GB2428561A

GB2428561A - A vacuum cleaner accessory tool

Info

Publication number: GB2428561A
Application number: GB0614967A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Joao Jorge Bergner
Original assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
Current assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
Priority date: 2005-08-01
Filing date: 2006-07-27
Publication date: 2007-02-07
Anticipated expiration: 2026-07-27
Also published as: DE102005036034A1; GB2428561B; GB0614967D0; CN1907205A

Abstract

A vacuum cleaner handpiece or accessory tool comprises a central handle region 15, a suction or blow opening 17 disposed at its front side 11, a coupling 42 disposed at its rear side 13 for detachably connecting a suction hose or tube, and a nozzle 16 which can be placed over the suction or blow opening to define the said opening and which can be interchanged by means of a nozzle coupling 18. The nozzle coupling 18 can be a bayonet coupling. At least one bypass opening 14 is preferably formed on a covering face at the front of the handpiece 10 and a rotary ring 24 can be placed over the covering face and bypass opening 14 so that it can be rotated to vary the suction force. The rotary ring preferably, at one end attaches to the nozzle 16 and at the other end is fixed on the central handle region 15 by means of a complimentary locking arrangement 34, 36. The device is preferably used for filigree work.

Description

Vacuum cleaner handpiece The present invention is based on a vacuum

cleaner handpiece according to the preamble of Claim 1.

It is known to form vacuum cleaner handpieces as a mouthpiece or nozzle which can be mounted so as to be interchangeable on the suction hose end piece. They differ in terms of the diameter of the suction or blast opening and with regard to length. The suction hose end piece serves as a handle and also bears the bypass opening, which in most cases opens and closes steplessly.

The known vacuum cleaner handpieces are too bulky and cannot be handled with sufficient sensitivity for filigree work with small and ultrasmall nozzles, in particular at places which are not easily accessible. Moreover, the suction power can only be regulated in a complicated manner and so as to be approximately set with the conventional bypass valves.

Advantages of the invention The invention comprising the features of Claim 1 has the advantage of providing a vacuum cleaner handpiece which lies particularly well in the hand and has a prominent handle region which on one side can be coupled conveniently, quickly and securely against loss to a suction hose for suction or blast mode and on the other bears a nozzle which can be interchanged conveniently, quickly and securely against loss here. This means that the handpiece can be quickly changed over and effectively used for a great many applications.

Owing to the fact that the diameter of the handpiece is the same as or greater than that of conventional suction hose or tubes, it can also be easily gripped by small hands.

Owing to the fact that the vacuum cleaner handpiece comprises at least one bypass opening whose mouth extends at a certain distance from the handle region substantially parallel to the suction/blast opening, inadvertent opening or closing when working with the vacuum cleaner handpiece is impossible.

Owing to the fact that a plurality of bypass openings are disposed in a uniformly spaced manner on a graduated circle in a covering face of the handpiece, which is in the form of a stepped cylinder in particular in its end region, they can be closed in a particularly favourable manner by way of a control means like a rotary ring.

Owing to the fact that, seated on the end region of the vacuum cleaner handpiece, there is a rotary ring with at least one ring window which, in one rotational position of the rotary ring, can be - at least partly brought into congruence with a bypass opening, with the bypass opening being closed by the rotary ring in another rotational position of the latter, the suction power can be regulated in a particularly sensitive manner.

Owing to the fact that the rotary ring is formed like a pot and has an axial recess for engaging over the nozzle or the nozzle coupling, it is rotatably mounted at the vacuum cleaner handpiece so as to be particularly well supported.

Owing to the fact that the rotary ring is engaged via locking means with mating locking means of the vacuum cleaner handpiece, which means act on one another in an overlocking manner when the rotary ring is rotated, its positions are very sensitively arrestable.

Owing to the fact that the rotary ring has at its rear end resilient tongues which are spaced apart by slots, with the tongues serving as means for retaining the rotary ring with respect to the handpiece, it is arrestable in a play-free manner by simple means in any position.

Owing to the fact that radial and axial ribs for air guidance and for reinforcement are disposed in the interior of the vacuum cleaner handpiece, it is particularly dimensionally stable, while being of a low weight, and can therefore be reliably handled.

Owing to the fact that the vacuum cleaner handpiece comprises at its rear side two radial apertures lying opposite one another for the engagement of a retaining lobe of the hose sleeve, it can be coupled to the suction hose so as to be secure against inadvertent detachment.

Drawings The invention is illustrated in detail in the following on the basis of an embodiment with accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side view of the vacuum cleaner handpiece Figure 2 is a three-dimensional side view of the vacuum cleaner handpiece Figure 3 is a front view of the vacuum cleaner handpiece Figure 4 is a partial longitudinal section of the vacuum cleaner handpiece and Figure 5 is a longitudinal section with suction hose coupling of the vacuum cleaner handpiece.

Description of the embodiment

The side view which is shown in Figure 1 presents a cylindrical vacuum cleaner handpiece 10. This is formed as a stepped cylinder at its front side 11, where it has a plurality of bypass openings 14 at its end region or its stepped end side 12. These are disposed in a uniformly spaced manner on a graduated circle underneath the outer circumference of the handle region 15. The spacing of the bypass openings 14 is at least as great as their width.

They lie outside of the normal gripping range of the operating hand and therefore cannot be inadvertently and involuntarily closed by the hand when manipulating the vacuum cleaner handpiece 10. This eliminates the risk of a certain bypass size, once selected, and therefore set suction power being changed involuntarily.

