Vacuum cleaner having wet cleaning function

• US 20060288517A1
• Filed: 12/23/2005
• Published: 12/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Gwangju Electronics Co., Ltd. (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Gwangju Electronics Co., Ltd. (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Oh, Jang-keun, Lim, Soon-tack
• Application Number:
  US11/317,279
• Publication Number:
  US 20060288517A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 15/320
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/30 by suction
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/34 Machines for treating carpets in position by liquid, foam, or vapour, e.g. by steam
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4041 Roll shaped surface treating tools
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4044 Vacuuming or pick-up tools; Squeegees
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/405 Machines using UV-lamps, IR-lamps, ultrasound or plasma cleaning
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4088 Supply pumps; Spraying devices; Supply conduits
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4094 Accessories to be used in combination with conventional vacuum-cleaning devices
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 5/225 Convertible suction cleaners, i.e. convertible between different types thereof, e.g. from upright suction cleaners to sledge-type suction cleaners
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 7/0009 with means mounted on the nozzle; nozzles specially adapted for the recovery of liquid
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/04 with driven brushes or agitators

Abstract

A vacuum cleaner with a wet cleaning function comprises a main body, a brush assembly having a contaminant suction port facing a cleaning surface, a brush of the contaminant suction port to rotate in contact with the cleaning surface, and a water exhaust nozzle, the contaminants suction port is fluidly communicated with the main body, and a front and a rear block parts formed at a front and a rear of the brush on a bottom surface of the brush assembly to selectively open or block a contaminant suction path by a friction force against the cleaning surface.

Claims

1. A vacuum cleaner with a wet cleaning function, comprising:

a main body;

a brush assembly having a contaminant suction port, a brush, and a water exhaust nozzle, the contaminant suction port facing a cleaning surface and defining a contaminate suction path, the brush rotating in contact with the cleaning surface, the contaminant suction port being in fluid communication with the main body; and

a front and a rear block parts formed at a front and a rear of the brush assembly on a bottom surface of the brush assembly to selectively open or block the contaminant suction path by a friction force against the cleaning surface.

2. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein as one of the front block part and the rear block part opens the contaminant suction path, the other blocks the contaminant suction path.

3. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 2, wherein the front block part opens the contaminant suction path as the brush assembly moves forward.

4. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the front block part rotates a certain degree by a friction force against the cleaning surface to selectively open or block the contaminant suction path according to the rotated degree.

5. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 4, wherein the front block part comprises:

a block board taking on a configuration of plate to block the contaminant suction path of the front of the brush assembly;

a rotation axis formed at opposite ends of the block board and rotatably attached to the brush assembly; and

a rotation protrusion provided in a sector form at a side of the block board and of which an arc portion is extended from a leading end of the block board so that as the arc portion contacts the cleaning surface, the leading end of the block board distances from the cleaning surface.

6. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 4, wherein the rear block part comprises:

a head part fixed in a rear block part receiving groove of the brush assembly; and

a rear block board having a plane surface and a protrusion surface with a consecutive plurality of protrusions of a regular interval, a part of each leading end of the plane surface or the protrusion surface is selectively pressed against the cleaning surface according to a movement direction of the brush assembly.

7. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein brush assembly further comprises:

an air pump for exhausting water including air via the water exhaust nozzle.

8. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 7, further comprising:

a mode switch formed in the main body to select one of a general cleaning and a wet cleaning, and

a pump switch selectively operating the air pump to exhaust water via the water exhaust nozzle as the mode switch is selected to the wet cleaning.

9. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the water exhaust nozzle comprises one or more water exhaust nozzles on the front of the brush assembly.

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

a ultraviolet ray lamp provided at a rear of the rear block part on the bottom surface of the brush assembly to sterilize the cleaning surface.

11. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 10, wherein the ultraviolet ray lamp has a cover made of synthetic resinous fluorine-containing polymers.

12. A vacuum cleaner with a wet cleaning function, comprising:

a main body;

a brush assembly having a contaminant suction port facing a cleaning surface, a brush rotating in contact with the cleaning surface, and a water exhaust nozzle, the contaminant suction port being in fluid communication with the main body; and

a front and a rear block parts formed at a front and a rear of the brush assembly on a bottom surface of the brush assembly to selectively open or block a contaminant suction path by a friction force against the cleaning surface;

wherein, as the brush assembly moves forward, the front block part opens the contaminant suction path and the rear block part blocks the contaminant suction path.

13. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 12, wherein the front block part comprises:

a block board taking on a configuration of a plate to block the contaminant suction path at the front of the brush assembly;

a rotation axis formed at both ends of the block board and rotatably attached to the brush assembly; and

a rotation protrusion provided in a form of a sector at a side of the block board and of which an arc portion is extended from a leading end of the block board so that as the arc portion contacts the cleaning surface the leading end of the block board distances from the cleaning surface.

14. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 12, wherein the rear block part comprises:

a head part fixed in a rear block part receiving groove of the brush assembly;

a rear block board having a plane front surface and a rear protrusion surface with a consecutive plurality of protrusions of a regular interval, a part of each leading end of the plane front surface or the rear protrusion surface is selectively pressed against the cleaning surface according to a movement direction of the brush assembly.

15. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 12, wherein brush assembly further comprises:

an air pump for exhausting water including air via the water exhaust nozzle.

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

a mode switch formed in the main body to select one of a general cleaning and a wet cleaning, and

a pump switch selectively operating the air pump to exhaust water via the water exhaust nozzle as the mode switch is selected to the wet cleaning.

17. A vacuum cleaner with a wet cleaning function, comprising:

a contaminant suction port facing a cleaning surface to define a contaminant suction path;

a rotating brush in contact with the cleaning surface;

a front block part formed at a front of the rotating brush; and

a rear block part formed at a rear of the rotating brush, the front block part opening the contaminant suction path and the rear block part blocking the contaminant suction path as the vacuum cleaner moves in a first direction, the front block part blocking the contaminant suction path and the rear block part opening the contaminant suction path as the vacuum cleaner moves in a second direction.

18. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 17, wherein the front block part comprises a block board and a rotation protrusion extended from a leading end of the block board so that as the vacuum cleaner moves in the first direction the leading end of the block board distances from the cleaning surface.

19. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 18, wherein the rear block part comprises a rear block board having a plane surface and a protrusion surface, the rear block board bending as the vacuum cleaner moves in the first direction so that the plane surface is pressed against the cleaning surface and bending as the vacuum cleaner moves in the second direction so that the protrusion surface is pressed against the cleaning surface.

20. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 17, wherein the front and rear block parts selectively open or block the contaminant suction path by a friction force against the cleaning surface.