U.S. patent application number 14/924544 was filed with the patent office on 2016-04-28 for dust-container assembly of vacuum cleaner.
This patent application is currently assigned to Conet Industries, Inc.. The applicant listed for this patent is Conet Industries, Inc.. Invention is credited to Sung Wook Song.
Application Number | 20160113459 14/924544 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 53034521 |
Filed Date | 2016-04-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160113459 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Song; Sung Wook |
April 28, 2016 |
DUST-CONTAINER ASSEMBLY OF VACUUM CLEANER
Abstract
A dust container assembly for a vacuum cleaner. The dust
container assembly includes: a casing having an intake port formed
at one side thereof and an outlet port formed at the other side
thereof, and provided therein with an inlet guide member therein
corresponding to the outlet port such that a vortex can be
generated by introduced air; an operation unit provided at the
outlet port side and inducing foreign substances and air to be
suctioned through the intake port; and a filter unit disposed
inside the casing, filtering out foreign substances from air
introduced through the intake port and flowing to the outlet port,
and having a shape gradually decreasing in diameter with increasing
distance from the outlet port. The dust container assembly includes
a multifunctional filter disposed on a cone type protector fixedly
mounted inside a dust container to filter out various foreign
substances suctioned into the dust container while allowing pure
air to be discharged through removal of various gases and smells
contained in suctioned substances, and employs a sound absorption
pad to reduce noise caused by operation of a fan motor for suction
of air and foreign substances.
Inventors: |
Song; Sung Wook; (Seoul,
KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Conet Industries, Inc. |
Incheon |
|
KR |
|
|
Assignee: |
Conet Industries, Inc.
Incheon
KR
|
Family ID: |
53034521 |
Appl. No.: |
14/924544 |
Filed: |
October 27, 2015 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
55/336 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47L 9/125 20130101;
A47L 9/1666 20130101; A47L 9/0081 20130101; A47L 9/165
20130101 |
International
Class: |
A47L 9/12 20060101
A47L009/12; A47L 9/00 20060101 A47L009/00; A47L 9/16 20060101
A47L009/16; A47L 5/22 20060101 A47L005/22 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 27, 2014 |
KR |
10-2014-0145707 |
Claims
1. A dust container assembly for a vacuum cleaner, comprising: a
casing having an intake port formed at one side thereof and an
outlet port formed at the other side thereof, the casing being
provided with an inlet guide member inside thereof corresponding to
the outlet port such that a vortex can be generated by introduced
air; an operation unit provided at the outlet port side and
inducing foreign substances and air to be suctioned through the
intake port; and a filter unit disposed inside the casing,
filtering out foreign substances from air introduced through the
intake port and flowing to the outlet port, and having a shape
gradually decreasing in diameter with increasing distance from the
outlet port.
2. The dust container assembly according to claim 1, wherein the
operation unit comprises: a housing supported by a bottom of the
casing and configured to allow air to pass therethrough; a fan
motor member disposed inside the housing and blowing air; an inner
cap member covering the fan motor member to provide sound
insulation and configured to allow air to pass therethrough; a
sound absorption pad disposed on a circumferential surface of the
inner cap member to provide sound absorption; and an outer cap
member covering the inner cap member and the sound absorption pad
to provide sound insulation.
3. The dust container assembly according to claim 2, wherein the
sound absorption pad has an embossed pattern formed on an inner
surface thereof.
4. The dust container assembly according to claim 1, wherein the
filter unit comprises: a protector having a net-like shape to allow
air to pass therethrough and formed of hard materials, the
protector having a diameter gradually decreasing from top to
bottom; a filtration member supported by at least one of inner and
outer sides of the protector in a face-to-face manner to be
maintained in shape and filtering out introduced foreign materials;
and a mounting portion for fixing the protector supporting the
filtration member to the casing.
5. The dust container assembly according to claim 4, wherein the
mounting portion comprises: a mounting protrusion protruding from
the bottom of the casing; at least one pair of first rotation
preventing protrusions facing each other and protruding from and
along an edge of the mounting protrusion; and a second rotation
preventing protrusion extending from the protector and engaged with
the first rotation preventing protrusions to prevent rotation of
the protector.
6. The dust container assembly according to claim 4, wherein the
casing is provided with a gasket on an upper inner surface thereof
adjoining the protector or the filtration member to prevent leakage
of foreign substances.
