Suction brush storage unit of vacuum cleaner

Abstract

A suction brush storage unit of a vacuum cleaner has a pivotable hook which engages the suction brush with the cleaner body, and which does not suffer breakage by unexpected external impact due to resilient deformability of the pivotable hook within a predetermined angle of movement. The suction brush storage unit of a vacuum cleaner includes a cleaner body having a suction brush engaging hole; a hook holder formed on the suction brush; a pivotable hook formed on the hook holder for engagement with the suction brush engaging hole, for securing the suction brush in place; and a resilient member for resiliently supporting the hook holder and the suction brush engaging hole and for inhibiting further rotational movement beyond the predetermined angle.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a vacuum cleaner, and more particularly, to a suction brush storage unit facilitating maintenance of the vacuum cleaner, in which a suction brush is stowed in engagement with the vacuum cleaner.

2. Description of the Background Art

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a vacuum cleaner mainly includes a suction brush 10 having a protruding hook 11 disposed at a predetermined position. The suction brush 10 is configured and arranged to draw in air, in which dust has been entrained, from a surface to be cleaned, by a suction force. An extension pipe 20 is attached to the brush 10 to guide the dust-laden air as it is drawn through the suction brush 10, and a cleaner body 30 having a dust bag (not shown) is attached to the other end of the extension pipe 20 to collect dust that is separated from the drawn in air in a dust collector (not shown) and a motor (not shown) is used to generate suction force. Both the dust collector and the motor are located inside the cleaner body 30. A hook opening 31 is formed on the underside of the cleaner body 30, as shown, or in a side wall thereof (not shown).

The extension pipe 20 includes first and second extension pipe sections 22 and 24 being adjustable in length through a telescopic connection therebetween, the pipe sections 22 and 24 being able to guide the air drawn in through the suction brush 10. A handle 26, which is attached to the extension pipe section 24, has a power switch on the upper side for selective manipulation of power to an on or off position, as desired, and a wind switch, also disposed on the upper side of the handle 26, for adjustment of the degree of winding. A flexible hose 28 is flexible, bendable and expandable, is disposed between the handle 26 and the cleaner body 30, to guide the air and dust discharged through the handle 26. The protruding hook 11 and the hook opening 31 have shapes that correspond with each other for easier engagement.

When an operator or user applies power to the cleaner body 30 by turning on the power switch on the handle 26 of the conventional vacuum cleaner as described above, the motor inside the cleaner body 30 commences to rotate at high speed, thereby generating a strong suction force. Accordingly, air and entrained dust is drawn in from the surface being cleaned into the cleaner body 30 by the suction force, then flows through the suction brush 10 and the extension pipe 20 and is directed toward the interior of the cleaner body 30, and more specifically, is directed to the dust collector bag of the cleaner body 30, where the dust is separated from the air and is collected.

When the vacuum cleaner is not in use, the operator usually keeps the vacuum cleaner body 30 in a vertical orientation, as shown in FIG. 1, so that the user may engage the protruding hook 11 in the hook opening 31 formed in the underside of the cleaner body 30. Accordingly, the suction brush 10 is securely connected to the cleaner body 30 and the vacuum cleaner may be stowed with the extension pipe 20 and the flexible hose 28 in an upright position.

However, the protruding hook 11 shown in the detail view of FIG. 2, and especially a neck 12 of the protruding hook 11, is prone to breakage by inadvertent application of external force during storage, for example when the vacuum cleaner collapses through carelessness of the operator during stowage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been developed in order to solve the above drawbacks and other problems associated with the arrangement in conventional vacuum cleaners. An aspect of the present invention provides an improved suction brush storage unit for a vacuum cleaner, which is robust so as to withstand external impact.

The above aspects and/or other features of the present invention can be substantially achieved by providing a suction brush storage unit of a vacuum cleaner, comprising: a cleaner body comprising a suction brush engaging hole; a hook holder formed on the suction brush; a pivotable hook formed on the hook holder for engagement with the suction brush engaging hole, for securing the suction brush in place; and a resilient member for resiliently supporting and biasing the hook holder to a desired position for engagement with the suction brush engaging hole.

