JP2018007909A - Self-propelled vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

A small self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner having high cleaning performance is provided.
A self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C of the present invention includes a battery B as a power source, an electric blower 81 driven by the battery B and sucking dust into a dust collecting case K from a suction port 17, and a front lower portion of a main body 50. A pair of left and right side brushes 40 that are driven by the battery B and rotate in a substantially horizontal direction to collect dust, and a rotating brush 5 that is driven by the battery B and rotates in a substantially vertical direction to guide the dust to the suction port 17; A housing that houses the battery B and the electric blower 81 and a pair of drive wheels 61 that are provided at the lower portion of the housing and are driven by the battery B are provided in front of the pair of drive wheels 61. 40, the rotary brush 5 and the suction port 17 are disposed behind the pair of drive wheels 61, and the electric blower 81 is disposed between the pair of drive wheels 61.
[Selection] Figure 10

Description

  The present invention relates to a self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a self-propelled vacuum cleaner that cleans a room while moving autonomously is known. The self-propelled vacuum cleaner is equipped with a rechargeable battery as a power source, and dust is scraped into the dust case by using a motor-driven rotating brush while moving forward mainly. Since the self-propelled vacuum cleaner uses a mounted rechargeable battery as a power source, there is a limit to the usable electric capacity. Therefore, compared with a vacuum cleaner with a power cord, the suction force that can be generated by the electric blower is weak. Moreover, when a rechargeable battery is small, the moving distance of a self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner becomes short, and the area | region which can be cleaned becomes small. Therefore, the rechargeable battery needs a certain size.

  A pair of drive wheels for moving the self-propelled vacuum cleaner is provided on the left and right of the center of the lower part of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner. The rotation of the drive wheel causes the self-propelled vacuum cleaner to move forward, backward, and turn around.

  A pair of side brushes are provided on the front left and right of the lower part of the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner.

  The side brushes are rotatably supported about the shaft center, rotate toward the inside, and scrape dust outside the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner toward the suction port.

JP 2014-176507 A

  By the way, when the corner near the wall is scraped with a side brush, the side brush does not reach the corner with a small diameter side brush, and the corner cannot be cleaned. Therefore, when a side brush having a large diameter is used, the side brush reaches the corner, but the tip of the side brush may be stepped on the driving wheel, and the side brush may be caught or the driving wheel may stop.

  Therefore, in Patent Document 1, as shown in FIG. 21, the shaft 240j of the side brush 240 of the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C20 is configured to be movable inward and outward. FIG. 21 is a top view of the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner of Patent Document 1. FIG.

  As a result, when the side brush 240 comes into contact with the wall, the side brush 240 retreats toward the inside of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner C20, and when there is no wall near the side brush 240, the side brush 240 The shaft 240j is moved outwardly so that dust outside the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C20 can be cleaned. In addition, 161 is a pair of driving wheels, and 162 is a rotating brush that carries dust scraped to the center side by the side brush 240 to the suction port 163.

  However, in the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C20, the moving spaces p10 and p10 of the shaft 240j are necessary, and a dead space in which other members cannot be disposed becomes, leading to an increase in the size of the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C20. Moreover, since the moving spaces p10 and p10 form a recess, dust may accumulate.

  On the other hand, a four-legged dining chair or desk chair often has an interval between legs of about 26 cm. Therefore, a self-propelled vacuum cleaner with a diameter exceeding 26 cm has a leg of a dining chair or desk chair. It is impossible to get in and clean.

Similarly, the height from the floor surface of a sofa table or a table with storage is about 10 cm.
For this reason, it is desirable that the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner enters the lower part of the sofa table or the table with storage and has a height of 10 cm or less in order to clean the floor surface below the sofa table or the table with storage.

For those areas where cleaning is difficult or impossible due to the size of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner, the user can either lift the dining chair, desk chair, sofa table, etc. It was not done.
Accordingly, a miniaturized self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner that can clean the floor under the dining chair or desk chair with four legs and the floor under the sofa table or storage table is desired.
Therefore, if the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C20 is to be miniaturized, the rotating brush 162 and the suction port 163 are reduced because the rotating brush 162 is disposed between the pair of drive wheels 161, and the cleaning performance is deteriorated. .

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described actual situation, and an object thereof is to provide a small self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner having high cleaning performance.

  In order to solve the above problems, a self-propelled vacuum cleaner according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a battery of a power source, an electric blower driven by the battery and sucking dust into a dust collecting case from a suction port, and a front lower portion of the main body. A pair of left and right side brushes that are driven by the battery and rotate in a substantially horizontal direction to collect dust, and a rotary brush that is driven by the battery and rotates about the horizontal direction as a rotation axis, and guides the dust to the suction port A housing for housing the battery and the electric blower, a pair of drive wheels provided at a lower portion of the housing and driven by the battery, and a drive mechanism housing portion provided between the pair of drive wheels And the battery and the side brush are arranged in front of the pair of driving wheels, and the rotating brush and the suction port are arranged behind the rear ends of the pair of driving wheels, The electric blower is interposed between the pair of drive wheels. There has been placed.

  According to 1st this invention, the small self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner which is easy to ensure the width dimension of a rotating brush can be provided.

(A) is the perspective view which looked at the self-propelled vacuum cleaner concerning this embodiment from the upper left front, (b) is the perspective view which looked at the self-propelled vacuum cleaner from the upper left rear. The perspective view which looked at the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner from the lower left front. The left view of a self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner. AA sectional drawing of FIG. The bottom view of a self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner. The perspective view which looked at the state which removed the upper case from the upper left front. The perspective view of a rotating brush. (A) is the perspective view which looked at the driving wheel of the right side from diagonally left upper front, (b) is a B direction arrow line view of (a). FIG. 8A is a C direction arrow view, and FIG. 8B is a D direction arrow view of FIG. (A) is a top view of the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner in a state where the upper case and the circuit board control device are removed, and (b) is a view in the direction of arrow E in (a). (A) is the perspective view which looked at the battery case containing the rechargeable battery from the front right upper side, (b) is a F direction arrow view of (a), (c) is a G direction arrow view of (b). (A) is the perspective view which removed the upper case from the battery case and looked at the inside, (b) is the perspective view which shows arrangement | positioning of the rechargeable battery inside a battery case. The perspective view which looked at the state which stood up the handle of the dust collection case of a self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner from back upper direction. The perspective view which looked at the state which stood up the handle of the dust collection case of a self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner from the front upper direction. The perspective view which looked at the state which grasped and removed the handle of the dust collection case of a self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner from the front upper part. The perspective view which looked at the state which grasped and removed the handle of the dust collection case of a self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner from back upper direction. The perspective view of the table set which has a chair and table with four legs. The graph which showed the leg interval of the front of a chair with four legs, and the leg interval of a side. The perspective view of the center table with storage which is furniture with a leg. Graph showing the height of furniture with legs The top view of the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner of patent document 1. FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate.
The present embodiment is not limited to the following contents, and can be implemented with appropriate modifications within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

Fig.1 (a) is the perspective view which looked at self-propelled vacuum cleaner C which concerns on this embodiment from the upper left front, and FIG.1 (b) looks at self-propelled vacuum cleaner C from the upper left rear. FIG.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C as viewed from the lower left front. 3 is a left side view of the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.
FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C. FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the state in which the upper case 91 is removed as viewed from the upper left front.

