WO2010024540A2

WO2010024540A2 - Cyclone dust-collecting apparatus for vacuum cleaner and dust-separating method thereof

Info

Publication number: WO2010024540A2
Application number: PCT/KR2009/004438
Authority: WO
Inventors: Seog-Bong Baek; Jung-Gyun Han
Original assignee: Samsung Gwangju Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2008-09-01
Filing date: 2009-08-10
Publication date: 2010-03-04
Anticipated expiration: 2011-03-01
Also published as: KR101474903B1; WO2010024540A3; KR20100026746A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a cyclone dust-collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner and a dust-separating method thereof. The cyclone dust-collecting apparatus includes a cyclone chamber which comprises an air inlet and an air outlet, a dust-collecting chamber which stores dust separated from air in the cyclone chamber, and a filter unit which is disposed downstream the cyclone chamber and the dust-collecting chamber, wherein at least one wall of the dust-collecting chamber includes at least one door unit which is opened and closed by a pressure of the dust-collecting chamber.

Description

CYCLONE DUST-COLLECTING APPARATUS FOR VACUUM CLEANER AND DUST-SEPARATING METHOD THEREOF

The present invention relates to a cyclone dust-collecting apparatus and a dust-separating method thereof, and more particularly, to a dust-collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner which collects dust which is drawn in from a cleaning surface with air through a suction nozzle using a suction force generated by a suction motor, filters air which is drawn in with dust, and discharges the air out of the vacuum cleaner, and a dust-separating method thereof.

In general, a dust-collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner is divided into an apparatus of a dust-bag type using a dust-bag and an apparatus of a bag less type using a dust receptacle semi-permanently. Most of the cleaners which are recently coming into the market are of a bag less type so that it can use a dust receptacle semi-permanently. The dust-collecting apparatus of the bag less type separates dust, which is drawn in from a cleaning surface with air using a suction nozzle and a vacuum pressure generated at the cleaning surface, from the drawn-in air and collects the dust, while filtering and discharging the air to the outside.

The user should remove the dust-collecting apparatus from a cleaner body to empty it when the dust-collecting apparatus is full of dust. As the size of the dust receptacle is small, the dust receptacle should be emptied more frequently, which causes user's inconvenience.

An object of the present invention is to provide a cyclone dust-collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner, which guides air flowing into a dust-collecting chamber of the cyclone dust-collecting apparatus downstream and compresses dirt collected on the dust-collecting chamber, thereby collecting more dust in the same dust-collecting space, and a dust-separating method thereof.

The above object is achieved by providing a cyclone dust-collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner, including: a cyclone chamber which includes an air inlet and an air outlet; a dust-collecting chamber which stores dust separated from air in the cyclone chamber; and a filter unit which is disposed downstream the cyclone chamber and the dust-collecting chamber, wherein at least one wall of the dust-collecting chamber includes at least one door unit which is opened and closed by a pressure of the dust-collecting chamber.

The cyclone dust-collecting apparatus may further include a partitioning member which separates a main air channel formed between the cyclone chamber and the filter unit from an auxiliary air channel formed between the dust-collecting chamber and the filter unit. In this case, the partitioning member may include at least one rib which protrudes from a housing of the filter unit upwardly.

The cyclone chamber and the dust-collecting chamber may be located in parallel with each other and the filter unit may be disposed under the cyclone chamber and the dust-collecting chamber.

A plurality of the door units may be disposed on a bottom of the dust-collecting chamber. In this case, the door unit may include an elastic member and a door member, and the elastic member may elastically support the door member inward the dust-collecting chamber.

The object of the present invention is also achieved by providing a cyclone dust-collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner, including: a cyclone chamber; a dust-collecting chamber; a first filter which is disposed downstream the cyclone chamber; and a second filter which is disposed downstream the dust-collecting chamber, wherein, if at least part of the first filter is clogged when air flowing into the cyclone chamber passes through the first filter, the air passes through the dust-collecting chamber and is discharged toward the second filter.

The cyclone dust-collecting apparatus may further include a door unit which is disposed on a bottom of the dust-collecting chamber facing the second filter and is opened by a pressure of the dust-collecting chamber. In this case, the door unit may include an elastic member and a door member, and, if the pressure of the dust-collecting chamber increases above a predetermined level, the door unit may be pivoted downwardly and may be opened by the pressure, and if the pressure decreases below the predetermined level, the door unit may be closed by the elastic member.

