JP2003339601A - Vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vacuum cleaner where power is controlled simply. <P>SOLUTION: An electric blower 5 is supplied with power by a main-body battery 6. A brush motor 23 whose input voltage is different from that of the blower 5 is supplied with power by a brush battery 25. It is possible to separately control power to be supplied to the blower 5 and the brush motor 23 from the main-body battery 6 and the brush battery 25 respectively. Power is simply controlled since it is not necessary to change voltage in a plurality of steps according to the driving state of the blower 5 and the brush motor 23. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an electric vacuum cleaner provided with an electric blower.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this type of vacuum cleaner has a cleaner body, and the cleaner body accommodates an electric blower as a load. In addition, a dust collecting part that communicates with the suction side of the electric blower is formed inside the cleaner body, and a main body suction port that is a connection port is opened on the suction side of the dust collecting part of the cleaner body. Is formed. Further, a hose body, an extension pipe and a floor brush are sequentially connected and connected to the main body suction port.

Further, a rotating brush, which is a rotating body exposed from the lower surface of the floor brush, is rotatably supported by the floor brush. Further, in the floor brush, a brush motor as an electric motor for rotationally driving the rotary brush is attached. This brush motor has a different input voltage from the electric blower.

Further, a rechargeable battery as a battery for electrically connecting the electric blower and the brush motor to the electric blower and the brush motor is provided in the cleaner body. In the main body of the cleaner, there is provided a control means having a booster circuit for boosting the voltage of the electric power supplied from the battery to the electric blower and the brush motor.

Then, the control means rotates the rotary brush by the brush motor to scrape out dust from the floor surface as the surface to be cleaned, and also drives the electric blower to scrape dust off the floor surface by the rotary brush. Is sucked from the floor brush to collect this dust in the dust collecting part.

At this time, the control means measures the voltage of the battery, and when the voltage of the battery becomes less than or equal to a predetermined threshold value preset according to the input voltage of the brush motor and the electric blower. Turns on the booster circuit to boost the voltage of the electric power supplied from the battery to the brush motor and the electric blower, and supplies the voltage to the brush motor and the electric blower.

[0007]

However, in the above-described electric vacuum cleaner, electric power is supplied from one battery to the electric blower and the brush motor having different input voltages, so that the electric blower and the brush motor are supplied from the battery. The problem is that it is not easy to control the electric power, for example, the voltage of the electric power supplied to the motor must be stepped up in multiple stages according to the drive state of each of the electric blower and the brush motor. Have

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an electric vacuum cleaner capable of easily controlling electric power.

[0009]

The electric vacuum cleaner of the present invention comprises:
A first battery that supplies electric power to the electric blower, an electric motor that rotationally drives a rotating body, a second battery that supplies electric power to the electric motor, and an electric blower and an electric motor from the first battery and the second battery And a control means for controlling the electric power supplied to each. Then, by supplying power to the electric blower with the first battery and supplying power to the electric motor with the second battery, it is possible to separately control the voltages of the electric power supplied to the electric blower and the electric motor. Therefore, the first battery and the second battery
It becomes possible to simplify the control of the electric power supplied to each of the electric blower and the electric motor from the battery.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The configuration of an embodiment of the electric vacuum cleaner of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 is a cleaner body, and the cleaner body 1 is a cyclone type and can run on the floor. In addition, the cleaner body 1 includes a case body 2
And a main body case 4 having a lid 3 connected to the upper part of the case body 2 and attached to cover the upper part of the case body 2 so as to be openable by rotation. Further, an electric blower 5 which is an electric section is housed on the rear side in the case body 2.

A main body battery 6, which is a secondary battery as a first battery, is detachably accommodated in the main body case 4, which is the front side of the electric blower 5. The main body battery 6 is electrically connected to the electric blower 5 and supplies electric power to the electric blower 5. The main body battery 6 can be charged via a charging stand (not shown).

Further, a pair of side plate portions 7 are arranged on both sides of the case body 2 so as to project rearward of the case body 2. The pair of side plate portions 7 are curved inward so that the facing distance on the front side of the substantially middle portion in the forward and backward direction is gradually narrowed. A plurality of exhaust ports 8 communicating with the electric blower 5 and opening toward the front side are formed in the curved front portion of each of the pair of side plate portions 7.

On the front side of the lid 3 of the main body case 4,
The main body suction port 9 is opened toward the front. The main body suction port 9 communicates with a dust collector 11 which is detachably attached to the front side of the case body 2 of the main body case 4.

Further, the dust collecting device 11 includes an electric blower 5
The dust cup 12 is provided as a dust separating unit that swirls the dust sucked together with the suction wind by the inside and drops the dust by centrifugal separation due to its own weight to collect the dust. The dust cup 12 has a bottom opening (not shown) formed at the lower end, and the bottom opening is closed by a bottom (not shown) so that it can be opened and closed.

