U.S. patent application number 12/072469 was filed with the patent office on 2009-02-19 for upright type vacuum cleaner.
This patent application is currently assigned to SAMSUNG GWANGJU ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Dong-Hun Yoo.
Application Number | 20090044373 12/072469 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39616123 |
Filed Date | 2009-02-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090044373 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Yoo; Dong-Hun |
February 19, 2009 |
Upright type vacuum cleaner
Abstract
An upright type vacuum cleaner is provided that includes a
cleaner body having a body duct; a suction nozzle rotatably
disposed at a lower portion of the cleaner body and having a brush
duct; and a connecting duct having a smooth inner surface to
connect the body duct with the brush duct so that when the cleaner
body rotates with respect to the suction nozzle, the connecting
duct allows the body duct to rotate with respect to the brush
duct.
Inventors: |
Yoo; Dong-Hun;
(Gwangju-city, KR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Paul D. Greeley;Ohlandt, Greeley, Ruggiero & Perle, L.L.P.
One Landmark Square, 10th Floor
Stamford
CT
06901-2682
US
|
Assignee: |
SAMSUNG GWANGJU ELECTRONICS CO.,
LTD.
|
Family ID: |
39616123 |
Appl. No.: |
12/072469 |
Filed: |
February 26, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60964676 |
Aug 14, 2007 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
15/351 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47L 5/32 20130101; A47L
5/30 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
15/351 |
International
Class: |
A47L 9/00 20060101
A47L009/00; A47L 9/32 20060101 A47L009/32; A47L 5/30 20060101
A47L005/30 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 14, 2007 |
KR |
2007-93886 |
Claims
1. An upright type vacuum cleaner, comprising: a cleaner body
having a body duct; a suction nozzle rotatably disposed at a lower
portion of the cleaner body, the suction nozzle having a brush
duct; and a connecting duct having a smooth inner surface, the
connecting duct being configured to connect the body duct with the
brush duct so that when the cleaner body rotates with respect to
the suction nozzle, the connecting duct allows the body duct to
rotate with respect to the brush duct.
2. The upright type vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the cleaner
body rotates on a first rotating axis with respect to the suction
nozzle, and wherein the connecting duct is formed so that a
rotating center of the connecting duct on which the body duct
rotates with respect to the brush duct is located coaxially with
the first rotating axis.
3. The upright type vacuum cleaner of claim 2, wherein the body
duct of the cleaner body comprises a center axis that is spaced
apart from a center axis of the brush duct of the suction
nozzle.
4. The upright type vacuum cleaner of claim 3, wherein the
connecting duct comprises: a first connecting pipe connected with
the body duct; and a second connecting pipe disposed at the suction
nozzle, the second connecting pipe having a first end thereof
connected with the brush duct and a second end thereof rotatably
connected with the first connecting pipe.
5. The upright type vacuum cleaner of claim 4, wherein the first
connecting pipe comprises an expanding portion in which the second
end of the second connecting pipe is inserted, and a sealing member
disposed between the second connecting pipe and the expanding
portion of the first connecting pipe.
6. The upright type vacuum cleaner of claim 5, wherein the second
end of the second connecting pipe comprises a fixing portion formed
on an outer circumferential surface of the second end, the fixing
portion being configured to fix the sealing member.
7. The upright type vacuum cleaner of claim 6, wherein the sealing
member comprises an O-ring.
8. An upright type vacuum cleaner, comprising: a suction nozzle
having a brush duct to fluidly communicate with a contaminants
suction port; a body supporting member rotatably disposed at the
suction nozzle; a cleaner body detachably disposed at the body
supporting member, the cleaner body having a body duct; and a
connecting duct having a smooth inner surface, the connecting duct
connecting the body duct with the brush duct so that when the body
supporting member rotates with respect to the suction nozzle,
wherein the connecting duct allows the body duct to rotate with
respect to the brush duct.
9. The upright type vacuum cleaner of claim 8, wherein the
connecting duct comprises: a first connecting pipe disposed at the
body supporting member; a second connecting pipe disposed at the
suction nozzle, and connected with the brush duct; and a rotating
portion formed between the first connecting pipe and the second
connecting pipe to allow the first connecting pipe to rotate with
respect to the second connecting pipe.