Self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C of an embodiment of the present invention is a vacuum cleaner that cleans while moving autonomously in a predetermined cleaning area (for example, a room).
Of the directions in which the self-propelled vacuum cleaner C (see FIGS. 1A and 1B) travels, the side on which the side brush 40 is provided is the front, the vertical upward is the upper, and the drive wheel 61 (see FIG. 2). ) Are the left and right directions. That is, front and rear, up and down, and left and right are defined as shown in FIG. The self-propelled vacuum cleaner C mainly proceeds forward.

The self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C according to the embodiment has a component layout, an outer shape, and the like for the purpose of downsizing and the like so that it can be cleaned in a narrow space.
Here, there are the following conditions for downsizing.

First, the drive wheel 61 (see FIG. 2) is disposed at the center of the main body 50 in the front-rear direction because the self-propelled vacuum cleaner C moves forward, backward, and turns (see FIG. 5).
The suction port 17 (see FIG. 4) that sucks in dust collected by the left and right side brushes 40 is particularly large in the left-right direction in order to affect the cleaning performance.
Since the self-propelled vacuum cleaner C moves and how much it can be cleaned affects the cleaning performance, the size of the rechargeable battery B, mainly the length, is to be increased.

  First, the pair of left and right side brushes 40 scrapes dust around the front outside of the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C on the floor surface Y below the main body 50. Therefore, in order to collect the dust collected in the corners of the wall below the main body 50, it is desired to increase the diameter of the side brush 40. However, if the brush diameter is large, the drive wheel 61 may step on the side brush 40, the side brush 40 may be caught, or the drive wheel 61 may stop.

Therefore, if the rotating shaft 40j (refer FIG. 5) of the side brush 40 is arrange | positioned outside, the external shape of the main body 50 will become large and size reduction of the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C will become difficult.
From the above, the pair of drive wheels 61 are arranged at the center in the front-rear direction of the main body 50 as shown in FIGS.
Further, the outer relationship between the side brush 40, the drive wheel 61, and the main body 50 will be described. FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C. FIG. The distance between the rotation center of the side brush (axial center 40j1) and the central axis (axial center 61j) of the drive wheel 61 is L2, and the rotational center (axial center 40j1) of the side brush 40 and the outline of the main body 50 in the radial direction of the main body 50. L2 should be determined as a distance at which the drive wheel 61 does not step on the brush of the side brush 40. The smaller the main body 50 is, the smaller the preferred range for the arrangement of the drive wheels 61 and the side brush 40 is. Therefore, it is difficult to enlarge the side brush 40, and the brush length of the side brush 40 becomes shorter.
On the other hand, considering the cleaning of the corners and walls, the brush of the side brush 40 should be as long as possible. Therefore, trying to reduce the size is disadvantageous from the viewpoint of the cleaning performance of the corners and walls. .
In the present embodiment, the rotation center (axial center 40j1) of the side brush 40 is disposed near the outline of the main body 50, and L2 is lengthened. At this time, by setting the relationship of L2 / L3 to 4 or more, cleaning of the wall and corners can be effectively performed even when the main body 50 has a dimension Φ260 or less.
Regarding the suction port 17 (FIG. 4), since the distance between the pair of drive wheels 61 is small, it is necessary to arrange the suction port 17 in front of or behind the wide pair of drive wheels 61.

  The pair of left and right side brushes 40 need to be disposed in front of the suction port 17. Therefore, when the rotary brush 5 that guides dust to the suction port 17 and the suction port 17 are arranged in front of the pair of drive wheels 61, the area in front of the pair of drive wheels 61 is narrow for the purpose of downsizing, and the rotary brush. The size of 5 becomes smaller. The rotating brush 5 rotates about the rotation axis 5j in the substantially horizontal direction, in this embodiment, the left-right direction. The rotating brush 5 is located behind the rear end of the drive wheel 61.

For this reason, the pair of left and right side brushes 40 are arranged in front of the drive wheels 61, and the rotary brush 5 and the suction port 17 are arranged behind the drive wheels 61. And only the area | region where the side brush unit 40U (refer FIG. 5) is arrange | positioned was set as the structure protruded outward. Further, since the rotating brush 5 is arranged behind the main body 50 having no sensor for detecting an obstacle, the rotary brush 5 is stored in a shape corresponding to a substantially circular shape or a part of a substantially circular shape behind the main body 50 in a side view. Although it did not get in the way during running and turning operations, the lateral width dimension was secured wide by arranging it as close to the drive wheel 61 as possible. In the present embodiment, the rotation brush 5 is installed behind the rear end of the drive wheel 61 so that the width of the rotation brush 5 is easily secured. The width of the rotating brush 5 is set to 50% or more of the width dimension of the main body 50 to ensure cleaning performance. The self-propelled vacuum cleaner C of the present embodiment has a miniaturized shape with a width dimension of 260 mm or less, and the width of the rotating brush 5 is 130 mm or more.
The rotating brush 5 can include a motor and a mechanism for transmitting power from the motor on the outer side in the axis (rotating shaft 5j) direction. In such a case, if the rotating brush 5 is installed between the pair of drive wheels 61, it is very difficult to ensure the width of the rotating brush 5. In this embodiment, since the rotating brush 5 is installed behind the rear ends of the pair of drive wheels 61, for example, part or all of the motor and the transmission mechanism (the speed reduction mechanism 5G and the fixture 5K in FIG. 10A). Etc.) can be arranged immediately after the drive wheel 61, and the width of the rotating brush 5 can be easily secured.
Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the electric blower 81 is disposed at the center between the pair of drive wheels 61, and the flow path from the suction port 17 to the electric blower 81 is short, and dust is collected directly in the dust collecting case K. I was able to inhale inside.

The rechargeable battery B (see FIGS. 4 and 5) is disposed behind the pair of side brushes 40 in the vacant space and in front of the pair of drive wheels 61.
The self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C was miniaturized by the arrangement of the above-described components.
In addition, in order not to enlarge the height dimension of the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C, each component was arranged so as not to overlap as much as possible.

Hereinafter, the structure of each part of the above-mentioned self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C will be described in detail.
As shown in FIG. 5, a pair of drive wheels 61 is provided at the center in the front-rear direction in the lower part of the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C, and one auxiliary wheel 83 is provided in front of the pair of drive wheels 61.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in a state where the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C is placed on the floor surface Y of the cleaning surface, the suction portion 10 (the rotating brush 5) includes the driving wheel 61 (see FIG. 5) and the auxiliary wheel 83. At the same time, it contacts the floor Y of the cleaning surface. The main body 50 is held at a predetermined height from the floor surface Y by the drive wheels 61 and the auxiliary wheels 83. That is, the self-propelled vacuum cleaner C travels on three wheels.

  In the self-propelled vacuum cleaner C, a pair of front side brushes 40 rotate (arrow α1 in FIG. 5) to collect dust outside the front. The collected dust is guided from the front to the rear by the pair of left and right first guide brushes 45 and the pair of left and right second guide brushes 47 to the rotating brush 5. The rotating brush 5 carries the dust to the suction port 17 (see FIG. 4).

