GB2469729A

GB2469729A - Nozzle assembly

Info

Publication number: GB2469729A
Application number: GB1006425A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Byung-Jo Lee
Original assignee: Samsung Gwangju Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2009-04-23
Filing date: 2010-04-16
Publication date: 2010-10-27
Anticipated expiration: 2030-04-16
Also published as: KR101556965B1; KR20100116860A; GB201006425D0; GB2469729B; US20100269290A1

Abstract

A nozzle assembly for a vacuum cleaner includes a case 210, 220 having an inlet 221 through which a dirt is drawn in from a surface to be cleaned and an outlet 212, a drum brush 240 that is rotatably mounted in an inner space of the case 210, 220, and a rotation-prevention member 260 that is disposed between an inner wall of the case 210, 220 and the drum brush 240 and prevents the dirt from being rotated along the drum brush 240 and effectively cleans the drum brush 240. The rotation prevention member 260 is preferably disposed at a location opposite to the outlet 212 and the drum brush 240 may be positioned between the rotation prevention member 260 and the outlet 212. The nozzle assembly is preferably arranged so that dirt is guided from the inlet 221 to the outlet 212 along a first flow path 271 that enables the dirt to move from the inlet 221 directly to the outlet 212 or along a second flow path 272 that enable dirt to move from the inlet 221 to the outlet 212 via the rotation prevention member 260, with the rotation prevention member 260 reversing the direction of travel of the dirt.

Description

NOZZLE ASSEMBLY FOR VACUUM CLEANER

The present disclosure relates to a nozzle assembly for a vacuum cleaner and, more particularly, to a nozzle assembly for a vacuum cleaner in which a drum brush is mounted.

Vacuum cleaners draw in materials, such as dust or dirt, from a surface to be cleaned using suction and separate the drawn-in materials from the air in which they are suspended. In general, vacuum cleaners are classified into canister vacuum cleaners and upright vacuum cleaners.

An upright vacuum cleaner is configured so that a cleaner's main body is connected directly to a nozzle assembly which, in turn, may be brought into contact with a surface to be cleaned.

Additionally, in many of these upright vacuum cleaners, a drum brush is mounted in the nozzle assembly in order to increase the cleaning efficiency. The drum brush rotates at a high speed and is in contact with the surface to be cleaned, so that dirt or dust may be lifted from the surface to be cleaned and so that the lifted dirt or dust may flow into a dust collector included in the cleaner's main body through the nozzle assembly.

However, when the nozzle assembly having a drum brush is used, certain dirt or dust particles drawn into the nozzle assembly may be subjected to the rotational force of the drum brush which rotates at high speed, either while attached to the drum brush or when suspended in air.

Accordingly, the dirt or dust is rotated along with the drum brush, and thus it is impossible for the dirt or dust to flow into the dust collector included in the cleaner main body, which results in a reduction in the cleaning efficiency.

The present disclosure has been developed in order to solve the above-described and other problems in the related art. Accordingly, an aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a nozzle assembly for a vacuum cleaner capable of reducing an amount of dirt which is rotated along with a drum brush, thereby increasing cleaning efficiency.

An aspect of the invention extends to a nozzle assembly for a vacuum cleaner, including a case having an inlet for drawing in dirt or dust from a surface being cleaned and an outlet; a drum brush that is rotatably mounted in an inner space of the case; and a rotation-prevention member that is disposed between an inner wall of the case and the drum brush and which prevents the dirt from being rotated along with the drum brush.

The rotation-prevention member may be disposed at a location opposite to the outlet and the drum brush may be disposed at a location between the rotation-prevention member and the outlet.

The rotation-prevention member may be disposed at a position higher than a centre of the drum brush.

The rotation-prevention member may protrude from the inner wall of the case toward the center of the drum brush.

The rotation-prevention member may extend along a longitudinal direction of the drum brush.

The nozzle assembly may be arranged so that the dirt is guided from the inlet to the outlet either along a first flow path that enables the dirt to move from the inlet directly to the outlet, or along a second flow path that enables the dirt to move from the inlet to the outlet via the rotation-prevention member.

