Patent Publication Number: US-2009217483-A1

Title: Upright type cleaner

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
     This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2008-0067154, filed on Jul. 10, 2008, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Also, this application claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No. 61/064,340, filed on Feb. 28, 2008, in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field 
     The present invention relates to an upright type cleaner, and more particularly to a fixing structure of a subsidiary suction device of an upright type cleaner. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Cleaners are apparatuses, which remove foreign substances, such as dust, and vacuum cleaners are mainly used at home. Vacuum cleaners suck dust using suction force generated by a blowing device and then filter out the dust through a filter, and are roughly divided into a canister type cleaner and an upright type cleaner. 
     Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2002-0065833 discloses an example of an upright type cleaner. The disclosed upright type cleaner includes a suction port body provided with a suction port, a main body rotatably connected to the suction port body, and a subsidiary suction device detachably attached to the main body and provided with a grip part and a pipe connected to the grip part. Here, the subsidiary suction device is connected to a dust collection chamber of the main body through a flexible hose, is inserted into a cylindrical pipe support part provided on the main body, and then is fixed to the main body. Thereby, a user uses the suction port body in order to clean a general carpet or a floor, and uses the subsidiary suction device in order to clean a ceiling, a wall, or a gap between a piece of furniture and a floor. 
     However, the conventional upright type cleaner has a low mounting convenience of the subsidiary suction device on the main body. Particularly, in order to insert the front end of the pipe into the cylindrical pipe support part provided on the main body, a user needs to lift up the subsidiary suction device to a height higher than user&#39;s shoulders, and take considerable precautions to insert the front end of the pipe into the pipe support part. Further, in order to separate the subsidiary suction device from the main body, the user needs to take the subsidiary suction device out of the pipe support part in the rectilinear direction as long as the length of the pipe support part, and thus parts of a user&#39;s body, such as shoulders, waist, etc., may be damaged. Further, in case that the pipe support part is located at the lower portion of the main body, the user needs to bend down to confirm an inlet of the pipe support part. 
     Further, in case that the pipe support part has a short length, the subsidiary suction device is easily separated from the main body even by a small external force and thus the mounting reliability of the subsidiary suction device is lowered. 
     SUMMARY 
     Therefore, one aspect of the invention is to provide an upright type cleaner, in which the mounting convenience and reliability of a subsidiary suction device is improved. 
     In accordance with one aspect, the present invention provides an upright type cleaner including a base provided with a suction port; a main body connected to the base; and a wand assembly detachably attached to the main body, wherein the wand assembly is rotated in one direction under the condition that the wand assembly is supported by the main body, and thus is mounted on the main body. 
     The wand assembly may include a handle easily gripped by a user, and a pipe connected to the handle; and a portion of the wand assembly adjacent to the handle may be rotatably supported by the main body. 
     The lower end of the wand assembly may be rotated in a direction coming close to the main body, and thus the wand assembly may be locked with the main body. 
     The wand assembly may be rotated in the other direction, and thus be separated from the main body. 
     The upright type cleaner may further include rotary shafts provided on any one of the main body and the wand assembly; and rotary grooves, into which the rotary shafts are respectively inserted, provided on the other one of the main body and the wand assembly. 
     The rotary shafts or the rotary grooves provided on the main body may be disposed at the upper portion of the main body. 
     The rotary grooves may be formed in a curved shape. 
     The upright type cleaner may further include a locking hook provided on any one of the main body and the wand assembly; and a fastening part, to which the locking hook is fastened, provided on the other one of the main body and the wand assembly, and the locking hook or the fastening part may be elastically supported. 
     The upright type cleaner may further include a release button releasing the fastening between the locking hook and the fastening part to release the wand assembly from the main body. 
     The release button may be provided on the upper portion of the main body. 
     The wand assembly may include a tool, which is detachably provided. 
     The wand assembly may further include a handle easily gripped by a user; and the handle of the wand assembly may serve as a handle of the main body under the condition that the wand assembly is locked with the main body. 
