Vacuum cleaner with spiral air guide

Abstract

A vacuum cleaner includes a housing having a suction inlet, a dirt collection vessel carried on the housing and a suction generator carried on the housing. The dirt collection vessel includes a dirt collection chamber and a spiral air guide providing a spiral air path to improve cleaning efficiency. The spiral air guide includes an inlet at a first end and a split outlet at a second end. The split outlet includes a head wall at a particular included angle with respect to the airflow path. The suction generator is provided in fluid communication with the suction inlet, the dirt collection vessel and the spiral air guide.

1 . A vacuum cleaner, comprising:
 a housing including a suction inlet;   a dirt collection vessel carried on said housing, said dirt collection vessel including a dirt collection chamber;   a spiral air guide providing a spiral air path, said spiral air guide having an inlet at a first end and a split outlet at a second end; and   a suction generator carried on said housing, said suction generator being in fluid communication with said suction inlet, said dirt collection vessel and said spiral air guide.   
     
     
         2 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein said dirt collection vessel includes a first dirt collect ion chamber, a primary inlet in communication with said first dirt collection chamber, a second dirt collection chamber, a secondary inlet in communication with said second dirt collection chamber and a chamber outlet. 
     
     
         3 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 2 , wherein said split outlet includes a first section in communication with a clean air manifold and a second section in communication with said secondary inlet. 
     
     
         4 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 3 , wherein said inlet is in communication with said chamber outlet. 
     
     
         5 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 4 , wherein said spiral air guide comprises a spiral, tubular conduit and said spiral air path has a substantially constant cross sectional area from said first end to said second end. 
     
     
         6 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 5 , wherein said spiral air path has a cross sectional area of between about 250 mm 2  and about 1000 mm 2 . 
     
     
         7 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 4 , wherein said spiral air path has a cross sectional area that decreases from said first end to said second end. 
     
     
         8 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 4 , wherein said spiral air path has a cross sectional area that increases from said first end to said second end. 
     
     
         9 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 3 , wherein said spiral air path is substantially flat. 
     
     
         10 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 9 , further including at least one clean air discharge orifice along an inside portion of said spiral air path said at least one clean air discharge orifice being in fluid communication with said clean air manifold. 
     
     
         11 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 10 , wherein said clean air manifold includes a manifold outlet in fluid communication with said suction generator. 
     
     
         12 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein said first dirt collection chamber is substantially cylindrical in shape, said primary inlet is tangentially directed with respect to said first dirt collection chamber and said chamber outlet is axially directed with respect to said first dirt collection chamber. 
     
     
         13 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 12 , wherein said chamber outlet includes a sieve having between about 1000 to about 1500 apertures and each of said apertures has a cross sectional area of between about 2.3 mm 2  to about 6.4 mm 2 . 
     
     
         14 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 3 , wherein said split outlet includes a head wall extending across said air path at an included angle of between about 0 and about 30 degrees. 
     
     
         15 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 3 , wherein said split outlet includes a head wall extending across said air path at an included angle of about 15 degrees. 
     
     
         16 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein said housing includes a first cavity and a second cavity. 
     
     
         17 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 16 , wherein said dirt collection vessel is received in said first cavity of said housing. 
     
     
         18 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 17 , wherein said spiral air guide is received in said second cavity of said housing and said dirt collection vessel and said spiral air guide are independently removable from said housing.