JP2002112937A - Vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve ease of use by enabling releasing of griping without maintenance by a user when an agitator catches foreign matter and is locked, in a vacuum cleaner having a suction opening provided with an agitator driven by an agitator motor. SOLUTION: Consumed electric current of an agitator motor 2 driven by a commercial power source 4 is detected by an electric current detection means 6, and the agitator motor 2 is controlled by a control means 7. The locking of the agitator motor 2 is detected from consumed electric current detected by the electric current detection means 6 and the agitator motor 2 is reversely rotated during locking.

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 a suction tool provided with an agitator driven by an agitator motor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a suction port of this type of vacuum cleaner has been configured as shown in FIGS. Hereinafter, the configuration will be described.

As shown in FIG. 7, a suction opening 17 facing the surface to be cleaned is provided at the bottom of the suction opening main body 15, and an agitator (rotary brush) 1 is rotatably arranged so as to face the suction opening 17. ing. The agitator 1 has a substantially cylindrical rotating body 1a, and a brush body 1b implanted on the peripheral surface of the rotating body 1a.
It consists of. Instead of the brush body 1b, a cloth band blade, a synthetic resin band blade having elasticity, or a rubber band blade may be spirally or radially arranged. Then, dust present on the surface to be cleaned, such as a carpet, is scraped up by the brush body (or strip blade) 1b. Further, the agitator 1 is driven to rotate by the agitator motor 2 via the belt 3. A connection pipe 16 connected to the extension pipe is connected to the rear of the suction port main body 15.
Then, the suction force of the electric blower of the cleaner main body acts on the suction chamber 15a in the suction port main body 15 via the extension pipe and the connection pipe 16, and an intake flow indicated by a broken arrow is generated.

As shown in FIG. 8, the agitator motor 2 is connected to a commercial power supply 4 via a power cutoff means 5, and when the current consumption of the agitator motor 2 becomes larger than a certain level, the current cutoff means 5 causes the agitator motor 2 to turn off. It is configured to cut off the power supply to the power supply.

FIG. 9 shows a characteristic curve of the rotation speed n of the agitator motor 2 and the current consumption i. The current consumption of the agitator motor 2 varies depending on the magnitude of the load transmitted from the agitator 1 via the belt 3. This is a general electric characteristic of the motor. When the load applied to the agitator motor 2 is small, the number of rotations increases and the generated back electromotive force increases, so that the current consumption decreases. When the load is large, the number of revolutions is low, and the generated back electromotive force is small, so that the current consumption is large.

The rotation speed of the agitator motor 2 when the agitator 1 is rotated in the air is n1, the current consumption is i1, the rotation speed of the agitator motor 2 when the agitator 1 is rotated on the carpet is n2, and the current consumption is Is i2, and the consumed current of the agitator motor 2 when the agitator 1 is locked is i3.

[0007] The current cutoff means 5 uses a positive temperature coefficient thermistor. When the flowing current is small, the heating value is low because the heating temperature is low, and the resistance value is small, and as the current increases, the heating value increases, so the resistance value increases. Have electrical characteristics. It is assumed that the resistance value of the energization cutoff means 5 becomes maximum when the current is equal to or more than i3.

The operation of the above configuration will be described. When the agitator 1 is rotated in the air, the rotation speed of the agitator motor 2 is n1 and the current consumption is i1 at time t1 in FIG. When the agitator 1 is rotated on the carpet, at the time t2 in FIG.
Is n2 smaller than n1, and current consumption is i2 larger than i1.

[0009] When the agitator 1 is locked due to the foreign matter biting into the agitator 1 and the rotation of the agitator motor 2 is stopped, at time t3 in FIG.
Is 0, the current consumption is i3 which is larger than i2.
When the current consumption becomes i3, the current flowing through the power cutoff means 5 also becomes i3, and the resistance value of the power cutoff means 5 becomes maximal. At time t4 in FIG. Is turned off.

[0010]

In such a conventional structure, when a foreign matter bites into the agitator 1 and the agitator 1 is locked, the rotation of the agitator motor 2 is stopped.
The release of the bite must be performed by the maintenance of the user, and the user may be mistaken as a malfunction.

When a positive temperature coefficient thermistor is used for the power supply cutoff means 5, once the resistance value of the power supply cutoff means 5 reaches a maximum, it takes several minutes for the resistance value to decrease to a temperature at which the maximum resistance is released. Therefore, even if the bite is immediately released due to the maintenance of the user, there is a problem that the user has to wait until the rotation of the agitator 1 is restarted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to improve the usability by allowing the agitator to release the bite without any user maintenance when the bite is locked by the bite. And

[0013]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, current consumption of an agitator motor for driving an agitator is detected by current detection means, and the agitator motor is controlled by control means. The lock of the agitator motor is detected from the current consumption detected by the detecting means, and the agitator motor is rotated in the reverse direction during the lock.

