JPH0747046A - Self-mobile electric vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate any part which is left uncleaned likely when the body of an electric vacuum cleaner is turned in its heading and enhance the traveling performance of the body and the cleaning performance. CONSTITUTION:A floor nozzle 15 is made in such a protruding form that the center of its front is protruding, and rotary shaft is installed at the sides of this protruding part in such a way as directed vertically to floor surface, and a pair of side brushed 14 are finished rotating in such a way facing together from the front to the back, and the floor nozzle 15 is set near the side brushes 14. Any part left uncleaned likely when the body of the self-mobile vacuum cleaner concerned is turned in the heading owing to the wheel track difference is eliminated.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is to provide a self-propelled cleaner which is easy to use and has excellent maintainability, mobility and cleaning performance.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a large-sized vacuum cleaner for business use has a side brush provided on a side surface of a main body for the purpose of facilitating corner cleaning and wide cleaning, and an example thereof is shown in FIG. .

As shown in FIG. 10, a side brush 1, a coarse dust collecting chamber 2, a rotating brush 3, and a fine dust collecting chamber 5 equipped with an electric blower 4 are provided in the lower portion of the main body. . At the time of cleaning, dust is collected in the center by the side brush 1 and is picked up by the rotating brush 3, in which case large dust is collected in the dust collection chamber 2 for large dust in front, and other fine dust is sucked by the electric blower 4. Then, it is collected in the fine dust collecting chamber 5.

[0004]

However, the above conventional structure has the following problems.

1. As shown in FIG. 11, since the coarse dust collecting chamber 2 is provided between the side brush 1 and the rotating brush 3, the side brush 1 and the rotating brush 3 are separated from each other and rotate when the main body 6 is turned. Brush 3 is side brush 1
Will pass through the inner side, and there will be a portion that leaves dust.

2. The side brush 1 can be cleaned near the wall without damaging the wall with the main body 6, and when it is arranged outside the width of the main body 6, dust can be widely collected and the efficiency of the cleaning work is improved. But body 6
However, there is a case in which the side brush 1 is outside the main body even though there is a width that can pass through, but in some cases, the side brush 1 cannot pass through, and mobility and cleaning performance are poor.

3. When attaching / detaching the rotary brush 3, it is difficult to attach / detach other parts such as removing other parts or turning over the device, so that maintainability is poor.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a self-propelled cleaner having excellent mobility, maintenance and cleaning performance.

[0009]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The technical means of the present invention for solving the above problems are shown below.

First of all, as a means for solving the problem that dust is left behind at the time of turning, a floor nozzle is provided at the front part of the main body, and the floor nozzle is provided on both sides of the front part with a rotary shaft on the floor surface. In contrast, a pair of side brushes that are provided in a vertical direction and rotate so as to face each other from the front to the rear is provided, and a convex shape in which a central portion projects between the side brushes is formed.

Secondly, as a means for improving the cleaning efficiency, a suction mechanism for a hard floor is provided on the convex portion of the convex cleaning mechanism, and a suction port for a carpet is provided behind the suction port.

Thirdly, as a means for improving the mobility and cleaning property, an ultrasonic sensor is provided on a rotatable arm for fixing the side brush.

Fourthly, as a means for improving the maintainability, the side brush and the floor nozzle are integrally constructed and detachably attached to the front portion of the main body.

[0014]

The self-propelled cleaner of the present invention constructed as described above operates as follows.

The operation of the above-mentioned first means is to provide rotary shafts on both sides of the front part of the floor nozzle in a direction perpendicular to the floor surface,
By providing a pair of side brushes that rotate so as to face each other from the front to the back, and by configuring a convex shape in which the central portion protrudes between the side brushes, the distance between the side brush and the floor nozzle is reduced. However, it is possible to eliminate the residual portion of dust generated due to the inner ring difference when the main body is turned.

