Title: Floor cleaning apparatus including dispenser for dispensing particulate cleaning material
Abstract: A dispenser for dispensing particulate cleaning material onto a floor surface includes a hopper holding the particulate material and a dispensing aperture extending across the hopper through which the material may be dispensed. A separator, which may for example be a wire, is located adjacent the dispensing aperture for separating the particulate cleaning material at the aperture. The wire helps to break up clumps of particulate cleaning material which may form. In use, a plate is vibrated to impart motion to the particulate material in the hopper. The wire can be carried by the plate or by the hopper and is preferably held under tension.
Patent Number: 6,993,807 Issued on 02/07/2006 to Courtney
| Inventors:
|
Courtney; Stephen Benjamin (Bath, GB)
|
| Assignee:
|
Dyson Technology Limited (Wiltshire, GB)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
275471 |
| Filed:
|
April 25, 2001 |
| PCT Filed:
|
April 25, 2001
|
| PCT NO:
|
PCT/GB01/01833
|
| 371 Date:
|
November 6, 2002
|
| 102(e) Date:
|
November 6, 2002
|
| PCT PUB.NO.:
|
WO01/85005 |
| PCT PUB. Date:
|
November 15, 2001 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
| Current U.S. Class: |
15/320; 15/328; 15/246.2; 222/287; 222/517; 222/619 |
| Current Intern'l Class: |
A47L 11/03 (20060101) |
| Field of Search: |
15/320,246.2,328
222/608,619,564,517,287,514
|
References Cited [Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
| 2733839 | Feb., 1956 | Blum.
| |
| 3365103 | Jan., 1968 | Van Der Lely.
| |
| 4268935 | May., 1981 | Bessinger.
| |
| 5101532 | Apr., 1992 | Dyson et al.
| |
| 5427283 | Jun., 1995 | Whittaker et al.
| |
| Foreign Patent Documents |
| 27 03 819 | Aug., 1978 | DE.
| |
| 0 157 923 | Oct., 1985 | EP.
| |
| 0 182 230 | May., 1986 | EP.
| |
Primary Examiner: Snider; Theresa T.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Morrison & Foerster LLP
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A floor cleaning apparatus comprising a main body, a cleaner head, a dispenser
on the cleaner head for dispensing particulate cleaning material onto a floor surface,
the dispenser comprising a hopper for holding the particulate cleaning material,
a dispensing aperture provided for and extending across the hopper through which
the particulate cleaning material can be dispensed, a separator adjacent to and
separate from the dispensing aperture that separates the particulate cleaning material
before it is dispensed through the aperture by performing a cutting action on the
particulate cleaning material,
wherein a part of the hopper is movable with respect to the hopper to impart
movement to particulate cleaning material in the hopper, the dispensing aperture
being a gap between the movable part and the remainder of the hopper and a drive
for driving the movable part in an oscillatory manner.
2. The floor cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the separator is
carried by the movable part.
3. The floor cleaning apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the separator is
attached to sides of the movable part.
4. The floor cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the separator is
carried by the hopper.
5. The floor cleaning apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the separator is
pivotably mounted to the hopper and is movable by the movable part.
6. The floor cleaning apparatus according to 5, wherein the separator is located
upstream of the dispensing aperture.
7. The floor cleaning apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the separator is
spaced from a surface within the hopper which carries the particulate cleaning material.
8. The floor cleaning apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the separator has
a longitudinal axis that is substantially parallel to the surface within the hopper
which carries the particulate cleaning material.
9. A dispenser for dispensing particulate cleaning material onto a floor surface
comprising a hopper for holding the particulate cleaning material, a dispensing
aperture provided for and extending across the hopper through which the particulate
cleaning material can be dispensed and a separator adjacent to and separate from
the dispensing aperture that separates the particulate cleaning material before
it is dispensed through the aperture by performing a cutting action on the particulate
cleaning material,
wherein the separator is a wire.
