EP1367930A1

EP1367930A1 - Vacuum cleaner with exchangeable motor

Info

Publication number: EP1367930A1
Application number: EP02702969A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Frank Peter William Van De Ven
Original assignee: IND VAC IVAC BV; Industrial Vac Ivac BV
Current assignee: Veghelse Beleggingsmaatschappij (Vebem) BV
Priority date: 2001-03-06
Filing date: 2002-03-06
Publication date: 2003-12-10
Anticipated expiration: 2022-03-06
Also published as: WO2002069776A1; WO2002069776A8; EP1367930B1; NL1017514C2; DE60211485D1; ATE326170T1

Abstract

A vacuum cleaner such as a brush vacuum cleaner, a tank vacuum cleaner, a water suction cleaning appliance or the like, provided with a housing with a feed opening for connecting a suction hose, an exhaust opening and an air duct extending between the feed opening and the exhaust opening, wherein, with the aid of an air suction element driven by a motor, in particular an electric motor, such as a turbine or a different body provided with blades, an air flow from the feed opening to the exhaust opening can be generated. The motor and the air suction element together are designed as an exchangeable unit, which, preferably, is provided with a casing with an air inlet and air outlet opening.

Description

Title: Vacuum cleaner with exchangeable motor.

The invention relates to a vacuum cleaner, such as a brush vacuum cleaner, a tank vacuum cleaner, a water suction cleaning appliance or the like, provided with a housing with a feed opening for connection of a suction hose, an exhaust opening and an air duct extending between the feed opening and exhaust opening, in which, with the aid of an air suction element driven by a motor, in particular an electric motor, such as a turbine or another body provided with blades, an air flow from the feed opening to the outlet opening can be generated.

Such vacuum cleaners are generally known for use both in domestic and in industrial surroundings. Susceptible to wear in such vacuum cleaners is, primarily, the suction hose, and in particular its suction nozzle, as well as the electric cord. A further part which can break down is the motor. With vacuum cleaners intended for domestic use, this often does not occur before the time the vacuum cleaner in its entirety is ready to be replaced, provided that the vacuum cleaner is not used improperly, i.e. is not used under circumstances for which the vacuum cleaner is normally used. Vacuum cleaners intended for industrial use, which, measured over a certain period of time, make considerably more working hours than domestic vacuum cleaners, more often sustain motor breakdown than the domestic vacuum cleaners, i.e. long before the vacuum cleaner in its entirety is, in fact, ready to be replaced. However, repairing the motor or replacing it with a new motor requires labor intensive operations to an extent such, that from the viewpoint of costs, often replacement of the entire vacuum cleaner is preferred, even if the costs are somewhat higher and the vacuum cleaner is not due for replacement for a long time. Apart from an increase in costs, such a procedure also entails an extra and in fact unnecessary impact on the environment by the disposal of production means which, all considered, were not ready for that in a long time yet. The invention contemplates designing a vacuum cleaner of the type described in the opening paragraph such that, when the motor breaks down, it can rapidly and readily be replaced, if desired by the user of the vacuum cleaner. According to the invention, this is achieved with such a vacuum cleaner when the motor and the air suction element together are designed as an exchangeable unit. What is achieved by thus combining the motor and the air suction element into a unit, is that a defective motor can be replaced without disassembling and assembling, or uncoupling and coupling moving or rotating parts present in the air duct. Further, through its makeup, the unit is provided with a suction opening and an outlet opening, so that it can easily be placed into or be connected to the air duct, further consisting of stationary parts.

The features proposed according to the invention further offer additional advantages in the area of production. The housing and the majority of the parts can be of standard manufacture without taking into account the location where the vacuum cleaner will be used. This is not the case with electric motors, because the voltage and the design of the mains sockets in the various countries can be mutually different. By designing the electric motor and the air suction element as a unit which can be easily placed at any time, the possibility is obtained to produce substantially entirely assembled vacuum cleaners regardless of the location where they are to be deployed. The moment the vacuum cleaner then has to be delivered, depending on the location of use, the desired unit as far as voltage and, what is more, the required power to be delivered, is placed and a cord with the desired plug is chosen and connected. In that way, keeping a large number of different types and designs of vacuum cleaners in stock can be realized in a considerably more flexible and simpler manner.

