EP1743560B1 - Cyclone unit and contaminants-collecting apparatus having the same - Google Patents
Cyclone unit and contaminants-collecting apparatus having the same Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP1743560B1 EP1743560B1 EP20060291117 EP06291117A EP1743560B1 EP 1743560 B1 EP1743560 B1 EP 1743560B1 EP 20060291117 EP20060291117 EP 20060291117 EP 06291117 A EP06291117 A EP 06291117A EP 1743560 B1 EP1743560 B1 EP 1743560B1
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- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- contaminants
- cylindrical body
- circumferential surface
- air
- cyclone unit
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
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Classifications
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47L9/00—Details or accessories of suction cleaners, e.g. mechanical means for controlling the suction or for effecting pulsating action; Storing devices specially adapted to suction cleaners or parts thereof; Carrying-vehicles specially adapted for suction cleaners
- A47L9/10—Filters; Dust separators; Dust removal; Automatic exchange of filters
- A47L9/16—Arrangement or disposition of cyclones or other devices with centrifugal action
- A47L9/165—Construction of inlets
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47L5/00—Structural features of suction cleaners
- A47L5/12—Structural features of suction cleaners with power-driven air-pumps or air-compressors, e.g. driven by motor vehicle engine vacuum
- A47L5/22—Structural features of suction cleaners with power-driven air-pumps or air-compressors, e.g. driven by motor vehicle engine vacuum with rotary fans
- A47L5/28—Suction cleaners with handles and nozzles fixed on the casings, e.g. wheeled suction cleaners with steering handle
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47L9/00—Details or accessories of suction cleaners, e.g. mechanical means for controlling the suction or for effecting pulsating action; Storing devices specially adapted to suction cleaners or parts thereof; Carrying-vehicles specially adapted for suction cleaners
- A47L9/10—Filters; Dust separators; Dust removal; Automatic exchange of filters
- A47L9/16—Arrangement or disposition of cyclones or other devices with centrifugal action
- A47L9/1608—Cyclonic chamber constructions
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47L9/00—Details or accessories of suction cleaners, e.g. mechanical means for controlling the suction or for effecting pulsating action; Storing devices specially adapted to suction cleaners or parts thereof; Carrying-vehicles specially adapted for suction cleaners
- A47L9/10—Filters; Dust separators; Dust removal; Automatic exchange of filters
- A47L9/16—Arrangement or disposition of cyclones or other devices with centrifugal action
- A47L9/1683—Dust collecting chambers; Dust collecting receptacles
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner. More particularly, the present invention relates to a cyclone unit that separates and collects contaminants from outside air and then discharges clean air and a contaminants-collecting apparatus having the same.
- a vacuum cleaner employs a dust-collecting receptacle that separates contaminants from outside air entered through a suction nozzle, collects separated contaminants, and then, discharges clean air to the outside.
- the dust-collecting receptacle described in document US 2002/0011053 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape. Contaminants-laden air enters into the dust collecting receptacle in a substantially tangential direction to the dust collecting receptacle, and then, rises up along an inside surface of the dust collecting receptacle. Contaminants are separated from the contaminants-laden air by centrifugal force, and then, fall to a lower portion of the dust collecting receptacle by their own weight. Air separated from contaminants is discharged outside through an air-discharging pipe formed on an upper portion of the dust-collecting receptacle.
- the conventional dust-collecting receptacle has less dust collecting performance than a dust-collecting receptacle having a cyclone structure formed integrally therein. Therefore, when users having the conventional vacuum cleaner employing no cyclone structure want excellent cleaning effect, the users are required to buy a vacuum cleaner having a cyclone structure leaving the conventional vacuum cleaner alone. As a result, an enormous burden of cost will be imposed on the users.
- An aspect of the present invention is to provide a cyclone unit that can be easily disposed in the conventional dust-collecting receptacle and a contaminants-collecting apparatus having the same.
- a cyclone unit for separating contaminants from contaminants-laden air drawn through an air inlet port of a dust-collecting receptacle via a suction nozzle of a vacuum cleaner and for discharging air having contaminants separated to an air-discharging pipe, which comprises a cylindrical body disposed inside the dust-collecting receptacle; at least one supporting bracket extending from an outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body to an inner circumferential surface of the dust collecting receptacle to support the cylindrical body and to separate the cylindrical body from the inner circumferential surface of the dust-collecting receptacle; and an air inlet pipe having one end in fluid communication with the air inlet port of the dust-collecting receptacle and the other end in fluid communication with the cylindrical body in a tangential direction.
- an end of the at least one supporting bracket may be bonded on the inner circumferential surface of the dust-collecting receptacle by thermal fusion bonding.
- the air inlet pipe may be extended to wrap around some outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body to increase the whirling degree of the contaminants-laden air.
- the cyclone unit may further comprise a helical guide disposed inside the cylindrical body to whirl the contaminants-laden air entered inside the cylindrical body through the air inlet pipe and to guide the contaminants-laden air to the air-discharging pipe formed at an upper side of the cylindrical body.
- a width of the at least one supporting bracket may have the same dimension as a dimension of an outer diameter of the air inlet pipe.
- the cylindrical body may further comprise a center shaft disposed at a center thereof for the contaminants-laden air to whirl smoothly therein.
