JP2005237469A - Filter for vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a filter for a vacuum cleaner which can surely remove caught dust and dirt. <P>SOLUTION: The pleat-like filter 41 is integrally provided with a flexible frame 42 which holds the pleats shape of the filter 41 and can be deformed. Thus, filter groove sections 41b are expanded by deforming the filter 41 together with the flexible frame 42, and dust and dirt accumulated in the filter groove sections 41b can be removed. Therefore, dust and dirt caught by the filter 41 can surely and easily be removed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner filter provided with a pleated filter that collects dust contained in sucked air.

Conventionally, as a vacuum cleaner filter provided in a dust collection cup or the like arranged on the suction side of an electric blower of an electric vacuum cleaner, for example, a filter body formed of polyester or the like is folded back and forth in an acute angle shape. The structure formed in a pleat shape is known (for example, refer patent document 1).
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-199693 (page 6, FIG. 10)

  However, in the above vacuum cleaner filter, each corner of each pleat of the filter body is formed in an acute angle, so that dust collected on the upstream side of this filter body accumulates at the corner of the pleat. The problem is that it is not easy to remove the dust from the filter body.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a point, and it aims at providing the filter for vacuum cleaners which can remove the collected dust reliably.

  The present invention includes a pleated filter that collects dust contained in the sucked air, and a deformable holding member that holds the pleated shape of the filter.

  According to the present invention, the pleated filter is held by the deformable holding member that holds the pleated shape of the filter, and the filter is deformed together with the holding member to widen the pleats. The dust collected in the filter can be removed, so that the dust collected by the filter can be surely removed.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  In FIG. 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a vacuum cleaner main body, and the vacuum cleaner main body 1 is a vacuum cleaner that separates and collects dust contained in the sucked-in air. The vacuum cleaner body 1 includes a lower case 2, a middle case (not shown) attached to the upper side of the lower case 2, an upper case 4 attached to the lower case 2 and the middle case by closing the rear portion of the middle case. And the main body case 6 provided with the cover body 5 which covers the front upper part of a middle case so that opening and closing is possible. The main body case 6 is provided with turning wheels and traveling wheels (not shown) so that the cleaner main body 1 can travel on the floor surface as a surface to be cleaned. Further, an electric blower 7 is accommodated between the middle case and the upper case 4 of the main body case 6.

  Further, on the front side of the lid body 5, a main body suction port 14 that opens toward the front is provided. A base end of a flexible hose body 15 communicates with the main body suction port 14 and is detachably connected. A hand operation unit 16 capable of selecting an operation mode of the electric blower 7 is provided at the tip of the hose body 15. The hand operating unit 16 is provided with a plurality of setting buttons 17 for setting the driving state of the electric blower 7 and the like in the cleaner body 1 to a predetermined state, and a grip that an operator grips when cleaning. The part 18 protrudes from the proximal end side. In addition, an elongated, substantially cylindrical extension tube 21 that can be expanded and contracted is detachably connected to the distal end of the hand operation unit 16. Further, a floor brush 22 as a suction port body that is installed on the surface to be cleaned and sucks dust on the surface to be cleaned is detachably connected to the tip of the extension pipe 21.

  Further, in the main body case 6, a power cord (not shown) that supplies power for driving the electric blower 7 from the outside is accommodated in a removable manner. Further, a plurality of exhaust holes (not shown) are formed in the side portion of the main body case 6.

  Furthermore, a dust collection cup 33 as a dust collection unit that collects dust sucked together with air from the floor brush 22 is detachably provided in the main body case 6. The dust collecting cup 33 includes a separated dust collecting portion (not shown) whose upstream side communicates with the main body suction port 14 and a vacuum cleaner which communicates with the downstream side of the separated dust collecting portion and with the downstream side communicating with the suction side of the electric blower 7. And a filter unit 36 as a filter for use.

  The separation dust collecting unit collects dust contained in the air sucked from the floor brush 22 by separating the dust by, for example, gravity or inertia.

  The filter unit 36 collects fine dust that cannot be collected by the separation dust collecting unit, that is, fine dust. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the filter unit 36 holds the rectangular filter 41 and the filter 41. A filter body 43 constituted by a soft frame 42 as a holding member, and a hard frame 44 as an attachment frame portion to which the filter body 43 is detachably attached are provided.