To promote rapid removal of a defective motor and placement of a new one, according to a further embodiment of the invention, it is preferred that the exchangeable unit comprises a casing provided with an air inlet opening which is in communication with the air suction element or the electric motor, with an air outlet opening which is in communication with the electric motor or the air suction element, and with aligning means and coupling means which can cooperate with complementary ahgning or coupling means provided in or on the housing. With these features, also, a unit is obtained in which the electric motor and the air suction element are safely screened off in the casing, so that the unit, without any danger of damage, can also be transported and stored as a unit. To make the unit as user-friendly as possible from a replacement point of view, it is further preferred that the coupling means can be opened and closed without tools, as by means of snap -action, so that also the user of the vacuum cleaner is always capable of carrying out those operations at any location. The unit can be secured in the housing with the aid of, for instance, swing clamps of spring clamps. However, when, according to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the coupling means comprise a collar on the exchangeable unit and the complementary coupling means comprise, connected to the housing and engaging over the collar, a ring, which consists of at least two parts hinging relative to each other, not only a simple exchangeability for the unit is created, but also a unit which, in assembled condition, can be extremely solidly secured and clamped. From the viewpoint of vibrations occurring in a vacuum cleaner, thus, the operational reliability is enhanced because a properly sealing connection to the air duct can be realized and maintained. This is in particular so when, according to a further embodiment of the invention, by means of a snap closure, the mutually hinging parts of the ring can be secured relative to each other in a continuous, all round closed form which pressingly engages the collar.

A proper placement of the unit relative to the air duct can then simply be realized when the ahgning means and the complementary ahgning means consist of mutually cooperating cams provided on the ring and the collar, respectively.

When placing the unit, automatically, a possibility for connecting an electric motor to the electric mains is created, when, according to a further embodiment of the invention, the exchangeable unit is provided with current coupling means which can cooperate with complementary current coupling means which are connected to the housing and can be connected to the electric mains. The current coupling means and complementary current coupling means can then consist of electric push contacts which, when ahgning and securing the unit, are automatically pushed onto each other. Another possibility is to design the current coupling means and complementary current coupling means as a plug/socket connection, wherein the one connecting part forms part of the unit and the other connecting part of the housing, so that the means then also function as ahgning means and complementary ahgning means.

As the unit, in particular when it is provided with a casing, has specifically determined air inlet and outlet openings, this unit is particularly suitable for the provision of filter provisions for treating the drawn-in air. This can be realized in a simple manner when, according to a further embodiment of the invention, the unit comprises at least one receiving or shde-in space for exchangeably placing a filter element. Such a provision can be arranged at the inlet opening, the outlet opening and/or an intermediate location.

The invention also relates to a unit consisting of an electric motor and an air suction element, which unit is provided with aligning, coupling and current coupling means and is evidently intended to be used in a vacuum cleaner as described hereinabove, the electric motor and the air suction element preferably being surrounded by a screening casing, which is provided with an air inlet opening which is in communication with the air suction element of the electric motor, with an air outlet opening which is in communication with the electric motor or the air suction element, and with aligning means and coupling means.

With reference to embodiments represented in the drawings, presently, the vacuum cleaner according to the invention will be further elucidated, albeit exclusively by way of non-limitative example.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 shows an opened housing of a vacuum cleaner, consisting of a top part and a bottom part, with a motor/air suction unit coupled to the top part; Fig. 2 shows a view of the undersurface of the top part of the housing of the vacuum cleaner, with the motor/air suction unit removed;

Fig. 3 shows a front view of a motor/air suction unit;

Fig. 4 shows a top view of the motor/air suction unit according to Fig. 3; Fig. 5 shows a bottom view of the motor/air suction unit according to

Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 shows an alternative manner for coupling the motor/air suction unit to the housing; and

Fig. 7 shows an alternative manner for securing the housing relative to a coupled motor/air suction unit.

The vacuum cleaner schematically represented in Fig. 1 is provided with a housing consisting of a top part la and a bottom part lb, which can be sealingly connected relative to each other by means (not shown) after the flange edges lc and Id have been brought into contact with each other. The top part la carries a motor/air suction unit 2, which will be further discussed hereinbelow. The top part la is further provided with a box 3 for connecting an electric cord (not shown) and an exhaust opening 4, in which, if desired, a filter element can be placed or slid. The bottom part lb is provided with an inlet opening 5 to which, at the outside, a suction hose (not shown) can be connected and, at the inside, a dust filter bag (not shown either), for which purpose the bottom part lb is designed, for the greater part, as a hollow, open box-shaped body.

