JP2001054494A - Vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a self-propelled vacuum cleaner which can achieve reduction in power consumption. SOLUTION: The vacuum cleaner includes a drive motor 10 to rotate a vertical shaft 25, converting parts 21, 22 to convert the rotation of the shaft 25 to the rotation of a horizontal shaft 11a, and a drive wheel 11 which rotates together with the shaft 11a. The cleaner is driven by driving the motor 10 to rotate the drive wheel 11. In this case, if a load larger than a predetermined load is applied to the converting part 21, the wheel 11 is swung about the shaft 25 by the rotation of the shaft 25 so that the direction of the body 40 of the cleaner is changed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner,
In particular, the present invention relates to a self-propelled vacuum cleaner capable of performing autonomous traveling and performing unattended cleaning.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional self-propelled vacuum cleaner for cleaning by autonomous traveling is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2574456. The vacuum cleaner has a driving wheel and a driven wheel, and can move on the floor. A battery for power supply, an electric blower for generating intake air for dust collection, a traveling motor for driving the driving wheels, and a steering motor for steering the driving wheels are provided inside the vacuum cleaner main body.

A traveling encoder and a steering encoder for detecting the amount of rotation of the traveling motor and the steering motor, and a direction detecting sensor are provided, and position recognition means for recognizing the position of the vacuum cleaner main body from the traveling distance and the traveling direction is constituted. Have been. Further, obstacles can be detected by obstacle detection means including a distance measuring sensor and a contact sensor.

According to the electric vacuum cleaner having such a configuration, the electric vacuum cleaner travels while performing cleaning by driving the electric blower and the traveling motor. At this time, an obstacle such as a wall is detected by the obstacle detecting means while recognizing the position of the vacuum cleaner body by the position recognizing means, and the autonomous traveling is performed by avoiding the obstacle by the steering motor. .

[0005]

However, the above-mentioned conventional self-propelled vacuum cleaner has many electric components such as an electric blower, a traveling motor, a steering motor, a position recognition means, and an obstacle detection means. Therefore, there has been a problem that it becomes expensive and the power consumption becomes very large. For this reason, there has been a problem that long-time autonomous traveling using a battery cannot be performed.

Further, in a room where many obstacles such as furniture are placed, the calculation by the position recognition means and the obstacle detection means, which are performed to avoid the obstacles, becomes complicated, and unmanned parts of the room are unmanned. There was a problem that cleaning could not be performed.

An object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum cleaner that can achieve low power consumption with a simple configuration. Another object of the present invention is to provide a self-propelled vacuum cleaner capable of performing autonomous running for a long time and performing unmanned cleaning at every corner of a room.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a rotary brush which is driven to rotate to scavenge dust on a floor, an electric blower for generating intake air, and the brush moves away from the floor. The brush is characterized in that it has an intake port arranged on the side for sucking dust by the intake air, and an exhaust port arranged on the side facing the floor surface to blow exhaust of the electric blower to the floor surface.

According to this structure, the dust blown up by the exhaust of the electric blower and the dust swept up by the rotating brush are sucked from the intake port together with the intake air generated by the electric blower.

According to the present invention, in the vacuum cleaner having the above-mentioned structure, a substantially V-shaped air flow is formed by the exhaust air from the exhaust port and the intake air sucked into the intake port.
The rotary brush is arranged on the air flow. According to this configuration, the exhaust of the electric blower is sucked from the intake port together with the dust soared by the exhaust of the electric blower and the dust swept up by the rotating brush.

According to the present invention, in the electric vacuum cleaner having the above-described structure, a dust collecting chamber for storing dust is provided between the suction port and the electric blower, and the dust collecting chamber has a valve opened by suction. It is characterized by. According to this configuration, the dust sucked through the valve together with the suction from the suction port is stored in the dust collection chamber, and the suction air from which the dust has been removed is guided to the electric blower.

[0012] The present invention also provides a vacuum cleaner having the above-described structure, in which a driving wheel rotatably supported, a traveling motor for rotating the driving wheel, and a battery for supplying power to the traveling motor and the electric blower. Wherein the drive wheels are rotated by driving the travel motor to enable autonomous travel. According to this configuration, electric power is supplied to the traveling motor and the electric blower by the battery, and cleaning is performed while autonomously traveling.