10. The upright type vacuum cleaner of claim 9, wherein the
rotating portion of the connecting duct comprises a center axis
located coaxially with a first rotating axis on which the body
supporting member rotates with respect to the suction nozzle.
11. The upright type vacuum cleaner of claim 10, wherein the
rotating portion comprises: an expanding portion formed at an end
of the first connecting pipe or at an end of the second connecting
pipe; an inserting portion formed at the end of the second
connecting pipe or at the end of the first connecting pipe to be
inserted in the expanding portion; and a sealing member disposed
between the expanding portion and the inserting portion to seal
between the expanding portion and the inserting portion.
12. The upright type vacuum cleaner of claim 11, further comprising
a fixing portion to fix the sealing member formed on an inner
circumferential surface of the expanding portion or an outer
circumferential surface of the inserting portion.
13. The upright type vacuum cleaner of claim 12, wherein the
sealing member comprises an O-ring.
14. The upright type vacuum cleaner of claim 10, wherein the
connecting duct is formed so that air entering from the brush duct
flows parallel to the first rotating axis to the body duct.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.
119(e) of U.S. provisional application No. 60/964,676, filed Aug.
14, 2007 in the United States Patent & Trademark Office, and
claims the benefit of under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 119(a) of Korean
Patent Application No. 2007-93886 filed Sep. 14, 2007 in the Korean
Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of both of which are
incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present disclosure relates to a vacuum cleaner. More
particularly, the present disclosure relates to an upright type
vacuum cleaner.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Generally, vacuum cleaners may be classified into an upright
type vacuum cleaner and a canister type vacuum cleaner.
[0006] The canister type vacuum cleaner has an extension pipe
assembly to connect a suction nozzle and a cleaner body so that the
suction nozzle can freely move with respect to the cleaner
body.
[0007] The upright type vacuum cleaner is formed so that a cleaner
body can pivot within a range of a predetermined angle with respect
to the suction nozzle. A contaminants suction port for drawing in
contaminants with air from a surface to be cleaned is formed on a
bottom surface of the suction nozzle. The cleaner body has a vacuum
generator for generating a suction force and a contaminant
collecting apparatus that separates and collects contaminants from
the drawn-in air. The contaminants suction port of the suction
nozzle and the contaminant collecting apparatus of the cleaner body
are connected with each other by a duct so that the contaminants
and air drawn in the contaminants suction port move to the
contaminant collecting apparatus of the cleaner body via the
duct.
[0008] When cleaning using the upright type vacuum cleaner, a user
grasps a handle disposed at the cleaner body, angles the cleaner
body by a predetermined angle with respect to the suction nozzle,
and then, pushes the cleaner body. Also, when the upright type
vacuum cleaner is not used, the upright type vacuum cleaner is
retained, as the cleaner body is substantially perpendicular to the
suction nozzle. That is, the upright type vacuum cleaner is formed
so that the cleaner body can rotate by a predetermined angle with
respect to the suction nozzle. Therefore, some portion of the duct
connecting the suction nozzle and the cleaner body is made of a
flexible hose so that the cleaner body can rotate by a
predetermined angle with respect to the suction nozzle.
[0009] However, when the flexible hose is used as the duct
connecting the suction nozzle and the cleaner body, the flexible
hose may be clogged with the drawn-in contaminants. In other words,
the contaminants such as pins, toothpicks, etc. are caught in
prominence and depression portion forming furrows in an inner
surface of the flexible hose, and then, long contaminants such as
thread, hair, etc. are piled up thereon, thereby blocking the
flexible hose.
[0010] Also, because the flexible hose has the inner surface formed
in prominence and depression portion, a suction force may be
decreased and noise may be increased compared of a hose having a
smooth inner surface.
[0011] Furthermore, the flexible hose has less stiffness so that it
may be easily contorted while cleaning. When the flexible hose is
contorted, the drawn-in contaminants cannot pass through the
flexible hose so that a performance of the upright type vacuum
cleaner is lowered.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] The present disclosure has been developed in order to
overcome the above drawbacks and other problems associated with the
conventional arrangement. An aspect of the present disclosure is to
provide an upright type vacuum cleaner capable of preventing a
connecting portion between a body duct of a cleaner body and a
brush duct of a suction nozzle from being blocked and minimizing
drop of suction force and increase of noise.
