EP3795047B1 - Universal vacuum cleaner nozzle - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a vacuum cleaner floor nozzle with a housing and a sliding base arranged on the underside of the housing. A suction mouth running in a transverse direction is formed in the sliding sole, which suction mouth is delimited by a suction mouth edge at the front in a working direction and a suction mouth edge at the rear in the working direction. A vacuum cleaner floor nozzle according to the preamble of claim 1 is for example from EP 3 087 890 A1 known.

Vacuum cleaner floor nozzles are used to guide and shape the suction air flow of a vacuum cleaner system on a floor surface to be cleaned. The design of a vacuum cleaner floor nozzle is one of the decisive factors for the overall cleaning performance of a vacuum cleaner system. In the past, different types of nozzles have emerged here, which are tailored to the specifics of different floor coverings.

A first group of floor coverings is formed by the so-called "hard floors". These have an essentially flat and air-impermeable surface. The material can vary greatly. For example, stone and wooden floors, tile floors and continuous plastic floors - such as linoleum - belong to these hard floors. Since these are impermeable to air, the suction air flow must be guided completely along the floor surface. Too small a gap between the sliding sole on the underside of a vacuum cleaner floor nozzle and the floor surface leads to such a large air resistance that the suction air flow can no longer achieve any noteworthy volume flows and flow velocities. The cleaning performance decreases accordingly. In such a scenario, there is also an increased contact pressure of the vacuum cleaner floor nozzle against the floor surface, since the difficult flow conditions create a strong negative pressure inside the suction mouth. Due to the Considerable contact pressure results in intensive contact between the vacuum cleaner nozzle and the floor surface, so that mutual damage cannot be ruled out.

In order to ensure a sufficient flow of suction air and a low contact pressure, the base of a hard floor nozzle must have a sufficient distance from the floor surface during operation. For this purpose, spacer elements such as bristle strips, support rollers and / or sliding surfaces are usually provided. The sole of the vacuum cleaner nozzle is usually designed in such a way that the smallest distance to the floor is achieved at the edges of the suction mouth. With increasing distance from the suction mouth, the floor distance then increases again in order to ensure a sufficient flow towards the suction mouth. These areas - in which the vacuum cleaner floor nozzle can also ride on dirt particles arranged on the smooth floor surface - are also referred to as so-called "slide-on bevels".

Vacuum cleaner floor nozzles can also be optimized for use on textile floor coverings or carpets. A suction air flow that only remains on the surface is not sufficient for cleaning them. At least a certain proportion of the suction air must therefore be passed through the textile floor material or the carpets. For this application scenario, the underside of the vacuum cleaner nozzle is designed as a sliding sole, which is designed for flat contact with the ground. In this case, areas of the sliding sole that are as flat as possible lie flat on the textile floor material and thus enable the vacuum cleaner floor nozzle to slide over it. At the same time, the large contact surface helps to ensure that only small amounts of air flow are passed between the floor surface and the vacuum cleaner nozzle and the majority through the textile floor material is passed through. There, the suction air flow can loosen and remove embedded dirt particles.

The technical challenge is to manufacture vacuum cleaner nozzles that can adequately meet both application scenarios. This is usually ensured by an adjustment mechanism with which the ground clearance of a sliding sole can be adjusted mechanically. For vacuuming textile floor coverings, the distance is reduced, while smooth floors can be vacuumed with an increased floor distance. Such solutions require, on the one hand, increased construction and material costs, since a corresponding adjustment mechanism must be implemented and integrated into a vacuum cleaner floor nozzle. At the same time, a user has to switch such vacuum cleaner floor nozzles in the majority of cases by manual interaction between a smooth floor position and a carpet floor position as required. This creates an additional operating effort.

Against this background, the invention is based on the object of specifying a simple vacuum cleaner floor nozzle which can be used both on smooth floors and on textile floor coverings without an explicit adjustment mechanism. In particular, intensive cleaning of carpets should be made possible.

