Dust case for sweeper
A dust case is provided for a sweeper that uses a rotary brush to sweep dust particles. The dust case has a casing having a plurality of walls, including a front wall, that together define an interior space, and having an open top and an inlet at a front wall to receive dirt particles. The dust case also includes a cover having a first cover portion for covering the open top of the casing and a second cover portion extending in a forward direction from the first cover portion. A safety bar can be provided extending downwardly from the bottom face of the second cover portion. The dust case can further include a hinge member that connects the cover to the casing in a manner where, when the cover is pivoted so that the first cover portion exposes the interior space, the second cover portion blocks the inlet, and when the cover is pivoted so that the first cover portion covers the interior space, the second cover portion exposes the inlet.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sweeper, and in particular, to a dust case for a sweeper.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional sweeper is disclosed, for example, in Korean Official Gazette for Registration Utility Model 20-0317923. Referring to
The rotary brush 20 is disposed at the side of the suction port 11 of the housing 10 and installed in such a manner that a part of it is exposed outside the housing 10 and contacts the floor surface. Also, the rotary brush 20 is configured to receive a rotational driving force from the drive motor which is provided at one side of the housing 10, via an indirect transmission mechanism 32 (such as a belt, chain, etc.). Here, the drive motor 30 is actuated in response to an On/Off signal from an actuating switch 31 provided on an upper side face of the housing 10.
The container 40 is removably connected to the rear side of the housing 10, and a hook 42 that is opened either upwards or downwards by a push button 41 is preferably formed on a front side of the container 42, the hook 42 being linked into or released (pulled out) from the coupling groove 12 that is formed at the rear side face of the housing 10 to enable the installation/removal of the container 40 at/from the rear side of the housing 10.
Moreover, a predetermined guide groove 15 or guide projection 43 is selectively formed at a region where the housing 10 and the container 40 are interconnected to each other, and an appropriate number of wheels are provided at the lower faces of the housing 10 and container 40. Tilt planes 14 and 44 of a predetermined angle are formed at the lower face of the region where the housing 10 and the container 40 are interconnected to each other to ensure that dirt particles on the floor surface being collected by the rotary brush 20 are completely gathered into the container 40.
According to this configuration of the housing 10 and the container 40 of a conventional sweeper, dirt particles when swept by the rotary brush 20 usually move along the tilt plane 14 and are collected in the container 40, but some dirt particles flow reversely because of the centrifugal force of the rotary brush 20 and may escape again through the suction port 11.
Furthermore, when dirt particles become stuck to the rotary brush 20, the performance of the rotary brush as a broom is degraded, and the sanitary appearance thereof is affected.
Referring now to
Meanwhile, when the conventional sweeper described above is used for cleaning a carpet (e.g., a fur carpet), projections used for attaching the cloth 50x may be caught in furs of the carpet and cause damage to the carpet, meaning that the sweeper is suitable only for cleaning non-carpeted floors.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSUREIt is one objective of the present invention to provide a dust case for a sweeper with markedly improved performance as a broom, by preventing dirt particles being swept by a rotary brush from escaping to the exterior again.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a dust case for a sweeper which prevents the leak of dust that has already been collected, as well as preventing the leak of dust particles via an inlet during cleaning, so that the emptying and discharging of dust particles becomes very convenient, and the surroundings of the body are kept clean.
To accomplish these objectives, the present invention provides a dust case for a sweeper that uses a rotary brush to sweep dust particles. The dust case has a casing having a plurality of walls, including a front wall, that together define an interior space, and having an open top and an inlet at a front wall to receive dirt particles. The dust case also includes a cover having a first cover portion for covering the open top of the casing and a second cover portion extending in a forward direction from the first cover portion.
To prevent dirt particles being swept by a rotary brush from escaping to the exterior again, a safety bar can be provided extending downwardly from the bottom face of the second cover portion. As a further embodiment, a secondary safety bar extends downwardly from the bottom face of the second cover portion at a location that is closer to the front of the second cover portion. With the safety bar protruding downwardly from the bottom face of the second cover portion, dirt particles that would not get into the dust case by the rotation of the rotary brush are restrained from flowing in a reverse direction, thereby improving the sweeping efficiency. In addition, with the secondary safety bar positioned farther to the front than the safety bar, the secondary safety bar serves as a duster for the rotary brush coming in touch therewith to increase the sweeping efficiency and to prevent additional backflow of dirt particles as well.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, the dust case can further include a hinge member that connects the cover to the casing in a manner where, (i) when the cover is pivoted so that the first cover portion exposes the interior space, the second cover portion blocks the inlet, and (ii) when the cover is pivoted so that the first cover portion covers the interior space, the second cover portion exposes the inlet. This arrangement prevents the leak of dust that has already been collected, as well as preventing the leak of dust particles via an inlet during cleaning, so that the emptying and discharging of dust particles can be accomplished more effectively and conveniently.
The following detailed description is of the best presently contemplated modes of carrying out the invention. This description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating general principles of embodiments of the invention. The scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.
