Quiet vacuum cleaner

Abstract

A light-weight, quiet vacuum cleaner assembly for a backpack vacuum cleaner includes an air inlet for communicating with a vacuum cleaner hose and a filter; a vacuum motor for drawing air through the vacuum cleaner hose, air inlet, and filter; a quiet exhaust assembly module in communication with the vacuum motor for expelling and quieting exhaust from the vacuum motor, and wherein the vacuum cleaner assembly weighs 2-12 lbs. and includes a flow rate (CFM) to noise (dbA) ratio (flow rate/noise) of at least 0.6.

1 . A light-weight, quiet vacuum cleaner assembly for a backpack vacuum cleaner including a backpack assembly for carrying the vacuum cleaner assembly on a user's back, a vacuum cleaner hose for vacuuming debris from a surface, and a filter for filtering out vacuumed debris, comprising: 
 an air inlet for communicating with the vacuum cleaner hose and the filter;    a vacuum motor for drawing air through the vacuum cleaner hose, air inlet, and filter;    a quiet exhaust assembly module in communication with the vacuum motor for expelling and quieting exhaust from the vacuum motor,    wherein the vacuum cleaner assembly weighs 2-12 lbs. and includes a flow rate (CFM) to noise (dbA) ratio (flow rate/noise) of at least 0.6.    
   
   
       2 . The light-weight, quiet vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the vacuum cleaner assembly includes a flow rate (CFM) to noise (dbA) ratio (flow rate/noise) of at least 1.0.  
   
   
       3 . The light-weight, quiet vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the vacuum cleaner assembly includes a suction (in. (H 2 O)) to noise (dbA) ratio (suction/noise) of at least 0.6.  
   
   
       4 . The light-weight, quiet vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 3 , wherein the vacuum cleaner assembly includes a suction (in. (H 2 O)) to noise (dbA) ratio (suction/noise) of at least 1.0.  
   
   
       5 . A light-weight, quiet vacuum cleaner assembly for a backpack vacuum cleaner including a backpack assembly for carrying the vacuum cleaner assembly on a user's back, a vacuum cleaner hose for vacuuming debris from a surface, and a filter for filtering out vacuumed debris, comprising: 
 an air inlet for communicating with the vacuum cleaner hose and the filter, the air inlet including an intake area;    a vacuum motor for drawing air through the vacuum cleaner hose, air inlet, and filter;    a quiet exhaust assembly module in communication with the vacuum motor for expelling and quieting exhaust from the vacuum motor,    wherein the quiet exhaust assembly module includes a stage of exhaust openings having a total area and the ratio of the total area of the stage of exhaust openings to the intake area of the air inlet is at least 3:1.    
   
   
       6 . The light-weight, quiet vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the quiet exhaust assembly module includes a motor housing with the stage of exhaust openings therein.  
   
   
       7 . The light-weight, quiet vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the quiet exhaust assembly module includes a second stage of exhaust openings having a total area and the ratio of the total area of the second stage of exhaust openings to the intake area of the air inlet is at least 3:1.  
   
   
       8 . The light-weight, quiet vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 7 , wherein the quiet exhaust assembly module includes a quiet module housing with the second stage of exhaust openings therein.  
   
   
       9 . The light-weight, quiet vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the quiet exhaust assembly module includes a third stage of exhaust openings having a total area and the ratio of the total area of the third stage of exhaust openings to the intake area of the air inlet is at least 3:1.  
   
   
       10 . The light-weight, quiet vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 9 , wherein the quiet exhaust assembly module includes a quiet module cap with the third stage of exhaust openings therein.  
   
   
       11 . The light-weight, quiet vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the vacuum cleaner assembly weighs 2-12 lbs. and includes a flow rate (CFM) to noise (dbA) ratio (flow rate/noise) of at least 0.6.  
   
   
       12 . The light-weight, quiet vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the vacuum cleaner assembly weighs 2-12 lbs. and includes a flow rate (CFM) to noise (dbA) ratio (flow rate/noise) of at least 1.0.  
   
   
       13 . The light-weight, quiet vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the vacuum cleaner assembly weighs 2-12 lbs. and includes a suction (in. (H 2 O)) to noise (dbA) ratio (suction/noise) of at least 0.6.  
   
   
       14 . The light-weight, quiet vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the vacuum cleaner assembly weighs 2-12 lbs. and includes a suction (in. (H 2 O)) to noise (dbA) ratio (suction/noise) of at least 1.0.  
   
   
       15 . The light-weight, quiet vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the quiet exhaust assembly module includes a light-weight, high-temperature, fire retardant foam material having a density no greater than 0.4 lb/ft 3  to attenuate the exhaust sound.  
   
   
       16 . The light-weight, quiet vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 15 , wherein the light-weight, high-temperature, fire retardant foam material is a high-performance polyimide foam.  
   
   
       17 . The light-weight, quiet vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the quiet exhaust assembly module includes a light-weight foam air diffuser having a density no greater than 1.9 lb/ft 3  to attenuate the exhaust sound and filter out exhaust particles.  
   
   
       18 . The light-weight, quiet vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 17 , wherein the light-weight foam air diffuser is a reticulated flexible polyester urethane foam.  
   
   
       19 . The light-weight, quiet vacuum cleaner assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the quiet exhaust assembly module includes an outer acoustic panel surrounding substantially all of the quiet exhaust assembly module, the acoustic panel including an outer surface with a polycarbonate sheet laminated thereto, and the polycarbonate sheet including hoop stress therein that causes the acoustic panel to be held in place, surrounding substantially all of the quiet exhaust assembly module, without any adhesive.  
   
   
       20 . A light-weight, quiet vacuum cleaner assembly for a backpack vacuum cleaner including a backpack assembly for carrying the vacuum cleaner assembly on a user's back, a vacuum cleaner hose for vacuuming debris from a surface, and a filter for filtering out vacuumed debris, comprising: 
 an air inlet for communicating with the vacuum cleaner hose and the filter;    a vacuum motor for drawing air through the vacuum cleaner hose, air inlet, and filter;    a quiet exhaust assembly module in communication with the vacuum motor for expelling and quieting exhaust from the vacuum motor,    wherein the vacuum cleaner assembly weighs 2-12 lbs. and includes a suction (in. (H 2 O)) to noise (dbA) ratio (suction/noise) of at least 0.6.