GB2114207A

GB2114207A - Fastening devices

Info

Publication number: GB2114207A
Application number: GB08235153A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John M Spitale
Original assignee: HOOVER PLC
Current assignee: HOOVER PLC
Priority date: 1981-12-15
Filing date: 1982-12-09
Publication date: 1983-08-17
Also published as: FR2517949A1; GB2114207B; FR2517949B3

Abstract

A fastening device for performing two different fastening functions in a domestic appliance such as a suction cleaner, comprising a base portion (23) fixed to a rigid casing (10) of the appliance, a first catch portion (24) to resiliently engage and disengage a cover (17) of the appliance during forcible opening and closing movements of the cover, and a second catch portion (25) to resiliently engage a bag collar (37) or the like to secure the bag in place and manually operable to release the bag collar for removal of the bag. The device is preferably a one-piece resilient moulding. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Fastening devices This invention relates to fastening devices suitable for use in domestic appliances, such as suction cleaners.

Domestic appliances usually have parts that are required to be moved by the operator and which are normally held in place by fastening devices of various kinds. Often a domestic appliance has two or more such fastening devices. For example, a suction cleaner of the kind which has a disposable filter bag contained in an openable compartment of a rigid casing, may have a fastening device for a lid or cover of the compartment which contains the filter bag, and another fastening device for holding a collar of the filter bag in engagement with a bag mount within that compartment.

Fastening devices may be of various types. One type is a spring-loaded or resilient catch, having a portion which is fixed to one element of the appliance, e.g. the rigid casing, and which carries a catch portion adapted to be sprung over part of another element of the appliance, e.g. the lid or cover of the bag compartment, as the latter element is forcibly moved by the operator in the closing or opening direction. Another type is directly actuated by the operator, having a lever or other manual actuating formation which is moved by the operator to engage or disengage a catch portion mounted on one element of the appliance, with, or from, another element of the appliance, e.g. the collar of a disposable filter bag.

Domestic appliances are usually manufactured by mass-production techniques, various parts of the appliance being placed and secured in position progressively as the appliance advances along an assembly line. The more parts there are to be assembled, the longer the line must be, and the cost of production and the risks of faulty manufacture are correspondingly increased.

According to the present invention a fastening device suitable for use in a domestic appliance comprises a base portion adapted to be fixed to a first element of the appliance, and a first catch portion adapted to engage a second element of the appliance to hold the second element releasably in a predetermined position, the base portion carrying also a second catch portion adapted to engage a third element of the appliance to hold the third element releasably in a predetermined position.

Thus, the invention provides a single fastening device which performs two different fastening functions. Assembly of a domestic appliance having such a fastening device is simplified, as it requires only one assembly operation instead of two. The cost of the fastening device may be substantially less than the cost of two separate fastening devices each providing only one fastening function, especially if, as preferred, this dual-purpose fastening device is made all in one piece.

The catch portions may be of either of the types mentioned above, or one may be of one type and one of another type, or one or both may be a combination of types, e.g. the catch portion on the first element of the appliance may be sprung over part of another element of the appliance as the latter is forcibly moved towards the first element, and may be releasable by a manual actuating formation to permit movement of the said other element away from the first element.

The base portion of the fastening device may be adapted for rapid fixing to the first element of the appliance, to facilitate and cheapen the assembly operation. Thus, the base portion may carry a spigot having a resilient shank with at least one lug projecting laterally from the shank, the spigot being adapted to be entered into a hole in the first element of the appliance with the lug projecting beyond the hole to prevent withdrawal of the spigot. The base portion may also carry a locating lug adapted to engage a formation on the first element of the appliance, to prevent rotation of the device about the axis of the spigot. This lug may also serve to ensure that the spigot can only be entered into the said hole when the base portion is correctly angularly orientated about the axis of the spigot.

The invention also extends to domestic appliances, such as suction cleaners, fitted with a fastening device according to the invention.

The invention may be carried into practice in various ways but one specific embodiment will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a sectional view of a portion of a domestic suction cleaner having a fastening device embodying the invention; Figure 2 is a side view of the fastening device; Figure 3 is a front view looking in the direction of arrow Ill in Figure 2; and Figure 4 is an inverted plan view looking in the direction of arrow IV in Figure 2.

