CLEANER HEAD

Abstract

The present invention relates to a cleaner head including: a housing having an air outlet formed on the rear side thereof; a brush disposed exposedly from the underside of the housing in such a manner as to be extended in a longitudinal direction thereof and having both longitudinal ends rotatable to the housing by means of bearing modules; a driving motor built in the housing to rotate the brush through a power transmission mechanism; one side frame and the other side frame disposed on both longitudinal ends of the housing respectively; and a brush detachable module disposed on one side frame to detachably mount the bearing module disposed on one end of the brush in a lateral direction of the brush, whereby the brush can be easily mounted on the housing and one side frame, and further, the brush can be prevented from escaping by itself from the housing and one side frame while being used.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a cleaner head, and more particularly, to a cleaner head that is configured to allow a brush to be detachably mounted thereon by means of a brush detachable module.

BACKGROUND ART

Generally, a vacuum cleaner includes a body having a fan motor disposed at the inside thereof to generate a suction force, an extension tube at one end connected to a suction port of the body, and a suction head disposed on the free end of the extension tube to suck foreign matters like dust through the suction force of the fan motor.

Recently, a vacuum cleaner, which is configured to have a brush rotatably protruding from the underside of the suction head and a driving motor for driving the brush, has been popularly introduced.

Further, a cleaner head, which is provided with two brushes having different characteristics disposed side by side in front and rear directions to provide a double brush structure, has been proposed, thereby enhancing agitation effects of foreign matters.

In case of the conventional cleaner head, however, a structure for installing the brush therein is weak to cause the brush from escaping from the cleaner head while being used.

According to the conventional cleaner head, furthermore, it is inconvenient to install the brush in a housing of the cleaner head, thereby undesirably increasing time required to couple the brush to the housing.

DISCLOSURE

Technical Problem

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a cleaner head that is capable of preventing a brush from escaping therefrom while being used and easily detachably mounting the brush thereon.

Technical Solution

To accomplish the above-mentioned object, according to the present invention, there is provided a cleaner head including: a housing having an air outlet formed on the rear side thereof; a brush disposed exposedly from the underside of the housing in such a manner as to be extended in a longitudinal direction thereof and having both longitudinal ends rotatable to the housing by means of bearing modules; a driving motor built in the housing to rotate the brush through a power transmission mechanism; one side frame and the other side frame disposed on both longitudinal ends of the housing respectively; and a brush detachable module disposed on one side frame to detachably mount the bearing module disposed on one end of the brush in a lateral direction of the brush.

According to the present invention, desirably, the bearing module, which is disposed on one end of the brush, includes: a rotating shaft fixed axially to a center of a section of the brush; a bearing disposed along the periphery of the rotating shaft; and a bearing holder disposed along the periphery of the bearing.

According to the present invention, desirably, the brush detachable module includes: a latch member disposed freely rotatable on one side frame in such a manner as to allow the bearing holder to be freely detachable therefrom in a lateral direction thereof; a handle member disposed on the opposite side to the latch member, while placing one side frame therebetween, and coupled to the latch member in such a manner where the latch member is not relatively rotated in a circumferential direction of the rotating shaft; and a stopper member connected between the latch member and the handle member to restrict escape of the handle member from the latch member in the direction of the rotating shaft.

According to the present invention, desirably, one end of the latch member is inserted into a through hole formed on one side frame, and the latch member has an access groove formed on the other end thereof to fit the bearing holder thereto in the lateral direction thereof.

According to the present invention, desirably, the handle member is disposed on the opposite side to the latch member, while the through hole is being placed between the handle member and the latch member, in such a manner as to be coupled linearly movable to one end of the latch member in the direction of the rotating shaft, and between the latch member or one side frame and the handle member, a compression spring is disposed to apply an elastic force so that the handle member is pushed against the latch member.

According to the present invention, desirably, the handle member has a locking groove formed on a portion of the periphery thereof, and one side frame has a locking protrusion protruding therefrom in such a manner as to be lockable onto the locking groove.

