Patent Publication Number: US-2007095034-A1

Title: Dust collecting apparatus for vacuum cleaner

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      This application claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) of Korean Patent Application No. 2005-102618, filed Oct. 28, 2005, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner. More particularly, the present invention relates to a dust collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner, which separates dusts from an air externally drawn.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      Generally, a vacuum cleaner draws dusts on a surface to be cleaned together with air and separates the dusts from the drawn air, to clean the surface to be cleaned. The vacuum cleaner includes a dust collecting apparatus collecting the dusts separated from the drawn air. Recently, a cyclone dust collecting apparatus is used as the dust collecting apparatus. The cyclone dust collecting apparatus uses centrifugal force generated by rotating the drawn air, to separate the dust from the drawn air.  
      U.S. Pat. No. 6,042,628 discloses one example of the abovementioned cyclone dust collecting apparatus. The conventional cyclone dust collecting apparatus includes a cyclone chamber where the drawn air rotates, a dust collecting chamber where the dust separated from the drawn air rotating in the cyclone chamber is collected, and a guide member which disperses and guides the drawn air in a tangential direction of the cyclone chamber. Based on the above structure, it is advantageous that the drawn air dispersed by the guide member is discharged towards an inner wall surface of the cyclone chamber, descends and rotates, and accordingly a rotation velocity of the drawn air rotating inside the cyclone chamber can be accelerated. However, according to the conventional cyclone dust collecting apparatus, there is a problem. Just after the drawn air is discharged from the guide member, a descending operation of the drawn air is interfered by the drawn air rotating inside the cyclone chamber so that the flow rate of the drawn air may decrease. If the flow rate of the drawn air decreases, there is an increasing suction loss of the vacuum cleaner. Due to the suction loss, consumption power and suction force cleaning of the vacuum cleaner drop and efficiencies of the vacuum cleaner fall. Accordingly, there is a need of developing a cyclone dust collecting apparatus minimizing the loss of the abovementioned pressure.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      An aspect of the present invention is to solve at least the above problems and/or disadvantages of the related art and to provide at least the advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the present invention is to provide a cyclone dust collecting apparatus of a vacuum cleaner, which has improved structures to enhance cleaning efficiencies of the vacuum cleaner through reduction of pressure loss.  
      In order to achieve the above-described aspects of the present invention, there is provided a dust collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner separating dust from a drawn air, using a centrifugal force generated by rotating the drawn air. The dust collecting apparatus for the vacuum cleaner includes: a cyclone main body having a first inlet through which the drawn air flows, a cyclone chamber where the drawn air rotates and a first outlet where an air discharged from the cyclone chamber is guided; and a guide unit disposed between the first inlet and the cyclone chamber. The guide unit guides the drawn air into the cyclone chamber, while dispersed into two or more parts. The guide unit further comprises a plurality of guide paths spirally formed to guide the drawn air into the cyclone chamber along the spiral guide paths.  
      It is possible to reduce pressure loss by interference of the drawn air flowing into the cyclone chamber, to enhance cleaning efficiency of the vacuum cleaner.  
      According to one embodiment of the present invention, the guide unit comprises: a guide wall having a first side facing the first inlet, a second side facing the cyclone chamber, a plurality of second inlets penetrating the guide wall, and a plurality of guide ducts formed to correspond to the plurality of second inlets, the plurality of guide ducts being formed on the second side of the guide wall.  
      The guide unit may further comprise a plurality of second outlets penetrating the guide wall to discharge the drawn air free of dust therethrough; and a guide cover having a partition wall partitioning the drawn air flowing into the second inlets and the clean air discharged through the second outlets. The guide cover covering the first side of the guide wall. A first connection path connecting the first and the second inlets, and a second connection path connecting the first and the second outlets are partitioned between the guide cover and the guide wall.  
      The second inlets and outlets of the guide ducts facing an inside the cyclone chamber may be formed on a slope.  
