Abstract:
A bendable extension pipe for a vacuum cleaner with a body bent by a button manipulation that forms a sealed fluid passage between a vacuum cleaner body and a suction brush, is disclosed. The bendable extension pipe includes a first extension pipe and a second extension pipe. The first and second extension pipes are rotatably connected. A locking button is elastically disposed on the first extension pipe to restrict rotation of the first and the second extension pipes. A sealing cover prevents the locking button from moving out of joint of the first and second extension pipes and seals the first and the second extension pipes.

Description:
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application claims priority to copending Korean Patent Application No. 2003-72874 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Oct. 20, 2003, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.  
       CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0002]     This application is related to the co-pending application entitled, “Bendable Nozzle For Vacuum Cleaner”, (Korean Application 10-2003-72873, filed Oct. 20, 2003) which disclosure is commonly owned by the same assignee as the present application and is entirely incorporated herein by reference.  
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner, and more particularly, to a bendable extension pipe of a vacuum cleaner which enables the operator of the cleaner to clean the small places underneath furniture such as a bed and a couch with convenience.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004]     Generally, a vacuum cleaner draws in dust from a cleaning surface along with ambient air using a suction force which is generated by a suction motor provided inside a cleaner body. In order to allow drawn in air and dust to pass into the cleaner body, a fluid passage is sealingly formed connecting the cleaner body and the suction brush while contacting on the cleaning surface.  
         [0005]     Various types of fluid passages are available. For example, a canister vacuum cleaner may include a flexible hose connecting the cleaner body with an operation handle, and an extension pipe connecting the operation handle with the suction brush. Generally, the extension pipe is formed in a telescopic manner, or formed from a plurality of assembly pipe parts to enable adjustment in length as necessary.  
         [0006]     In the vacuum cleaner as described above, the extension pipe and the suction brush are usually at a fixed angle and as a result, it is inconvenient for an operator to clean lower places such as places underneath the bed or couch. That is, the operator has to lower his/her body, keep the suction brush in contact with the cleaning surface and turn the extension pipe to clean the underside places. Even with the extension pipe and the suction brush disposed at an adjustable angle, however, there still exists an inconvenience because the operator has to bend his body to put the suction brush underneath the furniture.  
         [0007]     Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     The present invention has been developed in order to solve the above drawbacks and other problems associated with the conventional arrangement. An object of the present invention is to provide a bendable extension pipe for a vacuum cleaner which has an improved structure to enable an operator to perform a cleaning operation without having to bend or lower his/her body, but bending the extension pipe through a simple manipulation of a few buttons.  
         [0009]     The above aspects and/or other features of the present invention can be substantially achieved by providing a bendable extension pipe for a vacuum cleaner with a body bent by a button manipulation, the bendable extension pipe forming a sealed fluid passage between a vacuum cleaner body and a suction brush. The bendable extension pipe includes a first extension pipe, a second extension pipe rotatably connected with the first extension pipe, a locking button elastically disposed on the first extension pipe, to restrict rotation of the first and the second extension pipes, and a sealing cover for preventing the locking button from moving out of joint from the first and second extension pipes and sealing the first and the second extension pipes.  
         [0010]     According to a preferred embodiment, the locking button is formed on a seating protrusion which is protruded from a side of an axis of a rotation of a joint which movably connects the first extension pipe and the second extension pipe. The locking button includes at least one interfering rib protruding along the outer circumference and a restriction projection for restricting the rotation of the first and the second extension pipes. The seating protrusion includes at least one guide projection formed on the outer circumference and a sliding groove formed in the locking button to coincide with the guide projection. With a push and release of the locking button, the sliding groove is guided by the guiding projection to prevent a rotation of the locking button. An elastic member is disposed between the locking button and the seating protrusion. With the push of the locking button, the elastic member exerts a recovery force in the direction of a release from the locking button.  
         [0011]     The second extension pipe includes a slot plate with a sliding slot for a sliding engagement with the seating projection. The sliding slot includes one open end. A locking part is formed in a position corresponding to a restriction projection to selectively lock the restriction projection in accordance with a displacement of the restriction projection in an axial direction. The locking part is separated from the slot plate by a distance equal to, or greater than the thickness of the restriction projection.  