The cyclone dust-collecting apparatus may further include a partitioning member which separates a main air channel formed between the cyclone chamber and the first filter from an auxiliary air channel formed between the dust-collecting chamber and the second filter.

The object of the present invention is also achieved by providing a dust-separating method of a vacuum cleaner, the method including: if dirt-entrained air is drawn in a cyclone chamber, separating dirt from air using a centrifugal force and collecting the dirt in a dust-collecting chamber; discharging the air from which the dirt has been separated, through an air outlet formed in the cyclone chamber and moving the air toward a motor chamber where a suction motor is disposed through a first filter; opening a door unit disposed on one wall of the cyclone chamber due to a pressure of the cyclone chamber which increases when at least part of the first filter is clogged with dirt; and discharging air drawn in the cyclone chamber toward a second filter through an opened hole of the dust-collecting chamber.

The dust-separating method may further include moving the air from the cyclone chamber to the hole of the dust-collecting chamber and compressing dirt stored in the dust-collecting chamber.

The air in the cyclone chamber may flow from a bottom and rotationally ascends, and the air in the dust-collecting chamber may flow from a top and is discharged toward a lower portion.

The object of the present invention is also achieved by providing a cyclone dust-collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner, including: a cyclone chamber which includes an air inlet and an air outlet; a dust-collecting chamber which stores dirt separated from air in the cyclone chamber; a filter unit which is disposed under the cyclone chamber and the dust-collecting chamber; and an air discharge pipe which protrudes from at least one wall of the dust-collecting chamber and forms at least one discharge outlet.

The air discharge pipe may protrude from a bottom of the dust-collecting chamber. In this case, the discharge outlet may be formed on an upper side of the air discharge pipe. Also, the discharge outlet may include a filter to filter drawn-in air.

According to the present invention described above, if at least part of the filter disposed on the main air channel is clogged, the air is discharged through the auxiliary air channel and dust collected on the dust-collecting chamber is brought into close contact with the bottom of the dust-collecting chamber by the descending air current, so that the dust-collecting space in the dust-collecting chamber is enlarged and thus the amount of dust that can be collected increases. Therefore, it is possible to solve the problem that the user should empty a dust receptacle frequently.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-section view illustrating a cyclone dust-collecting apparatus which is mounted in a cleaner body according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the cyclone dust-collecting apparatus according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a filter unit which is disposed under the dust-collecting apparatus according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross-section view taken long line IV-IV of FIG. 3;

Fig. 5 is a cross-section view illustrating an air discharge hole of a dust-collecting chamber which is opened by a door unit;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the filter unit;

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a cyclone dust-collecting apparatus which is disposed on an upper portion of a filter unit according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a cross-section view taken along line IX-IX of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating one of a pair of air discharge pipes of FIG. 8.

Hereinafter, a cyclone dust-collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner, which is capable of compressing dust and preventing dust from being re-scattered according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention, will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8.

A cyclone dust-collecting apparatus 100 according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a body 110, a cover 119, a cyclone chamber 120, a dust-collecting chamber 130, a door unit 150, and a filter unit 160.

Referring to FIG. 1, the body 110 is removably mounted in a front receiver 11 of a vacuum cleaner body 10 and also is seated on an upper portion of the filter unit 160. Also, the body 110 includes an inlet 111 which is formed at one side of the bottom thereof and communicates with an inflow passage 13 to guide air flowing from a suction nozzle (not shown), and a cylindrical part 113 which is formed inside the body 110 and separates the cyclone chamber 120 from the dust-collecting chamber 130.

Also, the body 110 has a discharge pipe 115 formed inside the cylindrical part 113 and substantially coaxial with the cylindrical part 113. The discharge pipe 115 is formed lower than the cylindrical part 113 such that it discharges air separated from dirt in the cyclone chamber 120 downwardly, i.e., toward a suction motor 17. The discharge pipe 115 has a grill filter 116 disposed at an entrance through which air flows, to filter the air to prevent relatively large dirt from being discharged toward the suction motor 17, and the exit of the discharge pipe 115 communicates with the filter unit 160.

The body 110 has an air guide part 117 formed between the cylindrical part 113 and the discharge pipe 115 in a spiral direction to add a whirling force to the dirt-entrained air which is drawn in the cyclone chamber 120 through the inlet 111.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the cover 119 is removably connected to the upper portion of the body 110 to open and close the cyclone chamber 120 and the dust-collecting chamber 130. The cover 119 has a protrusion part 119a outwardly protruding from the cover 119 further than a circumferential part 119c of the cover 119 to correspond to the height of the cylindrical part 113 which is higher than an upper end 110a of the body 110.

