Vacuum cleaner with sliding latch

A latch mounts in an opening on the lidcage of a conventional vacuum cleaner. A stationary piece has a hooked arm that locks against an edge on the lidcage, and can be clipped in place without other fasteners. It also has a hose fence that helps hold a stored hose. A movable piece has a tongue that slides within a channel on the stationary piece. When locked, the tongue engages the bead and a lock latches onto an edge, inhibiting the tongue from moving to the unlocked position. The lock is on an actuator tab that extends from the stationary piece and can be deflected by a user to release the lock. A spaced finger edge may be engaged by a user while pressing the actuator tab. A barb on the tongue engages the same edge that the lock latches onto, and resists removal of the tongue from the channel.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to vacuum cleaners, and more particularly to latches used to secure a removable lidcage to the tank of a wet/dry vacuum. Such lidcages house the vacuum source and fit on and close the open upper end of the tank. Many such vacuum cleaners have a pair of openings on the lidcage that accommodate prior art latches that latch onto latch lower bases on the tank.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The applicants have developed a new latch that is easy and inexpensive to manufacture and install on a conventional wet/dry vacuum cleaner. The new latch includes two pieces, one of which is a stationary latch that fits into the opening on a conventional lidcage.

The stationary latch has two spaced edges that fit against outer peripheral surfaces on the lidcage and hold the stationary latch against the exterior of the lidcage. A resilient hooked arm on the stationary latch deflects over and then locks against an interior edge on the lidcage, subsequently inhibiting the stationary latch from being withdrawn from the exterior of the removable lidcage and thus enabling each stationary latch to be clipped in place on the lidcage without the use of other fasteners. The stationary latch may also have a hose fence that extends vertically upwardly above the open end of the tank, defining a hose space in which a hose can be mounted between the hose fence and the walls that encompass the vacuum source.

The second piece of the new latch is a latch clasp that has a tongue that mounts within a channel in the stationary latch for sliding movement along a length of the channel between a locked position and an unlocked position. A barb on one part of the tongue resists removal of the tongue from the channel after the tongue has been mounted. In the locked position, a terminal end of the tongue engages the extending bead on the tank, inhibiting the lidcage from being lifted from or accidentally knocked off the tank. In the unlocked position, the terminal end is withdrawn from engagement with the extending bead, freeing the lidcage to be lifted from the tank.

In use, a vertically deflecting lock on the latch clasp latches onto an edge on the stationary latch when the tongue is in the locked position and inhibits the tongue from moving to the unlocked position while the lock is in that position. A deflectable actuator tab on the latch clasp projects outwardly from the stationary latch, and can be deflected downwardly by a user to release the lock from the edge. A lower finger edge is spaced from the actuator tab in a position where a user may engage it with one finger while pressing the actuator tab with another finger on the same hand. Once the lock is released, a second deflectable tab can be used to move the latch clasp from the unlocked position to the locked position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As seen inFIG. 1, the new vacuum cleaner10has a tank12, a removable lidcage14, and a latch made up of a stationary latch16and a latch clasp18.

The Tank

The tank12is a conventional one. It is made of molded plastic, has a round cross-section, and holds 1-20 gallons of liquid, or an equivalent volume of dirt and debris. Metal tanks can also be used. A bead20(seen inFIGS. 2 and 3) extends outwardly from the upper end of the tank. The illustrated bead extends around the entire periphery of the tank and projects outwardly from the rest of the tank. In other examples, the bead may extend around only parts of the tank, and may take other forms, such as a top edge of a groove in the tank wall.

The tank10may have wheels or casters, as known in the art.

The illustrated tank10has a pair of opposed latch lower bases22, which, in the prior art, serve as bases for a prior art latch. These latch bases extend outwardly from the tank, and each include a wall24that has a horizontal lower edge26(FIG. 1).

