WO2016208889A2

WO2016208889A2 - Air purifier

Info

Publication number: WO2016208889A2
Application number: PCT/KR2016/006037
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kietak Hyun
Original assignee: Lg Electronics Inc.
Priority date: 2015-06-24
Filing date: 2016-06-08
Publication date: 2016-12-29
Also published as: CN107110519A; CN107110519B; WO2016208889A3; KR20170000527A; KR101787188B1

Abstract

An air purifier is provided. The air purifier comprises a housing including an intake port and a discharge port, a fan motor assembly for enabling air to flow in the housing, a cyclone separator for separating dust from air flowing into the housing through the intake port, a dust storage unit for storing dust separated by the cyclone separator, and a filter unit for purifying air discharged from the cyclone separator.

Description

AIR PURIFIER

The present invention relates to an air purifier.

An air purifier is a device which suctions air, filters dust, germs or the like, and thus purifies the air.

Generally, the air purifier may comprise a plurality of filters, and while the air passes, in turn, through the plurality of filters, the dust, the germs or the like may be filtered.

In the case of the air purifier, since the plurality of filters may be covered with the dust or foreign substances during a purifying process of the air, the plurality of filters should be periodically cleaned, and it is inconvenient for a user.

And to clean the filters, the air purifier should be disassembled, and the plurality of filters should be taken out of the air purifier, and then each of the plurality of filters should be cleaned. Therefore, it is difficult to clean the filters.

Meanwhile, to solve the problems, a technique in which a cyclone dust collector is installed at the air purifier has been proposed.

In Korean Patent No. 0580300 (registered on May 09, 2006) as a prior art, there is disclosed an air purifier.

The air purifier disclosed in the prior art includes a cyclone dust collector, and a plurality of filters which purifies air discharged from the cyclone dust collector.

However, even when the cyclone dust collector is provided at the air purifier, there is a problem that fine dust may not be properly separated in the cyclone dust collector, and may flow toward the filters, and thus the filters may be covered with the fine dust. In this case, the filters should be also cleaned.

The prior art has also the problem that the air purifier should be disassembled to clean the filters.

Also, since the air introduced into a housing should flow through an inside of the cyclone dust collector, a pressure loss of the air in the air purifier is larger than that of the air when the cyclone dust collector is not provided. In this case, a flow rate of the air becomes smaller, and thus it takes a long time to purify the air within a predetermined indoor space.

The present invention is directed to providing an air purifier in which a path loss in a cyclone separator is reduced when air is purified using the cyclone separator, and thus air purifying performance is enhanced, and the number of filter cleaning operations is reduced.

According to an aspect of the present invention, an air purifier comprises a housing including an intake port and a discharge port, a fan motor assembly for enabling air to flow in the housing, a cyclone separator to separate dust from air flowing into the housing through the intake port, a dust storage unit to store dust separated by the cyclone separator, and a filter unit to purify air discharged from the cyclone separator.

The cyclone separator comprises a cyclone body comprising an air inlet through which air in the housing is introduced, a dust outlet through which dust separated from air is discharged, and an air outlet through which air is discharged, a flow guide to guide air introduced through the air inlet to spirally flow, a discharge electrode provided on the flow guide for charging dust, and a collecting plate provided on an inner circumferential surface of the cyclone body for moving charged dust toward the dust storage unit.

The air outlet may be located opposite to the air inlet in the cyclone body.

At least a part of the air inlet may be provided opposite the air outlet such that a direction of air flowing into the cyclone body through the air inlet and a direction of air discharged from the cyclone body through the air outlet are equal.

The cyclone separator may further comprise a discharge guide for guiding discharge of air through the air outlet, and a distance from the air inlet to the air outlet may be greater than a distance from the air inlet to an inlet of the discharge guide.

A direction of dust discharged through the dust outlet and a direction of air discharged through the air outlet may cross each other.

