JP2004147953A - Vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vacuum cleaner wherein the maintainability of a filter element which performs a filtering-separation while suppressing a reduction in the cleaning performance by an inertial separation can be improved. <P>SOLUTION: In an airflow channel from a suction port of a vacuum cleaner body and an air suction port 33A of an electric blower 33, a first dust separating unit 61 which separates coarse dust from air flowing in the airflow channel by an inertial separating action, a dust accumulating unit 55 which is provided in parallel at the separating unit 61 and accumulates dust separated by the separating unit 61, and a second dust separating unit (filter) 80 arranged on the downstream side of the separating unit 55 are respectively provided. The filter 80 is equipped with a mat-like filter element which filters out dust which has passed the first dust separating unit. The filter 80 extends in the parallel direction with the first dust separating unit 61 and the dust accumulating unit 55, and is arranged across the insides of at least one part of the projection region of the dust accumulating unit 55 and the projection region of the first dust separating unit 61. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner provided with a second dust separation unit for separating dust that has passed through the first dust separation unit downstream of the first dust separation unit that separates dust in the sucked dust-containing air. .
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, in a vacuum cleaner, a second dust separation unit is provided downstream of the first dust separation unit in order to prevent the electric blower from sucking dust (for example, see Patent Document 1).
[0003]
In the vacuum cleaner of Patent Document 1, the inside of a cylindrical dust collector body is divided into a lower dust collecting chamber and an upper dust collecting chamber by a horizontal partition plate, and both chambers are exhausted at a central portion of the partition plate. An exhaust fan (electric blower) is mounted at the upper end opening of the upper dust collection chamber so as to communicate with the cylinder. A tangential suction port is provided in an upper part of the lower dust collection chamber, and the suction port and the lower dust collection chamber form a cyclone type first dust separation unit. A filter that covers the intake side of the exhaust fan is provided in the upper dust collection chamber, and the filter and the upper dust collection chamber form a second dust separation unit.
[0004]
In this vacuum cleaner, dust in the dust-containing air sucked from the suction port by the operation of the exhaust fan is centrifugally separated by the first dust separation unit, and also serves as a dust collection container attached to the lower end of the lower dust collection chamber. While being stored in the bottom lid, the air in the first dust separation unit flows into the upper dust collection chamber of the second dust separation unit from the exhaust pipe, passes through the filter, is sucked into the exhaust fan, and is then discharged to the outside. You. In this case, the filter filters dust contained in the air.
[0005]
The configuration in which the first dust separation unit is provided on the upstream side of the filter that captures dust that has passed through the first dust separation unit is preferable in the following points. In other words, in the configuration without the first dust separation unit, the large dust to be removed by the first dust separation unit adheres to the filter, so that the filter is clogged due to the large dust. However, by providing the first dust separation unit, large dust can be removed in advance by this separation unit, so that apparent clogging of the filter can be prevented.
[0006]
[Patent Document 1]
Microfilm of Jpn. Sho 60-157686 (Jpn. Sho 62-66755) (page 3-5, FIG. 1)
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The cyclone-type first dust separating portion of Patent Document 1 and the bottom lid for storing the separated dust are formed without being separated, but are arranged in the up-down direction. A filter as a second dust separating unit is arranged in a posture orthogonal to the above. In this configuration, the diameters of the first dust separating portion, the bottom lid, and the filter are all limited by the diameter of the cylindrical dust collector body, and are substantially the same size.
[0008]
As described above, in the vacuum cleaner of Patent Document 1, the filter for filtering the dust that has passed through the first dust separating unit cannot be made large unless the cylindrical dust collector body and, consequently, the main body of the vacuum cleaner are made large. Filter clogging is likely to occur early. As a result, the interval of maintenance required for the user, such as washing the filter with water and regenerating the filter, or replacing the filter with a new filter, is short, and improvement is required. Further, in a vacuum cleaner that performs cyclone-type separation, which is a type of inertial separation, as in Patent Document 1, dust-containing air is sucked into a suction port of a lower dust collection chamber due to an increase in air path resistance due to clogging of a filter. The effect of separating dust decreases with a decrease in the suction force, so that the cleaning performance tends to decrease.
