Abstract:
A handheld cleaning appliance includes a dirty air inlet, a clean air outlet and separating apparatus for separating dirt and dust from an airflow in an airflow path leading from the air inlet to the air outlet. The separating apparatus includes a cyclonic separator having at least one cyclone and a collector having a wall and a base member, the base member being held in a closed position by a catch and being pivotably connected to the wall. The appliance further includes a main body which incorporates an actuator for operating the catch. The actuator has a slidably mounted rod which is movable between an inoperative position and an actuating position in which the rod contacts part of the catch so as to allow the collector to be opened for emptying purposes. This arrangement allows the catch to be released without the user actually touching the collector.

Description:
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a national stage application under 35 USC 371 of International Application No. PCT/GB2007/002543, filed Jul. 6, 2007, which claims the priority of United Kingdom Application Nos. 0614237.6 and 0618494.9, filed Jul. 18, 2006, and Sep. 20, 2006, respectively, the contents of which prior applications are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The invention relates to a handheld cleaning appliance particularly, but not exclusively, to a handheld vacuum cleaner. More particularly, the invention relates to a handheld cleaning appliance having a cyclonic separator. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Handheld vacuum cleaners are well known and have been manufactured and sold by various manufacturers for several years. Typically, a handheld vacuum cleaner comprises a casing which houses a motor and fan unit for drawing air into the cleaner via an inlet, and a separation device such as a filter or bag for separating dirt and dust from the incoming airflow. An example of such a vacuum cleaner is shown in GB1207278. 
         [0004]    Handheld vacuum cleaners have more recently been developed to incorporate cyclonic separation systems which are capable of removing larger items of debris from the airflow before removing finer particles using a filter or other barrier means. An example of such a device is sold by Black &amp; Decker under the trade name DUSTBUSTER®. Further examples of handheld vacuum cleaners incorporating cyclonic separators are shown in GB2035787A and WO2006/076363. 
         [0005]    A disadvantage of known handheld vacuum cleaners which utilise cyclonic separators is that emptying the appliance of dirt and dust collected therein can be awkward, inconvenient and messy. In some cases, a compartment of the appliance must be physically removed from the rest of the appliance, transported to a suitable receptacle, emptied and then replaced on the appliance. Removal of a portion of the appliance inevitably carries with it a risk that the portion will not be replaced correctly and this can adversely affect the performance of the appliance. In other arrangements, the opening of the compartment in which the dirt and dust is collected involves awkward manipulation of the appliance as a whole. When the appliance has been designed for ease of handling during the cleaning operation, the emptying process can increase the risk of the appliance being inadvertently dropped and broken during emptying. It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a handheld cleaning appliance which is easier and more convenient to empty than known handheld vacuum cleaners. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    The invention provides a handheld cleaning appliance comprising a dirty air inlet, a clean air outlet and separating apparatus for separating dirt and dust from an airflow in an airflow path leading from the air inlet to the air outlet, the separating apparatus comprising a cyclonic separator having at least one cyclone and a collector having a wall and a base member, the base member being held in a closed position by means of a catch and being pivotably connected to the wall, the appliance further including a main body which incorporates an actuator for operating the catch, characterized in that the actuator comprises a slidably mounted rod which is movable between an inoperative position and an actuating position in which the rod contacts part of the catch so as to allow the collector to be opened for emptying purposes. 
         [0007]    This arrangement allows the catch to be released without the user actually touching the collector. It also provides a compact, reliable mechanism for remotely emptying the collector in a cost-efficient manner. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  shows a handheld cleaning appliance according to the invention; 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a side view of the appliance of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the appliance of  FIG. 1  showing the collector base in an open position; and 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a longitudinal cross section through the cyclonic separating apparatus forming part of the appliance of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0013]      FIGS. 1 to 3  show a handheld vacuum cleaner  10 . The handheld vacuum cleaner  10  has a main body  12  which houses a motor and fan unit (not shown). The main body  12  also includes a power source  14  such as a battery. A handle  16  is provided on the main body  12  for manipulating the handheld vacuum cleaner  10  in use. A cyclonic separator  100  is attached to the main body  12 . A dirty air inlet  18  extends from a portion of the cyclonic separator  100  remote from the main body  12 . A brush tool  22  is slidably mounted on the distal end of the dirty air inlet  18 . A set of exhaust vents  24  are provided on the main body  12  for exhausting air from the handheld vacuum cleaner  10 . 
         [0014]    The cyclonic separator  100  is located between the main body  12  and the dirty air inlet  18 . Consequently, the cyclonic separator  100  is located between the handle  16  and the dirty air inlet  18 . The cyclonic separator  100  has a longitudinal axis  26  which extends in a generally upright direction so that the axis  26 , and therefore the cyclonic separator  100 , lies substantially parallel to the direction in which the handle  16  extends. 