The vacuum cleaner handpiece 10 bears centrally at the front side 11 a nozzle tip 16 which has a blast or suction opening 17 at the front. The conical nozzle tip 16 has at the rear a cylindrical clamping end 20 by way of which, together with a cylindrical nozzle holder 22, it forms a nozzle coupling 18. The nozzle tip 16 can be inserted in this so as to be secure and interchangeable. For this purpose the clamping end 20 comprises a radial lobe 21 for engagement in a hooked slot 23 for retaining the nozzle tip 16 in the nozzle coupling 18 like a bayonet catch. The nozzle holder 22 forms the smallest cylinder of the stepped end side 12.

A central recess 38, serving as a ring bearing, of a rotary ring 24 engages radially over the nozzle holder 22, which ring is supported at or adheres to the end side 12 as well as partly the front edge of the handle region 15. The rotary ring 24 has a plurality of uniformly spaced ring windows 26 on a central graduated circle of its end side 12, which windows are congruent with the bypass openings 14 and more or less free the bypass openings 14 or close these with their spacing regions when the rotary ring 24 is rotated.

The rotary ring 24 is disposed in an axially secured position such that it can be overlocked by means of a ring coupling 28 at the handpiece 10.

The ring coupling 28 is formed by ring claws 30 which are spaced apart by axial slots 32 and are in the form of flexible tongues. These claws engage over the front region of the circumference of the handle region 15 and can be fixed in the respective rotational position of the rotary ring 24 by means of interlocking locking means 34/36 formed projections and indents. By way of its central recess 38 the rotary ring 24 can be supported at the circumference of the nozzle holder 22 and additionally axially secured in position here such that it can be overlocked with locking means.

A hose sleeve 40 in inserted in the vacuum cleaner handpiece 10 at its rear side 13 such that it can be overlocked. The hose coupling 42 is in this respect formed by two radial locking openings 44, which lie diametrically opposite one another, and a lobe-like locking tongue 46, which engages in these in a radially overlocking manner, of the hose sleeve 40.

At its circumference the hose sleeve 40 has corrugations 48 which provide a particularly good grip when the vacuum cleaner handpiece 10 is coupled to the hose sleeve 40 through axial insertion and subsequent turning or uncoupled therefrom.

The three-dimensional side view of the vacuum cleaner handpiece 10 which is represented in Figure 2 shows the above-mentioned details, without these all having to be repeated. The hooked slot 23 for accommodating the lobe 21 of the clamping end 20 of the nozzle tip 16 is particularly clear here.

The ring window 26 and four regularly spaced bypass openings 14 and the nozzle tip 16 can be clearly seen in the front view of the vacuum cleaner handpiece 10 which is shown in Figure 3.

The partial longitudinal section of the vacuum cleaner handpiece 10 which is shown in Figure 4 shows particularly clearly the formation of the nozzle tip 16 with its clamping end 20 and the engagement in the nozzle holder 22.

Longitudinal ribs 50 can also be seen.

The longitudinal section of the vacuum cleaner handpiece 10 with inserted hose sleeve 40 and longitudinal as well as transverse ribs 50, 52 is shown in Figure 5.

The term suction hose does not restrict the invention to suction mode, but also includes applications with blast air.

Claims

Claims 1. Vacuum cleaner handpiece, in particular of a cylindrical form,

with a suction or blast opening (17) disposed at its front side (11) and a coupling (22) disposed at its rear side (13) for detachably connecting a suction hose or tube (40), characterised in that the handpiece (10) has a, particularly central, handle region (15) and, preferably at its front side (11), a nozzle (16) which can be interchanged by means of a nozzle coupling (18), formed in particular as a bayonet coupling, and forms the suction or blast opening (17)
2. Vacuum cleaner handpiece according to Claim 1, characterised in that the diameter of the handpiece (10) is the same as or greater than that of the hose or tube.
3. Vacuum cleaner handpiece according to Claim 1 or 2, characterised in that it comprises at least one bypass opening (14) whose mouth extends substantially parallel to the suction/blast opening.
4. Vacuum cleaner handpiece according to Claim 1, 2 or 3, characterised in that a plurality of bypass openings (14) are disposed in a uniformly spaced manner on a graduated circle in a covering face of the handpiece (10) , which is in the form of a stepped cylinder in particular in its end region (12)
5. Vacuum cleaner handpiece according to Claim 4, characterised in that, seated on the end region (12) of the handpiece (10), there is a rotary ring (24) with at least one ring window (26) which, in one rotational position of the rotary ring (24), can be - at least partly - brought into congruence with a bypass opening (14), wherein the bypass opening (14) is closed by the rotary ring (24) in another rotational position of the latter.
6. Vacuum cleaner handpiece according to Claim 5, characterised in that the rotary ring (24) is formed like a pot and has an axial recess for engaging over the nozzle (16) or the nozzle coupling (18)
7. Vacuum cleaner handpiece according to Claim 5 or 6, characterised in that the rotary ring (24) is engaged via locking means (34, 36) with mating locking means (34, 36) of the handpiece (10), which means act on one another in an overlocking manner when the rotary ring (24) is rotated.
8. Vacuum cleaner handpiece according to Claim 5, 6 or 7, characterised in that the rotary ring (24) has at its rear end resilient tongues (30) which are spaced apart by slots (32), wherein the tongues (30) serve as means for retaining the rotary ring (24) with respect to the handpiece (10)
9. Vacuum cleaner handpiece according to any one of the preceding Claims, characterised in that longitudinal and transverse ribs (50, 52) serve for reinforcement and as air guide bodies in the interior.
10. Vacuum cleaner handpiece according to any one of the preceding Claims, characterised in that it comprises at its rear side (13) two radial locking openings (44) lying opposite one another for the engagement of a locking tongue (46) of the hose sleeve (40) from inside in the radial direction.
11. A vacuum cleaner handpiece substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.