WO2019231153A1

WO2019231153A1 - Cleaner

Info

Publication number: WO2019231153A1
Application number: PCT/KR2019/006054
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kietak Hyun; Sangchul Lee; Jonguk HER
Original assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Current assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Priority date: 2018-05-31
Filing date: 2019-05-21
Publication date: 2019-12-05
Anticipated expiration: 2020-11-30
Also published as: TW202002875A; TWI723402B; KR102081941B1; KR20190136628A

Abstract

Disclosed is a cleaner. The present invention includes a first housing, an inlet port provided to the first housing, an inlet pipe communicating with the inlet port and extending to a front side of the housing with a length-directional axis positioned side by side with a ground surface, a cyclone forming part provided within the first housing, a second housing configured in a cylindrical shape, communicating with the first housing and coupled to a rear side of the first housing, a fan provided within the second housing to provide a suction force to enable air to be sucked into the first housing through the inlet port, a battery supplying power to the fan, a battery case to receive the battery therein, and a handle connected to the circumferential surface of the first housing and a top surface of the battery case.

Description

CLEANER

The present invention relates to a cleaner, and more particularly, to a vacuum cleaner.

Generally, a cleaner is an appliance for discharging air from a body of the cleaner in a manner of sucking external air containing particles such as dust and the like using a negative pressure generated by a fan installed in the body, filtering off the particles, and then discharging the air from the body.

According to the power supply types, cleaners can be mainly categorized into a wired cleaner having power supplied from a power socket using a wire externally extended from a body and a wireless cleaner having a secondary battery installed in itself.

As the wireless cleaner market is fast growing, although the relevant technologies tend to be developed together, there are still many tasks including fatigue caused by cleaner weight, user's displeasure due to the discharged air, a problem of air suction efficiency and the like.

A related art cleaner is shown in FIG. 1. Problems of the related art are described with reference to FIG. 1 as follows.

First of all, in a related art cleaner, a fan is provided within a housing C and a handle A is disposed in rear of the fan. In doing the cleaning, fatigue on user's wrist, shoulder, arm, waist and the like may be aggravated disadvantageously.

Namely, as center of gravity of the fan that is one of the heavy components of the cleaner is relatively spaced apart from a center of the handle A, when the cleaner is moved in back-and-forth or top-and-down directions or a high spot such as a ceiling is cleaned, a relatively more force is required.

Secondly, as a related art cleaner is generally configured to discharge air into a space in front of a user, hot air stays on a user's moving route, thereby causing a problem of displeasure to a user.

Thirdly, regarding a related art cleaner, since an air inlet of a fan housing is located above and an air outlet is located below, a flow path resistance generated from an inside of the housing C due to unnecessary flow path bending is disadvantageously high.

Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention are directed to a cleaner that substantially obviates one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.

One object of the present invention is to provide a cleaner capable of alleviating user's fatigue by lowering the torque required for moving the cleaner.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cleaner capable of not discharging air into a space in front of a user.

Further object of the present invention is to provide a cleaner having high suction efficiency or strong suction power attributed to a fan by reducing the flow path resistance.

Technical tasks obtainable from the present invention are non-limited by the above-mentioned technical tasks. And, other unmentioned technical tasks can be clearly understood from the following description by those having ordinary skill in the technical field to which the present invention pertains.

Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will be set forth in the disclosure herein as well as the accompanying drawings. Such aspects may also be appreciated by those skilled in the art based on the disclosure herein.

To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, a cleaner according to one embodiment of the present invention may include a first housing configured in a cylindrical shape, an inlet port provided to the first housing for air suction, an inlet pipe communicating with the inlet port and extending to a front side of the housing with a length-directional axis positioned side by side with a ground surface, a cyclone forming part provided within the first housing to separate dust from air flowing into the first housing, a second housing configured in a cylindrical shape, communicating with the first housing and coupled to a rear side of the first housing, a fan provided within the second housing to provide a suction force to enable air to be sucked into the first housing through the inlet port, a battery supplying power to the fan, a battery case coupled to a circumferential surface of the first housing and extending in a direction opposite to the inlet port to receive the battery therein, and a handle connected to the circumferential surface of the first housing and a top surface of the battery case.

