Cleaning appliance

Abstract

A cleaning appliance vacuum cleaner includes a main body having a rear portion and a roller structure such as side wheels arranged to allow the main body to travel across a floor surface. In normal use, the rear portion is spaced from the floor surface. The rear portion carries a wheel arranged so that, if the main body is tilted so that the rear portion is brought towards the floor, the wheel contacts the floor surface. Thus, the cleaner may be used in a tipped-back position without causing damage to the floor surface as the cleaner is dragged along by the user by a hose attached to the main body. The size and position of the wheel is determined so that, when the cleaner is tipped back, the center of gravity of the main body acts to return the main body to an upright position.

Description

This invention relates to a cleaning appliance, such as a vacuum cleaner.

The majority of vacuum cleaners are either of the ‘upright’ type or of the ‘cylinder’ type. Cylinder appliances are called canister or barrel machines in some countries. An example of a cylinder vacuum cleaner manufactured by Dyson Limited is shown in FIG. 1, and is indicated generally by the reference numeral 1.

A typical cylinder vacuum cleaner 1 comprises a main body 2 containing separating apparatus 3, such as a cyclonic separator or a bag for separating dirt and dust from an incoming dirty airflow. The dirty airflow is introduced to the main body 2 via a suction hose 4 and a wand assembly 5, which is connected to the main body 2. A cleaning tool 6 is attached to the remote end of the hose and wand assembly 4,5. The main body 2 of the cleaner 1 is dragged along by the hose 4 as a user moves around a room.

A problem that may be encountered with conventional vacuum cleaners is that, in certain circumstances, the main body of the vacuum cleaner may become upset from the normal upright position shown in FIG. 1. For example, if the user pulls upwardly on the hose when the cleaner is in use, the main body of the cleaner may tilt backwards, bringing the rear portion of the main body towards a floor surface. If the user continues to drag the cleaner along by the hose in this tipped-back position, damage may occur to the floor surface due to the rear portion bearing against, and being dragged along, the floor. Furthermore, use of the cleaner in the tipped-back position may be detrimental to the performance of the appliance.

The invention provides a cleaning appliance comprising a main body having a rear portion and means arranged to allow the main body to travel across a floor surface, the rear portion being spaced from the floor surface in normal use and having a wheel arranged so that, if the main body is tilted so that the rear portion is brought towards the floor surface, the wheel contacts the floor surface.

The provision of a wheel on the rear portion permits the cleaner to be pulled across a floor surface when the main body is in the tipped-back position, whilst preventing the rear portion from scraping against the floor. Thus, damage to the floor surface is prevented.

Advantageously, the wheel is arranged on the rear portion so that, in the tipped-back position, the centre of gravity of the main body acts to return the main body to its normal upright position. This may be effected by selection of the size, position and projection of the wheel. This feature ensures that the main body does not remain in a position that may cause the performance of the separating apparatus to be adversely affected.

Use of the term “wheel” is intended to encompass rollers and rolling surfaces in general.

The wheel may be incorporated in a housing that is fixed with respect to the main body of the cleaner. Alternatively, the wheel may be permitted to swivel with respect to the main body.

Although the invention is described in detail below with reference to a vacuum cleaner, it will be appreciated that the invention can also be applied to other forms of cleaning appliance. The term “cleaning appliance” is intended to have a broad meaning, and includes a wide range of machines having a main body and a hose for carrying fluid to or from a floor surface. It includes, inter alia, machines which only apply suction to the surface, such as vacuum cleaners (dry, wet and wet/dry variants), so as to draw material from the surface, as well as machines which apply material to the surface, such as polishing/waxing machines, pressure washing machines and shampooing machines.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a conventional vacuum cleaner of the cylinder type;

FIG. 2 is a side view of a vacuum cleaner in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, with the hose omitted for clarity;

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the vacuum cleaner of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a side view of the cleaner of FIGS. 2 and 3 in a tipped-back position.

Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the specification.

With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, a cleaning appliance constructed according to the invention is shown in the form of a vacuum cleaner 7. The vacuum cleaner 7 has a main body 8, which supports the main components of the vacuum cleaner. In a traditional manner, the main body 8 has a chassis 9 which supports separating and collecting apparatus 10 and a motor-driven fan (not shown) for generating suction which draws dirt-laden air into the separating apparatus. The main body 8 also has means for allowing the cleaner 7 to be moved across a floor surface 11. In this embodiment two side wheels 12, one on each side of the chassis 9, are provided. A further wheel in the form of a castor wheel 13 is provided, located beneath the front portion of the chassis 9. The side wheels 12, and castor wheel 13 could be supplemented, or replaced, by other means for allowing the main body 8 to be moved across a surface, such as skids or rollers.

