Pipe joints or couplings – Swivel
Reexamination Certificate
2002-04-22
2004-02-03
Bagnell, David (Department: 3672)
Pipe joints or couplings
Swivel
C285S007000, C285S275000, C285S278000, C285S280000, C285S903000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06685233
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a vacuum cleaner, and more particularly, to a suction hose assembly for an upright type vacuum cleaner.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an upright type vacuum cleaner has a suction brush
20
as shown in
FIG. 1
, which is movably disposed on a body
10
of the cleaner to move along a surface to be cleaned during a cleaning operation. The interior of the cleaner body
10
is partitioned into an upper dust collecting chamber and a lower motor driving chamber. In the dust collecting chamber, a dust filter is removably disposed, while a motor is disposed in the motor driving chamber.
In the general upright type vacuum cleaner constructed as above, when the motor is driven, a strong suction force is generated by the suction brush
20
, drawing in air and contaminants from the surface to be cleaned, for example, dust and dirt. Accordingly, the air and the contaminants are drawn into the cleaner body
10
through action of the suction brush
20
. The drawn in air is discharged into the motor driving chamber through the dust filter disposed in the dust collecting chamber of the cleaner body
10
. As the air passes through the dust filter, the contaminants like dust and dirt are filtered out by the dust filter, while the air discharged out through the motor driving chamber is relatively free of contaminants.
Meanwhile, the general upright type vacuum cleaner as described above also has a suction hose assembly
30
, that is usually a provided in conjunction with the suction brush
20
, to clean hard to reach places that are inaccessible to the suction brush
20
to clean, for example, recesses, doorframes, window frames, or the like.
As shown in
FIGS. 1 through 3
, the suction hose assembly
30
has a flexible hose
40
connected to an air inlet of the cleaner body
10
with one end thereof, a suction pipe
50
, connected to the other end of the flexible hose
40
with one end thereof and selectively connected to an extension hose
21
adjacent the suction brush
20
with the other end thereof, and a connection means
60
that movably connects the suction pipe
50
to the flexible hose
40
so that the suction pipe
50
may be rotated with respect to the flexible hose
40
in a rotary motion.
As shown in
FIGS. 2 and 3
, the connection means
60
includes a pair of connection protrusions
61
formed on an outer circumference of one end of the suction pipe
50
, the protrusions
61
extending in a circumferential direction, and being spaced from each other in a lengthwise direction by a predetermined distance, and a pair of corresponding connection grooves
62
formed on the inner circumference of one end of the flexible hose
40
to correspond to the connection protrusions
61
. The connection protrusions
61
are received in the connection grooves
62
, and the flexible hose
40
and the suction pipe
50
are movably engaged with each other to relatively rotate, one within the other.
During normal use, the suction brush
20
of the general upright type vacuum cleaner constructed as above, and as shown in
FIG. 1
, has one end of the suction pipe
50
connected to the extension hose
21
, thereby forming an air passage. When the suction hose assembly
30
is used to clean hard to reach places, the suction pipe
50
is separated from the connection with the extension hose
21
of the suction brush
20
, to enable it to be used for the cleaning operation. Since the suction pipe
50
is movably engaged with the flexible hose
40
so that the flexible hose
40
may rotate relative to each other in a rotary direction by the engagement of the connection protrusions
61
and the connection grooves
62
of the connection means
60
. While the flexible hose
40
may rotate, the suction pipe
50
does not easily separate from the flexible hose
40
, allowing a user to conveniently clean the hard to reach places by moving the suction pipe
50
.
In the general upright type vacuum cleaner, as constructed above, however, as shown in
FIGS. 2 and 3
, the flexible hose
40
is engaged with the suction pipe
50
in such a manner that the contact surface
63
a
between the pair of connection grooves
62
of the flexible hose
40
and the contact surface
63
b
between the pair of connection protrusions
61
are in full contact. Such a considerably large contact area causes large frictional resistance, which hinders the smooth relative rotational movement of the suction pipe
50
, and inconveniences the user.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention overcomes the above-mentioned problems of the related art, and accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a suction hose assembly of an upright type vacuum cleaner which enables a smooth relative rotational movement of the suction pipe by minimizing the frictional resistance through a reduction of a contact area between the flexible hose and the suction pipe.
The above object is accomplished by providing a suction hose assembly of an upright type vacuum cleaner according to the present invention, including a flexible hose connected to an air inlet of a cleaner body with one end thereof, a suction pipe connected to the other end of the flexible hose with one end thereof, and connected to an extension hose of the suction brush with the other end thereof; connection means for movably connecting the suction pipe to the flexible hose so that the suction pipe can rotate relative to the flexible hose in a rotational direction.
The connection means includes one or a pair of connection protrusions formed on an outer circumference of one end of the suction pipe and if two, spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance; one or a pair of corresponding connection grooves formed on an inner circumference of one end of the flexible hose to receive each connection protrusion; and at least one guide protrusion provided to be positioned between a contact surface defined between or adjacent the connection protrusions, and a circumferential contact surface defined between the connection grooves, so as to reduce the area of contact defined between the contact surfaces and thereby reduce frictional contact to allow relative rotational motion.
By providing the guide protrusions in a circumferential direction between the suction pipe contact area and the flexible hose contact area, the suction pipe and the flexible hose are movably connected relative to each other on the area of the guide protrusions only. Accordingly, the contact surface between the suction pipe and the flexible hose is greatly decreased, and the frictional resistance between the suction pipe and the flexible hose is also decreased. As a result, the suction pipe can more easily slide within and rotate relative to the flexible hose in a rotational direction.
It is preferable to provide two guide protrusions. The guide protrusions can be formed on the suction pipe contact area in a circumferential direction, or can be formed on the flexible hose contact area in a circumferential direction.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3565464 (1971-02-01), Wolf
patent: 3727949 (1973-04-01), Kleykamp et al.
patent: 4174858 (1979-11-01), Brooks
patent: 4462649 (1984-07-01), Medford et al.
patent: 4723796 (1988-02-01), Nattel
patent: 4747179 (1988-05-01), Berfield
patent: 4877204 (1989-10-01), Gregory et al.
patent: 5072072 (1991-12-01), Bawa et al.
patent: 5647846 (1997-07-01), Berg et al.
patent: 5784757 (1998-07-01), Cipolla
Jeon Hyung-il
Park Jung-seon
Yang Il-won
Collins G M
Ladas & Parry
Samsung Gwangju Electronics Co. Ltd.
LandOfFree
Suction hose assembly for an upright type vacuum cleaner does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Suction hose assembly for an upright type vacuum cleaner, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Suction hose assembly for an upright type vacuum cleaner will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3288467