EP1917896B1

EP1917896B1 - Vacuum cleaner

Info

Publication number: EP1917896B1
Application number: EP07014912A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Ki-Man Kim; Dong-Jun Kim; Jea-Sun You
Original assignee: Samsung Gwangju Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2006-10-31
Filing date: 2007-07-30
Publication date: 2011-04-06
Anticipated expiration: 2027-07-30
Also published as: RU2358636C2; EP1917896A1; RU2007111082A; KR100783140B1; AU2007201122A1

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner. More particularly, the present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner capable of separating a dust bin and a main body from each other.

Description of the Related Art

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view exemplifying a conventional vacuum cleaner in a state in which a dust bin 2 is separated from a main body 3. Referring to FIG. 1, the vacuum cleaner includes a dust bin 2 to separate contaminant, such as dust or dirt, from drawn-in air and to store it therein, and a main body 3 having a driving motor (not illustrated) mounted therein to produce a suction force.
The dust bin 2 and the main body 3 are provided with two passages connected to each other, one of which is an air inflow passage 5 to draw in air laden with contaminant and the other of which is an air outflow passage 6 to discharge contaminant-removed air. With this construction, the drawn-in air first purified by the dust bin is discharged outside the main body 3 via a filter (not illustrated) for removing fine dust by the suction force of the driving motor.
To mount the dust bin 2 in the main body 3, the conventional vacuum cleaner includes a transverse member 4. The transverse member 4 is disposed in a radial direction on an upper part of the dust bin 2 and has a convex part 4a formed on a top thereof and a button 4b formed at one end thereof. A concave part 8 is formed corresponding to the convex part 4a of the dust bin 2 in the main body 3.
However, such a conventional vacuum cleaner is inconvenient in that to mount the dust bin 2, a user should undergo trial and error, which requires rotating or moving the dust bin 2 here and there to lock the convex part 4a in the concave part 8, after pushing the dust bin 2 into the main body 3.
EP 1 495 710 A2 relates to a vacuum cleaner, and more particularly, to a vacuum cleaner in which a dust collecting unit for collecting foreign materials sucked together with air is mounted to a main body from above.
Further, WO 02117766 A2 discloses a bagless canister vacuum cleaner. The vacuum cleaner includes a selectively removable dirt cup, and an airstream flows rotationally through the dirt cup so that entrained contaminants are separated from the airstream flowing through the dirt cup and collected by the dirt cup. The removable dirt cup includes a handle adapted for being held by a user and the dirt cup defines or includes a spout to facilitate emptying dirt therefrom.
In GB 2 386 056 A , a vacuum cleaner with a cassette-type reusable filter is disclosed. In particular, the vacuum cleaner has a cyclone dust-collecting apparatus for separating and collecting contaminants from contaminant-laden air with a centrifugal force that is formed by generating an air vortex, and a secondary filter that is removably positioned in the cleaner and can be cleaned and reused.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is defined in claim 1. Particular embodiments of the invention are set out in the dependent claims.
An aspect of the present invention is to address at least the above problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the present invention is to provide a vacuum cleaner capable of easily mounting a dust bin in a main body.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a vacuum cleaner capable of maintaining a dust bin in a stable state when it is mounted in a main body.
According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a vacuum cleaner including a dust bin having a sliding part, a main body having a guide part in which the sliding part of the dust bin is inserted, and a locking unit having a convex part and a concave part formed to be locked to each other when the sliding part is completely inserted into the guide part.
Here, the sliding part may be formed on an upper part of the dust bin, and the guide part may be formed corresponding to the sliding part in an upper part of the main body.
Preferably, but not necessarily, the sliding part is a member extended in an inserting direction thereof, and the guide part is a groove formed corresponding to the sliding part.
Also, preferably, but not necessarily, the convex part is projected by an elastic member, and is retreated by a pressing of a user.
The convex part may be formed on the dust bin, and the concave part may be formed on the main body.
Preferably, but not necessarily, the convex part is inclined in sympathy with a sliding direction thereof, and has a sill raised against an opposite direction to the sliding direction thereof.
The convex part may be formed on a lower part of the dust bin, and the concave part may be formed corresponding to the convex part on the main body.
The locking unit may further include a swing member configured, so that the convex part is formed on one side thereof and a hinge axis is formed on the middle thereof.
Also, the locking unit may further include a pressing member formed on the other side of the swing member so as to be pressed by a user.
Preferably, but not necessarily, a releasing button is formed on a top of the pressing member so as to be pressed by the user.
The releasing button may be formed on an upper part of a handle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features, and advantages of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view exemplifying a conventional vacuum cleaner in a state in which a dust bin is separated from a main body;
FIGS. 2A and 2B are perspective views exemplifying a dust bin and a main body of a vacuum cleaner according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, which are separated from each other, respectively;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view exemplifying the vacuum cleaner according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention in which the dust bin and the main body are combined with each other.