The Lidcage

The removable lidcage14is also a conventional one. It is also made of molded plastic, and has a skirt42(FIG. 1) that covers the bead20on the tank12when the lidcage is fitted on the tank. In other arrangements, the lidcage may cover only part of the bead. The lidcage also has walls44that house a vacuum source, such as a motor and impeller as is known in the art. In this example, the walls that house the vacuum source extend above a lidcage deck46. In other examples, the vacuum source may be housed lower, in some cases below the upper rim of the tank12.

The illustrated lidcage14has a pair of opposed latch upper bases52that extend outwardly away from the skirt42. When placing the lidcage on the tank12, the upper latch bases are aligned with the lower latch bases22.

The upper latch bases52have openings that are by outer peripheral surfaces on the lidcage14. In the prior art, these openings would be used for latching the lidcage to the tank. As seen inFIGS. 2 and 3, the illustrated openings are bordered by top and bottom edges58,60that are spaced a distance apart. In many cases, it will be preferable for these edges to be parallel. As best seen inFIGS. 2 and 3, the illustrated openings each also have a seat62that extends downwardly and inwardly from the bottom edge60. The seat is configured to flex inwardly or outwardly with respect to the rest of the lidcage. Other shapes and configurations have been and could be used, but the shape and configuration of the opening (and its associated walls and surfaces) will affect shape and configuration of the stationary latch16.

The Stationary Latches

Each of the two stationary latches16clips in place in one of the openings on the upper latch bases52on the lidcage14, and is not intended to be removable by the consumer after purchase. For use with the illustrated prior art lidcage, the new stationary latch, best seen inFIGS. 4-6, is an integrally molded plastic piece that has a main body70with a corner72on the lower part of its outer side. Above the corner, there is a shallow edge76. On the upper part of the inner side78of the main body, a support arm80extends inwardly. An optional hose fence82extends vertically upwardly from an upper side of the main body, and a resilient hooked arm85extends downwardly from the lower side of the main body, hooking outwardly at its bottom.

With the illustrated embodiment, it is preferable that the distance between the inner and outer sides of the main body be closer together than the distance between the top and bottom edges58,60on the opening54on the lidcage14. During assembly, one side of the main body70of the stationary latch16(generally, either the upper side or the lower side) is passed through the opening in the lidcage, and then the secondary latch is clipped in place with the corner72seating in the seat62on the lidcage, the edge76fitting against the peripheral surface of the lidcage bordering the bottom edge60of the opening, a second edge90on the support arm80fitting against the peripheral surface bordering the top edge58of the opening, and a terminal end of the resilient hooked arm85deflecting over and then locking with a terminal edge on a depending leg94on the seat on the lidcage. This arrangement enables each stationary latch to be clipped in place on the lidcage without the use of other fasteners.

Once the stationary latch16is in place, the interaction between the edges76and90, and the resilient hooked arm85on the stationary latch and the complementary surfaces and edges on the opening54of the lidcage14hold and lock the stationary latch against the exterior of the lidcage, subsequently inhibiting the stationary latch from being removed from the lidcage.

The use of this type of stationary latch provides a host of benefits. First, the latch fits onto a conventional lidcage. Consequently, the manufacturer has increased flexibility in the type of latch that can be used on its vacuum cleaners, and need not incur the costs of molding and/or stocking a second lidcage. Second, this type of stationary latch arrangement enables the lidcage and the stationary latch to be made of different materials. Consequently, a less expensive material might be used for one part or the other, and, for product aesthetics, different colors can be used without the need for painting, etc.

The hose fence82, if provided, extends vertically upwardly above the upper end of the tank12, and defines a hose space between the hose fence and the walls44that encompass the vacuum source. When a consumer uses this space for storing a hose for the vacuum cleaner, the hose fence helps to retain the hose in place.

As seen inFIGS. 5 and 5A, the main body70of the stationary latch16has a channel86that extends from the inner side through to the outer side of the main body. This channel accommodates the latch clasp18.

The Latch Clasp

As best seen inFIGS. 7-9, the latch clasp18of this embodiment of the invention has a tongue100and an actuator tab104.

