Domestic appliance

Abstract

A domestic appliance, such as a cyclonic vacuum cleaner, includes a component such as a separating apparatus, carried by a chassis. A catch is operable to release the component from the chassis. The component and the chassis can move with respect to each other. When the appliance is lifted there is relative movement, against the force of a resilient member, between the component and the chassis, so that the catch occupies a position that inhibits its release. Previous catches that inhibited from release when the appliance is lifted had a drawback in that slight relative movement between the component and the chassis when the appliance was resting on a surface tended to put the catch into the unreleasable position. The resilient member provides resistance to the catch moving into the locked position, thereby ensuring that the catch is inhibited from release only when the appliance is lifted from a surface.

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a national stage application under 35 USC 371 of International Application No. PCT / GB2007 / 002674, filed Jul. 16, 2007, which claims the priority of United Kingdom Application No. 0615681.4, filed Aug. 8, 2006, the contents of which prior applications are incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The invention relates to a domestic appliance, such as a vacuum cleaner.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Vacuum cleaners which separate dirt and dust from an airflow without the use of a filter bag, so-called bagless vacuum cleaners, are becoming increasingly popular. Most bagless cleaners use cyclonic or centrifugal separation to spin dirt and dust from the airflow. By avoiding the use of a filter bag as the primary form of separation, it has been found possible to maintain a consistently high level of suction, even as the collecting chamber fills with dirt and dust.[0004]In a typical cyclonic vacuum cleaner, an a...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0012]A stop may be provided so that, when the catch is in the unreleasable position, the stop prevents release of the catch if the appliance is subjected to a sudden vertical movement. This feature prevents the catch from returning to a releasable position even if the appliance is shaken.

[0013]The invention is particularly applicable to vacuum cleaners. The invention prevents a user from releasing the separating apparatus comprising a collecting chamber employed for collecting dirt and dust from the chassis when the user is carrying the vacuum cleaner.

Problems solved by technology

Previous proposals for catches inhibited from release when the appliance is lifted had a drawback in that slight relative movement between the component and the chassis when the appliance was resting on a surface tended to put the catch into the unreleasable position.

For example, it was found that the action of grabbing the handle on the collecting chamber of a vacuum cleaner was sometimes sufficient to urge the catch accidentally into the locked position.

This was inconvenient and confusing to the user, especially when trying to release the collecting chamber for emptying.