Brushing – scrubbing – and general cleaning – Machines – With air blast or suction
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-08
2001-08-07
Moore, Chris K. (Department: 1744)
Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning
Machines
With air blast or suction
C015S353000, C055S337000, C055SDIG003
Reexamination Certificate
active
06269518
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to vacuum cleaners and, more particularly, to bagless vacuum cleaners.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Bagless vacuum cleaners have become very popular over the last several years. This popularity is due in large part to the ease with which dust and dirt can be removed from such vacuum cleaners. In old style cloth bag-containing vacuum cleaners, dust and dirt removal is a difficult and awkward process, frequently requiring the user to extend his or her hand into the cloth bag to physically disengage dust clumps. Vacuum cleaners using disposable liner bags minimize the problems associated with cloth bags, but the use of such vacuum cleaners requires the continuous replenishment and installation of disposable liner bags. (Also, owners of older model disposable liner bag-containing vacuum cleaners often find it difficult to locate a source of properly sized replacement liner bags.)
Contrary to these problems associated with bag-containing vacuum cleaners, dirt and dust vacuumed up using bagless vacuum cleaners is conveniently deposited into an easily removable permanent container, from which dust and dirt can be disposed of without the effort associated with cloth bag-containing vacuum cleaners and without having to continually purchase and reinstall disposable liner bags.
Bagless vacuum cleaners of the prior art, however, have not been fully satisfactory. Most bagless vacuum cleaners have not demonstrated the ability to fully disengage dust and dirt from the vacuum air stream. Those prior art bagless vacuum cleaners which have been reasonably successful in disengaging dust and dirt from the vacuum air stream have required a high degree of mechanical complexity. Such mechanical complexity has tended to make those prior art bagless vacuum cleaners unduly expensive to manufacture and maintain.
Accordingly, there is a need for a bagless vacuum cleaner which avoids these problems with the prior art.
SUMMARY
The invention satisfies this need. The invention is (a) a chassis having a base unit and a housing unit, the base unit having an air inlet and roller means for moving the vacuum cleaner across a flat surface, (b) an air blower disposed within the chassis, (c) a dust reaction and collection unit disposed within the housing unit and (d) duct work for serially connecting in fluid communication the air inlet in the base unit, the inlet chamber, the outlet chamber and the air blower. The dust extraction and collection unit comprises an enclosed inlet chamber and an enclosed outlet chamber. The inlet chamber is substantially cylindrical with a typical internal diameter between about 130 mm and about 200 mm. The inlet chamber comprises a bottom wall, generally vertical sidewalls, an upper section, a lower section and an air inlet opening. The sidewalls have an interior height, typically between about 200 mm and about 250 mm, and the upper section of the inlet chamber has an air inlet opening through the sidewalls. The enclosed outlet chamber is disposed concentrically within the upper section of the inlet chamber. The outlet chamber has a bottom wall, a top wall and generally vertical sidewalls. The top wall has a top wall opening and the sidewalls have an interior height, typically between about 50 mm and about 100 mm. The sidewalls also have a large plurality of inlet apertures, each inlet aperture, typically defining an area between about 3 mm
2
and about 30 mm
2
. The inlet apertures are disposed in a band around the sidewalls of the outlet chamber, the band typically has a width between about 20 mm and about 50 mm and a median line disposed between about 30 mm and about 50 mm above the bottom wall. The outlet chamber also has an upper section, a lower section and a circular exterior perimeter edge member disposed around the sidewalls in the lower section of the outlet chamber. The exterior edge member has a diameter which is typically between about 10 mm and about 60 mm less than the internal diameter of the inlet chamber.
In preferred embodiments, the outlet chamber contains at least one filter for filtering out residual dust within the air prior to the air being exhausted from the outlet chamber. In more preferred embodiments, the outlet chamber contains at least two separate filters. In still more preferred embodiments, an additional filter, most preferably a HEPA filter, is disposed downstream of the blower to remove virtually all remaining traces of entrained dust particles.
The invention has been found to provide a vacuum cleaner with all the conveniences of prior art vacuum cleaners, but with increased dust removal efficiency and without excessive mechanical complexity and resulting expense of manufacture.
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Anderson Denton L.
Moore Chris K.
Sheldon & Mak
Shell Electric Mfg. (Holdings) Co. Ltd.
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