On the outer surface of the dust cup 12, there is provided a substantially U-shaped handle portion 13 as a grip portion which is gripped by the user when the dust collecting device 11 is detached or attached from the cleaner body 1. It is provided integrally. A lever (not shown) for opening the bottom opening of the dust cup 12 is attached to the handle portion 13. By operating this lever, the dust cup 12
The dust collected inside the dust cup 12 can be discarded to the outside of the dust cup 12 through the bottom opening.

On the other hand, in the main body suction port 9 of the main body 1 of the vacuum cleaner,
The base end side, which is the exhaust side, of the flexible hose body 14 is communicated and detachably connected. At the tip end side of the hose body 14, which is the intake side, a hand permitting operation portion 15 is provided as an operating means bent in a substantially V shape. A plurality of setting buttons 16 for setting ON / OFF of the electric blower 5 and operation modes such as weak, middle, and strong of the electric blower 5 are provided on a portion of the bent operation portion 15 that faces the exhaust side of the bent portion. Is provided. In addition, a floor brush 18, which is a nozzle body serving as a suction port body, is detachably connected to an end of the hand operating portion 15 of the hose body 14, which is an intake side, through an extension pipe 17 serving as an expandable and contractable connecting pipe. Is connected. As a result, the floor brush 18
Is connected in communication with the suction side of the electric blower 5 via the extension pipe 17 and the hose body 14.

The floor brush 18 has a substantially rectangular nozzle case 21 having a longitudinal direction in the left-right direction on the tip side which is the suction side.
The nozzle case 21 has a substantially cylindrical rotary brush 22 which is a rotary cleaning body as a rotary body along the longitudinal direction of the nozzle case 21, and the rotary brush 22 extends in the circumferential direction of the rotary brush 22. Is rotatably supported.

A brush motor 23 as an electric motor is housed in the nozzle case 21. The brush motor 23 has an input voltage different from that of the electric blower 5. Furthermore, the brush motor 23 is an endless chain.
The rotary brush 22 is connected to the rotary brush 22 via the rotary brush 22, and the chain 24 transmits the rotation of the brush motor 23 to the rotary brush 22 to drive the rotary brush 22 to rotate in the circumferential direction of the rotary brush 22.

A brush battery 25, which is a secondary battery as a second battery, is housed in the nozzle case 21. This brush battery 25 is a brush motor
It is electrically connected to 23 and supplies electric power to the brush motor 23. The brush battery 25 can be charged via a charging stand (not shown).

A control means 26 is housed in the cleaner body 1 at the rear side of the electric blower 5. As shown in FIG. 2, the control means 26 includes a control circuit 31 such as a microcomputer, and the setting button 16 of the manual operation unit 15 is electrically connected to the control circuit 31.
A manual input 32 as a signal for controlling the control circuit 31 is input via the setting button 16. Further, the control circuit 31 is electrically connected to a main body side drive control unit 33 which is an electric blower drive control unit as a first drive control unit whose drive is controlled by the control circuit 31. The drive controller 33 on the main body side includes a switching element such as a transistor or a triac (not shown).

Further, the main body side drive control unit 33 is
The main body side booster circuit 34, which is a booster circuit for an electric blower as a first booster circuit, and the electric blower 5 are electrically connected to each other.

Here, the main body side booster circuit 34 is a circuit which includes a capacitor (not shown), a coil for voltage conversion, and the like, and obtains a predetermined boosting rate by changing the time for charging this capacitor. Further, the main body side booster circuit 34 changes the boosting rate of the output of the main body battery 6 which is reduced by being supplied from the main body battery 6 to the electric blower 5 according to the voltage of the main body battery 6. To maintain.

Then, the main body side drive control section 33 measures the voltage of the electric power supplied from the main body battery 6 to the electric blower 5, and when this voltage becomes equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold value set in advance. The main body side booster circuit 34 is turned on via the switching element, and the electric power voltage of the main body battery 6 boosted by the main body side booster circuit 34 at a predetermined boosting rate is supplied to the electric blower 5.

On the other hand, the control circuit 31 is electrically connected to a brush side drive control section 35 which is a rotary body drive control section as a second drive control section whose drive is controlled by the control circuit 31. . Further, the brush side drive control unit 35, like the main body side drive control unit 33, includes a switching element such as a transistor or a triac, which is not shown,
It is electrically connected to the brush-side booster circuit 36 which is a booster circuit for an electric motor as a second booster circuit, and the brush motor 23.

