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US-12623175-B2 - Air cleaner

US12623175B2US 12623175 B2US12623175 B2US 12623175B2US-12623175-B2

Abstract

An air cleaner includes: a first body having an inlet and an outlet that is open at top; a filter disposed inside the first body and facing the inlet; a blower fan disposed between the inlet and the outlet, inside the first body, to generate an air flow from the inlet to the outlet; a blower motor disposed inside the first body and configured to rotate the blower fan; and a second body spaced upward from the outlet and disposed over the first body, wherein the first body includes an outlet grille that is disposed on the outlet and has a plurality of vanes extending from an upper end of a circumferential wall of the first body toward a central portion of the first body, and the outlet grille is inclined upward toward the central portion of the first body from the circumferential wall of the first body.

Inventors

  • Kunyoung LEE
  • BoHyun Kim
  • Jaewan LEE

Assignees

  • LG ELECTRONICS INC.

Dates

Publication Date
20260512
Application Date
20230712
Priority Date
20220714

Claims (17)

  1. 1 . An air cleaner comprising: a first body including an inlet, and an outlet that is open upward; a filter provided inside the first body and facing the inlet; a blower fan provided between the inlet and the outlet to generate an air flow from the inlet to the outlet; a blower motor provided inside the first body and configured to rotate the blower fan; and a second body spaced upward from the outlet and provided over the first body, wherein the first body includes an outlet grille that is provided at the outlet and that has a plurality of vanes extending from an upper end of a circumferential wall of the first body toward a central axis of the first body, wherein the outlet grille is inclined upward toward the central axis of the first body from the circumferential wall of the first body, wherein the second body includes a post configured to be connected to the first body, and wherein a vane among the plurality of vanes includes a first end and a second end, the first end being relatively closer to the post than the second end, and the first end being positioned higher than the second end.
  2. 2 . The air cleaner of claim 1 , wherein the first body includes, on an upper side thereof, a mount into which the post of the second body is inserted, wherein an upper end of the mount is higher than the upper end of the circumferential wall of the first body, and wherein the first end of the vane is connected to the upper end of the mount, and the second end of the vane is connected to the upper end of the circumferential wall of the first body.
  3. 3 . The air cleaner of claim 2 , wherein the mount is provided at a position corresponding to a center axis of the first body, and wherein the plurality of vanes extend radially between the mount and the circumferential wall of the first body.
  4. 4 . The air cleaner of claim 2 , further comprising an inner cover extending downward from the mount, wherein the inner cover has an outer circumferential surface whose diameter increases downward and is convex in a radial direction.
  5. 5 . The air cleaner of claim 1 , wherein the circumferential wall of the first body is inclined inward toward a top of the first body, and wherein an angle at which the vane among the plurality of vanes is inclined with respect to a vertical direction is greater than an angle at which the circumferential wall of the first body is inclined inward with respect to the vertical direction.
  6. 6 . An air cleaner comprising: a first body having an inlet and an outlet at an upper region of the first body; a filter provided inside the first body and facing the inlet; a blower fan between the inlet and the outlet to generate an air flow from the inlet to the outlet; a blower motor provided inside the first body and configured to rotate the blower fan; and a second body spaced upward from the outlet and provided over the first body, wherein the first body includes an outlet grille that is provided on the outlet and that has a plurality of vanes extending from an upper end of a circumferential wall of the first body toward a central axis of the first body, wherein the second body includes a guide wall that is spaced upward from the outlet grille, extends laterally, and faces downward, wherein a separation distance between the outlet grille and the guide wall in a vertical direction increases radially away from a center axis of the first body, wherein the guide wall of the second body is inclined to extend upward as a distance from the center axis of the first body increases, and wherein the outlet grille is inclined to extend downward as the distance from the center axis of the first body increases.
  7. 7 . The air cleaner of claim 6 , wherein an outer circumferential end of the guide wall of the second body is located further outward from the center axis of the first body relative to an outer circumferential end of the outlet grille.
  8. 8 . The air cleaner of claim 6 , wherein an angle between an extension direction of the guide wall of the second body and a longitudinal direction of a vane among the plurality of vanes is an acute angle.
  9. 9 . The air cleaner of claim 6 , wherein an angle between a longitudinal direction of a vane among the plurality of vanes and a horizontal plane extending through an upper region of the outlet grille is greater than an angle between an extension direction of the guide wall of the second body and the horizontal plane extending through an upper region of the outlet grille.
  10. 10 . The air cleaner of claim 6 , wherein a line that connects a lower end of a vane among the plurality of vanes and an end of the guide wall of the second body form an obtuse angle with a longitudinal direction of the vane.
  11. 11 . A air cleaner comprising: a first body having an inlet and an outlet at an upper region of the first body; a filter provided inside the first body and facing the inlet; a blower fan between the inlet and the outlet to generate an air flow from the inlet to the outlet; a blower motor provided inside the first body and configured to rotate the blower fan; and a second body spaced upward from the outlet and provided over the first body, wherein the first body includes an outlet grille that is provided on the outlet and that has a plurality of vanes extending from an upper end of a circumferential wall of the first body toward a central axis of the first body, wherein the second body includes a guide wall that is spaced upward from the outlet grille, extends laterally, and faces downward, wherein a separation distance between the outlet grille and the guide wall in a vertical direction increases radially away from a center axis of the first body, wherein the guide wall of the second body is a curved surface that is convex downward, and wherein the plurality of vanes each have a bar shape that extends downward radially outward from the center axis of the first body.
