Brushing – scrubbing – and general cleaning – Machines – With air blast or suction
Patent
1997-09-30
1999-08-17
Redding, David A.
Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning
Machines
With air blast or suction
153275, 153277, A47L 500
Patent
active
059374772
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Not Applicable
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not Applicable
REFERENCE TO A "MICROFICHE APPENDIX"
Not Applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a vacuum cleaner, particularly to a cylinder-type vacuum cleaner.
2. Description of the Related Art
Very few vacuum cleaners, upright or cylinder, are designed to be stably positioned on a flight of stairs. UK patent No. 658328 discloses a cylinder-type machine having skids attached to the underside of the cylindrical housing, the skids having notches located therein so that the machine can be "hooked" onto a stair nosing. This allows the user use of both hands to operate the hose or wand of the cleaner. A similar but improved design is described in our pending UK patent application No. 2292881A and corresponding PCT application No. WO 96/07350. An alternative design is illustrated in DE-U-9302645.
None of these prior art machines is designed or intended to be moved up or down a flight of stairs other than by the user lifting the entire machine and repositioning it on another convenient part of the flight of stairs. This can be quite cumbersome, especially if the user must also keep hold of the hose or wand during repositioning of the machine. It would be more convenient if the machine could be dragged or slid up the flight without having to physically lift the body of the machine but the configuration of each prior art machine is such that dragging or sliding is difficult and awkward and results in a substantial jolting of the machine. This can be detrimental to the operation of the machine.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,015,123 illustrates a vacuum cleaner which is intended to be slid or pulled up a flight of stairs, but the stability of the machine is insufficient for safe use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is to provide a vacuum cleaner which can be easily manoeuvred on a flight of stairs.
The invention provides a vacuum cleaner as set out in claim 1. Advantageous features of the invention are set out in the subsidiary claims.
The shaping of the forward end of the housing to include an upwardly inclined nose adapted to present a smooth, inclined surface to a stair nosing so as to facilitate sliding of the machine up a flight of stairs means that upward sliding of the machine is smoother and less jolting so that the likelihood of damaging the machine by such action is minimised.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a vacuum cleaner according to the invention positioned on a flight of stairs; and
FIGS. 2a-2d illustrate progressive positions of the vacuum cleaner when caused to slide upon a flight of stairs in the upward direction.
FIG. 3a and 3b shows an alternative embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A vacuum cleaner according to the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 1. The vacuum cleaner 10 consists essentially of a housing 12 having a base 14 and a cover 16. A hose 18 is connected to the cover 16 of the housing 12 by means of a swivel coupling 20. Positioned inside the housing 12 are dust separating apparatus 22, a motor 24 and connection means for causing the vacuum cleaner to operate so as to draw dirty air into the housing 12 along the hose 18, to separate dirt and dust particles from the air flow, and to expel clean air to the atmosphere. The interior workings of the machine 10 do not form an essential part of the present invention and will not be described any further here.
The base 14 of the cover 12 incorporates a recess 26 which can accommodate the nosing of a stair tread. By means of this shaping, which forms the subject of our pending UK patent application No. 2292881A and PCT application No. WO 96/07350, the machine 10 can be positioned on a flight of stairs in a stable manner. The base 14 of the cover 12 rests on adjacent stair tr
REFERENCES:
patent: 3015123 (1962-01-01), Descarries
patent: 5755007 (1998-05-01), Dyson
McLeod Ian C.
Notetry Limited
Redding David A.
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