Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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CYCLONE DUST COLLECTING APPARATUS FOR VACUUM CLEANER
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner, and more particularly to a
cyclone
dust collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner for separating and collecting
dusts and
contaminants from contaminant-laden air with a centrifugal force that is
formed by generating
an air vortex.
2. Background of the l3.elated Art
Figs. 1 and 2 are exemplary views schematically showing a cyclone dust
collecting
apparatus for a vacuum cleaner.
Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, a reference numeral 100 represents the cyclone
dust
collecting apparatus, 200 represents a cleaner body and 300 represents a
cleaner brush (not
shown in Figure 1). The cyclone dust collecting apparatus 100 comprises a
cyclone body 10, a
dust receptacle 20 and a grill 30.
As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the cyclone body includes an air inflow pipe 11 and
an air
outflow pipe 12. The air inflow pipe 11 is connected with an air inflow port
(not shown) at one
side of the cyclone body 10. The air inflow pipe 11 is connected to an air
inflow path 210
configured to be in fluid communication with a suction port (not shown) of the
suction brush
300, when the cyclone dust collecting apparatus is installed in the cleaner
body 200. The air
outflow pipe 12 is connected to an air outflow port (not shown) at a top of
the cyclone body 10.
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The air outflow pipe 12 is connected to an air outflow path 220 configured to
fluid-communicate with a motor driving chamber 310 of the suction brush 300,
when the
cyclone dust collecting apparatus is installed in the cleaner body 200. The
contaminant-laden air
is drawn in by the suction brush 300 into the cyclone body 10 in a tangential
direction through
the air inflow path 210 of the cleaner body 200 and air inflow pipe 11. The
drawn air forms a
vortex air current in the clone body 10 and thus the dust and contaminants are
separated
from the contaminant-laden air by a centrifugal force of the vortex air,
whereby the clean air is
discharged externally via the air outflow path 220 of the cleaner body 200 and
the motor
chamber 310.
The dust receptacle 20 is removably connected to a bottom of the cyclone body
10 and
receives the dusts and contaminants separated from the air by the centrifugal
force of the
vortex air current in the cyclone body 10.
The grill 30 is disposed at an opening of the air outflow pipe 12 inside the
cyclone body
to prevent the dust and contaminants separated from the vortex air from
flowing through
the air outflow pipe 12. As shown in Figure 2, grill 30 includes a grill body
31 and a plurality of
air paths 32 disposed at an outer circumference of the grill body 31 that
allow air to flow to air
outflow pipe 12.
The general cyclone dust collecting apparatus as described above is installed
in the
cleaner body 200 such that the air inflow pipe 11 and the air outflow pipe 12
of the cyclone
body 10 are respectively connected to the air inflow path 210 and the air
outflow path 220 of
the cleaner body200.
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In operation, a suction force is generated at the suction brush 300 driven by
a motor in
the motor chamber 310. The generated suction force draws the contaminant-laden
air on a
cleaning surface into the cyclone body 10 through the suction brush 300, air
inflow path 210
and air inflow pipe 11. The drawn air is led through the air inflow pipe 11
along an inner
circumference of the cyclone body 10 in an oblique direction to form a vortex
air current. Dust
and contaminants in the air are separated by the centrifugal force generated
by the vortex air
current and are collected in the dust receptacle 20. The clean air is
discharged externally
through the air paths 32, air outflow pipe 12, air outflow path 220 and motor
chamber 310.
However, the general cyclone dust collecting apparatus as described above has
a
problem of degrading the cleaning efficiency. Related cyclone dust collecting
devices failed to
retain a satisfactory amount of dust and allowed dust and contaminants to be
discharged with
the outflow of the air through the air path 32 in the grill 30.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is to solve at least the above problems and/or
disadvantages
and to provide at least the advantages described below.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the foregoing
problems by
providing a cyclone dust collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner capable of
maximizing the
separation of clean air from contaminated air by rotating a grill that assists
in preventing dust
from escaping a dust collection apparatus.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages are realized by providing
acyclone
dust collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner comprising: a cyclone body
having an air inflow
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port and air outflow port, for forming a vortex air current of contaminant-
laden air drawn in
through the air inflow port; a dust receptacle removably connected to the
cyclone body for
receiving dust and contaminants separated from the air by a centrifugal force
of the vortex air
current in the cyclone body; a grill disposed to the air outflow port inside
the cyclone body for
preventing dust and contaminants separated from the air through the air
outflow port; and a
grill rotation supporting means for supporting the grill to rotate bythe
vortex air current in the
cyclone body.
The cyclone body comprises: a cylindrical main body having a side surface on
which the
air inflow port is formed and a upper surface on which the air outflow port is
formed; and a
cover removably connected to the upper surface of the cylindrical main body,
wherein an air
inflow pipe connected to an air inflow path of a cleaner man body is disposed
to the air inflow
port and an air outflow pipe connected to an air outflow path of the cleaner
body is disposed
to about a center of the cover.