The flow guide may comprise a guide body, and a plurality of vanes provided around the guide body to cause spiral flow of air and dust. The discharge electrode may be provided on the guide body.

A virtual line connecting an end of one of two adjacent vanes and an end of the other vane may be parallel to an axis of a cyclone flow in the cyclone separator.

An end of one of two adjacent vanes and an end of the other vane may overlap each other in an extension direction of the axis of the cyclone flow in the cyclone separator.

The collecting plate may be formed in a cylindrical shape in order to provide a passage of air and dust.

A part of the collecting plate may surround the flow guide.

The cyclone separator may further comprise a discharge guide for guiding discharge of air in the cyclone body through the air outlet, and a distance from the air inlet to an end of the collecting plate may be greater than a distance from the air inlet to an inlet of the discharge guide.

A part of the discharge electrode may be located outside the cyclone body.

A part of the discharge electrode may penetrate through the flow guide to protrude to the inside of the cyclone body.

The filter unit may comprise a plurality of filters, through which air sequentially passes, and an extension direction of an axis of a cyclone flow in the cyclone separator may cross an arrangement direction of the plurality of filters.

The cyclone separator may be provided such that the axis of the cyclone flow extends in the housing in a vertical direction.

A part of the discharge electrode may extend along the axis of the cyclone flow on the same line as the axis of the cyclone flow in the cyclone body.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an air purifier comprises a housing including an intake port and a discharge port, a cyclone separator to separate dust from air flowing into the housing through the intake port, a dust storage unit to store dust separated by the cyclone separator, and a filter unit to purify air discharged from the cyclone separator. The cyclone separator comprises a cyclone body including an air inlet through which air in the housing is introduced, a dust outlet through which dust separated from air is discharged, and an air outlet provided opposite to the air inlet and located at a position lower than the air inlet, a flow guide to guide air introduced through the air inlet to spirally flow, a discharge electrode provided on the flow guide for charging dust, and a collecting plate, at least a part of which is located between the air inlet and the dust outlet, for moving charged dust toward the dust storage unit.

The collecting plate may surround the flow guide.

The cyclone separator may further comprise a discharge guide for guiding discharge of air in the cyclone body through the air outlet, and a distance from the air inlet to an end of the collecting plate is greater than a distance from the air inlet to an inlet of the discharge guide.

According to the present invention, if air flows into the cyclone body through the air inlet in the axial direction, the air inlet increases as compared to the case in which air flows into the cyclone body in a tangential direction. Therefore, it is possible to reduce air flow loss.

According to the embodiment, since the air outlet is close to the dust outlet, dust may flow to a position closest to the dust outlet while air and dust spirally flow, thereby improving dust separation performance.

In addition, since the air outlet is located adjacent to the dust outlet and the collecting plate extends from a position adjacent to the air inlet to a position adjacent to the dust outlet, the flow time of air and dust in the cyclone separator increases. Accordingly, dust charged by the discharge electrode can be smoothly moved to the dust outlet along the collecting plate. That is, the amount of dust discharged along with air without being separated from air in the cyclone separator can be minimized.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an air purifier according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal configuration of the air purifier according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a cyclone separator according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the cyclone separator of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a flow guide according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the state in which the flow guide according to the first embodiment is located in a cyclone body.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a dust storage unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the dust storage unit of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a driving device for rotating a pre-filter according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an air flow in the air purifier according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a cyclone separator according to a second embodiment.

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific preferred embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that logical structural, mechanical, electrical, and chemical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. To avoid detail not necessary to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, the description may omit certain information known to those skilled in the art. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense.

