RU2698846C1 - Vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: satisfaction of human vital needs.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to a vacuum cleaner, which includes a housing and a dust collector, located on the vacuum cleaner body, wherein the dust collector comprises a first cyclone located in the outer housing for filtering foreign particles and dust from air supplied from its outer side, and supply of air, from which foreign particles and dust have been filtered, into it, second cyclone located in first cyclone, for separation of fine dust from air supplied to first cyclone, and a rotary member located on the lower side of the first cyclone and configured to rotate to form a first storage section configured to collect foreign particles and dust filtered by the first cyclone, between the rotating member and the outer casing, and wherein the rotating member comprises a roller located to access the bottom lid, which closes lower opening of outer casing, and brought into contact with foreign particles and dust collected in first section for storage during rotation of rotating element, for application of rotating force.

EFFECT: proposed device vacuum cleaner.

20 cl, 41 dwg

Description

Technical field

The present disclosure relates to a vacuum cleaner configured to collect foreign particles, dust and fine dust with the possibility of separation using a multicyclone.

State of the art

A vacuum cleaner is a device configured to supply air through the use of a suction force and filtering and collecting foreign particles, dust, fine dust and the like contained in the air to discharge the purified air back to the outside.

The types of vacuum cleaners can be divided into i) container type, ii) vertical type, iii) manual type, iv) cylindrical floor type and the like.

A container-type vacuum cleaner is a vacuum cleaner commonly used recently at home with a structure in which the suction unit and the body of the vacuum cleaner are separated from each other. Basically, the container-type vacuum cleaner does not contain a rotating brush and is suitable for cleaning the floor due to cleaning only by suctioning air through the suction unit.

In contrast, the vertical type vacuum cleaner is a vacuum cleaner with a structure in which the suction assembly is integrally formed with the vacuum cleaner body. In general, a vertical type vacuum cleaner may comprise a rotating brush, thus having the advantage of even cleaning dust or the like inside the carpet, as opposed to a container type vacuum cleaner.

However, prior art vacuum cleaners have the disadvantages indicated below.

First of all, as in the design disclosed in the Korean publication of Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2003-0081443 (published October 17, 2003), for vacuum cleaners having a multicyclone design, each cyclone is located vertically, causing an increase in the height of its dust collector. In addition, the dust collector is made with a thin profile to solve such a problem of increasing the volume, thus causing a drawback in reducing the amount of space for collecting the actual dust.

To solve the aforementioned problem, as in the construction disclosed in the Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 10-2004-0023417 (published March 18, 2004), a design was proposed in which the second cyclone is located inside the first cyclone, but it is difficult to effectively position the second cyclone inside the first cyclone due to interference between the guide channels located in every second cyclone. Even when the second cyclone is located in the first cyclone, the number of second cyclones is significantly reduced, reducing the suction force, thereby leading to a decrease in cleaning efficiency.

In addition, a plurality of streams including a high-speed rotating stream due to the suction force of the fan assembly are mixed in the dust collector. Such a complex flow can be an obstacle to the passage of foreign particles and dust into the first storage section and cause a problem in which dust collected in the first storage section can rise and pass back upward.

This may be the reason for reducing the dust collection efficiency as well as the cleaning efficiency of the vacuum cleaner. Therefore, a design that prevents the backflow of dust that has been filtered by the first cyclone and fed to the first storage section, or dust collected in the first storage section, can be considered.

In accordance with the circumstances, as in the design disclosed in the Korean publication of Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2004-002344317 (published March 18, 2004), to prevent the spread of foreign particles and dust contained in the first storage section under the first cyclone, a protective element may also be provided therein. Since the portion formed by the protective element forms a small gap with the outer casing, a phenomenon may occur in which foreign particles are held in the gap. When foreign particles are held in the gap, other foreign particles and dust are prevented from passing into the first storage section through the gap.

In addition, the foreign particles in the first storage section gradually become closer to the side of the first cyclone as they accumulate. Specifically, in the case of bulk foreign particles, even when they are collected in the first storage section, they do not have an enlarged appearance and are distributed in the first storage section, thereby causing a backward flow in an upward direction in a position where dust is accumulated.

On the other hand, most of the foreign particles or dust that has not passed through the first cyclone fall down and collect in the first section for storage, but in some cases, foreign particles or dust can be retained or accumulated and deposited on a strainer. They can reduce the area of the strainer to allow air to pass through it, thereby increasing the load on the fan assembly, which generates suction power, as well as visually giving the user an impression of uncleaned appearance.

To solve this problem, a method of disassembling and cleaning the dust bag may be considered, but this can be inconvenient for the user to use, and there is also a problem that the cleaning is not easy, in fact, due to the construction in which the portion where the first cyclone is located is separated from the first storage section.

In addition, as in the design disclosed in the Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-200314-0009551 (published April 21, 2014), the vacuum cleaner typically has a structure in which a connection assembly is connected to a suction assembly formed in the cleaner body, and air drawn in through the flow guide passing from the intake assembly to the dust collector is supplied to dust collector. The intake air is supplied to the dust collector by the suction force of the fan assembly, but there is a problem that the intake force decreases as the intake air passes through the flow guide of the cleaner body.

Therefore, a design can be considered in which an inlet rail directly connected to the connecting unit is formed in a top cover formed with an outlet rail. However, to accomplish this, it must be designed so that the inlet guide and the outlet guide do not interfere with each other (for example, the air drawn in through the inlet guide does not exit through the outlet guide) and preferably can have a simple injection-molded structure taking into account performance.

In addition, for prior art vacuum cleaners, there is a limitation in providing user convenience even during the dust unloading process. There are vacuum cleaners in which dust scatters during the dust unloading process, and there are also vacuum cleaners that require a very complicated process to unload the dust.

Background Documents

Patent Document 1: Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2003-0081443 (published October 17, 2003);

Patent Document 2: Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-20034-0023417 (published March 18, 2004); and

Patent Document 3: Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2014-0009551 (published April 21, 2014)

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The first objective of the present invention is to provide a dust collector for a vacuum cleaner with a new design that provides improved multicyclone design, which does not reduce the cleaning efficiency while reducing its height.

The second objective of the present invention is to provide a dust collector that directs the input flow of dust and foreign particles filtered by the first cyclone into the first storage section located under the first cyclone, as well as restricting the reverse flow of foreign particles and dust.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a dust collector for removing foreign particles held in the gap between the protective element and the outer casing located under the first cyclone to supply foreign particles to the first storage section located under the protective element.

A fourth object of the present invention is to provide a dust collector for coarsening and sealing between foreign particles and dust contained in a first storage section.

A fifth objective of the present invention is to provide a dust collector for removing foreign particles and dust held or accumulated on a strainer without passing through a first cyclone.

A sixth objective of the present invention is to provide a dust collector that provides a reduction in pressure loss and an increase in suction efficiency without the need for a separate flow guide to direct air passing from the outside through the suction assembly to the inside of the dust collector.

A seventh objective of the present invention is to provide an upper dust collector cover that can be manufactured by single injection molding, both with an input guide and an output guide.

An eighth purpose of the present invention is to provide a dust collector for collecting dust and fine dust with the possibility of separation and unloading of simultaneously collected dust and fine dust.

To achieve the first goal of the present disclosure, a dust collector for a vacuum cleaner in accordance with the present disclosure may include a first cyclone disposed in an outer casing for filtering dust from the air drawn in from the outside thereof and supplying air from which dust has been filtered into it, a plurality of second cyclones located inside the first cyclone for separating fine dust from the air supplied to the first cyclone, and a cover located to close the inlet of the second cyclone, the cyclones placed next to each other from the first and second cyclones, limit the first region in the first cyclone, and the lid forms a second region in communication with the first region between the inlet and the lid, and a guide vane extending in a spiral along its inner periphery is located at the inlet for the formation of a rotating stream in the air supplied to the second cyclone through the first and second region.

The second objective of the present disclosure can be achieved by providing a guide assembly having a blade extending in a spiral direction in the direction of the air stream supplied to the outer casing to create an input stream of foreign particles and dust filtered by the first cyclone on the underside of the first cyclone.

A third objective of the present disclosure can be achieved by forming a guide assembly (or rotating member) having a protective member on the underside of the first cyclone, rotatably in at least one direction.

A fourth objective of the present disclosure can be achieved by providing a roller made with ribs facing the bottom cover on at least one of the guide assembly (or rotating member) and the pressing assembly configured to rotate with it.

To achieve the fifth objective of the present disclosure, the dust collector of the present disclosure may include a first cyclone located in the outer casing to filter dust and foreign particles from the air drawn in from its outer side and to supply air from which dust and foreign particles have been filtered into him, a second cyclone, located in the first cyclone, for separating fine dust from the air supplied to the first cyclone, and a rotating unit configured to rotate in at least one direction relative but the first cyclone, and the rotating assembly is located to close the strainer, a support extending in the vertical direction of the housing, and a scraper located on the inner surface of the support facing the outer surface of the mesh filter to sweep away dust and foreign particles accumulated on the mesh filter during rotation rotating knot.

The sixth objective of the present disclosure is achieved by a design in which both the input guide and the output guide are located on the top cover located to close the first and second cyclones, and a connecting unit configured to communicate with the input node is mounted on the inlet of the input guide .

A seventh objective of the present disclosure can be achieved by a design in which the inlet guide is formed by two molds assembled on the inlet side of the inlet rail and on the lower side of the top cover, and the output rail is formed from two shapes assembled on the lower side of the top cover and outlet side of the output guide.

To achieve the eighth objective of the present disclosure, the lower cover is pivotally connected to the outer casing to form the lower surface of the dust storage section and the fine dust storage section. The bottom cover is configured to open a section for storing dust and a section for storing fine dust at the same time while turning the bottom cover using a hinge.

Moreover, the present disclosure discloses a vacuum cleaner including a housing and a dust collector located in the vacuum cleaner body, the dust collector including a first cyclone located in the outer casing for filtering foreign particles and dust from the air supplied from its outer side and air supply, from which foreign particles and dust were filtered into it, and a second cyclone placed in the first cyclone, for separating fine dust from the air supplied to the first cyclone, and a rotating element located on the bottom an orone of the first cyclone and rotatable to form the first storage section, configured to collect foreign particles and dust filtered by the first cyclone between the rotatable element and the outer casing, and wherein the rotatable element contains a roller located to access the bottom cover, which closes the lower opening of the outer casing and bringing into contact with foreign particles and dust collected in the first section for storage during rotation of the rotating element, for applying careful effort.

The roller may include a plurality of ribs spaced apart from each other in the direction of rotation of the rotating member and sequentially brought into contact with foreign particles and dust collected in the first storage section during rotation of the rotating member.

Each of the plurality of ribs may extend radially at a predetermined distance.

The protruding portion may be formed on the bottom surface of the rotating member facing the bottom cover so as to extend downward in the direction of rotation of the rotating member, and the plurality of ribs may be spaced apart from each other along the inner periphery of the protruding portion.

The rotating element may further comprise a protective element extending downwardly inclined outward from its upper portion.

A protruding portion or a recessed portion may be formed around the security element.

A protruding portion or a recessed portion may be formed to extend obliquely around the periphery of the security element.

The protruding section or the recessed section may be in the form of points of protrusions or grooves located at the same distance from each other.

The driving force transmission unit connected to the drive unit located in the vacuum cleaner body and the rotating element, respectively, for transmitting the rotating driving force to the rotating element can be mounted on the bottom cover.

The driving force transmission unit may include a driven gear open to the lower portion of the lower cover and engaged with the driving gear of the drive unit when the dust collector is mounted on the cleaner body, and a connecting gear connected to the driven gear on the upper portion of the lower cover and connected to the rotating member when the lower cover is installed to close the lower hole of the outer casing.

The connecting gear may include a gear portion engaged with a mounting protrusion located on the lower inner periphery of the rotating member when the bottom cover is mounted to close the lower hole of the outer casing, and a sealing element located under the gear portion for passing in a loop-shaped shape along the outer periphery of the connecting gears, and bringing into tight contact with the lower inner peripheral surface of the rotating element.

The vacuum cleaner may further include an inner casing located on the lower portion of the first cyclone to accommodate the discharge opening of the second cyclone and the formation of a second storage section for collecting fine dust discharged through the discharge opening and located on the receiving portion of the rotating member, the sealing assembly located to close the lower hole of the inner casing when the lower cover is installed to close the lower hole of the outer casing to form a lower ited second storage section is mounted on the connecting gear wheel.

The sealing assembly may be configured to lift onto the upper side of the connecting gear due to the pressure difference during operation of the vacuum cleaner without rotation.

The vacuum cleaner may further include an inner casing located on the lower portion of the first cyclone to accommodate the discharge opening of the second cyclone and the formation of a second storage section for collecting fine dust discharged through the discharge opening and placed on the receiving portion of the rotating member, and a fixed ring mounted to surround the lower end of the inner casing in a position in which the inner casing is placed on the receiving section to maintain the locking protrusion, protruding it from the inner periphery of the lower end of the rotating element.

The rotating member may comprise a pressing member protruding in the radial direction and arranged to pass through the annular first section for storing in the radial direction and configured to rotate in the first storage section in accordance with the rotation of the rotating member.

In addition, the present disclosure discloses a vacuum cleaner including a housing and a dust collector located in a vacuum cleaner body, the dust collector including a first cyclone located in an outer casing for filtering foreign particles and dust from the air supplied from its outer side and supplying air, from which foreign particles and dust were filtered into it, a second cyclone placed in the first cyclone, for separating fine dust from the air supplied to the first cyclone, and a rotating element located on the lower orone of the first cyclone and rotatable to form a first storage section configured to collect foreign particles and dust filtered by the first cyclone between the rotatable member and the outer casing, and wherein the rotatable member contains a plurality of ribs located to face the bottom cover, which closes the lower hole of the outer casing, and located at a distance from each other in the direction of rotation of the rotating element.

