GB2385781A

GB2385781A - Vacuum cleaner with electrolysed fluid cleaning means

Info

Publication number: GB2385781A
Application number: GB0304683A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jang-Keun Oh
Original assignee: Samsung Gwangju Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2002-02-28
Filing date: 2003-02-28
Publication date: 2003-09-03
Anticipated expiration: 2023-02-28
Also published as: FR2836366A1; DE10240619A1; ES2235580A1; KR100466318B1; KR20030071378A; FR2836366B1; ITMI20022361A1; US20030159233A1; CN1440711A; RU2002121899A; RU2239348C2; CA2399849A1; GB2385781B; AU2002300468A1; EG23278A; JP2003250721A; GB0304683D0; ES2235580B1

Abstract

An cannister-type vacuum cleaner comprises a cleaner body 10 with a driving unit for generating a suction force, a suction brush 30 disposed on an extension pipe 20 connected to the cleaner body, and means 40 for spraying electrolytic fluid through the suction brush onto the surface being cleaned. Disposed on the extension pipe is a fluid chamber, and means to electrolyse fluid within said chamber. The fluid spraying means 40 comprise a path 61 to transfer electrolytic fluid from the fluid chamber, a pump 63 disposed in said path, and a spray nozzle disposed at the end of said path in the suction brush of the cleaner. A fluid collection chamber is also disposed in the cleaner body and connected with the driving unit and the suction brush 30 to collect fluid sprayed onto the surface being cleaned.

Description

1 2385781

P50838SGB '

CANISTER-TYPE VACUUM CLEANER

The present invention relates to a canister-type vacuum cleaner, and more particularly, to a canister-type vacuum cleaner having an apparatus for generating electrolytic liquid.

Generally, a canister-type vacuum cleaner includes a cleaner body having a driving motor for generating a suction force, a suction extension pipe connected to the cleaner body, and a suction brush disposed at an end of the suction extension pipe.

10 A dust chamber is provided in the cleaner body, the dust chamber having a filtering unit and a dust receptacle located therein. Accordingly, contaminants on the cleaning surface are drawn into the dust chamber, through the suction brush, by the suction force of the driving motor. Contaminants are then filtered from the air by a filtering device, and collected in the dust receptacle.

The suction extension pipe has a handle on which an on/off switch is provided.

Accordingly, the user may hold the handle and move the suction brush along the cleaning surface so that contaminants, such as dust or foreign substances, on the cleaning surface are drawn through the suction brush and are thus substantially removed 20 from the cleaning surface.

However, stubborn stains on the floor or carpet cannot be cleaned using suction force alone, and thus a floor-cloth brush, or a rotatable brush, may be disposed on the suction brush to clean such stained areas.

Another option is to supply a cleaning liquid, containing a detergent, for cleaning the areas not cleaned by the rotatable brush or the floor- cloth brush. However, since this requires a preparation step involving diffusing an amount of detergent in water, there is inconvenience for the user and the costs will increase. Another problem is that clean 30 areas are often re-stained by the waste cleaning liquid.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a canister-type vacuum cleaner having an improved structure.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a canister-tpe vacuum 5 cleaner, comprising: a cleaner body having a driving portion for generating a suction force, and a dust chamber for collecting contaminants that are drawn by the suction force of the driving portion; suction extension pipe connected to the cleaner body; a suction brush, disposed at one end of the suction extension pipe, through which contaminants can be drawn from a cleaning surface using the suction force; and an 10 electrolytic liquid supply device disposed on the suction extension pipe and arranged to spray an electrolytic liquid onto the cleaning surface through a lower side of the suction brush. The electrolytic liquid supply device may include an electrolytic liquid generating unit disposed at the suction extension pipe for generating electrolytic liquid from a raw water supply; and a spray unit for spraying the electrolytic liquid, generated at the electrolytic liquid generating unit, through an air suction port of the suction brush.

The spray unit can include a conveyance path connecting the electrolytic liquid 20 generating unit and the air suction port of the suction brush; a spray pump disposed on the conveyance path; and a spray nozzle formed at an end of the conveyance path, for spraying the electrolytic liquid, which is conveyed outside of the air suction port of the suction brush.