Throughout the drawings, the same reference numerals will be understood to refer to the same elements, features, and structures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT

Hereinafter, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIGS. 2A and 2B are perspective views exemplifying a dust bin 20 and a main body 30 of a vacuum cleaner according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, which are separated from each other, respectively, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view exemplifying the vacuum cleaner according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention in which the dust bin 20 and the main body 30 are combined with each other.
Referring to the drawings, the vacuum cleaner according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a dust bin 20 having a handle 26 attached thereto, and a main body 30 having a mounting chamber in which the dust bin 20 is mounted. The dust bin 20 is slid into and mounted in the main body 30. For this, a sliding part 21 is formed on an upper part of the dust bin 20, and a guide part 31 is formed inside an upper part of the main body 30 to guide the sliding part 21 of the dust bin 20 when the dust bin 20 is slid and inserted into the main body 30. The sliding part 21 is formed of a bar-shaped elongated member extended in an inserting direction thereof, and the guide part 31 is formed of a groove corresponding to the bar-shaped elongated member.
The dust bin 20 and the main body 30 are provided with a locking unit. The locking unit has a swing member 23, a spring 25, and a pressing member 22. The swing member 23 is configured, so that the convex part 23a is formed on one end thereof and a hinge axis 24 is formed on the middle thereof. The spring 25 as an elastic member is located on one end of the swing member 23. The pressing member 22 is disposed on the other end of the swing member 23 so as to be pressed by a user. A concave part 32 is formed at a position corresponding to the convex part 23a of the dust bin 20 in the main body 30.
In the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the pressing member 22 is located in a vertical part of the handle 26. A releasing button 22a is projected outside the handle 26 from a top of the pressing member 22, so that it can be pressed by the user. The swing member 23 is horizontally disposed in a lower part of the handle 26, and has a hinge axis 24 at the middle thereof, so that it can swing. The convex part 23 a formed on the one end of the swing member 23 is formed in a shape inclined in sympathy with a main body (30) direction, and has a sill raised against an opposite direction to the main body (30) direction. The spring 25 is mounted on an opposite side to a side of the one end of the swing member 23 on which the convex part 23a is formed, so that it pushes down the swing member 23. According to this, the convex part 23a is locked in the concave part 32 of the main body 30.
A reference numeral 35 represents a passage to draw in air laden with contaminant, such as dust or dirt, a reference numeral 36 represents a motor and blade part to produce a suction force, and a reference numeral 37 represents a filter and discharge part to remove the contaminant from the air and discharge it.
A method of mounting the dust bin 20 in the vacuum cleaner constructed as described above is as follows. First, a user grips the handle 26 and then aligns the sliding part 21 of the dust bin 20 with the guide part 31 of the main body 30. And then, the dust bin 20 is pushed in a main body (20) direction. As a result, the sliding part 21 of the dust bin 20 is guided by the guide part 31 and thus the dust bin 20 is mounted into the main body 30 without seceding from the inside of the main body 30. At this time, since the convex part 23a is inclined in an inserting direction thereof, it does not disturb the sliding motion of the dust bin 20.
After that, when the dust bin 20 is continuously pushed and thus completely inserted into the main body 30, the convex part 23a is locked in the concave part 32. At this time, the swing member 23 clicks while impacting the main body 30. As a result, the dust bin 20 is mounted in and fixed to the main body 30.
In a condition as described above, the dust bin 20 is maintained in a stably mounted state because a rocking thereof from side to side is prevented by the sliding part 21 and the guide part 31 and a shaking thereof in front and in the rear is prevented by the concave part 32 and the convex part 23a.
Next, a method of dismounting the dust bin 20 will be explained as follows. When the user pushes the releasing button 22a formed on the handle 26 of the dust bin 20 with her or his thumb, the pressing member 22 moves downward and presses the swing member 23. The pressed swing member 22 is swung about the hinge axis 24. According to this, the convex part 23a of the swing member 23 is moved upward and left from the concave part 32 to release a locking state to the dust bin 20.
When the locking state of the dust bin 20 is released, the dust bin 20 can be easily dismounted from the main body 30 by pulling the dust bin 20 in an opposite direction to the main body (30) direction. Preferably, but not necessarily, the dust bin 20 as described above is configured to include a cyclone dust-separating apparatus, which separates dust or dirt from air by a centrifugal force.
As apparent from the foregoing description, according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the vacuum cleaner is capable of easily mounting the dust bin in the main body, and maintaining the dust bin in the stable state even though it is rocked from side to side and shaken in front and in the rear.
Although a representative embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described in order to exemplify the principle of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiment. It will be understood that various modifications and changes can be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Therefore, it shall be considered that such modifications, changes and equivalents thereof are all included within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

