WO2003039317A1

WO2003039317A1 - A cleaning head

Info

Publication number: WO2003039317A1
Application number: PCT/GB2002/004860
Authority: WO
Inventors: Martin Paul Bagwell; Alistair Gordon Anderson
Original assignee: Dyson Ltd
Current assignee: Dyson Ltd
Priority date: 2001-11-03
Filing date: 2002-10-25
Publication date: 2003-05-15
Anticipated expiration: 2004-05-03
Also published as: GB2381443A; GB0126496D0; TW200302706A

Abstract

A cleaning head for vacuum cleaning floor surfaces comprises a suction housing with first suction opening (within skirt 270) for removing material from the floor surface. A second suction opening (260) is positioned on the front of the cleaning head, in front of the skirt (270), and is positioned further from the floor surface than the first suction opening. In use, the second suction opening (260) removes material which would otherwise be pushed along by the skirt (270) as the cleaning head is moved across the floor surface. Advantageously, the first suction opening can be completely surrounded by the skirt (270). The cleaning head can be a floor tool for a vacuum cleaner or a cleaning head of an upright type of vacuum cleaner.

Description

A Cleaning Head

This invention relates to a cleaning head for use with, or which forms part of, a vacuum cleaner.

Cylinder or canister vacuum cleaners, as shown in Figure 1, generally comprise a main body 10 which contains separating apparatus 11 such as a cyclonic separator or a bag for separating dirt and dust from an incoming dirty airflow. The dirty airflow is introduced to the main body 10 via a hose 15 and wand 16 assembly which is connected to the main body 10. The main body 10 of the cleaner is dragged along by the hose as a user moves around a room. A cleaning tool 20 is attached to the remote end 17 of the hose and wand assembly. A range of cleaning tools are usually supplied so that a user can choose an appropriate tool for their cleaning task, such as crevice tool and a brush tool. The cleaning tool which is used for general cleaning is a floor tool 20.

While floor tools of the kind shown in Figure 1 work well on hard floor surfaces, they are less effective on carpeted floors where hair, fluff and other fibrous material, collectively called 'lint', become trapped on the carpet. Thus, efforts have been made to improve the pick up performance of floor tools on carpeted floors. Some tools have a brush mounted in the suction inlet which is rotated so as to agitate the floor surface in the same manner as the brush bar of an upright vacuum cleaner. The brush can be rotated by the use of an air turbine or by an electric motor which is powered by a power supply derived from the main body of the cleaner. However, this type of tool is more expensive than the passive floor tool.

A floor tool is usually designed to cope with cleaning both hard floors, such as wooden floors, and carpeted surfaces. For cleaning carpeted floors, a sole plate of the tool rides along the carpeted surface. For cleaning hard floors, one or more rows of bristles extend down from the tool and serve to support the tool on the hard floor so that the sole plate does not scrape against the floor surface. The suction channel of the sole plate remains active. The bristles also serve to maintain a region of low pressure beneath the tool so as to optimise the pick-up performance of the tool on dust. The lower edge of the row of bristles usually has a crenellated profile so that any small debris on the floor can pass through the notches and be sucked into the area beneath the sole plate of the tool. Without these notches, large debris would simply be pushed along by the bristles rather than being picked up by the tool. However, the presence of the notches in the row of bristles reduces the pick-up performance of the tool on dust.

US 4,499,628 describes a vacuum cleaner which has openings in the front wall of the vacuum cleaning head which are opened only when the cleaning head is pressed against a wall, so as to improve pick-up of material from the region directly next to the wall.

The present invention seeks to provide a floor tool which has improved pick-up performance.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a cleaning head for vacuum cleaning floor surfaces comprising a suction housing having:

- a first suction opening for facing the floor surface and for removing material from the floor surface, the first suction opening being defined by a wall of the housing or by a skirt which depends from the housing, and

- a second suction opening for removing material from the floor surface, wherein the second suction opening is positioned on the front of the cleaning head, in front of the wall or skirt, and is positioned further from the floor surface than the first suction opening so as, in use, to remove material which would otherwise be pushed along by the wall or the skirt as the cleaning head is moved across the floor surface.

