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EP-4346537-B1 - SUCTION CLEANER

EP4346537B1EP 4346537 B1EP4346537 B1EP 4346537B1EP-4346537-B1

Inventors

  • HOPKIN, Chris
  • EXLEY, ROSS

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20220530

Claims (15)

  1. A suction cleaner (10), including: a nozzle defining a suction inlet; a motor (40) for creating a suction flow of air through the cleaner between the suction nozzle and an exhaust outlet (26); a separator assembly (18) for separating dirt from the air flow between the suction inlet and the motor; and an exhaust assembly (50) for separating fine contaminants from the air flow between the motor and the exhaust outlet, the exhaust assembly including a filter (58) having a filter housing (68) defining a filter inlet opening (55) having a first cross-sectional area and a filter outlet opening (66) having a second cross-sectional area, and including a first filter medium (65), wherein the first cross-sectional area of the filter inlet is less than the second cross-sectional area of the filter outlet, and wherein the filter housing (68) defines a volume between the filter inlet opening and the filter outlet opening, the filter housing (68) providing a plurality of supports (74) extending within the volume defined by the filter housing, and configured such that the first filter medium (65) disposed across the filter outlet opening (66) is contacted in a plurality of positions by the supports (74).
  2. A suction cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the filter housing supports are configured such that air entering the filter housing via the filter inlet is permitted to leave the filter housing via any portion of the first filter medium disposed across the filter outlet other than where it is in direct contact with the supports.
  3. A suction cleaner according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the first filter medium is disposed across substantially the entire filter outlet opening.
  4. A suction cleaner according to any preceding claim, wherein the filter inlet opening is provided with a second filter medium (53).
  5. A suction cleaner according to any preceding claim, wherein at least a portion of the volume defined by the housing contains a third filter medium.
  6. A suction cleaner according to any preceding claim, wherein the filter is removable from the suction cleaner without the use of tools; and/or wherein the filter further provides a releasable securing mechanism configured to hold the filter in situ, such that the filter inlet opening faces an outlet of the motor; and/or wherein the motor provides a motor housing and an exhaust grill covering its outlet, such that air leaves the motor via the exhaust grill.
  7. A suction cleaner according to any preceding claim, wherein the ratio of the second cross-sectional area of the filter outlet to the first cross-sectional area of the filter inlet is in the range of 1.1:1, to 10:1, or wherein the ratio is in the range of 1.5:1, to 8:1, or wherein the ratio is in the range of 2:1 to 6:1, or wherein the ratio is 4:1.
  8. A suction cleaner according to any preceding claim, wherein the exhaust assembly further includes an exhaust cover (57) downstream of the filter outlet, the exhaust cover defining the exhaust outlet.
  9. A suction cleaner according to claim 8, wherein the exhaust outlet is defined by a plurality of openings in the exhaust cover.
  10. A suction cleaner according to claim 9, wherein the filter outlet opening lies in a filter plane, and the openings of the exhaust outlet extend through the exhaust cover in a direction substantially parallel to the filter plane.
  11. A filter (58) for separating fine contaminants from the air flow downstream of a suction motor (40) of a vacuum cleaner, including: a filter housing (68) defining a filter inlet opening (55) having a first cross-sectional area and a filter outlet opening (66) having a second cross-sectional area, and a first filter medium (65), wherein the first cross-sectional area of the filter inlet is less than the second cross-sectional area of the filter outlet, wherein the filter housing defines a volume between the filter inlet opening and the filter outlet opening, and wherein a plurality of supports (74) extend within the volume, configured such that the first filter medium disposed across the filter outlet opening is contacted in a plurality of positions by the supports.
  12. A filter according to claim 11, wherein the filter housing supports are configured such that air entering the filter housing via the filter inlet is permitted to leave the filter housing via any portion of the first filter medium disposed across the filter outlet other than where it is in direct contact with the supports.
  13. A filter according to claim 11 or claim 12, wherein the first filter medium is disposed across substantially the entire filter outlet opening, and the filter inlet opening is provided with a second filter medium (53).
  14. A filter according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the ratio of the second cross-sectional area of the filter outlet to the first cross-sectional area of the filter inlet is in the range of 1.1:1, to 10:1, and preferably is in the range of 1.5:1, to 8:1, and more preferably is in the range of 2:1 to 6:1, and more preferably still is 4:1.
  15. An exhaust assembly for a vacuum cleaner, comprising a filter according to any one of claims 11 to 14, and an exhaust cover (57) downstream of the filter outlet, the exhaust cover defining an exhaust outlet (26), optionally wherein the exhaust outlet is defined by a plurality of openings in the exhaust cover, and wherein the filter outlet opening lies in a filter plane, and the openings of the exhaust outlet extend through the exhaust cover in a direction substantially parallel to the filter plane.

