WO2006005722A1

WO2006005722A1 - Vacuum cleaner attachment

Info

Publication number: WO2006005722A1
Application number: PCT/EP2005/053268
Authority: WO
Inventors: Bernhard Scheuren; Markus Cornelissen
Original assignee: Vorwerk & Co. Interholding Gmbh
Priority date: 2004-07-13
Filing date: 2005-07-08
Publication date: 2006-01-19
Also published as: ATE551937T1; CN1984593A; CN1984593B; EP1765133A1; EP1765133B1; DE102004033736A1; JP2008506436A; RU2007105220A

Abstract

The invention relates to a vacuum cleaner (1) attachment (6) embodied in the form of suction or sweeping attachment provided with a brush (10), wherein said attachment (6) is placed in a guiding handle (3), wherein said guiding handle (3) acts upon the attachment (6) through a pivot joint (16) and displaces therearound from a parked to a operating position. The aim of said invention is to improve the said type attachment in such a way that it is advantageously disposed in the parked position thereof. For this purpose, the brush (10) is vertically displaceable between an engagement position and an retracting position and the brush (10) displacement to the retracting position is coupled with the guiding handle (3) displacement.

Description

Attachment for a vacuum cleaner

The invention relates to an attachment for a vacuum cleaner in the form of a suction brush or sweeping attachment provided with a brush, wherein the attachment is to be moved via a guide shaft and the guide handle acts on the attachment via a tilting link, wherein the guide shaft further intervenes a parking position and a working position about the tilting joint is movable.

Attachments of the type in question are known. For example, DE 4414683 A1 shows a sweeping attachment with an electric motor driven brush for sweeping the floor. The sweeping attachment is to guide over a guide stem, for example by means of a stalk-guided vacuum cleaner. From DE 4412986 Al a suction attachment for a vacuum cleaner is known, which is connected both electrically and fluidly to a stielge- led vacuum cleaner. In this case, the guide stem can be formed by the vacuum cleaner designed as a handle device itself or else in the form of a suction tube provided with a handle for connection to a floor conveyor device. It is also known that the guide stem acts on the attachment via a tilting joint. The latter always remains in full contact with the ground via the tilting joint arrangement in the course of the usual tillage. The guide stem is displaceable out of this working position into a parked position, wherein as a rule the guide stem is moved beyond a vertical position away from the working position. The guide handle is then slightly inclined in the direction of the front end face of the attachment, so that a stable self-holding is achieved. In this regard, it is further known to lock this parking position, which locking by the user can be canceled again in a deliberate manner. In the working position of the guide stem is pivotally aligned about the tilting joint in an angular range between about 180 ° and about 90 ° to the attachment. In the park position, the guide post takes an acute angle to the attachment of about 60 ° to 85 °. The brush arranged in the attachment protrudes downward beyond the bottom of the device for brush contacting of the floor to be cleaned.

With regard to the prior art described above, a technical problem of the invention is seen in designing an attachment of the type in question to the effect that an advantageous arrangement in the parking position is achieved.

This problem is solved first and foremost by the subject matter of claim 1, wherein it is pointed out that the brush can be moved vertically from an engagement position into a retraction position and that the movement of the brush into the retraction position follows the movement of the guide stem is coupled in the parking position. The engagement position here is the position in which the brush of the attachment comes into contact with the soil to be maintained, whereas in the retreat position, the brush is lifted from the soil to be cared for. By the embodiment according to the invention an attachment is provided, which in the parking position has an advantageous arrangement insbeson dere the brush. This is raised in the parking position. Correspondingly, the floor is no longer contacted by the brush, which further proves to be advantageous in the case of a movement of the entire attachment in the parking position of the guide stem, since in this case the frictional resistance caused by a brush contacting the floor is eliminated.