By providing a second suction opening larger debris can be reliably sucked away by the tool. Since larger (non dust) debris is carried by the suction channel, the first suction opening can be designed in a way that offers good pick-up performance on finer material and on retrieving material from crevices. Indeed, preferably the skirt is a continuous skirt around the perimeter of the tool. A continuous skirt has the advantage of subjecting the region within the skirt to a strong suction, without being compromised by the presence of notches in the skirt. Thus, the tool has good pick-up performance on both large debris and fine dirt and dust.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a known vacuum cleaner and floor tool in accordance with the prior art;

Figure 2 shows the floor tool of Figure 1 in more detail;

Figure 3 shows, in schematic form, a floor tool in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 4 shows, in schematic form, an alternative embodiment of the invention;

Figure 5 shows the embodiment of Figure 4 in more detail;

Figure 6 is a cross section through the floor tool shown in Figure 5 with the sole plate in a lowered position;

Figure 7 shows the lower face of the floor tool of Figures 5 and 6;

Figures 8 and 9 are further cross sections through the floor tool of Figures 5-7 with the tool in alternative configurations;

Figures 10 and 11 show, in schematic form, the action of the sole plate;

Figure 12 shows in detail, the passage of debris into the floor tool during a hard floor mode of cleaning operation; Figure 13 shows a map of the pressures within a floor tool of the type shown in Figure 12;

Figures 14A and 14B show the effect of using the floor tool on a floor surface having a crevice;

Figures 15 and 16 show an alternative embodiment of the floor tool;

Figures 17 and 18 show another alternative embodiment of the floor tool;

Figure 19 shows an embodiment of the invention applied to a cleaner head of an upright cleaner;

Figures 20-22 show a modification to the floor tool which allows a user to control the flow of air into the floor tool.

Figure 3 shows, in simplified form, the components of a floor tool in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention. The main components of the tool 200 are a main chassis 210, a sole plate 250, a wand connector 240 for connecting to a wand or hose of a vacuum cleaner, a connecting arm 230 which connects the chassis 210 to the wand connector 240 and a hose 235 for carrying airflow from the sole plate 250 to the wand connector 240. The sole plate defines an air inlet 255 which, in use, faces the floor surface and extends transversely across the full width of the tool. The chassis 210 is provided with wheels 221 to allow it to move across a floor surface. The wand connector 240 is dimensioned so as to mate with a wand (i.e. a pipe or a set of telescopic pipes) of a vacuum cleaner. The wand connector 240 is connected to the chassis 210 by a connecting arm 230. A first end of the connecting arm 230 is pivotably connected to the wand connector 240 by a joint 231. The other end of the connecting arm 230 is pivotably connected, by joint 232, to the chassis 210. Connecting arm 230 provides a mechanical connection between the wand connector 240 and chassis 210 and thus it serves to transmit the force exerted by a user on the wand to the chassis 210. The connecting arm 230 can be formed as an airflow conduit for carrying airflow from the sole plate 250 to the wand connector 240. In this case, joints 231, 232 are articulated, airtight, joints which maintain an airtight seal between the connecting arm conduit 230 and the outlet of the sole plate 250 and the inlet of the wand connector 240 as these parts move with respect to one another. Alternatively, as is shown in Figure 3, the airflow between the sole plate 250 and wand connector 240 can be carried by a flexible conduit 235 which is separate from the connecting arm 230. The use of a flexible conduit to carry the airflow allows a more reliable seal to be formed between the wand connector 240 and the connecting arm 230 which will remain airtight over a range of relative positions of the two parts. Thus, this solution can be cheaper and more reliable.

The provision of a pivotable joint 231, 232 at each end of the connecting arm 230 allows the wand connector 240, and the wand or hose fitted to the wand connector 240, to be moved through a wide range of operating positions with respect to the chassis 210. Furthermore, the chassis 210 and hence the sole plate 250 remain in a stable position throughout the range of operating positions.

It is preferable that the connecting arm is pivotably supported to the sole plate 250 and that the axis about which the sole plate pivots is coincident with the axis 232 about which the connecting arm 230 pivots about the chassis 210. Also, it is preferable for the sole plate to be pivotably supported at a position which lies directly above the centre of the suction channel 255. The connection between the sole plate 250 and the chassis 110 allows a limited degree of movement between these parts. This is achieved by mounting stops on the chassis 210 at each permitted extent of the path of the sole plate.

It is common for a floor tool to be operable in both a carpet cleaning mode, where the sole plate rides along the floor surface, and a hard floor cleaning mode where a flexible skirt of some kind is brought into contact with the floor surface and the sole plate is spaced from the hard floor surface. The tool shown in Figure 3 can be provided with a skirt 270 (shown in broken lines) which surrounds the sole plate 250 and which is movable from the raised position shown in Figure 3 to a lowered position where it lies beneath the sole plate 250.

