U.S. patent application number 11/436536 was filed with the patent office on 2007-04-05 for suction brush for a vacuum cleaner.
This patent application is currently assigned to SAMSUNG GWANGJU ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Jung-hyeon Kim, Hyun-ju Lee, Jun-young Lee, Hwa-gyu Song, Dong-houn Yang, Jae-sun You.
Application Number | 20070074371 11/436536 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37563562 |
Filed Date | 2007-04-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070074371 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Song; Hwa-gyu ; et
al. |
April 5, 2007 |
Suction brush for a vacuum cleaner
Abstract
A suction brush for a vacuum cleaner including a body, the
bottom side of which is formed with a suction port; a cover for
covering the top side of the body; and an air jetting path for
absorbing ambient air from the bottom side of the body and jetting
the air toward a surface to be cleaned, to space the bottom side
from the surface to be cleaned.
Inventors: |
Song; Hwa-gyu;
(Gwangju-city, KR) ; Lee; Hyun-ju; (Gwangju-city,
KR) ; Yang; Dong-houn; (Gwangju-city, KR) ;
You; Jae-sun; (Gwangju-city, KR) ; Kim;
Jung-hyeon; (Yongin-si, KR) ; Lee; Jun-young;
(Yongin-si, KR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BLANK ROME LLP
600 NEW HAMPSHIRE AVENUE, N.W.
WASHINGTON
DC
20037
US
|
Assignee: |
SAMSUNG GWANGJU ELECTRONICS CO.,
LTD.
|
Family ID: |
37563562 |
Appl. No.: |
11/436536 |
Filed: |
May 19, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
15/421 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47L 9/02 20130101; A47L
7/06 20130101; A47L 9/08 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
015/421 |
International
Class: |
A47L 9/02 20060101
A47L009/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 4, 2005 |
KR |
2005-93114 |
Claims
1. A suction brush for a vacuum cleaner comprising: a body
including a bottom side with a suction port disposed therein; a
cover for covering a top side of the body; and an air jetting path
configured to absorb ambient air from the bottom side of the body
and jet the air toward a surface to be cleaned, to space the bottom
side from the surface to be cleaned.
2. A suction brush as claimed in claim 1, wherein the body
comprises an inflow opening formed remote from the suction port,
and at least one jetting hole formed around the suction port, and
the air is introduced into the air jetting path through the inflow
opening and discharged through the at least one jetting hole.
3. A suction brush as claimed in claim 2, wherein the body is
formed with a dust guide groove in the bottom side thereof to guide
air from the front and lateral sides of the body to the suction
port, and plural jetting holes are formed along the dust guide
groove.
4. A suction brush as claimed in claim 1, wherein the body
comprises a bottom panel having a dust guide groove to guide
dust-laden air from the front and lateral sides of the body to the
suction port, and a top panel interposed between the bottom panel
and the cover, and wherein the top and bottom panels are spaced
from each other, thereby forming an air suction gap for introducing
air from a lower side of the suction brush, and the bottom panel
having plural jetting holes formed along side portions of the dust
guide groove.
5. A suction brush as claimed in claim 4, wherein the air jetting
path is an air path for discharging the air introduced through the
air suction gap through the plural jetting holes via a space formed
between the top and bottom panels.
6. A suction brush as claimed in claim 4, wherein the air suction
gap is located at a position higher than that of the bottom side of
the bottom panel.
7. A suction brush for a vacuum cleaner, comprising: a body,
including: a suction port providing access to an air suction path,
an inflow opening remote from the suction port, a plurality of
jetting holes, and an air jetting path defined between the inflow
opening and the plurality of jetting holes, whereby the air jetting
path is separate from the air suction path.
8. A suction brush as claimed in claim 7, wherein air flowing
through the air jetting path travels in a direction generally
opposite to the air traveling in the air suction path.
9. A suction brush as claimed in claim 7, wherein the body includes
a dust guide groove in a bottom side thereof to guide air from
sides of the body to the suction port.
10. A suction brush as claimed in claim 7, wherein the body
includes first and second panels, one of the first and second
panels being wider than the other thereby defining an air suction
gap therebetween.
