GB2402329A

GB2402329A - Vacuum cleaner nozzle for cleaning corners

Info

Publication number: GB2402329A
Application number: GB0403175A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jong-Kook Lim; Keon-Soo Choi
Original assignee: Samsung Gwangju Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2003-06-02
Filing date: 2004-02-12
Publication date: 2004-12-08
Anticipated expiration: 2024-02-12
Also published as: KR100500841B1; FR2855387A1; CN1572211A; US20040237250A1; KR20040103256A; ES2265711B1; DE10345963A1; RU2003127940A; JP2004358212A; GB2402329B; GB0403175D0; ES2265711A1; RU2256394C2

Abstract

A nozzle for a vacuum cleaner comprises a main body 120 with a dust inlet port, and an auxiliary body 150 pivotally attached to the main body for complementing the floor shape at a corner of a room. The auxiliary body has a second inlet port in communication with the main body inlet port. The auxiliary body may be a pair of pivotable brushes 161, 161' coupled to the dust inlet port of the main body, and there may be an extension brush 171, 171' telescopically attached to each of the pair. The extension brushes and the pivotable brushes may have the auxiliary inlet port 168, 178 formed along their bottom surfaces. The main body may comprise a central body 141 formed with a downwardly open dust inlet port 142 and a protrusion 143 extending downwardly about with the pivotable brushes may pivot.

Description

1 2402329 P51 2429GB Nozzle Unit for a Vacuum Cleaner This invention

relates to a vacuum cleaner, and in particular to a nozzle unit for a vacuum cleaner, which nozzle unit is removably coupled to an inlet pipe of the vacuum cleaner.

In a vacuum cleaner, it is difficult to remove dust or other foreign substances (hereinafter "dust") remaining at a corner of a room due to the structure of its nozzle unit. Recently, in order to solve this problem, a vacuum cleaner having a foldaway brush has been proposed.

Figures I to Figure 4 show a conventional foldaway brush for a vacuum cleaner, this foldaway brush having a central body I connected to an inlet pipe 105 (see Figure 5) of the vacuum cleaner, and side bodies 2, 2' rotatably disposed at opposite sides of the central body. A respective spring 3, 3' is provided between the central body 1 and each of the side bodies 2, 2', the springs being provided for returning the side bodies to their original positions.

As shown in Figure 3, the central body 1 has a downwardly-open inlet port 11, through which external dust is sucked in. Guide grooves 12 are formed at both sides of the outer circumferential surface of the central body 1, the guide grooves providing guidance for the side bodies 2 and 2'. A respective spring guide hole 13 is formed adjacent to each of the guide groove 12, the springs 3, 3' associated with the side bodies 2 and 2' being disposed in the spring guide holes.

First, second and third protrusions 14, 14', 14" are formed at the lower surface of the central body 1. The second and third protrusions 14' and 14" each have a side parallel to a respective dust inlet groove 21, 21' of the associated side body 2, 2', the first protrusion 14 being provided at the lower central side of the central body 1 between the second protrusion and third protrusions. A pair of block guide grooves 17 and 17' are formed at the lower surface of the central body 1 outside of the protrusions 14, 14' and 14", these grooves extending in a circumferential direction.

Each side body 2, 2' is provided with a protruding guide member 22, 22' coupled to the respective guide groove 12. Respective spring guide holes 24, 24' are provided at the upper side of the protruding guide members 22, 22', the springs 3, 3' being insertable into these guide holes. The dust inlet grooves 21, 21' are provided at the lower sides of the guide members 22, 22', for guiding dust to the inlet port 11 of the central body 1.

Respective blocks 23, 23' are provided at the lower side of each of the guide members 22, 22', these blocks preventing loss of suction force between the central body 1 and the side bodies 2, 2'.