Also, in the description of embodiments, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), (b) or the like may be used herein when describing components of the present invention. Each of these terminologies is not used to define an essence, order or sequence of a corresponding component but used merely to distinguish the corresponding component from other component(s). It should be noted that if it is described in the specification that one component is “connected,” “coupled” or “joined” to another component, the former may be directly “connected,” “coupled,” and “joined” to the latter or “connected”, “coupled”, and “joined” to the latter via another component.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an air purifier according to a first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal configuration of the air purifier according to the first embodiment.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the air purifier 1 according to the present embodiment may comprise a housing 10 comprising an intake port 11, through which air to be purified is suctioned, and a discharge port 12, through which purified air is discharged.

The housing 10 may be manufactured by coupling a plurality of members, and the intake port 11 may be formed at one of the plurality of members, and the discharge port 12 may be formed at another member. Alternatively, the intake port 11 and the discharge port 12 may be formed at one of the plurality of members. In the present invention, a shape of the housing 10 and positions of the intake port 11 and the discharge port 12 are not limited.

The air purifier 1 may further comprise a fan motor assembly 13 which generates an air flow in the housing 10.

The fan motor assembly 13 may comprise a fan motor 14, a fan 15 which is rotated by the fan motor 14, and a fan housing 16 which accommodates the fan 15.

In the specification, a structure of the fan motor assembly 13 is not limited, and the fan motor assembly 13 may be used to blow air or to suction and discharge the air.

The air purifier 1 may further comprise a dust separator 20 which separates dust from the air suctioned into the housing 10 through the intake port 11, and a dust storage unit 30 which stores the dust separated in the dust separator 20.

For example, the air purifier 1 may comprise a plurality of cyclone separators 210 provided in parallel. That is, air introduced into the housing 10 through the intake port 11 divisionally flows into the plurality of cyclone separators 210.

The air purifier 1 may further comprise a filter unit 40 for purifying air discharged from the plurality of cyclone separators 210. Air passing through the filter unit 40 may be discharged from the housing 10 through the discharge port 12.

The fan motor assembly 13 may be provided at an upstream side of the dust separator 20, between the dust separator 20 and the filter unit 40 or at a downstream side of the filter unit 40 based on a flow of the air in the housing 10.

The air purifier 1 may further comprise a connector 250 for guiding air discharged from the cyclone separators 210 to the filter unit 40.

The filter unit 40 may comprise a filter case 410 and one or

more filters

430, 440 and 450 housed in the filter case 410. For example, a plurality of

filters

430, 440 and 450 may be housed in the filter case 410.

The air purifier 1 may further comprise a pre-filter 420 for filtering air before air discharged from the cyclone separators 210 flows to the filter unit 40. The pre-filter 420 may be provided in the dust storage unit 30, for example.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a cyclone separator according to the first embodiment, FIG. 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the cyclone separator of FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a flow guide according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the state in which the flow guide according to the first embodiment is located in a cyclone body.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 6, the cyclone separator 210 according to this embodiment may comprise a cyclone body 212. The cyclone body 212 may have a cylindrical shape, a cone shape or a truncated cone shape such that air spirally flows.

The cyclone separator 210 may further comprise an air inlet 213 through which air in the housing 10 is introduced, an air outlet 216 through which air separated from dust is discharged, and a dust outlet 214 through which dust separated from air is discharged.

The air inlet 213, the dust outlet 214 and the air outlet 216 may be formed in the cyclone body 212.

The dust outlet 214 may be provided closer to the air outlet 216 than the air inlet 213.

The air outlet 216 may be located opposite to the air inlet 213 in the cyclone body 212. For example, the air inlet 213 and the air outlet 216 may face each other.

The dust discharge direction of the dust outlet 214 and the air discharge direction of the air outlet 216 may cross each other.

Air flowing into the housing 10 may flow into the cyclone body 212 through the air inlet 213 in the longitudinal direction (hereinafter, referred to as "axial direction") of the cyclone body 212.

In the present invention, the longitudinal direction of the cyclone body 212 is equal to the extension direction of the axis of a cyclone flow generated in the cyclone body 212.

The cyclone separator 210 may further comprise a flow guide 220 such that air introduced in the longitudinal direction of the cyclone body 212 through the air inlet 213 spirally flows.