According to the present invention, desirably, the latch member has a connection tube extended therefrom in a longitudinal direction of the rotating shaft in such a manner as to be inserted to the through hole of one side frame, and the handle member has a guide groove formed on the surface facing the latch member along the shape corresponding to the connection tube in such a manner as to allow the connection tube to be movably inserted thereinto.

According to the present invention, desirably, the latch member has a plurality of locking pieces spaced apart from each other along the peripheral surface of the connection tube in such a manner as to be locked onto the periphery of the through hole of one side frame after elastically contacting to and passing through the through hole.

According to the present invention, desirably, the guide groove has a fastening protrusion extended from the bottom thereof in the longitudinal direction of the rotating shaft, the fastening protrusion having a screw groove formed at a center of the section thereof, the connection tube has a fastening hole formed on the bottom thereof to allow the fastening protrusion to pass therethrough, and the stopper member is formed of a fastening screw fastened to the screw groove of the fastening protrusion after passing through the fastening hole in such a manner as to have a head contacted onto the periphery of the fastening hole so that the stopper member is limited in movement.

According to the present invention, desirably, one side frame has a latch member installation groove formed thereon in such a manner as to accommodate the latch member therein, a first guide portion formed along the inner periphery of the latch member installation groove, and a first threshold part and a second threshold part formed on both ends of the first guide portion in a circumferential direction of the first guide portion, and the latch member has a second guide portion formed along the outer periphery thereof along the shape corresponding to the first guide portion and a third threshold part and a fourth threshold part formed on both circumferential ends of the second guide portion in such a manner as to be locked correspondingly onto the first threshold part and the second threshold part.

According to the present invention, desirably, the latch member has a limit plate disposed on the end portion of the second guide portion in the longitudinal direction of the rotating shaft so as to cover at least a portion of the side end portion of the first guide portion.

According to the present invention, desirably, one side frame has a handle member installation groove formed thereon to accommodate the handle member therein, the handle member has a protruding ring protruding outward along the circumferential direction on an end portion facing toward the bottom of the handle member installation groove, the protrusion ring having the locking groove formed on a portion thereof, and one side frame has a locking protrusion protruding therefrom in such a manner as to be locked onto the locking groove of the protrusion ring.

Advantageous Effects

According to the present invention, the cleaner head is configured to have the brush detachable module disposed on one side frame to detachably mount the bearing module disposed on one end of the brush in a lateral direction of the brush, so that the brush can be easily mounted on the housing and one side frame, and further, the brush can be prevented from escaping by itself from the housing and one side frame while being used.

In addition, the cleaner head according to the present invention is configured to allow the latch member to be coupled to one side frame in one-touch manner by means of a simple operation in which the latch member is pushed and to allow the handle member to be easily coupled to the latch member by means of the stopper member, so that the coupling operations can be more easily performed.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a cleaner head according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the cleaner head according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an outer front side of a brush detachable module of the cleaner head according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an outer rear side of the brush detachable module of the cleaner head according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the inner side of the brush detachable module of the cleaner head according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing the outer rear side of the brush detachable module of the cleaner head according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing an inner front side of the brush detachable module of the cleaner head according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the brush detachable module of the cleaner head according to the present invention, wherein one side frame is omitted.

FIGS. 9a and 9b are perspective views showing operations of the brush detachable module of the cleaner head according to the present invention, wherein FIG. 9a shows the operation at the time when the brush is mounted and FIG. 9b shows the operation at the time when the brush is separated.

MODE FOR INVENTION

Hereinafter, an explanation on a cleaner head according to the present invention will be in detail given with reference to the attached drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a cleaner head 1000 according to the present invention includes: a front brush 700 and a rear brush 800 disposed side by side on front and rear sides thereof respectively and extended in longitudinal directions thereof; a front housing 100 adapted to allow the front brush 700 to be rotatably disposed thereon in such a manner as to expose the front brush 700 from the underside thereof; and a rear housing 200 adapted to allow the rear brush 800 to be rotatably disposed thereon in such a manner as to expose the rear brush 800 from the underside thereof and having an air outlet 210 formed on the rear side thereof; and driving motors 500 built in the rear housing 200 to rotate the front brush 700 and the rear brush 800 through a power transmission mechanism 600.