- a contaminants collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner comprises: a body having an air inlet through which contaminants-laden air entered via a suction nozzle of the vacuum cleaner passes, collecting and discharging contaminants; and a cyclone unit comprising: a cylindrical body disposed inside the body; at least one supporting bracket extending from an outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body to an inner circumferential surface of the body to support the cylindrical body and to separate the cylindrical body from the inner circumferential surface of the body; an air inlet pipe having one end in fluid communication with the air inlet port of the body and the other end in fluid communication with the cylindrical body in a tangential direction; and a helical guide disposed inside the cylindrical body to whirl the contaminants-laden air entered inside the cylindrical body through the air inlet pipe and to guide the contaminants-laden air to the air-discharging pipe formed at an upper side of the cylindrical body.
- the body further comprises an upper cover opening or closing a top end of the body, wherein the upper cover is integrally formed with an air-discharging pipe to guide air discharged from the body to the outside.
- the body may further comprise a lower cover disposed at a bottom end of the body by a hinge connection to open or close the bottom end of the body.
- the body may be made of transparent material or semitransparent material.
- a top end of the cyclone unit may be spaced apart from a bottom end of the upper cover so that contaminants centrifugally separated in the cyclone unit are discharged to the body.
- a contaminants discharging pathway may be formed between an outer circumferential surface of the cyclone unit and an inner circumferential surface of the body, and a contaminants collecting chamber may be formed between a bottom surface of the cyclone unit and a lower cover.
- the air-discharging pipe may be extended downwardly from the upper cover inside the cylindrical body of the cyclone unit.
- the at least one supporting bracket may be bonded on the inner circumferential surface of the body by thermal fusion bonding.
- the at least one supporting bracket may be fixed to the body by at least one screw.
- the cyclone unit comprises a plurality of supporting brackets, wherein the width of each of the plurality of supporting brackets is wider than a gap between an outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body and an inner circumferential surface of the body so that a side end of each of the plurality of supporting brackets presses the inner circumferential surface of the body to fix the cylindrical body into the body.
- the air inlet pipe may be disposed to be in contact with the inner circumferential surface of the body so that the air inlet pipe separates the cylindrical body from the inner circumferential surface of the body and supports the cylindrical body.
- the air inlet pipe is bonded on the inner circumferential surface of the body by thermal fusion bonding.
- An outer diameter of the air inlet pipe may be larger than a gap between an outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body and an inner circumferential surface of the body so that the air inlet pipe presses the inner circumferential surface of the body with at least one of the plurality of supporting brackets to fix the cylindrical body into the body.
- Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a contaminants-collecting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention disposed in a vacuum cleaner.
- the contaminants-collecting apparatus 100 according to the present invention is detachably disposed in a main body 11 of the vacuum cleaner 10.
- a suction nozzle 15 is pivotally connected at a bottom portion of the main body 11 of the vacuum cleaner 10, and a handle 13 is formed on a top end of the main body 11.
- an upright type vacuum cleaner is used as an example of vacuum cleaners employing the contaminants-collecting apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention; however, this should not be considered as limiting.
- FIG. 17 of Fig. 1 denotes wheels.
- Reference numeral 117 of Fig. 1 denotes a handle.
- the contaminants-collecting apparatus 100 includes a body 110, an upper cover 130, a lower cover 150, and a cyclone unit 170.
- the body 110 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape with opposite opened ends.
- An air inlet port 111 is formed at a middle portion of the body 110 in a tangential direction to the body 110 so that contaminants-laden air enters inside the body 110 from outside.
- the body 110 of this embodiment has a cylindrical shape, however, this should not be considered as limiting.
- the body 110 may have various shapes such as a conical shape or a reversed conical shape corresponding to a part of the main body 11 of the vacuum cleaner 10 0 into which the contaminants collecting apparatus 100 is inserted.
- the body 110 may be made of transparent material or semitransparent material. As a result, users can easily know the amount of contaminants collected in the body 110 without opening the upper cover 130.
- the body 110 corresponds to the conventional dust-collecting receptacle as described above.
- the upper cover 130 is detachably disposed on a top end of the body 110 to open or close the opened top end of the body 110.
- the upper cover 130 has an air-discharging pipe 131 to discharge clean air to the outside of the body 110.
- the air-discharging pipe 131 penetrates a center of the upper cover 130 and expends downwardly from a bottom surface of the upper cover 130 inside the body 110. Therefore, the air-discharging pipe 131 is inside the cyclone unit 170.
- a backflow preventing claim 133 (see Fig. 6 ) is disposed in a ring shape on the bottom surface of the upper cover 130 to face a top end of a cylindrical body 171 (see Fig. 6 ).
- the backflow preventing dam 133 has a larger diameter than the cylindrical body 171.
- the backflow preventing dam 133 prevents contaminants discharging through a below-described contaminants discharging opening 114 (see Fig. 6 ) by centrifugal force from flowing back to the cylindrical body 171 through the contaminants discharging opening 114.
- the lower cover 150 is disposed at a bottom end of the body 110 by a hinge connection to open or close the opened bottom end of the body 110.
- the hinge connection of the lower cover 150 has a general hinge connection structure.
- the hinge connection has a pair of fixing brackets 113a (see Fig. 5 ) formed adjacent to the bottom end of the body 110, a hinge part 151 (see Fig. 5 ) formed one side of the lower cover 150 and inserted between the pair of fixing brackets 113a, and a hinge shaft 115 (see Fig. 5 ) connecting through the fixing brackets 113a and the hinge part 151.
- the other side of the lower cover 150 is bound by a locking lever 118 (see Fig.