At least a part of the flow guide 220 may be housed in the cyclone body 212.

The flow guide 220 may comprise a guide body 222 and a plurality of

vanes

224 and 225 provided on the outer circumferential surface of the guide body 222 to enable air to spirally flow.

A part of the guide body 222 may have a cylindrical shape and the other part thereof may have a diameter which gradually decreases toward the air outlet 216. For example, the other part of the guide body 222 may have a cone or truncated cone shape.

The plurality of

vanes

224 and 225 may be spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction of the guide body 222. The plurality of

vanes

224 and 225 may be spirally rounded in order to enable air to spirally flow. At this time, the angle of the plurality of

vanes

224 and 225 relative to the longitudinal axis (equal to the axis of the cyclone flow) of the cyclone body 212 is, without being limited to, 5 to 20 degrees.

If the plurality of

vanes

224 and 225 is provided at an angle of less than 5 degrees, the plurality of

vanes

224 and 225 causes air resistance such that air flow loss remarkably increases. Therefore, air does not spirally flow.

In addition, if the plurality of

vanes

224 and 225 is provided at an angle of greater than 20 degrees, air is not sufficiently guided by the plurality of

vanes

224 and 225 such that the number of rotation of air spirally flowing in the cyclone body 212 decreases and a distance between the plurality of

vanes

224 and 225 increases such that the amount of unguided air increases.

A first position 225a where an air flow is firstly guided in the plurality of

vanes

224 and 225 is located in the cyclone body 212 and may be spaced apart from the air inlet 213 by a predetermined distance.

Accordingly, air flowing into the cyclone body 212 through the air inlet 213 flows a predetermined distance in the longitudinal direction of the cyclone body 212 and then is guided by the

guide vanes

224 and 225 to spirally flow.

A virtual line L connecting the first point 225a of one vane 225 and a final point 224a where guide of the air flow is finished in the other vane 224 may be parallel to the axis of the cyclone flow.

Alternatively, the first point 225a of one vane 225 and the final point 224a of the other vane 224 may overlap each other in the direction parallel to the axis of the cyclone flow. By this configuration, it is possible to prevent air from passing through a space between the

vanes

224 and 225 in a state in which air is not guided by the

vanes

224 and 225 in the space between the

adjacent vanes

224 and 225.

Although not limited thereto, the cyclone separator 210 may be provided in the housing 10 such that the axis of the cyclone flow generated in the cyclone body 212 extends in a vertical direction.

In addition, the extension direction of the axis of the cyclone flow may cross the arrangement direction of the plurality of

filters

430, 440 and 450.

The cyclone separator 210 may further comprise a discharge guide 218 for guiding discharge of air through the air outlet 216.

The discharge guide 218 may extend from the air outlet 216 toward the air inlet 213.

An inlet 218a of the discharge guide 218 may be located between the air inlet 213 and the dust outlet 214. That is, a distance between the air inlet 213 and the dust outlet 214 is greater than a distance between the air inlet 213 and the inlet 218a of the discharge guide 218. For example, the inlet 218a of the discharge guide 218 may be located at a position higher than the dust outlet 214.

By the discharge guide 218, the direction of air flowing into the cyclone body 212 through the air inlet 213 and the direction of air discharged from the cyclone body 212 through the air outlet 216 are equal.

According to this embodiment, since air flows into the cyclone body 212 through the air inlet 213 in the axial direction, a size of the air inlet 213 increases as compared to the case in which air flows into the cyclone body 212 in a tangential direction. Therefore, it is possible to reduce air flow loss.

In addition, according to this embodiment, since the air outlet 216 is close to the dust outlet 214, dust may flow to a position closest to the dust outlet 214 while air and dust spirally flow, thereby improving dust separation performance.