Block guides 25, 25' are formed on the upper surfaces of the blocks 23, 23', the block guides being coupled to respective block guide groove 17, 17' formed in the lower surface of the central body 1. The block guide grooves 17 and 17' each have a larger diameter (with respect to the central axis of the central body 1) than the block guides 25, 25', so that the blocks 23 and 23' of the side bodies 2 and 2' can be smoothly rotated without contact with each other.

The springs 3, 3' are torsion springs, one end of each spring being fixed to the central body 1, the other end being inserted into the respective spring connecting hole 24, 24' of the respective side body 2, 2'. Thus, when one of the side bodies 2, 2' is rotated by contact with furniture or a wall in a room, the respective springs 3, 3' functions to provide a restoring force.

The foldaway brush of this conventional vacuum cleaner can be coupled to the inlet pipe of the vacuum cleaner using an appropriately-shaped connector (not shown). For example, when cleaning a corner of a room, which corner has an angle of 90 , the brush can be moved forwards as shown in Figure 4. Then, the side bodies 2, 2' are rotated with respect to the central body 1 by an external force. Thus, the inlet port 11 of the central body 1 faces the corner between the floor 51 and the walls 55 so that dust is sucked in the direction of the arrow. When the brush is moved backwards after completion of the cleaning operation, the external force applied to the side bodies 2, 2' is removed, so that the side bodies are returned to the original positions by the restoring force of the springs 3, 3'.

As described above, the conventional foldaway brush has an advantage in that it is capable of cleaning the corner of a room. However, since the length of each of the side bodies is limited, a cleaning operation can be perfonned only over a comparatively narrow area. Therefore, there is an inconvenience in that the user has repeatedly to move the brush when performing a cleaning operation other than over such a small area. Moreover, due to its structure, the springs 3, 3' of the conventional brush are exposed to the inlet port through which dust is sucked, so that dust can lodge between the springs and their spring guide holes 13, 13', thereby causing an operational defect.

Further, it is difficult to remove dust from the springs.

It is an aim of the invention to provide a vacuum cleaner nozzle unit whose area of operation can easily be expanded and contracted to complement an included angle or a surface area at a corner of a room, thereby to facilitate a cleaning operation.

It is another aim of the invention to provide a vacuum cleaner nozzle unit in which a side body can be smoothly rotated with respect to a central body, and which can prevent dust lodging.

The present invention provides a nozzle unit for a vacuum cleaner, the nozzle unit comprising: a main body having a dust inlet port, the main body being removably coupled to an inlet pipe of the vacuum cleaner; and an auxiliary body pivotally coupled to the main body for complementing the floor shape at a room corner having a predetermined angle, the auxiliary body having an auxiliary inlet port in communication with the dust inlet port.

In a preferred embodiment, the auxiliary body comprises a pair of pivotable brushes pivotably coupled to the dust inlet port of the main body, a respective extension brush being telescopically coupled to each of the pivotable brushes; and the auxiliary inlet port is formed along the bottom surface of each of the pivotable brushes, and along the bottom surface of each of the extension brushes.

Preferably, the main body comprises a central body formed with a downwardly-open dust inlet port and with a dust outlet port coupled to the inlet pipe, the central body having a rib extending downwardly from the dust inlet port so as to allow the pivotable brushes to pivot, and a main casing in which the central body and the inlet pipe are disposed. Advantageously, the nozzle unit further comprises a first connecting pipe coupled to the inlet pipe, and a second connecting pipe coupled to the main casing and connected to the first connecting pipe and rotatable relatively thereto.

In a preferred embodiment, the main casing comprises a central portion having an air path between a body-mounting portion, in which the central body is mounted, and a pipe coupling portion in communication with the inlet pipe; and a pair of wing portions extending respectively from the central portion on opposite sides thereof, each wing portion having a respective guide portion for guiding pivoting of the respective pivotable brush. Preferably, each guide portion comprises a guide groove forming an arc at the respective wing portion with the rib of the central body in the centre, and a guide protrusion protruding from the respective pivotable brush to be received in that guide groove.

Advantageously, the nozzle unit further comprises a resilient member for returning each pivotable brush to its original position.

