Handle unit for vacuum cleaner

The present disclosure relates to a handle unit for a vacuum cleaner. The handle unit for the vacuum cleaner for controlling a cleaner body of the vacuum cleaner includes a handle body of the vacuum cleaner; and a supporting unit projected from one side of the handle body, the supporting unit holding an accessory brush, wherein the supporting unit and the handle body is molded in a single piece by the injection molding process.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) from Korean Patent Application No. 2006-0006408 filed Jan. 20, 2006 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present disclosure relates to a handle unit for a vacuum cleaner. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a handle unit for a vacuum cleaner having a supporting structure for accessories such as accessory brushes.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, an upright vacuum cleaner includes a suction brush assembly facing a surface to be cleaned, a cleaner body disposed at a top end of the suction brush assembly, and a handle unit disposed at a top end of the cleaner body for users to control the upright vacuum cleaner.

A motor chamber and a dust collecting chamber are formed inside the cleaner body. A driving motor for generating suction force is disposed in the motor chamber. The motor chamber is in fluid communication with the dust collecting chamber. The dust collecting chamber has a filtering member for filtering contaminants contained in air drawn in via the suction brush assembly. Any one of cyclone dust collectors and dust bags can be used as the filtering member. The dust collecting chamber is in fluid communication with the suction brush assembly via a connecting hose. Therefore, the suction force of the driving motor is transmitted to the suction brush assembly via the dust collecting chamber and the connecting hose. An end of the connecting hose is attachably/detachably disposed at the suction brush assembly. Therefore, when cleaning any one of corners, edges, and places located at a height higher than the floor, users can separate the connecting hose from the suction brush assembly so as to clean them using the connecting hose.

Furthermore, separate accessories, such as a mini-turbine brush for the cleaning of special materials, for example, a carpet or blanket, a crevice cleaning tool, and so on can be attached to the connecting hose. Manufacturers of the upright type vacuum cleaners usually offer or sell these separate accessories.

However, the accessories are usually kept in storage in an unspecific place without connecting to the connecting hose so that it is inconvenient to store the accessories. Accordingly, users experience inconvenience when having to search for the specific accessory stored separately for an application and when needing to connect the specific accessory to the connecting hose.

To solve the problem, Korean Patent Publication No. 2001-0106671 discloses an accessory fixing apparatus comprising a separate supporting member disposed on a rear side of the cleaner body for fixing an accessory brush therein. However, because the connecting hose is usually connected to the rear side of the cleaner body, a problem arises in that the connecting hose is interfered with the accessory fixing apparatus. As a result, users experience inconvenience when using the connecting hose.

To solve the above problems, this applicant has filed the application with respect to a vacuum cleaner, namely, Korean Patent Publication No. 2005-0116081. The vacuum cleaner has a supporting bracket disposed on the handle unit and for an accessory brush to be detachably mounted in the supporting bracket so that the connecting hose is not interfered with the supporting bracket and the accessory brush can easily be connected with or separated from the connecting hose during cleaning work. To store the accessory brush in the handle unit certainly provides users with the convenience of use. However, the vacuum cleaner produces a side effect in that manufacturing cost is increased because the supporting bracket is separately manufactured and assembled at the handle unit. Furthermore, the handle unit usually includes a front and rear handle covers separately formed and assembled each other so that the manufacturing process of the handle unit is complex.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure has been developed in order to overcome the above drawbacks and other problems associated with the conventional arrangement. An aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a handle unit for a vacuum cleaner employing an accessory supporting structure that can cause users to easily store and use accessories such as an accessory brush at the handle unit, and has an improved structure.

The above aspect and/or other features of the present disclosure can substantially be achieved by providing a handle unit for a vacuum cleaner for users to control a cleaner body of the vacuum cleaner. The handle unit for the vacuum cleaner includes a handle body of the vacuum cleaner; and a supporting unit projected from one side of the handle body, the supporting unit holding an accessory brush, wherein the supporting unit and the handle body is molded in a single piece by the injection molding process. Preferably, the handle body may be molded in a single piece by the injection molding process. Therefore, the handle unit according to the present disclosure has a simpler structure than the conventional handle unit having a front cover, a rear cover, and an accessory brush supporting bracket separately manufactured. As a result, the manufacturing process of the handle unit is shortened so that the manufacturing cost is decreased.

The accessory brush is locked or unlocked in the supporting unit without a separate fixing member. Therefore, users can simply mount the accessory brush to the handle unit or separate the accessory brush from the handle unit, when performing the cleaning work. In other words, users experience convenience when using accessories and when storing the accessories.

