Abstract:
A portable vacuum cleaner is disclosed. The portable vacuum cleaner includes a rechargeable battery and a DC motor. The portable vacuum cleaner further includes a DC power input port for receiving DC power from a remote power source. The DC motor is operable in response to power from either the battery or the remote power source.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present application relates to portable vacuum cleaners which may be powered by a rechargeable battery or which may be powered via a conventional source of external DC power, such as vehicle&#39;s 12v DC power supply. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY 
       [0002]    In accordance with the disclosure, a portable vacuum cleaner is provided. The portable vacuum cleaner may comprise a rechargeable battery having a nominal battery voltage output at a first voltage level and a DC motor operable at a voltage level substantially equal to the first voltage level. The portable vacuum cleaner may further comprises a DC power input port for receiving DC power. The DC power input port may be adapted to electrically couple the vacuum cleaner alternatively to a first source of DC power at a first voltage output level substantially equal to the first voltage level and a second source of DC power at a second voltage output level, the second voltage level substantially greater than the first voltage level. 
         [0003]    The first source of DC power may be a DC adapter, such as one configured to plug into a conventional power, or cigarette, outlet of a vehicle. The second source of DC power may be an AC/DC converter, such as one configured to plug into a conventional AC power outlet. 
         [0004]    The vacuum cleaner may still further comprise a switching device, such as a two position power switch cooperating with a two position car/battery charge switch. The switching device may have four output states switchable to selectively cause four operational states. The operational states comprising a first operational state wherein the motor will operate as powered by the battery, a second operational state wherein the motor will not operate, and the battery will not charge if coupled to the first source of DC power and the battery will charge if coupled to the second source of DC power, a third operational state wherein the motor will operate if coupled to the first source of DC power but will not operate if coupled to the second source of DC power and a fourth operational state wherein the motor will not operate and the battery will not recharge. 
         [0005]    It is contemplated that nominal voltage of the battery and the motor may be 12v DC. 
         [0006]    It is further contemplated that the AC/DC converter may provide an output voltage in the range of 14.5-14.8v DC and a trickle charge of approximately 300 mA. 
         [0007]    Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following specification taken in conjunction with the following drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]      FIG. 1  is a side view of a first embodiment of a battery powered vacuum cleaner in accordance with the present invention; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the vacuum cleaner of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a sectional view of the vacuum cleaner of  FIG. 1 , taken along line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a battery powered vacuum cleaner in accordance with the present invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is an exploded view of the vacuum cleaner of  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is a sectional view of the vacuum cleaner of  FIG. 4 , taken along line  6 - 6  of  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0014]      FIGS. 7   a - 7   d  are schematic views of wiring of a modified version of the battery powered vacuum cleaner of  FIG. 4 , in accordance with the present invention, each of the  FIGS. 7   a - 7   b  illustrating particular current paths; and 
           [0015]      FIG. 8  is a plan view of the modified version of the battery powered vacuum cleaner of  FIGS. 4 and 5 , illustrating the actually wiring. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0016]    While this invention is susceptible of embodiments in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail, preferred embodiments of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broad aspect of the invention to the embodiments illustrated. 
         [0017]    A first embodiment of a battery powered vacuum cleaner, generally designated  10 , is illustrated in  FIGS. 1-3 . The vacuum cleaner  10  may be a hand held portable vacuum cleaner. 
         [0018]    The vacuum cleaner  10  may comprise a two-piece vacuum cleaner housing  12 , a motor  14 , such as a conventional 9.8v. motor, disposed within the housing  12 , and a battery, such as a battery pack  16  comprising eight rechargeable battery cells  18  arranged in a generally horseshoe configuration. The motor  14  has an axis of rotation, and the battery cells  18  are arranged substantially coaxial with the axis of rotation of the motor  14 . The actual number of battery cells, and thus the overall voltage of the battery pack  16 , may vary, depending upon the voltage required by the particular motor. 
