Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

James Dyson is a brillant conceptual engineer, but he is not a design engineer to nearly the same degree. He designed a new concept around a vacuum cleaner. What his imitators are doing now is designing their vacuum cleaners around what is now a commonplace concept.  Mr. Dyson made vacuums that are novel, and admittedly fuctional in that they maintain their cleaning power much longer than vacuums equipped with the paper bags of approximately 20 years ago. However, by no stretch of the imagination did he build vacuum cleaners which are attractive (downright fanny ugly) nor convenient, not compared to many he had to compete against. To avoid having a height adjustment he designed a failure-prone clutch assembly which is not inexpensive to repair. (Oh ye who dibelieve, talk to the vac shops waiting on repair parts on back order from Dyson) The hose/wand is inconvenient (Actually his imitator, Amway, had the optimum solution, a lever to switch suction from floor to hose, and a short stetch hose with a crevice tool on board. The addition of a telescopic wand, dust brush, and upholstery tool on board would have allowed the operator to vacuum with the vacuum handle in one hand, and the hose/wand in the other and switch from one to the other with the flick of a toe. The Sharp bagless had this arrangement, and it is the most convenient upright to use simultaneuoslty with OBT of any that have ever been manufactured. Eureka/Lux has a few BUT, the switch from floor to above-the-floor is acheived with a dial which must be operated by hand.

The important issue to remember is that the bagless concept has now been rendered obsolete by the new bags made from 3M Filtrete paper/cloth. They have been proved in Miele, Sanitaire, Kirby and other brands to maintain nealy 100% of their initial cleaning power as they fill with dirt. The dirt in these bags is compacted as the bag fills, in the bagless machines it is fluffed and looks like more than it really is. If you don't have to change the bags as often as you would have to empty a dirt container, and if the bags are more sanitary and convenient, what are the advantages of a bagless unit, even a Dyson? Cost? It is just paper, not hide flayed from anyone's back. Does anyone track how much bathroom tissue, facial tissue, paper plates and paper towels they use annually? If not, what is all the fuss and to-do about the cost of 6 to 8 bags a year? Nothing but hype, and it is ludicrous. James Dyson you have had your 15min of fame, is that all you've got?

With the exception of plastic ware (rubbermaid, tupperware0 the condesnsation drying works just great in my Bosch d/w

About the cost of bags, it is a well-nown fact that Electrolux mage more money off of bag sales than cleaner sales for a good many years.  A 3.00 tube of toothpast costs what, .25 to make? A 1.50 fountain soft drink is .003 or something like that? Everybody needs to be paid for his/her contribution to whatever the product is. I really get tired of people disparaging 'the middle man" . The wholesaler to the supplier to the retailer are necessary steps in the chain of distribution. Call up the Kirby factory and say "I'd like to but ONE Kirby, please, at Area Supervisor cost! Yeah, right! Direct from the mill or direct from the factory outlets are often not that much cheaper than discount stores because there is still a storefront to be mainatined, sales help to be paid. People walk into a 'factory direct' operation and expect the same help they would get in a full-service department store. If it's a factory direct operation you should have done your research, know what you want, and be able to say, "I want that one!" and hear "Yes,sir, will that be cash, check, or charge, and did you want the extended service plan for just xx.xx?

http://alpha.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Patents/2009/55.html

...for the recent case notes of the Dyson Technology v Samsung Gwangju Electronics.