WO2019231171A1

WO2019231171A1 - Cleaner

Info

Publication number: WO2019231171A1
Application number: PCT/KR2019/006177
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: 2019-05-23
Publication date: 2019-12-05
Anticipated expiration: 2020-11-30
Also published as: TW202002873A; TWI723405B; KR102124487B1; KR20190136625A

Abstract

The present invention includes a housing configured in a cylindrical shape, an inlet port provided to a circumferential surface of the housing, an inlet pipe extending to a front side of the housing, a first cover forming a top surface of the housing and having a multitude of air discharge ports, a fan provided within the housing, a cyclone forming part provided within the housing to separate dust from air flowing into the housing by being located on a flow route of air moving within the housing by the fan, a battery supplying power to the fan, a battery case coupled to a circumferential surface of the housing and, and a handle coupled to a lateral side of the battery case and the circumferential surface of the housing.

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, a related art cleaner has difficulty in expanding capacity of a battery due to a position of a battery part B located under a handle A.

In the cleaner structure shown in FIG. 1, if the battery part B is expanded to a right-left or rear side, inertia moment increases excessively. If the battery part B is expanded downward, it causes the following problems. Namely, as a center of gravity gets distant from a handle, inertia moment increases and a total height of the cleaner increases as well.

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, by which torque required for moving the cleaner does not increase excessively despite expanding capacity of a battery.

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 housing configured in a cylindrical shape, an inlet port provided to a circumferential surface of the 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 first cover forming a top surface of the housing and having a multitude of air discharge ports, a fan provided within the housing to provide a suction force so that air is sucked through the inlet port and then discharged from the housing through the air discharge ports, a cyclone forming part provided within the housing to separate dust from air flowing into the housing by being located on a flow route of air moving within the housing by the fan, a battery supplying power to the fan, a battery case coupled to a circumferential surface of the housing and receiving the battery by extending in a direction opposite to an extending direction of the inlet pipe to be side by side with a tangential direction of the housing, and a handle coupled to a lateral side of the battery case and the circumferential surface of the housing.

In the exemplary embodiments, the handle may include a handle body extending in a length direction of the housing, a first extending portion extending from one end of the handle body to be connected to the circumferential surface of the housing, and a second extending portion extending from the other end of the handle body to be connected to the lateral side of the battery case.

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 and the battery case and the handle may be located between both contact planes of the housing parallel with a plane vertical to the ground surface by passing through the length-directional axis of the inlet pipe and the impeller rotation shaft.

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 and the battery case and the handle may be provided to be spaced apart from each other on both sides with reference to a line passing through the length-directional axis of the inlet pipe and the impeller rotation shaft.

In the exemplary embodiments, the motor may be located at a position higher than a length-directional center of the housing, the first extending portion may be connected to an upper portion of an outer circumferential surface of the housing, and the second extending portion may be connected to a lower portion of a surface confronting the handle body in an outer lateral surface of the battery case.

In the exemplary embodiments, the first extending portion may be provided to a position higher than the second extending portion.

In the exemplary embodiments, the cleaner may further include an inlet pipe connected to the housing to communicate with the inlet port and having a length-directional axis positioned side by side with the ground surface, and the handle body may be configured to incline at a prescribed angle in a front direction using a bottom end of the handle body as an axis in a manner that at least one of angles formed by an extension line passing through a center of the inlet pipe and an extension line passing through the length-directional axis of the handle body is smaller than 90°

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

In the exemplary embodiments, a height-directional length of the battery may be greater than a front-rear length of the battery.

In the exemplary embodiments, a height-directional length of the battery may be smaller than a front-rear length of the battery.

In the exemplary embodiments, the battery case may be configured to have a height-directional length greater than a front-rear length and the battery comprises a battery frame configured to receive a battery cell and have a height-directional length smaller than a front-rear length and a cover portion extending upward from a rear surface of the battery frame to cover the battery insertion port.

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, torque required for moving the cleaner does not increase excessively despite expanding capacity of a battery.