Each of the plurality of ribs may extend radially at a predetermined distance.

The protruding portion may be formed on the bottom surface of the rotating member facing the bottom cover so as to extend downward in the direction of rotation of the rotating member, and the plurality of ribs may be spaced apart from each other along the inner periphery of the protruding portion.

The rotating element may further comprise a protective element extending downwardly inclined outward from its upper portion.

A protruding portion or a recessed portion may be formed around the security element.

The results of the present disclosure obtained using the above solution are set forth below.

Firstly, the second cyclone can be fully placed in the first cyclone to reduce the height of the dust collector. In such a design, a guide vane may be located at the inlet of the second cyclone to create a rotating air stream supplied to the second cyclone, and thus a separate guide channel extending from one side of the second cyclone may not be required, and as a result, it may be possible the location is greater than the second cyclones in the first cyclone. Therefore, even if the second cyclone is placed in the first cyclone, the number of second cyclones may not be reduced in comparison with the prior art, thereby preventing a decrease in cleaning efficiency.

Secondly, foreign particles and dust filtered by the first cyclone can be guided by the blade of the guide assembly located under the first cyclone and fed to the first storage section under the guide assembly. In this document, a blade may be helically formed in the direction of a stream of air passing into the outer casing, and at least a portion of one of the blades may be arranged to overlap with the other blade in a vertical direction to limit the reverse flow of foreign particles and dust.

Thirdly, a guide assembly (or a rotating assembly) containing a protective element on the underside of the first cyclone can be rotatable in at least one direction, and thus even if foreign particles and dust are held in the gap between the protective element and the outer casing, foreign particles can be removed due to the rotation of the rotating assembly. Foreign particles removed from the gap can be fed into the first section for storage under the protective element due to the rotating flow due to the actuation of the vacuum cleaner.

Fourth, at least one of the guide assembly (or the rotating assembly) and the pressing assembly rotatably with it may comprise a roller made with ribs facing the bottom cover, thereby providing coarsening between the foreign particles and dust. When a roller is located on each of the guide assembly and the pressing assembly, and each roller is located at a different height relative to the bottom cover, a roller corresponding to the accumulation height of the foreign particles and dust can be used to provide coarsening between the foreign particles and the dust. In addition, the roller can be combined with the actuation of the pressing unit for compaction, as well as coarsening between foreign particles and dust.

Fifthly, when the rotating assembly rotates with respect to the first cyclone, the scraper located on the support of the rotating assembly can be adapted to move along the outer periphery of the first cyclone in contact with the strainer, and thus it may be possible to continuously remove foreign particles and dust retained and accumulated on the strainer when the vacuum cleaner is activated. Therefore, it may be possible to increase the efficiency and ease of maintenance of the dust bag.

Sixth, a top cover arranged to close the first and second cyclones may comprise an input guide and an output guide, and the connecting unit can be directly connected to the inlet of the input guide. Accordingly, the flow guide located in the vacuum cleaner body in the side entry structure in the prior art may not be required to simplify the suction channel and increase the inlet area compared to the side entrance structure. Therefore, pressure loss can be reduced and suction efficiency can be increased.

Seventh, when the input guide is formed with a separate channel and the output guide is made with an empty area of the input guide, a top cover with suction efficiency can be provided. In addition, there is an advantage in that the top cover can be obtained by injection molding at a time using three molds assembled and separated in three directions on the inlet side of the input guide, the exhaust side of the output guide and the lower side of the upper cover.

Eighth, both the first storage section and the second storage section can be openable when the bottom cover is separated from them, it may be possible to simultaneously discharge dust collected in the first storage section and fine dust collected in second section for storage.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and form part of this description of the invention, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:

figure 1 is a perspective view of an example of a vacuum cleaner in accordance with the present disclosure;

figure 2 is a perspective view of an example of the dust collector shown in figure 1;

figure 3 is a sectional view in which the dust collector shown in figure 2 is taken along line A-A;

figure 4 is a view in which the dust collector shown in figure 2 is visible from the front side;

figure 5 is a view in which the dust collector shown in figure 2 is visible from the bottom side in a position in which its outer casing is removed;

Fig.6 is a view in section of the dust collector shown in Fig.4;

7 is a view in which changes in the forms of foreign particles and dust contained in the first storage section are fundamentally comparable in accordance with whether or not a roller exists;

Fig. 8 is a conceptual view of a modified example of a guide assembly;

Fig.9 is a sectional view of the dust collector shown in Fig.8;

figure 10 is a perspective view of another example of the dust collector shown in figure 1;

11 is an enlarged view of the inner side of the plot ʺBʺ shown in figure 10;

Fig. 12 is a sectional view of the portion "B" depicted in Fig. 10;

FIG. 13 is a conceptual view of a modified example of the rotating assembly of FIG. 10;

Fig.14 is a view in which the dust collector shown in Fig.13 is visible from the bottom side;

Fig. 15 is a conceptual view for explaining a structure in which a driving force of a drive unit is transmitted to a rotating unit by a drive unit for transmitting a driving force;

Fig. 16 is a sectional view of the dust collector of Fig. 15;

Fig.17 is a view in which the top cover is separated from the dust collector shown in Fig.2;

Fig. 18 is a view in which the inlet side of the top cover shown in Fig. 17 is visible;

Fig.19 is a view in which the outlet side of the top cover shown in Fig.17 is visible;

Fig.20 is a view in which the lower side of the upper cover shown in Fig.17 is visible;

Fig.21 is a conceptual view of the direction of flow in the top cover shown in Fig.17;

Fig.22 is a conceptual view of a modified example of the top cover shown in Fig.17;

Fig.23 is a view in which the inlet side of the top cover shown in Fig.22 is visible;

Fig.24 is a view in which the outlet side of the top cover shown in Fig.22 is visible;

Fig.25 is a view in which the lower side of the upper cover shown in Fig.22 is visible;

Fig is a conceptual view of the direction of flow in the top cover shown in Fig;

Fig.27 is a conceptual view of another example of the dust collector shown in Fig.1;

FIG. 28 is a conceptual view in which the inner casing, the rotating member, and the bottom cover of FIG. 27 are separated;

Fig.29 is a conceptual view in which the rotating element shown in Fig.28 is visible from below;

Fig.30 is a side view of the rotating element shown in Fig.29;

Fig - top view of the rotating element shown in Fig;

Fig. 32 is a conceptual view of a structure in which a fixed ring is connected to the inner casing of Fig. 28;

Fig.33 is a perspective view with a spatial separation of the elements of the lower cover depicted in Fig.28;

Fig. 34 is a conceptual view of a structure in which the bottom cover is closed in the structure shown in Fig. 32;

FIGS. 35 and 36 are views in which the first modified example of the rotating member shown in FIG. 28 is seen from different directions;

Fig. 37 is a plan view of the rotating member shown in Fig. 35;

Fig. 38 is a bottom view of the rotating member of Fig. 35;

FIGS. 39 and 40 are views in which a second modified example of the rotating member shown in FIG. 28 is seen from different directions;

Fig. 41 is a plan view of the rotating member shown in Fig. 39; and

Fig. 42 is a bottom view of the rotating member shown in Fig. 39.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Below, a vacuum cleaner in accordance with the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In accordance with the present description of the invention, the same or similar elements are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals even in different embodiments and modified examples, and their duplicate descriptions will be omitted.

The modified example has the same construction as the construction of the embodiment except for the part having a structural difference from the part of the embodiment. Accordingly, the design, function, and the like described in the embodiment may be applicable to the modified example, if this does not contradict the design point of view.

The singular may include the plural as much as it has a definitely different meaning from the context.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an example of a vacuum cleaner 1 in accordance with the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vacuum cleaner 1 may include a housing 10, a suction assembly 20, a connecting assembly 30, a wheel assembly 40, and a dust collector 100.

The vacuum cleaner body 10 has a fan assembly (not shown) for generating a suction force. The fan assembly includes a suction motor and a suction fan rotated by the suction motor to generate a suction force.

The suction unit 20 is configured to suck in air adjacent to the suction unit 20. The air drawn in by the suction unit 20 may contain foreign particles, dust, fine dust, ultrafine dust and the like.

The connecting unit 30 is connected to the suction unit 20 and the dust collector 100, respectively, for moving air containing foreign particles, dust, fine dust, ultrafine dust and the like, sucked through the suction unit 20, into the dust collector 100. The connecting unit 30 can be made in the form of a hose or tube.

The wheel assembly 40 is rotatably connected to the cleaner body 10 to move or rotate the cleaner body 10 in each direction by rotation.

For example, the wheel assembly 40 may include main wheels and auxiliary wheels. The main wheels, respectively, are located on both sides of the cleaner body 10, and the auxiliary wheels are configured to support the cleaner body 10 together with the main wheels and to facilitate the movement of the cleaner body 10 with the main wheels.

In the present disclosure, the suction assembly 20, the coupling assembly 30, and the wheel assembly 40 may be used in prior art vacuum cleaners as they are, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The dust collector 100 is removably connected to the cleaner body 10. The dust collector 100 is configured to separate foreign particles, dust, fine dust from the intake air, collect foreign particles, dust, fine dust and release filtered air.

Basically, the vacuum cleaner in the prior art has a structure in which a connection assembly is connected to a suction assembly formed in the cleaner body, and intake air is supplied to the dust collector through a flow guide passing from the suction assembly to the dust collector. The suction air is supplied to the dust collector 100 under the action of the suction force of the fan assembly, but there is a problem that the suction force decreases when such air passes through the flow guide of the vacuum cleaner body.

On the contrary, the vacuum cleaner 1 of the present disclosure is directly connected to the dust collector 100, as shown in the drawing. According to such a connecting structure, the air drawn in through the suction unit 20 is supplied directly to the dust collector 100, and thus, the suction force can be increased in comparison with the prior art. In addition, there is an advantage in that the formation of a flow guide in the housing 10 of the vacuum cleaner is not required. This will be described in detail below.

For comparison, the dust collector 100 used in the container-type vacuum cleaner 1 is shown in this drawing, but the dust collector 100 of the present disclosure may not necessarily be limited to the container-type vacuum cleaner 1. The dust collector 100 of the present disclosure may also be used in various vacuum cleaners, such as a vertical type vacuum cleaner and a robot vacuum cleaner.

Below, various examples of the dust collector 100 having a new design will be described with respect to the general design of the dust collector 100 and the flow in the dust collector 100.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an example of the dust collector 100 shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view in which the dust collector shown in FIG. 2 is taken along line A-A.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the external air drawn in by the suction force generated by the fan assembly of the vacuum cleaner 1 is supplied to the dust collector 100 through the inlet 100a of the dust collector 100. The air supplied to the dust collector 100 is sequentially filtered in the first cyclone 110 and the second cyclone 120 and is discharged to the outside of the dust collector 100 through the outlet 106. Foreign particles, dust, fine dust separated from the air by the first and second cyclones 110, 120 are collected in the dust collector 100.

A cyclone is a device configured to supply a swirling flow into a fluid in which particles float to separate particles from the fluid by centrifugal force. The cyclone separates foreign particles, dust and fine dust from the air supplied to the body 10 of the vacuum cleaner under the action of a suction force. In the present description of the invention, relatively coarse dust is called “dust”, relatively fine dust is called “fine dust”, and dust finer than “fine dust” is called “ultrafine dust”.

The dust collector 100 includes an outer casing 101, a first cyclone 110, and a second cyclone 120.

The outer casing 101 is configured to accommodate the first and second cyclones 110, 120 and forms the appearance of the side surface of the dust collector 100. The outer casing 101 is preferably formed in a cylindrical shape, as shown in the drawing, but the present disclosure may not necessarily be limited to this.

The top cover 140 is mounted on the outer casing 101 to close the first and second cyclones 110, 120. The top cover 140 is formed with an input guide 140a and an output guide 140b of the dust collector 100, respectively. An inlet guide 140a may be formed to extend to the inner periphery of the outer casing 101 so that intake air is tangentially supplied to the outer casing 101 and circulates along the inner periphery of the outer casing 101.

The first cyclone 110 is installed in the outer casing 101. The first cyclone 110 may be located on the upper portion in the outer casing 101. The first cyclone 110 is configured to filter foreign particles and dust from the supplied air and to supply air from which foreign particles and dust have been filtered, into it.

The first cyclone 110 may include a housing 111 and a strainer 112.

The housing 111 forms an outer view of the first cyclone 110 and can be formed in a cylindrical shape similar to the outer casing 101. The housing 111 can be formed with a support portion 111a for connection with the outer casing 101 with the possibility of protrusion in the radial direction. For example, the support portion 111a may be formed so as to protrude on the upper portion of the housing 111 at its outer periphery, and the support portion 111a may be connected to the upper portion of the outer casing 101.

The housing 111 is formed in a shape that is empty inside to accommodate the second cyclone 120. The outer periphery of the housing 111 is formed with holes communicating with its inner part. Holes can be formed in a variety of positions along the outer periphery of the housing 111.

The mesh filter 112 is located in the housing 111 to close the holes and has a mesh or porous shape that allows air to pass through it. The strainer 112 is formed to separate foreign particles and dust from the air supplied to the housing 111.

The size criterion for distinguishing between dust and fine dust can be determined by the strainer 112. Fine dust passing through the strainer 112 can be classified as “fine dust”, and coarse dust that is not able to pass through the strainer 112 can be classified as “dust” ".

