RU2326579C2 - Cyclone unit and impurity separator device incorporating cyclone unit - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: pumps.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to a vacuum cleaner cyclone-type design. The cyclone device is made up of a cylinder case arranged in a dust collector, support brackets arranged on the cylinder case outer peripheral surface and an air inlet pipe. The pipe one end enters the dust collector inlet, while the other pipe end gets connected tangentially with the cylinder case. Here, the support brackets and the air inlet pipe prop up the cylinder case and separate it from the dust collector inner peripheral surface.

EFFECT: higher efficiency of dust collection, improved swirling of contaminated air.

18 cl, 8 dwg

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The priority of this application is claimed by provisional applications No. 60/698449, filed July 12, 2005, and No. 60/757171, filed January 6, 2006 with the Office of Patents and Trademarks of the United States of America, as well as Korean Patent Applications No. 2005- 74952, filed August 16, 2005, and No. 2006-16034, filed February 20, 2006 with the Korea Intellectual Property Office, the full contents of which are incorporated into this application by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner. In particular, the present invention relates to a cyclone assembly that separates and collects contaminants from outside air and then releases clean air, and to a pollution collection apparatus comprising such a cyclone assembly.

Description of the prior art

A vacuum cleaner typically uses a dust collector that separates the contaminants from the outside air entering through the suction nozzle, collects the separated impurities, and then releases clean air to the outside.

A traditional dust collector has a substantially cylindrical shape. Polluted air enters the dust collector tangentially to it, and then rises along the inner surface of the dust collector. Pollution is separated from the polluted air by centrifugal force and then falls into the lower part of the dust collector due to its own weight. Air separated from contaminants is discharged out through the air exhaust pipe made in the upper part of the dust collector.

However, a conventional dust collector has lower dust collection performance than a dust collector having a cyclone structure configured therein as a unit. Therefore, if users who have a traditional vacuum cleaner without a cyclone design expect an excellent result from cleaning, they are forced to buy a vacuum cleaner with a cyclone design, and the traditional vacuum cleaner should no longer be used. As a result, this significantly burdens users with unnecessary costs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is designed to solve the above and other problems associated with the traditional design. An object of the present invention is to provide a cyclone assembly that can easily be used in a conventional dust collector and a contaminant collection device comprising this cyclone assembly. The above purpose and / or other features of the present invention can essentially be achieved by creating a cyclone assembly for separating contaminants from contaminated air drawn through the air inlet in the dust collector through the suction nozzle of the vacuum cleaner, and for discharging air from which pollutants are separated, to the pipe for the release of air, which contains a cylindrical body located in the dust collector; at least one support bracket extending from the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body to the inner peripheral surface of the dust container and intended to support the cylindrical body and to separate it from the inner peripheral surface of the dust container; and an air inlet pipe, one end of which is flow-connected to the air inlet of the dust collector, and the other end is flow-connected to the cylindrical body tangentially to this body.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the end of said at least one support bracket can be attached to the inner peripheral surface of the dust collector by high temperature alloying.

The air inlet pipe may extend around a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body to increase the degree of swirl of contaminated air.

The cyclone assembly may also comprise a spiral guide located in the cylindrical body and designed to swirl the contaminated air entering the cylindrical body through the air inlet pipe and to direct the contaminated air into the air discharge pipe made on the upper side of the cylindrical body.

The width of the at least one support bracket may be equal to the outer diameter of the air inlet pipe.

The cylindrical housing may also contain a central axis located in its center and designed for a smooth swirl of contaminated air.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a contaminant collection device for a vacuum cleaner comprises: a housing having an air inlet through which contaminated air passes through a suction nozzle of a vacuum cleaner and collects and discharges contaminants; and a cyclone assembly comprising a cylindrical body located in said body; at least one support bracket extending from the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body to the inner peripheral surface of the body to support the cylindrical body and to separate it from the inner peripheral surface of the body; an air inlet pipe, one end of which is flow-wise connected to the housing air inlet and the other end is flow-wise connected to the cylindrical body tangentially to this body; and a spiral guide located in the cylindrical body and designed to swirl the contaminated air into the cylindrical body through the air inlet pipe, and to direct the contaminated air into the air exhaust pipe made on the upper side of the cylindrical body.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the housing also comprises a top cover configured to open or close the upper end of the housing, the top cover being integrally formed with a pipe for discharging air to direct outward air discharged from the housing.