The dust carried to the suction port 17 is sucked into the dust collection case K (see FIG. 4) by the electric blower 81 (see FIG. 6).
As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the self-propelled vacuum cleaner C includes an upper case 91 that is an upper wall (and some side walls) and a lower wall that is a bottom wall (and some side walls). A main body 50 including a case 51 (see FIG. 2) and a bumper 92 installed at the front portion is provided. The upper case 91 and the lower case 51 form a housing of the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C.

  The upper case 91 has no lid that covers the dust collection case K, and the dust collection case K is exposed and stored in the upper space. Therefore, the user can freely attach and detach the dust collecting case K in the vertical direction, and the operation panel 91p can also be directly operated.

As shown in FIG. 5, the lower case 51 includes a pair of left and right drive mechanism housing portions 54, a pair of front left and right side brush mounting portions 82, a rear hole portion 52, a central exhaust port 53, and a battery housing. A portion 55 (see FIG. 4) is formed.
The drive mechanism accommodating portion 54 (see FIG. 5) accommodates a drive mechanism including a drive wheel 61 exposed below, a traveling motor 57 (see FIG. 6), and a speed reduction mechanism.
The side brush 40 is attached to the side brush attachment portion 82.
The hole 52 is fixed to the suction portion 10 into which dust collected by cleaning is sucked.
The exhaust port 53 exhausts the electric blower 81.
The rechargeable battery B is accommodated in the battery accommodating portion 55 (see FIG. 4).

  In front of the lower case 51, a battery housing portion 55 for housing the rechargeable battery B (see FIG. 4) is formed. The opening of the battery housing portion 55 of the lower case 51 is closed from below by a front lid 56 (see FIG. 5). The front lid 56 is a substantially rectangular plate-like member attached to the lower case 51. The front lid 56 includes a locking claw 56a near the front center, and includes screw holes 56b on the left and right sides of the rear. The front lid 56 is fixed to the lower case 51 from below by engaging the locking claws 56a with the lower case 51 and inserting screws into the screw holes 56b.

(Drive wheel 61)
A pair of drive wheels 61 (see FIG. 5) are provided at the central portion in the front-rear direction of the lower case 51 so as to be opposed to the left-right direction and exposed below the main body 50. The drive wheel 61 is a wheel that can rotate, rotate, and turn the main body 50 by rotating. The lower case 51 is formed with two drive mechanism housing portions 54 for housing a drive mechanism including a traveling motor 57 (see FIG. 6) and a speed reduction mechanism thereof (see FIG. 5).
The drive wheel 61 is supported by the main body 50 by a support mechanism that is accommodated in the drive mechanism accommodation portion 54. The support mechanism includes an arm 71 that supports the drive wheel 61 so as to be movable up and down.

(Auxiliary wheel 83)
The auxiliary wheel 83 (see FIG. 5) is disposed at the center in the left-right direction in front of the lower surface of the main body 50. The auxiliary wheel 83 is attached to a circular auxiliary wheel attachment portion 84 of the front lid 56. The auxiliary wheel 83 is pivotally supported so as to be driven and rotated by a frictional force generated between the auxiliary wheel 83 and the floor surface as the main body 50 moves.

  The auxiliary wheel 83 is an auxiliary wheel for smoothly moving the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C while keeping the main body 50 at a predetermined height from the floor surface Y (see FIG. 4). The auxiliary wheel 83 is configured such that its orientation is freely rotatable 360 ° in the horizontal direction.

(Electric blower 81)
An electric blower 81 (see FIGS. 4 and 6) is provided in the center of the main body 50. The electric blower 81 has a function of rotating and driving to discharge the air in the dust collecting case K to the outside to generate negative pressure and sucking dust from the floor surface Y through the suction port 17 (suction unit 10). doing. An elastic body is installed on the outer peripheral surface of the electric blower 81. By interposing the elastic body in this way, the vibration of the electric blower 81 is attenuated and hardly transmitted to the main body 50, and the vibration and noise of the main body 50 can be reduced. The electric blower 81 is disposed near the center of the lower case 51.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the suction port 17 is opened in the suction portion 10 fixed to the hole portion 52 of the lower case 51. A suction port k3 of the dust collecting case K is opened so as to be inserted through the suction port 17. The dust collection case K is provided with a dust collection filter F (see FIG. 15) so as to face the electric blower 81.

(Air channel)
When the electric blower 81 is driven, the suction port 17 of the suction unit 10 and the suction port k3 of the dust collecting case K are provided between the rotary brush 5 and the scraping brush 1 as indicated by an arrow β1 in FIG. A heading air stream is generated. Then, as shown by β2 in FIG. 4, the air flow from the suction port k3 of the dust collection case K passes through the dust collection case K, passes through the dust collection filter F, the electric blower 81, and the center of the lower case 51. Is discharged to the outside of the main body 50 from the exhaust port 53 (see FIG. 2). Thus, dust is excluded from the air sucked into the dust collection case K by the dust collection filter F.

  According to this configuration, the air containing dust can be directly introduced into the dust collection case K from the suction port 17 of the suction portion 10 in a short flow path. Therefore, there is little loss in the air flow path. On the other hand, conventionally, since the flow path of the air flow is configured to be bent or long, the loss in the air flow path is large.

(Brushes)
As shown in FIG. 5, the lower surface of the main body 50 includes a pair of side brushes 40 disposed in the front, and the rotating brush 5 and the scraping brush 1 disposed in the rear.
The pair of side brushes 40 is supported by the left and right side brush attachment portions 82 so as to be rotatable around the left and right rotation shafts 40j.

  Between the pair of side brushes 40 and the rotating brush 5, a pair of left and right first guide brushes 45 and second guide brushes 47 are erected obliquely downward from the lower surface of the main body 50 as brush members. (See FIG. 4).

  The first guide brush 45 is disposed at a position connecting the rotation shaft 40j of the side brush 40 and the oblique side of the arm 71 (near the front end of the second guide brush 47) in a state where the front lid 56 is attached to the lower case 51. Is done. The pair of second guide brushes 47 are arranged on the left and right arms 71 along the inner side of the extension line of the side wall of the rotary brush housing 15 and in a direction substantially parallel to the drive wheels 61.

The pair of side brushes 40 rotate inward around a rotation axis 40j extending in a substantially vertical direction (arrow α1 in FIG. 5), and dust on the floor surface outside the front of the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C is removed from the main body 50. Raise it down to the center of the bottom.
The rotating brush 5 rotates around a rotating shaft 5j extending in the left-right direction, as indicated by an arrow α3 in FIG. The scraping brush 1 rotates around a rotation shaft 1j extending in the left-right direction, as indicated by an arrow α4 in FIG.

  The dust on the floor collected by the side brush 40 at the lower central portion of the main body 50 is rotated between the rotating brush 5 and the scraping brush 1 by the pair of left and right first guide brushes 45 and the pair of left and right second guide brushes 47. Guided towards

  Dust guided near the rotary brush 5 and the scraping brush 1 is caused by the air flow by the electric blower 81, the rotation of the rotary brush 5 (arrow α3 in FIG. 4), and the rotation of the scraping brush 1 (arrow α4 in FIG. 4). ) Through the suction port 17 of the suction part 10 and the suction port k3 of the dust collection case K, the dust is collected in the dust collection case K.

