Brushing – scrubbing – and general cleaning – Machines – With air blast or suction
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-13
2002-03-19
Moore, Chris K. (Department: 1744)
Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning
Machines
With air blast or suction
C015S361000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06357076
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a suction nozzle unit for a vacuum cleaner, and more particularly, a suction nozzle unit for a vacuum cleaner having a mechanism for lifting up a front portion of the suction nozzle unit.
DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART
The invention can perhaps be best understood by first considering a conventional vacuum cleaner as illustrated in
FIGS. 5
to
7
. Referring to
FIG. 5
, a conventional vacuum cleaner
90
is comprised of a cleaner body
91
, inside of which a suction fan (not shown) and a filter (not shown) are installed, a suction nozzle unit
101
for sucking dust and debris from a surface to be cleaned, and a suction pipe
93
and a connection hose
97
, both of which connect the suction nozzle unit
101
to the cleaner body
91
.
The cleaner body
91
is provided with a pair of rollers
92
and the suction nozzle unit
101
is provided with a pair of front wheels
109
and a pair of rear wheels
106
. The roller
92
, the front and rear wheels
109
and
106
respectively enable the cleaner body
91
and the suction nozzle unit
101
to be moved over the surface to be cleaned. A handle
95
for a user is connected between the suction pipe
93
and the connection hose
97
. By grasping the handle
95
, the user can move the suction nozzle unit
101
on the surface to be cleaned. When the suction nozzle unit
101
is moved, dust and debris attached to the surface to be cleaned are sucked into the suction nozzle unit
101
by the suction force from the suction fan (not shown) installed in the cleaner body
91
and then moved into the cleaner body
91
through the suction pipe
93
and the connection hose
97
.
Referring to
FIGS. 6 and 7
, the conventional suction nozzle unit
101
is comprised of a casing
103
defining the outer appearance of the suction nozzle unit
101
, the above mentioned pair of front wheels
109
and pair of rear wheels
106
, for enabling the user to move the suction nozzle unit
101
over the surface to be cleaned, and a connector
107
to which the aforementioned suction pipe
93
is coupled.
The casing
103
is comprised of a lower casing
110
and an upper casing
120
coupled to the lower casing
110
. In the front bottom part of the lower casing
110
is formed a suction inlet
111
for sucking dust and debris from the surface to be cleaned. In the back of the suction inlet
111
are located a pair of oppositely disposed, substantially L-shaped partitioning walls
124
. Between side wall portions
124
a
of the partitioning walls
124
is formed a suction duct
113
which serves as a passageway for the dust and debris sucked through the suction inlet
111
. The top of the suction duct -
113
is covered with the duct cover
123
. In the back of the suction duct
113
is positioned a connector receiving part
125
, with which the connector
107
is rotatably coupled.
Between a front wall
110
a
and side walls
110
b
of the lower casing
110
, and front wall portions
124
b
of the partitioning walls
124
is formed a brush receiving part
115
in which a brush member
127
for removing the dust and debris from carpet pile or fiber
89
of a carpet
87
is rotatably installed. The brush member
127
is rotated by a brush motor (not shown).
In the front and back sides of the lower casing
110
are respectively installed wheel coupling parts
117
with which the front and rear wheels
109
and
106
are coupled.
With this configuration, the suction nozzle unit
101
sucks dust and debris from the surface to be cleaned by the suction force generated from the suction fan (not shown) installed in the cleaner body
91
and through the suction inlet
111
. The dust and debris vacuumed or sucked up from the carpet is transported into the cleaner body
91
through the suction duct
113
and the connector
107
.
A disadvantage of this kind of a conventional suction nozzle unit
101
is that the height of the bottom face of the lower casing
110
relative to the surface to be cleaned is so small that the suction inlet
111
closely contacts the surface to be cleaned, and therefore, movement of the suction nozzle unit
101
is restricted depending on the shape or nature of the surface to be cleaned. This is a particular problem in cleaning the deep pile carpet
87
depicted in
FIG. 7
, wherein all or a part of the carpet fibers
89
of the carpet
87
may be directed toward the suction inlet
111
of the lower casing
110
, thereby causing resistance against the movement of the suction nozzle unit
101
. Further, in the case of the deep pile carpet
87
, i.e., a carpet having relatively long carpet fibers as indicated
89
, stronger resistance will be caused against the movement of the suction nozzle unit
101
. For all these reasons, movement of the suction nozzle unit
101
can be difficult when vacuuming deep pile carpets. In addition, the user must exert himself or herself more vigorously to move the suction nozzle unit
101
in order to overcome the resistance against movement exerted on the suction nozzle unit
101
, and as a consequence, the job of vacuuming can become tiring and burdensome.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An important object of the present invention is to overcome the above-described problems and, to this end, a suction nozzle unit is provided for a vacuum cleaner which enables easier and more convenient vacuuming by reducing the resistance against the movement of the suction nozzle unit so as to enhance the movability thereof.
This object of the present invention is accomplished through the provision of on an improved suction nozzle unit for a vacuum cleaner comprising a casing including a suction inlet, a pair of front wheels at the front of the casing and a pair of rear wheels at the rear of the casing, wherein the suction nozzle unit further comprises a shaft pin for rotatably supporting the front wheels, and means for moving the casing up and down relative to the shaft pin so as to vary the height of the front end of the casing relative to the surface to be vacuumed(e.g., a carpet).
Preferably, the moving means comprises a rotation shaft extending parallel to the shaft pin and mounted in the casing for movement up and down along with the casing, a rotation arm connecting the rotation shaft and the shaft pin together, and means for rotating the rotation shaft relative to the shaft pin to move the casing up and down.
Preferably, the rotating means comprises an operating lever extending radially from the rotation shaft, and a driving means for rotating the operating lever.
Preferably, the driving means comprises an adjusting knob disposed on the casing, having a shaft with a spiral groove formed in the outer circumference thereof and a handle provided at s first end of the shaft for rotating the shaft, and a slider member having a spiral rib on the inner circumference thereof engaging the spiral groove of said shaft and being mounted so as to move up and down along said shaft, responsive to rotation of said shaft, to thereby cause rotation of the operating lever.
Preferably, an engagement projection is provided at one end of the slider and is adapted to be engaged with the operating lever.
Preferably, the driving means further comprises a coil spring having a first end connected to the operating lever and a second end connected to a bottom wall of the casing, for resiliently biasing the operating lever in a upwardly direction away from the said bottom wall.
Preferably, the driving means further comprises rotational angle adjusting means for adjusting the rotational angle of the shaft. Preferably, the rotational angle adjusting means includes an adjusting protrusion extending outwardly from the second end of the shaft, and an adjusting protrusion receiving member provided in the casing and including a plurality of adjusting grooves for receiving the adjusting protrusion.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, a vacuum cleaner suction nozzle is provided wherein the unit comprises: a casing having a front end and a rear end, and including first and second front wheels at t
Larson & Taylor PLC
Moore Chris K.
Samsung Kwang-Ju Electronics Co., Ltd.
LandOfFree
Suction nozzle unit for 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 nozzle unit for vacuum cleaner, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Suction nozzle unit for vacuum cleaner will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2858543