Self-propelled vacuum cleaner

• US 9,687,127 B2
• Filed: 07/22/2014
• Issued: 06/27/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Oka, Yasuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, DUNG V
• Application Number:
  US14/916,005
• Publication Number:
  US 20160198913A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,071 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/00 Robotic cleaning machines, i.e. with automatic control of the travelling movement or the cleaning operation
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 5/22 with rotary fans
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/122 flat
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/1409 Rigid filtering receptacles dust collecting receptacles for cyclones A47L9/1683
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/28 Installation of the electric equipment, e.g. adaptation or attachment to the suction cleaner; Controlling suction cleaners by electric means

Abstract

Provided is a self-propelled vacuum cleaner comprising: a housing that has an net formed on a lower surface and an exhaust port formed at one of left and right sides at a rear part and that can be self-propelled; and a dust-catching part provided between the inlet and the exhaust port through a ventilation path, wherein the dust-catching part includes a dust box disposed at the side of the net and an electrically powered fan disposed at the side of the exhaust port, the dust box and the electrically powered fan being configured to be separable.

Claims

1. A self-propelled vacuum cleaner comprising:

a self-propellable housing including an inlet on a lower surface and an exhaust port at one of a left side and a right side at a rear portion; and

a dust-catching portion between the inlet and the exhaust port through a ventilation path, wherein

the dust-catching portion includes a dust box at an inlet side and an electrically powered fan at an exhaust-port side,

the dust box and the electrically powered fan are configured so as to be separable,

the electrically powered fan is in the housing, and the dust box is detachably mounted to the rear portion of the housing in the dust-catching portion,

the housing includes a rear opening into which the dust box is fitted, an upstream ventilation path that allows the inlet and the rear opening to communicate with each other, a downstream ventilation path that allows the exhaust port and the rear opening to communicate with each other, a first packing provided around a first connection opening of the upstream ventilation path at the rear-opening side, and a second packing provided around a second connection opening of the downstream ventilation path at the rear-opening side,

the electrically powered fan is in the downstream ventilation path,

the dust box includes an inflow opening connectable to the first connection opening through the first packing, a discharge opening connectable to the second connection opening through the second packing, a filter between the inflow opening and the discharge opening, and a dust-catching chamber between the inflow opening and the filter, and

the filter is supported in the dust box in a tilting manner such that an end of the filter at the discharge-opening side becomes lower than the discharge opening and the end opposite to the discharge opening becomes higher than the discharge opening.

2. The self-propelled vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein

the housing includes a tilt side surface tilting in the horizontal direction toward a front side at the portion where the second packing is provided, and

the dust box includes an opposite tilt side surface tilting in the horizontal direction toward a front side at the portion where the discharge opening is defined.

3. The self-propelled vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the dust box includes a dust fall prevention member provided at the inflow opening to prevent dust in the dust box from leaking and falling from the inflow opening.