The housing may also include a lower cover pivotally attached to the lower end of the housing and designed to open or close the lower end of the housing.

The housing may be made of a transparent or translucent material.

The upper end of the cyclone assembly may be located at such a distance from the lower end of the upper cover that contaminants separated by centrifugal force in the cyclone assembly are discharged into the housing.

A passage can be made between the outer peripheral surface of the cyclone assembly and the inner circumferential surface of the housing, and a chamber for collecting dirt can be made between the bottom surface of the cyclone assembly and the bottom cover.

The air exhaust pipe may extend downward from the top cap in the cylindrical body of the cyclone assembly.

The end of the at least one support bracket may be attached to the inner peripheral surface of the housing by high temperature alloying. Alternatively, said at least one support bracket may be attached to the housing with at least one screw. The cyclone assembly also contains several support brackets, each of which is wider than the gap between the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical housing and the inner peripheral surface of the housing, so that the side of each support bracket presses on the inner peripheral surface of the housing to secure the cylindrical housing in the housing.

The air inlet pipe may be positioned so that it is in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the housing, so that this pipe separates the cylindrical housing from the inner peripheral surface of the housing and serves as support for the cylindrical housing.

The air inlet pipe is attached to the inner peripheral surface of the casing by high temperature alloying.

The outer diameter of the air inlet pipe may be larger than the gap between the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body and the inner peripheral surface of the body, so that this pipe presses on the inner peripheral surface of the body with the indicated at least one support bracket for mounting the cylindrical body in the specified body.

Other objectives, advantages and features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, which together with the accompanying drawings discloses preferred embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and / or other aspects and advantages of this invention will become more apparent and more likely appreciated from the subsequent detailed write-off of embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 depicts a perspective view of a device for collecting contaminants containing a cyclone assembly in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, located in the main body of the vacuum cleaner.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cyclone assembly of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the cyclone assembly of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4A is a plan view of the cyclone assembly of FIG. 2 without a top cap.

FIG. 4B is an enlarged view of a portion of a cyclone assembly mounted in a cylindrical housing with at least one screw.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of region A shown in FIG. 2.

Fig.6 depicts a section of the device shown in Fig.2, along the line XX in Fig.2.

FIG. 7 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of the cyclone assembly shown in FIG. 4A taken in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 4A.

It should be understood that the same reference numbers in the drawings refer to the same parts, elements, and devices.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE OPTIONS

Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present invention are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The objects of the invention defined in the description, such as a detailed design and elements, are provided only to help for a comprehensive understanding of the invention. Thus, it is obvious that the present invention can be made without these specific objects. Also, detailed descriptions of well-known functions and constructions are omitted for brevity and clarity of description of illustrative embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 1 depicts a perspective view of a device for collecting contaminants containing a cyclone assembly in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, located in a vacuum cleaner. Shown in FIG. 1, a contaminant collecting device 100 in accordance with the present invention is removably disposed in the main body 11 of the vacuum cleaner 10. The suction nozzle 15 is rotatably connected to the lower part of the main body 11 of the vacuum cleaner 10, and the handle 13 is formed on the upper end of the main housings 11. In this embodiment of the present invention, as an example of vacuum cleaners using a device 100 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a vertical type vacuum cleaner is used ; however, this should not be construed as limiting. Various types of vacuum cleaners, such as a balloon type vacuum cleaner, may use the device 100 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 1, reference numeral 17 shows wheels, while reference number 117 shows a handle for pulling out.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the device 100 comprises a housing 110, an upper cover 130, a lower cover 150, and a cyclone assembly 170.

