Handheld vacuum cleaner

• US 10,117,551 B2
• Filed: 10/22/2015
• Issued: 11/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Techtronic Industries Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Techtronic Industries Company Limited
• Inventors: Horvath, Jamie, Thomas, Kevin L., Hill, Ambreese, Saunders, Joseph, Andrikanich, Justin C., Nabors, William
• Primary Examiner(s): JENNINGS, MICHAEL DEANGILO
• Application Number:
  US14/920,170
• Publication Number:
  US 20160113455A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,111 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 5/24 Hand-supported suction cleaners
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 5/26 with driven dust-loosening tools
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/12 Dry filters
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/1608 Cyclonic chamber constructions
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/165 Construction of inlets
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/1658 Construction of outlets
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/1683 Dust collecting chambers; Dust collecting receptacles
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/1691 Mounting or coupling means for cyclonic chamber or dust receptacles
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2884 Details of arrangements of batteries or their installation

Abstract

A handheld vacuum cleaner including a housing having a front end, a back end, a first side, and a second side, a handle having a longitudinal axis that extends in a direction toward the front and back ends of the housing, a suction source, and a cyclonic separator. The cyclonic separator includes a cylindrical wall having a first end and a second end, a first end wall located at the first end of the cylindrical wall, a dirty air inlet, a clean air outlet, a debris outlet adjacent the second end of the cylindrical wall, and a longitudinal axis surrounded by the cylindrical wall and the longitudinal axis of the cyclonic separator extends in a direction toward the first and second sides of the housing. The housing includes an aperture that extends through the first side, and the first end wall of the cyclonic separator is removable through the aperture.

Claims

1. A handheld vacuum cleaner comprising:

a housing having a front end, a back end, a first side, and a second side;

a suction nozzle;

a suction source operable to generate an airflow through the vacuum cleaner from the suction nozzle through a cyclonic separator to a clean air exhaust;

the cyclonic separator operable to separate debris from the airflow, the cyclonic separator located within the housing, the cyclonic separator including,

a cylindrical wall having a first end and a second end,

a first end wall located at the first end of the cylindrical wall,

a dirty air inlet,

a clean air outlet,

a debris outlet adjacent the second end of the cylindrical wall,

a longitudinal axis along the cylindrical wall and the longitudinal axis of the cyclonic separator extends in a direction toward the first and second sides of the housing; and

a debris collection chamber located within the housing and in fluid communication with the debris outlet of the cyclonic separator;

wherein the housing includes an aperture that extends through the first side, and wherein the first end wall of the cyclonic separator is removable through the aperture of the first side of the housing.

2. The handheld vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the dirty air inlet is adjacent the first end of the cylindrical wall.

3. The handheld vacuum cleaner of claim 2, wherein the dirty air inlet extends through the cylindrical wall.

4. The handheld vacuum cleaner of claim 2, wherein the clean air outlet is adjacent the first end of the cylindrical wall.

5. The handheld vacuum cleaner of claim 4, further comprising a perforated tube located within the cylindrical wall.

6. The handheld vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the clean air outlet extends through the first end wall of the cyclonic separator.

7. The handheld vacuum cleaner of claim 6, wherein the second side of the housing forms a second end wall of the cyclonic separator located at the second end of the cylindrical wall.

8. The handheld vacuum cleaner of claim 7, wherein the debris outlet is adjacent the second end wall and the second end wall defines a portion of the debris outlet.

9. The handheld vacuum cleaner of claim 8, wherein at least a portion of the first end wall is removable from the cylindrical wall.

10. The handheld vacuum cleaner of claim 9, further comprising a perforated tube located within the cylindrical wall, the perforated tube extending from the first end wall of the cyclonic separator forming the clean air outlet, and wherein the perforated tube is removable with the first end wall through the aperture of the first side of the housing.

11. The handheld vacuum cleaner of claim 9, wherein the suction source is located within the housing, the handheld vacuum cleaner further comprising a door coupled to the first side of the housing, the door movable relative to the housing to permit access to a filter chamber on or adjacent the first side of the housing, and optionally to permit access to the first end wall to remove the first end wall through the aperture of the first side of the housing.

12. The handheld vacuum cleaner of claim 11, further comprising an airflow passageway along the first side of the housing from the clean air outlet to the filter chamber.

13. The handheld vacuum cleaner of claim 11, wherein the door defines a duct that provides fluid communication between the cyclonic separator and the suction source.

14. The handheld vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the suction source is located within the housing, the handheld vacuum cleaner further comprising a door coupled to the first side of the housing, the door movable relative to the housing to permit access to a filter chamber on or adjacent the first side of the housing.

15. The handheld vacuum cleaner of claim 14, further comprising a premotor filter in the filter chamber configured to filter debris in the airflow traveling from the cyclonic separator to the suction source, the door movable relative to the housing to permit access to the premotor filter.

16. The handheld vacuum cleaner of claim 1, further comprising a debris collection chamber door removably coupled to the housing to facilitate emptying debris from the debris collection chamber.

17. The handheld vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the suction source includes a fan and a motor operable to rotate the fan about a motor axis, and wherein the motor axis extends in a direction toward the first and second sides of the housing.

18. The handheld vacuum cleaner of claim 17, wherein the motor axis is generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cyclonic separator.

19. The handheld vacuum cleaner of claim 18, where the suction source is adjacent the cyclonic separator in generally a side-by-side arrangement and the debris collection chamber is adjacent the cyclonic separator.

20. The handheld vacuum cleaner of claim 19, where the suction source is adjacent the debris collection chamber.

21. The handheld vacuum cleaner of claim 18, further comprising a battery that supplies power to the suction source, the battery removably coupled to the back end of the housing.

22. The handheld vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the suction source includes a fan and a motor operable to rotate the fan about a motor axis, and wherein the motor axis is generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the cyclonic separator.

23. The handheld vacuum cleaner of claim 22, where the suction source is adjacent the cyclonic separator and the debris collection chamber is adjacent the cyclonic separator.

24. The handheld vacuum cleaner of claim 23, where the suction source is adjacent the debris collection chamber.

25. The handheld vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the suction nozzle is adjacent the front end of the housing.

26. The handheld vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the housing includes an inlet aperture through the housing wall and the dirty air inlet includes a passageway between the inlet aperture and the cylindrical wall, the cyclonic separator including a first seal between the passageway and the housing around the inlet aperture on an inside surface of the housing.

27. A handheld vacuum cleaner comprising:

a housing including a handle and a suction source operable to generate an airflow through the handheld vacuum cleaner from a suction nozzle through a cyclonic separator to a clean air exhaust;

the cyclonic separator including a cylindrical wall having a first end and a second end, a first end wall located at the first end of the cylindrical wall, a dirty air inlet, and a clean air outlet in the first end wall, wherein the cyclonic separator is in a horizontal orientation and the cyclonic separator defines a longitudinal axis that extends in a direction toward a first side and a second side of the housing; and

wherein the first end wall of the cyclonic separator is openable.