[0009]
The problem to be solved by the present invention is to improve the maintainability of a filter element that performs filtration and separation in a second dust separation unit while suppressing a decrease in cleaning performance based on inertial separation in a first dust separation unit. The idea is to get a vacuum cleaner.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present invention provides a first dust separation unit including a mat-shaped filter element on a downstream side of a first dust separation unit that separates dust in suctioned dust-containing air by an inertial separation action. A second dust separating portion for separating dust passing through the first dust separating portion and extending in a direction in which the first dust separating portion and a dust collecting portion for collecting dust separated by the separating portion are arranged. At the same time, it is disposed over at least a part of the projection area of the dust storage section and the projection area of the first dust separation section.
[0011]
In the present invention, the first dust separation section may be any as long as it can separate air and dust by inertial separation without using a filter medium. It is not a hindrance to provide additional information. Here, in the dust separating portion that performs the inertial separating action, a straight-flow type inertial separating device that performs separation using a difference in inertial force based on a difference in kinetic energy between air and dust, or A cyclone-type inertial separation device that performs centrifugation using the difference can be used. And, the latter cyclone type inertial separation device includes a straight-flow cyclone type in which an airflow flows out in the traveling direction of the swirl flow and a reverse flow cyclone type in which the airflow flows out by reversing the traveling direction of the swirl flow. And are included. Further, in the present invention, a filter material such as paper, cotton, cloth, glass wool, non-woven fabric, synthetic foam, or the like is laminated on the mat-shaped filter element in a single layer or a plurality of layers to form a flat filter or an expanded pleated filter. In addition to the use of a surface treatment layer having a low coefficient of friction that suppresses dust from adhering to at least the upstream surface of the filter element, it is not prevented. In the present invention, the direction in which the first dust separating portion and the dust reservoir portion are arranged may be any of the vertical (vertical) direction, the left and right (width) direction, the front and rear (axial) direction, and the oblique direction of the cleaner body. There is no problem. Moreover, in the present invention, the inside of the projection area of the first dust separation unit includes the entire projection area and a part thereof. In the present invention, providing the dust removing means for the filter element of the second dust separating unit is not hindered.
[0012]
In the present invention, attention is paid to the fact that the dust reservoirs are arranged with respect to the first dust separation part, and the second dust separation part is extended in this arrangement direction, and the second dust separation part is connected to the first dust separation part. The filter is provided not only in the projection area of the dust collecting section but also in at least a part of the projection area of the dust collecting section, so that the second filter is provided with a mat-shaped filter element for filtering dust that has passed through the first dust separating section. (2) The dust separating section can be enlarged.
[0013]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0014]
One end of a flexible dust suction hose 21 is detachably connected to a cleaner main body 20 provided in the electric vacuum cleaner indicated by reference numeral 10 in FIG. 1, and the hose 21 has a hand operation unit 22 at the other end. ing. An extendable extension tube 23 is detachably connected to the hand operation unit 22, and a suction port 24 is detachably connected to a distal end of the extension tube 23. The hand operation unit 22 has a handle 22A, and the handle 22A is provided with an operation switch 22B for remote control.
[0015]
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the cleaner main body 20 includes a main body case 30, a dust container (dust cup) 50 detachably attached to the main body case 30, and a lid 40. The lid 40 has a rear portion hinged to a front portion of the main body case 30 and is provided so as to be openable and closable in a vertical direction.
[0016]
The main body case 30 includes a rear electric section 34 and a front mounting section 35. As shown in FIG. 2, an electric blower 33 is built in the electric unit 34, and an intake port 33 </ b> A of the electric blower 33 is mostly closer to the upper side of the electric unit 34. The mounting portion 35 is integrally formed so as to protrude forward from a lower portion of the electric portion 34 and is formed in a concave dish shape opening upward. A dust container 50 is removably mounted on the mounting portion 35. When the lid 40 is closed, the lid 40 and the mounting portion 35 sandwich and fix the dust collection container 50.
[0017]
As shown in FIG. 3B, the front surface of the electric unit 34 is opened, and the opening 34A faces and communicates with the intake port 33A of the electric blower 33. The opening 34A is provided with a filter holder 34B having radial ribs for holding a filter 80 described below from the downstream side.