Further, the present invention comprises a traveling motor for rotating a vertical axis, a conversion unit for converting the rotation of the vertical axis into a rotation of a horizontal axis, and a drive wheel rotating integrally with the horizontal axis. In a vacuum cleaner in which the driving wheel rotates and runs by driving a traveling motor, when a load of a predetermined amount or more is applied to the conversion unit, the rotation of the vertical axis causes the driving wheel to rotate about the vertical axis. It is characterized by:

According to this configuration, the vertical axis is rotated by the driving of the traveling motor, and the driving wheel integral with the horizontal axis is rotated via the conversion unit, so that the electric vacuum cleaner travels. When the rotation of the driving wheel is restricted due to a collision between the main body of the vacuum cleaner and the wall surface, a load of a predetermined amount or more is applied to the conversion unit, and the driving wheel rotates with the vertical axis. Thus, the direction of the vacuum cleaner body is changed.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that in the electric vacuum cleaner having the above-mentioned structure, an auxiliary wheel connected to the driving wheel by a caterpillar is provided.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that in the vacuum cleaner having the above-mentioned structure, a battery for supplying electric power to the traveling motor is provided so that the vehicle can travel autonomously.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 are a side sectional view and a bottom view showing the self-propelled vacuum cleaner of the first embodiment. The outer shape of the vacuum cleaner main body 40 is rotatably supported by the rear wheel 12.
Is formed so as to be covered with a main body cover 2. FIG. 3 is a top view showing a state where the main body cover 2 is removed.

At the front of the carriage 1, a concave portion 1a having a circular cross section is formed. A steering portion 18 that rotatably supports the axle 11a of the front wheel 11 is disposed in the concave portion 1a. Steering unit 1
An auxiliary wheel 31 that is rotatably supported is provided at the rear of 8. The front wheel 11 and the auxiliary wheel 31 are connected by a track 24. The axle 11a of the front wheel 11 is the belt 2
3 is connected to the shaft portion 22a of the fourth gear 22.

The third gear 21 meshes with the fourth gear 22. The third gear 21 is integrated with the shaft 25. The shaft 25 penetrates through holes 18a and 1b provided in the steering portion 18 and the concave portion 1a, and is rotatably supported by a support portion 1c formed integrally with the bogie 1.

A traveling motor 10 for driving a front wheel 11 is disposed behind the upper portion of the recess 1a. The second gear 20 is integrated with the shaft 25, and the second gear 20 is
0 is engaged with the first gear 19 fixed to the motor shaft 10a. The traveling motor 10 is supplied with electric power from a battery 26. 27 is the battery 2
A charging terminal 28 for charging the battery 6 is an operation switch for turning on / off the traveling motor 10.

Accordingly, the first gear 19, the second gear 20, the shaft 25, the third gear 2
The front wheel 11 (drive wheel) is rotated via the first, fourth gear 22 and belt 23. The third gear 2
The shaft 25 erected by the first and fourth gears 22
A conversion unit that converts the rotation of the (vertical axis) into the rotation of the axle 11a (horizontal axis) provided horizontally is formed.

An opening 1d is formed on the rear lower surface of the carriage 1. The rotating brush 4 is provided laterally so as to protrude from the opening 1d below the carriage 1. The brush 4 a protruding from the peripheral surface of the rotating brush 4 comes into contact with the floor surface F. The shaft 4 b of the rotating brush 4 is connected to a motor shaft 13 a of the brush driving motor 13 by a belt 14.

An electric blower room 32 is provided above the rotating brush 4.
Are formed integrally with the carriage 1. The electric blower chamber 32 is provided with an electric blower 3 for generating intake air. At the end of the electric blower 3, an anti-vibration rubber 16 that fills a gap with the electric blower room 32 and dampens vibration is provided. A dust collecting chamber 9 for accommodating dust D is disposed at a rear portion of the electric blower chamber 32, and communicates with the electric blower chamber 32 via a filter 15.

The rear of the main body cover 2 is open, and a dust collecting chamber 9 is detachable as shown by an arrow A. Dust chamber 9
A valve 30 opened by intake air is provided on the side wall of the air blower 3, and the valve 30 is closed while the electric blower 3 is stopped. This facilitates disposal of the dust D and prevents scattering of the dust D when the dust collection chamber 9 is detached.

An intake pipe 5, which is kept confidential by packing (not shown), is adjacent to the dust collection chamber 9, and communicates via a valve 30. The intake pipe 5 protrudes downward from the opening 1 d of the carriage 1. An intake port 7 at the tip of the intake pipe 5 is arranged behind the rotary brush 4 and opens toward a contact portion between the brush 4a and the floor surface F. The inclination angle θ1 of the intake port 7 with respect to the floor F is about 45 °.