As illustrated in
The base assembly 100 includes a body 110, with a sweeping member 140 provided adjacent the front side of the body 110 and a steam generating member 190 adjacent the rear side of the body 110. The body 110 is formed by a lower casing 120 that forms an external figure, and an upper casing 130 that is coupled to the lower casing 120.
Also, as shown in
As illustrated in
Between the suction port 121 and the motor seat 171 is a dust case seat cavity 127 where a dust case 200 is seated. The dust case seat cavity 127 is defined by a stair-shaped bottom 127a, a front face 128 extending downwardly from an edge of the bottom 127a, two opposing lateral faces 127b, and a rear face 127c. The bottom 127a has a front side that is deeper than the lower side. The rear face 127c preferably has a guide groove 127d for guiding a locker 250 (to be described).
In particular, the front face 128 of the dust case seat cavity 127 is preferably formed to have the same slope or angle as a tilt front plate 211 (to be described) of the dust case 200. In other words, the front face 128 constitutes a primary tilt face, with the tilt front plate 211 forming one a parallel secondary tilt face that serves as the entrance of the dust case 200.
A rubber partition plate 115 can be further installed at the suction port 121 at the front face 128 to prevent scratches on the floor, or to function to block the backflow of dust particles.
The steam mounting section 116a of the lower casing 120 has a steam discharge port 129. A steam discharge cover 129a (see
As illustrated in
The lower casing 120 and the upper casing 130 are connected to each other with a latching connection, and in particular, the lower casing 120 has a latching projection 119a at the far front side to engage with a latch 119b at the far front side of the upper casing 130 (see
The sweeping member 140 is composed of a brush 150 and a rotational power transmission member for transmitting rotational power to the brush 150. The brush 150 is composed of a rotational shaft 151 and brushing filaments 153 provided on the rotational shaft 151. Opposite ends of the rotational shaft 151 are rotably supported by the respective holder 152. Each holder 152 is securely held for rotation at the brush holder supports 123a and 123b.
The rotational power transmission member is composed of a motor 160, a pulley 162 provided at one end of the rotational shaft 151, and a belt 166 wound around the pulley 164 that is installed at the rotation axis of the motor 160. The belt 166 is composed of a toothed timing belt, and the pulleys 162 and 164 are preferably toothed pulleys to be engaged with teeth.
The motor 160 is fastened to the lower casing 120 by the motor mount 170. In particular, the motor mount 170 includes a motor seat 171 formed in the lower casing 120 to allow the bottom face of the motor 160 be seated thereon, and a motor support frame 173 fastened to the lower casing 120 to surround and support the top face of the motor 160. With this configuration, the fastening work is made easier and the isolation of noise from the motor 160 can be achieved with the help of the motor seat 171 and motor support frame 173 surrounding the motor 160.
Since force is applied to one side of the motor 160 through the belt 166, a support structure for counterbalancing this force can be provided to improve the endurance of the rotation axes of the motor 160. This can be achieved by providing one fastening structure to the left side of the motor fastening frame 176 and two fastening structures to the right side of the motor fastening frame 176, as illustrated in
Referring to
Referring to
Referring back to
The dust case 200 that is housed in the open cavity 131 and dust case seat cavity 127 includes a casing 210 and a cover 230 for opening/closing the top of the casing 210, as shown in
The cover 230 is preferably composed of a first cover portion 231 for covering the top of the casing 210 and a second cover portion 233 extending in the forward direction from the first cover portion 231. When the dust case 200 is placed in the open cavity 131 as shown in
Because of the locations of the hinge shaft 238 and hinge opening 218, when the cover 230 is moved from a closed state as in
As illustrated in
Moreover, as illustrated in
In addition, the second cover portion 233 preferably has a see-through cover 235 for a user to be able to look at the inside of the casing 210. The see-through cover 235 can be inserted into a part that is protruded downwardly from the first cover portion 231, and a handle bar 236 (which can be grasped with fingers) can be formed at its lateral face.
Moreover, a locker 250 for locking/unlocking the cover 230 into/from the casing 210 can be provided. The locker 250 is composed of a locking projection 251 (see
The steam generation member 190 is composed of a heater 191, a tank 193 in which water comes in contact with the heater 191 to be converted into steam, and a connection tube 195 for delivering steam generated from the tank 193 to the steam discharge port 129 (see
As illustrated in
In conventional applications, a PP plastic resin is normally used for the VELCRO™, but it can be easily deformed by heat after manufacturing by mould. Therefore, in this embodiment, a board 261a with soft pad attachment protrusions 265 as shown in
The attachment/detachment member is composed of a first attachment/detachment portion 2711 formed on the pad tray 260, and a second attachment/detachment portion 271 installed at the lower casing 120. The first attachment/detachment portion 2711 is composed of an attachment/detachment groove 273 formed at the lateral face of a protrusion 272 that extends upwardly from the top face of the pad tray 260. The second attachment/detachment portion is composed of an elastic locking element 277 received by a recess 276 formed in the bottom face of the lower casing 120, and a support element 279 for supporting the elastic locking element 277. The elastic locking element 277 is composed of a bottom sheet 277a placed at the bottom of the recess 276, and an elastic locking piece 277b that can be elastically deformed in a cantilever shape from the bottom sheet 277a. A slot 277a′ is formed at the center of the bottom sheet 277a for receiving a slot projection 277a″ formed at the recess 276. The support element 279 is composed of a support piece 279a (see
As the first and second attachment/detachment portions are placed behind the pad tray 260 and lower casing 120, it is preferable to have a third attachment/detachment portion 274 additionally in front of the pad tray 260 and lower casing 120 (see
The pad tray 260 also has a foot press 267 at a rear side so that the user can step thereon (or use a hand to press) from a standing position.