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 lateral view diagram of a cleaner according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a lateral view of a battery part of a cleaner according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective diagram of a battery part of a cleaner according to further 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 housing 10 in a hollow cylindrical shape, an inlet part 30 provided to a circumferential surface of the housing 10, a fan 60 provided within the housing 10 to provide suction force, and a battery part 80 configured to supply power to the fan 60.

The 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 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 may be defined as a front side with reference to the 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 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 housing 10.

The battery case 86 extends backward from the circumferential surface of the housing and may have a height-directional length greater than a front-rear 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 lateral side of the battery case 86 and the circumferential surface of the housing 10.

Particularly, the handle 70 may include a handle body 76 extending in a length direction of the housing 10 to be gripped by a user, a first extending portion 73 extending in a front direction from one end of the handle body 76 to be joined to the circumferential surface of the housing, and a second extending portion 79 extending in a lateral direction from the other end of the handle body 76 to be joined to the lateral side of the battery case 86.

In this case, as the battery 83 is located on the lateral side of the handle body 76, a center of gravity of the battery 83 is formed close to a length-directional center of the handle body 76.

Therefore, as the inertia moment of the battery 83 with reference to the length-directional center of the handle body 76 is reduced, a user can move the cleaner 1 with less strength.

A point at which one end of the handle body 76 meets the first extending portion 73 may be defined as a first bending portion 74, a point at which one end of the handle body 76 and the second extending portion 79 meets may be defined as a second bending portion 75, and a manipulating part 150 for ON/OFF of the cleaner 1 may be provided to a top surface of the first bending portion 74.

Hence, if a user grips the handle body 76, as the manipulating part 150 is located above a user's hand, the user can manipulate the manipulating part 150 with a thumb conveniently and easily.

Configurations of the cleaner 1 disposed inside/outside the housing 10 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 cover 23 coupled to a top side of the housing 10 to form a top surface of the housing 10 and a second cover 26 coupled to a bottom side of the housing 10 to form a bottom surface of the housing 10.

The first cover 23 may be configured in a disc shape, and an outer circumferential surface of the disc is configured in a cylindrical shape extending downward so as to be coupled to a top circumferential surface of the housing 10.

And, a multitude of air discharge holes 231 are formed in the first cover 23 to perforate the top surface thereof, and air in the housing 0 can be externally discharged through a multitude of the air discharge holes 231.

The second cover 26 may be configured in a disc shape and hinge-joined to the housing 10 so as to open/close a bottom opening side of the housing 10 selectively.

Thus, if dust is accumulated within the housing 10, a user opens the second cover 26 so as to discharge the dust from the housing 10.

In order to hinge-join the second cover 26 to the housing 10, a hinge-joining portion 262 is provided to a bottom side of the housing 10 and a bottom cover connection hinge 101 joined to the hinge joining portion 262 may be provided to an edge of the second cover 26.

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 housing 10 may be provided within the housing 10. By the chamber case 43, an inner space of the 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 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 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 second cover 26 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 second cover 26 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 may also play a role in preventing the air in the first chamber 431 from being sucked into the dust discharge port 51c. In order to prevent the air in the first chamber 431 from being sucked, 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 covered with the second cover 26 and a ring-type packing rib 263 provided to the top side of the second cover 26.

Here, in order to secure the airtightness of the bottom side of the dust separating part 46, the packing rib 263 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 housing 10, thereby fixing the partition 59 to the 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 fan 60. Details of the filter part 90 shall be described later for the easy understanding of the structure.

The fan 60 may be provided within the housing 10 and located between a space between the partition 59 and the first cover 23.

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 housing 10, 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 611m 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 bottom surface of the housing 10.

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 upward from a lower part of the impeller 63.

The fan 60 is located above the ascending pipe insertion hole 591 of the partition 59. In this case, air directly ascends without passing through the bent flow path and then passes through the fan 60.