The nozzle assembly may further include a discharge guide member that encloses at least a portion of the drum brush to guide the dirt blocked by the rotation-prevention member toward the outlet.

An end of the discharge guide member may be disposed adjacent to the rotation-prevention member.

The end of the discharge guide member may be orientated perpendicular to one side of the rotation-prevention member.

The discharge guide member may enclose an upper portion of the drum brush.

The discharge guide member may extend along a longitudinal direction of the drum brush.

The nozzle assembly may be arranged so that the second flow path includes a first sub-flow path in which the dirt is guided toward the rotation-prevention member along a space between the discharge guide member and the drum brush, a second sub-flow path in which the dirt comes into contact with the rotation-prevention member so that a moving direction of the dirt is converted, and a third sub-flow path in which the dirt is guided toward the outlet along a space between the discharge guide member and the case.

The rotation-prevention member may include a plurality of bristles that remove dirt from the drum brush.

The case may include an upper case and a lower case having the inlet, and the rotation-prevention member may be mounted on an inner wall of the upper case.

In an embodiment the rotation-prevention member is a diverting member for diverting dirt adhering to, or moving along with, the drum brush to a different flow path.

These and/or other aspects and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments and accompanying drawings in which: FIG. I is a perspective view illustrating a vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the invention; FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a nozzle assembly included in the vacuum cleaner illustrated in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view, similar to FIG 2, explaining a second flow path illustrated in FIG. 2; and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating another embodiment of a nozzle assembly

according to the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, like reference numerals will be used to refer to like parts, components and structures.

Hereinafter, a vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying figures.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the

present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, the vacuum cleaner includes a main body 100 arid a nozzle assembly 200.

The main body 100 includes a suction motor unit 110, a dust collector 120 and a handle 130.

The suction motor unit 110 is disposed within a lower portion of the main body 100 and includes a suction motor (not illustrated) to generate a suction. The suction motor is disposed in the suction motor unit 110.

The dust collector 120 is disposed above the suction motor unit 110 and separates dirt and dust (hereinafter, referred to as dirt) from air drawn in through the nozzle assembly 200, and collects the separated dirt. The dust collector 120 according to the present disclosure is a cyclone dust collector which centrifugally separates the dirt from the drawn-in air. However, the vacuum cleaner according to the present disclosure may include other types of dust collector, for example a dust collector using a dust bag instead of or in addition to the dust collector 120.

A handle 130 is detachably mounted to an upper end of the main body 100 so that a user may easily move the vacuum cleaner to a desired position using the handle 130. Furthermore, the vacuum cleaner of FIG. I may be used as a canister vacuum cleaner by detaching the handle from the main body 100, although embodiments of the invention are not limited in this respect. When the handle 130 is attached to the main body 100 as illustrated in FIG. 1, the vacuum cleaner may be used as an upright vacuum cleaner,or when the handle 130 is detached from the main body 100, the vacuum cleaner may be used as a canister-type vacuum cleaner.

To allow the vacuum cleaner to be used as both a canister vacuum cleaner and an upright vacuum cleaner, the main body 100 includes a first connection hose 140 for establishing fluid communication between the nozzle assembly 200 and the dust collector 120 in an upright cleaning mode and a second connection hose 150 for establishing fluid communication between the handle 130 and the dust collector 120 in canister cleaning mode. Additionally, the main body 100 includes a flow path switching unit (not illustrated) disposed in a rear side thereof to switch a flow path so that the dust collector 120 may selectively be placed in fluid communication with the nozzle assembly 200 or the handle 130 according to whether the handle 130 is attached to, or detached from, the main body 100.