The front brush 700 and the rear brush 800 are rotatably mounted on the front housing 100 and the rear housing 200 by means of bearing modules respectively.

Especially, the front housing 100 has one side frame 300 and the other side frame 400 disposed on both ends thereof in a longitudinal direction thereof respectively.

A brush detachable module 900 is disposed on one side frame 300 to detachably mount a bearing module 310 disposed on one end of the front brush 700 in a lateral direction of the front brush 700.

Under the above configuration, the front brush 700 is easily mounted on the front housing 100 and one side frame 300, and while being operated, further, the front brush 700 is prevented from escaping by itself from the front housing 100 and one side frame 300.

In detail, the bearing module 310, which is disposed on one end of the front brush 700, includes a rotating shaft 311 fixed axially to a center of a section of the front brush 700, a bearing 312 disposed along the periphery of the rotating shaft 311, and a bearing holder 313 disposed along the periphery of the bearing 312.

That is, the rotating shaft 311 is freely rotatable with respect to the bearing holder 313 by means of the bearing 312.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 8, the brush detachable module 900 includes: a latch member 910 disposed freely rotatable on one side frame 300 in such a manner as to allow the bearing holder 313 to be freely detachable therefrom in a lateral direction thereof; a handle member 920 disposed on the opposite side to the latch member 910, while placing one side frame 300 therebetween, and coupled to the latch member 910 in such a manner where the latch member 910 is not relatively rotated in a circumferential direction of the rotating shaft 311; and a stopper member 930 connected between the latch member 910 and the handle member 920 to restrict escape of the handle member 920 from the latch member 910 in the direction of the rotating shaft 311.

As the handle member 920 reciprocatingly rotates, accordingly, the latch member 910, which is coupled to the handle member 920 in such a manner as to be not relatively rotated in the circumferential direction of the rotating shaft 311, reciprocatingly rotates together with the handle member 920, so that the latch member 910 serves to open and close one side frame 300 to allow the bearing holder 313 to be selectively mounted and separated on/from one side frame 300.

Particularly, one end of the latch member 910 is inserted into a through hole 301 formed on one side frame 300, and the latch member 910 has an access groove 911 formed on the other end thereof to fit the bearing holder 313 thereto in the lateral direction thereof. Accordingly, the handle member 920 is coupled to one end of the latch member 910, and the bearing holder 313 is fitted to the other end of the latch member 910 through the access groove 911 in such a manner as to be not rotated relative to the latch member 910.

Further, the handle member 920 is disposed on the opposite side to the latch member 910, while the through hole 301 is being placed between the handle member 920 and the latch member 910, and is thus coupled linearly movable to one end of the latch member 910 in the direction of the rotating shaft 311. Desirably, a compression spring 940 is disposed between the latch member 910 or one side frame 300 and the handle member 920 to apply an elastic force so that the handle member 920 is pushed against the latch member 910.

Through the compression spring 940, the latch member 910 and the handle member 920 generate pushing forces against each other, and in a state where the bearing holder 313 connected to the front brush 700 is mounted onto the latch member 910, the handle member 920 is locked on the surrounding structure like one side frame 300. As a result, the bearing holder 313 can be prevented from being separated by itself from one side frame 300 through the rotation of the latch member 910 by itself with respect to one side frame 300.

Especially, the handle member 920 has a locking groove 921 formed on a portion of the periphery thereof, and one side frame 300 has a locking protrusion 950 protruding therefrom in such a manner as to be lockable onto the locking groove 921, so that if the bearing holder 313 rotates in a direction in which the access groove 911 of the latch member 910 is closed in the state where the bearing holder 313 is mounted onto the latch member 910, the locking protrusion 950 is locked onto the locking groove 921 to prevent the latch member 910 from rotating, thereby avoiding the separation of the bearing holder 313 by itself from the latch member 910.

Now, an explanation on the respective components of the brush detachable module 900 will be in detail given.

First, the latch member 910 has a connection tube 912 extended therefrom in a longitudinal direction of the rotating shaft 311 in such a manner as to be inserted to the through hole 301 of one side frame 300, and the handle member 920 has a guide groove 922 formed on the surface facing the latch member 910 along the shape corresponding to the connection tube 912 in such a manner as to allow the connection tube 912 to be movably inserted thereinto.

That is, the connection tube 912 of the latch member 910 is inserted into the guide groove 922 of the handle member 920 and is thus linearly movable along the longitudinal direction of the rotating shaft 311.

In this case, the connection tube 912 and the guide groove 922 have the complementary shapes corresponding to each other, but desirably, they do not have any circular shape, so that they are not rotated relative to each other.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the latch member 910 has a plurality of locking pieces 913 spaced apart from each other along the peripheral surface of the connection tube 912 in such a manner as to be locked onto the periphery of the through hole 301 of one side frame 300 after elastically contacting to and passing through the through hole 310.

To do this, the locking pieces 913 may be made by an incision and protrudes from the peripheral surface of the connection tube 912 to apply elastic forces in a radial direction of the connection tube 912.

As the latch member 910 is simply pushed, accordingly, the locking pieces 913 elastically slide over the through hole 301 of one side frame 300, and then, they are contacted onto the through hole 301, thereby making it possible to prevent the locking pieces 913 from escaping by themselves from the through hole 301 in an opposite direction to the locked direction.

Further, the handle member 920 has a fastening protrusion 923 extended from the bottom of the guide groove 922 in the longitudinal direction of the rotating shaft 311 and a screw groove 923a formed at a center of a section of the fastening protrusion 923, and the latch member 910 has a fastening hole 912a formed on the bottom of the connection tube 912 to allow the fastening protrusion 923 to pass therethrough.

The stopper member 930 is formed of a fastening screw that is fastened to the screw groove 923a of the fastening protrusion 923 after passing through the fastening hole 912a in such a manner as to have a head 931 contacted onto the periphery of the fastening hole 912a to prevent the escape of the handle member 920 from the latch member 910.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, one end of the compression spring 940 is accommodated in a hollow interior of the connection tube 912 of the latch member 910 and is then seated on the bottom of the connection tube 912, and the other end of the compression spring 940 is accommodated in the guide groove 922 of the handle member 920 and is then supported against the bottom of the guide groove 922, so that the compression spring 940 applies an elastic force so that the handle member 920 is pulled against the latch member 910 supported on one side frame 300.

That is, the compression spring 940 applies the force so that the handle member 920 and the latch member 910 are always pushed against each other.

Alternatively, the compression spring 940 may be disposed between one side frame 300 and the handle member 920.

On the other hand, one side frame 300 has a latch member installation groove 320 formed thereon in such a manner as to accommodate the latch member 910 therein, a first guide portion 321 formed along the inner periphery of the latch member installation groove 320, and a first threshold part 321a and a second threshold part 321b formed on both ends of the first guide portion 321 in a circumferential direction of the first guide portion 321.

Further, the latch member 910 has a second guide portion 914 formed along the outer periphery thereof along the shape corresponding to the first guide portion 321 and a third threshold part 914a and a fourth threshold part 914b formed on both ends of the second guide portion 914 in a circumferential direction of the second guide portion 914 in such a manner as to be locked correspondingly onto the first threshold part 321a and the second threshold part 321b.

If the handle member 920 rotates, accordingly, the latch member 910 rotates together with the handle member 920, but if the access groove 911 of the latch member 910 corresponds to an open groove 302 formed on the side periphery of the latch member installation groove 320 and completely communicates with the latch member installation groove 320, the first threshold part 321a and the third threshold part 914a are locked on each other to prevent the latch member 910 from rotating further, so that the bearing holder 313 is easily mounted on the latch member 910 through the open groove 302 and the access groove 911.

Contrarily, the handle member 920 rotates in the opposite direction to the above-mentioned rotating direction, and accordingly, the access groove 911 of the latch member 910 does not communicate with the latch member installation groove 320, so that if the latch member installation groove 320 is closed by means of the latch member 910, the second threshold part 321b and the fourth threshold part 914b are locked on each other to prevent the latch member 910 from rotating further.

Further, the latch member 910 has a limit plate 916 disposed on the end portion of the second guide portion 914 in the longitudinal direction of the rotating shaft 311 so as to cover at least a portion of the side end portion of the first guide portion 321, and accordingly, the latch member 910 and one side frame 310 can be more stably coupled to each other.

On the other hand, one side frame 300 has a handle member installation groove 330 formed thereon to accommodate the handle member 920 therein, and the handle member 920 has a protruding ring 925 protruding outward along the circumferential direction on an end portion facing toward the bottom of the handle member installation groove 330. Further, the locking groove 921 is formed on a portion of the protrusion ring 925, and one side frame 300 has a locking protrusion 950 protruding therefrom in such a manner as to be locked onto the locking groove 921 of the protrusion ring 925.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, as mentioned above, the cleaner head 1000 is provided with the front brush 700 and the rear brush 800, but since the cleaner head of the present invention relates to the configuration in which the brush is mounted and separated, of course, the present invention may be applied to a cleaner head having only one brush.

Hereinafter, an explanation on an operation of the cleaner head according to the present invention will be given with reference to the attached drawings.

First, an operation of mounting the front brush 700 on one side frame 300 of the front housing 100 will be explained.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the bearing module 310 disposed on one end of the front brush 700 includes the rotating shaft 311 fixed axially to the center of the section of the front brush 700, the bearing 312 disposed along the periphery of the rotating shaft 311, and the bearing holder 313 disposed along the periphery of the bearing 312.

First, the access groove 911 of the latch member 910 of the brush detachable module 900 communicates with the open groove 302 of one side frame 300, so that it is exposed to the side surface of the latch member 910.

In this state, the bearing holder 313 disposed on one side frame 300 is fitted to the access groove 911 after passing through the open groove 302.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9a, the handle member 920 continuously rotates to allow the access groove 911 of the latch member 910 to be misaligned with the open groove 302, so that the access groove 911 is closed by means of one side frame 300.

At this time, the handle member 920 moves away from one side frame 300 by means of the elastic force of the compression spring 940, and accordingly, the locking groove 921 formed on the periphery of the handle member 920 is locked onto the locking protrusion 950 of one side frame 300.

Accordingly, it is prevented that the handle member 920 reversely rotates by itself to make the front brush 700 decoupled from one side frame 300.

So as to separate the front brush 700 from the front housing 100 and one side frame 300, next, the handle member 920 is first pressed to release the locking state of the locking groove 921 onto the locking protrusion 950 of one side frame 300.

In this state, the handle member 920 continuously rotates to allow the access groove 911 of the latch member 910 to communicate with the open groove 302 (See FIG. 9b).

Lastly, the bearing holder 313 is drawn from the open groove 302 after passing through the access groove 911, so that the front brush 700 is separated from one side frame 300 and the front housing 100.

While the present invention has been described with reference to the particular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted by the embodiments but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciated that those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

Claims

1. A cleaner head comprising:

a housing having an air outlet formed on the rear side thereof;

a brush disposed exposedly from the underside of the housing in such a manner as to be extended in a longitudinal direction thereof and having both longitudinal ends rotatable to the housing by means of bearing modules;

a driving motor built in the housing to rotate the brush through a power transmission mechanism;

one side frame and the other side frame disposed on both longitudinal ends of the housing respectively; and

a brush detachable module disposed on one side frame to detachably mount the bearing module disposed on one end of the brush in a lateral direction of the brush.

