Liquid pick-up appliances for use in surface cleaning or drying
First Claim
1. An appliance for picking up liquid including a collection container having an air outlet chamber, an air/liquid separator extending through said outlet chamber and having an air/water inlet and an outlet opening, and a suction head which entrains liquid in an air flow from said suction head to said air/liquid separator, the air/liquid separator comprising an inlet tube which extends from said air/water inlet and terminates in an outwardly widening outlet end portion leading to said outlet opening, said outlet opening discharging directly into the collection container.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An appliance for using suction to pick up liquid includes a collection container (10) with an air/liquid separator (30) arranged at a corner between two adjacent walls (13, 14) of the container and extending obliquely relative to both side walls. The separator (30) includes an inlet tube (31) which terminates in an outwardly widening outlet end portion (33) which discharges directly into the collection container (10). The inlet tube (31) and end portion (33) extend into the container (10) through an air outlet chamber (20) which is connected at an outlet opening (17) of the container (10). A filter element (40) is provided at the mouth (24) of the outlet chamber (20) and around the outlet end portion (33) of the inlet tube (31). The oblique arrangement of the separator (30) enables the appliance to be used in a vertical or horizontal orientation and the shape of the air/water separator ensures efficient separation of entrained water droplets from the air stream flowing around the rim (35) of the end portion (33) without requiring the air stream to impact on a baffle.
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Citations
25 Claims
- 1. An appliance for picking up liquid including a collection container having an air outlet chamber, an air/liquid separator extending through said outlet chamber and having an air/water inlet and an outlet opening, and a suction head which entrains liquid in an air flow from said suction head to said air/liquid separator, the air/liquid separator comprising an inlet tube which extends from said air/water inlet and terminates in an outwardly widening outlet end portion leading to said outlet opening, said outlet opening discharging directly into the collection container.
- 13. A collection container for use with an appliance for picking up liquid by means of a suction head which entrains the liquid in an air flow from said head to said collection container, wherein the collection container comprises a hollow body having an air outlet chamber, and an air/liquid separator extending through said outlet chamber and having a first end with an air/water inlet and a second end with an outlet opening discharging directly into the interior of the container, and the aid/liquid separator comprises an inlet tube which extends from said air/water inlet and terminates in an outwardly widening outlet end portion leading to said outlet opening.
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25. A collection container for use with an appliance for picking up liquid by means of a suction had which entrains the liquid in an air flow from said head to said collection container, wherein the collection container comprises a hollow body having a first pair of adjacent wall portions which extend substantially perpendicularly to one another and define between them a first corner of said body, and a second pair of adjacent wall portions which extend substantially perpendicularly and define between them a second corner of said body disposed opposite to said first corner, an air/liquid separator disposed in said first corner and having an outlet arranged at an oblique angle relative to both of said first pair of adjacent wall portions, whereby said container can be used in either of two stable orientations in which it rests respectively on one or the other of said second pair of adjacent wall portions.
Specification