In more detail, if the handle 130 is attached to the main body 100 that is, if the vacuum cleaner is used in the upright cleaning mode, the dust collector 120 may be placed in fluid communication with the nozzle assembly 200 by the flow path switching unit, so that the dirt and air may be drawn into the dust collector 120 from the surface to be cleaned through the nozzle assembly 200. Alternatively, if the handle 130 is detached from the main body 100, that is, if the vacuum cleaner is used in the canister cleaning mode, the dust collector 120 may be placed in fluid communication with the handle 130 by the flow path switching unit, so that the dirt and air may be drawn into the dust collector 120 from the surface to be cleaned, through another nozzle (not illustrated) connected to a first end of the handle 130. In this situation, the air drawn into the dust collector 120 through the nozzle assembly 200 or through the other nozzle connected to the first end of the handle 130 may be discharged to the outside through the suction motor unit 110 once dirt has been separated therefrom.

Reference numeral 160 of FIG. 1 indicates a pair of main wheels (only one of which is shown), which are disposed at a lower end of the main body 100 at opposite sides of the main body to facilitate movement of the vacuum cleaner.

In use, the nozzle assembly 200 is placed in contact with the surface to be cleaned and draws in air along with the dirt from the surface to be cleaned using the suction provided by the suction motor unit 110. The nozzle assembly 200 is pivotably connected to the main body and thus a user may operate the vacuum cleaner for cleaning by tilting the main body 100 with respect to the nozzle assembly 200 at various angles.

Hereinafter, the nozzle assembly 200 will be described in greater detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the nozzle assembly 200 included in the vacuum cleaner illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view, similar to FIG. 2, explaining a second flow path illustrated in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 2, the nozzle assembly 200 includes an upper case 210, a lower case 220, an extension pipe 230, and a drum bush 240.

The upper case 210 and the lower case 220 are engaged with each other to form an inner space in the nozzle assembly 200 and describe an external appearance of the nozzle assembly 200. The lower case 220 includes an inlet 221 which is formed in a front portion thereof and through which, in use, dirt and air flow into the nozzle assembly 200 from the surface being cleaned. Additionally, the lower case 220 includes a pair of sub-wheels 222 (only one shown) that are disposed on a bottom surface thereof to assist movement of the nozzle assembly 200 on the surface being cleaned in use.

The extension pipe 230 is installed in the inner space in the nozzle assembly 200 in order to guide the dirt and air flowing in the nozzle assembly 200 through the inlet 221 toward the first connection hose 140 (see FIG. 1) and the second connection hose 150 (see FIG I). A first end of the extension pipe 230 is disposed near the inlet 221 of the nozzle assembly 200 and a second end of the extension pipe 230 is connected to the flow path switching unit described above. Accordingly, the dirt and air flowing into the nozzle assembly 200 through the inlet 221 may be guided toward the first connection hose 140 through the extension pipe 230.

Additionally, the nozzle assembly 200 includes a guide case 211 disposed therein which is connected to a first end of the extension pipe 230. The guide case 211 directs the dirt and air flowing in the nozzle assembly 200 through the inlet 221 to encourage it to flow into the extension pipe 230. An outlet 212 of the guide case 211 is sealed with the first end of the extension pipe 230 so that the dirt and air drawn in the nozzle assembly 200 through the inlet 221 flow in the extension pipe 230, rather than leaking out.

The drum brush 240 is installed in the inner space of the nozzle assembly 200 adjacent to the inlet 221 formed in the lower case 220. Additionally, the drum brush 240 receives a rotational driving force from a drum brush driving motor (not shown) which is disposed at the rear thereof. The rotational force causes the drum brush to rotate at a regular angular speed during cleaning.

The drum brush 240 includes a drum brush body 241 having a substantially cylindrical shape and a plurality of contact members 242 radiating out from an outer circumference surface of the drum brush body 241. Each of the plurality of contact members 242 protrudes for a predetermined length from the inlet 221 so, if the drum brush 240 is rotated, the contact members 242 may act to separate dirt from the surface being cleaned. In particular, if the surface being cleaned is made of some kind of fabric, such as carpet, the cleaning efficiency may be improved by the drum brush 240.

