JP2003219993A - Electric cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent occurrence of marring inside the dust collector case by suction of dust and adhesion of the dust by generation of static electricity in an electric cleaner which has a cyclone dust collector part. <P>SOLUTION: An nearly transparent dust collector case 11 which is connected to a suction implement 3 that sucks the dust and makes centrifugal separation of the dust, and is made of a material, which is formed by mixing a rubber material and a reform material of an exfoliation prevention material in a resin material, is installed in the main part 7. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric vacuum cleaner having a cyclone dust collecting portion that swirls intake air to separate dust.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional vacuum cleaner having a cyclone dust collecting portion, such as the vacuum cleaner disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-342492, sucks dust that is substantially cylindrical and transparent. The structure was such that it was centrifugally separated by the swirling air flow in the case and simply accumulated below the dust collection case.

However, in such a cyclone dust collecting type electric vacuum cleaner, due to the centrifugal separation effect of dust, the suction air volume does not greatly decrease until dust is almost filled in the dust collecting case, and it is continuously used. it can. For this reason, the dust collection case is made transparent so that the amount of dust accumulated in the dust collection case can be visually recognized by the user of the vacuum cleaner at any time, and the user can visually confirm the dust disposal time to dispose of it. I am doing it. Therefore, it is common to use a transparent acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (hereinafter referred to as ABS) as a material to give a predetermined color to form a colored and transparent dust collecting case. In rare cases, polycarbonate (hereinafter referred to as PC) is used. It is used to increase impact resistance.

[0004]

However, the above-mentioned ABS
However, if hard dust such as pebbles that are sucked into the dust collection case is repeatedly sucked, scratches occur mainly on the inner surface of the centrifugal separation portion, and the transparency is lowered and the visibility of the dust amount is lowered. In severe cases, whitening or cracks may occur on the inner surface.

Further, the cost of the PC is higher than that of the ABS and the specific gravity thereof is large, so that the price and the mass of the entire cleaner are increased.

Further, regardless of the material used, static electricity is easily generated in the dust collection case due to the swirling flow at a high speed, and the dust collection case is easily charged. It was easy for some to remain on the inner surface of the dust collection case.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and provide an electric vacuum cleaner having a centrifugal dust collection case with improved usability.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a main body containing an electric blower that emits suction air and a suction tool for sucking dust, which are connected to each other on the upstream side of intake air of the electric blower. Is provided with a substantially transparent dust-collecting case having an intake part for centrifugally separating dust, and the material forming the dust-collecting case is formed by mixing a resin material with a rubber material and a modifier for a separation preventing material. Even if the dust collection case is applied to the floor surface or the like to discard the dust adhering to the inside of the dust collection case, whitening and cracks do not occur and the usability can be improved.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is
A body containing an electric blower that emits suction air is connected to a suction tool that sucks dust, and a substantially transparent dust collection case that has an intake portion that centrifugally separates dust is provided on the intake upstream side of the electric blower. At the same time, the material forming the dust collecting case is formed by mixing a rubber material and a modifier of a separation preventing material into a resin material, and the dust collecting case is disposed in order to discard the dust adhering to the inside of the dust collecting case. Even if it is applied to the floor surface, whitening and cracks do not occur and usability can be improved.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the material forming the dust collecting case is polyethylene terephthalate (P
It is a modified PET formed by mixing ET) with a modifier. Even if hard dust such as pebbles is repeatedly sucked, sliding scratches on the inner surface hardly occur, and dust adhering to the dust collection case Even if the dust-collection case is applied to the floor surface to exhaust air, whitening and cracks do not occur and usability can be improved.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a main body containing an electric blower for emitting suction air is communicated with a suction device for sucking dust, and dust is centrifugally separated upstream of the intake of the electric blower. A vacuum cleaner having a substantially transparent dust collecting case provided with an air intake part, and an inner surface of the dust collecting case coated with a transparent material having a hardness higher than that of the material forming the dust collecting case. In addition, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of rubbing scratches on the inner surface even when the suction of hard dust such as pebbles is repeated, and to prevent adhesion due to static electricity.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a main body containing an electric blower that emits suction air is communicated with a suction tool that sucks dust, and dust is centrifugally separated on the upstream side of the intake of the electric blower. In addition to providing a substantially transparent dust collecting case having an air intake part, the dust collecting case is an electric vacuum cleaner formed by containing an antistatic agent. The adhesion of dust to the inner surface can be reduced.