      Each guide ducts may comprises a sloped plane on an outer circumference of the guide ducts, so that the drawn air discharged from other guide ducts at the upstream is guided along the sloped plane rotationally, and the drawn air discharged from the guide ducts at the upstream is guided to be far from the second inlets by the sloped plane.  
      At least a part of at least two of the guide ducts may overlap with each other so that the outlets of each guide ducts are consecutively disposed further from the second side of the guide wall.  
      The outlets of the guide ducts at the downstream of the drawn air may be narrower than outlets of the guide ducts at the upstream.  
      The guide wall may cover one side of the cyclone chamber facing the first inlet and prevent the drawn air into the cyclone chamber from being flown back into the first inlet.  
      In order to achieve the above-described aspects of the present invention, there is provided a cyclone dust collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner comprising a plurality of guide ducts communicated with a plurality of air inlets, respectively, and a rotary force of an external air increases while the external air passes through the plurality of guide ducts.  
      In one embodiment, the plurality of air inlets and the guide ducts may be symmetrically disposed with reference to the air discharging holes.  
      In other embodiment, the plurality of air inlets and the guide ducts may be asymmetrically disposed with reference to the air discharging holes.  
      A sectional area of the plurality of guide ducts may get larger, and a height of the plurality of guide ducts may increase as the guide ducts are further from the air inlets.  
      At least one of the plurality of guide ducts may be disposed in an upward and downward direction of at least one other guide duct. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES  
      The above aspect and other features of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein;  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a cyclone dust collecting apparatus of the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the cyclone dust collecting apparatus of  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 3  shows a lower side of a guide wall of  FIG. 2 ;  
       FIG. 4  shows a lower side of a guide cover of  FIG. 2 ;  
       FIG. 5  is a plan view of an operation state of the cyclone dust collecting apparatus of the present invention;  
       FIG. 6  shows a lower side of a second embodiment of a guide wall according to the present invention;  
       FIG. 7  is a graph showing changes in pressure loss between the cyclone dust collecting apparatus of the present invention and a conventional cyclone dust collecting apparatus; and  
       FIG. 8  is a lower side of a third embodiment of a guide wall according to the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS  
      Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawing figures.  
      In the following description, same drawing reference numerals are used for the same elements even in different drawings. The matters defined in the description such as a detailed construction and elements are nothing but the ones provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of the invention. Thus, it is apparent that the present invention can be carried out without those defined matters. Also, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail.  
      Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a cyclone dust collecting apparatus  100  of the present invention includes a cyclone main body  110 , a guide unit  150 , a cover member  120 , and a filter unit  190 . For reference, cyclone dust collecting apparatus  100  can include a locking member L for locking the cover member  120  and the cyclone main body  110  to one another.  
      The cyclone main body  110  is internally partitioned with a cyclone chamber  111  and a dust collecting chamber  113 . The cyclone main body  110  is shaped like a chamber having an open upper side. The cyclone chamber  111  is where a air drawn-in from outside of apparatus  100  through a first inlet  123  formed through the cover member  120  is rotated. The dust collecting chamber  113  is where that the dust separated by the centrifugal force in the rotated air is gathered. Upper sides of the cyclone chamber  111  and the dust collecting chamber  113  are closed by the later-mentioned guide unit  150  and the cover member  120 . According to an embodiment of the present invention, dust collecting chamber  113  comprises a plurality of dust collecting chambers  113  that enclose a part of the side outer wall of the cyclone chamber  111 , as illustrated in  FIG. 5 . The dust collecting chamber  113  is connected to the cyclone chamber  111  through a dust passage hole  115  penetrating through an inner wall of the cyclone chamber.  