(First guide brush 45, second guide brush 47)
The first guide brush 45 (see FIG. 5) is a flocking fixed to the groove portion of the front lid 56. The first guide brush 45 is a brush that guides dust collected by the side brush 40 between the left and right second guide brushes 47 and guides it to the suction unit 10. The first guide brush 45 preferably has a length that contacts the object to be cleaned (floor surface Y, carpet, etc.) during use (see FIG. 4). Thereby, it is possible to prevent dust from escaping from between the first guide brushes 45.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the second guide brush 47 is a flocking fixed to the groove portion of the arm 71. The arm 71 is a member capable of rotating the drive wheel 61 in the vertical direction around a rotation axis along the front-rear direction on the inner side in the left-right direction with respect to the drive wheel 61. That is, the drive wheel 61 is cantilevered by the arm 71.

  The second guide brush 47 is a brush that scrapes the side brush 40 and guides the dust that has passed through the first guide brush 45 to the suction unit 10. The second guide brush 47 preferably has a length that always contacts the object to be cleaned (floor surface Y) even when the arm 71 moves up and down during use (see FIG. 4). Thereby, dust can be prevented from escaping from between the second guide brushes 47.

(Side brush 40)
The side brush 40 shown in FIG. 5 is a brush provided with a rotating shaft 40j in a substantially vertical direction. By rotating the side brush 40 itself, dust in a place where it is not easy to reach the rotating brush 5 such as a corner of the room outside the main body 50 can be guided to the suction portion 10 (suction port 17). A part of the side brush 40 is exposed from the main body 50 in a top view (see FIG. 10A).

  The side brush 40 has three bundles of brushes extending radially at intervals of 120 ° in a top view, and is disposed on the left and right in front of the suction portion 10. The base of the side brush 40 is fixed to the side brush holder 41. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 4, the flocking of the side brush 40 is inclined so as to approach the floor surface Y of the cleaning surface toward the tip, and the vicinity of the tip is in contact with the floor Y. .

  The side brush holder 41 (see FIG. 2) is installed near the bottom surface of the lower case 51 and is connected to the side brush motor 42m (see FIG. 6). When the side brush motor 42m is driven, the side brush 40 rotates inward (arrow α1 in FIG. 2), and dust is collected between the left and right first guide brushes 45.

(Rotating brush 5)
FIG. 7A is a perspective view of the rotating brush 5, and FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view of the rotating brush 5.
The rotating brush 5 is a substantially cylindrical brush having a rotating shaft 5j in the horizontal direction. In the present embodiment, the rotating brush 5 is arranged substantially in parallel with an axis (left-right direction) passing through the rotation center of the drive wheel 61 (see FIG. 5). . The rotating brush 5 is provided continuously from one end side to the other end side in the longitudinal direction (left-right direction) of the rotating brush housing portion 15. The rotating brush 5 is supported by the suction part 10 so as to be rotatable about a substantially horizontal rotating shaft 5j (see FIG. 4) extending in the left-right direction.

  The rotary brush 5 is driven to rotate in a first vertical rotation direction (arrow α3 in FIG. 4) by a rotary brush motor 21 (see FIG. 6). The rotating brush 5 rotates in the same direction as the drive wheel 61 rotates when the main body 50 moves forward. In the present embodiment, even if the rotational direction of the drive wheel 61 changes and reverses during reverse travel, the rotational direction of the rotating brush 5 can be maintained in the first rotational direction (arrow α3 in FIG. 4). The rotating brush 5 is provided so that the flocked hair 5c and the nonwoven fabric 5f form a spiral line from the outer peripheral surface 5d of the rotating brush 5. The length of the bristles of the flocked hair 5c is formed longer than the nonwoven fabric 5f so that the flocked hair 5c contacts the floor surface Y.

The flocking 5c may include a plurality of types of flocking such as flocking with different lengths or flocking with different hardness, or may be one type of flocking. The non-woven fabric 5f has a characteristic that it bends harder than the flock 5c. That is, the nonwoven fabric 5f is harder and more flexible than the flock 5c.
The non-woven fabric 5f is formed, for example, without woven synthetic resin (polyester or the like). The non-woven fabric 5f is disposed on the front side in the first rotation direction (the direction of arrow α3 in FIG. 4) between the flocks 5c arranged in a spiral. That is, when the rotating brush 5 is rotated, after the harder nonwoven fabric 5f is rotated first, the flocks 5c softer than the nonwoven fabric 5f abut against the floor surface Y (see FIG. 7B). For example, the distance between the flocked hair 5c and the non-woven fabric 5f before the flocked hair 5c is shorter than the distance between the flocked hair 5c and the non-woven fabric 5f after the flocked hair 5c in the rotation direction (the direction of the arrow α4 in FIG. 7B). .

In other words, when the rotary brush 5 rotates, the non-woven fabric 5f does not become the resistance of the flock 5c when the flock 5c rotates.
Here, the flocking 5c of the rotating brush 5 projects a plurality of types of flocking or one type of flocking such as flocking with different lengths or flocking with different hardness in the normal direction with respect to the rotation axis 5j (see FIG. 7). It may be arranged to do. Similarly, the nonwoven fabric 5f may be disposed so as to protrude in the normal direction with respect to the rotating shaft 5j (see FIG. 7).

  By having the nonwoven fabric 5f between the flocks 5c, the lint does not enter the back of the flocks 5c, and the entanglement of the lint to the flocks 5c can be suppressed. Therefore, care for the flock 5c of the rotating brush 5 is easy. The non-woven fabric 5f may be made of a material other than the non-woven fabric such as rubber or elastomer, as long as it has a characteristic that it bends harder than the flock 5c.

  At one end (left side of the drawing) of the rotating shaft 5j of the rotating brush 5, there is a fitting portion 6 that fits into a fitting recess of a bearing (not shown) provided in the rotating brush housing portion 15 (see FIG. 5). Provided. The fitting portion 6 is a polygon (in this embodiment, a pentagon) having an odd number of angles in a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the rotation shaft 5j from the viewpoint of transmission of rotational force and the like, and is tapered toward the end of the rotation shaft 5j. Is formed.

The bearing is connected to a speed reduction mechanism 5G (see FIG. 10A) that transmits the rotational force of the rotating brush motor 21 (see FIG. 6) to the rotating brush 5.
As described above, the other end (the right side in FIG. 7) of the rotating shaft 5j of the rotating brush 5 is provided with a bearing (not shown). The bearing is locked to a fixture 5K (see FIG. 10 (a)) formed on the left side of the rotating brush accommodating portion 15.

(Scraping brush 1)
The scraping brush 1 is a brush having a rotation axis in the horizontal direction, and in this embodiment is disposed behind the rotation brush 5 along an axis (left-right direction) passing through the rotation center of the drive wheel 61 (see FIG. 5). The scraping brush 1 is provided continuously from one end side to the other end side in the longitudinal direction (left-right direction) of the scraping brush accommodating portion 11. The scraping brush 1 has a substantially cylindrical shape having a rotating shaft 1j (see FIG. 4), and is rotatably supported by the suction portion 10. The scraping brush 1 includes flocking 2 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) on a part or the entire surface of the shaft portion.

  The rear end of the rotating brush 5 and the front end of the scraping brush 1 (see FIG. 5) are close to each other. For example, the flocked hair 5c of the rotating brush 5 can be disposed so as to be in contact with the flocked hair 2 of the scraping brush 1. In the present embodiment, the scraping brush 1 and the rotating brush 5 are installed such that the roots or the vicinity of the roots of the flocks 5c and 2 are in contact with each other. From this, the rotating brush 5 can give its rotational force to the scraping brush 1. In other words, the scraping brush 1 is given a rotation corresponding to the rotating brush 5, that is, a rotational force in the direction opposite to that of the rotating brush 5.

