WO2009077753A1

WO2009077753A1 - Suction hoses for vacuum cleaners

Info

Publication number: WO2009077753A1
Application number: PCT/GB2008/004164
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jennifer Kathryn Marsden
Original assignee: Vax Limited
Priority date: 2007-12-19
Filing date: 2008-12-17
Publication date: 2009-06-25
Also published as: GB0724722D0; GB2455739A

Abstract

A suction hose (20) for a vacuum cleaner, including holding elements (30, 32, 34, 36) which are provided on parts of the hose spaced from one another lengthwise thereof, the holding elements being engageable one with another to hold the parts of the hose alongside one another.

Description

Suction hoses for vacuum cleaners

Description of Invention

This invention relates to suction hoses for vacuum cleaners, and more particularly it is concerned with the storage of a hose in relation to a vacuum cleaner, for example when the hose is not in use.

The invention has been devised in relation to vacuum cleaners of the so-called "cylinder" (or "canister") type in which a main body unit of the vacuum cleaner has a motor and impellor for creating suction airflow, and a separator/collecter device for separating, from the suction airflow, dust and other matter sucked up by the vacuum cleaner from whatever is being cleaned, and retaining the separated matter for later disposal. A flexible suction hose connects the main unit of the cleaner to a nozzle or cleaning head which is applied by the user of the vacuum cleaner to whatever is being cleaned. For certain cleaning tasks, e.g. floor cleaning, a rigid, possibly telescopically extendable, wand element or elements may connect the cleaning head or nozzle to the end of the suction hose.

When the vacuum cleaner is not in use, usually the wand is disconnected from the hose and the hose from the main body of the machine, to make storage easier. The main body unit of many cylinder type cleaners is such that the hose can be arranged on or around it in a generally coiled configuration, which can be helpful for storage purposes. Vacuum cleaner suction hoses are usually somewhat springy in nature and, if coiled, tend to straighten out or become coiled less tightly, so the hose has a strong tendency not to remain in the configuration in which it is placed on the body of the cleaner. This is inconvenient. It has been proposed that the body of a vacuum cleaner can be provided with guide channels for a hose, possibly with the addition of retaining clips or the like so that the hose stays in a required disposition in relation to the body, but this necessitates a special design of the body and in many cases the hose. Therefore, it adds to the cost of design and manufacture of the cleaner.

Suction hoses are also to be found in vacuum cleaners of the "upright" type, for use in the performance of cleaning tasks other than the cleaners' main task of floor cleaning. Whilst accommodation of the hose in most designs of upright cleaners is not such a problem as with cylinder cleaners, the hose usually being much shorter than is typical than for a cylinder cleaner, and, very often, of a type which is stretchable under lengthwise tension but contracting to a much shorter length when not subject to tension, it is to be understood that the invention may find application with hoses for upright cleaners.

It is broadly the object of the present invention to provide for a potential reduction in the above-described problem of hose storage on vacuum cleaners. The manner in which this is achieved, and other advantages of the invention, will be described hereafter.

According to one aspect to the invention, we provide a suction hose for a vacuum cleaner, including holding elements which are provided on parts of the hose spaced from one another lengthwise thereof, the holding elements being engageable one with another to hold the parts of the hose alongside one another.

The holding elements, or at least one of them, may be freely movable along the hose to required positions, so that it or they can be disposed wherever is most convenient for holding appropriate parts of the hose together, as best suits the configuration in which the hose is to be stored.

Alternatively, it would be possible for the holding elements or at least one of them to be held in position on the hose, i.e. fixed thereon or be engaged therewith sufficiently firmly to require the exertion of a significant force to move a holding element along the hose. Since vacuum cleaner hoses are usually of corrugated configuration (possibly with helical corrugations) a holding element may co-operate with the corrugated surface of the hose to retain a position in which it is set thereon.

Whilst it would be within the scope of the invention for there to be only two holding elements on the hose, it would be desirable for there to be more than two, e.g. four. In this case, when the hose is in a coiled configuration adjacent parts of the hose could be held alongside one another at opposite sides of the coil.

The holding elements may have interengaging formations by which they are engageable one with another. In one example, and in the embodiment described hereafter, such formations may comprise a projection on one holding element engageable with a slot or other receiving formation in another holding element, relative movement between the holding elements in the direction lengthwise of an adjacent part of the hose would be required for engaging and disengaging the holding elements from one another.