Preferably, each pivotable brush comprises a hinge portion rotatably coupled to the rib of the central body, and a pivotable body in which the extension brush is telescopically received, and the auxiliary inlet port protrudes from the bottom surface thereof, each pivotable body being pivotable with the respective hinge portion at its centre. In this case, the nozzle unit may further comprise a cover coupled to the rib of the central body in which the pair of pivotable brushes are coupled, wherein an air passage is formed at the outer surface of the rib, the cover, the respective hinge portion and the respective

pivotable body.

Advantageously, the nozzle unit further comprises a respective leaf spring disposed at one of the contacting surfaces of each extension brush and its pivotable brush, and a plurality of latching jaws provided at the other contacting surface for fixing that leaf spring.

Conveniently, the nozzle unit further comprises a respective guide formed at one of the contacting surfaces of each extension brush and its pivotable brush, and a movable protrusion formed at the other contacting surface, each movable protrusion being movable along the respective guide.

Therefore, the suction area of the nozzle unit can be easily expanded and contracted to complement the included angle or the surface area of a corner of a room, thereby facilitating the performance of a cleaning operation. Moreover, since the wing portions can be smoothly rotated with respect to the central body, sucked-in dust does not lodge within the unit.

The invention will now be described in greater detail by way of example with reference to the drawings, in which: Figure I is a perspective view of a conventional nozzle unit; Figure 2 is an underneath view of the unit of Figure 1; Figure 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a central body forming part of the unit of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a view showing the operation of the nozzle unit of Figure 1; Figure 5 is a perspective view of a vacuum cleaner having a nozzle unit constructed according to the invention; Figure 6 is an enlarged view of part of the cleaner of Figure 5, showing the nozzle unit in greater detail; Figure 7 is an exploded perspective view of the nozzle unit of Figure 6; Figure 8 is a perspective view of the lower part of the nozzle unit of Figure 7; Figure 9 is a partially-enlarged, perspective view of the nozzle unit of Figure 8, showing its central body, an auxiliary inlet body and a hinge cover; Figure 10 is an assembled perspective view of the arrangement shown in Figure 9; Figure 11 is an enlarged perspective view showing the coupling between a pivotable brush and an extension brush of the nozzle unit of Figure 7; Figure 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line I-I of Figure 11; Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II of Figure 11; and Figure 14 is a perspective view showing the operation of the nozzle unit with its upper cover removed.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 5 shows a vacuum cleaner 100 having a cleaner body 101 in which a vacuum generating unit (not shown) is mounted, an inlet pipe assembly 102 coupled to the cleaner body, and a nozzle unit 110 coupled to the inlet pipe assembly so as to suck in dust from the outside. The inlet pipe assembly 102 comprises a flexible pipe 104 coupled to an inlet port 106 of the cleaner body 101, an inlet pipe coupled to the rear portion of the inlet unit, and a handle pipe 105 interposed between the flexible pipe and the inlet pipe.

The nozzle unit 110 (see Figures 6 and 7) includes a main body 120 coupled to the inlet pipe 105 (not shown in these Figures) of the vacuum cleaner 100, and an auxiliary body which is expandable/retractable and simultaneously pivotable with respect to the main body. The main body 120 is connected to the inlet pipe 105 via a first connecting pipe 116 and a second connecting pipe 117. The first and second connecting pipes 116 and 117 are connected with each other so as to be relatively rotatable.

The main body 120 is provided with a main casing 121 and a central body 141 disposed in the main casing. As shown in Figures 9 and 10, the central body 141 is provided with a rib 143, which forms a rotational shaft for the auxiliary body 150, and with a rearwardly-open dust outlet port 142. The rib 143 is formed with a downwardly-open dust inlet port 146. An air passage 145 is formed at the outer surface of the rib 143.