The operation of the second means is that the rotary shafts are provided on both sides of the floor nozzle in a direction perpendicular to the floor surface, and a pair of side brushes that rotate so as to face each other from the front to the rear are provided. Since the dust can be easily collected in the center when cleaning on the floor, a small intake for the hard floor is sufficient. Therefore, by providing a hard floor suction port in the part sandwiched between the side brushes on both ends, it is possible to exert excellent cleaning performance on all floor surfaces without changing the size of the entire floor nozzle. .

The operation of the third means is such that the rotatable arm for fixing the side brush is provided with the ultrasonic sensor, so that the side brush is usually arranged outside the main body to cover a wide range. It can be cleaned and can be passed by moving the side brush inward even if there is an obstacle in front of the side brush or a width where only the main body can pass.

The function of the fourth means is that the side brush and the floor nozzle are integrally formed and detachably attached to the front portion of the main body, so that the maintenance can be easily performed.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the main body as a whole is composed of an upper body cover 7 and a lower chassis 8, and the body cover 7 has a door 9 that opens and closes at the front and a top. Is provided with a main switch 10 and a hard floor switch 11 and a carpet switch 12 that are adjusted according to the floor surface, and an ultrasonic sensor 13 is provided on the outer circumference, while the chassis 8 has a side brush 14 and a floor in the front center part. A space is provided for mounting a cleaning mechanism that is integrally formed with the nozzle 15, and a nozzle fixing shaft 16 that moves in and out in the left-right direction is provided on both sides of the space by utilizing the elastic force of a spring. Further, behind that, there is provided a drive device including casters 17 for controlling the main body and drive wheels 19 connected to a drive motor 18 for driving the main body. Further, the cleaning mechanism section is communicated with a dust collector which is provided in the upper portion of the main body and includes a dust collection chamber 20 for sucking and storing dust and an electric blower 21, and a power supply device such as a secondary battery is provided at the rear of the main body. 22 and a control device 23 for controlling each part of the main body. Reference numeral 24 is a telescopic handle provided for manually moving the main body.

Particularly, the details of the cleaning mechanism portion, which is the point of the present invention, will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 9 by taking two examples.

First, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 as a first embodiment, the floor nozzle 15 has a convex shape with a front center portion protruding, and is used for sweeping dust to the rear portion. A rotating brush 25 is provided, and the rotating brush 25 is rotated via a belt 27 by an electric motor 26 arranged above the rotating brush 25. Further, a suction port 28 for sucking dust is arranged in front of the rotary brush 25, and a connection port 29 leading to the dust collection chamber 20 is arranged above the front convex portion of the floor nozzle 15, and from this suction port 28. The guide passage 30 to the connection port 29 is shaped so as to gradually narrow as it approaches the connection port 29 from both sides of the suction port 28. A pair of side brushes 14 is fixedly supported by arms 31 on both sides of the convex portion in front of the floor nozzle 15 and is rotated by an electric motor 32 provided inside the arms 31 so as to face each other from front to back. To provide.

The operation of the above structure will be described. The main body of the cleaner is the ultrasonic sensor 1 provided on the outer periphery of the main body cover 7.
The self-propelled vehicle detects the obstacle by 3 and avoids it, and collects the dust by the cleaning mechanism section which is provided at the lower part of the main body and is composed of the side brush 14 and the floor nozzle 15, and stores it in the dust collecting chamber 20. To do. At this time, in this cleaning mechanism, the side brush 14 collects dust in the center, and the rotating brush 25
Thus, the dust is swept up and sucked from the suction port 28, and the dust is gradually moved to the center in the guide passage 30 and stored in the dust collecting chamber 20.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, the floor nozzle 1
Reference numeral 5 denotes a convex shape in which a front central portion projects, and a pair of side brushes 14 that rotate so as to face each other from the front to the rear are provided on both sides of the convex portion. 15 and the remaining part of the dust generated by the inner ring difference when turning the main body can be eliminated to improve the dust collecting performance and guide passage 30 from the suction port 28 to the connection port 29. By gradually narrowing the shape from both sides, dust can be sucked in smoothly and dust can be collected efficiently.