[0018]
On both side walls in the width direction of the main body case 30, oblique bulging portions 36 (only one is shown) extending from a front upper portion to a rear lower portion of the main body case 30 are integrally formed. A rear wheel 37 is rotatably mounted. An exhaust portion 38 including a plurality of exhaust holes is provided at the front portions of both the bulging portions 36 and both side walls of the main body case 30. These exhaust portions 38 communicate with exhaust ports 33B (see FIG. 2) of the electric blower 33 via an exhaust air path (not shown). The air exhausted from the exhaust port 33B of the electric blower 33 is exhausted to the outside from the exhaust part 38 via the exhaust air path.
[0019]
A battery 39 (not shown), which is located below the electric blower 33, is built in the electric part 34 of the main body case 30. The electric power of the battery 39 is supplied to the electric blower 33 and the like. In addition, it is also possible to arrange a code reel in the same part instead of the illustrated battery, and supply electric power of a commercial AC power supply to the electric blower 33 and the like via this reel.
[0020]
The lid 40 has a top plate 41 formed in a substantially elliptical shape in plan view, and a peripheral wall 42 integrally formed around the top plate 41. A connection pipe 44 (see FIG. 2) having a suction port 43 for detachably connecting the dust suction hose 21 is provided at a front portion of the peripheral wall 42. The connection pipe 44 extends in the front-rear direction, and one end opening (front end) forms a suction port 43 and the other end (rear end) 45 is open.
[0021]
As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the dust collecting container 50 has an opening 51 which is opened on one side, for example, substantially the entire rear surface located on the right side in FIG. 4. Further, the dust container 50 has a container case body 53 having an air inlet 52 in, for example, a front wall 50 a facing the opening 51, and a handle portion 54 provided on the container case body 53. The handle portion 54 is formed, for example, integrally with the wall 50a below the intake port 52.
[0022]
The container case body 53 includes a dust reservoir (dust collecting portion) 55 formed at a lower portion of the case body 53 and a negative pressure chamber (negative pressure space) formed to be arranged mainly above the dust reservoir 55. 56, a first dust separating portion 61 provided in the negative pressure chamber portion 56, and a guide portion 63 for guiding the dust separated by the dust separating portion 61 to the dust collecting portion 55. The first dust separating part 61 and the dust storage part 55 are vertically arranged side by side.
[0023]
The bottom surface of the dust reservoir 55 is open. A bottom plate 57 is attached to the bottom of the dust reservoir 55 so as to be openable and closable about the axis J. By opening the bottom plate 57, dust accumulated in the dust reservoir 55 can be discarded. The closed state of the bottom plate 57 is released via a mechanism (not shown) that is interlocked with the pressing of an operation button provided on the handle portion 54. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 74 denotes an annular sealing material fixed to the inner surface of the bottom plate 57, whereby the lower end of the dust reservoir 55 is airtightly closed with the bottom plate 57 closed.
[0024]
The dust reservoir 55 and the negative pressure chamber 56 are defined by an upright wall 60 approaching the opening 51 and a ceiling wall 58 bent from the upper end of the wall 60 and connected to the wall 50a. The standing wall 60 and the negative pressure chamber 56 above the standing wall 60 both face the opening 51. A ventilation opening 59 that connects the dust reservoir 55 and the negative pressure chamber 56 is formed in a ceiling wall 58 of the dust reservoir 55. The ventilation opening 59 is provided to face substantially the center of the dust reservoir 55. As shown in FIG. 6, a filter F1 made of, for example, a net is attached to the ventilation opening 59.
[0025]
A connection hole 58A (see FIG. 5) is formed on the upright wall 60 side of the ceiling wall 58. A guide wall 55G (see FIG. 4) for generating a swirling flow in the dust reservoir 55 is provided below the connection hole 58A.
[0026]
The first dust separation unit 61 forms a straight-flow type inertial separation device that separates air and dust by an inertial separation action, and includes a cylindrical air path forming body 62 that forms a separation air path 62a. And a guide portion 63.
[0027]
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the air path forming body 62 has a shape of a hollow truncated cone with one end and the other end open, and has a plurality of separation openings 64 at equal intervals around the entire circumference. And a filter F2 (see FIGS. 2 and 4) for closing these separation openings 64. More specifically, the air path forming member 62 includes a frame including a pair of large and small circular frames W1 and W2 and a plurality of ribs W3 connecting the frames W1 and W2. Each separation opening 64 is formed in a space surrounded by both frame portions W1, W2 and rib W3. The filter F2 is made of, for example, a net, and is attached in a cylindrical shape along the inner peripheral surface of the frame. Therefore, the air path forming body 62 has a structure in which both ends in the axial direction are open as if a separate air path 62a surrounded by the forming body 62 is formed.
