U.S. patent application number 11/505412 was filed with the patent office on 2007-03-22 for vacuum cleaner.
This patent application is currently assigned to Daewoo Electronics Corporation. Invention is credited to Sang Bo Kang.
Application Number | 20070061998 11/505412 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37621338 |
Filed Date | 2007-03-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070061998 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kang; Sang Bo |
March 22, 2007 |
Vacuum cleaner
Abstract
Disclosed herein is a vacuum cleaner. The vacuum cleaner
comprises a main body, a dust container installed to the main body,
and a handle formed at an outer periphery of the dust container and
having a fastening part to allow the dust container to be
detachably fastened to the main body. The fastening part is formed
to the handle of the dust container such that the dust container is
easily mounted in or separated from the main body of the vacuum
cleaner, and cannot be unintentionally separated from the main body
of the vacuum cleaner, thereby preventing a floor from being soiled
by contaminants due to an accidental opening of the dust container,
and thus enhancing convenience of a user.
Inventors: |
Kang; Sang Bo; (Incheon-si,
KR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
NATH & ASSOCIATES PLLC
112 South West Street
Alexandria
VA
22314
US
|
Assignee: |
Daewoo Electronics
Corporation
Seoul
KR
|
Family ID: |
37621338 |
Appl. No.: |
11/505412 |
Filed: |
August 17, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
15/352 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47L 9/1691 20130101;
A47L 5/28 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
015/352 |
International
Class: |
A47L 9/10 20060101
A47L009/10 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Aug 18, 2005 |
KR |
10-2005-75739 |
Claims
1. A vacuum cleaner, comprising: a main body; a dust container
installed to the main body; and a handle formed at an outer
periphery of the dust container, and having a fastening part by
which the dust container is detachably fastened to the main
body.
2. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the fastening
part comprises a lever formed inside the handle, and a latch member
capable of moving up and down through left and right movements of
the lever, the main body being formed under an upper surface
thereof with a latch groove corresponding to the latch member.
3. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 2, wherein the latch
member has a slanted surface formed at an upper end to allow easy
fastening of the dust container to the main body.
4. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 2, wherein the latch
member is provided at a lower end with a resilient member to return
the latch member to its original position.
5. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 2, wherein the lever is
provided at a rear side with a resilient member to return the latch
member to its original position.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner, and, more
particularly, to a vacuum cleaner, which comprises a main body, a
dust container installed in the main body, and a handle formed at
an outer periphery of the dust container and having a fastening
part formed thereto to fasten the dust container to the main body
such that, when the dust container is mounted to the main body, it
cannot be unintentionally separated from the main body of the
vacuum cleaner, thereby preventing a floor from being soiled by
contaminants due to an accidental opening of the dust container,
and thus enhancing convenience of a user.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Generally, vacuum cleaners suck dust and other foreign
substances scattered on floors, walls, small gaps and the like in a
room via a suction force by rotation of a motor mounted in a main
body, and then collect the dust and the other foreign substances
using a dust container positioned therein while allowing air to be
discharged to an outside.
[0005] According to dust collection manners, the vacuum cleaners
can be classified into a bag type vacuum cleaner which employs a
dust bag, and a bagless type vacuum cleaner which collects dust in
a dust container without using the dust bag, and then empties the
dust container filled with the dust and other foreign
substances.
[0006] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view schematically
illustrating a conventional bagless type vacuum cleaner, and FIG. 2
is a rear perspective view of the vacuum cleaner shown in FIG.
1.
[0007] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional bagless type
vacuum cleaner comprises a main body case 11, a vacuum motor (not
shown) positioned within the main body case 11, a suction nozzle 13
to suck dust and other foreign substances scattered on a floor
using a suction force generated from the motor, a dust container 20
to collect the dust and the like sucked through the suction nozzle
13, and air outlets 12 through which air having passed the dust
container 20 is discharged to the outside.
[0008] The vacuum cleaner further comprises an electric wire 50
through which power is supplied to the motor, an extension pipe 60
used for cleaning spaces such as small gaps and the like other than
the floor, and a flexible hose 40 coupled to the extension pipe
60.
