Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47L9/00—Details or accessories of suction cleaners, e.g. mechanical means for controlling the suction or for effecting pulsating action; Storing devices specially adapted to suction cleaners or parts thereof; Carrying-vehicles specially adapted for suction cleaners
  • A47L9/009—Carrying-vehicles; Arrangements of trollies or wheels; Means for avoiding mechanical obstacles
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47L5/00—Structural features of suction cleaners
  • A47L5/12—Structural features of suction cleaners with power-driven air-pumps or air-compressors, e.g. driven by motor vehicle engine vacuum
  • A47L5/22—Structural features of suction cleaners with power-driven air-pumps or air-compressors, e.g. driven by motor vehicle engine vacuum with rotary fans
  • A47L5/28—Suction cleaners with handles and nozzles fixed on the casings, e.g. wheeled suction cleaners with steering handle
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47L9/00—Details or accessories of suction cleaners, e.g. mechanical means for controlling the suction or for effecting pulsating action; Storing devices specially adapted to suction cleaners or parts thereof; Carrying-vehicles specially adapted for suction cleaners
  • A47L9/02—Nozzles
  • A47L9/04—Nozzles with driven brushes or agitators

Definitions

• the present invention relates to the field of vacuum cleaners for cleaning carpets and other floor surfaces .
• the invention particularly relates to upright cleaners which have a cleaning head portion and an upstanding handle portion which typically carries a collection device, such as a filter bag, for collecting detritus lifted by a vacuum induced airflow.
• the handle portion typically has a lower region pivotally connected to the cleaning head portion so as to permit push-pulling of the cleaning head portion over a floor surface by user- manipulation of a grip provided at an upper region of the handle portion.
• Such cleaners may be distinguished from wand and bin type cleaners in which a tubular wand is used to lift and convey detritus from a floor surface.
• the wand is connected by a flexible tube to a wheeled bin or drum portion which contains a collection bag or receptacle.
• GB-A-1127570 (18 September 1968) discloses a push-along sweeper with a rotary brush driven by two centrally disposed wheels.
• the device has front and rear castor wheels which project from leading and trailing edges respectively of the sweeper housing edge.
• JP-A-10179483 discloses an industrial cleaning trolley which is intended to be pushed by a forklift truck.
• the trolley is equipped with two rotary cleaning brushes (having a vertical axis of rotation) .
• the trolley has two spaced apart rear wheels and a front castor wheel which projects forward on a bracket.
• the device is provided with a sound generator to provide a warning signal or melody.
• US2004/0045121A1 published 11 March 2004 discloses a vacuum cleaner of a type having a tubular cleaning wand and a wheeled housing which may be trailed behind the wand, and which is not therefore an upright cleaner.
• the housing is provided with two rear wheels and a pair of castors located on a front underside region of the housing.
• the castors are each provided with a slip- prevention protrusion which renders the housing stable on stairs .
• an upright vacuum cleaner typically comprising a vacuum motor, a cleaning head portion which includes a brush roller and an upright handle portion which includes a collector for vacuumed detritus, the cleaning head portion being provided with wheel means which allow the cleaner to be moved over a floor surface, wherein the wheel means comprises first and second laterally spaced apart rear wheels and a castor wheel .
• the castor wheel may be located at a position forward of the rear wheels and, preferably, aft of the roller brush.
• the castor allows the cleaning head to be turned left or right without needing to slide front wheels or rollers. Rather, the castor follows the movement by swivelling and rolling. This reduces the effort for the user to turn the cleaner, which makes a small convenience difference which may nevertheless become significant over extended cleaning periods.
• the location of the castor behind the roller brush means that the brush can clean close to extraneous edges, such as skirting boards or furniture, unhindered by the presence of wheels or rollers adjacent, in front or coaxial with the brush. This provides an improved edge cleaning effect as compared to cleaners whose brushes cannot approach edges as closely.
• the vacuum motor is preferably located in the handle portion, but can alternatively be located in the cleaning head.