Description

This invention relates to a suction cleaner, and particularly (but not exclusively) to a floor-standing upright vacuum cleaner. Suction cleaning devices provide motors for establishing flow of air through the device, to transport air and entrained dirt from a suction mouth formed at the floorhead of the cleaner, or from the mouth of a suction hose or cleaning tool connected to the device, to an exhaust outlet for expelling air from the device. The air with entrained dirt is drawn through a separator assembly, removing coarse dirt from the air flow, and a substantial proportion of fine dirt, for storage within a dirt bin. The filtered air is drawn through the motor and is subsequently expelled from the device via the exhaust outlet. It is common that air passing through the cleaner is heated by the motor and so is warmer than the ambient air when exhausted. In addition, exhaust outlets of a cleaner may be considered unsightly compared to other surfaces of the cleaner, since they may provide a view of internal parts of a cleaner which would preferably be hidden from view. US 2019/111373A1 describes a filter assembly for a vacuum cleaner. The filter assembly has a housing, a filter medium disposed in the housing, a recess formed in a surface of the housing, a tab movable between a first position and a second position, and a fixing member movable between a fixing position and a release position. The fixing member is engageable with the vacuum cleaner when in the fixing position to fix the filter assembly to the vacuum cleaner. The fixing member is disengageable from the vacuum cleaner when in the release position such that the filter assembly may be removed from the vacuum cleaner. The tab is movable between the first and second positions to move the fixing member between the fixing and release positions. The tab is disposed within the recess such that the tab is located below the surface of the housing in the first position. The present invention seeks to reduce or overcome one or more of the deficiencies associated with the prior art. Suction cleaning devices of the prior art often address the issues by minimising the appearance of exhaust outlets so that they cover a small surface area of the cleaner, to avoid detracting from the design aesthetic of the cleaner. The exhaust outlets are often positioned on a portion of the device facing away from a user during use, such as on an underside of the device, wrapped around the sides of the device, with a goal of directing exhausted air away from the user. In this way, the discomfort of a user may be minimised, due to the reduction or avoidance of exhausted air hitting the user as the device is operated. However, there are drawbacks associated with minimising the appearance of exhaust outlets, and with repositioning them in order to direct air away from the user. For example, reducing the surface-area of the outlets, when expelling a given volume of air, results in an increased velocity of air leaving the cleaner. Further, providing convoluted routing of exhaust ducting within the cleaner body results in increasing the operating temperature of the device as a whole, as warmed air is effectively recirculated within the body of the cleaner. According to a first aspect of the invention, we provide a suction cleaner, including: a nozzle defining a suction inlet; a motor for creating a suction flow of air through the cleaner between the suction nozzle and an exhaust outlet;a separator assembly for separating dirt from the air flow between the suction inlet and the motor; andan exhaust assembly for separating fine contaminants from the air flow between the motor and the exhaust outlet, the exhaust assembly including a filter having a filter housing defining a filter inlet opening having a first cross-sectional area and a filter outlet opening having a second cross-sectional area, and including a filter medium,wherein the first cross-sectional area of the filter inlet is less than the second cross-sectional area of the filter outlet, wherein the filter housing defines a volume between the filter inlet opening and the filter outlet opening, wherein the filter housing provides at least one support extending within the volume defined by the filter housing, a portion of the support lying against a portion of the first filter medium, and wherein the filter housing provides a plurality of supports, configured such that the first filter medium disposed across the filter outlet opening is contacted in a plurality of positions by the supports. The first filter medium may be disposed across substantially the entire filter outlet opening. The filter inlet opening may be provided with a second filter medium. At least a portion of the volume defined by the housing may contain a third filter medium. The filter housing supports may be configured such that air entering the filter housing via the filter inlet is permitted to leave the filter housing via any portion of the filter medium di