[0013]

(Embodiment 1) Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 1, an electric vacuum cleaner 1 has an extension tube 2
The extension tube 2 is connected to a cleaner body 7 (hereinafter referred to as the body 7) via a hand handle 4 and a hose 6 with a hose joint 5. Body 7
Has one front wheel caster 8 and a pair of rear wheels 9 pivotally supported for movement.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a transparent dust collecting case 11 made of modified PET is detachably mounted in the recess 10 formed in the front of the main body 7. An electric blower 12 and the like are built in behind the recess 10 of the main body 7.
The suction side of the electric blower 12 communicates with the air suction portion 14 through the opening 13. The air suction portion 14 is surrounded by an inclined sealing surface 15 that abuts the dust collection case 11 when the dust collection case 11 is placed in the recess 10. An exhaust filter 16 is also provided at the rear of the main body 7, and the exhaust air from the electric blower 12 passing through the exhaust filter 16 is shown in FIG.
It is released outside the main body 7 as indicated by the arrow
Further, the main body 7 incorporates other components, that is, an electric system such as the control unit 17 and a cord winding device (not shown).

The front wall 18 of the main body 7 stands up from the bottom wall 19, and this bottom wall 19 is the lower end surface of the recess 10. An intake port 20 for detachably connecting the hose joint 5 is provided at substantially the center of the front wall 18.
The seal packing 21 is attached to the end surface of the intake port 20 on the concave portion 10 side to prevent air leakage between the intake port 20 and the dust collection case 11.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the dust collection case 11
In the three chambers extending substantially horizontally in the front-rear direction, that is, the dust transport chamber 23 for guiding the dust-containing airflow that has passed through the intake port 20 to the centrifugal separation chamber 22, and the centrifugal separation in the separation chamber 22. Three chambers, namely, a dust storage chamber 24 for accumulating dust are formed, and these chambers are partitioned from each other.

Dust collection case 11 forming a dust transfer chamber 23
The case front wall 25 has a suction port 26 formed therein, and the suction port 26 is concentric with the suction port 20 when the dust collection case 11 is set in the main body 7. The dust transfer chamber 23 is separated from the separation chamber 22 by a first wall portion 27.
And a second wall portion 28 for partitioning the space from the dust storage chamber 24. These first wall portion 27 and second wall portion 2
Reference numeral 8 is a part of a separation chamber wall 29 formed in a substantially cylindrical cross-section on the upper side of the center of the dust collection case 11 so as to form the separation chamber 22.

At the end of the dust transfer chamber 23 on the side separated from the case front wall 25, a communication port B3 provided in the first wall portion 27.
0 is provided to connect the dust transfer chamber 23 and the separation chamber 22 to each other, and the airflow flowing from the dust transfer chamber 23 into the separation chamber 22 is allowed to flow in the inner circumferential tangential direction of the separation chamber wall 29.

The separation chamber 22 includes a first end wall 31 and a second end wall 3.
There is 2. The first end wall 31 is a part of the lid plate 33, and details of the lid plate 33 will be described later. Also, the second end wall 3
2 is a part of the case front wall 25. Separation chamber 2
2 has a separation chamber central portion 34 between both end walls 31, 32. A communication port A35 is formed in the separation chamber wall 29 in the vicinity of the second end wall 32 of the separation chamber central portion 34, and connects the separation chamber 22 and the dust storage chamber 24. As shown in FIG. 5, the communication port A35 is provided on the side of the separation chamber wall 29, and the dust centrifugally separated in the separation chamber 22 passes through the communication port A35 as shown by the arrow in FIG. It is transported into the dust storage chamber 24.

