LIGHTWEIGHT VACUUM CLEANER

• US 3,667,084 A
• Filed: 10/23/1970
• Issued: 06/06/1972
• Est. Priority Date: 10/23/1970
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ryobi Motor Products Incorporated (Techtronic Industries Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Bruno M. Valbona, Maurice P. Samuelian, Robert J. Emmons
• Inventors: Valbona, Bruno M., Emmons, Robert J., Samuelian, Maurice P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Scheel, Walter A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Moore, C. K.
• Application Number:
  US05/083,300
• Time in Patent Office: 592 Days
• Field of Search: 15/339,350,323
• US Class Current: 15/323
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 5/24 Hand-supported suction cleaners
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/06 with fixed, e.g. adjustably fixed brushes or the like
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/0653 with mechanical actuation, e.g. using a lever
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/19 Means for monitoring filtering operation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 55/03 Vacuum cleaner

Abstract

A portable lightweight vacuum cleaner having an extendable nozzle intake conduit rigidly supported by an easily adjustable resilient seal losing the lower end of a filter bag compartment into which the intake conduit projects to vary the distance between a fixed operating handle and the nozzle without changing the manageability and nozzle-floor orientation with users of different statures.

Claims

1. In a lightweight vacuum cleaner the combination of a portable housing having a filter bag compartment subjected to subatmospheric pressures, a guide conduit means extending into said compartment at its lower end, a member defining an end wall for the compartment around said conduit, sealing member carried by said wall on the compartment side thereof, a porous walled filter bag received in said compartment with its open end disposed in sealing engagement against the sealing member around said conduit, an intake nozzle supporting tube slidably received in said conduit means to extend into said filter bag an adjustable distance, means interconnecting said conduit and tube for sealing and holding said tube at any one of a number of different distances of extension from said conduit.

2. The combination called for in claim 1 including an electric motor driven blower means in sealed communication with said compartment outside of said filter bag to withdraw air from said compartment, and exhaust means for conducting withdrawn air through the electrical motor.

3. The combination called for in claim 2 including an extension cord, and a grating covering an air exhaust opening in said housing and having parallel grille elements at least two of which are spaced a distance adequate to receive loops of said extension cord therebetween with a slight squeezing action in supporting relationship.

4. The combination called for in claim 3 in which said grating vents in one direction longitudinally of said housing, and a projection on said housing remote from said grating and extending in the opposite direction therefrom to provide a cleating action for the extension cord in combination with said grating.

5. In a vacuum cleaner housing having a filter bag compartment subjected to subatmospheric pressures, the combination of a guide conduit means extending into said compartment at its lower end, a member defining an end wall for the compartment around said conduit, a sealing member carried by said wall, a porous walled filter bag received in said compartment with its open end disposed in sealing engagement against the sealing member around said conduit, an intake nozzle having an intake opening defining a working plane, a tube disposed at an acute angle to said plane for supporting said nozzle and slidably received in said conduit to extend into said filter bag an adjustable distance, means interconnecting said conduit and tube including a resilient member sealing and holding said tube at any one of a number of different distances of extension from said conduit.

6. The combination called for in claim 5 in which the nozzle is supported in its working position with the tube disposed at approximately 45* from the vertical, and handle means elongated to provide a helve at the upper end of the housing disposed at an angle of approximately 20* to the horizontal and terminally bordered by shoulders engaged by a user'"'"''"'"'s fingers crooked around the helve.

7. The combination called for in claim 6 including a carrying handle located on said housing approximately above the center of gravity thereof for carrying the cleaner and for two handed manipulation of the cleaner to sweep other than horizontally disposed objects, said tube being adjustable an extendable distance from the housing in combination with said handle means for greater cleaning reach of said nozzle in two handed operation of the cleaner.

8. The combination defined in claim 5 in which said tube has indicia on it oriented to said interconnecting means indicating the adjusted position of the tube in relation to the geometric location of the upper end of the cleaner with respect to the height of the user.

9. The combination called for in claim 8 in which said indicia represents the heights of users and are spaced on the tube in increments proportioned to approximately one-half the heights of the users as based upon the square root of one-half the square of the distance from the nozzle to the handle.

10. The combination defined in claim 5 including a manually engaged handle means located at the upper end of the housing and cooperating indicia on said tube and interconnecting means oriented with respect to said interconnecting means to indicate the adjusted position of the tube with respect to the working height of the handle with respect to the stature of the user and the height of said handle.

11. The combination called for in claim 10 in which said tube is of plastic and has indicia in the outer wall thereof spaced a distance different from the distance between said indicia on said interconnecting means and said resilient member.

12. In a lightweight vacuum cleaner a plastic housing having a filter bag compartment subjected to sub atmospheric pressures, the combination of plastic guide conduit means externally threaded around a gland receiving enlargement at its outer end and extending into said compartment at its inner end, a member defining an end wall for the compartment around said inward extension of the conduit, a sponge sealing member supported by said wall, a porous stiff walled filter bag means removably secured in said compartment with its open end disposed in sealing engagement against the sealing member around said conduit means, a plastic intake nozzle, a plastic tube slidably received in said conduit to extend into said filter bag an adjustable distance, resilient gland means in said enlargement interengaging said conduit and tube manually actuated gland nut means engaging said external thread to compress said resilient gland means for sealing and holding said tube in any one of a number of different distances of extension from said conduit.

13. The combination called for in claim 12 in which said tube is appreciably curved at its lower end and said nozzle is swivelly mounted on said tube at its lower end for relative rotation in a plane disposed at an acute angle to the tube, said tube being rotatively and extendably adjustable for two handed operation of the cleaner.