The main casing 121 is constituted by a lower case 123 and an upper cover 122. The lower case 123 is formed with a central portion 131, in which the central body]41 is disposed, and with a pair of wing portions 124 and 124' that extend from both sides of the central portion. An air path 134 is formed in the central portion 131, the air path 134 leading in a front-rear direction. A body-mounting portion 132 is formed at the front end of the air path 134, the central body 141 being disposed in the body-mounting portion. A pipe coupling portion 133, in which the second connecting pipe 117 is coupled, is formed at the rear end of the body-mounting portion 132. Consequently, dust discharged to the dust outlet port 142 of the central body 141 flows along the air path 134, and is then introduced through the second connecting pipe 1] 7 into the inlet pipe 105.

Inclined surfaces 126, 126' are formed at the wing portions 124, 124' of the lower case 123, these surfaces being inclined at a desired angle in a rearwardly- facing direction.

Respective guide grooves 125, 125' are formed at the central region of the bottom surface of each of the wing portions 124, 124', the guide grooves forming an arc with the rib 143 of the central body 141 in the centre. Guide protrusions 166, 166', which protrude upwards from pivotable brushes 161, 161' of the auxiliary body 150, are received in the guide grooves 125, 125'. The guide protrusions 166, 166' guide rotation of the pivotable brushes 161, 161', while moving along the guide grooves 125, 125'.

The inclined surfaces 126, 126' function to restrict rotation of the pivotable brushes 161, 161 ', when they contact, for example, a wall of a room or furniture.

Upwardly-extending spring protrusions 127, 127' are formed respectively on the bottom surfaces of the wing portions 124, 124' of the lower case 123. The spring protrusions 127, 127' are formed respectively between the guide grooves 125, 125' and the rib 143.

Respective torsion springs 135, 135' are mounted on the spring protrusions 127, 127', each of the torsion springs being fixed to the respective wing portion 124, 124' at one end. The other end of each torsion spring 135, 135' is fixed to the respective guide protrusion 166, 166'. As a result, the pivotable brushes 161, 161', which are pivotably supported by the wing portions 124, 124', can be returned to their original positions by the restoring forces of the torsion springs 135, 135' as described below.

The auxiliary body 150 is provided with the pivotable brushes 161, 161', and with a pair of extension brushes 171, 171', each of which is telescopically received in its respective pivotable brush. Figures 11 to 13 show only the pivotable brush 161 and its extension brush 171 and the following description will refer only to these brushes. The pivotable brush 161' and its extension brush 171' are constructed in the same manner and operate in the same way.

The pivotable brush 161 includes a hinge portion 163 coupled to the rib 143 of the central body 141, and a pivotable body 162 which extends radially from the hinge portion. The pivotable body 162 is in the form of a rectangular box, and has an opening 167 at that end opposite to the hinge portion 163. An upwardly-extending auxiliary inlet port 168 is formed in the bottom surface of the pivotable body 162. The auxiliary inlet port 168 extends along the length of the pivotable body 162, one end of the auxiliary inlet port communicating with the dust inlet port 146 of the central body 141.

The guide protrusion 166 (see Figure 7) protrudes upwards from the upper surface of the pivotable body 162, so as to be insertable into the guide groove 125 formed in the wing portion 124 of the main casing 121.

The hinge portion 163 is in the form of a ring, and is rotatably coupled to the outer surface of the rib 143. The hinge portion 163 is formed at the upper end portion of the pivotable body 162 so as to have a thickness corresponding to half the height of the pivotable body. The hinge portion 163' of the other pivotable brush 161' is formed at the lower end portion of the corresponding pivotable body 162'. Therefore, as shown in Figure 10, the hinge portions 163 and 163' overlap on the outer surface of the rib 143.

The hinge portion 163' of the pivotable brush 161', which is disposed at the lower side of the other hinge portion 163 (Figures 9 and 10 showing the nozzle unit in the upside-down position), is formed with a dust passage 165 on its outer surface. The dust passage 165 serves to connect the auxiliary inlet port 168 of the pivotable brush 161 with the dust inlet port 146 ofthe central body 141.