11. A suction brush as claimed in claim 10, wherein the air jetting
path discharges air introduced through the air suction gap through
the jetting holes.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent
Application No. 2005-93114 filed on Oct. 4, 2005 with the Korean
Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is
incorporated herein by reference
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to a suction brush for a
vacuum cleaner, and more particularly to a suction brush having
improved manipulation capability.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] In general, a conventional suction brush for a vacuum
cleaner has a suction port formed in the bottom thereof, to suction
dust or dirt from a surface to be cleaned, and one or more dust
guide grooves for guiding dust to the suction port. As seen in FIG.
1, the suction brush via a suction motor (not shown) absorbs dust
together with ambient air through opposite ends 5a and 5b of a dust
guide groove 5 when the bottom surface of the body 1 of the suction
brush is in close contact with carpet. The dust and air introduced
into the dust guide groove 5 is suctioned into the vacuum cleaner
through the suction port 7. Then, the dust is collected in a dust
collection section (not shown), and the air is filtered and
discharged to the outside of the vacuum cleaner.
[0004] The performance of a conventional suction brush is generally
based on dust removal capability (suction force) and manipulation
capability (push force) for smoothly moving the suction brush on a
carpet. If the suction brush is in close contact with the carpet,
the dust removal capability is enhanced. However, if the suction
brush is in close contact with the carpet, the manipulation
capability for moving the suction brush is considerably
deteriorated. Therefore, the suction force and the push force are
contrary to each other. Accordingly, there is a need for designing
a suction brush so that both the suction force and push force are
simultaneously optimized.
[0005] When cleaning a carpet using a conventional suction brush,
as shown in FIG. 1, the opposite ends 5a and 5b of the dust guide
groove 5 and the suction port 7 are in close contact with the
carpet due to the suction force. As a result, when a user moves the
suction brush 1 in any direction on the carpet the suction force
serves as a resistance force against the movement of the suction
brush 1.
[0006] In order to overcome the above-mentioned problem, a pair of
wheels 9a and 9b may be provided at the opposite sides of the rear
part of the body 2 of the suction brush 1, as shown in FIG. 1.
However, when cleaning a bristly area, a carpet or bedding, the
dust guide groove 5 and the suction port 7 are still in close
contact with the surface being cleaned, thereby still having the
same inconvenience to the user.
[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned inconvenience, Korean
Patent Registration Nos. 244348 and 133742 disclose a suction brush
having an air suction structure which allows ambient air to be
introduced between the bottom surface of the suction brush and a
surface to be cleaned through a part of the bottom surface of the
suction brush so as to weaken the vacuum pressure generated between
the bottom surface of the suction brush and the surface being
cleaned.
[0008] With this suction brush, it is the manipulation capability
of the suction brush may be improved by weakening the vacuum
pressure, but only if the surface being cleaned is a hard floor. If
the surface being cleaned is bristly or soft like a carpet or
bedding, the surface being cleaned is in contact with the suction
brush by the air suction structure. Accordingly, the manipulation
capability is deteriorated as the contacting force between the
surface being cleaned and the suction brush is increased.
[0009] Korean Patent Publication No. 2000-7490 discloses a suction
brush, which is exclusively used for bedding. When suction force is
generated, a suction brush rapidly absorbs ambient air through
plural air suction openings formed on the top of the suction brush
and blows the air out to the surface being cleaned, that is, the
surface of the bedding, thereby facilitating the removal of various
foreign matters. With this suction brush, however, because the air
suction openings are exposed to the outside, noise is generated
around the air suction openings as the ambient air is rapidly
suctioned into the air suction openings. Because the suction brush
and the surface being cleaned (the surface of bedding) are still in
close contact with each other, the manipulation capability of the
suction brush is not improved.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve
the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and an
object of the present invention is to provide a suction brush of a
vacuum cleaner, which is improved in manipulation capability when
the suction brush is in contact with a surface to be cleaned.
[0011] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
suction brush of a vacuum cleaner which can reduce a noise.
[0012] In order to achieve the above-mentioned objects, there is
provided a suction brush for a vacuum cleaner comprising a body,
the bottom side of which is formed with a suction port; a cover for
covering the top side of the body; and an air jetting path for
absorbing ambient air from the bottom side of the body and jetting
the air toward a surface to space the bottom side from the surface
to be cleaned.