The housing 110 has a substantially cylindrical shape with open opposite ends. An air inlet 111 is formed in the middle part of the housing 110, tangentially to the housing 110 so that contaminated air enters the housing 110 from the outside. In this embodiment, the housing 110 has a cylindrical shape, but this should not be construed as limiting. The housing 110 may take various forms, such as the shape of a cone or the shape of an inverted cone in accordance with a portion of the main body 11 of the vacuum cleaner 10 into which the device 100 is inserted. The housing 110 may also be made of a transparent or translucent material. As a result, users can easily determine the amount of contaminants collected in the housing 110 without opening the top cover 130. The housing 110 corresponds to a conventional dust collector as described above.

The top cover 130 is removably located on the upper end of the housing 110 and is designed to open or close the open upper end of the housing 110. The upper cover 130 comprises an air exhaust pipe 131 for discharging clean air outside the housing 110. The pipe 131 passes through the center of the upper cover 130 and continues downward from the bottom surface of the cover 130 in the housing 110. Therefore, the pipe 131 is located inside the cyclone assembly 170. On the bottom surface of the top cover 130, a ring-shaped baffle 133 is formed to prevent return flow (see FIG. 6) facing the upper end of the cylindrical body 171 (see FIG. 6). The diameter of the baffle 133 is larger than the diameter of the housing 171. The baffle 133 prevents the backflow of contaminants discharged through the contaminant discharge opening 114 described below (see FIG. 6) due to centrifugal force, to the casing 171 through the opening 114.

The lower cover 150 is pivotally attached to the lower end of the housing 110 and is designed to open or close the open lower end of the housing 110. The hinge of the cover 150 has a conventional hinge device. For example, the hinge comprises a pair of locking brackets 113a (see FIG. 5) made near the lower end of the housing 110, a hinge portion 151 (see FIG. 5) forming one side of the cover 150 and inserted between the pair of locking brackets 113a, and the axis 115 the hinge (see FIG. 5) passing through the brackets 113a and the hinge part 151. In addition, the other side of the lid 150 is fastened with a locking handle 118 (see FIG. 7) located near the lower end of the housing 110. When the contaminants collected in housing 110, the handle 118 is actuated so that the cover 15 0 is freed from her. As a result, the lid 150 rotates downward along the axis 115, and then the dirt collected on the lid 150 is pulled out through the lower end of the housing 110 due to gravity.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cyclone assembly 170 includes a cylindrical body 171, an air inlet pipe 173, support brackets 175a, 175b and 175c, a central axis 177 (see FIG. 4A) and a spiral guide 179 (see FIG. 4A) .

The diameter of the cylindrical housing 171 is smaller than the diameter of the housing 110 so that it can be placed in this housing 110. The cylindrical housing 171 is located in the housing 110 so that the space in the housing 110 where dirt is collected is isolated from the pipe 131 (see FIG. 6). As a result, the housing 171 prevents the re-dispersion of contaminants collected in the housing 110 and their release to the outside through the pipe 131.

In addition, the housing 171 is located in the housing 110 so that in the space 113 (see FIG. 3) of the housing 110 there is an opening 114 for the release of contaminants, a passage 116 for the release of contaminants and a chamber 117 for collecting contaminants 110b (see FIG. ) As shown in FIG. 6, an opening 114 is formed between the upper end of the housing 171 and the lower end of the upper cover 130 so that swirling dirt raised upward along the inner peripheral surface 171a of the housing 171 is discharged into the housing 110 through the opening 114 due to centrifugal force. The contaminant discharge passage 116 is a gap between the outer peripheral surface of the housing 171 and the inner cylindrical surface of the housing 110 and is intended to direct the contaminants passing downward through the hole 114. The dirt collecting chamber 110b is the gap between the lower end of the housing 171 and the lower cover 150 and designed to collect contaminants falling through passage 116 due to gravity.

In addition, the pipe 173 is flow-connected to the opening 111 of the housing 110 to ensure that the polluted air entering through the opening 111 from the outside is guided into the housing 171. The pipe 173 is tangential to the lower side of the housing 171 so that the polluted air swirls in the housing 171. At that at the same time, the pipe 173 is preferably configured to extend around a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the housing 171 to increase the degree of swirl of contaminated air.