Alternative means for engaging the holding elements with one another to hold parts of the hose alongside one another could be used: for example, the holding elements could engage by magnetic attraction, or by the use of hook- and-loop fastening elements such as Velcro (RTM).

One or more of the holding elements may be adapted to have a cleaning tool or tools secured thereto, e.g. by being provided with a formation or formations with which a tool or tool(s) can be engaged.

The invention also provides a holding element for a suction hose. These and other features of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Figures 1 and 2 are perspective views, from different positions, of a vacuum cleaner having a suction hose in accordance with the invention; Figures 3 and 4 are perspective views of the suction hose in different dispositions;

Figure 5 is an enlarged perspective view showing a detail of the suction hose and holding elements.

Referring firstly to figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, these show a vacuum cleaner of the "cylinder" type. It comprises a main body part 10 which accommodates an electric motor and an impeller to provide a source of suction airflow. At one end, the main body part 10 has a pair of wheels, one of which is indicated at 12, and beneath the other end of the body part 10 there is provided a steerable wheel, not shown, so that the vacuum cleaner may be moved over a floor surface when it is in use. At its end opposite that having the wheels 12 the body part 10 has a connector which is partially visible at 14, for connection of a suction hose, e.g. by a bayonet or latched connection, when the cleaner is to be used. The main body of the cleaner further comprises a separator/collector assembly indicated generally at 16 for separation of dust and other matter from the suction airflow drawn from whatever is being cleaned, and retention of such separated matter for later disposal. The separator/collector assembly 16 is removable from the main body part 10 and has an openable or removable part enabling emptying of collected matter when required. The separator/collector assembly may be of the "cyclonic" type incorporating one or a number of cyclonic separating stages, or it may accumulate separated matter in a filter bag through which the suction airflow passes. In any event, further filter elements and other airflow- management features may be provided, as are generally known in vacuum cleaners. The suction hose of the cleaner, which is indicated generally at 20, is illustrated in figures 1 and 2 in a state of having been wrapped around the separator/collector assembly of the cleaner in the form of a coil. This is what would generally be done when the cleaner is not being used, to provide a compact configuration for storage. The hose itself, shown in isolation in figures 3 and 4, comprises a length 22 of flexible plastics tubing of corrugated configuration usually with the ridges and troughs of its corrugation extending helically of the tube. Such a tube is readily able to be formed into a coiled configuration as illustrated, although its resilience means that it has a tendency to straighten out from the coil. At one end, the tube 22 has a fitting 24 for engagement with the inlet connector 14 of the body of the cleaner, the fitting 24 being of appropriate configuration complementary to that of the connector 14. At its other end, the tube 22 is provided with a handle member 26 whose free end indicated at 28 is able to be connected to a wand for attachment of a cleaning head, to a cleaning tool directly, or indeed may be used as a suction nozzle itself. The components 24, 26 may be rotatable relative to the pipe 22 about the longitudinal axis of the pipe at the part thereof where it connects to the respective components.

For assisting in retaining the hose in a coiled configuration as that in which it is illustrated in figures 1 , 2 and 3, a number of holding elements are provided on tube 22. As shown in figure 4, there is a first holding element 30 adjacent the fitting 24, a second holding element 32 some one third of the way along the tube 22 from the fitting 24, a holding element 34 some two thirds of the way along the tube from the fitting 24, and a holding element 36 adjacent the handle member 26. These holding elements are engageable with one another to hold the hose in a loosely coiled configuration, with the holding element 30 being engageable with the element 34, and the holding element 32 being engageable with element 36. The configuration of the holding elements 30, 34 is visible in greater detail in figure 5 of the drawings. The element 30 comprises a circular collar which fits around the pipe 22, and from the collar 40 there projects on one side a T- section formation 42 extending for the length of the collar, in the direction of the length of the hose. The element 34 comprises a collar 44 and two opposed L-section flanges 46, 48 extending therefrom to define a T-section slot formation therebetween in which the T-section projection 42 can be engaged by relative movement between the elements 30, 34 in the direction of the length of respective hose parts on which they are fitted. The other two holding elements 32, 36 are shaped as the elements 30, 34 respectively.