     The upright type cleaner may further include an elastically supporting unit elastically supporting the wand assembly in the opposite direction to the locking direction under the condition that the wand assembly is locked with the main body. 
     The wand assembly may be mounted on the rear portion of the main body. 
     The wand assembly may be rotated in one direction under the condition that the lower portion of the wand assembly is supported by the main body, and thus be mounted on the main body. 
     In accordance with another aspect, the present invention provides an upright type cleaner including a base provided with a suction port; a main body connected to the base; a wand assembly detachably attached to the main body; a rotating unit provided to rotate the wand assembly; and a locking unit provided to lock the wand assembly rotated in one direction with the main body. 
     The rotating unit may include rotary shafts provided on any one of the main body and the wand assembly, and rotary grooves, into which the rotary shafts are respectively inserted, provided on the other one of the main body and the wand assembly. 
     The rotating unit may include a bending part provided on the wand assembly, and a rotary groove, into which the bending part is inserted such that the wand assembly is rotatable, provided on the main body. 
     The locking unit may include a locking hook provided on any one of the main body and the wand assembly; and a fastening part, to which the locking hook is fastened, provided on the other one of the main body and the wand assembly, and the locking hook or the fastening part may be elastically supported. 
     In accordance with a further aspect, the present invention provides an upright type cleaner including a base provided with a suction port; a main body connected to the base; a wand assembly detachably attached to the main body; and a first mounting unit preliminarily mounting the wand assembly on the main body, and a second mounting unit completing the mounting of the wand assembly on the main body, the first mounting unit may be disposed above the second mounting unit. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating the external appearance of an upright type cleaner in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIGS. 2 and 3  are respectively exploded perspective and longitudinal-sectional views illustrating a fixing unit of a subsidiary suction device in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIGS. 4A to 4C  are perspective views illustrating the fixing of the subsidiary suction device in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention to a main body; 
         FIGS. 5A to 5D  are perspective views respectively illustrating fixing structures of subsidiary suction devices in accordance with modified embodiments of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view illustrating the external appearance of an upright type cleaner in accordance with another modified embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view illustrating the external appearance of an upright type cleaner in accordance with a further modified embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present invention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below to explain the present invention by referring to the annexed drawings. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating the external appearance of an upright type cleaner in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     The upright type cleaner in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention includes a brush assembly  110 , a main body  120  rotatably connected to the brush assembly  110 , and a subsidiary suction device  130  detachably attached to the main body  120 . 
     The brush assembly  110  includes a base  111  provided with a suction port  112 , a rotary brush  113  accommodated in the base  111  and rotated to brush away dust from a surface to be cleaned and induce the dust to the inside of the base  111 , a driving motor  114  to drive the rotary brush  113 , and a plurality of wheels  115  provided at the lower portion of the base  111 . The brush assembly  110  is used mainly when a bottom surface, such as a carpet, a floor, or etc. is cleaned, and thus, suction force is transmitted to the brush assembly  110  through a suction pipe  191  connected to a suction fan (not shown), which will be described later. 
     The main body  120  includes a main body casing  121  connected to the base  111  of the brush assembly  110  such that the main body  120  can be rotated, the suction fan (not shown) accommodated in the main body casing  121  to generate suction force, a filter  122  located at the inlet side of the suction fan to filter out foreign substances, and a collection tank  123  provided around the filter  122  to collect the filtered-out foreign substances. Non-described reference numeral  124  represents an exhaust port, through which filtered air is exhausted to the outside. 
     The subsidiary suction device  130  includes a wand assembly  140 , and a flexible hose  150  connecting the wand assembly  140  to the suction pipe  191  to transmit the suction force generated from the suction fan to the wand assembly  140 . 
     The wand assembly  140  includes a handle  141  easily gripped by a user, and a pipe  142  provided at one side of the handle  141  and connected to the flexible hose  150 . The wand assembly  140  may further include a tool  143  detachably connected to the front end of the pipe  142 . 
