CA2665962A1

CA2665962A1 - Improvements to hover vacuum cleaner

Info

Publication number: CA2665962A1
Application number: CA 2665962
Authority: CA
Inventors: Anthony Greer
Original assignee: VAN DEN HEUVEL CRISTIAAN
Current assignee: VAN DEN HEUVEL CRISTIAAN
Priority date: 2009-05-14
Filing date: 2009-05-14
Publication date: 2010-11-14
Also published as: WO2010130052A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to improvements to hover vacuum cleaners. More specifically the invention relates to a joint between a vacuum base and a skirt therefore which has an improved performance as a result of the joint.

Description

TITLE OF THE INVENTION

Improvements to Hover Vacuum Cleaner FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to improvements to hover vacuum cleaners. More specifically the invention relates to a joint between a vacuum base and a skirt therefore which has an improved performance as a result of the joint.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Air supported hover vacuum cleaners are well-known in the art. Specifically, the following examples represent a brief outline of what is found in the art without being entirely exhaustive.
United States Patent No. 2,743,787 to Seek teaches an air supported cleaner with diffuser as best seen in relation to Figures 5 and 6. The disclosure of the `787 Patent provides for a cushion established and entrapped on the underside of the cleaner in order to support said cleaner on an air cushion resulting from the air being exhausted from the cleaner. The air discharged under ring 22 is caught by the deflector 26 and is directed upward through the exhaust port 28 as seen in the figures. Typically the cleaner includes a casing and a deflector member to operate in this manner which is clearly also part of the public domain.

United States Patent No. 2,751,038 to Acheson also teaches an air supported cleaner as best seen in relation to Figure 4 of the canister type which is supported upon a cushion of air which is exhausted under pressure from the cleaner into the plenum chamber between the cleaner and the supporting structure.

United States Patent No. 2,780,826 to Coons et al., teaches an air supported cleaner as well as best seen in the figures which the patent purports to teach effortless movement of the cleaner above the supporting surface. Again, the exhaust air is entrapped between the cleaner body and the supporting surface.

United States Patent No. 2,814,064 to Montgomery teaches an air supported cleaner as best seen in Figure 2 operating in a similar manner as is well known in the prior art and in the public domain. The `064 Patent purports to teach that the system disclosed therein prevents chattering or rocking of the device while it is supported on an air cushion.

United States Patent No. 2,889,570 to Duff also teaches an air supported suction cleaner as best seen in relation to Figure 3 which asserts to improve the structures found in prior structures.
United States Patent No. 3,283,355 to Jepson also teaches such an air supported device as is seen the figure. The device is alleged to ride on a curtain of air as well and the improvement relating to the machine for being moved over floors or other surfaces such as an air cushioned vacuum cleaner.

United States Patent No. 5,799,363 to Inoue et al., teaches an upright vacuum cleaner that has a floating unit for lifting the upright vacuum cleaner during cleaning by discharging air to the floor to be cleaned as best seen in the figures including ports 37 to discharge said air.

Canadian Patent No. 2,247,721 to Rooney et al., also teaches a hovering vacuum cleaner having a casing and also including an exhaust port in the base surface which includes a peripheral channel lying inside the rim of the base surface which provides for the air floatation lift of the cleaner from the floor. Such a cleaner is marketed unsuccessfully by Airider which is advertised on the internet at "www.aaavacuumcleaners.net". The Airider system includes a bagless canister designed to reduce clogging and increase the performance allegedly and also includes an air deflector skirt engaged with the base that deflects air upperly at a predetermined angle to prevent scattering dust and debrie. However, the Airider system has never been successfully marketed in that unfortunately the design did not operate according to expectations.

Subsequent to that development a further effort was made by one of the inventors Mailes to provide an improved hovering vacuum cleaner including a keel skirt as best seen in relation to Figure 5A and 5B. However there is no mention of how the keel skirt is fastened to the base and further there is no result in the market place of such a device ever being brought to market inspite of the fact that the application was published first in 2007.

It would therefore be advantageous to improve the design of the Airider structure which failed to meet expectations because of failure of the motor due to over heating and also failure of the vacuum cleaner to move across a predetermined surface in a stable manner.
There is therefore a need in the art to provide for such a stable vacuum cleaner as would much improve the Airider limited design and yet provide simple and easy performance improvements.