Considering in detail the process of separating foreign particles and dust by the first cyclone 110, air containing foreign particles, dust and fine dust is supplied to the annular region between the outer casing 101 and the first cyclone 110 through the outlet 140aʺ (see FIG. 20) of the inlet guide 140a for the formation of vortex motion in an annular region.

During the process, relatively heavier foreign particles and dust travel downward in a spiral swirl in the region between the outer casing 101 and the first cyclone 110 by centrifugal force and are collected in a first storage section (D1), which will be described later.

On the other hand, unlike foreign particles and dust, air is supplied to the housing 111 through the strainer 112 under the action of a suction force. In this case, fine dust is relatively lighter than the dust can then be supplied to the housing 111 together with air.

As shown in FIG. 3, the internal structure of the dust collector 100 and the air flow in the dust collector 100 can be seen.

The second cyclone 120 is located in the first cyclone 110 for separating fine dust from the air supplied to it through the inlet 120a. As shown in the drawing, a plurality of second cyclones 120 may be located therein. The central axis of the second cyclones 120 may be parallel to the central axis of the first cyclone 110.

In contrast to the vertical arrangement of the prior art, in which the second cyclone is located above the first cyclone, the second cyclone 120 of the present disclosure can be placed in the first cyclone 110 to reduce the height of the dust collector 100. The second cyclone 120 can be formed without protrusion above the first cyclone 110.

In addition, the second cyclone in the prior art has a guide channel extending from its one side such that air and fine dust are fed tangentially into it for circulation along the inner periphery of the second cyclone, but the second cyclone 120 of the present disclosure does not have such a guide channel . Therefore, the second cyclone 120 has a circular shape when viewed from above.

As shown in FIG. 2, cyclones located adjacent to each other between the first and second cyclones 110, 120 form the first region S1. In other words, in the region where the second cyclone 120 is located in the first cyclone 110, the empty region with the exception of the second cyclone 120 can be understood as the first region (S1). The first region (S1) forms a channel through which air and fine dust supplied to the first cyclone 110 can be supplied to the upper portion of the second cyclone 120.

Each of the second cyclones 120 may be arranged in a vertical direction, and the plurality of second cyclones 120 may be arranged parallel to each other. According to such an arrangement, a first region (S1) may be formed to extend vertically within the first cyclone 110.

Cyclones located adjacent to each other from the second cyclones 120 may be located in contact with each other. Specifically, a (round) conical casing 121 defining the appearance of any of the cyclones 120 is in contact with the casing 121 of an adjacent second cyclone 120 to form a first region (S1) surrounded by the casing 121.

The casing 121 of any one of the second cyclones 120 may be integrally formed with the casing 121 of the adjacent second cyclone 120. In accordance with the above construction, the plurality of second cyclones 120 may be made of modules and located in the first cyclone 110.

In addition, cyclones located on the inner periphery of the first cyclone 110 in the form of a second cyclone 120 may be in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the first cyclone 110. Specifically, the inner peripheral surface of the housing 111 in close proximity to each other and the outer peripheral surface corresponding to the cylindrical portion of the casing 121 may be arranged in contact with each other.

According to the arrangement, the second cyclone 120 can be efficiently located in the first cyclone 110. In particular, the second cyclone 120 of the present disclosure does not have a guide channel extending from one side of the second cyclone in the prior art, and thus a larger number of second cyclones 120 can be located in the first cyclone 110. Accordingly, even if the second cyclone 120 has a structure in which the second cyclone 120 is located in the first cyclone 110, the number of second cyclones 120 cannot be reduced in comparison with the known m the prior art, thereby preventing a decrease cleaning performance.

The cover 130 is located on the upper portion of the second cyclone 120. The cover 130 is located to close the inlet portions 120a of the second cyclone 120 at a predetermined distance, forming a second region (S2) in communication with the first region (S1) between the cover 130 and the inlet portion 120a. The second region (S2) extends horizontally on the second cyclone 120 and is configured to communicate with the inlet portion 120a of the second cyclone 120.

In accordance with such a dependence of the message, the air supplied to the first cyclone 110 is supplied to the inlet section 120a in the upper section of the second cyclone 120 through the first region (S1) and the second region (S2).

An unloading nozzle 122 for discharging air from which fine dust is separated is located in the upper center of the second cyclone 120. Due to this upper structure, the inlet portion 120a can be formed as an annular region between the inner periphery of the second cyclone 120 and the outer periphery of the discharge nozzle 122.

The inlet portion 120a of the second cyclone 120 comprises a guide vane 123 extending in a spiral along its inner periphery. The guide vane 123 may be located on the outer periphery of the discharge nozzle 122 or be integral with the discharge nozzle 122. The guide vane 123 generates a rotating flow in the air passing into the second cyclone 120 through the inlet portion 120a.

Examining in detail the air flow and fine dust supplied to the inlet portion 120a, the fine dust gradually passes downward while spiraling along the inner periphery of the second cyclone 120, and as a result is discharged through the discharge opening 120b and collected in the second section (D2) for storage. In addition, the air is relatively lighter than the fine dust is discharged into the discharge nozzle 122 in its upper section under the action of the suction force of the fan assembly.

According to the aforementioned construction, in contrast to the prior art, in which a high-speed rotating stream is generated with the possibility of bias to one area due to the guide channel extending from one side of the second cyclone, a relatively uniform rotating stream is generated over almost the entire area of the inlet section 120a. Accordingly, a localized high-speed flow does not occur compared with the construction of the second cyclone in the prior art, thereby reducing flow loss due to this.

A plurality of guide vanes 123 may be provided herein and located at the same distance from each other on the outer periphery of the discharge nozzle 122. Each guide blade 123 may be configured to start from the same position on the upper portion of the discharge nozzle 122 and extend into the same position in its lower section.

For example, four guide vanes 123 can be located respectively with an angular distance of 90 ° from each other on the outer periphery of the discharge nozzle 122. More or less guide vanes 123 can be provided depending on the design change, and at least part of any the guide vanes 123 may be arranged to overlap with another guide vanes 123 in the vertical direction of the discharge nozzle 122.

In addition, the guide vane 123 may be located in the first cyclone 110. According to this arrangement, the flow in the second cyclone 120 occurs in the first cyclone 110. As a result, it may be possible to reduce noise due to the flow in the second cyclone 120.

Moreover, the lower diameter of the discharge nozzle 122 can be formed smaller compared to its upper diameter. According to such a construction, the area of the inlet 120a can be reduced to increase the speed of the inlet stream to the second cyclone 120, thereby limiting the discharge of fine dust supplied to the second cyclone 120 through the discharge nozzle 122 together with air.

FIG. 3 is a view in which a cone-shaped portion 122a, the diameter of which gradually decreases as it extends to its end, is formed in the lower portion of the discharge nozzle 122. In contrast, the discharge nozzle 122 can be formed so that its diameter gradually decreases from the upper portion to her lower section.

On the other hand, a communication hole 130a corresponding to the discharge nozzle 122 is formed in the cover 130. The cover 130 may be located to close the inner region of the first cyclone 110 with the exception of the discharge nozzle 122. Although not shown, the cover 130 may include a protruding portion, inserted into the discharge nozzle 122 and formed with an opening 130a for communication therein.

The top cover 140 is located on the cover 130. The top cover 140 may form an upper view of the dust collector 100.

The top cover 140 includes an inlet guide 140a for supplying externally intake air to the dust collector 100, and an outlet guide 140b for discharging air discharged through the communication hole 130a to the outside of the dust collector 100. The inlet 140a ′ and the outlet 140b ', respectively, are formed on the top cover 140 for the inlet stream and the outlet air stream. According to this drawing, it is shown that the inlet 140a ′ is formed to face forward, and the outlet 140bʺ is formed to reverse.

Air discharged through the outlet 140bʺ of the dust collector 100 may be discharged to the outside through an outlet (not shown) of the cleaner body 10. A porous pre-filter (not shown), configured to filter ultrafine dust from the air, can be mounted on a channel extending from the outlet of the dust collector 100 to the outlet of the cleaner body 10.

On the other hand, the discharge opening 120b of the second cyclone 120 is arranged to pass through the lower surface 111b of the first cyclone 110. A through hole for inserting the second cyclone 120 is formed on the lower surface 111b of the first cyclone 110.

The lower portion of the first cyclone 110 comprises an inner casing 150 for receiving the discharge opening 120b to form a second storage section (D2) for collecting fine dust discharged through the discharge opening 120b. The second storage section (D2) may also be referred to as a fine dust storage section from the point of view of forming a fine dust storage area. The bottom cover 160, which will be described below, forms the lower surface of the second storage section (D2).

The inner casing 150 is located to close the bottom surface 111b of the first cyclone 110 and is configured to accommodate the discharge opening 120b of the second cyclone 120 therein. The inner casing 150 extends to the lower portion of the outer casing 101. The inner casing 150 may be in the form of a bowl containing a cone-shaped portion having a narrower cross-section at the lower end compared to its upper end and gradually decreasing cross-sectional area as it passes downward.

The inner casing 150 may be connected to the housing 111 of the first cyclone 110 by means of a mounting device (e.g., bolt, hook, glue, etc.). Alternatively, the inner casing 150 may be integrally formed with the housing 111.

On the other hand, foreign particles and dust filtered by the first cyclone 110 are collected in a first storage section (D1) located under the first cyclone 110. The first storage section (D1) may also be called a section for storing foreign particles and dust with point of view of the formation of an area for storing foreign particles and dust.

The drawing shows that the first storage section (D1) formed by the outer casing 101 and the pressing unit 170 is configured to surround the second storage section (D2). The lower surface of the first storage section (D1) may be formed by the lower cover 160, which will be described below.

Various flows (for example, the upper flow due to the rotation of the pressing member 172 located in the pressing assembly 170), including the high-speed rotating flow due to the suction force of the fan assembly, are mixed in the dust collector 100.

Such complex flows are also an obstacle to the entry of foreign particles and dust into the first storage section (D1). Furthermore, even if dust is collected in the first storage section (D1), dust can float in the first storage section (D1) under the influence of a vortex flow or the like. Due to the design in which the annular region between the outer casing 101 and the first cyclone 110 is to communicate with the region between the outer casing 101 and the first storage section (D1) to collect foreign particles and dust, there may be a case where dust floating in the first section ( D12) for storage, passes back to the annular region in accordance with the circumstances.

This serves as a factor reducing the cleaning efficiency of the vacuum cleaner 1, as well as the collection efficiency.

A design will be described below to direct the input stream of foreign particles and dust filtered by the first cyclone 110 into the first storage section (D1), and to prevent the dust collected in the first storage section (D1) from passing backward.

According to this embodiment, it is shown that the guide assembly 180 is located on the underside of the first cyclone 110. The guide assembly 180 is configured to direct the input stream of foreign particles and dust filtered by the first cyclone 110 into the first storage section (D1) and prevent moving dust collected in the first section (D1) for storage (i.e., passing backward) into the first cyclone 110.

The guide assembly 180 includes a base 181 and a blade 182. The base 181 and the blade 182 can be formed integrally by injection molding.

The base 181 may be formed in a cylindrical shape similar to the housing 111. The outer peripheral surface of the base 181 may be formed parallel to the axial direction of the outer casing 101.

The blade 182 protrudes from the outer periphery of the base 181 to the inner peripheral surface of the outer casing 101 and spirals from its upper side to its lower side. The blade 182 may spiral along the direction of the air flow supplied to the dust collector 100 and circulating along the inner periphery of the outer casing 101.

To accomplish this, the blade 182 can be tilted in a direction corresponding to the side of the outlet 140aʺ of the inlet guide 140a located in the top cover 140, which will be described later. In this document, the corresponding direction means that when the side of the outlet 140aʺ of the inlet guide 140a has a negative inclination, the blade 182 has a negative inclination.

When the blade 182 is formed with this orientation, foreign particles and dust contained in the air that circulates in a spiral and gradually passes down in the annular region between the outer casing 101 and the first cyclone 110, can naturally be fed into the first section (D1) for storage on the bottom the side of the guide assembly 180 along the blade 182. In other words, the blade 182 is configured to direct the input stream of foreign particles and dust into the first storage section (D1).

The air supplied to the guide assembly 180 circulates in a spiral fashion along the blades 182 and gradually passes down. Due to this flow, dust supplied to the blade 182 or dust collected in the first storage section (D1) does not pass back to the side of the first cyclone 110 under the influence of the flow.

The blade 182 may protrude from the outer peripheral surface of the first cyclone 110 and be located next to the inner peripheral surface of the outer casing 101. Due to this arrangement, the region formed on the upper side of the guide assembly 180 (the annular region between the outer casing 101 and the first cyclone 110) may be separated from the region formed on the lower side of the guide assembly 180 (first storage section (D1)).

A plurality of blades 182 may be located at the same distance from each other on the outer periphery of the guide assembly 180. Each blade 182 may be formed to start from the same position in the upper portion of the guide assembly 180 and extend to the same position in its lower portion . Accordingly, a substantially uniform rotating flow can be generated over the entire range of the annular region between the outer casing 101 and the guide assembly 180. Accordingly, it may be possible to reduce the flow loss.

Any blade 182 of a plurality of blades 182 may be arranged such that at least a portion of the blade 182 overlaps with the other blade 182 in the vertical direction of the guide assembly 180. According to the above construction, even if a vertical flow in the first cyclone 110 is immediately formed on the vane 182 or in the first storage section (D1), it can be blocked by blocking the vane 182 on the upper side, thereby restricting the input flow to the side of the first cyclone 110.

