Bagless vacuum cleaner

Abstract

This invention relates to a bagless vacuum cleaner, and most preferably a battery-powered vacuum cleaner. The vacuum cleaner may be a cylinder vacuum cleaner, an upright vacuum cleaner or a hand-held vacuum cleaner. The bagless vacuum cleaner has a dirt-collection chamber with an inlet and an outlet and a filter at its outlet. According to the invention the vacuum cleaner has an agitator to agitate the filter and dislodge dirt and dust which has adhered to the filter, whereby to extend the period before the filter becomes blocked.

1 . A bagless vacuum cleaner having a dirt-collection chamber with an inlet and an outlet and a filter at its outlet, the vacuum cleaner having an agitator to agitate the filtered, the filter being mounted in a two-part filter support with a first part and a second part which can move relative to one another, the second part being mounted to move relative freely relative to the first part, the filter being mounted to the second part of the filter support. 
     
     
         2 . A bagless vacuum cleaner according to  claim 1  having an electric motor which drives an impeller to create air flow from the inlet to the outlet, the vacuum cleaner having an air duct between the filter and the impeller, in which the agitator is located in the air duct. 
     
     
         3 . A bagless vacuum cleaner according to  claim 2  in which the agitator is partly sealed in a chamber connected to the air duct. 
     
     
         4 . (canceled) 
     
     
         5 . A bagless vacuum cleaner according to  claim 1  in which the filter is movable substantially vertically when the vacuum cleaner is located on a horizontal surface. 
     
     
         6 . (canceled) 
     
     
         7 . A bagless vacuum cleaner according to  claim 1  in which the agitator agitates the filter support to move the filter by way of the filter support. 
     
     
         8 . (canceled) 
     
     
         9 . A bagless vacuum cleaner according to  claim 1  in which the first part surrounds the second part. 
     
     
         10 . A bagless vacuum cleaner according to  claim 1  in which the second part is mounted to the first part by a flexible sealing element. 
     
     
         11 . A bagless vacuum cleaner according to  claim 10  in which the sealing element is resilient. 
     
     
         12 . A bagless vacuum cleaner according to  claim 1  in which the second part has a perforated first wall and a perforated second wall, with the filter located between the first and second walls. 
     
     
         13 . A bagless vacuum cleaner according to  claim 1  in which the filter support has an impact tab, and in which the agitator can engage the impact tab. 
     
     
         14 . A bagless vacuum cleaner according to  claim 13  in which the impact tab is rigid and is rigidly mounted to the filter support. 
     
     
         15 . A bagless vacuum cleaner according to  claim 14  in which the impact tab is rigidly mounted to the second part of the filter support. 
     
     
         16 . A bagless vacuum cleaner according to  claim 1  in which the dirt-collection chamber is removable, and in which the agitator remains in the vacuum cleaner when the dirt-collection chamber is removed. 
     
     
         17 . A bagless vacuum cleaner according to  claim 1  in which the agitator is electrically actuated. 
     
     
         18 . A bagless vacuum cleaner according to  claim 1  in which the agitator is actuated intermittently. 
     
     
         19 . A bagless vacuum cleaner according to claim having an electric motor which drives an impeller to create air flow from the inlet to the outlet, in which the agitator is actuated only when the motor is switched off. 
     
     
         20 . A bagless vacuum cleaner according to  claim 19  in which the agitator is actuated each time the motor is switched off. 
     
     
         21 . A bagless vacuum cleaner according to  claim 19  in which the agitator is actuated at the end of a predetermined period after the motor has been switched off. 
     
     
         22 . A bagless vacuum cleaner according to  claim 1  in which the agitator is actuated for a predetermined period of more than three seconds. 
     
     
         23 . A bagless vacuum cleaner according to  claim 1  in which the filter is agitated at a frequency of less than 100 Hz. 
     
     
         24 . A bagless vacuum cleaner according to  claim 1  in which the agitator includes an impacter which is located adjacent to the dirt-collection chamber. 
     
     
         25 . A bagless vacuum cleaner according to  claim 24  in which the impacter is a rotating eccentric element. 
     
     
         26 . A bagless vacuum cleaner according to  claim 25  in which the impacter is eccentrically mounted relative to a rotatable drive shaft. 
     
     
         27 . A bagless vacuum cleaner according to  claim 24  in which the agitator includes a balancing element to balance the eccentricity of the impacter. 
     
     
         28 . A bagless vacuum cleaner according to  claim 27  in which the impacter is mounted to the balancing element. 
     
     
         29 . A bagless vacuum cleaner according to  claim 1  in which the agitator is located in a closed chamber of the vacuum cleaner.