Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47L9/00—Details or accessories of suction cleaners, e.g. mechanical means for controlling the suction or for effecting pulsating action; Storing devices specially adapted to suction cleaners or parts thereof; Carrying-vehicles specially adapted for suction cleaners
  • A47L9/10—Filters; Dust separators; Dust removal; Automatic exchange of filters
  • A47L9/14—Bags or the like; Rigid filtering receptacles; Attachment of, or closures for, bags or receptacles
  • A47L9/1427—Means for mounting or attaching bags or filtering receptacles in suction cleaners; Adapters
  • A47L9/1436—Connecting plates, e.g. collars, end closures
  • A47L9/1445—Connecting plates, e.g. collars, end closures with closure means

Definitions

• the present disclosure relates to a connector plate for a vacuum cleaner dust container, the connector plate comprising an opening and being adapted to correctly position the opening within a vacuum cleaner by the connector plate being inserted in a holder of the vacuum cleaner.
• a connector plate for instance in WO-02/24046-A1 . Thanks to the connector plate, the opening of the dust bag can be reliably positioned and oriented to receive a flow of dust laden air from the vacuum cleaner inlet.
• the connector plate can trigger a feedback switch in the holder of the vacuum cleaner to verify that a dust container has been correctly installed in the holder, thus enabling the vacuum cleaner to prevent use in case of an absent or incorrectly installed dust container. Such use could otherwise damage the vacuum cleaner by injecting heavily dust laden air into a fan/motor arrangement.
• a connector plate of the initially mentioned kind comprises a central portion surrounding the opening, and an extending portion projecting from the central portion in the plane thereof.
• the connector plate further comprises a shutter made in one piece with the connector plate, and being slidable to cover the opening, wherein the shutter is connected to the central portion at the side of the extending portion. With this configuration, the shutter can close the dust bag opening by being pulled away from the extending portion.
• the extending portion may comprise a locking feature that keeps the connector plate in place in the holder, the shutter may be configured to close the opening before the connector plate as a whole begins to move out of the holder. This reduces the risk of dust being spilled when the dust container is replaced.
• the extending portion may comprise lateral arm portions extending from the central portion and a bridge portion interconnecting the arms at their distal ends, wherein the flexible shutter is attached to the central portion in between the arm portions. This provides a space in between the arms where the shutter can be located.
• the bridge portion may comprise locking openings. The locking openings may be located laterally on the bridge portion, with reference to the insertion direction of the connector plate, within the lateral extension of the opening closed by the shutter.
• the connector plate may further comprise guide tabs at each side of the opening, such that the shutter may be folded over the central portion, and inserted behind the guide tabs.
• a shutter opening may be aligned with the opening of the dust bag.
• the distal end of the shutter may comprise a handle.
• the connector plate may be made in one piece in polypropylene, PP.
• a tab may extend laterally from the central portion at least at one of the corners most distant from the extending portion, and a gasket may be attached to the connector plate at the opening.
• Fig 1 shows a dust container for a vacuum cleaner.
• Fig 2 shows a connector plate for a dust container.
• Fig 3 shows a perspective view of a connector plate where a shutter is employed.
• Fig 4 shows a perspective view of a connector plate where a shutter has not yet been folded over the opening of the connector plate.
• Fig 5 shows a side view corresponding to fig 4.
• Fig 6 shows an enlarged portion of fig 5.
• the present disclosure relates to a dust container for a vacuum cleaner, as illustrated with an example in fig 1 .
• the dust container has a dust bag 5, which is schematically indicated, made of an air permeable material, as is well known per se.
• a connector plate 3 is attached to the dust bag 5, for instance by being glued thereto, and has an opening 9 coinciding with an opening in the dust bag 5, such that the opening of the connector plate also becomes the opening of the dust bag as a whole.
• the connector plate 3 is configured to position the opening 9 of the dust bag in a correct manner in relation to an air inlet in the body of a vacuum cleaner. This can be carried out by sliding the connector plate into a holder or socket in the vacuum cleaner.
• This operation positions the opening 9 to receive a flow of dust laden air which thereby enters the bag, which is capable to remove most of the dust from the air flow.
• a gasket 7 may be attached to the connector plate 3 at the opening 9 so as to provide a sealing function, reducing leaks in the flow from an inlet hose to the bag 5.
• Fig 2 shows a plan view of a connector plate 3.
• the con- nector plate 3 comprises a central portion 1 1 , which is central with respect to the opening 9 which it surrounds, and may be substantially flat and rectangular.
• the connector plate 3 comprises an extending portion 13, which may project from an edge of the central portion 1 1 .
• the connector plate 3 When used in a vacuum cleaner, the connector plate 3 may be slid into a holder in the vacuum cleaner with the extending portion leading in the direction of insertion and the central portion as a trailing portion.
