Suction port assembly and a vacuum cleaner having the same

Abstract

A suction port assembly for a vacuum cleaner and a vacuum cleaner having such a suction port comprises upper and lower housings, a plurality of suction ports formed in the lower housing, and a plurality of suction paths formed in the upper and lower housings to guide the air drawn in through the suction ports. With this arrangement, the efficiency of cleaning the lateral sides of the suction port assembly can be enhanced, and thus a wide area can be efficiently cleaned.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2004-50990, filed Jul. 1, 2004, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates generally to a vacuum cleaner and more particularly, to a suction port assembly of a vacuum cleaner for drawing in dirt on a surface being cleaned. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Vacuum cleaners draw in dirt on a surface being cleaned using a suction force generated by a vacuum source mounted in a main body thereof. As is known, vacuum cleaners comprise a cleaner body having therein a motor that generates a vacuum force, a suction port assembly facing a surface being cleaned to draw in dirt on the surface, and an extension path for guiding the dirt drawn in into the suction port to the cleaner body. The extension path often comprises an extension tube connector movably co...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0006] An aspect of the present invention is to solve at least the above problems and / or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the present invention is to provide an improved suction port assembly allowing efficient cleaning of a surface of large area and a vacuum cleaner having the same.

[0007] Another aspect of the present invention is to provide an improved suction port assembly allowing visual check of a path from the outside of the suction port assembly and a vacuum cleaner having the same.

[0008] In order to achieve the above-mentioned aspect, there is provided a suction port assembly comprising upper and lower housings; a plurality of suction ports formed in the lower housing; and a plurality of paths formed in the upper and lower housings to guide air drawn in into the suction ports. With this arrangement, even wide areas can be cleaned more effectively.

[0009] The upper housing defines first and second suction paths and a suction path cover defining a top of the first and second suction paths. The upper housing is connected to the lower housing with a top cover. A first joint part is formed along the edge of the path cover and a second joint part formed on the lower housing. The upper and lower housings are tightly engaged with each other to minimize suction force losses caused by air leaks between the housings.

[0010] A fluid guide rib is formed on the first and second paths so as to guide the drawn-in air toward a vacuum source while preventing the swirling phenomena of the drawn-in air, whereby the loss of suction force can be further prevented.

Problems solved by technology

Accordingly, the suction port assembly is not efficient in cleaning large surface areas.

In addition, since the top of the suction port assembly is usually made from an opaque material, it is impossible to determine if dirt is caught in the suction port assembly.

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