  The filter 41 collects fine dust contained in the air that has passed through the separated dust collecting portion, and is formed of, for example, a synthetic resin such as flexible polyester and can be washed with water.

  Further, the filter 41 is formed with an acute angle filter peak 41a and a filter valley 41b alternately in the front-rear direction of the cleaner body 1, and a plurality of these filter peaks 41a and filter valleys 41b are arranged in the width direction. It is formed in the shape of a pleat that is adjacently folded in a vertically folded shape.

  The soft frame 42 holds the pleated shape of the filter 41, and is formed of a deformable soft synthetic resin such as rubber or polyurethane, and is provided integrally with the filter 41. Further, the soft frame 42 includes a rectangular frame-shaped main body frame portion 45 and a protruding frame portion 46 that protrudes upstream from one main surface of the main body frame portion 45.

  The main body frame 45 has a communication opening (not shown) that exposes the downstream side of the filter 41, and is provided in a frame shape around the protruding frame 46.

  The protruding frame portion 46 includes an upper plate portion 47 located above the filter 41, a lower plate portion 48 located below the filter 41, and side plate portions 49 and 49 located on both sides of the filter 41, respectively. Projecting from the edge of the communication opening of the portion 45 to the upstream side.

  The upper plate portion 47 and the lower plate portion 48 are each formed in a square plate shape. Further, the upper plate portion 47 and the lower plate portion 48 correspond to the pleated shape of the filter 41, that is, the portion corresponding to each filter valley 41b that is a concave portion on the side of collecting the dust of the filter 41, Cutout portions 51 are formed in the respective cutouts.

  These cutout portions 51 are each formed in a triangular shape in plan view so as to become narrower from the front end portion to the base end portion of the upper plate portion 47 and the lower plate portion 48. Further, the distal end portions of the notches 51 substantially coincide with the corners on the downstream side of the filter valley portions 41b in the vicinity of the main body frame portion 45 that is the base end portion of the upper plate portion 47 and the lower plate portion 48. Formed in position. For this reason, trapezoidal blocking pieces 52 that are narrower toward the front end portion are formed between the cutout portions 51 in the upper plate portion 47 and the lower plate portion 48, respectively. These closing pieces 52 are in close contact with and integrated with the upper end and lower end of each filter crest 41a of the filter 41, and close the upper end and lower end of each filter crest 41a.

  Both side plate portions 49 and 49 are each formed in a rectangular plate shape, and the upper end portion is integrally provided on both side portions of the upper plate portion 47 and the lower end portion is integrally provided on both side portions of the lower plate portion 48. The both side plate portions 49 and 49 are integrally provided on both side portions of the filter 41, respectively.

  The protruding frame portion 46 protrudes from the main body frame portion 45 substantially corresponding to the protruding dimension of each filter crest portion 41a of the filter 41. For this reason, the tip of each filter crest 41a of the filter 41 is substantially flush with a virtual plane surrounded by the tips of the upper plate 47, the lower plate 48, and the side plates 49, 49. .

  The hard frame 44 is detachably attached to the air passage on the downstream side of the dust collecting cup 33, and the hard frame 44 is formed of a synthetic resin or the like that is harder than the soft frame 42 and has shape retaining properties. The hard frame main body portion 56 and a hard frame outer peripheral portion 57 protruding from the peripheral edge portion of the hard frame main body portion 56 to the downstream side.

  In the hard frame main body 56, a rectangular opening 58 is formed at a position inside the peripheral edge of the hard frame main body 56 so that the upstream side of the filter 41 is exposed. Therefore, the hard frame main body 56 is formed in a frame shape around the opening 58.

  The outer periphery 57 of the hard frame surrounds the periphery of the filter body 43 and protrudes from the hard frame main body 56 corresponding to the dimension of the filter body 43 in the front-rear direction. The outer peripheral portion 57 of the rigid frame includes a frame upper plate portion 61 positioned above the filter body 43, a frame lower plate portion 62 positioned below the filter body 43, and frames positioned on both sides of the filter body 43. Side plate portions 63 and 63 are provided.

