JP2824944B2 - Electric vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner having improved operability.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In housework, although the task of cleaning has been reduced by the development of vacuum cleaners, it has been reduced on the floor by improving suction power and diversifying the floor to be cleaned (for example, the spread of carpets). Running the floor brush is heavy resistance, and it is still hard work with fatigue. In addition, cleaning robots that automatically travel on the floor unattended and suck dust and dirt have been proposed, but in Japanese houses with many small rooms where furniture, furniture, etc. are placed, cleaning robots do not function well. Due to the high cost and other reasons, it has not yet reached the stage of widespread use for home use.

[0003] Therefore, various developments have been made for the purpose of reducing the running resistance and improving the operability of a vacuum cleaner which is operated and cleaned by a person.
There is an invention disclosed in US Pat. The suction port body of the vacuum cleaner according to the present invention includes a suction port main body having a suction port, a rotary brush supported by the suction port main body to face the suction port so as to be freely rotatable forward and backward, and the suction port body. A forward / reverse rotatable rotating brush motor for driving the rotating brush in a forward / reverse direction; a traveling drive wheel rotatably supported in a forward / reverse direction by the suction port main body; and the drive provided in the suction port main body. A forward / reverse rotatable driving motor for driving the wheels; and a rotating brush motor when the driving wheel motor rotates forward and the driving wheel motor reversely rotates when the driving wheel motor rotates forward. It is provided with a forward / reverse reversing switch for interlocking both motors so that the motors rotate reversely.

[0004] Then, with such a configuration,
Good running performance can be obtained both when moving forward and backward, improving operability for running.In addition, the reversing brush makes it possible to effectively scrape dust from carpets, etc. It is said to improve.

[0005]

As described above, the conventional vacuum cleaner is based on the premise that the floor brush travels in the front-back direction of the person operating the vacuum cleaner, and the traveling resistance is certainly reduced. However, the floor brush must be run in the forward and backward directions by bending the hips in a forward leaning position and moving the arms back and forth. For this reason, the exercise of the muscles of the back, the waist, and the shoulder is inevitably required, and the problem of muscular fatigue has not been solved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems. The present invention enables a floor brush to run in a left-right direction with respect to a posture of walking a person operating an electric vacuum cleaner back and forth. Without bending, and without moving the arm back and forth, walking with the handling handle can suck in dust and dirt on the floor, and there is very little operational resistance and does not induce fatigue. The purpose is to obtain a vacuum cleaner.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a vacuum cleaner having at least an electric blower and a dust collecting chamber communicating with the electric blower, the cleaner body being connected to the cleaner body, An electric vacuum cleaner having a floor brush in contact with a floor and sucking dust, dust and the like on the floor, comprising: a traveling wheel; a forward / reverse rotatable motor for driving the traveling wheel; A self-propelled means for running, wherein the cleaner main body and the floor brush are connected by a first flexible hose, a gripping tube having a hand operation unit, and a second flexible hose. It is. Also,
The operation unit is provided separately and independently. Further, the floor brush is provided with an operation rod provided with an operation section.

[0008]

When the power switch is turned on and the traveling mechanism is operated by the operation unit at hand, the floor brush automatically moves on the floor without applying human power, and sucks dust and dirt. Also, when the traveling mechanism is operated by the hand operation unit with the hand attached to the operation rod, the floor brush automatically moves to clean the floor surface. Also, where there is a rug, such as a carpet, use the operation stick in both hands and sweep the floor with a broom to reciprocate and clean.

[0009]

【Example】

Embodiment 1 FIG. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a cleaner main body, which incorporates an electric blower, a dust collecting chamber communicating with the electric blower, a cord reel for winding the power cord 3, and the like. 2 is a rear wheel. In addition,
Although not shown, a front wheel is provided at the front lower surface of the cleaner body 1. Reference numeral 4 denotes a first hose having flexibility (hereinafter, simply referred to as a first hose), and a connection pipe 5 connected to a connection port 1a of the cleaner body 1 is attached to one end of the first hose.
At the other end, a grip tube (handle) 6 having a handle 7 is provided. Reference numeral 8 denotes a hand operation unit provided on the grip tube 6, which is connected to a power supply and an electric blower via a terminal provided in the cleaner main body 1 by a lead wire provided inside the first hose 4. . Reference numeral 10 denotes a floor brush having a flat rectangular shape. On the upper surface, a rotating tube 12 that opens in the longitudinal direction of the floor brush 10 is mounted so as to be rotatable within a predetermined range. Are connected by a flexible second hose 9 (hereinafter simply referred to as a second hose).