A vacuum cleaner comprising:
a dust bin (20) having a sliding part (21),

a main body (30) having a guide part (31) in which the sliding part (21) of the dust bin (20) is inserted, and

a locking unit (22, 23, 25) having a convex part (23a) and a concave part (32) formed to be locked to each other when the sliding part (21) is completely inserted into the guide part (31),

wherein the sliding part (21) is formed on an upper part of the dust bin (20), and the guide part (31) is formed corresponding to the sliding part (21) in an upper part of the main body (30),

characterized in that

the upper part of the main body (30) having the guide part (31) protrudes toward the dust bin (20) and the upper part of the dust bin (20) having the sliding part (21) accommodates the upper protruding part of the main body (30) when the sliding part (21) and the guiding part (31) are coupled with each other.
The vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sliding part (21) comprises a member extended in an inserting direction thereof, and the guide part (31) comprises a groove formed corresponding to the sliding part (21).
The vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the convex part (23a) is projected by an elastic member (25), and is retreated by a pressing of a user.
The vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 3, wherein the elastic member (25) comprises a spring.
The vacuum cleaner as claimed in any of claims 1-4, wherein the convex part (23a) is formed on the dust bin (20), and the concave part (32) is formed on the main body (30).
The vacuum cleaner as claimed in any of claims 1-5, wherein the convex part (23a) is inclined in sympathy with a sliding direction thereof, and has a sill raised against an opposite direction to the sliding direction thereof.
The vacuum cleaner as claimed in any of claims 1-6, wherein the convex part (23a) is formed on a lower part of the dust bin (20), and the concave part (32) is formed corresponding to the convex part (23a) on the main body (30).
The vacuum cleaner as claimed in any of claims 1-7, wherein the locking unit (22, 23, 25) further comprises a swing member (23) configured, so that the convex part (23a) is formed on one side thereof and a hinge axis (24) is formed on the middle thereof.
The vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 8, wherein the locking unit (22, 23, 25) further comprises a pressing member (22) formed on the other side of the swing member (23) so as to be pressed by a user.
The vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 9, wherein a releasing button (22a) is formed on a top of the pressing member (22) so as to be pressed by the user.
The vacuum cleaner as claimed in claim 10, wherein the releasing button (22a) is formed on an upper part of a handle (26).