Suction Head For Vacuum Cleaner

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a suction head for vacuum cleaners. The suction head includes a housing constituting an outer appearance of the suction head, a plurality of intake ports formed in a lower surface of the housing, and a sweeper disposed between the intake ports.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] The present application claims priority to Korean patent application number 10-2008-0061342, filed on Jun. 27, 2008, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to a suction head for vacuum cleaners and, more particularly, to a suction head for vacuum cleaners which can efficiently suction dust or other foreign matter from a floor surface irrespective of forward or backward movement of the suction head.

[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0005] In general, a vacuum cleaner is configured to generate a strong suction force by driving a motor to collect dust or other foreign matter from the floor or the like.

[0006] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional vacuum cleaner and FIG. 2 is a bottom view of a suction head of the conventional vacuum cleaner shown in FIG. 1.

[0007] Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional vacuum cleaner includes a body 2 having a motor for generating a suction force received therein, a connection hose 4 formed of a flexible material and communicating with the interior of the body 2, an extension pipe 6 connected to the connection hose 4 and allowing adjustment in length thereof, and a suction head 8 detachably connected to one end of the extension pipe 6 to suction foreign matter from a floor surface.

[0008] The body 2 is provided with a filter which separates foreign matter from air suctioned into the body 2.

[0009] The extension pipe 6 is provided at an upper end thereof with a handle 5, which includes an operation button 5a for manipulating the vacuum cleaner.

[0010] As shown in FIG. 2, the suction head 8 has an intake port 8a formed in a lower surface thereof and a sweeper 8b located behind the intake port 8a. The suction head 8 suctions dust and other foreign matter from the floor through the intake port 8a and the sweeper 8b is used to brush up the dust and other foreign matter from the suction head 8.

[0011] In the conventional vacuum cleaner, when the suction head is moved backward, a path of suctioning dust and foreign matter on the floor to the intake port of the suction head is blocked by the sweeper, so that dust and foreign matter on the floor cannot be easily suctioned into the suction head, thereby deteriorating cleaning efficiency. Therefore, there is a need for an improved vacuum cleaner that overcomes such a problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0012] The present invention is conceived to solve the above and other problems of the related art, and an aspect of the present invention is to provide a suction head for vacuum cleaners which can efficiently suction dust or other foreign matter from a floor surface irrespective of forward or backward movement of the suction head.

[0013] According to an aspect of the present invention, a suction head for vacuum cleaners includes a housing constituting an outer appearance of the suction head; a plurality of intake ports formed in a lower surface of the housing; and a sweeper disposed between the intake ports.

[0014] The plurality of intake ports may include a first intake port formed in front of the sweeper and a second intake port formed behind the sweeper.

[0015] The suction head may further include a manipulation part exposing or concealing the sweeper from or within the housing, and the lower surface of the housing may be formed with an exposing-concealing hole through which the sweeper is exposed from or concealed within the housing.

[0016] The manipulation part may include a mounting member received in the housing and having the sweeper mounted thereon; a plurality of pressing members compressing the mounting member; a connection shaft connecting the pressing members to each other; and a knob rotating the pressing members.

[0017] The suction head may further include an elastic member interposed between a lower side of the mounting member and an inner side of the housing.

[0018] The knob may be exposed on an upper surface of the housing.

[0019] The pressing members may be rotated around the connection shaft provided as a rotational center when the knob is rotated.

[0020] Each of the pressing members may include a V-shaped protrusion formed at a lower portion thereof, and the mounting member may be formed at an upper surface thereof with a seating groove on which the pressing members are seated.

[0021] The pressing members may include a first pressing member disposed at a left side of the housing and a second pressing member disposed at a right side of the housing, the connection shaft may connect one side of the first pressing member to one side of the second pressing member, and the knob may be coupled to the first pressing member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0023] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional vacuum cleaner;

[0024] FIG. 2 is a bottom view of a suction head of the conventional vacuum cleaner shown in FIG. 1;

[0025] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a suction head according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the suction head of FIG. 3;

[0027] FIG. 5 is a side section view of the suction head taken along line A-A of FIG. 3;

[0028] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the suction head, an upper portion of which is cut, according to the embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] FIG. 7 is a side section view of the suction head taken along line B-B of FIG. 3; and

[0030] FIG. 8 is a side section view of the suction head shown in FIG. 7, where a knob is rotated in one direction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT

[0031] Hereinafter, one exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the drawings are not to precise scale and may be exaggerated in thickness of lines or sizes of components for descriptive convenience and clarity only. Furthermore, the terms as used herein are defined by taking functions of the present invention into account and can be changed according to the custom or intention of users or operators. Therefore, definition of the terms should be made according to the entirety of the disclosure set forth herein.

[0032] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a suction head according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the suction head of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a side section view of the suction head taken along line A-A of FIG. 3.

[0033] Referring to FIGS. 3 to 5, a suction head 100 for vacuum cleaners according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a housing 110 and a suction duct 120.