[0013] The body may comprise a bottom panel having a dust guide
groove formed in the bottom surface thereof so as to guide
dust-laden air from the front and lateral sides of the body to the
suction port, and a top panel interposed between the bottom panel
and the cover, wherein it is preferable that the top and bottom
panels are spaced from each other at the rear side thereof, thereby
forming an air suction gap for introducing air from the lower side
of the suction, and that the bottom panel may have a plural jetting
holes formed along the portions of the the dust guide groove.
[0014] Because the air jetting path may comprise an air suction
gap, a space formed between the top and bottom panels, and plural
jetting holes for discharging the air to the surface to be cleaned,
it is possible to improve the manipulation capability of the
suction brush as the distance between the dust guide groove and the
surface to be cleaned is increased by the air jetted from the air
jetting path.
[0015] In addition, because the air suction gap is located at a
position higher than that of the bottom side of the bottom panel,
ambient air can be smoothly introduced into the air suction gap.
Furthermore, because the air to be jetted through the jetting holes
is absorbed from the bottom side of the body, which is not exposed
to the outside, it is possible to minimize the noise generated when
absorbing the air.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] The above aspects and features of the present invention will
be more apparent from the description for certain embodiments of
the present invention taken with reference to the accompanying
drawings, in which:
[0017] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional suction brush
of a vacuum cleaner;
[0018] FIG. 2 is a partially cut-away perspective view illustrating
an internal construction of a suction brush of a vacuum cleaner
according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the suction brush
illustrated in FIG. 2;
[0020] FIG. 4A is an elevational view of the suction brush taken in
section along line X-X of FIG. 2;
[0021] FIG. 4B is a enlarged view of Y illustrated in FIG. 4A;
[0022] FIG. 5A is a graph comparing an embodiment of the present
invention and a conventional suction brush, in terms of suction
force which indicates dust removal capability; and
[0023] FIG. 5B is a graph comparing the embodiment of the present
invention and the conventional suction brush in terms of push
force.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0024] Hereinbelow, certain embodiments of the present invention
are described in detail with reference to accompanying drawings. In
the following description, a detailed description of known
functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted
when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather
unclear.
[0025] FIG. 2 is a partially cut-away perspective view illustrating
an internal construction of a suction brush of a vacuum cleaner
according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a
bottom view of the suction brush of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4A is a
cross-sectional view taken along line X-X of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4B is
a enlarged view of Y illustrated in FIG. 4A.
[0026] As shown in FIG. 2, the suction brush 10 of a vacuum cleaner
according to an embodiment of the present invention has a body 15
which comprises a bottom panel 14 which contacts the surface to be
cleaned, a top panel 13 located on the top of the bottom panel
14.
[0027] As shown in FIG. 3, the bottom panel 14 is formed with a
dust guide groove 17 on the bottom side thereof for absorbing
dust-laden air from a surface to be cleaned through the opposite
lateral portions 17a, and a suction port 19 is formed through the
bottom panel 14 at the center of the dust guide groove 17.
[0028] The top panel 13 is wider than the bottom panel 14 in the
direction of advancing the vacuum cleaner, so that the rear
portions of the top and bottom panels 13 and 14 are spaced from
each other. Consequently, an air suction gap 21 (FIG. 1) is formed
between the rear portions of the top and bottom panels 13 and 14.
The air suction gap 21 is an inflow opening, from which an air
jetting path is originated. In addition, the bottom panel 14 has a
plurality of jetting holes 23 (FIG. 2) formed and arranged along
left and right portions of the rear edge 17b of the dust guide
groove 17.
[0029] There is no limitation to the shape and diameter of the
jetting holes 23, the space between adjacent jetting holes 23, or
the arranged distance of the jetting holes 23, as long as air is
jetted to the surface to be cleaned through the plural jetting
holes 23, so that a certain gap can be produced between the surface
to be cleaned and the bottom panel 14 through the jetting pressure.
In order to increase the jetting velocity of air, it is preferrable
to arrange a plurality of small-sized holes as the jetting holes
23.