An alternative to moving the skirt 270 is for the skirt 270 to remain fixed and to raise or lower the sole plate 250 itself. The tool which is shown in detail in Figures 5-9 has a movable sole plate 250 of this kind. Before describing this tool in detail, Figure 4 shows the main components of the tool. Many of the components are the same as for the tool just described with reference to Figure 3. The differences are in the mechanism which links the connecting arm 230 to the chassis 210. In Figure 3 the connecting arm 230 pivots directly about the chassis 210 whereas in Figure 4 connecting arm 230 is linked to the chassis 210 via two intermediate arms 234a, 234b. In carpet floor mode the sole plate 250 engages with the floor surface. Sole plate 250 is free to pivot directly about the connecting arm 230. In hard floor cleaning mode the sole plate is raised and rotated into a cavity within the chassis 210. It will be appreciated that the two intermediate arms 234a, 234b simply link the connecting arm 230 to the chassis 210 in a manner that allows the sole plate 250 to be lowered or raised. In the configuration shown in Figure 4 the two intermediate arms 234a, 234b are locked in position and do not move. Similarly, in the configuration where the sole plate is raised, the intermediate arms are locked in a different position. In both configurations the connecting arm 230 effectively pivots about the chassis 210.

Referring now to Figures 5-9, these show a preferred embodiment of the floor tool in detail. As before, the main components of the tool 200 are a main chassis 210, a sole plate 250, a wand connector 240 for connecting to a wand or hose of a vacuum cleaner and a connecting arm 230 and a hose 235 for connecting the wand connector 240 to the chassis 210. The chassis 210 is provided with wheels 221 which allow the chassis 210 to move across the surface of a floor. A short axle 222 is secured to, and extends outwardly from each side of, the chassis 210. A wheel 221, 223 is rotatably secured on each of the axles 222 so as to allow movement of the tool across a floor surface. It will be appreciated that the two short axles 222 could be replaced by a single axle which extends across the full width of the chassis, the wheels could be replaced by rollers, by skids on the lower surface of the tool, or by some other means for allowing the floor tool to move across the surface of a floor.

A wand connector 240 is located at the rear of the tool. The wand connector 240 is dimensioned so as to mate with a wand (16, Figure 1) of a vacuum cleaner. A release mechanism for the wand comprises a manually operable button 241 which is connected to a catch 242. Other connecting schemes could be used, such as a simple interference fit between the respective sleeves of the wand connector 240 and the wand. The wand connector 240 is connected to the chassis 210 by a connecting assembly 230, 234. The connecting assembly comprises a connecting arm 230 and intermediate arms 234a, 234b. A first end of the connecting arm 230 is pivotably connected to the wand connector 240 by a joint 231. The other end of the connecting arm 230 is pivotably connected, by joint 232, to a first intermediate arm 234a. The other end of the intermediate arm 234a carries a peg which is constrained to slide within a slot formed on the inner wall of a first end of the second intermediate arm 234b. The other end of intermediate arm 234b is pivotably connected to the upper face of the chassis 210. A flexible hose, shown as broken line 235, connects the wand connector 240 directly to the sole plate 250. A first end of the hose 235 is sealed in an airtight manner against the suction outlet of the sole plate and the second end is sealed in an airtight manner against the wand connector 240. The provision of a pivotable joint 231, 232 at each end of the connecting arm 230 allows the wand connector 240, and the wand or hose fitted to the wand connector 240, to be moved through a wide range of positions with respect to the chassis 210. Furthermore, the chassis 210 remains in a stable position throughout the range of positions. Conveying the airflow between the sole plate 250 and wand connector 240 by a flexible hose 235 which is separate from the connecting arm 230 permits an even greater degree of freedom of movement of the wand connected to the tool. The arrangement of intermediate arms 234a, 234b between the connecting arm 230 and chassis 210 is required in order to allow the sole plate 250 to move between a working position and a retracted position, as will be described later. In a simpler tool, such as the one shown previously in Figure 2, the sole plate 250, chassis 210 and connecting arm 230 can all share the same pivot shaft, such that the sole plate pivots about the chassis 210 and the connecting arm 230 can pivot freely about the sole plate 250 and chassis 210.

