JP2005110714A - Vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vacuum cleaner that permits a slight operation for changing the movement direction of a suction nozzle by twisting a stick, and the performance of which in cleaning a space under legged furniture can be improved. <P>SOLUTION: The vacuum cleaner 1 is an upright one having the stick 4 to move the suction nozzle 2 and a cleaner body 3 tiltably supported above the suction nozzle. The stick 4 has a stick body 31 and a grip 32. The stick body 31 is projected upward from the rear of the cleaner body 3 and tilted forward. The grip 32 is positioned on the front side of the stick body 31 and provided on the upper end of the stick body 31 arranged above the cleaner body 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an upright type vacuum cleaner.

  In the upright type vacuum cleaner, a stick for moving a suction port body having a wheel at the rear and a vacuum cleaner main body supported so as to be tiltable upward is provided in the vacuum cleaner main body. Some sticks are used as part of the air path that conducts dusty air, some are not. The stick is provided with a grip portion at the upper end of the stick body protruding upward from the cleaner body. Some grips are attached to and detached from the stick body and others are provided so that they cannot be attached or detached.

  Conventionally, an upright type electric vacuum cleaner in which a stick is supported on a front portion of a vacuum cleaner body is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  The stick of this vacuum cleaner forms a part of the dust suction air passage, and has a stick main body and a grip portion that can be attached to and detached from the stick main body. The grip portion is curved to the back side.

In the configuration in which the stick is supported on the front portion of the cleaner body as in Patent Document 1, the stick is heavy with respect to the straight line connecting the wheel provided at the rear portion of the suction port and the grip portion of the stick. The center of gravity of the vacuum cleaner main body with the built-in electric blower is approaching. For this reason, it is possible to carry out comparatively lightly, when operating to twist a stick and changing the moving direction of the suction inlet on a floor surface.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-5155 (paragraph 0028, FIG. 1)

  In the configuration of Patent Document 1, since the stick is supported on the front part of the cleaner body, when the cleaner body is tilted and the stick is brought close to the floor surface to clean the floor body, The tilt angle of the stick is limited to be small. Thereby, when pushing in the suction port body and the vacuum cleaner main body deeply in the lower space such as a legged furniture such as a bed, there is a high possibility that an oblique stick becomes an obstacle. Not only that, a large amount of obliquely downward force is applied to the suction port during the pushing. Thereby, there is a high possibility that the front part of the suction port floats, and the dust absorption performance is likely to be lowered.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an electric vacuum cleaner that can lightly perform an operation of changing the moving direction of the suction port body by twisting a stick, and can improve the cleaning performance for a lower space of furniture with legs, for example. There is to do.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention is configured such that a stick that moves a suction port body and a vacuum cleaner body supported so as to be tiltable upward protrudes upward from the back surface of the vacuum cleaner body and tilts forward. There is a stick body provided, and a grip provided at the upper end of the stick body, which is located on the front side of the stick body and arranged above the cleaner body.

  In the present invention, since the stick body of the stick protrudes from the back surface of the cleaner body, the tilt angle of the stick to the floor can be increased without being obstructed by the cleaner body. Moreover, in addition to the stick being inclined diagonally upward and forward with respect to the cleaner body, the grip is located on the front side of the stick body, so the center of gravity of the cleaner body located on the front side of the stick body is It is possible to approach a straight line connecting the grip part and the wheel of the suction port.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, while changing the moving direction of a suction inlet body like twisting a stick, it can lighten and can provide the vacuum cleaner which can improve the cleaning performance with respect to the downward space of furniture etc., for example.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The upright type vacuum cleaner denoted by reference numeral 1 in FIGS. 1 to 3 includes a suction port body 2, a cleaner body 3, a stick 4, and a hose 5.

  The suction port body 2 has, for example, a substantially T shape in plan view. The front portion of the suction port body 2 extends in the width direction, and a suction opening (not shown) is provided on the lower surface thereof. A rotary cleaning body (not shown) that partially protrudes downward from the suction opening is built in the front portion of the suction port body 2. The rotary cleaning body is rotated by the power of the electric motor built in the suction port body 2 or the air sucked into the suction port body 2.