In this case, the protrusion part 119a of the cover 119 has a recess part 119c which is dented inward the cover 119 and a predetermined gap G is formed between the recess part 119c and an upper end 113a of the cylindrical part 113. The gap G is preferably at least 5mm to make it possible to discharge dirt toward the cyclone chamber 120 smoothly. Also, a dirt discharge passage P is formed between the inner circumference of the protrusion part 119a and the outer circumference of the upper end 113a of the cylindrical part 113 to allow dirt to pass therethrough. Such dirt discharge passage P is relatively narrower than that of a conventional cyclone dust-collecting apparatus so that it can smoothly move dust from the cyclone chamber 120 to the dust-collecting chamber 130 and also prevent dirt collected on the dust-collecting chamber 130 from flowing back to the cyclone chamber 120 if the body 110 is inclined in a horizontal direction when the vacuum cleaner body 10 performs cleaning operation or is not in use in an erect state.

Also, the lower end of the circumferential part 119c of the cover 119 is lower than the upper end 113a of the cylindrical part 113 such that the current whirling in the cyclone chamber 120 scarcely affects the dust-collecting chamber 130 and the flow in the dust-collecting chamber 130 is minimized. Therefore, the dirt collected on the dust-collecting chamber 130 is prevented from being re-scattered and also the grill filter 116 is prevented from being clogged with scattered dirt such as hair.

The cyclone chamber 120 separates the dirt which is drawn in through the inlet 111 from air using a centrifugal force, and is disposed in the body 110 in parallel with the dust-collecting chamber 130.

The dust-collecting chamber 130 is disposed outside the cyclone chamber 120, i.e., surrounds the cyclone chamber 120, and the dirt discharged from the cyclone chamber 120 through the dirt discharge passage P is collected on the dust-collecting chamber 130. Also, a pair of

air discharge holes

103a, 103b is formed on the bottom of the dust-collecting chamber 130, and the number of air discharge holes is not limited and at least one is sufficient.

Referring to FIGS. 2 to 5, a pair of the door units 150 is disposed at the pair of

air discharge holes

103a, 103b to open or close the

air discharge holes

103a, 103b according to the pressure inside the dust-collecting chamber 130.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the door unit 150 includes a door member 151 and an elastic member 153. The door member 151 has one side hinged to the body 110 by a hinge pin 152 and has a width corresponding to the

air discharge hole

103a, 103b. The elastic member 153 has one end supported by a fixing protrusion 154 of the door member 151 and the other end supported by a support bracket 155 protruding from a bottom 131 of the dust-collecting chamber 130, such that the elastic member 153 elastically supports the door member 151 inward the dust-collecting chamber 130. In this case, if the pressure in the dust-collecting chamber 130 increases above a predetermined level, the door unit 150 is pivoted downwardly by the pressure, thereby opening the air discharge hole 103a, 103, and if the pressure decreases below the predetermined level, the

air discharge hole

103a, 103b is closed by the elastic member 153.

The filter unit 160 includes a case 161 with an open upper portion and a plurality of

filters

167a, 167b, 167c inserted into the case 161.

As shown in FIG. 6, the case 161 include first and second partitioning

members

163a, 163b to separate a main air channel formed between the cyclone chamber 120 and the filter unit 160 from an auxiliary air channel formed between the dust-collecting chamber 130 and the filter unit 160. The first and the second partitioning

members

163a, 163b upwardly protrude from the bottom of the case 161. The case 161 has a first space 165a formed between the first and the second partitioning

members

163a, 163b and second and

third spaces

165b, 165c formed outside the first and the

second partitioning members

163a, 163b, respectively, and smaller than the first space 165a. The first through the

third spaces

165a, 165b, 165c have a plurality of

air passing holes

166a, 166b, 166c formed on the bottom thereof, respectively, to discharge the air passing through the

filters

167a, 167b, 167c toward the suction motor 17.

The

filters

167a, 167b, 167c include a main filter 167a and a pair of

auxiliary filters

167b, 167c. Each filter has a predetermined thickness. The main filter 167a is inserted into the first space 165a so as to be arranged on the main air channel, and the pair of

auxiliary filters

167a, 167c are inserted into the second and the

third spaces

165b, 165c, respectively, so as to be arranged on the auxiliary air channel. The

filters

167a, 167b, 167c are made of porous material like a general sponge filter and the surface area of the filter may be enlarged by embossing the circumference of the filter.