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an embodiment of a floor brush used in the present invention, FIG. 3 is a side view, and FIG. 4 is a bottom view showing a state in which a bottom plate is removed. Reference numeral 11 denotes a rectangular main body made of a synthetic resin molded product.
3, a rotary tube 12 to which the second hose 9 is connected is mounted. 14 is the main body 11 in the suction port 13.
A pulley 15 provided at one end and a main body 1 which is rotatably and detachably supported in a rotatable manner in a forward and reverse direction in a longitudinal direction.
Rotary brush drive motor 1 fixed to 1 and rotatable forward and backward
6 is connected to a pulley 17 provided on an output shaft by a timing belt 18.

20a, 20b, 20c and 20d are the main body 1
The traveling wheels provided at the four corners of the traveling wheels 20a, 20b
Are mounted at one corner of the main body 11 so as to be rotatable in forward and reverse directions, and the traveling wheels 21c and 21d are
Is mounted on a common traveling drive shaft 23 rotatably supported on the main body 11 via a bearing 22 at the other corner. And each traveling wheel 20a-20d is the main body 1
1 is slightly exposed from the bottom plate. Reference numeral 24 denotes a forward / reverse running traveling wheel drive motor fixed to the main body 11 substantially coaxially with the rotating brush drive motor 16, and its output gear is connected to a gear 26 fixed to the traveling drive shaft 23 via a reduction gear 25. Have been. The traveling wheel drive motor 24
Is supplied with power via a hand operation unit 8 provided on the grip tube 6 and is controlled.

FIG. 5 shows the main body 11 of the floor brush 10 and the rotary tube 1.
FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of a connecting portion with the connecting member 2. The inner peripheral surface of the side wall of the cylindrical connecting hole 30 having the stepped portion 31 provided at the center of the main body 11 is made of a conductive material as shown in FIG. A plurality of contacts 33 made of a spring material are fixed by the pins 32.
A lead wire 34 for supplying power to the rotary brush drive motor 16 and the like is connected to the pin 32. On the other hand, a cylindrical portion 36 is formed at the lower portion of the rotary tube 12 via a step 35 which is engaged with the step 31 of the connection hole 30. , A ring-shaped electrode 37 is fixed. The electrode 37 is connected to the hand operation unit 8 by a lead wire 38 provided along the rotating tube 12 and the second hose 9. 39 is a holding plate.

In the connecting portion configured as described above,
Power supply and commands from the hand operation unit 8 are applied to the electrode 37 via the lead wire 38, and the contact 37, the pin 32,
It is applied to the rotary brush drive motor 16 via a lead wire 34.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First,
Extend the power cord 3 of the cleaner body 1 and insert the plug into the power outlet. Next, the grip brush 6 is held by hand and the floor brush 10 is placed on the floor so that the length direction thereof substantially matches the direction of walking back and forth of the person, and the power switch provided on the hand operation unit 8 is turned on. By operating the electric blower of the vacuum cleaner main body 1 and operating the hand operation unit 8 to drive the traveling wheel drive motor 24, the floor brush 10 is automatically turned on without applying any human power according to a preset program. It moves on the floor and sucks dust and dust off the floor. Therefore, the person holding the grip tube 6 moves in the appropriate direction while moving the floor brush 10 left and right,
The floor can be cleaned automatically.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the floor brush. In this embodiment, the traveling wheels 20a and 20d are fixed to the main body 11 and are rotatable in the forward and reverse directions controlled by the operation unit 8. The drive motors 24a and 24b are connected to drive the traveling wheels 20c and 20d independently.

In the floor brush 10 configured as described above, the user operates the hand operation unit 8 to thereby operate the floor brush 10.
For example, the following exercise can be performed. (1) When the two traveling wheel drive motors 24a and 24b are rotated at the same speed and periodically in the forward and reverse directions, the floor brush 10 reciprocates in an arc at substantially the same position without applying any human power.

(2) When the rear running wheel drive motor 24b is rotated at a higher speed than the front running wheel drive motor 24a and both are periodically rotated in the forward and reverse directions, the floor brush 10 is moved to the state shown in FIG. As shown, the vehicle advances while repeating a reciprocating motion of a substantially convex arc shape. (3) Contrary to the above, when the front traveling wheel drive motor 24a is periodically rotated at high speed in the forward / reverse direction with respect to the rear traveling wheel drive motor 24b, the floor brush 10 becomes the one shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, the robot retreats while repeating a reciprocating motion having a substantially concave arc shape.