         [0012]     The sealing cover includes a first cover with a button hole corresponding in size with the outer circumference of the locking button, and a second cover engaged with the first cover and sealing connecting parts between the first and the second extension pipes.  
         [0013]     Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the present invention will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the present invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]     The above aspects and other features of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail certain embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead of being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present invention. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout several views.  
         [0015]      FIG. 1  is a drawing of a perspective view of a bendable extension pipe according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0016]      FIG. 2  is a drawing of an exploded perspective view of a bendable extension pipe according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0017]      FIG. 3  is a drawing of a perspective view illustrating a bendable extension pipe according to an embodiment of the present invention before the bending, with a sealing cover being omitted; and  
         [0018]      FIG. 4  is a drawing of a perspective view illustrating a bendable extension pipe according to an embodiment of the present invention after the bending, with a sealing cover omitted. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0019]     Certain embodiments of the present invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.  
         [0020]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating a bendable extension pipe  100  for a vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 1 , the bendable extension pipe  100  includes first and second extension pipes  110 ,  120  which are bendably connected to each other according to a push and release of a locking button  130 . A sealing cover  140  prevents a suction loss of the connecting parts and also prevents the locking button  130  from moving out of joint from the first and second extension pipes in the axial direction.  
         [0021]     Referring to  FIG. 2 , the first extension pipe  110  includes a cylinder joint J 1  which has an opening (not shown) at a side facing the second extension pipe  120 , and approximately at the center of the cylinder joint J 1 , a seating protrusion  111  is formed overlapping with the rotational axis. The locking button  130  is movably disposed on the seating protrusion  111  for the push and release movement, and in one example, the seating protrusion  111  may be inserted in the locking button  130  with the intervention of an elastic member S therebetween. As shown in  FIG. 2 , at least one guide projection  111   a  and sliding groove  130   a  are formed on each of the seating protrusion  111  and the locking button  130  in a complementary manner. Accordingly, when the locking button  130  is pushed or released by the guide projection  111   a  which is engaged in the sliding groove  130   a  in the outer circumference, the locking button  130  is guided such that the locking button  130  turns in association with the turning of the first extension pipe  110  to the same rotational angle.  
         [0022]     An interfering rib  131  is formed on an outer circumference of the locking button  130  to prevent the locking button  130  from moving out in the axial direction, and a restriction projection  132  is formed also on the outer circumference of the locking bottom  130  to restrict the rotational angle of the first and the second extension pipes  110  and  120 . At least one interfering rib  131  with a larger diameter than the locking button  130  may be formed in the circumferential direction as shown in  FIG. 2 , to prevent the locking button  130 , which is exposed outside of the sealing cover  140 , from moving out in the axial direction. In a preferred embodiment, the interfering rib  131  may be arranged symmetrically to be supported evenly on the sealing cover  140  and not to be tilted.  
         [0023]     At least one restriction projection  132  may be formed in a circumferential direction, each on appropriate locations which do not coincide with the interfering rib  131 . The restriction projection  132  may be formed with a smaller height than the interfering rib  131 , and additionally, the restriction projection  132  may be tapered on a predetermined side to require less force of an operator in bending the first and the second extension pipes  110  and  120 .  
         [0024]     The second extension pipe  120  includes a cylinder joint receiving portion J 2 , which has a complementary shape as the cylinder joint J 1  of the first extension pipe  110  for a turnable engagement. The cylinder joint receiving portion J 2  includes a slot plate  121  which has a sliding slot  121   a  for a sliding engagement with the seating projection  111  to a proximity of the center of the second extension pipe  120 , and a locking part  122  which selectively contacts with the restriction projection  132  to restrict a rotation of the first and the second extension pipes  110 ,  120 , respectively.  
         [0025]     The slot plate  121  includes a circular plate. The slot plate  121  has the same diameter as that of the cylinder joint J 1  such that the inner circumference of the cylinder joint receiving portion J 2  meets the outer circumference of the cylinder joint J 1  in a tight contact. The sliding slot  121   a  includes the width that corresponds to the diameter of the seating projection  111  so that the center of the seating projection  111  can coincide with the center part of the slot plate  121 . A closed end of the first extension pipe  110  may have a circular arc as shown in  FIG. 2  to enable the first extension pipe  110  to rotate on the seating projection  111 .  