[0013] The above aspect and/or other feature of the present
disclosure can substantially be achieved by providing an upright
type vacuum cleaner, which includes a cleaner body having a body
duct; a suction nozzle rotatably disposed at a lower portion of the
cleaner body, and having a brush duct; and a connecting duct having
a smooth inner surface, and to connect the body duct with the brush
duct so that when the cleaner body rotates with respect to the
suction nozzle, the connecting duct allows the body duct to rotate
with respect to the brush duct.
[0014] At this time, the cleaner body may be formed to rotate on a
first rotating axis with respect to the suction nozzle; and the
connecting duct may be formed so that a rotating center of the
connecting duct on which the body duct rotates with respect to the
brush duct is located coaxially with the first rotating axis.
[0015] Also, a center axis of the body duct of the cleaner body may
be spaced apart from a center axis of the brush duct of the suction
nozzle.
[0016] The connecting duct may include; a first connecting pipe
connected with the body duct; and a second connecting pipe disposed
at the suction nozzle, and having a first end thereof connected
with the brush duct and a second end thereof rotatably connected
with the first connecting pipe.
[0017] Also, the first connecting pipe may include an expanding
portion in which the second end of the second connecting pipe is
inserted, and a sealing member is disposed between the second
connecting pipe and the expanding portion of the first connecting
pipe.
[0018] A fixing portion may be formed on an outer circumferential
surface of the second end of the second connecting pipe, and fixes
the sealing member.
[0019] The sealing member may be an O-ring.
[0020] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an
upright type vacuum cleaner may include: a suction nozzle having a
brush duct to fluidly communicate with a contaminants suction port;
a body supporting member rotatably disposed at the suction nozzle;
a cleaner body detachably disposed at the body supporting member,
and having a body duct; and a connecting duct having a smooth inner
surface, and to connect the body duct with the brush duct so that
when the body supporting member rotates with respect to the suction
nozzle, the connecting duct allows the body duct to rotate with
respect to the brush duct.
[0021] At this time, the connecting duct may include; a first
connecting pipe disposed at the body supporting member; a second
connecting pipe disposed at the suction nozzle, and connected with
the brush duct; and a rotating portion formed between the first
connecting pipe and the second connecting pipe to allow the first
connecting pipe to rotate with respect to the second connecting
pipe.
[0022] Also, a center axis of the rotating portion of the
connecting duct may be located coaxially with a first rotating axis
on which the body supporting member rotates with respect to the
suction nozzle.
[0023] The rotating portion may include; an expanding portion
formed at an end of the first connecting pipe or at an end of the
second connecting pipe; an inserting portion formed at the end of
the second connecting pipe or at the end of the first connecting
pipe to be inserted in the expanding portion; and a sealing member
disposed between the expanding portion and the inserting portion to
seal between the expanding portion and the inserting portion.
[0024] Also, a fixing portion to fix the sealing member may be
formed on an inner circumferential surface of the expanding portion
or an outer circumferential surface of the inserting portion.
[0025] The connecting duct may be formed so that air entering from
the brush duct flows parallel to the first rotating axis to the
body duct.
[0026] Other objects, advantages and salient features of the
disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed
description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings,
discloses preferred embodiments of the disclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0027] These and/or other aspects and advantages of the disclosure
will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the
following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with
the accompanying drawings of which:
[0028] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an upright type
vacuum cleaner according to an exemplary embodiment of the present
disclosure when it is not in use;
[0029] FIG. 2 is a partial rear perspective view illustrating the
upright type vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1;
[0030] FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view illustrating a hinge
connection between a body supporting member and a suction nozzle of
the upright type vacuum cleaner of FIG. 2;
[0031] FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a body supporting
member of the upright type vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1;
[0032] FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a suction nozzle
of the upright type vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1;
[0033] FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating the suction nozzle
of FIG. 5 to which a body supporting member is assembled;
[0034] FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating the upright type
vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1 when a cleaner body thereof is pivoted at
a predetermined angle with respect to a suction nozzle thereof;
[0035] FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating only the suction
nozzle thereof when the cleaner body of the upright type vacuum
cleaner of FIG. 1 is pivoted as illustrated in FIG. 7; and
[0036] FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating the suction nozzle
of FIG. 8 to which a body supporting member is assembled.
