AU2004203431B2

AU2004203431B2 - Cleaner

Info

Publication number: AU2004203431B2
Application number: AU2004203431A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Choon-Myun Chung; Young-Woo Lee; Hyeun-Sik Nam; Ho-Seon Rew
Original assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Current assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Priority date: 2004-01-29
Filing date: 2004-07-27
Publication date: 2006-09-14
Anticipated expiration: 2024-07-27
Also published as: GB2410422A; CN1647740A; GB2410422B; KR20050078406A; CN1314366C; AU2004203431A1; US20050166358A1; GB0420055D0

Description

P001 Section 29 Regulation 3.2(2)

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Application Number: Lodged: Invention Title: Cleaner The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us:

CLEANER

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wet vacuum cleaner, and particularly to a cleaner capable of conveniently cleaning and drying a cleaning region by cleaning a cleaning region using a cleaning fluid and dispensing heated air to the cleaning region.

2. Description of the Background Art In general, a wet vacuum cleaner is a device for cleaning a cleaning region, performing processes of dispensing a cleaning fluid mixed with a detergent to a cleaning region such as a carpet, cleaning the cleaning region with a brush and returning a soiled fluid of the cleaning region into the cleaner.

However, the conventional cleaner reduces effectiveness of a time taken to perform cleaning or the like. This is because a large amount of moisture remains at a cleaning region after cleaning, and so a drying device such as blower or an air conditioner or the like has to be specifically operated for a long time in order to remove the remaining moisture.

Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a cleaner capable of conveniently performing cleaning and drying without a special drying operation.

Any discussion of documents, devices, acts or knowledge in this specification is included to explain the context of the invention. It should not be taken as an admission that any of the material formed part of the prior art base or the common general knowledge in the relevant art in Australia on or before the priority date of the claims herein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention there is provided a cleaner including: a cleaning fluid container installed at a cleaner body, for providing a space in which a cleaning fluid is stored; a cleaning fluid dispensing unit for dispensing a cleaning fluid in the cleaning fluid container to a cleaning region; a brush rotatably installed at a bottom of the cleaner body, for brushing a cleaning region by being rotated; a recovery unit for recovering a soiled fluid including a filth from the cleaning region; a recovery fluid container installed at the cleaner body, for storing the recovered soiled fluid; and a drying unit for heating air and dispensing the heated air to the cleaning region, wherein the drying unit includes: a guiding passage connected to the recovery unit, for guiding air discharged from the recovery unit; a discharge port connected to the guiding passage and installed toward the cleaning region; and a PTC heater disposed between the guiding passage and the discharge port, for heating air discharged to the cleaning region through the guiding passage and the discharge port.

"Comprises/comprising" when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof.

The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a unit of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.

In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a cleaner in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a main part of a cleaner in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 3 is a bottom view showing a bottom of a cleaner in accordance with the present invention; and Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an operational state of a cleaner in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

As shown in Figs. 1 to 3, a cleaner in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention includes: a cleaner body 1 (hereinafter, referred to as a body) having a bottom where a plurality of wheels 9 are installed at prescribed intervals; a handle 8 installed at one end of the body 1; a cleaner head 2 (hereinafter, referred to as a head) installed at a lower side of the body 1; a cleaning fluid container 4 detachably installed at one side of the body 1, for receiving a cleaning fluid 3 therein; a cleaning fluid dispensing unit 20 installed at one side of the cleaning fluid container 4, for dispensing a cleaning fluid in the cleaning fluid container 4 to a cleaning region; a brush 12 installed in the head 2, for brushing a cleaning region by being rotated by an operation of a nonillustrated driving motor; a recovery unit 30 installed at the head 2, for recovering a soiled fluid 6 including dust or the like from the cleaning region; a recovery fluid container 7 detachably installed at one side of the body 1, for storing the soiled fluid 6 recovered by the recovery unit 30; and a drying unit 40 installed inside the head 2, for heating air and dispensing the heated air to the cleaning region.

The cleaning fluid dispensing unit 20 includes a cleaning fluid supplying passage 22 having one end connected to the cleaning fluid container 4, through which the cleaning fluid 3 is supplied; a nozzle 26 connected to the other end of the supplying passage 22 and installed such that an outlet thereof is directed toward the brush 12, for dispensing the cleaning fluid 3 toward the brush 12; and a pump 24 installed on the supplying passage 22, for pumping the cleaning fluid 3 toward the nozzle 26.

The recovery unit 30 includes a fan-motor 32 for providing a suction force for sucking a soiled fluid 6 including a filth from the cleaning region by making the inside of the recovery fluid container 7 into a vacuum; a suction port 36 installed such that an inlet thereof is directed toward the cleaning region at the front side of the head 2, to which a soiled fluid 6 is sucked from the cleaning region; a suction passage 34 connected to the suction port 36 and the recovery fluid container 7, through which the soiled fluid 6 introduced through the suction port 36 is sucked toward the recovery fluid container 7; and a discharge passage 38 connected to the fan-motor 32 and the recovery fluid container 7, through which air in the recovery fluid container 7 is discharged by an operation of the fan-motor 32.

The suction port 36 has a width corresponding to a width of the head 2 so that a suction area that a soiled fluid 6 of the cleaning region is sucked is increased. The suction passage 34 has a sectional area decreased as it goes from the suction port 36 toward the recovery fluid container 7.

