Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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CYCLONE-TYPE DUST COLLECTING APPARATUS FOR A VACUUM
CLEANER
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cyclone-type dust collecting apparatus
for a vacuum cleaner, and more particularly, to a cyclone-type dust collecting
apparatus for a vacuum cleaner having an automatic dusting structure.
l0 2. Description of the Prior Art
A cyclone-type dust collecting apparatus was disclosed by the applicant
of the present invention in Korean Patent No. 1999-20704 and its schematic
structure is shown in FIG. 1.
An example of such cyclone-type dust collecting apparatus is shown in
FIG. 1. The cyclone- type dust collecting apparatus shown in FIG. 1 comprises
a cyclone body 20, a dirt-collecting receptacle 30, and a grill assembly 40.
The cyclone body 20 is divided into an upper and lower bodies 21, 22
and the upper and lower bodies 21, 22 are connected with each other by a
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plurality of screws 23. Formed on the lower body 22 are a first connection
pipe
24 connected with a connection pipe 1 a on the suction port side of a cleaner,
and an air inlet port 25 in communication with the first connection pipe 24.
On
the upper body 21 are formed a second connection pipe 26 connected with a
connection pipe 16 on the body side of the cleaner, and an air discharge port
27
in communication with the second connection pipe 26. Air flows in through the
air inlet port 25 in an oblique direction. Accordingly, a vortex is formed
inside
the cyclone body 20 and the dirt-collecting receptacle 30, and the
contaminants
included in the air are separated from the air by a centrifugal force created
by
to the vortex.
The dirt-collecting receptacle 30 is removably connected to the cyclone
body 20, causes the flown in air to create a vortex in cooperation with the
cyclone body 20, and collects contaminants separated from the air by the
vortex.
The grill assembly 40 is disposed at the air discharge port 27 of the
cyclone body 20 for preventing the collected contaminants from flowing back
through the air discharge port 27. The grill assembly 40 comprises a grill
body
41, a plurality of fine dust holes 42 disposed on the outer circumferential
surface
of the grill bady 41 in communication with the air discharge port 27, and a
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frusto-conical shape contaminant reverse preventing member 43 formed at the
end portion of the grill body 41.
However, such cyclone-type dust collecting apparatus often has the fine
dust holes 42 of the grill assembly 40 blocked by fine dusts when used for a
long period of time. Therefore, the dirt-collecting receptacle 30 needs to be
separated for removing dusts on the grill assembly 40 even when the dirt-
collecting receptacle 30 is not full of contaminants yet.
In addition, a separate operation is required for dusting off the grill
assembly 40.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An aspect of the invention is to solve at least the above problems and/or
disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described hereinafter.
Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention is to solve the
foregoing problems by providing a cyclone-type dust collecting apparatus for a
vacuum cleaner with an improved structure in which a grill assembly can be
automatically dusted off.
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The foregoing and other aspects and advantages are realized by
providing a cyclone-type dust collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner which
is disposed in a dust collecting chamber connected with an air inlet path and
an
air discharge path of the cleaner for separating dusts and contaminants from
air
drawn in through a suction brush and then the air inlet path by a centrifugal
force, the cyclone-dust collecting apparatus comprising a cylindrical cyclone
body having an air inlet port and air discharge port respectively
corresponding
to the air inlet path and the air discharge path and fixed in an upper portion
of
the dust collecting chamber, a dirt-collecting receptacle removably disposed
in a
to lower side of the cyclone body for collecting dusts and contaminants
separated
in the cyclone body by a centrifugal force, a filter assembly disposed in a
lower
part of the cyclone body and having a rotation filter rotated by air flow
moving
from the dirt-collecting receptacle to the air discharge port and preventing
contaminants from flowing back, and a dusting member for automatically
removing dusts on the rotation filter.
The filter assembly comprises a pipe member connected to a lower part
of the cyclone body and formed to allow air to pass through, a cover connected
to an upper end of the pipe member and having an air hole, and a shaft
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penetrating the pipe member, supporting the rotation filter and rotatably
connected to the cover, wherein the rotation filter is connected to a lower
end of
the pipe member and rotated by air flow while being supported by the shaft.