Next, as a second embodiment of the present invention, one in which the suction port for the hard floor is provided on the convex portion of the floor nozzle 15 in the previous embodiment is shown in FIGS. This will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, in the floor nozzle 15 of the cleaning mechanism portion, the hard floor suction port 33 is provided on the convex portion.
Is provided at the rear side with the carpet suction port 34, and the hard floor suction port 33 and the carpet suction port 34 merge inside. Further, at this merging point, a suction port switching pipe 35 that is slidable in the front-rear direction is provided from the merging point to the hard floor suction port 33. A part of the suction port switching pipe 35 projects outside the pipe,
Electric motor 36 provided above the intake 33 for the hard floor
Is connected to the axis. The connection between the shaft of the electric motor 36 and the suction port switching pipe 35 is threaded so that the suction port switching pipe 35 slides back and forth as the shaft of the electric motor 36 rotates. A rotary brush 25 for sweeping dust is provided behind the carpet suction port 34, and the rotary brush 25 is rotated by a motor 26 disposed above the rotary brush 25 via a belt 27. Further, the side brushes 14 that rotate so as to face each other from the front side to the rear side by the electric motor 32 are provided on both sides of the floor nozzle 15 on both sides of the convex portion on the front side.
It is fixed to. The fixed end of this arm 31 is the electric motor 3
It is connected to 7 and can rotate in the left-right direction. Further, an ultrasonic sensor 38 is provided on the outer circumference of the arm 31. Further, an inverted L-shaped locking metal fitting 39 for slidingly holding the cleaning mechanism portion on the chassis 8 and a fixing metal fitting 40 for fixing the cleaning mechanism portion in the front-rear direction are provided on the upper portion.

The operation of the above structure will be described. The main body of the cleaner is the ultrasonic sensor 1 provided on the outer periphery of the main body cover 7.
The obstacle is detected by 3 and self-propelled while avoiding the obstacle, and the dust is collected by the cleaning mechanism portion provided at the lower part of the main body and composed of the side brush 14 and the floor nozzle 15 and collected in the dust collecting chamber 20. Pay. At this time, in this cleaning mechanism, dust is collected in the center by the side brush 14, sucked by the hard floor suction port 33 or the carpet suction port 34 provided in the floor nozzle 15, and stored in the dust collection chamber 20. If the floor surface is a hard floor, the suction port switching pipe 35 is switched to the hard floor suction port 33 by the switch 11 for the hard floor if the floor surface is a hard floor. The switch 12 is used to switch to the carpet suction port 34.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, first, as in the previous embodiment, the floor nozzle 15 has a convex shape, and the side brushes 14 that rotate so as to face each other from the front to the rear are provided on both sides of this convex portion. As a result, the distance between the side brush 14 and the floor nozzle 15 can be reduced, and the remaining portion of dust generated due to the inner ring difference when the main body is turned can be eliminated and the dust collection performance can be improved. Further, by providing the side brushes 14 on both sides of the floor nozzle 15, it is possible to easily collect dust in the center during cleaning on the hard floor. Therefore, the suction port for the hard floor may be small. Therefore, by providing the hard floor suction port 33 in the portion sandwiched between the side brushes 14 on both ends, excellent cleaning performance can be exerted on any floor surface without changing the size of the entire floor nozzle. You can Therefore, there is no need to perform a troublesome floor nozzle replacement work depending on the type of floor surface.

Next, regarding the operation of the side brush, the side brush 14 always accurately detects an obstacle such as a wall by the ultrasonic sensor 38 on the outer circumference of the arm 31, and minimizes the side brush 14 and the obstacle. The side brushes 14 rotate so as to secure the distance and clean without collision. Therefore, the side brush 14 can be moved inward and easily passed even in a width where only the main body can pass, the mobility is improved, and the cleaning range can be expanded.

In this embodiment, when the side brush 14 is rotated, the ultrasonic sensor 38 is used to detect an obstacle and automatically rotate, but it is also possible to manually rotate the side brush 14. .