(4) The front running wheel drive motor 24a is rotated or stopped at a low speed, and the rear running wheel drive motor 24b is driven at a slightly higher speed for a short time, and then both the running wheel drive motors 24a, 24b are driven. Is rotated at the same speed, and this operation is repeated at the right and left start ends, whereby the floor brush 10 moves forward at a relatively high speed while repeating a reciprocating motion of a convex and substantially circular arc as shown in FIG. I do. (5) By performing the operation opposite to the above, the floor brush 10 repeats a reciprocating motion of a concave and substantially arc shape,
Retreat relatively fast. (6) The above is an example of the motion of the floor brush 10, and various motions can be performed by appropriately controlling the two traveling wheel drive motors 24a and 24b.

In the embodiment of the floor brush shown in FIG. 9, a shaft 4 is attached to the distal ends of arms 42a and 42b rotatably mounted on brackets 41a and 41b provided on the side wall of the main body 11.
4 and turning wheels 43a and 43b, which are rotatably mounted on the shaft 44 so as to be rotatable in forward and reverse directions, and a hand operating portion 8 is provided between the brackets 41a and 41b.
The servomotor 47 is controlled by an arm 42 having one end connected to the other end of the arm 49 attached to the output shaft 48.
In this embodiment, a steering mechanism fixed to a lever 46 connecting the a and the 42b is provided.

The turning wheels 43a and 43b are adjusted by, for example, variable resistors R ₁ and R _{2 such as} a volume provided in the hand operation unit 8 shown in FIG. 10A and a servo motor shown in FIG. A bridge circuit 50 as shown in FIG. 10C is formed by the variable resistors R ₃ and R ₄ whose resistance values change with the rotation of the servo motor 47, and the servo motor 47 is connected between the detection terminals and the power supply terminal. Is connected to a power supply 51.

In the floor brush 10 configured as described above, the knob of the volume provided on the hand operation unit 8 is now
For example, the resistance value of the variable resistors R ₁ and R ₂ is changed by rotating a desired angle in either the + direction or the − direction around 0, and the turning direction and the turning angle of the turning wheels 43 a and 43 b are set. When the resistance values of the variable resistors R ₁ and R ₂ change, an unbalanced voltage is generated in the bridge circuit 50, and the servo motor 47 rotates in the forward or reverse direction in accordance with the polarity of the unbalanced voltage to change the variable resistance R. _3, by changing the resistance value of _{R 4,} a bridge circuit 50 for balancing. The arm 49 is driven by the rotation of the servomotor 47 and the lever 46 connected thereto is driven.
Is moved to the right or left in accordance with the rotation direction of the servo motor 47, and the turning wheels 43a, 43
b is turned in accordance with the rotation angle of the servomotor 47.

By operating the knob of, for example, the volume provided on the hand operation unit 8 in this manner, the turning wheel 43 is operated.
The turning direction and the turning angle of a and 43b can be set arbitrarily, and based on this, the floor brush 10 can be automatically moved in any direction.

FIG . 11 is a bottom view of another embodiment of the floor brush 10. In this embodiment, the main body 11 of the floor brush 10 shown in FIG.
The front part of the vehicle is extended to provide a chamber 11a, in which a front-rear traveling wheel 56 that rotates in the normal and reverse directions perpendicular to the traveling wheels 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20d, and a forward / reverse controlled by the hand operation unit 8. A front-rear traveling mechanism 55 including a traveling wheel drive motor 57 that rotates and drives the traveling wheel 56 is provided.

In the floor brush 10 configured as described above, by simultaneously driving and controlling the traveling wheels 20a to 20d and the front-rear traveling wheel 56, the floor brush 10 moves forward or backward while automatically repeating an arc movement. Therefore, the person can easily clean the floor only by supporting the grip tube 6. In this case, the traveling wheels 20c and 20d may be provided with an elevating mechanism composed of, for example, a cam, and when the front-rear traveling mechanism 55 is operated, the traveling wheels 20c and 20d may be raised to separate from the floor surface. The front-rear traveling mechanism 55 may be provided at a rear portion of the main body 11, or may be provided on the floor brush 10 described with reference to FIGS.

