GB2240467A

GB2240467A - Suction cleaner for wet cleaning

Info

Publication number: GB2240467A
Application number: GB9002449A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Baxter; Fergus G Timmins
Original assignee: HOOVER PLC
Current assignee: HOOVER PLC
Priority date: 1990-02-03
Filing date: 1990-02-03
Publication date: 1991-08-07
Anticipated expiration: 2010-02-03
Also published as: GB2240467B; GB9002449D0

Abstract

A suction cleaning nozzle has an elongate cleaning fluid delivery compartment (13) between forward and rearward suction compartments (11, 12), the cleaning fluid delivery compartment receiving an insert 21 having a series of grooves 29 in one surface to define feed passages for the cleaning fluid, and a sloping runway 24 along its top edge to promote the flow of cleaning fluid from an inlet 18 to the opposite ends of the nozzle. The feed passages 29 are all closer to the forward suction compartment (11) than the rearward suction compartment (12) and emerge at the bottom edge (25) of the insert 21, which edge is convex-curved in cross-section and engages the fabric to be cleaned. The cleaning fluid is fed through passages 19, 20 & 18 to the passages 29 which have parallel and then diverging sides. When cleaning a carpet, the cleaning fluid travels under the insert 21 and through the carpet pile towards the suction duct 8. <IMAGE>

Description

Suction Cleaner Nozzle This invention relates to a suction cleaner nozzle for cleaning carpet or other fabric by wet-cleaning.

In cleaning e.g. carpets by wet-cleaning, a liquid cleaning fluid or shampoo is fed onto the carpet using a nozzle, through which also a flow of air is created by suction in order to entrain and remove the soiled cleaning liquid.

A known suction nozzle comprises a compartment having a flat generally rectangular open bottom and two parallel internal walls which define front and rear suction compartments and a central compartment. The nozzle further includes a tubular duct through which suction is applied to the front and rear suction compartments. Liquid cleaning fluid is fed into the central compartment, which receives an elongate insert having a horizontal top over which the fluid runs towards the opposite ends of the nozzle. The insert fits tightly against the two internal walls of the nozzle adjacent its top, but its opposite sides are formed with a series of grooves through which the fluid passes. The fluid finally runs down the inner sides of the two internal walls and into the carpet.

In these and other nozzles, there is an uneven distribution of liquid cleaning fluid across the width of carpet engaged by the nozzle, and also limited penetration of the carpet pile by fluid. Moreover, there is a tendency for a large proportion of the cleaning fluid to be removed by suction through the rearward suction compartment, immediately that fluid is delivered and before it passes into the carpet pile, because the suction prevailing in the rearward suction compartment is greater than that prevailing in the forward suction compartment.

Further, the tractive effort needed to move the nozzle backwards and forwards over the carpet or other fabric is undesirably high in some circumstances.

In accordance with this invention as seen from one aspect, there is provided a suction cleaning nozzle which comprises a compartment having an open bottom for engaging fabric to be cleaned, said compartment being divided into at least one suction compartment and an elongate cleaning fluid delivery compartment, a duct for applying suction to said suction compartment(s), an inlet for cleaning fluid into said delivery compartment, and a runway surface which is inclined relative to said open bottom to promote the flow of said cleaning fluid from said inlet towards the end or ends of the delivery compartment, from which compartment the fluid flows to the fabric being cleaned when the fabric and the open bottom of the nozzle are generally horizontal.

Preferably the runway slopes downwardly from the mid-point and towards the opposite ends of the cleaning fluid delivery compartment.

In accordance with this invention as seen from a second aspect, there is provided a suction cleaning nozzle which comprises a suction compartment having an open bottom for engaging fabric to be cleaned, a duct for applying suction to said suction compartment, and a cleaning fluid delivery arrangement which includes feed passages having their outlets substantially in the plane of said open bottom.

Preferably the suction compartment is bounded on one side by a partition in which the feed passages are formed.

Preferably this partition comprises a wall against which an insert fits, the insert being formed with a series of grooves which define the feed passages. Preferably the partition is formed with a bottom edge which has a convex-curved crosssection, so as to minimise the tractive effort required to move the nozzle backwards and forwards over the carpet or other fabric to be cleaned.

In accordance with this invention as seen from a third aspect, there is provided a suction cleaning nozzle which comprises a compartment having an open bottom for engaging fabric to be cleaned, said compartment being divided by an elongate partition into a forward suction compartment and a rearward suction compartment, a duct for applying suction to said suction compartments, and feed passages for cleaning fluid which extend through said partition, all or substantially all of said feed passages emerging closer to said forward suction compartment than said rearward suction compartment.