- the locking lever 118 When emptying contaminants collected in the body 110, the locking lever 118 is operated so that the lower cover 150 is released from the locking lever 118. As a result, the lower cover 150 is pivoted downwardly based on the hinge shaft 115, and then, contaminants collected on the lower cover 150 are discharged outside through the bottom end of the body 110 by the gravity.
- the cyclone unit 170 includes a cylindrical body 171, an air inlet pipe 173, a plurality of supporting brackets 175a, 175b, and 175c, a center shaft 177 (see Fig 4A ), and a helical guide 179 (see Fig. 4A ).
- the cylindrical body 171 has a less diameter than the body 110 to be inserted inside the body 1 to.
- the cylindrical body 171 is disposed inside the body 110 so that a space of the body 110 in which contaminants are collected is isolated from the air-discharging pipe 131 (see Fig. 6 ).
- the cylindrical body 171 prevents contaminants collected in the body 110 from re-scattering and discharging outside through the air-discharging pipe 131.
- the cylindrical body 171 is disposed inside the body 110 so that a contaminants discharging opening 114, a contaminants discharging pathway 116, and a contaminants collecting chamber 110b are formed in the space 113 (see Fig. 3 ) of the body 110.
- the contaminants discharging opening 114 is formed between the top end of the cylindrical body 171 and the bottom end of the upper cover 130 so that contaminants whirled upwardly along an inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical body 171a are discharged inside the body 110 through the contaminants discharging opening 114 by centrifugal force.
- the contaminants discharging pathway 116 is a space between an outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body 171 and the inner circumferential surface of the body 110 to guide the contaminants passed through the contaminants discharging opening 114 downwardly.
- the contaminants collecting chamber 110b is a space between a bottom end of the cylindrical body 171 and the lower cover 150 to collect contaminants falling through the contaminants discharging pathway 116 by gravity.
- the air inlet pipe 173 is in fluid communication with the air inlet port 111 of the body 110 so as to guide contaminants-laden air entering through the air inlet port 111 from the outside into the cylindrical body 171.
- the air inlet pipe 173 is formed in the tangential direction to the lower side of the cylindrical body 171 so that the contaminants-laden air is whirled inside the cylindrical body 171.
- the air inlet pipe 173 is preferably formed to wrap around some part of the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body 171 to increase the whirling degree of the contaminants-laden air.
- the helical guide 179 (see Fig. 6 ) is formed between the inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical body 171 and the center shaft 177 formed in a vertical direction on a center of the cylindrical body 171.
- the helical guide 179 increases the whirling degree of the contaminants-laden air entered inside the cylindrical body 171, through the air inlet pipe 173. In other words, the entering contaminants-laden air is whirled more strongly due to a helical air path formed by the center shaft 177, the helical guide 179, and the cylindrical body 171.
- the plurality of supporting brackets 175a, 175b, and 175c are formed at predetermined intervals on the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body 171.
- Each of the plurality of supporting brackets 175a, 175b, and 175c has a predetermined width to separate the cylindrical body 171 from the inner circumferential surface of the body 110.
- At least one of the plurality of supporting brackets 175a, 175b, and 175c is bonded on the inner circumferential surface 110a of the body 110 by thermal fusion bonding to securely fix the cylindrical body 171 into the body 110.
- thermal fusion bonding for fixing the cylindrical body 171 to the body 110, various other suitable methods may be used in addition to the thermal fusion bonding.
- each of the plurality of supporting brackets 175 can have a thickness (t) sufficient so that the supporting brackets 175 can be fixed on the body 110 by at least one screw 271 as shown in Fig. 4B .
- the width (W) of each of the plurality of supporting brackets 175a, 175b, and 175c is wider than a gap between the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body 171 and the inner circumferential surface of the body 110 so that a side end of each of the plurality of supporting brackets 175a, 175b, and 175c presses the inner circumferential surface of the body 110 to fix the cylindrical body 171 into the body 110.
- each of the plurality of supporting brackets 175a, 175b, and 175c is formed to have the same width as a dimension of an outer diameter of the air inlet pipe 173 so that the cylindrical body 171 could be disposed in a center of the body 110.
- the cyclone unit 170 is disposed in the conventional dust-collecting receptacle employing no cyclone structure and having the upper and lower cover, thereby maximizing contaminants collecting efficiency of the conventional dust collecting receptacle. Also, the cyclone unit 170 according to an embodiment of the present invention can be easily disposed into the conventional dust-collecting receptacle without substantially, structural change so that the conventional dust-collecting receptacle is recyclable.
- Contaminants separated from the whirling upwardly contaminants-laden air by centrifugal force are collected in the contaminants collecting chamber 110b passing through the contaminants discharging opening 114 and the contaminants discharging pathway 116 in order.
- the backflow preventing dam 133 prevents the contaminants collected in the contaminants collecting chamber 110b from flowing back through the contaminants discharging opening 114.
- air having contaminants removed is discharged outside the contaminants collecting apparatus 100 through the air-discharging pipe 131 formed to penetrate the upper cover 130.
- the contaminants collecting apparatus 100 can use the conventional dust-collecting receptacle having no cyclonic structure without structural change as the body 110 to dispose the cyclone unit 170, it causes the conventional dust-collecting receptacle to be recycled. As a result, a burden of cost imposed on users is decreased.
- the air-discharging pipe 131 is isolated from the contaminants collecting chamber 110b.
- contaminants collected in the contaminants collecting chamber 110b is not re-scattered.