It is therefore a primary object of the invention to provide a vacuum cleaner which is stable on a surface being cleaned as a result of an air cushion which is continuously provided by such a vacuum cleaner which minimizes the amount of air leaks and the sub performance of such a unit.
It is a further objective of the invention to provide a unique joint between the casing of a hovering vacuum cleaner and a skirt fixed thereto which joint improves the performance of the hovering vacuum cleaner by improvements to the air cushion stability below the vacuum thereby lifting the vacuum from the surface being cleaned.

Further and other objects of the invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art when considering the following summary of the invention and the more detailed description of the preferred embodiments illustrated herein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a primary aspect of the invention there is provided a joint for connecting a base and skirt of a vacuum cleaner that in operation rides on a curtain of air;
said vacuum cleaner comprising:

i) a base having a perimeter flange extending laterally away from said base and containing at least one first sealing part;
ii) a skirt for engaging said base proximate the perimeter flange and having disposed proximate a wall thereof at least one second sealing part to engage said at least one first sealing part of said flange of said base;

wherein said base and skirt tightly connect with one another and thereby provide a substantially uniform seal about the joint to substantially prevent air leaks, wherein the at least one first sealing part and the at least one second sealing part of the base and the skirt respectively engage one another and create a force for holding said skirt and said base together without the need of any other supplemental fastening means such as clamps, glue, mastik or silicone.

According to yet another aspect of the invention there is provided a hovering vacuum cleaner comprising: a casing, an underside to the casing, a preferably cyclonic, dust filter, hover means on the underside of the casing to allow the vacuum cleaner to hover on a bed of air, an inlet to the dust filter for dust laden air, an impeller and drive motor for the impeller, an exhaust port disposed in the underside of the vacuum cleaner, a pathway for air to pass from the inlet, through the dust filter and impeller and preferably around the motor and through the exhaust port to the hover means, the inlet for dust laden air, which leads to the dust filter, has a nozzle which is rotatable about an axis which is parallel to a longitudinal axis for the dust filter, said improvement comprising a substantially air tight joint between the casing and a supplemental skirt provided to effect the hovering function of the vacuum, said joint being established by providing a detent on said casing proximate the perimeter thereof and a detent on said skirt disposed with said skirt and adapted so that said detent of said casing will easily engage the detent of said skirt so as to create a unique seal therebetween and permit hovering of said vacuum cleaner, without the need of any other supplemental fastening means such as clamps, glue, mastik or silicone.

Preferably said joint further comprises at least one detent on the perimeter flange of said base to engage at least one detent on the skirt, wherein the at least one detent on the base is disposed on a rim provided around the perimeter of said base and the at least one detent on said skirt is provided proximate the interior surface of said skirt with said detents being oriented to seal and engage one another in an inboard direction of said base to enhance the seal therebetween and improve the hovering performance for the vacuum cleaner.

In one embodiment said at least one detent may further comprise co-operating cleats and slots and in one emobodiment a series of cleats and slots disposed with the base/casing and the skirt.
Most preferably each cleat has a tapered cam surface to extend into the slot, wherein said tapered cam surface provides a ramp so as to compress the cleat inwardly when the cleat extends into said slot, said cleat having an undercut tooth disposed below said ramp which passes through the slot and butts up against the material adjacent said slot to hold said skirt in an inboard direction and provide uniform sealing about the interior perimeter of said skirt.

According to yet another aspect of the invention there is provided a hovering vacuum cleaner comprising a casing having an integral skirt provided therewith which permits hovering of the vacuum cleaner on a curtain of air established at the base of said casing by the inclusion of said integral skirt.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a schematic view of a vacuum cleaner known in the prior art.

Figure 2 is a close up view of the canister of Figure 1 also known in the prior art.
Figure 3 is a side view of the canister of Figure 2 also known in the prior art.

Figure 4A, B, C and D are schematic views and cross-sectional views through section AA and BB of the bottom of the canister 20 and the skirt 30 respectively, illustrated in a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Figure 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the joint established between the bottom of the canister and the skirt for the improvement of the present invention, and illustrated in a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Figure 6 is a reference to Figure 6 of U.S. Patent 6,209,167 illustrating the bottom of the canister and represents prior art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring generally to the figures there is found within the teachings of Canadian Patent 2,247,721, discussed in the background of the invention, a hovering vacuum cleaner the details of which are taught in that patent. For convenience, Applicant refers to the corresponding U.S.
Patent No. 6,209,167 because of the ease of reference thereto.