The separating apparatus 10 as a whole is removably mounted on the chassis 9 for emptying and for access to other components located beneath the separating apparatus.

The form of the separating apparatus 10 is not important to the invention. Whilst it is preferred to use cyclonic separators which spin dirt, dust and debris from the airflow, other forms of separator can be used. Examples of suitable separator technology include an inertial separator, a filter bag, a porous container, an electrostatic separator or a liquid-based separator.

A flexible hose (not shown for clarity) is connectable to an inlet port 14 on the main body 8. Ducting forming part of the chassis 9 connects the air inlet port 14 to an inlet of the separating apparatus 10. The inlet to the cyclonic separating apparatus 10 is arranged to guide an incoming airflow through an opening in the wall of the cyclonic separator in a tangential manner. The precise details of the ducting and the cyclonic separator 10 are immaterial to this invention.

The other end of the flexible hose is connectable to a wand, such as the wand 5 shown in FIG. 1. The distal end of the wand 5 is adapted to adapted to receive a floor tool, such as the floor tool 6 shown in FIG. 1, in any known manner.

A single continuous hose-receiving channel 15 is provided along the sides and back of the periphery of the chassis 9. The hose-receiving channel 15 defines part of a storage path for the hose and serves to guide and support the hose when it is stored. Channel 15 has a semicircular shape along most of its length and a diameter that is just greater than the hose that it retains.

During use, the main body 8 of the cleaner is pulled along the floor surface 11 by the hose as a user moves around a room. The hose has a construction which is robust enough to withstand this pulling action and any normal abrasion, which may be encountered as the hose rubs against obstacles in a room.

In this embodiment, the air inlet port 14 is centrally mounted on the main body 8 at the forward, lower part of the machine. In alternative embodiments of the machine where the air inlet is not centrally positioned, such is the machine shown in FIG. 1 where the inlet is near the upper part of the separating apparatus 3, it is preferable to anchor the hose 4 to the machine at a central position (as with anchor point 16 in the machine shown in FIG. 1) so that when a user pulls the hose, the main body 2 follows the user.

The main body has a rear portion 17, which, in normal usage of the vacuum cleaner, is spaced from the floor surface 11 to be cleaned. The rear portion 17 has a surface 18 that is generally transverse to the plane of the floor surface 11. In this embodiment, the rear portion 17 includes part of the hose-receiving channel 15 and a storage area 19 for tools 20, 21, 22, which are connectable to the distal end of the hose or the wand.

In certain circumstances, the vacuum cleaner 7 may become upset from the upright position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. For example, if the user imparts an excessive upward force to the front of the vacuum cleaner 7 by pulling upwardly on the hose, this may have the effect of lifting the front end of the cleaner. This may be sufficient to cause a turning moment to be applied to the main body 8. Thus, the main body 8 may tilt backwards, bringing the rear portion 17 towards the floor surface 11. The user may choose to continue to use the cleaner 7 in this tipped-back position and pull it along the floor. The cleaner 7 travels across the floor by means of the side wheels 12 that remain operable in this tilted position. This may result in damage to the floor surface 11, or parts of the cleaner itself, particularly those carried by the rear portion 17 of the main body. Furthermore, operation of the separating apparatus 10 in this position may be detrimental to its performance.

In accordance with the invention, the rear portion 17 of the main body 8 carries a wheel 23. Thus, if the main body 8 is tipped backwards from the upright position, to the extent that the rear portion 17 is brought towards the floor 11, the wheel 23 contacts the floor, as illustrated in FIG. 4. This rear wheel 23 permits the user to continue to pull the cleaner 7 along in the tipped-back position without causing damage to the surface 11 of the floor. The cleaner 7 travels across the floor surface 11 by means of the rear wheel 23 and the side wheels 12.

The size, position and projection of the wheel 23 are selected so that, in the tipped-back position, the wheel projects beyond any other rearwardly-projecting parts of the main body 8. As can be seen in FIG. 4, the hose-receiving channel 15 and tool storage area 19 do not bear against the floor surface 11 when the cleaner is in the tipped-back position.