Of course, the present disclosure is not limited to this. The lower end of one blade 182 from a plurality of blades 182 can be formed at a distance from the upper end of the other guide blade 182 along the outer periphery of the guide assembly 180. In other words, they are formed without overlapping with each other in the vertical direction of the guide assembly 180.

As shown in FIG. 3, both the first storage section (D1) and the second storage section (D2) are formed to open on the lower side of the outer casing 101. The bottom cover 160 is connected to the outer casing 101 to close the openings of the first section (D1 ) for storage and the second section (D2) for storage and is configured to form the lower surface of the first section (D1) for storage and the second section (D2) for storage.

As described above, the bottom cover 160 is connected to the outer casing 101 to open and close its lower portion. In accordance with the present embodiment, the bottom cover 160 is connected to the outer casing 101 by a hinge 161 to open and close the lower portion of the outer casing 101 in accordance with the rotation. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the bottom cover 160 can be fully detachably connected to the outer casing 101.

The bottom cover 160 is connected to the outer casing 101 to form the bottom surface of the first storage section (D1) and the second storage section (D2). The bottom cover 160 is rotated by a hinge 161 to simultaneously discharge dust and fine dust, while simultaneously opening the first section (D1) for storage and the second section (D2) for storage. By turning the bottom cover 160 with a hinge to simultaneously open the first storage section (D1) and the second storage section (D2), it may be possible to unload dust and fine dust at the same time.

On the other hand, when the dust accumulated in the first storage section (D1) is not collected in one place but scattered, there is a possibility that the dust may fly away or be discharged in an undesirable place during the dust discharge process. To eliminate such a problem, the present disclosure is designed to reduce volume by pressing dust collected in a first storage section (D1) using a pressing unit 170.

The pressing unit 170 is rotatable in both directions in a first storage section (D1). The pressing unit 170 includes a rotating member 171 and a pressing member 172.

The rotating element 171 is formed to surround at least part of the inner casing 150 and is configured to receive the driving force of the drive unit 50 (see FIG. 16) of the vacuum cleaner body 10 using the driving force transmitting unit 163 for rotation relative to the inner casing 150. Rotating the element 171 rotates in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction, that is, in both directions.

The inner shape of the rotating member 171 surrounding the inner casing 150 may be formed to match the outer shape of the inner casing 150. According to the aforementioned construction, when the pressing unit 170 rotates, the inner casing 150 is configured to hold the center of rotation. Accordingly, the rotation of the pressing unit 170 can be more stably carried out without a separate element for holding the center of rotation of the rotating element 171.

The rotating member 171 may be rotatable in the engaged position with the inner casing 150. For this purpose, an engaging portion (not shown) configured to maintain the rotating member 171 with respect to the direction of gravity may be formed on the outer periphery of the inner casing 150. Section engagement can be formed in various forms, such as a protrusion, hook, or the like.

According to the aforementioned design, the rotary member 171 may be in the engaged position with the inner case 150, and then even if the bottom cover 160 is rotated by a hinge 161 to open the first storage section (D1), the pressing unit 170 can be fixed in place.

A mounting groove 171b for connecting to the mounting member 163b of the driving force transmitting assembly 163, which will be described later, may be formed on the lower inner periphery of the rotating member 171.

The pressing element 172 is formed with a protrusion in the radial direction from the rotating element 171 and is made to rotate in the first section (D1) for storage in accordance with the rotation of the rotating element 171. The pressing element 172 may be formed in the form of a plate. The dust collected in the first storage section (D1) is moved to one side of the first storage section (D1) by rotating the pressing member 172 and collected on it, and when a large amount of dust is accumulated, the dust is pressed and compacted by the pressing member 172.

A pressing member 172 may be formed with a ventilation hole 172a for communicating air. A ventilation hole 172a may be formed on the pressing member 172, and even if the pressing member 172 rotates in the first storage section (D1), the pressure balance between the two side portions of the pressing member 172 separated by the pressing member 172 can be adjusted, thereby reducing the upper flow due to rotation of the pressing member 172.

The inner dust collecting wall 101b moved to one side as a result of rotation of the pressing member 172 may be located in the first storage section (D1). In the present embodiment, it is shown that the inner wall 101b is formed to extend radially from the lower inner periphery of the outer casing 101. The dust supplied to the first storage section (D1) is collected on both sides of the inner wall 101b as a result of rotation of the pressing member 172.

The bottom cover 160 comprises a driving force transmission unit 163 connected to a drive unit 50 located in the vacuum cleaner body 10 when the dust collector 100 is installed on the vacuum cleaner body 10, and connected to the pressing unit 170 when the lower cover 160 is installed to close the lower opening of the outer case 101.

The drive unit 50 includes a drive motor 51 and a pinion gear 52 rotatably connected to the drive motor 51. At least a portion of the pinion gear 52 is opened from the cleaner body 10 in such a way that the pinion gear 52 is adapted to be coupled to the pinion gear 163a of the driving force transmission unit 163, which will be described later when the dust bag 100 is mounted on the cleaner body 10.

The driving force transmitting unit 163 rotates as a result of receiving the driving force of the drive unit 50 located in the vacuum cleaner body 10, and includes a driven gear 163a and a fastener 163b. The driven gear 163a is open to the lower portion of the lower cover 160 and rotatably relative to the lower cover 160. The driven gear 163a is adapted to be coupled to the driving gear 52 to obtain a driving force of the drive motor 51 when the dust collector 100 is connected to the cleaner body 10.

The fastener 163b is engaged with the driven gear 163a rotatably with the driven gear 163a. The fastener 163b is open to the upper portion of the lower cover 160 and secured to the fastening groove 171b formed on the inner periphery of the rotary element 171 when the lower cover 160 is connected to the outer casing 101. In accordance with this drawing, a gear shape is shown in which a plurality of fastening grooves 171b formed at the same distance from each other on the inner periphery of the rotatable member 171, and the fastener 163b comprises a plurality of protrusions inserted into the fastening grooves 171b. Considering this form, the fastener 163b may be called a connecting gear.

The sealing assembly 164 may be mounted on the fastener 163b. The sealing assembly 164 is located to close the lower opening of the inner casing 150 when the lower cover 160 is connected to the outer casing 101. In other words, the sealing assembly 164 forms the lower surface of the second storage section (D2), thereby preventing the collection of fine dust from being conveyed to the assembly side 163 transmission of driving force.

The sealing assembly 164 may be rotatable during rotation of the driving force transmitting assembly 163. In other words, even if the driving force transmission assembly 163 rotates, the sealing assembly 164 may be stationary in the position to close the lower opening of the inner casing 150. The portion of the sealing assembly 164 in contact with the lower opening of the inner casing 150 may be made of resilient material for sealing.

According to the above construction, when the bottom cover 160 is connected to the outer casing 101, the driving force transmitting unit 163 is connected to the pressing unit 170 of the dust collector 100, and when the dust collecting unit 100 is connected to the vacuum cleaner body 10, the driving force transmitting unit 163 is connected to the driving unit 50 of the housing 10 vacuum cleaners. In other words, the driving force generated by the drive unit 50 is transmitted to the pressing unit 170 by the drive force transmitting unit 163.

In this case, the rotation of the drive motor 51 can be adjusted to repeatedly rotate in two directions of the pressing member 172. For example, the drive motor 51 can be rotated in the opposite direction when the repulsive force is applied in the opposite direction of rotation. In other words, when the pressing member 172 rotates in one direction to seal the dust collected on one side at a predetermined level, the drive motor 51 rotates in the other direction to seal the dust collected on the other side.

When there is (almost) no dust, the pressing member 172 can be configured to collide with the inner wall 101b to obtain an appropriate repulsive force or to obtain a repulsive force by a stop structure (not shown) located on the rotation path of the pressing member 172 to rotate in the opposite direction.

On the contrary, the controller in the housing 10 of the vacuum cleaner can send a signal to the drive motor to change the direction of rotation of the pressing element 172 at regular intervals, thus repeatedly generating rotation in two directions of the pressing element 172.

Due to the pressing member 172, dust collected in the first storage section (D1) is collected or pressed in a predetermined area. Therefore, it may be possible to prevent dust from scattering during the dust ejection process, and to significantly reduce the likelihood of discharge in an undesirable location.

A structure in which the guide assembly 180 is connected to the pressing assembly 170 for rotation will be described below.

FIG. 4 is a view in which the dust collector 100 shown in FIG. 2 is visible from the front side; FIG. 5 is a view in which the dust collector 100 shown in FIG. 2 is visible from the bottom side in a position in which it is removed outer casing, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the dust collector 100 shown in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIGS. 4-6, together with the previous drawings, the guide assembly 180 is connected to the pressing assembly 170 and is rotatable in at least one of the directions together with the pressing assembly 170. From the point of view of rotation of the guide assembly 180, the guide assembly 180 may also be called a rotating assembly.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the guide assembly 180 rotates in a counterclockwise direction (right) corresponding to the direction of travel on the lower side of the blade 182, foreign particles and dust in the air supplied to the blade 182 move downward as a result of the rotation of the blade 182. Accordingly, foreign particles and dust that have been supplied to the blade 182 can be more easily collected in the first section (D1) for storage. Furthermore, even if the foreign particles collected in the first storage section (D1) are fed to the blade 182, they are pushed back as a result of the rotation of the blade 182.

Considering that the flow circulating in a spiral and gradually passing down is generated on the blades 182, it is expected that the reverse flow of foreign particles and dust will be even more difficult.

In contrast, when the guide assembly 180 rotates in a clockwise (left) direction corresponding to the direction of travel on the upper side of the blade 182, foreign particles and dust in the air supplied to the blade 182 move upward as a result of the rotation of the blade 182. However, since the flow, circulating in a spiral and gradually passing downward, is generated on the blades 182, the occurrence of such a movement and the resulting backflow of foreign particles and dust is difficult.

However, when the guide assembly 180 rotates in a direction corresponding to the direction of travel on the upper side of the blade 182, the following structure can be added taking into account the likelihood of a backflow of foreign particles.

As shown, a backflow restriction rib 101a inclined in a direction intersecting with the blade 182 protrudes on the inner peripheral surface of the outer casing 101 facing the blade 182. A plurality of backflow restriction ribs 101a can be located at a predetermined distance along the inner peripheral surface of the outer casing 101.

The rib 101a for restricting backflow can be formed integrally with the outer casing 101 by injection molding. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this. The rib 101a for restricting the reverse flow can be formed as a separate element of the outer casing 101 and mounted on the inner peripheral surface of the outer casing 101.

Due to the formation of a rib 101a to limit the reverse flow, foreign particles passing back from the first storage section (D1) to the blade can be held by the rib 101a to limit the reverse flow, even if the foreign particles move upward as a result of the rotation of the blade 182. Accordingly, the foreign particles cannot completely go back to the upper side of the guide assembly 180 and assemble again in the first storage section (D1).

When one of the blades 182 and ribs 101a for limiting the reverse flow has a positive inclination relative to the rotating shaft of the guide assembly 180, the other may have a negative inclination. Figure 4 shows that the blade 182 has a negative slope, and a rib 101a for limiting the reverse flow is formed with a positive slope. According to the aforementioned design, the guide assembly 180 rotates in a clockwise (left) direction corresponding to the direction of travel of the blade 182, so that foreign substances from the first storage section (D1) rise onto the blade 182, even if it rotates, they are continuously held by an edge 101a to limit backflow and fall.

Of course, the tilt relationship between the blade 182 and the rib 101a to limit backflow is not limited to the above example. The backflow restriction rib 101a may be parallel to the rotating shaft of the guide assembly 180. In other words, the backflow restriction rib 101a may be perpendicular to the bottom cover 160. Alternatively, the backflow restriction rib 101a may be inclined in the direction the flow of air supplied to the outer casing 101, like a blade 182.

On the other hand, rotation of the guide assembly 180 can be accomplished by connecting the guide assembly 180 to the pressing assembly 170. In other words, as described above, the pressing assembly 170 can be rotated by acquiring a driving force of the drive device 50 by the driving force transmitting assembly 163, and thus, the guide assembly 180 connected to the pressing assembly 170 can also rotate simultaneously during rotation of the pressing assembly 170.

Specifically, the base 181 of the guide assembly 180 can be connected to the rotating member 171 of the pressing assembly 170. The connection between the base 181 and the rotating member 171 can be achieved using various methods, such as bonding, hooking, and joining using hook construction.

7 is a view in which changes in the shapes of foreign particles and dust contained in the first storage section (D1) are conceptually comparable in accordance with whether or not the roller 171a exists, FIG. 7A is a view of the shapes of foreign particles and dust ( D) collected in the first section (D1) for storage in a structure in which the roller 171a is not provided, and FIG. 7B is a view of the shape of foreign particles and dust (D) collected in the first section (D1) for storage in the structure, in which pressing unit 170 comprises a roller 171a.

As shown in FIG. 7A, since the foreign particles and dust (D) collected in the first storage section (D1) accumulate, they gradually become closer to the side of the first cyclone 110. In particular, in the case of loose foreign particles, even if they are collected in the first section (D1) for storage, they are distributed in the first section (D1) for storage, not having an enlarged shape, thus causing a reverse flow in the upward direction on the side where foreign particles and dust accumulate (D).

To eliminate such a problem, as shown in FIG. 7B, a roller 171a made with a plurality of ribs extending in the radial direction at a predetermined distance from each other can be located on at least one of the guide assembly 180 and the pressing assembly 170 for access to the lower side of the outer casing 101. Roller 171a is configured to apply rotational force to foreign particles and dust collected in the first section (D1) for storing at least one of the guide assembly 180 and the pressing assembly 170 during rotation.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2-6, including FIG. 7B, it is shown that the plurality of ribs forming the roller 171a, respectively, extend radially at a predetermined distance from each other to the rotating element 171 facing the bottom cover 160. According to such a construction, the upper portion of the foreign particles and dust (D) collected in the first storage section (D1) repeatedly collides with a plurality of ribs during rotation of the rotating member 171. As a result, the foreign particles and dust (D) rotate as shown on figv, and, ultimately, the collected foreign particles and dust (D) roll together in a state of enlargement into a substantially spherical shape.