  12. 12 . A air cleaner comprising: a first body having an inlet and an outlet at an upper region of the first body; a filter provided inside the first body and facing the inlet; a blower fan between the inlet and the outlet to generate an air flow from the inlet to the outlet; a blower motor provided inside the first body and configured to rotate the blower fan; and a second body spaced upward from the outlet and provided over the first body, wherein the first body includes an outlet grille that is provided on the outlet and that has a plurality of vanes extending from an upper end of a circumferential wall of the first body toward a central axis of the first body, wherein the second body includes a guide wall that is spaced upward from the outlet grille, extends laterally, and faces downward, wherein a separation distance between the outlet grille and the guide wall in a vertical direction increases radially away from a center axis of the first body, and wherein the plurality of vanes are each rotated along a longitudinal direction such that the air flow from the blower fan is discharged obliquely upward along a circumferential direction of the first body.
  13. 13 . The air cleaner of claim 12 , wherein the circumferential direction of the first body corresponds to a rotation direction of the blower fan.
  14. 14 . The air cleaner of claim 12 , further comprising a plurality of guide vanes provided between the blower fan and the outlet inside the first body, wherein the plurality of guide vanes are inclined in the circumferential direction of the first body to be radially arranged with respect to an axis of the blower fan, and wherein the plurality of vanes are each rotated along an extension direction in a rotational direction corresponding to a direction in which the plurality of guide vanes are inclined, so as to be radially provided at the outlet grille.
  15. 15 . An air cleaner comprising: a first body having an inlet and an outlet; a filter provided inside the first body and facing the inlet; a blower fan between the inlet and the outlet to generate an air flow from the inlet to the outlet; a blower motor provided inside the first body and configured to rotate the blower fan; and a second body provided over the first body, wherein the first body comprises an outlet cover that is provided at an upper portion of the first body and includes a guide opening formed therein, wherein the outlet cover extends upward toward a central axis of the first body, and wherein the outlet cover includes a plurality of the guide openings, and sizes of the guide openings decrease in an inward direction toward a center axis of the first body.
  16. 16 . The air cleaner of claim 15 , wherein the guide opening is inclined upward in an inward radial direction of the first body.
  17. 17 . The air cleaner of claim 15 , wherein the guide opening forms an acute angle with respect to an extension direction of the outlet cover.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Korean Application No. 10-2022-0087012, filed in Korea on Jul. 14, 2022, whose entire disclosure(s) is/are hereby incorporated by reference. BACKGROUND 1. Field An air cleaner, and more particularly, to an air cleaner capable of utilizing a top space of the air cleaner is disclosed herein. 2. Background An air cleaner is a device that may generate an air flow and filter the flowing air to improve the quality of indoor air in a certain space. One type of air cleaner may have an inlet provided on one side, an outlet provided on another side, and a filter provided therein. Another type of air cleaner may have the outlet at a top and filtered air, which is discharged upward, may flow outward in all directions so as to quickly improve the quality of air in an indoor space. When the outlet is provided at the top, a fan for controlling a wind direction may be separately provided at the top to blow the filtered air a long distance. An air cleaner may require a considerable volume in order to achieve desirable air cleaning performance in a certain space, and as the large-volume air cleaner may occupy a significant portion of the space, the space utilization may be reduced accordingly. A first air cleaner discussed in Korean Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2021-0140930 (published on Nov. 23, 2021) includes a cylindrical body; an outlet that is open at the top of the body; an annular outlet grille provided with the outlet and defining a top or upper surface of the body; and an operating unit disposed on a flat surface surrounded by the annular outlet grille. In the first air cleaner, the outlet is provided on the top surface of a body, which is disadvantageous as limiting a utility of a top surface of the air cleaner. In addition, the first air clear includes an operating unit that disposed at a central portion of the annular outlet and this operating unit makes it even more difficult to use the narrow flat surface of an upper end of the air cleaner. A second air cleaner discussed in Korean Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2022-0007363 (published on Jan. 18, 2022) includes an elongated cylindrical body; an outlet that is open at the top of the body; an annular outlet grille at which the outlet is formed and defining a top surface of the body; and a flat surface surrounded by the annular outlet grille. However, the body of the second air cleaner has a high height, which is disadvantageous to utilize the top surface of the body. In addition, the top surface of the body is narrow, which makes it difficult to place items. When a structure having a larger area than the top surface is placed on the top surface, the outlet is covered, which results in reducing the performance of the air cleaner. The above references are incorporated by reference herein where appropriate for appropriate teachings of additional or alternative details, features and/or technical background. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the following drawings in which like reference numerals refer to like elements, and wherein: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an air cleaner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 2 is an elevational view of an air cleaner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line A1-A2 of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a first body according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 5 is an elevational cross-sectional view of an outlet grille, taken along a line B1-B2 of FIG. 4; FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a vane, taken along a line C1-C2 of FIG. 4; FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an air cleaner taken along a line A1-A2 of FIG. 1; FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a first body according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a blower fan according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional perspective view of a blower housing according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of a guide vane according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional perspective view of an upper housing according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 13 is a perspective view illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a disassembled state of a blower fan, a blower housing, and an upper housing; FIG. 14 is a top plan view of an outlet cover according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 15 is a top plan view of an outlet cover according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; and FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of an air cleaner taken along a line D1-D2 of FIG. 15. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Description will now be given in detail according to exemplary embodiments disclosed herein, with reference to the accompanying drawings. For the sake of brie