JP2006095337A - Vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vacuum cleaner, preventing breakage of a rechargeable battery for driving and an operation failure by decreasing a temperature rise due to exhaust of a motor-driven blower. <P>SOLUTION: This vacuum cleaner includes: the motor-driven blower; the rechargeable battery for driving the motor-driven blower; a select switch for selecting between the rechargeable battery for driving and an AC power supply; a control circuit such as a microcomputer for controlling the operation control of the motor-driven blower; and a rectifying circuit provided between the control circuit and the select switch, wherein a DC constant voltage circuit for keeping the voltage supplied to the control circuit at a constant voltage is provided between the rectifying circuit and the control circuit. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&amp;NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a floor moving type electric vacuum cleaner provided with a rechargeable battery for driving an electric blower.

  Conventional floor-moving type vacuum cleaners require relatively high power consumption as home appliances due to the necessity of the suction force, and generally models of about 500 to 1000 W have become mainstream. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-39483 discloses a prior art equipped with a rechargeable battery for driving.

JP-A-7-39483

In the above conventional vacuum cleaner, the drive rechargeable battery becomes exhausted due to the exhaust discharged from the electric blower, causing the drive rechargeable battery to malfunction.
An object of the present invention is to address the above problems and to provide a battery that does not cause damage or malfunction of a driving rechargeable battery by reducing a temperature rise due to exhaust of an electric blower.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is characterized by an electric blower, a rechargeable battery for driving the electric blower, an AC / DC changeover switch for switching between the rechargeable battery for driving and an AC power source, In a vacuum cleaner having a control circuit such as a microcomputer for performing control including operation control of the electric blower, and a rectifier circuit provided between the control circuit and the changeover switch, a voltage supplied to the control circuit is a constant voltage. A DC constant voltage circuit for maintaining the voltage between the rectifier circuit and the control circuit.

  According to the present invention, the temperature rise of the rechargeable battery for driving can be suppressed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the vacuum cleaner main body 1 includes a flexible hose 2 connected to the front side of the vacuum cleaner main body 1 and a front portion provided at a connection portion between the hose 2 and the vacuum cleaner main body 1. A handle 3, an extension pipe 5 attached to a support portion 4 provided in the front handle 3, and a suction port 6 provided at the tip of the extension pipe 5 are attached. The charging stand 7 is stored with the vacuum cleaner body 1 in an upright state. In this state, the rechargeable battery for driving provided in the cleaner body 1 is charged. A charging supply connection base 8 is provided on the upper surface of the charging base 7. The charge supply connection base 8 will be described in more detail later.

  The cleaner body 1 is configured as shown in FIGS.

  The outer body of the vacuum cleaner body 1 is formed by a synthetic resin lower case 9, a synthetic resin upper case 10, a synthetic resin front outer cover 20, and a synthetic resin rear outer cover 21. The upper and lower cases 9, 10 have a U-shaped cross section and have a shape extending in the front-rear direction. By overlapping the upper and lower cases 9 and 10 vertically, a cavity is formed inside. An inner cover 22 is attached to the inner side of the front outer cover 20. A rear wheel 23 for traveling is provided on both sides of the rear side of the vacuum cleaner body 1, and a front wheel 24 for traveling is provided on the lower front side.

  Inside the vacuum cleaner main body 1, a dust collection case 25, an electric blower 26, and the like are provided. The electric blower 26 is stored in the electric blower storage chamber 27. The dust collection case 25 is disposed on the front side of the electric blower 26. A dust collection bag 28 is detachably placed inside the dust collection case 25. The control base 29 on which the control circuit of the vacuum cleaner is mounted is attached to the upper side of the dust collecting case 25.

  The electric blower storage chamber 27 provided inside the cleaner body 1 is formed by a cylindrical portion 40 that is disposed horizontally and a vertical partition wall 41 that is provided at the rear end of the cylindrical portion 40. An annular exhaust passage is formed between the cylindrical portion 40 and the outer walls of the upper and lower cases 10 and 9. The inside of the cylindrical portion 40 and the annular exhaust passage communicate with each other through a through hole 42 provided in the upper portion of the cylindrical portion 40. A filter chamber 45 in which the fine dust filter 43 is accommodated is provided at the bottom of the annular exhaust passage. The filter chamber 45 communicates with an exhaust chamber 46 provided on the rear side of the partition wall 41 through a communication hole 47. The exhaust chamber 46 is configured to communicate with the outside air through an external exhaust hole 48 provided on the upper side of the rear outer cover 21.