The brush side boosting circuit 36 is a circuit which, like the main body side boosting circuit 34, obtains a predetermined boosting rate by changing the time for charging a capacitor (not shown). The output of the brush battery 25, which is supplied from the brush motor 23 to the brush motor 23 and decreases, is maintained by changing the boost rate according to the voltage of the brush battery 25.

The brush side drive control unit 35 measures the voltage of the electric power supplied from the brush battery 25 to the brush motor 23, and the voltage becomes equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold value set in advance. At this time, the brush side booster circuit 36 is turned on via the switching element, and the brush side booster circuit 36 is turned on.
Then, the voltage of the electric power of the brush battery 25 boosted at a predetermined boost rate is supplied to the brush motor 23.

Next, the control of the above-described embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, the control circuit 31 of the control means 26 detects the current flowing through the main body suction port 9 of the cleaner main body 1 to judge whether or not the hose body 14 is connected to the main body suction port 9 ( Step 1), this hose body 14 is the main body suction port 9
If it is determined that the connection has not been established, the process returns to step 1.

Next, when it is determined in step 1 that the hose body 14 is connected to the main body suction port 9, the control circuit 31 detects the current of the extension pipe 17 and the like.
It is judged whether or not the floor brush 18 is connected to the tip side of the extension pipe (step 2), and the floor brush 18 is attached to the tip side of the extension pipe 17.
If it is determined that the is not connected, the process returns to step 2.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step 2 that the floor brush 18 is connected to the tip end side of the extension pipe 17, the control circuit 31 causes the electric current to flow to the electric blower 5 via the main body side drive control unit 33. Is detected to determine whether or not the electric blower 5 is in the off mode (step 3). When it is determined that the electric blower 5 is in the off mode, the process returns to step 1.

When it is determined in step 3 that the electric blower 5 is not in the off mode, the control circuit
At 31, the electric blower 5 is weak via the main body side drive control unit 33,
It is detected which mode is set to medium or high (step 4), and the main body side drive control unit 33 supplies the electric blower 5 from the main body battery 6 in accordance with each of the weak, medium and strong modes. The electric blower 5 is turned on and driven by controlling the voltage of the generated electric power (step 5).

Next, the control circuit 31 determines whether or not the floor brush 18 is turned on (step 6).
When it is determined that the brush motor 23 is turned on, the control circuit 31 controls the voltage of the electric power supplied from the brush battery 25 to the brush motor 23 via the brush side drive control unit 35 to control the brush motor 23. Is turned on (step 7). That is, the brush motor 23 is driven only after the electric blower 5 is driven. Then, the control circuit 31 measures the voltage V ₁ of the main body battery 6 via the main body side drive control unit 33, and determines whether the voltage V ₁ of the main body battery 6 is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value X set in advance. Judge (step 8).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 6 that the floor brush 18 is not turned on, the process proceeds to step 8.

When the control circuit 31 determines in step 8 that the voltage V _{1 of the} battery 6 for the main body is equal to or lower than the predetermined threshold value X set in advance, the main body side drive control section 33 boosts the main body side voltage. After the circuit 34 is turned on (step 9) and the voltage of the battery 6 for the main body is boosted at a preset boosting rate to be supplied to the electric blower 5, the control circuit 31 causes the brush side drive control unit 35 to control the voltage. Voltage V ₂ of the brush battery 25 is measured to determine whether or not the voltage V ₂ of the brush battery 25 is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold value Y set in advance (step
Ten).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 8 that the voltage V ₁ of the main body battery 6 is higher than the predetermined threshold value X set in advance, the process proceeds to step 10.

Further, in step 10, the brush battery 25
If it is determined that the voltage V ₂ of the brush voltage is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold value Y set in advance, the brush side drive control unit 35 turns on the brush side booster circuit 36 (step 11)
25 is stepped up at a preset predetermined step-up rate and supplied to the brush motor 23 to drive the brush motor 23.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step 10 that the voltage V ₂ of the brush battery 25 is higher than the predetermined threshold value Y set in advance, the process returns to step 1.

Next, the cleaning operation of the above embodiment will be described.

First, the base end side of the hose body 14 is connected to the main body suction port 9 of the vacuum cleaner main body 1, and the extension pipe 17 is connected to the tip end side of the hand operation part 15, and the tip of the extension pipe 17 is connected. Connect the floor brush 18 to the side.

Further, after inserting a power cord (not shown) derived from the cleaner main body 1 into a commercial AC power supply provided on a wall surface or the like, the hand operation section 15 is gripped, and the predetermined setting of the hand operation section 15 is performed. Turn on button 16.

Then, the electric blower 5 in the cleaner body 1 is driven to suck the outside air from the tip side of the floor brush 18, and the intake air sucked from the floor brush 18 is
After sequentially passing through the extension pipe 17, the hand operation part 15, and the hose body 14, the dust cup 12 of the dust collector 11 is passed through the main body suction port 9.
Is inhaled.

