Abstract:
A structure for a vacuum cleaner for confirming whether a filter is mounted into a vacuum cleaner includes an interlock mechanism. The vacuum cleaner includes a cover including a discharging port for discharging air, and configured to cover the first end of a receiving space. The cover is mountable on the receiving space and an interlock mechanism is mounted on one of the cover and the receiving space. The interlock mechanism is configured to prevent the cover from being mounted on the receiving space if no filter is mounted in the receiving space. The interlock mechanism is configured to allow the cover to be mounted on the receiving space if a filter is mounted in the receiving space.

Description:
This application is a continuation of Application Ser. No. 10/012,484 filed Dec. 12, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,626,973. The entire disclosure of the prior application is considered as being part of the disclosure and is hereby incorporated by reference herein. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a filter mounting device for a vacuum cleaner, and more particularly, to a filter mounting device constructed such that only after a filter for after first collecting foreign materials to be sucked in a cyclone mode and then collecting fine dusts has been mounted within a dust collecting casing, the dust collecting casing can be mounted within a main body of the vacuum cleaner. 
   2. Description of the Prior Art 
     FIG. 1  shows the constitution of a general vacuum cleaner. As shown in the figure, the vacuum cleaner comprises a main body  1  with a suction device for sucking indoor air installed therein and a suction portion  2  into which the air is introduced from a floor of a room by suction force generated from the main body. 
   The main body  1  includes a lower body  5  for installing the suction device therein, and an upper body  6  which is engaged with an upper portion of the lower body  5  and in which a control portion (not shown) for controlling the vacuum cleaner is mounted. A plurality of wheels  8  are installed at a lower side of the main body  1  for allowing the main body  1  to smoothly move on the floor. A discharging portion  8   a  is formed in each of the wheels  8  for discharging air, from which foreign materials are removed after the air has been introduced through the suction portion  2 , from the main body  1 . 
   Between the main body  1  and the suction portion  2 , a suction hose  3   b  made of flexible material, an operation portion  4  connected to an end of the suction hose  3   b  for allowing a user to operate the cleaner, and an extension pipe  3   a  for interconnecting the operation portion  4  and the suction portion  2  are sequentially installed. 
   When electricity is applied to the vacuum cleaner via a wire  9  electrically connected to the suction device contained within the main body  1 , the vacuum cleaner is in a standby state. At this time, when the user adjusts suction steps by using buttons on the operation portion  4 , the suction device contained within the main body generates suction force corresponding to each suction step. The suction force generated from the suction device is exerted on the suction portion  2  via the suction hose  3   b  and the extension pipe  3   a.  By means of the suction force exerted on the suction portion  2 , the air containing foreign materials such as dusts are introduced, and the foreign materials in the introduced air are filtered out by a dust collecting unit A. The air from which the foreign materials are filtered out is discharged to the outside of the main body  1  through the discharging portion  8   a.  Thus, cleaning is performed while going through the above processes. 
   As described above, the dust collecting unit A is a major component for filtering out the foreign materials contained within the air introduced through the suction portion  2 . The dust collecting unit A is also mounted in a receiving space formed between the lower body  5  and the upper body  6 . 
     FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the dust collecting unit, illustrating in detail the dust collecting unit A which has been explained briefly with reference to  FIG. 1 . As shown in the figure, the dust collecting unit A includes a casing  7  with a top portion thereof opened, a cover  11  for opening and closing the top portion of the casing  7 , and a filter  12  mounted below the cover  11 . 
   The filter  12  is constructed such that a top surface  12   a  formed on the top of the filter can be fitted into or detached from a coupling portion  11   a  formed on a bottom surface of the cover  11 . The cover  11  for mounting the filter  12  opens and closes the open top portion of the dust collecting casing  7 . 