This object is achieved and the subject matter of the invention is a vacuum cleaner floor nozzle according to claim 1. Preferred embodiments are specified in the subclaims.

Based on the generic vacuum cleaner floor nozzle, it is provided according to the invention that the sliding sole is in front of the front edge of the suction mouth has a front cylinder jacket section and a rear cylinder jacket section behind the rear edge of the suction mouth. The front cylinder jacket section is arranged in a first radius and the rear cylinder jacket section is arranged in a second radius around a common axis of symmetry running in the transverse direction. The sliding surface of the vacuum cleaner floor nozzle, which is partially designed as a cylinder jacket, enables stepless pivoting about the axis of symmetry, whereby continuous ground contact can be ensured through the front cylinder jacket section and / or the rear cylinder jacket section. In contrast to straight sloping ramps, the ground contact is ensured in a linear area of approximately the same size and running in the transverse direction. The sealing effect is therefore independent of the pivot angle.

According to a preferred embodiment, the front edge of the suction mouth is spaced from the axis of symmetry by the amount of the first radius and the rear edge of the suction mouth is spaced from the axis of symmetry by the amount of the second radius. The front suction mouth edge and the rear suction mouth edge thus directly adjoin the front cylinder jacket section or the rear cylinder jacket section. The pivoting movement about the axis of symmetry is therefore not disturbed by the formation of the suction mouth edges. It is also possible, by setting a certain tilt angle, to bring the front edge of the suction mouth or the rear edge of the suction mouth into direct contact with the floor. In this case, the bottom surface is preferably in tangential contact with the associated front or rear cylinder jacket section.

At the suction mouth edge, the vacuum cleaner nozzle recesses into the interior of the housing compared to the adjoining sliding surface. The suction mouth edge preferably closes with the tangent to the adjoining one The cylinder jacket surface forms an angle of at most 90 °, preferably at most 60 °, in particular at most 45 °. The suction channel wall forms an angular or wedge-shaped projection with the adjoining cylinder jacket surface, which can sink well into the textile material and move fibers of the textile floor covering through mechanical interaction.

When rolling over the front cylinder jacket surface or the rear cylinder jacket surface, a position can be reached in which the front suction mouth edge or the rear suction mouth edge is at floor level. In this position, a floor covering - in particular a textile floor covering - can be processed particularly intensively with the suction mouth edge.

Such mechanical interaction can loosen dirt particles embedded in the textile floor covering so that they can be carried along in the suction air flow. In the case of insensitive hard floor coverings, the suction mouth edges can also be used to loosen any dirt adhering to them.

The suction mouth edges can expediently be positioned by aligning the nozzle housing accordingly so that that suction mouth edge is in contact with the ground which is positioned on the side opposite to the direction of movement during a working stroke (forwards or backwards). An air gap is thus formed at the front edge in the direction of movement, through which the suction air flow can enter and dirt particles arranged on the floor covering are not "pushed away" either. At the same time, the rear edge of the suction mouth in the direction of movement comes into contact with the floor in order to increase this cleaning effect.

According to a preferred embodiment, the front edge of the suction mouth and the rear edge of the suction mouth are arranged straight and parallel to one another. In particular, the front suction mouth edge and the rear suction mouth edge run completely in the transverse direction. As a result, the respective suction mouth edge comes into contact with the floor surface to be cleaned at a certain tilt angle. A complete processing function is thus achieved over the entire width of the suction mouth.