Embodiment 2 FIG. FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the connection port 1a of the cleaner body 1 is used.
And the rotating tube 12 of the floor brush 10 are connected by a flexible hose 4 (hereinafter simply referred to as a hose) having an appropriate length, and directly from the rotating tube 12 of the floor brush 10 or the main body 11 of the floor brush 10. Hand operation unit 8 separately provided on cable 27 taken out
a. In addition, the power supply unit of the cleaner body 1 and the floor brush 10 are connected by a lead wire provided along the hose 4, and the above-mentioned floor brushes are appropriately used for the floor brush 10.

In this embodiment constructed as described above, the floor brush 10 is operated by the hand operation unit 8a at a remote position without holding the hose 4 in a hand, and the floor brush 10 is moved back and forth, left and right as described above. Etc. to clean the floor.

In the above description, the case where the floor brush 10 is operated by the hand operation unit 8a connected by the cable 27 is shown. However, the hand operation unit is provided in the cleaner main body 1, and the floor brush 10 A cable extending along the inside or outside may be connected to the hand operation unit, or the floor brush 10 may be remotely controlled by the hand operation unit without using the cable 27.

Embodiment 3 FIG. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a main part of the third embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is different from the above-described second embodiment in that an operation rod 60 is provided on the floor brush 10. Reference numeral 28 denotes an operation rod 60 provided substantially at the center of the upper surface of the main body 11 of the floor brush 10 as described above. It is a mounting part. Reference numeral 61 denotes a telescopic pipe whose tip is detachably and rotatably mounted on the mounting section 28 of the floor brush 10, and a plurality of pipes having different diameters are connected to each other and can be adjusted to an appropriate length. Note that the operation rod 60 may be fixed to the main body 11 of the floor brush 10.

Reference numeral 62 denotes a grip connected to the other end of the telescopic pipe 61. A first grip 63 and a second grip 64 are provided at appropriate intervals. A hand operation unit 8 is provided at an upper end of the grip unit 62. This hand operation unit 8 may be provided between both grips 63 and 64. In the present embodiment, the power source of the cleaner body 1 is connected by a lead wire provided along the hose 4, and between the mounting portion 28 provided on the floor brush 10 and the telescopic pipe 61 in FIG. The rotary brush drive motor provided on the floor brush 10 via a lead wire 38 connected to the hand operation unit 8 via the connection portion, the telescopic pipe 61, and the grip portion 62, as shown in FIG. 16. The running wheel drive motor 24 and the like are controlled.

In this embodiment constructed as described above, first, the telescopic pipe 61 is expanded and contracted in accordance with the height of the person to be cleaned, and the position of the grip portion 62 is adjusted. Next, the power supply is turned on by the hand operation unit 8, the electric blower is driven, and the traveling wheels 20c, 20d are driven to move the floor brush 10, and the grips 63, 64 are supported by hands, and the floor is almost upright. It moves with the brush 10. When carpets are laid, the traveling wheels 2
Then, the floor brush 10 is reciprocated so as to sweep the floor with a broom while holding the grips 63 and 64 with both hands, and carefully suck dust and dust.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, a person can operate the floor brush 10 in a substantially upright posture without bending over the waist, so that the back and waist do not feel fatigue. Also, in places where dust and dirt are not easily absorbed,
Since it is possible to drive or stop 0c and 20d and sweep it carefully with a broom, it is possible to clean even the floor surface on which the carpet is laid. Further, when cleaning is started or completed, the floor brush 10 can be moved while holding the operation stick 40 in a hand, which is convenient.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described above.
The present invention is not limited to this, and can be appropriately modified without departing from the gist of the present invention. Further, the floor brush used in the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, for example, a pair of traveling wheels are connected via a transmission mechanism having a slip, and a braking mechanism is provided on one traveling wheel side. For example, a clutch mechanism may be provided in a path for transmitting the rotation of the motor, or the like, and the shape may be appropriately selected from a rectangle, a square, a polygon, a circle, and the like.

Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the vacuum cleaner constituted by the vacuum cleaner body containing the electric blower, the cord reel and the like and the floor brush connected to the vacuum cleaner body via the hose has been described. Place the vacuum cleaner with a built-in electric blower and dust collecting chamber etc. separated from the code reel, or the vacuum cleaner with a built-in electric blower and dust collecting chamber etc. in a closet and arrange hoses in each room. The present invention can be applied to a central cleaner that has been used.