         [0026]     The locking part  122  restricts the rotation of the first and the second extension pipes  110  and  120  by selectively contacting with the restriction projection  132 . In the preferred embodiment, the locking part  122  may be formed at a predetermined distance from the slot plate  121  and the predetermined distance is larger than the thickness of the restriction projection  132 . When the operator pushes the locking bottom  130 , the restriction projection  132  is displaced in the axial direction, and moved out of contact with the locking part  122  to a position in which the restriction projection  132  can be passed through a space between the locking part  122  and the slot plate  121 .  
         [0027]     The sealing cover  140  prevents a suction loss from occurring between the cylinder joint J 1  and the cylinder joint receiving portion J 2 , and between the first and the second extension pipes  110  and  120 . In the preferred embodiment, the sealing cover  140  may have first and second covers  141 ,  142  to prevent the locking button  130  from moving out in the axial direction. The first cover  141  includes a button hole  141   a  to expose the locking button  130 . The button hole  141   a  includes a size that corresponds to the outer circumference of the locking button  130 . In the preferred embodiment, the button hole  141   a  may have a size equal to, or greater than the outer circumference of the locking button  130 , and smaller than the outer circumference of the locking button  130  with the interfering rib  131 , such that the interfering rib  131  is supposedly on an inner circumference of the first cover  141  to prevent the locking button  130  from moving out in the axial direction.  
         [0028]     The operation of the bendable extension pipe for a vacuum cleaner according to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to  FIGS. 3 and 4 .  
         [0029]      FIG. 3  shows the first and the second extension pipes  110 ,  120  connected to each other at a 0° angle. For the convenience of explanation, the sealing cover  140  has been omitted from  FIG. 3 . In normal operation, i.e., when the vacuum cleaner is cleaning places such as floor, the first and second extension pipes  110 ,  120  are connected at an angle of 0° to each other. In such a state, the restriction projection  132  contacts one end  122   a  of the locking part  122  to prevent the first and second extension pipes  110 ,  120  from bending in the ‘A’ direction of  FIG. 3 , and the interfering rib  131  contacts the other end  122   b  of the locking part  122  to support and prevent the first and second extension pipes  110 ,  120  from bending in the ‘B’ direction of  FIG. 3 .  
         [0030]     When the operator wants to clean places such as underneath a bed or a couch, the operator presses the locking button  130 , and accordingly, the restriction projection  132  is moved out of the locking part  122  to a position in which the restriction projection  132  can be passed through the space between the locking part  122  and the slot plate  121 . When the operator bends the first or the second extension pipes  110  or  120  by pressing on the locking button  130 , the restriction projection  132  contacts the inner circumference of the space defined between the locking part  122  and the slot plate  121  and becomes rotatable.  
         [0031]     In another embodiment of the present invention, the first and the second extension pipes  110  and  120  are bent in relation to each other at an angle of approximately 45°, to which the operator is most comfortable in cleaning the underneath the furniture. When the first and second extension pipes  110 ,  120  are at an angle 0° relative to the center of the locking button  130 , and, if the imaginary line connecting the end  122   a  in contact with the locking part  122  is at an angle of 45° with respect to the first and second extension pipes  110 ,  120 , then an imaginary line connects to the other end  122   b  of the locking part  122  with an interior angle of 45°.  
         [0032]     When the restriction projection  132  rotates by 45°, the tapered inclining end slides along the locking part  122  and urges the locking button  130  toward the release direction in which the recovery force of the elastic member S is exerted. As a result, the locking button  130  returns to the initial state, i.e., to the state before the operator presses the locking button  130  to bend the bendable extension pipe  100 . The operator manipulates the extension pipe  100  in the reverse order to return the first and second extension pipes  110 ,  120  to the angle 0° to perform a normal cleaning operation. Accordingly, as the operator unbends the operation pipe  100  by pressing on the locking button  130 , the recovery force of the elastic member S returns the locking button  130  to the initial position.  
         [0033]     With the bendable extension pipe  100  as described above in a few embodiments of the present invention, operator convenience increases because the operator is not required to bend or lower his/her body to clean underneath furniture such as a bed and couch, but only requires the operator to make a simple button manipulation.  
         [0034]     The foregoing embodiment and advantages are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention. The present teaching can be readily applied to other types of apparatuses. Also, the description of the embodiments of the present invention is intended to be illustrative, and not to limit the scope of the claims, and many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art.