Vacuum cleaner

• US 10,506,905 B2
• Filed: 02/28/2017
• Issued: 12/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Son, Jungkyu, Nam, Bohyun, Park, Jaeyong, Bae, Sehwan, Seo, Jonghyun, Lee, Jinwoo
• Primary Examiner(s): Carlson, Marc
• Application Number:
  US15/445,289
• Publication Number:
  US 20170245705A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,022 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 5/36 Suction cleaners with hose between nozzle and casing; Suction cleaners for fixing on staircases; Suction cleaners for carrying on the back
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/0081 Means for exhaust-air diffusion; Means for sound or vibration damping
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/22 Mountings for motor fan assemblies
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2884 Details of arrangements of batteries or their installation

Abstract

Provided is a vacuum cleaner including a cleaner body; a cover member installed at an upper portion of the cleaner body to be opened and closed and configured to form a part of a front surface and an upper surface of the cleaner body; a suction hose provided at a front surface of the cover member; a hole formed at the front surface of the cover member to be in communication with the suction hose; and an outlet port formed at a rear surface of the cleaner body to be located at a position lower than the hole, wherein air introduced through the hole is discharged to the outlet port via an inside of the cleaner body.

Claims

1. A vacuum cleaner comprising:

a cleaner body;

a dust container that is configured to be detachably coupled at a front surface of the cleaner body and that is inclined with respect to a bottom surface of the cleaner body;

a cover member that is coupled to an upper part of the cleaner body and configured to open and close an upper portion of the dust container, the cover member defining a part of the front surface and an upper surface of the cleaner body, a front portion of the cover member defining a suction hole;

a suction hose that is connected to the cover member and that is in communication with the suction hole; and

a main motor that is located rearward of the dust container, that is located inside the cleaner body, and that is configured to generate a suction force,

wherein the dust container comprises;

a suction port disposed at an upper surface of the dust container, the suction port having a suction opening that faces the suction hole and that is configured to introduce air suctioned via the suction hose to the dust container, and

a discharge port disposed at the upper surface of the dust container, the discharge port having a discharge opening that faces the main motor and that is configured to discharge air inside of the dust container toward the main motor,

wherein the cleaner body defines an outlet port that is disposed at a rear surface of the cleaner body and that is disposed vertically lower than the suction hole, the outlet port being configured to discharge air discharged from the main motor to an outside of the cleaner body, and

wherein the suction hole, the suction port, the discharge port, and the main motor are arranged in order along an extension line that extends from a front side of the cleaner body toward a rear side of the cleaner body to thereby allow air flow from the suction hole to the main motor along the extension line.

2. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1,

wherein the cover member is shaped to accommodate an upper portion of the dust container.

3. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the cover member includes a connector to which the suction hose is configured to detachably connect, the connector being in fluid communication with the suction port defined at an entrance of the dust container.

4. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the dust container includes:

a case configured to receive dust;

a cyclone configured to separate the dust in the case from the air; and

an upper cover coupled to an opened upper surface of the case to shield the cyclone, the upper cover defining the suction port through which the dust passes and the discharge port through which the air separated from the dust is discharged.

5. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, further comprising:

a base frame that defines divided internal spaces within the cleaner body, at least one of the divided internal spaces being configured to accommodate the main motor;

a frame hole that is defined in the base frame and configured to discharge air discharged by the main motor;

a filter unit that faces the frame hole and is configured to filter dust in the air discharged by the main motor; and

a PCB located inside the cleaner body and configured to be cooled by the air that has passed through the filter unit.

6. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 5, further comprising a suction guide that is configured to guide air that has passed through the dust container toward the main motor.

7. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 5, wherein the base frame includes:

a cover plate that divides an inside of the cleaner body into an upper side and a lower side, the main motor being located at an upper surface of the cover plate; and

a pair of side walls that are spaced apart from each other on the upper surface of the cover plate and define a space for accommodating the main motor.

8. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 7, wherein one of the pair of side walls is spaced apart from an outer end of the cover plate, and a sub-PCB that is separated from the PCB, the sub-PCB being positioned at one of the pair of side walls and configured to control a sub-motor that drives an agitator located at one side of the suction hose.

9. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 7, wherein

the pair of side walls include a first side wall and a second side wall,

the main motor is disposed adjacent to the first side wall, and

the frame hole is defined at a bottom surface of the cover plate corresponding to a space between the main motor and the second side wall.

10. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 5, wherein the PCB is located between the discharge port of the dust container that is located at the cleaner body and an outlet port of the cleaner body.

11. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 5, wherein the base frame includes a cover plate that divides an inside of the cleaner body into an upper side and a lower side, the main motor being installed at an upper surface of the cover plate,

wherein the vacuum cleaner further comprises a barrier that extends downward from a lower surface of the cover plate and that divides the inside of the cleaner body to define a space for accommodating the filter unit and a space for accommodating the PCB, and

wherein the base frame defines a barrier hole disposed at the barrier and configured to allow flow of air that has passed through the filter unit toward the PCB.

12. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 11, further comprising a battery unit that is located under the filter unit, wherein the battery unit is cooled by air that has passed through the filter unit and not directed to cooling the PCB.

13. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, further comprising:

a battery unit located inside the cleaner body;

a base frame that defines a divided space in which the main motor and the battery unit are located;

a frame hole defined at the base frame to direct the air discharged from the main motor to the battery unit; and

a filter unit located inside the cleaner body and configured to filter out dust in the air discharged from the main motor.

14. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 13, wherein the cleaner body defines a rear opening at the rear surface of the cleaner body,

wherein the filter unit and battery unit are configured to be withdrawn from the cleaner body through the rear opening of the cleaner body, and

wherein the cleaner body comprises a rear cover that is configured to open and close the rear opening of the cleaner body, the rear cover defining the outlet port.

15. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, further comprising:

a suction guide that is located in the cleaner body and defines a guide hole for guiding air discharged from the discharge port toward the main motor,

wherein the suction hole, the suction port, the discharge port, the guide hole, and the main motor are arranged along the extension line that extends from the front side of the cleaner body toward the rear side of the cleaner body.

16. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 15, wherein the suction hole, the suction port, the discharge port, and the guide hole are positioned in order from an upper side of the cleaner body toward a lower side of the cleaner body.

17. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, further comprising:

a seating part that extends from the cleaner body and that is configured to support a bottom surface of the dust container,

wherein the dust container comprises an exposed portion that is disposed between the cover member and the seating part and that is exposed outside of the cleaner body.

18. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 17, wherein the seating part is inclined with respect to ground.

19. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the suction port and the discharge port protrude from the upper surface of the dust container and are configured to be accommodated in the cover member.

20. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the outlet port is disposed vertically lower than the main motor.