CN115281569B

CN115281569B - Surface cleaning apparatus and cleaning system

Info

Publication number: CN115281569B
Application number: CN202210970663.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 杨永波
Original assignee: Suzhou Simple Youwei Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Suzhou Simple Youwei Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-06-24
Filing date: 2022-06-24
Publication date: 2023-06-09
Anticipated expiration: 2042-06-24
Also published as: CN114795034A; CN115281569A; WO2023246603A1; CN114795034B

Abstract

The invention discloses a surface cleaning device and a cleaning system. The surface cleaning apparatus is for cleaning a surface to be cleaned and includes a dirt cup assembly including a dirt collection chamber and a dust discharge opening. The base station is configured to interface with at least a portion of the surface cleaning apparatus, the base station including a dust collection chamber and a suction motor configured to generate a suction airflow to divert dirt within the dust collection chamber into the dust collection chamber through the dust discharge port after the dirt cup assembly is docked to the base station. The ash discharge opening is provided with a cover body for closing and opening the ash discharge opening, and when the cover body is positioned at a closing position for closing the ash discharge opening, the cover body comprises a locking state and a state to be opened. The dirt cup assembly further includes a locking mechanism including a first locking member configured to switch the cover between a locked state and a to-be-opened state, and a second locking member; the second locking member is configured to hold the cover in a state to be opened when the cover is in the closed position and the first locking member is in the unlocked position.

Description

Surface cleaning apparatus and cleaning system

The present application is a divisional application of chinese patent application with application number 202210724090.3, titled "cleaning system", 24 days of 2022, 06.

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of cleaning equipment, in particular to surface cleaning equipment and a cleaning system.

Background

The cleaning system generally comprises a surface cleaning device and a base station for docking the surface cleaning device, when the surface cleaning device is docked to the base station, the cover body of the dust cup can be opened, so that dirt in the dust collecting chamber is transferred into the dust collecting cavity of the base station, when the dirt transfer is completed, the cover body needs to be closed, and if the cover body is not closed, a user needs to additionally operate the cover body once when using the surface cleaning device next time, and the experience is poor.

In order to improve user experience, a cover closing mechanism is independently arranged in the base station by some manufacturers, and the cover body is closed through a mechanical structure. In addition, other merchants are provided with a rotary structure such as a torsion spring at the pivoting position of the cover body, so that the cover body is not influenced by external force, and the cover body is returned to the closing position by the force of the torsion spring. In this case, the torsion spring is required to generate a large force, but if the force of the torsion spring is large, the opening width of the cover body becomes smaller when the dust collecting chamber is emptied, dust, hair and the like have a large probability of being blocked on the cover body, and the cover body is difficult to clean when being closed. If the force of the torsion spring is small, the cover body simply depends on the force of the torsion spring and cannot return to the closing position.

Disclosure of Invention

Aiming at the defects in the technology, the invention provides the surface cleaning equipment and the cleaning system, and the two different first locking pieces and the two different second locking pieces are arranged to realize different functions, so that the cover body can be effectively kept at the closed position, and the user experience is improved.

In one aspect, the present invention provides a surface cleaning apparatus for cleaning a surface to be cleaned, the surface cleaning apparatus comprising a dirt cup assembly comprising a dirt collection chamber and a dirt discharge opening; the ash discharge opening is provided with a cover body for closing and opening the ash discharge opening, and when the cover body is in a closing position for closing the ash discharge opening, the cover body comprises a locking state and a state to be opened;

the dirt cup assembly further includes a locking mechanism including a first locking member and a second locking member, the first locking member configured to switch the cover between the locked state and the to-be-opened state; the second locking piece is configured to enable the cover body to be kept in a state to be opened when the cover body is in a closed position and the first locking piece is in an unlocking position, and in the state to be opened, the cover body can overcome resistance generated by the second locking piece under the action of external force so as to move from the state to be opened to an open state.

Optionally, the first locking member and the second locking member are relatively independent.

Optionally, the second locking member moves with the first locking member, and the hanging end of the second locking member protrudes from the hanging end of the first locking member.

Optionally, the first locking member defines a mounting slot within which a portion of the second locking member is movable.