         [0015]    The orientation of the handle  16  is such that, when the user grips the handle  16 , the user&#39;s hand forms a fist in a manner similar to that adopted when gripping a saw. This ensures that the user&#39;s wrist is not strained more than necessary when manipulating the handheld vacuum cleaner  10  for cleaning purposes. The cyclonic separator  100  is positioned close to the handle  16  which also reduces the moment applied to the user&#39;s wrist when the handheld vacuum cleaner  10  is in use. The handle  16  carries an on/off switch  20  in the form of a trigger for turning the vacuum cleaner motor on and off. 
         [0016]    The cyclonic separating apparatus  100  forming part of the handheld vacuum cleaner  10  is shown in more detail in  FIG. 4 . The cyclonic separating apparatus  100  comprises a first cyclone  102  which has a longitudinal axis X-X and a collector  105  having a wall  104 . An inlet  110  is formed in the upper portion of the wall  104 . The inlet  110  is in communication with the dirty air inlet  18  and forms a communication path between the dirty air inlet  18  and the interior of the first cyclone  102 . The air inlet  110  is arranged tangentially to the first cyclone  102  so that the incoming air is forced to follow a helical path around the interior of the first cyclone  102 . 
         [0017]    A base  116  closes the collector  105  at one end of the first cyclone  102 . The base  116  is pivotably mounted on the lower end of the wall  104  by means of a hinge  118 . The base  116  is retained in a closed position (as shown  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  4 ) by means of a catch  120  which interengages with a lip  150  located on the wall  104 . The catch  120  is resiliently deformable so that, in the event that downward pressure is applied to the uppermost portion of the catch  120 , the catch will move away from the lip  150  and become disengaged therefrom. In this event, the base  116  will drop away from the wall  104 . 
         [0018]    An actuator  152  is provided in the main body  12 . It is shown schematically in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . Essentially, the actuator  152  comprises a rod  154  which is slidably mounted inside a part of the main body  12  so as to be movable between a first, inoperative position and a second, operative or actuating position. The first position is shown in  FIG. 4 . The rod  154  is biased into the first position by a spring or other resilient means which are not shown in the drawings. At or near its upper end, the rod  154  carries a projection  156  which extends laterally away from the rod  154  and projects through an aperture  158  in the main body  12  (see  FIGS. 2 and 3 ). The rod  154  also carries, at its lower end, another projection  160  which extends towards the collector  105  and the catch  120 . It also projects through another aperture in the main body  12  so that, when the rod  154  is moved into the second position, the projection  160  comes into contact with the catch  120  and presses it downwardly so that the catch  120  is released from the lip  150 . 
         [0019]    The rod  154  is moved from the first position to the second position manually by means of the user pressing the projection  156  in a downwards direction against the action of the spring. This causes the catch  120  to be released from the lip  150  and the base  116  then swings away from the wall  104 . The catch  120  can also be arranged so that further downward movement of the rod  154  will apply an opening force to the catch  120 . This is advantageous in that the seal between the base  116  and the wall  104  will then be broken to allow the base to swing open more freely. 
         [0020]    Upon release of the pressure applied by the user to the projection  156 , the rod  154  returns to the first position under the action of the spring. The base  116  can be returned to the closed position manually by the user whereupon the catch will re-engage with the lip  150 . The presence of the hinge  118  means that the base  116  remains automatically aligned with the wall  104  so that there is little or no risk that the base  116  will be incorrectly positioned when it is returned to the closed position. 
         [0021]    A shroud  121  is located inwardly of the wall  104  of the first cyclone  102 . The shroud  121  comprises a part-cylindrical, part-frustoconical wall  122  having a plurality of through-holes  123 . The shroud  121  surrounds an outlet  124  from the first cyclone  102 . The outlet  124  provides a communication path between the first cyclone  102  and a second cyclone assembly  126 . A lip  128  is provided at the base of the shroud  121 . The lip  128  has a plurality of through-holes  129  which are designed to allow air to pass through but to capture dirt and dust. 
         [0022]    The second cyclone assembly  126  comprises a plurality of second cyclones  130  arranged in parallel with one another. In this embodiment, six second cyclones  130  are provided. The second cyclones  130  are arranged around the axis X-X of the first cyclone  102 . The arrangement of the second cyclones  130  is such that the second cyclones  130  are spaced equi-angularly around the axis X-X. Each second cyclone  130  has a tangentially-arranged air inlet and an air outlet (not shown) located at a first end of the respective second cyclone  130 . A cone opening  136  is located at a second end of each second cyclone  130 . The plane of the cone opening  136  of each second cyclone  130  is inclined with respect to a longitudinal axis (not shown) of the respective further cyclone  130 . The cone opening  136  of each of the second cyclones  130  is in communication with a passageway  138  defined by a wall  140  located inwardly of the shroud  121 . 
