US3447189A

US3447189A - Vacuum cleaner with cord reel

Info

Publication number: US3447189A
Application number: US507336A
Authority: US
Inventors: Louis J Szabo
Original assignee: General Electric Co
Current assignee: General Electric Co
Priority date: 1965-11-12
Filing date: 1965-11-12
Publication date: 1969-06-03
Anticipated expiration: 1986-06-03
Also published as: FR1501240A; NL6615669A; GB1159810A; DE1628606A1

Description

Jue 3, 1969 l.. J. szABo VACUUM CLEANER WITH CORD REEL sheet 2 @f3 Filed Nov. 12, 1965 rflll-" lll.

4 June 3, 1969 n L, J. SZABO 3,447,189

` VACUUM CLEANER WITH CORD REEL Filed Nov. 12, 1965 sheet 5 of s fvwm/a l' United States Patent O 3,447,189 VACUUM CLEANER WITH CORD REEL Louis J. Szabo, Fairview Park, Ohio, assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Nov. 12, 1965, Ser. No. 507,336 Int. Cl. A47l 9/26 U.S. Cl. -323 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An improved cord reel arrangement for a vacuum cleaner wherein a cord reel housing having top, bottom and side walls is uniquely constructed and positioned on a vacuum cleaner. The cord reel housing has an opening formed in one of its side walls for permitting the passage of an electrical cord, and a lever for controlling the operation of the cord reel extends through an opening which is formed in the other side wall of the housing. Thus, the cord control lever may be actuated from one side of the vacuum cleaner to retract the cord through an opening located Aat the other side of the vacuum cleaner. By this arrangement, the unwound cord is positioned at one side of the vacuum cleaner While the operators feet are located at the other side of the vacuum cleaner so that when the cord is retracted, it does not become entangled around the feet of the operator.

This invention relates to vacuum cleaners, and more particularly to an improved cord reel arrangement for a vacuum cleaenr.

A cord reel for holding the electrical cord of a vacuum cleaner provides a worthwhile addition to a vacuum cleaner, but the extent of its value depends to a great degree on the ease with which the cord reel may be operated. A simple low cost cord reel construction which is located in an out of the way place on a vacuum cleaner and arranged so that its operation does not interfere with the operation of the other parts of a vacuum cleaner is especially desirable.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of this invention to provide an improved mounting and control arrangement for a cord reel which is easy to use.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved cord reel control mechanism which is so constructed and located so that the electrical cord may be readily withdrawn from the cord reel and retracted into the cord reel without interfering with the other p-arts of the vacuum cleaner and without becoming entangled around the feet of the operator when it is being retracted.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved cord reel control mechanism which may be controlled by a touch of the operators toe without tilting or tipping the cleaner.

In accordance with one aspect of my invention, a vacuum cleaner includes a base member which is supported for movement over a floor to be cleaned, and a cord reel for storing an electrical cord is supported for rotation with respect to the base member. A housing is provided for the cord reel and for a cord reel control mechanism, and an opening is formed in one of the side walls of the housing for permitting the passage of the electrical cord. A lever for controlling the operation of the cord reel extends through another opening which is formed in the other side wall of the housing. Thus, the cord control lever may be actuated from one side of the Ivacuum cleaner to retract the cord through the opening located at the other side of the vacuum cleaner. By this arrangement, the unwound cord is positioned at one side of the vacuum cleaner while the operators feet are located Iat the other side of the vacuum cleaner so that 3,447,189 Patented June 3, 1969 ice when the cord is retracted it does not become entangled around the feet of the operator.

-Other objects and :attendant advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is la perspective view of a vacuum cleaner embodying my improved cord reel arrangement;

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of my improved cord reel arrangement;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of the cord reel with parts shown broken away for purposes of clarity in illustration;

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view on the line and in the direction of the arrows 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a front perspective rview similar to FIG. 2 but with some of the parts removed for purposes of clarity in illustration.

