Vacuum Cleaner

Abstract

A vacuum cleaner including a housing with a dust container therein and a suction opening with a detachable connection of a suction hose to the opening. The housing having an outer wall aligned with the suction opening and the suction opening in an inner wall. The connector body of the suction hose having tubular end piece with a connecting cone insertable into the suction opening through both walls of the housing and into the dust container.

1 . A vacuum cleaner having a housing wall having a suction opening, wherein the vacuum cleaner comprises:
 a wall having an opening wherein the wall is capable of being connected to the housing wall of the vacuum cleaner to support the opening of the wall external to, and at a spacing from, the housing wall of the vacuum cleaner; and   a connector detachably connected to the housing wall of the vacuum cleaner and having a connecting piece and an end piece, the connector delimiting a bore having one open end and an opposite open end, the connecting piece of the connector being located adjacent the one open end of the connector and the end piece of the connector being located adjacent the opposite open end of the connector, the connector being disposable into an installed condition, in which the connector extends between, and is supported by the wall and the housing wall of the vacuum cleaner with the connecting piece of the connector engaging the wall and the end piece of the connector extends through the suction opening of the vacuum cleaner into an interior housing volume delimited by the housing wall of the vacuum cleaner, the suction opening of the vacuum cleaner, the bore of the connector, and the opening being communicated with one another, the end piece of the connector including a sealing lip that extends circumferentially around the connector, the sealing lip of the end piece engaging an outside surface of the housing wall of a vacuum cleaner and restricts movement of the end piece of the connector further into a suction opening of the vacuum cleaner, and the connecting piece of the connector extending through the opening in the wall in the installed condition of the connector and engaging the wall to resist displacement of the connecting piece from the wall.   
     
     
         2 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein the connector has a plurality of engagement locations at which the connector can engage the wall, the plurality of engagement locations on the connector each being at a different axial location than the other engagement locations, whereupon the connector configured to be installed in the installed condition with the sealing lip of the end piece of the connector configured to resist further extension movement of the connector in one direction beyond the suction opening of a vacuum cleaner and a respective engagement location of the connector configured to resist further extension movement of the connector beyond the opening in an opposite direction opposite the one direction of further extension movement of the end piece of the connector beyond the suction opening of the vacuum cleaner. 
     
     
         3 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 2 , wherein the connector is configured to be extended, in the installed condition of the connector, through the suction opening of the vacuum cleaner that lies in a suction opening plane and is operable to extend through the opening of the wall that lies in a plane that is not parallel to the suction opening plane and the sealing lip of the end piece of the connector delimits a transverse plane that is parallel to the suction opening plane. 
     
     
         4 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 3 , wherein the wall is supportable by the housing of the vacuum cleaner in a predetermined orientation relative to the housing of the vacuum cleaner such that, in this predetermined orientation, a predetermined angle is formed between a plane in which the opening of the wall lies and the suction opening plane, the wall is configured to terminate in an end portion that is movable relative to the housing of the vacuum cleaner, and the end portion of the wall has a resilient bias such that the wall yieldably opposes a force exerted by the connector on the wall that is generated by the resistance of the sealing lip of the end piece of the connector to further extension movement of the connector in the one direction through the suction opening of the vacuum cleaner. 
     
     
         5 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein the connector includes a catch lug that is configured to engage the opening of the wall. 
     
     
         6 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein the connector has a tubular construction, an inner diameter of the connecting piece being greater than an inner diameter of the end piece, and a shoulder being formed at a juncture where one end of the connecting piece is joined with one end of the end piece. 
     
     
         7 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein the connector includes a catch hook having a cantilevered member spaced apart and extending along the connector and a catch lug disposed on a side of the catch hook facing away from the connector and engaging the wall to retain the connector in the installed condition. 
     
     
         8 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein the catch hook is deflectable inwardly toward the connector to disengage the catch lug from a wall and permit removal of the connector from the wall. 
     
     
         9 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein the connector includes two catch hooks projecting from opposite sides of the connector. 
     
     
         10 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein the connector forms a single integral piece. 
     
     
         11 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein a removable dust collector is disposed within the housing of the vacuum, the connector having a tapered sealing cone configured to engage the dust collector. 
     
     
         12 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 4 , wherein the connector includes a catch lug that engages the opening in the wall. 
     
     
         13 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 4 , wherein the connector has a tubular construction, an inner diameter of the connecting piece being greater than an inner diameter of the end piece, and a shoulder a juncture where one end of the connecting piece is joined with one end of the end piece. 
     
     
         14 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 4 , wherein the connector includes a catch hook having a cantilevered member spaced apart and extending along the connector and a catch lug disposed on a side of the catch hook facing away from the connector and engaging the wall to retain the connector in the installed condition.