The dust storage chamber 24 forms a partition between the dust transfer chamber 23, a second wall portion 28, a separation chamber wall 29, a case front wall 25 of the dust collection case 11, a case bottom wall 36, and both side surfaces. It is surrounded by the side wall 37. The dust transfer chamber 23, the separation chamber 22, and the dust storage chamber 24 each have a completely open end wall at the rear end of the dust collection case 11, but they are normally closed by a cover plate 33 so as to be openable. ing. In a normal state, the cover plate 33 is attached and fixed to the dust collection case 11, but when the dust in the dust storage chamber 24 is discarded and emptied, it is removed from the dust collection case 11.

As shown in FIG. 4, the cover plate 33 is detachably attached by mounting the filter frame 39, which has the packing 38 fitted on the outer periphery thereof, in the opening of the dust collection case 11 on the electric blower 12 side without a gap. The packing 38 has an inclined sealing surface 1 when the dust collection case 11 is attached to the recess 10.
The state of being lightly crimped to the main body 5 prevents outside air from flowing into the air suction portion 14 from outside the main body 7.

Reference numeral 42 designates a filter located substantially concentrically in the separation chamber 22. The filter 42 is composed of a frame A44 and a frame A44 which are formed integrally with the filter frame 39 and have a substantially cylindrical cross section and a plurality of ventilation openings A43 on the peripheral surface. A non-woven fabric filter A45 that covers and separates fine dust from the separation chamber 22 side, and the plurality of ventilation openings 43 collectively form a first air intake portion 46 that connects the separation chamber 22 and the electric blower 12 to each other.

Reference numeral 47 is a ventilation opening B formed in the filter frame 39 so as to face the dust storage chamber 24, and is covered with a substantially conical nonwoven fabric filter B48. The ventilation opening B47 connects the dust storage chamber 24 and the electric blower 12 to each other,
Are configured.

A handle 50 is formed above the dust collection case 11 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6. Handle 5
The rear part of 0 is provided with a buckle button 51 that is operated when the dust collection case 11 is removed from the cleaner body 7. The buckle button 51 receives the biasing force of the spring 52 and engages with the main body 7.

Next, the operation and action of the above configuration will be described.

When the electric blower 12 is put into operation, the dust-containing air flow sucked from the suction tool 3 flows into the intake port 20 through the extension pipe 2 and the hose 6. This air flow enters the dust transfer chamber 23 through the suction port 26 and further flows toward the end covered with the cover plate 33. Dust particles, such as heavy dust, enter the separation chamber 22 along the inner bottom surface of the dust transfer chamber 23, and the dust, which has a low fiber mass, flows with the airflow one after another through the communication port B29. .

The air that enters the separation chamber 22 is
Flowing in the tangential direction of the separation chamber wall 29 having a substantially cylindrical cross section, forming a swirling vortex along the inner surface of the separation chamber wall 29, passing through the separation chamber central portion 34 and reaching the communication port A35. Then, the dust that has entered the separation chamber 22 is subjected to the action of the centrifugal force generated by the swirling vortex flow, is transported to the first wall portion 27 while rotating along the inner surface of the separation chamber wall 29, and the centrifugal force is generated from the communication port A35. Enter the inside of the dust storage chamber 24 so as to be skipped by.

The air at the center of rotation of the swirling vortex has almost no dust, but about 80% of the dust-containing air that has entered the separation chamber 22 is after fine dust is filtered by the filter 42. , Is sucked into the electric blower 12 from the first intake section 46.

The remaining about 20% of the dust-containing air flow enters the dust storage chamber 24, the dust is filtered by the non-woven fabric filter B48, and then is sucked by the electric blower 12 through the second intake section 49. The airflow of (1) passes through the exhaust filter 16 to be further dust-removed, and is exhausted to the outside of the main body 7.

The dust that has entered and accumulated in the dust storage chamber 24 is compressed by the wind pressure that is pressed against the nonwoven fabric filter B48 by the airflow of about 20% from the communication port A35 toward the second air intake 49, It is possible to accumulate dust having a volume larger than that of the dust storage chamber 24. In particular, the effect becomes great when sucking fibrous dust that is bulky with respect to the mass.

