Floor tool unit, surface treating appliance and vacuum cleaner

Abstract

A floor tool unit for a surface treating appliance, the floor tool unit having: a coupling member; a floor tool pivotally coupled to the coupling member about a first axis; a support member having a longitudinal support member axis, the support member being pivotally coupled to the coupling member about a second axis such that the support member axis and second axis are non-perpendicular; and a tube member attached to the floor tool and to the support member; wherein the tube member extends through the coupling member. A surface treating appliance comprising the floor tool unit and a vacuum cleaner comprising the floor tool unit are also provided.

1 . A floor tool unit for a surface treating appliance, the floor tool unit comprising:
 a coupling member;   a floor tool pivotally coupled to the coupling member about a first axis;   a support member comprising a longitudinal support member axis, the support member being pivotally coupled to the coupling member about a second axis such that the support member axis and second axis are non-perpendicular; and   a tube member attached to the floor tool and to the support member;   
       wherein the tube member extends through the coupling member. 
     
     
         2 . The floor tool unit according to  claim 1 , wherein the support member axis and the second axis are arranged at a fixed angle (α) from 110 degrees to 155 degrees. 
     
     
         3 . The floor tool unit according to  claim 1 , wherein the tube member comprises a flexible hose. 
     
     
         4 . The floor tool unit according to  claim 1 , wherein the floor tool comprises a floor tool yoke for the pivotal coupling to the coupling member about the first axis and wherein the tube member is arranged between two floor tool yoke arms of the floor tool yoke. 
     
     
         5 . The floor tool unit according to  claim 1 , wherein the support member comprises a support member yoke for the pivotal coupling to the coupling member about the second axis and wherein the tube member is arranged between two support member yoke arms of the support member yoke. 
     
     
         6 . The floor tool unit according to  claim 1 , wherein the floor tool unit comprises at least one of a support member fitting fixedly connecting the tube member to the support member and a floor tool fitting fixedly connecting the tube member to the floor tool. 
     
     
         7 . The floor tool unit according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first axis and the second axis passes through the tube member. 
     
     
         8 . The floor tool unit according to  claim 1 , wherein the floor tool comprises two wheels and wherein the two wheels are rotatable about a wheel rotation axis substantially coincident with the first axis. 
     
     
         9 . The floor tool unit according to  claim 1 , wherein the first axis is substantially horizontal when the floor tool is used on a horizontal surface. 
     
     
         10 . The floor tool unit according to  claim 1 , wherein the coupling member, the floor tool, the support member and the tube member can be oriented such that a straight line can pass through the tube member. 
     
     
         11 . The floor tool unit according to  claim 10 , wherein the coupling member, the floor tool, the support member and the tube member can be oriented such that a straight line can pass from an interior point of the support member, through the tube member and through the floor tool. 
     
     
         12 . The floor tool unit according to  claim 1 , wherein the floor tool comprises a flared manifold attached to the tube member for establishing a fluid passage between an inlet of the floor tool and the tube member, wherein the manifold comprises a relatively large cross sectional area at an end adjacent to the inlet of the floor tool and a relatively small cross sectional area at an end adjacent to the tube member. 
     
     
         13 . The floor tool unit according to  claim 1 , wherein the support member comprises a connection interface configured for detachably connecting the support member to at least one of a main body of a surface treating appliance and a tube of a surface treating appliance. 
     
     
         14 . The floor tool unit according to  claim 1 , wherein the floor tool unit is configured such that the support member axis is arranged in front of the first axis in an upright position of the floor tool unit and/or such that the support member axis is arranged above the first axis in a lowermost position of the floor tool unit. 
     
     
         15 . The floor tool unit according to  claim 1 , wherein the floor tool unit comprises a nozzle unit and the floor tool comprises a nozzle. 
     
     
         16 . A surface treating appliance comprising a floor tool unit according to  claim 1 . 
     
     
         17 . A vacuum cleaner comprising a floor tool unit according to  claim 1 . 
     
     
         18 . The floor tool unit according to  claim 1 , wherein the support member axis and the second axis are arranged at a fixed angle (α) from 125 degrees to 140 degrees. 
     
     
         19 . The floor tool unit according to  claim 1 , wherein the support member axis and the second axis are arranged at a fixed angle (α) from 130 degrees to 135 degrees