  The electric blower 23 includes a fan unit 60 and an electric motor 61. A fan 62 provided in the fan unit 60 is fixedly supported on the rotating shaft of the electric motor 61. The outer periphery of the fan unit 60 is supported by the electric blower storage chamber 27 via the fan packing 63. A bearing portion 65 provided in the housing 64 of the electric motor 61 is supported by the partition wall 41 via a bearing packing 66. The fan packing 63 and the bearing packing 66 have an airtight seal and an elastic support function.

  The rear outer cover 21 has an electrical component disposed and housed inside the upper portion, and a battery housing portion 70 provided on the lower side. The battery housing portion 70 is recessed toward the inside of the cleaner body 1 and has a lateral groove shape extending long in the lateral direction. The battery housing part 70 is formed with a wall that blocks the exhaust flowing through the exhaust chamber 46. The battery housing part 70 is made of synthetic resin and is formed integrally with the rear outer cover 21. Although it is possible to provide a battery housing part 70 formed separately from the rear outer cover 21, the integrated one is more advantageous in terms of productivity. Further, the battery housing portion 40 can be formed integrally with the lower case 9.

  The driving rechargeable battery 71 is stored in the battery storage unit 70. The drive rechargeable battery 71 shaped like this rod uses a NiCd battery or a battery such as a nickel metal hydride or lithium ion battery. Since the battery housing part 70 is formed with a wall that blocks the exhaust flowing through the exhaust chamber 46 as described above, it is possible to suppress the driving battery 71 from being heated by the high-temperature exhaust exhausted from the electric blower 23. Moreover, since the heat insulating material 72 is affixed on the inner surface of the battery storage part 70, heating suppression is further improved. The heat insulating material 72 may be provided on the outer surface of the battery storage unit 70.

  The battery storage unit 70 is provided with a slot 73. A battery lid 74 is detachably attached to the access port 73. The locking portion 75 provided at the lower portion of the battery lid 74 is locked to the lower opening edge of the loading / unloading port 73. Two locking claws 76 provided on the upper part of the battery lid 74 are locked to the upper opening edge of the loading / unloading port. The battery lid 74 is attached by a locking portion 75 and a locking claw 76. With this battery lid 74, dropping of the driving rechargeable battery 71 from the battery housing portion 70 is suppressed. Since the bottom part of the battery housing part 70 is raised from the lower opening edge part, the driving rechargeable battery 71 does not easily fall off even when the battery cover 74 is not used.

  Next, the electric circuit of the vacuum cleaner will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The plug 80 connected to the AC power source is connected to the AC receiving side terminal of the AC / DC changeover switch 82 via the fuse 81. The charge receiving connection terminal 84 is connected to the charge supply connection terminal of the charging circuit 83 of the charging stand 7. One of the charge receiving connection terminals 84 is connected to the DC receiving side terminal of the AC / DC changeover switch 82 via the diode 85 and the fuse 86 and the other via the charging switch 87. The output side terminal of the AC / DC switching switch 82 can be selectively switched between the AC side and the DC side.

  The number of charge receiving connection terminals 84 is originally two, but is three. The added charge receiving connection terminal 84 is for connecting the thermistor 88 provided in the driving rechargeable battery 71 to the charging circuit 83. The thermistor 88 serves as a temperature detecting means for suppressing the temperature of the driving rechargeable battery 71 from rising abnormally during charging. When the driving rechargeable battery 71 exceeds a predetermined temperature during charging, charging is stopped. Yes.

  The drive rechargeable battery 71 is connected to the charge receiving connection terminal side via a connector. This connector includes a female connector 100 on the charge receiving connection terminal side and a male connector 101 on the drive rechargeable battery 71 side. The positive electrode side of the driving rechargeable battery 71 is connected to the positive terminal side of the diode 85 via a connector. The negative electrode side of the driving rechargeable battery 71 is connected to the charge receiving connection terminal side of the charging switch 87 via a connector.

