Vacuum cleaner having an ion generator

• US 20030140444A1
• Filed: 12/26/2002
• Published: 07/31/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamaguchi, Seiji, Kondo, Yasushi, Kitamura, Hidenori, Uratani, Hiroyuki, Taniguchi, Yoshihiro, Shibuya, Masaki, Yoshida, Ryohei, Soejima, Masakuni, Fujita, Kouichi, Kajikawa, Saburo, Ishikawa, Haruka
• Granted Patent: US 7,174,593 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 15/327.2
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 7/04 for using the exhaust air for other purposes, e.g. for distribution of chemicals in a room, for sterilisation of the air spraying or atomising in general B05
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/0411 driven by electric motor
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/0488 Combinations or arrangements of several tools, e.g. edge cleaning tools
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/06 with fixed, e.g. adjustably fixed brushes or the like
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/0613 with means specially adapted for picking up threads, hair or the like, e.g. brushes, combs, lint pickers or bristles pads

Abstract

A vacuum cleaner includes an electric blower for generating a suction air flow, a suction head in communication with the electric blower for drawing in dirt, a filter bag communication with the electric blower for capturing and collecting dirt, an exhaust unit for discharging exhaust air from the electric blower to atmosphere, and an ion generator for generating negative ions and/or positive ions. The ion generator is placed between the suction head and the filter bag.

Claims

1. A vacuum cleaner comprising:

an electric blower for generating a suction air flow;

a suction head in communication with the electric blower for drawing in dirt; and

an ion generator for generating negative ions and/or positive ions.

2. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the ion generator is installed at upstream of the air flow of the electric blower.

3. The vacuum cleaner of claim 2, further comprising a dirt collecting means in communication with the electric blower for capturing and collecting dirt, and an exhaust unit for discharging exhaust air from the electric blower to atmosphere, wherein the ion generator is placed between the suction head and the dirt collecting means.

4. The vacuum cleaner of claim 2, further comprising a dirt collecting means in communication with the electric blower for capturing and collecting dirt, and a dirt collection chamber for mounting therein the electric blower, wherein the ion generator is placed in the dirt collection chamber.

5. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the ion generator is disposed at downstream of air flow of the electric blower.

6. The vacuum cleaner of claim 5, further comprising an exhaust unit for making exhaust air flow from the electric blower pass therethrough, wherein the ion generator is disposed at the exhaust unit.

7. The vacuum cleaner of claim 5, further comprising an exhaust unit for making exhaust air flow from the electric blower pass therethrough and an exhaust air filter disposed at an upstream of air flow of the exhaust unit, wherein between the intake side of the electric blower and the exhaust unit is installed another ion generator for generating ions, the ions generated by said another ion generator being discharged to atmosphere together with exhaust air flow from the electric blower via the exhaust air filter.

9. The vacuum cleaner of any one of claim 2, 5 or 8, wherein the ion generator is made of a fabric readily charged with negative electricity and/or positive electricity in a table showing electrification rank, negative and/or positive ions are generated by making the suction air flow and/or the exhaust air flow formed by the electric blower pass through the fabric constituting the ion generator.

10. The vacuum cleaner of any one of claim 2, 5 or 8, wherein the ion generator includes DC high voltage device and one or more acicular electrodes, the acicular electrodes being installed in a suction air passage for making the suction air flow of the electric blower go therethrough.

8. A vacuum cleaner comprising:

an electric blower for generating a suction air flow;

a suction head in communication with the electric blower for drawing in dirt;

a dirt collecting means for capturing and collecting dirt; and

an ion generator placed in the suction head, for generating negative ions and/or positive ions.

11. A suction head for use in a vacuum cleaner comprising:

a dirt sucking chamber provided with a rotary brush, the rotary brush having a plurality of bristle clusters and the bristle clusters being made of a first material to be charged with electricity; and

an ion generator for generating negative ions and/or positive ions, the ion generator being made of a second material to be charged with electricity, the second material having a different electrification rank from that of the first material,

wherein the ion generator is charged with electricity by coming into frictional contact with the bristle clusters of the rotary brush, thereby generating the ions.

12. The suction head of claim 11, wherein the second material is more readily charged with negative electricity than the first material and thus the ion generator is charged with negative electricity by coming into frictional contact with the bristle clusters of the rotary brush, thereby generating the negative ions.

13. The suction head of claim 12, wherein the bristle clusters of the rotary brush are different in thickness and/or length from each other.

14. The suction head of claim 13, wherein the bristle clusters of the rotary brush are made of an identical material.

15. The suction head of claim 11, wherein the ion generator has thickness of about 0.1 mm or greater.

16. The suction head of claim 11, wherein the ion generator is installed on an inside front of the dirt sucking chamber to extend down to a position under a vertical position of the center of rotation of the rotary brush.

17. The suction head of claim 11, wherein the bristle clusters have a length greater by about 0.5 mm than a gap between the rotary brush and the ion generator.

18. The suction head of claim 11, wherein the bristle clusters of the rotary brush are different in thickness and/or length from each other.

19. The suction head of claim 18, wherein the bristle clusters of the rotary brush are made of an identical material.

20. The suction head of claim 11, wherein a first material constituting the bristle clusters of the rotary brush is more readily charged with negative electricity than a second material constituting the ion generator.

21. The suction head of claim 20, wherein the first material is made of polystyrene such as nylon to be readily charged with positive electricity and the second material is made of a thermoplastic resin or vinyl chloride.

22. The suction head of claim 11, wherein the rotary brush further has a holder for holding the bristle clusters, the holder being made of a third material which is ranked between the first and the second material in the electrification rank table.

23. The suction head of claim 11, wherein the rotary brush is rotated by an electric motor, or a suction air flow or an exhaust air flow generated by the electric blower.

29. A vacuum cleaner comprising:

a main body including an electric blower for providing a suction air flow; and

a suction head of any one of claims 11 to 27, the suction head being communicated with the electric blower.

24. A suction head for use in a vacuum cleaner comprising:

a wall part forming one or more opening portions, the opening portions being opened in a downward direction for sucking dust particles; and

a bristle packet positioned on the wall part, the bristle packet including bristle clusters having different electrification ranks, wherein the bristle clusters are rubbed against each other to produce negative ions when the bristle packet is rubbed against a target cleaning surface.

25. The suction head of claim 24, wherein the bristle packet further includes a sheet of a ground fabric where the bristle clusters having different electrification ranks are formed.

28. The suction head of any one of claims 24 to 27, wherein the wall part is of a circular arc shape.

26. A suction head for use in a vacuum cleaner comprising:

a first and a second bristle packet each being positioned in one or more opening portions or at peripheries of the opening portions, the opening portions being opened in a downward direction for sucking dust particles, and the first and the second bristle packet respectively including bristle clusters having different electrification ranks, wherein the first and the second bristle packet rotate to be rubbed against each other to thereby produce negative ions.

27. A suction head for use in a vacuum cleaner comprising:

a plurality of brush-like packets, each being positioned in one or more opening portions or at peripheries of the opening portions, the opening portions being opened in a downward direction for sucking dust particles and the plurality of bristle packets respectively including brushes of certain electrification ranks, wherein the plurality of the bristle packet come into contact with a target cleaning surface and at least one of the bristle packet rotates to be rubbed against another bristle packet having a different electrification rank, so that the other bristle packet produces negative ions.