         [0019]    The battery pack  16  may be wrapped about the motor  14  within the vacuum cleaner housing  12 . The battery pack  16  may directly engage the motor  14 . The vacuum cleaner  10  may further include a removable battery door  20 , secured to the housing  12 , such as by conventional screws  21 . The battery door  20  may provide access to the battery pack  16  and may be adapted to permit relatively easy removal of the battery pack  16  from the vacuum cleaner housing  12 . Permitting removal of the battery pack  16  permits one to remove the battery pack  16 , such as to permit replacement of the battery pack  16  or to permit environmentally friendly disposal of the battery pack  16  separate from disposal of the vacuum cleaner  10  itself. The motor  14  and battery pack  16  may also be contained within a motor housing  22  and battery cover  24 , which may be collectively contained within the vacuum cleaner housing  12 . 
         [0020]    The battery pack  16  may include conductive tabs  26  electrically coupling the battery cells  18  in series. The conductive tabs  26  may structurally interconnect the battery cells  18 . The battery cells  18  of the battery pack  16  may also be flexibly enclosed in a unitary shrink-wrap covering  28 . The battery pack  16  may be electrically coupled to the motor  14  by separable connectors  30 , to permit easy separation/reattachment of the battery pack  16  from/to the motor  14 . 
         [0021]    The vacuum cleaner  10  may also include conventional vacuum cleaner components, including an impeller  36  driven by the motor  14 , a filter cartridge  38 , a dust housing  40  and a snout  42 . The vacuum cleaner may further include a charger  44 , a jacket  46 , a latch  50 , a recharge socket  52 , a wall mounting bracket  54 , a spring  56  and a motor actuating switch  58 . 
         [0022]    The charger  44  may have a charger cable  44   a  for insertion into a DC power input port  52 . The AC/DC converter may be an AC/DC converter. 
         [0023]    A second embodiment of a battery powered vacuum cleaner  10 ′ is illustrated in  FIGS. 4-6 . The vacuum cleaner  10 ′ may be what is commonly referred to as a wet/dry vacuum cleaner. Components of the vacuum cleaner  10 ′ which are functionally similar to the components of the first embodiment of the vacuum cleaner  10  are indentified with the same reference numbers. 
         [0024]    The vacuum cleaner  10 ′ may comprise a vacuum cleaner housing  12 , a motor  14 , such as a conventional 9.8v. motor, disposed within the housing  12  and a battery pack  16  comprising twelve rechargeable battery cells  18  arranged in a generally horseshoe configuration. The actual number of the battery cells  18 , and thus the overall voltage of the battery pack  16 , may vary, depending upon the voltage required by the particular motor. 
         [0025]    The battery pack  16  may be wrapped about the motor  14  within the vacuum cleaner housing  12 . The battery pack  16  may directly engage the motor  14 . The motor  14  has an axis of rotation, and the battery cells  18  are arranged substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the motor  14 . The vacuum cleaner  10  may further include a removable battery door  20 , secured to the housing  12  such as by a conventional screw  21 . The battery door  20  may provide access to the battery pack  16  and may be adapted to permit relatively easy removal of the battery pack  16  from the vacuum cleaner housing  12 . As with the first embodiment, permitting removal of the battery pack  16  permits one to remove the battery pack  16 , such as to permit replacement of the battery pack  16  or to permit environmentally friendly disposal of the battery pack  16  separate from disposal of the vacuum cleaner  10 ′ itself. The motor  14  and battery pack  16  may also be contained within a motor housing  22  which may be contained within the vacuum cleaner housing  12 . 
         [0026]    The battery pack  16  may include conductive tabs  26  electrically coupling the battery cells  18  in series. The conductive tabs  26  may structurally interconnect the battery cells  18 . The battery cells  18  of the battery pack  16  may also be flexibly enclosed in a unitary shrink-wrap covering  28 . The battery pack  16  may be electrically coupled to the motor  14  by separable connectors  30 , to permit easy separation/reattachment of the battery pack  16  from/to the motor  14 . 
