FR3039055A1 - BRUSH CLEANER WITH ARTICULATED SUCKER - Google Patents

Abstract

Broom vacuum cleaner comprising: - a vacuum cleaner body (10) comprising suction means (11) and a handling interface (12) for a user, - a nozzle (20) arranged to be in contact with a floor to be cleaned and articulated with respect to the vacuum cleaner body (10), - an air circuit between the suction means (11) and the nozzle (20) and comprising a first deformable air duct with a first end connected to the nozzle (20), characterized in that: - the vacuum cleaner comprises at least one piece of ball joint connected ball joint with respect to the vacuum body (10) and on which is embarked a second end of the first deformable air duct and in that the air circuit comprises at least a second deformable air duct, at least partially contained in the patella part, and connecting said second end on a portion of the air circuit of the body of vacuum cleaner (10).

Description

B.1589

BRUSH CLEANER WITH ARTICULATED SUCKER

The present invention generally relates to a vacuum cleaner comprising a suction nozzle, and in particular a vacuum cleaner broom whose nozzle is articulated relative to the rest of the body of the vacuum cleaner broom to provide a high mobility during use.

It is known in the prior art joints for vacuum cleaners and their nozzle, such as that presented in DE3913419, which discloses a universal joint type joint. In return, this system has the disadvantage of strongly deforming the hose forming the air duct between a nozzle and a fan motor housed in the body of a vacuum cleaner, which can lead to premature failures during large displacements angular. In addition, the system presented with link strings is complicated.

The document US8627545 has meanwhile a broom vacuum with an articulated nozzle, but the movement of the body with its handle is limited, especially around a horizontal axis, and this device can not go to bed completely to go clean under a piece of furniture or under a bed for example.

An object of the present invention is to meet the disadvantages of the documents of the prior art mentioned above and in particular, first of all, to propose a vacuum cleaner with an articulated nozzle, and whose articulation remains simple and can allow large angular movements, without strongly soliciting the constituent parts of the air circuit.

For this, a first aspect of the invention relates to a vacuum cleaner comprising: - a vacuum cleaner body comprising suction means and a handling interface for a user, - a nozzle arranged to be in contact with a floor to be cleaned and articulated with respect to the vacuum cleaner body, - an air circuit between the suction means and the nozzle and comprising a first deformable air duct with a first end connected to the nozzle, characterized in that: - the vacuum cleaner broom comprises at least one piece of ball joint mounted in ball joint with respect to the vacuum body and on which is embarked a second end of the first deformable air duct, - and in that the air circuit comprises at least a second deformable air duct, at least partially contained in the patella piece, and connecting said second end embarked to a portion of the air circuit of the vacuum body. The sweeping vacuum cleaner according to the present implementation thus comprises a nozzle articulated on the vacuum cleaner body, but with a patella piece mounted in a ball joint relative to the vacuum cleaner body and a deformable air duct on each side of this nozzle. patella piece. The first deformable air duct is arranged between the patella piece and the nozzle, and the second deformable air duct is arranged between the patella piece and the vacuum body. Consequently, the patella piece, free with respect to the vacuum cleaner body, will be able to "follow" the movements of the nozzle, and as it is mounted between the first and second deformable air ducts, it will make a relative displacement. compared to the vacuum cleaner body less than that of the nozzle. Thus during a deflection of the nozzle, the deformation is distributed between the first and second deformable air duct, which limits the deformations imposed on each.

Advantageously, the vacuum cleaner body has an elongate shape along a longitudinal axis passing through the ball joint, the brush vacuum cleaner comprises at least a first articulation between the nozzle and the vacuum cleaner body, with a rod mounted relative to vacuum cleaner body according to a pivot connection, for pivoting about a connecting rod axis, a projection in a plane containing the longitudinal axis is inclined relative to the longitudinal axis. Such a construction with the rod mounted between the nozzle and the vacuum body allows to separate the movement of the nozzle with that of the air circuit comprising the first deformable air duct and the second deformable air duct.

Advantageously, the vacuum cleaner body comprises an elongated suction tube defining the longitudinal axis, with the suction means and the manipulation interface arranged at a first end of the suction tube, and the nozzle arranged at a second end of the suction tube (the nozzle being connected to the suction tube via the first and second deformable air duct).

Advantageously, the projection of the rod axis in a plane containing the longitudinal axis is inclined with respect to the latter in an angular range from 20 ° to 60 °.

Advantageously, the projection of the rod axis in a plane containing the longitudinal axis is inclined relative to the latter in an angular range from 35 ° to 45 °. This implementation makes it possible to have a good performance between the movement printed to the vacuum cleaner body by the user (through the handling interface) and the rotational movement of the nozzle around the connecting rod axis.