FIG. 6 is a rear elevational view of the cleaner with parts of the cord reel removed and broken away for purposes of clarity in illustration.

Referring now to FIG. l there is shown a vacuum cleaner embodying my improved cord reel arrangement. As shown, the front wall of the cleaner is provided with an air inlet fitting 2 adapted to be connected toa lsuction tubular hose coupling (not shown). Conventonally, the tubular hose coupling is, in turn, connected to appropriate suction cleaning attachments or tools. As shown in FIG. l, the vacuum cleaner includes a generally elongated housing having a longitudinal axis arranged generally parallel to the floor to be cleaned.

It is desired that a cord reel be located in an out of the way place on the vacuum cleaner and arnanged so that it may be easily operated without tipping or tilting the vacuum cleaner while it is being controlled by the touch of the operators foot. In accordance with my invention, a cord reel construction 4 is mounted at the rear of the cleaner away from the air inlet fitting 2 and any tools which may be connected to the air inlet fitting 2. Two supporting rear wheels I6 are mounted on axis 7 as far to the rear as possible on the vacuum cleaner. With this construction, a foot control -8 can be operated without tilting or tipping the vacuum cleaner since the distance or lever arm between the wheel axles 7 and the foot pedal I8 is very short. Accordingly, the foot pedal 8 may be readily operated without tilting or tipping the vacuum cleaner about its longitudinal axis or about its wheel axle. As shown more particularly in FIG. 6, a wheel mounting plate 10 is fixed to a bottom wall 12 'and -a side wall 13 of a vacuum cleaner base member 14, and suitable axles 16 are provided for mounting wheels 6. It can be appreciated that with this construction a substantial portion of the wheels 6 extend rearwardly from an upwardly extending rear wall 18 of the base member 14 and the cord reel construction 4 is nestledv in an out of the way position between the wheels.

My unique cord reel construction is readily mounted on the rear wall 18 and bottom wall 12 of the base member 14. As shown more particularly in FIG. 4, a bracket 20 is fixed to the upwardly extending rear wall 18 of the vacuum cleaner by means of screws 22 and the lower portion of the bracket 20 is connected to the bottom wall 12 of the base member by screws 24. A rear w-all 26 of the bracket 20 extends substantially perpendicular to the bottom wall 12 of the vacuum cleaner and is provided with an aperture 28 for the passage of an electrical cord 30 into the vacuum cleaner.

A cord reel support plate 32 is provided for mounting a cord reel 34. As shown, the lower potrion of the cord reel support plate 32 is xed to the generally perpendicular w-all 26 of the bracket by means of rivets or other securing means. The mounting plate 32 extends upwardly from the bracket 26 and a spindle 36 is fixed to the central portion of the bracket 26 for rotatably mounting the cord reel 34. As shown in FIG. 4, the axis of the spindle 36 is arranged generally parallel to the longitudinal vaxis of the cleaner and to the -oor to be cleaned. A spiral spring 38 is connected between the spindle 36 and the cord reel 34 for continuously urging the cord reel in one direction of rotation for winding electrical cord 40 onto the cord reel 34.

A readily manufactured uniquely shaped cover lhousing means 41 is provided for enclosing the cord reel 34 and for uniquely supporting and housing a cord reel control mechanism 42. As shown more particularly in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cover housing means 41 includes an upper cord reel housing 43 and a lower cord reel control mechanism 4housing 44. The cord reel housing 43 includes a rear wall 45, a top Wall 46,

side walls

48 and 50 and a bottom wall 52. As shown in FIG. 5, screw receiving lugs 54 are formed at the inside corners of housing 43 for receiving screws 56 in order to connect the housing means 41 to rear plate 32. The cord reel and cord control mechanism housings are preferably integrally formed from a suitable plastic material which may be hot stamped to include a plurality of integrally formed members such as a screw receiving lugs 54.