   A handle  7   b  is constructed to be formed on a rear surface of the casing  7  so that the user can grip the dust collecting casing  7 . A frame portion  7   f  with an operation hole  7   g  included therein is formed above the handle  7   b.  An operation member  7   i  is installed in an inner space of the frame portion  7   f,  and an operation button  7   a  of the operation member  7   i  is installed to protrude through the operation hole  7   g.  An elastic body  7   s  is installed below the operation button  7   a ′. Accordingly, the operation button  7   a  is always elastically supported within the frame portion  7   f  in an upward direction by the elastic body  7   s.  A catching protrusion  7   c  is formed on the operation member  7   i  and is elastically engaged with an inlet projection  6   t  of the main body  1  of the cleaner. 
   In order to prevent the operation member  7   i  from coming off from the interior of the frame portion  7   f,  a cover  7   d  is fixed to an upper portion of the frame portion  7   f.    
   In order to mount the dust collecting unit A constructed as such into the main body  1  of the cleaner, the operation button  7   a  above the handle  7   b  formed at the rear surface of the casing  7  is pushed into the receiving space in a state where it is pressed down. Then, if the operation button  7   a  is set free, the catching protrusion  7   c  is caught into the inlet projection  6   t  of the upper body  6 . Thus, the dust collecting unit A is kept to be coupled to the main body  1 . 
   Here, it can be seen that the dust collecting unit A can be mounted to the main body  1  of the cleaner regardless of whether the filter  12  has been mounted to the cover  11 . That is, according to a conventional filter mounting structure, the cover  11  can be mounted on the casing  7 , even though the filter  12  has not been mounted to the cover  11 . Thus, even though the filter  12  has not been mounted on the cover due to the user&#39;s error, the dust collecting unit A may be inadvertently engaged with the main body of the vacuum cleaner. 
   The dust collecting unit A performs a primary dust collecting function in a cyclone mode that large foreign materials drop down while air introduced through an inlet  11   c  is formed into a swirl flow within the casing  7 , and a secondary dust collecting function that fine dusts are filtered out through the filter  12  after relatively large foreign materials have been filtered out. 
   As described above, if the filter  12  is not mounted to the cover, large dusts in the air introduced through the inlet  11   c  drop down by their own gravity from the swirl flow and are deposited onto a separation plate  7   m.  However, the fine dusts are introduced through an outlet  11   b  into the main body  1  without being filtered out. Accordingly, it may causes a problem related to cleaning efficiency in that the fine dusts and the like are substantially not filtered out. Further, inner parts may get out of order since the fine dusts flow into the main body of the cleaner. 
   Furthermore, according to the conventional structure of the vacuum cleaner, even though the vacuum cleaner is operated in a state where the filter  12  is not mounted to the cover as described above, there are no devices for informing the user of this state. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is contemplated to solve the above problems. An object of the present invention is to provide a filter mounting device for allowing a user to confirm as to whether a filter for filtering out fine dusts is mounted to a cover of a dust collecting unit. 
   According to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, there is provided a filter mounting device for a vacuum cleaner including a casing having an open top portion and performing a primary dust collection in a cyclone mode, a cover for covering the open top portion of the casing, and a cylindrical filter engaged below the cover for performing a secondary dust collection by collecting fine dusts after the primary dust collection, comprising: a top surface of a filter which is detachably installed to a bottom surface of the cover, which is constructed to be rotatable by a predetermined angle in a mounted state, and which includes an engagement piece formed on one side of the periphery of the top surface such that a radial extension length thereof is gradually increased, and a coupling groove formed on the outside of the engagement piece; a support portion formed on the bottom surface of the cover for pivotably supporting the top surface of the filter mounted thereto by the predetermined angle; a movable member which is installed to be movable by a predetermined distance in a state where the movable member is in close contact with the bottom surface of the cover, and includes an engagement groove for closely receiving the engagement piece, a catching projection formed on one side of the engagement groove to be caught in the coupling groove and a confirmation piece formed to protrude beyond an opening formed in the rim portion of the cover at the opposite side of the engagement groove; and an elastic means for elastically supporting the movable member so that the confirmation piece can protrude through the opening, wherein when the top surface of the filter is rotated in a state where it is engaged to the support portion, the confirmation piece moves into the cover due to pushing of the engagement piece toward an inner surface of the movable member and the pushed state can be maintained by catch of the catching projection in the coupling groove. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a general vacuum cleaner. 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of a dust collecting casing, illustrating a state where a filter is mounted within a conventional vacuum cleaner. 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a filter coupling means according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a filter mounting cover according to the present invention, as viewed from the bottom. 