In addition to an air exhaust connected to the exhaust opening 4, and having, if desired, a filter element received therein, the top part la is chiefly destined for receiving control electronics. To this end, the top part la is provided adjacent the flange edge lc with a wall part le, thereby forming an enclosed space in the top part la. The wall part le further carries the motor/air suction unit 2, as shown in Fig. 1, while this has been left out in Fig. 2 to clarify its fastening to the wall part le. The motor/air suction unit 2 itself is represented in Figs. 3 - 5.

The motor/air suction unit 2 is provided with a casing 6 with an air inlet opening 7 and an air outlet opening 8. In the casing 6, in a manner not further represented, an electric motor and an air suction element driven by it are received, so that through the casing from the air inlet opening 7 to the air outlet opening 8, an air flow can be generated. For supplying the electric motor, current coupling means are present in the form of resilient contact lips 9. At the side where the contact lips 9 are located, the unit 2 is provided with coupling means in the form of a circumferential collar 10, which is composed of a ring extending radially and a wall extending axially on the free circumferential edge of the wall. In the plane of that wall and extending from the free circumferential edge thereof, two cams 11 are provided, forming aligning means. On the end face contiguous to the circumferential collar 10, a sealing ring 12 is provided, the arrangement being such that the air outlet opening 8 is located within the sealing ring 12. Complementary coupling means are formed by a ring 13, which is composed of a ring part 13a fixedly connected to the wall part le, connected by a first extremity, via a hinge 14, to a first extremity of a pivotable ring part 13b. The second extremity of the pivotable ring part 13b is provided with a snap-in element 13c, which can lockingly cooperate with a counter element 13d at the second extremity of the fixed ring part 13a. The ring parts 13a and 13b each consist of a substantially semi-cylindrical element, extending perpendicularly to the wall part le and provided at the extremity facing away from that wall part with an inwardly reaching flange, the dimensions being selected such that the circumferential collar 10 of the unit 2, while pushing in the sealing ring 12, can be received within the ring 13 under the flange thereof. The flange referred to is provided in the fixed ring part 13a with two recesses 13e, which serve as complementary aligning means. In the region surrounded by the ring 13 in closed, locked condition, the wall part le is provided with an air passage opening 15 which is in communication with the exhaust opening 4, and resilient contact lips 16, which form complementary current coupling means and are in communication with the box 3.

For coupling the motor/air suction unit 2 to the top part la, the procedure is as follows.

The snap-in element 13c is released from the counter element 13d, whereupon the ring part 13b is pivoted away from the fixed ring part 13a. Then, by its circumferential edge 10, the unit 2 is slipped under the flange of the ring part 13a, while pushing-in the sealing ring 12, such that the cams 11 come to lie on the circumferential edge 10 in the recesses 13e. By thus aligning the unit 2 relative to the top part la it is ensured that the air outlet opening 8 is aligned with the air passage opening 15 and the resilient contact lips 9 are pushed against the resilient contact lips 16 so as to be properly conductive. By then pivoting the ring part 13b back and, again, allowing the snap-in element to lockingly cooperate with the counter element 13d, the motor/air suction unit 2 is connected to the top part lb in a condition ready for use. It will need no further explanation that the removal of the motor/air suction unit 2 can be carried out just as rapidly and easily.

It is noted that, in view of the housing-shaped design of the casing 2 it is possible without many problems to arrange provisions therein or thereon for placing at least one additional filter element. That it is not or hardly a problem that the unit may then have to be released to exchange a filter element will, after the foregoing, need no further elucidation.

Further, it will be clear that the above-described coupling, aligning and current coupling means can be varied and modified in very many ways. The exemplary embodiments represented in Fig. 6 and 7 can be considered as non-limitative examples thereof.

