Patent Publication Number: US-7895707-B2

Title: Height adjusting apparatus of suction body for use in vacuum cleaner

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) of Korean Patent Application No. 2006-0092800, filed on Sep. 25, 2006, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present disclosure relates to an upright vacuum cleaner, and more particularly, to a height adjusting apparatus of a suction body, which can adjust a distance between a surface to be cleaned and a rotary brush installed in the suction body of the upright vacuum cleaner. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Generally, an upright vacuum cleaner is provided with a rotary brush to remove dirt or stains. It is efficient that if a floor is being cleaned, the rotary brush is decreased in height, and if a carpet is being cleaned, the rotary brush is increased in height because it should rotate coming in close or proper contact with the floor or the carpet. Accordingly, the upright vacuum cleaner usually has a height adjusting apparatus capable of adjusting the height of the rotary brush. 
     Two known devices used as the height adjusting apparatus includes a knob type height adjusting apparatus, which has a knob installed on an upper part of a suction body that can be turned by a hand, and a pedal type height adjusting apparatus, which has a pedal projected outside the suction body that can be depressed with a foot. The knob type height adjusting apparatus is inconvenient to use because a user should bend her or his back to turn the knob installed on the upper part of the suction body. Accordingly, in recent, the pedal type height adjusting apparatus is popularly used. 
     However, the pedal type height adjusting apparatus is disadvantageous in that since the pedal is pushed at the rear of the suction body to adjust the height of the rotary brush located in front of the suction body, it has need of a lot of parts, which are operated in combination with a lever having the pedal, thereby being difficult to assemble and increasing the likelihood of problems. For instance, in case of a height adjusting apparatus of a suction body disclosed in Korean patent publication No. 2001-0012060, it requires to assemble a lot of parts together including a lever having a foothold, a spring to elastically support the lever and a spring holder therefor, an intermediate bracket, a rotating force-transmitting unit, a supporting unit having a cam, a contact end to come in contact with the cam. 
     Also, the pedal type height adjusting apparatus is disadvantageous in that when a force applied to the pedal is removed, it is frequent that a cam rotated is inversely rotated again, thereby deteriorating a reliability in height adjustment. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present disclosure has been developed in order to solve the above problems in the related art. Accordingly, an aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a height adjusting apparatus of a suction body, which has a reduced number of parts, which is modularized to simplify a construction, and which is easy to assemble. 
     Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a height adjusting apparatus of a suction body capable of stably maintaining a height once adjusted, so that it is not changed if a pedal is not pushed again, thereby improving a reliability of product. 
     The above aspects are achieved by providing a height adjusting apparatus of a suction body for use in a upright vacuum cleaner capable of adjusting a distance between a rotary brush and a surface to be cleaned, including a lifting unit pivotably disposed to the suction body, and an actuating unit disposed in a modularized state at the rear of the suction body, so that a portion thereof is exposed to the outside from the suction body and lifting or lowering the lifting unit as the portion thereof is repeatedly pushed by a user. Accordingly, since the modularized actuating unit is assembled with the lifting unit, the apparatus can be easily and simply assembled, can simplify a construction and can reduce small problems. 
     Preferably, but not necessarily, the actuating unit includes a lever having a pedal pushable with a foot of the user, a cam wheel rotatably disposed and coming in cam contact with one end of the lifting unit at one side thereof, and a fixing bracket to which the lever and the cam wheel are mounted, and the lever, the cam wheel, and the fixing bracket are firmly assembled to one another to be mountable to and detachable from the suction body as a single body. 
     Also, preferably, but not necessarily, the fixing bracket has a stopper integrally formed therewith, so that the cam wheel is not inversely rotated, but fixed even though an external force is removed from the pedal. Accordingly, even though the external force applied to the lever is removed, the cam wheel cannot be inversely rotated, so that an adjusted height is stably maintained, thereby improving the reliability of product. 
     According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the cam wheel may be configured to be rotated in one direction by a predetermined angle whenever the pedal of the lever exposed to the outside is pushed and then released, so that the lifting member pivots on a rear end thereof to lift or lower a front end thereof and to lift or lower a front part of the suction body. 
     Further, the cam wheel may be configured to have a plurality of hanging projections inclinedly projected in the same directions from a surface thereof coming in contact with the lever and arranged in the same intervals in a circle shape about a center thereof, respectively, and the lever may be configured to be rotatably joined to the fixing bracket along with the cam wheel, so that a center thereof is aligned with the center of the cam wheel, and to have at least one elastic projection formed in a direction corresponding to the inclined direction of the plurality of hanging projections on a surface thereof coming in contact with the cam wheel, so that in a repetitive pivoting motion of the lever, the elastic projection is snappishly and elastically engaged to one of the plurality of hanging projections to rotate the cam wheel only in one direction. 