A process of separating dust from air in the cyclone dust-collecting apparatus for the vacuum cleaner described above according to a first exemplary embodiment of the presetn invention will be explained.

If the vacuum cleaner is turned on, the suction motor 17 is driven and dirt and air are drawn in the vacuum cleaner body 10 from a cleaning surface through the suction nozzle (not shown).

The drawn-in air and dirt flows into the inlet 111 of the body 110 through the inflow passage 13 of a vacuum cleaner body 10 and then moves upward in the cyclone chamber 120 at a predetermined speed while whirling along the spiral air guide part 117.

The dirt is separated from the air by a centrifugal force upside the cyclone chamber 120 and is collected on the dust-collecting chamber 130 through the dirt discharge passage P.

The air separated from the air in the cyclone chamber 120 flows into the air discharge pipe 115 through the grill filter 116, is filtered by the main filter 167a along the main air channel, and then flows into a motor chamber 18 where the suction motor 17 is mounted through a discharge passage 15.

In this case, if at least part of the main filter 167a is clogged with dirt, the pressure in the cyclone chamber 120 increases and the pressure in the dust-collecting chamber 130 relatively decreases.

Consequently, part of air discharged through the air discharge pipe 115 flows into the dust-collecting chamber 130 along with dirt and then descends along the dust-collecting chamber 130 toward the pair of

air discharge holes

103a, 103b.

Next, the door member 151 is pivoted by the discharge pressure of the air such that the pair of

air discharge holes

103a, 103b are opened and the air flowing into the dust-collecting chamber 130 flows into the discharge passage 15 through the pair of

air discharge holes

103a, 103b and the pair of

auxiliary filters

167b, 167c.

According to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention, if at least part of the main filter 167a is clogged, the air is discharged through an auxiliary air channel which is formed by the dust-collecting chamber 130, the pair of

air discharge holes

103a, 103b, and the

auxiliary filters

167b, 167c in sequence, and the dirt collected on the dust-collecting chamber 130 is brought into close contact with the bottom of the dust-collecting chamber 130 by the descending air current. Accordingly, the dirt is collected, being compressed toward the bottom of the dust-collecting chamber 130 and thus takes up less space in the dust-collecting chamber 130. Accordingly, a larger dust-collecting space is guaranteed compared to a conventional dust-collecting chamber and thus the amount of collected dirt increases. Therefore, a problem that a dust receptacle should be frequently emptied can be solved.

Referring to FIGS. 7 to 9, a cyclone dust-collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be explained. The dust-collecting apparatus according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention is the same as that of the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention except for that a pair of air discharge pipes 251 is provided instead of the door unit 150. The same components as those of the first exemplary embodiment are not explained and the air discharge pipes 251 will be mainly explained.

Referring to FIG. 8, a pair of air discharge pipes 251 is formed in the dust-collecting chambers 130 respectively and has lower ends connected to a pair of

air discharge holes

103a, 103b formed on the bottom 131 of the dust-collecting chamber 130.

Referring to FIG. 9, the pair of air discharge pipes 251 has a plurality of discharge outlets 252 formed on the upper portion thereof to guide the air toward the

auxiliary filters

167b, 167c from the dust-collecting chamber 130. The plurality of discharge outlets 252 are located appropriately according to the height H of the air discharge pipe 51.

A mesh net 253 is disposed on the plurality of discharge outlets 252. In stead of the mesh net 253, various types of filters such as nonwoven or sponge may be used.

The cyclone dust-collecting apparatus according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention collects dirt in the same way as the cyclone dust-collecting apparatus of the first exemplary embodiment, except for that the pair of

air discharge holes

103a, 103b are always opened.

Accordingly, if at least part of the main filter 167a is clogged with dirt during cleaning operation as described in the first exemplary embodiment, part of air discharged through the air discharge pipe 115 flows into the dust-collecting chamber 130 along with the dirt, descends along the dust-collecting chamber 130 toward the pair of

air discharge holes

103a, 103b, and then flows into the pair of air discharge pipe 251 through the plurality of mesh nets 253.