In Fig. 6 a motor/air suction unit 22 is represented, wherein alternative, more specifically, combined current coupling and ahgning means are used in the form of a plug 23 projecting relative to a housing wall part 21a and a box receiving the latter, recessed in the unit 22. The current coupling means are formed by a plug/socket combination, those mutually engaging parts, during coupling, at the same time providing for alignment. With such coupling, the unit can of course no longer be slipped under a flange, as was carried out in the earlier discussed embodiment. Locking can then be effected by pivotably arranging, in the embodiment according to Fig. 2, both ring parts relative to a hinge 14 fixedly connected to the wall part le, while, then, for instance, at the snap connection between the ring parts, there can be provided an automatically occurring coupling between the ring parts and the wall part, for instance a cam construction, to connect the closed ring firmly with the wall part for stably pushing the unit against the wall part over the entire sealing surface. A different coupling and securing possibility is represented in Fig. 7, where a circumferential collar 30 of a unit is equipped with a cam edge 30a, engaged by a number of resihent snap clamps 30, distributed along the ■ circumference of the collar 30, each snap clamp 33 being fixedly connected to the wall part 31e by means of a hinge 34. Thus, the unit can be secured to the wall part 31e, via the circumferential collar 30, while compressing the sealing ring 32 by means of the snap clamps 33.

It is self-evident that within the scope of the invention as defined by the accompanying claims, many modifications and variants are possible. For securing the motor/air suction unit relative to the housing of the vacuum cleaner, all sorts of other known quick acting couplings, clamping couplings, butterfly nut couplings and the like can be considered. Clamping brackets arid the like, engaging the side of the unit remote from the wall part to which the unit is attached can also be considered. Although in the foregoing often mention has been made of securing the motor/air suction unit to the top part of the housing, as is also represented in the drawings, the unit can also be connected to the bottom part or be fitted on the housing. Further, in the manner as is represented in Fig. 6, the unit can be provided with a further connecting box, to which an electric cord, guided through the housing, can be connected.

Claims

1. A vacuum cleaner, such as a brush vacuum cleaner, a tank vacuum cleaner, a water suction cleaning appliance or the like, provided with a housing with a feed opening for the connection of a suction hose, an exhaust opening and an air duct extending between the feed opening and exhaust opening, in which with an air suction element, driven by a motor, in particular an electric motor, such as a turbine or a different body provided with blades, an air flow from the feed opening to the exhaust opening can be generated, characterized in that the motor and the air suction element together are designed as an exchangeable unit.

2. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, characterized in that the exchangeable unit comprises a casing which is provided with an air inlet opening which is in communication with the air suction element or the electric motor, an air outlet opening which is in communication with the electric motor or the air suction element, and ahgning means and coupling means which can cooperate with complementary ahgning and coupling means provided in or on the housing.

3. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 2, characterized in that the . coupling means and complementary coupling means can be opened and closed without tools, for instance by means of snap-action.

4. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the coupling means comprise a collar on the exchangeable unit and the complementary coupling means comprise a ring connected to the housing and engaging over the collar, which ring consists of at least two parts hinging relative to each other.

5. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 4, characterized in that by means of a snap closure, the mutually hinging parts of the ring can be secured relative to each other in a continuous shape, closed all around and which pressingly engages the collar.

6. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the aligning means and the complementary aligning means consist of mutually cooperating cams, provided on the ring and the collar, respectively.

7. A vacuum cleaner according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the exchangeable unit is provided with current coupling means which can cooperate with complementary current coupling means which are connected to the housing and which can be connected to electric mains.

8. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 7, characterized in that the current coupling means and the complementary current coupling means consist of electric push-contacts which, when aligning and securing the unit, are automatically pressed onto each other.

9. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 7, characterized in that the current coupling means and the complementary current coupling means consist of a plug/socket connection, one connecting part forming part of the unit and the other connecting part forming part of the housing.

10. A vacuum cleaner according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the unit comprises at least one receiving or shde-in space for exchangeably placing a filter element.

11. A unit consisting of an electric motor and an air suction element, which unit is provided with ahgning, coupling and current coupling means and is evidently destined to be used in a vacuum cleaner according to any one of the preceding claims.

12. A unit according to claim 11, characterized in that the electric motor and the air suction element are surrounded by a screening casing which is provided with an air inlet opening which is in communication with the air suction element or the electric motor, with an air outlet opening which is in communication with the electric motor or the air suction element, and with aligning means and couphng means.