Brushing – scrubbing – and general cleaning – Machines – With air blast or suction
Patent
1999-03-24
2000-11-07
Moore, Chris K.
Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning
Machines
With air blast or suction
153272, 153273, 153274, A47L 536
Patent
active
061418226
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention concerns a mobile vacuum cleaner for household refuse, having an internal structure including means for aspirating air laden with household refuse via an air inlet, means for filtering the aspirated air and retaining the household refuse that it contains, means for evacuating the filtered air via at least one air outlet, and a protective structure adapted to minimise or eliminate damages caused by impacts between the vacuum cleaner and other objects such as surrounding furniture.
Vacuum cleaners including a peripheral protective structure are already known per se, for example the device described in document DE 30 42 894 A. The vacuum cleaner described in the above document includes a casing mounted on wheels with a sealed elastic band around it provided with air evacuation openings. The aspirated air exiting the motor is propelled through an opening between the rigid casing of the vacuum cleaner and the elastic band to generate a layer of air under the elastic band, which constitutes a structure for damping lateral impacts between the vacuum cleaner and a piece of furniture. This structure is found not to damp heavy impacts satisfactorily, probably because of the necessarily thin layer of air between the casing and the elastic band. What is more, the elastic band must be fixed to the casing in a sealed manner, which implies a relatively complex and costly construction.
Document DE 22 13 716 A describes another mobile vacuum cleaner construction for household refuse in which the bottom face of the vacuum cleaner comprises a non-inflatable closed cell foam mattress constituting a soft surface resting on the floor to avoid scratching the floor in the presence of grains of sand.
Document U.S. Pat. No. 4,947,506 A describes a mobile vacuum cleaner for household refuse the casing of which is covered with non-inflatable covering members, on the top and on the periphery. The attached covering members are made of high-density foam capable of absorbing the energy of impacts between the vacuum cleaner and surrounding objects.
Document U.S. Pat. No. 4,533,370 A describes a mobile vacuum cleaner structure for household refuse the casing of which has a rigid peripheral tubular member around it through which the vacuum cleaner exhaust air flows to reduce air exhaust noise. The surface beyond the peripheral tubular member can be covered with a soft covering, for example PVC resin, to constitute simultaneously a shock absorber. The structure is not inflatable.
It is found that the prior art structures provide insufficient protection, and simultaneously increase the cost of manufacture in proportions that are unacceptable given the result obtained.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The problem addressed by the present invention is that of designing a new vacuum cleaner structure capable of simultaneously absorbing impacts between the vacuum cleaner and surrounding objects effectively, and reducing the overall cost of production of the vacuum cleaner.
Another advantage of the invention is being able to impart diverse outside shapes to the vacuum cleaner for a common internal structure.
It is equally feasible, in accordance with the invention, for the vacuum cleaner to have an external shape that can be modified at will, in a convenient and inexpensive fashion.
To achieve the above and other objects, a vacuum cleaner in accordance with the invention comprises an internal structure having means for aspirating air laden with household refuse via an air inlet, means for filtering the aspirated air and retaining the household refuse that it contains, means for evacuating the filtered air via at least one air outlet, and an inflatable peripheral structure supplied with air via said air outlet; the inflatable peripheral structure is delimited by one or more flexible outside peripheral walls the envelope of which entirely surrounds all of the internal structure of the vacuum cleaner comprising the air suction, filter and exhaust means.
In one preferred embodiment, a portion of the i
REFERENCES:
patent: 2392205 (1946-01-01), Wales
patent: 2920337 (1960-01-01), Smith
patent: 4993105 (1991-02-01), Buchtel
patent: 5392492 (1995-02-01), Fassauer
patent: 5799363 (1998-09-01), Inoue et al.
Jimenez Antonio
Riviera-Boklund Agneta
Certech SA, Societe Anonyme
Eilberg William H.
Moore Chris K.
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