      As mentioned above, the cover member  120  is formed on upper side of the cyclone main body  110 , and includes the first inlet  123  and a first outlet  125 . Cover member  120  can also include one or more handles  121 . The first outlet  125  is a passage through which dust-free air from the cyclone chamber  111  is discharged. Since the first inlet  123  and the first outlet  125  are formed on the cover member  120 , and the dust collecting chamber  113  is formed on a side outer wall of the cyclone chamber  111 , the cyclone dust collecting apparatus  100  can be formed with a lower height than the conventional cyclone dust collecting apparatus, to accordingly achieve a compact-sized cyclone dust collecting apparatus  100 .  
      The guide unit  150  guides the drawn air into the cyclone chamber  111 , and guides the air discharged from the cyclone chamber  111  towards the first outlet  125 . Towards this goal, according to a first embodiment of this present invention, the guide unit  150  includes a guide wall  160  partitioning the cover member  120  and the cyclone main body  110 , and a guide cover  170 .  
      Cyclone dust collecting apparatus  100  can also include a sealing member  151  for sealing the space between the guide cover  170  and the first inlet  123 .  
      As illustrated in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the guide wall  160  covers the upper sides of the cyclone chamber  111  and the dust collecting chambers  113 , and includes a first side  161  facing the first inlet  123 , a second side facing the cyclone chamber  111 . The guide wall also includes a plurality of second inlets  163 , a plurality of guide ducts  165 , and a plurality of second outlets  169 . The guide wall  160  closes the upper parts of the dust collecting chamber  113  and the cyclone chamber  111 . By sealing the space between the cyclone chamber  111  and the guide wall  160 , the air having gone through the guide wall may not flow back toward the first inlet  123 .  
      The plurality of second inlets  163  penetrate through the guide wall  160  to connect the cyclone chamber  111  to the first inlet  123 , and guide the drawn air flown through the first inlet  123  into the cyclone chamber  111 . The plurality of second inlets  163  may draw more air into the cyclone chamber  111  than the conventional cyclone dust collecting apparatus. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent suction force of the vacuum cleaner due to the cyclone dust collecting apparatus  100  from dropping, and consumption power from falling. For reference, the consumption power indicates work done by the vacuum cleaner under a predetermined condition. The consumption power is a term generally used as one example showing an efficiency of the cleaner in the related industry.  
      According to the embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of second inlets  163  comprise a pair of second inlets  163  provided. The drawn air flowing through the first inlet  123  is equally distributed and flown into the cyclone chamber  111  through the pair of second inlets  163 . According to the embodiment of the present invention, each second inlet  163  has a sloped part of the rim to guide the drawn air inward the guide ducts  165  in a sloped direction. The abovementioned second inlets  163  may be disposed outside an imaginary area (A) formed by straight lines connecting the first outlet  125  and the second outlets  169 , which will be described later. It is easier to form the guide cover  170  described later in order for the air flowing into the cyclone chamber  111  and the air flowing from the cyclone chamber  111  not to be mutually interfered. According to the embodiment of the present invention, the second inlets  163  are disposed further than the second outlets  169  from the first outlet  125 .  
      The plurality of guide ducts  165  each include a guide path  167  internally penetrating and a sloped plane  166  externally formed. The plurality of guide ducts  165  protrude on a second side of the guide wall  160  to correspond to each of the second inlets  163 . The guide path  167  enhances rotary force of the drawn air flowing into the cyclone chamber  111 , and minimizes the interference of the drawn air with the air inside the cyclone chamber  111 . Towards this goal, the guide path  167  has an outlet  168  thereof formed at a predetermined angle with respect to the second inlets  163  to guide the drawn air in a direction tangential to the cyclone chamber  111 . According to the embodiment of the present invention, the guide path  167  is spirally formed to guide the drawn air to rotate along an inner wall of the cyclone chamber  111 , while the drawn air is gradually descending towards a lower part of the cyclone chamber. There is a height between the guide path  167  and the guide wall  160  that gradually increases toward the outlet  168 . A sectional area of the guide path may be kept uniform along the direction of the drawn air proceeding toward the outlet  168  of the guide ducts  165  from the second inlets  163 . Accordingly, it is possible to have uniform air flows inside the guide ducts, to minimize pressure loss caused by changes of proceeding direction of the drawn air as abovementioned.  
