Vacuum cleaner and suction nozzle body therefor

• US 6,212,732 B1
• Filed: 06/19/1998
• Issued: 04/10/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Satou, Susumu, Satou, Shigenori, Komatsu, Shigesaburou, Shinozaki, Toshiya, Sunagawa, Masao, Yamamoto, Wataru, Tajima, Taiji, Iwase, Yukiji
• Primary Examiner(s): MOORE, CHRISTOPHER K
• Application Number:
  US08/913,356
• Time in Patent Office: 1,026 Days
• Field of Search: 153/87, 153/39
• US Class Current: 15/339
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/04 with driven brushes or agitators
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/0488 Combinations or arrangements of several tools, e.g. edge cleaning tools

Abstract

At an interior portion of a suction nozzle body, an impeller and a brush member are installed. The impeller is rotated in response to an air flow produced by a suction force and a brush or a blade member is mounted in a spiral shape along the whole impeller or a part of the impeller and contacts a surface to be subjected to cleaning. The rotary brush rotates integrally with the impeller on the same shaft and no partition wall is provided between the impeller and the rotary brush. A suction nozzle body having a small size, and which is of light weight and provides for silent operation, and a vacuum cleaner using the same, can be provided.

Claims

1. A vacuum cleaner comprising an electric blower motor for generating a suction force, a casing for housing said electric blower motor, a dust collection part provided at a suction side of said electric blower motor, an air conduit having one end connected to said dust collection part and an other end connected to a suction nozzle body to apply the suction force of said electric blower motor to a surface to be subjected to cleaning, wherein:

said suction nozzle body includes an opening at a portion thereof which opposes said surface to be subjected to cleaning;

an impeller extending in a longitudinal direction is provided in an interior portion of said suction nozzle body and is mounted for rotation about a longitudinal rotary axis by air flow produced by said suction force, said impeller having a plurality of vanes extending in the longitudinal direction and spaced from one another in a circumferential direction, and a brush member extending between adjacent ones of said vanes in both the circumferential and longitudinal direction of said impeller; and

said suction nozzle body includes at least one air inlet nozzle therein separated from and independent of air flow through said opening of said suction nozzle body and located within a longitudinal extent of said impeller so that air outside of said suction nozzle body is sucked therethrough and is blown toward said vanes of said impeller in a direction transverse to the rotary axis of said impeller to rotate said impeller.

2. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, characterized in that

the length of said impeller is longer than a half of the length in a longitudinal direction of said interior portion of said suction nozzle body.

3. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, characterized in that said brush member extends beyond an outer periphery of said vanes of said impeller.

4. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, characterized in that said suction nozzle body includes a housing provided to enclose said impeller, and said opening of said suction nozzle is provided in said housing which opens toward a floor surface to be cleaned and through which dust is drawn when the floor is cleaned.

5. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 4, characterized in that separately provided air inlet nozzles are provided in said suction nozzle body and are located in the vicinity of both ends of said suction nozzle body for sucking air into said suction nozzle body from the outside;

and

an air outlet nozzle is formed at a portion of said suction nozzle body where a tip end of said air conduit is connected at a center portion of said suction nozzle body, so that, with respect to said air outlet nozzle, said air inlet nozzles in the vicinity of the respective ends of said suction nozzle body are arranged symmetrically.

6. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, characterized in that said switch operation unit comprises a switch group for controlling ON-OFF operation of a power source for said electric blower motor, and further means for transmitting an operation signal from said switch operation unit to a main body of the vacuum cleaner through a radio wave.

7. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, characterized in that

a vane of said impeller set has a twist construction.

8. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, characterized in that wheels are attached to at least one of a bottom portion and a side portion of said casing, whereby depending on a difference in the amount the wheels sink into a surface to be subjected to cleaning, the rotation speed of said impeller is varied with variation of the floor surface from a carpet to a hard floor.

9. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 8, characterized in that the rotation speed of said impeller on a carpet is larger than the rotation speed thereof during a time when said suction nozzle body is lifted off the surface to be cleaned.

10. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 8, characterized in that the rotation speed of said impeller on a carpet is larger than the rotation speed thereof on a hard floor, and the rotation speed of said impeller on a hard floor is larger than the rotation speed thereof during the time when said suction nozzle body is lifted off the surface to be cleaned.

11. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 8, characterized in that the rotation torque of said impeller on a carpet is larger than the rotation torque of said impeller during the time when said suction nozzle body is lifted off said surface to be cleaned.

17. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, characterized in that said at least one air inlet nozzle is provided at both sides in a direction of the rotary axis with respect to a position where a center line of the rotary axis of said impeller and a center line of an air outlet nozzle intersect.

18. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, characterized in that said impeller has a vane face which receives air from said at least one air inlet nozzle.

19. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, characterized in that air which is sucked into an interior portion of said suction nozzle body from said at least one air inlet nozzle is blown successively to adjacent vanes of said impeller in the a circumferential direction of said impeller in accordance with rotation of said impeller.

20. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, characterized in that said at least one air inlet nozzle is located so as to be opposed to said vanes of said impeller so that air sucked therethrough is directly applied to said vanes of said impeller so as to rotate said impeller.

12. A suction nozzle body for a vacuum cleaner in which suction force produced by an electric blower motor is used for cleaning a surface to be subjected to cleaning comprising:

a housing;

an impeller extending in a longitudinal direction is installed in an interior portion of said housing for rotation about a longitudinal rotary axis in response to air flow produced by said suction force, said impeller having a plurality of vanes extending in the longitudinal direction and spaced from one another in a circumferential direction, and a brush member extending between adjacent ones of said vanes in both the circumferential and longitudinal direction of said impeller;

said housing including an opening at a portion thereof which opposes said surface to be subjected to cleaning and at least one air inlet nozzle separated from and independent of air flow through said opening and located within the longitudinal extent of said impeller so that air outside of said housing is sucked therethrough and is blown toward said vanes of said impeller in a direction transverse to the rotary axis of said impeller to rotate said impeller.

13. A suction nozzle body of a vacuum cleaner according to claim 12, characterized in that

the length of said impeller is longer than a half of the length in a longitudinal direction of said interior portion of said suction nozzle body.

14. A suction nozzle body of a vacuum cleaner according to claim 12, characterized in that said brush member extends beyond an outer periphery of said vanes of said impeller.

15. A suction nozzle body of a vacuum cleaner according to claim 12, characterized in that said housing encloses said impeller, and said opening is provided in said housing which opens toward a floor surface to be cleaned and through which dust is drawn when the floor is cleaned.

16. A suction nozzle body of a vacuum cleaner according to claim 12, characterized in that separately provided air inlet nozzles are provided and are located in the vicinity of both ends of said housing for sucking air into said housing from the outside to rotate said impeller;

and

an air outlet nozzle is formed at a portion of said housing body where a tip end of an air conduit is to be connected at a center portion of said suction nozzle body, so that, with respect to said air outlet nozzle, said air inlet nozzles in the vicinity of respective end portions thereof, ends of said housing are arranged symmetrically.

21. A suction nozzle body of a vacuum cleaner according to claim 12, characterized in that said at least one air inlet nozzle is located so as to be opposed to said vanes of said impeller so that air sucked therethrough is directly applied to said vanes of said impeller so as to rotate said impeller.