As described above, the foreign particles and dust (D) are enlarged into a spherical shape using the roller 171a, and thus, it may be possible to prevent backflow due to the accumulation of foreign particles and dust (D) at a predetermined level. When the pressing member 172 is further connected to the roller 171a, enlargement and compaction of the foreign particles and dust (D) can be carried out simultaneously, increasing the collection efficiency of the foreign particles and dust (D), thereby significantly reducing the likelihood of a backflow.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual view of a modified example of the guide assembly 180 of FIG. 2, and FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the dust collector 200 of FIG. 8.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the guide assembly 280 may have a protective element 283 extending downward from its upper portion in a downward inclined direction. The gap between the protective element 283 and the outer casing 201 gradually decreases as it passes from the upper portion to the lower portion.

When the protective element 283 is formed, foreign particles and dust falling without passing through the strainer 212 of the first cyclone 210 are guided by the protective element 283 and fed to the first storage section (D1), but the foreign particles and dust collected in the first section (D1) for storage, are prevented from passing upward by the security element 283. In other words, the reverse flow of foreign particles and dust collected in the first storage section (D1) is held by the security element 283.

Considering in more detail the structure in which the protective element 283 is located in the guide assembly 280, the guide assembly 280 includes a base 281, a protective element 283 and a blade 282. The base 281, the protective element 283 and the blade 282 can be integrally molded under pressure.

The base 281 is connected to the rotating member 271 of the pressing unit 270. The base 281 may be formed parallel to the axial direction of the outer casing 201.

The protective element 283 extends downwardly from the upper portion of the base 281. Accordingly, the gap between the protective element 283 and the base 281 gradually increases as it passes from the upper portion to the lower portion.

Although not shown, a plurality of ribs forming the aforementioned roller may extend radially in the gap between the base 281 and the protective element 283.

The blade 282 protrudes from the protective element 283 to the inner peripheral surface of the outer casing 201 and spirals from the upper side to the lower side. The blade 282 can slide into the dust collector 200 and spiral in the direction of the air flow circulating along the inner periphery of the outer casing 201.

According to the drawing, a structure is shown in which the base 281 and the protective element 283 are different in shape. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this. As a modified example, the base 281 and the protective element 283 can be made as one element in which the base 281 and the protective element 283 are not separated from each other (in this drawing, the gap between the base 281 and the protective element 283 is filled), and it can be called a protective an element. The inner side of the protective element is connected to the rotating element 271, and its outer side is formed inclined downward.

On the other hand, most of the foreign particles and dust that have not passed through the first cyclone 110 fall down and are collected in the first section (D1) for storage, but in accordance with the circumstances, foreign particles or dust can be retained or accumulate and settle on the strainer 112. They can reduce the area of the strainer 112 to allow air to pass through it, thereby increasing the load on the fan assembly, which generates suction force, as well as visually giving the user an impression of uncleaned wow look.

To resolve this problem, a method of disassembling and cleaning the dust bag may be considered, but it may cause inconvenience for the user, and furthermore, there is a problem that the cleaning is not easy, in fact, due to the construction in which the area where a first cyclone is located, separated from the first storage section (for example, separated by a blade 182 of the guide assembly 180 or a protective element, which will be described later).

Below will be described a design that provides continuous removal of foreign particles and dust held or accumulated on the strainer 112 during operation of the vacuum cleaner 1.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of another example of the dust collector 300 shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of the inside of the portion ʺBʺ shown in FIG. 10, and FIG. 12 is a sectional view of the portion ʺBʺ shown in FIG. 10.

As shown in FIGS. 10-12, the rotating assembly 380 is connected to the pressing assembly 370 for rotation together with the pressing assembly 370. As shown in the drawing, the rotating assembly 380 is configured to surround at least a portion of the first cyclone 310 and is rotatable relative to the first cyclone 310 in at least one direction.

The rotary assembly 380 is configured to scrape or sweep away foreign particles and dust held or accumulated on the strainer 312 of the first cyclone 310 during rotation. To accomplish this, the rotating assembly 380 includes a lower frame 381, an upper frame 385 and a support 383.

The lower frame 381 is connected to the rotating member 371 of the pressing unit 370 and is formed in a cylindrical shape on the lower portion or lower side of the first cyclone 310. For example, the lower frame 381 may be formed to surround the lower end of the first cyclone 310.

In the present disclosure, the lower frame 381 may be understood as a structure similar to the base 181 of the guide assembly 180 described above. The lower frame 381 may be formed parallel to the axial direction of the outer casing 301.

The blade 382 may protrude from the lower frame 381 to the inner peripheral surface of the outer casing 301. The blade 382 extends in a spiral from the upper side to the lower side. The blade 382 can be inserted into the dust collector 300 and extend in a spiral shape in the direction of the air flow circulating along the inner periphery of the outer casing 301.

The upper frame 385 is located at a predetermined distance upward from the lower frame 381 and is formed to surround the upper end of the first cyclone 310.

The support 383 is located to close the strainer 312 and extends in the vertical direction of the strainer 312 and is connected to the lower frame 381 and the upper frame 385, respectively. In other words, the lower frame 381 is connected to the lower end of the support 383 to surround a portion of the first cyclone 310 as a whole.

A plurality of supports 383 may be formed herein and located at a predetermined distance on the outer periphery of the first cyclone 310. As a result, an opening is formed between adjacent two supports 383, and a strainer 312 passes through the opening. Accordingly, the air flowing in a spiral through the annular region between the outer casing 301 and the first cyclone 310 passes through a strainer 312 open through the opening and passes into the first cyclone 310.

When the pressing unit 370 receives the driving force of the drive unit 50 by the driving force transmitting unit 163 for rotation, the rotating unit 380 connected to the pressing unit 370 rotates together with the support 383, while the support 383 moves along the outer periphery of the strainer 312.

The scraper 384 is located on the inner surface of the support 383, facing the outer surface of the strainer 312. The scraper 384 has a shape extending in the direction of the length of the support 383, and is located for vertical intersection with the strainer 312 on the strainer 312.

The scraper 384 is configured to scrape or sweep away foreign particles and dust accumulated on the strainer 312 during rotation of the rotary assembly 380. For this purpose, the scrapers 384 may be configured to be in contact with the strainer 312.

The scraper 384 may be made with a brush made of an elastic material, or made of synthetic resin, like a support 383.

When the scraper 384 is made with a brush, it has the advantage that the brush is inserted into the gap of the strainer 312 to effectively remove foreign particles or dust accumulated in the gap. When the scraper 384 is made with a brush, the scraper 384 can be inserted into the slot formed in the direction of passage of the support 383 and secured to the support 383.

Scraper 384 may be made of resilient material (e.g., rubber, silicone, etc.) and coupled integrally with support 383 by double injection molding. When the scraper 384 is made of resilient material, it has the advantage that the scraper 384 is brought into close contact with the screen 312 to efficiently sweep away the foreign particles accumulated on the screen 312.

The scraper 384 may be made of the same synthetic resin as the support 383 and is made integrally with the support 383 by injection molding. The scraper 384 may protrude in the direction of passage of the support 383. In this case, it has the advantage that the rotating assembly 380 having a separate material provided by the scraper 384 can be manufactured using one injection molding.

On the other hand, although not shown, the backflow restriction rib 101a described in accordance with the embodiment of FIGS. 2-7 and the modified example of FIG. 8 can be connected to the blade 382 of this embodiment.

In brief, the backflow restriction rib 101a inclined in a direction intersecting with the blade 382 may protrude on the inner peripheral surface of the outer casing 301 facing the blade 382.

Due to the formation of a rib 101a for restricting the reverse flow, foreign particles passing back from the first storage section (D1) to the blade 382 can be held by the rib 101a to limit the reverse flow, even if the foreign particles pass upward due to the rotation of the blade 382. Accordingly, the foreign particles are not can completely extend back to the upper side of the guide assembly 180 and assemble again in the first storage section (D1).

A modified example of the rotating assembly 480 will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 13 is a conceptual view of a modified example of the rotary assembly 480 of FIG. 10, FIG. 14 is a view in which the dust collector 400 of FIG. 13 is seen from the bottom, FIG. 15 is a conceptual view for explaining the structure, in which the driving force of the driving unit 50 is transmitted to the rotating unit 480 by the driving force transmitting unit 463, and FIG. 16 is a sectional view of the dust collector 400 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 13-16, the rotary assembly 480 includes a lower frame 481, an upper frame 485, a support 483, a scraper 484, and a security element 486. The modified example has the same structure as the rotary assembly 480 described in the previous embodiment implementation, with the exception of the protective element 486 and the roller 481a. As a result, its duplicate description will be omitted.

The protective element 486 extending outward in the downward inclined direction protrudes on the lower frame 481. Accordingly, the gap between the protective element 486 and the lower frame 481 gradually increases as it passes from the upper portion to the lower portion.

Since the protective element 486 is formed, foreign particles and dust falling without passing through the strainer 412 of the first cyclone 410 are guided by the protective element 486 and fed to the first section (D1) for storage, but foreign particles and dust collected in the first section (D1 ) for storage, are prevented from passing upward by the protective element 486. In other words, the return flow of foreign particles and dust collected in the first storage section (D1) is limited by the protective element 486.

However, since the gap between the outer casing 401 and the protective element 486 is reduced to the lower side, this may cause a problem in that foreign particles can be held in the gap when the size of the foreign particles is large. This prevents the passage of other foreign particles and dust into the first section (D1) for storage through the gap.

However, in this modified example, the rotating assembly 480 is connected to the pressing assembly 470 and is rotatable together with the pressing assembly 470, and thus, even if foreign particles are held in the gap between the protective element 486 and the outer casing 401, the foreign particles can be removed as a result of rotation of the rotating assembly 480. Foreign particles removed from the gap can be supplied to the first section (D1) for storage due to the rotating flow when the vacuum cleaner 1 is driven.

On the other hand, rollers 481a, 471a made with many ribs extending in the radial direction at a predetermined distance from each other, can be located on at least one of the rotating unit 480 and the pressing unit 470. This drawing shows that the first the roller 481a and the second roller 471a are located on the rotating unit 480 and the pressing unit 470, respectively.

Describing the first roller 481a in the first place, a plurality of ribs forming the first roller 481a can be formed in the gap between the lower frame 481 and the protective element 486 in the radial direction. Many ribs are located to access its bottom cover (not shown).

A plurality of ribs forming a second roller 471a may extend radially at a predetermined distance from each other on a rotating member 471 facing the bottom cover.

Since the rotating assembly 480 is configured to surround at least a portion of the pressing assembly 470, a first roller 481a may be formed to surround a second roller 471a.

According to the aforementioned design, the upper portion of foreign particles and dust collected in the first section (D1) for storage during rotation of the pressing unit 470 and the rotating unit 480 connected thereto repeatedly collides with a plurality of ribs forming the first and second rollers 481a, 471a . As a result, the foreign particles and dust rotate, and, ultimately, the collected foreign particles and dust roll in a state of coarsening into a substantially spherical shape.

The first and second rollers 481a, 471a may have different heights with respect to the lower cover 460. In this embodiment, it is shown that the first roller 481a is located above the second roller 471a. According to the aforementioned construction, the first or second rollers 481a, 471a, corresponding to the accumulation height of the foreign particles and dust, can be properly used to enlarge the foreign particles and dust into a spherical shape. In other words, the first roller 481a can be used to aggregate foreign particles and dust having a relatively large volume compared to the second roller 471a in a spherical shape.

However, the present disclosure is not limited to this. The first and second rollers 481a, 471a may have the same height with respect to the lower cover 460. In this case, the plurality of ribs forming the first roller 481a and the plurality of ribs forming the second roller 471a can be made to intersect with each other in the direction of rotation.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vacuum cleaner 1 of the present disclosure is configured such that air including foreign particles, dust, fine dust and ultrafine dust that are sucked through the suction assembly 20 is directly supplied to the dust collector 100 without passing through the cleaner body 10 . For this purpose, the top cover 140 of the dust collector 100 comprises an inlet and an outlet for supplying and discharging air, respectively, and the inlet is directly connected to the connecting unit 30 connected to the suction unit 20.

An upper cover 140 having both an inlet and an outlet will be described in more detail below.

FIG. 17 is a view in which the top cover 140 is separated from the dust collector 100 shown in FIG. 2; FIG. 18 is a view in which the inlet side of the top cover 140 shown in FIG. 17 is visible; FIG. 19 is a view in which shows the outlet side of the top cover 140 shown in FIG. 17, FIG. 20 is a view in which the lower side of the top cover 140 shown in FIG. 17 is visible, and FIG. 21 is a conceptual view of the flow direction in the top cover 140 shown in FIG. on Fig.

As shown in FIGS. 17-21 together with FIGS. 1-3 mentioned above, the top cover 140 is mounted on the upper side of the outer casing 101 to close the cover 130. Accordingly, the top cover 140 is arranged to close both the first and second cyclones 110, 120. Top cover 140 may form an upper view of dust collector 100.

The top cover 140 includes an input guide 140a and an output guide 140b that form channels separated from each other. The inlet guide 140a forms a channel for supplying air to the outer casing 101, and the output guide 140b forms a channel for exhausting air from which foreign particles, dust and fine dust were separated when passing through the first and second cyclones 110, 120.

