CN108078493B

CN108078493B - Arrangement in a dust receptacle of a vacuum cleaner

Info

Publication number: CN108078493B
Application number: CN201711171700.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: P·韦留斯
Original assignee: Electrolux AB
Current assignee: Electrolux AB
Priority date: 2016-11-23
Filing date: 2017-11-22
Publication date: 2021-08-31
Anticipated expiration: 2037-11-22
Also published as: PL3326507T3; CN108078493A; EP3326507A1; RU2017140536A3; RU2765079C2; RU2017140536A; EP3326507B1; DK3326507T3; EP4074234A1; HUE059561T2

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a combination of a connector plate adapter (11) and a connector plate (3) for a vacuum cleaner dust container (1), said connector plate (3) comprising a central opening (9) and being adapted to be connected to a dust bag for proper placement of the dust bag opening within the vacuum cleaner by sliding the connector plate into a holding device of the vacuum cleaner. The connector board adapter (11) and the connector board (3) have substantially corresponding widths such that the connector board adapter and the connector board can be slid into a common holding means and the connector board adapter can be removed from or separated from the connector board. This means that the connector plate (3) can also be fitted in a shorter holding device in which there is no place for the adapter (11).

Description

Arrangement in a dust receptacle of a vacuum cleaner

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a dust container for a vacuum cleaner having a connector plate that can be slid into a holding device of the vacuum cleaner.

Background

An example of such a container is disclosed, for example, in WO-02/24046-a 1. Thanks to the connector plate, the opening of the dust bag can be reliably positioned and oriented to receive the dust laden air flow from the vacuum cleaner inlet. Furthermore, the connector board can for example trigger a feedback switch in the receiving holding means of the vacuum cleaner to verify that the dust container has been correctly mounted in the receiving means, thus enabling to prevent the use of the vacuum cleaner without a dust container or without a dust container being incorrectly mounted. Such use would otherwise damage the vacuum cleaner by hurry injecting dirty air into the fan/motor arrangement (arrangement).

One problem associated with this type of dust container is how to make it more versatile and how to enable it to be operated with an even more efficient and compact vacuum cleaner.

Disclosure of Invention

It is therefore an object of the present disclosure to obtain a more versatile dust container. This object is achieved for a dust container of a vacuum cleaner as defined in claim 1 by means of a combination of a connector plate adapter and a connector plate. More specifically, in such a combination, the connector plate has an opening and is adapted to be connected to a dust bag for proper positioning of the dust bag opening within the vacuum cleaner by sliding the connector plate into a holding device of the vacuum cleaner. The adapter is configured to form an extension extending from one edge of the connector plate. The connector board adapter and the connector board have substantially corresponding widths such that the connector board adapter and the connector board can be slid into a common holding device. The connector board adapter may be removable from or separable from the connector board. This means that the connector plate may be used together with the connector plate adapter in a holding device that extends to provide e.g. a feedback function at a distance from the dust bag opening. Such a feedback function enables, for example, an assessment that the dust container has been correctly fitted in the vacuum cleaner before the vacuum cleaner is allowed to start. However, the dust container can also be used for older types of vacuum cleaners having shorter holding means, simply by detaching the adapter or not using it.

The connector board adapter may include a stiffness reducing feature configured to provide a reduced bending stiffness about an axis perpendicular to a direction in which it is adapted to be inserted into the retention device. This may be accomplished by providing a plurality of living hinges, allowing the connector board adapter to be bent into a stepped curvature. The living hinge may be provided at 3-6 locations in the direction in which the connector board adapter extends from the connector board.

More generally, the connector board adapter may include a bending region that reduces its bending stiffness about an axis perpendicular to its axis adapted for insertion into the socket. In addition to a living hinge, such a bending region may also comprise features from the following group: perforations and reduced thickness locations.

The connector plate and the connector plate adapter may comprise connecting means (means) attached to each other, such as a kiss-joint.

The connector board adapter may be U-shaped, including lateral arm portions and bridge portions interconnecting the arms at distal ends thereof. This provides a place for a shutter arrangement, which can be used to close the dust container after use. At least one locking opening may be provided in the bridge region to interact with a locking function in the holding device. In an alternative solution, at least one recess is provided in the edge of the connector board adapter facing away from the connector board, so that the connector board adapter is allowed to fit in such a holding device even if the locking function is not used.

The connector plate adapter and/or the connector plate may comprise injection moulded plastic, such as polypropylene, PP, or alternatively may be made of e.g. cardboard or paperboard.

A lateral abutment may be provided on at least one corner of the connector plate facing away from the connector plate adapter. Such a seat may rest on the rim of the holding device to further stabilize and seat the connector plate therein.