      The sloped plane  166  is formed on one side facing a bottom side of the cyclone chamber  111  among outer circumference sides of the guide ducts  165 . According to the embodiment of the present invention, the sloped plane  166  is bent considering the guide path  167  formed inside the guide ducts  165 . The drawn air gets out of the guide path  167  and is guided to rotate downward along the inner wall of the cyclone chamber  111  by the sloped plane  166 . The guide ducts  165  minimize the interference between the air rotating inside the cyclone chamber  111  and the air flown into the cyclone chamber  111 , accordingly minimizing the pressure loss of the vacuum pressure due to the cyclone dust collecting apparatus  100 .  
      The second outlets  169  are a passage through which the drawn air having downwardly rotated and ascended is guided externally of the cyclone chamber  111 . According to the embodiment of the present invention, on a lower part of the second outlets  169  are mounted with a filter unit to further separate minute dusts from the drawn air discharged from the cyclone chamber  111 .  
      As abovementioned, as the second inlets  163  and the second outlets  169  are on the guide wall  160 , the air drawn through the first inlet  123  and the air discharged through the first outlet  125  are mutually interfered between the cover member  120  and the guide wall  160 . According to the embodiment of the present invention, the cyclone dust collecting apparatus  100  includes the guide cover  170  in order to prevent the first inlet  123  and the first outlet  125  from being mutually interfered. The guide cover  170 , as illustrated in  FIGS. 2 and 4 , includes a partition wall  171  and a cutting unit  173 . The partition wall  171  protrudes towards the guide wall  160  from an inner side of the guide cover  170 . A lower part of the partition wall  171  blocks space between the second inlets  163  and the second outlets  169 , when the guide cover  170  and the guide wall  160  are combined. The cutting unit  173  is formed by opening one end of the guide cover  170  facing the first outlet  125 . The cutting unit  173  forms an outlet  174  connected to the first outlet  125 , between the cutting unit  173  and the guide wall  160 , when the guide cover  170  and the guide wall  160  are combined. In the abovementioned partition wall  170  and the cutting unit  173 , internal space between the guide cover  170  and the guide wall  160  are partitioned with a first connection path  175  where the air flowing from the first inlet  123  passes and a second connection path  177  where the air discharged through the first outlet  125  passes.  
      Hereinafter, the operation of the above structured cyclone dust collecting apparatus according the embodiment of the present invention will be described.  
      When the main body of the vacuum cleaner is driven, an external air is drawn through the first inlet  123 . The air drawn through the first inlet  123  flows into the first connection path  175  through an inlet  172  of the guide cover  170  and is dispersed into the second inlets  163 . The air dispersed into second inlets  163  passes through each guide paths formed inside each guide ducts  165 , and flows into the cyclone chamber. As abovementioned, the drawn air flowing into the cyclone chamber is guided to rotate downwardly along the inner wall of the cyclone chamber  111  by the guide paths  167 . After that, the drawn air discharges externally of the cyclone chamber  111  through the filter unit  190  and the second outlets  169 . The drawn air discharged through the second outlets  169  consecutively passes through the second guide path  177 , the outlet  174  of the second guide path  177  and the first outlet  125 , and discharges externally of the cyclone dust collecting apparatus  100 .  
      As illustrated in  FIG. 5 , dust (D) included in the drawn air are separated from the drawn air by centrifugal force generated when the drawn air rotates. The dust passes through the dust passage hole  115  and are housed in the dust collecting chamber  113 .  