Preferably the partition comprises two internal walls of the nozzle, and an insert which fits between those walls and is formed with a series of grooves in one elongate surface but not in its opposite elongate surface.

Further in accordance with this invention as seen from a fourth aspect, there is provided an elongate insert for fitting into a cleaning fluid delivery compartment of a suction nozzle, the insert including an inclined runway surface to promote the flow of said cleaning fluid from an inlet within said delivery compartment towards the end or ends thereof.

Yet further in accordance with this invention as seen from a fifth aspect thereof, there is provided an elongate insert for fitting into a cleaning fluid delivery compartment of a suction nozzle, the insert having a bottom edge arranged to engage the fabric to be cleaned and provided with feed passages for said fluid which emerge adjacent said bottom edge.

Preferably said bottom edge is formed with a convex curvature in cross-section.

Yet further in accordance with this invention as seen from a sixth aspect, there is provided an elongate insert for fitting into a cleaning fluid delivery compartment of a suction nozzle, the delivery compartment being disposed between forward and rearward suction compartments and the insert being formed in one elongate surface, but not in its opposite elongate surface, with a series of grooves forming feed passages for cleaning fluid to pass to the fabric to be cleaned.

An embodiment of this invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGURE 1 is a view of a suction nozzle from the front, shown with a portion broken away to reveal internal details of the nozzle; FIGURE 2 is an enlarged cross-section through the nozzle on a vertical plane mid-way between the ends of the nozzle; FIGURE 3 is a front elevation of an insert for the cleaning fluid delivery compartment of the nozzle; FIGURE 4 is a top view of the insert; and FIGURE 5 is an enlarged view of the front of the insert to show details of grooves therein which form feed passages for the cleaning fluid.

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a suction cleaner nozzle which comprises front and rear walls 1, 2, end walls 3, 4 and a top wall 5. These walls 1-5 form a compartment having a flat, generally rectangular open bottom for engaging the carpet. An outwardly projecting rim 6 extends around the nozzle at the bottom of the front, rear and end walls 1-4 and the bottom edges of these walls are formed with a convex curvature 7 extending across the bottom of the rim 6 (Figure 2).

A tubular duct 8 extends upwardly at an inclined angle from the nozzle, at a point mid-way between the end walls 3,4, i.e. midway across the width W of the nozzle. Within the generally rectangular compartment defined by the walls 1-5, there are two internal walls 9, 10 which lie parallel to each other and to the front and rear walls 1, 2. The internal walls 9, 10 are spaced from each other and from the front and rear walls 1, 2 to define a forward suction compartment 11, a rearward suction compartment 12, and a central compartment 13. The internal walls 9, 10 extend from the end wall 3 to the end wall 4, and furthermore extend from the open bottom of the nozzle to the top wall 5.

Across the tubular duct 8, the internal walls 9, 10 are interrupted over upper portions thereof, but are interconnected by a horizontal cross-wall 14 and by vertical cross walls 15, 16 which extend from opposite ends of wall 14 to the top wall 5. A passage 17 is thus defined by the cross-walls 14, 15 and 16 between the forward and rearward suction compartments 11, 12 at their upper regions and mid-way along their lengths. The tubular duct 8 communicates with the rearward suction compartment 12 through an opening in the top and rear walls of the nozzle, and then with the forward suction compartment through the passage 17.An aperture 18 is formed through the horizontal cross-wall 14 and an aperture 19 is formed through the wall of the tubular duct 8: a tube 20 extends upwardly from the cross-wall 14 where it encircles the aperture 18, to the wall of tubular duct 8 where it encircles the aperture 19. The nozzle so far described comprises a one-piece moulding of plastics material.

The central compartment 13, which is disposed between the two internal walls 9, 10 receives an elongate, removable and replaceable insert 21 which also comprises a onepiece moulding of plastics material. The insert 21 (Figures 2 to 5) has a front wall 22 and a rear wall 23, which are interconnected by a top wall 24 which slopes downwardly from the mid-point of the insert to its opposite ends, to form a runway for liquid cleaning fluid. The bottom edge of the insert is closed by a wall 25 having a convex curvature, and the opposite ends of the insert are closed by inclined end walls 26, 27 which are formed with grooves 28 running from the top wall 24 to the bottom 25. The front wall 22 of the insert is formed in its outer surface with a plurality of equally spaced, identical grooves 29.Each groove 29 has parallel sides over an upper portion 33 thereof, and diverging sides over a lower portion 34 thereof. Further, that portion of each groove 29 which lies above the top wall or runway 24 extends fully through the front wall 22.