The subjects of the further claims are explained below in relation to the subject matter of claim 1, but may also be of importance in their independent formulation. Thus, it proves to be particularly advantageous that the coupling is designed as a mechanical coupling. As a result of this embodiment, a structurally simple and cost-effective solution is created. By the displacement of the guide stem in the parking position is in the course of the movement around the tilting joint mechanically acts on the brush such that it is moved vertically in the retraction position. The tilting movement of the guide shaft into the parking position is consequently converted into a vertical movement of the brush. The mechanical coupling is further formed so that usual tilting movements of the guide stem in the working position have no effect in the sense of vertical displacement of the brush. The latter remains uninfluenced by the tilting mobility of the guide handle in the working position always in contact with the floor to be cared for. Any provided vertical freedom of movement of the brush to adapt the brush to different high carpet pile, etc. remains unaffected. The brush is further preferably mounted on a rocker-like arm, wherein the pivot point of the arm is assigned to the tilting joint facing. In this regard, it is proposed that the boom pivot point or its axis of rotation is placed locally adjacent to the tilting joint. The rotation axis facing away from the free end of the rocker-like cantilever carries the gege¬ possibly rotatable brush arranged. About the hinge, the brush is arranged vertically movable by means of the rocker-like cantilever in the attachment, which vertical mobility is also in the course of normal Ar¬ beitsstellung advantage. Over the weight of the brush and boom, a continuous optimized adaptation to the given pile heights or derglei¬ Chen is achieved. In the parked position of the guide stem, the boom and hereby the brush are vertically raised to the retraction position via the mechanical coupling with the tilting joint and held in this position. The boom has a boom lever, wherein the boom lever is pivotable about the axis of rotation of the boom. The boom lever is in this case rotatably connected to the brush-carrying rocker-like boom, so that pivotal displacements of the boom lever are transmitted to the boom. The tilting joint has an articulated lever which can be pivoted about the articulation axis and is connected in a further rotationally fixed manner to the articulated section having the insertion end of the guide stalk. Correspondingly leads a tilting movement of the guide stem about the hinge axis to a pivotal displacement of the articulated lever. The coupling can be formed by a cable pull. Such a cable is preferably brush-side hinged to the Ausle¬ gerhebel and gelerikseitig attached to the Gelerikhebel. Correspondingly, a tilting displacement of the guide shaft into the parking position is transmitted to the boom via the articulated cable pull, for vertical lifting of the brush into the retracted position. The cable is in this case arranged and designed such that a tensile stress only occurs when the guide rod is displaced into the parking position; not in the usual working position of the guide stem. The free vertical mobility of the brush in the working position is maintained. It is further proposed that the boom lever and / or the articulated lever is formed as a wheel or roller portion and the cable follows each of a portion of its length to the periphery of the edge or roller portion. The cable can be formed by a band, a rope or a plastic tendon. The cable wraps around the Walzen¬ section of the boom lever on top. Starting from there, the cable traverses the space between the arm pivot axis and the pivot joint axis and is connected to the underside of the wheel or roller section of the articulated lever. Also possible is the arrangement of a deflection eg. In the form of roles between boom lever and articulated lever. In the working position of the tilting joint, the cable between the toggle lever and boom lever is not tensioned. When swiveling the guide stem into the parking position, the cable is tensioned, which pulls the brush over the boom in the retraction position. Alternatively, the coupling can also be formed directly by the boom lever and the toggle lever. These levers are in this case as a rigid rotatably connected to the boom or with the guide stem receiving Kippgelenk¬ part and are formed as substantially radially projecting ridges or the like. Thus, the boom lever is operated directly by the articulated lever designed as a driver, in the form of a dragging mechanism. In the working position, the toggle lever is far from the boom lever removed, that the desired free mobility, which is associated with a free movement of the boom gravity is ensured. Finally, it is proposed that the brush is driven by an electric motor arranged in the attachment. With her embodiment of the invention also proves to be advantageous because the permanently driven brush is placed in the parked position of the device out of engagement with the care floor, according to which the soil is spared. The bristle wear of the brush is also reduced by this measure. By continuing in the raised position of the brush brush motor signal to the user that the device is still turned on.

The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the attached drawing, which represents only two exemplary embodiments. It shows:

1 shows a stalk-guided hand vacuum cleaner with a front attachment according to the invention in a perspective view;

Fig. 2 is a schematic longitudinal section through the attachment of a first

Embodiment with a guide stem in working position;

FIG. 3 shows a representation corresponding to FIG. 2, but with the guide stem spent in a parking position and, as a result, in a retraction position of a vertically raised brush;

FIG. 4 shows a representation corresponding to FIG. 2, but relating to a second embodiment;

FIG. 5 shows a representation corresponding to FIG. 3, but concerning the embodiment according to FIG. 4. Shown and described is first with reference to Figure 1, a vacuum cleaner 1 in the form of a stalk-guided hand vacuum cleaner with a housing 2, which includes a suction fan, not shown.

The vacuum cleaner 1 can be moved by means of a guide handle 3 which can be fixed to the housing 2, on which guide handle 3 a handle 4 is provided in the region of the free end.

About a Kippgelenkverbindung 5 the vacuum cleaner 1 is assigned a header 6 in the form of a suction attachment. The latter is connected both electrically and in terms of flow via the tilting joint connection 5 with the vacuum cleaner 1.