     The tool  143  in this embodiment is an electric tool, which is driven by electricity. The tool  143  includes a housing  144  provided with a suction port  145 , a rotary brush  146  accommodated in the housing  144  and rotated, and a driving motor  147  to drive the rotary brush  146 . Thereby, the upright type cleaner in this embodiment actively sucks and removes foreign substances from a surface to be cleaned, even when a ceiling, a curtain, or a narrow gap is cleaned, and thus has a highly enhanced cleaning performance. Of course, the above-described tool  143  is exemplary, and thus various kinds of tools, such as an active tool and a passive tool, in addition to the electric tool may be mounted on the cleaner. 
     The subsidiary suction device  130  in this embodiment further includes an electric wire  194  extended to the flexible hose  150 , the handle  141 , and the pipe  142  to provide power to electric components of the tool  143  and electrically control the electric components of the tool  143 , and connection parts  195  and  196  respectively provided at the tips of the pipe  142  and the tool  143 . 
     The electric wire  194  may be buried under the pipe  142  such that the electric wire  194  is not exposed to the outside. Thereby, in case that the tool  143  is mounted on the pipe  142 , the tool  143  is electrically connected to a power supply unit (not shown) and a control unit (not shown) of the cleaner. 
     The flexible hose  150  is connected to the main body casing  121  provided with the suction fan through the suction pipe  191  and a channel conversion device  192  to selectively transmit the suction force of the suction fan to the brush assembly  110  or the subsidiary suction device  130  is provided at the connection part between the flexible hose  150  and the suction pipe  191 . The channel conversion device  192  in this embodiment is manipulated by turning a knob  193  by hand, but a separate actuator or a link structure to rotate the knob  193  may be provided. 
     Hereinafter, the fixing structure of the subsidiary suction device  130  in accordance with this embodiment will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIGS. 2 and 3  are respectively exploded perspective and longitudinal-sectional views illustrating a fixing unit of the subsidiary suction device in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention, and  FIGS. 4A to 4C  are perspective views illustrating the fixing of the subsidiary suction device in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention to the main body. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3  and  FIGS. 4A to 4C , the upright type cleaner in this embodiment includes a rotating unit  160  provided on the wand assembly  140  and the main body  120  such that the wand assembly  140  is supported by the main body  120  and is rotated, a locking unit  170  provided on the wand assembly  140  and the main body  120  such that the wand assembly  140  rotated in one direction is locked with the main body  120 , and an elastically supporting unit  180  elastically supporting the wand assembly  140  in the opposite direction to the locking direction. 
     The rotating unit  160  includes rotary shafts  161  provided on the wand assembly  140 , and rotary grooves  162 , into which the rotary shafts  161  are inserted, provided on the main body  120 . The rotary grooves  162  of the main body  120  may be provided at the upper portion of the main body  120  such that a user can easily observe the position of the rotary grooves  162 . Further, the handle side of the wand assembly  140 , i.e., a portion of the handle  141  or a portion of the pipe  142  being adjacent to the handle  141 , may be rotatably supported by the main body  120 . 
     The locking unit  170  includes a locking hook  171  provided on the main body  120 , an elastic body  172  elastically supporting the locking hook  171  in one direction, a release button  173  formed integrally with the locking hook  171  to allow a user to press the locking hook  171  in the opposite direction to the elastically supporting direction of the locking hook  171 , and a fastening part  174 , to which the locking hook  171  is fastened, provided on the wand assembly  140 . Non-described reference numeral  175  represents a cover to cover the front surface of the main body  120 . 
     The elastically supporting unit  180  includes a support body  181  contacting the wand assembly  140 , and an elastic body  182  elastically supporting the support body  181 . 