There is found on the internet the website for Airider vacuum cleaners at `www.aaavacuumcleaners.net'. At that site there is advertised the Airider system which refers to a hovering bagless canister vacuum as shown in the figures and as found in the description. The vacuum includes a canister which is bagless and an air deflector skirt found at the bottom thereof. However, there is no discussion at the website or within the Canadian or corresponding U.S. Patent with respect to the deficiencies of this particular device.

It has been discovered through trial and error that the Airider system failed to perform and hence has never been successfully marketed in spite of the many attempts to do so.
The main two problems relating to this device refers to the fact that the motor would over heat and fail and secondly the air around the bottom of the vacuum would leak excessively and prevent stable hovering over a floor. Therefore, the present invention seeks to improve the performance of this vacuum cleaner by providing a more stable joint between the canister and the skirt. It has been attempted in the past to seal the boundary between the skirt and the canister by using tape and glues or silicone and by other means unsuccessfully. Heretofore there has never been provided a unique joint which does not require any further assist to seal the joint between the canister and the skirt.

In this regard the reader is referred Figure 1 which represents prior art to the present invention wherein the above-mentioned canister vacuum is illustrated including a base 20 and a skirt 30.
The base 20 includes a handle 29 and a port 21 for the insertion of a hose H
which extends down to a telescoping pipe engaged with a nozzle at the bottom thereof. The housing 20 includes a joint 25 between the skirt 30 and the housing 20 which is secured by well known mechanical means specifically with tape, silicone and glues or the like which are supplementary to the structures of the housing 20 and the skirt 30. The entire vacuum 10 therefore is presented in Figure 1 as is known and is found in the prior art specifically in the patents discussed and at the website discussed above.

Figures 2 and 3 also constitute prior art of the same structure illustrated in Figure 1 with like parts labelled and as found at the above-mentioned website.

Referring now to Figure 4 there is illustrated several different views. In Figures 4A, B, C and D
there is illustrated the unique joint used to assemble the casing 20 and the skirt 30 in the unique manner which will be described hereinafter, and constitutes aspects of the present invention.

The casing 20 includes proximate the bottom thereof downwardly facing openings 27. In Figure 4 there is illustrated eight different openings 27 about the perimeter of the casing 20 at the location shown. These openings are positioned in such a manner so as to correlate with the position of the cleats 37 as shown in the corresponding figure for the skirt 30 adjacent to the casing 20. There are corresponding cleat portions 37 positioned to coincide with the openings 27 so that when the skirt 30 is fixed onto the casing 20, the cleats 37 and the openings 27 will align and thereby secure the skirt 30 to the casing 20 without the need for any supplements such as glue, silicone, tape or any similar supplementary item that might be used. The details of the bottom of the casing 20 are not shown but are typically as found in Figure 6 which represents prior art which will be described hereinafter. The casing bottom and the skirt 30 are therefore molded by molding techniques that are well known in the art and do not constitute part of the present invention.

Referring now to Figures 4A through 4D there is illustrated schematics of just how the skirt 30 and the base 20 interfit. The cleats 37 as seen in Figure 4B isolated from the skirt include a head portion 37a and a tooth portion 37b which pass through opening 27 into the space 27b so that the tooth portion 37b of the head 37a of the cleat 37 engages with the shelf 27a once the head 37a passes through opening 27. This is accomplished as the ramp surface of the head 37a which is inclined pushes back the portion 27c of the material adjacent to the opening 27. The distance of the flexing of that part 27c is consistent with the size of the head 37a of the cleat 37. Upon completion of the flexing the head passes into the space of the opening 27 and is prevented from being removed by the shelf 27a contained in that opening. The sequence therefore would follow that as the cleat 37 is inserted within the opening 27 the portions will align as found in Figure 4B
and will then be in the final position as shown in Figure 4A. The skirt 30 in Figure 4 when taken in section AA will be found in Figures 4A and 4B. The canister 20 when viewed in section BB of Figure 4 is best seen in relation to Figures 4C and 4D, wherein clearly the aspects of the joint are not seen but the edge of the skirt 33 buts up against the edge of the canister 23 being held in position by the cleats 37 locked in position in the openings 27 with the tooth 37b of the cleat 37 engaging with the shelf 27a of the case opening. The resulting inward force is created to maintain the base 20 and skirt 30 connected and essentially locked together.