[0028]
The separation air passage 62a extends linearly in the axial direction of the cleaner body 20 (the front-back direction in the present embodiment). The separation air passage 62a is formed through the separation opening 64 of the air passage forming body 62, the negative pressure chamber 56 of the container case body 53, and the opening 34A of the motorized portion 34 of the main body case 30 in order, and the intake port 33A of the electric blower 33 is sequentially provided. Is in communication with
[0029]
As shown in FIG. 4, the diameter of the large-diameter one-end opening 62 </ b> A of the airflow path forming body 62 is formed to be larger than the diameter of the intake port 52 of the container case body 53. The air path forming body 62 is connected to the container case body 53 so that the air inlet 52 is located inside the one end opening 62A. The diameter of the small-diameter other end opening 62 </ b> B of the airflow path forming body 62 is formed substantially the same as the diameter of the intake port 52. As a result, the diameter of the air path forming body 62 linearly gradually decreases from one end to the other end. The diameter of the other end opening 62 </ b> B of the airflow path forming body 62 may be smaller than the diameter of the intake port 52.
[0030]
The axis of the air path forming body 62 and the axis of the connection pipe 44 of the lid 40 are substantially linearly continuous, and the intake port 33A of the electric blower 33 is provided so as to face the extension of these axes. The connection pipe 44 of the lid 40, the intake port 52 of the container case body 53, the air path forming body 62, the opening 51 of the container case body 55, and the intake port 33A of the electric blower 33 are almost at the same height. Are sequentially arranged along the axial direction of the cleaner main body 20 (the front-back direction in the present embodiment).
[0031]
As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the guide portion 63 is provided continuously to the other end opening 62 </ b> B of the air path forming body 62. Specifically, the guide portion 63 includes an inclined wall portion 63A extending obliquely downward from an upper portion of the other end opening 62B of the air path forming body 62, and a curved portion extending from one end of the inclined wall portion 63A and extending downward. The path forming body 62 has a wind-applied wall 63B facing the other end opening 62B, and side walls 63C formed on both sides of the inclined wall 63A and the air-applied wall 63B. The guide portion 63 has an opening 63D joined to the other end opening 62B of the air path forming body 62.
[0032]
The lower portion of the guide portion 63 has a tubular shape and extends, for example, in the vertical direction, and is connected to the ceiling wall portion 58 and the upright wall 60 so as to cover the connection hole 58A. By this connection, the guide 63 communicates the separation air passage 62 a with the dust reservoir 55.
[0033]
The upright wall 60 is provided slightly inside (front side) of the opening 51 of the container case body 53 to give the opening 51 a predetermined depth H (see FIG. 4). By utilizing the depth H, a filter 80 forming a second dust separating portion is detachably mounted in the opening 51.
[0034]
As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the filter 80 includes a filter frame 81 and a filter element 82 mounted so as to cover the entire inside of the frame 81. The filter element 82 has a filter material in the form of a mat. In the present embodiment, in particular, a pleated filter element subjected to pleating in order to expand the filtration area is used. The mesh of the filter element 82 is finer than the meshes of the filters F1 and F2 at the preceding stage.
[0035]
The filter 80 is sized to fit into the opening 51 of the container case 53. Therefore, the filter 80 extends in the direction in which the negative pressure chamber portion 56 in which the first dust separating portion 61 is built and the dust reservoir portion 55 arranged below the filter portion, and is attached to the opening 51 by fitting. The first dust separating portion 61 is provided so as to cover the entire rearward projection region of the negative pressure chamber portion 56 in which the first dust separating portion 61 is incorporated, and the majority of the rearward projection region of the dust reservoir portion 55. In other words, the upper part of the filter 80 attached to the container case body 53 is opposed to the negative pressure chamber part 56 and the first dust separating part 61 therein, and the lower part of the filter 80 is the large part of the upright wall 60. It is close to and facing the part. Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the filter 80 is disposed in the opening 51 with the fold of the pleated filter element 82 extending in the vertical direction.