The nozzle assembly 200 further includes a discharge guide member 250 and a rotation-prevention member 260, as illustrated in FIG. 2.

The discharge guide member 250 extends along the longitudinal direction of the drum brush 240 so as to enclose an upper portion of the drum brush 240. The discharge guide member 250 is installed in a space between the upper case 210 and the drum brush 240 and is spaced by a predetermined distance from the drum bush 240. Although not illustrated in FIG. 2, the discharge guide member 250 is connected to, and supported by, the upper case 210.

Additionally, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the discharge guide member 250 may be integrally formed with the upper case 210. As illustrated in FIG, 2, the discharge guide member 250 encloses about 1/3 of the circumference of the drum brush 240, but the dimensions of the drum brush 240 enclosed by the discharge guide member 250 may be varied in further embodiments. In addition, a left end 251 of the discharge guide member 250 may be disposed at a position higher than a center 243 of the drum brush 240.

The rotation-prevention member 260 includes a base member 261 and a plurality of bristles 262.

The base member 261 protrudes from an inner wall of the upper case 210, toward substantially the center 243 of the drum brush 240 and extends along the length of the drum brush 240. Accordingly, the base member 261 is substantially perpendicular to the left end 251 of the discharge guide member 250. Additionally, since the base member 261 is disposed near the left end 251 of the discharge guide member 250, the base member 261 is also disposed at a position higher than the center 243 of the drum brush 240.

The plurality of bristles 262 are situated at an end of the base member 261 adjacent to the drum brush 240. The plurality of bristles 262 protrude toward the center 243 of the drum brush 240. When the drum brush 240 is rotated, the plurality of bristles 262 brush the dirt from the outer circumference surface of the drum brush body 241 or from the contact members 242.

As described above, the nozzle assembly 200 includes the discharge guide member 250 and the rotation-prevention member 260 and thus two inner flow paths 270 may be formed in the nozzle assembly 200. In more detail, the nozzle assembly 200 includes a first flow path 271 extending from the inlet 221 directly to the outlet 212 and a second flow path 272 extending from the inlet 221, sequentially along both an inner surface and an outer surface of the discharge guide members 250 and to the outlet 212.

In this arrangement, since the second flow path 272 makes a detour around the discharge guide member 250, the second flow path 272 is greater in length than the first flow path 271.

Additionally, the two inner flow paths 270 are divided into the first flow path 271 and the second flow path 272 in the vicinity of a right end 252 (with reference to the orientation of FIG 2) of the discharge guide member 250, and the first flow path 271 and the second flow path 272 then be combined in the vicinity of the outlet 212 of the guide case 211.

Therefore, the air and dirt A1 (see FIG. 2) drawn into the nozzle assembly 200 may be partially discharged to the extension pipe 230 along the first flow path 271 and the remainder may be discharged to the extension pipe 230 along the second flow path 272.

Referring to FIG. 3, the second flow path 272 includes a first sub-flow path 273, a second sub-flow path 274, and a third sub-flow path 275.

The first sub-flow path 273 enables the dirt drawn in through the inlet 221 to flow in the direction of rotation of the drum brush 240 along the inner surface of the discharge guide member 250. In more detail, the first sub-flow path 273 is a path along which the dirt is moved in a space between the discharge guide member 250 and the circumference of the drum brush 240 by the rotational force of the drum brush 240.

Additionally, the second sub-flow path 274 is a path where the direction of movement of the dirt is altered by the rotation-prevention member 260. More specifically, the dirt moved along the first sub-flow path 273 collides with one side of the base member 261 of the rotation-prevention member 260 in the second sub-flow path 274 resulting in the loss of kinetic energy transferred from the drum brush 240.

The third sub-flow path 275 enables the dirt that lost kinetic energy due to the collision with the rotation-prevention member 260 to be moved along the outer surface of the discharge guide member 250 by the suction transferred from the main body 100 in a direction opposite to the first sub-flow path 273.