       FIG. 5  is a partial sectional view showing a state where the cover to which a filter of a vacuum cleaner of the present invention is mounted is coupled to a dust collecting casing. 
       FIG. 6  is a partial sectional view showing a state where the cover to which the filter of the vacuum cleaner of the present invention is not mounted is coupled to the dust collecting casing. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a filter  60  of the present invention, and  FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing a bottom surface of a cover  40  to which the filter  60  is coupled. The filter  60  is constructed such that it can be detachably installed in a bottom surface  40   a  of the cover  40 . Referring to  FIG. 3  showing a state where the filter  60  has been mounted to the bottom surface  40   a  of the cover, an outer periphery of a top surface  60   a  of the filter  60  is provided with a plurality of radially extending protrusions  62 ,  64  and  66 . Correspondingly, a plurality of indented portions  61 ,  63  and  65  are formed between the adjacent protrusions  62 ,  64  and  66 , respectively. The top surface  60   a  is a plane, and thus, the protrusions  62 ,  64  and  66  are formed to extend radially outwardly from the plane. 
   An engagement piece  68  is formed at one side of the top surface  60   a.  The engagement piece  68  is formed to extend radially so that an extension distance from a central portion of the top surface  60   a  can be gradually increased. That is, the engagement piece  68  is constructed to extend more further outwardly from the outer periphery of the top surface  60   a.  An indented coupling groove  69  is formed at one side of an outer periphery of the engagement piece  68 . 
   Meanwhile, the cover  40  to which the filter  60  is coupled is provided with a support portion  45  fixed to a bottom surface of the cover  40  for engaging with the top surface  60   a  of the filter  60 , and a movable member  50  coupled around the support portion to be movable according to a mounting state of the filter  60 . A discharging port  44  for discharging the filtered air is formed at the center of the cover  40 , which coincides to a discharging port  67  of the filter  60 . 
   The support portion  45  is a part to which the top surface  60   a  of the filter  60  is detachably installed. The support portion  45  is fixed to the bottom surface  40   a  of the cover  40  and is integrally formed with, for example, the cover  40 . That is, the support portion  45  is constructed to protrude downward from the bottom surface  40   a  of the cover  40 , or it is formed by fixing a separate ring-shaped member to the bottom surface  40   a  of the cover  40 . 
   The support portion  45  takes the form of circle with a portion thereof disconnected. In an inner side of the support portion  45 , a plurality of catching protrusions  45   a  corresponding to the protrusions  62 ,  64  and  66  of the filter are formed to be inwardly spaced apart from the bottom surface  40   a  of the cover by a predetermined gap. Thus, the protrusions  62 ,  64  and  66  of the top surface  60   a  of the filter  60  can be inserted into the cover through spaces between the catching protrusions  45 . At this time, by slightly rotating the filter, the protrusions  62 ,  64  and  66  of the filter are fitted between the catching protrusions  45   a  and the bottom surface  40   a  of the cover so that the filter can be coupled to the cover. 
   A rotation prevention projection  45   b,  which comes in contact with the protrusions  62 ,  64  and  66  for preventing the filter  60  from being rotated more than a predetermined angle, is formed at one side of the support portion  45  with the catching protrusions  45   a  formed therein. The rotation prevention projection  45   b  may be formed to project downward from the bottom surface  40   a  of the cover, or inward from the side of the support portion  45 . 
   In addition, outward protruding ribs  46   a,    46   b  are formed at opposite portions of the support portion  45  to guide the movable member  50 . A support piece  43   a  is formed at a predetermined portion of the support portion  45  for supporting an end of an elastic body S. 
   The movable member  50  is installed to surround the outside of the support portion  45 , and be movable in a direction of an arrow K by a predetermined distance while being in close contact with and supported by the bottom surface  40   a  of the cover. 
