CN100367903C - Handle assembly of dust collector - Google Patents

Abstract

A handle assembly (10) for a vacuum cleaner for connection to a suction hose (14) and for mounting a wand (23). The handle assembly (10) has a passageway (12) for air to flow from a first inlet (21) to which the wand (23) is mounted to the suction hose (14), and the handle assembly (10) itself includes a cleaning tool (40), a second inlet (44) for air to flow from the cleaning tool (40) to the passageway (12), and means (24) for blocking the first inlet (21) when the wand (23) is not mounted.

Description

Vacuum cleaner handle assembly

technical field

The invention relates to a handle assembly for a vacuum cleaner, connected or adapted to be connected to an extraction source, and suitable as an accessory for a cleaning implement or extraction wand.

Background technique

Vacuum cleaners feature a number of different cleaning tools for performing different cleaning tasks. For example, there are cleaning heads for hard floor surfaces and cleaning heads for carpeted floor surfaces, these can be mounted on a handle mounted rod, the rod is rigid, tubular and can be in one or more pieces, Can be extended and retracted like a telescope. A single cleaning head can also be applied to hard and soft floor surfaces simultaneously when its structure is easily adjusted or otherwise. The vacuum cleaner can also have other implements, including dusting brushes and furniture cleaning heads, which can be mounted on handles so that they can be easily controlled or manipulated with or without the involvement of a lever. Vacuum cleaners may also have another tool, a so-called crevice tool, which is generally in the shape of a short, substantially rigid, tube of flat cross-section, capable of being inserted into a space of only 20 mm wide, e.g. for cleaning Behind or under furniture or radiators. If each of the above-mentioned functions were provided by a single tool, the person performing the cleaning work would need to change the tool mounted on the handle (with the rod if necessary) several times according to the cleaning job. This is inconvenient.

Contents of the invention

A broad object of the present invention is to provide a handle assembly for a vacuum cleaner which has multiple functions so that the number of separate tools required can be reduced, thereby reducing their inconvenience.

According to the present invention there is provided a handle assembly for a vacuum cleaner which is connected or adapted to be connected to a source of suction and which is suitable as an attachment to a suction wand. The handle assembly has a channel for air to flow from a first inlet that fits into the rod to the suction source, and the handle assembly itself includes a cleaning tool from which air flows to a second inlet of the channel , and means for blocking said first inlet when said cleaning tool is in use and said rod is not installed.

The rod itself may block the second inlet when inserted, or the handle assembly may have means to block said second inlet when said rod is attached.

While the handle assembly is indicated here as being used to mount the pole, it should be understood that in some cases the cleaning tool may be mounted directly to the handle without the need for a pole. The inventive scope of the present invention includes a handle assembly for mounting a cleaning implement substantially in the form of a rod.

The cleaning tool included in the handle assembly may also include a surface cleaning tool including a cavity communicating with the second inlet, the surface cleaning tool may be positioned on the surface to be cleaned and moved on the surface for cleaning. The cleaning implement may be of a size and shape substantially suitable for cleaning risers/runnings. Some or all of the boundary walls forming the cavity may have short bristles, partially piled fabric material, or other devices to aid in cleaning operations.

Alternatively or additionally, the cleaning tool included with the handle assembly may include a crevice tool that is movable between a retracted position when not in use and a deployed position when in use.

Preferably, the crevice tool is hingedly movable between its retracted and deployed positions.

Further preferably, the surface cleaning tool included in the handle assembly further includes a crevice tool, the crevice tool being located in the cavity of the surface cleaning tool in its retracted position. When in the deployed position, the crevice tool communicates with said second inlet of the air passage in the handle assembly and blocks the passage between the second inlet and the cavity of the surface cleaning tool.

There may also be spring means for biasing the crevice tool in its deployed position and retaining means for cooperating with the crevice tool in its retracted position and operable to release the crevice tool for deployment as desired.

In addition to the features described above, the present invention provides a handle assembly with multifunctional capabilities, thereby eliminating the need for a separate cleaning tool that has heretofore been provided for vacuum cleaners that have a motor-driven cleaning head if the vacuum cleaner has or may have a motorized cleaning head. The agitator/brush wand, handle assembly may be adapted to conduct electrical power between wires extending along the suction hose and wires extending along the wand. The handle assembly is also provided with a motor that controls eg a powered cleaning head.

In addition, the handle assembly may have means for controlling the source of suction to which the suction hose is connected, such as an on/off switch and/or a shape to control the suction power of the vacuum cleaner.

Description of drawings

The present invention will be described below by way of examples in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the attached picture:

Figure 1 is a schematic side view of a first embodiment of a handle assembly according to the invention, in a first operating condition;

Figure 2 is a view as in Figure 1, in a second operating condition;

Figure 3 is a view as in Figure 1, in a third operating condition;

Figure 4 is a bottom perspective view of the handle assembly in the condition shown in Figure 2;

Figures 5, 6 and 7 are views of another embodiment of the handle assembly according to the present invention, corresponding to Figures 1, 2 and 3, respectively.