When the dust and the like accumulated inside the vacuum cleaner are discarded, the buckle button 51 provided on the handle 50 is pushed and the dust collecting case 11 is lifted in the unlocked state and removed from the recess 10 of the main body 7. Next, the cover plate 33 is removed from the dust collection case 11, and the electric blower 12 side of the dust collection case 11 is opened. Then, when the dust collection case 11 is tilted so that the case front wall 25 faces upward, the dust transfer chamber 23 and the separation chamber 2
2. The dust in the dust chamber 24 can be discharged all at once to the trash can or the like.

By the way, the dust collecting case 11 is formed of modified PET formed by mixing polyethylene terephthalate (hereinafter referred to as PET) with rubber and a modifier of a separation preventing material for preventing separation of the rubber and PET. ing. By mixing with a rubber, general ABS enhances impact resistance, and by mixing with a peeling preventing material, whitening is made difficult. The modified PET has a notched Izod impact strength of 38 kg · cm, which is about twice that of general ABS.
/ Cm and has a high Rockwell hardness. As a result, even if hard dust such as pebbles is repeatedly sucked and centrifugally separated in the separation chamber 22 and accumulated in the dust storage chamber 24, the inner peripheral surface, the outer peripheral surface of the separation chamber 22 and the inner peripheral surface of the dust storage chamber 24 are separated. Scratch scratches are unlikely to occur. Even when dust is added and discarded, even if a part of the dust collection case 11 is applied to the floor surface or the like to receive an impact, whitening and cracks do not occur and usability is improved.

Further, although the specific gravity is about 1.2, which is larger than that of ABS, it has a high Izod impact strength and has no whitening or cracking property, so that it can be formed thinner than ABS, and as a result formed by ABS. The dust collecting case 11 can be made lighter than the above case, and can contribute to weight reduction of the entire cleaner.

Although the separation chamber 22, the dust transfer chamber 23, and the dust storage chamber 24 are formed integrally with the dust collection case 11 in the above-described embodiment, the dust collection case contact plate and the outer shell constituting these three chambers are formed. The same effect can be obtained even if the dust collecting case 11 and the dust collecting case 11 are configured, and the dust collecting case 11 is not limited to being formed by one part.

(Embodiment 2) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

The dust-collecting case 11 is resin-molded with transparent ABS, and then the inner surface is coated with, for example, an organic or inorganic hard paint 41.

The operation and action of the above configuration will be described.

Since the inner surface of the dust collection case 11 is coated with the organic or inorganic hard paint 41, ABS is H7 when the surface hardness is such that the ABS is rubbed with the pencil tip of HB and scratched.
The surface hardness increases to the point where it can be scratched by rubbing with the pencil tip of, and the coating film protects the inner surface even if hard dust such as pebbles is repeatedly sucked and centrifuged, and the inner surface of the dust collection case 11 is scratched or rubbed. Almost no scratching and deterioration of transparency occurs. In addition, the coating film prevents the adhesion of dust due to static electricity,
When the dust is discarded from the dust collection case 11, the dust is removed from the dust collection case 11 to reduce the dust residue and improve the usability.

(Embodiment 3) Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The same components as those of the first and second embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

The dust collecting case 11 is made of transparent A containing an antistatic agent.
It is resin molded with BS.

The antistatic agent is kneaded in the material ABS, and gradually deposits on the surface of the dust collection case 11 after resin molding. If the outer surface is often touched by hands during use, contact with hands or other objects, for example, wipe the outer surface of the dust collection case with a cloth to clean it, and immediately after that, the antistatic agent will wipe off. Although the effect is reduced in the removed state, the antistatic effect continues for a long period of time because the inner surface of the dust collection case 11 does not have a wiping load due to only contact with dust. However, as a result of suppressing the generation of static electricity due to a swirling flow in the dust collection case 11,
Dust is prevented from being attracted to the inner surface of the dust collection case 11 by the Coulomb force and remains attached to the dust collection case 1.
When the dust is discarded from 1, the dust separation is improved, the dust residue is reduced, and the usability is improved.