7. The dust container assembly according to claim 4, wherein the
circumferential surface of the protector is inclined at different
angles to ensure a desired flow rate of air through a space between
the protector and the inlet guide member.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] 1. Technical Field
[0002] The present invention relates to a dust container assembly
for a vacuum cleaner. More particularly, the present invention
relates to a dust container assembly for a vacuum cleaner, which
includes a multifunctional filter disposed on a cone type protector
fixedly mounted inside a dust container to filter various foreign
substances suctioned into the dust container while discharging pure
air through removal of various gases and smells contained in
suctioned substances; and includes a sound absorption pad to reduce
noise caused by operation of a fan motor for suction of air and
foreign substances.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] A typical vacuum cleaner has a structure wherein a motor for
generating vacuum and an envelope type filter are disposed within a
main body of the cleaner to allow sludge to be introduced into the
main body of the cleaner through vacuum force generated by
activation of the motor and to be filtered out through the filter,
such that filth having been filtered out remains in the main body
of the cleaner and only sludge and air having passed through the
filter are discharged through an outlet port at an upper portion of
the main body.
[0005] In particular, a vacuum cleaner absorbs and removes dust or
foreign matter using suction force of air introduced from outside
through activation of a motor received in a main body thereof, and
is generally used to clean a floor.
[0006] Such a vacuum cleaner is mainly divided into a canister type
vacuum cleaner and an upright type vacuum cleaner. For the canister
type vacuum cleaner, a suction nozzle for suctioning dust on a
floor is provided separately from a main body and thus can be
replaced to suit various applications. On the contrary, for the
upright type vacuum cleaner, a suction nozzle is integrally formed
with a main body.
[0007] A canister type vacuum cleaner generally includes a main
body generating suction force and collecting dust; a suction nozzle
suctioning dust and foreign substances while being moved on a
floor; and a connection tube for connection of the suction nozzle
to the main body. Such a canister type vacuum cleaner allows a
suction nozzle to be replaced depending upon the shape or material
of objects or floors to be cleaned, has strong suction force, and
thus has a wide range of applications as compared with an upright
type vacuum cleaner.
[0008] An upright type vacuum cleaner can be conveniently moved and
easily operated by virtue of integral formation of a suction nozzle
and a handle with a main body, and is thus generally used for
relatively simple cleaning.
[0009] The aforementioned features provide background information
related to the present disclosure, which is not necessarily prior
art.
[0010] One example of the related art is disclosed in Korean Patent
Publication No. 10-2012-0114132 (entitled "Suction tube for vacuum
cleaner and vacuum cleaner including the same").
SUMMARY
[0011] A typical vacuum cleaner has a problem of loud noise caused
by a motor inside a case storing foreign substances such as dust.
In addition, in a typical vacuum cleaner, there is a narrow space
between a cone type protector and an inlet guide member, which does
not allow large dust or garbage particles to easily pass
therethrough, thereby reducing rotational force of air and
dust.
[0012] Therefore, there is a need for an improved technique capable
of overcoming these problems.
[0013] The present invention have been conceived to solve such
problems in the art and an aspect of the present invention is to
provide a dust container assembly for a vacuum cleaner which
includes a multifunctional filter disposed on a cone type protector
fixedly mounted inside a dust container to filter out various
foreign substances suctioned into the dust container while
discharging pure air through removal of various gases and smells
contained in suctioned substances.
[0014] Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a dust
container assembly for a vacuum cleaner which employs a sound
absorption pad that is modified in shape, thereby reducing noise
caused by operation of a fan motor for suction of air and foreign
substances.
[0015] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a
dust container assembly for a vacuum cleaner includes: a casing
having an intake port formed at one side thereof and an outlet port
formed at the other side thereof, and provided therein with an
inlet guide member therein corresponding to the outlet port such
that a vortex can be generated by introduced air; an operation unit
provided at the outlet port side and inducing foreign substances
and air to be suctioned through the intake port; and a filter unit
disposed inside the casing, filtering out foreign substances from
air introduced through the intake port and flowing to the outlet
port, and having a shape gradually decreasing in diameter with
increasing distance from the outlet port.
[0016] The operation unit includes: a housing supported on a bottom
of the casing and configured to allow air to pass therethrough; a
fan motor member disposed inside the housing and blowing air; an
inner cap member covering the fan motor member to provide sound
insulation and configured to allow air to pass therethrough; a
sound absorption pad disposed on a circumferential surface of the
inner cap member to provide sound absorption; and an outer cap
member covering the inner cap member and the sound absorption pad
to provide sound insulation.