• the handle portion has a lower region pivotally connected to the cleaning head portion so as to permit pivoted rocking of the handle portion forward and backwards. This allows the user to push-pull the cleaning head portion over a floor surface by manipulation of a grip provided at an upper region of the handle portion.
• the brush roller is preferably electric motor-driven.
• the brush roller has a transverse axis of rotation and is disposed above an elongate transverse sweeping aperture formed in a front underside region of the work head.
• the castor preferably depends from an underside of the cleaning head.
• the castor is accommodated in a domed recess provided in an underside of the cleaning head. This allows a large enough castor wheel diameter to be used to roll over floor features such as room threshold bars and rug edges and the like, because the castor wheel upper region can be accommodated in the dome .
• the castor is preferably located equidistant from each of the rear wheels. In other words the castor is at the apex of a notional horizontal isosceles triangle. In this way the weight of the cleaner can be stably shared between the castor and the rear wheels .
• the castor is generally centrally located between rear and front ends of an underside of the cleaning head. This helps make the cleaner easy to turn.
• Figure 1 is a perspective three quarter view of an upright vacuum cleaner according to the present invention.
• Figure 2 is an underside view of the vacuum cleaner of • figure 1.
• an upright cleaner is shown generally as 10.
• the cleaner has a cleaning head portion 11 which sits on a floor surface.
• a front end region of the cleaning head is formed with a hemi-cylindrical housing 12 for a horizontal brush roller 13 (visible in figure 2) .
• a rear end region of the cleaning head is provided with two wheels 14 (one visible in figure 1) . These wheels each have a horizontal axis of rotation about an associated axle (not visible) and each wheel is thus capable of rotating independently.
• An upright handle portion 15 of the vacuum cleaner is mounted to an upper rear region of the cleaning head by a latchable pivot, as is known in the art. This allows the handle portion to be locked vertical for storage, but released to incline for cleaning use.
• the handle portion includes a lower vacuum motor housing section 16 and an upper vacuum bag collector housing 17.
• the top of the housing is formed with a grip 18 as shown in figure 1.
• a secondary handle 19 may also be provided for a cleaning wand (not visible) attached to a flexible vacuum tube 20.
• FIG 2 an underside 22 of the cleaning head is shown.
• a castor vertical stub axle (not visible) is push-fitted into a corresponding vertical bore at the apex of the dome.
• a castor wheel 25 is therefore free to swing 360 degrees around the dome.
• the castor wheel makes the cleaner easily steerable and manoeuvrable.
• the cleaning head may turn left and right without having to slide front wheels or rollers.
• the castor does not obscure the roller aperture 24, so roller cleaning is possible right up to the front and side edges of the roller housing 12.
• the present invention relates to the field of vacuum cleaners for cleaning carpets and other floor surfaces.
• the invention particularly relates to upright cleaners which have a cleaning head portion and an upstanding handle portion which typically carries a collection device for collecting detritus lifted by a vacuum induced airflow.
• the present invention provides an upright vacuum cleaner, the cleaning head portion being provided with wheel means which allow the cleaner to be moved over a floor surface, wherein the wheel means comprises first and second laterally spaced apart rear wheels and a castor wheel that is located at a position forward of the rear wheels and preferably aft of the roller brush.
• the castor wheel is preferably located in a domed recess in an underside of the cleaning head.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Electric Suction Cleaners (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=39409954

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

Families Citing this family (3)

Citations (2)

Family Cites Families (13)

• 2008
  • 2008-04-02 GB GBGB0805999.0A patent/GB0805999D0/en not_active Ceased
• 2009
  • 2009-03-31 CN CN2009801120489A patent/CN101983028A/zh active Pending
  • 2009-03-31 US US12/936,099 patent/US20110023263A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2009-03-31 EP EP09726950A patent/EP2268180A1/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 2009-03-31 CA CA2719307A patent/CA2719307A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2009-03-31 WO PCT/GB2009/000865 patent/WO2009122172A1/en active Application Filing
• 2010
  • 2010-09-29 ZA ZA2010/06931A patent/ZA201006931B/en unknown

Patent Citations (2)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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