[0043]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the main body incorporating the electric blower that emits the suction air and the suction tool that sucks the dust are connected to each other, and the intake air of the electric blower is connected. On the upstream side, a substantially transparent dust collection case equipped with an air intake section for centrifugally separating dust is provided, and the material forming the dust collection case is a resin material mixed with a rubber material and a modifier for separation prevention material. When the dust collection case is applied to the floor surface or the like to discard the dust adhering to the inside of the dust collection case, whitening and cracks do not occur and the usability can be improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the material forming the dust collecting case is a modified PET formed by mixing polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and a modifier, which is hard such as pebbles. Almost no scratches on the inner surface occur even after repeated suction of dust, and whitening and cracks do not occur even if the dust collection case is placed on the floor surface to exhaust the dust adhering to the inside of the dust collection case. Instead, the usability can be improved.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the main body incorporating the electric blower that emits the suction air and the suction tool that sucks the dust are communicated with each other, and the suction side upstream of the electric blower is connected to the main body.
A substantially transparent dust collecting case having an air intake portion for centrifugally separating dust is provided, and the inner surface of the dust collecting case is coated with a transparent material having a hardness higher than that of the material forming the dust collecting case. With an electric vacuum cleaner, even if hard dust such as pebbles is repeatedly sucked, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of scratches on the inner surface and prevent adhesion due to static electricity.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the main body incorporating the electric blower for emitting the suction air and the suction device for sucking the dust are communicated with each other, and the dust is provided on the intake upstream side of the electric blower. A substantially transparent dust collecting case having an air intake portion for centrifugal separation is provided, and the dust collecting case is an electric vacuum cleaner formed by containing an antistatic agent. It is possible to reduce the adhesion of dust to the inner surface of the dust case.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a vacuum cleaner showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external view of the main body of the electric vacuum cleaner.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the main body of the vacuum cleaner with the dust collection case removed.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a dust collection case equipped with the lid.

5 is a ZZ sectional view of the dust collection case in FIG.

6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line YY of the dust collection case in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a Z- of a dust collection case showing a second embodiment of the present invention.
Z cross section

FIG. 8 is a Z- of a dust collection case showing a third embodiment of the present invention.
Z cross section

[Explanation of symbols]

3 suction tool 7 body 11 Dust collection case

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Seiji Ishikawa             1006 Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Osaka Matsushita Electric             Sangyo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yasunori Tsuzaki             1006 Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Osaka Matsushita Electric             Sangyo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masafumi Okushima             1006 Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Osaka Matsushita Electric             Sangyo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tetsuji Nomachi             1006 Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Osaka Matsushita Electric             Sangyo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hirokazu Nagaoka             1006 Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Osaka Matsushita Electric             Sangyo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor ▲ Yoshi ▼ Ryohei Tada             1006 Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Osaka Matsushita Electric             Sangyo Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 3B062 AH02

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A substantially transparent body having a built-in electric blower which emits suction air and a suction device for sucking dust, which communicates with each other, and an intake portion for centrifugally separating dust is provided upstream of the intake of the electric blower. An electric vacuum cleaner in which a dust collection case is provided and a material for forming the dust collection case is formed by mixing a resin material with a rubber material and a modifier of a separation preventing material. 2. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the material forming the dust collection case is a modified PET formed by mixing polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and a modifier. 3. A substantially transparent body having a built-in electric blower that emits suction air and a suction device that sucks dust in communication with each other, and an intake portion that centrifuges dust is provided upstream of the intake of the electric blower. An electric vacuum cleaner which is provided with a dust collecting case and whose inner surface is coated with a transparent material having a hardness higher than that of a material forming the dust collecting case. 4. A substantially transparent body having a built-in electric blower for generating suction air and a suction device for sucking dust, which communicates with each other, and an intake portion for centrifugally separating the dust is provided on the upstream side of the intake of the electric blower. An electric vacuum cleaner comprising a dust collecting case and the dust collecting case containing an antistatic agent.