In this situation, the left end 251 of the discharge guide member 250 and the rotation-prevention member 260 may be disposed at a position higher than the centre 243 of the drum brush 240 so that a suction force sufficient to guide the dirt toward the outlet 212 may be more easily applied to the third sub-flow path 275. If the rotation-prevention member 260 is disposed below the center 243 of the drum brush 240, it may be impossible to apply a sufficient suction to cause the dirt to flow along the first sub-flow path 273 and thus the dirt may continue to be rotated by the drum brush 240 along its circumference.

As described above, the two flow paths, namely, the first flow path 271 and the second flow path 272, are formed between the inlet 221 of the lower case 220 and the outlet 212 of the guide case 211 and accordingly it is possible to prevent a part of the dirt drawn into the nozzle assembly 200 from the surface being cleaned from not being discharged to the extension pipe 230 while being rotated along the drum brush 240. In other words, a part of the dirt drawn into the nozzle assembly 200 may be discharged to the extension pipe 230 along the first flow path 271, and some or all of the remainder may be discharged to the extension pipe 230 along the second flow path 272 formed by the discharge guide member 250 and the rotation-prevention member 260.

Therefore, it is possible to substantially reduce the amount of dirt drawn into the nozzle assembly 200 which is rotated along with the drum brush 240 by the rotational force of the drum brush 240, but not discharged to the extension pipe 230. Thus, the cleaning efficiency of the vacuum cleaner may be enhanced.

Additionally, the plurality of bristles 262 attached to one end of the rotation-prevention member 260 separate the dirt from the outer circumference surface of the drum brush body 241 or from the contact member 242 and accordingly it is possible to further increase an amount of dirt discharged to the extension pipe 230 along the second flow path 272.

Therefore, the cleaning efficiency of the vacuum cleaner may be enhanced.

Hereinafter, the operation of the vacuum cleaner described above according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. I and 2. The vacuum cleaner according to the embodiment of the present invention may be used as a canister vacuum cleaner, but only the upright vacuum cleaner as illustrated in FIG. 1 is described.

If a user operates the vacuum cleaner, the suction motor (not illustrated) mounted in the suction motor unit 110 of the main body 100 and the drum brush driving motor (not illustrated) in the nozzle assembly 200 are operated. Accordingly, the drum brush 240 mounted in the nozzle assembly 200 rotates at a regular angular speed and air having dirt suspended therein is drawn into the nozzle assembly 200 from the surface being cleaned through the inlet 221 of the lower case 220 by the suction exerted by the suction motor.

The air and dirt A1 (see FIG. 2) which are drawn into the nozzle assembly 200 may be partially discharged to the extension pipe 230 along the first flow path 271 and the remainder may be discharged to the extension pipe 230 along the second flow path 272 formed by the discharge guide member 250 and the rotation-prevention member 260.

As described above, the second flow path 272 guides the dirt rotated along the drum brush 240 toward the extension pipe 230 and thus it is possible to increase the amount of dirt drawn into the main body 100 from the nozzle assembly 200. Therefore, it is possible to increase the cleaning efficiency of the vacuum cleaner.

The air containing the dirt A2 (see FIG. 2) which is discharged to the extension pipe 230 through the first flow path 271 or the second flow path 272 flows into the dust collector 120 through the first connection hose 140. Subsequently, the dirt is centrifugally separated from the air in the dust collector 120, the separated dirt is collected in the dust collector 120 and air from which the dirt has been separated is discharged from the vacuum cleaner through action of the suction motor.

Hereinafter, another embodiment of the nozzle assembly according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating another embodiment of a nozzle assembly according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, a nozzle assembly 200' includes a discharge guide member 250' and a rotation-prevention member 260' to form the second flow path 272 (see FIG. 2) in the same manner as the embodiment described above. However, a front end of a lower case 220' of the nozzle assembly 200' extends upward higher than the lower case 220 of the nozzle assembly and accordingly the rotation-prevention member 260' extends from an inner wall of the lower case 220.' Thus, the nozzle assembly 200' is distinct from the nozzle assembly 200.