  The frame upper plate portion 61 and the frame lower plate portion 62 are each formed in a rectangular plate shape, and both side portions are continuous with the upper end portions of both the frame side plate portions 63 and 63, respectively.

  Both the frame side plate portions 63 and 63 are each formed in a quadrangular plate shape, each upper end portion is continuous with the frame upper plate portion 61, and each lower end portion is continuous with the frame lower plate portion 62.

  The main body frame portion 45 of the soft frame 42 of the filter body 43 is in airtight contact with the distal end portion of the outer peripheral portion 57 of the hard frame, that is, the downstream end portion, with the filter body 43 attached to the hard frame 44. ing.

  Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described.

  The lid 5 of the main body case 6 is rotated to fit the dust collecting cup 33, the lid 5 is closed, and the hose body 15, the extension pipe 21 and the floor brush 22 are sequentially connected to the main body suction port 14.

  Then, the tip of the power cord led out from the rear of the lower case 2 is inserted into an outlet (not shown) provided on the wall surface, etc., the hand operating part 16 of the hose body 15 is gripped, and a predetermined setting button 17 is turned on. The electric blower 7 is driven and the floor brush 22 runs back and forth on the floor surface.

  The air sucked together with dust from the tip of the floor brush 22 becomes a suction wind, passes through each of the extension pipe 21 and the hose body 15 in order, and is sucked into the main body suction port 14 of the lid 5 and then the dust collection cup. A part of the dust is collected in the dust collecting cup 33 by the separation dust collecting unit.

  Further, the dust contained in the air that has passed through the separated dust collecting portion is collected by the filter 41 when passing through the filter 41 through the opening 58 of the hard frame 44 of the filter portion 36.

  The suction air that has passed through the filter 41 is sucked into the suction side of the electric blower 7, passes through the electric blower 7, becomes exhaust air, and is exhausted from the exhaust hole to the outside of the cleaner body 1.

  When the dust collected by the filter 41 adheres to the upstream side of the filter 41 by a predetermined amount or more, the lid 5 is rotated to remove the dust collection cup 33 from the main body case 6, and the removed dust collection The filter part 36 is removed from the dust cup 33, and the filter 41 is maintained, that is, maintained.

  At this time, the operator removes the filter body 43 from the hard frame 44, grips the vicinity of both side portions of the main body frame portion 45 of the soft frame 42, and the opposite ends of the main body frame portion 45 are opposite to the protruding frame portions 46, respectively. When it is curved to the side, that is, downstream, each filter trough 41b of the filter 41 is expanded by the action of the notch 51 in each closing piece 52.

  In this state, the operator wraps a tissue paper around the finger, inserts it from the upstream side of the filter valley 41b, and moves the index finger up and down to remove dust attached to the filter 41 with a tissue paper or the like. Remove.

  Further, after the filter body 43 is washed with water to remove fine dust adhered to the filter 41 and dried, the filter part 36 with the filter body 43 attached to the hard frame 44 is attached to the dust collection cup 33 again. The cup 33 is attached to the main body case 6 and used again.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the pleated filter 41 is integrally provided with the deformable soft frame 42 that retains the pleated shape of the filter 41, and thus the soft frame 42 is provided. At the same time, by deforming the filter 41, each filter trough 41b can be expanded to remove dust accumulated in the filter trough 41b, so that dust collected by the filter 41 can be removed reliably and easily.

  In addition, the upper plate portion 47 and the lower plate portion 48 of the protruding frame portion 46 of the soft frame 42 are provided with notches 51 corresponding to the respective filter valley portions 41b, so that each filter valley portion 41b of the filter 41 is more Since it can be greatly expanded, the dust accumulated in the filter valley 41b can be more reliably and easily removed.

  Moreover, by providing the tip of the notch 51 up to the vicinity of the main body frame 45, each filter trough 41b can be expanded more greatly.

  Furthermore, since the filter valley 41b of the filter 41 can be expanded and maintained, it is not necessary to preliminarily form the pitch of the filter valley 41b of the filter 41 in consideration of maintainability, so the pitch of the filter valley 41b is reduced. By increasing the area of the filter 41, the dust collection efficiency of the filter 41 can be improved.