A sole plate 250 is pivotably mounted to the connecting arm 230 and first intermediate arm 234a of the connecting assembly towards the front of the chassis. Two flanges 280 extend upwardly from the upper face of the sole plate 250. An aperture in each flange 280 is rotatably held by a peg 233 on each side of the intermediate arm 234a. The sole plate 250 is free to rotate, within a limited angular range, about the arm 234a. The axis of the joint between the connecting arm 230 and intermediate arm 234 is coincident with the axis of the joint between the intermediate arm 234 and the sole plate 250 such that force applied by a user to the wand connector and hence the connecting arm 230, is transmitted directly to the sole plate 250.

The sole plate 250 of the tool will now be described in more detail. The floor tool 200 can be used in a carpet cleaning mode, where the sole plate 250 engages with, and rides along, the floor, or in a 'hard floor' mode where a flexible skirt 270 rides along the floor surface and the sole plate is spaced from the floor.

Figures 6 and 9 show the sole plate 250 deployed in a carpet cleaning mode. The sole plate 250 is shown in profile in Figure 6 and the lower, plan view of the sole plate is shown in Figure 7. The sole plate 250 has a centrally mounted air inlet 256. Two suction channels 255 extend transversely across the tool from each side of the inlet 256.

Each channel 255 terminates in a bleed air inlet on the side of the sole plate. The lower face of the sole plate has two spaced apart sharply defined edges 252, 253 which will be called working edges. The forward working edge 252 is defined by the intersection between the inner wall of the suction channel and a planar surface 254a on the lower face of the sole plate. Similarly, the rear working edge 253 is defined by the intersection between the inner wall of the suction channel and a planar surface 254b on the lower face of the sole plate. The working edges 252, 253 are sharply defined, as shown in Figure 6, so as to provide an effective agitating action when the floor tool is used on carpeted surfaces. This agitating effect is further enhanced by the pivotal connection between the sole plate 250 and connection member 230. A small radius of curvature has been found to be provide an effective agitating action on floor surfaces. The working edges 252, 253 extend across the full width of the floor tool. Lint pickers 258, 259 are positioned on the planar surfaces 254a, 254b and are spaced from the working edges 252, 253 so that the working edges can perform an agitating action on carpeted surfaces across their full width. Each of the lint pickers 258, 259 is of a conventional type, comprising a strip of material in which a plurality of tufts of fine fibre are secured. Each lint picker 258, 259 is secured on an arcuately-shaped support that extends outwardly from the planar surface 254a, 254b on which it is located. The spacing of the lint pickers 258, 259 from the adjacent working edge 252, 253 can be varied from the spacing as shown in the drawings. The use of lint pickers causes an increase in the force that a user requires to push or pull the floor tool across a floor surface. It would be possible to increase the width of the lint pickers 258, 259 to the full width of the floor tool although this would incur an increase in the push force required by a user.

Figures 10 and 11 show how the sole plate 250 of the floor tool 200 operates in use. Firstly, Figure 10 shows the sole plate 250 as it is pushed forwardly across a floor surface. As the tool is pushed forwardly, the sole plate 250 rotates about pivot 247, bringing the forward working edge 252 into closer contact with the floor surface than the rear working edge 253. The sharp edge 252 has an effective agitating effect on the surface, parting the pile of the surface and releasing dirt in a flicking action. As dirt is released, it is swept along the suction channel 254, 255 by the airflow in the suction channel towards suction inlet 256. Also, forward lint picker 258 is brought into contact with the floor surface. In its lowered position, the forward lint picker 258 allows lint to pass. The rear lint picker 259 remains close enough to the surface to serve a useful blocking action on lint.

Figure 11 shows the floor tool 200 as it is pushed rearwardly across a floor surface. As the tool is pushed rearwardly, the sole plate 250 rotates about pivot 247 bringing the rear working edge 253 into closer contact with the floor surface than the forward working edge 252. The sharp edge 253 has the same effect as forward edge 252 did during the forward action, i.e. it agitates the surface, parting the pile of the surface and releasing dirt in a flicking action. Dirt is swept along the suction channel 254, 255 by the airflow in the suction channel towards suction inlet 256. Rear lint picker 259 is brought into contact with the floor surface and allows lint to pass. The forward lint picker 258, while raised higher than it would be during the forward action, remains close enough to the surface to block the passage of lint. It can be seen that once the floor tool has passed over lint, the lint becomes trapped between the lint pickers and is prised from the surface.