10. The dispenser according to claim 9, wherein the wire is held under tension.
11. The dispenser according to claim 9, wherein a part of the hopper is movable
with respect to the hopper to impart movement to particulate cleaning material
in the hopper, the dispensing aperture being a gap between the movable part and
the remainder of the hopper.
12. The dispenser according to claim 11, wherein the separator is attached to
sides of the movable part.
13. The dispenser according to claim 9, wherein a part of the hopper is movable
with respect to the hopper to impart movement to particulate cleaning material
in the hopper and the separator is pivotably mounted to the hopper and is movable
by the movable part.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a dispenser for dispensing particulate cleaning material
onto a floor surface and to floor cleaning apparatus incorporating such a dispenser.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Floor coverings such as carpets and rugs are prone to marks and stains. Floor
coverings can be cleaned in a number of ways, which can be classified as 'wet'
or 'dry' cleaning methods. Wet cleaning methods such as washing or shampooing the
floor covering have the disadvantage that they can cause shrinkage of the floor
covering. Dry cleaning generally involves depositing a powdered composition onto
the floor covering which can readily absorb soil and contaminants from the floor
covering. The powder is worked into the floor covering with the aid of a brush.
Finally the dirty powder can then be removed from the floor covering by a vacuum
cleaner. While such compositions are called 'dry', in that they flow as a powder
at room temperature, they usually contain a quantity of liquid such as water or
organic solvents.
The cleaning powder needs to be dispensed on to the floor covering. U.S. Pat.
No. 4,268,935 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,532 describe powder-dispensing machines for
use in cleaning carpets. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,532, the machine has a hopper on
the front of the machine for storing dry-cleaning powder. At the front, lower part
of the hopper there is a jaw which is formed by a lower flap which is hingedly
fixed to the hopper. In use, the flap is oscillated about a mean gap width of around
4 mm so as to dispense powder onto the floor surface. The position of the lower
flap is controlled by a user-operated control which moves the flap between one
of two fixed positions: a dispense position, in which the flap is set to the 4
mm gap, and a grooming and vacuuming position in which the flap seals the hopper
to prevent any powder escaping from the hopper. In use, the machine dispenses powder
onto the floor surface at a controlled rate. It has been found that the powdered
material can sometimes be dispensed unevenly. Since the powder is moist rather
than truly 'dry', it can form into lumps. Such lumps will either be dispensed on
to the floor covering or will jam in the jaw of the dispenser, thus preventing
any powder from being dispensed from that part of the dispenser. This leads to
dissatisfaction for a user of the machine.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention seeks to provide a floor cleaning apparatus which dispenses
particulate material more evenly on to a floor surface.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a dispenser for dispensing
particulate cleaning material onto a floor surface comprising a hopper for holding
the particulate material, a dispensing aperture extending across the hopper through
which the particulate material can be dispensed and separating means adjacent the
dispensing aperture for separating the particulate material before it is dispensed
through the aperture by performing a cutting action on the particulate material.
The provision of separating means helps to break up and to clear any clumps of
particulate material which may form, thus ensuring that particulate material is
dispensed evenly through the dispensing aperture.
The term 'floor surface' is intended to cover any type of floor covering such
as carpet or a rug which may be present on the actual surface of the floor.
Preferably a part of the hopper is movable with respect to the hopper
to impart movement to particulate material in the hopper and the dispensing aperture
is a gap between the movable part and the hopper. More preferably, the separating
means is carried by the movable part, which has the advantage that the separating
means is also moved during use of the dispenser to provide an improved separating
action on material at the aperture. It is preferred that the separating means are
attached to the sides of the movable part. This has the advantage that use can
be made of the full width of the slot for dispensing particulate material.
Alternatively, the separating means can be carried by the hopper.
Preferably the separating means is spaced from the surface of the hopper
which carries the particulate material. This allows smaller particulate material
to flow beneath the separating means while also providing an effective separating
effect on larger particulate material.
