WO2003034888A1

WO2003034888A1 - Front wheel arrangement for a vacuum cleaner

Info

Publication number: WO2003034888A1
Application number: PCT/SE2002/001848
Authority: WO
Inventors: Patrik Pastuhof; Stefan Petersson; Göran Sjöberg
Original assignee: Aktiebolaget Electrolux
Priority date: 2001-10-25
Filing date: 2002-10-10
Publication date: 2003-05-01
Also published as: SE0103564L; EP1458270A1; SE0103564D0; SE520237C2

Abstract

This invention relates to a vacuum cleaner comprising a vacuum cleaner housing (10) having an elastic hose connection (14). The housing is supported by at least one front wheel (12) having a horizontal wheel shaft (16) and a vertical turning shaft (18). The turning motion of the wheel about the vertical shaft (18) is arranged to be influenced by a hose holder (20) which as seen in the normal forward movement of the vacuum cleaner is arranged in front of the connection point of the hose connection (14) in the housing. The hose connection serves as a spring means when the wheel is turned about the vertical shaft (18) under the influence of the hose.

Description

Front wheel arrangement for a vacuum cleaner

This invention relates to a vacuum cleaner comprising a vacuum cleaner housing having a hose connection the housing being supported by at least one front wheel having a mainly horizontal wheel shaft and a mainly vertical turning shaft.

Vacuum cleaners of the type mentioned above, so called canister vacuum cleaners, are previously known. Such vacuum cleaners might comprise a hose connection that is designed as an elbow pipe turnably supported at the upper side of the housing and directing the dust laden air flow into a dust separation system such as a dust bag or a cyclone. There also are canister vacuum cleaners provided with a hose connection which is designed as a straight tube arranged mainly horizontally at the front part of the housing. The housing of this type of vacuum cleaners is usually supported on the floor by means of a pivot wheel arranged below the front part of the housing and several comparatively large rear wheels arranged at each side of the housing. The pivot wheel admits the vacuum cleaner housing to turn and move in a desired direction by means of the pulling force created by the operator on the hose.

It has however proved that, due to decreased size and weight of the vacuum cleaner housing, stability problems arise since the vacuum cleaner becomes a tendency to overturn when the direction of movement is changed. The vacuum cleaner also moves its own way and hits and gets stuck against furniture and door cases.

In order to achieve steering of a front wheel for a vacuum cleaner it has been suggested to use more or less complicated arrangements, see DE 1156542 and SE 213844. At these two arrangements the outlet from the hose is shaped as a turnable knee shaped tube and arranged at the bottom side of the vacuum cleaner housing. However, this means drawbacks since pulling the hose creates an upwardly directed force on the vacuum cleaner housing which means a tendency to overturn the vacuum cleaner. Feeding the dust into the dust bag of the vacuum cleaner from the bottom side of the housing also means complications with regard to the emptying process since there is a risk that the dust falls back into the hose inlet. The purpose of this invention is to achieve a vacuum cleaner which does not have the mentioned drawbacks. Thus, the arrangement according to the invention increases the pliability of the vacuum cleaner when being moved on the surface being vacuumed and admits that the wheel arrangement can be placed in front of the vacuum cleaner housing which means that a larger front wheel can be used without encroaching the space within the vacuum cleaner housing. This is achieved by means of a device having the characteristics mentioned in the claims.

Two embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings on which Fig. 1 schematically shows a side view of a first embodiment of a vacuum cleaner provided with a device according to the invention whereas Fig. 2 in an exploded view shows a second embodiment of a vacuum cleaner provided with a device according to the invention.

As appears form Fig. 1 the vacuum cleaner comprises a housing 10 supported by two rear wheels 11 and a front wheel 12 which is centrally placed. The housing in a conventional manner encloses a vacuum source, not shown, formed as a motor fan unit whose inlet side is connected to a hose 13. The hose is in a conventional manner connected to a tube shaft, not shown, supporting a nozzle through which dust laden air is intended to be picked up from the floor and be transported through the tube shaft and the hose to a separation system in the housing, not shown, where the dust particles are separated from the cleaned air flowing to the fan.