       FIG. 6  shows a lower side of a guide wall  160 ′ of a cyclone dust collecting apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. According to this embodiment of the present invention, the guide wall  160 ′ is formed with three second inlets  163 ′ and three guide ducts  165 ′ corresponding thereto. Like the first embodiment discussed above, the second inlets  163 ′ are disposed radially with reference to second outlets  169  in the center, and equal spaced therebetween. As abovementioned, the increased number of the second inlets  163 ′ and the guide ducts  165 ′ leads more drawn air drawn flowing into cyclone chamber  111  (refer to  FIG. 1 ) than the first embodiment, during the same hour. Accordingly, pressure loss by the cyclone dust apparatus  100  (refer to  FIG. 1 ) decreases.  
       FIG. 7  illustrates comparison between the first and second embodiments, for pressure loss by the cyclone dust collecting apparatus  100  according to the number of the second inlets  163 ,  163 ′, while motor forces, shapes of the second inlets  163 ,  163 ′ and the guide ducts  165 ,  165 ′ and shapes of the cyclone chamber are the same between two embodiments. Referring to  FIG. 7 , as the number of the second inlets  163 ,  163 ′ increases, the more the pressure loss of the vacuum cleaner lowers. However, considering motor capacity of the vacuum cleaner and the limit of the cyclone dust collecting apparatus  100  in terms of design, the number of the second inlets  163 ,  163 ′ may be three.  
       FIG. 8  shows a guide wall of a cyclone dust collecting apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 8 , the cyclone dust collecting apparatus  100  according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a first through three guide ducts  165   a ,  165   b  and  165   c , and outlets  168   a ,  168   b  and  168   c  of each guide ducts  165   a ,  165   b  and  165   c  are differently shaped and located from the first and second embodiments.  
      According to this embodiment of the present invention, the outlets  168   a ,  168   b  and  168   c  of each guide ducts  165   a ,  165   b  and  165   c  are formed smaller, downward along the rotation direction B of the drawn air inside the cyclone chamber  111 . As the drawn air rotating inside the cyclone chamber  111  goes downward, the rotary force decreases. The decreased rotary force may be enhanced by making the drawn air flow quicker into the cyclone chamber  111  through the third guide duct  165   a , than the drawn air discharged from the first guide duct  165   a.    
      According to the embodiment of the present invention, one of the guide paths  167   a ,  167   b  and  167   c  overlaps with other guide duct along the direction further from the second side  162 . According to the embodiment of the present invention, a part of the second guide duct  165   b  overlaps with a part of the third guide duct  165   c . Each space between the outlets  168   a ,  168   b  and  168   c  of the guide ducts  165   a ,  165   b  and  165   c , and the second side  162  are different. Although the rotary force of the drawn air rotating inside the cyclone chamber  111  gets smaller as the drawn air gets further from the guide wall  160 ″, the rotary force is strengthened by the drawn air discharged through the outlet  168   b  of the guide path  165   b  far from the second side  162 . The guide wall  160 ″ and the guide cover  170  (refer to  FIG. 2 ) may have various changes in form where the drawn air rotates inside a first connection passage  175 . However, there may be a problem of unstable air flow inside the cyclone chamber  111 . However, the problem may be solved by making various changes in form and details for second inlets  163   a ,  163   b  and  163   c , and the guide ducts  165   a ,  165   b  and  165   c.    
      Based on the above description, according to the present invention, an air flow inside a cyclone dust collecting apparatus through a first inlet is dispersed through a plurality of second inlets, and flows inside a cyclone chamber. It is possible to minimize pressure loss caused by the interference of the drawn air inside the cyclone chamber, to enhance cleaning efficiency of a vacuum cleaner.  
      The drawn air having passed trough the plurality of second inlets is guided by a plurality of guide ducts spirally formed, and the rotary force of the drawn air decreases at the point when the drawn air enters into the cyclone chamber. Accordingly, dust collecting efficiencies are enhanced.  
      It is possible to prevent the rotary force of the drawn air rotating inside the cyclone chamber from decreasing, as the drawn air gets further from the second inlets, by varying sizes and forms of the plurality of guide ducts. Accordingly, cleaning efficiencies of the cyclone dust collecting apparatus may be enhanced.  
      While the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.