[0036]
The depth at which the filter 80 is fitted into the opening 51 of the container case body 53 is controlled by regulating means provided on the container case body 53, for example, a step portion 53A formed on the ceiling portion of the container case body 53 as shown in FIG. The filter 80 is restricted by the base 53B of the upright wall 60, and the filter 80 is mounted upright, more preferably inclined and forwardly inclined at an angle close to, for example, vertical. Here, the forward inclination refers to a state in which the entire filter 80 or an upper end of a filter element 82 described later is inclined from the lower end so as to protrude upstream with respect to an airflow passing through the filter 80. Due to the restriction of the fitting, a gap G is formed between the lower portion of the filter 80 and the upright wall 60, which is much narrower and smaller in the cross-sectional area of the air path than the upper negative pressure chamber 56.
[0037]
Next, the operation of the vacuum cleaner 10 configured as described above will be described.
[0038]
After the dust collection container 50 is placed on the placement portion 35 of the main body case 30 as shown in FIG. 3A, the lid plate 40 is closed as shown in FIG. 2, and then the dust suction hose is placed as shown in FIG. 21 is connected to the suction port 43 of the lid 40. The suction port 21 is already connected to the dust suction hose 21 via the extension pipe 23.
[0039]
In this state, when the electric blower 33 is driven by operating the operation switch 22B of the hand operation unit 22A, the negative pressure in the negative pressure chamber 56 of the container case body 53 is reduced through the opening 34A of the main case 30. This negative pressure is applied to the separation opening 64 of the air passage forming body 62, the separation air passage 62 a of the air passage forming body 62, the intake inlet 52 of the container case 53, the connection pipe 44 of the lid 40, the dust suction hose 21, and the extension pipe 23. , And the suction port 21, so that dust is sucked from the suction port 21 together with air.
[0040]
The sucked dust and air are sucked into the suction port 43 of the lid 40 via the extension pipe 23 and the dust suction hose 21. The dust and air sucked into the suction port 43 pass through the air inlet 52 of the dust container 50 and are sucked into the separation air passage 62 a of the air passage forming body 62 of the first dust separation unit 61.
[0041]
Part of the air sucked into the separation air passage 62a is sucked into the negative pressure chamber 56 of the container case body 53 through the first filter F2 of the separation opening 64 of the air passage forming body 62, and furthermore, the container case body 53 The air is sucked into the air inlet 33A of the electric blower 33 through the filter 80 attached to the opening 51.
[0042]
In the above-described suction of air, dust having a predetermined mass or more sucked into the separation air passage 62a linearly extending in the front-rear direction of the cleaner main body 20 rapidly changes its direction due to its inertia and separates the opening. You can not pass through 64. For this reason, the heavy dust is separated from the air passing through the separation opening 64, goes straight through the separation air passage 62 a, collides with the wind contact wall portion 63 B of the guide portion 63, and the dust accumulation portion along the guide portion 63. 55 is introduced.
[0043]
At the same time, a part of the air is introduced into the dust reservoir 55 through the guide 63 in the same manner as the heavy dust. The air thus introduced becomes a downward swirling flow that rotates along the inner peripheral surface of the dust reservoir 55 by the guide wall 55G. Therefore, the dust introduced into the dust reservoir 55 is accumulated while being compressed along the lower inner peripheral surface of the dust reservoir 55 by the swirling flow. Then, the air that has been introduced into the dust reservoir 55 and turned into a swirling flow rises and reverses at the center of the dust reservoir 55, passes through the ventilation opening 59 of the ceiling wall 58 of the dust reservoir 55, and becomes a container case. It is sucked into the negative pressure chamber 56 of the body 53.
[0044]
On the other hand, the dust having a light weight passes through the filter F2 of the separation opening 64 due to the negative pressure of the intake air of the electric blower 33 without going straight through the separation air passage 62a in the air passage formation body 62 of the first dust separation portion 61. And is attached to the inner peripheral surface of the filter F2. When the clogging of the filter F2 increases due to the adhesion of such light dust, the air volume passing through the filter F2 decreases. However, the negative pressure in the negative pressure chamber 56 is increased by the reduced amount, and the negative pressure in the dust reservoir 55 through the ventilation opening 59 in the ceiling wall 58 is also increased. For this reason, the wind speed and air volume of the air traveling straight through the separation air passage 62a increase.