The suction cleaner is shown in Figure 1 is of the type comprising a base pan or casing 10 divided by a perforated vertical partition wall (not shown) into a first compartment 11 accommodating a disposable paper filter bag 12, and a second compartment (not shown, to the right of compartment 1 1). The second compartment houses a suction fan and motor unit.

In use, the suction fan draws air through a suction hose into the bag in the first compartment. The air passes through the wall of the bag, dust and dirt being filtered out. The clean air surrounding the bag in the first compartment is drawn through the perforated partition wall into the suction fan in the second compartment, and is discharged from the fan into the room through apertures in a wall of the second compartment.

In the upright left-hand end wall 13 of the base pan 10 there is an aperture which receives an end fitting 14 of the suction hose. The inner extremity of the end fitting acts as a bag mount 1 5. The bag mount 15 is surrounded by a ring 16 of sponge like flexible foam material stuck to the inner surface of the wall 13. The second compartment is closed at the top by a perforated fixed top wall (not shown). The first compartment 11 is closed at the top by a cover or lid 1 7 which is hinged at its right-hand edge to the top wall of the second compartment.

At their left-hand ends the base pan 10 and the cover 17 are provided with extensions 18 and 19, respectively, which, when the cover 17 is in the closed position as shown, constitute a carrying handle by which the cleaner can be carried from room to room, in q vertical position with the handle at the top, the first compartment 11 below it and the second compartment at the bottom.

The handle extension 19 of the cover 17 has a lip 20 extending beyond the handle extension 18 for a purpose explained below.

Where the end wall 13 merges with the handle extension 18 there is a ledge 21 which is horizontal when the cleaner is in the working position as shown. The ledge 21 serves to support a fastener device 22, which is shown in more detail in Figures 2 to 4.

The fastener device 22 illustrated is made all in one piece of resilient material; in this case it is a polyacetal resin moulding. It comprises a base portion 23, a first catch portion 24 carried by the base portion, a second catch portion 25 also carried by the base portion and having a manual actuating formation 26, a spigot 27 for fixing the base portion to the ledge 21, and a locating lug 28.

The first catch portion 24 comprises a curved arm 29 extending upwardly from the base portion 23 and carrying at its upper end a catch formation 30 having a steeply downward sloping upward surface 31 and a slightly upward sloping lower surface 32. The cover 17 (Figure 1) has a downwardly extending flange 33 with a hook formation 34 at its lower end for engagement by the catch formation 30. When the cover 17 is open and is being moved towards its closed position, the curved underside of the hook formation 34 comes into contact with the sloping upper surface 31 of the catch formation 30 and forces the catch formation 30 to the right in Figure 1, until the lid is fully closed, when the catch formation springs back to the left into the position shown, with the lower surface 32 over the hook formation 34, to hold the cover 17 in the closed position.When it is desired to re-open the cover, to give access to the bag 12, all the operator has to do is to pull the upper handle extension 19 upwardly, which is easy to do because it can be grasped with the fingers under the lip 20. The hook formation 34 then forces the catch formation 30 to the right until the hook formation is freed, allowing the cover to be opened freely.

The second catch formation 25 has a resilient arm 35 attaching it to the base portion 23. Below the junction between the arm 35 and the manual actuating portion 26 there is a hook formation 36.

This is adapted to engage the upper edge of a cardboard collar 37 which is a part of the bag 12.

The collar 37 is stuck to the paper of the bag around its mouth. The collar has a central hole which, when the bag is in position, makes contact with a conical surface 38 of the bag mount 15.

The lower edge of the collar 37 fits into a groove 39 in the base pan 10, and when the upper edge of the collar is engaged by the hook formation 36 as shown, the collar is held in engagement with the bag mount and somewhat compresses the ring 16 to provide a substantially air-tight seal for the mouth of the bag.

When the cover 17 has been opened, the bag 12 and the fastening device 22 are exposed to the operator's view. If she wishes to remove the bag, for example, if it is full, she applies finger pressure to the actuating formation 26, moving it to the left in Figure 1 and causing the hook formation 36 to release the upper edge of the collar 37. The bag can now be lifted out of the compartment 11.

A new bag is inserted by placing the lower edge of its collar in the groove 39 and moving the upper edge of the collar to the left in Figure 1. The hook formation 36 has a downwardly sloping lower surface 40, and as the upper edge of the collar engages this it raises the hook formation 36 as its leftward movement continues, until the hook formation springs down behind the upper edge of the collar. The new bag is thus held in place, with the ring 16 somewhat compressed, as shown.