As a method of attaching the cleaning mechanism, first, the door 9 in front of the main body cover 7 is opened, the locking metal fitting 39 of the cleaning mechanism is inserted into the chassis 8 while sliding, and the fixing metal fitting 40 of the cleaning mechanism is installed. Is fixed by hooking on the nozzle fixing shaft 16 of the chassis 8. The reverse is true for removal.

Thus, the side brush 14 and the floor nozzle 1
By making the cleaning mechanism part in which 5 is integrated into the front part of the main body detachable, the cleaning mechanism part can be easily maintained at once.

[0033]

As is apparent from the above embodiments, according to the present invention, the floor nozzle has a convex shape in which the front central portion projects, and the rotary shafts are provided on both sides of the convex portion on the floor surface. By providing a pair of side brushes that are provided vertically to each other and rotate in a direction facing each other from the front to the back, the distance between the side brush and the floor nozzle is reduced, and dust generated due to an inner ring difference when the main body is turned. The dust collection performance can be improved by eliminating the leftover part, and the space between the pair of side brushes can be used to provide a guide passage and a hard floor suction port to efficiently collect dust. And it is not necessary to replace the floor nozzle according to the type of the floor surface, and it is possible to save unnecessary time and to reduce the size of the entire structure.

Further, since the side brush is rotatable in the left-right direction, it is possible to normally clean a wide area by arranging the side brush on the outside of the main body, and there is an obstacle in front of the side brush. Alternatively, the side brushes can be passed through by moving the side brushes inward even at a width where only the main body can pass, and the mobility and cleaning performance are improved.

Further, the cleaning mechanism of the side brush and the floor nozzle is integrally formed and detachably attached to the front part of the main body, so that the cleaning mechanism can be easily maintained at once.

As described above, with such a configuration, maintainability,
It is possible to provide a compact and easy-to-use vacuum cleaner that has excellent mobility and cleaning performance.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a self-propelled vacuum cleaner showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the self-propelled cleaner.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a cleaning mechanism portion showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a suction port in the same embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the cleaning mechanism portion in the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a cleaning mechanism portion showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a suction port in the same embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a side brush mechanism in the same embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a partially enlarged view of the cleaning mechanism mounting portion in the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a self-propelled vacuum cleaner showing a conventional example.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a dust collection situation in a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 14 Side Brush 15 Floor Nozzle 20 Dust Collection Chamber 28 Suction Port 29 Connection Port 30 Guide Passage 33 Hard Floor Suction Port 34 Carpet Suction Port 38 Ultrasonic Sensor

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Hidetaka Yabuuchi 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Mitsuyasu Ogawa, 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Osaka Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Toshiaki Fujiwara 1006, Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor, Osamu Eguchi, 1006, Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Osaka Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 1006, Kadoma, Kadoma, Fuchu, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor, Yoshifumi Takagi, 1006, Kadoma, Kadoma, Osaka, Japan (72) Takafumi Ishibashi, 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma, Osaka Matsushita Denki Sangyo Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A floor nozzle connected to a dust collection chamber provided inside the main body is arranged at the front of the main body, and the floor nozzle has a convex shape with a front center portion protruding, and both sides of the convex portion are provided. Is a self-propelled vacuum cleaner having a pair of side brushes having a rotation axis perpendicular to the floor and rotating so as to face each other from the front to the rear. 2. A floor nozzle connected to a dust collecting chamber provided inside the main body is arranged at the front of the main body, and the floor nozzle has a convex shape with a front center portion protruding, and the hard floor is provided at the convex portion. A suction port for carpet is provided, a suction port for carpet is provided at the rear of the suction port, and rotary shafts are provided at both sides of the suction port for hard floor in a direction perpendicular to the floor surface. Self-propelled vacuum cleaner with a side brush. 3. The self-propelled vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the rotatable arm for fixing the side brush is provided with an ultrasonic sensor. 4. The self-propelled vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the side brush and the floor nozzle are integrally formed and are detachably attached to the front portion of the main body.