My unique cord reel control mechanism 42 is so constructed and located with respect to the cord reel and other parts of the vacuum cleaner that the electrical cord 40 may be readily wihdrawn from the cord reel 34 and retracted onto the cord reel 34 without interfering with the other parts of the vacuum cleaner, and without becoming enangled around the feet of the operator when it is being retracted. As shown more particularly in FIG. 5, an enlarged opening `60 is provided in the bottom wall 52 of the cord reel housing, and the control mechanism housing 42 is positioned immediately below the opening 60.

The cord control mechanism housing 44 includes a rear Wall 62, a bottom wall 64 and two side walls 65 and 66. In order that the cord 40 may be smoothly withdrawn from the cord reel housing, a cord guide member 68 is inserted within grooves 69 which are formed at an opening 70 in the side wall 65.

An improved mechanism is provided for automatically locking the cord after it has been withdrawn from the cord reel. This mechanism includes a cord control lever 72 which is pivotally mounted on the housing 44 by a pin 74. As shown more particularly in FIG. 5, the cord control lever 72 includes a bifurcated inner portion 76 having two arms 78 and 80. The pivot pin 74 extends across the upper portion of the arms and a stop roller 82 is mounted between the lower portion of the arms 78 and 80 for co operation with a cord stop lug 84 which is integrally formed with the bottom wall 44 of the housing and extends upwardly therefrom. An outer portion 84 of the cord control lever extends through an opening 86 which is provided in the other side wall 66 of the cord control housing. The outer portion 84 is conveniently shaped to provide a toe-operated pedal 88 which is readily accessible to the toe ofthe operator.

In order that the stop surface on roller 82 of lthe cord control lever will be biased into constant engagement with the cord 40 a torsion spring 90 is provided. As shown, the torsion spring 90 is mounted upon a screw 92 which extends inwardly through plate 32 and into a forwardly extending screw receiving lug 94 which is formed with the control mechanism housing 44. One end portion 96 of the spring is biased against the inner surface of bottom wall 58 while the other end portion 98 of the spring is biased against the top wall of the cord control lever 72 between downwardly extending arms 78 and 80. With this construction, the pedal end 84 of the control lever 72 is constantly urged upwardly about pivot pin 74 while the stop roller l82 is constantly urged downwardly toward cord stop 84 in order to lock the cord in position between roller 82 and stop 84.

In operation, the cord is pulled out of the housing by means of a plug 100 and its cylindrical extension 102 which surrounds the outer end of cord 40. During withdrawal of the cord, pedal 88 is depressed, the cord 40 moves on roller 82, and the cord reel 34 is rotated against the force of the spring 38 which is positioned between the reel 34 and spindle 36. However, upon release of the cord when the desired length has been withdrawn, the force of spring urging stop roller 83 downwardly is su'icient to hold the cord between roller 82 and stop lug 84.

In order to retract the cord into the cleaner, the operator merely depresses the pedal 88 of cord control lever 72. During this movement, stop roller 82 is moved upwardly to permit the cord to be retracted by spring 38.

It can be appreciated that with my unique construction, the pedal 88 is located so close to the floor that the heel of the operators `foot may rest on the floor while the toe depresses pedal 88. Thus, the operator is not placed olf balance when operating the lever by foot. Moreover, with my unique construction, it should be appreciated that the electrical cord 40 extends through one side wall 65 while the cord control lever 72 extends through the other side wall 66. Accordingly, when the cord is being retracted, the operators feet are located on one side of the vacuum cleaner while the unwound cord is located on the other side of the cleaner to permit the cord to be quickly wound on the reel without becoming entangled around the feet of the operator.

In view of the foregoing, it can be appreciated that my improved cord reel arrangement utilizes a minimum number of parts which may be easily `formed and assembled to the vacuum cleaner. The unique housing means 41 including the upper housing portion 43 for enclosing the cord reel, the lower housing 44 for the control mechanism, Screw receiving lugs `54, upwardly extending lug 84, and side walls 65 and 66 are all formed during a single stamping operation.