The collars as 40, 44 of the holding elements fit closely around the hose tube 22, but may be moved lengthwise thereof upon the exertion of suitable forces between the collars and tube, so they can be placed in whatever positions are most convenient to enable the hose to be retained in a desired coiled configuration. Possibly the collars could each have a formation which cooperates with the corrugated external configuration of the tube 22 to hold the collars in positions on the tube in which they are placed, although in the case of a pipe whose corrugations extend helically they could be moved by rotating the collars about the tube.

For holding elements having collars as 40, 44 which completely and closely encircle the tube 22, the holding elements would have to be fitted on the tube by sliding thereon from an end thereof prior to installation of the end fitting 24 or 26. It would be possible, instead of having collars which completely encircle the tube, to have generally C-shaped collars whose circumferential extent around the tube is sufficient to ensure retention thereon, but which enable fitting to the tube by moving the ends of the C-shaped collar element sufficiently far away from one another for the tube to be introduced between them, after which the ends are released to retain the tube. Alternatively or in addition the hose may be squeezed to fit between the free ends of a C-shaped collar element, particularly if the latter is of a more rigid plastics material.

Formations other than the T-shaped projection and slot formations shown in figure 5 may be used for securing the holding elements together. Possibly complementary press-fit formations could be included on the collars, or fasteners which can secure the holding elements together by magnetic attraction. Possibly complementary elements of hook and loop fastening material such as "Velcro" (registered trade mark) could be utilised.

It would be possible for one or more of the holding elements to be provided with formations enabling a cleaning tool or tools to be connected thereto for storage purposes. In this case, not only the suction hose but also the cleaning tools can be stored in close proximity to the main body of the cleaner, and be readily available for use when required.

When used in this specification and claims, the terms "comprises" and "comprising" and variations thereof mean that the specified features, steps or integers are included. The terms are not to be interpreted to exclude the presence of other features, steps or components.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the following claims, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate, may, separately, or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Claims

1. A suction hose for a vacuum cleaner, including holding elements which are provided on parts of the hose spaced from one another lengthwise thereof, the holding elements being engageable one with another to hold the parts of the hose alongside one another.

2. A suction hose according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the holding elements is freely movable along the hose to a required position.

3. A suction hose according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein at least one of the holding elements is held in position on the hose.

4. A suction hose according to claim 3 which is of corrugated configuration, and the or each holding element which is held in position on the hose co-operates with the corrugated surface thereof to retain its position.

5. A suction hose according to any one of the preceding claims wherein there are four holding elements on the hose, engageable with one another in pairs.

6. A suction hose according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the holding elements have interengaging formations for engagement one with another.

7. A suction hose according to claim 6 wherein the interengaging formations comprise a projection on one holding element engageable with a receiving formation in another holding element.

8. A suction hose according to claim 7 wherein said projection and receiving formation are engageable and disengagable one with another by relative movement between the holding elements in a direction lengthwise of an adjacent part of the hose.

9. A suction hose according to any one of the preceding claims wherein one or more of the holding elements is or are adapted to have a cleaning tool or tools secured thereto.

10. A holding element for a suction hose for a vacuum cleaner, the holding element being adapted to be provided on a part of the hose and to be engageable with a further holding element provided on another part of the hose, to hold the parts of the hose alongside one another.

11. A holding element according to claim 10 comprising a formation through which the hose can extend so that the holding element is retained on the hose.

12. A holding element according to claim 11 wherein said formation is circular.

13. A holding element according to claim 11 wherein said formation is C- shaped.

14. A holding element according to any one of claims 11 to 13 wherein the suction hose is freely movable through the formation.

15. A holding element according to any one of claims 11 to 13 wherein the holding element co-operates with the hose to hold it in a position in which it is set thereon.

16. A holding element according to claim 15 comprising a formation which co-operates with a corrugated surface portion of the hose to retain its position.

17. A holding element according to any one of claims 10 to 16 comprising a formation interengagable with a formation on another holding element, to hold the holding elements to one another.

18. A holding element according to claim 17 wherein said formation comprises one of: a projection engageable with a receiving formation in another holding element, and a receiving formation in which a projection on another holding element is engageable.

19. A set of holding elements for a suction hose for a vacuum cleaner, the set including respective holding elements according to any one of claims 10 to

18, engageable one with another in pairs.