The separating means can tale various forms. A preferable form of separating
means is a wire. A wire has been found to provide a particularly effective separating
or cutting action on clumps of cleaning powder at the aperture while also being
safe for a user to touch and being easy to clean should this be necessary. The
separating efficiency is further improved if the wire is held under tension.
The dispenser can be provided as part of a floor cleaning apparatus, either as
an integral part of the apparatus or as a removable attachment to the apparatus.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example
only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 shows a vacuum cleaner incorporating dispensing apparatus according to
an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 shows the dispensing apparatus with the dispensing aperture open;
FIG. 3 is a cross-section through the dispensing apparatus of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 shows the adjustable part of the dispensing apparatus of FIGS. 2 and 3;
FIGS. 5 and 6 show alternative forms of the adjustable part of the dispensing
apparatus of FIGS. 2 and 3;
FIG. 7 shows just the dispensing plate of the dispensing apparatus of FIGS.
2 and 3;
FIG. 8 shows an alternative position for the separating means;
FIG. 9 is a similar cross-section to the one of FIG. 3 but showing the dispensing
aperture in a closed position; and,
FIG. 10 shows an alternative form of the separating means.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 shows a vacuum cleaner
10 which includes a dispenser
50
for dispensing particulate dry cleaning material onto a floor surface. The vacuum
cleaner
10 is largely of a conventional design. The main body
11
has a motor housing
12 at its lower end. A cleaner head
15 is rotatably
mounted to the motor housing to allow the cleaner head to remain in contact with
the floor surface as the main body
11 is moved rearwardly into a normal
operating position for upright cleaning. The cleaning head
15 includes an
inlet
18 through which dirty air can be drawn into the cleaner and a brush
bar for beating the floor surface. The main body
11 supports separating
apparatus
20 which separates dirt and dust from the dirty air. The separating
apparatus is preferably cyclonic separation apparatus using two cyclonic separation
stages although it can take the form of a bag or other form of separator. Cyclonic
separators have been found to be particularly effective at separating the dirty
dry cleaning powder from the air drawn in to the cleaner
10. The separating
apparatus
20 is removable from the main body
11 to allow the separating
apparatus to be emptied.
The vacuum cleaner
10 is modified with respect to a normal cleaner to
support dispenser
50. The dispenser
50 is more clearly shown in FIGS.
2-10. The dispenser
50 fits onto the upper face of the cleaner head
15
and extends transversely across the cleaner head
15, parallel to the floor
surface. A lug on each side of the dispenser
50 fits in a slot on each forward
corner of the upper face of the cleaner head
15. These slots are shaped
to allow the dispenser
50 to pivot from a generally upright position in
which the dispenser
50 is inoperable to an operable position in which the
dispenser
50 lies flush with the cleaner head
15. The dispenser
50
is shown in the operable position in FIG. 1. In the operable position an arm
53
on each side of the dispenser
50 fits in a recess on the side of the cleaner
head
15 and a flange on the rear face of the dispenser
50 is received
by a clamp on the cleaner head
15. The clamp is linked to a foot pedal
40
so that when a user presses on the foot pedal
40 the clamp is opened to
release the dispenser
50. As shown in FIG. 3, the dispenser
50 comprises
a hopper housing
52 whose rear face is defined by a plate
70 which
is pivotally mounted to the housing
52 about an axle
73. The forward,
upper face of the hopper is defined by a lid
55 which is pivotally mounted
to the housing
52, the lid
55 opening from the uppermost end. The
chamber
60 defined by the housing
52, plate
70 and lid
55
has a volume which is sufficient to receive a useful quantity of dry-cleaning powder.
An arm
71 (best seen in FIG. 7) extends from the plate
70.
