CN1688236A - Disposable dust collectors for use with cleaning machines - Google Patents

Abstract

A dust collecting device is disclosed for use with cleaning equipment such as a vacuum cleaner. The device is a disposable dust ruffle made of an electet material. The ruffle prevents the equipment from spreading dust and itself acts as a dust magnet, both with respect to dust agitated by the machine and with respect to dust present in confined areas such as corners.

Description

Disposable dust collectors for cleaning machinery

Cross References to Related Applications

not applicable

Statement Regarding Federally Funded Research/Development

not applicable

technical background

This invention relates to disposable dust collection ruffles designed for use in floor care appliances, such as vacuum cleaners and the like.

Electromechanical cleaning machines such as vacuum cleaners, rotary polishers, brush driven floor cleaners and sweepers are well known in the art. These devices range from manual upright vacuum tanks and sweeping devices to motorized robotic cleaning devices. The latter may include an internal control system and associated sensors used to allow the device to follow a selected route within the area of the room.

Many problems are associated with these devices. For example, some vacuum and sweeping devices do not easily provide adequate cleaning in tight gaps, such as around the feet of furniture or in room corners. Therefore, individual attention and multiple cleaning tools, attachments and fixtures are often required to treat these areas. Even if the device is robotically driven, certain areas may be missed (for example, if a chair moves and does not return to its exact intended position).

Another problem is that small particles (collectively referred to as dust) are often stirred into the surrounding air by such equipment rather than being sucked into the vacuum storage bag. This is of particular concern for devices that use rotating brushes. Not only can this lead to more frequent dusting of room furniture, it can also cause breathing problems for those with asthma or other respiratory conditions.

In U.S. Patent No. 5,974,626 a plastic shroud is disclosed which is attached to a flexible skirt surrounding the polisher to alleviate the dust problem. Likewise, US Patent No. 5,643,047 discloses a floor grinder that includes a rubber skirt surrounding the vacuum head. Additionally, US Patent No. 5,454,129 discloses a vacuum cleaning device that includes a brush that surrounds the machine.

These devices use a surround structure primarily to prevent dust and particles from escaping laterally from the area the machine passes through. However, these surrounds are not well designed to collect dust themselves, thus leaving a large amount of dust that can fall backwards onto the carpet (eg, the dust can be stirred up again when a person walks across the carpet). Also, these devices do little to help collect dust in areas where the device cannot directly reach.

Additionally, these devices are designed to be usually permanent, or at least semi-permanent, additions to machines. They are not easy to clean, thus creating their own problems etc. for asthmatics. Furthermore, some of these devices are prohibitively expensive.

In a separate development, this technical field has invented disposable cloths for dust removal. Some of them consist of fabrics that absorb dust and thus retain dust once it has been attracted. These cloths are designed to be thrown away if dirty. See, eg, US Patent 3877103 and PCT Application WO02/00819. These disposable cloths can be used as described above, or in combination with cleaning implements such as sweepers or mops.

Accordingly, there remains a need for a dust collection device that is easy to add to and detach from a cleaning machine that also improves the performance of the cleaning machine around corners, gaps and around uneven or sloped surfaces.

Contents of the invention

The present invention provides a dust and particulate collection device that is easily connected to and detached from mechanical, electrical, robotic automated, or other cleaning machinery or equipment to prevent dust from spreading while the cleaning operation is in progress, and Improve the cleaning power of this device in corners, slopes, gaps and around the feet and legs of tables and chairs.

According to one aspect, the present invention provides a dust collection device (such as a dust ruffle) for use in conjunction with a cleaning appliance of the type having a lowerhead. The dust collecting device has a skirt of electet material adapted to substantially surround the lower head, the skirt having means along its upper region for mounting the skirt above the lower head.

For purposes of this patent, the term "dielectric" will mean a dust-wicking material, such as one that is attracted by an electrostatic charge. This would be in contrast to purely adhesive materials that can bind dust, or other materials that attract dust upon contact but do not attract dust that does not contact.

In a preferred form, the skirt may have a central through hole for receiving a portion of the lower head, and in a particularly preferred form, the skirt has a central shroud area for covering the bottom of the lower head. At least a portion (eg, most or almost all or all). The shroud may have an aperture of a size to allow a wheel of the cleaning device to pass therethrough and a hole of a size to allow a brush of the cleaning device to pass therethrough. Alternatively, the dielectric material may be impregnated with at least one of cleaning fluid, polishing fluid, insecticide or perfume (to also serve as a dispenser).

In another form of the invention, there is a cleaning appliance (such as a vacuum cleaner) having an upper handle, a head attached to the handle at a lower portion of the handle, and a dust collection device mounted to the head. The dust collecting means is a skirt of dielectric material substantially surrounding the head, the skirt having means along its upper region for mounting the skirt over the head. Preferably, the dielectric material is hemmed along its lower edge.

