Patent ID: 6055699
Filing Date: 2000-05-02
Classification: A47L

Abstract:
A vacuum cleaning device, including:a cleaning tool head including a shell having a shell edge positionable in confronting relation to a selected surface to be cleaned, to orient the shell in an operating position in which the shell and the selected surface form a substantially enclosed chamber;a partition supported inside of the shell to divide the chamber into an intake compartment to accommodate fluid flow into the chamber and an evacuation compartment to accommodate fluid flow out of the chamber, and further to define a gap to accommodate a fluid flow from the intake compartment to the evacuation compartment;wherein the shell edge includes a first edge region along the intake compartment and a second edge region along the evacuation compartment;vacuum opening to the chamber adapted for fluid coupling to a vacuum source operable to draw a vacuum in the evacuation compartment and thereby draw fluids across the gap from the intake compartment into the evacuation compartment; a porous layer along the first edge region adapted to allow passage of air therethrough into the intake compartment; andmultiple barrier elements mounted with respect to the shell, extended away from the shell, and cooperating to form a barrier along the second edge region to resist passage of air therethrough, with respective free ends of the barrier elements cooperating to define a contact-surface contour of the barrier;wherein the barrier elements are positioned for an engagement of their respective free ends with the selected surface, and are adapted to undergo individual and localized resilient deformations after said engagement as the shell is moved toward the operating position, to alter the contact-surface contour toward conformity with a profile of the selected surface.