As described above, in a hard floor cleaning mode the sole plate 250 is spaced away from the floor surface. In the embodiment shown in Figures 7,8 and 12 this is achieved by retracting the sole plate 250 within the chassis such that only skirt 270 rests against the floor surface. The skirt is formed as a dense curtain of fibres, such as Nylon fibres, which are secured, such as by crimping, to the sole plate 250. The sole plate 250 is retractable into the position shown in Figure 7, with the lower surface of the sole plate being inclined with respect to the plane of the suction opening. Skirt 270 forms a continuous curtain around the suction opening and serves to maintain a region of low pressure adjacent the floor surface. A bumper 265 on the forward edge of the chassis 210 defines a suction channel 260 which is directed downwardly towards the floor surface and extends across the full width of the tool. The bumper 265 is sufficiently spaced above the lowermost extent of the skirt (see C, Figure 12) such that large debris 269 can pass beneath the bumper where it will lie beneath suction channel 260. Suction channel 260 communicates with the suction chamber within the chassis 210 via a conduit 262 into the main suction space within the chassis 210. The sole plate 250 is inclined in a direction such that airflow from channel 260 can easily flow around the lower surface of the sole plate 250 and then along the suction channels 254, 255 towards the suction inlet 256. Thus, airflow from channel 260 combines with airflow that is drawn beneath the skirt 270. Figure 12 shows the path taken by air and debris when the floor tool is used in hard floor cleaning mode. Figure 13 is a cross section through the floor tool, showing an approximate map of pressures existing within the tool, the denser shading indicating the lower pressure regions. Figures 14A and 14B show the effect of using the floor tool on a surface. These figures show a plan view of the floor tool, moving in direction X across a floor surface. A region of low pressure is maintained within the skirted region of the tool, adjacent the floor surface. Thus, any dust lying within this region will be carried towards the suction inlet 256. A steady flow of air enters the tool via the suction inlet 260. This flow of air helps to maintain good separation efficiency within the separation system (11, Figure 1) of the vacuum cleaner and is particularly important with a cyclonic separation system, such as one that uses a bank of parallel cyclonic separators. The flow of air through channel 260, and the spacing of the channel 260 from the floor surface helps to pick up any large debris from the floor surface. This debris would otherwise be pushed along the floor by the skirt 270. The continuous skirt 270 maintains a region of low pressure within the tool. This also helps to provide good pick-up from crevices 300 on the floor surface. As shown in Figure 14B, as the tool moves across a crevice, the region of low pressure within the tool is connected to a region of ambient pressure outside the tool via the crevice 300. Thus, air flows from outside the tool, through the crevice 300, to the region of low pressure inside the tool, carrying any dust and debris from the crevice 300 along with the airflow.

Figures 15 and 16 show an alternative embodiment of the floor tool. In common with the previous embodiment, the tool is operable in both a carpet cleaning mode and a hard floor cleaning mode. Also, when in a hard floor cleaning mode, a suction channel 455 is provided outside the skirt of the suction opening for gathering large debris. This tool differs from the previous embodiment in that the suction channel 455 is provided by the sole plate 450 itself. In the previous embodiment the sole plate 250 was located within the main suction opening and was retractable so as to allow air to flow into the suction opening. In this embodiment the skirted suction opening 470 for use in the carpet cleaning mode is movable between a retracted position (as shown in Figure 15) and a deployed position (as shown in Figure 16). The sldrted suction opening 470 is supported by an arm 420 which is sufficiently long that the skirted suction opening 470, when it is brought into the deployed position, is closer to the floor surface than the sole plate 450, i.e. the sole plate 450 is raised above the floor surface. The chassis of the tool has a valve, such as a barrel valve mechanism, which seals the inlet to the sldrted suction opening 470 in the carpet cleaning mode. During hard floor cleaning, the suction channel 455 of the sole plate 450 performs the same function as the suction channel 260 in the previous embodiment in that it provides a downwardly-directed suction opening for collecting debris which would otherwise be pushed along by the skirted suction opening 470 of the tool. Also, the skirted suction opening 470 provides good pick-up performance on crevices as it has a continuous skirt.

Figures 17 and 18 show another alternative embodiment of the floor tool. This is a tool which is only for use with hard floors. In common with the tools previously shown, tool 500 has a suction opening 555 which is surrounded by a skirt 570. It also has a further suction opening 560 at the front of the tool which lies outside of the skirted region. Thus, good suction is achieved within the skirted region 555 and large debris can also be removed from the floor via opening 560. The tool differs from the ones shown in previous embodiments in that there is no sole plate for use on carpeted floors.