In the front attachment 6, with reference to the usual direction of travel r, a suction chamber 7 oriented transversely to the direction of travel r is provided on the front side, which faces downwards, ie. in the direction of the floor 8 to be cared for, it forms a suction mouth 9. The suction chamber 7 communicates via a non-illustrated Sauglei¬ device via the Kippgelenkverbindung 5 fluidly with the Saugge¬ blower of the vacuum cleaner housing 2 in combination.

In addition, a brush 10 for brushing the bottom 8 is arranged in the suction space 7, whose brush rotation axis z is directed in the longitudinal extent of the suction space 7 and, accordingly, transversely to the usual travel direction r.

The brush 10 is fixed to a rocker-like arm 11 at the end. The free end of the cantilever 11 facing away from the brush 10 can be tilted about a cantilever axis. This boom axis y extends parallel to the brush axis z. The physical cantilever axis is in this case formed by a drive shaft 12 of an electric motor 13 arranged in the attachment 6, which drive shaft 12 of a designed as a hollow body boom 11 a Riemen¬ drive 14 drives, which acts on an output shaft 14 of the brush 10.

About the boom axis y, the brush 10 is arranged almost vertically movable in the attachment 6, according to this embodiment, the brush 10 höhen¬ moderately adaptable to different Teppichflorhöhen. The brush is therefore kept in the suction chamber 7 with a vertical play.

In the schematic representations in Figures 2 and 3, the tilting joint 16 of the tilting joint connection 5 between the vacuum cleaner 1 and attachment 6 is shown, wherein the tilting joint 16 essentially composed of a pivotable tilting joint part 17 and a vorsatzgehäuseseitig fixed tilting hinge part, which is not shown in the drawings is.

At the tilting joint portion 17, the schematically illustrated Auf¬ assumption 18 for the vacuum cleaner housing side connection piece is fixed in rotation.

The tilting joint 16 or the tilting joint section 17 is pivotable about a tilting steering axis x, which joint axis x is aligned parallel to the boom axis y, wherein further this boom axis y is placed between the brush axis z and the joint axis x.

As shown schematically in Figure 2, the tilting joint 16 and the Kippgelenkabschnitt 17 has a marked with the angle α pivoting range, which corresponds to the usual working position of the vacuum cleaner to the attachment 6. Thus, the vacuum cleaner 1 and the guide shaft 3 can be pivoted between a tilted by about 180 ° to the attachment 6 position to an angle including from about 100 ° to 110 ° to the attachment angle. In the usual sucking work by back and forth Supply of the vacuum cleaner 1 are different angles between Staub¬ sucker 1 and attachment 6 in the range of the indicated angle α.

From the working position, the vacuum cleaner 1 or the guide shaft 3 is pivotable in a parking position, which is shown in the figure 3. This parking position is characterized by an orientation of the vacuum cleaner 1 and the guide shaft 3 to the attachment 6, in which between the vacuum cleaner 1 and the attachment 6 an acute angle of about 80 ° to 85 ° is included. Accordingly, the vacuum cleaner 1 or the guide shaft 3 by an angular amount α ¹ of about 5 ° beyond the perpendicular out - from Arbeitsschwenk¬ area from - pivoted. This parking position can be rest assured, which rest can only be lifted by the user in a will-emphasized manner.

According to the invention, in the parking position, the brush is raised vertically to a retraction position. This is achieved by a mechanical coupling of the movement of the guide stem 3 in the parking position with the vertical movement of the brush 10.

Figures 2 and 3 show a first embodiment of such a mechanical coupling. In this case, the boom 11 has a boom lever 19, which is fixed about the rotational axis y of the boom 11 pivotable and dreh¬ fixed to the boom 11. The boom lever 19 extends from the rotation axis y, starting opposite to the longitudinal orientation of the Ausle¬ gers 11; consequently points in the direction of the tilting joint 16.

At the tilting joint 16 or at the tilting joint portion 17, a Gelenk¬ lever 20 is rotatably disposed, which is formed as the cantilever lever 19 as a radial cantilever. The articulated lever 20 forms a driver. The radial extent dimensions of the boom lever 19 and the articulated lever 20 are selected so that their pivotal areas intersect around the axis of rotation y or the joint axis x.