Advantageously, said at least one first articulation comprises at least one connecting rod shaft about which the connecting rod is mounted to pivot about the connecting rod axis, the second deformable air duct having a passage section with at least one characteristic dimension, and the connecting rod shaft is offset from the longitudinal axis a distance at least greater than half of said at least one characteristic dimension. The connecting rod shaft is offset from the air circuit, which leaves room to arrange the ball joint and the first joint (the connecting rod pivot) without complicating or miniaturizing the parts.

Advantageously, the second deformable air duct has a circular section, and the connecting rod shaft is offset from the longitudinal axis by a distance greater than the radius of the section of the second deformable air duct.

In other words, in general, the first joint is not on the longitudinal axis, or in said at least one patella piece.

Advantageously, the brush vacuum cleaner comprises at least a second articulation between the connecting rod and the nozzle, with the connecting rod mounted relative to the nozzle according to a nozzle pivot connection, for pivoting about a nozzle axis parallel to the ground to be cleaned when the Squeegee is in plane contact with the floor to be cleaned.

Advantageously, the connecting rod comprises two arms forming an opening, and the first deformable air duct passes through the opening.

Advantageously, the opening has a width ranging from 1.2 to 1.5 times an outer dimension of the first deformable air duct. This implementation avoids all contacts between the connecting rod and the first deformable air duct, to avoid wear or friction.

Advantageously, each arm is pivotally mounted on the nozzle, along the nozzle axis.

Advantageously, the rod can pivot relative to the nozzle at an angle greater than 70 ° and preferably at an angle greater than 90 °, to allow to bring the longitudinal axis parallel to the floor to be cleaned when the nozzle is in plane contact with the floor to clean. The user can then easily "flatten" the vacuum cleaner broom to clean the floor under a piece of furniture or a bed for example.

Advantageously, the first deformable air duct is a flexible tube.

Advantageously, the second deformable air duct is a flexible tube at least partially arranged in the patella piece.

Advantageously, the second deformable air duct is at least partially formed by the patella piece.

Advantageously, the first deformable air duct is integrally formed with the patella piece. According to this implementation, there is a single piece for these two elements, and it is conceivable to produce such a part with a bi-material molding operation: a flexible material for producing the first deformable air duct and a rigid material for the patella part portion.

Advantageously, the first deformable air duct and the second deformable air duct are integrally formed with the patella part. Other features and advantages of the present invention will appear more clearly on reading the following detailed description of a embodiment of the invention given by way of non-limiting example and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which: - Figure 1 shows an isometric view of a vacuum cleaner brush according to the invention, comprising a vacuum body and a nozzle, articulated with respect to the vacuum cleaner body; - Figure 2 shows a detailed view of the nozzle of Figure 1; - Figure 3 shows a sectional view of the connection between the vacuum body and the nozzle of Figure 1.

Figure 1 shows a vacuum cleaner comprising a suction body 10 and a nozzle 20, articulated relative to the vacuum body 10 and arranged to be in contact with a floor to be cleaned. The vacuum cleaner body 10 comprises a handling interface 12 for a user (a handle), suction means 11 (an electric motor-fan for example) and an elongated suction tube 13 which defines a longitudinal axis (L ) of the vacuum cleaner body 10.

The nozzle 20 is articulated relative to the vacuum body 10 and is connected to the suction means 11 by an air circuit. Indeed, the nozzle 20 typically comprises at least one suction slot facing the floor to be cleaned and connected to the suction means to allow the entrainment of impurities from the soil to a collection tank or a filter of the vacuum cleaner broom . In order to follow the movements of the nozzle 20, the vacuum cleaner includes a swivel piece to allow the air circuit to effectively connect the nozzle to the vacuum body 10, as will be described in Figures 2 and 3.

Indeed, the nozzle 20 is connected to the vacuum cleaner body 10 by a connecting rod 41 connected to an end piece 13a of the suction tube 13 by a first pivot joint which makes it possible to pivot the connecting rod 41 about a rod axis ( B). Finally, the connecting rod 41 is connected to the nozzle 20 by a second pivot joint to enable it to pivot about the nozzle axis (S), which is parallel to the floor to be cleaned when the nozzle is in contact with the latter.

If we take the vacuum cleaner body 10 as a reference, then the connecting rod 41 embeds the nozzle 20 and the latter can pivot relative to the vacuum cleaner body 10 around the connecting rod axis (B) and around the axis of nozzle (S).

If we take the nozzle 20 as a reference (when in contact with the soil to be cleaned), then the vacuum body 10 can pivot about the connecting rod axis (B) and around the nozzle axis ( S), via the rod 41. The rotation of the connecting rod 41 around the nozzle axis (S) can be done over a wide angular range, greater than 70 ° and preferably greater than 90 °, to allow to "lay" the vacuum cleaner broom on the ground (that is to say bring the longitudinal axis (L) almost parallel to the ground) to clean under a piece of furniture for example.

The combination of the first hinge pivot about the connecting rod axis (B) and the second hinge pin pivot (S), implies that the air circuit comprises deformable portions or ducts to follow the movements of the nozzle 20. Generally in the present application, the deformable portion or duct of the air circuit is understood to mean a part of this air circuit whose shape varies under the simple request of the user when he handles with normal efforts the vacuum cleaner body 10.

As mentioned above, one of the aims of the present invention is to allow large deflections of the nozzle 20 relative to the vacuum body 10, while ensuring limited deformation to the deformable portions or ducts of the air circuit, in order to guarantee their integrity and longevity.

2 shows a detailed view of the nozzle 20 (shown without outer cover, to improve understanding), on which we see the end piece 13a on which is mounted the connecting rod 41 pivot about the connecting rod axis (B), via a connecting rod shaft 42, visible in FIG.

The connecting rod 41 is pivotally mounted on the nozzle 20, to pivot about the nozzle axis (S), and a first deformable air duct 51 connects the nozzle 20 to a ball member 61, better visible in the figure 3.

FIG. 3 shows a section of the connection between the vacuum cleaner body 10 and the nozzle 20. The ball piece 61 is seen in detail and is mounted in a ball joint with respect to the end piece 13a, and therefore with respect to to the vacuum body 10. The ball portion 61 receives the end of the first deformable air duct 51, and a second deformable air duct 52 is arranged in the ball portion 61 to connect the first air duct deformable 51 with the suction tube 13 and thus to the suction means 11.

In other words, the first deformable air duct 51 comprises two ends: a first (not visible Figure 3) connected or embarked on the nozzle 20 and a second connected or embarked on the ball portion 61. As for the second duct deformable air 52, it also comprises two ends: a first linked or embarked on the ball portion 61 and a second connected to the end piece 13a (and thus to the vacuum body).

During a movement (pivoting about the connecting rod axis (B) or around the nozzle axis (S)) of the nozzle 20 relative to the vacuum body 10, the first deformable air duct 51 is therefore drive the ball portion 61, which will in turn drive the first end of the second deformable air duct 52 to deform.

Consequently, the ball piece inserted between the two deformable air ducts 51 and 52 distributes the deformation on each of these two deformable air ducts, which limits the deformation of each, and thus avoids wear and / or or premature breakage of these deformable air ducts.

Figure 3 also shows the connecting rod axis (B) which is inclined relative to the longitudinal axis (L). It should be noted that this implementation with the two axes (L) and (B) coplanar is preferred, but that the invention generally proposes to have a connecting rod axis (B) whose projection in a plane containing the longitudinal axis (L), is inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis (L). In other words, the longitudinal axis (L) and the connecting rod axis (B) are not necessarily coplanar. The rod axis (B) is inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis (L) in a range of values from 35 ° to 45 °, to have a good performance between the printed movement to the vacuum body 10 by the the user (through the handling interface 12) and the rotational movement of the nozzle 20 around the connecting rod axis (B).

Furthermore, the connecting rod shaft 42 is offset relative to the second deformable air duct 52 and relative to the longitudinal axis (L), in order to make room for the ball portion 61, and also to allow to "lay" the broom vacuum on the floor. In the present implementation, the connecting rod shaft 42 is integrally formed with the connecting rod 41, but it is conceivable to have two separate parts. In detail, the connecting rod shaft 42 is pivotally mounted directly in the end piece 13a, and retained in the latter by an elastic ring.

Finally, returning to FIG. 2, it may be noted that the connecting rod 41 comprises two arms, each pivotally mounted on the nozzle 20, in order to present a passage opening for the first deformable air duct 51. Advantageously, the opening has a width greater than 1.2-1.5 times the outer dimension of the first deformable air duct to prevent contact and wear between these elements.

As regards the first and the second deformable air duct 51 and 52, it is conceivable to use flexible pipes for example. In addition, it is conceivable to produce in one piece the ball portion 61 and the first deformable air duct 51. It is also conceivable to produce in one piece the second deformable air duct 52, the patella piece. 61 and the first deformable air duct 51.

Finally, as an alternative to a second deformable air duct distinct from the ball portion 61, it is possible to envisage using a sealed ball joint connection, and the second deformable air duct would be formed by the ball joint piece 61 itself. .