         [0023]    The second end of each second cyclone  130  projects into the interior of the first cyclone  102 . However, the first end of each second cyclone  130  lies outside the envelope of the first cyclone  102 . In the orientation shown, it is the lower end of each second cyclone  130  which projects into the upper end of the first cyclone  102 . The inlet  110  is also arranged at the upper end of the first cyclone  102  so that the inlet  110  is located in the region of the cyclonic separator  100  in which the first and second cyclones  102 ,  130  overlap. Because the first ends of the second cyclones  130  lie outside the envelope of the first cyclone  102 , this region of the cyclone separator  100  lies intermediate the upper end of the cyclone separator  100  and the lower end of the cyclone separator  100 . Connecting the dirty air inlet  18  to the cyclone separator  100  at an intermediate portion thereof is beneficial for the manipulation of the handheld vacuum cleaner  10  and avoids the lower extremities of the appliance being accidentally knocked on surfaces away from the area being cleaned. 
         [0024]    A collector  142  is located at the lower end of the passageway  138 . The collector  142  comprises a frustoconical first portion  144  and a cylindrical second portion  146 . The interior of the collector  142  is delimited by the base  116  and the sides of the first and second portions  144 ,  146  of the collector  142 . 
         [0025]    Each of the air outlets of the second cyclones  130  is in communication with a duct  150 . The duct  150  provides an airflow path from the cyclonic separating apparatus  100  into other parts of the handheld vacuum cleaner  10 . Located at the downstream end of the duct  150  is a pre-motor filter  152 . The pre-motor filter  152  comprises a porous material such as foam and can also include a fine filter material. The pre-motor filter  152  is designed to prevent any fine dust particles from entering the motor and causing damage thereto. 
         [0026]    In use, when the on/off switch  20  is depressed, the motor and fan unit draws a flow of dirt-laden air into the dirty air inlet  18  and then into the cyclonic separator  100 . Dirt-laden air enters the cyclonic separator  100  through the inlet  110 . Due to the tangential arrangement of the inlet  110 , the airflow is forced to follow a helical path around the interior of the wall  104 . Larger dirt and dust particles are separated by cyclonic motion around the wall  104 . These particles are then collected at the base  116  of the first cyclone  102 . 
         [0027]    The partially-cleaned airflow then flows back up the interior of the first cyclone  102  and exits the first cyclone  102  via the through-holes  123  in the shroud  121 . Once the airflow has passed through the shroud  121 , it enters the outlet  124  and from there is divided between the tangential inlets of each of the second cyclones  130 . Each of the second cyclones  130  has a diameter which is smaller than that of the first cyclone  102 . Therefore, the second cyclones  130  are able to separate smaller particles of dirt and dust from the partially-cleaned airflow than the first cyclone  102 . Separated dirt and dust exits the second cyclones  130  via the cone openings  136 . Thereafter, the separated dirt and dust passes down the passageway  138  and into the collector  142 . The separated dirt and dust eventually settles at the bottom of the collector  142  on the base  116 . 
         [0028]    Cleaned air then flows back up the second cyclones  130 , exits the second cyclones  130  through the air outlets and enters the duct  150 . The cleaned air then passes from the duct  150  sequentially through the pre-motor filter  152 , the motor and fan unit, and a post-motor filter before being exhausted from the vacuum cleaner  10  through the air vents  24 . 
         [0029]    The first cyclone  102  and the collector  142  can be emptied simultaneously by releasing the catch  120  to allow the base  116  to pivot about the hinge  118  so that the separated dirt and dust can fall away from the cyclonic separator  100 . This is done by the user pressing the projection  156  in a downwards direction against the biasing action of the spring so as to cause the other projection  160  to come into contact with the catch  120 . The catch  120  is resiliently deformed away from the lip  150  and is this released therefrom. Further downward movement of the projection  156  ensures that the seal between the base  116  and the wall  104  is broken and the base  116  then swings downwardly away from the wall  104 . The dirt and dust collected in the cyclonic separator  100  then falls out of the first cyclone  102  and the collector  142 . By positioning the cleaning appliance  10  above a suitable dirt receptacle such as a dustbin, the dirt and dust collected in the cyclonic separator can be efficiently and reliably emptied. 
         [0030]    When the cyclonic separator  100  has been emptied as described above, the user may close the cyclonic separator  100  by moving the base  116  back into the closed position shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  by hand. Alternatively, the cleaning appliance may be manipulated so as to swing the base  116  into the closed position. A further alternative would be to place the appliance onto a surface so as to apply a closing force to the base  116  and thereby bring the base  116  into latching contact with the lip  150 . The presence of the hinge  118  enables the cyclonic separator  100  to be emptied and subsequently closed without any serious risk of misalignment of the base  116 . Misalignment of the base  116  would jeopardise the performance of the appliance. 
         [0031]    The invention is not limited to the precise details of the embodiment described above. For example, the number of first and second cyclones can be varied, as can the detail of their design, such as their cone angle, axis inclination and cone opening inclination. The shape of the collector and base can be altered, as can the precise location of the hinge and catch and the location of the actuator. The location of the on/off switch may also be varied.