In addition, the rotation filter comprises a turbine having a plurality of
wings inserted into a lower end of the pipe member, a filtering net on an
outer
circumferential surface of the turbine, and a reverse prevention member
connected to a lower end of the turbine and fixed to a lower end of the shaft
far
preventing contaminants from flowing back.
The dusting member has one end fixed on an outer side of the filter
1o assembly and the other end provided with a brush in contact with an outer
surface of the rotation filter, and dusts are automatically brushed off by the
brush when the rotation filter rotates.
In addition, the dusting member is disposed in an oblique direction
declining in a rotation direction of the rotation filter.
In addition, the dusting member has one end fixed on an outer
circumference of the pipe member and the other end provided with a brush in
contact with the filtering net.
In addition, the dusting member is disposed in an oblique direction
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declining in a rotation direction of the turbine member.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above object and the feature of the present invention will be more
apparent by describing a preferred embodiment of the present invention with
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a conventional cyclone-type dust
colleting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner;
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a cyclone-type dust
to collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the
present invention;
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the filter assembly shown in
FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the filer assembly shown in FIG. 2 when
15 assembled; and
FIG. 5 is a drawing for illustrating the operation of a cyclone-type dust
collecting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Hereinafter, a cyclone-type dust collecting apparatus for a vacuum
cleaner according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be
described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 2 shows an exploded perspective view showing an upright-type
vacuum cleaner employing a cyclone-type dust collecting apparatus according
to an embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to FIG. 2, the cyclone-type dust collecting apparatus according
to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a cyclone body 50, a dirt-
to collecting receptacle 60, a filter assembly 70, and a dusting member 90.
The cyclone body 50 is divided into an upper and lower bodies 51, 52.
The upper and lower bodies 51, 52 are connected by a plurality of screws 53.
The lower body 52 has a first connection pipe 54 connected with an extension
pipe 1 a on the suction port side of the cleaner, and an air inlet port 55
m connected with the first connection pipe 54 formed thereon. The upper body
51 has a second connection pipe 56 connected with an extension pipe 1 b on
the cleaner body side, and an air discharge port 57 connected with the second
connection pipe 56 formed thereon.
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The contaminant-laden air drawn in through the suction port of the
cleaner flows in through the first connection pipe 54 and the air inlet port
55 in
an oblique direction with respect to the cyclone body 50. Accordingly, a
vortex
is created inside the cyclo ne body 50 and the dirt-collecting receptacle 60,
and
the contaminant included in the air is separated from the air by a centrifugal
force formed by the vortex.
The dirt-collecting receptacle 60 is removably connected to the air
discharge port 57 of the cyclone body 50. The dirt-collecting receptacle 60
creates a vortex with respect to the flown in air in cooperation with the
cyclone
to body 50, and also collects the contaminants separated from the air by the
vortex.
Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the filter assembly 70 is disposed at the air
discharge port 57 of the cyclone body 50 and prevents the contaminant
collected in the dirt-collecting receptacle 60 from flowing back through the
air
i5 discharge port 57. Such filter assembly 70 comprises a pipe member 71
connected to the air discharge port 57, a cover 73, a shaft 75 rotatably
supporting the cover 73, and a rotation filter 77 disposed on the lower
portion of
the pipe member 71 as shown in FIG. 3.
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The pipe member 71 has a tubular structure with the upper end
enlarged in a predetermined shape, and provides a path for air being
discharged. The cover 73 is connected to the upper portion of the pipe
member 71. The cover 73 is fitted into the upper portion of the pipe member
71. The cover 73 has a plurality of ribs provided around the shaft portion 73a
at predetermined intervals for allowing air to be discharged. The shaft
portion
73a has an upper end of the shaft 75 rotatably connected thereto by a bearing
76. Therefore, the shaft 75 is disposed to pass through the pipe member 71
without interfering with it.
to The rotation filter 77 is disposed at the lower end of the pipe member 71,
and rotatably supported by the shaft 75. Such rotation filter 77 comprises a
turbine 81 fitted into the lower portion of the pipe member 71, a filtering
net 83
covering the outer circumferential surface of the turbine 81, and a reverse
prevention member 85 connected with the lower end of the turbine 81. The
turbine 81 has a plurality of rotation wings 81 a provided at predetermined
intervals in the circumferential direction and therefore rotates by the air
flown
into the pipe member 71. The filtering net 83 rotates together with the
turbine
on the outer circumferential surface for filtering fine dusts that are not
separated
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by the centrifugal force inside the dirt-collecting receptacle. The reverse
prevention member 85 is fixed at the lower end of the shaft 75 by the screws
53
inside the lower portion of the turbine 81. Accordingly, the rotation filter
77 can
rotate together around the shaft 75. The reverse prevention member 85 has a
flange portion 85a with the lower end extended outward thereby preventing
light
contaminants from flowing back.
