Suction attachment with a corner having a secondary suction opening

Abstract

The invention relates to a suction attachment ( 9 ) for a vacuum cleaner. The suction attachment comprises a housing ( 11 ) having two edges ( 43, 45 ) enclosing an angle α in a corner portion. A primary suction opening ( 55, 59 ) extends in a bottom part ( 57 ) of the suction attachment along each of the two edges, said primary suction openings being connected to a connecting channel ( 21 ) which can be coupled to a suction unit ( 7 ) of the vacuum cleaner. The primary suction openings open into a secondary suction opening ( 61 ) near said corner portion. According to the invention, the suction attachment ( 9 ) comprises at least two suction portions ( 35, 37 ), wherein said two edges ( 43, 45 ), said two primary suction openings ( 55, 59 ) and said secondary suction opening ( 61 ) are provided in a first one of the suction portions ( 35 ), and at least a second one of the suction portions ( 37 ) is provided with a suction opening ( 67, 69, 71 ) which can be shut off from the connecting channel ( 21 ). By shutting off the suction opening of said second suction portion from the connecting channel, the suction power of suction unit ( 7 ) is concentrated, partially or completely, in the suction openings of the first suction portion. As a result, a comparatively high suction power is also obtained in the corner portion of the first suction portion where the secondary suction opening ( 71 ) is situated. Said corner portion thus enables a comparatively high cleaning performance to be achieved in narrow areas or corners of a surface ( 5 ) to be cleaned. In a preferred embodiment, the suction attachment ( 9 ) comprises two suction portions ( 35, 37 ) which jointly form a foot ( 39 ), which foot is rotatable about a center portion ( 31 ) of the suction attachment. Both suction portions comprise a corner portion having a secondary suction opening ( 61, 71 ) for cleaning narrow areas or corners of a surface ( 5 ) to be cleaned. The suction power of the suction unit ( 7 ) can be concentrated in each of the two suction portions by rotating the foot from a first position through +90° and −90°, respectively, about the center portion.

1 . A suction attachment for a vacuum cleaner, which suction attachment comprises a housing having two edges enclosing a corner, a primary suction opening extending in a bottom part of the suction attachment along each of the two edges, said primary suction openings being connected to a connecting channel which can be coupled to a suction unit of the vacuum cleaner, and said primary suction openings opening into a secondary suction opening near said corner, characterized in that the suction attachment comprises at least two suction portions, said two edges, said two primary suction openings and said secondary suction opening being provided in a first one of the suction portions, and at least a second one of the suction portions comprising a suction opening which can be shut off from the connecting channel.  
     
     
         2 . A suction attachment as claimed in  claim 1 , characterized in that the connecting channel forms part of a central portion of the suction attachment, and in that the two suction portions form a foot which can be rotated relatively to the central portion about an axis of rotation which extends substantially perpendicularly to an imaginary plane with which the suction attachment rests, in operation, on a surface to be cleaned, the suction opening of the second suction portion being capable of being shut off from the connecting channel by a rotary movement of the foot about said axis of rotation.  
     
     
         3 . A suction attachment as claimed in  claim 2 , characterized in that the two suction portions are identical, the suction openings of the first suction portion and the suction openings of the second suction portion being capable of being shut off from the connecting channel by a rotary movement of the foot about said axis of rotation from a first position to, respectively, a second position and a third position.  
     
     
         4 . A suction attachment as claimed in  claim 3 , characterized in that, in the first position, the two suction portions, viewed in a width direction perpendicular to a displacement direction of the suction attachment, are situated on either side of the central portion, said corners having the secondary suction openings of the two suction portions, viewed in the width direction, forming end portions of the foot, while the foot is rotated, in the second position and in the third position, through an angle of, respectively, +90° and −90° with respect to the first position.  
     
     
         5 . A suction attachment as claimed in  claim 4 , characterized in that the central portion is provided with a substantially semi-cylindrical shut-off member, which is concentrically arranged with respect to the axis of rotation, and with a connecting duct into which the connecting channel opens, which connecting duct, viewed in a direction parallel to the displacement direction, is arranged next to the shut-off member and extends parallel to the width direction, which connecting duct, in the first position, connects together the primary suction openings of the two suction portions and the connecting channel, and, in the second position, the connecting duct connects together the primary suction openings of the second suction portion and the connecting channel, and the shut off member shuts off the primary suction openings of the first suction portion from the connecting channel, while, in the third position, the connecting duct connects together the primary suction openings of the first suction portion and the connecting channel, and the shut-off member shuts off the primary suction openings of the second suction portion from the connecting channel.  
     
     
         6 . A suction attachment as claimed in  claim 4 , characterized in that the two edges of each suction portion jointly enclose a comparatively small acute-angled corner, whereas the edges of the first suction portion and the edges of the second suction portion jointly enclose comparatively large obtuse-angled corners.  
     
     
         7 . A vacuum cleaner comprising a housing, which housing accommodates an electrical suction unit, and a suction attachment, which can be coupled to the suction unit via a suction channel, which suction attachment is provided with a housing having two edges enclosing a corner, a primary suction opening extending in a bottom part of the suction attachment along each of the two edges, said primary suction openings being connected to a connecting channel which can be coupled to the suction channel, and the primary suction openings opening into a secondary suction opening near said corner, characterized in that the suction attachment is a suction attachment as claimed in  claim 1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ,  5  or  6 .