  The filter body 43 is detachably held by the hard frame 44 that is harder than the soft frame 42 and has shape retaining properties, thereby preventing deformation of the filter body 43 due to suction by driving the electric blower 7 and the like. Air leakage when the filter portion 36 is attached to the dust cup 33 can be prevented, and the reduction of the suction efficiency by the electric blower 7 can be prevented, and the hard frame 44 does not get in the way during the maintenance of the filter 41, Easy maintenance.

  Further, since the filter 41 can be easily maintained, the usability of the vacuum cleaner can be improved.

  Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, about the structure and effect | action similar to the said 1st Embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the filter part 36, one side part of the main body frame part 45 of the soft frame 42 of the filter body 43 is fixed to the downstream end part of one frame side plate part 63 of the hard frame 44. That is, the filter body 43 has a free end on the other side of the main body frame 45 with respect to the hard frame 44.

  According to the second embodiment, the filter 41 is provided integrally with the soft frame 42, and the notch 51 is provided in the soft frame 42. Thus, the same effects as those of the first embodiment are provided. It becomes possible to play.

  Further, by fixing one side portion of the main body frame portion 45 of the soft frame 42 to the hard frame 44, the filter 41 can be more easily maintained with the hard frame 44 held, and the filter 41 is washed with water and dried, for example. Since the filter body 43 is not separated from the hard frame 44 at the time of making it, only the filter body 43 can be prevented from being lost by being blown by the wind.

  In the second embodiment, any part of the filter body 43 may be held by the hard frame 44 as long as the filter body 43 can be partially removed from the hard frame 44 and cleaned.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, in addition to the dust collection cup 33, various other things can be used as the attached portion. In this case, the shapes of the filter body 43 and the hard frame 44 are set according to the shape of the attached portion.

  Further, the filter unit 36 may be configured without the hard frame 44. In this case, the number of parts of the filter unit 36 can be reduced to simplify the configuration, and the manufacturing cost can be suppressed.

  Even in the configuration in which the cutout portion 51 is not provided in the soft frame 42 of the filter portion 36, it is possible to achieve the same operational effects as those of the above embodiments.

  Further, the vacuum cleaner is not limited to the canister type, but is an upright type in which the floor brush 22 is directly formed on the lower surface of the vacuum cleaner body 1, and the self-cleaning machine in which the vacuum cleaner body 1 and the floor brush 22 are integrated. Even a traveling vacuum cleaner or a handy type can be used correspondingly.

  Further, the position where the soft frame 42 or the hard frame 44 provided integrally with the filter 41 is attached is not limited to the above-described embodiments as long as it is in the air path on the downstream side of the dust collecting portion. The dust collection unit may be, for example, a unit provided in the hand operation unit 16, or a so-called cyclone type that has an exhaust port in the upper part and separates dust by centrifugal force and gravity.

It is a perspective view which shows the filter for vacuum cleaners of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the deformation | transformation state of the filter for vacuum cleaners same as the above. It is a perspective view which shows the vacuum cleaner provided with the filter for vacuum cleaners same as the above. It is a perspective view which shows the filter for vacuum cleaners of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

33 Dust collection cup as dust collection part
36 Filter section as a vacuum cleaner filter
41 Filter
42 Soft frame as holding member
44 Rigid frame as mounting frame
51 Notch

Claims (4)

A pleated filter that collects dust contained in the inhaled air;
A vacuum cleaner filter, comprising: a holding member that is integrally formed with the filter and holds the pleated shape of the filter and is deformable. The vacuum cleaner filter according to claim 1, wherein the holding member includes a notch provided in correspondence with the concave portion on the filter dust collecting side. A mounting frame portion that is harder than the holding member and has shape retaining properties, and the holding member is detachably attached together with the filter so that the filter and the holding member are detachable in the air passage on the downstream side of the dust collecting portion. The vacuum cleaner filter according to claim 1, wherein the vacuum cleaner filter is provided. A mounting frame portion that fixes at least one side of at least one of the filter and the holding member and allows the other side of the holding member provided integrally with the filter to be detachable in the air passage on the downstream side of the dust collecting portion. The vacuum cleaner filter according to claim 1, wherein the vacuum cleaner filter is provided.

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