25 According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a canister-type vacuum, comprising: a cleaner body having a driving unit arranged therein for generating a suction force; an extension pipe connected by a first end to the cleaner body; a suction brush unit connected to a second end of the extension pipe, the unit having a suction port arranged in a lower surface thereof through which dust can be drawn due to the 30 suction force; and means arranged to spray electrolytic fluid, from a position within the suction brush unit, onto an underlying surface.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a canister-type vacuum cleaner according to a 5 preferred embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a schematic side-sectional view of a suction brush of the vacuum cleaner shown in Figure 1; 10 Figure 3 is a block diagram showing an electrolytic liquid supply device of the cleaner shown in Figure 1; and Figure 4 is a schematic side-sectional view showing a further example of a suction brush used in the vacuum cleaner shown in Figure 1.

Referring to Figure 1, a canister-type vacuum cleaner according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a cleaner body lO, a suction extension pipe 20 connected to the cleaner body 10, a suction brush 30 disposed at an end of the suction extension pipe 20, and an electrolytic liquid supply device 40 disposed on the 20 suction extension pipe 20.

The cleaner body 10 has a driving unit and a dust chamber formed inside. This arrangement is similar to that of general-purpose vacuum cleaners. The driving unit has a driving motor for generating a suction force. A dust collecting filter or a cyclone dust 25 collecting device is usually disposed in the dust chamber in order to filter contaminants from the drawn air.

The suction brush 30 may also be arranged to draw liquids as well as contaminants. In this case, the suction brush 30 may also have a liquid separating unit for separately 30 collecting the liquid from the contaminants. As the above-mentioned arrangement is largely conventional, description thereof will be omitted here.

The suction extension pipe 20 is connected to the cleaner body 10 and includes a flexible hose 21, a suction pipe 23 connected to the flexible hose 21, and a handle 25 disposed between the hose 21 and the suction pipe 23. The suction pipe 23 is arranged such that its length can be adjusted.

The suction brush 30 is movably disposed at an end of the suction pipe 23. Referring to Figure 2, the suction brush 30 has an air suction port 31 through which contaminants from the cleaning surface can be drawn. A rotatable brush 33 can be additionally disposed within the suction brush 30, part of the brush protruding from air suction port 10 31. The rotatable brush 33 assists the cleaning process by beating against the cleaning surface as it rotates with the suction force, or a separate driving force.

Referring back to Figure 1, the electrolytic liquid supply device 40 deposits electrolytic fluid onto the cleaning surface, by means of the suction brush 30, in order to clean the 15 carpet or floor. The electrolytic liquid supply device 40 has an electrolytic liquid generating unit 41 provided on the suction pipe 23, and a spray unit 43 for spraying the generated liquid, onto the cleaning surface, through the air suction port 31 of the suction brush 30.

20 One example of an electrolytic liquid generating unit 41 is shown in Figure 3.

Referring to Figure 3, the electrolytic liquid generating unit 41 has a raw water tank 51 for holding water, e.g. tap water, freshwater, or groundwater, etc., a pump 52 for transferring the raw water from the raw water tank S1, a filter 53 for filtering the raw 25 water transferred by the pump 52, first and a second electrolyte baths 54 and 55, and an electrolyte tank 56.

The filter 53 filters ions or impurities from the raw water. The filtered water then enters the first electrolyte bath 54. The first electrolyte bath 54 has a cathode plate 54a 30 and an anode plate 54b. The first electrolyte bath 54 electrolyses the filtered raw water and sends the treated (or ionised) water to the second electrolyte bath 55. The second electrolyte bath 55 also has a cathode plate 55a and an anode plate 55b. The second

s electrolyte bath 55 electrolytes any water that was not electrolysed, thereby generating an electrolytic (or ionised) liquid NaCIO.

Gaseous substances (usually hydrogen gas) may be generated in the first and second 5 electrolyte baths 54 and 55. In order to remove the gaseous substances, a separate unit can be provided.

Although this embodiment employs two electrolyte baths 54 and 55, their actual number can be higher or lower, depending on the particular situation.

