Hand-holdable vacuum cleaner

Abstract: A vacuum cleaner head, for attachment directly to a vacuum cleaner body (13) having a central longitudinal axis (19), has exposed bristles (14,15) with remote ends on a plane off-set by about 70° to the central axis (19). The bristles (14) and (15) extend along opposing sides of a lower surface of the head in strips at either side of a channel (18) through which dust and debris gathered up by the bristles (14,15) passes into the vacuum body (13). The off-set plane means that when the body (13) is held directly or by a handle, a natural comfortable sweeping action, with the handle axis at about 20° to the vertical, keeps both strips of bristle (14,15) in contact with the swept surface.

Description: The invention relates to a hand-holdable vacuum cleaner. It is already known to provide a vacuum cleaner head having bristles and arranged so that dust and debris disturbed in use by brushing over a surface is drawn into a vacuum cleaner. The bristled head is usually fitted to an end of a rigid tube which is in turn connected via a flexible tube to a vacuum cleaner body. The bristled head may be somewhat loosely connected to the rigid tube to provide some relative movement during use of the vacuum cleaner. U.S. Patent Specifications 2814066 and 2747217 describe angled brushing surfaces used on suction tools for remote connection to a vacuum cleaner body. There is an inherent advantage to be gained by fitting a bristled head directly to a vacuum cleaner body to save space, and the cost of the rigid and flexible tubes. U.S. Patent Specification 1844915 relates to a wheeled vacuum cleaner where this is the case. The advantage of direct fitting to the body is enhanced for relatively small hand-holdable vacuum cleaners, such as a vacuum cleaner described in WO 96/22724. However, the handling of such a vacuum cleaner in use is cumbersome and it is specially uncomfortable to control and manually perform an efficient sweeping action, for example. It is an object of the invention to overcome or at least reduce this disadvantage. According to the invention there is provided a hand-holdable vacuum cleaner comprising a vacuum cleaner head fitted directly to a vacuum cleaner body, said body extending along a central longitudinal axis and incorporating an electric motor, a fan and dust collecting compartment, said head comprising a substantially rectangular hollow housing with an upper surface fitting directly against an outer surface of said body and with a lower surface comprising rubbing surfaces, for contacting the ground in use, said rubbing surfaces being disposed along two opposing sides of the lower surface to form a gap therebetween to allow dust and debris to enter the body through the head, in which the rubbing surfaces lie in an imaginary plane which makes an angle of approximately 70° with the central axis of the body. The rubbing surfaces may be provided by bristles mounted in two rows to the head and extending along respective opposing sides. Rubbing surfaces may also be provided by one or more elongate resilient pads mounted parallel to the respective rows of bristles and closer to the central axis (19) than the rows of bristles. A central passage may be formed in the head having an inlet surface that lies substantially on the same plane as the rubbing surfaces. A vacuum cleaner according to the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- Figure 1 is a sectional side view of the head; Figure 2 is an end view of the head; and Figure 3 is an exploded isometric view of the head. Referring to the drawings, the head comprises hollow rectangular housings 10 and 11. An upper surface 12 of the head fits to an outer surface of a vacuum cleaner body 13. Strips of bristles 14 and 15 fit between the housings 10 and 11 and extend to form at remote ends of the bristles rubbing (i.e. brushing) contacts of the head. Plastic sponge rubber pads 14A and 15A are also held between the housings 10 and 11. A spacer 16 is mounted between the housing 11 and a bottom cover 17. The cover 17 has a curved central channel 18 that extends up from an inlet, along a central axis 19 of the vacuum cleaner, through the spacer 16 and the housings 10 and 11 to an outlet positioned adjacent the outer surface of the body 13. Dust and debris swept up by the bristles is therefore drawn through the channel 18 directly into the vacuum cleaner body, including, as the channel 18 has a generally large cross-sectional area, waste articles including cigarette ends and the like. It will be noted, as best shown in Figure 2, that an imaginary plane 20 which joins the rubbing contacts provided by the strips 14 and 15 lies at an angle of approximately 70° with respect to the central axis 19. This means that when the vacuum cleaner body is manually manipulated directly via a rigid handle, not shown, attached to the body 13 opposite the head, a comfortable natural sweeping action is provided. This is provided while maintaining the remote ends of both strips 14 and 15 of bristles in contact with a swept surface. In other words, a comfortable orientation of the body 13 when supported manually by the handle, which is at or around 20° to the vertical, leads to efficient and "natural" sweeping by the bristles, and removal of the sweepings by the vacuum cleaner. The bristles may be replaced or supplemented by strips of cloth or leather, or resilient material, such as sponge foam, that are supported with their exposed surfaces generally on the plane 20. That is to say, where different material strips are used, each strip is mounted so that its rubbing or contact surface lies at least generally on the plane 20. In this way the brushing and wiping, and combinations thereof, takes place efficiently and comfortably by holding the vacuum cleaner body with the central axis at about 20° to the vertical during the sweeping actions. It is also possible to have the bristles as described and a strip of foam or other rubbing material adjacent only the set of bristles 14, between the set 14 and the channel 18. This serves in any event to improve the suction effect of the vacuum cleaner in use.

Claims: A hand-holdable vacuum cleaner comprising a vacuum cleaner head fitted directly to a vacuum cleaner body (13), said body extending along a central longitudinal axis (19) and incorporating an electric motor, a fan and dust collecting compartment, said head comprising a substantially rectangular hollow housing (10, 11) with an upper surface (12) fitting directly against an outer surface of said body and with a lower surface comprising rubbing surfaces (14, 15, 14A, 15A) for contacting the ground in use, said rubbing surfaces being disposed along two opposing sides of the lower surface to form a gap therebetween to allow dust and debris to enter the body through the head, characterized in that the rubbing surfaces lie in an imaginary plane (20) which makes an angle of approximately 70° with the central axis (19) of the body. A hand-holdable vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, in which the rubbing surfaces are provided by bristles (14, 15) mounted in two rows to the head and extending along respective opposing sides. A hand-holdable vacuum cleaner according to claim 2, in which rubbing surfaces are also provided by one or more elongate resilient pads (14A, 15A) mounted parallel to the respective rows of bristles (14, 15) and closer to the central axis (19) than the rows of bristles. A hand-holdable vacuum cleaner according to any of claims 1 to 3, including a central passage (18) formed in the head having an inlet surface that lies substantially on the same plane (20) as the rubbing surfaces.

Inventors: SCHUPP ANDREAS, SIN TIMMY HOK YIN, SCHUPP, ANDREAS, SIN, TIMMY HOK YIN, SCHUPP, ANDREAS UNITS C F, SIN, TIMMY HOK YIN UNITS C F
Applicants: TECHTRONIC IND CO LTD, TECHTRONIC INDUSTRIES CO., LTD.
Application year: 1997
Main classification: A47L9
IPC codes: A47L9, A47L5