An exhaust pipe 6 through which the exhaust air from the electric blower 3 passes communicates with the electric blower room 32. The exhaust pipe 6 protrudes downward from the opening 1 d of the carriage 1. An exhaust port 8 at the tip of the exhaust pipe 6 is arranged in front of the rotary brush 4 and opens toward a contact portion between the brush 4a and the floor F.
The inclination angle θ2 of the exhaust port 8 with respect to the floor F is about 45 °.

Accordingly, by driving the electric blower 3, exhaust gas is blown from the exhaust port 8 through the exhaust pipe 6 toward the space between the brush 4a and the floor F as shown by the arrow B, so that the intake air is exhausted together with the exhaust gas. A circulation path is formed from 7 to the electric blower chamber 32 through the intake pipe 5 and the dust collection chamber 9 as shown by an arrow C. The brush drive motor 13 and the electric blower 3
Is connected to a battery 26 and is turned on / off together with the traveling motor 10 by an operation switch 28.

When the operation switch 28 is turned on in the electric vacuum cleaner having the above configuration, electric power is supplied to the brush drive motor 13, the electric blower 3 and the traveling motor 10. The rotation of the motor shaft 10a of the traveling motor 10 causes the front wheel 11 via the first and second gears 19 and 20, the shaft 25 and the conversion unit.
Is driven, the auxiliary wheel 31 and the rear wheel 12 follow, and the vacuum cleaner main body 40 moves forward.

When the motor shaft 13a of the brush drive motor 13 rotates, the rotary brush 4 rotates, and dust on the floor F is scraped. Further, the exhaust port 8 is driven by driving the electric blower 3.
Exhaust gas is blown onto the floor surface F, so as to blow up dust on the floor surface F, and the dust is sucked in from the intake port 7 together with the exhaust gas.

Then, the intake air is guided to the dust collecting chamber 9 through the valve 30 which is opened. The dust D is filtered by the filter 15 and stored in the dust collection chamber 9, and clean air is exhausted again from the exhaust port 8 through the electric blower chamber 32 and circulates. In this manner, the cleaning is performed while the vacuum cleaner main body 40 runs autonomously.

When the main body 40 collides with an obstacle such as a wall surface, the rotation of the front wheel 11 is stopped. And the third
The rotation of the gear 22 is restricted, and a load is applied to the third gear 22 by the second gear 21. Thus, the steering unit 18 rotates together with the shaft 25 as indicated by an arrow E (see FIG. 2), and the direction of the front wheel 11 is changed.

The front surface 40a of the vacuum cleaner main body 40 is curved, and when the front wheel 11 changes direction, the vacuum cleaner main body 40 rotates around one of the rear wheels 12 as a fulcrum. Therefore, the vacuum cleaner main body 40 can continue traveling while avoiding obstacles.

Thus, in a room where furniture and the like are not arranged, the vacuum cleaner main body 40 only circulates along the wall surface. However, in a room where many obstacles such as furniture are arranged, each time it collides with an obstacle. Since the direction of the vacuum cleaner main body 40 changes, the vacuum cleaner main body 40 travels in various directions, thereby enabling unmanned cleaning to every corner of the room. In addition, the front surface 40a of the vacuum cleaner main body 40 may be polygonal so that point contact with an obstacle is possible.

According to the present embodiment, the dust on the floor F is raised by the exhaust air of the electric blower 3 to absorb the dust, so that the dust absorbing efficiency can be improved. Further, since the exhaust gas is recovered from the intake port 7 and circulated, dust can be absorbed even if the suction force is small. Thereby, the power consumption of the electric blower 3 can be reduced, and the battery 26 can run for a long time. Furthermore, the amount of exhaust gas discharged to the outside can be reduced, and the pollution of the surrounding environment can be reduced.

The shaft 25 of the traveling motor 10
By having a conversion unit that converts the rotation of the (vertical axis) into the rotation of the axle 11a (horizontal axis), when the vacuum cleaner main body 40 collides with an obstacle, a load is applied to the conversion unit, and the front wheel 11 is turned into a vertical It can be pivoted around.

This eliminates the need for a steering motor, a position recognizing means, and an obstacle detecting means as in the conventional example, and changes the direction of the vacuum cleaner main body 40 with a simple configuration so as to avoid the obstacles while avoiding obstacles. The cleaner main body 40 can be run. Therefore, the power consumption of the vacuum cleaner can be further reduced to allow the battery 26 to run for a longer time, and the vacuum cleaner can be made inexpensive.