The wheel 23 also provides protection for parts of the cleaner when in storage. For example, the position of the hose when stored on the cleaner is indicated by the broken lines 25. The provision of the wheel 23 on the rear surface 18 ensures that the hose is spaced from a floor surface if the main body 8 is tilted when the cleaner is not being used. This prevents the hose from being damaged by the weight of the cleaner 7 bearing down upon it.

The size, position and projection of the wheel 23 are also arranged so that, when the cleaner is tilted backwards, the centre of gravity of the main body 8 does not act outside the base of the main body. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, the base of the main body 8 is defined by the side wheels 12. Thus, if the user ceases to pull upwards on the hose, thereby ceasing to apply an external turning moment to the main body 8, the main body will tend to right itself and return to the position shown in FIG. 2.

In this embodiment, the rear wheel 23 has a housing 25 that is fixed with respect to the rear portion 17 so that the rotational axis of the rear wheel is substantially parallel to that of the side wheels 12. Other arrangements may be possible, such as a castor wheel capable of swivelling motion.

The rear wheel 23 need not be associated with a housing 24, but could instead be located on an axle that forms an integral part of the surface 18 of the rear portion 19 of the appliance.

The rear wheel 23 may be retractable for storage of the cleaner, for example. Naturally, a plurality of wheels or other rolling surfaces may be provided.

The invention has been described with reference to a cyclonic cylinder vacuum cleaner, but may be applied to other forms of vacuum cleaner and other cleaning appliances.

Claims

1. A cleaning appliance, comprising:

a main body having front and rear portions and a predetermined center of gravity,

a hose being releasably attached to the front portion of the main body, and

a roller structure arranged to allow the main body to travel across a floor surface,

the rear portion being spaced from the floor surface in normal use and having a wheel arranged so that, in use, if a user pulls on the hose so as to tilt the main body and bring the rear portion towards the floor surface, the wheel of the rear portion contacts the floor surface, the size and arrangement of the wheel relative to the main body being such that, when the user ceases to pull on the hose, the center of gravity of the main body acts to return the main body to its normal position with the rear portion spaced from the floor surface.

2. An appliance as claimed in claim 1, in which the wheel comprises a castor.

3. An appliance as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which the wheel has an axle that is fixed with respect to the main body.

4. An appliance as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which the roller structure comprises at least one wheel or roller.

5. An appliance as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which the roller structure is arranged to contact the floor surface when the main body is tilted.

6. An appliance as claimed in claim 1 or 2, further comprising a guide located on the main body for guiding the hose along a hose storage path, which path includes the rear portion of the appliance, and the wheel being arranged so that, when the hose is stored along the storage path and the main body is tilted so that the wheel contacts the floor surface, the hose is spaced from the floor surface.

7-8. (canceled)

9. A vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 10 further comprising a cyclonic separating apparatus.

10. A cylinder type vacuum cleaner, comprising:

a main body having front and rear portions and a predetermined center of gravity,

a hose releasably attached to the front portion of the main body, and

a roller structure arranged to allow the main body to travel across a floor surface,

the rear portion being spaced from the floor surface in normal use and having a wheel arranged so that, in use, if a user pulls on the hose so as to tilt the main body and bring the rear portion towards the floor surface, the wheel of the rear portion contacts the floor surface, the size and arrangement of the wheel relative to the main body being such that, when the user ceases to pull on the hose, the center of gravity of the main body acts to return the main body to its normal position with the rear portion spaced from the floor surface.

11. An appliance as claimed in claim 3, in which the roller structure comprises at least one wheel or roller.

12. An appliance as claimed in claim 3, in which the roller structure is arranged to contact the floor surface when the main body is tilted.

13. An appliance as claimed in claim 3, further comprising a guide located on the main body for guiding the hose along a hose storage path, which path includes the rear portion of the appliance, and the wheel being arranged so that, when the hose is stored along the storage path and the main body is tilted so that the wheel contacts the floor surface, the hose is spaced from the floor surface

14. A vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 9 or 10, further comprising a guide located on the main body for guiding the hose along a hose storage path, which path includes the rear portion of the appliance, and the wheel being arranged so that, when the hose is stored along the storage path and the main body is tilted so that the wheel contacts the floor surface, the hose is spaced from the floor surface.