  A rotatable wheel 7 is attached to the rear portion of the suction port body 2 that is continuous in the front-rear direction with respect to the front portion and is positioned on both sides in the width direction. A connecting pipe 8 is attached to the rear part of the suction port body 2. The connecting pipe 8 is provided so as to be able to rotate between a position that stands substantially vertically and a position that falls substantially horizontally.

  A vertical body case 11 provided in the cleaner body 3 has a handle portion 11a for carrying at the upper end. A joint portion 12 that protrudes rearward of the cleaner body 3 is provided at the lower part on the back side of the main body case 11. The joint part 12 has the upper pipe joint part 13 shown in FIG.3 and FIG.4, and the lower pipe joint part (not shown) continuous below this. The upper pipe joint portion 13 and the lower pipe joint portion communicate with each other. The upper pipe joint portion 13 has a concave shape that is non-circular in plan view (see FIG. 4), and is open above the joint portion 12. A connecting pipe 8 is inserted and fixed to the lower pipe joint portion from below.

  By connecting the connecting pipe 8 to the joint portion 12, the main body case 11 is supported above the suction port body 2 so as to be tiltable along the front-rear direction (see arrows X and Y in FIGS. 1 and 3). The main body case 11 is disposed in a state where it is stood almost directly above the suction port body 2 when the connection pipe 8 is rotated to a position that is substantially vertical, and in this state, the rotation center of the connection pipe 8 and the vacuum cleaner Due to the relationship with the center of gravity of the main body 3, it is possible to stably stand by itself.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a groove 15 opened on the back surface of the main body case 11 is provided so as to extend in the longitudinal direction of the main body case 11 at the center in the width direction of the main body case 11. The lower end portion of the groove 15 is continuous with the upper pipe joint portion 13. The upper end portion of the groove 15 is open above the cleaner body 3, and both side walls sandwiching the groove portion of the upper end portion are inclined obliquely forward as it goes upward.

  The main body case 11 is provided with a holding groove 16 that is continuously bent from the upper end of the groove 15 to the front side. The holding groove 16 is close to the front side of the cleaner body 3 with respect to the joint portion 12 and is open upward. A fixed stopper 17 and a movable stopper 18 are provided at the bottom of the holding groove 16. The fixed stopper 17 is made of an upward convex portion. The movable stopper 18 is always urged toward the fixed stopper 17 by a spring (not shown), and is provided so as to be able to move in a direction in which the fixed stopper 17 contacts and separates from the front side. When the operation convex portion 19 provided upward in the vicinity of the holding groove 16 is pushed, the movable stopper 18 can move in a direction away from the fixed stopper 17 against the spring.

  The vacuum cleaner main body 3 is provided with, for example, a dust collecting cup 21 as a dust collecting portion, and an electric blower 25 and a cord reel 26 are incorporated as shown in FIG. A dust suction port 22 is provided in the upper part of the main body case 11. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the inlet 22 a of the dust suction port 22 is provided adjacent to the upper end of the groove 15 and is open to the rear surface (back surface) of the main body case 11.

  The dust collection cup 21 is detachably attached to the upper part of the main body case 11 from the front side (front side), and an inlet 21 a that is in airtight communication with the outlet 22 b of the dust suction port 22 in the mounted state is the dust collection cup 21. It is provided at the top. An outlet 21 b is provided on the lower rear surface (back surface) of the dust collection cup 21. Further, the dust collecting cup 21 incorporates a fine dust capturing filter 23 that covers the outlet 21b from the upstream side, and a coarse dust capturing filter 24 that covers the filter 23 from the upstream side. A bottom plate 21c of the dust collecting cup 21 is rotatably attached via a hinge 21d. By removing a lock (not shown) with respect to the bottom plate 21c, the bottom plate 21c can be opened and the internal dust can be discarded.

  The electric blower 25 is arrange | positioned at the lower part of the main body case 11 as a preferable example. The electric blower 25 is provided in a posture with the intake port 25 a facing upward, and the intake port 25 a and the outlet 21 b of the dust collecting cup 21 are communicated with each other via an air passage 27 in the main body case 11. The inlet of the air passage 27 has a filter 28 facing the outlet 21b.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the electric blower 25 can be arranged so that the central axis A extends vertically along the longitudinal direction of the main body case 11 when the intake port 25 a is used as a reference. It is arranged tilted. That is, the electric blower 25 is disposed with the central axis B inclined so that the lower side of the electric blower 25 is closer to the back side (rear side) of the main body case 11 with respect to the intake port 25a.