  Here, when the main body 50 moves forward with the scraping brush 1 in contact with the cleaning surface, the scraping brush 1 rotates in the first rotational direction to cancel the rotational force applied by the rotating brush 5 by friction with the cleaning surface. Since the force is applied, the scraping brush 1 does not always rotate in the second rotation direction (arrow α4 in FIG. 4) (see FIG. 4).

  In the present embodiment, when the main body 50 moves forward, the scraping brush 1 has a rotational force from the cleaning surface that is superior to a rotational force from the rotating brush 5, and in the first rotational direction (arrow α3 in FIG. 4). Followed rotation. At this time, flooring, carpets, tatami mats, and the like can be assumed as the cleaning surface. At this time, since the rotational force in the second rotational direction (arrow α4 in FIG. 4) is applied from the rotary brush 5, the rotational speed of the scraping brush 1 and the forward speed of the main body 50 become different values, and cleaning is performed. Resistance to the surface is generated. For this reason, the scraping brush 1 can be recovered so as to scrape dust from the floor surface Y. The flock 2 is provided over the entire circumference of the scraping brush 1 in the circumferential direction.

Inside the scraping brush 1, a weight for balancing the front and rear weights with the front rechargeable battery B is housed in the rear part. The weight is made of, for example, iron having a large weight and a high density.
On the other hand, when there is no weight in the rear part that balances the weight of the front and rear with respect to the front battery B, the front battery B is heavy, and the self-propelled vacuum cleaner C tilts into the front. It is easy to become. Moreover, it inclines so that the rear part of self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C may become upper, the distance of the suction part 10 and the floor surface Y of a cleaning surface becomes large, and suction of self-propelled electric blower 81 (refer FIG. 6). Power is lost. Thereby, we are anxious about the fall to the cleaning performance of self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C.

Therefore, by storing the weight in the rear scraping brush 1, the weight balance between the front and rear is achieved by the weight of the weight, and the ground contact area between the flocked brush 5 and the cleaning surface (floor surface Y) is not excessive. It is like that. Thereby, the increase of the load of the rotary brush motor 21 (refer FIG. 6) is prevented.
As described above, the gap between the rotating brush 5 and the scraping brush 1 is connected to the dust collecting case K via the space between the rotating brush 5 and the rotating brush housing 15 and the suction port 17.

(Detailed configuration of drive wheel 61)
FIG. 8A is a perspective view of the right drive wheel as viewed obliquely from above and FIG. 8B is a view in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 8A. Fig.9 (a) is a C direction arrow directional view of Fig.8 (a), FIG.9 (b) is a D direction arrow directional view of Fig.8 (a).

The configuration of the left and right drive wheels 61 is bilaterally symmetric and has the same configuration, so only the right drive wheel 61 will be described and the description of the left drive wheel 61 will be omitted.
The drive wheel 61 includes an outer ring 61a, a center wheel 61b, and an inner ring 61c.
The diameter s1 (see FIG. 8B) of the central ring 61b is larger than the diameter s2 of the outer ring 61a and the diameter s3 of the inner ring 61c.

The outer peripheral surface 61b1 of the center ring 61b is formed with a smooth cylindrical surface.
The diameter s2 of the outer ring 61a and the diameter s3 of the inner ring 61c are set to substantially the same length.
The width dimension s5 (see FIG. 9A) of the outer ring 61a is set larger than the width dimension s4 of the center ring 61b and the width dimension s6 of the inner ring 61c. The width dimension s5 of the outer ring 61a corresponds to substantially half of the width dimension s7 of the drive wheel 61.

A concave shape 61a1 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the outer ring 61a, and the outer ring 61a is formed in an uneven surface. In addition, convex shape 61a2 and T shape 61a3 are alternately formed in the both ends of concave shape 61a1. The convex shape 61a2 and the T shape 61a3 extend in the axial direction of the outer ring 61a. In the T shape 61a3, the width on the side of the central wheel 61b is larger than the width on the side away from the central wheel 61b. The width of the convex shape 61a2 is not particularly limited, but can be substantially the same as the width of the T shape 61a3 on the central wheel 61b side. Further, the outer peripheral surface of the inner ring 61c is formed with a concave shape 61c1, and is formed on an uneven surface.
The circumferential length of the concave shape 61a1 on the outer circumferential surface of the outer ring 61a is longer than the circumferential length of the concave shape 61c1 on the outer circumferential surface of the inner ring 61c. Further, as shown in FIG. 8A, the depth dimension of the concave shape 61a1 on the outer peripheral surface of the outer ring 61a is deeper than the depth dimension of the concave shape 61c1 on the outer peripheral surface of the inner ring 61c.
With this configuration, when the floor surface Y is a flat surface such as a flooring surface, the self-propelled vacuum cleaner C can travel with less load using the central wheel 61b of the drive wheel 61, and noise is generated during traveling. Can also be suppressed. In addition, when the floor surface Y has some elasticity and softness such as a carpet, the floor surface Y is firmly captured by the concave shape 61c1 of the outer peripheral surface of the inner ring 61c of the driving wheel 61, and the convex shape of the outer ring 61a. 61a2 bites into the floor like a spike, and the self-propelled vacuum cleaner C (see FIG. 1A) can travel.

When the floor surface Y has a step, the concave shape 61a1 on the outer peripheral surface of the drive wheel 61 firmly grips the step, and the self-propelled vacuum cleaner C can travel over the step. Further, the T shape 61a3 catches a step like a hook, and makes it easier to get over the step.
In addition, since the outer ring 61a arranged on the outermost side of the drive wheel 61 has the deepest concave shape 61a1, the self-propelled electric cleaning is performed in a state where the step is firmly gripped and the force of the rotational moment around the vertical direction is small. Machine C can turn.

Therefore, power consumption can be suppressed without increasing the running load of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner C.
Further, as shown in FIG. 9A, the width dimension s5 of the outer ring 61a is set larger than the width dimension s4 of the central ring 61b and the width dimension s6 of the inner ring 61c, so that the grip force of the outer ring 61a is increased. it can.

(Override convex part 44)
As shown in FIGS. 2, 4, and 5, at the central portion between the auxiliary wheel 83 and the pair of driving wheels 61, a climbing convex portion 44 that forms a convex shape downward extends in the front-rear direction. Is formed. The overpass projection 44 is disposed between the exhaust ports 53 so as not to hinder the exhaust of the exhaust ports 53.

As shown in FIG. 3, the climbing protrusion 44 is formed starting from the front of the pair of drive wheels 61 exposed from the lower case 51 and extending rearward between the pair of drive wheels 61.
The height of the overhanging convex portion 44 is formed to be lower than the height at which the driving wheel 61 is moved upward by the rotation of the arm 71 (see FIG. 5). In other words, the climbing protrusion 44 is formed above the height of the lowermost surface where the drive wheel 61 has moved upward.

(Main body 50)
FIG. 10A is a top view of the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C with the upper case 91 and the circuit board control device 95 removed, and FIG. 10B is an E view of FIG. FIG.
The lower case 51 has an outer shape close to a thin disk. On the lower case 51, left and right traveling motors 57, a rotating brush motor 21, an electric blower 81, a control device 95 (see FIG. 6), and the like are placed.