- contaminants collected in the contaminants collecting chamber 110b is prevented from entering the air-discharging pipe 131.
- air passed through the air inlet pipe 173 is discharged through the air-discharging pipe 131 without change of a flowing direction, interference between air entering the cyclone unit 170 and air discharging outside is minimized. As a result, loss of suction force is decreased. Also, the air inlet pipe 173 is extended to wrap around the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body 171 so that air entered from outside rotates along some part of the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body 171, and then, to enter inside the cylindrical body 171. Therefor, whirling degree of air entering the cylindrical body 171 is increase.
Description
- The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner. More particularly, the present invention relates to a cyclone unit that separates and collects contaminants from outside air and then discharges clean air and a contaminants-collecting apparatus having the same.
- Generally, a vacuum cleaner employs a dust-collecting receptacle that separates contaminants from outside air entered through a suction nozzle, collects separated contaminants, and then, discharges clean air to the outside.
- The dust-collecting receptacle described in document
US 2002/0011053 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape. Contaminants-laden air enters into the dust collecting receptacle in a substantially tangential direction to the dust collecting receptacle, and then, rises up along an inside surface of the dust collecting receptacle. Contaminants are separated from the contaminants-laden air by centrifugal force, and then, fall to a lower portion of the dust collecting receptacle by their own weight. Air separated from contaminants is discharged outside through an air-discharging pipe formed on an upper portion of the dust-collecting receptacle. - However, the conventional dust-collecting receptacle has less dust collecting performance than a dust-collecting receptacle having a cyclone structure formed integrally therein. Therefore, when users having the conventional vacuum cleaner employing no cyclone structure want excellent cleaning effect, the users are required to buy a vacuum cleaner having a cyclone structure leaving the conventional vacuum cleaner alone. As a result, an enormous burden of cost will be imposed on the users.
- The present invention has been developed in order to overcome the above drawbacks and other problems associated with the conventional arrangement. An aspect of the present invention is to provide a cyclone unit that can be easily disposed in the conventional dust-collecting receptacle and a contaminants-collecting apparatus having the same. The above aspect and/or other feature of the present invention can substantially be achieved by providing a cyclone unit for separating contaminants from contaminants-laden air drawn through an air inlet port of a dust-collecting receptacle via a suction nozzle of a vacuum cleaner and for discharging air having contaminants separated to an air-discharging pipe, which comprises a cylindrical body disposed inside the dust-collecting receptacle; at least one supporting bracket extending from an outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body to an inner circumferential surface of the dust collecting receptacle to support the cylindrical body and to separate the cylindrical body from the inner circumferential surface of the dust-collecting receptacle; and an air inlet pipe having one end in fluid communication with the air inlet port of the dust-collecting receptacle and the other end in fluid communication with the cylindrical body in a tangential direction.
- According to an embodiment of the present invention, an end of the at least one supporting bracket may be bonded on the inner circumferential surface of the dust-collecting receptacle by thermal fusion bonding.
- The air inlet pipe may be extended to wrap around some outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body to increase the whirling degree of the contaminants-laden air.
- The cyclone unit may further comprise a helical guide disposed inside the cylindrical body to whirl the contaminants-laden air entered inside the cylindrical body through the air inlet pipe and to guide the contaminants-laden air to the air-discharging pipe formed at an upper side of the cylindrical body.
- A width of the at least one supporting bracket may have the same dimension as a dimension of an outer diameter of the air inlet pipe.
- The cylindrical body may further comprise a center shaft disposed at a center thereof for the contaminants-laden air to whirl smoothly therein.
- According to another aspect of the present invention, a contaminants collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner comprises: a body having an air inlet through which contaminants-laden air entered via a suction nozzle of the vacuum cleaner passes, collecting and discharging contaminants; and a cyclone unit comprising: a cylindrical body disposed inside the body; at least one supporting bracket extending from an outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body to an inner circumferential surface of the body to support the cylindrical body and to separate the cylindrical body from the inner circumferential surface of the body; an air inlet pipe having one end in fluid communication with the air inlet port of the body and the other end in fluid communication with the cylindrical body in a tangential direction; and a helical guide disposed inside the cylindrical body to whirl the contaminants-laden air entered inside the cylindrical body through the air inlet pipe and to guide the contaminants-laden air to the air-discharging pipe formed at an upper side of the cylindrical body.
- According to an embodiment of the present invention, the body further comprises an upper cover opening or closing a top end of the body, wherein the upper cover is integrally formed with an air-discharging pipe to guide air discharged from the body to the outside.
- The body may further comprise a lower cover disposed at a bottom end of the body by a hinge connection to open or close the bottom end of the body.
- The body may be made of transparent material or semitransparent material.
- A top end of the cyclone unit may be spaced apart from a bottom end of the upper cover so that contaminants centrifugally separated in the cyclone unit are discharged to the body.
- A contaminants discharging pathway may be formed between an outer circumferential surface of the cyclone unit and an inner circumferential surface of the body, and a contaminants collecting chamber may be formed between a bottom surface of the cyclone unit and a lower cover.
- The air-discharging pipe may be extended downwardly from the upper cover inside the cylindrical body of the cyclone unit.
- An end of the at least one supporting bracket may be bonded on the inner circumferential surface of the body by thermal fusion bonding. Alternately, the at least one supporting bracket may be fixed to the body by at least one screw. Also, the cyclone unit comprises a plurality of supporting brackets, wherein the width of each of the plurality of supporting brackets is wider than a gap between an outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body and an inner circumferential surface of the body so that a side end of each of the plurality of supporting brackets presses the inner circumferential surface of the body to fix the cylindrical body into the body.