The cleaner head
15 includes a cam
40 for moving the arm
71
of the hopper plate
70 of the dispenser
50. The cam
40 is
driven by way of the main motor (not shown) of the cleaner
10 and a drive
shaft
45. The cam
40 is mounted inside the cleaner head
15,
and a slot extends inwardly from the outer casing of the cleaner head towards the
cam
40. A cam guard
30 is mounted within the slot and serves as both
a cam follower and a guard. Cam guard
30 is pivotable about axle
32
and is normally biased, by spring
34, into a position in which it lies flush
with the outer surface of the cleaner head
15. When the dispenser is mounted
on the cleaner head
15, the cam guard
30 is pressed inwardly. against
the spring
34, to lie against the cam
40 and can then follow the
shape of the cam
40. The guard makes it impossible for a user or a child
to trap a finger or an object between the cam and the casing, thus preventing injury
to a user and damage to the cleaner.
The lower parts of the hopper plate
70 and housing
52 form a jaw
which defines a dispensing aperture
75. The aperture is defined by a flange
72, which extends outwardly from the lower, forward part of housing
52,
and end
74 of hopper plate
70. Plate
70 is driven by the cam
40 in the cleaner head
15, motion of the cam being transmitted to
the plate
70 via the cam guard
30 and adjustment wheel
80.
Motion of the plate
70 is constrained by spring
56 which fits between
the plate
70 and housing
52. Plate
70 also carries a wire
90. The wire extends across the full width of the plate, parallel with the
plate and the floor surface. The purpose of the wire
90 is to separate clumps
of powder prior to the powder being dispensed onto the floor surface. Rapid movement
of the plate
70, and therefore the wire
90, serves to cut through
the powder.
In use, the width of aperture
75 will vary as the plate
70 is driven
by the cam
40 in the cleaner head
15. Aperture
75 has a mean
width, the width increasing or decreasing a small amount from this mean width as
the plate
70 is driven. The mean width of the aperture has an effect on
the rate at which powder is dispensed. The mean width of aperture
75 is
controlled via adjustment wheel
80. Adjustment wheel
80 fits between
the arm
71 and the cam guard
30 and, in addition to performing a
cam following function, it controls the distance between these parts, which in
turn controls the spacing between part
74 of plate
70 and flange
72, i.e. the width of the aperture
75. The adjustment wheel can be
set in one of a number of different positions, each position providing a different
distance between the cam guard
30 and plate
70. The adjustment wheel
80 is pivotably mounted about an axle
82 which is supported on arm
71. The wheel
80 has a different radius in different angular directions
about the axle and is resiliently held in each of the differently dimensioned positions.
FIG. 4 shows the wheel in more detail. The wheel is generally rectangular in shape
and comprises two spaced apart members
83,
84 which are separated
by a gap
85. The outer surface of the members
83,
84 is used
to press against the cam follower of the cleaner head. The wheel
80 is mounted
eccentrically about axle
82 to provide four differently dimensioned positions
which are labelled in FIG. 4 as d
1, d
2, d
3, d
4. Within
the gap
85 there is a spider-like part
86 which has the function
of retaining the wheel
80 in the differently dimensioned positions. The
spider
86 has four grooves around its outer surface which cooperate with
a projection
87 carried by arm
71. The wheel can be snapped in to
each of the positions by rotating wheel
80 against the resilience of projection
87. Each of the positions of the wheel are labelled, such as by numbering,
to aid a user in selecting an appropriate setting for the dispenser. Typically,
each setting of the adjustment wheel changes the mean width of aperture
75
by 1 mm.
FIGS. 5 & 6 show alternatives to the adjustment wheel
80 which also
achieve the same effect of varying the distance between the arm
71 and cam
guard
30. In FIG. 5, an adjustment screw
180 is received in a threaded
bore through the arm
71 of the hopper plate
70. By turning the screw,
the distance d can be varied. In use, the rapid vibration of the arm
71
may cause the screw to rotate, thereby altering the distance d and the width of
aperture
75. To prevent this rotation, the screw
180 has a tab
185
which engages with ribs on the upper surface of arm
71. Tab
185 can
project radially outwardly from the head of the screw
180, axially between
the screw head and the upper surface of the arm
71 or a combination of these,
as shown in FIG. 5. In FIG. 6 part
280 of arm
71 represents the end
of arm
71 which lies alongside the cam guard
30 of the cleaner head.