In another form, the invention provides an autonomous cleaning robot. It has a robot body and a dust collection device mounted to the robot body. The dust collection means is a flared skirt of dielectric material substantially surrounding the periphery of the body, the skirt having means along its upper region for mounting the skirt over the body. See, eg, US Patent No. 5,454,129 for self-propelled vacuum cleaners.

The skirt can slide and remain on the cleaning mechanism. The skirt wraps around the perimeter of the machines and extends down to contact the surface being cleaned. The skirt preferably has a large number of ruffles and is wider at the bottom along the cleaning surface than at the top. This provides additional material that can extend into and jam into gaps or other oddly shaped areas to be cleaned. When used in corners, the dielectric material of the skirt attracts and retains dirt and small particles, thereby providing a quick and effective method of cleaning these areas. The skirt flows freely when not pressed against obstacles.

This hem also has the advantage of acting as a buffer. Thus, it is possible to minimize damage to the legs or feet of the furniture, or the walls of the room, due to such mechanical contact.

The dust collection device may comprise a dust hood sized and dimensioned to enclose the bottom of the cleaning device except for functional elements such as wheels and brushes. Therefore, dust and particles pushed into the air by the rotation of the brushes and wheels of the cleaning device can be prevented from entering the air.

According to another aspect of the invention, the dust and particulate matter confinement device is used in conjunction with a cleaning device which includes a floating plate assembly for providing pressure on the dust hood and picking up dust particles as it moves along the surface being cleaned.

The above has provided a brief summary of the present invention so that the characteristics of the present invention can be generally understood. However, this generalization is not intended to limit the invention. These and other advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Description of drawings

Fig. 1 is the bottom view of a kind of dust collecting equipment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is the bottom view of its second embodiment;

Fig. 3 is a bottom perspective view of a kind of automatic cleaning machine installed with the dust collecting device in Fig. 2;

Figure 4 is a partially cut-away side view of the cleaning apparatus of Figure 3; and

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view along line 5-5 of FIG. 4. FIG.

Detailed ways

Referring now to FIG. 1, a dust collection device 10 is shown in the form of a loop of dielectric material 12 comprising a woven or nonwoven cleaning material. Preferred materials are those described in WO02/00819 (PCT/US00/20074 filed 22 June 2001), the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. The cleaning material may be electrostatic, dielectric, treated with a vacuum cleaner, cleaning solution, insecticide, etc., and may provide the function of removing dust, dirt, or other particulate matter and depositing a layer of surfactant, as described in more detail below illustrate.

Material 12 is preferably formed as a skirt 18 having an elasticated top edge 14 sized and dimensioned to facilitate its sliding over selected cleaning machinery. At this point, the bottom edge 16 hangs freely downward to a position where it contacts the cleaning surface, typically a carpet or hard floor surface. The bottom edge 16 of the skirt 18 is formed larger than the elasticated top edge 14, and the skirt 18 is preferably gathered or hemmed around the top edge so that the skirt material extends horizontally outward from the cleaning machine.

Thus, the skirt is flexible enough to be compressed to fit the gaps that exist between the cleaning machine and obstacles such as corners, chair or table legs or other irregular or sloped surfaces. Thus, the skirt 18 can attract and collect dirt and particulate matter during the cleaning process, even over areas of the floor that the main machine cannot reach. The elasticated top edge 14 comprises a length of elastic material 19 formed in a generally circular configuration and enclosed in a sheet of elastic material. See generally US Patent No. 5,292,582 for a description of suitable elastic materials. While elasticated material is the best way to attach the skirt to the mechanism, other methods can be used such as ties, straps, snap buttons or other mechanisms that will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a second dust collection device 20 has a similar outer skirt, but also has a dust cover 22 which substantially closes the central opening. The dust cap has a dielectric material sized and dimensioned to enclose the cleaning face 24 (FIG. 4) of the cleaning machine. As can be appreciated from FIGS. 2 to 5, the skirt 18 has a top edge 14 which has been elasticized. There are also apertures 40, 42, 43 through which functional elements of selected cleaning mechanisms 26 may extend. Functional elements include, for example, wheels 30 mounted through holes 40 , brushes mounted through holes 42 , and sensors (not shown) mounted through holes 43 .

Referring now to FIG. 4 , the dust collection device 20 is shown connected to a self-cleaning device 26 . The automatic cleaning device 26 includes a housing 28 which houses the control and drive system, drive wheels 30 and a rotating brush 32 . The dust collection device 20 is positioned over the perimeter of the cleaning machine 26 and is held in place by the elastomer 14 from which the skirt 18 extends to the surface below and the dust cover 22 also extends laterally downwards, thereby substantially covering Clean the underside of the mechanism 26.

The skirt of the dust collection device 20 extends around the lower edge of the automatic cleaning device 26 and from there to the cleaning surface 34 below. Since, as mentioned above, the skirt 18 is larger at the bottom edge than the top, the lower circumference of the skirt is therefore larger than the robot 26 . Thus, material from the skirt 18 may be forced into gaps, slopes, and corners when the robotic device 26 approaches an otherwise difficult-to-clean obstacle.