The cylindrical main body and cover are removably connected to each other
through
spiral connecting mechanisms respectively formed on corresponding surfaces of
each other for
connection.
The grill comprises: a grill body; and a plurality of air path members
disposed at an
outer circumference of the grill body in a predetermined slope angle to form
an air passage to
the air outflow port.
Preferably, the grill may further comprise: a contaminant blocking member
disposed at
a lower portion of the grill body.
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The grill rotation supporting means comprises: a supporting member supported
to be
disposed at the center of the air outflow port of the cylindrical main body by
a plurality of ribs
protruding from an inner surface of the air outflow port; and a rotating
member having one
end rotatably supported by interposing a bearing and other end driven through
the grill to be
screwed to a lower portion of the grill.
According to the cyclone dust collecting apparatus in accordance with the
invention, a
fine dust filter assembly is provided between the upper surface of the
cylindrical main body and
cover to filter fine dusts.
The fine dust filter assembly comprises: a fine dust filter; and a filter
frame having a
lower part of grid structure, for receiving and supporting the fine dust
filter.
Preferably, the upper surface of the cylindrical main body is formed to slope
down
from outside toward inside.
Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will be set
forth in part in
the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having
ordinary skill in
the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of
the invention.
The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained as
particularly
pointed out in the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be described in detail with reference to the following
drawings in
which like reference numerals refer to like elements wherein:
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Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a conventional cyclone dust
collecting
apparatus and an associated vacuum cleaner;
Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view the cyclone dust collecting apparatus of Fig.
1 after
assembly and installation;
Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a cyclone dust collecting apparatus
in
accordance with an embodiment of the invention before assembly,
Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view showing the cyclone dust collecting apparatus
of Fig. 3
after assembly; and
Fig. 5 is an exploded perspective viewof the cyclone dust collecting apparatus
of Fig. 3
prior to installation in a cleaner.
Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional top view of the cyclone dust collecting apparatus
of Fig. ~
taken along line 6-6..
Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of an air path member of the cyclone dust
collecting
apparatus of Fig. 3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTIQN OF PREFERRED E~1V BODIMENTS
As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, a cyclone dust collecting apparatus for a vacuum
cleaner in
accordance with an embodiment of the invention comprises a cyclone body 50, a
dust
receptacle 60, a grill 70 and a grill rotation supporting means 80.
The cyclone body 50 includes a cylindrical main body 51 and a cover 52
removably
connected to the cylindrical main body 51. Cylindrical main body 51 includes a
side surface 51a
and an upper surface 51b. At one side of side surface 51a is formed an air
inflow port, and at
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about a center of the upper surface 51b is formed an air outflow port. An air
inflow pipe 53 is
connected to the air inflow port, which is also connected to an air inflow
path 210 (see Fig. 5)
of a cleaner main body 200. An air outflow pipe 54 is connected to the air
outflow port at
about the center of the cover 52, which is also connected to an air outflow
path 220 (see Fig. 5)
of the cleaner main body 200.
In operation, contaminant-laden air is drawn by a suction brush 300 (see Fig.
5) into the
cyclone body 50 in a tangential direction through the air inflow path 210 and
air inflow pipe 53.
In this process, a vortex air current is formed in the cyclone body 50, and
the dust and
contaminants included in the vortex air are separated from the air by the
centrifugal force of
the vortex air and thus the clean air is discharged externallythrough the air
outflow pipe 54, the
air outflow path 220 and a motor driving chamber 310 (see Fig. 5).
The dust receptacle 60 is removably connected to a bottom of the cyclone body
50 and
receives the dusts and contaminants separated from the air by the vortex air
current in the
cyclone body 50. The dust receptacle 60 may include a handle f or enabling
easy handling. then
the dust receptacle 60 is filled up, the dust receptacle 60 may be separated
from cyclone body
50 to emptythe dust receptacle 60.
The grill 70 is disposed at the air outflow port in the cyclone body 50 to
assist in
separating dust and contaminants separated from the vortex air from flowing
through the air
outflow port. Grill 70 includes a grill body 31 and a plurality of air path
members 72 disposed
in an outer circumference of the grill body 71 that form air passages to the
air outflow port.
In some embodiments, the grill rotation supporting means 80 includes a
supporting
member 81 and a rotating member 82. The supporting member 81 is disposed at a
center of
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the air outflow port of the cylindrical main body 51 and is supported by a
plurality of ribs 81a
protruding from an inner surface of the air outflow port. The rotating member
82 has one end
rotatably supported by interposing a bearing. The other end extends through
the grill 70 and
is f fixed to grill 70 at a lower portion of grill 70 by a screw 84. The grill
70 thus rotates with the
rotating member 82 with respect to the supporting member 81 by the vortex air
current
formed in the cyclone body 50. The rotation of the grill 70 helps to prevent
the flow of the dust
and contaminants through the air passage of the grill 70.
In the cyclone dust collecting apparatus 70 according to the invention, the
gnll 70 may
be adapted to include a grill body 71, a plurality of air path members 72
disposed in a
predetermined slope angle to form an air passage to the air outflow port and a
contaminant
blocking member 73 disposed at a lower portion of the grill body 7I.