     Also, the fixing bracket may be configured to include a stopper having a rear end fixed thereto and a front end forming a free end. In this case, the front end of the stopper may be inserted into one of a plurality of hanging grooves formed in the same intervals on a circumferential surface of the cam wheel to prevent the cam wheel from being rotated in a reverse direction, and may be elastically released from the inserted one of the plurality of hanging grooves when the cam wheel is pivoted in one direction. 
     Also, the lever may be configured to include an elastic bar extended downward at the front thereof and having an end tip elastically fixed to the front of the fixing bracket. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
       The above aspects and other advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent by describing an embodiment of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawing figures, in which: 
         FIG. 1A  is a perspective view exemplifying a state, which a height adjusting apparatus of a suction body according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is mounted in a suction body; 
         FIG. 1B  is a perspective view exemplifying a connection relation between a fixing unit and an operating unit of the suction body illustrated in  FIG. 1A ; 
         FIG. 1C  is a perspective view exemplifying a state, which a suction hose connected to the operating unit of the suction body of  FIG. 1A  is seated on the lifting unit; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view exemplifying the height adjusting apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view exemplifying an actuating unit of the height adjusting apparatus of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view of the actuating unit viewed in a direction of arrow A of  FIG. 3 ; and 
         FIGS. 5 and 6  are schematic side elevation views exemplifying states where the operating unit of the suction body is lowered and lifted, respectively. 
     
    
    
     In the drawing figures, it should be understood that like reference numerals refer to like features and structures. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT 
     Hereinafter, a height adjusting apparatus of a suction body according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawing figures. 
     First, the suction body on which the height adjusting apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is mounted is described as follows with reference to the accompanying drawing figures.  FIG. 1A  is a perspective view exemplifying a state, which the height adjusting apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is mounted in the suction body,  FIG. 1B  is a perspective view exemplifying a connection relation between a fixing unit and an operating unit of the suction body illustrated in  FIG. 1A , and  FIG. 1C  is a perspective view exemplifying a state, which a suction hose connected to the operating unit of the suction body of  FIG. 1A  is seated on the lifting unit. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1A through 1C , the suction body  10  includes a fixing unit  11  and an operating unit  13 . The fixing unit  11  is hingedly joined to a cleaner body (not illustrated) and has main wheels  20  connected to both sides thereof. The operating unit  13  has guide pins  13   a  and  13   b  (see  FIG. 1C ) slidably connected to guide tubes  11   a  and  11   b  (see  FIG. 1B ) of the fixing unit  11 , so that it is joined to be ascendable and descendable to the fixing unit  11 . In addition, the operating unit  13  has a rotary brush  30  (see  FIG. 5 ) disposed in a horizontal direction therein. Also, the operating unit  13  has a neck part  13   c  formed at the rear thereof. To the neck part  13   c  is connected a suction hose  40 , which communicates with a connecting tube (not illustrated) to take in dust and/or foreign substance brushed from a surface to be cleaned by the rotary brush  30  into the cleaner body. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view exemplifying the height adjusting apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure,  FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view exemplifying a modularized actuating unit of the height adjusting apparatus of  FIG. 2 , and  FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view of the actuating unit viewed in a direction of arrow A of  FIG. 3 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1A , the height adjusting apparatus of the suction body according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes a lifting unit  100  and an actuating unit  200 , which are mounted in the suction body  10 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the lifting unit  100  is disposed, so that hinge axes  111  and  112  thereof are pivotably joined to a portion of the fixing unit  11  of the suction body  10 . In addition, a pair of idle wheels  115  and  117  is rotatably disposed at a front end of the lifting unit  100  to smoothly move the suction body  10  when they reach the surface to be cleaned along with the pair of main wheels  20  joined to both sides of the fixing unit  11  in a state that the operating unit  13  is lowered (see  FIG. 5 ). Further, when the front of the lifting unit  100  is lifted about the hinge axes  111  and  112  by an actuation of the actuating unit  200  as the suction hose  40  is seated on an seating groove  118 , the lifting unit  100  acts to lift the operating unit  13  connected with the actuating unit  200  to a predetermined height. Also, the lifting unit  100  has an actuating bar  119  formed to come in cam contact with a cam wheel  220  of the actuating unit  200 , so that it can be pivoted about the hinge axes  111  and  112 . The actuating bar  119  is inclinedly extended in a rearward and upward direction of the lifting unit  100 . Also, the actuating bar  119  is disposed, so that it is guided between a first sidewall  219   a  and a first rib  216   a , as illustrated in  FIG. 2 . 
     The actuating unit  200  is formed of three members integrally assembled as a single body with one another. Accordingly, the actuating unit  200  can be installed to or detached from the suction body  10  as a whole by using fixing screws (not illustrated), which are screwed to a pair of boss  210   a  and  210   b  (see  FIG. 3 ). Referring to  FIGS. 2 through 4 , the actuating unit  200  lifts or lowers the lifting unit  100  through a pedal  235  exposed to the outside from the suction body  10 , and includes a fixing bracket  210 , a cam wheel  220 , and a lever  230 . 
