Brushing – scrubbing – and general cleaning – Machines – With air blast or suction
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-19
2001-10-02
Moore, Chris K. (Department: 1744)
Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning
Machines
With air blast or suction
C015S412000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06295695
ABSTRACT:
CLAIM OF PRIORITY
This application makes reference to, incorporates the same herein, and claims all benefits accruing under 35 U.S.C. §119 from an application for UPRIGHT TYPE VACUUM CLEANER earlier filed in the Korean Industrial Property Office on Jun. 4 1999 and there duly assigned Serial No. 20700/1999.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner, and more particularly to a vacuum cleaner capable of sterilizing various bacteria and bugs living in a dust collecting chamber thereof by circulating hot ambient air from a motor inside the dust collecting chamber.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a vacuum cleaner collects dirts or filth in the air by inhaling the air with a strong suction force which is generated due to a high pressure difference between an interior and an exterior of a body of the vacuum cleaner while the interior is sufficiently vacuumized by a motor. As the air is sucked into/let out of the body of the vacuum cleaner, the dirt or filth in the air is filtered out by a filter which is disposed within the body of the vacuum cleaner. Such a vacuum cleaner is divided into canister type, upright type, stick type, and handy type, according to the shapes thereof.
Among the above various types of the vacuum cleaner, the upright type vacuum cleaner has a suction brush
20
that is directly connected to a lower portion of the body
10
of the vacuum cleaner, as shown in FIG.
1
. On the upper inner side of the body
10
, a dust collecting chamber
12
having a filter
171
mounted thereon is formed, while on the lower inner side of the body
10
, an accommodating chamber
13
for accommodating a motor (not shown) that generates the suction force is formed. The dust collecting chamber
12
and the accommodating chamber
13
are communicated with each other. On the front portion of the accommodating chamber
13
, an exhaust port
14
is formed to let the air outside. As the motor is driven, the strong suction force is generated in the dust collecting chamber
12
. A suction port
16
and the suction brush
20
formed on the body
10
of the vacuum cleaner are communicated with the dust collecting chamber
12
, and are connected with each other by a suction hose (not shown). Accordingly, the air is sucked through the suction brush
20
, passes through the dust collecting chamber
12
and the accommodating chamber
13
, and is then let outside, while the dirt or filth in the air is filtered out by the filter
11
disposed in the dust collecting chamber
12
. A reference numeral
18
refers to a front cover.
The conventional vacuum cleaner, however, has no separate device to handle various bacteria or bugs which are sucked together with the air, and once the bacteria or bugs come into the vacuum cleaner, it is easy for bacteria or the bugs to live in the dust collecting chamber
12
and/or the filter
11
, and to deteriorate the sanitary conditions of the vacuum cleaner. Since the interior of the body
10
usually provides optimum conditions for the bacteria or bugs to exist, it is hard to sterilize the vacuum cleaner, and a user has the risk of catching disease.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been developed to overcome the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide a vacuum cleaner capable of exterminating bacteria or bugs sucked into the vacuum cleaner that live in the dust collecting chamber or filter by using hot ambient air from a motor.
The above object is accomplished by a vacuum cleaner built according to the present invention including a body, a suction brush, a suction hose, and an exterminating section.
The body of the vacuum cleaner includes front and rear bodies which are coupled with each other to form a dust collecting chamber having a filter mounted inside, and an accommodating chamber for accommodating a motor for generating a suction force. A suction port is formed on the rear body, and a communicating hole corresponding to the suction port is formed on the front body for connecting the suction port with the dust collecting chamber.
The suction brush is connected to the lower portion of the body, and inhales the outside air with the various foreign substances from the cleaned surfaces as the motor is driven.
The suction hose is disposed between the suction brush and the suction port to guide the outside air containing the foreign substances sucked through the suction brush into the dust collecting chamber of the body.
The exterminating section sterilizes the various bacteria and the bugs living in the dust collecting chamber or on the filter by re-circulating the hot air heated by the motor into the dust collecting chamber of the body. The exterminating section includes: an operating switch for selecting an exterminating function of calculating hot air for exterminating various bacteria and the bugs; a hot air circulating duct disposed on that rear surface of the front body, connecting the accommodating chamber with the dust collecting chamber of the body, for guiding the air in the accommodating chamber into the dust collecting chamber; and a shutter section for circulating the air of the dust collecting chamber within the body of the vacuum cleaner by closing the suction port so as to prevent the outside air from being sucked into the dust collecting chamber through the suction port when the exterminating function is selected.
Further, the vacuum cleaner according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention further includes a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the air which circulates inside the body of the vacuum cleaner, and for stopping the operation of the motor when detecting the temperature of the air above a predetermined degree, thereby canceling the exterminating function. Here, the predetermined temperature ranges from 63° C. to 67° C.
The hot air circulating duct includes: a duct groove extending along the rear surface of the front body from the accommodating chamber to the communicating hole; and a duct cover for forming an air passage extending from the accommodating chamber to the dust collecting chamber by covering the duct groove, the duct cover having a guiding tube integrally formed on an upper end thereof which is positioned between the suction port of the rear body and the communicating hole of the front body.
The shutter section includes: a shutter member movably disposed on the rear body to be slid between the suction port of the rear body and the guiding tube of the duct cover for selectively closing the suction port; a pair of guiding members formed on the rear body for guiding the sliding movement of the shutter member; and an operating lever protruded from one side of the shutter member and passed through a guiding long hole formed on the rear body for allowing the user to slide the shutter member by holding the operating lever.
Further, the operating switch is turned on/off by the sliding movement of the shutter member.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4852208 (1989-08-01), Morishita et al.
patent: 4907316 (1990-03-01), Kurz
patent: 5075922 (1991-12-01), Tsuchida
patent: 5185903 (1993-02-01), Choi
patent: 1097426 (1989-04-01), None
patent: 3168112 (1991-07-01), None
Bushnell , Esq. Robert E.
Moore Chris K.
Samsung Kwangju Electronics Co., Ltd.
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