Part
280 is rotatable with respect to the remainder of the arm
71
about axis
282. As with the adjustment wheel
80, part
280
is mounted eccentrically with respect to axis
282 so that each position
of part
280 provides a different distance d
1, d
2, d
3,
d
4 between the arm and the cam follower
30. In each of these embodiments
it will be appreciated that the cam guard
30 could be omitted and the adjustment
means itself, whether it is the adjustment wheel
80, adjustment screw
180
or rotatable part
280 directly follows the cam
40.
The dispenser
50 has a self-closing action. Spring
56 acts on arm
71 of the hopper plate
70 at all times. When the dispenser
50
is removed from the cleaner head, spring
56 acts on arm
71 so as
to maintain plate
70 in a closed position where edge
74 of the plate
70 is sealed against, or rests closely to, the edge of flange
72.
This prevents cleaning powder from escaping from the dispenser
50. This
closed position is shown in FIG. 9. When the dispenser
50 is fitted to the
cleaner head in preparation for use, arm
71 is urged upwards (as viewed
in FIG. 3) against the bias of spring
56 which moves edge
74 of plate
70 away from flange
72 of the housing
52, thereby opening
the dispensing aperture
75. The position of the wire
90 upstream
of the flange
72 allows the plate
70 to properly close, while the
wire still provides an effective separating action on powder at the aperture
75.
The biasing action of spring
56 could be achieved with an alternative form
of resilient device. The biasing action could also be achieved by positioning the
spring in a different position to the one shown in FIG. 3. For example, a spring
could be coiled around axle
73, the ends of the spring acting on the plate
70 and housing
52, although this alternative position loses the mechanical
levering advantage that is gained from the position shown in FIG. 3.
As described above, a wire
90 extends across the dispenser
50 in
the region of the dispensing aperture
75. A particularly effective separating
action on the cleaning powder has been experienced using a wire having a diameter
of 0.6 mm which is spaced from the plate
70 by a distance of 7 mm. However,
it will be appreciated that a wire having a different diameter and separated from
the plate by a different distance would also provide similar advantages. A braided
wire has been found to offer the required durability although it is possible to
use single strand wire. A synthetic cord such as Nylon would also be suitable.
FIG. 7 shows just the hopper plate
70 and the parts which fit to the
plate. A ferrule
92 is crimped to each end of a length of wire
90.
The ferrule
92 is retained in a recess
76 on each side of the hopper
plate
70. The wire
90 is spaced from the surface of the plate
70
by supports
77 which extend outwardly from the plate
70 into the
chamber
60. The outer surface of each support is grooved so as to retain
the wire
90 in position. The wire
90 is of such a length that it
is retained under tension between the supports
77. This ensures that the
wire is taut at all times, which improves the cutting action of the wire
90
on the cleaning powder.
While the wire has been found to be particularly effective when it is carried
by the plate
70, it could alternatively be attached to each side of the
housing
52 near to the flange
72, as shown in FIG. 8. In this alternative
embodiment, any clumps of powder on the plate
70 are moved upwardly towards
the wire where they are separated by the fixed wire. While a single wire
80
is shown in the Figures, it is possible to use two or more wires which are spaced
apart perpendicularly from the surface of plate
70 or laterally along the
plate
70.
A further alternative to the fixed wire is shown in FIG. 10. An L-shaped part
192
is pivotably mounted to each side of the hopper housing
52. A wire
190
is secured to each of the parts
192. One of the arms of parts
192
is biased by spring
196 so that it rests against the surface of hopper plate
70. Movement of the hopper plate
70, shown as
197, causes
the parts
192 to move in the manner shown by arrow
198, which in
turn causes the wire
190 to move in the manner shown by arrow
199.
