Motor, fan and filter arrangement for a vacuum cleaner

Abstract

In a first aspect, the present invention provides a motor, fan and filter arrangement for a vacuum cleaner, comprising: a motor ( 10 ); a fan ( 20 ) connected to an output shaft ( 12 ) of the motor and having an axial intake; and a filter ( 30, 230, 330 ); wherein the fan ( 20 ) is arranged with its axial intake facing the motor ( 10 ); and the motor ( 10 ) is housed within the filter ( 30, 230, 330 ). Such an arrangement makes much more efficient use of space than a conventional arrangement and allows the motor to be positioned within the filter in a reversed direction in comparison to conventional arrangements, so that clear air from the filter can be drawn over the motor before encountering the fan. This also has the beneficial side-effect of cooling the motor with the filtered air. In a second aspect, the present invention also provides vacuum cleaners ( 100, 200, 300 ) comprising such a motor, fan and filter arrangement. Preferred embodiments of such vacuum cleaners are described, including a pivotable stick vac and different hand-holdable vacuum cleaners.

1 . A motor, fan and filter arrangement for a vacuum cleaner, comprising:
 a motor;   a fan connected to an output shaft of said motor and having an intake portion facing said motor so that air flows over said motor before entering said intake portion; and   the motor being housed within a filter.   
   
   
       2 . The motor, fan and filter arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the fan is an impeller having a tangential output. 
   
   
       3 . The motor, fan and filter arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the fan is a propeller having an axial output from a face opposite to its intake portion. 
   
   
       4 . The motor, fan and filter arrangement according to  claim 1 , further comprising an air-permeable motor housing interposed between said motor and said filter. 
   
   
       5 . The motor, fan and filter arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the output shaft of the motor extends from within said filter and an end of said output shaft is mounted on a bearing located on an opposite side of said fan from said motor. 
   
   
       6 . The motor, fan and filter arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the intake portion of said fan has a diameter greater than that of said motor. 
   
   
       7 . The motor, fan and filter arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the filter has a cylindrical or frusto-conical shape and is mounted concentrically within a cylindrical dust collection chamber having a tangential inlet duct. 
   
   
       8 . A vacuum cleaner having an upper body portion, a lower body portion, a floorhead, a handle and a dust filtering portion housing a motor, a fan and a filter;
 wherein said fan is connected to an output shaft of said motor and has an intake portion facing said motor so that air flows over said motor before entering said intake portion; and   wherein said upper body portion is pivotable relative to said lower body portion about an axis of the dust filtering portion.   
   
   
       9 . The vacuum cleaner according to  claim 8 , wherein the dust filtering portion further comprises a clean air outlet. 
   
   
       10 . A hand held vacuum cleaner comprising a main body portion, a handle and a dust collection chamber oriented orthogonally to the longitudinal axis of said main body portion;
 the dust collection chamber housing a motor, a fan connected to an output shaft of said motor and having an intake portion facing said motor so that air flows over said motor before entering said intake portion; and   the motor being housed within a filter.   
   
   
       11 . The vacuum cleaner according to  claim 10 , wherein the dust collection chamber in use is held substantially vertically to cause dust to collect in the bottom of said dust collection chamber, and said dust collection chamber comprises a door hinged on a bottom end face. 
   
   
       12 . The vacuum cleaner according to  claim 11 , further comprising a user-operable resilient release button acting on a push rod to push said door open. 
   
   
       13 . A vacuum cleaner according to  claim 10 , wherein the dust collection chamber ( 392 ) is oriented such that in use, said dust collection chamber is held substantially horizontally and wherein said main body portion is pivotable relative to said handle about an axis of said dust collection chamber. 
   
   
       14 . The vacuum cleaner according to  claim 13 , wherein said handle comprises a user-operable on/off switch electrically connected to contacts in sliding contact with an electrically conducting track mounted on said dust collection chamber. 
   
   
       15 . The vacuum cleaner according to  claim 13 , wherein the main body portion is lockable in one of a plurality of different orientations relative to said handle. 
   
   
       16 . The vacuum cleaner according to  claim 15 , further comprising a ratchet wheel having a plurality of teeth formed on an inner circumference thereof and a resilient release button for disengaging said ratchet wheel.