In the exemplary embodiments, the handle may further include a handle body extending from the top surface of the battery case in a length direction of the first housing and an extending portion connecting the handle body and an outer circumferential surface of the first housing, wherein at least one portion of the handle body is located on a lateral side of the second housing.

In the exemplary embodiments, a length-directional axis of the first housing may be vertical to that of the second housing.

In the exemplary embodiments, the second housing may have a diameter smaller than that of the first housing and one lateral side provided to a tangent plane of the first housing side by side with the length-directional axis of the inlet pipe.

In the exemplary embodiments, the second housing may be configured in a manner that a right-left width directional center inclines to a right or left side with reference to the length-directional axis of the inlet pipe and the handle may be configured to incline in a direction opposite to the inclining direction of the right-left width directional center of the second housing with reference to the length-directional axis of the inlet pipe.

In the exemplary embodiments, the cleaner may further include a second housing cover provided to a rear surface of the first housing and having a multitude of air discharge holes.

In the exemplary embodiments, the cleaner may further include a housing communicating hole formed in a circumferential surface of the first housing to enable the first housing and the second housing to communicate with each other.

In the exemplary embodiments, the fan may include a motor including a stator, a rotor rotated by the stator, and an impeller rotation shaft provided vertical to the ground surface by having the rotor joined thereto, an impeller connected to the impeller rotation shaft to make air flow, and a fan housing fixed to the second housing and receiving the impeller and the motor therein, and a fan housing air inflow port for enabling air to flow into the fan housing may be formed in a front surface of the fan housing.

In the exemplary embodiments, the battery case may include a battery insertion port formed by opening a rear surface of the battery case.

In the exemplary embodiments, the battery case may have a right-left width directional length greater than a front-rear directional length.

In the exemplary embodiments, the battery case may have a right-left width directional length greater than a height directional length.

Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

Accordingly, a cleaner according to the present invention provides the following effects and/or features.

First of all, the present invention lowers the torque required for moving the cleaner, thereby reducing user's fatigue.

Secondly, the present invention prevents air from being discharged into a space in front of a user.

Thirdly, the present invention reduces the fluid path resistance, thereby having high suction efficiency or strong suction power attributed to a fan.

Effects obtainable from the present invention may be non-limited by the above mentioned effect. And, other unmentioned effects can be clearly understood from the following description by those having ordinary skill in the technical field to which the present invention pertains.

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematically perspective diagram of an exterior of a cleaner of a related art.

FIG. 2 is a perspective diagram of a cleaner according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional diagram along A-A' shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional diagram along B-B' shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective diagram of a chamber case and a cyclone forming part of a cleaner according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective diagram of a cyclone forming part according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a top view of cleaner according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a lateral view of a cleaner according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a rear view of a cleaner according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective diagram of a battery part of a cleaner according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Description will now be given in detail according to exemplary embodiments disclosed herein, with reference to the accompanying drawings. Yet, the embodiments and drawings are used to help the understanding of the present invention.

Moreover, to help the understanding of the present invention, s the accompanying drawings may be illustrated in a manner of exaggerating sizes of some components instead of using a real scale.

Thus, the present invention is non-limited to the following embodiment, and it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

First of all, an overall structure of a cleaner 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to FIG. 2.

The cleaner 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention may include a first housing 10 in a hollow cylindrical shape and an inlet part 30 provided to a circumferential surface of the first housing 10.

The first housing 10 may be provided in a manner that a length-directional axis A1 of a cylinder is vertical to a ground surface, and the inlet part 30 may include an inlet pipe 31. The inlet pipe 31 may be configured to communicate with an inlet port 12 (shown in FIG. 4) provided to the circumferential surface of the first housing 10. And, a length-directional axis of the inlet pipe 31 may be configured side by side with the ground surface in a manner of crossing with the length-directional axis A1 of the cylinder.

To help the understanding of the details of the cleaner structure described in the following, directions can be defined in a manner that an extending direction of the inlet pipe 31 of the inlet part 30 is defined as a front side with reference to the first housing 10.

And, the complete opposite direction of the extending direction of the inlet pipe 31 may be defined as a rear side. Moreover, right and left side directions can be naturally defined depending on the above-defined front and rear side directions.