[0045]
As described above, when the wind speed that travels straight through the separation air passage 62a increases, the air that travels straight away easily removes dust attached to the filter F2. At this time, since the diameter of the cylindrical air path forming body 62 gradually decreases from the upstream opening 62A to the downstream opening 62B, the wind that goes straight through the separation air path 62a can be applied to the entire surface of the filter F2. , And flows while being brought to the center of the separation air passage 62a. Therefore, dust adhering to the inner surface of the filter F2 can be more easily peeled off. The dust thus stripped off is introduced into the dust reservoir 55 through the guide 63 in the same manner as the dust having a large mass, and is centrifugally separated from the air in the dust reservoir 55 and accumulated.
[0046]
As described above, even if the amount of air passing through the filter F2 decreases due to clogging, the amount of air flowing straight through the separation air passage 62a increases, so that the amount of air sucked by the electric blower 33 is kept substantially constant. For this reason, it is possible to always suck dust with a predetermined suction force regardless of clogging of the filter F2.
[0047]
Further, in the first dust separating portion 61, dust and air are not centrifuged while turning the dust-containing air and reversing the traveling direction of the swirling flow. The dust is separated from the air by using the inertia force described above, so that the air path loss in the first dust separation unit 61 is small. In addition, the intake port 52, the separation air path 62a, the opening 51 of the container case body 53, and the intake port 33A of the electric blower 33 are located at substantially the same height position and are sequentially arranged in the front-rear direction. When air is sucked from the separation air passage 62a through the filter F2 into the negative pressure chamber 56 of the container case body 53, the main flow of the air is large as shown by the arrow Q in FIG. It does not change, flows almost linearly at almost the same height position, and is sucked into the electric blower 33.
[0048]
Thereby, the air path loss is further reduced, and the function of the electric blower 33 can be sufficiently exhibited. Furthermore, since the connection pipe 44 of the lid 40 and the cylindrical air path forming body 62 are arranged in a straight line, the direction of air introduced toward the air inlet 52 of the container case body 53 and the air path forming Since the direction in which the body 62 extends is substantially linear, the air path loss can be further reduced.
[0049]
As described above, the air in the negative pressure chamber 56 passes through the filter 80 and is sucked into the electric blower 33, so that fine dust passing through the filters F1 and F2 can be captured by the filter 80. The electric blower 33 can suck the clean air.
[0050]
In the above-described cleaning operation, the first dust separation unit 61 that separates dust by inertia separation action is disposed upstream of the filter 80 that separates dust by filtration. Separated in advance. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the large dust to be removed by the first dust separating portion 61 from adhering to the filter 80, and to prevent the filter 80 from becoming an apparent clogged state early due to the large dust. is there.
[0051]
In this case, the filter 80 for filtering fine dust and the like is arranged in the direction in which the negative pressure chamber 56 containing the first dust separating section 61 and the dust reservoir 55 arranged below the projection area are arranged. It extends and is arranged using not only the projection area of the first dust separation section 61 but also the projection area of the dust storage section 55. Therefore, the size of the filter 80 can be increased without increasing the size of the container case body 53 and the cleaner main body 20 and without being limited by the size of the dust reservoir 55 or the like.
[0052]
As a result, the filter 80 forming the second dust separating portion filters the dust through the entire large filter element 82, so that the wind path loss in the filter 80 can be reduced and the formation of turbulence can be suppressed. Therefore, the time when the filter element 82 is clogged and the air path loss becomes excessive is delayed. In other words, the interval of maintenance required for the user, such as washing and regenerating the filter element 82 with water or replacing it with a new filter 80, that is, the continuous usable period of the filter 80 can be lengthened.
[0053]
Further, as described above, as the size of the filter 80 is increased, the air path loss can be reduced, and the force of sucking the dust-containing air into the suction port 43 of the cleaner body 20 does not easily decrease. As a result, a decrease in the flow velocity of the air passing through the separation air passage 62a of the first dust separation unit 61 is suppressed, and the inertia separation action in the first dust separation unit 61 is reduced at an early stage. It is possible to suppress the decrease.
[0054]
In addition, since the filter 80 is inclined, a part of the main flow Q blown to, for example, the upper part (one end) of the filter element 82 can be removed without reversing the flow direction of the main flow Q. It is possible to guide along the inclination of the filter element 82 to the lower part, that is, the other end side of the filter 82 located on the downstream side in the flow direction of the main flow Q.