A spiral guide 179 (see FIG. 6) is made between the inner peripheral surface of the housing 171 and a central axis 177 located vertically in the center of the housing 171. The guide 179 increases the degree of swirl of the contaminated air entering the housing 171 through the pipe 173. In other words, the contaminated air swirls more thanks to the spiral air passage formed by the axis 177, the spiral guide 179 and the housing 171.

The supporting brackets 175a, 175b and 175c are made at a predetermined distance from each other on the outer peripheral surface of the housing 171. Each bracket 175a, 175b and 175 has a predetermined width to allow separation of the housing 171 and the inner peripheral surface of the housing 110. At least one of the brackets 175a , 175b and 175 are attached to the inner peripheral surface 110a of the housing 110 by a high temperature alloying method for securely attaching the housing 171 to the housing 110. To secure the housing 171 to the housing 110, in addition to the high temperature c various other suitable methods may be used for melting. In one embodiment, each bracket 175 may have a thickness (t) sufficient for the brackets 175 to be secured to the housing 110 by at least one screw 271, as shown in FIG. 4B. Another example is that the width (W) of each bracket 175a, 175b and 175c is greater than the gap between the outer peripheral surface of the housing 171 and the inner peripheral surface of the housing 110, so that the lateral end of each bracket 175a, 175b and 175c presses on the inner peripheral the surface of the housing 110 for mounting the housing 117 therein. On the other hand, each bracket 175a, 175b and 175c is configured so that its width is equal to the outer diameter of the pipe 173 so that the housing 171 can be located in the center of the housing 110.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the cyclone assembly 170 is disposed in a conventional dust collector that does not use a cyclone construction and which has a top and bottom cover, thereby maximizing the efficiency of collecting dirt from a conventional dust collector. Also, the assembly 170 according to an embodiment of the present invention can be easily housed in a conventional dust collector without significant structural changes, so that the traditional dust collector can be reused.

The following describes the operation of the device 100 having a cyclone assembly 170 of the above construction in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

The contaminated air entering the pipe 173 through the suction nozzle 15 (see FIG. 1) externally enters the casing 171 and then rises to the top cover 130, swirling along the inner peripheral surface of the casing 171. The contaminants separated from the swirling up contaminated air by centrifugal forces are collected in the chamber 110b, passing in turn through the hole 114 and the passage 116. The baffle 133 prevents the backflow of contaminants collected in the chamber 110b through the hole 114. On the other hand, the air from which the contaminants were removed accelerates outward from the device 100 through a pipe 131 made passing through the cover 130.

As described above, since the device 100, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, can use a conventional dust collector without a cyclone structure without changing the design of the housing 110 to position the cyclone assembly 170 there, this allows the traditional dust collector to be reused. As a result, the cost burden for buyers is reduced.

According to the present invention, since the cyclone assembly 170 is located in the housing 110 of the device 100, that is, inside the traditional dust collector, the pipe 131 is isolated from the chamber 110b. As a result, the contaminants collected in the chamber 110b are not scattered again. Also, when the device 100 is tilted, this prevents the contaminants collected in the chamber 110b from entering the pipe 131.

In addition, since the air passing through the pipe 173 is discharged through the pipe 131 without changing the direction of flow, the interaction between the air entering the cyclone assembly 170 and the air leaving the outside is minimized. As a result, the loss of suction power is reduced. In addition, the pipe 173 passes around the outer peripheral surface of the casing 171 in such a way that the air coming from the outside rotates along some part of the outer peripheral surface of the casing 171, and then enters the casing 171. Therefore, the degree of swirl of the air flowing into the casing 171 increases.

