Patent Publication Number: US-7594297-B2

Title: Angle control apparatus for upright type vacuum cleaner

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an upright type vacuum cleaner, and, more particularly, to an angle control apparatus for an upright type vacuum cleaner, by which a main body of the vacuum cleaner is rotatably coupled to a suction unit such that the main body is rotated at a suitable angle with respect to the suction unit sliding on a floor according to a location of a user during a cleaning operation, thereby enabling the cleaning operation to be performed conveniently. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     A vacuum cleaner is a household appliance which sucks dust and other foreign substances scattered on floors, walls, small gaps and the like in a room via a strong suction force from a negative pressure generated by driving a fan motor and operating a vacuum pump, and then collects the dust and the other foreign substances using a dust collecting filter positioned therein. 
     According to shapes and using postures, the vacuum cleaners can be classified into a canister type vacuum cleaner, which provides convenience in corner cleaning and movement while allowing easy replacement of a brush and a nozzle, and an upright type vacuum cleaner, which provides convenience in maintenance and allows easy cleaning of a large space. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating a conventional upright type vacuum cleaner. 
     The conventional upright type vacuum cleaner comprises a suction unit  100  having wheels  105  attached to a lower surface thereof and serving to suck dust on a floor, a main body  200  having components such as motor and the like contained therein, and an upright type handle  300 . 
     For the upright type vacuum cleaner constructed as above, the suction unit  100  is formed at the lower surface with a suction port (not shown) to which a brush is attached and through which dust removed by the brush is sucked into the suction unit. Then, the sucked dust flows along with air, and is collected via a filter, while the air is discharged to the outside. 
     The conventional upright type vacuum cleaner has a merit in that, since the suction unit has a wider area than an associated portion of the main body so as to allow the vacuum clean to stand upright thereon, the conventional upright type vacuum cleaner is able to clean a wider area in a room while moving thereon, and can be maintained in an upright state after finishing the cleaning operation. 
     However, for the conventional upright type vacuum cleaner, since the main body is integrally formed with the suction unit, the main body is maintained in the upright state even when the user pushes the main body and the suction unit away from the user, so that an angle between the handle and the hand of the user is increased, causing inconvenience of the user. Accordingly, there is a need of an improved vacuum cleaner which overcomes this problem. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention has been made in view of the above problems of the conventional vacuum cleaner, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an angle control apparatus of a vacuum cleaner, by which a main body is rotatably coupled to a suction unit such that the main body is rotated at a suitable angle according to a distance between a user and the main body when the user pushes or pulls the main body during a cleaning operation, thereby enabling an angle between an arm of the user and a handle to be maintained within a predetermined range. 
     According to an aspect of the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of an angle control apparatus for an upright type vacuum cleaner, comprising: a main body having a suction port and a discharge port formed thereon, and including a suctioning device inside the suction port; a suction unit having a dust collecting port and a discharge opening, and on which the main body is rotatably installed; a suction hose made of an elastic material and positioned between the suction port and the discharge opening; and a locking assembly installed to the suction unit to restrict rotation of the main body. 
     Preferably, the angle control apparatus further comprises a connection panel rotatably coupled at one end to an upper surface of the suction unit, and having an upper surface on which the main body is installed. 
     Preferably, the connection panel comprises an upper panel on which the main body is installed, a lower panel coupled to a bottom surface of the upper panel and provided with wheels such that the wheels protrude below a bottom surface of the suction unit, and a securing panel fastened to the suction unit while rotatably restricting a rotational shaft of the wheels. Preferably, the upper panel is formed with a connecting hole at one side thereof corresponding to the discharge opening, the connecting hole having an upper end into which the suction hose is inserted, and a lower end into which a connection pipe extending from the discharge opening is inserted. 
     Preferably, the locking assembly comprises a lever rotatably installed within the connection panel and having one end protruding outside the connection panel, a latch part depressed into a bottom surface at the other end of the lever, a protrusion formed corresponding to the latch part on the upper surface of the suction unit so as to be inserted into the connection panel, and a coil spring inserted to a rotational shaft of the lever to maintain a latched state of the protrusion by the latch part. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating a conventional upright type vacuum cleaner; 
         FIG. 2  is a rear perspective view illustrating an upright type vacuum cleaner according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a front perspective view illustrating the upright type vacuum cleaner according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a side elevation illustrating a using state of the upright type vacuum cleaner according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view illustrating a connection panel and a locking assembly of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view illustrating the connection panel and the locking assembly of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings as follows. 
       FIG. 2  is a rear perspective view illustrating an upright type vacuum cleaner according to the present invention, and  FIG. 3  is a front perspective view illustrating the upright type vacuum cleaner according to the present invention. 
     The upright type vacuum cleaner according to the present invention comprises: a main body  10  having a suction port  12  and a discharge port  14  formed thereon, and being installed with a suction fan (not shown) inside the suction port  12 ; a suction unit  15  having a dust collection port (not shown) and a discharge opening  18 , and on which the main body  10  is rotatably mounted; a connection panel  60  rotatably coupled at one end thereof to an upper surface of the suction unit  15  and having an upper surface on which the main body  10  is installed; a suction hose  70  made of an elastic material and positioned between the suction port  12  and the discharge opening  18 ; and a locking assembly  100  installed to the suction unit  15  to restrict rotation of the main body  10 . 