The automatic cleaning device 26 may also include two plates or pads 31 , 33 on opposite sides of the brush 32 to provide downward pressure on the dielectric dust cap 22 to push the cap 22 towards the cleaning surface 34 . Thus, the dust cover 22 can attract dirt and small particles from the surface 34 by direct contact. Although brush 32 is shown as a rotating brush, a variety of brushes may be used, including stationary brushes, counter-rotating brushes, striking brushes, and other devices for brush-driven and vacuum-cleaning devices.

Additionally, as the brushes 32 rotate and lift the particulates off the surface 34 , the particulates are pushed up and beneath the dust hood 22 . Thus, anything that is not vacuumed up may adhere to the dust cover 22 .

In operation, the dust collection device of the present invention serves multiple functions. First, the skirt 18 provides a cleaning surface that is automatically formed to clean otherwise inaccessible surfaces. In addition, the skirt 18 surrounds the area of the cleaning machine where the rotating brushes 32 are located, increasing the efficiency of the device by preventing dust from being sprayed outwards. Also, dust that is not sucked up or brushed up will easily stick to the dust collecting device. The dust cover 22 provides a cleaning and storage function to clean the surface of dirt and/or store perfumes, insecticides, insect repellants, cleaning fluids or other substances.

After a period of use, such a dust collection device can be removed from the cleaning machine, thrown away and replaced with a new, clean dust collection device 20 . This prevents the dust collection device from being used past its "saturation" point. In some applications, dust collection equipment can also be cleaned and reused.

In some applications, the dust collection device may have additional functions. Since the air going in and out of the machine helps to disperse the volatiles, for example, dust collection devices can be used with volatiles such as insecticides, insect repellants, deodorants, perfumes or Perfume beads are processed. In other applications, material 12 may be pre-treated with polishing and cleaning fluids, such as floor polish and wax. In this article, the skirt will be used as a dust collection device and a floor treatment material dispenser. In kitchen and bathroom applications, the skirt can contain an antimicrobial cleaning solution specially formulated for cleaning tile surfaces in kitchens and bathrooms.

The dust collection device may also have different sections, wherein the cleaning cloth or fabric is treated to provide different functions. For example, the filling part can be treated to provide vacuum function, while the tail part stores a layer of perfume. In addition, sections of the dust collection device may be provided to attract dust and particulate matter of different shapes (links) or sizes.

Advantageously, a wide variety of cleaning machines can be provided with the invention. These cleaning machines include, but are not limited to, electronic and mechanical cleaning equipment, including vacuum cleaners, carpet sweepers, and scrubbing equipment.

Accordingly, it should be appreciated that the invention may be embodied in other embodiments than those disclosed above. In order to assess the full scope of the invention, therefore, reference should be made to the claims.

Industrial applicability

The present invention provides disposable skirts that can be mounted on cleaning equipment that can be used to collect dust and dispense desired actives.

Claims (13)

1. A dust collection device for use in conjunction with a cleaning machine of the type having a lower head, the dust collection device comprising: an easily removable cleaning material skirt adapted to substantially Around the circumference of the lower head, the skirt has, along its upper region, means for mounting the skirt over the head. 2. The dust collecting device of claim 1, wherein the skirt has a central through hole for receiving a portion of the head. 3. The dust collecting device of claim 1, wherein said skirt has a central shroud area for covering a large portion of the bottom of said head. 4. The dust collection device according to claim 1, wherein the cover has a hole of a size to allow the wheels of the cleaning machine to protrude therefrom and another hole to allow the brushes of the cleaning machine to Dimensions sticking out from there. 5. The dust collection device of claim 1, wherein the dielectric material is impregnated with at least one of a cleaning fluid, a polishing fluid, an insecticide, or a perfume. 6. The dust collecting device according to claim 1, wherein the skirt is flared outwards. 7. The dust collection device of claim 1, wherein said skirt includes a hem. 8. The dust collecting device according to claim 1, characterized in that the dust collecting device is disposable. 9. The dust collection device according to claim 1, wherein the dust collection device is reusable. 10. A cleaning machine comprising: an upper handle; a head connected to the handle at the lower portion of the handle; and a dust collection device fitted to the head; Wherein said dust collection means is an easily removable skirt of cleaning material substantially surrounding the head, the skirt having means along its upper region for mounting the skirt over the head. 11. The cleaning machine of claim 10, wherein the cleaning material is frilled along its lower edge. 12. The cleaning machine of claim 10, wherein the device is a vacuum cleaner. 13. An automatic cleaning robot, comprising: a robot subject; and a dust collection device mounted to the main body of the robot; Wherein said dust collection means is an easily detachable skirt of cleaning material substantially surrounding the periphery of the body, the skirt having means along its upper region for mounting the skirt on the body.

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