- The air inlet pipe may be disposed to be in contact with the inner circumferential surface of the body so that the air inlet pipe separates the cylindrical body from the inner circumferential surface of the body and supports the cylindrical body.
- The air inlet pipe is bonded on the inner circumferential surface of the body by thermal fusion bonding.
- An outer diameter of the air inlet pipe may be larger than a gap between an outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body and an inner circumferential surface of the body so that the air inlet pipe presses the inner circumferential surface of the body with at least one of the plurality of supporting brackets to fix the cylindrical body into the body.
- Other objects, advantages and salient features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses preferred embodiments of the invention.
- These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:
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Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a contaminants collecting apparatus having a cyclone unit according to an embodiment of the present invention disposed in a main body of a vacuum cleaner; -
Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the cyclone unit ofFig. 1 ; -
Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the cyclone unit ofFig. 2 ; -
Fig. 4A is a plain view illustrating the cyclone unit ofFig. 2 without an upper cover; -
Fig. 4B is a partial enlarging view illustrating a cyclone unit fixed inside a cylindrical body by at least one screw; -
Fig. 5 is a partial enlarged perspective view illustrating A area ofFig. 2 ; -
Fig. 6 is a sectional view ofFig. 2 taken along a line X-X inFig. 2 ; and -
Fig. 7 is a partial sectional side view illustrating the cyclone unit ofFig. 4A viewing in a direction of arrow B inFig. 4A . - Throughout the drawings, like reference numerals will be understood to refer to like parts, components and structures.
- Hereinafter, certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
- The matters defined in the description, such as a detailed construction and elements thereof, are provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of the invention. Thus, it is apparent that the present invention 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 invention.
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Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a contaminants-collecting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention disposed in a vacuum cleaner. Referring toFig. 1 , the contaminants-collectingapparatus 100 according to the present invention is detachably disposed in amain body 11 of thevacuum cleaner 10. Asuction nozzle 15 is pivotally connected at a bottom portion of themain body 11 of thevacuum cleaner 10, and ahandle 13 is formed on a top end of themain body 11. In this embodiment of the present invention, an upright type vacuum cleaner is used as an example of vacuum cleaners employing the contaminants-collectingapparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention; however, this should not be considered as limiting. Various types of vacuum cleansers such as a canister type vacuum cleaner may employ the contaminants-collectingapparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.Reference numeral 17 ofFig. 1 denotes wheels.Reference numeral 117 ofFig. 1 denotes a handle. - Referring to
Figs. 2 and3 , the contaminants-collectingapparatus 100 includes abody 110, anupper cover 130, alower cover 150, and acyclone unit 170. - The
body 110 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape with opposite opened ends. Anair inlet port 111 is formed at a middle portion of thebody 110 in a tangential direction to thebody 110 so that contaminants-laden air enters inside thebody 110 from outside. At this time, thebody 110 of this embodiment has a cylindrical shape, however, this should not be considered as limiting. Thebody 110 may have various shapes such as a conical shape or a reversed conical shape corresponding to a part of themain body 11 of thevacuum cleaner 10 0 into which thecontaminants collecting apparatus 100 is inserted. Also, thebody 110 may be made of transparent material or semitransparent material. As a result, users can easily know the amount of contaminants collected in thebody 110 without opening theupper cover 130. Thebody 110 corresponds to the conventional dust-collecting receptacle as described above. - The
upper cover 130 is detachably disposed on a top end of thebody 110 to open or close the opened top end of thebody 110. Theupper cover 130 has an air-dischargingpipe 131 to discharge clean air to the outside of thebody 110. The air-dischargingpipe 131 penetrates a center of theupper cover 130 and expends downwardly from a bottom surface of theupper cover 130 inside thebody 110. Therefore, the air-dischargingpipe 131 is inside thecyclone unit 170. A backflow preventing claim 133 (seeFig. 6 ) is disposed in a ring shape on the bottom surface of theupper cover 130 to face a top end of a cylindrical body 171 (seeFig. 6 ). Thebackflow preventing dam 133 has a larger diameter than thecylindrical body 171. Thebackflow preventing dam 133 prevents contaminants discharging through a below-described contaminants discharging opening 114 (seeFig. 6 ) by centrifugal force from flowing back to thecylindrical body 171 through thecontaminants discharging opening 114. - The
lower cover 150 is disposed at a bottom end of thebody 110 by a hinge connection to open or close the opened bottom end of thebody 110. The hinge connection of thelower cover 150 has a general hinge connection structure. For an example, the hinge connection has a pair of fixingbrackets 113a (seeFig. 5 ) formed adjacent to the bottom end of thebody 110, a hinge part 151 (seeFig. 5 ) formed one side of thelower cover 150 and inserted between the pair of fixingbrackets 113a, and a hinge shaft 115 (seeFig. 5 ) connecting through the fixingbrackets 113a and thehinge part 151. Also, the other side of thelower cover 150 is bound by a locking lever 118 (seeFig. 7 ) disposed adjacent to the bottom end of thebody 110. When emptying contaminants collected in thebody 110, the lockinglever 118 is operated so that thelower cover 150 is released from the lockinglever 118. As a result, thelower cover 150 is pivoted downwardly based on thehinge shaft 115, and then, contaminants collected on thelower cover 150 are discharged outside through the bottom end of thebody 110 by the gravity. - Referring to
Fig. 3 , thecyclone unit 170 includes acylindrical body 171, anair inlet pipe 173, a plurality of supportingbrackets Fig 4A ), and a helical guide 179 (seeFig. 4A ). - The