While there has been shown and described a particular embodiment of this invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the invention and therefore it is aimed in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A vacuum cleaner comprising:

(a) a base member supported for movement over a floor to be cleaned;

(b) a cord reel for storing an electrical cord mounted on said vacuum cleaner, said cord reel being supported for rotation with respect to said base member;

(c) housing means for enclosing said cord reel including a top wall generally parallel to the oor to be cleaned, a bottom wall spaced downwardly from said top wall and being arranged generally parallel to the floor to be cleaned, and two opposed side walls, each of said side walls extending between said top wall and said bottom wall and being arranged generally perpendicular to the oor to be cleaned, an opening formed in one of the opposed side walls of said cord reel housing means for permitting the passage of the electrical cord therethrough;

(d) an opening rformed in the other side wall of said cord reel housing means;

(e) a cord control lever mounted within said cord reel housing means;

(f) said lever extending through the other side wall of said cord reel housing means and said cord reel being mounted on the vacuum cleaner whereby said lever may be actuated from one side of said vacuum cleaner to retract the cord through the opening located at the other side of said vacuum cleaner.

2. A vacuum cleaner comprising:

(a) a generally elongated housing having a longitudinal axis arranged generally parallel to the floor to be cleaned;

(b) said elongated cleaner housing having side walls, opposed end walls, and a base member supported for movement over the oor to be cleaned;

(c) -a cord reel for storing an electrical cord mounted on one of said opposed end walls, said cord reel being supported for rotation with respect to said base member about an axis substantially parallel to the axis of said elongated cleaner and the floor to be cleaned;

(d) housing means for enclosing said cord reel including a top wall, a bottom wall, and two opposed side walls arranged generally contiguous with the side walls of said elongated vacuum cleaner housing;

(e) an opening formed in one of the opposed side walls of said cord reel housing, and an electrical cord extending through said opening;

(f) an opening formed in the other one of said opposed side walls of said cord reel housing;

(g) a cord control lever mounted within said cord reel housing; (h) said cord control lever extending through the opening in said other one of said opposed side walls of said cord reel housing whereby said lever may be actuated from one side of said vacuum cleaner to retract the cord through the opening in said one of said -opposed side walls located at the other side of said vvacuum cleaner so that when the cord is being ret tracted it does not become entangled around the feet of the operator.

3. A vacuum cleaner comprising:

(a) a generally-elongated housing having a longitudinal .A axis arranged generally parallel to the oor to be cleaned;

(b) said elongated cleaner housing having side walls, opposed end walls, and a base member supported for movement over a fioor to be cleaned; (c) axle means fixed to said base member adjacent one end of said base member, said axle means arranged generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said housing and supporting wheels mounted for rotation of said axle means; (d) a cord reel for storing an electrical cord mounted on one said of said opposed end walls, said cord reel being supported for rotation with respect to said base member about an axis substantially perpendicular to said axle means and substantially parallel to the axis of said elongated cleaner; (e) housing means for enclosing said cord reel including a top wall, a bottom wall and two opposed side walls; (f) an opening formed in one of the opposed side walls v of said cord reel housing;

(g) a cord control lever mounted within said cord reel lhousing extending through the opening in said cord reel housing and being provided with a foot pedal, said cord control lever being arranged generally parallel to the wheel axle means and being spaced as close as possible to the wheel so that the pedal may be readily operated without tilting or tipping the vacuJ um cleaner about its longitudinal axis or about its wheel axle means.