In general, as the spiral flow distance of air and dust increases, separation performance increases. In this embodiment, since air and dust spirally flow to a position adjacent to the dust outlet 214, separation performance can be improved.

In addition, since the inlet 218a of the discharge guide 218 is located between the air inlet 213 and the dust outlet 214, it is possible to prevent dust spirally flowing along the inner circumferential surface of the cyclone body 212 from being discharged through the inlet 218a of the discharge guide 218 before being discharged through the dust outlet 214.

The cyclone separator 210 may further comprise a discharge electrode 230 for charging dust in air. The discharge electrode 230 may be connected to a power supply (not shown).

The discharge electrode 230 may be provided adjacent to the air inlet 213 such that the amount of dust charged by the discharge electrode 230 increases.

The discharge electrode 230 may be provided in the flow guide 220, for example. The discharge electrode 230 may be provided at the upper side of the guide body 222. A part of the discharge electrode 230 may be covered by a cover 236. The cover 236 may have a cone shape such that air flows toward the discharge electrode 230.

A part of the discharge electrode 230 may pass through the lower side of the flow guide 220 to be exposed to the inside of the cyclone body 212. Accordingly, dust passing through the flow guide 220 may be additionally charged. For example, a part of the discharge electrode 230 may extend along the axis of the cyclone flow on the same line as the axis of the cyclone flow.

The cyclone separator 210 may further comprise a collecting plate 232 for efficiently moving dust charged by the discharge electrode 230 to the dust storage unit 30.

The collecting plate 232 may be provided along the inner circumferential surface of the cyclone body 212. The collecting plate 232 may have a cylindrical shape, for example. Accordingly, air and dust substantially flow along the inner circumferential surface of the collecting plate 232. That is, the collecting plate 232 may form a flow path of air and dust.

One end of the collecting plate 232 may be located adjacent to the air inlet 213. The other end of the collecting plate 232 may be located adjacent to the dust outlet 214.

For example, a part of the collecting plate 232 may surround the

guide vanes

224 and 225 of the flow guide 220. In this case, the flow guide 220 may be fixed to the collecting plate 232. Alternatively, the

guide vanes

224 and 225 of the flow guide 220 may be spaced apart from the collecting plate 232. In this case, the flow guide 220 may be fixed to the cyclone body 212 by a separate fixing device (not shown).

In addition, a part of the collecting plate 232 may surround the discharge electrode 230.

A distance from the air inlet 213 to the other end of the collecting plate 232 may be greater than a distance from the air inlet 213 to the inlet 218a of the discharge guide 218.

For example, at least a part of the collecting plate 232 may be located between the dust outlet 214 and the inlet 218a of the discharge guide 218.

According to this embodiment, since the air outlet 220 is located adjacent to the dust outlet 214 and the collecting plate 232 extends from a position adjacent to the air inlet 213 to a position adjacent to the dust outlet 214, the flow time of air and dust in the cyclone separator 210 increases and thus charged dust can be smoothly moved to the dust outlet 214 along the collecting plate 232. That is, the amount of dust discharged along with air without being separated from air in the cyclone separator 210 can be minimized.

Some discharged dust may be adhered to the collecting plate 232 and the remaining dust may be discharged through the dust outlet 214 to be stored in the dust storage unit 30.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a dust storage unit according to the first embodiment, FIG. 8 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the dust storage unit of FIG. 7, and FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a driving device for rotating a pre-filter according to the first embodiment.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 7 to 9, the dust storage unit 30 may be detached from the air purifier 1. That is, the dust storage unit 30 may be detachably mounted in the housing 10.

The dust storage unit 30 may comprise a collecting body 310 forming a dust storage chamber 321 for storing dust discharged from the cyclone separator 210.

The collecting body 310 may comprise a dust inlet 312 through which dust discharged from the cyclone separator 210 is introduced. If a plurality of cyclone separators 210 is provided, the plurality of dust inlets 312 may be provided in the collecting body 310.