The cleaner 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention may further include a second housing 16 coupled to a rear surface of the first housing 10 to communicate with the first housing, a fan 60 provided within the second housing 16 to provide a suction force, and a battery part 80 supplying a power to the fan 60.

Particularly, the second housing 16 is configured in a hollow cylinder shape and has a length-directional axis positioned side by side with the ground surface. And, a front surface of the second housing 16 may be coupled to a rear surface of the first housing 10.

So to speak, the length-directional axis A1 of the first housing 10 may be configured vertical to the ground surface, and the length-directional axis of the second housing may be configured vertical to the length-directional axis A1 of the first housing 10.

A housing communicating hole 13 may be formed in the circumferential surface of the first housing 10, and more particularly, in a portion to which the second housing 16 is coupled. And, the housing communicating hole 13 may become a passage through which air in the first housing 10 flows into the second housing 16 by the fan 60.

The battery part 80 may include a battery 83 supplying power to the fan 60 and a battery case 86 receiving the battery 83 therein. And, the battery case 86 may be coupled to a circumferential surface of the first housing 10.

And, at least one portion of the battery case 86 may be located under the second housing 16.

The battery case 86 may extend backward from a bottom end of the circumferential surface of the first housing 10 and have a right-left directional length greater than a front-rear directional length.

The cleaner 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention may further include a handle 70. The handle 70 may be configured to connect a top surface of the battery case 86 and the circumferential surface of the first housing 10.

Particularly, the handle 70 may include a handle body 73 extending from the top surface of the battery case 86 in a length direction of the first housing 10 to be gripped by a user and an extending portion 76 connecting the handle body 73 and the first housing 10.

In this case, as at least one portion of the handle body 73 is located on the lateral side of the fan 60, a center of gravity of the fan 60 is formed close to a length-directional center of the handle body 73.

Therefore, as the inertia moment of the fan 60 with reference to the length-directional center of the handle body 73 is reduced, a user can move the cleaner 1 with less strength.

Moreover, a connecting portion 74 having a length-directional axis positioned side by side with the length-directional axis A2 of the inlet pipe 31 may be provided between the top end of the handle body 73 and the extending portion 76.

The connecting portion 74 and the extending portion 76 may be configured in a manner that an angle formed by each length-directional axis becomes smaller than 180° centering on the contact point. The connecting portion 74 and the extending portion 76 may be configured in a manner that each length-directional center forms a continuous curve.

Besides, a manipulating part 150 for ON/OFF of the cleaner 1 may be provided to a top end portion of the handle body 73.

Hence, if a user grips the handle body 73, the user can naturally manipulate the manipulating part 150 with a thumb.

Configurations of the cleaner 1 disposed inside/outside the first housing 10 and the second housing 16 are described in detail with reference to FIGs. 3 to 5 as follows.

First of all, referring to FIG. 3 showing the A-A' cross-section shown in FIG. 2, the cleaner 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention may further include a first housing cover 23 coupled to a bottom side of the first housing 10 to form a bottom surface of the first housing 10.

The first housing cover 23 may be configured in a disc shape and hinge-joined to the first housing 10 so as to open/close a bottom opening side of the first housing 10 selectively.

Thus, if dust is accumulated within the first housing 10, a user opens the first housing cover 23 so as to discharge the dust from the first housing 10.

In order to hinge-join the first housing cover 23 to the first housing 10, a hinge-joining portion 232 is provided to a bottom side of the first housing 10 and a bottom cover connection hinge 101 joined to the hinge joining portion 232 may be provided to an edge of the first housing cover 23.

The cleaner 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention may further include a second housing cover 26 coupled to a rear surface of the second housing 16.

The second housing cover 26 is configured in a disc shape to form the rear surface of the second housing 16, and an outer circumferential surface of the disc is configured in a cylindrical shape extending forward so as to be coupled to the rear end of the circumferential surface of the second housing 16.

Moreover, a multitude of air discharge holes 261 perforating the second housing cover 26 are formed in the second housing cover 26 and the air in the second housing 16 can be externally discharged through a multitude of the air discharge holes 261.

Meanwhile, the cleaner 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention separates dust from the sucked air using a cyclone effect, and the relevant configuration is described as follows.

