EP1959809B1 - Filter cleaning device for a vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to the field of vacuum cleaners using a waste separation step by a pleated type filter.

The most commonly used vacuum cleaners today use paper filters interposed between a fan motor unit and an air supply tube for the separation of dust and waste. The air is purified through said filter paper or nonwoven material which mechanically traps the particles above the pores of the filter medium.

This filtration results in a gradual clogging of the filter media during use to a threshold from which the suction power, and therefore cleaning, falls in such a way that the replacement of the filter is required.

Conventional aspirators which thus interpose a filter for the separation of particles have the double disadvantage of causing a loss of suction power over time and require the replacement of the filter media when it is saturated. This represents a cost for the user.

In addition, when replacing the filter bag, the fine dust present on the surface of the volume of contention induce dirt for the user. This maintenance operation, which is otherwise uncomfortable, sometimes leads to accidental releases into the environment.

In order to remedy these problems it has been proposed bagless vacuum cleaners, employing a cyclonic type separation or by inertia, to eliminate waste.

In such devices polluted air enters tangentially into a separation chamber provided with a grid or a primary separation allowing to remove coarse particles before passing into a secondary separation to remove residual fine particles. Such an apparatus is described in detail in the application EP 1,535,562 of the applicant.

The vacuum cleaner with inertia separation described in the document EP 1,535,562 has an air inlet duct opening in a tangential direction in a primary waste separation chamber, said chamber being of generally cylindrical shape. The central portion of this chamber opens onto a conduit in connection with the suction device, which conduit has a secondary filtration assembly to remove finer particles.

An evacuation channel allows the recovery of centrifuged waste in a collector tank. This waste disposal channel is located at the same level as the air inlet and is placed substantially diametrically opposite position relative to the axis of the cylindrical separation chamber.

As described in detail in the document EP 1,535,562 above all the filtration unit housed in the central part of the vacuum cleaner comprises a primary filtration device and a secondary fine filtration of waste conveyed by the air flow.

The airflow in the separation chamber, due to its tangential arrival, and because of its evacuation in the central part of the separation chamber, describes a swirling path favorable to the separation of the waste.

The primary filtration device positioned in the main separation chamber, in the upper part of the filtration assembly, is constituted by a cylindrical portion pierced with grid-shaped holes, said holes allowing the passage of the air flow in the direction of the filter assembly. of the secondary filtration chamber.

The main separation chamber, including its geometry, as well as the grid for the separation of large waste are configured for the most efficient centrifugal separation possible. In fact, most of the waste collected by the nozzle assembly is discharged directly into the waste collection tank.

The fine part of the waste, especially low-particle dust, passes through the primary filtration grid, making secondary filtration necessary before the air is evacuated through the suction unit.

This secondary filtration is traditionally constituted by a folded paper filter of cylindrical shape arranged coaxially with the main separation chamber.

Unlike conventional vacuum cleaners, a large part of the waste is removed by primary filtration before reaching the fine filter constituting secondary filtration. Said filter is therefore much longer to clog and the intervention of the user for maintenance in this part of the device is less common.

As with conventional vacuum cleaners, filter clogging results in loss of suction power and gradual inefficiency of the vacuum cleaner. Even less frequent, this maintenance intervention remains and therefore constitutes an essential constraint for the proper functioning of the device.

It is known, by the document US 5,307,538 , a vacuum cleaner having a first filtration by a cyclone, the air then being conveyed to the engine through a filter. This filter is preferably a metal fine filter that can be cleaned using a small brush supplied with the device.

However, such a filter unclogging device requires, on the one hand the intervention of the user, and generates, on the other hand, an important contact with the fine dust embedded in the pores of the filter. In addition, this operation must take place after partial disassembly of the vacuum cleaner, which does not facilitate the operation.

He is also known, by the document FR 2027213 , a vacuum cleaner equipped with a pleated filter retaining dust and vacuumed waste, and a filter cleaning member impinging the crest folds of said filter to detach the dust adhering to the filter, these members being actuated via the reel, during the rewinding operation of the power supply wire.