In an alternative embodiment, only one of the two suction mouth edges, in particular the rear suction mouth edge, is straight and preferably aligned in the transverse direction. This can then be used as a loosening instrument during a forward stroke of the vacuum cleaner floor nozzle - during which additional contact pressure can be exerted by the operator. In contrast, the front edge of the suction mouth extends at a distance from the first radius around the axis of symmetry, but here has a curvature oriented in the tangential direction. In this way, by selecting the angle of incidence of the vacuum cleaner floor nozzle, the air gap formed between the curvature and the floor surface and thus the amount of air entering via the front edge of the suction mouth can be regulated. In this way, particularly on soft textile coverings into which the vacuum cleaner floor nozzle can sink, the cleaning conditions can be set precisely by simply choosing the angle of attack. This simultaneously influences the amount of air entering via the front edge of the suction mouth and also the degree of mechanical interaction between the rear edge of the suction mouth and the textile floor covering.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment, the first radius and the second radius are designed to be the same size. As a result, the front cylinder jacket section and the rear cylinder jacket section are geometrically inside arranged on the same cylinder surface, so that a seamless rolling from the rear cylinder jacket surface to the front cylinder jacket surface and vice versa is possible. The first radius and the equally large second radius can also be referred to as "the radius" for short.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment, the suction mouth is delimited at the end in the transverse direction by a side wall. The two side walls each have a lower terminating edge which is spaced from the axis of symmetry by an amount greater than or equal to the first radius and greater than or equal to the second radius. The side walls thus act as spacers which, in the event of a pivoting movement from the front cylinder jacket section to the rear cylinder jacket section or vice versa, prevent both suction mouth edges from coming into contact with the floor surface at the same time. This reliably prevents the vacuum cleaner nozzle from sticking on hard floors.

The side walls are preferably narrow in the transverse direction, in particular with a width of less than 5 mm. Such narrow side walls allow a textile floor covering to sink in, so that simultaneous floor contact of the front suction mouth edge and the rear suction mouth edge is possible there. In addition, the sections of the side walls sunk into the material serve for additional sealing, so that the incoming suction air flow is concentrated on the front edge of the suction mouth and the rear edge of the suction mouth.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment, the lower terminating edges are in a longitudinal section running perpendicular to the transverse direction in the shape of a circular arc in a third radius around the axis of symmetry educated. The combination of the front cylinder jacket section, side walls and rear cylinder jacket section thus enable a continuous and transition-free tilting or rolling movement.

The lower terminating edges are preferably each flush with the front cylinder jacket section and the rear cylinder jacket section.

According to an alternative embodiment, the lower terminating edges each have a protrusion between 1 mm 3 mm with respect to the first radius and the second radius. In this embodiment, the front edge of the suction mouth and / or the rear edge of the suction mouth are raised on smooth floors by at least the amount of the protrusion so that there is no direct continuous contact with the floor. As a result, a minimal suction air gap is always guaranteed, both from the front and from the rear, even on smooth floors. In this variant, the lower terminating edges of the side walls can particularly preferably be continued by radially protruding collars at the end of the cylinder jacket surfaces.

In order to achieve the best possible cleaning result, the suction mouth extends in the transverse direction with a suction mouth width, preferably essentially over the entire width of the contact area of the vacuum cleaner nozzle (working width). In particular, the suction mouth width makes up at least 95%, particularly preferably at least 97% of the working width.

Likewise, the front cylinder jacket section and / or the rear cylinder jacket section preferably extend in the transverse direction over essentially the entire width of the suction mouth. In particular, they extend over at least 95%, in particular at least 99% of the suction mouth width.

In order to ensure rolling over the cylinder jacket surfaces, preferably no section of the sliding sole protrudes over the two cylinder jacket surfaces downward in the vertical direction.

According to a preferred embodiment, the front edge of the suction mouth is arranged to the front by at least 3 °, preferably at least 5 °, in relation to a vertical plane which is perpendicular to the working direction and runs through the axis of symmetry. Alternatively or additionally, the rear edge of the suction mouth is arranged at least 3 °, preferably at least 5 °, to the rear, starting from the vertical plane. This ensures that a significant pivoting movement that is controllable and perceptible for the user is required for pivoting the front suction mouth edge from contact with the ground to the rear suction mouth edge. At the same time, a sufficient size of the suction mouth to generate sufficiently large suction air flows is guaranteed.

Likewise, it is preferably provided that the front edge of the suction mouth is arranged not more than 10 ° to the front with respect to the vertical plane and that the rear edge of the suction mouth is arranged not more than 10 ° to the rear with respect to the vertical plane. This ensures that the pivoting movements required for switching are kept sufficiently small during operation to ensure usability.