First of all, a chamber case 43 in a cylinder shape smaller than the first housing 10 may be provided within the first housing 10. By the chamber case 43, an inner space of the first housing 10 may be divided into a first chamber 431 outside the chamber case 43 and a second chamber 433 inside the chamber case 43.

A multitude of chamber case perforated holes 435 may be formed in a circumferential surface of the chamber case 43. And, the chamber case perforated holes 435 may configure a path through which air within the first chamber 431 is filtered and flows into the second chamber 433.

A primary cyclone effect occurs in the first chamber 431, and a secondary cyclone effect may occur in the second chamber 433.

With reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 showing the B-B' cross-section of FIG. 3, the configuration related to the primary cyclone effect occurring in the first chamber 431 is described as follows.

First of all, a center of the inlet port 12 is located in a manner of inclining to a right or left side in a prescribed range with reference to a length-directional axis of the inlet pipe 31, whereby the air flowing into the first chamber 431 can naturally rotate along an outer circumferential surface of the chamber case 43.

The inlet part 30 may further include an inlet pipe connecting portion 32 connecting the inlet pipe 31 to the first housing 10, and a rotation guider 33 guiding air to the inlet port 12 can be installed within the inlet pipe connecting portion 32.

The rotation guider 33 may be provided to connect one side most adjacent to the inlet pipe length-directional axis in the part forming the inlet port 12 on the outer circumferential surface of the first housing 10 to an opposite inner wall in the inlet port 12 inclining direction in the inner wall of the inlet pipe connecting portion 32.

Hence, the primary cyclone effect that air rotates along the outer circumferential surface of the chamber case 43 occurs within the first chamber 431. As the air is rotated, dusts relatively heavier than the air fall down to the bottom of the first chamber 431.

Thereafter, the air is filtered through the chamber case perforated hole 435 and then flow into the second chamber 433.

Configuration related to the secondary cyclone effect occurring in the second chamber 433 is described as follows.

Although the following description is made with reference to FIG. 3, details of the coupling can be further clearly understood by referring to FIG. 5 that is an exploded perspective diagram.

The cleaner 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention may further include a cyclone forming part 50 provided to the second chamber 433.

Moreover, the cyclone forming part 50 may include a multitude of flow path bodies 51, each of which is configured in a cylindrical shape having open top and bottom sides with a length-directional axis vertical to the first housing cover 23 or the ground surface and has a lower portion configured in a conic shape having a diameter continuously decreasing downward.

Each of a multitude of the flow path bodies 51 forms a dust separating flow path 51a in which air flows by rotating centering on the axis vertical to the first housing cover 23 or the ground surface. And, an ascending pipe 53, in which an ascending air current is formed by the fan 60, may be provided within each of a multitude of the flow path bodies 51.

The ascending pipe 53 may be configured in a cylindrical shape of which top and bottom sides are open. And, an inflow port 51b (or an open top side) for air to flow in the dust separating flow path 51a may be formed between a top surface of the flow path body 51 and the ascending pipe 53.

Moreover, a vane 55 may be provided between the ascending pipe 53 and the flow path body 51 to connect an outer circumference and an inner circumference of the flow path body 51 together.

The vane 55 is configured to incline at a prescribed angle with reference to a plane side by side with the ground surface and plays a role in rotating the air flowing in the inflow port 51b.

Besides, a dust discharge port 51c formed as an open plane may be formed at the bottom side of each of a multitude of the flow path bodies 51.

According to the above-described configuration, in the cyclone forming part 50, the secondary cyclone effect occurs in a manner that the air flows in the inflow port 51b and then descends by being rotated by the vane 55 along the dust separating flow path 51a. Thereafter, the air ascends along the ascending pipe 53.

In doing so, dusts contained in the air fail to flow in the ascending pipe 53 due weights of their own but are externally discharged from the flow path body 51 through the dust discharge port 51c.

A multitude of the flow path bodies 51 can be connected to each other through a connecting plate 57. And, the connecting plate 57 may be configured in a disc shape corresponding to an inner circumference shape of the chamber case 43.

A dust separating part 46 in a conic shape having open top and bottom sides may be provided to a bottom side of the connecting plate 57. And, the dust separating part 46 plays a role in storing the dust separated by the cyclone forming part 50.