     With this structure, when rotating the connection panel  60  with respect to the suction unit  15  via the locking assembly  100 , the main body  10  of the vacuum cleaner mounted on an upper surface of the connection panel  60  is able to rotate with respect to the suction unit  15  so that an installation angle of the main body  10  can be adjusted as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
       FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view illustrating the connection panel and the locking assembly of the present invention, and  FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view illustrating the connection panel and the locking assembly of the present invention. 
     The connection panel  60  comprises an upper panel  62  on which the main body  10  is installed, a lower panel  63  coupled to a bottom surface of the upper panel  60  and provided with a pair of wheels  16  installed at both ends of a rear side of the lower panel  63  such that the wheels  16  protrude under a bottom surface of the suction unit  15 , and a securing panel  61  fastened to the suction unit  15  while rotatably restricting a rotational shaft  16  of the wheels. After the locking assembly denoted by reference numeral  100  is disposed between the upper and lower panels  62  and  63 , and coupled to the suction unit  15 , the rotational shaft of the wheels  16  is seated in a groove formed in rear of the suction unit  15 , and the securing panel  61  is coupled to an upper surface of the groove by means of bolts and nuts so that the rotational shaft of the wheels  16 , fitted thereto from both ends of the lower panel  63  to the center thereof, is rotatably installed to the groove of the suction unit  15 . As a result, the connection panel  60  is rotatably connected with the suction unit  15 . 
     The upper panel  62  has a connecting hole  64  formed at one side thereof corresponding to the discharge opening  18 . The connecting hole  64  has a lower end into which a connection pipe  18   a  extending from the discharge opening  18  is inserted, and an upper end into which the suction hose  70  is inserted. Meanwhile, when the locking assembly  100  is released and then the connection panel  60  is rotated, the distance between the discharge opening  18  and the connecting hole  64  is changed. In this regard, since the connection pipe  18   a  is a corrugated pipe formed of the same soft material as that of the suction hose  70 , the connection pipe  18   a  can be extended or shortened when inducing foreign substances and air therethrough. 
     The locking assembly  100  comprises a lever  102  rotatably installed within the connection panel  60  and having one end protruding outside the connection panel  60 , a latch part  102   a  depressed into a bottom surface at the other end of the lever  102 , a protrusion  106  formed corresponding to the latch part  102   a  on the upper surface of the suction unit  15  so as to be inserted into the connection panel  60 , and a coil spring  104  inserted to a rotational shaft  102   b  of the lever  102  to maintain a latched state of the protrusion  106  by the latch part  102   a . When the locking assembly  100  is coupled to the suction unit  15  by the securing panel  61  with the lever  102 , the rotational shaft  102   b  and the coil spring  104  disposed and assembled with each other between the upper panel  62  and the lower panel  63 , resilient force is generated, which causes the lever  102  to be rotated about the rotational shaft  102   b  in the counterclockwise direction on the paper of  FIG. 6  by the coil spring  104 . Thus, when the connection panel  60  is seated on the upper surface of the suction unit  15 , the protrusion  106  is inserted into the connection panel  60  through a hole formed in the lower panel  63 , and latched to the latch part  102   a  of the lever  102 , thereby restricting rotation of the connection panel  60 . 
     Operation of the angle control apparatus for the upright type vacuum cleaner according to the present invention will be described hereinafter. 
     First, when a user steps on the lever  102  protruding outward of the connection panel  60 , the coil spring  104  is compressed, and at the same time, the lever  102  and the latch part  102   a  are rotated in the clockwise direction from a state shown in  FIG. 6 . When the connection panel  60  is released from the protrusion  106 , rotation of the connection panel  60  is permitted. Thus, the main body  10  and the connection panel  60  can rotate about the rotational shaft of the wheels  16  in the clockwise direction. 
     With the main body  10  and the connection panel  60  displaced to rotate as above, when the user pushes the vacuum cleaner with the handle  20  in a front direction as shown in  FIG. 4 , the main body  10  and the connection panel  60  are rotated in the clockwise direction while the suction unit  15  is sliding on a floor so that an angle defined between an arm of the user and the handle  20  is maintained at a predetermined angle or less. 
     With the structure and operation as described above, the angle control apparatus for the upright type vacuum cleaner enables a convenient cleaning operation to the user when pushing or pulling the vacuum cleaner. 
     According to the present invention, since the main body independent of the suction unit is rotatably coupled to the suction unit via the angle control apparatus of the vacuum cleaner such that the main body is slanted to a user&#39;s side during a cleaning operation, the main body of the vacuum cleaner is slanted at a suitable angle according to a distance between the vacuum cleaner and the user when the user pushes or pulls the vacuum cleaner, so that an angle between an arm of the user and a handle is maintained within a predetermined range, thereby enabling a convenient cleaning operation. 
     Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.