   The movable member  50  is constructed to be generally circular. Further, the movable member can be kept to be in close with the bottom surface  40   a  of the cover by the ribs  46   a,    46   b  of the aforementioned support portion  45 . 
   The movable member  50  includes an engagement groove  52  which has a concave shape corresponding to that of the engagement piece  68  of the top surface  60   a  of the filter so that the engagement piece  68  can be received therein, and an inward protruding catching projection  54  which is formed on one end of the engagement groove  52  to be engaged with the coupling groove  69 . 
   An outward projecting confirmation piece  51  is formed at a portion of the movable member  50  opposite to the engagement groove  52 . The confirmation piece  51  extends to protrude outward beyond a rim portion  41  formed downward from the cover  40 . A catching portion  55  is formed at the inside of the confirmation portion  51 , and the elastic body S is interposed between the catching portion  55  and the support piece  43   a  of the support portion  45 . The support piece  43   a  is substantially inserted between both sides  51   a  of the confirmation piece  51  below the confirmation piece  51 . Thus, the support piece  43   a  performs a function of guiding the confirmation piece  51  along the direction of the arrow K. 
   The support piece  43   a  may be integrally formed with the support portion  45 , and thus, is fixed to the fixed support portion  45 . Therefore, the elastic body S substantially elastically urges the movable member  50  to a direction of an arrow Ka. Accordingly, the confirmation piece  51  is kept to protrude from the rim portion  41  by elastic force of the elastic body S. 
   The confirmation piece  51  takes the form of a straight line having a predetermined width, and its linear movement is guided by a guide  42  formed to protrude from the bottom surface  40   a  of the cover. The guide  42  is formed to be in close contact with lateral and bottom surfaces of the confirmation piece  51 , and thus, the confirmation piece  51  is supported by the guide  42  so that its linear reciprocating motion in the direction of the arrow K is smoothly performed. 
   A guide piece  43   b  is installed on the bottom surface of the confirmation piece  51  to be in contact with inside portions of the sides  51   a  of the confirmation piece  51 , and is integrally formed with the bottom surface  40   a  of the cover. Since both sides of the guide piece  43   b  come in contact with the inside portions of the sides  51   a  of the confirmation piece  51 , the confirmation piece  51  can be supported by the guide piece  43   b  when it linearly reciprocates along the direction of the arrow K as described below. 
   Next, the whole operation of the filter mounting device according to the present invention will be specifically explained. First, the top surface  60   a  of the filter  60  is engaged to the inside of the support portion  45 . At this time, the protrusions  62 ,  64  and  66  of the top surface  60   a  are received through the spaces defined between the catching protrusions  45   a  of the support portion  45 . The engagement piece  68  of the top surface  60   a  of the filter is received into the engagement groove  52  of the movable member  50 . 
   Since the movable member  50  is elastically urged to the direction of the arrow Ka by the elastic body S before the filter  60  is engaged into the support portion, the confirmation piece  68  is kept to protrude beyond the rim portion  41  of the cover  40 . 
   In a state where the top surface  60   a  of the filter  60  is engaged to the support portion  45 , the filter  60  is then rotated in a direction of an arrow a. As the filter  60  is rotated, the engagement piece  68  moves along an outside surface  52   a  of the engagement groove  52 . Thus, the movable portion  50  moves in the direction of the arrow Kb. This movement of the movable member  50  is substantially due to the shape of the engagement piece  68 , and particularly, it results from the operation that the outer periphery of the engagement piece  68  pushes the outside surface  52   a  of the engagement groove  52  in the direction of the arrow Kb. 
   When the movable member  50  moves in the direction of the arrow Kb, the linear motion of the confirmation piece  51  is guided by the guide piece  43   b  and the support piece  43   a,  and will be simultaneously guided by the ribs  46   a,    46   b  of the support portion  45  in a state where it is in close contact with the bottom surface  40   a  of the cover. 
