Vacuum cleaning device, comprising a unit with a movable surface for generating an oscillating airflow

1. Vacuum cleaning device comprising a unit for aerodynamically affecting at least one of dust particles and a surface to be cleaned in order for the particles to become dislodged from the surface and to be received by the unit, said unit comprising:

a housing having an internal space enclosed by a housing wall in which at least one opening is located;

a movable surface which is integrated in the housing wall; and

means for actuating the movable surface to effect an oscillating movement of said surface that causes air to alternately be drawn into the housing through the opening and expelled from the housing through the opening, where at least a portion of the housing wall in which the at least one opening is located is movably arranged in the unit.

2. Vacuum cleaning device according to claim 1 where the movably arranged portion of the housing wall and the movable surface are adapted to move cooperatively with each other.

3. Vacuum cleaning device according to claim 2 where the means for actuating the movable surface is adapted to produce an oscillating movement of the movable surface at a predetermined frequency and where the movably arranged portion of the housing wall is adapted to move repetitively at the same frequency.

4. Vacuum cleaning device according to claim 3 where the unit comprises means which are adapted to move along with the movably arranged portion of the housing wall and to mechanically transfer a substantial fraction of the movement to the movable surface.

5. Vacuum cleaning device according to claim 2 where the means for actuating the movable surface is adapted to produce an intermittent movement of the movable surface.

6. Vacuum cleaning device according to claim 2 where the movably arranged portion of the housing wall comprises a flexible component and where the opening is arranged in the flexible component.

7. Vacuum cleaning device according to claim 1 where means for agitating a surface to be cleaned during movement of the movably arranged portion of the housing wall is arranged on an external surface of the movably arranged portion of the housing wall.

8. Vacuum cleaning device according to claim 1 where the movably arranged portion of the housing wall is shaped like a cylinder wall having two end walls and a side wall extending between the end walls, where the opening is shaped like a slit extending along at least a substantial length of the side wall, and where the movable surface is arranged in one of the end walls.

9. Vacuum cleaning device according to claim 1 where the movably arranged portion of the housing wall is shaped like an assembly of a cylinder wall having two end walls and a side wall extending between the end walls and a tube-shaped element which is arranged on the side wall, where the opening is located at an end of the tube-shaped element and where the tube-shaped element has a substantially radial orientation with respect to a longitudinal axis of the cylinder wall.

10. Vacuum cleaning device according to claim 1 where the movably arranged portion of the housing wall is shaped like an assembly of a cylinder wall having two end walls and a side wall extending between the end walls and has a tube-shaped element which is arranged on the side wall, where the opening is located at an end of the tube-shaped element, and where the tube-shaped element has a substantially tangential orientation with respect to a longitudinal axis of the cylinder wall.

11. Vacuum cleaning device according to claim 1 where the actuating means is adapted to effect an oscillating movement of the movable surface that causes air to alternately be drawn into the housing through the opening from various directions at the opening and expelled from the housing through the opening in the form of a directed jet.

12. Vacuum cleaning device according to claim 11 where the actuating means is adapted to effect a movement of the movable surface with characteristics for ensuring that the following criterion is met:

f

*

d

v

≤

1

in which f is a frequency of the movement of the surface, d is a characteristic dimension of the opening, and v is an average velocity of the air in the opening in an outflow phase of a cycle of drawing in and expelling air.

13. Unit for use in a vacuum cleaning device for aerodynamically affecting at least one of dust particles and a surface to be cleaned in order for the particles to become dislodged from the surface and to be received by the unit, said unit comprising:

a housing having an internal space enclosed by a housing wall in which at least one opening is located,

a movable surface which is integrated in the housing wall; and

means for actuating the movable surface to effect an oscillating movement of said surface that causes air to alternately be drawn into the housing through the opening and expelled from the housing through the opening, where at least a portion of the housing wall in which the at least one opening is located, is movably arranged.

14. Unit according to claim 13 where the movably arranged portion of the housing wall and the movable surface are adapted to move cooperatively with each other.