         [0027]    The vacuum cleaner  10 ′ may also include conventional vacuum cleaner components, including an impeller  36  driven by the motor  14  and a conventional filter cartridge (not shown). The vacuum cleaner may further include a conventional charger (not shown), a conventional recharge socket  52 , and a motor actuating switch  58 . 
         [0028]    The vacuum cleaner  10 ′ may further include a tank  63 , a foam sleeve  64 , a float cup  66  and a cage  68  disposed between the foam sleeve  64  and the float cup  66 . The vacuum cleaner  10 ′ may still further include a lid  70 , a baffle  72  and a handle  74 . 
         [0029]    A modified version of the vacuum cleaner, discussed above and hereinafter referred to as the modified vacuum cleaner  10 ″, is illustrated in  FIGS. 7   a - 7   d  and  FIG. 8 . The modified vacuum cleaner  10 ″ may be powered by a rechargeable DC battery pack  16 ″, such as a 12v DC battery pack. 
         [0030]    The battery pack  16 ″ may be recharged by an AC/DC charger  44 ″, having an AC/DC charger cable  44   a.  The AC/DC charger  44 ″ may convert AC power, such as conventional 110-120v AC, to DC power, such as 14.5-14.8v DC, at 300 mA. The charger  44 ″ may provide the DC power, such as the 14.5-14.8v DC power at 300 mA, until the voltage across the battery pack  16 ″ reaches the output voltage of the AC/DC charger  44 , at which time the charger  44 ″ may shut off, until such time as the voltage across the battery pack  16  dissipates below this amount. 
         [0031]    Alternatively the modified vacuum cleaner  10 ″ may be powered by a DC power adapter  80 , such as power adapter providing a 12v DC power output, having an output power adapter cable  80   a.  The power adapter  80  may be adapted to be plugged in to a conventional DC power supply, such as a conventional 12v DC cigarette lighter (not shown) of a vehicle, to provide a 12 DC voltage to the modified vacuum cleaner  10 ″. 
         [0032]    Referring in particular to  FIGS. 7   a - 7   d  and  8 , the modified vacuum cleaner  10 ″ may include a DC motor  14 ″, such as a 12v DC motor, having a positive motor terminal  14   a  and a negative motor terminal  14   b.  The modified vacuum cleaner  10 ″ may further include a rechargeable DC battery pack  16 ″, such as a 12v DC battery pack, having a positive battery terminal  16   a  and a negative battery terminal  16   b.  The modified vacuum cleaner  10 ″ may still further include the two position power switch  58  having a common power switch terminal  58   a  selectively coupled to a first power switch terminal  58   b  and to a second power switch terminal  58   c.  When the common power switch terminal  58   a  is coupled to the first power switch terminal  58   b,  the power switch  58  is in the “off” position and when the common power switch terminal  58   a  is coupled to the second power switch terminal  58   c,  the power switch  58  is in the “on” position. 
         [0033]    The modified vacuum cleaner  10 ″ may further include a two position car/charge switch  82  having a common car/charge switch terminal  82   a  selectively coupled to a first car/charge switch terminal  82   b  and a second car/charge switch terminal  82   c.  When the common car/charger switch terminal  82   a  is coupled to the first car/charge switch terminal  82   b,  the car/charge switch is in “car” position and when the common car/charge switch terminal  82   a  is coupled to the second car/charge switch terminal  82   c,  the car/charge switch  82  is in the “battery/charge” position. 
         [0034]    The present disclosure describes two, two-position switches,  58 ,  82 , which collectively provide four output states. It is to be understood that the switches  58 ,  82  may be in the form of a single switching device that selectively provides at least four output states. 