Referring now to Figure 5 which is a close up of the details shown in Figure 4 it is clearly seen that the skirt locks in position in the base as specifically defined previously. Figure 5 further describes the unique aspects of the invention and how the plastic skirt and the improvements over the prior structure for Airider now will be permanently engaged with the base 20 until such time as one decides to remove the skirt which will be described as follows.

Referring specifically to 27d the purpose of this particular engagement point and bringing it to the readers attention is to define that any air escaping from the underside of the base air pressure channels as seen in Figure 6 will be collected and this feature in fact will maintain the hovering pressure equilibrium and eliminate any gyrating hovering motion due to excessive loss of air pressure from the underside air pressure channels. This was previously the case in the prior Airider structure.

Referring to item 37b there is specifically defined with respect to the replaceable plastic air skirt that 37b is designed to significantly reduced dust from becoming airborne when using the hovering vacuum cleaner on a smooth surface floor such as hardwood, tile flooring or like because of the engagement of portion or tooth 37b with the side edge of the air canister opening as previously defined.

With respect to item 25x of Figure 5 there is provided a large radius opposite the locking cleat of the plasic replaceable air skirt which is designed to assist the hovering vacuum cleaner to transition smoothly between different floor surfaces and over different floor trim such as carpet straps, etc., between a carpet floor and a hardwood floor.

Referring to 37x the plastic replaceable skirt 30 including the locking tabs 37 are each designed so they can be flexed or deflected back in the direction as shown and with respect to about a one degree taper provided for the cleat 37 as an allowance when the user pushes back ans disengages the locking feature in the base allowing the air skirt to be replaced when excessive wear has occurred. This of course will occur over time as would be expected.

The plastic replaceable air skirt of the present invention therefore replaces any prior air skirt provided with the Airider structure and obviates the need for any supplementary sealing devices such silicone, tape, glue or the like which unfortunately failed to perform in practice.

Referring now to Figure 6, which is prior art, there is described the underside of the base of the canister of the Airider vacuum cleaner which is found specifically in the description of Canadian Patent No. 2,247,721 but more specifically Applicant refers the reader to the corresponding U.S.
Patent No. 6,209,167 and the teachings thereof to describe the contents of Figure 6. Alternatively one is also directed toward Figure 3 and the description thereof in the disclosure of the `167 Patent to indicate the air pattern on the bottom of the canister specifically.

Referring to the text of the '167 Patent at column 5, line 13 it states that, "The air flow patterns are shown schematically in FIGS. 3 and 5. Dust laden air flows through nozzle 39 as indicated by arrow A, before being directed in a vortex pattern B in filter cavity 38. The air then passes through the filter bag 44 and into impeller 29 as indicated by arrow C. The impeller then forces the air into air chamber 30 in the direction shown by arrow E and thence through exhaust port 18, as shown by arrow D. After exiting through exhaust port 18, some of the air is directed into channel 19 as shown by arrows M and K. Some of the air is also directed into dished air chamber 25 as shown by arrows F. The air swirls in chamber 25 as shown by arrows G. Some of this air spills over dams 24 and 23 and swirls in air chambers 21 and 22 as shown by arrows H and J respectively.
The air then escapes from the underside 17 as indicated by arrows L. It will be recognized that the patterns shown may not be true representations of the air flow."

Again, there is defined in another arrangement found in the same patent at column 5, line 32 wherein, "Another arrangement of dished air chambers on the underside of the vacuum cleaner may be as shown in FIG. 6. (this is included in the present disclosure and the details of which are incorporated by reference in full) As will be apparent, the difference between the underside of FIGS. 3 and 6 lies in the longitudinal division of dished air chambers 21 and 22 of FIG. 3 by a keel skirt. In FIG. 6, the keel skirt 45 separates dished air chambers 21a and 21b, and 22a and 22b. Other combinations of dished air chambers, dams and keel skirts are operable and these may be determined through simple experimentation. For example, there may only be one pair of dished air chambers 21a and 2lb on opposing sides of longitudinal axis X--X.
The vacuum cleaner may be made using conventional materials. For example the casing, impeller walls and inlet tubing may be made from synthetic thermosetting or thermoplastic polymers, glass fibre reinforced plastic (FRP), metal or other suitable materials."