     Through the above structure, when the rotary shafts  161  of the wand assembly  140  are inserted into the rotary grooves  162  of the main body  120  and then the wand assembly  140  is rotated in a direction of causing the lower end of the wand assembly  140  to come close to the main body  120 , as shown in  FIG. 3 , the locking hook  171  moves in the opposite direction to the elastically supporting direction and then is returned to its original position. During this process, the fastening part  174  provided on the wand assembly  140  is fastened to the locking hook  171 , and thus the wand assembly  140  is supported by the elastically supporting unit  180  and then fixed to the main body  120 . That is, when a user inserts the rotary shafts  161  of the wand assembly  140  into the rotary grooves  162  of the main body  120  and then pushes the handle  141  of the wand assembly  140  toward the front of the cleaner, as shown in  FIGS. 4A to 4C , the fixing of the subsidiary suction device  130  to the main body  120  is completed. In case that the rotating unit  160  and the locking unit  170  are respectively referred to as a first mounting unit and a second mounting unit, the user preliminarily fixes the wand assembly  140  to the main body  120  using the first mounting unit, which is located at a relatively high position and thus easily recognized, and then completes the fixing of the wand assembly  140  to the main body  120  using the second mounting unit. 
     On the other hand, when the release button  173  formed integrally with the locking hook  171  is pressed, the wand assembly  140  is released from the main body  120 . The fastening between the locking hook  171  of the main body  120  and the fastening part  174  of the wand assembly  140  is released, and the wand assembly  140  is rotated in the opposite direction to the locking direction by the elastic force of the elastically supporting unit  180  and is released from the main body  120 . Here, the release button  173  may be located at the upper portion of the main body  120  such that the user of the subsidiary suction device  130  can conveniently press the release button  173 . 
     Therefore, the upright type cleaner in this embodiment has an enhanced mounting convenience of the subsidiary suction device  130 . Specifically, a user rotates the wand assembly  140  in one direction to fix the wand assembly  140  to the main body under the condition that an arbitrary part between both ends of the wand assembly  140  is rotatably supported by the main body  140 , and thus can easily fix the wand assembly  140  to the main body  120  without lifting up the wand assembly  140  or stooping down. Further, in case that the wand assembly  140  is separated from the main body  120 , the user can easily separate the wand assembly  140  from the main body  120  by pressing the release button  173  of the main body  120 . 
     Further, the upright type cleaner in this embodiment has an enhanced mounting reliability of the subsidiary suction device  130 . Specifically, the movement of the wand assembly  140  is restricted in the locked state, and there is not much possibility of releasing the wand assembly  140  from the main body  120  by external force. 
     The wand assembly  140  in this embodiment may serve as a handle of the main body  120  in the fixed state of the wand assembly  140  to the main body  120 . Specifically, in case that the wand assembly  140  is locked with the main body  120 , the relative movement of the wand assembly  140  against the main body  120  is restricted. Thus, the user can use the brush assembly  110  or lift the cleaner to move the cleaner under the condition that the user grips the handle  141  of the wand assembly  140  or a part of the wand assembly  140 . 
     Further, since the wand assembly  140  in this embodiment is rotated under the condition that the wand assembly  140  is supported by the main body  120 , and thus is fixed to the main body  120 , the wand assembly  140  can be fixed to the main body  120  under the condition that the tool  143  is mounted on the wand assembly  140 . Thus, the upright type cleaner in this embodiment saves a user&#39;s trouble of attaching and detaching the tool  143  to and from the subsidiary suction device  130  whenever the user wants to use the subsidiary suction device  130 . 
       FIGS. 5A to 5D  are perspective views respectively illustrating fixing structures of subsidiary suction devices in accordance with modified embodiments of the present invention,  FIG. 6  is a perspective view illustrating the external appearance of an upright type cleaner in accordance with another modified embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 7  is a perspective view illustrating the external appearance of an upright type cleaner in accordance with a further modified embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, some parts in these embodiments, which are substantially the same as those in the earlier embodiment, are denoted by the same reference numerals even though they are depicted in the different drawings, and a detailed description thereof will thus be omitted because it is considered to be unnecessary. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5A , the upper portions of rotary grooves  261  of a rotating unit  260  in this embodiment are opened, and a locking hook  271  of a locking unit  270  restricts a wand assembly  240  downwardly. Specifically, the locking hook  271  includes lever parts  273  elastically supported by a main body  220  such that the a lever part  273  is rotated around a central shaft  274  and provided with hooks  272  at one end thereof, and a road part  275  rotatably connected to the other end of the lever part  273 . Non-described reference numeral  276  represents a torsion spring to elastically support the lever part  273  to the main body  220 . 