Optionally, the second locking piece includes a second locking piece and an elastic component matched with the second locking piece, and the second locking piece is telescopic after being extruded by the cover body.

Optionally, the fan assembly of the surface cleaning apparatus is configured to generate an air flow to move the cover from the open condition to the to-be-opened condition.

Optionally, the dirt cup assembly further comprises a retaining structure configured to retain the cover in a semi-open position between a closed position and a fully open position without the application of external forces.

In another aspect, the invention also provides a cleaning system comprising the surface cleaning apparatus and a base station for docking at least part of the surface cleaning apparatus.

Optionally, the cover is configured to switch from the locked state to the to-be-opened state after the dirt cup assembly is docked to the base station.

Optionally, the cover is configured to switch from the to-be-opened state to the locked state after the dirt cup assembly leaves the base station.

The invention provides a cleaning system comprising a surface cleaning apparatus and a base station. The surface cleaning apparatus is for cleaning a surface to be cleaned and includes a dirt cup assembly including a dirt collection chamber and a dust discharge opening. The base station is configured to interface with at least a portion of the surface cleaning apparatus, the base station including a dust collection chamber and a suction motor configured to generate a suction airflow to divert dirt within the dust collection chamber into the dust collection chamber through the dust discharge port after the dirt cup assembly is docked to the base station. The ash discharge opening is provided with a cover body for closing and opening the ash discharge opening, and when the cover body is positioned at a closing position for closing the ash discharge opening, the cover body comprises a locking state and a state to be opened. The dirt cup assembly further includes a locking mechanism including a first locking member configured to switch the cover between a locked state and a to-be-opened state, and a second locking member; the second locking member is configured to hold the cover in a state to be opened when the cover is in the closed position. Through the cooperation between first locking piece and the second locking piece, can effectively ensure that the lid is in the closed position after leaving the base station, not only improve user experience, still save the cost.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a cleaning system according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a structure in which a cover of the surface cleaning apparatus is in an opened state in one embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the structure of a dirt cup assembly in one embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 3, with the cover in a closed position;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the cover in a semi-open position;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the structure of the cover in a fully open position;

FIG. 7 is a relative positional relationship of the cover and the locking mechanism;

FIG. 8 is a relative positional relationship of the cover and the locking mechanism under another angle;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural view of the cover in a locked state;

fig. 10 is a schematic view of the structure of the cover in a state to be opened;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of the structure of area B in FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of the structure of area C in FIG. 10;

fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of a base station.

Detailed Description

The following description of the embodiments of the present invention will be made clearly and fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which it is evident that the embodiments described are only some, but not all embodiments of the invention. All other embodiments, which can be made by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention without making any inventive effort, are intended to be within the scope of the invention.

In the case where a directional instruction is involved in the embodiment of the present invention, the directional instruction is merely used to explain the relative positional relationship, movement condition, etc. between the components in a specific posture, and if the specific posture is changed, the directional instruction is changed accordingly.

In addition, if there is a description of "first", "second", etc. in the embodiments of the present invention, the description of "first", "second", etc. is for descriptive purposes only and is not to be construed as indicating or implying a relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defining "a first" or "a second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature. In addition, the meaning of "and/or" as it appears throughout includes three parallel schemes, for example "A and/or B", including the A scheme, or the B scheme, or the scheme where A and B are satisfied simultaneously. In addition, the technical solutions of the embodiments may be combined with each other, but it is necessary to base that the technical solutions can be realized by those skilled in the art, and when the technical solutions are contradictory or cannot be realized, the combination of the technical solutions should be considered to be absent and not within the scope of protection claimed in the present invention.