Dust containers comprising such a combination of a dust bag and a connector plate adapter and a connector plate are also contemplated.

A connector plate adaptor for a vacuum cleaner dust receptacle connector plate is also contemplated, wherein the adaptor comprises means for interacting with a device in a vacuum cleaner holding arrangement and a stiffness reducing feature such as a living hinge, a perforation or a reduced thickness location, the stiffness reducing feature being configured to provide a reduced bending stiffness about an axis perpendicular to the direction in which it is adapted to be inserted into the holding arrangement.

Drawings

Fig. 1 shows a dust container;

FIG. 2 shows an enlarged portion of the connector board and connector board adapter of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows the dust container connector plate with the adapter removed;

fig. 4 shows a perspective view of an example of a connector plate and connector plate adapter formed when inserted into a holding device;

FIG. 5 shows an enlarged portion of FIG. 4;

fig. 6 shows a side view of an alternative connector board construction;

FIG. 7 shows an enlarged portion of FIG. 6;

fig. 8 shows a simplified version of a connector board and a connector board adapter.

Detailed Description

The present disclosure relates to a combination of a connector plate adapter and a connector plate for a dust container, and a corresponding dust container and adapter.

Fig. 1 shows an example of a dust container 1 for a vacuum cleaner. The dust container 1 has a dust bag 5, which dust bag 5 is schematically shown and is made of an air-permeable material, as is known per se. The connector plate 3 is attached to the dust bag 5, for example by gluing to the dust bag, and has an opening 9 coinciding with an opening in the dust bag 5. The connector plate 3 is configured to position the opening 9 in the correct manner with respect to the air inlet in the vacuum cleaner body. This can be achieved by sliding the connector plate 3 into a socket or retaining means in the vacuum cleaner. This operation correctly positions the opening 9 so that the dust bag 5 receives the dusty air stream, the dust bag thereby being able to remove most of the dust from the air stream. A gasket 7 may be attached to the connector plate 3 at the opening 9 to provide a sealing function, reducing air flow leakage from the inlet hose to the dust bag 5.

The applicant's previous application PCT/EP2016/060308 describes a dust receptacle connector panel suitable for use in a vacuum cleaner which improves the use of the interior space within the vacuum cleaner. The connector board includes: including the central portion of the aforementioned opening and a portion extending from the central opening. The extension portion has a lower stiffness than the central portion and can therefore be bent out of the plane of the rest of the connector plate without bending the central portion. Such a connector plate can be inserted into an uneven but curved vacuum cleaner holding device and can thus follow the curvature of the inner wall of the vacuum cleaner. The inner space can be used better and the vacuum cleaner can therefore be more efficient. The end of the extension may be used to activate a function in the vacuum cleaner, for example to indicate that the dust receptacle is correctly mounted to allow use of the vacuum cleaner. Due to the length of the extension, this indication function in the holding device may be located at a distance from the opening in the bag/connector part. The extension also helps to maintain the dust connector in position in the holding device. The edge of the connector plate 3 becomes supported by the holding means.

The dust container disclosed herein may be used with vacuum cleaners having such curved retaining means, but may also be used with older vacuum cleaners lacking such features and having much shorter retaining means.

Referring to fig. 1, the connector board 3 of fig. 1 comprises a removable adapter 11. The adapter 11 is constituted as an extension extending from one edge of the connector plate 3. In the embodiment shown in fig. 1, the connector plate 3 comprises a line-shaped perforation 13, which is more clearly visible in the enlarged portion shown in fig. 2. If the connector plate 3 and the attached adapter 11 are made in one piece, for example in injection moulded polypropylene PP, perforations can be used to separate the adapter 11 from the connector plate 3 by folding the connector plate 3 at the perforations 13 several times and subsequently tearing off the adapter 11, as shown in fig. 3. A dust container with a suitable connector plate 3 can now also be used in a vacuum cleaner with a much shorter holding arrangement which only allows connector plates of length L.

It should be noted that the adapter 11 may initially be provided as a separate part from the connector plate 3. Similar to a separate adapter as shown in fig. 3, may be inserted into the vacuum cleaner holding device in advance in order to activate any function therein, and the connector plate 3 may be inserted afterwards to properly position the dust container opening. Although this does not provide the advantage of the adapter 11 helping to stabilize the connector plate 3 in the holding means, it means that the adapter can be permanently mounted in the holding means, if desired, thereby saving material. In general, the connector plate 3 and the adapter 11 may have the same width W (see fig. 1) along the insertion direction (at least along a part thereof) in which they are inserted into the holding device. The connector plate 3 may be provided with lateral standoffs 31, which lateral standoffs 31 further extend laterally and thus rest on the rim of the vacuum cleaner retaining device opening to further stabilize the connector plate 3 in the retaining device upon insertion.