As shown in Figure 10, the hinge portions 163, 163', which overlap one another on the outer surface of the rib 143 of the central body 141, are supported by a hinge cover 181 coupled to the lower side of that rib. Hooks 182 (see Figure 9) are formed at the upper end of the hinge cover 181, and hook slots 144 are formed in the rib 143, the hooks being engageable in the hook slots. An air passage 185 is also formed at the outer surface of the hinge cover 181, to connect the auxiliary inlet ports 168, 168' and the dust inlet port 146.

The extension brush 171 also has the form of a rectangular box, and is telescopically received in the opening 167 of the pivotable brush 161. An auxiliary inlet port 178 is provided in the bottom surface of the extension brush 171, this auxiliary inlet port being engageable with the auxiliary inlet port 168 of the pivotable brush 161. As a result, the extension brush 171 can be slid lengthwise with respect to the pivotable brush 161 for extension or retraction. The auxiliary inlet port 178 of the extension brush 171 is in direct communication with the dust inlet port 146 of the central body 141 when the extension brush is retracted, and communicates through the auxiliary inlet port 168 of the pivotable brush 161 with the dust inlet port 146 when the extension brush is extended.

An outwardly-protruding latching rib 177 is formed at the outer end of the extension brush 171, the latching rib contacting an open surface of the pivotable brush 161 when the extension brush 171 is retracted. This prevents excessive retraction of the extension brush 171.

As shown in Figure 11, the extension brush 171 can be fixed, in a desired position with respect to the pivotable brush 161, by a leaf spring 191 and a plurality of latching jaws 192. The leaf spring 191 is fixed to a spring groove 193 formed in the outer surface of the extension brush 171. The latching jaws 192 protrude inwardly along the length of the pivotable brush 161. The leaf spring 191 engages the latching jaws 192 of the pivotable brush 161 when the extension brush 171 is extended or retracted.

Alternatively, the leaf spring 191 can be provided on the pivotable brush 161, and the latching jaws 192 can be provided on the extension brush 171.

A movable protrusion 196 is formed on the upper surface of the extension brush 171, and a guide 195 is formed lengthwise on the pivotable brush 161. The movable protrusion 196 is received in the guide 195, and is movable in the lengthwise direction of the pivotable brush 16]. Thus, the extension brush 171 can be smoothly slid for extension or retraction with respect to the pivotable brush 161. Alternatively, the movable protrusion 196 can be provided on the pivotable brush 161, and the guide 195 can be formed on the extension brush 171.

In order to assemble the nozzle unit 110 as described above, firstly the central body 141 is positioned in the lower case 123 of the main casing 121. Then, the hinge portions 163 and 163' formed on the pivotable brushes 161 and 161' are coupled to the rib 143 of the central body so that the hinge portions overlap. If an external force is applied upwardly from the lower sides of the hinge portions 163, 163', the guide protrusions 166, 166' formed on the pivotable brushes 161, 161' are received in the guide grooves 125, 125' formed on the wing portions 124, 124' of the lower case 123.

In this situation, the hinge cover 181 is coupled to the rib 143 of the central body 141.

Then, the pivotable brushes 161, 161' are supported by the hinge cover 181, and the wing portions 124, 124' of the lower case 123 are rotatable in either direction with the rib 143 in the centre thereof. The torsion springs 135, 135' are coupled to the spring protrusions 127, 127' of the lower case 123, and both ends of the torsion springs l 35, 135' are respectively fixed to the bottom surface of the lower case 123 and the guide protrusions 166, 166' of the pivotable brushes 161, 161'. Both pivotable brushes 161 and 161' are, therefore, disposed opposite to one another, with the rib 143 in the centre, as a result ofthe restoring force of the torsion springs 135, 135'.

The extension brushes 171, 171' are then coupled to the pivotable brushes 161, 161'.