  Such an arrangement of the electric blower 25 is actually tilted forward with respect to the virtual center of gravity G1 of the electric blower 25 located on the central axis A when the electric blower 25 is arranged vertically. Thus, it is effective to bring the position of the center of gravity G2 of the electric blower 25 located on the central axis B closer to the stick 4 held by the joint portion 12 as will be described later. The electric blower 25 is the largest heavy object among the components attached to the main body case 11, and the position of the center of gravity and the position of the center of gravity of the cleaner body 3 can be regarded as the same. For this reason, it is useful to lightly perform an operation of changing the moving direction of the suction port body 2 by twisting the stick 4 as much as the center of gravity of the cleaner body 3 with respect to the stick 4 is brought closer. In addition, since the electric blower 25 is inclined at substantially the same angle as the forward tilt angle of the stick 4 to be described later with respect to the cleaner body 3, it is possible to reduce the waste of space on installation. It is preferable in that it is advantageous when making it compact.

  As shown in FIG. 4, an exhaust part 29 composed of a plurality of slits opened on the back surface (rear surface) is provided at the lower part of the main body case 11. The air discharged from the electric blower 25 is discharged outside the cleaner body 3 through the exhaust part 29.

  Reference numeral 30 in FIG. 3 denotes a partition wall that partitions the exhaust portion 29 side and the dust suction port 22 side, and a cord reel 26 having a spring (not shown) for winding the power cord is arranged in a space above the partition wall 30. ing. As a preferred example, the cord reel 26 is also inclined forward so that the upper end protrudes from the lower end to the front side (front side) of the main body case 11. The cord reel 26 has a weight next to the electric blower 25 in a state where the power cord is wound thereon. For this reason, the forward tilted configuration as described above is effective in bringing the center of gravity of the cleaner body 3 closer to the stick 4, particularly in the state where the cord reel 26 winds up the power cord. When winding up and cleaning up the vacuum cleaner 1, it is useful to lightly perform an operation of changing the moving direction of the suction port body 2 by twisting the stick 4 when moving the vacuum cleaner 1 to a cleaning position. It should be noted that the cord reel 26 can be inclined at substantially the same angle as the forward tilt angle of the stick 4 described later with respect to the cleaner body 3 in the same manner as the electric blower 25 because it is possible to reduce the waste of installation space. It is preferable because it is advantageous when the vacuum cleaner body 3 is made compact.

  The stick 4 together with the hose 5 forms a dust suction air passage that guides dust-containing air sucked into the dust collection cup 21. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the stick 4 includes a stick-like stick main body 31 and a grip portion 32 provided at the upper end of the stick main body 31.

  The stick body 31 is formed by combining a plurality of, for example, two straight rod-like stick elements 33 and 34 so as to be extendable and contractible. That is, both of the stick elements 33 and 34 are formed of a hollow cylinder, one stick element 33 is larger in diameter than the other stick element 34, and the stick element 34 thinner than the stick element 33 is within the stick element 33. Can be put in and out. Thereby, the stick main body 31 can be expanded and contracted.

  A pipe joint 35 is attached to the upper end portion of the stick element 33 located at the middle portion in the longitudinal direction of the stick body 31. The pipe joint 35 incorporates a holding mechanism (not shown) that holds the stick element 34 with respect to the stick element 33. The holding action of the holding mechanism is released when a lock button 36 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) provided on the pipe joint 35 is pushed in, and can be expanded and contracted in this released state. The lock button 36 is automatically returned so that the holding mechanism functions by releasing the push.

  As described above, the stick 4 can be expanded and contracted so that the stick 4 can be shortened so as not to interfere with the storage when the electric vacuum cleaner 1 is stored, and the height of the user can be adjusted during cleaning. This is preferable in that the length of the stick 4 can be adjusted.

  The grip portion 32 is fixed to the tip portion of the stick element 34 protruding from the stick element 33. The grip portion 32 is disposed on the front side of the stick main body 31 and above the cleaner main body 3 in a state where the stick 4 is supported on the back surface of the cleaner main body 3 as described later. Specifically, the grip portion 32a of the grip portion 32 is positioned on the axis CC line extending in the longitudinal direction of the cleaner body 3 or in the vicinity thereof. Here, the axis C indicates a vertical line passing through the center of gravity G2 in FIG.