The drying unit 40 may be a separate device dispensing heated air to the cleaning region. In an embodiment of the present invention, a drying unit 40 that recirculates air discharged from a cleaner to a cleaning region is described. That is, the drying unit 40 includes a guiding passage 42 connected to the fan-motor 32 of the recovery unit 30, for guiding air discharged from the fan-motor 32; a discharge port 46 connected to the guiding passage 42 and installed toward the cleaning region; and a heater 44 disposed between the guiding passage 42 and the discharge port 46, for heating air discharged to the cleaning region through the guiding passage 42 and the discharge port 46. The drying unit 40 heats air, which is discharged by the fanmotor 32, with the heater 44 and dispenses the heated air to the cleaning region, so as to shorten a time taken to perform drying after water-cleaning as much as possible.

As shown in Fig. 3, preferably, a mesh type protective net 48 is installed at a discharge port 46 of the drying unit 40 so that external foreign substances are not introduced thereinto.

Preferably, a PTC heater (Positive Temperature Coefficient Heater), a constant temperature heater, which requires no special temperature control device, is applied as the heater 20. That is, the PTC heater is a constant temperature heater constructed such that an aluminum heat-radiating plate and a heat-radiating fin are coupled to each other by a PTC ceramic element and an insulating resin. Since the heat-radiating element itself is a ceramic resistance body, a temperature of the heatradiating element is increased through a self heat-radiation as a current is applied thereto. When the temperature reaches a certain temperature, conductivity is greatly changed by a phase transition. Accordingly, resistance that has been in a stable state is rapidly increased in order to maintain a current needed to increase a temperature, to thereby rapidly reduce an input current and so retrain a temperature from being increased. For this reason, the PTC heater can constantly maintain a temperature without a special temperature control device.

Hereinafter, referring to Fig. 4, an operation of a cleaner in accordance with the present invention constructed as above will now be described.

When power is supplied to a cleaner, a cleaning fluid 3 stored in the cleaning fluid container 4 is dispensed to the brush 12 through the cleaning fluid supplying passage 22 and the nozzle 26 by an operation of the pump 24. The brush 12 is rotated by an operation of a driving motor (not shown), brushing dust, foreign substances or the like from a cleaning region such as a carpet 11 or the like. In such a manner, a cleaning operation is performed.

At the same time, a soiled fluid 6 including filth is sucked from the cleaning region into the suction port 36 by a suction force due to an operation of the fan-motor 32 and is recovered in the recovery fluid container 7 through the suction passage 34.

After the soiled fluid 6 is filtered in the recovery fluid container 7, air is discharged toward the fan-motor 32 through the discharge passage 34. The discharged air having passed through the fan-motor 32 flows toward the heater 44 through the guiding passage 42. The discharged air is heated by an operation of the heater 44, and the heated air is discharged to a cleaning region such as a carpet 11 or the like through the discharge port 46, thereby drying the cleaning region.

The cleaner in accordance with the present invention can dry the moisture of a cleaning region by dispensing heated air to the cleaning region. Accordingly, no special drying operation is needed after cleaning, so that cleaning efficiency such as reducing a cleaning time or the like can be improved.

In addition, a cleaner in accordance with the present invention needs no special air blower since the discharged air generated during a cleaning process is used to be dispensed to the cleaning region after being heated.

As the present invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, it should also be understood that the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore all changes and modifications that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalence of such metes and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A cleaner including: a cleaning fluid container installed at a cleaner body, for providing a space in which a cleaning fluid is stored; a cleaning fluid dispensing unit for dispensing a cleaning fluid in the cleaning fluid container to a cleaning region; a brush rotatably installed at a bottom of the cleaner body, for brushing a cleaning region by being rotated; a recovery unit for recovering a soiled fluid including a filth from the cleaning region; a recovery fluid container installed at the cleaner body, for storing the recovered soiled fluid; and a drying unit for heating air and dispensing the heated air to the cleaning region, wherein the drying unit includes: a guiding passage connected to the recovery unit, for guiding air discharged from the recovery unit; a discharge port connected to the guiding passage and installed toward the cleaning region; and a PTC heater disposed between the guiding passage and the discharge port, for heating air discharged to the cleaning region through the guiding passage and the discharge port.

2. The cleaner of claim 1, wherein the recovery unit includes: a fan-motor for providing a suction force for sucking a soiled fluid including a filth of a cleaning region by making the inside of the recovery fluid container into a vacuum; a suction passage having one end communicating with the recovery fluid container, through which a soiled fluid of the cleaning region is sucked toward the recovery fluid container; and a discharge passage connected to the fan-motor and the recovery fluid container, through which air in the recovery fluid container is discharged.

3. The cleaner of claim 1, wherein a mesh type protective net for preventing external foreign substances from being introduced is installed at the discharge port.

4. The cleaner of claim 1, wherein the dispensing unit includes: a supplying passage having one end connected to the cleaning fluid container, through which the cleaning fluid is passed; a nozzle connected to the other end of the supplying passage and installed such that an outlet thereof is directed toward the brush; and a pump installed on the supplying passage, for pumping the cleaning fluid toward the nozzle. A cleaner substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this 8 th day of August 2006 LG ELECTRONICS INC. WATERMARK PATENT TRADE MARK ATTORNEYS 290 Burwood Road Hawthorn Victoria 3122 Australia P24445AU00 RLT/CAGISLB