Other constituents and operations of the nozzle assembly 200' are the same as those of the nozzle assembly 200 described above, so no further description thereof is herein provided.

The rotation-prevention members 260 and 260' include the plurality of bristles 262 and 262' according to the embodiments of the present invention as described above but, in alternative embodiments, include the base members 261 and 261' only In this arrangement, the base members 261 and 261' may convert the direction of movement of the dirt rotated along with the drum brushes 240 and 240' and accordingly the second flow path 272 (see FIG. 2), which increases cleaning efficiency, is formed.

Additionally, a vacuum cleaner having both upright and canister modes has been described in the embodiments of the present disclosure, but the present disclosure is also applicable to an upright vacuum cleaner or other types of vacuum cleaner having a nozzle assembly in which a drum brush, or any other type of brush operating to lift dirt off a surface, is mounted.

Although representative embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described in order to exemplify the principle of the present disclosure, the present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments. It will be understood that various modifications and changes can be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. Therefore, it shall be considered that such modifications, changes and equivalents thereof are all included within the scope of the

present disclosure.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A nozzle assembly for a vacuum cleaner, comprising: a case having an inlet for drawing in air from a surface being cleaned and an outlet; a drum brush that is rotatably mounted in an inner space of the case; and a rotation-prevention member that is disposed between an inner wall of the case and the drum brush and which prevents the dirt from being rotated along with the drum brush.
2. The nozzle assembly of claim 1 wherein the rotation-prevention member is disposed at a location opposite to the outlet and the drum brush is disposed at a location between the rotation-prevention member and the outlet.
3. The nozzle assembly of claim 2 wherein the rotation-prevention member is disposed at a position higher than a centre of the drum brush.
4. The nozzle assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the rotation-prevention member protrudes from the inner wall of the case toward the centre of the drum brush.
5. The nozzle assembly of claim 4 wherein the rotation-prevention member extends along a longitudinal direction of the drum brush.
6. The nozzle assembly of any preceding claim arranged so that the dirt is guided from the inlet to the outlet either along a first flow path that enables the dirt to move from the inlet directly to the outlet or along a second flow path that enables the dirt to move from the inlet to the outlet via the rotation-prevention member.
7. The nozzle assembly of any preceding claim, further comprising a discharge guide member that encloses at least a portion of the drum brush to guide the dirt blocked by the rotation-prevention member toward the outlet.
8. The nozzle assembly of claim 7 wherein the discharge guide member has an end that is disposed adjacent to the rotation-prevention member.
9. The nozzle assembly of claim 8 wherein the end of the discharge guide member is orientated perpendicular to one side of the rotation-prevention member.
10. The nozzle assembly of any of claims 7 to 9 wherein the discharge guide member encloses an upper portion of the drum brush.
11. The nozzle assembly of any of claims 7 to 10 wherein the discharge guide member extends along a longitudinal direction of the drum brush.
12. The nozzle assembly of any of claims 7 to 11 arranged so that the dirt is guided from the inlet to the outlet either along a first flow path that enables the dirt to move from the inlet directly to the outlet or along a second flow path that enables the dirt to move from the inlet to the outlet via the rotation-prevention member.
13. The nozzle assembly of claim 12 wherein the second flow path comprises: a first sub-flow path in which the dirt may be guided toward the rotation-prevention member along a space between the discharge guide member and the drum brush; a second sub-flow path in which the dirt may come into contact with the rotation-prevention member so that a moving direction of the dirt is converted; and a third sub-flow path in which the dirt may be guided toward the outlet along a space between the discharge guide member and the case.
14. The nozzle assembly of any preceding claim wherein the rotation-prevention member comprises a plurality of bristles.
15. The nozzle assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the case comprises an upper case and a lower case having the inlet and the rotation-prevention member is mounted on an inner wall of the upper case.
16. The nozzle assembly of any of claims I to 14, wherein the case comprises an upper case and a lower case having the inlet, and the rotation-prevention member is mounted on an inner wall of the lower case.