FLOOR VACUUM CLEANER
A canister vacuum cleaner includes a housing, a suction hose connectable to the housing, a vacuum attachment, and a suction wand. The suction wand includes at least an upper wand section and a lower wand section that can be separated from one another, an upper end of the upper wand section being couplable with the suction hose, a lower end of a lower wand section being couplable with the vacuum attachment, at least one of the lower wand section and the vacuum attachment being configured to be held to the housing in a parked position by a first connector, a second connector being disposed on the upper wand section and attachable to the lower wand section.
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This application is a U.S. National Phase application under 35 U.S.C. §371 of International Application No. PCT/EP2008/008777, filed on Oct. 16, 2008, and which claims the benefit of German Patent Application No. DE 10 2007 052 028.1, filed on Oct. 30, 2007. The International Patent Application was published in German on May 7, 2009 as WO 2009/056234 A1.
FIELDThe present invention relates to a canister vacuum cleaner including a housing, a suction hose connectable thereto, an optional handle, a suction wand, and a vacuum attachment; the suction wand including at least two sections that can be separated from one another; the upper end of an upper wand section being able to be coupled to the suction hose or the handle, and the lower end of a lower wand section being able to be coupled to the vacuum attachment; and the lower wand section or the vacuum attachment being able to be held to the housing in a parked position by first holding means.
BACKGROUNDIt is described in DE 40 36 314 C2, for example, to provide canister vacuum cleaners with holding means on the housing and on the suction wand or the base unit, which holding means interact to hold the wand to the housing in a parked position after completion of the vacuuming operation. In this position, the upper end of the suction wand and the suction hose connected thereto project far beyond the housing of the vacuum cleaner. This increases the amount of space required for storing the vacuum cleaner, making it impossible to store it in a cabinet or other confined space.
In German Patent DE 40 36 314 C2, the suction wand is a single piece. However, there are also known suction wands which are formed of two or more separable sections coupled together by a push-fit connection.
From German Patent Application DE 100 39 186 A1 it is described to use a suction wand commonly known as telescoping wand, in which individual wand members are capable of sliding within one another. This makes it possible to reduce the overall height needed for storage in the parked position. In comparison with suction wands having a push fit connection, telescoping wands have the disadvantages of being more expensive to manufacture and of having poorer sealing efficiency between the individual wand sections, which results in losses in suction power.
SUMMARYIn an embodiment, the present invention provides a canister vacuum cleaner including a housing; a suction hose connectable to the housing; a vacuum attachment; and a suction wand including at least an upper wand section and a lower wand section that can be separated from one another. An upper end of the upper wand section is couplable with the suction hose and a lower end of a lower wand section is couplable with the vacuum attachment. At least one of the lower wand section and the vacuum attachment are configured to be held to the housing in a parked position by a first connector. A second connector is disposed on the upper wand section and attachable to the lower wand section in such a way that the upper and lower wand sections, when separated, can be held to the housing in the parked position in a side-by-side relationship along respective lengths thereof. The second connector includes a sleeve surrounding the upper end of the upper wand section.
An exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown in the drawings in a purely schematic way and will be described in more detail below. In the drawing,
In an embodiment, the invention provides a vacuum cleaner in which the suction wand can be stored in a parked position in a simple and space-saving manner using inexpensive means.
Advantages of the invention result from reducing the overall height in the parked position.
In order to allow the canister vacuum cleaner to be stored in the position shown in
Further connector 100 is shown in detail in the various views of
The present invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiment described hereinabove. For example, the further connector may be disposed on the handle. Alternatively, the handle may be omitted or integrally formed in one piece with the upper wand section. The suction wand may be formed of three or more sections, with or without a handle.
While the invention has been described with reference to the particular embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those having ordinary skill in the art that various changes may be made therein without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Further, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein; reference should be had to the appended claims.
Claims
1-7. (canceled)
8. A canister vacuum cleaner comprising:
- a housing;
- a suction hose connectable to the housing;
- a vacuum attachment; and
- a suction wand including at least an upper wand section and a lower wand section that can be separated from one another, an upper end of the upper wand section being couplable with the suction hose, a lower end of a lower wand section being couplable with the vacuum attachment, at least one of the lower wand section and the vacuum attachment being configured to be held to the housing in a parked position by a first connector, a second connector being disposed on the upper wand section and attachable to the lower wand section in such a way that the upper and lower wand sections, when separated, can be held to the housing in the parked position in a side-by-side relationship along respective lengths thereof, the second connector including a sleeve surrounding the upper end of the upper wand section.
9. The canister vacuum cleaner as recited in claim 8, wherein a first release button is disposed at the upper end of the upper wand section and protrudes through a first cutout in the sleeve.
10. The canister vacuum cleaner as recited in claim 8, wherein the second connector includes a holding cap configured to be disposed on the upper end of the lower wand section.
11. The canister vacuum cleaner as recited in claim 10, wherein the holding cap has a closed configuration.
12. The canister vacuum cleaner as recited in claim 11, wherein a further cutout is provided for a second release button disposed at the upper end of the lower wand section.
13. The canister vacuum cleaner as recited in claim 8, wherein the second connector is a single component.
14. The canister vacuum cleaner as recited in claim 13, wherein the single component includes plastic.
15. The canister vacuum cleaner as recited in claim 8, further comprising a handle, wherein the upper end of the upper wand section is couplable with the handle.
16. A canister vacuum cleaner comprising:
- a housing;
- a suction hose connectable to the housing;
- a handle;
- a vacuum attachment; and
- a suction wand including at least an upper wand section and a lower wand section that can be separated from one another, an upper end of the upper wand section being couplable with the handle, a lower end of a lower wand section being couplable with the vacuum attachment, at least one of the lower wand section and the vacuum attachment being configured to be held to the housing in a parked position by a first connector, a second connector being disposed on the handle and attachable to the lower wand section in such a way that the upper and lower wand sections, when separated, can be held to the housing in the parked position in a side-by-side relationship along respective lengths thereof, the second connector including a sleeve surrounding the upper end of the upper wand section.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 16, 2008
Publication Date: Oct 21, 2010
Applicant: MIELE & CIE. KG (Guetersloh)
Inventors: Christian Finke (Bielefeld), Volker Gerth (Bielefeld), Dirk Wegener (Bielefeld)
Application Number: 12/740,763