[0055]
In this case, the filter element 82 has a pleated shape, and the fold is used in a posture extending in the vertical direction. Therefore, the front side of the filter element 82 (the side where the dust receiving portion 55 and the negative pressure chamber portion 56 are located). It is possible to easily spread the wind to the lower side of the filter element 82 by using a large number of grooves (see reference numeral 82a in FIG. 6) which are opened in the vertical direction.
[0056]
As described above, a part of the main flow Q that is going to pass through one end of the filter element 82 is smoothly guided to the other end of the filter element 82, and the wind easily spreads throughout the filter element 82, so that the main flow Q is maintained. However, it is preferable in that fine dust and the like can be filtered using substantially the entire filter element 82.
[0057]
When the operation of the electric blower 33 is stopped, most of the dust adhering to the upstream surface of the filter 80 which is used while being tilted forward and forward is removed by using the forward tilt of the filter 80. It can be easily dropped by its own weight. The dust dropped in this way is collected in the lower end of the filter frame 81 and the gap G.
[0058]
The present invention is not limited to the one embodiment. For example, in the configuration using the pleated filter element 82, the upstream surface of the lower part (one end) of the filter element 82 may be in contact with the upright wall 60. In this case, the gap G can be substantially secured by the grooves 82a. Furthermore, the filters F1 and F2 of the above-described embodiment can be omitted, and the guide wall 55G that creates a swirling flow can be omitted in the dust reservoir 55. In addition, it is not obstructive to provide another dust reservoir having a pool structure and communicating with the gap G below the filter 80 forming the second dust separator. In this case, the other dust collecting portion is formed in the container case body 53 side by side with the lower end portion of the dust collecting portion 55, and the lower end opening thereof is closed with the lower end opening of the dust collecting portion 55 by the bottom plate 57 to form a dead end structure. Is possible. In addition, in the present invention, the filter 80 forming the second dust separating portion is detachably supported on the main body case 30 of the above-described embodiment. It is also possible to fit into the opening 51 of the container case body 53.
[0059]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the size of the filter element for performing filtration and separation is increased, and the air path loss is reduced in the second dust separation unit. Therefore, cleaning by inertial separation in the first dust separation unit in the preceding stage is performed. It is possible to provide a vacuum cleaner capable of suppressing a decrease in performance and improving the maintainability of the filter element.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side view showing a partially sectioned main body of the vacuum cleaner of the electric vacuum cleaner in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3A is a side view showing the cleaner body of FIG. 2 with a lid opened.
FIG. 3B is a perspective view showing the cleaner body of FIG. 2 in a state where a lid is opened and a dust collection container is removed.
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which a filter is attached to a dust container provided in the vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the dust collecting container of FIG. 4 and a filter attached thereto separated from each other and viewed from the rear side.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional plan view showing a state where a filter is attached to the dust collection container of FIG. 4;
[Explanation of symbols]
10 vacuum cleaner 20 vacuum cleaner body 33 electric blower 33A intake port 43 suction port 50 dust container (dust cup)
50 ... Dust collection container opening 55 ... Dust reservoir 56 ... Negative pressure chamber (negative pressure space)
57 bottom plate 60 standing wall 61 first dust separating section 62 air path forming body 62a separating air path 63 guiding section 63B wind applying wall section 64 separating opening 80 filter (second dust separating section)
81: filter frame 82: filter element G: void

Claims (3)

A first dust separating portion that separates air and dust flowing through the air passage by an inertia separating action in an air passage from an intake port of the cleaner body to an intake port of the electric blower; A dust storage portion for storing dust separated by the first dust separation portion, and a mat-shaped filter element, which is disposed downstream of the first dust separation portion and passes through the first dust separation portion. And a second dust separating section for separating the separated dust, wherein the second dust separating section extends in the direction in which the first dust separating section and the dust collecting section are arranged, and the projection of the dust collecting section is performed. An electric vacuum cleaner disposed at least over a part of the area and within a projection area of the first dust separating unit. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the second dust separating unit is used by inclining the filter element. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the filter element is pleated, and the filter element is used such that a fold thereof extends in a vertical direction.

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