Such a vacuum cleaner thus already makes it possible to automate the operation of unclogging the filter, but this operation may not be carried out or only partially if the user does not rewind its cord or if it unfurls a short length of cord . Moreover, such a device can be complex to implement if the reel is removed from the filter to be unclogged.

He is also known, by the document US 2003/208879 A1 , a vacuum filtering device comprising in particular a device (500) for cleaning the grid (430) of the primary device for separating the waste. The gate (430) is disposed in the waste separation chamber, and contributes to the primary separation of the waste. This primary device comprises a central portion (511) inserted into an air extraction tube (422), said part having a blade (512) set in motion by the air flow. This blade rotates, outside the tube, two scrapers (532) resting on the outer portion of the separation grid, by arms (531) having a certain flexibility.

The present invention therefore aims to provide an improvement to the vacuum cleaners having a primary separation of the waste (by centrifugation, inertia, but also by filtration by water or by a large mesh filter) and a secondary separation of finer waste, proposing a device for unclogging the secondary end filter which reduces as much as possible the intervention of the user for maintenance, while being simple to implement.

The present invention relates to a waste separation device defined by claim 1.

Advantageously, the primary filtration is performed by a cyclonic phenomenon or by inertia in a separation chamber connected to a waste collection tank, which allows to separate a large amount of waste.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the pleated filter is tubular and the relative movement between the mechanical biasing elements and the filter is a circular motion. The tubular characteristic of the secondary filter makes it possible to save space while offering a large developed area of filtration.

The main advantage of the unclogging device according to the invention is therefore to reduce the maintenance operations on the filter assembly and to reduce the cost of replacing the filters. Said device also limits the power loss related to clogging of the filter, the performance of the vacuum thus remains permanently constant.

The lack of intervention of the user on the filtration device allows a strong improvement in the hygiene of use of the vacuum cleaner.

• Les figures 1 à 6 présentent un premier mode de mise en oeuvre de l'invention.
• La figure 1 est une vue en perspective d'un aspirateur comportant la présente invention.
• La figure 2 est une vue de dessus de l'ensemble de filtration.
• La figure 3 est une coupe de l'ensemble de filtration selon le plan A-A indiqué dans la figure 2.
• La figure 4 est une vue éclatée de l'ensemble de filtration.
• La figure 5 montre une vue de dessous de l'ensemble de filtration disposant de l'invention.
• La figure 6 montre une vue en perspective d'un bac à déchets adapté à la présente invention.
• Les figures 7 à 13 montrent diverses parties constitutives d'un ensemble de filtration selon un second mode de mise en oeuvre de l'invention.
• Les figures 14 à 16 présentent une variante de réalisation de ce second mode de mise en oeuvre de l'invention.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the description which follows with reference to the accompanying drawings which are given by way of non-limiting examples.

• The Figures 1 to 6 show a first embodiment of the invention.
• The figure 1 is a perspective view of a vacuum cleaner comprising the present invention.
• The figure 2 is a top view of the filtration assembly.
• The figure 3 is a section of the filtration assembly according to plan AA indicated in the figure 2 .
• The figure 4 is an exploded view of the filtration assembly.
• The figure 5 shows a view from below of the filtration assembly having the invention.
• The figure 6 shows a perspective view of a waste bin adapted to the present invention.
• The Figures 7 to 13 show various constituent parts of a filtration assembly according to a second embodiment of the invention.
• The Figures 14 to 16 show an alternative embodiment of this second embodiment of the invention.

The figure 1 illustrates a cyclonic vacuum cleaner comprising the invention, such a device is conventionally constituted by a frame 1 supported by wheels 2 and a front wheel 3 allowing the movement and orientation of the vacuum cleaner during its operation.

A motor block 4 is placed on the front of the device. The incoming air stream loaded with waste arrives in an inlet mouth 5 and enters tangentially into a main separation chamber 6.

Said main separation chamber 6 has an opening 20 for the discharge of waste to a tank 37 for recovery of said waste. A conduit 8 connects the waste collection tank 37 and the main separation chamber 6.

The cyclonic vacuum cleaner comprises a filter assembly 9 formed by the main separation chamber 6 and a body 15 defining a cylindrical chamber 12 for a secondary filter 13 located in an immediately lower part, the two chambers being in aeraulic relationship with each other.

The figure 2 is a top view of the filtration assembly (without primary filter 17) which shows the tangential arrival of the air flow loaded with waste into the inlet mouth 5 and the purified air outlet by a conduit 11 leading in the upper part of the engine block 4. In this configuration, the air inlet and the evacuation are substantially at the same level, the circulation in the filtration assembly 9 being defined for optimum separation of the waste.

According to one embodiment of the invention described in Figures 1 to 6 the vacuum cleaner comprises a geared motor 10 placed on the frame 1 actuating the filter unclogging device constituting the secondary separation, the motor 4 is vertical and the secondary filtration device is a pleated tubular filter oriented vertically in the filter assembly 9.

The figure 3 corresponds to a section along the vertical plane AA of the filtration assembly shown in FIG. figure 2 . This section shows the positioning of the main separation chamber 6 in the upper part of the filtration assembly 9, the inlet mouth 5 and the air discharge duct 11, the secondary filtration chamber 12 containing the pleated tubular filter 13 and mechanical biasing elements 23 positioned on the axis of the filter assembly, which filter assembly is of generally cylindrical shape.

The filtration assembly 9 comprises in its central low part a declogging device 14 of the secondary fine filter 13.

• le corps 15 définissant la chambre de filtration secondaire 12 et abritant les moyens de filtration,
• la chambre de séparation principale 6 positionnée dans la partie haute du corps 15 comportant l'ouverture 20 en direction du conduit de liaison 8 vers le bac 37 de récupération des déchets,
• un filtre primaire 17 percé de trous, tel que décrit par exemple dans le brevet EP 1 535 562 ,
• un obturateur 18 maintenant l'ensemble des pièces amovibles verrouillées dans l'ensemble de filtration, et fermant la chambre de séparation principale,
• un coude de renvoi 16 orientant l'air en provenance du filtre plissé 13 vers un tuyau 11 puis vers le moteur d'aspiration, et situé sous la chambre de séparation principale, ce coude de renvoi étant formé d'un dôme 162 en liaison avec la partie centrale du filtre tubulaire, ce dôme 162 étant bordé en partie d'une ouverture 164 reliant la partie intérieure du filtre primaire 17 à la partie extérieure du filtre plissé,
• un filtre tubulaire plissé 13 positionné verticalement dans la partie basse et centrale du corps 15, laquelle partie basse formant la chambre de séparation secondaire,
• un dispositif de décolmatage 14 actionné par un moto-réducteur 10 au moyen d'une transmission 19.

The figure 4 shows more precisely the different components of the filtration assembly 9 and in particular:

• the body 15 defining the secondary filtration chamber 12 and housing the filtration means,
• the main separation chamber 6 positioned in the upper part of the body 15 having the opening 20 in the direction of the connecting pipe 8 to the tank 37 for waste recovery,
• a primary filter 17 pierced with holes, as described for example in the EP Patent 1,535,562 ,
• a shutter 18 holding all the removable parts locked in the filter assembly, and closing the main separation chamber,
• a deflection elbow 16 directing air from the pleated filter 13 to a pipe 11 and then to the suction motor, and located under the main separation chamber, this return elbow being formed of a dome 162 in connection with the central part of the tubular filter, this dome 162 being bordered in part by an opening 164 connecting the inner part of the primary filter 17 to the outer part of the pleated filter,
• a pleated tubular filter 13 positioned vertically in the lower and central part of the body 15, which lower part forms the secondary separation chamber,
• a declogging device 14 actuated by a geared motor 10 by means of a transmission 19.

The exploded view of the figure 4 as well as the illustrated cut figure 3 provide a better understanding of the flow of air through the filtration device. The waste-laden air arrives through the inlet mouth 5 tangentially in the primary separation chamber 6, in the direction F, the high-speed air flow rotates around the ring formed between the primary filter 17 and the walls of the chamber 6 and discharges through the opening 20 (arrow F ₁ ), coarse waste that is expelled to the tank 37 recovery.

The air flow then enters through the holes of the primary filter 17, then through the opening 164 in the secondary filtration chamber (arrow F ₂ ), between the body 15 and the pleated filter. The air then passes through this filter from the outside to the inside, discharging residual dust and fine particles as it passes, and returns to the central and upper tubular part of said pleated filter (arrow F ₃ ).

In the upper part of the filter assembly is located the dome 162 forming the return elbow 16 of the filtered air which then directs the flow to the conduit 11 and the engine charged with suction (arrow F ₄ ).

The unclogging device according to the invention is placed, in a sealed manner, in the lower part of the filter assembly so as not to disturb the flow of air in the filter assembly and not to impede the separation of the particles under the effect of centrifugal force.

Thus, the drive mechanism of the workpiece or moving parts (s) is positioned under the tubular filter 13 and the mechanical biasing elements within the tubular filter 13. Alternatively, the mechanical biasing elements may be located outside the tubular filter 13.

The positioning of the unclogging device 14 in the lower part of the filter assembly makes cleaning and filter replacement operations easy, in particular because of accessibility of said filter by the upper part of the filter assembly after unlocking. of the shutter 18 and the removal of the removable parts mentioned above.

As illustrated on the figures 4 and 5 the unclogging device comprises a geared motor 10 which actuates in rotation mechanical biasing elements 23 via a transmission 19.

The transmission 19, advantageously located under the filter 13, has the function of transmitting a rotation between the drive shaft of the geared motor 10 and an axis 22 supporting the mechanical biasing elements 23. Said drive shaft is deported by relative to the central axis of the overall cylindrical filtration assembly 9.

According to this embodiment, the mechanical biasing elements are movable and the filter 13 is fixed.

As illustrated on the figure 5 the transmission 19 may for example comprise gears 24 connected by a belt 21, or include any other device for transmitting a rotational movement between one point and another.

The mechanical biasing elements 23 may be for example in the form of fingers, which fingers scrape the folds of the filter 13 so as to drop the dust when they are rotated. These fingers can be positioned in the middle part, substantially halfway up the pleated tubular filter, or at other levels, depending on their shape and the configuration of the filtered.

At least two mechanical biasing elements 23 are arranged at the end or on the axis 22 serving as a support, advantageously a larger number of said elements, typically six, equally distributed on the inside or outside perimeter of the tubular filter, will be arranged, and possibly distributed over the height of the filter, being arranged at different levels on the axis 22.

Said mechanical biasing elements 23 may also be wire curved into arches and fixed on one side to the lower part of the axis 22 and on the other side to the upper part of said axis at the upper level of the pleated filter. According to this variant the convex outer portion of the metal arc presses on the filter and the friction generated during rotation causes the dust to fall and the filter unclogged.

The mechanical urging elements rotated to shake the pleated filter may also consist of fins or blades.

Various other rigid or flexible means are possible to shake the filter mechanically and cause the drop by gravity dust, without departing from the scope of the invention.

The secondary filter contained in the type of cyclonic vacuum cleaner carrier of the invention can be formed with different materials and any filter media known in the art, be it paper, nonwoven or fabric.

An advantageous embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the Figures 1 to 6 However, there are many variants for the design of a vacuum cleaner of the aforementioned type comprising the declogging device of the secondary filter according to the invention.

As configured the vacuum cleaner evacuates the largest and most heavy during the primary separation. The finest debris consisting essentially of fine dust is stopped by the pleated filter 13. During the unclogging operation, the pleated filter releases a portion of the fine dust that also fall into the waste tank 37.

• un compartiment principal 31 destiné à recevoir les déchets issus de la séparation primaire et arrivant par le conduit 8,
• un compartiment secondaire 32 accueillant les débris fins et poussières en provenance de la séparation secondaire et du filtre fin, après l'opération de décolmatage,
• une liaison rigide 33, reliant les deux compartiments entre eux,
• une poignée 34 permettant la manipulation du bac de récupération 37 par l'utilisateur.

More specifically, said waste collection tank 37, shown in FIG. figure 6 , is arranged in two parts and comprises:

• a main compartment 31 intended to receive the waste resulting from the primary separation and arriving via the conduit 8,
• a secondary compartment 32 accommodating the fine debris and dust from the secondary separation and the fine filter, after the unclogging operation,
• a rigid connection 33, connecting the two compartments to each other,
• a handle 34 allowing the handling of the recovery tank 37 by the user.

The main and secondary compartments are advantageously chosen parallelepipedal or cylindrical overall shape and are preferably shaped to fit better with the various components of the vacuum carried by the frame 1.

More specifically, the main compartment 31 is larger than the secondary compartment 32, and located on the rear and in the lower part of the vacuum, in the extension of the conduit 8 and substantially positioned opposite the flow of polluted intake air, which flow arrives through the intake port 5.

The secondary compartment 32 is positioned below and substantially vertically to the secondary separation chamber, below the filter assembly 9.

The height of the secondary compartment is limited so as to avoid a deterioration of the compactness of the cyclonic vacuum cleaner and a height excessive device.

Advantageously, and as illustrated on the figure 6 , the upper parts of the two compartments have cutouts for easy engagement of the recovery tank in a home 7 in the vacuum cleaner. Said cuts are made according to inclined planes towards the front of the vacuum cleaner.

This pointed shape of the waste container facilitates its insertion into the housing 7, the compartment 32 serving as a reference for the insertion of the tray 37 in its housing. As a result, the shape of the collection pan as a whole is designed to fit optimally in the housing 7.

Advantageously according to the invention the waste collection tank 37 comprises at least one gripping device for handling said bin for maintenance operations.

This gripping device is preferably a vertically oriented handle 34 housed on the rear of the tray, substantially at mid-height and in the center of the outer face of the main compartment 31, as illustrated in FIG. figure 6 .

A main variant of the embodiment that has just been presented is to make the filter movable, the mechanical biasing elements then being fixed. The transmission of the movement between the geared motor and the filter may, for example, be obtained by a gear assembly as will be described later.

Other variants may also be envisaged depending on the position of the motor on the vacuum cleaner and therefore the orientation and the position of the air evacuation, the internal configuration of the filter assembly which can generate various modes of air circulation and the use of a tubular or flat filter.

The Figures 7 to 13 show another embodiment of the present invention where the main difference with respect to the exemplary embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 to 6 relates to the pleated tubular filter 130 which, firstly is positioned horizontally in the chamber 120 of the separation device 90, and secondly is movable relative to the mechanical biasing elements which are fixed.

As shown in particular figure 7 which represents an exploded view of the separation device 90, as well as the engine, the main waste separation device is in accordance with what has been described above. However, the primary filter 170 advantageously carries two arches 172 diametrically opposed and intended to limit the deflection of the tubular filter in the chamber 120. These two arches rest on recesses 152 formed in the body 150.

According to this alternative embodiment, a waste recovery compartment 310 separated by the main device is removably mounted on the upper part of the separation device 90 by cooperation between lugs and hooks 312, coming from the tray, with corresponding housings 92, made in the body 150. This compartment conforms to that described in the application EP 1,535,562 .

The secondary filtration is performed by the pleated filter 130, which is therefore arranged horizontally in the chamber 120. The air outlet is obtained by an opening 158 arranged on one of the vertical faces of the body 150. A discharge duct 110 thus conveys the filtered air to the motor 4 also arranged horizontally.

Thus, the fine dust from the unclogging of the pleated filter 130 is collected by a compartment 320 removable and separated from the compartment 310, said compartment 320 closing the lower part of the body 150, as it is clearly visible on the figure 8 which shows a partial burst of the separating device 90.

This figure also shows the geared motor 100, as well as a part of the declogging mechanism. The geared motor 100 is disposed on the body 150 opposite the air outlet opening 158, via a housing 104.

As it is clearly visible on Figures 8 and 9 , the drive mechanism of the filter 130 comprises two gears 106, 108, one of the wheels, in this case the wheel 106 being connected to the filter 130, the axis of this wheel corresponding with the axis of rotation of the filter 130. The other wheel 108, meshing the previous one, is rotated by the drive shaft 102 of the geared motor 100.

The wheel 108 is larger than the wheel 106 to reduce the speed of rotation of the filter relative to the speed of the shaft 102 of the geared motor. The number of wheels may be higher depending on the characteristics of the geared motor used and the desired speeds.

As illustrated figure 8 the wheel 106 is disposed outside the body 150, while the wheel 108 is disposed inside, in the chamber 120. The body 150 and has a perforated portion 153 for the mechanical connection between the wheels 106 and 108 It will be advantageously provided a seal of the housing 104 on the body 150.

The wheel 108 is connected to a flange 132 constituting, with another flange 134, the mechanical supports of the filter casing 136 of the pleated filter 130.

The unclogging means also comprise a cleaning assembly 140 of the pleated filter 130 comprising six mechanical stressing elements of the folds of the filter 130.

This set 140 is detailed to Figures 10 and 11 . Thus the cleaning assembly comprises biasing elements 146, 148 in the form of bent fingers and connected to a central axis 143. One end of this axis comprises a cylindrical cap 144, while the other end comprises in particular a retaining pin 142.

According to the proposed example, the six mechanical biasing elements, disposed inside the filter, in contact with the wall of said filter, comprise two groups of three fingers, arranged at two levels along the length of the filter, said fingers of each group being angularly distributed around the axis 143.

Furthermore, the end of each finger 146, 148 has a radially outwardly bulged portion, respectively 1460 and 1480. Advantageously, the fingers 146 are not strictly located in the extension of the fingers 148. As shown in FIG. figure 11 representing a projection along axis 143 of the figure 10 , the two groups of fingers are offset by an angle α, which, according to the proposed example, is of the order of 30 °.

The figure 12 is a top view of the filtration device 90, without the lid 6, or the filter 170, or the tray 310. figure 13 is an enlarged view of a detail of the figure 12 .

Thus, the cleaning assembly 140 is held stationary in the body 150, in particular by the holding pin 142 disposed in the bottom 156 of a groove 154, elements which are also visible on the figures 7 and 8 . The end 144 of the axis 143 is held in an opening 135 of the flange 134.

Thus, according to this variant embodiment, the geared motor drives the tubular filter 130 in rotation about the fixed axis 143 of the cleaning assembly 140.

In operation, the path of the air is the same as that described above. During an unclogging operation, the swollen portions 1460 and 1480 of the fingers 146, 148 come to urge the folds of the envelope 136 of the rotary folded filter. Part of the dust retained by the filter is then released and falls in the compartment 320.

In the case of a tubular filter disposed horizontally, that is to say whose axis of symmetry is horizontal, it seems indeed interesting to put the filter in rotation relative to the solicitor elements. In fact, the opposite would not allow to unclog with a good efficiency the folds located in the upper part since the dust and suspended in the air, by gravity, would redeposit on substantially the same folds.

Therefore, it seems more advantageous that the fingers are not located vertically towards the upper part of the chamber 120. figure 11 shows an angular positioning of the cleaning assembly 140 in the chamber 120 which gives good results.

The Figures 14 to 16 show an alternative embodiment, wherein the intake duct 405 waste in the main separation chamber 408 closed by a cover 406 is substantially horizontal. The hopper 410 is more in accordance with the example illustrating the first embodiment of the invention, having a vertical handle 412 and a double waste tank composed of a compartment 414 for waste separated by the main separation device and a compartment 416 for waste from unclogging. The waste is conveyed to the compartments 414, 416 respectively by conduits 415, 417 integrated in the tank 410.

Furthermore, to facilitate emptying the tray, the compartments 414, 416 are removably mounted by a hinge 418, a latch 419 for maintaining the compartments in sealed connection with the conduits 415, 417 of the tray, via seals sealing.

The figure 15 shows, like the figure 9 , an exploded view of the secondary filter 430 located under the separation chamber, as well as the unclogging device.

We thus find the pleated envelope 436 maintained between two flanges 432, 434 each provided with an O-ring, such as the seal 435. The device also comprises a gear comprising a wheel 437 of large size connected to the flange 432 and meshing with a wheel 438 whose axis is connected to the axis 452 As in the previous case, the scraper blade 440 is fixed and the cylinder is rotated around said blade.

The scraper blade 440 is illustrated in more detail figure 16 . It comprises a holding pin 442, and an axis 443 on which are reported two mechanical biasing elements 444, 446 of the pleated casing 436.

The ends of the mechanical biasing elements 444, 446 advantageously comprise a bulged part, respectively 445, 447, in the form of small cylinders which allow a smooth interaction with the pleated envelope, in order to damage as little as possible the surface during the unclogging operation.

Advantageously, these cylinders 445, 447 are covered with a lubricating material or having a very low coefficient of friction, such as PTFE for example.

Preferably, the mechanical biasing elements are oriented downwards so that the unclogging is more efficient. The figure 15 shows these elements facing upwards only for better viewing.

According to the embodiments presented, the doctor blade can be either integrated in the filter (for example by gluing), or removable from this filter and assembled by a reversible clipping type connection.

In an alternative embodiment, the unclogging device may be positioned in the secondary filtration chamber outside the filtering device.

It can for example be imagined, for the various vacuum cleaner configurations described above, to place the unclogging device to the outside of the pleated filter and resting on it, the mechanical biasing elements being then carried by a ring, whose diameter is greater than the diameter of the pleated filter, in order to mechanically shake the filter from the outside, with a reversal of the air flow direction from inside the filter to the outside.

Another variant that can be envisaged is to modify the path of the air in order to force the polluted flow to pass through a flat secondary filter, from bottom to top, said flat filter being preferably positioned on an inclined support, the mechanical biasing elements pressing said filter by the air evacuation face so as to facilitate cleaning by scraping, in rectilinear relative movements or back and forth between the biasing elements and the surface of the filter.

In all the variants it is provided that the dust, resulting from unclogging under the action of the device of the invention, is recovered by gravity in the lower part of the vacuum cleaner in a compartment provided for this purpose, which compartment is hermetically closed. in order to avoid pressure drops during operation of the vacuum cleaner.

In all variants it is expected that the action of the unclogging device is not permanent during operation of the vacuum cleaner. Indeed, a continuous operation of the unclogging device is not necessary because of the low filter fouling rate on the one hand, and because of the wear generated by the friction on the material, on the other hand .

Preferably according to the invention the geared motor operates intermittently.

During the feasibility studies of the apparatus it has been found advantageous to operate the unclogging device, and therefore the geared motor, at the end of each use of the vacuum cleaner. The geared motor is put into operation, preferably according to the invention, at each stop of the vacuum cleaner.

Advantageously, before putting the geared motor into operation, a delay of one or a few seconds waiting after the engine has been stopped will allow the declogging efficiency not to be too much disturbed by the depression generated by the operation of the engine. engine.

To carry out the cleaning of the secondary filter intermittently it may also be envisaged to slave the operation of the geared motor to a time delay.

In order to shake the filter and cause the encrusted dust to fall on its surface it is not necessary to perform multiple rotations of the mechanical biasing elements or the filter, depending on the embodiment envisaged, only a few turns are enough, in fact the motorcycle -reducer works for only a few seconds.

Various variants of the invention have already been mentioned, it can also be considered several possibilities, different from those described above, for the transmission between the geared motor and the elements rotated.

In the various configurations envisaged, the filter may be flat or tubular, consisting of various materials and the flow of air in the filter assembly designed in different ways, without departing from the scope of the invention.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described and represented by way of examples, but it also includes all the technical equivalents as well as their combinations.

Claims (18)

1. Waste separating device for a vacuum cleaner comprising a filtration system, said device comprising a pleated filter (13, 130) and an unclogging device (14) for said filter (13, 130), said unclogging device (14) having at least one mechanical force element (23, 146, 148, 444, 446) against the wall of the filter (13, 130, 430), one of the parts of the filter (13, 130 , 430) or the mechanical force elements (23, 146, 148, 444, 446) being mobile relative to the other part, the separating device being a secondary separating device arranged downstream from a primary filtration system, a gear motor (10, 100, 450) automatically performing a relative mechanical movement between the mechanical force element (23, 146, 148, 444, 446) and the filter (13, 130, 430), the mechanical force elements (23, 146, 148, 444, 446) being arranged on the air evacuation side of the filter (13, 130, 430).
2. Waste separating device for a vacuum cleaner according to the preceding claim, characterised in that primary filtration is carried out by a cyclone phenomenon or by inertia in a separation chamber (6, 408) connected to a waste recovery tank (31, 310, 410).
3. Waste separating device for a vacuum cleaner according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the gear motor (10, 100, 450) operates intermittently.
4. Waste separating device for a vacuum cleaner according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the gear motor (10, 100, 450) starts operating when the vacuum cleaner stops.
5. Waste separating device for a vacuum cleaner according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the pleated filter (13, 130, 430) is tubular and in that the relative movement between the mechanical force elements (23, 146, 148, 444, 446) and the filter (13, 130, 430) is a circular movement.
6. Waste separating device for a vacuum cleaner according to the preceding claim, characterised in that the mobile part(s) perform a limited number of rotations with respect to the fixed part(s) for each cleaning cycle of the filter (13, 130, 430).
7. Waste separating device for a vacuum cleaner according to claim 5 or 6, characterised in that it comprises at least two mechanical force elements (23, 146, 148, 444, 446) in the form of fingers, and preferably six, equally distributed around the inner or outer perimeter of the tubular filter (13, 130, 430).
8. Waste separating device for a vacuum cleaner according to one of claims 5 to 7, characterised in that the mechanical force elements (23, 146, 148) are located substantially at mid-height of the tubular filter (13, 130).
9. Waste separating device for a vacuum cleaner of cyclone type according to one of claims 5 to 7, characterised in that the mechanical force elements (23, 146, 148, 444, 446) are distributed over the height of the tubular filter (13, 130, 430), at different levels.
10. Waste separating device for a vacuum cleaner according to one of claims 5 to 9, characterised in that the pleated filter (13) is arranged vertically and in that the drive mechanism of the mobile part(s) is positioned under the tubular filter (13) and said elements inside the tubular filter (13).
11. Waste separating device for a vacuum cleaner according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the mechanical force elements (23) are mobile, the pleated filter (13) being fixed.
12. Waste separating device for a vacuum cleaner according to the preceding claim, characterised in that the drive mechanism of the mechanical force elements (23) comprises a transmission (19) connecting a shaft (22) supporting said elements and the drive shaft of the gear motor (10), said drive shaft being offset from the central axis of the filter assembly (9) of generally cylindrical shape.
13. Waste separating device for a vacuum cleaner according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterised in that the pleated filter (130, 430) is mobile, the mechanical force elements (146, 148, 444, 446) being fixed.
14. Waste separating device for a vacuum cleaner according to the preceding claim, characterised in that the pleated filter (130, 430) is arranged horizontally.
15. Waste separating device for a vacuum cleaner according to the preceding claim, characterised in that the mechanical force elements (146, 148, 444, 446) are arranged inside the pleated filter (130, 430) and are composed of several fingers in contact with the wall of the filter (130, 430), said fingers being arranged at two levels over the length of the filter (130, 430).
16. Waste separating device for a vacuum cleaner according to claim 14 or 15, characterised in that the filter (130, 430) drive mechanism comprises at least two gears (106, 108, 437, 438), one of the gears being connected to the filter (130, 430) and whose axis corresponds to the axis of rotation of the filter (130, 430), while the other gear, engaged with the previous one, is rotated by the drive shaft (102, 452) of the gear motor (100, 450).
17. Waste separating device for a vacuum cleaner according to one of claims 2 to 16, characterised in that it comprises a compartment (320) for recovering waste from the unclogging device, said compartment (320) being separated from the tank (310) for recovering waste from the primary filtration system.
18. Waste separating device for a vacuum cleaner according to one of claims 2 to 16, characterised in that it comprises a tank (32, 416) for recovering waste from the unclogging device, said tank (32, 416) being attached to the tank (31, 410) for recovering waste from the primary filtration system.

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