VACUUM CLEANER

Abstract

A vacuum cleaner has a main body, a motor-driven fan unit, a printed circuit board for controlling the motor-driven fan unit and a housing encasing a portion of the printed circuit board. A heat sink of the printed circuit board extends through the housing from an interior of the housing to an exterior of the housing. The printed circuit board is disposed within the main body such that the heat sink is located in an air-flow path through the main body.

Claims

1. A vacuum cleaner comprising a main body, a motor-driven fan unit, a printed circuit board for controlling the motor-driven fan unit, and a housing encasing a portion of the printed circuit board, wherein a heat sink of the printed circuit board extends through the housing from an interior of the housing to an exterior of the housing, and the printed circuit board is disposed within the main body such that the heat sink is located in an air-flow path through the main body.

2. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein only a portion of the printed circuit board is encased by the housing.

3. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the housing is mounted to a surface of the printed circuit board at a region spaced from the perimeter of the printed circuit board.

4. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises a seal located at an interface between the housing and the printed circuit board.

5. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the portion of the printed circuit board encased by the housing comprises surface mounted components of the printed circuit board.

6. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the portion of the printed circuit board encased by the housing comprises a lower pollution degree than a portion of the printed circuit board not encased by the housing.

7. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the vacuum cleaner comprises a dirt separator, a first air inlet, a second air inlet, a first air flow path between the first air inlet and the dirt separator, and a second air flow path between the second air inlet and the motor-driven fan unit, and the printed circuit board is located in the second air flow path.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] In order to better understand the present invention, and to show more clearly how the invention may be put into effect, the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the following drawings:

[0020] FIG. 1 is a side view of a disassembled vacuum cleaner according to a first aspect of the present invention;

[0021] FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a main body of the vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1;

[0022] FIG. 3 is top plan view of the main body of FIG. 2 with an uppermost surface of the main body removed;

[0023] FIG. 4 is a rotated view of the main body of FIG. 3;

[0024] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a printed circuit board (PCB) used in the vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1;

[0025] FIG. 6 is a first perspective view of the PCB of FIG. 5 with its housing removed; and

[0026] FIG. 7 is a second perspective view of the PCB of FIG. 5 with its housing removed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0027] A vacuum cleaner according to a first aspect of the present invention, generally designated 10, is shown in FIG. 1.

[0028] The vacuum cleaner 10 comprises a main body 12, a separating apparatus 14, a flexible hose 16, a wand assembly 18, and a cleaner head 20. The main body 12 is shown in isolation in FIGS. 2 to 4.

[0029] Mounted within the main body 12 are a motor-driven fan unit 114 for generating airflow through the separating apparatus 14 in use, a cable rewind unit (not shown) for retracting and storing an electrical cable within the main body 12, and appropriate control electronics 118 for controlling the cylinder vacuum cleaner 10.

[0030] The motor-driven fan unit 114 and cable rewind unit are conventional, and will not be described here in any detail.

[0031] The motor-driven fan unit 114 is housed in a motor bucket 115. The motor bucket 115 is connected to the main body 12 so that the motor-driven fan unit 114 does not rotate as the cylinder vacuum cleaner 10 is manoeuvred over a floor surface to be cleaned in use.

[0032] The motor bucket 115 has a plurality of bleeds 117, and the plurality of bleeds 117 are located pre- the motor of the motor-driven fan unit 114. In use, the plurality of bleeds 117 generate a negative pressure within the main body 12, which acts to draw ambient air from the exterior of the main body 12 to the interior of the main body 12, via vents 123 and/or a cable inlet 125.

[0033] The control electronics 118 comprise a PCB 122 according to the second aspect of the present invention, which is shown in FIGS. 5 to 7.

[0034] The PCB 122 comprises a substrate 124, a plurality of components 126 mounted to the substrate 124, a housing 128, and a heat sink 130.

[0035] The housing 128 comprises a seal 132, and is mounted to the surface of the substrate 124 such that surface-mounted components 126 of the PCB 122 are sealed within the housing 128. The heat sink 130 extends from the interior of the housing 128 to the exterior of the housing 128, and comprises a heat conductive metal plate.

[0036] As the housing 128 seals with the surface of the substrate 124, the region of the PCB 122 within the housing 128 is protected from moisture and dust, for example conductive dust. Thus the region of the PCB 122 within the housing 128 can be a different pollution degree to the remainder of the PCB 122, and in the presently preferred embodiment the interior of the housing 128 is of pollution degree 2, whilst the remainder of the PCB 122 external of the housing 128 is of pollution degree 3.

[0037] As the interior of the housing 128 is of pollution degree 2, the surface-mounted components 126 within the housing 128 can be placed closer together than, for example, if they were located exterior of the housing 128 in a region of pollution degree 3. This may enable the overall size of the PCB 122 to be reduced.

[0038] However, as the surface-mounted components 126 are enclosed within the housing 128, and as the distance between the surface-mounted components 126 is reduced, the temperature within the housing 128 can reach excessive levels during use. The heat sink 130 extends outwardly from the housing 128, and acts to regulate the temperature within the housing 128 by transferring heat from the interior of the housing 128 to the exterior of the housing 128 in use.

[0039] The heat sink 130 extends outwardly from the housing 128 of the PCB 122, and is positioned within the interior of the main body 12 such that at least a portion of airflow from the vents 123 and/or the cable inlet 125 toward the plurality of bleeds 117 in the motor bucket 115 passes over the heat sink 130 in use. An example airflow is shown by arrow A in FIG. 4. The combination of the heat sink 130 and the cooling airflow acts to maintain the temperature within the housing 128 at acceptable levels during use.