The electrolytic liquid in the second electrolyte bath 55 is fed to the electrolyte tank 56 and is stored therein.

A mixture bath 57 can also be provided to temporarily store raw water that has passed 15 through the filter 53. In this case, the mixture bath 57 is supplied with a catalyst from a separate additive tank 58. The catalyst can be a sodium chloride liquid, a sodium calcium liquid, or a calcium chloride liquid, depending on the situation. Accordingly, a mixture of catalyst and raw water is fed from the mixture bath 57 to the first electrolyte bath 54 and the electrolysis process described above is performed.

The above-described description of the electrolytic liquid generating unit 41 provides

one example of an electrolytic liquid generating means. Other variations are possible.

The electrolytic liquid spray unit 43 includes an electrolytic liquid feed path 61 that 25 feeds liquid from the electrolyte tank 56 to a position near the air suction port 31 of the suction brush 30. A spray pump 63 is disposed along the electrolytic liquid feed path 61, and a spray nozzle 65 is formed at the end of the electrolytic liquid feed path 61 adjacent the air suction port 31. The spray pump 63 pumps the electrolytic liquid from the electrolyte tank 56 and so the electrolytic liquid is sprayed onto the cleaning surface 30 through the spray nozzle 65.

In use, the above-described canister-type cleaner operates to spray electrolytic liquid, produced by the electrolytic liquid supply device 30, through the air suction port 31 of the suction brush 30.

5 By using electrolytic liquid, stained areas can be cleaned conveniently. Electrolytic liquid can be used in waste water processing, as a bleaching agent for cotton fabrics, as a disinfectant for a water supply, as a bactericidal agent, etc., and can clean old and stubborn stains from a cleaning surface without requiring additional detergents.

lO Accordingly, there is no need to dissolve detergent in the raw water, and so costs will decrease. As shown in Figure 4, the suction brush 70 can be equipped with a floor-cloth 71 which is mounted on the lower side of the suction brush. The electrolytic liquid, supplied 15 through the electrolytic liquid feed path 61, is supplied to the floor-cloth 71. Since the floor-cloth becomes soaked with electrolytic liquid, an effective cleaning operation can be carried out.

Claims

1. A canister-type vacuum cleaner, comprising: a cleaner body having a driving portion for generating a suction force, and a dust 5 chamber for collecting contaminants that are drawn by the suction force of the driving portion; a suction extension pipe connected to the cleaner body; - a suction brush, disposed at one end of the suction extension pipe, through which contaminants can be drawn from a cleaning surface using the suction force; and 10 an electrolytic liquid supply device disposed on the suction extension pipe and arranged to spray an electrolytic liquid onto the cleaning surface through a lower side of the suction brush.

2. A cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the electrolytic liquid supply device 1 5 comprises: an electrolytic liquid generating unit disposed on the suction extension pipe and arranged to generate electrolytic liquid from a raw water supply; and a spray unit for spraying the electrolytic liquid through an air suction port on the lower side of the suction brush.

3. A cleaner according to claim 2, wherein the spray unit comprises: a feed path extending between the electrolytic liquid generating unit and the air suction port of the suction brush; a spray pump disposed in the feeding path; and 25 a spray nozzle formed at the end of the feeding path in the region of the air suction port, such that the electrolytic liquid can be sprayed through the air suction port.

4. A canister-type vacuum cleaner, comprising: a cleaner body having a driving unit arranged therein for generating a suction 30 force; an extension pipe connected, at a first end, to the cleaner body;

a suction brush unit connected to a second end of the extension pipe, the unit having a suction port arranged in a lower surface thereof through which dust can be drawn due to the suction force; and means arranged to spray electrolytic fluid, from a position within the suction

5 brush unit, onto an underlying surface.

S. A cleaner according to claim 4, further comprising a fluid chamber and means arranged to electrolyse fluid in the chamber and to transfer the electrolysed fluid to the spray means.

6. A cleaner according to claim 5, further comprising a fluid collection chamber located in the cleaner body, and a channel connecting the driving unit with the fluid collection chamber.

15

7. An upright-type vacuum cleaner, constructed and arranged substantially as herein shown and described with reference to the accompanying drawings.