Upright vacuum cleaner

A vacuum cleaner having an elongate body portion 11 which is mounted at its lower end via a neck 15 to the rear of a wheeled floor-engaging head portion 10, the body 11 being pivotable in use relative to the head about a first axis A1 for movement upwardly and downwardly and about a second orthogonal axis A2 for movement from side-to-side. A catch 17 is disposed on the neck 15 for preventing pivotal movement of the body 11 about the second axis A2 when the body 11 is disposed in its most upright position. The provision of the catch 17 improves the stability of the cleaner when the cleaner is not in use or when it is being used for above floor cleaning.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119 to Great Britain Application No. 1019218.5, filed in the Great Britain Patent Office on Nov. 15, 2010 by inventor Jian Xue, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety for all purposes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to an upright vacuum cleaner and more particularly to an upright vacuum cleaner having a steerable head.

2. Related Background Art

Conventional upright vacuum cleaners generally comprise an elongate upright body portion which contains a dust separation device, such as a filter bag or cyclone, and an upstanding handle at its upper end. The lower end of the body is pivotally connected for forwards and rearwards movement to a wheeled floor-engaging head portion.

Upright vacuum cleaners are commonly provided with a lock, which locks the body and head together, in order to maintain the body in an upright position when not in use or when using any elongate flexible cleaning hose of the kind provided on many vacuum cleaners. Typically, the lock comprises a foot pedal, which must be depressed to release the lock, although some upright vacuum cleaners incorporate a lock which is released by applying an excessive rearwards force to the body.

A disadvantage of conventional upright vacuum cleaners is that they can sometimes be difficult to manoeuvre around obstacles such as furniture. In order to overcome this problem it has been proposed to provide an upright vacuum cleaner having a wheeled floor engaging head, which can be steered by twisting the handle on the body about its longitudinal axis. One such steerable vacuum cleaner is disclosed in EP7078613 and comprises an universal joint which couples the floor-engaging head portion to the body portion and which permits rotational movement in two orthogonal axes, so that the body portion can pivot about its longitudinal axis as well as forwardly and rearwardly. In this manner effective steering of the head can be accomplished by twisting the handle when the body is in its inclined position.

A disadvantage of such so-called steerable vacuum cleaners is that the ability of the body portion to effectively move sideways makes it difficult to lock the body portion in the upright position using a conventional locking mechanism.

In order to overcome this problem EP1985218 discloses a steerable vacuum cleaner vacuum cleaner having an elongate body which is pivotally mounted at its lower end to the rear of a wheeled floor-engaging head for movement about first and second orthogonal axes, which respectively extend generally transversely of the cleaner and generally longitudinally of the body, A catch is pivotally mounted intermediate its opposite ends to the upright body, the catch having a finger at its forward end arranged to engage a formation disposed adjacent a recess on the rear end of the head. The rearward end of the catch defines a foot pedal for moving the forward end of the catch out of engagement with the formation. When the body is moved to its upright position and into the recess, the catch on the body engages the head, to prevent the body from pivoting rearwards when the cleaner is not in use. The side walls of the recess also prevent the body from pivoting sideways.

We have now devised an improved vacuum cleaner of the kind disclosed in EP1985218.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a vacuum cleaner having an elongate body portion which is pivotally mounted at its lower end to the rear of a wheeled floor-engaging head portion for movement about first and second orthogonal axes, which respectively extend generally transversely of the cleaner and generally longitudinally of the body, the vacuum cleaner further comprising a locking device arranged to prevent pivotal movement of the body about said second axis when the body is disposed in a generally upright position.

We have realised that a disadvantage of the vacuum cleaner disclosed in EP1985218 is that the body is still able to pivot in the recess about the second axis when the body is disposed in the generally upright position, with the result that the catch may disengage the formation allowing the body to fall rearwardly. Also, the ability of the body to pivot about the second axis when in the generally upright position can lead to instability and can make it difficult to attach and detach parts to and from the body.

We have solved this problem by providing a locking device arranged to prevent pivotal movement of the body about the second axis when the body is disposed in the generally upright position. In this manner, the above-mentioned problems are avoided.

Preferably the locking device comprises a catch for preventing said movement about the second axis.

Preferably the locking device is also arranged to prevent pivotal movement of the body about said first axis when the body is disposed in said generally upright position.

Preferably the locking device comprises a further catch for preventing said movement about the first axis.

Preferably the catch for preventing said movement about the second axis is disposed on a neck portion of the cleaner which is pivoted to the head portion of the cleaner about said first axis.

Preferably the body portion of the cleaner pivots relative to the neck portion about said second axis.

Preferably the catch for preventing said movement about the second axis comprises a locking portion and an actuator portion, the actuator portion being arranged to abut the head of the cleaner when the body is pivoted into its generally upright position to cause interengagement of the body and neck portions of the cleaner and thereby prevent movement of the body about the second axis.

Preferably the actuator is biased into a position in which the body and neck portions are freely pivotable relative to each other when the body is pivoted away from its generally upright position.

Preferably the locking device is arranged to lock the body against pivotal movement in a predetermined rotational position about said second axis.

Preferably said predetermined rotational position comprises a position in which a front face of body portion faces in the same direction as a front face of the head portion of the cleaner.