It is conceivable to make the piece of ball 61 of "rigid" plastic material such as polyoxymethylene (or polyformaldehyde), acronym POM, or acrylonitrile butadiene styrene also called ABS. The deformable air ducts 51 and 52 may be made of thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) such as polyurethane (TPU) or EPDM (ethylene-propylene-diene monomer) or polyvinyl chloride or polyvinyl chloride otherwise called PVC. A metal frame can be provided in the deformable air ducts.

It is also conceivable to make a single piece (piece of ball joint with sleeves and duct (s) of deformable air (s)) in bi-injection or overmolding operation.

It will be understood that various modifications and / or improvements obvious to those skilled in the art can be made to the embodiment of the invention described in the present description without departing from the scope of the invention defined by the appended claims. For example, the ball portion 61 is mounted in ball joint connection in the end piece 13a so that the patella part 61 then corresponds to a male ball joint part, but other forms can be envisaged for making a ball joint connection, and in particular, the ball portion 61 could be a female part.

Claims (15)

1. Broom vacuum cleaner comprising: - a vacuum cleaner body (10) comprising suction means (11) and a handling interface (12) for a user, - a nozzle (20) arranged to be in contact with a ground to clean and articulated with respect to the vacuum cleaner body (10), - an air circuit between the suction means (11) and the nozzle (20) and comprising a first deformable air duct (51) with a first end connected to the nozzle (20), characterized in that: - the vacuum cleaner comprises at least one piece of ball joint (61) mounted in ball joint with respect to the vacuum body (10) and on which is embedded a second end of the first deformable air duct (51), and in that the air circuit comprises at least a second deformable air duct (52), at least partially contained in the patella part (61), and connecting said second onboard end to a portion of the air circuit of the vacuum body (10). 2. Broom vacuum cleaner according to the preceding claim, wherein the vacuum body (10) has an elongate shape along a longitudinal axis (L) passing through the ball joint, the brush vacuum comprising at least a first joint between the nozzle (20) and the vacuum cleaner body (10), with a connecting rod (41) mounted relative to the vacuum cleaner body (10) in a pivot connection, for pivoting about a connecting rod axis (B), a projection in a plane containing the longitudinal axis (L) is inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis (L). 3. Broom vacuum cleaner according to the preceding claim, wherein the projection of the connecting rod axis (B) in a plane containing the longitudinal axis (L) is inclined relative to the latter in an angular range from 20 ° to 60 °. °. 4. Broom vacuum cleaner according to the preceding claim, wherein the projection of the connecting rod axis (B) in a plane containing the longitudinal axis (L) is inclined relative to the latter in an angular range from 35 ° to 45 °. °. 5. Broom vacuum cleaner according to one of claims 2 to 4, wherein said at least one first joint comprises at least one connecting rod shaft (42) around which is mounted the connecting rod (41) for pivoting about the connecting rod axis (B), wherein the second deformable air duct (52) has a passage section with at least one characteristic dimension, and wherein the connecting rod shaft (42) is offset from the longitudinal axis (L) of a distance at least greater than half of said at least one characteristic dimension. 6. Broom vacuum cleaner according to the preceding claim, wherein the second deformable air duct (52) has a circular section, and wherein the connecting rod shaft (42) is offset from the longitudinal axis (L) of a distance greater than the radius of the section of the second deformable air duct (52). 7. Broom vacuum cleaner according to one of claims 2 to 6, comprising at least a second joint between the rod (41) and the nozzle (20), with the connecting rod (41) mounted relative to the nozzle (20) in a connection nozzle pivot, for pivoting about a nozzle axis (S) parallel to the floor to be cleaned when the nozzle (20) is in plane contact with the floor to be cleaned. 8. Broom vacuum cleaner according to the preceding claim, wherein the connecting rod (41) comprises two arms forming an opening, and wherein the first deformable air duct (51) passes through the opening. 9. Broom vacuum cleaner according to the preceding claim, wherein the opening has a width ranging from 1.2 to 1.5 times an outer dimension of the first deformable air duct (51). 10. Broom vacuum cleaner according to one of claims 8 or 9, wherein each arm is pivotally mounted on the nozzle (20), according to the nozzle axis (S). 11. Broom vacuum cleaner according to one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the rod (41) can rotate relative to the nozzle (20) by an angle greater than 70 ° and preferably an angle greater than 90 °, for allow to bring the longitudinal axis (L) parallel to the ground to be cleaned when the nozzle (20) is in plane contact with the soil to be cleaned. 12. Broom vacuum cleaner according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the first deformable air duct (51) is a flexible tube. 13. Broom vacuum cleaner according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the second deformable air duct (52) is a flexible tube at least partially arranged in the patella piece (61). 14. Broom vacuum cleaner according to one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the second deformable air duct (52) is at least partially formed by the patella piece (61). 15. Broom vacuum cleaner according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the first deformable air duct (51) is integrally formed with the patella piece (61).