  The tip of the stick element 33 that forms the end opposite to the grip 32 has a fitting belt 37 attached to the outer periphery thereof. The fitting belt 37 is made of a soft synthetic resin having a sealing property, and has a non-circular shape that matches the shape of the joint portion 13 so as to be closely fitted to the upper pipe joint portion 13. (See FIG. 6). The distal end portion of the stick element 33 can be inserted and connected to the upper pipe joint portion 13 so as to be detachable. By this insertion connection, the mounting posture of the stick 4 with respect to the cleaner body 3 is determined, and the grip portion 32 is positioned and acted on the above-described arrangement.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the pipe joint 35 is provided with a hook portion 38 that is separated from the lock button 36 in the circumferential direction by approximately 180 ° and is engaged with and disengaged from above the fixed stopper 17. The hook portion 38 has a locking portion 39 made of a hole or a groove into which the movable stopper 18 is inserted and removed.

  In order to attach the stick 4 to the cleaner body 3, one end portion (insertion end portion) having the fitting belt 37 is connected to the joint portion 12 while keeping the stick 4 along the groove 15 of the cleaner body 3. The upper pipe joint 13 is inserted from above while being aligned. Simultaneously with this insertion, the hook portion 38 of the pipe joint 35 is inserted between the fixed stopper 17 and the movable stopper 18, and the hook portion 38 is hooked on the fixed stopper 17 and the hook portion 38 is locked. The movable stopper 18 enters the portion 39 and is caught. For this reason, the stick 4 is prevented from coming off the back of the cleaner body 3, and the stick 4 is prevented from coming off upward, so that the stick 4 is attached along the back surface of the cleaner body 3.

  The upper pipe joint portion 13 of the joint portion 12 is provided behind the cleaner body 3 with respect to the holding groove 16 in which both stoppers 17 and 18 are provided. For this reason, the stick 4 supported as described above on the back surface of the cleaner body 3 is provided in a state of being tilted forward as it protrudes upward from the back surface of the cleaner body 3 (see FIG. 3). In this state, the grip portion 32 is located on the front side of the stick body 31 and disposed above the cleaner body 3 by restricting the mounting posture of the stick 4 as described above.

  In order to remove the stick 4 from the cleaner body 3, first, the operation convex portion 19 is pushed down, the movable stopper 18 is removed from the engaging portion 39, and the stick 4 is pulled up. As a result, the hook portion 38 is removed upward from the fixed stopper 17, and the stick 4 is pulled upward from the joint portion 12.

  The hose 5 has flexibility and is provided to communicate the stick 4 and the dust suction port 22 of the cleaner body 3. That is, one end of the hose 5 is connected to the inlet 22 a of the dust suction port 22, and the other end of the hose 5 is connected to the tip of the stick element 34 of the stick 4.

  The stick 4 that forms the dust suction air passage with the hose 5 can be removed from the joint portion 12 of the cleaner body 3 as described above. In the cleaning mode in which the electric vacuum cleaner 1 is used in this state, the opening at the end to which the fitting belt 37 of the stick 4 is attached serves as the suction port. For this reason, it is possible to clean high places such as lighting fixtures close to the ceiling, narrow gaps between furniture, etc. by holding the stick 4 removed from the cleaner body 3.

  In the normal usage pattern, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the stick 4 is attached to the back surface of the cleaner body 3 so as to be tilted forward, so that the grip portion 32 of the stick 4 is held and the vacuum cleaner The vacuum cleaner 1 can be used while being moved along the floor surface in a posture in which the main body 3 is tilted in the direction of arrow X in FIG. In this cleaning mode, the dust-containing air that has passed through the joint portion 12 from the suction port body 2 is sucked into the dust collection cup 21 from the dust suction port 22 of the cleaner body 3 via the dust suction air passage, and further dust collection. The filters 24 and 23 in the cup 21 are passed in this order. Thereby, dust and air are separated, and dust is collected in the dust collection cup 21. On the other hand, the air is sucked into the electric blower 25 through the air passage 27, then flows out of the electric blower 25, and is discharged out of the cleaner body 3 through the exhaust unit 29.