[0017] The sound absorption pad may have an embossed pattern formed
on an inner surface thereof.
[0018] The filter unit includes: a protector having a net-like
shape to allow air to pass therethrough and formed of hard
materials, and having a diameter decreasing from top to bottom; a
filtration member supported on at least one of inner and outer
sides of the protector in a face-to-face manner to be maintained in
shape and filtering out introduced foreign materials; and a
mounting portion for fixing the protector supporting the filtration
member to the casing.
[0019] The mounting portion includes: a mounting protrusion
protruding from the bottom of the casing; at least one pair of
first rotation preventing protrusions facing each other and
protruding from and along an edge of the mounting protrusion; and a
second rotation preventing protrusion extending from the protector
and engaged with the first rotation preventing protrusions to
prevent rotation of the protector.
[0020] The casing may be provided with a gasket on an upper inner
surface thereof adjoining the protector or the filtration member to
prevent leakage of foreign substances.
[0021] The circumferential surface of the protector may be inclined
at different angles to ensure a desired flow rate of air through a
space between the protector and the inlet guide 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
description of embodiments given in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings, in which:
[0023] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vacuum cleaner according
to one embodiment of the present invention;
[0024] FIGS. 2 and 3 are sectional views of a dust container and an
operation unit according to one embodiment of the present
invention;
[0025] FIG. 4 is a cut-away perspective view showing an inside of
the dust container of the vacuum cleaner according to one
embodiment of the present invention;
[0026] FIG. 5 is a bottom exploded perspective view of the dust
container according to one embodiment of the present invention;
[0027] FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the dust container
according to one embodiment of the present invention; and
[0028] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a sound absorption pad
according to one embodiment of the present invention
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0029] Hereinafter, embodiments 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 size of components for
descriptive convenience and clarity only. In addition, terms used
herein are defined by taking functions of the present invention
into account and can be changed according to user or operator
custom or intention. Therefore, definition of the terms should be
made according to the overall disclosure set forth herein.
[0030] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vacuum cleaner according
to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are
sectional views of a dust container and an operation unit according
to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0031] FIG. 4 is a cut-away perspective view showing an inside of
the dust container of the vacuum cleaner according to one
embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a bottom
exploded perspective view of the dust container according to one
embodiment of the present invention.
[0032] FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the dust container
according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is
a perspective view of a sound absorption pad according to one
embodiment of the present invention.
[0033] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 7, a vacuum cleaner 100 according to
one embodiment of the present invention includes a dust container
assembly, an operation unit 300, a cleaner nozzle assembly 400, and
a cleaner hose 500.
[0034] In operation of the operation unit 300, air and foreign
substances are suctioned into the dust container assembly through
the cleaning nozzle assembly 400 and the cleaner hose 500. The dust
container assembly serves to filter out foreign substances and
discharge clean air therefrom.
[0035] The dust container assembly includes a dust container
200.
[0036] An outer appearance of the dust container 200 is defined by
a casing 205. The casing 205 may have various shapes and be formed
of various materials.
[0037] The casing 205 is provided at one side thereof with an
intake port 210 to create forced flow and serves to store air and
foreign substances, such as dust, introduced therein. In addition,
the casing 205 is formed at the other side thereof with an outlet
port 215 to discharge filtered air.
[0038] That is, the casing 205 is formed therein with a space to
store introduced foreign substances, provided at one side thereof
with the intake port 210 to allow introduction of foreign
substances and air, and at the other side thereof with the outlet
port 215 to induce discharge of filtered air therethrough. For
convenience, the intake port 210 is formed on a circumferential
surface of the casing 205 and the outlet port 215 is formed to be
open upwardly of the casing 205.
[0039] Further, the casing 205 is provided with an inlet guide
member at an inside thereof corresponding to the intake port 210
such that a vortex can be generated by introduced air.
[0040] That is, the inlet guide member 280 is placed inside the
intake port 210 of the casing 205 and serves to directionally guide
introduced air and foreign substances to flow in a circumferential
direction of the casing 205. It should be understood that the inlet
guide member 280 may be formed in a variety of shapes.
[0041] The casing 205 is mounted on a carrier 220 to be easily
moved to a desired position. The carrier 220 is provided with a
plurality of rollers 222. The carrier 220 may be formed in a
variety of shapes.
[0042] In addition, the operation unit 300 is provided at the other
side of the casing 205 of the dust container 200. The operation
unit 300 forcibly generates airflow to force air and foreign
substances to be introduced into the casing 205 via the intake port
210 and then discharged from the outlet port 215.