Figures 6 and 7 show, in detail, the preferred slope angle and its
relationship to the
vortex air current. Contaminant-laden air 302 is drawn through air inflow pipe
53 in a
tangential direction. As discussed above, this causes the formation of a
vortex air flow 304
within cylindrical main body 51. In the embodiment shown in Figure 6, vortex
air flow 304
revolves within cylindrical main body 51 in a clockwise direction.
Preferably, air path members 72 are disposed on grill body 71 in a manner that
rrunimizes the chance that dust or other contaminants will enter through grill
70. Figure 7
shows an enlarged view of two adjacent air path members 312 and 314. Air path
member 314
has a leading edge 316 and a trailing edge 318. Leading edge 316 is the first
edge of air path
member 314 to encounter vortex air flow 304. In other words, leading edge 316
is upstream
of trailing edge 318. Preferably, leading edge 316 is attached to grill body
71 and trialing
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edge 318 is disposed both radially outward of and circumferentially downstream
of leading
edge 316.
~Xhth this arrangement, a slope angle 310 is formed. Slope angle 310 is the
angle
between a local tangential line 308 and air path member 314. Local tangential
line 308 is a line
perpendicular to a ray 306 extending from the geometric center of grill 70 to
air path member
314. Any air path member that has a slope angle is said to be sloped. This
slope angle 3I0
can be adjusted to suit various design objectives. For example, if the slope
angle 310 were
reduced, that would increase the ability of grill 70 to separate contaminants
from the air, but
would also increase the power required to draw air though grill 70. If the
slope angle 310
were increased, that would decrease the separation efficiency of grill 70, but
less power would
be required to draw air through grill 70. Given these various factors, an
appropriate slope
angle can be selected that best suits particular design objectives.
The grill rotation feature and the sloped air path feature can be used alone
or in
combination with one another.
As best seen in Figure 4, the contaminant blocking member 73 is a frustum-cone
shape
with an enlarged lower part of which diameter increases along downward
direction. This shape
maycause the contaminants collected in the dust receptacle 60 that have
floated in an upwardly
moving air current to be redirected by the contaminant blocking member 73,
thereby to fall
into the dust receptacle 60.
The cyclone dust collecting apparatus for the vacuum cleaner in accordance
with the
invention is further provided with a fine dust filter assembly 90 interposed
between the
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cylindrical main body 51 and cover 52 of the cyclone body 50 to filter the
fine dust that are
not removed by the grill 70.
The fine dust filter assembly 90 includes a fine dust filter 91 such as a
sponge or other
porous material and a filter frame 92 having a lower grid structure, for
receiving and
supporting the fine dust filter 91. The fine dust filter assembly 90 filters
the fine dust passed
through the grill 70 and prevents this fine dust from escaping cylindrical
main body 51. The
upper surface 51b is preferably formed to slope downward from the radially
outer periphery
toward a central portion so that the fine dust filtered by the fine dust
filter assembly 90 falls
down to dust receptacle 60 instead of remaining between the upper surface 51b
of the
cylindrical main body 51 and the fine dust filter assembly 90.
The above described cyclone dust collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner can
be
installed in cleaner body 200, as shown in Fig. 5, so that the air inflow pipe
53 and the air
outflow pipe 54 of the cyclone body 50 are respectively connected to the air
inflow path 210
and the air outflow path 220 of cleaner body 200.
In operation, a suction force is generated at the suction brush 300 driven by
a motor
(not shown) in motor chamber 3I0. The generated suction force draws
contaminant-laden air
on a cleaning surface into the cyclone body 50 through the suction bnish 300,
air inflow path
210 and air inflow pipe 53. The drawn air is led through the air inflow pipe
53 along an inner
circumference of the cyclone body 50 in an oblique direction This helps to
form a vortex air
current, and the dust and contaminants in the air are separated by the
centrifugal force
generated by the vortex and collected in dust receptacle 60. Thereafter, the
clean air is
discharged externally through the air passage of the grill 70, air outflow
pipe 54, air outflow
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path 220 and through motor chamber 310. Given this arrangement, dust and
contaminants
rarely escape through air passages of the grill 70. However, even if the fine
dust, which are not
separated by the grill 70, are discharged through the air passage of the grill
70, the fine dust is
secondly filtered by the fine dust filter assembly 90 (see Fig. 4), thereby
improving the amount
of dust collected.
According to the invention described above, th° dust and contaminants
are separated
from the air by the centrifugal force while the grill rotates to prevent the
flow of the dust and
contaminants through the grill, thus the dust and contaminants hardly flow
through air passages
of the grill.
Further, even if the fine dusts flow through the air passage of the gt-~1, the
fine dusts are
secondly filtered by the fine dust filter assembly, thereby improving the
quality of collecting the
dusts and also improving the efficiency of the cleaning.
~X~hile the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain
preferred
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.
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
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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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