Upright vacuum cleaner with cyclonic air path
First Claim
1. An upright suction cleaner comprising:
- a floor engaging base unit;
a body unit pivotally mounted on the base unit;
a suction generating device disposed on one of said base unit and body unit;
a dirt collecting enclosure disposed on said body unit, said dirt collecting enclosure having at least two chambers associated therewith;
an airflow path disposed between said floor engaging base unit and said dirt collecting enclosure;
at least one filter member disposed in said airflow path;
means for sensing air pressure in said airflow path before and after said filter member; and
, an indicator member activated upon detection by said sensing means of a pressure differential across said filter member that exceeds a predetermined threshold.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An upright vacuum cleaner with a cyclonic airflow path includes a floor-engaging base unit, a body unit pivotally mounted to the base unit and a motor/fan assembly mounted on one of the base unit or body units. A dirt collecting enclosure is also mounted on the body unit and includes a. first large chamber and a second smaller chamber. A filter unit is disposed in the first large chamber. Dirt laden air is introduced into the first large chamber in a tangential manner so as to impart a cyclonic action to the airflow. The filter in the first large chamber is effective for removing larger particles of debris from the airflow. The remaining airflow is communicated to the second chamber where smaller particles of debris are removed. Airflow from the second smaller chamber is then communicated through a cyclonic chamber disposed above and transverse to the dirt collecting enclosure. to a third chamber where a second filter is disposed. The smallest particles of debris are removed from the airflow by the second filter disposed in this third chamber. The upright vacuum cleaner can include an arrangement for sensing pressure differences across one or more of the filters thereby providing an indication that the filter is dirty or clogged. The upright vacuum cleaner can also include an elevator mechanism for raising and lowering the dirt collecting enclosure thereby facilitating the task of emptying and then reinstalling the dirt collecting enclosure.
-
Citations
19 Claims
-
1. An upright suction cleaner comprising:
-
a floor engaging base unit;
a body unit pivotally mounted on the base unit;
a suction generating device disposed on one of said base unit and body unit;
a dirt collecting enclosure disposed on said body unit, said dirt collecting enclosure having at least two chambers associated therewith;
an airflow path disposed between said floor engaging base unit and said dirt collecting enclosure;
at least one filter member disposed in said airflow path;
means for sensing air pressure in said airflow path before and after said filter member; and
,an indicator member activated upon detection by said sensing means of a pressure differential across said filter member that exceeds a predetermined threshold. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
-
-
5. An upright suction cleaner comprising:
-
a floor engaging base unit;
a body unit pivotally mounted on the base unit;
a suction generating device disposed on one of said base unit and body unit;
a dirt collecting enclosure disposed on said body unit, said dirt collecting enclosure having at least two chambers associated therewith, said dirt collecting enclosure being removable from said upright suction cleaner so as to enable manual emptying of said dirt collecting enclosure;
an airflow path disposed between said floor engaging base unit and said dirt collecting enclosure and effective for conveying dirt laden air from said floor engaging base unit to said dirt collecting enclosure; and
enclosure removing means connected to said dirt collecting enclosure and effective for facilitating removal and reinsertion of said dirt collecting enclosure, said enclosure removing means further including means for aligning said dirt enclosure means with said airflow path upon reinsertion of said dirt collecting enclosure. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. An upright suction cleaner comprising:
-
a floor engaging base unit;
a body unit pivotally mounted on the base unit;
a suction generating device disposed on one of said base unit and body unit;
a dirt collecting enclosure disposed on said body unit, said dirt collecting enclosure having a first and a second chamber formed therein;
an inlet port cooperatively engaging a portion of said first chamber, said inlet port allowing communication of airflow into said first chamber;
a first filter member disposed in said first chamber and operating in conjunction with said inlet port for imparting to such airflow communicated thereto, a vortex action;
wherein said first filter member is effective so as to remove from such airflow, particles of debris of a larger size and deposit such larger sized debris into said first chamber, said first filter is further effective for communicating therethrough into said second chamber, the remaining airflow from said first chamber;
wherein such remaining airflow from said first chamber, while still having associated therewith, a cyclonic action, deposits into said second chamber, debris of a size smaller than that which was deposited in said first chamber;
a cyclone chamber disposed above said dirt collecting enclosure, said cyclone chamber effective for communicating airflow remaining from said second chamber, into a third chamber, said cyclone chamber further effective for imparting additional cyclonic action to said remaining airflow; and
a second filter member disposed in said third chamber, said second filter being effective for removing from said remaining airflow debris of a size smaller than that removed by said second chamber. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
-
Specification