The input guide 140a and the output guide 140b have an inlet 140a ′, 140b ′ and an outlet 140aʺ, 140bʺ, respectively. According to this drawing, it is shown that the inlet 140a ′ of the input guide 140a is open in a direction opposite to the outlet 140bʺ of the output guide 140b.

A connecting unit 30 connected to a suction unit 20 for sucking in air containing foreign particles, dust and fine dust is directly connected to the inlet of the inlet guide 140a. An outlet of the inlet guide 140a is formed on the lower surface of the upper cover 140 to communicate with the annular region between the outer casing 101 and the first cyclone 110.

At least a portion of the inlet guide 140a is curved and extends to the inner periphery of the outer casing 101 so that the air supplied through the inlet 140a ′ rotates in a spiral shape as it passes into the annular region.

In this embodiment, it is shown that the input guide 140a is formed as a separate channel. In other words, the inlet guide 140a comprises one inlet 140a ′ and one outlet 140aʺ. As a result, compared with the modified example, which will be described later, the cross-sectional area of the input guide 140a can be increased to further reduce the phenomenon in which large foreign particles are held inside, and to eliminate the problem of interference between structures and electronic components located adjacent with the top cover 140 at a predetermined level, due to the simplification of the design of the input guide 140a.

An inlet of the outlet guide 140b is formed on the lower surface of the upper cover 140 to communicate with the inner region of the discharge nozzle 122 located in the second cyclone 120. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cover 130 is formed with a connection hole 130a corresponding to the discharge nozzle 122, and thus, the inlet of the output guide 140b is adapted to communicate with the communication hole 130a.

An inlet 140b ′ of the output guide 140b may be formed on both sides of the inlet guide 140a forming a separate channel. The outlet 140bʺ of the output guide 140b is adapted to communicate with the inlet 140b 'of the output guide 140b formed on both sides of the input guide 140a.

Air discharged through the outlet 140bʺ of the outlet guide 140b can be discharged directly to the outside or discharged to the outside through the outlet of the cleaner body 10, as shown in FIG. In the latter case, a porous filter (not shown) configured to filter ultrafine dust from the air can be mounted on a channel extending from the outlet 140b отверстия of the dust collector 100 to the outlet of the vacuum cleaner body 10.

As described above, when the input guide 140a is formed with a separate flow channel and the output guide 140b is formed using the free area of the input guide 140a, it may be possible to provide a top cover 140 having reliable suction performance.

The top cover 140 having the aforementioned structure can be formed integrally by injection molding. As shown in FIG. 17, the top cover 140 can be injection molded in three shapes that are assembled and separated in three directions, such as the inlet side (M1) of the input guide 140a, the exhaust side (M2) of the output guide 140b, and the lower side (M3) of the top cover 140.

The dividing lines of three-way injection molding can be respectively formed on the top cover 140. Accordingly, it may be possible to check how the top cover 140 is manufactured (i.e., the top cover 140 is made or not by injection molding in the same way as the top cover of this embodiment) based on the dividing line.

The problem with injection molding of the top cover 140 depends on how to form the input guide 140a and the output guide 140b. In particular, when each of the input guide 140a and the output guide 140b is formed in three dimensions, the channel is formed using at least two shapes, and the two shapes must be mated with each other.

As shown in FIG. 20, the inlet guide 140a can be formed using two shapes assembled in two directions, such as the inlet side (M1) of the inlet guide 140a and the lower side (M3) of the top cover 140. A portion in which the two shapes are joined with each other, is M13, and a dividing line can be formed in this section.

In addition, the output guide 140b can be formed using two shapes assembled in two directions, such as the output side (M2) of the output guide 140b and the lower side (M3) of the top cover 140. A portion in which the two shapes fit together is M23 located on both sides of the input guide 140a, and a dividing line may be formed in this section.

Thus, the top cover 140 formed with the inlet guide 140a and the outlet guide 140b can be injection molded at one time using three molds. Accordingly, it may be possible to increase the mass productivity of the top cover 140.

Below will be described a modified example of the upper cover 540, in which the inlet guide 540a is made with one inlet 540a 'and two outlets 540a1ʺ, 540a2ʺ.

Fig.22 is a conceptual view of a modified example of the top cover 140 shown in Fig.17; Fig.23 is a view in which the inlet side of the top cover 540 shown in Fig.22 is visible, Fig.24 is a view in which the outlet side of the upper cover 540 shown in FIG. 22, FIG. 25 is a view showing the lower side of the upper cover 540 shown in FIG. 22, and FIG. 26 is a conceptual view of the flow direction in the upper cover 540 shown in FIG. 22.

Like the aforementioned embodiment, the top cover 540 of this modified example is mounted to close the cover 130 on the upper side of the outer casing 101. Accordingly, the top cover 540 is arranged to close both the first and second cyclones 110, 120. The top cover 540 may form an upper view of the dust collector one hundred.

As shown in FIGS. 22-26, the top cover 540 includes an input guide 540a and an output guide 540b defining channels separated from each other. The inlet guide 540a forms a channel for supplying air to the outer casing 101, and the output guide 140b forms a channel for exhausting air from which foreign particles, dust and fine dust were separated when passing through the first and second cyclones 110, 120.

The inlet guide 540a and the outlet guide 540b comprise an inlet 540a ′, 540b ′ and an outlet 540a1 ′, 540a2ʺ / 540bʺ, respectively. According to this drawing, it is shown that the inlet 540a ′ of the input guide 540a has a shape that is open in a direction opposite to the outlet 540bʺ of the output guide 540b.

This modified example differs from the aforementioned embodiment in that the inlet guide 540a has one inlet 540a 'and two outlets 540a1ʺ, 540a2ʺ. The inlet 540a ′ of the inlet guide 540a is directly connected to the connecting unit 30 connected to the suction unit 20 for sucking in air containing foreign particles, dust and fine dust. Two outlet openings 540a1ʺ, 540a2ʺ of the inlet guide 540a are formed on the lower surface of the upper cover 540 to communicate with the annular region between the outer casing 101 and the first cyclone 110.

The input guide 540a includes a branch wall 540a3 and first and second branch channels 540a1, 540a2.

The branch wall 540a3 is formed in a position facing the inlet of the inlet guide 540a. Accordingly, the air supplied through the inlet of the inlet guide 540a may collide with the branch wall 540a3 and separate to both sides of the branch wall 540a3.

The branch wall 540a3 can be formed perpendicular to the inlet 540a of the inlet guide 540a. In this case, the air that collided with the branch wall 540a3 can be evenly distributed to the left and right sides of the branch wall 540a3. However, in this case, due to the flow of air into the inlet 540a ′ of the inlet guide 140a, a phenomenon can occur in which foreign particles adhere to the branch wall 540a3 facing the inlet 540a ′ and stagnate.

To prevent this, as shown in the drawing, the branch wall 540a3 can be formed inclined relative to the inlet 540a 'of the input guide 540a. In other words, the branch wall 540a3 may be formed in a shape such that its left or right side is inclined closer to the inlet. According to the aforementioned construction, it can be made in such a way that foreign particles move along the inclined branch wall 540a3, thereby eliminating the stagnation of foreign particles in the structure in which the branch wall 540a3 is formed perpendicular to the inlet 540a ′ of the input guide 540a.

The first and second branch channels 540a1, 540a2 are located on both sides of the branch wall 540a3 and are bent on at least part of it, and extend to the inner periphery of the outer casing 101 for swirling in spiral form when air is supplied into the annular region between the outer the casing 101 and the first cyclone 110.

The first and second branch channels 540a1, 540a2 may extend mutually in the same direction. To accomplish this, any one of the first and second branch channels 540a1, 540a2 forms a channel to the rear side of the branch wall 540a3, and the other forms a channel to the front side of the branch wall 540a3.

An inlet 540b ′ of the output guide 540b is formed on the lower surface of the upper cover 540 for communicating with the inner region of the discharge nozzle 122 located in the second cyclone 120. As described above, when the communication hole 130a corresponding to the discharge nozzle 122 is formed on the cover 130, the inlet the hole 140b ′ of the output guide 540b is configured to communicate with the message hole 130a.

The outlet 540bʺ of the output guide 540b is configured to communicate with the inlet 540b 'of the output guide 540b. Air discharged through the outlet 540bʺ of the outlet guide 540b is directly discharged to the outside, and discharged to the outside through the outlet of the cleaner body 10, as shown in FIG. In the latter case, a porous pre-filter (not shown), configured to filter ultrafine dust from the air, can be installed on a channel passing from the outlet of the dust collector 100 to the outlet of the cleaner body 10.

FIG. 27 is a conceptual view of another example of the dust collector 600 shown in FIG. 1; and FIG. 28 is a conceptual view in which the inner casing 650, the rotating member 670, and the lower cover 660 shown in FIG. 27 are separated. For information, the design, which will be described below, can also be used in the design of the above embodiments.

As shown in FIGS. 27 and 28, the inner casing 650 is connected to a lower portion of the housing 611 that forms the outer shape of the first cyclone 610. The inner casing 650 includes a baffle 651 to separate the area from which air is supplied to the first cyclone 610 and the area (i.e. e., a second storage section (D2)) in which fine dust is discharged through the discharge opening 620b of the second cyclone 620. The partition 651 may be referred to as a functional separator.

A through hole 651a for inserting the second cyclone 620 is formed on the baffle 651. The lower portion of the second cyclone 620 is set to pass through the baffle 651 through the through hole 651a. A discharge opening 620b formed at the lower end of the second cyclone 620 is located below the partition 651. Therefore, fine dust discharged through the discharge opening 620b is stored in a second storage section (D2) under the partition 651.

When comparing the baffle 651 with the aforementioned lower surface 111b, 211b, 411b of the first cyclone 110, 210, 310, 410, both of them have the same function except that their education position is the inner casing 650, and not the first cyclone body 111, 211 110, 210, 310, 410. Accordingly, the structure for separating the region by the partition 651 of the present embodiment, instead of the structure for separating the region by the bottom surface 111b, 211b, 411b, can also be used in the above embodiments.

The fixed protrusion 652 to which the fixed ring 680 is connected, which will be described later, protrudes from the lower end of the inner casing 650. A plurality of fixed protrusions 652 can be spaced apart from each other along the outer periphery of the inner casing 650.

The rotating member 670 is arranged to surround at least a portion of the inner casing 650. For this purpose, the rotating member 670 comprises a receiving portion 670a corresponding to the outer shape of the inner casing 650. As shown in the drawing, when the inner casing 650 has a bowl shape containing a cone-shaped portion having a narrower cross-sectional area at the lower end than its upper end and a gradually reduced cross-sectional area as it passes downward, the receiving portion 670a can also be formed in the shape of a bowl, with corresponding to him.

The protruding portion 671 may be formed on the lower surface of the rotary member 670 facing the bottom cover 660 to extend downward in the direction of rotation of the rotary member 670. This figure shows that the protruding portion 671 is formed in a circular shape on the lower surface of the rotary element 670 corresponding to the conical portion of the receiving portion 670a.

The rotating element 670 is rotatable around the stationary inner casing 650. The rotating element 670 receives a driving force for rotation from the drive unit 50 (see FIG. 16) of the vacuum cleaner body due to the driving force transmitting unit 663. The rotating member 670 is rotatable in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction, that is, in both directions.

The rotary member 670 of the present embodiment can be understood as a structure in which the pressing units 170, 270 and the guide units 180, 280 of the above embodiments are integrally formed in terms of geometry. The rotatable member 670 may be formed as a separate member by injection molding.

FIG. 29 is a conceptual view in which the rotary member 670 shown in FIG. 28 is visible from below, FIG. 30 is a side view of the rotational member 670 shown in FIG. 29, and FIG. 31 is a top view of the rotational member 670 shown on Fig.

As shown in FIGS. 29-31, together with FIGS. 27 and 28, illustrated above, the rotating element 670 has a protective element 672 extending downward from its upper portion in a downwardly inclined direction. The gap between the protective element 672 and the outer casing 601 gradually decreases as it passes from the upper portion to the lower portion. Since the protective element 672 is formed, foreign particles and dust falling without passing through the strainer 612 of the first cyclone 610 are fed into the first section (D1) for storage under the protective element 672, but the foreign particles and dust collected in the first section (D1) for storage are kept from passing upwards due to the protective element 672. In other words, the return flow of foreign particles and dust collected in the first storage section (D1) is limited by the protective element 672.

However, since the gap between the outer casing 601 and the protective element 672 is reduced to the lower side, this may cause a problem in that foreign particles are held in the gap between the outer casing 601 and the protective element 672 when the size of the foreign particles is large. This prevents the passage of other foreign particles and dust into the first storage section (D1).

However, in this modified example, the rotatable element 670 is rotatable and thus, even if foreign particles are held in the gap between the protective element 672 and the outer casing 601, the foreign particles can be removed by rotation of the rotatable element 670. Foreign particles removed from the gap between the protective element 672 and the outer casing can be supplied to the first section (D1) for storage due to the rotating flow as a result of driving the vacuum cleaner 1.

In accordance with this drawing, it is shown that the protective element 672 extends downward at an angle from the upper end of the rotating element 670 to the outside, and a gap 670b is formed internally. The gap 670b is formed with the possibility of a gradual increase from the upper portion of the protective element 672 to its lower portion. The protective element 672 may be located above the protruding portion 671. In other words, the lower end of the protective element 672 may be located above the lower end of the protruding portion 671.