The accessory brush is pushed down contacting the supporting unit so as to be locked in the supporting unit, and the accessory brush is pushed up so as to be separated from the supporting unit.

The supporting unit comprises at least two supporting projections projected from a front surface of the handle body. The at least two supporting projections comprises a first and second supporting projections projected in a lengthwise direction of the handle unit, and a third supporting projection projected in a widthwise direction of the handle unit, the first and second supporting projections connected with two catching projections of the accessory brush, and the third supporting projection pressing the accessory brush to be locked to the handle unit.

With the handle unit for the vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, because the supporting unit is projected from the front surface of the handle unit, the handle unit has a simple structure, and the handle body and the supporting unit can be molded in a single body by the injection molding process. As a result, the manufacturing and assembling process of the handle unit is shortened, the manufacturing cost of the vacuum cleaner is decreased.

Also, because the accessory brush is simply mounted to/separated from the projected supporting unit, users can easily use the accessory brush.

Other objects, advantages and salient features of the disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses preferred embodiments of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, certain exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The matters defined in the description, such as a detailed construction and elements thereof, are provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of the disclosure. Thus, it is apparent that the present disclosure may be carried out without those defined matters. Also, well-known functions or constructions are omitted to provide a clear and concise description of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1is a perspective view illustrating an upright vacuum cleaner10employing a handle unit20according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring toFIG. 1, the upright vacuum cleaner10includes a cleaner body40, a suction brush assembly50, and a handle unit20.

The cleaner body40includes a driving source (not shown) generating a suction force, a dust collector42collecting dust contained in the air drawn in, and a body frame43supporting them. The driving source is disposed under the dust collector42, and the body frame43supports the driving source and the dust collector.

The suction brush assembly50is connected with a bottom end of the cleaner body40, and has, at a bottom surface thereof, a suction port (not shown) that faces a surface to be cleaned and draws in dust or contaminants from the surface to be cleaned. The suction brush assembly50is connected to the cleaner body40with a hinge connection so that, when performing the cleaning work, the cleaner body40is inclined with respect to the suction brush assembly50, and when storing, the cleaner body40is returned in the vertical posture as shown inFIG. 1.

Referring toFIG. 2, the handle unit20includes a handle body22formed as a single peace, and a supporting unit60is integrally formed with the handle body22on a front surface25aof the handle body22. The supporting unit60projects from the handle body22so as to be integrally molded with the handle body22by the injection molding process. As a result, the handle unit20having the handle body22and the supporting unit60can be molded by one injection molding process.

The handle body22has a handle part23for users to grip, a body part25for the supporting unit60to be disposed at, and a connecting part27connected with the cleaner body40(seeFIG. 1). The connecting part27is connected with a top end of the cleaner body40using a connecting member (not shown). When performing the cleaning work, users grip the handle part23so as to angle the cleaner body40with respect to the suction brush assembly50, and move the cleaner body40and suction brush assembly50in any direction. The body part25is formed in a shape expanded from the width of the handle part23to the width of the connecting part27so as to connect the handle part23with the connecting part27. The connecting part27has the substantially same width as the width of the top end of the cleaner body40.

Referring toFIG. 3, the supporting unit60includes a first supporting projection62, a second supporting projection64, and a third supporting projection66. The first and second supporting projections62and64are disposed on the front of the body part25substantially parallel with each other from the handle part23to the connecting part27, namely, from an upper side to an under side of the upright vacuum cleaner10vertically standing as shown inFIG. 1. The height of the first supporting projection62is the substantially same as the height of the second supporting projection64. The third supporting projection66is disposed at an approximate center between top ends of the first and second supporting projections62and64substantially perpendicular to the first and second supporting projections62and64, namely, substantially horizontal to the floor.

A connecting plate63connects all the first, second, and third supporting projections62,64, and66. Referring toFIG. 3, each of the first and second supporting projections62and64is formed in a substantially straight duct shape having an inner space61with one opened face and three closed faces. The first supporting projection62has a first, second, and third guiding plates62a,62b, and62c, and a supporting stopper62d. The second supporting projection64is formed in a symmetrical shape with respect to the first supporting projection62, and has the same elements. Therefore, the first supporting projection62alone will be described for conciseness. The first guiding plate62ais attached on the front surface of the handle body22, and the second guiding plate62bis spaced apart from the first guiding plate62aparallel to the first guiding plate62a. The third guiding plate62cis disposed between side ends of the first and second guiding plates62aand62bso that the third guiding plate62cconnects the first guiding plate62awith the second guiding plate62b. Also, the third guiding plate62cis connected to the connecting plate63. The supporting stopper62dis disposed at bottom ends of the first, second, and third guiding plates62a,62b, and62cso that the supporting stopper62dsupports a bottom housing34(seeFIG. 4a) of an accessory brush30being downwardly guided through the inner space61of the first supporting projection62. The height of the third supporting projection66is higher than the height of each of the first and second supporting projections62and64so that the third supporting projection66pushes the accessory brush30in a direction opposite to the handle body22. As a result, the accessory brush30is not moved in the supporting unit60. In this embodiment, all elements of the first, second, and third supporting projections62,64, and66are integrally molded with the handle body22by the injection molding process. Therefore, the manufacture of the handle body22and the supporting unit60is completed by one injection molding process.