  The vacuum cleaner 1 used in this manner has the stick 4 tilted obliquely upward and forward with respect to the cleaner body 3 even though the stick body 31 of the stick 4 protrudes from the back surface of the cleaner body 3. In addition to being (tilted forward), the grip portion 32 is located on the front side of the stick body 31. For this reason, the center of gravity (not shown) of the cleaner main body 3 located on the front side of the stick main body 31 with respect to the straight line (shown by the DD line in FIG. 3) connecting the grip portion 32 and the wheel 7 of the suction port body 2. Can be replaced by the center of gravity G2 of the electric blower 25). Therefore, when the grip portion 32 is operated to twist the stick 4 and the moving direction of the suction port body 2 is changed, the operation can be lightly performed and the operability can be improved.

  Since the stick body 31 of the stick 4 protrudes from the back surface of the cleaner body 3, the tilt angle of the stick 4 in the direction of the arrow X in FIG. That is, the vacuum cleaner body 3 can be brought down together with the stick 4 so that the stick 4 follows the floor surface.

  For this reason, when pushing in the suction port body 2 and the vacuum cleaner main body 3 deeply in the lower space of the legged furniture, for example, the bed, the possibility that the vacuum cleaner main body 3 and the stick 4 become an obstacle becomes small. You can clean it by pushing it deeply. In addition, as the tilt angle of the stick 4 is large, when the suction port body 2 and the cleaner body 3 are pushed into the lower space, the oblique downward force applied by the stick 4 to the suction port body 2 becomes extremely small. Therefore, possibility that the front part of the suction inlet 2 will float can be reduced. For this reason, the cleaning performance with respect to the downward space of furniture with legs, for example, can be improved.

  Further, as described above, in the configuration in which the grip portion 32 is disposed forward, the stick body 31 to which the grip portion 32 is attached is formed by using a plurality of straight stick elements 33 and 34. 4 can be expanded and contracted in the axial direction.

  Further, the stick 4 that can be expanded and contracted in two stages has a thick stick element 33 supported by the cleaner body 3 and a stick element 34 protruding upward from the cleaner body 3 is thin. In other words, since the stick element 33 having the heavier weight of the stick 4 is attached to the cleaner main body 3, the center of gravity of the electric vacuum cleaner 1 can be moved downward. In this respect, the operability can be improved.

  The present invention is not limited to the one embodiment. For example, there may be one stick 4 and it does not matter whether the inside is a wind path. In addition, the dust collection unit is not limited to the dust collection cup, and can be made in a dust collection chamber having a filter, and a dust collection method that separates dust and air from air using the inertia force of the dust. The dust collector may be used in combination, and the dust collecting unit may be located away from the cleaner body.

The perspective view which shows the vacuum cleaner which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention seeing from the front side. The perspective view which shows the vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1 seeing from the back side. The side view which cuts and shows the vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1 partially. The perspective view which shows the vacuum cleaner main body with which the electric vacuum cleaner of FIG. The perspective view which shows the pipe joint periphery of the stick with which the vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1 is equipped. The perspective view which shows the insertion end part of stick with which the vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1 is provided.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electric vacuum cleaner 2 ... Suction inlet 3 ... Vacuum cleaner main body 4 ... Stick 5 ... Hose 7 ... Wheel 11 ... Body case 12 ... Joint part 13 ... Upper pipe joint 16 ... Holding groove 17 ... Fixed stopper 18 ... Movable stopper 21 ... Dust collection cup (dust collection part)
22 ... Dust inlet 25 ... Electric blower 31 ... Stick body 32 ... Grip 33 ... Stick element 34 ... Stick element

Claims (3)

A suction port,
A vacuum cleaner main body that is supported so as to be tiltable above the suction port body, and has an electric blower that sucks dust-containing air from the suction port body, and
A stick body that protrudes upward from the back surface of the vacuum cleaner body and tilts forward, and a grip provided at an upper end portion of the stick body that is positioned on the front side of the stick body and disposed above the vacuum cleaner body A stick that moves the suction port body and the vacuum cleaner body by gripping the grip part;
A vacuum cleaner comprising:   2. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the stick main body is formed of a plurality of straight stick-like stick elements combined to be extendable.   3. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the stick is hollow and forms a part of a dust suction air path from the suction port body to a dust suction port of the cleaner body.

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