The protruding portion 673 may be formed on the outer peripheral surface of the protective element 672 facing the inner peripheral surface of the outer casing 601. The protruding portion 673 performs the function of providing the user with an intuitive sense that the rotating element 670 rotates or not, looking at the protruding portion 673 that rotates in the rotation time of the rotating element 670.

For example, as shown in the drawing, the protruding portion 673 may extend obliquely around the periphery of the security element 672. In this document, the inclination includes both a rectilinear and a spiral-like inclination. The protruding portion 673 may be configured with a plurality of ribs spaced apart from each other on the periphery of the protective element 672. Each of the ribs can be inserted into the dust collector 600 and tilted in the direction of the air flow circulating along the inner periphery of the outer casing 601. Each rib can protrude the same height from the protective element 672 in the direction of passage.

Here, the protruding portion 673 protrudes a length shorter than the length of the blade 182, 282, 382 of the above embodiments. Accordingly, the protruding portion 673 is an element that performs the function of providing the user with an intuitive notion that the rotating element 670 rotates or not, and does not perform a guiding function, such as the blade 182, 282, 382, and thus can be understood as a geometric screw .

As another example, the protruding portion 673 may be formed of a plurality of protrusions (not shown) protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the security element 672. The plurality of protrusions may be located at a predetermined distance from each other.

A recessed portion (not shown) in place of the protruding portion 673 may be formed on the protective element 672. In other words, the recessed portion is formed in a recessed shape inward from the outer peripheral surface of the protective element 672 to provide the user with an intuitive sense that the rotating element 670 rotates or not. looking at the protruding section 673, rotating during rotation of the rotating element 670. The recessed section can be made elongated or with a combination of dot-like recessed grooves.

Rotating element 670 contains a roller 674, which rolls up foreign particles and dust collected in the first section (D1) for storage, and enlarges them. Roller 674 may be configured with a plurality of ribs spaced apart from each other on the same surface of the rotatable member 670 facing the bottom cover 660. The plurality of ribs may extend in a direction crossing the direction of rotation of the rotatable element 670.

In the present embodiment, it is shown that the plurality of ribs forming the roller 674 are equally spaced from each other on the inner periphery of the protruding portion 671, and each of the plurality of ribs is located in the radial direction of the rotary member 670. According to the above construction, when the rotary member 670 is visible from below, a plurality of ribs forming a roller 674 has a radially elongated shape around a rotating shaft of a rotating member 670.

During the rotation of the rotary member 670, the plurality of ribs forming the roller 674 come into contact in succession with the upper portion of the foreign particles and dust collected in the first storage section (D1). Foreign particles and dust receive a rotational force as a result of contact and roll in a state of enlargement into a substantially spherical shape in accordance with the direction of rotation of the rotating element 670.

The pressing member 677 may protrude from the rotating member 670 in a radial direction. The pressing member 677 is arranged to intersect the annular first storage section (D1) in the radial direction and is rotatable in the first storage section (D1) in accordance with the rotation of the rotating member 670. The pressing member 677 may be in the form of a plate. The dust collected in the first storage section (D1) is moved by rotation of the pressing member 677 and is collected on the inner wall 601b, and when a large amount of dust is accumulated, the dust is pressed and compacted by the pressing member 677.

Fig. 32 is a conceptual view of a structure in which the stationary ring 680 is connected to the inner casing 650 of Fig. 28.

As shown in FIG. 32, together with FIGS. 27-31, the rotating member 670 is rotatably connected to the inner casing 650. For connection, the fixed ring 680 is fixed to the stationary protrusion 652 protruding from the lower end of the inner casing 650 in a position in which the inner the casing is located on the receiving section 670a of the rotating element 670.

The fixed ring 680 comprises a blocking hole (or blocking groove) 681 formed in an annular shape and set to surround the lower end of the inner casing 650, and into which the stationary protrusion 652 is inserted. The fixed ring 680 may be formed with a cut-out portion 682 for elastic deformation of the stationary plot. The fixed ring 680 may be made of synthetic resin or metal.

The locking protrusion 675 protrudes from the lower inner periphery of the rotating member 670. The locking protrusion 675 may protrude from the inner side of the receiving portion 670a and extend along the inner periphery.

The locking protrusion 675 protrudes from the lower inner periphery of the rotating member 670. The locking protrusion 675 may protrude from the inner side of the receiving portion 670a and extend along the inner periphery.

The locking protrusion 675 is located on the stationary ring 680 in a position in which the stationary ring 680 is fixed to the lower end of the inner casing 650. In other words, the stationary ring 680 is arranged to close at least a portion of the locking protrusion 675 from below when the locking ring 680 is mounted on inner casing 650. Therefore, even if the bottom cover 660 is pivoted to open the first storage section (D1), the locking protrusion 675 can be held and supported by the stationary holding ring 680 Ia position in which the rotating element 670 is connected to the inner casing 650.

On the other hand, the stop 653 is located on the upper end of the inner casing 650 and is located to close the upper end of the rotary element 670. The upward movement of the rotary element 670 can be limited by the stop 653. In other words, the installation position of the rotary element 670 relative to the inner casing 650 can be limited by the fixed ring 680 and limiter 653.

Fig. 33 is a perspective view with a spatial separation of the elements of the lower cover 660 shown in Fig. 28, and Fig. 34 is a conceptual view of the structure in which the lower cover 660 is closed in the structure shown in Fig. 32.

As shown in FIGS. 33 and 34, together with FIGS. 27-32 above, the lower cover 660 includes a driving force transmitting unit 663. The driving force transmission unit 663 is connected to a drive unit 50 (see FIG. 16) located in the vacuum cleaner body 10 when the dust collector 600 is mounted on the vacuum cleaner body 10, and the lower cover 660 is connected to the rotary element 670 when installed to close the lower opening of the outer casing 601.

In other words, the driving force transmitting unit 663 is connected to the drive unit 50 of the vacuum cleaner body 10 and the rotating member 670, respectively, and is configured to transmit the rotating driving force to the rotating member 670.

The drive unit 50 includes a drive motor 51 and a drive gear 52 connected to the drive motor 51 for rotation. At least a portion of the pinion gear 52 is opened from the cleaner body 10 in such a way that the pinion gear 52 is adapted to be coupled to the driven gear 663a of the driving force transmission unit 663, which will be described later when the dust box 600 is mounted on the cleaner body 10.

The driving force transmitting unit 663 rotates by acquiring a driving force of the drive unit 50 located in the vacuum cleaner body 10, and includes a driven gear 663a and an element 663b.

The driven gear 663a is open to the lower portion of the lower cover 6660 and rotatably relative to the lower cover 660. The driven gear 663a is adapted to be coupled to the drive gear 52 to obtain a driving force of the drive motor when the dust collector 600 is connected to the cleaner body 10. The driven gear 663a may be mounted at a predetermined distance (e.g., 0.01-0.5 mm) from the lower surface of the lower cover 660.

The connecting gear 663b is connected to the driven gear 663a and is rotatable together with the driven gear 663a. In other words, the connecting gear 663b rotates at the same rpm as the driven gear 663a. A protrusion 663a 'formed in the center of the driven gear 663a projects to the upper portion of the lower cover 660 through the hole 660a, and a connecting gear 663b is fixed to the protrusion 663a' in the upper portion of the lower cover 660.

The fastening between the driven gear 663a and the connecting gear 663b can be provided by a hook or fastener (for example, a screw, rivet, etc.). The fastener may be secured to the pinion gear 663a using the pinion gear 663b, or vice versa is fixed to the pinion gear 663b using the pinion gear 663a.

Herein, a bearing 663c for reducing frictional force can be inserted into a protrusion 663a 'open on the upper portion of the lower cover 660, and a bearing 663c can be arranged to contact the connecting gear 663b.

The connecting gear 663b is located on the upper portion of the lower cover 660 for connection with the mounting protrusion 676 located on the lower inner periphery of the rotary member 670 when the lower cover 660 is connected to the outer casing 101. In accordance with this drawing, it is shown that the engaging portion 663b 'having a plurality of teeth is located on the upper portion of the connecting gear 663b so that the mounting protrusion 676 can be inserted between the plurality of teeth.

The sealing element 663bʺ may extend along the outer periphery of the connecting gear 663b under the engaging portion 663b 'on the connecting gear 663b. The sealing element 663bʺ is tightly brought into contact with the lower inner peripheral surface of the rotating element 670 to prevent foreign particles and dust from passing onto the rotating element 670. The sealing element 663bʺ may be made of rubber, silicone and the like. The sealing member 663bʺ may limit the passage of foreign particles and dust to the side of the driving force transmission unit 663, thereby increasing the reliability of driving the driving force transmission unit 663.

At least one or more circular ribs 660b, 660c around the hole 660a on which the driven gear 663a is mounted can be formed on the lower surface of the lower cover 660. The circular ribs 660b, 660c perform the function of preventing the passage of dust and foreign particles collected in the first sections (D1) for storage in it. As shown in the drawing, when the sealing member 663bʺ is arranged to surround the round rib 660b, it may be possible to more efficiently block the incoming flow of foreign particles.

A plurality of circular ribs 660b, 660c may be formed on it and arranged in concentric form, and the gasket 660d may be inserted into the annular region formed by the circular ribs 660b, 660c. A fabric (e.g., felt) may be used as the pad 660d. Gasket 660d is configured to support driven gear 663a and retain dust or foreign particles passing into the interior.

The sealing assembly 664 may be mounted on the connecting gear 663b. The sealing assembly 664 may be secured to the connecting gear 663b using a hooking method. The fastening between the sealing assembly 664 and the connecting gear 663b may be provided by means of a fastener (not shown).

A sealing assembly 664 is arranged to close the lower opening of the inner casing 650 when the lower cover 660 is connected to the outer casing 101. The portion of the sealing assembly 664 brought into contact with the lower opening of the inner casing 650 may be made of resilient material for sealing. The sealing assembly 664 is configured to form the lower surface of the second storage section (D2), thereby preventing the supply of fine dust to the side of the driving force transmitting assembly 663.

The sealing assembly 664 is movable in the axial direction (i.e., the vertical direction) with respect to the connecting gear 663b. According to the above construction, when the vacuum cleaner 1 is driven, the sealing assembly 664 is rotatably made together with the driving force transmitting unit 663 even if the driving force transmitting unit 663 rotates (i.e., even if the connecting gear 663b rotates). In other words, when the vacuum cleaner 1 is powered, the sealing assembly 664 is connected to the connecting gear 663b, but is located in the stop position without rotation.

Specifically, when the vacuum cleaner 1 is actuated in a position in which the sealing assembly 664 is located to close the lower opening of the inner casing 650, the sealing assembly 664 is raised on the upper side of the connecting gear 663b due to the pressure difference (in the position in which the vacuum pressure is applied) and tightly mounted on the inner casing 650. Accordingly, the sealing assembly 664 does not rotate with the connecting gear 663b. In other words, even if the driving force transmitting unit 663 rotates, the sealing unit 664 can be fixed in the position for closing the lower opening of the inner casing 650.

However, when the actuation of the vacuum cleaner 1 is stopped to eliminate the pressure difference (in the position in which the vacuum pressure is removed), the sealing assembly 664 is located on the connecting gear 663b for rotation together with the connecting gear 663b.

According to the above construction, when the bottom cover 660 is connected to the outer casing 101, the driving force transmitting unit 663 is connected to the rotating element 670 of the dust collector 600, and when the dust collecting unit 600 is connected to the vacuum cleaner body 10, the driving force transmitting unit 663 is connected to the driving unit 50 of the housing 10 vacuum cleaners. Thus, the driving force generated by the drive unit 50 is transmitted to the rotating element 670 via the drive force transmitting unit 663.

In this case, the rotation of the drive motor 51 can be adjusted to repeatedly generate the rotation in two directions of the rotating element 670. For example, the drive motor 51 can be rotated in the opposite direction when the repulsive force is applied in the opposite direction of rotation. A repulsive force may be generated by the pressing member 677. When the pressing member 677 rotates in one direction to seal dust collected on one side at a predetermined level, the drive motor 51 rotates in the other direction due to the repulsive force due to the seal to seal dust collected on the other side.

When there is (almost) no dust, the pressing member 677 may be able to collide with the inner wall 601b to obtain a corresponding repulsive force or to obtain a repelling force by a stop structure (not shown) located on the rotation path of the pressing member 667 for rotation in the opposite direction.

On the contrary, the controller in the vacuum cleaner body 10 can provide a control signal to the drive motor to change the direction of rotation of the pressing member 667 at regular intervals, thereby repeatedly generating two-way rotation of the pressing member 667.

Due to the pressing member 667, dust collected in the first storage section (D1) is collected or compacted in a predetermined area. Therefore, it may be possible to prevent dust from escaping during the dust removal process and to significantly reduce the likelihood of discharge to an undesirable location.

FIGS. 35 and 36 are views in which the first modified example of the rotating element 670 shown in FIG. 28 is seen from different directions, FIG. 37 is a top view of the rotating element 770 shown in FIG. 35, and FIG. 38 is a view bottom of the rotating element 770 depicted in Fig.35.

The rotating element 770 of this modified example is slightly different from the rotating element 670 of the previous embodiment in the shape of the protruding portion.

As shown in FIGS. 35-38, the protruding portion 771 can extend downwardly and is formed in the direction of rotation of the rotary member 770 on the lower surface of the rotary member 770 facing the bottom cover. In accordance with this drawing, it is shown that the protruding portion 771 is formed in a circular shape on the lower surface of the rotating element 770 corresponding to the conical portion of the receiving portion 770a.

