Upright vacuum cleaner with cyclonic airflow
First Claim
1. An upright vacuum cleaner comprising:
- a base portion having a suction opening;
an upright housing hingedly connected to said base portion, said upright housing including an opening;
a dirt cup removably mounted in said opening of said upright housing;
a suction source mounted in one of said base portion and said upright housing, wherein said suction source is located beneath the dirt cup;
a filter located in and removable with said dirt cup, wherein an associated airstream flows from said suction opening to an inlet of said dirt cup, through said filter, to an outlet of said dirt cup, through said suction source and away from the vacuum cleaner; and
wherein said dirt cup has an open upper end, which serves as said outlet of said dirt cup, said filter being selectively removable from said dirt cup through said open upper end thereof.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A vacuum cleaner includes a first housing defining a cyclonic airflow chamber and a second housing defining a main suction opening that is in communication with an inlet of the cyclonic chamber. A suction source has a suction airstream inlet in communication with an outlet of the cyclonic chamber, and establishes a suction airstream that enters said main suction opening, passes through said cyclonic chamber, and passes to an outlet of said suction source. A substantial portion of particulates entrained in the suction airstream are separated therefrom when said suction airstream moves in a cyclonic fashion through the cyclonic chamber. A main filter assembly, preferably including filter medium comprising polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), is located in the cyclonic chamber so that a suction airstream moving from the main suction opening to the inlet of said suction source by way of the cyclonic airflow chamber passes through the filter medium thereof after said airstream moves in a cyclonic fashion within the cyclonic airflow chamber to remove residual particulates from the suction airstream before it leaves the cyclonic chamber. A HEPA filter can be provided to filter the suction airstream exhausted through the outlet of the suction source prior to the airstream being discharged from the vacuum.
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Citations
49 Claims
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1. An upright vacuum cleaner comprising:
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a base portion having a suction opening;
an upright housing hingedly connected to said base portion, said upright housing including an opening;
a dirt cup removably mounted in said opening of said upright housing;
a suction source mounted in one of said base portion and said upright housing, wherein said suction source is located beneath the dirt cup;
a filter located in and removable with said dirt cup, wherein an associated airstream flows from said suction opening to an inlet of said dirt cup, through said filter, to an outlet of said dirt cup, through said suction source and away from the vacuum cleaner; and
wherein said dirt cup has an open upper end, which serves as said outlet of said dirt cup, said filter being selectively removable from said dirt cup through said open upper end thereof. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An upright vacuum cleaner comprising:
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a base portion including a nozzle opening and a brush assembly;
an upright housing section hingedly connected to said base portion, said upright housing section including a socket;
a dirt cup selectively mounted in said socket, said dirt cup including an open upper end and a closed lower end;
a suction source mounted in one of said base portion and said upright housing;
a filter located in said dirt cup, wherein said filter is removable from said upright housing with said dirt cup, said filter being removable from said dirt cup through said open upper end of said dirt cup;
a particle collection chamber located in said dirt cup and formed at least partially by a closed lower end thereof, for collecting particles separated from an associated airstream flowing out of said dirt cup through said filter; and
,wherein said suction source is located beneath said dirt cup. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. An upright vacuum cleaner comprising:
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a base portion including a nozzle opening and a brush assembly;
an upright housing section hingedly connected to said base portion, said upright housing section including a socket;
a dirt cup selectively mounted in said socket, said dirt cup including an open upper end and a closed lower end;
a suction source mounted in one of said base portion and said upright housing;
a filter located in said dirt cup, wherein said filter is removable from said upright housing with said dirt cup, said filter being removable from said dirt cup through said open upper end of said dirt cup;
a particle collection chamber located in said dirt cup and formed at least partially by a closed lower end thereof, for collecting particles separated from an associated airstream flowing out of said dirt cup through said filter wherein said dirt cup has an axis and said filter has an axis which is parallel to said dirt cup axis. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30)
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31. An upright vacuum cleaner comprising:
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a base portion including a nozzle opening and a brush assembly;
an upright housing section hingedly connected to said base portion, said upright housing section including a socket;
a dirt cup selectively mounted in said socket, said dirt cup including an open upper end and a closed lower end;
a suction source mounted in one of said base portion and said upright housing;
a filter located in said dirt cup, wherein said filter is removable from said upright housing with said dirt cup, said filter being removable from said dirt cup through said open upper end of said dirt cup;
a particle collection chamber located in said dirt cup and formed at least partially by a closed lower end thereof, for collecting particles separated from an associated airstream flowing out of said dirt cup through said filter;
further comprising a support member on which said filter is mounted, wherein said support member has a longitudinal axis which is parallel to a longitudinal axis of said dirt cup. - View Dependent Claims (32)
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33. An upright vacuum cleaner comprising:
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a base portion having a suction opening;
an upright housing hingedly connected to said base portion;
a suction source mounted in one of said base portion and said upright housing;
a dirt cup removably mounted to said upright housing, said dirt cup comprising an open upper end and a closed lower end;
a first dirt separator located at least partially in said dirt cup; and
,a second dirt separator located at least partially in said dirt cup, wherein said second dirt separator comprises a filter for filtering an associated air stream passing through said dirt cup from an entrance of said dirt cup to an exit of said dirt cup, said filter being removable with said dirt cup when said dirt cup is removed from said upright housing. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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Specification