[0030] An air jetting path B (FIGS. 4A and 4B) for absorbing and
jetting air to the surface to be cleaned originates from the air
suction gap 21, which is an ambient air inflow opening, and
consists of a space 22 formed between the top and bottom panels 13
and 14, to guide the ambient air introduced through the air suction
gap 21 toward the jetting holes 23, allowing the jetting holes 23
to discharge the air that passed through the space 22. That is, the
air flows through the air jetting path B which originates from the
air suction gap 21, and connects to the space 22 and the jetting
holes 23.
[0031] The operation of the suction brush of a vacuum cleaner with
the above-mentioned construction is now described with reference to
FIGS. 4A and 4B.
[0032] Initially, the vacuum cleaner is powered on to operate a
vacuum motor, and vacuum pressure is transferred to the suction
brush 10. Then, a user applies the suction brush 10 in close
contact with a surface to be cleaned, e.g., a carpet. Between the
carpet and the bottom side of the suction brush 10, a predetermined
level of vacuum pressure is produced.
[0033] Consequently, dust scattered on the carpet and air is
absorbed into the suction brush 10 along the air suction path A.
That is, dust-laden air is drawn in by suction into the opposite
side portions 17a of the dust guide groove 17, guided to the center
of the dust guide groove 17, then introduced into the suction port
19. Next, the dust, that has passed through the suction port 19,
travels toward the rear side of the suction brush 10 through the
space between the cover 11 and the top panel 13. In the rear part
of the bottom side of the suction brush 10, ambient air is
introduced into the body 15 through the air jetting path B and then
jetted to the carpet. That is, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the air
introduced through the air suction gap 21 passes the space 22
between the top and bottom panels 13 and 14, and then is jetted to
the surface to be cleaned with a predetermined level of pressure
through the plural jetting holes 23. In this case, a part of the
air jetted to the surface to be cleaned is introduced into the dust
guide groove 17 and moved along the air suction path A. The
remaining air is jetted to the surface to be cleaned.
[0034] At this time, the suction brush 10 is somewhat floated by
the air jetted through the jetting holes 10 and therefore, thereby
spacing the suction brush 10 and the carpet from each other, to
form a gap between them. As a result, the contacting force between
the suction brush 10 and the carpet is reduced and accordingly, the
user can easily pull or push the suction brush 10 during the
cleaning. In addition, because the air being introduced through the
air jetting path B is introduced and discharged through the bottom
side of the body, the noise generated at the air jetting path B is
insignificant to the user.
[0035] FIG. 5A is a graph comparing an embodiment of the present
invention and a conventional suction brush in terms of suction
force which indicates dust removal capability, and FIG. 5B is a
graph comparing the embodiment pf the present invention and the
conventional suction brush in terms of push force. Referring to
FIG. 5A, even if plural suction openings are formed, there is no
substantial change in suction efficiency. However, referring to
FIG. 5B, it can be confirmed that the force required for a user to
move the suction brush (push force) is substantially reduced.
[0036] Noise is generated around the air suction gap 21 as the air
is absorbed. However, according to the embodiment of the present
invention, it is possible to reduce the noise as compared to the
prior art, because the suction brush 10 absorbs the air through the
air suction gap 21, which is formed in the bottom side of the
suction brush 10. Thus, because air is not suctioned through
exposed portions, such as the top or lateral sides of the suction
brush, the noise is significantly reduced.
[0037] As described above, according to the present invention,
there is an advantage in that it is possible to improve the
manipulation capability of suction brush 10 by forming a gap 21
between the dust guide groove 17 and a surface to be cleaned using
the air jetted from the air jetting path B so that the contacting
force between the suction brush 10 and the surface to be cleaned is
reduced. In addition, because the air to be jetted through the
jetting holes 23 is absorbed from the bottom side of the body of
the suction brush, which is not exposed to the outside, it is
possible to reduce the noise generated when the air is
absorbed.
[0038] Although representative embodiments of the present invention
have been shown and described in order to exemplify the principle
of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to
the specific embodiments. It will be understood that various
modifications and changes can be made by one skilled in the art
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as
defined by the appended claims. Therefore, it shall be considered
that such modifications, changes and equivalents thereof are all
included within the scope of the present invention.
* * * * *