[0034] The housing 110 constitutes an appearance of the suction head 100 according to this embodiment. The housing 110 has a plurality of intake ports, for example, a first intake port 112 and a second intake port 114, formed in a lower surface thereof. Although the suction head according to this embodiment is illustrated as including two intake ports, the present invention is not limited to this configuration and the housing may include three or more intake ports.

[0035] The suction duct 120 is disposed inside the housing 110. The suction duct 120 includes a main duct 122, and first and second suction parts 124, 126 divided from the main duct 122.

[0036] The main duct 122 communicates with a coupling part 130. The coupling part 130 is provided to the suction head 100 to be connected to an extension pipe (not shown), which communicates with a body of the vacuum cleaner.

[0037] The first suction part 124 communicates with the first intake port 112 formed in the lower surface of the housing 110, and the second suction part 126 communicates with the second intake port 114 separated a predetermined distance from the first intake port 112. As a result, the first suction part 124 communicates with an outside of the housing 110 through the first intake port 112 and the second suction part 126 communicates with the outside of the housing through the second intake port 114.

[0038] The housing 110 is provided with a sweeper 140. The sweeper 140 is disposed between the first intake port 112 and the second intake port 114. In other words, the first intake port 112 is located at a front part of the suction head 110 and the second intake port 114 is located at a rear part of the suction head 100 with reference to the sweeper 140.

[0039] Next, an operation principle of the suction head 100 for vacuum cleaners according to this embodiment will be described.

[0040] When performing a cleaning operation with a vacuum cleaner including the suction head 100 according to this embodiment, a suction force generated in a body of the vacuum cleaner is transferred to the suction head 100 through an extension pipe of the vacuum cleaner. Then, dust or other foreign matter is suctioned into the suction head 100 from a target region, for example, a floor surface, by the suction force.

[0041] When the cleaning operation is performed while the suction head 100 is moved forward, dust or other foreign matter in front of the suction head 100 is suctioned from the floor surface into the suction head 100 through the first intake port 112 before being obstructed by the sweeper 140 since the first intake port 112 is located at the front part of the sweeper 140 in front of suction head 100. As a result, suctioning of the dust and the like through the first intake port 112 can be efficiently achieved.

[0042] On the contrary, when the cleaning operation is performed while the suction head 100 is moved rearward, dust or other foreign matter behind the suction head 100 is suctioned from the floor surface into the suction head 100 through the second intake port 114 before being obstructed by the sweeper 140 since the second intake port 114 is located at the rear part of the suction head 100 behind the sweeper 140. As a result, suctioning of the dust and the like through the second intake port 114 can be efficiently achieved.

[0043] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the suction head, an upper portion of which is cut, according to the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 7 is a side section view of the suction head taken along line B-B of FIG. 3, and FIG. 8 is a side section view of the suction head shown in FIG. 7, where a knob is rotated in one direction.

[0044] Referring to FIGS. 6 to 8, the sweeper 140 is provided to the housing 110 to be exposed from the housing 110 or concealed within the housing 110 by a manipulation part 150. The manipulation part 150 includes a mounting member 151, pressing members 156A, 156B, a connection shaft 154, and a knob 152.

[0045] The mounting member 151 is received in the housing 110 and is provided at a lower portion thereof with the sweeper 140. An elastic member 153 is interposed between the mounting member 151 and the housing 110. The elastic member 153 is coupled at one end thereof to a lower surface of the mounting member 151 and at the other end thereof to an upper surface of the housing 110 to resiliently support the mounting member 151. Further, the mounting member 151 is formed at an upper surface thereof with a seating groove 151a on which protrusions 156a described below are seated.

[0046] The pressing members 156A, 156B compress the mounting member 151 to force the sweeper 140 to be exposed from or concealed within the housing 110. In this case, the sweeper 140 is exposed from or concealed within the housing 110 through an exposing-concealing hole 111, which is formed on the lower surface of the housing 110. Each of the pressing members 156A, 156B has a rhombus cross-section, and is provided at a lower portion thereof with a V-shaped protrusion 156a. When the knob 152 is turned, the protrusions 156a are seated on the seating groove 151a of the mounting member 151 and continuously compress the sweeper 140.

[0047] The manipulation part 150 includes a plurality of pressing members. According to this embodiment, the pressing members 156A, 156B comprise a first pressing member 156A disposed at a left side of the housing 110 and a second pressing member 156B disposed at a right side of the housing 110. As such, since the pressing members 156A, 156B are provided at opposite sides of the sweeper 140, the pressing members 156A, 156B can uniformly push the opposite sides of the sweeper 140 during rotation of the knob 152. As a result, the sweeper 140 can be uniformly exposed from the housing 110 without being biased toward one side.

[0048] One side of the first pressing member 156A is connected to one side of the second pressing member 156B via a connection shaft 154, and the knob 152 is coupled to the first pressing member 156A. Therefore, when the knob 152 is rotated, the first pressing member 156A is rotated to generate a rotational force, which in turn is transferred to the second pressing member 156B, so that the second pressing member 156B is rotated at the same angle in the same direction as those of the first pressing member 156A. As a result, the two pressing members 156A, 156B located at the opposite sides of the sweeper 140 can be rotated simply by manipulating the single knob 152.