Referring toFIGS. 4aand4b, the accessory brush30includes a suction port38, an upper housing32, a bottom housing34, and a connecting pipe36like general suction brushes. Especially, the accessory brush30according to this embodiment has a first and second catching projection72and74so as to be coupled with the supporting unit60. The first and second catching projections72and74project from the bottom housing34parallel with each other and have a symmetrical structure. Because the first and second catching projections72and74have the same elements, the second catching projection74alone will be described for conciseness. The second catching projection74has a first and second plate74aand74b, and a catching stopper74c. The first plate74ais disposed at the bottom housing34, and a wide side of the first plate74ais perpendicular to the bottom housing34. The second plate74bis connected to the first plate74a, and a wide side of the second plate74bis opposite the bottom housing34. The catching stopper74cis disposed at top ends of the first and second plates74aand74bso that, when the second catching projection74is completely inserted into the inner space61of the supporting unit60, the catching stopper74cis touched to a top end of the second guiding plate64bof the second supporting projection64. At this time, the catching stopper72cof the first catching projection72is touched to a top end of the second guiding plate62bof the first supporting projection62. Also, the second plate74bof the second catching projection74is touched to the supporting stopper64dof the second supporting projection64, and the second plate72bof the first catching projection72is touched to the supporting stopper62dof the first supporting projection62. Furthermore, the third supporting projection66presses the area Y of the bottom housing34encircled in FIG.4bso as to push the accessory brush30in a direction opposite to the handle body22. As a result, the accessory brush30may not be moved in the handle body22. This embodiment as described above shows only one example of structures in that the handle unit and the supporting unit can be integrally molded by the injection molding process. In fact, as long as the handle unit with the supporting unit can be molded as a single piece by the injection molding process, and the accessory brush can be locked and unlocked in the supporting unit without a separate fixing member, there are various structures of the supporting unit and the accessory brush.

Hereinafter, operation of the handle unit for the vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure as described above will be explained with reference toFIG. 5.

As shown inFIG. 5, while touching the first and second catching projections72and74of the accessory brush30to the supporting unit60, which is integrally molded with the handle body22and projects from the front surface of the handle body22, users move the accessory brush30downwardly as illustrated by arrow B inFIG. 5so that the accessory brush30is locked in the supporting unit60. Then, when the accessory brush30is moved in a direction of arrow A inFIG. 5, the accessory brush30is separated from the supporting unit60.

The above process is described in detail with reference toFIGS. 3 and 4b. The users insert an end of the second plate72band74bof each of the first and second catching projections72and74into the inner space61of each of the first and second supporting projections62and64, and then move the accessory brush30down in a direction of arrow B ofFIG. 5so that the second plates72band74bare completely inserted into the inner spaces61. As a result, the second plates72band74bare caught by each supporting stopper62dand64dof the first and second supporting projections62and64, and each catching stopper72cand74cof the first and second catching projections72and74touch the top ends of the second guiding plates62band64bso that the accessory brush30can not be moved. Furthermore, because the third supporting projection66projects further than the first and second supporting projections62and64, the third supporting projection66pushes the bottom housing34of the accessory brush30in a direction opposite to the handle body22so as to lock the accessory brush30further, thereby preventing the accessory brush30from moving.

When users want to use the accessory brush30during cleaning work, the users simply push the accessory brush30up in a direction of arrow A ofFIG. 5so that the accessory brush30is separated from the handle unit20. After using the accessory brush30, the users simply push the accessory brush30down in a direction of arrow B ofFIG. 5.

While the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described, additional variations and modifications of the embodiments may occur to those skilled in the art once they learn of the basic inventive concepts. Therefore, it is intended that the appended claims shall be construed to include both the above embodiments and all such variations and modifications that fall within the spirit and scope of the disclosure.