[0043] The cleaner nozzle assembly 400 serves to suction foreign
substances such as dirt on a floor together with air through
operation of the operation unit 300.
[0044] The cleaner hose 500 serves to connect the cleaning nozzle
assembly 400 to the dust container 200 and guide foreign substances
and air suctioned by the cleaning nozzle assembly 400 to be
delivered to the dust container 200.
[0045] The operation unit 300 includes a housing 310 and a fan
motor member 320.
[0046] The housing 310 forms a contour of the operation unit 300
and may have various shapes. In particular, the housing 310 is
placed at the outlet port 215 of the casing 205. In addition, the
housing 310, the casing 205, and the carrier 220 are removably
coupled to one another through a clamp 230. The clamp 230 may
include any suitable clamp.
[0047] Further, the housing 310 contains the fan motor member 320.
When the fan motor member 320 operates, air and foreign substances
are introduced into the casing 205 via the intake port 210, or air
within the casing 205 is discharged through the outlet port 215.
Accordingly, the housing 310 is configured to allow air to pass
therethrough.
[0048] Operation of the fan motor member 320 within the housing 310
causes loud noise.
[0049] Thus, the operation unit further includes an inner cap
member 330, a sound absorption pad 340, and an outer cap member
350.
[0050] The inner cap member 330 covers the fan motor member 320
within the housing 310 to provide primary sound insulation. Here,
the inner cap member 330 allow air to circulate therethrough. It
should be understood that the inner cap member 330 may be fixedly
disposed in the housing 310 in various ways, formed of various
materials, and have various shapes.
[0051] In addition, the sound absorption pad 340 surrounds a
circumferential surface of the inner cap member 330 and has a
function to absorb sound. The sound absorption pad 340 may be
formed of various materials such as a sponge.
[0052] Further, an embossed pattern 342 is formed on an inner
surface of the sound absorption pad 340. The embossed pattern 342
allows sound waves to collide therewith, thereby reducing amplitude
of sound. It should be understood that the embossed pattern 342 may
have various shapes.
[0053] The outer cap member 350 covers the inner cap member 330
with holes formed therein for air circulation and the sound
absorption pad 340, thereby providing secondary sound insulation.
It should be understood that the outer cap member 350 is also
configured to allow air to flow therethrough.
[0054] In addition, the casing 205 is provided with a filter unit
240 to filter out foreign substances from air introduced into the
casing through the intake port 210.
[0055] Particularly, the filter unit 240 is disposed inside the
casing 205 to filter out foreign substances from air that is
introduced through the intake port and then flows to the outlet
port 215, and has a shape gradually decreasing in diameter towards
a bottom surface of the casing 205, i.e. in a direction away from
the outlet port 215.
[0056] Here, the filter unit 240 includes a protector 242, a
filtration member 244, and a mounting portion 250.
[0057] The protector 242 has a net-like shape to allow air to pass
therethrough, is formed of hard materials, and has a
wide-top/narrow-bottom shape, i.e. a shape of a conical hat pointed
at a lower end thereof. Since the protector 242 is configured to
have a diameter gradually increasing upwards, the protector 242
allows a large amount of foreign substances to be collected while
flowing in a circumferential direction at an inner lower side of
the casing 205, and allows air to easily pass through a wide area
while moving up in the casing 205.
[0058] In addition, the filtration member 244 is maintained in
shape by being supported on at least one of inner and outer sides
of the protector 242 in a face-to-face manner, and serves to filter
out introduced foreign substances. For convenience, the filtration
member 244 is disposed on both sides of the protector 242 in a
face-to-face manner.
[0059] Further, the filtration member 244 may include any suitable
filters such as activated carbon filters, dust trap filters, and
the like.
[0060] In addition, the protector 242 must be stably mounted on the
casing 205. In other words, the protector 242 is mounted on the
casing 205 to be stably supported on the casing via the mounting
portion 250.
[0061] The mounting portion 250 includes a mounting protrusion
252.
[0062] The mounting protrusion 252 protrudes from an inner bottom
of the casing corresponding to the pointed lower side of the
protector 242. The mounting protrusion 252 serves to support the
lower side of the protector 242. It should be understood that the
mounting protrusion 252 may be the casing 205 itself.
[0063] Particularly, the protector 242 must be protected from being
rotated while being supported by the mounting protrusion 252. This
configuration facilitates air flow.