The dust storage unit 30 may further comprise an opening and closing unit 311 for opening and closing the dust storage chamber 321. The opening and closing unit 311 may be coupled to the lower side of the collecting body 310, for example.

The collecting body 310 may comprise a first opening 315 through which air discharged through the air outlet 216 of the cyclone separator 210 is introduced, a second opening 317 through which air introduced through the first opening 315 is discharged, and a connection flow path 323 for connecting the first opening 315 and the second opening 317.

That is, in the collecting body 310, the dust storage chamber 321 and the connection flow path 323 may be partitioned.

The pre-filter 420 may be provided within the connection path 323. Accordingly, air discharged through the air outlet 216 of the cyclone separator 210 may be filtered by the pre-filter 420 while flowing in the dust storage unit 30.

The pre-filter 420 may have a cavity 422. The pre-filter 420 may be provided such that air introduced through the first opening 315 passes through a part of the pre-filter 420 to flow into the cavity 422 and air flowing into the cavity 422 passes through the other part of the pre-filter 420 to be discharged to the connection flow path 323.

For example, the pre-filter 420 may be provided such that the flow direction of air passing through the first opening 315 and the second opening 317 crosses the longitudinal direction of the pre-filter 420.

An air leakage prevention rib 325 is provided in the collecting body 310 to prevent air from passing through the second opening 317 without passing through the pre-filter 420 in the connection path flow 323.

In addition, a cleaning unit 324 for cleaning the pre-filter 420 may be provided in the collecting body 310. The cleaning body 324 may be in contact with a surface of the pre-filter 420.

The air purifier 1 may further comprise a driving device (50) for rotating the pre-filter 420.

The driving device 50 may comprise a motor 510 and a power transmmision unit for tranmiting a rotation force of the motor 510 to the pre-filter 420.

The power transmmision unit may comprise one or more gears, for example. Although the power transmmision unit is shown as comprising a plurality of gears in FIG. 9, the structure of the power delivery unit is not limited thereto.

The power transmmision unit may comprise a driving gear 520 connected to the motor 510 and a driven gear 530 connected to the pre-filter 420 to receive power from the driving gear 520. The driving gear 520 may be directly connected to the driven gear 530 or may be connected to the driven gear 530 with one or more intermediate gears interposed therebetween.

The pre-filter 420 may comprise a filter frame 424. The filter frame 424 may comprise a gear connector 426 connected with the driven gear 530.

A gear shaft 532 of the driven gear 530 may penetrate through the collecting body 310 to be connected to the gear connector 426 of the filter frame 424.

The position of the motor 510 may be fixed in the housing 10. Accordingly, the dust storage unit 30 may be drawn out of the housing 10 in a state in which the motor 510 and the driving gear 520 are located in the housing 10.

When the motor 510 rotates, the rotation force of the motor 510 may be transmitted to the pre-filter 420 by the power transmmision unit such that the pre-filter 420 rotates. When the pre-filter 420 rotates, the surface of the pre-filter 420 is scratched by the cleaning unit 324 such that dust on the surface of the pre-filter 420 may be removed from the pre-filter 420. Dust removed from the pre-filter 420 may be stored in the lower side of the connection flow path 323.

The opening and closing unit 311 may open and close both dust storage chamber 321 and the connection flow path 323. Accordingly, when the opening and closing unit 311 is detached from the collecting body 310, dust in the dust storage chamber 321 and dust in the connection flow path 323 may be discharged from the collecting body 310.

According to this embodiment, since dust may be removed from air discharged from the cyclone separator 210 by the pre-filter 420, the amount of dust flowing toward the filter unit 40 is minimized. Accordingly, cleaning of the filter unit 40 can become unnecessary or the number of times of cleaning can be minimized.

In addition, since dust on the pre-filter 420 can be automatically removed by the cleaning unit 324, inconvenience due to the need to manually clean the pre-filter 420 can be removed.