Thus, when a foreign substance bites into the agitator and locks, the bite can be released without user's maintenance, and the usability can be improved.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is directed to an agitator for scraping dust on a surface to be cleaned, an agitator motor for driving the agitator, and a current detection for detecting current consumption of the agitator motor. Means, and a control means for controlling the agitator motor, wherein the lock of the agitator motor is detected from the current consumption detected by the current detection means, and the agitator motor is reversely rotated at the time of locking, and When the current consumption of the agitator motor detected by the detection means becomes larger than the motor lock level, it is determined that the agitator motor has locked, so that when an agitator is locked by a foreign object biting in, the agitator motor lock can be detected. , Unlocked by rotating agitator motor in reverse when locked Work can be performed, even without relying on the maintenance of the user can release the lock, it is possible to improve the usability.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in accordance with the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a time measuring means for measuring a time during which the agitator motor is rotated in the reverse direction. When the time exceeds a predetermined time, the rotation is stopped.If the time to release the lock by reversely rotating the agitator motor is longer than the predetermined time, the reverse rotation of the agitator motor must be stopped. Thus, it is possible to prevent the agitator motor from being energized for a long time at the time of locking, and to prevent deterioration and wear of the agitator motor.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an agitator for scraping up dust on a surface to be cleaned, an agitator motor for driving the agitator, current detecting means for detecting current consumption of the agitator motor, Display means for displaying the state of the agitator motor; and second control means for controlling the energization voltage to gradually increase at the start of rotation of the agitator motor, and perform lock detection at the start of rotation of the agitator motor. When the current consumption detected by the current detecting means becomes larger than the motor lock level at the start of rotation of the agitator motor, a foreign substance bites into the agitator and the agitator motor is locked. It can be displayed on the display means at the time of locking to notify the user.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The same components as those in the conventional example are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. Particularly, the mechanism configuration shown in FIG. 7 is the same as the conventional configuration, and the description thereof is omitted.
As a modification of FIG. 7, the rotating body 1a of the agitator 1 is
May be hollow, and an agitator motor may be disposed inside the hollow body to transmit the rotation of the agitator motor to the rotating body 1a.

(Embodiment 1) As shown in FIG. 1, a current detecting means 6 detects a current consumption of an agitator motor 2 for driving an agitator 1 disposed in a suction chamber 15a in a suction port main body 15. , And connected to the commercial power supply 4 in series with the agitator motor 2. The control means 7 controls the agitator motor 2 based on the current consumption detected by the current detection means 6. When the current consumption of the agitator motor 2 detected by the current detection means exceeds i3, the agitator motor 2 is locked. Thus, the agitator motor 2 is rotated in the reverse direction during locking. If the current consumption of the agitator motor 2 is less than i3, it is determined that the lock is not performed or the lock is released.

The operation of the above configuration will be described. When the agitator 1 is rotated on the carpet, the rotation speed n of the agitator motor 2 is n2 at time t2 in FIG.
Becomes i2. When the foreign matter such as the fluff of the carpet is entangled with the agitator and the rotation of the agitator motor 2 is stopped, at time t3 in FIG.
The consumption current i is i3. When the current consumption becomes i3, the control means 7 determines that the agitator motor 2 is locked,
The lock is released by controlling the agitator motor 2 to rotate in the reverse direction to release the lock.

As described above, the lock of the agitator is determined by detecting the current consumption i of the agitator motor 2, and the lock can be released without maintenance by the user by rotating the agitator motor 2 reversely at the time of locking. , The usability can be improved.

(Embodiment 2) As shown in FIG. 3, a timing means 8 is for measuring the time during which the agitator motor 2 is rotated in reverse to release the lock of the agitator. At the start of the reverse rotation, the time measurement is started, and the time measurement time is continuously transmitted to the control means 9. The control means 9 is configured to stop the reverse rotation when the measured time reaches a predetermined time T regardless of whether or not the lock of the agitator motor 2 is released. Other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment.

The operation of the above configuration will be described. When the agitator is rotated on the carpet, the rotation speed n of the agitator motor 2 is n2 at time t2 in FIG.
Becomes i2. When the foreign matter such as the fluff of the carpet is entangled in the agitator 1 and the rotation of the agitator motor 2 is stopped, the rotation speed n of the agitator motor 2 becomes 0 and the current consumption i becomes i3 at time t3 in FIG.

When the current consumption becomes i3, the control means 9 determines that the agitator motor 2 is locked, and controls the agitator motor 2 to rotate in the reverse direction for unlocking. When a predetermined time T elapses in the state where the reverse rotation operation is continued and reaches time t5 in FIG. 4, the reverse rotation for locking the agitator motor 2 is stopped.