At this time, the dust is centrifugally separated by the dust cup 12, the dust sucked together with the air from the main body suction port 9 is separated from the air, and the separated dust is collected in the dust cup 12. It

The intake air passing through the dust cup 12 is sucked into the electric blower 5 and then exhausted as an exhaust air from the exhaust port 8 to the outside of the main body case 4 by the electric blower 5.

As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, the battery 6 for the main body supplies electric power to the electric blower 5, and the battery 25 for the brush housed in the nozzle case 21 of the floor brush 18 serves to drive the electric blower. The electric power is supplied to the brush motor 23 having an input voltage different from that of No. 5. As a result, the voltages of the electric powers supplied from the main body battery 6 and the brush battery 25 to the electric blower 5 and the brush motor 23, respectively, can be controlled separately, so that, for example, one battery can be used for the electric blower 5 and the brush motor 23. Unlike the case of supplying electric power to the motor 23, it is not necessary to divide the voltage of the battery into a plurality of stages according to the driving states of the electric blower 5 and the brush motor 23, and thus to increase or decrease the electric power. Can be done easily.

Since the voltages of the main body battery 6 and the brush battery 25 need to be controlled only in accordance with the driving states of the electric blower 5 and the brush motor 23, respectively, the main body battery 6 and the brush battery 25 are controlled.
The voltage boosting rates can be made independent, and the electric power of the main body battery 6 and the brush battery 25 can be used efficiently without being lost more than necessary.

Further, since electric power is separately supplied to the electric blower 5 and the brush motor 23 from the main body battery 6 and the brush battery 25, respectively, one of the electric blower 5 and the brush motor 23 is driven. As a result, it is possible to suppress an influence such as a decrease in the driving state of the other one.

The control circuit 31 controls the main body side drive control unit 33 and the main body side booster circuit 34, and the brush side drive control unit 35 and the brush side booster circuit 36 by the common control circuit 31.
A plurality of main body side drive control unit 33 and main body side booster circuit 34,
Further, the configuration of the control means 26 can be made simpler as compared with the case where the brush side drive control unit 35 and the brush side booster circuit 36 are controlled by different control circuits 31, respectively.

Furthermore, since the brush motor 23 is driven only after the electric blower 5 is driven, malfunctions such as the brush motor 23 operating independently can be prevented,
The usability can be improved.

Further, since the brush battery 25 is housed in the nozzle case 21 of the floor brush 18, the brush motor 23 is passed from the main body battery 6 through the hose body 14, the hand operation unit 15, and the extension pipe 17. Since there is no need for a lead wire for power supply connected to the hose body 14, the internal structure of the hose body 14, the manual operation part 15, and the extension pipe 17 can be simplified, and a larger dust suction air passage can be secured.

In the above-described embodiment, the control means 26 does not use the brush motor 23, but an auxiliary blower (not shown) of the electric blower 5, an auxiliary traveling wheel (not shown) of the floor brush 18, and a cleaner body 1 (not shown). Alternatively, the drive of an electric motor (not shown) that rotates an auxiliary traveling wheel or a rotating body such as a fan (not shown) arranged in the cleaner body 1 may be controlled.

Further, the main body side booster circuit 34 includes the electric blower 5
If the input voltage is higher than the initial voltage of the main body battery 6, the main body battery 6 may be boosted from the beginning.

Further, a plurality of predetermined threshold values X and Y may be provided to control the driving of the electric blower 5 and the brush motor 23 in a plurality of stages.

The rechargeable vacuum cleaner can be applied to other types of vacuum cleaners such as a handy type.

[0055]

According to the present invention, the electric power is supplied to the electric blower and the electric motor separately by supplying the electric power to the electric blower with the first battery and the electric power to the electric motor with the second battery. Therefore, the control means can easily control the electric power supplied from the first battery and the second battery to the electric blower and the electric motor, respectively.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an electric vacuum cleaner of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the same electric vacuum cleaner.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the control of the control means of the electric vacuum cleaner.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Vacuum cleaner body 5 electric blower 6 Battery for main body as first battery 18 Floor brush as suction port 23 Brush motor as an electric motor 25 Battery for brush as second battery 26 Control means

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A cleaner body containing an electric blower, a first battery for supplying electric power to the electric blower, an electric motor for rotationally driving a rotating body, and a second battery for supplying electric power to the electric motor. An electric vacuum cleaner comprising: a control unit that controls electric power supplied from the first battery and the second battery to the electric blower and the electric motor, respectively. 2. The electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, further comprising a suction port body connected to the suction side of the electric blower, the electric motor being provided in the suction port body.