  As shown in FIG. 5, drive mechanism accommodating portions 54 are formed on the left and right sides of the lower case 51 that has a substantially disk shape in plan view. In addition, a plurality of exhaust ports 53 are formed in the vicinity of the center of the lower case 51 as viewed from below and sandwiched between the drive mechanism housing portions 54.

A battery accommodating portion 55 (see FIG. 4) is formed in front of the center of the lower case 51. Side brush attachment portions 82 for attaching the side brush 40 are formed on the left and right sides of the battery housing portion 55. A hole 52 (see FIG. 4) in which the suction portion 10 (see FIG. 4) is fixed to the rear side of the center of the lower case 51, that is, the rear side of the exhaust port 53 and the drive mechanism housing portion 54 (see FIG. 5). 5) is formed.
The suction part 10 is a member that accommodates the scraping brush 1 and the rotating brush 5 while forming a suction port 17 (see FIG. 4).

  As shown in FIG. 4, the bumper 92 is installed so as to be movable in the front-rear direction according to the pressing force acting from the outside. The bumper 92 is urged forward by a pair of left and right bumper springs (not shown). The tip of the bumper spring is curved in a J shape, and this curved portion is in contact with the inner wall surface of the bumper 92. When an external force from an obstacle acts on the bumper spring via the bumper 92, the bumper spring is elastically deformed, and the bumper 92 is urged forward by the elastic force and the bumper 92 is retracted. When the bumper 92 moves away from the obstacle and the external force from the obstacle disappears, the bumper 92 is restored to the original position by the elastic force of the bumper spring. Incidentally, the retreat of the bumper 92 (that is, contact with an obstacle) is detected by sensors (infrared sensors) (see FIG. 4) described later, and the detection result is input to the control device 95 (see FIG. 6). .

(Shape of self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C)
As shown in FIG. 10A, the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C has a radius R1 of the rear side wall surface c1 with respect to the rear side wall surface c1 formed in an arc shape (radius R1) in the rear top view. Convex projecting portions c3 and c3 that are pointed outward from the arc shape (radius R1) of the drawn locus are formed at the front. A side brush unit 40U (see FIGS. 5 and 10A) of the speed reduction mechanism of the side brush 40 including the side brush motor 42m and the side brush motor gear 42g for driving the side brush 40 is disposed on the overhanging portion c3.
In addition, the front side wall surface c2 (see FIG. 10A) of the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C has a radius R2 larger than the arc-shaped radius R1 of the rear side wall surface c1 when viewed from above.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the position of the axis 40j1 of the rotating shaft 40j on which the side brush 40 is rotatably supported is more than the locus drawn by the radius R1 where the rear side wall surface c1 is formed in a top view. Arranged at the inner position.

  As described above, the side brush 40 can be swept away from the corners of the wall without being stepped on the driving wheel 61, and the reduction ratio of the side brush motor 42m can be more than a certain level. It is determined so as to satisfy the condition (see FIGS. 5 and 10A). By increasing the side brush motor gear 42g so that the reduction ratio of the side brush motor 42m is greater than a certain value, it is possible to have a sweeping torque greater than a certain value of the side brush 40.

  Due to the outer shape of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner C described above, the self-propelled vacuum cleaner C is small in size, but the side brush 40 does not step on the drive wheels 61, and the dust at the corners of the wall is removed. 40 can sweep.

  And the rechargeable battery B can be enlarged by providing the rechargeable battery B between the pair of side brushes 40 in front of the main body 50, and the decrease in the operating time of the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C can be suppressed. Therefore, the cleaning capability of the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C can be maintained or improved while being small.

(Battery housing 55)
As shown in FIG. 4, the battery housing portion 55 is a space for housing the rechargeable battery B inside the lower case 51, and has a downward opening surrounded by a wall surface.

(Rechargeable battery B)
FIG. 11A is a perspective view of the battery case Cb containing the rechargeable battery B as viewed from the front right upper side, and FIG. 11B is a view in the direction of arrow F in FIG. 11 (c) is a G direction arrow view of FIG. 11 (b).
FIG. 12A is a perspective view showing the inside of the battery case Cb with the upper case Cb1 removed, and FIG. 12B is a perspective view showing the arrangement of the rechargeable batteries B inside the battery case Cb. .

The battery case Cb has a long shape and is formed of a triangular prism shape and a flat rectangular parallelepiped shape.
The battery case Cb has an upper case Cb1 and a lower case Cb2.
A battery terminal bt connected to the control board of the rechargeable battery B is exposed from a part of the battery case Cb. Five cells of the rechargeable battery B are accommodated in the battery case Cb (see FIG. 12B).

As shown in FIG. 12B, the rechargeable battery B has an elongated cylindrical shape. Since the rechargeable battery B has a round cross-sectional shape, the occupied space can be reduced.
Inside the battery case Cb, as shown in FIG. 12B, three rechargeable batteries B are accommodated on one side, and two rechargeable batteries B are accommodated on the other side. In the battery case Cb, the three rechargeable batteries B are stored in a triangular prism-shaped space, and the two rechargeable batteries B are stored in a flat rectangular parallelepiped space.

The rechargeable battery B is, for example, a lithium ion battery of a cell (18650). The rechargeable battery B has, for example, a diameter of 18 mm and a length of 65 mm.
Thus, since the rechargeable battery B of the lithium ion battery is accommodated in the battery case Cb, the control board b1 (see FIG. 12A) for controlling the rechargeable battery B is arranged in the package of the battery case Cb. It is installed. As in this configuration, n cells are arranged on one side, n + 1 cells are arranged on the other side, and the control board b1 is arranged in a space corresponding to the difference, whereby the rechargeable battery B Components can be arranged efficiently. Note that the number of cells on the other side may be larger than that on one side. What is necessary is just to arrange | position the control board b1 in the space produced by the difference in the number.

(Main power switch 63)
As shown in FIG. 5, the main power switch 63 for turning on / off the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C is provided on the outer lower case 51 in the direction of the axis 61 j of one drive wheel 61 at the bottom of the main body 50. It is arranged. That is, the main power switch 63 is disposed on the lower surface side of the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C.

  On the other hand, when the main power switch 63 is disposed on the upper surface side of the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C, there is a risk of water splashing or being accidentally pressed. Therefore, by disposing the main power switch 63 on the lower surface side of the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C, it is possible to prevent water from being splashed or accidentally pressed.

Further, the main power switch 63 is disposed at a position on the axis 61j of the drive wheel 61 in the bottom view. Thereby, even when the drive wheel 61 moves upward, it can be positioned above the lowermost surface of the drive wheel 61. That is, since the main power switch 63 is provided near the position protruding downward of the drive wheel 61, it can be prevented from coming into contact with the object on the floor surface Y and being pressed down excessively.
Note that the outside of the axis 61j of the drive wheel 61 is a dead space formed by a rectangular shape when the drive wheel 61 is viewed from below and the outer contour shape of the main body 50, and the main power switch 63 is arranged therefor. It does not take up new space.

(Suction part 10)
As shown in FIG. 5, the suction portion 10 is attached to the hole portion 52 of the lower case 51 from below.
As shown in FIG. 4, a rotating brush accommodating portion 15 that accommodates the rotating brush 5 is formed in the front portion of the suction portion 10. A scraping brush accommodating portion 11 that accommodates the scraping brush 1 is formed at the rear portion of the rotating brush accommodating portion 15.

