Vacuum cleaner

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11700986-B2
Application number	US-202117240368-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 26, 2021
Priority date	Jul 13, 2012
Publication date	Jul 18, 2023
Grant date	Jul 18, 2023

Abstract

A vacuum cleaner includes an upright handle assembly, a foot assembly adapted to be moved along a surface to be cleaned and having a suction nozzle, a multi-axis joint swivelably mounting the upright handle assembly to the foot assembly and defining a first axis about which the upright handle assembly twists relative to the foot assembly and a second axis about which the upright handle assembly pivot relative to the foot assembly, and a detachable vacuum module supported on the upright handle assembly by the module platform.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An upright vacuum cleaner, comprising:
an upright handle assembly comprising an elongated structural support and a module platform having an upper surface extending forwardly from the elongated structural support;
a foot assembly adapted to be moved along a surface to be cleaned and having a suction nozzle; and
a multi-axis joint swivelably mounting a lower portion of the module platform of the upright handle assembly to an upper portion of the foot assembly and defining a first axis about which the upright handle assembly twists relative to the foot assembly and a second axis about which the upright handle assembly pivots relative to the foot assembly a working air path formed from the suction nozzle and passing through the multi-axis joint, wherein the multi-axis joint comprises:
a pivot neck coupled to the upright handle assembly;
a pivot ring coupled with the foot assembly and rotatably mounted to the pivot neck to permit rotation about the first axis; and
a biasing mechanism provided within the multi-axis joint and operable to bias the upright handle assembly about the first axis towards a neutral position centered along a vertical plane through the multi-axis joint.

2. The upright vacuum cleaner of claim 1 , further comprising a detachable vacuum module that includes a module housing having a rear side selectively supported by the elongated structural support and a lowermost portion simultaneously supported by the upper surface of the module platform.

3. The upright vacuum cleaner of claim 2 wherein the lowermost portion of the module housing is adapted to be at least partially supported by the upper surface of the module platform and overlying the multi-axis joint.

4. The upright vacuum cleaner of claim 1 wherein the pivot neck includes an annular bearing channel having upper and lower projections.

5. The upright vacuum cleaner of claim 4 wherein the pivot ring defines an outer surface and has an annular bearing protrusion on the outer surface.

6. The upright vacuum cleaner of claim 5 wherein the annular bearing protrusion is rotatably received by the annular bearing channel and the upper and lower projections restrict axial movement of the pivot ring along the first axis.

7. The upright vacuum cleaner of claim 1 wherein the elongated structural support is defined by a hollow tubular spine member and a telescoping handle tube slidably received by the hollow tubular spine member, and wherein a handle grip is provided at an upper end of the telescoping handle tube.

8. The upright vacuum cleaner of claim 1 wherein the pivot ring comprises at least one pivot boss protruding outwardly from a rear portion of the pivot ring and wherein the at least one pivot boss defines the second axis.

9. The upright vacuum cleaner of claim 1 wherein the biasing mechanism includes a first coil spring mounted along a first side of the multi-axis joint and a second coil spring mounted along a second side of the multi-axis joint.

10. The upright vacuum cleaner of claim 9 wherein the first coil spring and the second coil spring are mounted between the pivot ring and an inner surface of the pivot neck.

11. The upright vacuum cleaner of claim 10 wherein the first coil spring and the second coil spring are enclosed by spring mounting pockets.

12. The upright vacuum cleaner of claim 9 wherein the first coil spring is constrained between a stop provided on the pivot ring and a first stop provided on the pivot neck, and the second coil spring is constrained between the stop provided on the pivot ring and a second stop provided on the pivot neck.

13. An upright vacuum cleaner, comprising:
an upright handle assembly including an elongated structural support having a handle grip, the upright handle assembly including a module platform having an upper surface and a bottom surface, opposite the upper surface, the upper surface of the module platform extending forwardly from the elongated structural support;
a foot assembly adapted to be moved along a surface to be cleaned and having a suction nozzle;
a multi-axis joint swivelably mounting the bottom surface of the module platform of the upright handle assembly to the foot assembly and defining a first axis about which the upright handle assembly twists relative to the foot assembly and a second axis about which the upright handle assembly pivots relative to the foot assembly, wherein the multi-axis joint comprises a biasing mechanism provided within the multi-axis joint and operable to bias the upright handle assembly; and
a detachable vacuum module selectively mounted on the upper surface of the module platform of the upright handle assembly with a working air path formed from the suction nozzle, passing through the multi-axis joint and to the detachable vacuum module.

14. The upright vacuum cleaner of claim 13 wherein the detachable vacuum module further comprises a module housing having a lowermost portion that is adapted to be at least partially supported by the upper surface of the module platform and overlying the multi-axis joint.

15. The upright vacuum cleaner of claim 14 , further comprising the working air path passing through the module housing and having an air inlet and an air outlet.

16. The upright vacuum cleaner of claim 15 , further comprising a dirt separator defining a portion of the working air path and comprising a separator inlet in fluid communication with the air inlet.

17. The upright vacuum cleaner of claim 16 wherein the dirt separator comprises a cyclonic dirt separator.

18. The upright vacuum cleaner of claim 15 , further comprising an air conduit extending through the multi-axis joint and fluidly communicating the suction nozzle with the air inlet when the detachable vacuum module is supported on the upright handle assembly by the module platform.

19. The upright vacuum cleaner of claim 15 wherein the detachable vacuum module is adapted to be operated independently from the upright handle assembly and the foot assembly, or mounted on the upper surface and operably coupled to an electrical connector such that the detachable vacuum module is operated in conjunction with the upright handle assembly and the foot assembly including providing power via the electrical connector to at least one electrical component of the foot assembly and forming a portion of the working air path from the suction nozzle, through the multi-axis joint, to the air inlet.

Assignees

• Bissell Inc

Inventors

• Kasper Gary A

Classifications

• A47L5/225 Primary

  Convertible suction cleaners, i.e. convertible between different types thereof, e.g. from upright suction cleaners to sledge-type suction cleaners · CPC title

• A47L5/30

  with driven dust-loosening tools, e.g. rotating brushes · CPC title

• A47L9/0411

  driven by electric motor · CPC title

• A47L9/0466

  Rotating tools · CPC title

• A47L9/0483

  Reciprocating or oscillating tools, e.g. vibrators, agitators, beaters · CPC title