Fig. 4-7 show two other embodiments in which the connector plate 3 and the adapter can be temporarily connected to each other so that the connector plate adapter 11 can be reused with a plurality of connector plates 3 and still contribute to stabilizing the connector plate 3 in the holding means.

Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of the connector plate 3 and the connector plate adapter 11. In the shown example the connector plates 3 and their adapters 11 are connected to each other by means of a kiss-fit (dovetai) joint 15, wherein tongues and grooves are formed on the surface of the connector plates 3 and adapters 11, as shown in the enlarged part of fig. 5, so that the adapters 11 can be released and reused, snapping together with another connector plate when the dust bag of the present connector plate 3 is full.

Fig. 6 shows a side view of an alternative connector board construction. In this example, the kiss-connection 17 is instead arranged along the edge of the connector plate 3 and the corresponding edge in the connector plate adapter 11, so that the kiss-connection is visible from the side of the connector plate and adapter combination, as shown in fig. 7. The tongue of the connector plate 3 slides into the groove of the connector plate adapter 11.

It goes without saying that the skilled person may implement other ways of connecting the connector board to the adapter 3, such as other snap-fit variants.

By using a combination as described in fig. 4 and 5, or fig. 6 and 7, a combination is achieved in which the adapter 11 can be reused with a plurality of connector boards 3. At the same time, the adapter 11 helps to maintain the dust receptacle correctly positioned in the vacuum cleaner.

Referring again to fig. 3, the adapter 11 may comprise lateral arm locations 19 extending from the connector plate 3 and bridge locations 21 interconnecting the arms at their distal ends (i.e. away from the connector plate 3). This arrangement serves to leave free space between the arm portions 19, which may be used, for example, by an optional shutter arrangement 23. The bridge point 21 may comprise a locking opening 25 which interacts with a locking arrangement in the vacuum cleaner holding arrangement, which locking arrangement snaps into the opening when the connector plate 3 is assembled, so that a predetermined pulling force in a direction opposite to the insertion direction is required to remove the dust bag without the connector plate 3 and the adapter 11 being separated. Thus, the dust bag is not inadvertently removed.

The shutter arrangement 23 may typically be designed as a soft flexible sheet with an opening which initially coincides with the opening 9 of the connector plate 3. When the bag is full, the flap arrangement 23 is pulled so that its opening moves away from the opening 9 in the connector plate 3 and closes the bag. The shutter arrangement 23 may be guided by a fin 27 in the connector plate 3.

The adapter 11 may have a reduced bending stiffness compared to the connector plate 3. More specifically, the bending stiffness around the axis perpendicular to the direction in which the adapter 11 and the connector plate 3 are inserted into the holding device is made lower by means of the stiffness reducing feature. This makes bending of the adapter 11 easier when inserted into a bent holding device.

Fig. 4 and 6 show a combination of a connector plate 3 and an adapter 11, wherein the adapter 11 is bent as inserted into the holding means. In general, the adapter 11 may be configured to bend more easily back towards the dust bag, as this is how best the dust container fits within the vacuum cleaner. This can be achieved by means of a living hinge 29 as shown in fig. 4 and 6. Fig. 6 shows a side view of the combination of the connector plate 3 and the adapter 11. As shown, living hinges 29 may be provided on the adapter 11 at four locations along the direction of insertion of the combination into the holder. These living hinges 29 provide a joint that bends to an extent determined by the curvature of the retaining means and do not need to bend uniformly as shown in fig. 5. It goes without saying that fewer or more than four joints may be provided although the adapter 11 should be bent at a plurality of positions along the insertion direction to provide a stepped curvature. 3-6 positions may be considered suitable numbers.

Alternatively, a lower bending stiffness of the adapter 11 may be achieved by providing a thinner adapter 11 or by providing an adapter 11 comprising a material having a lower modulus of elasticity than the connector plate 3. An adapter 11 may also be provided that is configured to have a lower bending stiffness by virtue of a plurality of perforations or other geometric features of reduced stiffness (e.g., reduced thickness locations) disposed along its length.

As mentioned above, the connector plate and the adapter may be made in one piece or in two separate pieces by injection moulding of plastic (e.g. polypropylene, PP). The connector board and the adapter may also be manufactured from cardboard/paperboard, optionally laminated with a plastic material.