Moreover, the dust separating part 46 also plays a role in preventing the air in the first chamber 431 from being sucked into the dust discharge port 51c. To this end, a top side of the dust separating part 46 is covered with the connecting plate 57 and a bottom side of the dust separating part 46 can be sealed by the first housing cover 23 and a ring-type packing rib 233 provided to the top side of the first housing cover 23.

Here, in order to secure the airtightness of the bottom side of the dust separating part 46, the packing rib 233 is preferably formed of flexible material.

In some implementations, the cleaner 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention may further include a partition 59 covering the top side of the second chamber 433, and the understanding of the relevant configuration can be further facilitated with reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4.

The partition 59 is provided above the chamber case 43, and a bottom side of the partition 59 may be configured in a cup shape capable of covering the top side of the second chamber 433.

A multitude of ascending pipe insertion holes 591 may be formed in the bottom side of the partition 59 so as to be coupled with the protruding portions of the ascending pipes 53, respectively.

The ascending pipe 53 is provided in a manner of protruding upward by a predetermined length from the top side of the flow path body 51 for the air inflow into the dust separating fluid path 51a, and a prescribed portion of the protruding portion may be joined to the portion forming the ascending pipe insertion hole 591 in the bottom surface of the partition 59.

A partition flange 593 extending by a predetermined length in a circumferential direction may be formed on a top rim of the partition 59. The partition flange 593 is coupled to a partition support rib 102 inside the first housing 10, thereby fixing the partition 59 to the first housing 10.

The air ascending in the ascending pipe 53 by the fan 60 may pass through a first filter 93 of a filter part 90 and then flow into the second housing 16 through the housing communicating hole 13. Details of the filter part 90 shall be described later for the easy understanding of the structure.

The fan 60 may mainly include a fan housing 65 forming an exterior of the fan 60 and enabling the fan 60 to be installed in the second housing 16, an impeller 63 provided within the fan housing 65 to make air flow, and a motor 61 provided within the fan housing 65 to provide rotation power to the impeller 63.

And, a diffuser (not shown) for evenly distributing an air flow formed by the impeller 63 may be provided between the impeller 63 and the motor 61.

First of all, the motor 61 may include a stator 611, a rotor 612 rotating by electromagnetic reaction with the stator 611 and an impeller rotation shaft 613 connecting the rotor 612 and the impeller 63 together and have a length-directional axis vertical to the ground surface or a top surface of the first housing cover 23.

The impeller rotation shaft 613 may be supported by a rotation shaft support portion 617 connected to the fan housing 65, and a bearing 614 enabling the rotation of the impeller rotation shaft 613 may be provided between the impeller rotation shaft 613 and the rotation shaft support portion 617.

And, a stator mount portion 616 fixing the stator 611 and a motor guard 618 protecting the motor 61 may be coupled to the rotation shaft support portion 617.

Hence, if power is supplied to the motor 61, the impeller 63 can be rotated by the motor 61 so that air can flow from a front side of the second housing 16 to the rear side of the second housing 16.

Therefore, according to the aforementioned embodiment of the present invention, as flow path resistance possibly generated from the complicatedly bent flow path of the peripheral part of the motor 61 is reduced, suction power or efficiency of the cleaner 1 can be increased excellently.

Besides, as a fan housing air inflow port 651 of the fan housing 65 is formed in the front plane of the fan housing 65, the air having flown into the housing communicating hole 13 can be naturally discharged through the air discharge hole 261 of the second housing cover 26 via the fan housing 65.

In this case, as a diameter of the fan housing air inflow port 651 is formed smaller than a length-directional center diameter of the fan housing, the suction power of the fan 60 can be maximized.

Moreover, a fan housing support rib 165 protruding toward the center of the second housing 16 may be provided to an inner circumferential surface of the second housing 16, thereby fixing the fan housing 65 to the second housing 16.

The filter part 90 shortly mentioned in the foregoing description is described in detail as follows. The filter part 90 may include a first filter 93 fixed to the partition 59 and a second filter 95 disposed in a space between the fan housing 65 and the second housing cover 26.