Although the embodiments of the present invention are described above, one skilled in the art may come up with additional variations and modifications when he becomes familiar with the basic principles of the invention. Therefore, it is understood that the appended claims include both the above described embodiments and all such variations and modifications that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (18)

1. A cyclone assembly for separating contaminants from contaminated air drawn through the air inlet of the dust collector through the suction nozzle of the vacuum cleaner, and for discharging air from which the contaminants are separated into the air exhaust pipe, comprising: a cylindrical housing located in the dust collector, at least one support bracket extending from the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body to the inner peripheral surface of the dust container and intended to support the cylindrical body and to separate it from the inner peripheral surface of the dust container, and an air inlet pipe, one end of which is flow-connected to the air inlet of the dust collector and the other end is tangentially connected to the cylindrical body, and which is in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the housing, so that this pipe separates the cylindrical housing from the inner peripheral surface the specified housing and serves as support for the cylindrical housing. 2. The cyclone assembly according to claim 1, wherein the end of said at least one support bracket is attached to the inner peripheral surface of the dust collector by high temperature alloying. 3. The cyclone assembly according to claim 1, wherein the air inlet pipe extends around a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body to increase the degree of swirl of contaminated air. 4. The cyclone assembly according to claim 1, further comprising: a spiral guide located in the cylindrical body and designed to swirl the contaminated air entering the cylindrical body through the air inlet pipe, and to direct the contaminated air into the air exhaust pipe made on the upper side of the cylindrical body. 5. The cyclone assembly according to claim 1, wherein the width of the at least one support bracket and the outer diameter of the air inlet pipe are the same. 6. The cyclone assembly according to claim 1, in which the cylindrical body further comprises a central axis located in its center and designed for smooth swirling of contaminated air in it. 7. A device for collecting contaminants intended for a vacuum cleaner, containing: a housing that has an air inlet through which contaminated air can enter through the suction nozzle of the vacuum cleaner, and in which contaminants separated from the contaminated air can be collected, and from which clean air can be discharged, and cyclone assembly comprising: a cylindrical body located in the specified body, at least one support bracket extending from the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body to the inner peripheral surface of the specified body and designed to support the cylindrical body and to separate it from the inner peripheral surface of the specified case, an air inlet pipe, one end of which is flow-connected to the housing air inlet passage, and the other end is tangentially connected to the cylindrical body, and which is in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the body, so that this pipe separates the cylindrical body from the internal peripheral surface the specified body and serves as a support for the cylindrical body, and a spiral guide located in the cylindrical body and designed to swirl the contaminated air that is introduced into the cylindrical body through the air inlet pipe, and to direct the contaminated air to the air exhaust pipe made on the upper side of the cylindrical body. 8. The device according to claim 7, in which the specified housing also contains a top cover designed to open or close the upper end of the housing, and the top cover is made in one piece with the pipe for the release of air, designed to direct outward air discharged from the specified housing. 9. The device according to claim 7, in which the specified housing also contains a lower cover attached to the lower end of the housing by a swivel and designed to open or close the lower end of the housing. 10. The device of claim 8, in which the specified housing is made of a transparent or translucent material. 11. The device according to claim 8, in which the cyclone assembly has an upper end located at such a distance from the lower end of the upper cover that contaminants separated by centrifugal force in the cyclone assembly are discharged into said housing. 12. The device according to claim 7, additionally containing a passage for the release of contaminants formed between the outer peripheral surface of the cyclone assembly and the inner peripheral surface of the specified housing, and a chamber for collecting contaminants made between the lower surface of the cyclone assembly and the lower cover. 13. The device according to claim 7, in which the pipe for discharging air passes down from the top cover in the cylindrical body of the cyclone assembly. 14. The device according to claim 7, in which the end of the specified at least one support bracket is attached to the inner peripheral surface of the specified case by high temperature alloying. 15. The device according to claim 7, in which the specified at least one support bracket is attached to the specified housing with at least one screw. 16. The device according to claim 7, in which the cyclone assembly contains several support brackets, the width of each of which is greater than the gap between the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body and the inner peripheral surface of the housing, so that the side of each support bracket presses on the inner peripheral surface of the housing for mounting a cylindrical body in the specified body. 17. The device according to claim 7, in which the pipe for air inlet is attached to the inner peripheral surface of the specified housing by high temperature alloying. 18. The device according to claim 7, in which the outer diameter of the pipe for air inlet is greater than the gap between the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body and the inner peripheral surface of the specified case, so that the pipe for air inlet is made with the possibility of pressure on the inner peripheral surface of the housing by at least one of these support brackets for mounting a cylindrical body in the specified body.

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