Brushing – scrubbing – and general cleaning – Machines – With air blast or suction
Reexamination Certificate
2002-01-14
2004-09-07
Snider, Theresa T. (Department: 1744)
Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning
Machines
With air blast or suction
C015S380000, C015S389000, C015S392000, C015S377000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06785933
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a suction head of a vacuum cleaner and particularly, to a suction head of a vacuum cleaner which rotatively contacts with an object to be cleaned to dislodge and suck up debris from the object.
2. Description of the Background Art
Generally, a vacuum cleaner is a cleaning instrument for collecting and absorbing debris such as dust and the like existing on an object to be cleaned, such as a carpet using a suction force generated by operation of a fan motor assembly.
Among conventional vacuum cleaners, a vacuum cleaner having a power brush which is also called an agitator in a suction head to improve cleaning performance is known. The power brush removes debris from the object by rotatively brushing or agitating the object to be cleaned to dislodge debris therefrom.
As shown in
FIG. 1
, the conventional vacuum cleaner having the power brush includes a cleaner body
1
having a fan motor assembly for generating a suction force to suck debris such as dust and the like existing on the object to be cleaned, a connecting tube
5
which is a passage extending from the cleaner body
1
receiving debris, and a suction head
10
connected to the end of the connecting tube
5
for sucking in debris upon contacting with or being in proximity to the object to be cleaned.
Particularly, in the suction head
10
, a power brush
20
is installed for dislodging or agitating debris existing on the object to be cleaned.
The structure of the suction head having the power brush will be described with reference to FIG.
2
.
The suction head
10
includes a head case
11
connected to the connecting tube
5
shown in FIG.
1
and having a suction hole
15
in the lower surface thereof for sucking debris, a power brush
20
partially protruding through the suction hole
15
of the head case
11
, and rotatively contacting the object to be cleaned, a rotation shaft
25
rotatably installed in the head case
11
for supporting the power brush
20
, and an electric motor
30
fixed with the head case
11
for rotating and driving the power brush
20
via the rotation shaft
25
.
Here, the power brush
20
has a cylindrical shape and the rotation shaft
25
is rotatably connected to the center portion of both sides of the power brush
20
. On the outer circumferential surface of the power brush
20
, bristles
22
are positioned in a spiral direction along the rotation shaft
25
to allow contacting and brushing of an object to be cleaned.
The electric motor
30
is fixed in a parallel manner to the power brush
20
and the rotation shaft
25
and pulleys
33
and
34
are respectively positioned on the shaft
31
of the electric motor
30
and the rotation shaft
25
. The pulleys
33
and
34
are mutually connected by the belt
35
, and accordingly, the driving force generated by the electric motor
30
can be transmitted to the power brush
20
.
In the vacuum cleaner having the conventional power brush with the above described structure, when the fan motor assembly in the cleaner body
1
is operated, a suction force is generated in the head case
11
of the suction head
10
. At this time, debris such as dust and the like existing on the object to be cleaned are sucked through the suction hole
15
of the head case
11
.
When electric power is supplied to the electric motor
30
in the suction head
10
, the power brush
20
rotates and dislodges debris from the object to be cleaned as it contacts with and brushes the surface thereof. The dislodged debris is sucked through the suction hole
15
by the suction force generated in the cleaner body
1
.
The suction head of the vacuum cleaner having the conventional power brush has problems in that additional space is required in the suction head
10
for installing the electric motor
30
therein and the size of the suction head
10
is undesirably large because the electric motor
30
is installed externally from the power brush
20
to provide rotation thereof.
Also, the suction head of the vacuum cleaner having the conventional power brush also has a problem in that the belt
35
which transfers the driving force of the electric motor
30
to the power brush can become loose after prolonged use and the rotary operation of the power brush
20
is not smoothly progressed, thus vacuum cleaning efficiency is lowered.
Particularly, the suction head of the vacuum cleaner having the conventional power brush also has a problem in that debris on the object to be cleaned are not easily removed because the power brush contacts or brushes the object to be cleaned only in the direction that the power brush rotates, thus the vacuum cleaning operation is limited.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, the present invention was developed to solve at least the above-identified problems of the conventional art by providing a suction head of a vacuum cleaner with a power brush capable of achieving a more compact design with minimum suction head size by installing a motor and the like which provide a driving force to the power brush inside the power brush structure itself.
Also, another object the present invention is to provide a suction head of a vacuum cleaner with a power brush capable of improving the performance of dislodging or removing debris from an object to be cleaned by forming a structure where the power brush can simultaneously perform rotary and linear movements, thus to improve vacuuming operation.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a suction head of a vacuum cleaner with a power brush including a head case connected to a cleaner body via a connecting tube and having a suction hole in a lower surface thereof, a power brush positioned in the head case and externally protruding from the head case through the suction hole allowing contact with the object to be cleaned, a supporting means fixed in the head case for supporting the power brush to allow rotary and linear movements thereof, a rotary operating means installed between the supporting means and the power brush within the power brush itself for rotatively operating the power brush, and a linear operating means installed between the supporting means and the power brush within the power brush itself for horizontally reciprocating the power brush along the supporting member.
The power brush can be formed to have a cylindrical shaped body having a plurality of bristles arranged in a spiral shape on the circumferential surface thereof.
The supporting means preferably includes a supporting shaft having both ends fixed on the inner walls of the head case under the such that the supporting means protrudes from the power brush, a linear moving guide means positioned between the supporting shaft and the power brush for guiding the power brush to move linearly along the supporting shaft, and a bearing installed between the linear moving guiding means and the power brush for facilitating the rotation of the power brush.
The linear moving guide means is preferably a guide bush having a cylindrical shape and fixed with the supporting shaft, and combined coupling with an inner face of the bearing in a serration structure to allow mutual inter-locking thereof in the rotary direction.
The guide bush has a stopper for restricting the linear movement of the power brush at its both end portions, and the guide bush has a hole allowing an electric cable to pass therethrough so that electric power can be supplied to the rotary operating means and the linear operating means.
The rotary operating means is preferably a rotary type motor including a stator fixed to the supporting means and a rotor fixed on the inner circumferential surface of the power brush.
The linear operating means preferably includes a solenoid coil fixed to the supporting means for generating electromagnetic flux, a moving core fixed to the inner circumferential surface of the power brush for generating a linear moving force by the flux generated by t
Kim Tae Heoung
Ryu Seung Hee
Fleshner & Kim LLP
LG Electronics Inc.
Snider Theresa T.
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