In order to provide a sufficient contact surface with a large pivoting range, the front cylinder jacket section and / or the rear cylinder jacket section extends over at least 30 °, preferably at least 45 °, starting from the vertical plane to the front or to the rear.

According to a preferred variant of the invention, the front edge of the suction mouth and the rear edge of the suction mouth are designed symmetrically with respect to the vertical plane. This creates a natural operating feeling for the user and intuitive handling is made possible.

Likewise, the front cylinder jacket section and the rear cylinder jacket section are preferred and at least in a central area with respect to the transverse direction, in particular over the entire width, are designed symmetrically with respect to the vertical plane.

The inventive concept works particularly well when the first radius and the second radius are at least 3 cm. Likewise, it is preferably provided that the first radius below the second radius does not amount to more than 8 cm. In the preferred area of curvature, the only slightly curved cylinder jacket surfaces produce a sufficient sealing effect on compressible textile floor coverings. At the same time, with relatively small pivoting movements, a sufficient vertical stroke of the suction mouth edges can be generated in order to control the suction air flow in a targeted manner.

To handle the vacuum cleaner floor nozzle according to the invention, provision is preferably made for a suction connection piece, which preferably encompasses an angular section, to be arranged on the housing, which is held on the housing so as to be pivotable only about an axis of rotation. The axis of rotation, which is firmly oriented in relation to the housing, enables the user to precisely control the angle of incidence of the vacuum cleaner floor nozzle with respect to the floor surface by raising or lowering the suction connection piece - usually via a suction tube coupled to it. Due to the angled design of the suction connection piece in connection with the rotatability, the user can at the same time have a steering effect on the Vacuum cleaner floor nozzle - by turning the suction tube around its longitudinal axis - cause.

The axis of rotation is in particular aligned perpendicular to the transverse direction and is arranged within a longitudinal center plane of the vacuum cleaner nozzle. Particularly preferably, the axis of rotation is inclined slightly in the working direction (i.e., horizontally) or with respect to the working direction, by no more than 20 °. In particular, the axis of rotation encloses an angle between 90 ° and 110 °, particularly preferably approximately 100 °, with the vertical plane. The point of intersection of the axis of rotation with the vertical plane is preferably above the axis of symmetry. This enables particularly good handling and control effect. According to a preferred variant, the longitudinal axis of the angled section on the suction connection piece is inclined by at least 30 ° with respect to the axis of rotation. This ensures sufficient controllability around the vertical axis (vertical direction) of the vacuum cleaner nozzle.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment, the housing of the vacuum cleaner floor nozzle is constructed in several parts, the suction connection piece being arranged on an upper housing part and the upper housing part being detachably connected to a lower housing part encompassing the sliding sole.

The sliding sole can also preferably be plugged onto a conventional vacuum cleaner floor nozzle as a functional module forming a lower part of the housing, as the upper part of the housing.

Fig. 1

eine perspektivische Darstellung einer erfindungsgemäßen Staubsaugerdüse,

Fig. 2

eine unterseitige Ansicht der Staubsaugerdüse und

Fig. 3

eine Schnittdarstellung entlang der Ebene A-A.

The invention is explained below with reference to drawings showing only one exemplary embodiment. It shows schematically:

Fig. 1

a perspective view of a vacuum cleaner nozzle according to the invention,

Fig. 2

an underside view of the vacuum cleaner nozzle and

Fig. 3

a sectional view along the plane AA.

the Fig. 1 shows a vacuum cleaner nozzle 1 according to the invention with a lower part 1a and a releasably connected upper part 1b. The releasable connection between the lower part 1a and the upper part 1b is provided by a locking button 2, which holds the upper part 1b in an associated receptacle of the lower part 1a in a form-fitting manner. At the rear end of the upper part 1b, a suction connection piece 3 with an angled section 3a on the rear side is fastened so as to be pivotable.