The present invention can be applied to a reservoir-type steam combined sweeper (in case a steam generating member is installed at the body), to an injection-type steam combined sweeper (in case a steam generating member is installed at the mop-stick), or to a gravity-operated steam combined sweeper (in case a steam generating member is installed at either the body or the mop-stick).
While the description above refers to particular embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereof. The accompanying claims are intended to cover such modifications as would fall within the true scope and spirit of the present invention.
Claims
1. A dust case for a sweeper that uses a rotary brush to sweep dust particles, comprising:
- a casing having a plurality of walls, including a front wall, that together define an interior space, and having an open top and an inlet at a front wall to receive dirt particles; and
- a cover comprising of a first cover portion for covering the open top of the casing and a second cover portion extending in a forward direction from the first cover portion, the second cover portion having a bottom face, with a safety bar extending downwardly from the bottom face of the second cover portion.
2. The dust case of claim 1, wherein a secondary safety bar extends downwardly from the bottom face of the second cover portion at a location that is closer to the front of the second cover portion.
3. The dust case of claim 1, wherein the plurality of walls includes a base plate that has a front portion and rear portion, with the rear portion being stepped vertically higher than the front portion.
4. The dust case of claim 1, further including a hinge member that connects the cover to the casing in a manner where, (i) when the cover is pivoted so that the first cover portion exposes the interior space, the second cover portion blocks the inlet, and (ii) when the cover is pivoted so that the first cover portion covers the interior space, the second cover portion exposes the inlet.
5. A dust case for a sweeper that uses a rotary brush to sweep dust particles, comprising:
- a casing having a plurality of walls, including a front wall, that together define an interior space, and having an open top and an inlet at a front wall to receive dirt particles;
- a cover comprising of a first cover portion for covering the open top of the casing and a second cover portion extending in a forward direction from the first cover portion; and
- a hinge member that connects the cover to the casing in a manner where, (i) when the cover is pivoted so that the first cover portion exposes the interior space, the second cover portion blocks the inlet, and (ii) when the cover is pivoted so that the first cover portion covers the interior space, the second cover portion exposes the inlet.
6. The dust case of claim 5, wherein the plurality of walls includes a base plate that has a front portion and rear portion, with the rear portion being stepped vertically higher than the front portion.
7. A sweeper, comprising:
- a rotary brush to sweep dust particles; and
- a dust cover, comprising: a casing having a plurality of walls, including a front wall, that together define an interior space, and having an open top and an inlet at a front wall to receive dirt particles; and a cover comprising of a first cover portion for covering the open top of the casing and a second cover portion extending in a forward direction from the first cover portion, the second cover portion having a bottom face, with a safety bar extending downwardly from the bottom face of the second cover portion.
8. The sweeper of claim 7, wherein a secondary safety bar extends downwardly from the bottom face of the second cover portion at a location that is closer to the front of the second cover portion.
9. The sweeper of claim 7, wherein the plurality of walls includes a base plate that has a front portion and rear portion, with the rear portion being stepped vertically higher than the front portion.
10. The sweeper of claim 7, further including a hinge member that connects the cover to the casing in a manner where, (i) when the cover is pivoted so that the first cover portion exposes the interior space, the second cover portion blocks the inlet, and (ii) when the cover is pivoted so that the first cover portion covers the interior space, the second cover portion exposes the inlet.
11. A sweeper, comprising:
- a rotary brush to sweep dust particles; and
- a dust case comprising: a casing having a plurality of walls, including a front wall, that together define an interior space, and having an open top and an inlet at a front wall to receive dirt particles; a cover comprising of a first cover portion for covering the open top of the casing and a second cover portion extending in a forward direction from the first cover portion; and a hinge member that connects the cover to the casing in a manner where, (i) when the cover is pivoted so that the first cover portion exposes the interior space, the second cover portion blocks the inlet, and (ii) when the cover is pivoted so that the first cover portion covers the interior space, the second cover portion exposes the inlet.
12. The sweeper of claim 11, wherein the plurality of walls includes a base plate that has a front portion and rear portion, with the rear portion being stepped vertically higher than the front portion.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 16, 2010
Publication Date: May 12, 2011
Inventor: Gyung-hee Haan (Seoul)
Application Number: 12/927,509