The tongue100mounts within the channel86on the stationary latch16for sliding movement along a length of the channel86between a locked position (illustrated inFIG. 2) and an unlocked position (illustrated inFIG. 3).

In the locked position, a terminal end106of the tongue100engages the extending bead20on the tank12, inhibiting the lidcage14from being lifted from the tank. In this example, the tongue engages the bead by sliding under the bead. Other arrangements could be used. For example, the bead could be provided with a slot and the tongue could slide into the slot. Alternatively, the tongue might press or otherwise move another part into a locking position. The illustrated arrangement is advantageous because it has only one moving part.

In the unlocked position (FIG. 3), the terminal end106of the tongue100is withdrawn from engagement with the extending bead20, freeing the lidcage14to be lifted from the tank12. In this example, moving the tongue to the unlocked position withdraws the tongue from under the bead20, removing the impediment to the lidcage being lifted from the tank.

Outward movement of the latch clasp18from the locked position is initially inhibited by a lock114on the actuator tab104. When the latch clasp is locked (as seen inFIG. 2), that lock latches onto a locking edge116on the stationary latch. Pressing the actuator tab disengages the lock from the locking edge, freeing the tongue100to be moved outwardly from the locked position to the unlocked position.

Although other arrangements can be used, the illustrated actuator tab104takes the form of a third class lever, with the portion of the tab engaged by a user being positioned between a hinge118and the lock114. The illustrated lock114faces up, and latches onto a downward-facing locking edge116. When the latch clasp18is in the locked position, the actuator tab is disposed outside the channel86and can be pressed vertically by a user. Pressing the tab downwardly moves the lock downwardly, and out of engagement with the locking edge116on the stationary latch16.

A lower finger edge119on the latch clasp18is spaced from the actuator tab104in a position where a user may engage it with one finger while pressing the actuator tab with another finger on the same hand. In this example, the lower finger edge is positioned beneath the proximal edge of the actuator tab.

A barb120on the tongue100resists removal of the tongue from the channel86after the tongue has been mounted in the channel. In the illustrated example, the tongue has two parts, with the actuator tab104being on an inner part of the tongue and arms122being on a separate, laterally outer part. The illustrated barb is on a tongue end that extends between the distal ends of the two arms. When the latch clasp18is assembled with the stationary latch16, the arms flex, enabling the barb to deflect past the locking edge116in the channel. Once the barb passes the locking edge, it returns to an undeflected position (seen inFIG. 3). In that position, interference between the barb and the locking edge prevents the latch clasp from being inadvertently fully removed from the stationary latch.

The position of the barb120on a part of the tongue100that is separated from the part of the tongue that bears the actuator tab104(i.e., on the other side of the hinge118) minimizes movement of the barb when the actuator tab is depressed, and helps ensure that the barb latches onto the locking edge even when the actuator tab is depressed.

With the assembled product, a user can lock the lidcage14in place on the tank12by pressing the actuator tab104downwardly until the terminal end106of the outer part of the tongue100slides under the bead20and the lock114deflects past and then latches onto the locking edge116. One advantage of this arrangement is that, in some embodiments, specific rotational alignment of the lidcage and the tank may not be required because the locking engagement can occur on a bead that extends all the way (or most of the way) around the tank, rather than requiring alignment of upper and lower latch bases.

Other arrangements are possible. For example, the lock114could be arranged to face downwardly (or to a lateral side) and latch onto an upward facing (or sideways-facing) locking edge116. In those cases, the actuator tab104may be arranged to be move upwardly or sideways for unlocking. The barb120or an equivalent structure like a pin, bar, or tab could lock onto another edge of the channel86, or on to some other part of the stationary latch18or the lidcage12. Alternatively, the barb could be on the stationary latch and the locking edge could be on the latch clasp.

This description of various embodiments of the invention has been provided for illustrative purposes. Revisions or modifications may be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the invention. The full scope of the invention is set forth in the following claims.