The embodiments described above all relate to floor tools which can be fitted to a cleaning wand. However, the feature of a secondary suction opening which lies outside of the main suction opening can be applied to an upright cleaner. Figure 19 shows a cleaner head assembly 600 of an upright type of cleaner. The cleaner head assembly

600 has a cleaner head body 610 and a brush housing 620. The brush housing 620 is pivotably mounted on the front portion of the cleaner head body 610. A suction opening 655 is formed in the lower face of the brush housing 620 and extends across the entire width of the brush housing 620. A brush bar 630 is rotatably mounted in the brush housing 620 so that the bristles of the brush bar 630 protrude slightly out of the suction opening 655. The brush bar 630 is arranged to be driven by the motor of the vacuum cleaner in a conventional manner, for example, by way of a drive belt. The brush housing 620 has an air outlet 625 for connecting the brush housing 620 to an air inlet 635 on the main body of the vacuum cleaner. The brush housing 620 has a secondary air inlet 660 on a forward face of the housing 620. The secondary inlet takes the form of a bumper which protrudes forwardly from the housing 620 and has a downwardly extending, floor facing, opening. In use, air and debris from the floor surface is carried through the secondary inlet 660 and into the brush housing 620 via an aperture in the front wall of the brush housing 620. The secondary inlet can be positioned on just the forward edge of the cleaner head or it can be positioned or one or more of the front, rear and sides of the cleaner head.

Figures 20-22 show a further modification to the floor tool in which the amount of air which bleeds into the tool can be manually controlled. Figure 20 shows a modified form 250' of the sole plate 250 of the floor tool which has previously been described. As before, each side of the main suction channel 255 of the tool has an inlet aperture 290 through which, in use, air can bleed into the suction channel 255 during carpet cleaning mode. In this modified sole plate a valve 295 is fitted on the side of the sole plate. The valve is movable between an open position, as shown in Figure 21, in which a maximum amount of air can bleed into the suction channel 255, and a closed position, as shown in Figure 22, in which a lesser amount of air can bleed into the suction channel 255. The valve can be manually slid in direction 299 between the two positions. A pair of depressions 296 on the upper face of the sole plate cooperate with a small projection on the underside of the valve (not shown) to allow the valve to be positively held in each of the two positions. The sole plate 250' is further modified from sole plate 250 in that an additional bleed air inlet 292 is located on the upper face of the sole plate. A similar inlet 292 is positioned on each side of the sole plate. As can be seen in Figures 21 and 22, the valve seals the inlet 292 in the closed position.

In use, a user can set the valves 295 on each side of the sole plate to the same position (e.g. both valves open) or to different positions (i.e. one valve open, one valve closed), so as to select the amount of bled air and hence push resistance that they feel happy with. The amount of push resistance will vary between floor coverings and different users will prefer different amounts of push resistance. In a further modification the valves 295 can be arranged such that they offer a wider range of settings. This can be achieved with an inlet 290 which varies in height in the direction 299 and a valve which can be positioned in a greater number of positions (e.g. three different positions.) The valves can be applied to a floor tool, as shown here, or to the cleaning head of an upright vacuum cleaner of the type shown in Figure 19. In the closed position, the valve can be arranged to admit a small amount of bled air (as shown in Figure 22) or no bled air at all.

Claims

1. A cleaning head for vacuum cleaning floor surfaces comprising a suction housing having: - a first suction opening for facing the floor surface and for removing material from the floor surface, the first suction opening being defined by a wall of the housing or by a skirt which depends from the housing, and

2. A cleaning head according to claim 1 wherein the first suction opening is completely surrounded by the skirt.

3. A cleaning head according to claim 1 or 2 further comprising a sole plate which is located within the skirt and which is movable between a working position, in which it is positioned nearer the floor than the skirt, and a retracted position, in which it is positioned further from the floor than the skirt.

4. A cleaning head according to claim 3 wherein the sole plate is retractable within the suction housing and the second suction opening communicates with the interior of the suction housing via an inlet, and wherein, in the retracted position, the sole plate lies in a position which is inclined towards the inlet from the second suction opening.

5. A cleaning head according to claim 2 or 3 wherein the second suction opening is a sole plate for use during soft floor cleaning, the sole plate being movable between a retracted position, in which it is positioned further from the floor than the skirt, and a working position in which it is positioned nearer the floor than the skirt.

6. A cleaning head according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the second suction opening extends across the full width of the cleaning head.

7. A cleaning head according to any one of the preceding claims in the form of a floor cleaning tool for a vacuum cleaner.

8. A cleaning head according to any one of claims 1 to 6 in the form of a cleaning head for an upright type of vacuum cleaner.

9. A cleaning head substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.