Vacuum-cleaner-hose assembly having a swivel bend and vacuum cleaner having such assembly

• US 5,755,578 A
• Filed: 10/30/1996
• Issued: 05/26/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: US Philips Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: US Philips Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Wierda, Wiebe, Contant, Cornelis J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Paumen, Gary F.
• Application Number:
  US08/739,772
• Time in Patent Office: 573 Days
• Field of Search: 15/327.1, 15/327.7, 15/339, 15/377, 285/7, 285/179, 285/275, 285/272, 439/191-195, 439/23-26
• US Class Current: 439/23
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/242 Hose or pipe couplings
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/246 with electrical connectors

Abstract

A vacuum-cleaner-hose assembly includes a vacuum-cleaner hose (6, 36) and a swivel coupling (3, 33) for coupling the vacuum-cleaner hose (6, 36) to a housing (4) of a vacuum cleaner so as to allow it to be swivelled about a swivel axis (5) and at an angle relative to said swivel axis (5). The swivel coupling (3, 33) has a hose guide (8, 38) which surrounds a flexible portion (24, 54) of the vacuum-cleaner hose (6, 36) and holds said portion of the vacuum-cleaner hose (6, 36) in a curved position. Since the vacuum-cleaner hose is held in a curved position, the connection of the vacuum-cleaner hose to the swivel coupling can be arranged closer to that end of the swivel coupling which is to be connected to the vacuum cleaner, as a result of which the swivel coupling can be smaller and the swivel coupling or at least a combination of the swivel coupling and an adjoining coupling portion of the vacuum-cleaner hose projects less far in relation to the swivel axis of the swivel coupling.

Claims

1. A vacuum-cleaner-hose assembly comprising:

a vacuum-cleaner hose (6,

     36);

a housing (4);

a swivel coupling (3,

     33) for coupling the vacuum-cleaner hose to the housing (4) of a vacuum cleaner so as to allow swivelling about a swivel axis (5) and at an angle relative to said swivel axis (5); and

an air channel (7,

     37) extending through the vacuum-cleaner hose (6,

     36) and the swivel coupling (3,

     33),

the swivel coupling (3,

     33) comprising a hose guide (8,

     38) which surrounds a flexible portion (24,

     54) of the vacuum-cleaner hose (6,

     36) and holds said portion of the vacuum-cleaner hose (6,

     36) in a curved position.

2. A vacuum-cleaner-hose assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the swivel coupling (3,

     33) further comprises a rotatable coupling part adapted to cooperate with a fixed coupling part; and

the vacuum-cleaner hose (6,

     36), at the side of said swivel coupling (3,

     33), has an end which is coaxial with the swivel axis (5).

3. A vacuum-cleaner-hose assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vacuum-cleaner hose (6) is rotatable about its longitudinal axis in the hose guide (8).

4. A vacuum-cleaner-hose assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein the vacuum-cleaner hose (6) comprises a flexible portion (24) and a hose spigot (11) adjoining the flexible portion (24) at the side of the swivel coupling (3), and the joint between the flexible portion (24) of the vacuum-cleaner hose (6, 36) and the hose spigot (11) is oriented coaxially with the swivel axis (5).

5. A vacuum-cleaner-hose assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the vacuum-cleaner hose (36) comprises a flexible portion (54) and a hose spigot (41) adjoining the flexible portion (54) at the side of the swivel coupling (33); and

the air channel (37) in the swivel coupling (33) takes a form of a bend, which extends partly in the hose spigot (41) and partly in said flexible portion (54) of the vacuum-cleaner hose (36), which portion is held in a curved condition.

6. A vacuum-cleaner-hose assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the swivel coupling (3, 33) comprises a hose-side first coupling part and a second coupling part, the first coupling part being rotatable relative to the second coupling part about the swivel axis (5) and the second coupling part being adapted to be coupled to a vacuum cleaner (4).

7. A vacuum-cleaner-hose assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vacuum-cleaner hose (6, 36) comprises:

a flexible portion (24,

     54) provided with at least one electrical conductor (25); and

a hose spigot (11,

     41) adjoining the flexible portion (24,

     54) at the side of the swivel coupling (3,

     33) and provided with at least one slip ring (26) or wiper contact connected to the electrical conductor (25).

8. A vacuum-cleaner-hose assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein said hose spigot (11, 41) forms part of said hose-side first coupling part, and said second coupling part is provided with at least one wiper contact (27) or slip ring and at least one conductor (30) connected thereto.

9. A vacuum-cleaner-hose assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein:

the vacuum-cleaner hose (6,

     36) is provided with at least one electrical conductor (25);

said first coupling part is provided with at least one slip ring (26);

said second coupling part is provided with at least one wiper contact (27), which cooperates with said slip ring (26); and

at least one contact pin (29) or contact spring for cooperation with at least one contact spring or contact pin, respectively, of the vacuum cleaner (4), each contact pin (29) or contact spring of said second coupling part having an arm (28) which extends up to a location opposite a contact face of the slip ring or at least one of (26).