The end of the hose 13 is a hose connection 14 which is connected to a hose coupling 15 intended to connect the hose with a knee shaped tube 16 which is fixed or turnable with respect to the housing the knee shaped tube directing the dust laden air into the separation system within the housing of the vacuum cleaner. The front wheel 12 rotates about a horizontal wheel shaft 16 which is secured in a yoke means 17 having a vertical shaft 18 extending through the rotation centre of the front wheel and being supported for turning motion in two bearing points 19 arranged in the housing. The upper end of the turning shaft 18 is fixed to a hose holder 20 which in section is a mainly C-shaped sleeve extending forwards from the turning shaft and preferably of elastic material. The axis line of the sleeve is horizontal and usually directed forwards in the movement direction of the vacuum cleaner and the sleeve is designed such that the hose 13 can easily be removed from the hose holder by pulling the hose sideways through the elongated opening of the sleeve. The device shown in Fig. 1 operates in the following manner. When the vacuum cleaner is used the hose is connected to the knee shaped tube 16 by means of the hose coupling 15 at the same time as the hose is inserted into the hose holder 20. When the vacuum cleaner is pulled forwards on the floor the hose will act on the hose holder such that the hose holder 20 and hence the front wheel 12 is turned in the direction in which the operator moves. Since the hose connection 14 which is placed between the hose holder 20 and the hose coupling 15 simultaneously operates as an elastic element large direction changes depending on direction changes of the pulling force in the hose will prevent the vacuum cleaner from overturning or getting stuck at furniture, door cases and so on. In other words a much more pliable vacuum cleaner is achieved. The vacuum cleaner shown in Fig. 2 differs from the vacuum cleaner shown in Fig. 1 by exposing a forwardly directed inlet 21 for the dust laden air the inlet by means of a connection ring 22 and a separate, elastic hose connection 23 being connected to a hose holder 24 which in this case comprises a sleeve 25 having a yoke 26 which by means of a shaft 27 supports the front wheel 12. The hose holder 24 is turnably arranged about a vertical shaft 28 formed by stub shafts arranged at the upper and lower side of the hose holder 24 the stub shafts being fastened in an upper (not shown) and a lower bracket 29 arranged in front of the inlet 21 in the front part of the housing.

The device shown in Fig. 2 operates such that movements which are created by the hose 13 are transferred to the hose holder 24 and turns it about the shaft 28 according to these movements. The hose connection 23 hence operates as a spring shaped element and creates a good pliability of the vacuum cleaner and dampens violent jerks.

Claims

1. Vacuum cleaner comprising a vacuum cleaner housing (10) having an elastic hose connection (14,23) the housing being supported by at least one front wheel (12) having a horizontal wheel shaft (16,27) and a vertical turning shaft (18,28) characterised in that the turning motion of the wheel about the vertical shaft (18,28) is arranged to be influenced by a hose holder (20,24) which, as seen in the normal forward movement of the vacuum cleaner, is arranged in front of the connection point of the hose connection (14,23) in the housing the hose connection serving as a spring means when the wheel is turned about the vertical shaft (18,28) under the influence of the hose.

2. Vacuum cleaner according to claim 1 characterised in that the hose connection (14) is a part of a hose (13) belonging to the vacuum cleaner.

3. Vacuum cleaner according to claim 2 characterised in that the hose holder (20,24) is mainly tubular.

4. Vacuum cleaner according to claim 3 characterised in that the hose (13) is partly or completely surrounded by the hose holder (20).

5. Vacuum cleaner according to claim 4 characterised in that the hose holder (20) mainly is designed as a slotted tube having a C-shaped section area.

6. Vacuum cleaner according to claim 4 or 5 characterised in that the hose holder (20) is made of elastic material.

7. Vacuum cleaner according to any of claims 3-6 characterised in that the tube shaped hose holder (20,24) is positioned such that its length axis is mainly perpendicular to the turning shaft (18).

8. Vacuum cleaner according to any of the preceding claims 5 characterised in that the hose holder (20,24) at least partly is placed in front of the turning shaft (18,28).

9. Vacuum cleaner according to any of the preceding claims characterised in that the hose holder (24) mainly is placed in front of the housing.