[0034]

As is apparent from the above description, self-propelling means for self-propelling the floor brush having traveling wheels and a motor capable of rotating the traveling wheels in forward and reverse directions is provided, and the cleaner main body is provided. And the floor brush are connected by a first hose having flexibility, a gripping tube having a hand operation section, and a second hose having flexibility, so that the floor brush can be in a certain range (until the hose is fully extended). In (), the vehicle can travel independently without being restricted by the movement of the handle, and furthermore, the reaction force generated by the travel of the floor brush is attenuated by the hose, and is hardly transmitted to the handle. For this reason, unlike a conventional vacuum cleaner, the cleaner does not need to bend his hips in a forward leaning position, move his arms back and forth or left and right, and apply force to the floor brush to move on the floor surface. By controlling the floor brush while walking while operating the operation switch of the hand operation unit while supporting the floor brush, the floor brush can automatically run and suck in dust and dirt on the floor surface, so the operation resistance is extremely low The floor can be cleaned with less and without causing fatigue.

Further , the vacuum cleaner body and the floor brush are made flexible.
Since the floor brushes are connected with each other, the floor brush can travel independently within a certain range (until the hose is fully extended) without being restrained by the movement of the handle. Is attenuated by the hose and is hardly transmitted to the handle. For this reason, unlike a conventional vacuum cleaner, the cleaner does not need to bend his hips in a forward leaning position, move his arms back and forth or left and right, and apply force to the floor brush to move on the floor surface. By controlling the floor brush while walking while operating the operation switch of the hand operation unit while supporting the floor brush, the floor brush can automatically run and suck in dust and dirt on the floor surface, so the operation resistance is extremely low The floor can be cleaned with less and without causing fatigue.

Further, the operation unit is provided separately and independently.
Hold the hose that connects the floor brush and the vacuum cleaner
Without having to operate the floor brush from a distance.
And cleaning fatigue can be further reduced. In addition, since the floor brush of the above-mentioned vacuum cleaner is provided with an operation rod having a hand operation unit, the cleaning can be performed by supporting the operation rod with a hand and moving the floor brush together with the floor brush in an almost upright posture. There is no feeling of fatigue. Further, by carefully reciprocating the floor brush so as to sweep the floor with a broom with the operation stick in hand, it is possible to sufficiently clean, for example, a floor surface on which carpets are laid. Further, when the floor brush is moved, it can be transported with the operation rod, which is extremely convenient.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an embodiment of a floor brush used in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an embodiment of a connecting portion between the main body of the floor brush and the rotating tube.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a main part of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of another embodiment of the floor brush used in the present invention.

8 (a), (b) and (c) are illustrations of the operation of the floor brush of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a bottom view of still another embodiment of the floor brush used in the present invention.

10 (a), (b) and (c) are electric circuit diagrams of the floor brush of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a bottom view of another embodiment of the floor brush used in the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a main part of a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vacuum cleaner main body 4 1st hose 6 Grasping pipe 8, 8a Hand operation part 9 2nd hose 10 Floor brush 11 Main body 12 Rotating pipe 13 Suction port 14 Rotary brush 16 Rotary brush drive motor 20a, 20b, 20c, 20d Running wheel 23 running drive shaft 24, 24a, 24b, 57 running wheel drive motor 43a, 43b turning wheel 46 lever 47 servo motor 49 arm 50 bridge circuit 55 forward and backward running mechanism 56 forward and backward running wheel 60 operating rod 61 telescopic pipe 62 grip Department

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Yoshio Yoshida 2--14-40 Ofuna, Kamakura City Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Living System Laboratory (72) Inventor Masafumi Nagata 2-14-40 Ofuna, Kamakura City Mitsubishi Electric (72) Inventor Yoyo Otsuka 2-14-40 Ofuna, Kamakura City Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Life Systems Laboratory (56) References JP-A-57-103616 (JP, A) ( 58) Surveyed fields (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) A47L 9/02 A47L 9/28

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A cleaner body provided with at least an electric blower and a dust collection chamber communicating with the electric blower,
In a vacuum cleaner connected to the cleaner body and provided with a floor brush that comes into contact with the floor surface and sucks dust and dirt on the floor surface, a traveling wheel and a forward / reverse rotatable motor that drives the traveling wheel are provided. Having self-propelled means for self-propelling the floor brush
In both cases, the cleaner body and the floor brush are made of a first flexible material.
Hose, grip tube with hand operation part, and flexible
A vacuum cleaner connected by a second hose . 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the operation unit is provided separately and independently.
The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein 3. An operation stick having an operation part on the floor brush.
The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the vacuum cleaner is erected .