A comparison with that Fig. 2 it can be seen that a suction mouth 4 is arranged on the underside of the vacuum cleaner nozzle 1 formed by the lower part 1 a, which extends in a transverse direction y perpendicular to the working direction x over essentially the entire width B of the vacuum cleaner nozzle 1.

The suction mouth 4 is fluidically connected to the suction connector 3 via a suction opening 5. The suction mouth 4 is delimited in the working direction x by a front suction mouth edge 6a and a rear suction mouth edge 6b. In the exemplary embodiment shown, both the front suction mouth edge 6a and the rear suction mouth edge 6b are designed to run linearly and parallel to one another in the transverse direction y.

The underside of the vacuum cleaner nozzle 1 - the sliding sole - is formed by a front cylinder jacket section 7a arranged immediately in front of the front suction mouth edge 6a and a rear cylinder jacket section 7b immediately behind the rear suction mouth edge. A comparison with that Fig. 3 it can be seen that the front cylinder jacket section 7a is arranged in a first radius r ₁ and the rear cylinder jacket section 7b is arranged in a second radius r ₂ around a common axis of symmetry 8, which runs in the transverse direction y.

In the exemplary embodiment shown, the first radius r ₁ and the second radius r _{2 are designed to be the} same size. As a result, the front cylinder jacket section 7a and the rear cylinder jacket section 7b can be understood geometrically as part of the same cylinder outer surface.

The figures also show that the suction mouth 4 is delimited at the end in the transverse direction y by a side wall 9, the lower end edge 9a of which, in longitudinal section, extends _{in a circular arc around the axis of symmetry in a third radius r 3.} In the exemplary embodiment shown, the third radius is also designed to be the same size as the first and second radius r ₁ , r ₂ .

Furthermore, the axis of symmetry 8 is arranged in the vertical direction z above the suction mouth, but offset backwards against the working direction x off-center. As a result, the center of rotation of the nozzle is shifted to the rear, which simplifies handling during operation.

In the detailed consideration of the sectional view according to Fig. 2 it can be seen that the front cylinder jacket section 7a, starting from the axis of symmetry 8 and an axis running through it, extends perpendicular to the axis of symmetry Working direction x standing vertical plane 10 - extends forward over an angle of approximately 45 °. The front suction mouth edge 6a - thus the rear delimitation of the front cylinder jacket surface 7a - is arranged offset to the front by approx. 10 °. In contrast, the rear cylinder jacket surface 7b extends, starting from the rear suction mouth edge 6b, which is offset to the rear by approximately 5 °, over an angle of likewise 45 °. The sliding sole thus spans a quarter-circle arc of 90 °.

In the sectional illustration, it can also be seen that the separately and detachable upper part 1b is designed as an independent vacuum cleaner nozzle with its own sliding surface 11 and thread lifter strips 12 arranged therein. The upper part 1b can thus be used as an independent vacuum cleaner nozzle after it has been detached from the lower part 1a.

The contact plane of the sliding surface 11 is aligned perpendicular to the vertical direction y or to the vertical plane 10.

the Fig. 3 it can also be seen that the suction connection piece 3 is held on the upper part 1b so as to be pivotable about an axis of rotation 13 running perpendicular to the transverse direction y and inclined with respect to the working direction x. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the angle α between the axis of rotation 13 and the vertical plane 10 is approximately 100 °. Compared to the axis of rotation 13, the angled section 3a is bent with its longitudinal extension 14 by an angle β of approximately 30 °.