Further, since the front wheel 11 and the auxiliary wheel 21 are connected by the caterpillar 24, the ground resistance with the floor F can be increased. Thereby, even if the floor surface F has not only a flooring and a tatami but also a carpet with small friction and a low step, it can be run smoothly. Here, the frictional force between the caterpillar 24 and the floor surface F is set small enough to turn the steering unit 18 by the torque transmitted from the traveling motor 10.

In this embodiment, the vacuum cleaner main body 40 is configured to run autonomously. However, a long pipe to be gripped by the user is provided on the main body cover 2, and electric power is supplied from a commercial power supply in place of the battery 26. Then, the vacuum cleaner main body 40 may be run by a user's operation. At this time,
The traveling motor 10 that drives the front wheels 11 can be used as traveling assistance.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing a vacuum cleaner according to a second embodiment. For convenience of description, the same parts as those in the first embodiment of FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals. In the present embodiment, a mechanism for driving the front wheel 11 is removed from the vacuum cleaner of the first embodiment, and a front wheel 11 'rotatably supported at the front of the carriage 1 is provided.

The truck 1 having a rear wheel 12 rotatably supported in a vacuum cleaner main body 40 is covered with a main body cover 2. An opening 1d is formed in the lower surface of the carriage 1. The rotating brush 4 is provided laterally so as to protrude from the opening 1d below the carriage 1. The brush 4 a protruding from the peripheral surface of the rotating brush 4 comes into contact with the floor surface F.

The shaft 4b of the rotating brush 4 is connected to a motor shaft 13a of a brush driving motor 13 by a belt 14. An electric blower chamber 32 is formed integrally with the carriage 1 above the rotating brush 4. The electric blower chamber 32 is provided with an electric blower 3 for generating intake air. At the end of the electric blower 3, an anti-vibration rubber 16 that fills a gap with the electric blower room 32 and dampens vibration is provided.

A dust collecting chamber 9 for storing dust D is disposed at the rear of the electric blower chamber 32 and communicates with the electric blower chamber 32 through a filter 15. The body cover 2 is open at the rear, and the dust collection chamber 9 is detachable. Dust chamber 9
A valve 30 opened by intake air is provided on the side wall of the air blower 3, and the valve 30 is closed while the electric blower 3 is stopped.

An intake pipe 5, which is kept confidential by packing (not shown), is adjacent to the dust collecting chamber 9, and communicates via a valve 30. The intake pipe 5 protrudes downward from the opening 1 d of the carriage 1. An intake port 7 at the tip of the intake pipe 5 is arranged behind the rotary brush 4 and opens toward a contact portion between the brush 4a and the floor surface F.

An exhaust pipe 6 through which the exhaust air from the electric blower 3 passes communicates with the electric blower room 32. The exhaust pipe 6 protrudes downward from the opening 1 d of the carriage 1. An exhaust port 8 at the tip of the exhaust pipe 6 is arranged in front of the rotary brush 4 and opens toward a contact portion between the brush 4a and the floor F.

Accordingly, by driving the electric blower 3, exhaust gas is blown from the exhaust port 8 through the exhaust pipe 6 toward the space between the brush 4a and the floor F as shown by the arrow B. A circulation path is formed from 7 to the electric blower chamber 32 through the intake pipe 5 and the dust collection chamber 9 as shown by an arrow C.

When the operation switch (not shown) is turned on in the vacuum cleaner having the above configuration, electric power is supplied to the brush drive motor 13 and the electric blower 3. The rotation of the motor shaft 13a of the brush drive motor 13 rotates the rotating brush 4 and scrapes dust on the floor F. Further, by driving the electric blower 3, the exhaust air is blown from the exhaust port 8 to the floor F, so as to fly up the dust on the floor F, and the dust is sucked from the intake port 7 together with the exhaust.

Then, the intake air is guided to the dust collection chamber 9 through the valve 30 which is opened. The dust D is filtered by the filter 15 and stored in the dust collection chamber 9, and clean air is exhausted again from the exhaust port 8 through the electric blower chamber 32 and circulates. In this way, the vacuum cleaner main body 40 is cleaned while traveling by the operation of the user.

According to the present embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, the dust on the floor F is raised by the exhaust of the electric blower 3 to absorb the dust, so that the dust absorbing efficiency can be improved. Further, since the exhaust gas is collected from the intake port 7 and circulated, dust can be absorbed even if the suction force is small. Thereby, the power consumption of the electric blower 3 can be reduced. Furthermore,
Exhaust discharged to the outside can be reduced, and pollution of the surrounding environment can be reduced.