cylindrical body 171 has a less diameter than thebody 110 to be inserted inside the body 1 to. Thecylindrical body 171 is disposed inside thebody 110 so that a space of thebody 110 in which contaminants are collected is isolated from the air-discharging pipe 131 (seeFig. 6 ). As a result, thecylindrical body 171 prevents contaminants collected in thebody 110 from re-scattering and discharging outside through the air-dischargingpipe 131. - Furthermore, the
cylindrical body 171 is disposed inside thebody 110 so that acontaminants discharging opening 114, acontaminants discharging pathway 116, and acontaminants collecting chamber 110b are formed in the space 113 (seeFig. 3 ) of thebody 110. Referring toFig. 6 , thecontaminants discharging opening 114 is formed between the top end of thecylindrical body 171 and the bottom end of theupper cover 130 so that contaminants whirled upwardly along an inner circumferential surface of thecylindrical body 171a are discharged inside thebody 110 through thecontaminants discharging opening 114 by centrifugal force. Thecontaminants discharging pathway 116 is a space between an outer circumferential surface of thecylindrical body 171 and the inner circumferential surface of thebody 110 to guide the contaminants passed through thecontaminants discharging opening 114 downwardly. Thecontaminants collecting chamber 110b is a space between a bottom end of thecylindrical body 171 and thelower cover 150 to collect contaminants falling through thecontaminants discharging pathway 116 by gravity. - Furthermore, the
air inlet pipe 173 is in fluid communication with theair inlet port 111 of thebody 110 so as to guide contaminants-laden air entering through theair inlet port 111 from the outside into thecylindrical body 171. Theair inlet pipe 173 is formed in the tangential direction to the lower side of thecylindrical body 171 so that the contaminants-laden air is whirled inside thecylindrical body 171. At this time, theair inlet pipe 173 is preferably formed to wrap around some part of the outer circumferential surface of thecylindrical body 171 to increase the whirling degree of the contaminants-laden air. - The helical guide 179 (see
Fig. 6 ) is formed between the inner circumferential surface of thecylindrical body 171 and thecenter shaft 177 formed in a vertical direction on a center of thecylindrical body 171. Thehelical guide 179 increases the whirling degree of the contaminants-laden air entered inside thecylindrical body 171, through theair inlet pipe 173. In other words, the entering contaminants-laden air is whirled more strongly due to a helical air path formed by thecenter shaft 177, thehelical guide 179, and thecylindrical body 171. - The plurality of supporting
brackets cylindrical body 171. Each of the plurality of supportingbrackets cylindrical body 171 from the inner circumferential surface of thebody 110. At least one of the plurality of supportingbrackets circumferential surface 110a of thebody 110 by thermal fusion bonding to securely fix thecylindrical body 171 into thebody 110. For fixing thecylindrical body 171 to thebody 110, various other suitable methods may be used in addition to the thermal fusion bonding. In one embodiment, each of the plurality of supportingbrackets 175 can have a thickness (t) sufficient so that the supportingbrackets 175 can be fixed on thebody 110 by at least onescrew 271 as shown inFig. 4B . Another example is that the width (W) of each of the plurality of supportingbrackets cylindrical body 171 and the inner circumferential surface of thebody 110 so that a side end of each of the plurality of supportingbrackets body 110 to fix thecylindrical body 171 into thebody 110. On the other hand, each of the plurality of supportingbrackets air inlet pipe 173 so that thecylindrical body 171 could be disposed in a center of thebody 110. - With an embodiment of the present invention, the
cyclone unit 170 is disposed in the conventional dust-collecting receptacle employing no cyclone structure and having the upper and lower cover, thereby maximizing contaminants collecting efficiency of the conventional dust collecting receptacle. Also, thecyclone unit 170 according to an embodiment of the present invention can be easily disposed into the conventional dust-collecting receptacle without substantially, structural change so that the conventional dust-collecting receptacle is recyclable. - Hereinafter, operation of the
contaminants collecting apparatus 100 having thecyclone unit 170 according to an embodiment of the present invention with the above-described structure will be described. - Contaminants-laden air entered into the
air inlet pipe 173 via the suction nozzle 15 (seeFig. 1 ) from the outside enters inside thecylindrical body 171, and then, rises up to theupper cover 130 whirling along the inner circumferential surface of thecylindrical body 171. Contaminants separated from the whirling upwardly contaminants-laden air by centrifugal force are collected in thecontaminants collecting chamber 110b passing through thecontaminants discharging opening 114 and thecontaminants discharging pathway 116 in order. Here, thebackflow preventing dam 133 prevents the contaminants collected in thecontaminants collecting chamber 110b from flowing back through thecontaminants discharging opening 114. On the other hand, air having contaminants removed is discharged outside thecontaminants collecting apparatus 100 through the air-dischargingpipe 131 formed to penetrate theupper cover 130. - As described above, because the
contaminants collecting apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention can use the conventional dust-collecting receptacle having no cyclonic structure without structural change as thebody 110 to dispose thecyclone unit 170, it causes the conventional dust-collecting receptacle to be recycled. As a result, a burden of cost imposed on users is decreased. - According to the present invention, because the
cyclone unit 170 is disposed inside thebody 110 of thecontaminants collecting apparatus 100, that is, inside the conventional dust-collecting receptacle, the air-dischargingpipe 131 is isolated from thecontaminants collecting chamber 110b. As a result contaminants collected in thecontaminants collecting chamber 110b is not re-scattered. Also, when thecontaminants collecting apparatus 100 is inclined, contaminants collected in thecontaminants collecting chamber 110b is prevented from entering the air-dischargingpipe 131. - Furthermore, because air passed through the
air inlet pipe 173 is discharged through the air-dischargingpipe 131 without change of a flowing direction, interference between air entering thecyclone unit 170 and air discharging outside is minimized. As a result, loss of suction force is decreased. Also, theair inlet pipe 173 is extended to wrap around the outer circumferential surface of thecylindrical body 171 so that air entered from outside rotates along some part of the outer circumferential surface of thecylindrical body 171, and then, to enter inside thecylindrical body 171. Therefor, whirling degree of air entering thecylindrical body 171 is increase.
