BLOCKING DEVICE FOR A VACUUM CLEANER

Abstract: In a vacuum cleaner having a disposable dust bag (15) of the kind comprising an attachment plate (15a) of cardboard or the like, and a cover (10) adapted to be opened for the replacement of the dust bag, a blocking device is provided which is adapted to prevent closing of the cover when the dust bag is missing. According to the invention the blocking device comprises a slide (12) actuated by a spring to be moved to a first position in which the closing of the cover (10) is prevented, and a toggle-joint mechanism (13) adapted to be actuated by the attachment plate (15a) to move the slide to a second position for permitting closing of the cover (10).

Description: The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner having a disposable dust bag of the kind comprising a rigid attachment plate of cardboard or the like, said vacuum cleaner comprising a cover adapted to be opened for the replacement of the dust bag, and a blocking device adapted to prevent closing of the cover when the dust bag is missing. Blocking devices of this kind are used to prevent the use of the vacuum cleaner without a dust bag in which case dust may enter the motor chamber and cause damage to the motor. For the purpose of indicating the prior art, reference is made to EP-A- 157,918 and EP-A-45,036. DE 2,902,630 discloses another state of the art device which comprises a spring actuated means rotatable about an axis between a first position in which the closing of the cover is prevented, and a second position which is occupied when a dust bag has been inserted and which allows the closing of the cover and, consequently, the use of the vacuum cleaner. The disadvantage of a device of this kind is, however, that it is too bulky in certain cases. According to the present invention, a blocking device has been provided which requires only a minimum of space and which neverheless has a good functional reliability. This has been achieved by means of a device of the kind mentioned in the introduction which according to the invention is characterized in that the blocking device comprises a slide actuated by a resiliant force to be moved to a first position in which the closing of the cover is prevented, and a toggle-joint mechanism adapted to be actuated by said attachment plate to move said slide to a second position for permitting closing of said cover, said toggle-joint mechanism comprising two pivotably interconnected links, one of which is hinged to a stationary axis and the other is hinged to the slide. The invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawing on which Fig. 1 illustrates a front view of the blocking device according to the invention, Fig 2 is a sectional view taken along II-II in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a view corresponding to Fig. 2 but showing the device in another position. The drawing illustrates a partially shown cover 10 hinged to a vacuum cleaner housing 11 which is also shown partially. The blocking device is attached to the inside of the cover 10 and comprises a vertically movable slide 12 which is actuatable by a toggle-joint mechanism 13, the two ends of which are hingedly connected to the cover 10 and the slide 12, respectively. The slide 12 is actuated by a spring 14 to be moved to its upper end position according to Figs. 1 and 2. In the position shown in Fig. 2 no dust bag has been inserted into the vacuum cleaner, and the closing of the cover 10 is prevented by the upper end of the slide 12 which engages the edge portion 11a of the vacuum cleaner housing. The vacuum cleaner can therefore not be used. In Fig. 3, the vacuum cleaner is provided with a dust bag 15 having an attachment plate 15a. When the cover 10 is closed, the toggle-joint mechanism 13 engages the attachment plate 15a whereby the slide 12 is moved to its lower position against the force of the spring 14, as is shown in the Figure. The cover 10 can therefore be closed without being obstructed by the slide 12.

Claims: 1. Vacuum cleaner having a disposable dust bag of the kind comprisinga rigid attachment plate (15a) of cardboard or the like, said vacuum cleaner comprising a cover (10) adapted to be opened for the replacement of the dust bag, and a blocking device adapted to prevent closing of the cover when the dust bag is missing, characterized in that the blocking device comprises a slide (12) actuated by a resilient force to be moved to a first position in which the closing of the cover is prevented and a toggle-joint mechanism (13) adapted to be actuated by said attachment plate (15a) to move said slide to a second position for permitting closing of said cover, said toggle-joint mechanism (13) comprising two pivotably interconnected links, one of which is hinged to a stationary axis and the other is hinged to the slide (12).

Inventors: FRANCKE, KURT OSKAR, HEDIN, ANN-CHRISTINE, LINDQUIST, NILS TOMMY, VUKOTIC, MILOS
Applicants: AKTIEBOLAGET ELECTROLUX
Application year: 1988
Main classification: A47L9
IPC codes: A47L9