• the width of the central portion 1 1 and the extending portion 13 may be substantially uniform width from a distal edge 29 of the extending portion, being inserted first, to the edge 31 of the central portion 1 1 opposite to the distal edge 29. This allows the holder to guide the insertion of the connector plate.
• Tabs 14 extending laterally from the central portion 1 1 at the corners most distant from the extending portion 13 may be provided to rest on the exterior of the holder at its entry point.
• the central and the extending portions 1 1 , 13, may extend in a common plane, and may be made in one piece, for instance by injection molding polypropylene, PP.
• the central and extending portions 1 1 , 13 provide a reliable fixation of the dust bag opening 9 in the vacuum cleaner. Additionally, the extending portion 13 may provide a locking function that retains the connector plate in the holder, and an indicating function, triggering a sensor or switch in the holder, that makes the vacuum cleaner aware of a dust bag being correctly inserted, thereby allowing the vacuum cleaner to disable use of a suction function unless a dust bag is correctly fitted. As is further illustrated in fig 2, the extending portion 13 may comprise lateral arm portions 17, extending from the central portion 1 1 and a bridge portion 15, interconnecting the arms at their distal ends. This serves to leave a free space in between the arm portions 17, which may be used by a shutter arrangement, as will be shown.
• the bridge portion 15 may comprise locking openings 19, which interact with a locking arrangement, snapping into the openings when the connector plate is fitted, thereby requiring a predetermined pulling force, in the direction opposite to the insertion direction, in order to remove the dust bag. Thereby, the dust bag is not removed inadvertently.
• the locking openings 19 may as illustrated be located laterally on the bridge portion 15, with reference to the insertion direction of the connector plate, within the lateral extension of the opening 9.
• the present disclosure relates to a shutter 21 that can be used to close the opening 9, once the dust bag 5 is full and the dust container 1 is to be replaced. As the shutter 21 substantially seals the opening 9, it can be prevented to a great extent that collected dust leaks out of the dust bag when handled to be disposed.
• the shutter is connected to the central portion 1 1 in between the lateral arm portions 17, and may be made in one piece with the remainder of the connector plate.
• the shutter 21 has an opening 33, and is folded on top of the central portion 1 1 such that the shutter opening 33 coincides with the opening 9 of the dust bag 5, which is the state illustrated in fig 2.
• the shutter is tucked in under guide tabs 25 provided at both sides of the opening and remains slidable, guided by the guide tabs 25 and the rear surface 27 behind the guide tabs.
• the shutter can thus be slid upwards in fig 2, such that the shutter opening 33 moves away from the dust bag opening 9, thereby effectively closing this opening.
• This state is shown in a perspective view in fig 3.
• the distal end of the shutter may comprise a handle 23 to facilitate this operation.
• the present disclosure relates to a dust container with improved handling properties.
• a connector plate 3 with a central portion 1 1 , surrounding the dust bag opening 9, and an extending portion 13 projecting from the central portion 1 1 .
• the connector plate 3 comprises a shutter 21 , which may be made in one piece with the connector plate, and being slidable to cover the opening 9.
• the shutter 21 is connected to the central portion 1 1 at the side of the extending portion 13.
• the shutter 21 is activated to close the opening 9, by pulling the shutter 21 away from the extending portion 13.
• the bridge portion 15 of the extending portion comprises a function 19 for locking the connector plate 3 in the holder. This means that the opening can be fully closed without beginning to remove the connector plate 3 from the holder.
• the shutter 21 sliding resistance can be lower than the force needed to unlock the bridge portion 15 from the holder. Therefore, when a user pulls the handle 23, the connector plate 3 is not moved out of the holder until the opening is fully closed, thereby preventing that dust leaves the dust bag, which could otherwise be the result from removing the dust container with the opening 9 fully or partly uncovered.
• Fig 5 shows a side view corresponding to fig 4.
• a fold 55 is provided close to the bridge portion 15.
• the fold 55 can be used to finish the connector plate 3 by folding the shutter 21 further at this fold 55 and attach the distal part of the shutter 21 at the central portion 1 1 using the guide tabs, as previously mentioned.
• Fig 6 shows an enlarged portion of fig 5.
• the shutter may have a ribbed structure that guides the bending of the shutter in the direction it is deformed when the shutter is slid over the central portion.
• the ribs run transversal to the direction that the shutter 21 extends from the remainder of the connector plate 3.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Filters For Electric Vacuum Cleaners (AREA)

Priority Applications (8)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=55913651

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

Cited By (4)

Citations (8)

Family Cites Families (8)

• 2016
  • 2016-05-09 CN CN201680085477.1A patent/CN109068914A/zh active Pending
  • 2016-05-09 HU HUE16720872A patent/HUE056989T2/hu unknown
  • 2016-05-09 EP EP16720872.7A patent/EP3454712B1/en active Active
  • 2016-05-09 DK DK16720872.7T patent/DK3454712T3/da active
  • 2016-05-09 WO PCT/EP2016/060316 patent/WO2017194085A1/en unknown
  • 2016-05-09 CN CN202111325319.8A patent/CN113974486B/zh active Active
  • 2016-05-09 PL PL16720872T patent/PL3454712T3/pl unknown
  • 2016-05-09 RU RU2018140878A patent/RU2717891C1/ru active

Patent Citations (8)

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