"'~ " ' ' ' , ~' ~' '" '" " ' ' :

1 of the motor cannot occur during the installatlon o~
2 an outlet accessory.
3 In the condition illustrated in FIG. 3, in 4 which an accessory is mounted on both the cleaner inlet and the cleaner outlet, it is merely necessary 6 to rotate the power switch operating cam 79 through 90 7 degrees by moving the power switch operator 16 inward-8 ly and the motor commences at that time to rotate at 9 high speed.
When the power switch is turned on while the 11 switch components are in the position of FIGS. 3, 3A
12 and 3B, the power switch operating cam 79 moves the 13 contact support arm 31 into engagement with the en-14 abled contact support arm 32 and the contact support arm 33 into engagement with the enabled contact sup-16 port arm 34. In this condition, illustrated in FIGS.
17 4, 4A and 4B, the motor runs at its high speed.
18 FIGS. 5, 5A, and SB illustrate the operating 19 conditions when the motor is operated at slow speed.
In such condition, the high-speed sensor remains in 21 its extended position when a low-speed accessory is 22 installed. Therefore, the operating projection 64 is 23 in its low-speed operating position and the two con-24 tact support arms 42 and 43 engage each other. This connects all of the fleld coils 47, 49, 53, and 39 in 26 series. In such condition, the low-speed sensor 13 27 has been moved to the left by the low-speed accessory, 28 so the slide 73 has moved to the right to position the 29 contact support arm 34 in its enabled position, in which it engages the contact support arm 33 in a power 31 switch ON condition. Similarly, in FIG. 5, the outlet 2008~02 1 sensor 14 establishes that an outlet accessory is 2 installed on the cleaner outlet and the contact sup-3 port arm 32 is in its enabled position and engages the 4 contact support arm 31.
In both running conditions, the headlight of 6 the cleaner 54 is energized.
7 FIGS. 6, 6A, and 6B illustrate the condition 8 of the control switch if the power switch operating 9 cam 79 is in its ON position, but there is no acces-sory installed on the inlet of the cleaner. Because 11 no accessory is installed on the lnlet of the cleaner, 12 both of the sensors 12 and 13 are extended. In such 13 position, the contact support arm 34 is in its dis-14 abled position and is therefore not engaged by the contact support arm 33 even though the power switch 16 operating cam 79 is rotated to its operative position.
17 Therefore, the absence of an accessory on the outlet 18 of the cleaner prevents operation of the m~tor.
19 FIGS. 7, 7A, and 7B illustrate a control switch condition which exists when an accessory is 21 mounted on the inlet of the cleaner but an accessory 22 is not mounted on the outlet of the cleaner. In this 23 particular illustrated condition, a low-speed acces-24 sory is mounted on the lnlet so that the contact support arms 42 and 43 engage. However, because there 26 is no accessory at the cleaner outlet, the slide 84 27 remains in its righthand position and the contact 28 support arm 32 remains in its disabled position, 29 preventing full closure of the power switch and there-by preventing operation of the motor.

, z~ . ~ .......................... . . .

,~, ~ . . . . . .
,. . . . .. .

19 2~08~02 1With the pre~ent invention, a slmple, low-2cost control switch is provided which can be easily 3installed and interconnected with the motor. Further, 4since motor operation can be instituted only by the 5power swltch 24, and not by the high-speed/low-speed 6selector switch 28, the contacts of the high-7speed/low-speed selector switch are formed of less 8expensive material to reduce the cost of the control 9 switch.
10Still further, with this control switch, the 11motor cannot be operated unless an accessory is 12mounted on the inlet of the cleaner and the outlet of 13the cleaner. Further, with this control switch, the 14proper operating speed of the motor ls automatically 15provided by the particular accessory installed on the 16inlet. For example, when a floor cleaning nozzle 17having a beater brush therein is installed on the 18cleaner inlet, it automatically establishes the slow 19speed operation of the motor. However, when an acces-20sory, such as a hose accessory, is connected to the 21cleaner inlet, high-speed operation is automatically 22provided.
23Finally, the control ~witch functions to 24prevent premature operation of the motor ln the event 25that the power switch is left in the ON position 26during the lnstallatlon of an accessory. The instal-27lation itself automatically moves the power switch to 28the OFF position, preventing premature motor opera-29tion. This also ensures that the engagement of the 30various contacts of the high-speed/low-speed switch 31cannot cause the motor to start. Therefore the ~;; "' ';' " ' ~" '" ~ ' ~ '':, . . i ' ' , . .
,'~- ' ' ' , ', . , ' ' - , .-p, 1 contacts of the hlgh-speed/low-speed switches 28 are 2 never subjected to the high surge of electrical power 3 occurring during motor starting and stopping opera-4 tions.
Although the preferred embodiment of this 6 invention has been shown and described, it should be 7 understood that various modifications and rearranqe-8 ments of the parts may be resorted to without depart-9 ing from the scope of the invention as disclosed and claimed herein.

~, ~ , , , , ~ .
,,~, . ,, , .,........ ,, ~i, :~ ' . -. . . . ..

5~
~''','' "" '''''.',':''' ',',''''''"' :,, . ,. ,:, , ~, , " . ,.