The pivotable hook is disposed either on the suction brush or on the extension pipe such that it is capable of pivoting when an external force is exerted. Accordingly, by the external force acting upon the pivotable hook, which is engaged with the suction brush engaging hole of the cleaner body, the pivotable hook pivots about the engagement. The pivotable hook includes a resilient member to return the pivotable hook to a desired initial position when the external force is no longer exerted by action of the resilient member.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the hook holder comprises hook holder arms extended to cover both opposite sides of the pivotable hook, respectively; hinge projections respectively extended from the inner side of the hook holder arms towards the pivotable hook; a rotation restricting member for restraining the rotational movement of the pivotable hook; and a resilient member seating hole formed in the rotation restricting member to receive a first end of the resilient member.

The pivotable hook comprises a body; a hinge hole formed in the body to correspond with the hinge projections; a resilient member supporting hole formed approximately in the center of the body for receiving a second end of the resilient member; and a stopper projection extended from the upper side of the body such that, with the movement of the pivotable hook is restricted from pivoting beyond a predetermined degree by contact of the pivotable hook with the stopper.

The resilient member preferably comprises a torsion spring.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

The above aspects and features of the present invention will be made more apparent by the description of certain embodiments of the present invention, having reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a conventional vacuum cleaner in the stowed position having a conventional suction brush storage unit;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged detail view of a protruding hook formed on the conventional suction brush shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a suction brush storage unit according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the structure of a suction brush storage unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Certain preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the following description, the same drawing reference numerals are used for indicating similar elements in the different drawing figures. The matters defined in the description, such as the detailed construction and elements thereof, are only provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of the invention. Thus, it is apparent that the present invention can be carried out without reliance on some of those defined matters or by equivalents of the structures that may perform the described functions. Also, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail so as to avoid obscuring the invention in description of such unnecessary detail.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a suction brush storage unit 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Briefly put, the suction brush storage unit 100 of the vacuum cleaner hooks the suction brush 10 (FIG. 1) to the cleaner body 30 so that the vacuum cleaner can be stowed in place with the extension pipe 20 and the flexible hose 28 in an upright orientation when not in use, as described above.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, a connector C is provided for connection between the suction brush 10 and the extension pipe 20. The connector C comprises a pivotable hook holder 110, to which a pivotable hook 120 is movably engaged. The pivotable hook 120 is hinged to rotate about a pivoting axis of the pivotable hook holder 110 and provides a biasing function by means of an intervening resilient member 130.

As shown in FIG. 3, the pivotable hook holder 110 comprises oppositely disposed holder arms 111 protruding laterally to the longitudinal axis of connector C so as to cover both opposite sides of the pivotable hook 120. A hinge projection 113 disposed in line with the pivoting axis extends from the inner side of each holder arm 111 in a direction towards the pivotable hook 120. A rotation restricting member 115 is formed between the holder arms 113 so as to restrict rotational movement of the pivotable hook 120 beyond a predetermined degree, and a resilient member seating hole 117 is formed in the rotation restricting member 115 for receiving a first end of the resilient member 130, as shown.

The suction brush storage unit 100 will be described with reference to an example in which it is disposed on a certain part of the suction brush 10, more specifically, being formed on the connector C connecting the suction brush 10 and the extension pipe 20. However, a person having ordinary skill will appreciate that the location of the suction brush storage unit 10 can be adequately changed to a different position between the suction brush 10 and the extension pipe 20 other than the one shown, as necessary.

