Vacuum cleaner

• US 7,640,625 B2
• Filed: 10/18/2007
• Issued: 01/05/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samsung Gwangju Electronics Co., Ltd. (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Gwangju Electronics Co., Ltd. (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Lee, Jin-Gon, Cha, Seung-Yong, Oh, Jang-Keun
• Primary Examiner(s): Muller; Bryan R
• Application Number:
  US11/975,182
• Publication Number:
  US 20080263816A1
• Time in Patent Office: 810 Days
• Field of Search: 153/52, 153/54
• US Class Current: 15/352
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/108 Dust compression means
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/1666 with filtering means
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/20 Means for cleaning filters
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/26 Incorporation of winding devices for electric cables devices specially adapted for repeatedly paying-out or re-storing cables B65H75/34; arrangements of electrical cables or lines between relatively-movable parts H02G11/00

Abstract

A vacuum cleaner includes a cyclone dust separating unit which includes a cyclone part to separate dust from a dust-laden air drawn from a surface being cleaned using a centrifugal force, a dust collecting part comprising a dust chamber to accommodate the dust separated at the cyclone part, and a compressing part to compress the dust accommodated in the dust chamber. The compressing part includes a driving part to rotatably drive a driving axis, and a compressing plate driven in a substantially perpendicular direction with respect to the driving axis according to the rotation of the driving axis, and to compress the dust accommodated in the dust chamber. As a result, a vacuum cleaner is provided, which requires a minimum space for the installation of a compressing part to compress dust inside the dust collecting part, and provides maximum compressing force of the compressing part.

Claims

1. A vacuum cleaner, comprising:

a cyclone dust separating unit comprising,

a cyclone part to separate dust from dust-laden air drawn from a surface being cleaned using a centrifugal force,

a dust collecting part comprising a dust chamber to accommodate the dust separated at the cyclone part, and

a compressing part to compress the dust accommodated in the dust chamber, the compressing part comprising,

a screw that is substantially horizontally arranged at the upper part of the dust collecting part, and comprises a first thread formed in one direction and a second thread formed opposite to the first thread with reference to a middle of a length of the screw;

a driving part to rotatably drive the screw, and

a compressing plate driven in a substantially perpendicular direction with respect to the screw according to the rotation of the driving screw, and to compress the dust accommodated in the dust chamber.

2. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the compressing part further comprises:

a connecting part engaged with the screw and the compressing plate, respectively, to transmit rotational force of the screw to the compressing plate.

3. The vacuum cleaner of claim 2, wherein the connecting part comprises:

a first driving slider and a second driving slider engaged with the first thread and the second thread of opposite directions of the screw, respectively, to slide towards or away from each other according to a rotation of the screw;

a first driven slider positioned right below a first driving slider and a second driven slider positioned right below a second driving slider and the first driven slider and the second driven slider are configured to slide along an upper face of the compressing plate;

a first connecting rod hinged with the first driving slider with one end and hinged with the second driven slider with the other end; and

a second connecting rod hinged with the second driving slider with one end, and hinged with the first driven slider with the other end.

4. The vacuum cleaner of claim 3, wherein the first connecting rod and the second connecting rod are hinged with each other at a point crossing each other.

5. The vacuum cleaner of claim 3, wherein a first guide and a second guide are provided on the upper face of the compressing plate to guide sliding movement of the first driven slider and the second driven slider.

6. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the driving part comprises:

a driving motor to generate a rotational force and rotatably drive the screw; and

a rotation force transmitting part to transmit rotational force of the driving motor to the screw.

7. The vacuum cleaner of claim 6, wherein the rotation force transmitting part comprises:

a driving gear rotatably driven by the driving motor; and

a driven gear rotated in mesh with the driving gear, to drive the screw, and wherein

the driven gear comprises a smaller number of teeth than the driving gear.

8. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the cyclone part and the dust collecting part are arranged in adjacent to one another, and each shares one common wall.

9. The vacuum cleaner of claim 8, wherein the wall is open at an upper end to allow dust separated at the cyclone part to flow therethrough into the dust collecting part.

10. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the cyclone dust separating unit further comprises:

a filter member mounted on an outer casing of the cyclone dust separating unit, to filter remaining dust from air being discharged from the cyclone dust separating unit after the dust is separated at the cyclone part.

11. The vacuum cleaner of claim 10, further comprising:

a wire winding unit around which an electric wire is wound, to externally supply power into the vacuum cleaner; and

a filter cleaning unit rotated by a rotation force being provided from the wire winding unit when the electric wire is released from the wire winding unit, to remove dust from the filter member.

12. The vacuum cleaner of claim 11, wherein the wire winding unit comprises:

a winding member of a substantially cylindrical configuration, around which the electric wire is wound; and

a winding gear engaged with an end of the winding member, and rotated along with the winding member, and wherein

the filter cleaning unit comprises,

a cleaning screw comprising a cleaning rib in a substantially spiral configuration to remove dust from the filter member in contact with an outer circumference of the filter member, and

a cleaning gear engaged with one end of the cleaning screw and rotated in mesh with the winding gear, to rotatably drive the cleaning gear.

13. The vacuum cleaner of claim 12, wherein the cyclone dust separating unit further comprises a smaller dust chamber to accommodate the dust removed from the filter member by the cleaning screw.