Meanwhile, the pipe member 71 has the dusting member 90 disposed at
the outer end portion thereof. That is, one end of the dusting member 90 is
fixed to an end of the pipe member 71 and the other end is positioned on the
to outer surface of the filtering net 83. A side of the dusting member 90,
that is,
the lower side of the dusting member 9D has a dusting brush 91 disposed
thereon in contact with the filter net 83.
In addition, the dusting member 90 is disposed to decline in the rotation
direction of the turbine 81, that is, in a direction oblique to the direction
of the
i~ rotation direction of the turbine 81 (FIG. 3). Therefore, the dusts and
contaminants are brushed off the filter net 83 while the rotation filter 77
rotates,
and fall down without remaining on the dusting member 90. Such dusting
to
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member 90 may be fastened to the pipe member 71 by a screw, or connected
by a generally-known connection means.
Hereinafter, the operation of the cyclone-type dust collecting apparatus
according to the embodiment of the present invention structured as above will
be described.
As shown in FIG. 5, the cyclone-type dust collecting apparatus
according to the embodiment of the present invention is used with itself being
connected to the extension pipes 1 a, 1 b of the cleaner as a conventional
cyclone-type dust collecting apparatus. When the cleaning begins, the dusts
to and contaminants are flown in through the first connection pipe 54 and the
air
inlet port 55 in the oblique direction with respect to the cyclone body 50
together
with the drawn in air by a suction force generated at the suction port of the
cleaner. Accordingly, the air creates a vortex and descends towards the
bottom of the dirt-collecting receptacle 60. In that process, the dusts and
i5 contaminants included in the air are separated from the air by a
centrifugal force
and then collected in the dirt-collecting receptacle 60.
Then, the air is flown into the pipe member 71 through the filtering net
83 and the turbine 81 of the filter assembly 70 by an air stream rising back
up at
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the bottom of the dirt-collecting receptacle 60. The air flown into the pipe
member 71 is discharged through the extension pipe 1 b. At this time, a part
of
the contaminants rising with the air stream in the dirt-collecting receptacle
60 is
blocked by the reverse prevention member 85 thereby descending back with
the vortex.
In addition, the contaminants not separated by the reverse prevention
member 85 are filtered by the filtering net 83. Accordingly, fine dusts are
caught on the filtering net 83, and clean air passes through the filtering net
83
and is discharged through the turbine 81. The turbine 81 is rotated clockwise,
to that is, in the direction A, by the air being discharged. Therefore, the
filtering
net 83 and the turbine 81 rotate together while constantly being in contact
with
the dusting member 90 thereby having the contaminants covering the filtering
net 83 automatically dusted off by the dusting member 90. Accordingly,
airways can be prevented from being blocked by dusts covering the filtering
net
83. In addition, since the filtering net 83 is automatically dusted, there is
no
need of separately dismounting and dusting the filter assembly 70 when
emptying the dirt-collecting receptacle 60.
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While the embodiment of the present invention illustrates a filter
assembly 70 with a single dusting member 90, the dusting member 90 may be
disposed in plural numbers at predetermined intervals.
According to the present invention described above, the cyclone-type
dust collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner has a structure in which a
filtering net is automatically d~.sted by a dusting member as the rotation
filter of
a filter assembly automatically rotates by air.
Accordingly, the rotation filter can be prevented from being blocked by
dusts and therefore cleaning efficiency can be improved and it becomes
io convenient for use since there is no need of separately cleaning the
rotation
filter.
The foregoing embodiments and advantages are merely exemplary and
are not to be construed as limiting the present invention. The present
teaching
can be readily applied to other types of apparatuses. The description of the
present invention is intended to be illustrative, and not to limit the scope
of the
claims. Many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to
those skilled in the art. In the claims, means-plus-function clauses are
intended
to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function
and
not only structural equivalents but also equivalent structures.
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