In the usual working position of the vacuum cleaner 1 or of the guide shaft 3 within the working pivot angle oc shown in FIG. 2, the articulated lever 20 is always spaced so far from the arm 19 that the free vertical mobility of the brush 10 and of the arm 11 is ensured. In contrast, in the parking position shown in FIG. 3, the articulated lever 20 has raised the boom 11 and thus the brush 10 about the axis of rotation y by loading and dragging the boom lever 19, whereby this backward tension position of the brush 10 is likewise produced by the preferred latching parking position is rest assured.

The lifting height of the brush 10 can be predetermined, for example, via the length ratios of the boom lever 19 and the articulated lever 20 and / or via the positioning of the axes x and y.

An alternative solution of the mechanical coupling is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Here, both the boom lever 19 and the articulated lever 20 are formed as roller sections, wherein further the boom lever side Walzen¬ section is formed in the illustrated embodiment by the electric motor 13.

The coupling is formed by a cable 21, the brush side on the upper side of the boom lever 19 ausformenden electric motor 13 and the joint side of the lower side of the articulated lever 20 forming roller section is attached. The cable 21 follows in each case over a portion of its length the Circumference of the articulated lever-Walzenabsdhnitts or the circumference of the Elektromo¬ sector 13th

In the working position according to the representation in FIG. 4, the cable pull 21 is unstressed between the electric motor 13 and the tilting joint 16 or tilting contact portion 17, which is connected to the boom 11 pivotally, thus pivoting movements of the vacuum cleaner 1 or of the guide shaft 3 in the work pivot range (FIG. Angle α) have no lifting effects on the brush 10. The latter is free to move vertically in this working position or vertically freely adjustable vertically about the axis of rotation y of the boom 11.

When swinging the vacuum cleaner 1 or the guide shaft 3 in the Park¬ position of the cable 21 is tensioned and raised about this by rotational displacement of the end fixed electric motor 13, the brush 10 via the boom 11 in the retraction position.

In addition, the cable pull 21 can still circulate deflection rollers, which can be positioned between the boom lever 19 and the articulated lever 20 or electric motor 13 and tilting joint 16.

All disclosed features are essential to the invention. The disclosure content of the associated priority documents (copy of the prior application) is hereby also incorporated in full in the disclosure of the application, also for the purpose of including features of these documents in claims of the present application.

Claims

1. attachment (6) for a vacuum cleaner (1) in the form of a, provided with a brush (10) suction or sweeping attachment, wherein the attachment (6) ü- about a guide stem (3) to move and the guide stem (3 ) via a tilting joint (16) acts on the attachment (6), wherein further the guide stem (3) between a parking position and a working position about the tilting joint (16) is movable, characterized in that the brush (10) from an engagement position in a retraction position is vertically movable and that the movement of the brush (10) in the Rückzugstel¬ ment to the movement of the guide stem (3) is gekop¬ pelt in the parking position.

2. Attachment according to claim 1 or in particular according thereto, characterized in that the coupling is designed as a mechanical coupling.

3. Attachment according to one or more of the preceding claims or in particular according thereto, characterized in that the brush (10) on a rocker-like arm (11) is mounted, wherein the Dreh¬ point of the arm (11) is associated with the tilting joint (16) ,

4. Attachment according to one or more of the preceding claims or in particular according thereto, characterized in that the boom (11) comprises a boom lever (19), wherein the boom lever (19) about the axis of rotation (y) of the boom (11) is verschwerikbar.

5. Attachment according to one or more of the preceding claims or in particular according thereto, characterized in that the tilting joint (16) has a hinge lever (20) which is pivotable about the hinge axis (x).

6. Attachment according to one or more of the preceding claims or in particular according thereto, characterized in that the coupling is formed by a cable pull (21).

7. Attachment according to one or more of the preceding claims or in particular according thereto, characterized in that the cable (21) is brush-side hinged to the boom lever (19).

8. Attachment according to one or more of the preceding claims or in particular according thereto, characterized in that the cable (19) articulated on the articulated lever (20) is hinged.

9. Attachment according to one or more of the preceding claims or in particular according thereto, characterized in that the Auslegerhe¬ bel (19) and / or the articulated lever (20) forms ge as a wheel or roller section and the cable (21) each about a portion of its length follows the circumference of the wheel or roller section.

10. Attachment according to one or more of the preceding claims or in particular according thereto, characterized in that the coupling is formed directly by the boom lever (19) and the articulated lever (20).

11. Attachment according to one or more of the preceding claims or in particular according thereto, characterized in that the Auslegerhe¬ bel (19) by the trained as a driver articulated lever (20) is to be actuated directly.

12. An attachment according to one or more of the preceding claims or in particular according thereto, characterized in that the brush (10) by a in the attachment (6) arranged electric motor (13) is driven.