[0037] Throughout the drawings, like reference numerals will be
understood to refer to like parts, components and structures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
[0038] Hereinafter, certain exemplary embodiments of the present
disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the
accompanying drawings.
[0039] The matters defined in the description, such as a detailed
construction and elements thereof, are provided to assist in a
comprehensive understanding of the disclosure. Thus, it is apparent
that the present disclosure may be carried out without those
defined matters. Also, well-known functions or constructions are
omitted to provide a clear and concise description of exemplary
embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0040] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an upright type
vacuum cleaner according to an exemplary embodiment of the present
disclosure, and FIG. 2 is a partial rear perspective view
illustrating the upright type vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1.
[0041] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the upright type vacuum cleaner
1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure
includes a cleaner body 10, a body supporting member 30, and a
suction nozzle 50.
[0042] The cleaner body 10 includes a vacuum generator 11, a
contaminant collecting apparatus 13, and a body duct 20.
[0043] The vacuum generator 11 generates a suction force, and
generally uses a motor assembly where a motor is formed integrally
with an impeller. The vacuum generator 11 is disposed at a lower
portion of the cleaner body 10.
[0044] The contaminant collecting apparatus 13 is an apparatus that
separates and collects contaminants from air drawn-in by the
suction force of the vacuum generator 11, and can use various types
of contaminant collecting apparatuses such as a cyclone contaminant
collecting apparatus, a dust bag, etc. The contaminant collecting
apparatus 13 is disposed above the vacuum generator 11.
[0045] The body duct 20 connects the suction nozzle 50 and the
contaminant collecting apparatus 13 so that the suction nozzle 50
fluidly communicates with the contaminant collecting apparatus 13,
and is disposed at a rear surface of the cleaner body 10. In this
exemplary embodiment, the body duct 20 may have a structure similar
to that of an extension pipe assembly of a canister type vacuum
cleaner. That is, the body duct 20 may include an extension pipe 21
that is detachably disposed at the cleaner body 10 and has a first
end thereof to be connected with a connecting duct 40, a handle 22
disposed at a second end of the extension pipe 21, and a connecting
hose 23 to connect the second end of the extension pipe 21 at which
the handle 22 is disposed with an entering portion of the
contaminant collecting apparatus 13.
[0046] Therefore, when the body duct 20 is mounted to the cleaner
body 10, a user can grasp the handle 22 to move the upright type
vacuum cleaner 1. Also, when the body duct 20 is separated from the
cleaner body 10, the body duct 20 can be used similarly to the
extension pipe assembly of the canister type vacuum cleaner.
[0047] The body supporting member 30 is rotatably disposed at an
upper portion of the suction nozzle 50, and supports the cleaner
body 10 to rotate with respect to the suction nozzle 50. The
cleaner body 10 is detachably disposed on an upper surface of the
body supporting member 30. Therefore, when the cleaner body 10 is
disposed at the body supporting member 30, the cleaner body 10 can
rotate by a predetermined angle with respect to the suction nozzle
50.
[0048] In this exemplary embodiment, the body supporting member 30
is hinge-connected to the suction nozzle 50. That is, as
illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the body supporting member 30 has
hinge shafts 31 formed on opposite side surfaces thereof. The
suction nozzle 50, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 8, has hinge holes
51 corresponding to the hinge shafts 31 at a rear portion thereof.
FIG. 8 illustrates only one hinge hole 51. Therefore, when the
hinge shafts 31 of the body supporting member 30 are inserted in
the hinge holes 51 of the suction nozzle 50, the body supporting
member 30, as illustrated in FIG. 9, can rotate with respect to the
suction nozzle 50. At this time, the body supporting member 30
rotates on a first rotating axis C1 joining center lines of the two
hinge shafts 31 disposed on the opposite side surfaces thereof. The
body supporting member 30 may be disposed to rotate or pivot with
respect to the suction nozzle 50 by approximately 90.degree..