Claims (21)

1. A vacuum cleaner comprising a two-speed motor connected to drive a fan, a control switch operating to turn said motor on and off and to operate said motor at a selected one of the said two speeds, said vacuum cleaner providing an inlet through which air drawn in by said fan and an outlet through which air is discharged by said fan, first and second acces-sories selectively mountable on said inlet, said control switch operating said motor at a first speed of said two speeds when said first accessory is mounted on said inlet and operating said motor at a second speed of said two speeds when said second accessory is mounted on said inlet, a third accessory removably mounted on said outlet, said control switch permitting operation of said motor only when one of said first or second accessories is mounted on said inlet and said third accessory is mounted on said outlet.

2. A vacuum cleaner as set forth in claim 1, wherein said control switch is manually movable between a first position in which said motor is on and a second position in which said motor is off, said control switch being manually movable to said first position only after an accessory is mounted on said inlet and said outlet.

3. A vacuum cleaner as set forth in claim 2, wherein mounting of an accessory on either of said inlet or said outlet automatically turns said control switch to said second position to prevent operation of said motor.

4. A vacuum cleaner comprising an electric motor-driven fan, an inlet through which air is drawn when said motor operates, an outlet through which air is discharged when said motor operates, a control switch manually operable between an ON position and an OFF position to turn said motor on and off, an inlet accessory removably mounted on said inlet, and an outlet accessory removably mounted on said outlet, said control switch being movable to said ON position only when said inlet and outlet accessories are mount-ed.

5. A vacuum cleaner as set forth in claim 4, wherein mounting of either accessory while said control switch is in said ON position operates to move said control switch to said OFF position.

6. A control switch for an electrical appliance having a removable accessory comprising a two-pole ON/OFF switch, each pole including two con-tacts with at least one contact of each pole being manually movable between an ON position and an OFF
position, the other contact of at least one of said poles being movable to a disabled position in which it cannot close with the associated of said one contact when an accessory is not mounted and being movable to an enabled position in which it can close with said associated one contact in response to mounting of said accessory.

7. A switch as set forth in claim 6, where-in said one contacts are moved to said OFF position in response to the mounting of said accessory.

8. A switch as set forth in claim 7, where-in said control switch provides a speed selector switch operable to a high speed position when high speed operation of said appliance is required and a low speed position when low speed operation of said appliance is required, said speed control switch being automatically movable to said high speed position in response to the mounting of an accessory on said appliance requiring high speed operation thereof and automatically movable to said low speed position when an accessory is mounted on said appliance requiring low speed operation.

9. A switch according to claim 8, wherein said speed selector switch does not operate to start and stop said appliance.

10. A switch as set forth in claim 6, wherein said switch provides a body, and sensors extending from said body movable relative thereto in response to the mounting of said associated accessory and being connected to move said other contact of said one pole to said enabled position in response to mounting of said accessory.

11. A switch as set forth in claim 6, wherein the other contact of the other of said poles is movable to a disabled position in which it cannot close with the associated of said one contacts when an associated accessory is not mounted and being movable to an enabled position in which it can close with said associated one contact in response to mounting of said associated accessory.

12. A control switch for electric motor-driven appliances comprising a body, a power switch in said body movable between an ON position and an OFF
position, a speed selector switch in said body movable between a high speed position and a low speed posi-tion, sensing means on said body operable in response to the mounting of an accessory on said appliance requiring high speed operation to operate said speed selector switch to cause high appliance operating speed and operable in the absence of said accessory on said appliance to prevent said power switch from closing, mounting of said accessory on said appliance while said power switch is in said ON position causing said power switch to move to said OFF position.

13. A control switch as set forth in claim 12 for use on an appliance having internal wiring, said control switch providing connectors accessible from the exterior of said body automatically connect-ing said control switch to said internal wiring when said control switch is mounted on said appliance.

14. A switch for electric motor powered appliances having a high and low speed electric motor, a first demountable accessory requiring low motor speed and a second demountable accessory requiring high motor speed, comprising a switch housing, a manually operable power switch in said housing oper-able to ON and OFF positions to turn said motor on and off, a speed selector switch operable in a first condition to cause low speed motor operation and a second condition to cause high speed motor operation, said speed selector switch assuming said one condition when said first accessory is mounted and assuming said second condition when said second accessory is mount-ed, said power switch being open to prevent motor operation except when an accessory is mounted.

15. A switch as set forth in claim 14, wherein mounting of either accessory while said power switch is in said ON position causes movement of said power switch to said OFF position.

16. A switch as set forth in claim 14, wherein said power switch is maintained open while said selector switch is changed between said first and second conditions.

17. A switch as set forth in claim 14, wherein said power switch provides first and second movable contacts which engage when said motor operates and are separable to prevent motor operation, said first contact being movable to an operative position in which engagement can be made with said second contact in response to the mounting of either of said accessories and being movable to a disabled position in which engagement with said second contact cannot occur when an accessory is not mounted.

18. A switch as set forth in claim 14, wherein said appliance includes a third demountable accessory, said power switch being operable to close and operate said motor only when said third accessory is mounted.

19. A switch as set forth in claim 14, wherein said power switch is a double pole switch operable when in said OFF position to completely isolate said motor from a source of electric power.

20. A switch as set forth in claim 19, wherein an appliance includes a third demountable accessory, one pole of said power switch being ren-dered disabled when either said first or second acces-sories are not mounted, the other of said poles being disabled when said third accessory is not mounted.

21. A switch as set forth in claim 14, wherein said appliance is a suction cleaner and pro-vides a fan driven by said motor, said first accessory being a floor nozzle containing a beater brush driven by said motor, said second accessory being a suction hose.