[0049]

According to the present invention, the dust on the floor is raised by the exhaust of the electric blower to absorb the dust, so that the dust absorbing efficiency can be improved. Further, since the exhaust gas is collected from the intake port and circulated, dust can be absorbed even if the suction force is small. As a result, the power consumption of the electric blower can be reduced, and in the case of an electric vacuum cleaner that performs autonomous traveling, long-term autonomous traveling using a battery becomes possible. Furthermore,
Exhaust discharged to the outside can be reduced, and pollution of the surrounding environment can be reduced.

Also, by providing a converter for converting the rotation of the vertical axis by the traveling motor into the rotation of the horizontal axis, when the main body of the vacuum cleaner collides with an obstacle, a load is applied to the converter to drive the drive wheels to the vertical axis. Can be pivoted around.

This eliminates the need for a steering motor, position recognizing means and obstacle detecting means as in the prior art, and makes it possible to change the direction of the main body of the vacuum cleaner with a simple configuration and avoid electric current while avoiding obstacles. The machine body can be run.
Therefore, the power consumption of the vacuum cleaner can be further reduced, the autonomous running for a long time can be performed by the battery, and the vacuum cleaner can be inexpensive.

In a room where many obstacles such as furniture are placed, the main body of the vacuum cleaner changes its direction every time it collides with the obstacle. It is possible to perform cleaning up to an unattended operation.

Further, since the driving wheels and the auxiliary wheels are connected by a caterpillar, the ground resistance to the floor can be increased. Thereby, even if the floor surface is not only a flooring or a tatami, but also a carpet with a small friction or a low step, it can be run smoothly.

Further, according to the present invention, since the dust collection chamber is provided with a valve that is opened by suction, when the dust collection chamber is detached and the dust is discarded, the dust can be easily discarded. It is possible to prevent dust from scattering when the chamber is detached.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a vacuum cleaner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view showing the vacuum cleaner according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a top view showing a state in which a main body cover of the vacuum cleaner according to the first embodiment of the present invention is removed.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing a vacuum cleaner according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 cart 2 body cover 3 electric blower 4 rotating brush 5 intake pipe 6 exhaust pipe 7 intake port 8 exhaust port 9 dust collection chamber 10 traveling motor 11 front wheel (drive wheel) 11a axle (horizontal axis) 12 rear wheel 13 brush drive motor 14 Belt 15 Filter 16 Anti-vibration rubber 18 Steering unit 19 First gear 20 Second gear 21 Third gear 22 Fourth gear 23 Belt 24 Caterpillar 25 Shaft (vertical axis) 26 Battery 27 Charging terminal 28 Operation switch 30 Valve 31 Auxiliary wheel 32 Motor room 40 Vacuum cleaner body D Dust F Floor

Claims (7)

[Claims] A rotating brush that sweeps up dust on a floor surface by a rotational drive, an electric blower that generates intake air, an intake port that is arranged on a side away from the floor surface and that sucks dust by the intake air, An electric vacuum cleaner comprising: a brush arranged on a side facing a floor, and an exhaust port for blowing exhaust of the electric blower to the floor. 2. A substantially V-shaped airflow is formed by exhaust air from the exhaust port and intake air sucked into the intake port, and the rotating brush is arranged on the airflow. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1. 3. A dust collecting chamber for accommodating dust between the intake port and the electric blower, wherein the dust collecting chamber has a valve which is opened by intake air. An electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 1. 4. A vehicle comprising: a driving wheel rotatably supported; a traveling motor that rotationally drives the driving wheel; and a battery that supplies electric power to the traveling motor and the electric blower.
The vacuum cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the driving wheel is rotated by driving the traveling motor to enable autonomous traveling. 5. A travel motor for rotating a vertical axis, a conversion unit for converting the rotation of the vertical axis to a rotation of a horizontal axis, and a drive wheel rotating integrally with the horizontal axis. In a vacuum cleaner in which the driving wheels rotate and run by driving, when a load of a predetermined amount or more is applied to the conversion unit, the rotation of the vertical axis causes the driving wheels to rotate around the vertical axis. And vacuum cleaner. 6. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 5, further comprising an auxiliary wheel connected to the driving wheel by a caterpillar. 7. The electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 5, further comprising a battery for supplying electric power to the traveling motor, so that the traveling motor can run autonomously.