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, a fan housing air inflow port 651 of the fan housing 65 is formed in the bottom side of the fan housing 65 and a fan housing air discharge port 653 may be formed on the top side of the fan housing 65.

In this case, as the fan housing air inflow port 651 is formed smaller than the fan housing air discharge port 653, the suction power of the fan 60 can be maximized.

Furthermore, at least one portion of a multitude of the air discharge holes 231 of the first cover 23 may be disposed to confront the fan housing air discharge port 653 to reduce air resistance caused by the bottom surface of the first cover 23.

Moreover, a fan housing flange 655 extending by a predetermined length in a circumferential direction may be formed on the top rim of the fan housing 65, thereby fixing the fan housing 65 to the housing 10.

The filter part 90 mentioned in the foregoing description is described in detail as follows. The filter part 90 may include a first filter 93 disposed in a space between the fan housing 65 and the partition 59 and a second filter 95 disposed in a space between the fan housing 65 and the first cover 23.

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.

At least one portion of the second filter 95 is configured in a disc shape confronting the fan housing discharge port 653 according to the aforementioned flow path configuration, thereby maximizing the filter effect.

Moreover, a first filter flange 931 for fixing the first filter 93 to a first filter support rib 103 of the housing 10 may be provided to the first filter 93. And, the second filter 95 may be fixed within the housing 10 by a second filter support rib 104 and the first cover 23.

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 lie 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 battery 80 and the fan 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 battery case 86 may extend in a direction opposite to the inlet pipe 31 so as to be side by side with a tangential direction of the housing 10 and the handle 70 may be located on a lateral side of the battery case 86.

Particularly, the battery case 86 and the handle body 76 may be configured to be spaced apart from each other on both sides with reference to a line passing through the length-directional axis A2 of the inlet pipe 31 and the length-directional axis A1 of the housing 10.

Accordingly, as described above, as the center of gravity of the battery 83 is positioned right next to a user's grip point of the handle body 76, when the user moves the cleaner 1, the torque applied to a hand is considerably reduced in comparison with the related arts.

Yet, unlike the structure shown in FIG. 7, if a space of enabling a user's grip can be formed only, the handle body 76 may be configured to cross with a plane passing through the length-directional axis A2 of the inlet pipe 31 and the length-directional axis A1 of the housing 10.

And, the battery case 86 and the handle body 76 may be disposed between both contact planes of the housing parallel to the plane vertical to the ground surface by passing through the length-directional axis A2 of the inlet pipe 31 and the impeller rotation shaft 613.

In addition to the aforementioned features, as the center of gravity of the battery 83 is maintained close to the handle body 76, the torque reduction effect is maximized.

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.

The motor 61 is provided to a location higher than the length-directional center and the handle body 76 may be connected to a top side of the outer circumferential surface of the housing 10 through the first extending portion 73.

SO to speak, the motor 61 may be located on a front side with reference to a plane vertical to the length-directional axis A2 of the inlet pipe by passing through the second bending portion 75.

Thus, when a user grips the handle body 76, as the motor 61 is located in front of a user's wrist, a load applied to the user's wrist can be reduced.

Moreover, a height of the battery case 86 may be set to a height equal to or greater than a half of a height of the housing 10 and smaller than the height of the housing 10, whereby battery capacity expansion can be facilitated advantageously.

Namely, the higher the height of the battery case 86 becomes to meet the capacity expansion of the battery 83 under the aforementioned structure, the closer the center of gravity of the battery 83 gets to the length-directional center of the handle body 76.

Hence, although the battery 83 is expanded by the same capacity, according to one embodiment of the present invention in comparison with the related art cleaner shown in FIG. 1, the inertia moment with reference to the length-directional center of the handle body 76 may be increased relatively less.

Moreover, the handle body 76 may be configured to incline at a prescribed angle in a front direction using a bottom end of the handle body 76 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 76 is smaller than 90°

Hence, when a user inclines the inlet pipe 31 forward for floor cleaning, the user can clean the floor naturally without inclining the cleaner excessively.