Claims (18)
- A cyclone unit (170) for separating contaminants from contaminants-laden air drawn through an air inlet port (111) of dust-collecting receptacle via a suction nozzle (15) of a vacuum cleaner (10) and for discharging air having contaminants separated to an air-discharging pipe (131) the cyclone unit (170) comprising:a cylindrical body (171) adapted to be disposed inside the dust-collecting receptacle; andan air inlet pipe (173) having one end adapted to be in fluid communication with the air inlet port (111) of the dust-collecting receptacle and the other end in fluid communication with the cylindrical body (171) in a tangential direction, characterised in that the cyclone unit (170) comprises at least one supporting bracket (175a, 175b, 175c) extending from an outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body (171) and adapted to extend to an inner circumferential surface of the dust-collecting receptacle when the cylindrical body (171) is disposed inside the dust collecting receptacle to support the cylindrical body (171) and to separate the cylindrical body (171) from the inner circumferential surface of the dust-collecting (receptacle.
- The cyclone unit (170) of claim 1, wherein the air inlet pipe (173) wraps around some outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body (171) to increase the whirling degree of the contaminants-laden air.
- The cyclone unit (170) of any of claims 1 and 2, further comprising:a helical guide (179) disposed inside the cylindrical body (171) to whirl the contaminants-laden air entering the cylindrical body (171) through the air inlet pipe (173) and to guide the contaminants-laden air to the air-discharging pipe (131) formed at an upper side of the cylindrical body (171).
- The cyclone unit (170) of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the at least one supporting bracket (175a, 175b, 175c) has a width that is the same dimension as a dimension of an outer diameter of the air inlet pipe (173).
- The cyclone unit (170) of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the cylindrical body (171) further comprises a center shaft (177) disposed at a center thereof for the contaminants-laden air to whirl smoothly therein.
- A contaminants collecting apparatus (100) for a vacuum cleaner (10) comprising:a body (110) having an air inlet (111) through which contaminants-laden air entering via a suction nozzle (15) of the vacuum cleaner (10) can pass, in which contaminants separated from the contaminants-laden air can be collected, and from which clean air can be discharged; anda cyclone unit (170) comprising:a cylindrical body (171) disposed inside the body (110);an air inlet pipe (173) having one end in fluid communication with the air inlet of the body and the other end in fluid communication with the cylindrical body (171) in a tangential direction, characterised in that the cyclone unit (170) further comprises:at least one supporting bracker (175a, 175b, 175c) extending from an outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body (171) to an inner circumferential surface of the body (110) to support the cylindrical body (171) and to separate the cylindrical body (171) from the inner circumferential surface of the body (110), anda helical guide (179) disposed inside the cylindrical body (171) to whirl the contaminants-laden air entering the cylindrical body (171) through the air inlet pipe (173) and to guide the contaminants-laden air to the air-discharging pipe (131) formed at an upper side of the cylindrical body (171).
- The contaminants collecting apparatus (100) of claim 6, wherein the body (110) further comprises an upper cover (130) opening or closing a top end of the body (110),
wherein the upper cover (130) is integrally formed with the air-discharging pipe to guide (131) the clean air discharged from the body (110) to the outside. - The contaminants collecting apparatus (100) of any of claims 6 and 7, wherein the body (110) further comprises a lower cover (150) disposed at a bottom end of the body (110) by a hinge connection to open or close the bottom end of the body (110).
- The contaminants collecting apparatus (100) of any of claims 6 to 8, wherein the body (110) is made of transparent material or semitransparent material.
- The contaminants collecting apparatus (100) of any of claims 7 to 9, wherein the cyclone unit (170) has a top end that is spaced apart from a bottom end of the upper cover (130) so that contaminants centrifugally separated in the cyclone unit (170) are discharged to the body (110).
- The contaminants collecting apparatus (100) of any of claims 6 to 10, further comprising a contaminants discharging pathway (116) formed between an outer circumferential surface of the cyclone unit (170) and an inner circumferential surface of the body (110) a contaminants collecting chamber (110b) formed between a bottom surface of the cyclone unit (170) and a lower cover (150).
- The contaminants collecting apparatus (100) of any of claims 6 to 11, wherein the air-discharging pipe (131) extends downwardly from the upper cover (130) inside the cylindrical body (171) of the cyclone unit (170).
- The contaminants collecting apparatus (100) of any of claims 6 to 12, wherein the at least one supporting bracket (175a, 175b, 175c) has an end that is bonded on the inner circumferential surface of the body (110) by thermal fusion bonding.