[0049] The body supporting member 30 has, on the upper surface
thereof, a receiving portion 34 to receive the cleaner body 10 and
a locking member 35 to lock the cleaner body 10 to the body
supporting member 30. Also, a duct groove 33 to which the
connecting duct 40 is fixed is formed on a rear surface of the body
supporting member 30.
[0050] The suction nozzle 50 is rotatably disposed at the lower
portion of the cleaner body 10. In this exemplary embodiment, the
suction nozzle 50 is disposed to rotate with respect to the body
supporting member 30 disposed at the lower portion of the cleaner
body 10. A contaminant suction port 52 for drawing in contaminants
and air from a surface to be cleaned is formed on a bottom surface
of the suction nozzle 50. A brush 54 may be disposed inside the
contaminants suction port 52. A pair of wheels 55 is disposed at
opposite side surfaces of the suction nozzle 50 so that the suction
nozzle 50 can smoothly move along the surface to be cleaned. A
brush duct 53 is disposed inside the suction nozzle 50 to form a
moving passage of the contaminants and air entering from the
contaminants suction port 52. A first end of the brush duct 53 may
be extended to the rear surface of the suction nozzle 50.
[0051] The first end of the brush duct 53 is connected with the
connecting duct 40. The connecting duct 40 connects the brush duct
53 with the body duct 20 so that the contaminants and air entering
from the contaminants suction port 52 can move to the contaminant
collecting apparatus 13 through the body duct 20. The connecting
duct 40 has a smooth inner surface so that the drawn-in
contaminants may not be caught on the inner surface thereof. The
connecting duct 40 has a stiffness not to be contorted by a force
applied thereto when the cleaner body 10 rotates with respect to
the suction nozzle 50 or during cleaning. Also, when the cleaner
body 10 rotates with respect to the suction nozzle 50, the
connecting duct 40 allows the body duct 20 to smoothly rotate with
respect to the brush duct 53.
[0052] In this exemplary embodiment, the connecting duct 40
includes a first connecting pipe 41 connected with the body duct
20, a second connecting pipe 42 connected with the brush duct 53,
and a rotating portion 43 to connect the first connecting pipe 41
and the second connecting pipe 42 to rotate with respect to each
other. As illustrated in FIG. 2, a center axis 20c of the body duct
20 is spaced apart from a center axis 53c of the brush duct 53.
That is, the center axes 20c and 53c of the body duct 20 and brush
duct 53 are eccentric each other. Accordingly, each of the first
and second connecting pipes 41 and 42 is bent to connect the body
duct 20 and the brush duct 53 that are eccentric each other. The
degree of bend of each of the first and second connecting pipes 41
and 42 may be determined according to arrangement of the body duct
20 and the brush duct 53 to connect the body duct 20 and the brush
duct 53.
[0053] In this exemplary embodiment, the first connecting pipe 41
is bent twice at approximately 90.degree. as illustrated in FIGS. 5
and 8. That is, if a Z axis refers to a direction of the center
axis 20c of the body duct 20 as illustrated in FIG. 2, the first
connecting pipe 41 is bent at approximately 90.degree. in a Y
direction, and is again bent at approximately 90.degree. in a X
direction. The second connecting pipe 42 is bent twice at
approximately 90.degree., similar to the first connecting pipe
41.
[0054] The first and second connecting pipes 41 and 42 are
connected using the rotating portion 43. Referring to FIG. 3, the
rotating portion 43 includes an expanding portion 44 formed at an
end of the first connecting pipe 41, and an inserting portion 45
formed at an end of the second connecting pipe 42 to be inserted in
the expanding portion 44. A sealing member 46 may be disposed
between the expanding portion 44 and the inserting portion 45 to
prevent the air passing through the first and second connecting
pipes 41 and 42 of the connecting duct 40 from leaking from the
rotating portion 43. The sealing member 46 is fixed to a fixing
portion 47 formed on an outer circumferential surface of the
inserting portion 45 of the second connecting pipe 42.
[0055] Although not illustrated, the fixing portion 47 may be,
alternatively, formed on an inner circumferential surface of the
expanding portion 44 of the first connecting pipe 41. Also, in this
exemplary embodiment, an O-ring is used as the sealing member 46.
However, this should not be considered as limiting the type of the
sealing member 46. The sealing member 46 may comprise various
sealing members as long as the sealing member 46 can allow the
first connecting pipe 41 to rotate with respect to the second
connecting pipe 42 and prevent the air and contaminants from
leaking between the first and second connecting pipes 41 and
42.