4. A vacuum cleaner comprising:

(b) said elongated cleaner housing having side walls and opposed end walls;

(c) a base member having a generally flat Ibottom wall, an upwardly extending front wall, two side walls and a rear wall;

(d) a circular air inlet fitting provided in the upwardly extending front wall of said base member whereby a tubular housing coupling may be connected to said air inlet fitting;

(e) axle means xed to as far to one end as possible on said base member, said axle means being arranged generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said housing, and supporting wheels mounted for rotation on said axle means;

(f) a cord reel for storing an electrical cord mounted on said one end of the opposed end walls of said elongated vacuum cleaner housing, said cord reel being supported for rotation with respect to said base member about an axis substantially perpendicular to said axle and substantially parallel to the axis of said elongated cleaner;

(g) housing means for enclosing said cord reel including a top wall, a bottom wall and two opposed side walls;

(h) an opening formed in one of the opposed side walls of said cord reel housing;

(i) a cord control lever mounted within said cord reel housing extending through the opening in said cord reel housing and being provided with a foot pedal, said cord control lever being arranged generally parallel to the Wheel axle and being spaced as close as possible to the wheel so that the pedal may be readily operated without tilting or tipping the vacuum cleaner about its longitudinal axis or about its wheel axle.

5. A vacuum cleaner comprising:

(a) a base member having a generally flat bottom wall, an upwardly extending rear wall and two side walls;

(b) a wheel mounting plate fixed to the bottom wall and the side walls in close relationship with said upstanding rear wall;

(c) a supporting wheel mounted for rotation on said mounting plate, a substantial portion of said wheel extielnding rearwardly of said upwardly extending rear wa (d) a bracket fixed to the upwardly extending rear wall of said vacuum cleaner;

(e) a cord reel support plate having an upper portion, a central portion, and a lower portion, the lower portion of said cord reel support plate being fixed to said bracket;

(f) a cord reel for storing an electrical cord rotatably nliounted at the central portion of said cord reel p ate;

(g) a spring continuously urging said cord reel in one direction of rotation for winding the electrical cord on said reel;

(h) a housing xed to said support plate for enclosing said cord reel, said housing including a bottom wall having lan enlarged opening formed therein;

(i) a cord control mechanism housing integrally formed with said cover extending downwardly below said enlarged opening, said cord control housing having a bottom wall and two side walls;

(j) an opening formed in one of the side walls of said cord control housing for permitting the passage of the electrical cord therethrough;

(k) an opening formed in the other side wall of said cord control housing;

(l) a cord control lever pivotally mounted within said cord control housing;

(m) said cord control lever extending through the other side wall of said cord control housing whereby said cord control lever may be actuated from one side of said vacuum cleaner to retract the cord through the opening formed at the other side of the vacuum cleaner.

6. A vacuum cleaner comprising:

(a) a base member supported for movement over a floor to be cleaned;

(b) a cord reel for storing an electrical cord mounted on said vacuum cleaner, said cord reel being sup- 7 ported for rotation with respect to said base member;

(c) housing means for enclosing said cord reel including a top wall generally parallel to the oor to be cleaned, a bottom wall spaced downwardly from said top wall and being arranged generally parallel to the oor to be cleaned, and two opposed side walls, each of said side walls extending between said top wall and said bottom Wall and being arranged generally perpendicular to the oor to be cleaned, an opening formed in one of the opposed side walls of said cord reel housing means for permitting the passage of the electrical cord therethrough;

(d) an opening formed in the other side wall of said housing means;

(e) a cord control lever mounted within said cord reel housing means comprising:

(1) a bifurcated inner portion having two arms,

and

(2) an outer portion projecting through the opening formed in the other side wall for access by the foot of the operator;

(f) a stop roller mounted between the arms of said control lever for abutting the electrical cord and urging it downwardly;

(g) a cord stop lug integrally formed with said housing and positioned with respect to said roller so that the electrical cord may be gripped therebetween;

(h) torsion spring means positioned between said lever and a wall of said housing for biasing said roller against said cord;

(i) the outer portion of said lever extending through the other side Wall of said cord reel housing and said cord reel being mounted on the vacuum cleaner whereby said lever may be actuated from one sideof said vacuum cleaner to retract the cord through the opening located at the other side of said vacuum cleaner.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS ROBERT W. MICHELL, Primary Examiner.