10. A vacuum-cleaner-hose assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein:

the vacuum-cleaner hose (6,

     36) is provided with at least one electrical conductor (25);

said first and said second coupling part are electrically coupled by at least one slip ring (26) and a wiper contact (27) which cooperates with said slip ring;

said second coupling part is provided with at least one contact pin (29) or contact spring for cooperation with at least one contact spring or contact pin, of the vacuum cleaner (4), each slip ring (26) and each contact pin (29) or contact spring being mounted in a corresponding mounting position; and

the number of mounting positions adapted to receive a contact pin (29) or contact spring, being greater than the number of mounting positions for the slip rings (26).

11. A vacuum-cleaner-hose assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the vacuum-cleaner hose (6,

     36) is provided with electrical conductors (25);

the swivel coupling (3,

     33) comprises a hose-side first coupling part and a second coupling part, the first coupling part being rotatable relative to the second coupling part about the swivel axis (5), the swivel coupling (3,

     33) being provided with cooperating wiper contacts (27), which are connected to the electrical conductor (25), and mutually coaxial slip rings (26); and

the wiper contacts (27) each project from arms (28) of a conductive material towards a respective one of the slip rings (26), which arms extend transversely to the slip rings (26) and along these slip rings (26).

12. A vacuum-cleaner-hose assembly as claimed in claim 10, wherein the wiper contacts (27) are each arranged on one of said arms (28) in a position corresponding to the position of the respective slip ring (26) and said arms (28) being identical to one another.

13. A vacuum-cleaner-hose assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein the vacuum-cleaner hose (6) is rotatable about its longitudinal axis in the hose guide (8).

14. A vacuum-cleaner-hose assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein:

the vacuum-cleaner hose (36) comprises a flexible portion (54) and a hose spigot (41) adjoining the flexible portion (54) at the side of the swivel coupling (33); and

the air channel (37) in the swivel coupling (33) takes a form of a bend, which extends partly in the hose spigot (41) and partly in said flexible portion (54) of the vacuum-cleaner hose (36), which portion is held in a curved condition.

15. A vacuum-cleaner-hose assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the swivel coupling (3,

     33) comprises a hose-side first coupling part and a second coupling part, the first coupling part being rotatable relative to the second coupling part about the swivel axis (5) and the second coupling part being adapted to be coupled to a vacuum cleaner (4).

16. A vacuum cleaner comprising:

a cleaning the; and

a vacuum-cleaner-hose assembly comprising;

a vacuum-cleaner hose (6,

     36);

a swivel coupling (3,

     33) by which the vacuum-cleaner-hose assembly can be coupled to a housing (4) of the vacuum cleaner so as to allow it to be swivelled about a swivel axis (5) and at an angle relative to said swivel axis (5); and

an air channel (7,

     37) extending through the vacuum-cleaner hose (6,

     36) and the swivel coupling (3,

     33),

the swivel coupling (3,

     33) comprising a hose guide which surrounds a flexible portion (24,

     54) of the vacuum cleaner hose (6,

     36) and holds said portion of the vacuum-cleaner hose (6,

     36) in a curved position.

17. A vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 16, further comprising:

an inlet duct (63) for connection of the vacuum-cleaner-hose assembly (2); and

a sealing diaphragm (64) in the inlet duct (63) for at least substantially closing the inlet duct (63) when the vacuum-cleaner-hose assembly of the vacuum cleaner (4) is in the uncoupled condition and for opening the inlet duct (63) when the vacuum-cleaner-hose assembly has been coupled to the vacuum cleaner (4),

the sealing diaphragm (64) having cuts (65) which, when the vacuum-cleaner-hose assembly has been uncoupled, each extend from a central area (66) of the diaphragm (64) to a point near the wall of the inlet duct (63) and whose outer ends (67) are equispaced in the circumferential direction,

the vacuum-cleaner-hose assembly having a tubular end portion (9), which in the coupled conditions passes through the sealing diaphragm (64) and folds the segments (69) defined by the cuts (65) in the direction of flow through the inlet duct (63), and a part (68) of the tubular end portion (9), which part engages with the sealing diaphragm (64) in the coupled condition, having such a cross-section that in the coupled condition a circumferentially uninterrupted part (70) of the sealing diaphragm (64), which part (70) adjoins the area defined by the outer ends (67) of the cuts (65), is extended in a circumferential direction and is in sealing engagement with the tubular end portion (9) of the vacuum-cleaner-hose assembly (2).

18. A vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 17, wherein the tubular end portion (9) has a tapered exterior.

19. A vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 17, wherein the tubular end portion (9), in the coupled condition of the vacuum-cleaner-hose assembly (2), extends less far into the inlet duct (63) than the folded segments (69) of the diaphragm (64) which are defined by the cuts.