     The fixing bracket  210  is provided with a base plate  211 , and a pair of supporting pieces  212   a  and  212   b . The supporting pieces  212   a  and  212   b  are vertically disposed at both sides of the base plate  211  to rotatably support the cam wheel  220  and the lever  230 . In addition, the fixing bracket  210  is provided with first and second sidewalls  219   a  and  219   b  and first and second rib  216   a  and  216   b . The first and second sidewalls  219   a  and  219   b  are formed at one side of the fixing bracket  210  to which the first supporting piece  212   a  is disposed, and the first and second rib  216   a  and  216   b  are formed around the first boss  210   a . Also, the fixing bracket  210  is provided with a projection part  215  having an inserting groove  215   a  extended and formed at the front thereof. An end tip of an elastic bar  233  of the lever  230  is elastically inserted into the inserting groove  215   a  as a little bent. The base plate  211  is provided with a stopper  217 . The stopper  217  has a rear end  217   a  integrally joined to the rear of the base plate  211  and a front end  217   b  extended parallel to the base plate  211  from the rear end  217   a . The front end  217   b  of the stopper  217  is inserted into hanging grooves  221   a  of a wheel unit  221  to firmly fix the cam wheel  220 . 
     The cam wheel  220  is made up of a wheel unit  221  and a cam unit  223 . The wheel unit  221  is provided with first and second axis projections  225  and  227  projected from both sides of a center thereof. The first axis projection  225  is rotatably inserted into and supported in a first joining hole  213   a  of the first supporting piece  212   a , and the second axis projection  227  is rotatably inserted into and supported in a second joining hole  213   b  of the second supporting piece  212   b  through a penetrated hole  232  of the lever  230 . The cam wheel  221  as described above has a plurality of hanging grooves  221   a  formed in the same intervals on a circumferential surface of the wheel unit  221  and engaged with the front end  217   b  of the stopper  217  of the fixing bracket  210  to prevent the cam wheel  220  from being rotated in a reverse direction. Accordingly, reliability deterioration in height adjustment, which is a problem in the conventional height adjusting apparatus, can be improved. Also, the cam unit  223  is projected from one side surface of the wheel unit  221  with surrounding the first axis projection  225  of the wheel unit  221 , but projected less than the first axis projection  225 . The cam unit  223  as described above is formed, so that a width in one direction passing through a center thereof is different from that in a direction approximately vertical to the one direction. For instance, the cam unit  223  is formed in the form of an Arabic numeral 8 as viewed from a side thereof, as illustrated in  FIG. 3 . On a circumferential surface of the cam unit  223  is formed a plurality of recesses  223   a  into or from which an end tip of the actuating bar  119  (see  FIG. 2 ) is inserted or released. Also, the cam unit  223  has a plurality of hanging projections  229  inclinedly projected in the same directions from one surface of the wheel unit  221  coming in contact with the lever  230  and arranged in the same intervals in a circle shape about the second axis projection  227  of the cam wheel  220 . 
     The lever  230  is provided with a center part  231  connected to the second axis projection  227  and rotatably joined to the first and the second supporting pieces  212   a  and  212   b  of the fixing bracket  210  along with the cam wheel  220 . The center part  231  has a pair of elastic projections  231   a  and  231   b  inclinedly formed in a direction corresponding to the inclined direction of the plurality of hanging projections  229  of the cam wheel  220 . In addition, the lever  230  is provided with an elastic bar  233  extended downward at the front of the center part  231 . The elastic bar  233  has an end tip inserted into the inserting groove  215   a  formed in the projecting part  215  of the fixing bracket  210 . In this case, the elastic bar  233  is formed to have a length larger than a length from the center part  231  to the front of the projecting part  215 , so that the end of the elastic bar  233  is inserted into the inserting groove  215   a  with a slight bend, thus to elastically install the lever  230  to the fixing bracket  210 . Accordingly, if a user pushes a pedal  235  extended and formed at the rear of the center part  231  in a clockwise direction and then releases it, the lever  230  is returned in an original position by a restoring force of the elastic bar  233  inserted into the inserting groove  215   a  as described above. That is, since a spring or other separate elastic member is not used, there is an effect in that the number of parts is reduced. At this time, when the lever  230  is rotated in the clockwise direction, the cam wheel  220  is rotated in the same angle as that of the lever because the elastic projections  231   a  and  231   b  and the hanging projection  229  are engaged and rotated with each other, whereas when the lever  230  is returned in the original position, is not returned because the elastic projections  231   a  and  231   b  and the hanging projection  229  are slipped to each other. 