A size of a hole formed by mesh of the first filter 93 is configured greater than that of a hole formed by mesh of the second filter 95, whereby dusts can be filtered off in order of large dust to small dust.

In order to raise the quality of the discharged air, the second filter 95 may be provided as HEPA filter. Since the HEPA filter is well known to those skilled in the art, its details shall be omitted from the following description.

According to the aforementioned flow path configuration, at least one portion of the second filter 95 is disposed to confront the fan housing air discharge port 653, thereby maximizing the filter effect.

The first filter 93 may be fixed to an inner circumferential surface of the partition 59 by a first filter support rib 595 of the partition 59, and the second filter 95 may be fixed to an inside of the first housing 10 by a second filter support rib 164 of the second housing 16 and the second housing cover 26.

Another embodiment of the flow path body is described with reference to FIG. 6 as follows.

First of all, the flow path body 51 may be divided into a first pipe 513 in a cylindrical shape having open top and bottom sides and a second pipe 523 having an open top side and a dust discharge port 51c of a bottom side.

The ascending pipe 53 and the vane 55 may be provided to the first pipe 513.

The flow path body 51 may be integrated like the former embodiment. To facilitate the manufacturing by injection molding, it is preferable that the first pipe 513 and the second pipe 523 are manufactured separately.

With reference to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the disposition relationship among the handle 70, the second housing 16 and the battery case 86 shall be described in detail as follows.

First of all, referring to FIG. 7 that is a top view diagram of the cleaner 1, the second housing 16 may be configured in a hollow cylindrical shape and have a diameter smaller than that of the first housing 10.

The second housing 16 may be configured to incline to one side so that a right-left width directional center A4 is located on a left or right side with reference to the length-directional axis A2 of the inlet pipe 31. And, a lateral side of the direction in which the second housing 16 inclines may be provided on the tangent plane of the outer circumferential surface of the first housing 10.

In this case, the handle 70 may be configured to incline in a direction opposite to the inclining direction of the second housing 16.

Moreover, in order to secure a user's grip space, at least one portion of the extending portion 76 of the handle 70 may be configured to incline toward an outside of the tangent plane of the first housing 10 positioned side by side with the length-directional axis A2 of the inlet pipe 31.

In this case, the length-directional axis of the extending portion 76 forms an angle equal to or smaller than 90° with the length-directional axis A2 of the inlet pipe 31.

For convenience of use, a user's arm and the length-directional axis A2 of the inlet pipe 31 need to be positioned side by side with each other. To this end, a lateral side of the handle body 73 may be configured parallel with the tangent plane of the outer circumferential surface of the first housing 10 positioned side by side with the length-directional axis A2 of the inlet pipe 31.

The battery case 86 may extend in the opposite direction of the inlet pipe 31 so as to be side by side with the tangential direction of the first housing 10.

According to the above-described disposition relationship, as described above, as the center of gravity of the fan 60 is positioned right next to a user's grip point of the handle body 73 and a center of gravity of the battery 83 is positioned under a user's hand, when the user moves the cleaner 1, the torque applied to the hand is considerably reduced in comparison with the related arts.

The above-described disposition relationship is described in detail with reference to FIG. 8 that is a lateral view diagram of the cleaner 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Meanwhile, the handle body 73 may be configured to incline at a prescribed angle in a front direction using one end of the handle body 73 as an axis in a manner that at least one α of angles formed by extension lines passing through the length-directional axis A2 of the inlet pipe 31 and the length-directional axis A3 of the handle body 73 is smaller than 90°.

Hence, when a user inclines the inlet pipe 31 forward for floor cleaning, since the user's arm and the inlet pipe 31 can be aligned on the same line, the user can clean the floor naturally without inclining the cleaner excessively.

Meanwhile, the extending portion 76 may be configured in any shapes connectible to the first housing 10. Preferably, the extending portion 76 is connected via the shortest path between the other end of the handle body 73 and the outer circumferential surface of the first housing 10.

Moreover, the top surface of the second housing 16 may be located at the same height of the top surface of the first housing 10.

With reference to FIG. 9, effects attributed to the features of the location of the second housing cover 26 can be easily understood.

As described above, since the handle 70 and the second housing 16 can be located to incline in opposite directions, respectively, the air discharge hole 261 of the second housing cover 26 is located in rear of the second housing 16.