In use of the nozzle which has been described, the tubular duct 8 is connected to a suction pipe in order to apply suction to the compartments 11 and 12 of the nozzle.

Further, liquid cleaning fluid is conveyed to the nozzle through a feed pipe inserted into the aperture 19 and thus into the tube 20. The nozzle is placed with its rectangular open bottom against the carpet to be cleaned, i.e. so that the bottom edges of its outer walls 1-4 and of its internal walls 9, 10 engage the carpet; also the curved bottom of the insert 21 lies level with the bottom edges of the internal walls 9, 10 and also engages the carpet. The liquid cleaning fluid runs down the tube 20 and into the central compartment 13 above the insert 21, and then runs down the sloping top wall or runway 24 of the insert towards the opposite ends of the nozzle. The liquid cleaning fluid passes through the grooves 29 in the front wall of the insert, and through the grooves 28 at the ends of the insert, down to the carpet being cleaned.The insert fits closely against the internal walls 9, 10 and the end walls 3, 4 of the nozzle so that the liquid cleaning fluid is delivered to the carpet only through the grooves 28 and 29 as just described.

The narrower cross-section of the grooves 29 over their parallel-sided portions 33 serves to regulate the flow of cleaning fluid to the carpet, and the diverging or flared lower portions 3t of those grooves serve to spread the cleaning fluid over a wide area and so inhibit the occurence of streak lines on the carpet.

Because the bottom edges of the nozzle which engage the carpet are formed with convex cross-sectional curvature, including the bottom of the insert 21, the tractive effort required to move the nozzle backwards and forwards over the carpet, is substantially minimised.

The nozzle also provides for improved penetration of the liquid cleaning fluid into the carpet, because the fluid is conveyed through feed passages (the grooves 28 and 29) which extend right down to the plane of the open bottom of the nozzle and therefore the surface of the carpet. The carpet pile in this region is compressed by the curved underside of the insert 21, and this combined with the air flow created by the applied suction enhances the penetration of the cleaning fluid through the pile before extraction occurs. Further in the nozzle which has been described, a uniform distribution of the cleaning fluid across the width W of the nozzle occurs. This is due to the sloping nature of the top wall or runway of the insert, which causes the fluid to flow to the furthest grooves 29, and also because the grooves are shorter in length (from the runway 24 to the carpet) the further they are from the centre of the nozzle.

Finally, it will be noted that the grooves 29 feed liquid cleaning fluid to the front edge of the central compartment 13 and not to its rear edge. The applied suction is greater in the rearward suction compartment 12 than in the forward suction compartment 11. Therefore most of the cleaning fluid travels under the bottom edge of the insert 21 (and therefore through the carpet pile) before being removed by suction, rather than simply being removed through the adjacent suction compartment immediately upon emerging from the grooves 29.

Claims

1) A suction cleaning nozzle which comprises a compartment having an open bottom for engaging fabric to be cleaned, said compartment being divided into at least one suction compartment and an elongate cleaning fluid delivery compartment, a duct for applying suction to said suction compartment(s), an inlet for cleaning fluid into said delivery compartment, and a runway surface which is inclined relative to said open bottom to promote the flow of said cleaning fluid from said inlet towards the end or ends of the delivery compartment, from which delivery compartment the fluid flows to the fabric being cleaned when the fabric and the open bottom of the nozzle are generally horizontal.

2) A suction cleaning nozzle as claimed in claim 1, in which the runway surface slopes downwardly towards said open bottom of the nozzle, from the mid-point and towards the opposite ends of the cleaning fluid delivery compartment.

3) A suction cleaning nozzle as claimed in claim 1 or 2, comprising a plurality of feed passages for the cleaning fluid, which feed passages have inlets adjacent said runway surface and outlets substantially in the plane of said open bottom of the nozzle.

4) A suction cleaning nozzle as claimed in claim 3, in which the feed passages widen towards their outlets.

5) A suction cleaning nozzle as claimed in claim 3 or 4, in which the suction compartment is bounded on one side by a partition in which said feed passages are formed.

6) A suction cleaning nozzle as claimed in claim 5, in which said partition comprises a wall against which an insert fits, the insert being formed with a series of grooves which define the feed passages.