According to the second exemplary embodiment described above, if at least part of the main filter 167a is clogged as in the first exemplary embodiment, the air is discharged through the auxiliary air channel and the dirt collected on the dust-collecting chamber 130 is brought into close contact with the bottom of the dust-collecting chamber 130 by the descending air current, such that the dirt is collected, being compressed toward the bottom of the dust-collecting chamber 130. Therefore, a large dust-collecting space can be guaranteed and the amount of dirt that can be collected increases. Therefore, the problem that the dust receptacle should be frequently emptied can be solved.

Claims

A cyclone dust-collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner, comprising:

a cyclone chamber which comprises an air inlet and an air outlet;

a dust-collecting chamber which stores dust separated from air in the cyclone chamber; and

a filter unit which is disposed downstream the cyclone chamber and the dust-collecting chamber,

wherein at least one wall of the dust-collecting chamber comprises at least one door unit which is opened and closed by a pressure of the dust-collecting chamber.
The cyclone dust-collecting apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a partitioning member which separates a main air channel formed between the cyclone chamber and the filter unit from an auxiliary air channel formed between the dust-collecting chamber and the filter unit.
The cyclone dust-collecting apparatus of claim 2, wherein the partitioning member comprises at least one rib which protrudes from a housing of the filter unit upwardly.
The cyclone dust-collecting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cyclone chamber and the dust-collecting chamber are located in parallel with each other and the filter unit is disposed under the cyclone chamber and the dust-collecting chamber.
The cyclone dust-collecting apparatus of claim 1, wherein a plurality of the door units is disposed on a bottom of the dust-collecting chamber.
The cyclone dust-collecting apparatus of claim 5, wherein the door unit comprises an elastic member and a door member, and the elastic member elastically supports the door member inward the dust-collecting chamber.
A cyclone dust-collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner, comprising:

a cyclone chamber;

a dust-collecting chamber;

a first filter which is disposed downstream the cyclone chamber; and

a second filter which is disposed downstream the dust-collecting chamber,

wherein, if at least part of the first filter is clogged when air flowing into the cyclone chamber passes through the first filter, the air passes through the dust-collecting chamber and is discharged toward the second filter.
The cyclone dust-collecting apparatus of claim 7, further comprising a door unit which is disposed on a bottom of the dust-collecting chamber facing the second filter and is opened by a pressure of the dust-collecting chamber.
The cyclone dust-collecting apparatus of claim 8, wherein the door unit comprises an elastic member and a door member,

wherein, if the pressure of the dust-collecting chamber increases above a predetermined level, the door unit is pivoted downwardly and is opened by the pressure, and if the pressure decreases below the predetermined level, the door unit is closed by the elastic member.
The cyclone dust-collecting apparatus of claim 7, further comprising a partitioning member which separates a main air channel formed between the cyclone chamber and the first filter from an auxiliary air channel formed between the dust-collecting chamber and the second filter.
A dust-separating method of a vacuum cleaner, the method comprising:

if dirt-entrained air is drawn in a cyclone chamber, separating dirt from air using a centrifugal force and collecting the dirt in a dust-collecting chamber;

discharging the air from which the dirt has been separated, through an air outlet formed in the cyclone chamber and moving the air toward a motor chamber where a suction motor is disposed through a first filter;

opening a door unit disposed on one wall of the cyclone chamber due to a pressure of the cyclone chamber which increases when at least part of the first filter is clogged with dirt; and

discharging air drawn in the cyclone chamber toward a second filter through an opened hole of the dust-collecting chamber.
The dust-separating method of claim 11, further comprising moving the air from the cyclone chamber to the hole of the dust-collecting chamber and compressing dirt stored in the dust-collecting chamber.
The dust-separating method of claim 11, wherein the air in the cyclone chamber flows from a bottom and rotationally ascends, and the air in the dust-collecting chamber flows from a top and is discharged toward a lower portion.
A cyclone dust-collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner, comprising:

a cyclone chamber which comprises an air inlet and an air outlet;

a dust-collecting chamber which stores dirt separated from air in the cyclone chamber;

a filter unit which is disposed under the cyclone chamber and the dust-collecting chamber; and

an air discharge pipe which protrudes from at least one wall of the dust-collecting chamber and forms at least one discharge outlet.
The cyclone dust-collecting apparatus of claim 14, wherein the air discharge pipe protrudes from a bottom of the dust-collecting chamber.
The cyclone dust-collecting apparatus of claim 15, wherein the discharge outlet is formed on an upper side of the air discharge pipe.
The cyclone dust-collecting apparatus of claim 15 or 16, wherein the discharge outlet comprises a filter to filter drawn-in air.