Therefore, when a user uses the cleaner 1 by gripping the handle body 73, as hot air is discharged outside a user's arm only, user's displeasure can be alleviated.

Another embodiment of an insertion structure of the battery case 86 of the battery 83 is described with reference to FIG. 10 as follows.

The battery 83 may be configured to be inserted/removed in/from the battery case 86.

To this end, a battery receiving portion 861 in which the battery 83 is inserted is formed in the battery case 86 and a battery insertion port 863 may be formed as an open plane on a rear side of the battery case 86.

Thus, the battery 83 can be received in the battery receiving portion 861 in a manner of sliding from a rear side to a front side through the battery insertion port 863.

The battery 83 may include a battery frame 831 forming an exterior, a terminal 835 transferring power to the motor 61, and a projected portion 833 provided with the terminal 835.

A cover portion 839 extending in at least one of right and left directions may be provided to a rear surface of the battery frame 831 to cover the battery insertion port 863.

Although the battery case 86 may be formed at a predetermined width, the battery 83 may be configured in various sizes for large and small storage batteries if necessary.

In case of using a small storage battery, a prescribed portion of the battery insertion port 863 keeps staying in an open state.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, as the cover portion 839 covers the open portion of the battery insertion port 863, the dust inflow into the battery receiving portion 861 can be prevented and the beauty of the exterior view can be enhanced.

Effects not disclosed in this specification may be additionally provided by the aforementioned respective configurations of the present invention. And, it is a matter of course that new effects other than the related art can be provided according to the organic combinations of the aforementioned respective configurations.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

A cleaner, comprising:

a first housing configured in a cylindrical shape;

an inlet port provided to the first housing for air suction;

an inlet pipe communicating with the inlet port and extending to a front side of the housing with a length-directional axis positioned side by side with a ground surface;

a cyclone forming part provided within the first housing to separate dust from air flowing into the first housing;

a second housing configured in a cylindrical shape, communicating with the first housing and coupled to a rear side of the first housing;

a fan provided within the second housing to provide a suction force to enable air to be sucked into the first housing through the inlet port;

a battery supplying power to the fan;

a battery case coupled to a circumferential surface of the first housing and extending in a direction opposite to the inlet port to receive the battery therein; and

a handle connected to the circumferential surface of the first housing and a top surface of the battery case.
The cleaner of claim 1, the handle further comprising:

a handle body extending from the top surface of the battery case in a length direction of the first housing; and

an extending portion connecting the handle body and an outer circumferential surface of the first housing,

wherein at least one portion of the handle body is located on a lateral side of the second housing.
The cleaner of claim 1, wherein a length-directional axis of the first housing is vertical to that of the second housing.
The cleaner of claim 3, wherein the second housing has a diameter smaller than that of the first housing and one lateral side provided to a tangent plane of the first housing side by side with the length-directional axis of the inlet pipe.
The cleaner of claim 4, wherein the second housing is configured in a manner that a right-left width directional center inclines to a right or left side with reference to the length-directional axis of the inlet pipe and wherein the handle is configured to incline in a direction opposite to the inclining direction of the right-left width directional center of the second housing with reference to the length-directional axis of the inlet pipe.
The cleaner of claim 3, further comprising a second housing cover provided to a rear surface of the first housing and having a multitude of air discharge holes.
The cleaner of claim 1, further comprising a housing communicating hole formed in a circumferential surface of the first housing to enable the first housing and the second housing to communicate with each other.
The cleaner of claim 7, the fan comprising:

a motor including a stator, a rotor rotated by the stator, and an impeller rotation shaft provided vertical to the ground surface by having the rotor joined thereto;

an impeller connected to the impeller rotation shaft to make air flow; and

a fan housing fixed to the second housing and receiving the impeller and the motor therein,

wherein a fan housing air inflow port for enabling air to flow into the fan housing is formed in a front surface of the fan housing.
The cleaner of claim 1, wherein the battery case includes a battery insertion port formed by opening a rear surface of the battery case.
The cleaner of claim 9, wherein the battery case has a right-left width directional length greater than a front-rear directional length.
The cleaner of claim 9, wherein the battery case has a right-left width directional length greater than a height directional length.