Detailed ways

Referring first to Figures 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings, there is shown in schematic form one embodiment of a handle assembly generally indicated at 10 which includes a curved handle portion 11 defining an air flow passage 12 therein. At one end of the handle portion 11 there is a joint generally indicated as 13 , and the joint 13 is connected to a suction source through a suction hose 14 . The suction source is the main part of a "canister" or "upright" vacuum cleaner. The joint 13 comprises a first swivel joint 19 whereby the hose can be rotated about an axis 15 relative to the handle assembly, as indicated by arrow 16; and a second joint 17 which is in the form of a rotatable cuff whereby the hose Can be rotated about its longitudinal axis relative to the handle assembly, as indicated by arrow 18 .

On the opposite side of the handle portion 11 from the connection hose 14, the handle assembly has a hollow body portion generally indicated at 20. There is an opening 21 at the front of the main body part 20, providing a first inlet for the air channel 12; The rod 23 can consist of one or two parts, in the latter case it can be extended and retracted like a telescope. When the rod is installed, as described below, its end portion 22 is inserted deep enough into the main body portion 20 of the handle assembly to block communication between the air passage 12 and the rest of the main body portion 20 .

In use, a cleaning head is mounted on the end of the rod 23 opposite the end portion 22 mounted on the handle assembly, such as a cleaning head for cleaning floors. However, it will be appreciated that in some instances, a floor cleaning head or other cleaning implement may be attached directly to the handle assembly without the use of a wand. In this case, the connection plug part of the tool can be inserted into the handle assembly like the end part 22 of the rod.

Adjacent the handle assembly opening 21, a hinged tab 24 is mounted on the body portion 20 and is spring biased in the position shown in Figures 2 and 3 for closing the opening 21 when the handle assembly is not attached to the lever. During installation of the rod, tab 24 simply pushes its biasing spring to the position shown in FIG. 1 .

Body portion 30 extends rearwardly from body portion 20 of the handle assembly. The main body portion 30 has parallel or slightly constricted side walls 31, 32, a rear wall 33 and an upper wall 34, and together with the front wall portion 35 of the main body portion 20 forms a downwardly open cavity 36, so that the handle assembly itself can be used without Can be used as a cleaning tool when installing poles, e.g. for cleaning the stair treads. The air channel 12 in the handle portion of the handle assembly communicates at its forward end with the cavity 36 through the interior of the main body portion 20 and through an opening 44 which provides a second entry for the air channel and when the tab 24 closes the opening 21 of the handle assembly, A vacuum is generated for the cavity 36 . Figure 4 shows that the side walls 31, 32 may have strips of short bristle or tufts of other material along their bottom edges to assist the handle assembly as a cleaning tool.

The handle assembly also has a crevice tool 40 that is articulated between a retracted position shown in FIGS. 1 , 2 and 4 and a deployed position shown in FIG. 3 . A crevice tool 40 is mounted within the main body portion 20 of the handle assembly and is articulated about a transversely extending axis 41 . The shape of the crevice tool 40 is, as is known, a short, substantially rigid tube in the shape of a flat cross-section, in this case substantially rectangular, and has a beveled inlet end 42 . Near its hinged end, an opening 43 opens into the interior of the crevice tool and allows airflow through the crevice tool to enter the hollow body portion 20 of the handle assembly and into the air passage 12 when the crevice tool is deployed as shown in FIG. 3 . The opening 43 is aligned with the opening 44 which opens into the hollow body portion 20 and provides a second inlet for the air channel 12 . When in this position, the crevice tool severs between the opening 44 and the cavity 36 of the body portion 30 .

Preferably, the crevice tool 40 is spring biased to the deployed position shown in FIG. 3 . Clamping member 46 is movable on upper wall 34 of body portion 30 and engages with member 47 on the crevice tool for retaining the crevice tool in its retracted position in which it is received in cavity 36 .

It is also known that the cleaning head of a vacuum cleaner for floor cleaning has a motor-driven brush bar/stirrer in order to increase the cleaning efficiency. In order to use this motorized cleaning head, it is necessary to provide a wire running along the length of the suction hose from the suction unit of the vacuum cleaner through the handle and rod to the cleaning head. For this use, an electrical connector shown at 50 in Figure 4 is mated with a mating electrical connector provided on the mating end of the rod. The handle assembly may include a power switch for controlling on and off power supplied to the cleaning head, and such a switch may have an operating member shown at 51 arranged so as to be easily operated when gripping the handle portion 11 of the handle assembly. It is also possible to provide a switch for controlling the motor of the air extraction unit, at least to turn it on or off, and also to control the air extraction power supply. It should also be appreciated that the hose connector shown generally at 13 needs to have suitable electrical connections to connect the wires on the hose to the wires on the handle assembly and to accommodate movement of the hose relative to the handle assembly.

Referring now to Figures 5 to 7 of the accompanying drawings, there is shown another embodiment of the handle assembly of the present invention having a slightly different construction than the crevice tool described above. The handle portion, hose connector and body portions 20 and 30 of the handle assembly are as described above and therefore will not be described in any detail below. This embodiment differs from the embodiment of Figures 1 to 4 in that the blocking of the inlet to the handle assembly air passage is blocked depending on whether the crevice tool is in use (when the handle assembly is used as a stair cleaning tool) or whether the rod is installed in the handle assembly.