Claims (17)

1. A floor nozzle (1) for a vacuum cleaner comprising a housing (1a, 1b) and a sliding base arranged on the underside of the housing, wherein a suction mouth (4), which runs in a transverse direction (y) and which is limited by a front suction mouth edge (6a) in a working direction (x) and by a rear suction mouth edge (6b) in the working direction (x), is formed in the sliding base, characterized in that the sliding base has a front cylinder jacket portion (7a) in front of the front suction mouth edge (6a) and a rear cylinder jacket portion (7b) behind the rear suction mouth edge (6b), and that the front cylinder jacket portion (7a) is arranged within a first radius (r₁) and the rear cylinder jacket portion (7b) is arranged within a second radius (r₂) about a common axis of symmetry (8), which runs in the transverse direction (y).
2. The floor nozzle (1) for a vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, characterized in that the front suction mouth edge (6a) is spaced apart from the axis of symmetry (8) by the amount of the first radius (r₁), and that the rear suction mouth edge (6b) is spaced apart from the axis of symmetry (8) by the amount of the second radius (r₂) .
3. The floor nozzle (1) for a vacuum cleaner according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the front suction mouth edge (6a) and the rear suction mouth edge (6b) are formed to be straight and are arranged parallel to one another.
4. The floor nozzle (1) for a vacuum cleaner according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the first radius (r₁) and the second radius (r₂) are formed to be of equal size.
5. The floor nozzle (1) for a vacuum cleaner according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the suction mouth (4) is in each case limited by a side wall (9) on the end side in the transverse direction (y), and that the side walls (9) in each case have a lower end edge (9a), which is spaced apart from the axis of symmetry (8) by an amount greater than or equal to the first radius (r₁) and greater than or equal to the second radius (r₂) .
6. The floor nozzle (1) for a vacuum cleaner according to claim 5, characterized in that in a longitudinal section, which runs perpendicular to the transverse direction (y), the lower end edges (9a) are formed in a circular arc-shaped manner about the axis of symmetry (8) .
7. The floor nozzle (1) for a vacuum cleaner according to one of claims 5 or 6, characterized in that the lower end edges (9a) in each case connect in a flush manner to the front cylinder jacket portion (7a) and the rear cylinder jacket portion (7b).
8. The floor nozzle (1) for a vacuum cleaner according to one of claims 5 or 6, characterized in that the lower end edges (9a) in each case have a protrusion of between 1 mm and 3 mm in relation to the first radius (r₁) and the second radius (r₂).
9. The floor nozzle (1) for a vacuum cleaner according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the front suction mouth edge (6a) is arranged at least 3°, preferably at least 5° to the front in relation to a vertical plane (10), which is perpendicular to the working direction (x) and which runs through the axis of symmetry (8), and/or that, starting at the vertical plane (10), the rear suction mouth edge (6b) is arranged at least 3°, preferably at least 5° to the rear.
10. The floor nozzle (1) for a vacuum cleaner according to claim 9, characterized in that the front suction mouth edge (6a) extends to the front by not more than 10° in relation to the vertical plane (10), and that the rear suction mouth edge (6b) extends to the rear by not more than 10° in relation to the vertical plane (10).
11. The floor nozzle (1) for a vacuum cleaner according to one of claims 9 to 10, characterized in that, starting at the vertical plane, the front cylinder jacket portion (7a) and/or the rear cylinder jacket portion (7b) extend to the front or to the rear, respectively, over at least 30°, preferably at least 45°.
12. The floor nozzle (1) for a vacuum cleaner according to claim 9 to 11, characterized in that the front suction mouth edge (6a) and the rear suction mouth edge (6b) are formed symmetrically with respect to the vertical plane (10).
13. The floor nozzle (1) for a vacuum cleaner according to claim 12, characterized in that the front cylinder jacket portion (7a) and the rear cylinder jacket potion (7b) are formed symmetrically with respect to the vertical plane.
14. The floor nozzle (1) for a vacuum cleaner according to one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the first radius (r₁) and the second radius (r₂) are at least 3 cm.
15. The floor nozzle (1) for a vacuum cleaner according to one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the first radius (r₁) and the second radius (r₂) are not more than 8 cm.
16. The floor nozzle (1) for a vacuum cleaner according to one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that a suction connecting piece (3), which comprises an angular portion (3a), is held at the housing (1a, 1b) so as to only be pivotable about an axis of rotation (13).
17. The floor nozzle (1) for a vacuum cleaner according to claim 16, characterized in that the axis of rotation (13) runs perpendicular to the transverse direction (y).

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