In addition, since dust on the pre-filter 420 can be removed, it is possible to prevent the amount of flowing air from being reduced due to flow resistance caused by dust on the pre-filter 420.

In FIG. 10, a solid line indicates air and a dotted line indicates dust.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 10, when the fan motor 14 operates, air may be suctioned by rotation of the fan 15 through the intake port 11 of the housing 10. Air suctioned through the intake port 11 of the housing 10 may flow into the cyclone separator 210 through the air inlet 213.

At this time, a voltage may be applied to the discharge electrode 230 such that dust introduced through the air inlet 213 may be charged.

Air flowing into the cyclone separator 210 is guided by the flow guide 220 to spirally flow along the inner circumferential surface of the cyclone body 212, thereby separating air and dust. As described above, charged dust may be efficiently moved to the dust outlet 214 by the collecting plate 232.

Air separated from dust in the cyclone body 212 may pass through the discharge guide 218 to be discharged from the cyclone body 212 through the air outlet 216.

In contrast, dust separated from air may be discharged from the cyclone body 212 through the dust outlet 214.

Dust discharged through the dust outlet 214 flows into the dust storage unit 30 to be stored in the dust storage unit 30.

Air discharged from the cyclone separator 210 through the air outlet 216 is filtered by the pre-filter 420 while passing through the connection flow path 323 of the dust storage unit 30 and then flows toward the filter unit 40 through the connector 250.

Air flowing toward the filter unit 40 is filtered by the plurality of

filters

430, 440 and 450 again and is discharged from the housing 10 through the discharge port 12 of the housing 10.

When the operation time of the air purifier reaches a reference time or when the number of times of operation of the air purifier reaches a reference value, the motor 510 may operate. When the motor 510 operates, the pre-filter 420 may rotate such that dust on the pre-filter 420 is removed by the cleaning unit 424.

This embodiment is equal to the first embodiment except for the position of the discharge electrode. Hereinafter, only the features of this embodiment will be described.

Referring to FIG. 11, a discharge electrode 230a of this embodiment may be provided to surround the flow guide 200. At least a part of the discharge electrode 230a may be provided outside the cyclone body 212.

According to this embodiment, dust may be charged before passing through the air inlet 213 of the cyclone body 212 and dust may be charged when flowing into the cyclone body 212, thereby increasing the amount of charged dust.

In addition, since the discharge electrode 230a is provided to surround the flow guide 220, the discharge electrode 230a guides flow of air and dust, thereby further increasing the amount of charged dust.

Even though all the elements of the embodiments are coupled into one or operated in the combined state, the present disclosure is not limited to such an embodiment. That is, all the elements may be selectively combined with each other without departing the scope of the invention. Furthermore, when it is described that one comprises (or includes or has) some elements, it should be understood that it may comprise (or include or have) only those elements, or it may comprise (or include or have) other elements as well as those elements if there is no specific limitation. Unless otherwise specifically defined herein, all terms including technical or scientific terms are to be given meanings understood by those skilled in the art. Like terms defined in dictionaries, generally used terms needs to be construed as meaning used in technical contexts and are not construed as ideal or excessively formal meanings unless otherwise clearly defined herein.

Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number of illustrative embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Therefore, the preferred embodiments should be considered in descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, and also the technical scope of the invention is not limited to the embodiments. Furthermore, the scope of the invention is defined not by the detailed description of the invention but by the appended claims, and all differences within the scope will be construed as being included in the present disclosure.