The fastening device 22 is fixed to the base pan 10 as follows.

The spigot 27 comprises a pair of downwardly extending resilient shanks 41, each having at its lower end a laterally projecting lug 42. Formed in the ledge 21 of the base pan 10 there is a square hole into which the spigot 27 can be inserted. Each lug 42 has a sloping lower surface 43, so that when these surfaces are presented to opposite edges of the square hole and the spigot is forced downwardly, the shanks are squeezed towards one another to allow the lugs to enter the hole. Between the shanks 41 there is a ridge 44 which is off-centre, as can be seen in Figures 3 and 4, so that the shanks can be compressed together more easily on the side remote from the ridge, to facilitate entry of the lugs into the hole.

The thickness of the ledge 21 is such that, when the device has been pushed down until the under surface of the base portion 23 is in contact with the upper surface of the ledge, the lugs 42 have just emerged from the bottom of the hole and so allow the shanks 41 to spring apart into the position shown in Figure 1 so that the spigot cannot easily be pulled up out of the hole.

The locating lug 28 fits into a vertical groove in the end wall 13 of the base pan 10, below the ledge 21. This helps to resist rotational movement of the fastening device about the axis of the spigot 26. It also serves as a guide during assembly, to ensure that the device is fitted in the correct angular orientation. It also serves to increase the strength of the second catch formation in the region of the lower end of the arm 35.

Claims

1. A fastening device suitable for use in a domestic appliance, comprising a base portion adapted to be fixed to a first element of the appliance, and a first catch portion adapted to engage a second element of the appliance to hold the second element releasably in a predetermined position, the base portion carrying also a second catch portion adapted to engage a third element of the appliance to hold the third element releasably in a predetermined position.

2. A fastening device as claimed in Claim 1, in which at least one of the catch portions is adapted to be sprung over and to engage with part of the respective element of the appliance by forcible movement of this element towards its predetermined position, and to be sprung over and disengaged from the said part by forcible movement of the said respective element away from that position.

3. A fastening device as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which at least one of the catch portions has a manual actuating formation, and is adapted to be sprung over and to engage with part of the respective element of the appliance by forcible movement of the said respective element towards its predetermined position, and to be manually actuated by means of the said formation to disengage it from the said part.

4. A fastening device as claimed in Claim 1, in which the first catch portion is adapted to be sprung over and to engage with part of the second element of the appliance by forcible movement of this element towards its predetermined position, and to be sprung over and disengaged from the said part by forcible movement of the second element away from that position, the second catch portion having a manual actuating formation, and being adapted to be sprung over and to engage with part of the third element of the appliance by forcible movement of the third element towards its predetermined position, and to be manually actuated by means of the said formation to disengage it from the said part.

5. A fastening device as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 4, in which the base portion carries also a spigot having a resilient shank with at least one lug projecting laterally from the shank, the spigot being adapted to be entered into a hole in the first element of the appliance with the lug projecting beyond the hole to prevent withdrawal of the spigot.

6. A fastening device as claimed in Claim 5, in which the base portion carries also a locating lug adapted to engage a formation on the first element of the appliance.

7. A fastening device as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 6, made all in one piece of resilient material.

8. A fastening device substantially as herein specifically described with reference to, and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

9. A domestic appliance which is fitted with a fastening device according to any of Claims 1 to 8.

10. A suction cleaner comprising, as a first element, a rigid casing within which is a compartment containing a bag mount for a disposable filter bag, as a second element, a movable cover or lid for that compartment, and as a third element a disposable filter bag having a collar for engagement with the bag mount, including a fastening device according to any of Claims 1 to 8, the base portion of which is fixed to the rigid casing, the first catch portion engaging the cover or lid to hold it in the closed position, and the second catch portion engaging the bag collar to hold it against the bag mount and being exposed only when the cover or lid is open.

11. A suction cleaner comprising a rigid casing within which is a compartment for a filter bag having a mounting collar, the casing including an inlet passage into the compartment, a movable cover for gaining access to the compartment, and a fastening device having a base portion, a first catch portion and a second catch portion, the base portion being fixed to the casing, the first catch portion releasably holding the movable cover on the compartment and the second catch portion releasably holding the mounting collar of a filter bag in sealing engagement with the inlet passage.