At the same time or at another time, the second connecting pipe 117 which is connected to the first connecting pipe 116, is coupled to the pipe coupling portion 133 of the lower case 123. If the upper cover 122 is coupled to an upper portion of the lower case 123, the assembly process of the nozzle unit 110 is completed.

In this situation, the first connecting pipe 116 can be coupled to the inlet pipe 105 of the vacuum cleaner 100. Then, if the vacuum cleaner is turned on, in order to clean the corner of a room (see Figure 14) the nozzle unit 110 can be pushed forwards so as to be disposed adjacent to both sidewalls 55. The pivotable brushes 161, 161' are then rotated against the walls 55. The extension brushes 171, 171', which are received in the pivotable brushes 161, 161 ', can be extended so as to increase the area to be cleaned.

The pivotable brushes 161, 161' that pivot with the rib 143 of the central body 141 cease pivoting when they contact the corner defined by the walls 55. Then, if an external force is applied to the pivotable brushes 161, 161', they are returned to the original positions by the elastic force of the torsion springs 135, 135'.

Claims

Claims 1. A nozzle unit for a vacuum cleaner, the nozzle unit comprising:

a main body having a dust inlet port, the main body being removably coupled S to an inlet pipe of the vacuum cleaner; and an auxiliary body pivotally coupled to the main body for complementing the floor shape at a room corner having a predetermined angle, the auxiliary body having an auxiliary inlet port in communication with the dust inlet port.
2. A nozzle unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the auxiliary body comprises a pair of pivotable brushes pivotably coupled to the dust inlet port of the main body, a respective extension brush being telescopically coupled to each of the pivotable brushes; and the auxiliary inlet port is formed along the bottom surface of each of the I S pivotable brushes, and along the bottom surface of each of the extension brushes.
3. A nozzle unit as claimed in claim 2, wherein the main body comprises a central body formed with a downwardly-open dust inlet port and with a dust outlet port coupled to the inlet pipe, the central body having a rib extending downwardly from the dust inlet port so as to allow the pivotable brushes to pivot, and a main casing in which the central body and the inlet pipe are disposed.
4. A nozzle unit as claimed in claim 3, further comprising a first connecting pipe coupled to the inlet pipe, and a second connecting pipe coupled to the main casing and connected to the first connecting pipe and rotatable relatively thereto.
5. A nozzle unit as claimed in claim 3 or claim 4, wherein the main casing comprises a central portion having an air path between a body- mounting portion, in which the central body is mounted, and a pipe coupling portion in communication with the inlet pipe; and a pair of wing portions extending respectively from the central portion on opposite sides thereof, each wing portion having a respective guide portion for guiding pivoting of the respective pivotable brush.
6. A nozzle unit as claimed in claim 5, wherein the each guide portion comprises a guide groove forming an arc at the respective wing portion with the rib of the central body in the centre, and a guide protrusion protruding from the respective pivotable brush to be received in that guide groove.
7. A nozzle unit as claimed in claim 5 or claim 6, further comprising a respective resilient member for returning each pivotable brush to its original position.
8. A nozzle unit as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein each pivotable brush comprises a hinge portion rotatably coupled to the rib of the central body, and a pivotable body in which the extension brush is telescopically received, and the auxiliary inlet port protrudes from the bottom surface thereof, each pivotable body being pivotable with the respective hinge portion at its centre.
9. A nozzle unit as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a cover coupled to the rib of the central body in which the pair of pivotable brushes are coupled, wherein an air passage is formed at the outer surface of the rib, the cover, the respective hinge portion and the respective pivotable body.
10. A nozzle unit as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 9, further comprising a respective leaf spring disposed at one of the contacting surfaces of each extension brush and its pivotable brush, and a plurality of latching jaws provided at the other contacting surface for fixing that leaf spring.
11. A nozzle unit as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 10, further comprising a respective guide formed at one of the contacting surfaces of each extension brush and its pivotable brush, and a movable protrusion formed at the other contacting surface, each movable protrusion being movable along the respective guide.