The pivotable hook 120 is configured for fitting with the hook opening 31 of the cleaner body 30 (FIG. 1), and is pivotably disposed on the pivotable hook holder 110 by engagement with the oppositely disposed hinge projections 113. The resilient member 130 is disposed between hook holder 110 and pivotable hook 120 and provides a biasing force tending to keep these elements separated. The resilient member 130 acts to return the pivotable hook 120 to the initial position shown in FIG. 4 so as to recover from a force that rotates the pivotable hook 120, when that force is no longer exerted.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the pivotable hook 120 comprises a pivotable hook body 121, hinge holes 123 formed on the pivotable hook body 121 corresponding to the positions of the hinge projections 113, a resilient member securing hole 125, formed approximately in the center of the pivotable hook body 121, to receive a second end 132 of the resilient member 130, the first end 131 of which is received in the resilient member seating hole 117, and a stopper projection 127 extended from one side of the pivotable hook body 121, so as to restrict rotational movement of the pivotable hook 120 by contact with the rotation restriction member 115 during the pivotal movement of the pivotable hook 120. The resilient member securing hole 125 preferably comprises a separation preventing projection 126 to prevent the end 132 of the resilient member 130 from moving out of the resilient member securing hole 125. The resilient member 130 is disposed about a seating projection 129, which is coaxial with the hinge holes 123.

The stopper projection 127 of the pivotable hook 120 restricts the movement of the pivotable hook 120 by surface contact with the rotation restricting member 115 at the pivotable hook holder 110. Accordingly, the pivotable hook 120 is prevented from pivoting beyond a predetermined degree, and popping the pivotable hook 120 out of the holder 110.

The resilient member 130 comprises a torsion spring, the end 131 of which is inserted in the resilient member seating hole 117 of the rotation restricting member 115, and the second end 132 fits in the resilient member securing hole 125 of the pivotable hook body 121, with the first and the second ends 131, 132 maintained approximately at 90° relative to each other when the spring is in the rest position.

Because the pivotable hook 120 is pivotable about the hinge projections 113 within a predetermined degree, the pivotable hook 120 of the suction brush storage unit 100 does not suffer breakage even when the vacuum cleaner collapses or is overturned during storage from its upright position by external impact or due to carelessness of the operator during stowage.

As described above in the preferred embodiments of the suction brush storage unit of the vacuum cleaner according to the present invention, the pivotable hook 120, which hooks the suction brush to the cleaner body, does not easily suffer breakage by unexpected impact thanks to resilient deformability of the pivotable hook 120 to a predetermined degree.

The foregoing preferred embodiments and advantages are described as merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention. The present teaching can be readily applied to other types of apparatus. Also, the description of the embodiments of the present invention is intended to be illustrative, and not to limit the scope of the claims, and many alternatives, modifications, and variations will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon achieving a complete understanding of the principles of the present invention.

Claims

1. A suction brush storage unit of a vacuum cleaner, comprising:

a cleaner body comprising a suction brush engaging hole;

a hook holder disposed on the suction brush;

a pivotable hook disposed on the hook holder for engagement with the suction brush engaging hole, for securing the suction brush in place; and

a resilient member for resiliently supporting and biasing the hook holder to a desired position for engagement with the suction brush engaging hole,

wherein the pivotable hook pivots on the hook holder when subjected to an external force, and returns to the initial desired position when the external force ceases by action of the resilient member.

2. The suction brush storage unit of claim 1, wherein the hook holder comprises:

hook holder arms extended to cover both opposite sides of the pivotable hook respectively;

hinge projections respectively extended from the inner side of the hook holder arms towards the pivotable hook;

a rotation restricting member for restraining the rotational movement of the pivotable hook; and

a resilient member seating hole formed in the rotation restricting member to receive a first end of the resilient member.

3. The suction brush storage unit of claim 2, wherein the pivotable hook comprises:

a body;

a hinge hole formed in the body corresponding with the hinge projections;

a resilient member supporting hole formed approximately in the center of the body for receiving a second end of the resilient member; and

a stopper projection extended from the upper side of the body such that, rotational movement of the pivotable hook is restricted from pivoting beyond a predetermined degree by contact of the pivotable hook with the stopper projection.

4. The suction brush storage unit of claim 1, wherein the resilient member comprises a torsion spring.