[0056] For allowing the cleaner body 10 to smoothly rotate with
respect to the suction nozzle 50, the first and second connecting
pipes 41 and 42 of the connecting duct 40 may be bent so that as
illustrated in FIG. 3, the rotating center C of the connecting duct
40, that is, the center axis C of the rotating portion 43 is
located coaxially with the first rotating axis C1 on which the body
supporting member 30 rotates with respect to the suction nozzle 50.
That is, the connecting duct 40 may be formed so that when passing
through the rotating portion 43 of the connecting duct 40, the
contaminants and air flow parallel to the first rotating axis
C1.
[0057] In the above description, the expanding portion 44 of the
rotating portion 43 of the connecting duct 40 is formed at the
first connecting pipe 41, and the inserting portion 45 thereof is
formed at the second connecting pipe 42. Alternatively, the
expanding portion 44 may be formed at the second connecting pipe
42, and the inserting portion 45 may be formed at the first
connecting pipe 41. Also, in the above description, the fixing
portion 47 to fix the sealing member 46 is formed on the outer
circumferential surface of the inserting portion 45 of the second
connecting pipe 42. Alternatively, the fixing portion 47 may be
formed on the inner circumferential surface of the expanding
portion 44 of the first connecting pipe 41.
[0058] Furthermore, in the above description, the body supporting
member 30 is used so that the cleaner body 10 is detachably
disposed at the suction nozzle 50. However, when the cleaner body
10 does not need to be separated from the suction nozzle 50, the
cleaner body 10 may be directly connected with the suction nozzle
50 without usage of the separate body supporting member 30.
[0059] When the cleaner body 10 is directly connected with the
suction nozzle 50, the hinge shafts 31 inserted in the hinge holes
51 formed at the suction nozzle 50 are formed on opposite side
surfaces of the lower portion of the cleaner body 10. So, the
cleaner body 10 rotates on the first rotating axis C1 that is the
rotating centers of the two hinge shafts 31 as described above.
Therefore, if the connecting duct 40 is disposed so that the center
axis C of the rotating portion 43 of the connecting duct 40 is
located coaxially with the first rotating axis C1, the cleaner body
10 can smoothly rotate with respect to the suction nozzle 50. In
other words, this may be considered as the body supporting member
30 of the above described exemplary embodiment that is formed
integrally with the cleaner body 10.
[0060] Hereinafter, operation of the upright type vacuum cleaner 1
according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure
having the above-described structure will be explained in detail
with reference to FIGS. 5 to 9.
[0061] When cleaning, the user grasps the handle 22 formed at the
body duct 20 of the cleaner body 10, and then, angles the cleaner
body 10 by a predetermined angle in a clockwise direction as
illustrated in FIG. 7. At this time, the cleaner body 10 is mounted
to the body supporting member 30, and the body supporting member 30
is hinge connected with the suction nozzle 50 as illustrated in
FIG. 3 so that the cleaner body 10 rotates on the first rotating
axis C1 by a predetermined angle in the clockwise direction with
respect to the suction nozzle 50. Also, the body duct 20 is
connected with the brush duct 53 using the connecting duct 40 so
that the body duct 20 smoothly rotates with respect to the brush
duct 53 according to rotation of the cleaner body 10.
[0062] That is, when the cleaner body 10 rotates by a predetermined
angle in the clockwise direction, the body supporting member 30
disposed under the cleaner body 10 is rotated on the hinge shafts
31 in the clockwise direction to be in a state of FIG. 9. At this
time, the first connecting pipe 41 of the connecting duct 40 fixed
to the body supporting member 30 receives a force to rotate in the
clockwise direction, so rotates with respect to the second
connecting pipe 42 to be in a state of FIG. 8. The sealing member
46 is disposed between the expanding portion 44 of the first
connecting pipe 41 and the inserting portion 45 of the second
connecting pipe 42 so that when the first connecting pipe 41
rotates with respect to the second connecting pipe 42, the
contaminants and air passing through the first and second
connecting pipes 41 and 42 do not leak.