[0009] Description will be made of operation of the vacuum cleaner
hereinafter. At first, when power is applied to the motor through
the electric wire 50, the motor within the main body case 11
rotates and generates a suction force.
[0010] Then, dust and other foreign substances are sucked along
with air through the suction nozzle 13, and collected in the dust
container 20 while the air is discharged to the outside through the
air outlets 12 after passing the dust container 20.
[0011] FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically illustrating the
vacuum cleaner and the dust container mounted therein.
[0012] As shown in FIG. 3, the dust container of the conventional
bagless type vacuum cleaner has a handle 30 formed at an outer
periphery of the dust container 20 such that a user grips the dust
container 20 therewith.
[0013] As cleaning is performed, dust and other foreign substances
are accumulated in the dust container 20. Thus, for the case where
the dust container 20 is installed in a drawer type manner to a
main body 10 without any securing device, the dust container 20 can
be accidentally separated from the main body 10, and fall on the
floor, causing the dust and other foreign substances to pour out
from the dust container 20, and making the floor dirty.
Accordingly, there is a need of an improved vacuum cleaner which
overcomes this problem.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0014] Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of
the above problem of the conventional vacuum cleaner, and it is an
object of the present invention to provide a vacuum cleaner, which
comprises a fastening part formed to a handle of a dust container
such that the dust container cannot be unintentionally separated
from a main body of the vacuum cleaner, thereby preventing a floor
from being soiled by contaminants such as dust and other foreign
substances due to an accidental opening of the dust container.
[0015] In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, the
above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of a
vacuum cleaner, comprising: a main body; a dust container installed
to the main body; and a handle formed at an outer periphery of the
dust container, and having a fastening part by which the dust
container is detachably fastened to the main body.
[0016] Preferably, the fastening part comprises a lever formed
inside the handle, and a latch member capable of moving up and down
through left and right movements of the lever, the main body being
formed under an upper surface thereof with a latch groove
corresponding to the latch member.
[0017] More preferably, the latch member has a slanted surface
formed at an upper end to allow easy fastening of the dust
container to the main body.
[0018] More preferably, the latch member is provided at a lower end
with a resilient member to return the latch member to its original
position.
[0019] More preferably, the lever is provided at a rear side with a
resilient member to return the latch member to its original
position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] The above and other objects, features and other advantages
of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the
following detailed description taken in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings, in which:
[0021] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view schematically
illustrating a conventional bagless type vacuum cleaner;
[0022] FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the vacuum cleaner of
FIG. 1;
[0023] FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically illustrating the
vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1, and a dust container mounted therein;
[0024] FIG. 4 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a
bagless type vacuum cleaner according to the present invention, and
a dust container mounted therein;
[0025] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the vacuum
cleaner of FIG. 4, and the dust container mounted therein; and
[0026] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the vacuum
cleaner of FIG. 5 in which a resilient member is installed in a
modified location, and the dust container mounted therein.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0027] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be
described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings as
follows.
[0028] FIG. 4 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a
bagless type vacuum cleaner according to the present invention, and
a dust container mounted therein, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view
illustrating the vacuum cleaner of FIG. 4, and the dust container
mounted therein, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating
the vacuum cleaner of FIG. 5 in which a resilient member is
installed in a modified location, and the dust container mounted
therein.
[0029] Referring to FIGS. 4 to 6, the vacuum cleaner according to
the present invention comprises a main body 10 and a dust container
20 installed within the main body 10.
[0030] The main body 10 comprises a main body case 11, a vacuum
motor (not shown) positioned within the main body case 11, a
suction nozzle 13 to suck dust and other foreign substances
scattered on a floor using a suction force from the motor, a dust
container 20 to collect the dust sucked through the suction nozzle
13, and air outlets 12 through which air is discharged to the
outside.
[0031] The main body case 11 is formed under an upper surface
thereof with a latch groove 38, corresponding to a latch member 33
of a handle 30 described below, such that, when the dust container
20 is mounted to the main body 10, it can be fastened thereto by
the latch groove and the latch member.