None of these features as described above in relation to Figure 6 constitute part of the present invention. The present invention obviates the need for supplementary portions to fix the skirt in position on the casing and the numbers therefore provided in Figure 6 refer to the description of the '167 Patent only and are not part of the present disclosure. A similar construction for the Airider hovering vacuum cleaner, includes the skirt and the casing interfitting and engaging one another by the unique joint provided in this specification. This joint heretofore was unknown and was not available to the manufacture of Airider when the marketing efforts thereof failed. It is expected that the air leakage that resulted in an inbalance operation of the Airider will be obviated with the present construction.

Specifically the main advantage of the present invention is the press fit aspect of the joint between the skirt and the casing. The cleats 37 snap in an inboard direction within the openings 27 to hold firmly the skirt on the casing. This aspect is heretofore unknown and results in minimum air leakage because of this locking feature and obviates the need for glue, silicone, tape or the like resulting in a seal-less joint for the skirt.

As many changes may be made to the preferred embodiments of the invention without departing from the scope thereof. It is considered all the matter contained herein be considered illustrative of the invention and not in a limiting sense. Specifically the joint of the present application is not limited to its use only with the Airider construction which may be found useful with other hovering units as well.

Claims

1. A joint for connecting a base and skirt of a vacuum cleaner that in operation rides on a curtain of air;
said vacuum cleaner comprising:
i) a base having a perimeter flange extending laterally away from said base and containing at least one first sealing part;
ii) a skirt for engaging said base proximate the perimeter flange and having disposed proximate a wall thereof at least one second sealing part to engage said at least one first sealing part of said flange of said base;
wherein said base and skirt tightly connect with one another and thereby provide a substantially uniform seal about the joint to substantially prevent air leaks, wherein the at least one first sealing part and the at least one second sealing part of the base and the skirt respectively engage one another and create a force for holding said skirt and said base together without the need of any other supplemental fastening means such as clamps, glue, mastik or silicone.

2. A hovering vacuum cleaner comprising: a casing, an underside to the casing, a preferably cyclonic, dust filter, hover means on the underside of the casing to allow the vacuum cleaner to hover on a bed of air, an inlet to the dust filter for dust laden air, an impeller and drive motor for the impeller, an exhaust port disposed in the underside of the vacuum cleaner, a pathway for air to pass from the inlet, through the dust filter and impeller and preferably around the motor and through the exhaust port to the hover means, the inlet for dust laden air, which leads to the dust filter, has a nozzle which is rotatable about an axis which is parallel to a longitudinal axis for the dust filter, said improvement comprising a substantially air tight joint between the casing and a supplemental skirt provided to effect the hovering function of the vacuum, said joint being established by providing a detent on said casing proximate the perimeter thereof and a detent on said skirt disposed with said skirt and adapted so that said detent of said casing will easily engage the detent of said skirt so as to create a unique seal therebetween and permit hovering of said vacuum cleaner, without the need of any other supplemental fastening means such as clamps, glue, mastik or silicone.

3. The joint of claim 1 wherein said joint further comprises at least one detent on the perimeter flange of said base to engage at least one detent on the skirt, wherein the at least one detent on the base is disposed on a rim provided around the perimeter of said base and the at least one detent on said skirt is provided proximate the interior surface of said skirt with said detents being oriented to seal and engage one another in an inboard direction of said base to enhance the seal therebetween and improve the hovering performance for the vacuum cleaner.

4. The vacuum cleaner of claim 2 wherein said joint further comprises at least one detent on the perimeter flange of said base to engage at least one detent on the skirt, wherein the at least one detent on the base is disposed on a rim provided around the perimeter of said base and the at least one detent on said skirt is provided proximate the interior surface of said skirt with said detents being oriented to seal and engage one another in an inboard direction of said base to enhance the seal therebetween and improve the hovering performance for the vacuum cleaner.

5. The joint or vacuum cleaner of claim 3 or 4 wherein said at least one detent further comprises co-operating cleats and slots and in one emobodiment a series of cleats and slots disposed with the base/casing and the skirt.

6. The structure of claim 5 wherein each cleat has a tapered cam surface to extend into the slot, wherein said tapered cam surface provides a ramp so as to compress the cleat inwardly when the cleat extends into said slot, said cleat having an undercut tooth disposed below said ramp which passes through the slot and butts up against the material adjacent said slot to hold said skirt in an inboard direction and provide uniform sealing about the interior perimeter of said skirt.

7. A hovering vacuum cleaner comprising a casing having an integral skirt provided therewith which permits hovering of the vacuum cleaner on a curtain of air established at the base of said casing by the inclusion of said integral skirt.