In this embodiment, the crevice tool (shown as 60) is also hinged at one end within the front body portion (61) of the handle assembly, and co-rotating with the crevice tool is an annular or cylindrical member 62 having two outwardly extending Rotatable pieces 63,64. Tab 63 is spring biased in the position shown in Figure 6, in which it blocks the first inlet of the air passage of the handle assembly from which a rod can be installed. When the rod is installed, as shown in Figure 5, the spring bias of the tab 63 pushes it apart. The rod blocks the air passage and the passage between the crevice tool and the cavity while the crevice tool is in its retracted position.

When the tab 63 blocks the rod-mounted entry, the space around the retracted crevice tool communicates with the air passage of the handle portion of the handle assembly, eg, the handle assembly can be used as a stair cleaning tool.

When the crevice tool is hingedly deployed, as shown in FIG. 7, the barrel 62 moves about the hinged axis of the crevice tool, and the tab 64 blocks the entry of the air passage of the rod mounting handle. The sheet 63 blocks the passage between the air passage and the main body portion 65 of the cleaning tool. Air entering the air passages of the hand portion of the handle assembly can only flow from the inside of the crevice tool, as indicated by arrow 67 .

Various modifications may be made to the handle assembly described above while remaining within the broad scope of the invention. For example, in the above-described embodiments, the air channel 12 passes within a portion of the handle that is also gripped by the user as a hand-held portion. However, it is also possible to have a separate handle part through which no air channel passes. This may be required for ergonomic or other reasons.

The above-mentioned handle assembly is used to connect to the suction source through the suction hose. In the known vacuum cleaner, the handle assembly can be directly connected to the suction source without passing through any intermediate hose, and the suction source and the handle assembly can be designed as an integrated unit with a light weight. The present invention can be applied to these cleaners.

The crevice tool described above is hingedly rotatable relative to the handle assembly between a retracted position and a deployed position. It is also within the scope of the invention to move in other ways, for example, sliding linearly. Also, as mentioned above, the crevice tool is generally located within the partial assembly when in the retracted position, forming a surface cleaning tool, so that when the surface cleaning tool of the handle assembly is used, air must flow from around the crevice tool to the suction in the handle assembly. Gas source. It is also possible for the crevice tool to occupy some other position when retracted, for example next to or near the handle assembly providing the surface cleaning tool. Also, the handle assembly may include only retractable crevice tools or surface cleaning tools, such as for step treads, and for mounting bars.

In the description of the present invention, "comprising" means "comprising or consisting of".

The features given in the above description, or the claims, or the drawings are properly expressed in specific forms, or in terms of means for performing the given functions, or methods or processes for achieving the given results, these The features alone or in any combination can be used to implement the invention in various ways.

Claims (16)

1. the handle assembly of a dust catcher, be connected to suction source and be used for the installation of bar, described handle assembly has a passage, first inlet that described passage makes air can install from described bar flow to described suction source, wherein handle assembly itself comprises burnisher, air flow to second inlet of described passage from described burnisher, and blocks described first device that enters the mouth when described bar is not installed.

2. handle assembly as claimed in claim 1 comprises the device that blocks described second inlet when described bar is installed.

3. handle assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said second inlet is arranged to make it to be blocked by described bar when linking described bar.

4. handle assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said burnisher comprises the cleaning surfaces instrument, described cleaning surfaces instrument comprises and described second cavity that communicates of inlet, and can be placed on the surface that is cleaned or move on the surface that is cleaned.

5. handle assembly as claimed in claim 4, the wall of segment boundary at least that wherein forms described cavity has the device that helps cleaning operation.

6. handle assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein said burnisher comprises crevice tool, described crevice tool can move between retrieving position and expanded position.

7. handle assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein said crevice tool hingedly move between retrieving position and expanded position.

8. handle assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein said crevice tool is in the cavity of described cleaning surfaces instrument when its retrieving position.

9. handle assembly as claimed in claim 8, wherein said crevice tool are arranged to be communicated with described second inlet when its expanded position, and are used to block being communicated with between described second inlet and the cleaning surfaces instrument cavity.

10. handle assembly as claimed in claim 7, also comprise the spring assembly that crevice tool is biased in its expanded position, and the clamping device that cooperates with crevice tool, clamping device is used for crevice tool is clamped in its retrieving position, and can operate to discharge crevice tool, crevice tool is launched.

11. handle assembly as claimed in claim 1 is suitable at the lead that extends from the flexible pipe of bleeding and along conduct power between the lead of bar extension.

12. handle assembly as claimed in claim 11 comprises the device that the described electric power of control conducts.

13. handle assembly as claimed in claim 1 comprises the device of controlling suction source.

14. handle assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein, described handle assembly is connected to the flexible pipe of bleeding that leads to described suction source.

15. a dust catcher comprises each described handle assembly that is connected to suction source among suction source and the claim 1-14.

16. dust catcher as claimed in claim 15 also is included in the flexible pipe of bleeding between described suction source and the handle assembly.

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