Preferably the locking device is arranged to permit pivotal movement of the body about said second axis into said predetermined rotational position when the body is disposed in the generally upright position.

Preferably the locking portion of the catch engages in a circumferential groove disposed around the second axis when the body is pivoted into its generally upright position.

Preferably the circumferential groove is provided with a locking formation at a selected circumferential position, the locking portion engaging said formation when the body is at said predetermined rotational position.

Preferably the locking portion is arranged to snap engage with said formation upon rotation of the body about said second axis.

Preferably the body portion comprises a housing and a depending airflow duct, the duct being rotatably mounted to said neck portion of the cleaner for rotation of the body about said second axis.

Preferably the lower end of the duct is received in the neck, the circumferential groove extending around the lower end of the duct inside the neck.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring toFIG. 1of the drawings, there is shown a steerable upright vacuum cleaner comprising a wheeled floor-engaging head portion10, which is pivotally connected at its rear to an upright elongate body portion11. The body portion11comprises a housing12containing a dust separator (not shown), such as a filter bag or cyclone. An elongate handle13extends upwardly from the upper end of the housing12of the body portion11.

The head portion10comprises an inlet14on its underside, through which dirty air is drawn into the vacuum cleaner by a motor-fan assembly (not shown). An agitator brush (not shown) is rotatably mounted across the inlet14. An air inlet duct19extends rearwardly through the head10from the inlet14, the rear end of duct19being turned through 90 degrees and is rotationally coupled to a tubular neck portion15of the cleaner to permit rotation of the neck15in direction D1about an axis A1, which extends transverse the head10.

The tubular neck15extends rearwardly from the centre of the rear end of the head10, the distal end of the neck15embracing the lower end of a cranked tubular duct16which depends from the underside of the housing12of the body portion11. The two tubes15,16are coupled in such a manner as to allow the cranked duct16to rotate in direction D2about the longitudinal axis A2of its lower end.

The upper end of the duct16extends into the housing12of the body portion11and into the inlet of the dust separator (not shown). In the embodiment shown, the motor/fan unit (not shown) is disposed in the head portion10of the cleaner and is connected to the outlet of the dust separator by an elongate flexible duct18, which extends between the head portion10and the body portion11of the cleaner.

It will be appreciated that the rotational coupling between the proximal end of the neck15and the duct19allows the body portion11of the vacuum cleaner to pivot forwardly and rearwardly in direction D1about the axis A1. The rotational coupling between the neck15and the duct16allows the body portion11to pivot from side-to-side in direction D2about the axis A2. In use, the head portion10of the cleaner can thus be steered by imparting a twisting movement to the handle13. The neck15and the duct16also serve to support the body portion11of the cleaner on the head10.

A catch20(shown schematically inFIG. 1) is pivotally mounted to the duct16for engaging a formation (not shown) on the rear of the head10of the cleaner. In use, the catch20serves to prevent rotation of the body portion about the axis A1and to thereby hold the body portion11in its upright position for storage or when using an elongate flexible cleaning tube (not shown).

In accordance with the present invention, a further catch17is provided for preventing rotation of the body11relative to the head about the axis A2. The catch17comprises an arm22, which extends longitudinally of the rearward end of the neck15. The arm22is pivotally connected intermediate its opposite ends to the neck15. The arm22carries a pair of resiliently-flexible fingers23a,23b, which are arranged over an aperture24in the neck15, such that they can be extended into the groove21when the arm22is pivoted in the counter-clockwise direction as shown. A spring (not shown) acts against the rearward end of the arm22to bias the arm22in the clockwise direction as shown, so that the fingers23a,23bare normally positioned out of the groove21.

A projection25extends radially from the tubular wall of the duct16into the groove21, the projection25extending axially of the groove21. The forward end of the arm22of the catch17is arranged to abut a formation26on the rear end of the head10when the body11is pivoted into its upright position about the axis A1: this forces the arm22to pivot in the counter-clockwise direction against the spring bias, such that the fingers23a,23bthereon enter the groove21.

The fingers23a,23blie tangentially of each other inside the groove21, the fingers23a,23bcomprising inclined outer surfaces which are directed in respective opposite directions circumferentially of the groove21. The projection25in the groove21is disposed at a circumferential position, where it engages between the fingers23a,23bwhen the body is rotated about axis A2into a position in which the front of the body11faces directly forwardly of the head10. In this manner, rotation of the body11away from the forward-facing orientation is prevented when the body11is in its upright position.

In the event that the body11is pivoted into its upright position when the body11is rotated away from a forward-facing orientation, it will be appreciated that the projection25will be positioned radially away from the gap between the fingers23a,23b. However, the projection25can be brought into engagement between the fingers23a,23bby rotating the body11in either direction to cause the projection25to abut the inclined surface of one of the fingers e.g.23a. Continued rotation of the body11causes the relevant finger eg23ato flex until the projection25snap engages between the fingers23a,23bas shown.

A second projection26may be provided in the groove21to prevent the body11from being fully rotated about the axis A2.

The catch17is simple and inexpensive in construction and is able to effectively hold the body11of the cleaner in a forwards-facing orientation when the body is in its upright position. The provision of the catch17improves the stability of the cleaner when the cleaner is not in use or when it is being used for above floor cleaning.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that changes of modifications may be made thereto without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention.