Upright vacuum cleaner having steering unit

[0001] This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2007-0101077, filed on Oct. 8, 2007, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present disclosure relates to a vacuum cleaner. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to an upright vacuum cleaner which draws in dust-laden air from a surface being cleaned, selectively through a suction port assembly or an extension pipe connected to a cleaner body, using a suction force generated by a motor housed in the cleaner body, and which separates the dust from the drawn air.

[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0005] Vacuum cleaners are generally classified into upright vacuum cleaners and canister vacuum cleaners. An upright vacuum cleaner has a suction port assembly which is directly connected to a cleaner body, without requiring a separate hose of extension pipe, and provides improved cleaning efficiency especially on carpets or upholstery, by using its own weight.

[0006] Unlike the upright vacuum cleaner, a canister vacuum cleaner has a suction port assembly connected to a cleaner body through a host and an extension pipe. The canister vacuum cleaner is easier for a user to manipulate than an upright vacuum cleaner, and therefore, the canister vacuum cleaner is generally used to clean narrow places which are not accessible by an upright vacuum cleaner, such as steps, or niches.

[0007] An upright vacuum cleaner is generally heavy and thus hard for a user to change the direction of a suction port assembly. Furthermore, since the suction port assembly generally moves in a linear direction, a user of an upright vacuum cleaner has to pull the vacuum cleaner towards him first, in order to move the suction port assembly to an intended location.

[0008] An example of a conventional upright vacuum cleaner is described in GB2391459, published on Feb. 11, 2004, by Dyson. The upright vacuum cleaner of GB2391459 includes a suction motor housed in a cleaner body, and a spherical rotatable member to increase maneuverability of the vacuum cleaner.

[0009] However, the conventional upright vacuum cleaner has a very complicated structure, and accordingly suffers deteriorated assemblability. Furthermore, a considerable amount of cost and time is required for repair and maintenance.

[0010] An aspect of the present disclosure is to address at least the above problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the present disclosure is to provide an upright vacuum cleaner having a steering unit to adjust the direction of a suction port assembly conveniently, according to the movement of a center of gravity to the left or right.

[0011] In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, an upright vacuum cleaner includes a cleaner body comprising a suction motor and a dust separating and collecting unit, a suction port assembly rotatably connected to a lower portion of the cleaner body, a handle mounted to the cleaner body, and a steering unit to elastically support the cleaner body so that the center of gravity of the cleaner body shifts to the direction where the cleaner body is rotated, according to the rotation of the cleaner body to the left or right.

[0012] The steering unit may include a connected housing formed on a lower portion of the cleaner body, a first and second supports formed in such a manner that one end of the first support and one end of the second support are rotatably formed on both sides of the connected housing and the other end of the first support and the other end of the second support are rotatably connected to a first and second main wheels, a shaft to connect the one end of the first support and the one end of the second support, and a first elastic member disposed between the first support and one end of the shaft, and a second elastic member disposed between the second support and the other end of the shaft. One of the first and second supports that is closer to a direction where the cleaner body is rotated, is rotated with a winder angle than the other.

[0013] The first and second elastic members are rubber springs.

[0014] A rear portion of the suction port assembly is rotatably connected to the connected housing.

[0015] The handle is arranged at a right angle with respect to a width direction of the suction port assembly.

[0022] Throughout the drawings, the same reference numerals will be understood to refer to the same elements, features, and structures.

[0023] Hereinafter, a vacuum cleaner for use in both an upright form and a canister form according to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawing figures.

[0024] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, an upright vacuum cleaner includes a cleaner body 10, a steering unit 20, a handle 30, and a suction port assembly 40.

[0025] The cleaner body 10 houses therein a suction motor (not shown) as a suction source, and also houses a dust separating and collecting unit (not shown) which has a dust collecting receptacle (not shown) and a dust separating part (not shown).

[0026] The dust separating part (not shown) separates dust from the air drawn by the suction force of a suction motor (not shown) so that the separated dust is collected in the dust collecting receptacle (not shown) disposed therebelow. A cyclone structure may desirably be implemented to separate dust from air by using a centrifugal force. However, this should not be construed as limiting. For example, a dust bag (not shown) may be implemented to filter dust instead of the cyclone structure.

[0027] The steering unit 20 includes a connected housing 21, a first support 23a, a second support 23b, a first main wheel 25a, a second main wheel 25b, a shaft 28, a first elastic member 29a, and a second elastic member 29b.

[0028] The connected housing 21 is fixed to the lower portion of the cleaner body 10, and includes a connection port 21a to which a guiding pipe 41 of a suction port assembly 40 is rotatably inserted.

[0029] One end of the first support 23a and one end of the second support 23b are rotatably connected to both sides of the connected housing. The other end of the first support 23a and the other end of the second support 23b are rotatably connected to the first and second main wheels 25a and 25b, respectively. The first and second supports 23a and 23b are connected with each other by the shaft 28, which passes through the lower portion of the cleaner body.

[0030] The first elastic member 29a may be disposed between the first support 23a and one end of the shaft 28. The second elastic member 29b may be disposed between the second support 23b and the opposite end of the shaft 28. The first and second elastic members 29a and 29b may desirably be implemented as rubber springs. Accordingly, the first and second elastic members 29a and 29b deform between the first and second supports 23a and 23b and the shaft 28 as the center of gravity of the cleaner body 10 moves to the right or left, and return to original form by their recovery forces as the center of the gravity of the cleaner body 10 moves back to the original center position.

[0031] The handle 30 may be connected to the cleaner body 10 through a predetermined length of extension stick 31. The handle 30 may be implemented as a predetermined length of a bar, and may be arranged at a right angle to the width direction of the suction port assembly 40 to enable a user to grab the handle 30 with one hand and move the center of gravity of the cleaner body 10 to the left or right with ease.

[0032] The suction port assembly 40 includes a suction port 43 formed on a lower portion to draw in dust and air from a surface being cleaned. A drum brush 45 may be rotatably disposed within the suction port assembly 43. The guiding pipe 41, which is connected with the suction port 43, extends from a rear side of the suction port assembly 40. A flexible hose (not shown) may desirably be disposed inside the guiding pipe 41 to deliver the dust and air drawn through the guiding pipe 41 towards the dust separating and collecting unit of the cleaner body 10. This prevents the loss of suction force between the guiding pipe 41 and the connection port 21a by the rotation of the cleaner body 10 about the suction port assembly 40. Protection wheels 47a and 47b may be provided in suction port assembly 40.

[0033] The steering operation of the upright vacuum cleaner according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be explained below with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate an example where the user adjusts the upright vacuum cleaner to the right. Herein, the rotating direction of the cleaner body 10 will be explained as the rightward direction from the user, who is positioned behind handle 30.

[0034] Referring to FIG. 4, the user grabs the handle 30 with one hand and rotates it 30 to the right, in order to move the suction port assembly 40 to the right side.

[0035] Accordingly, the cleaner body 10 rotates to the rotating direction of the handle 30, and the center of gravity of the cleaner body 10 is shifted to the right.

[0036] As a result, the weight of the cleaner body 10 is transmitted to the first elastic member 29a via the shaft 28, and the forces are focused on the first elastic member 29a which is positioned at a lower longitude than the first support 23a and the shaft 28. The first support 23a, disposed on the side to which the cleaner body 10 rotates, is rotated to a wider angle than the second support 23b, to maintain approximately parallel relation of the suction port assembly 40 to the surface being cleaned (FIG. 5). The connected housing 21, which is connected with the guiding pipe 41 of the suction port assembly 40, is rotated to the right along with the cleaner body 10.

[0037] Accordingly, a user can maneuver the suction port assembly 40 conveniently, by simply rotating the handle 30 to the right.

[0038] Although omitted herein, one will understand that the suction port assembly 40 may also be moved to the left.

[0039] According to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, a steering unit having a first and second elastic members, which are desirably the rubber springs, is provided, to reduce number of assembling parts, increase productivity, and greatly reduce cost for repair and maintenance.

[0040] Furthermore, a user of an upright vacuum cleaner can easily move the suction port assembly as he wishes, by simply moving the center of gravity of the cleaner body to the rotating direction of the suction port assembly.

[0041] Although representative exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure has been shown and described in order to exemplify the principle of the present disclosure, the present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiment. It will be understood that various modifications and changes can be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. Therefore, it shall be considered that such modifications, changes and equivalents thereof are all included within the scope of the present disclosure.