     Thereby, when the wand assembly  240  is rotated in one direction under the condition that rotary shafts  262  of the wand assembly  240  are inserted into the rotary grooves  261  of the main body  220 , the lever part  273  of the locking hook  271  is rotated in one direction and then is returned to its original position, and simultaneously, the wand assembly  240  is locked with the main body  220 . 
     Further, as shown in  FIG. 5B , a rotating unit  360  includes a bending part  361  provided on a wand assembly  340 , and a rotary groove  362 , into which the bending part  361  of the wand assembly  340  is inserted such that the wand assembly  340  is rotatable, provided on a main body  320 . In this embodiment, a locking unit  370  restricts the upward movement of the wand assembly  340 , and thus the relative moment of the wand assembly  340  in the locked state against the main body  320  is restricted. 
     Further, as shown in  FIG. 5C , rotary grooves  461  may be formed in a curved shape, and the shape of the rotary grooves  462  is not limited. 
     Further, as shown in  FIG. 5D , rotary shafts  561  may be formed on a main body  520 , and rotary grooves  562  may be formed on a wand assembly  540 . The rotary shafts  561  may be formed on the upper portion of the main body  520 . 
     An upright type cleaner in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in  FIG. 6 , further includes a housing  644  provided with a suction port  645 , a rotary brush  646  accommodated in the housing  644  and rotated, a driving motor  647  to drive the rotary brush  646 , a power supply unit  648  to supply power to electric components including the driving motor  647 , a first connection part  649  provided at one side of the housing  644  and electrically connected to the power supply unit  648 , and a second connection part  650  provided on a main body  620  and electrically connected to the first connection part  649  of an electric tool  643  when a wand assembly  640  is locked with the main body  620 . 
     Thereby, when the wand assembly  640  is locked with the main body  620 , the power supply unit  648  is charged with power supplied from the main body  620 , and thus it is possible to omit or reduce an electric wire provided in a subsidiary suction device  630 . Further, the breaking-down of the wire generated during the use of the subsidiary suction device  630  is prevented. 
     Further, the upright type cleaner in this embodiment further includes a wireless control unit  660  provided on a handle  641  of the wand assembly  640  to control the electric tool  643  by wireless. A user can control the electric components of the subsidiary suction device  630  through the wireless control unit  660 . Of course, the wireless control unit  660  may be disposed on other portions of the cleaner, such as the main body  620 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 7 , a wand assembly  740  may be fixed to the rear portion of a main body  720 . 
     Here, a rotating unit may be located below a locking unit, and a wand assembly may be rotated in one direction under the condition that the lower portion of the wand assembly is rotatably supported by the main body, and thus the upper portion of the wand assembly may be locked with the main body. That is, the lower portion of the wand assembly may be rotatably supported by the main body, and the upper portion of the wand assembly may be locked with the main body. In this case, since it is easy recognize the rotating unit formed on the rear surface of the cleaner, the mounting convenience of the wand assembly on the main body is enhanced. 
     The above modified embodiments are exemplary, it is apparent that the upright type cleaner of the present invention may be variously modified. 
     For example, a locking hook may be provided on the wand assembly and a fastening part may be provided on the main body. Further, although the embodiments of the present invention describe that the locking hook is elastically supported, the fastening part may be elastically supported. 
     As apparent from the above description, in an upright type cleaner in accordance with the present invention, the mounting convenience and reliability of a subsidiary suction device is improved. 
     Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.