[0063] In this state, when the user turns on the upright type
vacuum cleaner 1, the vacuum generator 11 disposed in the cleaner
body 10 operates to generate a suction force. Contaminants and air
are drawn-in the contaminants suction port 52 of the suction nozzle
50 from a surface to be cleaned due to the suction force. The
contaminants and air entering the contaminants suction port 52 of
the suction nozzle 50 move to the connecting duct 40 via the brush
duct 53.
[0064] The contaminants and air entering the connecting duct 40 in
series passes through the first connecting pipe 41, the rotating
portion 43, and the second connecting pipe 42, so move to the body
duct 20. At this time, the connecting duct 40 has a smooth inner
surface so that the connecting duct 40 is not clogged with the
drawn-in contaminants such as toothpicks, pins, etc. and has less
noise compared to the flexible hose having prominence and
depressions on the inner surface thereof. Also, because the center
axis C of the rotating portion 43 of the connecting duct 40 is
coaxially with the first rotating axis C1, the contaminants and air
passing through the connecting duct 40 passes through the rotating
portion 43 in a direction parallel to the first rotating axis C1,
and then, enters the body duct 20.
[0065] The contaminants and air having passed through the body duct
20 enters the contaminant collecting apparatus 13 disposed in the
cleaner body 10. The contaminant collecting apparatus 13 separates
and collects contaminants from the drawn-in air, and discharges
clean air to the vacuum generator 11. The clean air discharged from
the contaminant collecting apparatus 13 passes through the vacuum
generator 11, and then, goes outside the cleaner body 10.
[0066] After cleaning is completed, the user causes the cleaner
body 10 to rotate in a counterclockwise direction so that the
cleaner body 10 stands substantially vertical to the surface to be
cleaned as illustrated in FIG. 1. At this time, the body supporting
member 30 on which the cleaner body 10 is mounted rotates on the
hinge shafts 31 in the counterclockwise direction. When the body
supporting member 30 rotates in the counterclockwise direction, the
first connecting pipe 41 of the connecting duct 40 fixed to the
body supporting member 30 also rotates in the counterclockwise
direction with respect to the second connecting pipe 42. Therefore,
the cleaner body 10 can smoothly rotate without interference of the
connecting duct 40. When the cleaner body 10 stands substantially
vertical to the surface to be cleaned, each of the body supporting
member 30 and the connecting duct 40 is in a state of each of FIGS.
5 and 6.
[0067] In the above description, the upright type vacuum cleaner 1
according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is
used as the conventional upright type vacuum cleaner. That is, the
upright type vacuum cleaner 1 is used to clean as the cleaner body
10 thereof is mounted to the suction nozzle 50 thereof. However,
the upright type vacuum cleaner 1 according to an exemplary
embodiment of the present disclosure can be used as a canister type
vacuum cleaner. When using as the canister type vacuum cleaner, the
cleaner body 10 is separated from the body supporting member 30,
and the extension pipe 21 of the body duct 20 is separated from the
cleaner body 10. After that, a leading end of the extension pipe 21
of the body duct 20 is connected with a canister type suction
nozzle (not illustrated) so that the upright type vacuum cleaner 1
according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure can
be used as the canister type vacuum cleaner.
[0068] With the upright type vacuum cleaner according to an
exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure as described above,
the body duct of the cleaner body and the brush duct of the suction
nozzle are connected using the connecting duct having a smooth
inner surface so that foreign materials are not caught on the
connecting duct, thereby not blocking the connecting duct.
Therefore, it may not occur that a flow path of the vacuum cleaner
is blocked due to the drawn-in foreign materials so that the vacuum
cleaner cannot clean.
[0069] Also, the upright type vacuum cleaner according to an
exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure uses the connecting
duct having a smooth inner surface to connect the body duct of the
cleaner body with the brush duct of the suction nozzle so that drop
of suction force and increase of noise may be minimized compared of
the conventional upright type vacuum cleaner using the flexible
hose.
[0070] While the embodiments of the present disclosure have been
described, additional variations and modifications of the
embodiments may occur to those skilled in the art once they learn
of the basic inventive concepts. Therefore, it is intended that the
appended claims shall be construed to include both the above
embodiments and all such variations and modifications that fall
within the spirit and scope of the disclosure.
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