7) A suction cleaning nozzle as claimed in claim 5 or 6, in which said partition is formed with a bottom edge which has a convex-curved cross-section.

8) A suction cleaning nozzle as claimed in any one of claims 5 to 7, having a forward suction compartment and a rearward suction compartment separated by said partition, said duct communicating with the rearward suction compartment and the two suction compartments communicating together through an opening in said partition, and all or substantially all of said feed passages having their outlets closer to said forward suction compartment than said rearward suction compartment.

9) A suction cleaning nozzle which comprises a suction compartment having an open bottom for engaging fabric to be cleaned, a duct for applying suction to said suction compartment, and a cleaning fluid delivery arrangement which includes feed passages having their outlets substantially in the plane of said open bottom.

10) A suction cleaning nozzle as claimed in claim 9, in which the suction compartment is bounded on one side by a partition in which said feed passages are formed.

11) A suction cleaning nozzle as claimed in claim 10, in which said partition comprises a wall against which an insert fits, the insert being formed with a series of grooves which define the feed passages.

12) A suction cleaning nozzle as claimed in claim 10 or 11, in which said partition is formed with a bottom edge which has a convex-curved cross-section.

13) A suction cleaning nozzle as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 12, having a forward suction compartment and a rearward suction compartment separated by said partition, said duct communicating with the rearward suction compartment and the two suction compartments communicating together through an opening in said partition, and all or substantially all of said feed passages having their outlets closer to said forward suction compartment than the rearward suction compartment.

14) A suction cleaning nozzle as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 13, in which the feed passages widen towards their outlets.

15) A suction cleaning nozzle which comprises a compartment having an open bottom for engaging fabric to be cleaned, said compartment being divided by an elongate partition into a forward suction compartment and a rearward suction compartment, a duct for applying suction to said suction compartments, and feed passages for cleaning fluid which extend through said partition, all or substantialy all of said feed passages emerging closer to said forward suction compartment than said rearward suction compartment.

16) A suction cleaning nozzle as claimed in claim 15, in which said partition comprises two internal walls of the nozzle, and an insert which fits between said walls and is formed with a series of grooves in one elongate surface to define said feed passages.

17) A suction cleaning nozzle as claimed in claim 15 or 16, in which said partition is formed with a bottom edge which has a convex-curved cross-section.

18) A suction cleaning nozzle as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 17, in which the feed passages widen towards their outlets.

19) An elongate insert for fitting into a cleaning fluid delivery compartment of a suction cleaning nozzle, the insert including an inclined runway surface to promote the flow of said cleaning fluid from an inlet within said delivery compartment towards the end or ends thereof.

20) An insert as claimed in claim 19, in which said runway surface slopes from the mid-point and towards the opposite ends of said insert.

21) An insert as claimed in claim 19 or 20, having a bottom edge arranged to engage the fabric to be cleaned, which edge is formed with a convex curvature in cross-section.

22) An insert as claimed in any one of claims 19 to 21, formed with a plurality of grooves extending from said runway surface and forming feed passages for the cleaning fluid, all or substantially all of said grooves being formed in one side surface of the insert.

23) An insert as claimed in claim 22, in which said grooves widen towards their ends remote from the runway surface.

24) An elongate insert for fitting into a cleaning fluid delivery compartment of a suction nozzle, the insert having a bottom edge arranged to engage the fabric to be cleaned and provided with feed passages for said fluid which emerge at or adjacent said bottom edge.

25) An insert as claimed in claim 24, in which said bottom edge is formed with a convex curvature in cross-section.

26) An insert as claimed in claim 24 or 25, formed with a plurality of grooves defining said feed passages, all or substantially all of said grooves being formed in one side surface of the insert.

27) An insert as claimed in claim 26, in which said grooves widen towards said bottom edge of the insert.

28) An elongate insert for fitting into a cleaning fluid delivery compartment of a suction cleaning nozzle, the delivery compartment being disposed between forward and rearward suction compartments and the insert being formed with a plurality of grooves defining feed passages for the cleaning fluid, all or substantially all of said grooves being formed in one elongate surface of the insert.

29) An insert as claimed in claim 28, in which said grooves widen towards a bottom edge of the insert.

30) An insert as claimed in claim 29, in which said bottom edge of the insert is formed with a convex curvature in crosssection.

31) A suction cleaning nozzle substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

32) An insert for fitting into a cleaning fluid delivery compartment of a suction cleaning nozzle, the insert being substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.