[0032] The dust container 20 is mounted in the main body 10 so as
to collect dust and foreign substances sucked through the suction
nozzle 13 therein. Then, when the dust container 20 is filled with
the dust and foreign substances, it is taken out from the main body
10, and emptied of the dust and foreign substances.
[0033] The handle 30 is formed at an outer periphery of the dust
container 20 such that the dust container 20 can be easily mounted
into or separated from the main body 10 with the handle.
[0034] The handle 30 is formed with the fastening part 31 by which
the dust container 20 can be detachably fastened to the main body
10.
[0035] The fastening part, 31 comprises a lever 32, a latch member
33, and a spring 34.
[0036] The lever 32 is hingably coupled to an inner side of the
handle 30 by a rotational shaft 35.
[0037] One side of the lever 32 is formed with a plurality of
concaves to prevent slippage of user's hand when pulling the lever
32, and the other side of the lever 32 is coupled to the latch
member 33 via a hinge part 36.
[0038] One end of the latch member 33 is coupled to the lever 32
via the hinge part 36, and the other end of the latch member 33 is
formed with a slanted surface facing the main body 10 such that,
when mounting the dust container 20 into the main body 10, the dust
container 20 can be spontaneously mounted therein only by pushing
the dust container 20 into the main body 10 without pulling the
lever 32.
[0039] The spring 34 is installed at a lower end of the latch
member 33 where the latch member 33 is coupled to the lever 32, and
serves to return the latch member 33 to its original location when
external force is not applied to the lever 33.
[0040] In accordance with another embodiment of the present
invention, the spring 34 is installed between a rear side of the
lever 32 and the inner side of the handle 30 in order to return the
latch member 33 to its original location when the external force is
not applied to the lever 33.
[0041] The handle 50 is further formed with a guide 37 surrounding
the latch member 33 to guide a vertical movement of the latch
member 33 without rocking.
[0042] The hinge part 36 is formed with a longitudinally elongated
hinge hole to allow the latch member 33 to be vertically moved by
hinge movement of the lever 32.
[0043] Operation of the fastening part 31 of the handle 30
constructed as above will be described hereinafter.
[0044] In the case of taking out the dust container 20 from the
main body 10 in order to empty the dust container 20 filled with
dust and foreign substances, first, a user pulls the lever 32.
Then, the lever 32 is rotated around the rotational shaft 35, which
causes the latch member 33 connected to one side of the lever 32
via the hinge part 36 to move downwardly, whereby the upper end of
the latch member 33 inserted into the latch groove 38 emerges from
the latch groove 38, and releases the fastening part 31 from the
main body 20, thereby allowing the dust container 20 to be
separated from the main body 10.
[0045] On the other hand, in the case of mounting the dust
container 20 in the main body 10, first, the user pushes the dust
container 20 into the main body 10 without pulling the lever 32.
Then, since the upper end of the latch member 33 is inclined, the
latch member 33 is moved downward by means of the slanted surface
of the latch member 33 only by pushing the dust container 20 into
the main body 10 without any other action. Thereafter, when the
latch member 33 reaches the latch groove 38, the latch member 33
returns to its original location by a restoring force of the spring
34 positioned at the lower side of the latch member 33, and is
inserted into the latch groove 38, whereby the dust container 20 is
mounted and fastened to the main body 10.
[0046] Accordingly, the dust container 20 is fixedly fastened to
the main body, and is prevented from being separated therefrom.
[0047] According to the present invention, the fastening part is
formed to the handle of the dust container such that the dust
container is easily mounted into or separated from the main body of
the vacuum cleaner, and such that, when the dust container is
mounted in the main body, it cannot be unintentionally separated
from the main body of the vacuum cleaner, thereby preventing a
floor from being soiled by contaminants due to an accidental
opening of the dust container, and thus enhancing convenience of a
user.
[0048] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention
have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the
art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and
substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and
spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying
claims.
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