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

Likewise, it is preferable that the second extending portion 79 is connected via the shortest path between the other end of the handle body 76 and the lateral side of the battery case 86.

With reference to FIG. 9, another embodiment of the battery case 86 and the battery 83 are described as follows.

Unlike the former embodiment, the battery case 86 may be configured to have a height equal to or smaller than a half of the height of the housing 10.

The present embodiment is applicable to a case of reducing sizes of the battery 83 and the battery case 86 and has an effect of reducing the overall size and width of the cleaner 1 compactly.

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

Yet, since the aforementioned embodiments can be configured in a manner that the battery 83 is inserted/removed in/from the battery case 86, common configurations for the insertion/removal are described first and then the unique configuration of the present embodiment is described.

First of all, as a configuration applicable to all the aforementioned embodiments, 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.

Moreover, as a configuration applicable to all the aforementioned embodiments, 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.

According to the present embodiment, the battery frame 831 may be configured at the height equal to or smaller than 2/3 or 1/2 of the height of the battery receiving portion 861 and a cover portion 839 extending upward may be provided to a rear side of the battery frame 831 to cover the battery insertion port 863.

Although the battery case 86 may be formed at a predetermined height, a multitude of the batteries 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 housing configured in a cylindrical shape;

an inlet port provided to the 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 first cover forming a top surface of the housing and having a multitude of air discharge ports;

a fan provided within the housing to provide a suction force so that air is sucked through the inlet port and then discharged from the housing through the air discharge ports;

a cyclone forming part provided within the housing to separate dust from air flowing into the housing by being located on a flow route of air moving within the housing by the fan;

a battery supplying power to the fan;

a battery case coupled to a circumferential surface of the housing and receiving the battery by extending in a direction opposite to an extending direction of the inlet pipe to be side by side with a tangential direction of the housing; and

a handle coupled to a lateral side of the battery case and the circumferential surface of the housing.
The cleaner of claim 1, the handle comprising:

a handle body extending in a length direction of the housing;

a first extending portion extending from one end of the handle body to be connected to the circumferential surface of the housing; and

a second extending portion extending from the other end of the handle body to be connected to the lateral side of the battery case.
The cleaner of claim 2, wherein the fan comprises 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 and wherein the battery case and the handle are located between both contact planes of the housing parallel with a plane vertical to the ground surface by passing through the length-directional axis of the inlet pipe and the impeller rotation shaft.
The cleaner of claim 2, wherein the fan comprises 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 and wherein the battery case and the handle are provided to be spaced apart from each other on both sides with reference to a line passing through the length-directional axis of the inlet pipe and the impeller rotation shaft.
The cleaner of claim 3, wherein the motor is located at a position higher than a length-directional center of the housing, wherein the first extending portion is connected to an upper portion of an outer circumferential surface of the housing, and wherein the second extending portion is connected to a lower portion of a surface confronting the handle body in an outer lateral surface of the battery case.
The cleaner of claim 3, wherein the first extending portion is provided to a position higher than the second extending portion.
The cleaner of claim 6, further comprising an inlet pipe connected to the housing to communicate with the inlet port and having a length-directional axis positioned side by side with the ground surface, wherein the handle body is configured to incline at a prescribed angle in a front direction using a bottom end of the handle body as an axis in a manner that at least one of angles formed by an extension line passing through a center of the inlet pipe and an extension line passing through the length-directional axis of the handle body is smaller than 90°
The cleaner of claim 1, wherein the battery case includes a battery insertion port formed by opening a rear side of the battery case.
The cleaner of claim 8, wherein a height-directional length of the battery is greater than a front-rear length of the battery.
The cleaner of claim 8, wherein a height-directional length of the battery is smaller than a front-rear length of the battery.
The cleaner of claim 8, wherein the battery case is configured to have a height-directional length greater than a front-rear length and the battery comprises a battery frame configured to receive a battery cell and have a height-directional length smaller than a front-rear length and a cover portion extending upward from a rear surface of the battery frame to cover the battery insertion port.