Hand-held cordless vacuum cleaner
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A hand-held portable vacuum comprising:
- a housing;
a dirt cup having an inlet and defining a container for storage of dirt and debris therein, the dirt cup being removably attached to the housing;
an impeller at least partially disposed in the housing;
a filter disposed between the impeller and the inlet, the filter being formed with a plurality of pleats and having an annular flange with driven tabs thereon;
a prefilter having a prefilter body that surrounds the filter and having ribs located on an interior surface of the prefilter; and
a filter cleaning device comprising a circular cleaning wheel with a hub, the hub having drive tabs that directly engage the driven tabs on the filter to rotate the filter within the prefilter so that the filter contacts the ribs to agitate the filter and dislodge accumulated dirt and debris from its pleats wherein the cleaning wheel is located within the housing, the housing having an opening adjacent the cleaning wheel so that a peripheral surface of the circular cleaning wheel is exposed to the exterior of the housing.
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Abstract
A hand-held vacuum cleaner with a container for the storage of dirt and debris therein. To provide improved efficiency and performance, the hand-held vacuum may employ a primary HEPA filter, a device for swirling a dirt and debris laden air flow and/or a mechanized filter cleaning device. Swirling may be employed to direct entrained dirt and debris in a desired direction relative to the container to slow the rate with which dirt and debris accumulates on the primary filter and/or to centrifugally remove dirt and debris from the air flow. Mechanized cleaning is employed to shake, scrape or otherwise remove accumulated dirt and debris from the primary filter.
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Citations
10 Claims
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1. A hand-held portable vacuum comprising:
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a housing; a dirt cup having an inlet and defining a container for storage of dirt and debris therein, the dirt cup being removably attached to the housing; an impeller at least partially disposed in the housing; a filter disposed between the impeller and the inlet, the filter being formed with a plurality of pleats and having an annular flange with driven tabs thereon; a prefilter having a prefilter body that surrounds the filter and having ribs located on an interior surface of the prefilter; and a filter cleaning device comprising a circular cleaning wheel with a hub, the hub having drive tabs that directly engage the driven tabs on the filter to rotate the filter within the prefilter so that the filter contacts the ribs to agitate the filter and dislodge accumulated dirt and debris from its pleats wherein the cleaning wheel is located within the housing, the housing having an opening adjacent the cleaning wheel so that a peripheral surface of the circular cleaning wheel is exposed to the exterior of the housing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A hand-held vacuum comprising:
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a housing having a front end and a rear end; a motor located in the housing; a dirt cup having an inlet and defining a container for storage of dirt and debris therein, the dirt cup being removably attached to a front end of the housing to define a front section of the vacuum; a filter disposed within the dirt cup, the filter being formed with a plurality of pleats; a prefilter surrounding the filter and having a rib located on an interior surface, the prefilter being secured to a front end of the housing; and a circular cleaning wheel attached to the filter and capable of rotating the filter within the prefilter so that the pleats contact the ribs and agitate the filter to dislodge accumulated dirt, wherein the cleaning wheel is located within the housing adjacent its front end, the housing having an opening so that a peripheral surface of the circular cleaning wheel is exposed to the exterior of the housing. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10)
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Specification