[0064] Thus, the mounting portion 250 further includes a first
rotation preventing protrusion 254 and a second rotation preventing
protrusion 256.
[0065] The first rotation preventing protrusion 254 may include at
least one pair of first rotation preventing protrusions facing each
other and protruding from and along an edge of the mounting
protrusion 252. For convenience, the first rotation preventing
protrusion 254 is shown as being a pair of first rotation
preventing protrusions facing each other and upwardly protruding
from the mounting protrusion 252.
[0066] The second rotation preventing protrusion 256 extends from
the lower side of the protector 242 towards the mounting protrusion
252. The second rotation preventing protrusion 256 is engaged with
the first rotation preventing protrusions 254. Thus, the protector
242 is prevented from being rotated in a circumferential direction
within the casing 205. The second rotation preventing protrusion
256 is shown as being a pair of second rotation preventing
protrusions facing each other.
[0067] It should be understood that the first rotation preventing
protrusion 254 and the second rotation preventing protrusion 256
may be formed in various shapes.
[0068] In particular, a space between the protector 242 maintaining
the shape of the filtration member 244 and the inlet guide member
280 is narrower than a space between the protector 242 and the
casing 205. This structure creates a bottleneck phenomenon when air
flows between the protector 242 and the inlet guide member 280,
thereby causing loud noise and delay in discharging air and thus
poor cleaning.
[0069] Air introduced through the inlet guide member 280 mounted on
the intake port 210 of the casing 205 flows along an inner wall of
the casing 205. Here, when the protector 242 and the filtration
member 244 have a conical hat shape, rotating air passing through a
narrow space between the protector 242 and the inlet guide member
280 undergoes a bottleneck phenomenon and is thus reduced in
rotational force due to centrifugal force. In order to prevent this
phenomenon, the protector 242 and the filtration member 244, each
modified in shape to have a straight lower corner, are provided.
Here, "straight lower corner" refers to the second rotation
preventing protrusion 256.
[0070] Thus, the circumferential surface of the protector 242 may
be inclined at different angles to ensure a desired flow rate of
air through a space between the protector and the inlet guide
member 280. A portion of the circumferential surface of the
protector 242 facing the inlet guide member 280 has a slope
.theta.1 greater than a slope .theta.2 of other portions of the
circumferential surface of the protector 242.
[0071] As a result, the protector 242 and the filtration member
244, each modified in shape to have a straight lower corner, are
mounted on the mounting protrusion 244 of the casing 205 to be
spaced as far apart from the inlet guide member 280 of the casing
205 as possible. This results in increase in space between the
protector 242 and the inlet guide member 280, thereby reducing loss
of rotational force of rotating air.
[0072] The casing 205 may be provided with a gasket 270 on an upper
inner surface thereof adjoining the protector 242 to prevent
foreign substances introduced through the intake port 210 from
leaking to an open top of the casing.
[0073] The gasket may be formed of shock absorbing materials such
as rubber to prevent the protector 242 from colliding with or being
crushed by the casing 205, which otherwise could cause damage.
[0074] In addition, the gasket 270 may be fixedly mounted on the
inner surface of the casing 205 in various ways. It should be
understood that the gasket 270 may be formed in various shapes.
[0075] As described above, the dust container assembly according to
the present invention includes a multifunctional filter disposed on
a cone type protector fixedly mounted inside a dust container,
whereby various foreign substances suctioned into the dust
container can be filtered out while allowing pure air to be
discharged through removal of various gases and smells contained in
suctioned substances.
[0076] In addition, the dust container assembly according to the
present invention employs a sound absorption pad having a modified
shape, thereby reducing noise caused by operation of a fan motor
for suction of air and foreign substances.
[0077] Although the present invention has been described with
reference to some embodiments in conjunction with the drawings, it
should be understood that these embodiments are provided for
illustration only and that various modifications and other
equivalent embodiments can be made without departing from the
spirit and the scope of the present invention. Thus, the technical
scope of the present invention should be determined by the attached
claims.
TABLE-US-00001 <Legend of Reference Numerals> 100: Vacuum
cleaner 200: Dust container 210: Intake 220: Carrier 240: Filter
unit 242: Protector 244: Filter 250: Mounting portion 270: Gasket
300: Operation unit 310: Housing 320: Fan motor member 330: Inner
cap member 340: Sound absorption pad 342: Embossed patterns 350:
Outer cap member 400: Cleaning nozzle assembly 500: Cleaner
hose
* * * * *