In the description of the present application, it should be noted that, unless explicitly specified and limited otherwise, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly, and may be either fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally connected, for example; can be mechanically or electrically connected; can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and can be communication between two elements. The specific meaning of the terms in this application can be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art in a specific context.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural view of a cleaning system according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 2 is a schematic view showing a structure in which a cover of the surface cleaning apparatus is in an opened state in an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a dirt cup assembly in accordance with one embodiment. Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along A-A in fig. 3, with the cover in a closed position. Fig. 5 is a schematic view of the structure of the cover in the half-open position. Fig. 6 is a schematic view of the structure of the cover in the fully open position. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing a relative positional relationship between the cover and the lock mechanism. Fig. 8 is a view showing the relative positional relationship between the cover and the lock mechanism at another angle. Fig. 9 is a schematic structural view of the cover in a locked state. Fig. 10 is a schematic view of the structure of the cover in a state to be opened. Fig. 11 is an enlarged view of the structure of the region B in fig. 9. Fig. 12 is an enlarged view of the structure of the region C in fig. 10. Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of a base station. Referring to fig. 1, a cleaning system 100 is disclosed in fig. 1, comprising a surface cleaning apparatus 10 and a base station 20. Referring to fig. 2, a surface cleaning apparatus 10 for cleaning a surface to be cleaned comprises a dirt cup assembly 1 and a blower assembly 3, the blower assembly 3 being arranged to generate a suction air flow to suck dirt from the surface to be cleaned into the dirt cup assembly 1. Referring to fig. 3, the dirt cup assembly 1 includes a dirt collection chamber 13 and a dust discharge opening 131, the dust discharge opening 131 being for discharging dust from the dirt collection chamber 13. Referring to fig. 13, the arrow direction in fig. 13 is the direction in which dirt in the dust collection chamber is transferred to the dust collection chamber. The base station 20 is used to dock at least part of the surface cleaning apparatus 10, and the base station 20 may dock the entire surface cleaning apparatus 10, or may dock only the dirt cup assembly 1. The base station 20 comprises a dust collection chamber 22 and a suction motor 21, the suction motor 21 being adapted to generate a suction air flow for transferring dirt in the dust collection chamber 13 into the dust collection chamber 22 through a dust discharge opening 131 after docking of the dirt cup assembly 1 to the base station 20.

Referring to fig. 2 and 3, a cover 132 for closing and opening the ash discharge port 131 is provided at the ash discharge port 131, and the cover 132 may be movably installed at the ash discharge port 131 by a holding structure 133. Referring to fig. 3 to 12, when the cover 132 is in the closed position (refer to fig. 4) closing the ash discharge port 131, the cover 132 includes a locked state (refer to fig. 9 and 11) and a state to be opened (refer to fig. 10 and 12). The locked state means that the cover 132 cannot be opened even with an external force unless the structure of the dirt cup assembly 1 is broken. The state to be opened refers to that the cover 132 is opened by an external force (mainly, suction force generated by the suction motor 21, of course, if the user pulls and pulls the cover 132 with a certain force), and the arrow direction in fig. 12 is a rotation direction of the cover after the external force is applied. The cover 132 further includes an open position at which the ash port 131 is opened, and the open position of the cover 132 includes a fully open position and a half open position. Referring to fig. 6, the fully opened position refers to a position where the cover 132 is far away from the ash discharge opening 131 by the cover 132 overcoming a force generated by the holding structure 133 under the action of an external force. Referring to fig. 5, the half-open position refers to a position (half-open position) between the closed position and the fully open position when the cover 132 overcomes the force of the holding structure 133 by gravity and the cover 132 is maintained at a balance between the gravity and the force of the holding structure 133 when the ash discharge port 131 is facing downward. This has the advantage that when the cover 132 receives the suction force generated by the suction motor 21, the cover 132 can be moved from the half-open position to the full-open position, and the dirt can be smoothly discharged from the dust discharge port 131. If the force generated by the retaining structure 133 of the cover 132 is relatively large enough to overcome the weight of the cover 132 to place it in the closed position, the suction force generated by the suction motor 21 will not place the cover 132 in the fully open position, but will only hold the cover 132 in the vicinity of the half open position, where the opening angle of the cover 132 is relatively small (see the open position of the cover in fig. 5), and some dirt will be caught on the cover 132, and further a separate cleaning by the user will be required. However, the cover 132 is in the half-open position without external force, and the user needs to close it by hand at the next use. Referring to fig. 7-12, in order to solve the problem of the cover 132 being unable to close after the cover 132 has been moved away from the base station 20, a locking mechanism 17 is specifically designed into the dirt cup assembly 1. The lock mechanism 17 includes a first lock member 15 and a second lock member 16, the first lock member 15 being configured to switch the cover 132 between a locked state and a state to be opened. The second locking member 16 is configured to hold the cover 132 in a state to be opened when the cover 132 is in the closed position. The first locking member 15 includes a locking position (fig. 11) and an unlocking position (fig. 12), and when the first locking member 15 is in the locking position, the cover 132 is in the locked state, and when the first locking member 15 is in the unlocking position, the cover 132 is in the to-be-opened state. The second locking member 16 keeps the cover 132 in the closed position when it is in the to-be-opened state, and the cover 132 is in the closed position all the time even if the dirt cup assembly 1 is separated from the base station 20 without the cover being subjected to external force. At this time, the first locking member 15 may switch states at any time, changing the cover 132 from the state to be opened to the locked state. If the cover is not in the closed position, the cover is in the open state if the first locking member is in the switched state, and the user is required to perform manual operation. Therefore, the second locking piece is used for ensuring that the cover body is always in a state to be opened when in the closed position, and is matched with the first locking piece to complete the locking of the cover body. The second locking member 16 includes a second locking piece 161 and an elastic member 162 that is matched with the second locking piece 161, and the second locking piece 161 can be extended and contracted relative to the cover 132 after being pressed by the cover 132. Because the force generated by the elastic member 162 is small, the cover 132 is not unlocked under the action of gravity, and can be displaced under the condition of small external force, so that the cover 132 breaks through the limitation of the second locking piece 161 and then opens the ash discharge port 131.