  One end of the thermistor 88 of the driving rechargeable battery 71 is connected to the negative electrode side, and the other end is connected to a point (A) of the charging circuit via a connector, a charge receiving connection terminal, and a charge supply connection terminal. A fixed resistor 102 is connected between the point (A) and the positive electrode side of the charging circuit 83. Thus, since the thermistor 83 and the fixed resistor 102 are in series, the potential at the point (A) is lowered due to an increase in resistance of the thermistor 83 accompanying a rise in temperature of the driving rechargeable battery 71. The charging of the charging circuit 83 is stopped when the potential becomes lower than a predetermined potential. The charge stop temperature is set to about 60 ° C. Similarly, reliability can be improved if the apparatus is configured to stop at a predetermined temperature or higher during discharge.

  The output side terminal side of the AC / DC changeover switch 82 is connected to a main control circuit 112 such as a microcomputer via a rectifier circuit 110 and a DC constant voltage circuit 111. Further, the output side terminal side is connected to the electric motor 28 via the electric motor drive circuit 113.

  The rectifier circuit 110 includes a rectifier diode 114 and a smoothing capacitor 115. The DC constant voltage circuit 111 includes a transistor 116, a switching circuit 117, a coil 118, and a diode 119. The DC constant voltage circuit 111 outputs a constant voltage of 5V even if the DC voltage on the input side varies. When alternating current is selected on the output side terminal side of the alternating current / direct current switch 82, direct current 141 is supplied, and when direct current is selected on the output side terminal side of the alternating current / direct current switch 82, direct current 24V is supplied. However, in either case, the DC constant voltage circuit 111 outputs 5 V to the control circuit 112.

  The operation of the DC constant voltage circuit 111 will be briefly described. When receiving from the switching circuit 117 based on a signal for turning on the transistor 116, the transistor 116 is energized and energy is stored in the coil 118. When energy is stored, the transistor 116 is turned off in response to an off signal from the switching circuit 117. When the transistor 116 is turned off, the energy stored in the coil 118 is released through the diode 119 and supplied to the control circuit 112. The switching timing of the switching circuit 117 is set so that the voltage supplied to the control circuit 112 is always 5V.

  In the motor drive circuit 113, the FLS 130 (switching element) is connected in series with the motor 28. The FLS driving circuit 140 is connected to the gate of the FLS 130. The energization of the FLS 130 is adjusted by the drive signal of the FLS drive circuit, and the speed control of the motor is performed. The zero-cross detection circuit 131 detects the alternating zero-cross point supplied to the electric motor 28 and performs the energization control in which the FLS 130 is synchronized with the alternating current.

  The FLS 130 is provided with a motor switch 132 in parallel. When the electric motor 28 is operated with alternating current, the switch 132 is opened. Closed when operating on DC. The switch 132 is opened and closed by the switching circuit 133.

  The oscillation circuit 134 supplies a driving pulse signal for the microcomputer. The hand display circuit 135 performs display control of the hand display unit provided in the hose 2. The main body display circuit 136 performs display control of the main body display unit 137 that displays the remaining battery level shown in FIG.

  The display on the main body display unit 137 is represented in three stages, that is, the remaining battery level of the driving rechargeable battery 71 is large, medium, and small. The display method can be adopted as appropriate. This display prevents display from being performed during charging. By not displaying while charging, waste of electricity can be eliminated and the charging time can be shortened.

  This charging non-display is provided with a charging switch 87 so that the supply of electricity to the control circuit side is stopped during charging. Other non-displays can be realized by software control of the control circuit. However, the charging switch 87 is simple and the consumption of electricity is small.

  The driving rechargeable battery 71 has a characteristic that a voltage that is reduced as the battery is used recovers when the battery is stopped. When the remaining battery level corresponding to the voltage of natural recovery accompanying the suspension of use is displayed on the main body display unit 137, it seems that the remaining battery level is still high, and the battery may run out during cleaning. . Therefore, the remaining amount display based on the natural recovery voltage is not performed until charging is performed using a latch circuit or the like. By doing so, the battery is frequently charged, so the battery exhaustion during cleaning is eliminated.