With this configuration, the rotating brush 5 and the scraping brush 1 are arranged in this order from the front of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner C.
The rotating brush 5 and the scraping brush 1 are configured to be attached to the suction portion 10 so as to be rotatable, and to be removable and attachable.

  Then, in order from the suction portion 10 toward the downstream side, an air flow path of a dust collection case K (FIG. 4), a dust collection filter F, an electric blower 81, and an exhaust port 53 (see FIG. 5) is formed. Yes. The suction part 10 is a member in which the suction port 17 is formed and which houses the rotating brush 5 and the scraping brush 1 (see FIG. 4). A rotary brush motor 21 (see FIG. 6) is fixed to the suction portion 10.

(Sensors)
The bumper sensor 8a (see FIG. 6) is an infrared sensor that detects the backward movement of the bumper 92 (that is, contact with an obstacle). For example, when an obstacle comes into contact with the bumper 92, the light receiving time of the sensor light (the reflected light thereof) is shortened. A detection signal corresponding to the change in the light reception time is output to the control device 95.
The distance measuring sensor 8b (see FIG. 6) is an infrared sensor that detects the distance to the obstacle. In the present embodiment, the distance measuring sensors 8b are provided at a total of five locations including three on the front and two on the side.

  The distance measuring sensor 8b has a light emitting unit (not shown) that emits infrared light and a light receiving unit (not shown) that receives reflected light that is reflected by the infrared light reflected by an obstacle. The distance to the obstacle is calculated based on the intensity of the reflected light detected by the light receiving unit. In the bumper 92, at least the vicinity of the distance measuring sensor 8b is formed of resin or glass that transmits infrared rays.

  Incidentally, another type of sensor (for example, an ultrasonic sensor or a visible light sensor) may be used as the distance measuring sensor 8b. Further, some of the distance measuring sensors 8b may be sensors that determine only the presence or absence of an obstacle (determining whether an obstacle exists within a set distance), thereby reducing costs.

  The floor surface ranging sensor 8c (see FIG. 5) is an infrared sensor that measures the distance to the floor surface, and is installed at four locations on the front, rear, left and right of the lower case 51. By detecting a large step such as a staircase or the like by the floor surface distance measuring sensor 8c, the self-propelled vacuum cleaner C can be prevented from falling (from the staircase or the like). For example, when a level difference of about 30 mm is detected forward by the floor distance measuring sensor 8c, the control device 95 (see FIG. 6) controls the travel motor to retract the main body 50 and change the traveling direction. Here, some of the floor surface ranging sensors 8c, for example, rear sensors that are less frequently used, are sensors that determine only the presence or absence of a step (whether there is a step greater than a set distance), thereby reducing costs. It is also possible.

  The rotational speed and rotational angle of the traveling motor 57 (see FIG. 6) are detected from the traveling motor pulse output. The control device 95 calculates the moving speed and moving distance of the main body 50 based on the rotation speed and rotation angle detected from the travel motor pulse output, the gear ratio of the speed reduction mechanism, and the diameter of the drive wheel 61. .

  The traveling motor current measuring instrument is a measuring instrument that measures the current flowing through the armature winding of the traveling motor 57. Similarly, the electric blower current measuring device measures the current value of the electric blower 81, and the rotating brush motor current measuring device measures the current value of the rotating brush motor 21 (see FIG. 6). The two side brush motor current measuring devices measure the current value of the side brush motor 42m. Each current measuring instrument outputs the measured current value to the control device 95. Thereby, for example, an abnormality in which the rotating brush 5 is entangled with the foreign matter and stops rotating can be detected, and can be notified to the user by a display panel (not shown).

(Operation buttons 97)
The operation button 97 is a button for outputting an operation signal in accordance with a user operation to the control device 95 (see FIG. 6) (see FIGS. 1A and 1B). For example, a power button and start of cleaning are performed. / End button and a cleaning mode selection button for changing the cleaning mode.

The display panel driving device is a device that applies a voltage to the electrodes of the display panel in response to a command from the control device 95. The display panel (not shown) has a plurality of LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) and a 7-segment display (not shown), and displays the operating state of the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C.
The rechargeable battery B is, for example, a secondary battery that can be reused by charging, and is accommodated in the battery accommodating portion 55 (see FIG. 4). Electric power from the rechargeable battery B is supplied to sensors, motors, driving devices, and a control device 95.

  The travel motor drive device (not shown) is an inverter that drives the left and right travel motors, or a pulse waveform generator by PWM control, and operates according to a command from the control device 95. The same applies to the electric blower driving device, the rotating brush motor driving device, and the side brush motor driving device (left) (right). Each of these driving devices is installed in a control device 95 in the main body 50.

(Control device 95)
The control device 95 is, for example, a microcomputer (not shown), reads a program stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) and develops it in a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) performs various processes. It is supposed to run. The control device 95 performs arithmetic processing according to signals input from the operation buttons 97 (see FIG. 1) and sensors, and outputs command signals to the above-described driving devices.

(Dust collection case K)
FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the dust collecting case K of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner as viewed from the rear upper side, and FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the dust collecting case K of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner. It is the perspective view which looked at the state from the front upper direction.
FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the dust collecting case K of the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner as viewed from the front and above, and FIG. 16 is a handle of the dust collecting case K of the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner. It is the perspective view which looked at the state remove | gripped and removed from back upper direction.

  The dust collection case K is a container that collects dust sucked from the floor surface Y through the suction port 17 (suction unit 10) (see FIGS. 1A, 4, 15, and 16). The dust collection case K includes a main body k1 that stores the collected dust and a handle k2 that can be folded with respect to the main body k1. The main body k1 of the dust collection case K has a shape configured such that the lower surface corresponds to the shape of the upper portion of the suction portion 10, and the inlet k3 having a shape corresponding to the suction port 17 is located at a position facing the suction port 17. Is formed (see FIG. 4). The main body k1 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole. The main body k1 faces the suction port 81s (see FIG. 16) of the electric blower 81 and includes a dust collection filter F. The handle k2 is foldably provided on the upper part of the main body k1.

The dust collection case K is removed as follows.
In the state where cleaning is completed, the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C is in the state shown in FIGS.
When removing the dust collection case K, the user puts his hand into the insertion port k0 of the dust collection case K and stands the handle k2 with respect to the main body k1 as shown in FIGS. Then, the handle k2 is gripped, and the dust collecting case K is removed upward from the main body 50 as shown in FIGS.

On the other hand, when attaching the dust collecting case K to the main body 50, the above procedure may be traced back.
Thus, the dust collection case K can be attached to and removed from the main body 50 in the vertical direction, so that the cleaned dust can be discarded, and the dust collection filter F of the dust collection case K can be easily maintained and replaced. . Further, by forming at least the upper surface side of the dust collecting case K with a transparent member, the user can directly see the dust contained therein, and confirm the dust before the dust collecting case K is full. Easy to use because it can be discarded.

(Size of self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C)
FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a table set having a chair and a table having four legs. FIG. 18 is a graph showing the leg spacing on the front and side legs of a chair with four legs. In FIG. 18, the horizontal axis indicates the distance dimension (mm), and the vertical axis indicates the ratio (%) to the total number of chairs having four legs to be investigated. The black squares in FIG. 18 indicate the leg spacing on the front of the chair with four legs, and the open triangles indicate the leg spacing on the side of the chair with four legs.