Claims

An air purifier comprising:

a housing including an intake port and a discharge port;

a fan motor assembly for enabling air to flow in the housing;

a cyclone separator to separate dust from air flowing into the housing through the intake port;

a dust storage unit to store dust separated by the cyclone separator; and

a filter unit to purify air discharged from the cyclone separator,

wherein the cyclone separator comprises:

a cyclone body comprising an air inlet through which air in the housing is introduced, a dust outlet through which dust separated from air is discharged, and an air outlet through which air is discharged;

a flow guide to guide air introduced through the air inlet to spirally flow;

a discharge electrode provided on the flow guide for charging dust; and

a collecting plate provided on an inner circumferential surface of the cyclone body for moving charged dust toward the dust storage unit.
The air purifier of claim 1, wherein the air outlet is located opposite to the air inlet in the cyclone body.
The air purifier of claim 1, wherein at least a part of the air inlet is provided opposite to the air outlet such that a direction of air flowing into the cyclone body through the air inlet and a direction of air discharged from the cyclone body through the air outlet are equal.
The air purifier of claim 3, wherein:

the cyclone separator further comprises a discharge guide to guide discharge of air through the air outlet, and

a distance from the air inlet to the air outlet is greater than a distance from the air inlet to an inlet of the discharge guide.
The air purifier of claim 1, wherein a direction of dust discharged through the dust outlet and a direction of air discharged through the air outlet cross each other.
The air purifier of claim 1, wherein:

the flow guide includes:

a guide body; and

a plurality of vanes provided around the guide body to cause spiral flow of air and dust, and

the discharge electrode is provided on the guide body.
The air purifier of claim 6, wherein a virtual line connecting an end of one of two adjacent vanes and an end of the other vane is parallel to an axis of a cyclone flow in the cyclone separator.
The air purifier of claim 7, wherein an end of one of two adjacent vanes and an end of the other vane overlap each other in an extension direction of the axis of the cyclone flow in the cyclone separator.
The air purifier of claim 1, wherein the collecting plate is formed in a cylindrical shape to provide a passage of air and dust.
The air purifier of claim 9, wherein a part of the collecting plate surrounds the flow guide.
The air purifier of claim 9, wherein:

the cyclone separator further comprises a discharge guide to guide discharge of air in the cyclone body through the air outlet, and

a distance from the air inlet to an end of the collecting plate is greater than a distance from the air inlet to an inlet of the discharge guide.
The air purifier of claim 1, wherein a part of the discharge electrode is located outside the cyclone body.
The air purifier of claim 1, wherein a part of the discharge electrode penetrates through the flow guide to protrude to an inside of the cyclone body.
The air purifier of claim 1, wherein:

the filter unit comprises a plurality of filters through which air sequentially passes, and

an extension direction of an axis of a cyclone flow in the cyclone separator crosses an arrangement direction of the plurality of filters.
The air purifier of claim 14, wherein the cyclone separator is provided such that the axis of the cyclone flow extends in the housing in a vertical direction.
The air purifier of claim 1, wherein a part of the discharge electrode extends along an axis of a cyclone flow on the same line as the axis of the cyclone flow in the cyclone body.
An air purifier comprising:

a housing including an intake port and a discharge port;

a cyclone separator to separate dust from air flowing into the housing through the intake port;

a dust storage unit to store dust separated by the cyclone separator; and

a filter unit to purify air discharged from the cyclone separator,

wherein the cyclone separator comprises:

a cyclone body including an air inlet through which air in the housing is introduced, a dust outlet through which dust separated from air is discharged, and an air outlet provided opposite to the air inlet and located at a position lower than the air inlet;

a flow guide to guide air introduced through the air inlet to spirally flow;

a discharge electrode provided on the flow guide for charging dust; and

a collecting plate, at least a part of which is located between the air inlet and the dust outlet, for moving charged dust toward the dust storage unit.
The air purifier of claim 17, wherein the collecting plate is formed in a cylindrical shape to provide a passage of air and dust.
The air purifier of claim 18, wherein the collecting plate surrounds the flow guide.
The air purifier of claim 17, wherein:

the cyclone separator further comprises a discharge guide to guide discharge of air in the cyclone body through the air outlet, and

a distance from the air inlet to an end of the collecting plate is greater than a distance from the air inlet to an inlet of the discharge guide.