         [0035]    The modified vacuum cleaner  10 ″ may still further include a DC power input port  52 ′ having a positive input terminal  52   a ′ and a negative input terminal  52   b ′. The DC power input port  52 ′ may be adapted to alternatively receive the AC/DC power cable  44   a  or the DC power cable  80   a.    
         [0036]    The modified vacuum cleaner  10 ″ may further include a circuit, generally designated  84 , for selectively coupling power received from the DC power input port  52 ′ to the motor  14 ″ and the battery pack  16 ″. 
         [0037]    The power switch  58  and the charging switch  82  may selectively provide four current paths  84   a - 84   d.  These four paths are illustrated, in bold, in  FIGS. 7   a - 7   b,  respectively. 
         [0038]    The first current path  84   a  is illustrated in bold in  FIG. 7   a . This occurs when the power switch  58  is in the “on” position and the charge switch  82  is in the “battery/charge” position. In this situation, the motor  14 ″ will operate, powered by the battery pack  16 ″. 
         [0039]    The second current path  84   b  is illustrated in bold in  FIG. 7   b . This occurs when the power switch  58  is in the “off” position and the charge switch  82  is in the “battery/charge” position. In this situation, the motor  14 ″ will not operate. If the AC/DC charger  44  is plugged into the DC power input port  52   a,  a DC potential may be applied across the battery pack  16 ″, thereby charging the battery pack  16 ″, until the voltage across the battery pack  16 ″ reaches the DC output voltage of the AC/DC charger  44 ″, such as 14.5-14.8v DC. 
         [0040]    If the 12v DC power adapter  80  is plugged into the DC power input port  52   a,  a potential of 12v DC may be applied across the battery pack  16 ″. However the nominal voltage of the battery pack  16 ″, even when discharged, does not drop below its nominal output voltage, such as 12v DC. Therefore the 12v DC power adapter  80  will not charge the battery pack  16 ″ when the 12v DC power adapter  80  is plugged into the DC power input port  52   a.  This prevents depleting the source of the 12v DC power, such as the vehicle&#39;s car battery. 
         [0041]    The third current path  84   c  is illustrated in bold in  FIG. 7   c . This occurs when the power switch  58  is in the “on” position and the charge switch  82  is in the “car” position. In this situation, the motor  14  will operate if the 12v DC power adapter  80  is plugged into the DC power input port  52 ′. However the motor  14 ″ will not operate if the AC/DC charger  44  is plugged into the DC power input port  52 ′, as the output power of the AC/DC charger  44  is current limited and therefore insufficient to power the motor  14 ″. 
         [0042]    The fourth current path  84   d  is illustrated in bold in  FIG. 7   d . This occurs when the power switch  58  is in the “off” position and the charge switch  82  is in the “car” position. In this situation, the motor  14  will not operate, nor will the battery pack  16 ″ charge, regardless of whether the AC/DC charger  44 , or the DC power adapter  80 , is plugged into the modified vacuum cleaner  10 ″. 
         [0043]    One embodiment of particular wiring of the circuit  84  is illustrated in  FIG. 8 . The wiring includes a first conductor  86  coupling the positive input power terminal to the first power switch terminal  58   b  and to the first charger switch terminal  82   b  and a second conductor  88  coupling the common power switch terminal  58   a  to the common charger switch terminal  82   a.    
         [0044]    The wiring further includes a third conductor  90  coupling the negative input power terminal to the negative battery terminal  16   a  (not shown in  FIG. 8 ), via a connector  30   a  and to the negative motor terminal  14   b  and a fourth conductor  92  coupling the second charge switch terminal  58   c  to the positive battery pack terminal  16   b.  The wiring still further includes a fifth conductor  94  coupling the second power switch terminal  82   c  to the positive motor terminal  14   a.    
         [0045]    While specific embodiments have been illustrated and described, numerous modifications may come to mind without departing from the spirit of the invention. The scope of protection is only intended to be limited by the scope of the accompanying claims.