2. The cleaner head according to claim 1, wherein the bearing module, which is disposed on one end of the brush, comprises:

a rotating shaft fixed axially to a center of a section of the brush;

a bearing disposed along the periphery of the rotating shaft; and

a bearing holder disposed along the periphery of the bearing.

3. The cleaner head according to claim 2, wherein the brush detachable module comprises:

a latch member disposed freely rotatable on one side frame in such a manner as to allow the bearing holder to be freely detachable therefrom in a lateral direction thereof;

a handle member disposed on the opposite side to the latch member, while placing one side frame therebetween, and coupled to the latch member in such a manner where the latch member is not relatively rotated in a circumferential direction of the rotating shaft; and

a stopper member connected between the latch member and the handle member to restrict escape of the handle member from the latch member in the direction of the rotating shaft.

4. The cleaner head according to claim 3, wherein one end of the latch member is inserted into a through hole formed on one side frame, and the latch member has an access groove formed on the other end thereof to fit the bearing holder thereto in the lateral direction thereof.

5. The cleaner head according to claim 4, wherein the handle member is disposed on the opposite side to the latch member, while the through hole is being placed between the handle member and the latch member, in such a manner as to be coupled linearly movable to one end of the latch member in the direction of the rotating shaft, and between the latch member or one side frame and the handle member, a compression spring is disposed to apply an elastic force so that the handle member is pushed against the latch member.

6. The cleaner head according to claim 5, wherein the handle member has a locking groove formed on a portion of the periphery thereof, and one side frame has a locking protrusion protruding therefrom in such a manner as to be lockable onto the locking groove.

7. The cleaner head according to claims 3, wherein the latch member has a connection tube extended therefrom in a longitudinal direction of the rotating shaft in such a manner as to be inserted to the through hole of one side frame, and the handle member has a guide groove formed on the surface facing the latch member along the shape corresponding to the connection tube in such a manner as to allow the connection tube to be movably inserted thereinto.

8. The cleaner head according to claim 7, wherein the latch member has a plurality of locking pieces spaced apart from each other along the peripheral surface of the connection tube in such a manner as to be locked onto the periphery of the through hole of one side frame after elastically contacting to and passing through the through hole.

9. The cleaner head according to claim 7, wherein the guide groove has a fastening protrusion extended from the bottom thereof in the longitudinal direction of the rotating shaft, the fastening protrusion having a screw groove formed at a center of the section thereof, the connection tube has a fastening hole formed on the bottom thereof to allow the fastening protrusion to pass therethrough, and the stopper member is formed of a fastening screw fastened to the screw groove of the fastening protrusion after passing through the fastening hole in such a manner as to have a head contacted onto the periphery of the fastening hole so that the stopper member is limited in movement.

10. The cleaner head according to claims 3, wherein one side frame has a latch member installation groove formed thereon in such a manner as to accommodate the latch member therein, a first guide portion formed along the inner periphery of the latch member installation groove, and a first threshold part and a second threshold part formed on both ends of the first guide portion in a circumferential direction of the first guide portion, and the latch member has a second guide portion formed along the outer periphery thereof along the shape corresponding to the first guide portion and a third threshold part and a fourth threshold part formed on both circumferential ends of the second guide portion in such a manner as to be contacted correspondingly onto the first threshold part and the second threshold part.

11. The cleaner head according to claim 10, wherein the latch member has a limit plate disposed on the end portion of the second guide portion in the longitudinal direction of the rotating shaft so as to cover at least a portion of the side end portion of the first guide portion.

12. The cleaner head according to claim 3, wherein one side frame has a handle member installation groove formed thereon to accommodate the handle member therein, the handle member has a protruding ring protruding outward along the circumferential direction on an end portion facing toward the bottom of the handle member installation groove, the protrusion ring having the locking groove formed on a portion thereof, and one side frame has a locking protrusion protruding therefrom in such a manner as to be locked onto the locking groove of the protrusion ring.