- The contaminants collecting apparatus (100) of any of claims 6 to 13, wherein the at least one supporting bracket (175a, 175b, 175c) is fixed to the body by at least one screw.
- The contaminants collecting apparatus (100) of any of claims 6 to 14, wherein the cyclone unit (170) comprises a plurality of supporting brackets (175a, 175b, 175c)
wherein the width of each of the plurality of supporting brackets (175a, 175b, 175c) is wider than a gap between an outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body (171) and an inner circumferential surface of the body (110) so that a side end of each of the plurality of supporting brackets (175a, 175b, 175c) presses the inner circumferential surface of the body (110) to fix the cylindrical body (171) into the body (110) - The contaminants collecting apparatus (100) of any of claims 6 to 15, wherein the air inlet pipe (173) is in contact with the inner circumferential surface of the body (110) so that the air inlet pipe (173) separates the cylindrical body (171) from the inner circumferential surface of the body (110) and supports the cylindrical body (171).
- The contaminants collecting apparatus (100) of any of claims 6 to 16, wherein the air inlet pipe (173) is bonded on the inner circumferential surface of the body (110) by thermal fusion bonding.
- The contaminants collecting apparatus (100) of any of claims 6 to 17, the air inlet pipe (173) has an outer diameter that is larger than a gap between an outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body (171) and an inner circumferential surface of the body (110) so that the air inlet pipe (173) presses the inner circumferential surface of the body (110) with at least one of the plurality of supporting brackets (175a, 175b, 175c) to fix the cylindrical body (171) into the body (110).
Applications Claiming Priority (4)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US69844905P | 2005-07-12 | 2005-07-12 | |
KR1020050074952A KR100626736B1 (en) | 2005-07-12 | 2005-08-16 | Dust collecting apparatus for vacuum cleaner |
US75717106P | 2006-01-06 | 2006-01-06 | |
KR1020060016034A KR100662648B1 (en) | 2006-01-06 | 2006-02-20 | Cyclone unit and dirt collecting apparatus having the same |
Publications (3)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP1743560A2 EP1743560A2 (en) | 2007-01-17 |
EP1743560A3 EP1743560A3 (en) | 2007-05-02 |
EP1743560B1 true EP1743560B1 (en) | 2009-01-07 |
Family
ID=37101527
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP20060291117 Expired - Fee Related EP1743560B1 (en) | 2005-07-12 | 2006-07-06 | Cyclone unit and contaminants-collecting apparatus having the same |
Country Status (3)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP1743560B1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP2007021183A (en) |
AU (1) | AU2006202905B2 (en) |
Families Citing this family (9)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
KR100626736B1 (en) | 2005-07-12 | 2006-09-25 | 삼성광주전자 주식회사 | Dust collecting apparatus for vacuum cleaner |
US7632324B2 (en) * | 2006-05-18 | 2009-12-15 | Royal Appliance Mfg. Co. | Single stage cyclone vacuum cleaner |
KR101524791B1 (en) * | 2008-11-07 | 2015-06-03 | 삼성전자주식회사 | Cyclone dust collecting appapatus and cleaner having the same |
US10517449B2 (en) | 2010-05-31 | 2019-12-31 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Cyclone dust collecting apparatus and hand-held cleaner having the same |
JP5370548B1 (en) * | 2012-07-18 | 2013-12-18 | 三菱電機株式会社 | Cyclone separation device and vacuum cleaner |
JP5472417B1 (en) * | 2012-09-28 | 2014-04-16 | 三菱電機株式会社 | Centrifuge |
CN203341658U (en) * | 2013-04-11 | 2013-12-18 | 江苏美的春花电器股份有限公司 | Dust collector and dust collecting device thereof |
CN104083125B (en) * | 2014-07-09 | 2016-08-31 | 莱克电气股份有限公司 | Charging stick vacuums and the multi-stage cyclone dirt cup for stick vacuums of charging |
JP7058173B2 (en) * | 2018-05-14 | 2022-04-21 | 東芝ライフスタイル株式会社 | Vacuum cleaner |
Family Cites Families (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US883413A (en) * | 1907-07-20 | 1908-03-31 | William F Mahony | Pneumatic dust-collector. |
DE19938774A1 (en) * | 1999-08-16 | 2001-03-01 | Lundin Filter Gmbh | Device for separating particles from a fluid |
GB2362341B (en) * | 2000-05-16 | 2002-12-04 | Samsung Kwangju Electronics Co | Upright-type vacuum cleaner |
KR100437371B1 (en) * | 2000-07-26 | 2004-06-25 | 삼성광주전자 주식회사 | Cyclone dust-collecting apparatus for Vaccum Cleaner |
EP1455627B1 (en) * | 2001-10-12 | 2010-01-20 | Arçelik A.S. | Vacuum cleaner |
-
2006
- 2006-05-23 JP JP2006142770A patent/JP2007021183A/en not_active Withdrawn
- 2006-07-06 EP EP20060291117 patent/EP1743560B1/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 2006-07-07 AU AU2006202905A patent/AU2006202905B2/en not_active Ceased
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
EP1743560A3 (en) | 2007-05-02 |
JP2007021183A (en) | 2007-02-01 |
EP1743560A2 (en) | 2007-01-17 |
AU2006202905A1 (en) | 2007-02-01 |
AU2006202905B2 (en) | 2008-07-10 |
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