From FIG. 18, the chair having four legs of almost 100% has a front leg interval s11 of 260 mm or more and a side leg interval s12 of 260 mm or more.
Therefore, if the maximum horizontal dimension Ck (see FIG. 10A) of the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C is set to less than 260 mm, the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C can be moved between the front legs or the side legs. The floor surface Y under the table set having a chair or table with four legs can be cleaned by the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C.

  FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a center table with storage, which is furniture with legs. FIG. 20 is a graph showing the height of furniture with legs. In FIG. 20, the horizontal axis indicates the height dimension (cm), and the vertical axis indicates the ratio (%) to the total number of legged furniture to be investigated. A black triangle in FIG. 20 indicates a bed, a black square indicates a sofa, and a black diamond indicates a sofa and a bed.

From FIG. 20, about 50% of the sofas have a height of 10 cm or more from the floor surface Y. Moreover, about 80% of the beds have a height of 10 cm or more from the floor surface Y. When the sofa and the bed are combined, about 70% of the height from the floor surface Y is 10 cm or more.
Therefore, if the height Ch (see FIG. 3) of the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C is less than 10 cm, about 70% of the sofa and the floor surface Y below the bed can be cleaned by the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C.

Therefore, in the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C, the horizontal outermost diameter dimension Ck (see FIG. 10A) is less than 260 mm, and the height dimension Ch (see FIG. 3) is less than 10 cm (100 mm). . For example, the maximum diameter Ck of the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C is 250 mm, and the height Ch (see FIG. 3) of the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C is 92 mm.
Thereby, the floor surface Y under the table set which has a chair and a table with four legs can be cleaned with the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C. Moreover, the floor surface Y below the furniture with about 70% of legs can be cleaned by the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C.

  According to the self-propelled vacuum cleaner C described above, the rechargeable battery B is disposed in the front portion of the main body 50, and the space on both sides of the front portion is defined as the size of the circle on the rear portion of the main body 50 (see FIG. The side brush unit 40U was arranged wider than the radius R1).

As a result, only the space for the side brush 40 to enter is larger than the size of the circle at the rear of the main body 50 (radius R1 in FIG. 10A), thereby reducing the width dimension and the front-rear dimension of the main body 50. Can be
The side brush 40 can be brought close to the front corner, and the corner can be cleaned. There is no need to reduce the size of the rechargeable battery B, and the operation time of the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C can be maintained.
Further, by installing the rotating brush 5 behind the rear end of the drive wheel 61, the width of the rotating brush 5 can be secured. For example, in this embodiment, the width of the rotating brush 5 is 130 mm or more.
Accordingly, it is possible to obtain a self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner C that is easy to use and is small in size, yet has high cleaning performance.

  The self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner according to the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the embodiment. Needless to say, the content of the present invention is not limited to the embodiment, and can be appropriately modified and changed within a range not departing from the gist thereof. Further, in the present embodiment, the present invention has been described by taking a self-propelled cleaner as an example. However, the present invention may be applied to a suction mouth of a canister type, a stick type, or a handy type vacuum cleaner using a battery as a power source. There is a similar effect.

5 Rotating brush 5c Flocking 5f Non-woven fabric (attachment prevention material)
17 Suction port 21 Rotating brush motor (second motor)
40 side brush 40j1 axis (side brush rotation center)
40U Side brush unit 41 Side brush holder 42m Side brush motor (first motor)
44 Override convex part 50 Body 51 Lower case (housing)
57 Traveling motor (third motor)
61 Driving wheel 61c Inner ring (first outer peripheral surface)
61b Central wheel (second outer peripheral surface)
61a Outer ring (third outer peripheral surface)
61j shaft center (rotation center of drive wheel)
63 Main power switch 81 Electric blower 83 Auxiliary wheel 91 Upper case (housing)
B Rechargeable battery (battery)
C Self-propelled vacuum cleaner Ch Height dimension Ck Outermost diameter dimension c3 Overhang portion F Dust collection filter L2 Distance between side brush rotation center and drive wheel center axis (axis) (side brush rotation center and drive wheel) Rotation center distance)
L3 Distance between rotation center of side brush and main body outline K Dust collection case K1 Inlet R1 radius (Rear radius)

Claims (10)

Power battery,
An electric blower driven by the battery and sucking dust into the dust collecting case from the suction port;
A pair of left and right side brushes provided at the front lower part of the main body, driven by the battery and rotated in a substantially horizontal direction to collect dust;
A rotating brush that is driven by the battery, rotates about a horizontal direction as a rotation axis, and guides the dust to the suction port;
A housing for housing the battery and the electric blower;
A pair of drive wheels provided at the bottom of the housing and driven by the battery;
A drive mechanism housing provided between the pair of drive wheels,
The battery and the side brush are disposed in front of the pair of driving wheels,
The rotating brush and the suction port are arranged behind the rear ends of the pair of drive wheels,
The electric blower is disposed between the pair of drive wheels. Power battery,
An electric blower driven by the battery and sucking dust into the dust collecting case from the suction port;
A pair of left and right side brushes provided at the front lower part of the main body, driven by the battery and rotated in a substantially horizontal direction to collect dust;
A rotating brush that is driven by the battery, rotates about a horizontal direction as a rotation axis, and guides the dust to the suction port;
A housing for housing the battery and the electric blower;
A pair of drive wheels provided at the bottom of the housing and driven by the battery;
An auxiliary wheel provided at the bottom of the housing,
The housing is
In top view, a pair of overhanging portions are formed on the left and right of the front portion of the main body so as to protrude outward from the locus drawn by the radius at which the rear portion of the main body is formed,
The self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner, wherein the side brush drive unit is disposed in the overhanging unit. The self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 2,
The self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner, wherein an axial center of a rotation center of the side brush is arranged at a position inside a locus drawn by the radius in a top view. In the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 1 or 2,
The drive wheel is
A first outer peripheral surface on which an uneven shape is formed, a second outer peripheral surface on which a smooth cylindrical surface is formed, and a third outer periphery on which an uneven shape having a concave shape larger than the concave shape of the uneven shape is formed A self-propelled vacuum cleaner characterized by having a surface. In the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 1 or 2,
A climbing protrusion formed on the lower surface of the housing from the front to the rear of the driving wheel exposed from the housing and above the height of the lowermost surface when the driving wheel moves upward. A self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner characterized by having a shape protruding downward. In the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 1 or 2,
The main power switch of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner is disposed outside the drive wheels in the direction along the rotation axis of the pair of drive wheels on the lower surface of the main body. Electric vacuum cleaner. In the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 1 or 2,
The dust collection case is provided so as to be exposed upward, and is moved up and down to be detached. In the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 1 or 2,
The outermost dimension in the horizontal direction of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner is less than 260 mm,
The self-propelled vacuum cleaner has a height dimension of less than 100 mm. The self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 8,
The rotating brush of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner is housed in a circular shape that forms the back of the main body,
The self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner, wherein a width dimension of the rotating brush with respect to a traveling direction is 130 mm or more. In the self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 1 or 2,
A self-propelled vacuum cleaner characterized in that the distance between the rotation center of the side brush and the rotation center of the drive wheel is at least four times the distance between the rotation center of the side brush and the outer shell of the main body when viewed from below. .

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