In this way, by stopping the reverse rotation after a predetermined time T has elapsed after the start of the reverse rotation for releasing the lock of the agitator motor 2, it is possible to prevent the agitator motor 2 from being energized for a long time during locking. Thus, deterioration and damage of the agitator motor 2 can be prevented.

(Embodiment 3) As shown in FIG. 5, the display means 10 displays the state of the agitator motor 2. This can be provided on the upper surface of the suction port main body shown in FIG. 7, or can be provided on the upper surface in front of the grip portion of the hand pipe connected to one end of the extension pipe. Second control means 11
Controls the agitator motor 2 from the current consumption detected by the current detection means 6 and controls the energization voltage to gradually increase at the start of rotation of the agitator motor 2.

As shown in FIG. 6, the second control means 11 determines that the lock has been established when the current consumption at the time when the time Δt has elapsed from the start of rotation of the agitator motor 2 is i7 or more, and the display means 9 is turned on to turn off the power supply to the agitator motor 2, and if the current consumption is less than i7, it is determined that the motor is not locked, the display means 9 is turned off, and the power supply voltage to the agitator motor 2 is further increased. Set the energizing voltage for full rotation. Further, the agitator motor 2 is at full rotation in an unlocked state, and has a rotation speed n1 at a consumption current i11.
It is set to 1. Other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment.

The operation of the above configuration will be described. At time t6 in FIG. 6, the agitator motor 2 starts rotating, the rotation speed n is 0, and the current consumption i is 0. At time t7 when time Δt has elapsed from time t6 in FIG.
Becomes i7, the second control means 11 determines that the agitator motor 2 is locked, turns off the power supply to the agitator motor 2, and turns on the display means 9 to notify the user of the occurrence of the lock.

Since the power supply to the agitator motor 2 is turned off at time t7 in FIG. 6, the current consumption i becomes 0 at time t8 in FIG.

Next, after maintenance by the user, at time t9 in FIG. 6, the agitator motor 2 starts rotating, the rotation speed n is 0, and the current consumption i is 0. At time t10 after the time Δt has elapsed from time t9 in FIG. 6, the rotation speed n is n10, and the current consumption i is smaller than i7, i9. Therefore, it is determined that there is no lock, and the display means 9 is turned off.

At time t10 in FIG. 6, it is determined that the agitator motor 2 is not locked, and the energizing voltage further increases. At time t11 in FIG. 6, the agitator motor 2 rotates at full speed and the number of revolutions n becomes n11. The current i is i1
It becomes 1.

As described above, since the lock is determined and displayed when the rotation of the agitator motor 2 is started, the user can be notified of the presence or absence of the lock.

[0033]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the lock is determined by detecting the current consumption of the agitator motor, and the user is caused to rotate the agitator motor in the reverse direction at the time of locking. The lock can be released without any maintenance, and the usability can be improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the agitator motor from being energized for a long time at the time of locking, and to prevent deterioration and damage of the agitator motor.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the rotation of the agitator motor is started, the lock is determined and displayed, so that the user can be notified of the presence or absence of the lock.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a main part block circuit diagram of a vacuum cleaner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a characteristic diagram showing rotation speed and current consumption of an agitator motor of the vacuum cleaner.

FIG. 3 is a main part block circuit diagram of a vacuum cleaner according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a characteristic diagram showing rotation speed and current consumption of an agitator motor of the vacuum cleaner.

FIG. 5 is a main part block circuit diagram of a vacuum cleaner according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a characteristic diagram showing rotation speed and current consumption of an agitator motor of the vacuum cleaner.

FIG. 7 is a side view of a main part of a suction device of a conventional vacuum cleaner.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a main part of the vacuum cleaner.

FIG. 9 is a characteristic diagram showing the rotation speed and current consumption of the agitator motor of the vacuum cleaner.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Agitator motor 6 Current detecting means 7 Control means 8 Clocking means 9 Control means 10 Display means 11 Second control means

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Masaki Takahashi 1006 Kazuma Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 3B057 DA09 3B061 AD05 AE02

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An agitator for scraping dust on a surface to be cleaned, an agitator motor for driving the agitator, current detecting means for detecting current consumption of the agitator motor, and control means for controlling the agitator motor,
An electric vacuum cleaner wherein the lock of the agitator motor is detected from the consumed current detected by the current detecting means, and the agitator motor is rotated reversely when locked. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising time measuring means for measuring a time during which the agitator motor is rotating in the reverse direction, wherein the rotation is stopped when the reverse rotation time of the agitator motor exceeds a predetermined time. Vacuum cleaner. 3. An agitator for scraping up dust on a surface to be cleaned, an agitator motor for driving the agitator, current detecting means for detecting current consumption of the agitator motor, and display means for displaying a state of the agitator motor. A second control means for controlling the energization voltage to gradually increase at the start of rotation of the agitator motor, performing lock detection at the start of rotation of the agitator motor, and displaying on the display means at lock. Vacuum cleaner.