Fig. 8 shows a simplified version of the combination of the connector plate 3 and the connector plate adapter 11. Such a combination may be manufactured from cardboard or paperboard and does not have a shutter arrangement. The connector plate 3 and the connector plate adapter 11 may be made in one piece to be separated, for example by means of a tear-off line 35, or may be made as two separate pieces. The connector plate has an opening 9 and may be provided with a gasket 7. In order to provide a bending area, thereby reducing the bending stiffness of the connector board adapter 11 around an axis perpendicular to its direction of insertion into the holding device, a line-shaped perforation 37 may be provided thereon.

The connector plate 3 may be provided with lateral seats 31, which lateral seats 31 rest on the rim of the opening of the vacuum cleaner holding means to further stabilize the connector plate 3 in the holding means when inserted. A handle 39 may be provided which is made integrally with the connector plate 3 to facilitate removal of the connector plate 3. Even if a locking opening of the type shown in fig. 3 is not used, a recess 33 may be provided in the edge of the connector board adapter 11 facing away from the connector board 3, so that the connector board adapter can easily be fitted in a holding device with a locking function of this type.

The disclosure is not limited to the examples described above and may be varied and altered in different ways within the scope of the appended claims. For example, other plastic materials than polypropylene are contemplated.

Claims

1. A combination of a connector plate adapter (11) and a connector plate (3) for a vacuum cleaner dust container (1), the connector plate (3) comprising an opening (9) and being adapted to be connected to a dust bag for correctly positioning the dust bag opening within the vacuum cleaner by sliding the connector plate into a holding means of the vacuum cleaner, the adapter (11) being configured to constitute an extension portion extending from one edge of the connector plate (3), wherein the connector plate adapter (11) and the connector plate have substantially corresponding widths such that the connector plate adapter and the connector plate can be slid into a common holding means, and wherein the connector plate adapter (11) can be removed from the connector plate (3) or separated from the connector plate (3),

wherein the connector board adapter (11) comprises a stiffness reducing feature configured to provide a reduced bending stiffness around an axis perpendicular to a direction in which it is adapted to be inserted into a holding device.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein the stiffness reduction feature comprises a plurality of living hinges (29) to allow the connector panel adapter (11) to bend into a stepped curvature.

3. A combination according to claim 2, wherein a living hinge is provided at 3 to 6 positions along the direction in which the connector plate adapter (11) is adapted to extend from the connector plate (3).

4. The combination of claim 1, wherein the stiffness reducing features comprise features from a group comprising: perforations and reduced thickness locations.

5. The combination according to any of claims 1-4, wherein the connector plate (3) and the connector plate adapter (11) comprise connecting means (15, 17) attached to each other.

6. The combination according to claim 5, wherein the connecting means (15, 17) comprise an anastomosis connector.

7. A combination according to any of claims 1-4, wherein the connector board adapter (11) is U-shaped, comprising lateral arm portions (19) and bridge portions (21) interconnecting the arms at their distal ends.

8. Combination according to claim 7, wherein at least one locking opening (25) is provided in the bridge point (21).

9. The combination according to any of claims 1-4, wherein the connector plate adapter and/or the connector plate (3) is/are constructed of injection moulded plastic.

10. The combination according to any of claims 1-4, wherein the connector plate adapter and/or the connector plate (3) is/are constituted by cardboard.

11. The combination according to any of claims 1-4, wherein the connector board adapter and/or the connector board (3) is/are constructed of cardboard.

12. A combination according to any of claims 1-4, wherein at least one recess (33) is provided in an edge of the connector plate adapter (11) facing away from the connector plate (3).

13. A combination according to any of claims 1-4, wherein a lateral abutment (31) is provided on at least one corner of the connector plate (3) facing away from the connector plate adapter (11).

14. The combination of claim 9, wherein the injection molded plastic is polypropylene.

15. A dust container comprising a dust bag (5) and a combination of a connector plate adapter (11) and a connector plate (3) according to any of claims 1-14.

16. Connector plate adapter (11) for a vacuum cleaner dust container connector plate (3), wherein the adapter comprises means (25) for interacting with a device in a vacuum cleaner holding arrangement and a stiffness reducing feature configured to provide a reduced bending stiffness around an axis perpendicular to its direction adapted for insertion into the holding arrangement, the connector plate adapter (11) and the connector plate having substantially corresponding widths such that the connector plate adapter and the connector plate can be slid into a common holding arrangement.

17. The connector board adapter (11) of claim 16, wherein the stiffness reduction feature is a living hinge.

18. A connector plate adapter (11) according to claim 16, wherein the stiffness reducing feature is a perforation.

19. The connector board adapter (11) of claim 16, wherein the reduced stiffness feature is a reduced thickness location.