     The height adjusting apparatus of the suction body according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure constructed as described above is configured, so that the actuating unit  200  for lifting and lowering the lifting unit  100  is formed of a single module, that is, the cam wheel  220  and the lever  230  are mounted or detached in a state fixedly joined to the fixing bracket  210 . Accordingly, the height adjusting apparatus is ease to install and can reduce the number of assembling processes, thereby reducing assembling costs. Also, the height adjusting apparatus can not only easily carry out a work, which mounts the modulated actuating unit  200  in a narrow space in the fixing unit  11 , but also can greatly reduce the number of working processes and a working time. 
     Hereinafter, an operation of the height adjusting apparatus of the suction body constructed as described above will now be described in details with reference to the accompanying drawing figures. 
     In the height adjusting apparatus of the suction body, if the operating unit  13  is in a state where to clean a surface to be cleaned, it is lowered to allow the rotary brush  30  to come in contact with the surface to be cleaned, the pair of idle wheels  115  and  117  joined to the lifting unit  100  reaches the surface to be cleaned along with the main wheel  20  thus to smoothly move the suction body, as illustrated in  FIG. 5 . 
     On the other hand, in case of cleaning a carpet or the like, the rotary brush  30  should be moved away from the surface to be cleaned. In this case, when a user repeatedly carries out an operation of pushing the pedal  235  with her or his foot and then releasing it, the operating unit  13  of the suction body  10  is lifted. The lifting operation of the operating unit  13  is carried out as follows. 
     When the user pushes the pedal  235  with her or his foot, the center part  231  (see  FIG. 3 ) of the lever  230  is rotated in a clockwise direction by a predetermined angle, so that the cam wheel  220  is rotated in the clockwise direction in the same angle as that of the lever  230  by the pair of elastic projections  231   a  and  231   b  engaged with two hanging projections  229  out of the plurality of hanging projections  229  (see  FIG. 4 ). At this time, the front end  217   b  of the stopper  217  (see  FIG. 4 ) of the cam wheel  220  is inserted into the hanging groove  221   a  of the cam wheel  220  to prevent the cam wheel  220  from being rotated in a reverse direction (a counterclockwise direction). That is, the stopper  217 , the cam wheel  220  and the lever  230  carry out an operation as that of a one way clutch in combination with one another. Meanwhile, when the cam wheel  220  is rotated in the predetermined angle, the end tip of the actuating bar  119  coming in cam contact with the cam unit  223  is pushed and thus the lifting unit  100  is pivoted in the clockwise direction by a predetermined angle about the hinge axes  111  and  112 . According to this, the front of the lifting unit  100  is lifted to ascend the suction hose  40  (see  FIG. 1C ) seated on the lifting unit  100  to a predetermined height, and in combination with this, the operating unit  13  connected with the suction hose  40  is lifted to the predetermined height. 
     After that, when the user releases the pedal  235 , the lever  230  is rotated in the counterclockwise direction by an elastic force generated by the elastic bar  233  (see  FIG. 3 ) in the clockwise rotation thereof. At this time, the pair of elastic projections  231   a  and  231   b  of the lever  230  releases a snap coupling to the two hanging projections  229  out of the plurality of hanging projections  229  of cam wheel  220 , which is restricted from being rotated in the counterclockwise direction, and is snappishly engaged to the next hanging projections  229  adjacent to the released two hanging projections  229  in the counterclockwise direction. 
     Thus, if the user repeatedly pushes and then releases the pedal  235 , the actuating bar  119 , which comes in contact with the cam unit  233 , is operated to lift the operating unit  13  of the suction body  10  in the lowered state (see  FIG. 5 ) to a maximum height (see  FIG. 6 ). And if the user pushes and then releases the pedal  235  in succession again, the actuating bar  119  is operated to return the rotary brush  30  in a state where it comes in contact with the surface to be cleaned. 
     As apparent from the foregoing description, according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure constructed as described above, the height adjusting apparatus of the suction body is configured, so that the actuating unit for lifting and lowering the lifting unit is not only fixedly assembled as a single body and thus mounted or detached as a whole, but also has no need of the separate elastic member, such as the spring, for returning the lever. Accordingly, the height adjusting apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure can reduce the number of parts and facilitate assembling processes. 
     Further, the height adjusting apparatus of the suction body according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure has a construction to prevent the cam wheel from being inversely rotated. Accordingly, the height adjusting apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure can accurately adjust the height of the suction body, and ensure a liability of product. 
     Also, the height adjusting apparatus of the suction body according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure can manage the actuating unit in terms of a single part, thereby being convenient to keep and handle the parts including the actuating unit. 
     The foregoing embodiment and advantages are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the present disclosure. The description of the present disclosure is intended to be illustrative, and not to limit the scope of the claims. Many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. In the claims, means-plus-function clauses are intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function and not only structural equivalents but also equivalent structures.