   In the course of this process, if the coupling groove  69  formed in the engagement piece  68  of the top surface  60   a  of the filter is caught into the catching projection  54  of the movable member  50 , the movable member  50  comes to a stop at a position where it has been completely moved in the direction of the arrow Kb. In such a state, the state of the movable member  50  where the coupling groove  69  has been caught into the catching projection  54  can be maintained by the elastic force of the elastic body S. In addition, in such a state, the filter  60  cannot be further rotated since any one of the protrusions  62 ,  64  and  66  of the filter  60  is caught into the rotation prevention projection. 
   As shown in  FIG. 5  illustrating this state, since the confirmation piece  51  has been completely moved in the direction of the arrow Kb, it is kept to be retracted into the rim portion  41  of the cover  40 . That is, the confirmation piece  51  of the cover  50  formed on the bottom surface of the cover remains protruding beyond an opening  41   a  formed by cutting out a portion of the rim portion  41  of the cover. Then, the confirmation piece  51  moves inward with respect to the rim portion  41  as the filter  60  is rotated. 
   Further, as shown in  FIG. 5 , when the movable member  50  has been completely moved inwardly, the confirmation piece  51  of the movable member  50  causes the bottom of a seating groove  49 , formed on the bottom surface  40   a  of the cover  40 , to be opened. Thus, when a top portion  20   a  of the dust collecting casing  20  is inserted into the opened seating groove  49 , the dust collecting casing  20  is perfectly covered with the cover  40 . Finally, the dust collecting unit A having an appropriate height capable of being coupled within a receiving space formed within the main body of the cleaner can be completely assembled. 
   As the movable member  50  moves in the direction of the arrow Kb, the elastic body S interposed between the support piece  43   a  and a separation wall  55  is compressed. When the filter  60  is dismounted from the cover  40 , the movable member  50  is urged to the direction of the arrow Ka by the restoring force of the elastic body S so that the seating groove  49  is blocked off by the confirmation piece  51 . It will be easily understood to a person having an ordinary knowledge in the art. 
     FIG. 6 . shows a case where the casing is covered with the cover  40  in a state where the filter  60  has not been mounted. That is,  FIG. 6  is a sectional view illustrating that the dust collecting casing cannot be received within the main body of the cleaner if the filter  60  has not been mounted. In an initial state whether the movable member is urged to the direction of the arrow Ka by the elastic body S, the confirmation piece  51  thereof protrudes outwardly through the opening  41  a formed on the rim portion  41  of the cover  40  as shown in the figure. 
   Since the seating groove  49  formed on the bottom surface of the cover  40  is blocked off by the confirmation piece  51  of the movable member  50 , the top portion  20   a  of the dust collecting casing  20  cannot be inserted into the seating groove. Thus, the total height of the casing and the cover in a case where the cover  40  to which the filter  60  has not been mounted is engaged with the casing  20  is larger, by a height difference G, than that in a case of  FIG. 5  where the dust collecting casing  20  is covered with the cover  40  to which the filter  60  has been mounted. Due to this height difference G, the dust collecting casing  20  cannot be mounted within the receiving space of the vacuum cleaner. 
   As described above, it is a basic technical feature or spirit of the present invention that the dust collecting casing cannot be coupled to the main body of the cleaner unless the filter for removing fine dusts from air has been correctly mounted to the cover. 
   According to the present invention constructed as such, the following effects can be expected. 
   Unless the filter has been mounted into the dust collecting unit for separating the foreign materials from the introduced air and collecting the foreign materials therein, the dust collecting unit cannot be engaged to the main body of the vacuum cleaner. Thus, it can be prevented beforehand to operate the vacuum cleaner in a state where the filter is not mounted into the dust collecting casing. Consequently, since all the problems occurring when the cleaner is used in a state where the filter is imperfectly or not mounted can be completely solved, there is an advantage in that reliability of the vacuum cleaner can be substantially further improved. Furthermore, there is additional convenience in that process of assembling the filter cannot be certainly omitted while fabricating the vacuum cleaner. 
   It will be understood to the skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It is apparent that the scope of the present invention should be construed only by the appended claims.