To save costs and avoid separate handling by the user, the cover 132 is configured to switch from the locked state to the to-be-opened state after docking the dirt cup assembly 1 with the base station 20. To enhance the user experience, the cover 132 is ensured to be in a locked state for the first time of disengagement from the base station 20. The cover 132 is also configured to switch from the to-be-opened state to the locked state after the dirt cup assembly 1 leaves the base station 20. Referring to fig. 9-12, in one implementation, the first locking member 15 includes a first locking piece 152 and a button 151, where the first locking piece 152 is located at a locking position when the surface cleaning apparatus 10 is not docked to the base station 20, and where a mechanism on the base station 20 can touch the button 151 after the surface cleaning apparatus 10 is docked to the base station 20, where the first locking piece 152 is displaced under the drive of the button 151, and moves from the locking position to the unlocking position. Referring to fig. 9 and 11, after the dirt cup assembly is placed in the base station, the button and the first lock block are moved in the direction of the corresponding arrow, respectively, and the first lock 15 is movable from the locked position to the unlocked position. When the surface cleaning apparatus 10 leaves the base station 20, the button 151 is reset under the drive of the spring, and the first lock 152 is driven to move from the unlock position to the lock position. Referring to fig. 10 and 12, after the dirt cup assembly has been moved away from the base station, the button and the first lock block are moved in the direction of the corresponding arrow, respectively, and the first lock 15 is movable from the unlocked position to the locked position. In other implementations, the first locking member 15 may also be controlled electronically, i.e., the controller controls the first locking member 15 to move from the locked position to the unlocked position after the surface cleaning apparatus 10 is docked to the base station 20. When the surface cleaning apparatus 10 leaves the base station 20, the controller controls the first locking member 15 to move from the unlocked position to the locked position.

In one implementation, the first lock 15 and the second lock 16 are relatively independent. I.e. the first locking member 15 and the second locking member 16 are not associated at all, and are independent of each other.

Referring to fig. 7-12, in another implementation, the second locking member 16 moves with the first locking member 15, with the cantilevered end of the second locking member 16 protruding from the cantilevered end of the first locking member 15. When the free end of the first locking member 15 is completely removed from the recess defined by the cover, the free end of the second locking member is also partially positioned within the recess to retain the cover in the to-be-opened condition. Specifically, the first locking member 15 defines a mounting groove within which a portion of the second locking member 16 is movable.

In order to ensure that the cover 132 can be smoothly returned to the closed position after the completion of the transfer of dirt in the dust collection chamber 13, the blower assembly 3 of the surface cleaning apparatus 10 is configured to generate an air flow to transfer the cover 132 from the opened state to the to-be-opened state after the operation of the suction motor 21 is stopped.

The overall process of the surface cleaning apparatus 10 from docking to the base station 20, evacuating the dirt collection chamber 13, and leaving the base station 20 is described below.