Thus, movement of the hopper plate
70 causes wire
190 to perform
a cutting action. By appropriate selection of the lengths of the two L-shaped arms
of part
192, a levering advantage is gained, such that a small movement
of the hopper plate
70 is converted into a larger movement of wire
190.
The arm which contacts the plate
70 is shorter than the arm which carries
the wire
190. As an alternative to using a wire, a cord, blade or some other
material which provides a cutting action could be used.
The operation of the cleaner will now be described. To fill the dispenser
50,
a user opens the lid
55 and pours cleaning powder into the hopper, filling
chamber
60 of the hopper. The cleaner is operable in the following modes:
dispense, groom and vacuum.
In dispense mode, the cleaner operates to dispense cleaning powder from the dispensing
hopper
50. Dispenser
50 is fitted to the cleaner head
15.
The separating apparatus
12 is removed from the main body
11 of the
cleaner
10. The cleaner detects the removal of the separating apparatus
12 and turns off the suction fan (not shown). Alternative means can be used
to control the cleaner to turn off the suction fan, such as by a manually operated
control switch or a switch which is responsive to the position of the dispensing
apparatus on the cleaner head. A user pushes the hopper
50 so that it is
grasped by the clamp on the cleaner head
15. In this position, plate
70
and adjustment wheel
80 press against cam guard
30 and the cam guard
30 is pressed into an operational position against the cam
40 in
the cleaning head
15. Plate
70 is moved, against the action of the
spring
56, into a dispensing position in which dispensing aperture
75
is open. When operated, the cleaner head cam
40 rotates, causing plate
70
to vibrate at high speed. Typically, the plate vibrates at a rate of around 3000
rpm. Vibration of the plate
70 agitates powder in the cleaning dispenser
and causes the powder to move downwardly towards dispensing aperture
75.
Flange
72 at the dispensing jaw regulates the flow of powder from the dispenser.
Wire
90, carried by plate
70, serves to separate the powder before
it is dispensed, thus preventing clumps from being dispensed or from forming in
the dispensing aperture
75. A user pushes the cleaner across the floor surface
where they require cleaning and powder is dispensed from hopper
50 through
aperture
75 on to the floor surface in an even and controlled manner.
In groom mode, the cleaner operates to brush the dispensed powder into the floor
covering, with the brush bar in the cleaner head
15 operating at a reduced
speed to achieve this grooming action. The user operates foot pedal
40 and
lifts the dispenser
50 forwardly from the clamp. As soon as the dispenser
is lifted, plate
70 moves under the bias of spring
56 into a position
in which it closes the dispensing aperture
75. The dispenser can sit on
the cleaner head
15 in this inoperable position or it can be removed. In
either case, the dispensing aperture
75 remains closed. The user moves the
cleaner across the region of the floor surface where powder was dispensed so as
to groom the powder into the carpet. If a user finds that they have not properly
covered the floor surface with cleaning powder and would like to dispense more
cleaning powder, they can push the dispenser
50 into the engaged position
on the cleaner head, whereby plate
70 moves to open dispensing aperture
75 and the dispenser will function.
In vacuum mode the cleaner operates in a conventional manner to draw dirty air
into the cleaner via the cleaner head
15. The dispenser
50 can be
used in its inoperable position or it can be removed from the cleaner, as described
above for groom mode. The separation apparatus
12 is returned to an operational
position on the main body
12 of the cleaner. The user moves the cleaner
across the region of the floor surface where powder has been dispensed and groomed.
The brush bar operates at normal speed and serves to agitate the floor covering.
A combination of the agitation and the vacuum serve to draw dirty cleaning powder
from the floor covering and into the cleaner
10 via the cleaning head
15.
The separating apparatus
12 separates the dirty powder from the air and
exhausts cleaned air to the atmosphere.
Variations will be apparent to a person skilled in the art and are intended
to fall within the scope of the present invention.
*