The rotating element 770 comprises a protective element 772 extending downwardly inclined outward from its upper portion. According to this drawing, it is shown that the protective element 772 extends downwardly from the upper end of the rotating element 770 to the outside, and a gap 770b is formed internally. The gap 770b is formed to gradually increase from the upper portion of the security element 772 to its lower portion. The protective portion 772 may be located above the protruding portion 771. In other words, the lower end of the protective element 772 may be located above the lower end of the protruding portion 771.

The protruding section 773 can be formed on the outer peripheral surface of the protective element 772 facing the inner peripheral surface of the outer casing 701. The protruding section 773 performs the function of providing the user with an intuitive knowledge that the rotating element 770 rotates or not, looking at the protruding section 773, rotating in the rotation time of the rotating element 770.

The protruding portion 773 may extend obliquely around the periphery of the security element 772. In this document, the inclination includes both a rectilinear and a helical inclination. The protruding section 773 can be made with many ribs located at a distance from each other on the periphery of the protective element 772. Each of the ribs can be inserted into the dust collector 700 and pass obliquely in the direction of the air flow circulating along the inner periphery of the outer casing 701.

Each of the ribs can be formed in such a way that the size of the gradual protrusion from the protective element 772 in the direction of passage increases and then decreases again. In other words, each of the ribs gradually increases in height from the upper end of the protective element 772 and has a maximum protrusion height in its middle section and then gradually decreases in height to the lower end of the protective element 772. Thus, each of the ribs has a rounded shape on the outside .

In this document, the protruding portion 773 protrudes a length shorter than the length of the blade 182, 282, 382 of the above embodiments. Accordingly, the protruding portion 773 is an element that performs the function of providing the user with an intuitive notion that the rotating element 770 rotates or not, and does not perform a guiding function, such as the blade 182, 282, 382, and thus can be understood as a geometric screw .

Rotating element 770 contains a roller 774, which rolls up foreign particles and dust collected in the first section (D1) for storage, and enlarges them. The roller 774 can be made with many ribs located at a distance from each other on the same surface of the rotating element 770, facing the bottom cover. A plurality of ribs may extend in a direction crossing the direction of rotation of the rotatable member 770.

In the present embodiment, it is shown that the plurality of ribs forming the roller 774 are located at the same distance from each other on the inner periphery of the protruding portion 771, and each of the plurality of ribs is located in the radial direction of the rotary member 770. According to the above construction, when the rotary member 770 is visible from below, a plurality of ribs forming a roller 774 has a radially elongated shape around a rotating shaft of a rotating member 770.

The pressing member 777 may protrude from the rotating member 770 in a radial direction. The pressing member 777 is arranged to intersect the annular first storage section (D1) in the radial direction and is rotatable in the first storage section (D1) in accordance with the rotation of the rotating member 770. The pressing member 777 may be in the form of a plate. The dust collected in the first storage section (D1) is moved by rotation of the pressing member 777 and is collected on the inner wall 701b, and when a large amount of dust is accumulated, the dust is pressed and compacted by the pressing member 777.

FIGS. 39 and 40 are views in which a second modified example of the rotating member 670 of FIG. 28 is seen from different directions, FIG. 41 is a top view of the rotating member 870 of FIG. 39, and FIG. 42 is a view bottom of the rotating element 870 depicted in Fig.39.

As shown in FIGS. 39-42, the security element 872 is located on the upper portion of the rotatable element 870. The security element 872 has a shape in which the first security element 872a and the second security element 872b having a trapezoidal shape are connected in a stepped manner using the connecting element 872c and repeatedly located around the periphery of the rotary element 870. The first protective element 872a and the second protective element 872b may have the same shape and size.

The first and second protective elements 872a, 872b gradually extend obliquely to the outside as they pass from the upper section to the lower section and are formed with a gradual distance from the rotating shaft in any one direction of rotation of the rotating elements 870. Accordingly, the gap between the first protective element 872a and the second security element 872b gradually increases as it passes from the upper portion to the lower portion.

The connecting element 872c is configured to connect the first protective element 872a and the second protective element 872b. The connecting element 872c extends inwardly from the first protective element 872a and is connected to the second protective element 872b. The connecting element 872c has a shape in which its area gradually increases as it passes from the upper portion to the lower portion.

The security element 872 may have a corrugated shape when the security element 872 is made with a combination of the first security element 872a, the connecting element 872c and the second security element 872b. Since the protective element 872 has a corrugated shape in terms of appearance, the user can see how the protective element 872 rotates during rotation of the rotating element 870 and intuitively knows whether or not the rotating element 870 rotates.

The security element 872 may also be called a protruding assembly element from a morphological point of view. The protruding assembly element is formed by repeatedly arranging the first element (corresponding to the first and second protective elements 872a, 872b having the same shape and size) extending gradually from the rotating shaft in any one direction of rotation of the rotating element 870, and the second element (corresponding to the connecting element 872c) passing from the first element to the rotating shaft on the periphery of the rotating element 870.

As described above, the protective element 872 can also be described using the design of the protruding prefabricated element. For example, the first element may gradually extend outward with an inclination as it passes from the upper portion to the lower portion, and the second element may gradually increase in area as it passes from the upper portion to the lower portion.

Since the gap between the protective element 872 and the outer casing (not shown, see reference position 601 in FIG. 27) gradually decreases as it passes from the upper portion to the lower portion of the protective element 872, the backflow of foreign particles and dust may be limited.

In accordance with this drawing, it is shown that the first and second protective elements 872a, 872b extend downwardly inclined outward from the upper end of the rotating element 870 and form a gap 870b between the inner wall forming the receiving portion 870a and the first and second protective elements 872a, 872b.

In addition, during the rotation of the rotating element 870, the protective element 872 performs the function of rolling off foreign particles and dust collected in the first storage section (D1), with the possibility of enlargement. Specifically, the lower end of the security element 872 is formed in a form in which the lower surfaces 872a ', 872c', 872b 'formed by the first security element 872a, the connecting element 872c and the second security element 872b are repeatedly connected.

Herein, the lower surfaces 872a ', 872b' of the first and second security elements 872a, 872b have a shape substantially following the direction of rotation of the rotating member 870, but the lower surface 872c 'of the connecting member 872c has a shape that intersects (approximately perpendicularly) the rotation direction of the rotating element 870. The lower surface 872c 'of the connecting element 872c is located at the same distance from the rotating element 870.

Accordingly, when the rotating member 870 rotates in any one of its rotation directions (R1), the lower surface 872b ′ of the connecting member 872c is located on the outside compared to the lower surface 872b ′ of the second security element 872b and is brought into contact with foreign particles and dust collected in the first storage section (D1), for applying a rotational force. Foreign particles and dust are repeatedly brought into contact with the lower surface 872c ′ of the connecting element 872c during rotation of the rotary element 870. Accordingly, the foreign particles and dust roll in the annular first section (D1) for storage in a state of coarsening into a substantially spherical shape in in accordance with the direction of rotation of the rotating element 870.

In contrast, when the rotating member 870 rotates in a different direction of rotation (R2) (when the rotating member 870 rotates in a counterclockwise direction based on FIG. 42), the lower surface 872c 'of the connecting member 872c is located on the inner side compared to the lower surface 872a' formed by the first protective element 872a, and thus, almost no rotational force is applied to the foreign particles and dust collected in the first storage section (D1). Therefore, when the rotating member 870 rotates in the other direction of rotation, rolling of foreign particles and dust is limited to a predetermined level.

Therefore, even if the rotating member 870 rotates in both directions, the foreign particles and dust collected in the first storage section (D1) are rolled only in any one direction of rotation to ensure the rolling direction. When the coarse foreign particles and dust also roll in the opposite direction, softening of the coarse foreign particles and dust may occur, but when the rolling direction is provided by the structure, it may be possible to prevent such a phenomenon.

The rolling function will be described below using the design of the protruding prefabricated element. The lower surface of the second element is located to access the lower cover covering the lower hole of the outer casing, and is configured to come into contact with foreign particles and dust collected in the first section (D1) for storage, to apply a rotational force when the rotating element 870 rotates in any one direction (R1) of rotation. The lower surface of the second element is repeatedly located on the periphery of the rotating element 870 for bringing into contact with foreign particles and dust collected in the section for storing foreign particles and dust during rotation of the rotating element 870.

On the other hand, when the rotating member 870 rotates in the other direction of rotation (R2), the rolling of the foreign particles and dust collected in the foreign particle and dust storage section is limited to the first element located in front of the second element.

The pressing member 877 may protrude on the rotating member 870 in a radial direction. The pressing member 877 is arranged to intersect with the annular first storage section (D1) in the radial direction and is rotatable in the first storage section (D1) in accordance with the rotation of the rotating member 870. The pressing member 877 may be formed in the form of a plate. The dust collected in the first storage section (D1) is moved by rotation of the pressing member 877 and is collected on the inner wall of the outer casing (not shown), and compressed and compacted by the pressing member 877 when a lot of dust is accumulated.

Claims (42)

1. A vacuum cleaner containing: case and a dust collector located on the cleaner body, moreover, the dust container contains: a first cyclone located in the outer casing for filtering foreign particles and dust from the air supplied from its outer side, and supplying air from which foreign particles and dust were filtered into it; a second cyclone located in the first cyclone, for separating fine dust from the air supplied to the first cyclone; and a rotating element located on the lower side of the first cyclone and made to rotate to form a first storage section configured to collect foreign particles and dust filtered by the first cyclone between the rotating element and the outer casing, moreover, the rotating element contains a roller located facing the lower cover, which closes the lower hole of the outer casing, and is brought into contact with foreign particles and dust collected in the first storage section during rotation of the rotating element, for applying a rotational force. 2. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, in which the roller contains many ribs located at a distance from each other in the direction of rotation of the rotating element and sequentially brought into contact with foreign particles and dust collected in the first section for storage during rotation of the rotating element. 3. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 2, wherein each of the plurality of ribs extends radially at a predetermined distance. 4. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 2, in which the protruding section is formed on the lower surface of the rotating element facing the lower cover, for passing down in the direction of rotation of the rotating element, and many ribs are located at a distance from each other along the inner periphery of the protruding section. 5. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, in which the rotating element further comprises a protective element extending downwardly inclined outward from its upper portion. 6. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 5, in which a protruding section or a recessed section is formed around the protective element. 7. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 6, in which the protruding section or the recessed section is formed by passing with an inclination along the periphery of the protective element. 8. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 6, in which the protruding section or the recessed section are dot-like protrusions or grooves located at the same distance from each other. 9. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, in which on the lower cover there is a driving force transmission unit connected to a drive unit of the vacuum cleaner body and the rotating element, respectively, for transmitting the driving force to the rotating element. 10. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 9, in which the drive unit of the driving force contains: driven gear open to the lower portion of the lower cover and engaged with the drive gear of the drive unit when the dust bag is mounted on the cleaner body; and a connecting gear connected to the driven gear in the upper portion of the lower cover and secured to the rotating member when the lower cover is installed to close the lower hole of the outer casing. 11. The vacuum cleaner of claim 10, in which the connecting gear contains: a gear portion engaged with a mounting protrusion located on the lower inner periphery of the rotating member when the bottom cover is installed to close the lower opening of the outer casing; and a sealing element located under the gear portion for passing in the form of a loop on the outer periphery of the connecting gear and tightly brought into contact with the lower inner peripheral surface of the rotating element. 12. The vacuum cleaner of claim 10, further comprising: the inner casing located on the lower section of the first cyclone to accommodate the discharge opening of the second cyclone and the formation of the second storage section for collecting fine dust discharged through the discharge opening in it, and placed on the receiving section of the rotating element, moreover, the sealing unit located to close the lower hole of the inner casing, when the lower cover is installed to close the lower hole of the outer casing to form the lower surface of the second storage section, is mounted on the connecting gear. 13. The vacuum cleaner according to item 12, in which the sealing unit is made with the possibility of lifting on the upper side of the connecting gear due to the pressure difference during operation of the vacuum cleaner without rotation. 14. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, additionally containing: the inner casing located on the lower section of the first cyclone to accommodate the discharge opening of the second cyclone and the formation of the second storage section for collecting fine dust discharged through the discharge opening in it, and placed on the receiving section of the rotating element; and a fixed ring that is installed to surround the lower end of the inner casing in a position in which the inner casing is placed on the receiving section to maintain the locking protrusion protruding from the inner periphery of the lower end of the rotating element. 15. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, in which the rotating element contains a pressing element protruding in the radial direction and arranged to pass through the annular first section for storage in the radial direction and configured to rotate in the first section for storage in accordance with the rotation of the rotating element. 16. A vacuum cleaner containing case and a dust collector located on the cleaner body, moreover, the dust container contains: a first cyclone located in the outer casing for filtering foreign particles and dust from the air supplied from its outer side, and supplying air from which foreign particles and dust were filtered into it; a second cyclone located in the first cyclone, for separating fine dust from the air supplied to the first cyclone; and a rotating element located on the lower side of the first cyclone and made to rotate to form the first storage section, configured to collect foreign particles and dust filtered by the first cyclone between the rotating element and the outer casing, moreover, the rotating element contains many ribs located facing the bottom cover, which closes the lower hole of the outer casing, and located at a distance from each other in the direction of rotation of the rotating element. 17. The vacuum cleaner according to clause 16, in which each of the many ribs passes in the radial direction at a given distance. 18. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 17, wherein the protruding portion is formed on a lower surface of the rotatable member facing the bottom cover to extend downward in the rotational direction of the rotatable member, and the plurality of ribs are spaced apart from each other on the inner periphery of the protruding portion. 19. The vacuum cleaner according to 17, in which the rotating element further comprises a protective element extending downwardly inclined outward from its upper portion. 20. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 19, in which the protruding section or the recessed section is formed around the protective element.

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