First, the cover 132 is in a locked state (refer to fig. 4 and 11) before the surface cleaning apparatus 10 is docked to the base station 20, the surface cleaning apparatus 10 may be automatically or passively docked to the base station 20, at this time, the button 151 of the first locking member 15 is triggered by a structure on the base station 20, the button 151 pushes the first locking member 152 to displace, so that the cover 132 is changed from the locked state to the to-be-opened state (refer to fig. 12), after the surface cleaning apparatus 10 is docked to the base station 20, the suction motor 21 may be automatically or controlled to operate, generate suction force, the cover 132 moves under the action of the suction force to push the second locking member 161 back against the elastic force of the elastic member 162, and then the cover 132 is unlocked, so that the to-be-opened state is changed from the to-be-opened state. The cover 132 is located at a fully opened position (refer to fig. 6) by the suction force of the suction motor, and dust in the dust collection chamber 13 is transferred into the dust collection chamber 22. When the suction motor 21 is operated for a preset time, the operation is stopped, and at this time, the dirt in the dust collection chamber 13 has been substantially transferred to the dust collection chamber 22. The cover 132 is moved from a fully open position (see fig. 6) to a semi-open position (see fig. 5) by the retaining structure 133. At this time, the fan assembly 3 of the surface cleaning apparatus 10 generates a suction air flow, a negative pressure is generated in the dust collecting chamber 13, the cover 132 moves toward the dust discharging port 131 under the action of the negative pressure, when the cover 132 moves to the closed position, the cover 132 pushes the second locking piece 161 to move under the action of the suction force, after the edge of the groove 163 of the cover 132 is scratched by the second locking piece 161, the second locking piece 161 rebounds under the action of the elastic piece 162, and part of the second locking piece 161 stretches into the groove 163 to keep the cover 132 in a state to be opened. When the surface cleaning apparatus 10 is used again, the surface cleaning apparatus 10 leaves the base station 20, and since the cover 132 is always in the closed position by the second locking member 16, the first locking member 15 moves from the unlocked position to the locked position during the leaving of the base station 20, and at this time, the cover 132 is in the locked state, and the user does not need to perform an additional operation of closing the cover.

Although embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed above, it is not limited to the details and embodiments shown and described, it is well suited to various fields of use for which the invention would be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and accordingly, the invention is not limited to the specific details and illustrations shown and described herein, without departing from the general concepts defined in the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A surface cleaning apparatus for cleaning a surface to be cleaned, the surface cleaning apparatus comprising a dirt cup assembly comprising a dirt collection chamber and a dirt discharge opening; the ash discharge opening is provided with a cover body for closing and opening the ash discharge opening, and when the cover body is in a closing position for closing the ash discharge opening, the cover body comprises a locking state and a state to be opened;

2. A surface cleaning apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein,

the first locking piece and the second locking piece are independent.

3. A surface cleaning apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein,

the second locking piece moves along with the first locking piece, and the suspension end of the second locking piece protrudes out of the suspension end of the first locking piece.

4. A surface cleaning apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein,

the first locking member defines a mounting slot within which a portion of the second locking member is movable.

5. A surface cleaning apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein,

the second locking piece comprises a second locking piece and an elastic piece matched with the second locking piece, and the second locking piece is telescopic after being extruded by the cover body.

6. A surface cleaning apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein,

the fan assembly of the surface cleaning apparatus is configured to generate an air flow to move the cover from the open condition to the to-be-opened condition.

7. A surface cleaning apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein,

the dirt cup assembly also includes a retaining structure configured to retain the cover in a semi-open position between a closed position and a fully open position without the application of an external force.

8. A cleaning system comprising a surface cleaning apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7 and a base station for docking at least part of the surface cleaning apparatus.

9. The cleaning system of claim 8, wherein the cleaning system comprises a cleaning system,

the cover is configured to switch from the locked state to the to-be-opened state after the dirt cup assembly is docked to the base station.

10. The cleaning system of claim 8, wherein the cleaning system comprises a cleaning system,

the cover is configured to switch from the to-be-opened state to the locked state after the dirt cup assembly leaves the base station.