[0049] The connection shaft 154 connects the first and second pressing members 156A, 156B to each other. As a result, when the first pressing member 156A is rotated, the second pressing member 156B is rotated simultaneously. The connection shaft 154 may be supported by an inner configuration of the housing 110 to serve as a rotational center of the pressing members 156A, 156B during the rotation of the knob 152. Therefore, when a user rotates the knob 152, the first pressing member 156A coupled to the knob 152 is rotated around the connection shaft 154.

[0050] The knob 152 is rotatably mounted on the housing 110 and is exposed on an upper surface of the housing 110 to be easily manipulated by a user. In this embodiment, the knob 152 is illustrated as being coupled to the first pressing member 156A located at the left side of the housing 110, but it should be noted that the present invention is not limited to this configuration. Alternatively, the knob 152 may be coupled to the second pressing member 156B located at the right side of the housing 110.

[0051] Next, an operation principle of the sweeper 140 exposed from or concealed within the housing 110 in the suction head 100 for vacuum cleaners according to this embodiment will be described.

[0052] When a user compresses the knob 152 in one direction with the sweeper 140 inserted into the housing 110 as shown in FIG. 7, the knob 152 and the first pressing member 156A are rotated around the connection shaft 154 serving as the rotational center in the counter-clockwise direction. Then, the second pressing member 156B connected to the first pressing member 156A via the connection shaft 154 is also rotated in the counter-clockwise direction. By the rotation of the first and second pressing members 156A, 156B, the protrusions 156a of the first and second pressing members 156A, 156B are seated on the seating groove 151a of the mounting member 151, and the sweeper 140 is exposed from the housing 110 through the exposing-concealing hole 111 as the mounting member 151 is moved downward.

[0053] On the contrary, when a user compresses the knob 152 in the opposite direction to conceal the sweeper 140 within the housing 110, the protrusions 156a are separated from the seating groove 151a and the pressing members 156A, 156B are rotated in the clockwise direction. In this case, since the force compressing the mounting member 151 is removed by the rotation of the pressing members 156A, 156B, the mounting member 151 is moved upward by a restoring force of the elastic member 153 to allow the sweeper 140 to return back to the interior of the housing 110.

[0054] According to one embodiment of the invention, the suction head for vacuum cleaners has intake ports formed in front of and behind a sweeper to allow a user to perform a cleaning operation more easily and efficiently while moving the suction head forward and rearward.

[0055] Further, according to one embodiment of the invention, the suction head allows the sweeper to be exposed from or concealed within the housing simply by manipulating a knob, thereby enhancing convenience of use.

[0056] Moreover, according to one embodiment of the invention, the suction head allows the sweeper to be exposed from the housing according to user's needs, thereby providing a variety of cleaning options.

[0057] Although some embodiment have been provided to illustrate the present invention in conjunction with the drawings, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments are given by way of illustration only, and that various modifications and equivalent embodiments can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Further, the description of the suction head for vacuum cleaners as provided herein is only one example of the present invention, and the configuration of the suction head according to the present invention can be applied to other devices. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should be limited only by the accompanying claims.

Claims

1. A suction head for vacuum cleaners, comprising: a housing constituting an outer appearance of the suction head; a plurality of intake ports formed in a lower surface of the housing; and a sweeper disposed between the intake ports.

2. The suction head according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of intake ports comprise a first intake port formed in front of the sweeper and a second intake port formed behind the sweeper.

3. The suction head according to claim 1, further comprising: a manipulation part exposing or concealing the sweeper from or within the housing, the lower surface of the housing being formed with an exposing-concealing hole through which the sweeper is exposed from or concealed within the housing.

4. The suction head according to claim 3, wherein the manipulation part comprises a mounting member received in the housing and having the sweeper mounted thereon, a plurality of pressing members compressing the mounting member, a connection shaft connecting the pressing members to each other; and a knob coupled to the pressing members and rotating the pressing members.

5. The suction head according to claim 4, further comprising: an elastic member interposed between a lower side of the mounting member and an inner side of the housing.

6. The suction head according to claim 4, wherein the knob is exposed on an upper surface of the housing.

7. The suction head according to claim 4, wherein the pressing members are rotated around the connection shaft provided as a rotational center when the knob is rotated.

8. The suction head according to claim 4, wherein each of the pressing members comprises a V-shaped protrusion formed at a lower portion thereof, and the mounting member is formed at an upper surface thereof with a seating groove on which the pressing members are seated.

9. The suction head according to claim 4, wherein the pressing members comprise a first pressing member disposed at a left side of the housing and a second pressing member disposed at a right side of the housing, the connection shaft connecting one side of the first pressing member to one side of the second pressing member, and the knob is coupled to the first pressing member.