Hand-held cordless vacuum cleaner

• US 8,549,704 B2
• Filed: 10/19/2010
• Issued: 10/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Black & Decker Incorporated (Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Black & Decker Incorporated (Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.)
• Inventors: Milligan, Michael A., Mooney, Patrick W., Shen, Xianyao, Kimball, Ted A., Walker, Andrew
• Primary Examiner(s): REDDING, DAVID A
• Application Number:
  US12/907,472
• Publication Number:
  US 20110030164A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,085 Days
• Field of Search: 153/272, 153/44, 153/52
• US Class Current: 15/352
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 5/24 Hand-supported suction cleaners
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/127 tube- or sleeve-shaped
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/1608 Cyclonic chamber constructions
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/165 Construction of inlets
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/1666 with filtering means
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/20 Means for cleaning filters
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2805 Parameters or conditions being sensed
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2842 Suction motors or blowers
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2857 User input or output elements for control, e.g. buttons, switches or displays
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2873 Docking units or charging stations for autonomous or robotic vacuum cleaners A47L2201/02
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2884 Details of arrangements of batteries or their installation

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.

Claims

1. A hand-held portable vacuum comprising:

a housing having a front end, a rear end, a top surface and a bottom surface;

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 front end of the housing and forming the entirety of a front portion of the vacuum and whose walls form a continuous surface with the housing;

a filter disposed inside the dirt cup, 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;

a filter cleaning device having an actuation mechanism with drive tabs that directly engage 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; and

wherein the actuation mechanism is located within the housing, the housing having an opening adjacent the actuation mechanism so that a portion of the actuation mechanism is exposed to the exterior of the housing.

2. The hand-held vacuum of claim 1, wherein the prefilter body has an open end and the prefilter and filter are sealingly engaged to housing to close the open end.

3. The hand-held vacuum of claim 2, wherein the prefilter has a filter flange with an opening therein that engages a peg located on the housing to secure the prefilter to the housing.

4. The hand-held vacuum of claim 1, wherein the prefilter body has a truncated cone shape.

5. The hand-held vacuum of claim 1, wherein the filter has a truncated cone shape.

6. The hand-held vacuum of claim 1, wherein the actuation mechanism is a circular wheel.

7. A hand-held portable vacuum comprising:

a housing having a front end, a rear end, a top surface and a bottom surface;

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 front end of the housing and forming the entirety of a front portion of the vacuum and whose walls form a continuous surface with the housing;

a handle located on the top surface of the housing;

a motor located within the housing to the rear of the dirt cup;

a filter disposed inside the dirt cup, 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;

a filter cleaning device having an actuation mechanism with drive tabs that directly engage 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; and

wherein the actuation mechanism is located within the housing, the housing having an opening adjacent the actuation mechanism so that a portion of the actuation mechanism is exposed to the exterior of the housing.

8. The hand-held vacuum of claim 7, wherein the prefilter body has an open end and the prefilter and filter are sealingly engaged to housing to close the open end.

9. The hand-held vacuum of claim 7, wherein the prefilter has a filter flange with an opening therein that engages a peg located on the housing to secure the prefilter to the housing.

10. The hand-held vacuum of claim 7, wherein the prefilter body has a truncated cone shape.

11. The hand-held vacuum of claim 7, wherein the filter has a truncated cone shape.

12. The hand-held vacuum of claim 7, wherein the actuation mechanism is a circular wheel.