  Next, the plug 80, the charge receiving connection terminal 84, and the connector will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The plug 80 is attached to the upper inside of the rear outer cover 21 so that the insertion port faces upward. An opening 150 is formed in the upper part of the rear outer cover 21 so as to face the insertion port of the plug 80. The opening 150 is provided with a shutter 151. The shutter 151 is slidably provided, and the opening 150 can be closed or opened.

  The AC / DC changeover switch 82 is disposed adjacent to the plug 80. The AC / DC changeover switch 82 is provided with a changeover knob 152, which is engaged with the shutter 151. Therefore, the AC / DC changeover switch 82 is switched between the AC side and the DC side by sliding the shutter 151. When the shutter 151 is set so as to close the opening 150, the direct current side is selected, and when the shutter 151 is set so as to open the opening 150, the alternating current side is selected. When the DC side is selected, the opening 150 is closed by the shutter 151, so that it is safe to prevent the AC power supply from being accidentally connected to the plug 80.

  The charging switch 87 is attached inside the upper portion of the rear outer cover 21. This charging switch 87 is provided with a push button 153. When the push button 153 is pushed with a male, the charging switch 87 is opened.

  A charge receiving connection recess 154 is provided at the rear of the cleaner body. Inside the charge receiving connection recess 154, the three charge receiving connection terminals 84 described above are provided. In addition, the push button 153 of the above-described charging switch 87 protrudes from the charging receiving connection terminal 84.

  The above-described charging / supply connection base 8 is provided with three charging / supply connection terminals (not shown). The charge supply connection base 8 is detachably fitted into the charge connection recess 154. With this fitting, the charge supply connection terminal is connected to the charge receiving connection terminal 84. As shown in FIG. 1, by placing the vacuum cleaner body 1 on the charging base 7, the charging connection recess 154 is fitted into the charging supply connection base 8, and the charging supply connection terminal is connected to the charge receiving connection terminal 84. At the same time, the push button 153 is pushed and the charging switch 87 is opened. As described above, when the vacuum cleaner body 1 is placed on the charging stand 7 for charging, the charging switch 87 is opened, and electricity is not supplied except for charging the battery.

  The female connector 100 connected to the charge receiving connection terminal 84 is placed so that it can be pulled out to the battery housing part 70. The male connector 101 connected to the driving rechargeable battery 71 is connected to the female connector 100. The connector is attached / detached at the time of battery replacement or inspection. Since the female connector 100 is placed so as to be able to be pulled out into the battery housing portion 70, the connector can be easily attached and detached, and can be easily prepared.

  The electrical component cover 155 covers the plug 80, the charge receiving connection terminal 84, the AC / DC changeover switch 82, and the like. By blocking the exhaust from the electric blower 23 with the electric component cover 155, the contamination of the electric components can be reduced.

  Next, the exhaust associated with the operation of the electric blower 23 will be described.

  Due to the operation of the electric blower 23, the air sucked together with the dust passes through the dust collection bag 28, and further passes through the fan unit 60 and the electric motor 61 to exhaust the electric blower storage chamber 27. Since this exhaust air cools the electric motor 61, it is at a high temperature. Exhaust gas flows from the through hole 42 into an annular exhaust passage (formed between the cylindrical portion 40 and the outer walls of the upper and lower cases 10, 9). The exhaust gas that has been silenced through the annular exhaust passage passes through the fine dust filter 43 in the filter chamber 45. The exhaust gas from which fine dust in the exhaust gas is removed by the fine dust filter 43 flows into the exhaust chamber 46 separated by the partition wall 41 from the communication hole 47. Here, the exhaust sound is further silenced and discharged to the outside through the external exhaust hole 48.

Although the exhaust gas is hot, it is blocked by the wall that blocks the exhaust gas and does not hit the driving rechargeable battery 71. The drive rechargeable battery 71 is not heated to a high temperature by exhaust. Moreover, since the battery accommodating part 70 is equipped with the heat insulating material 72, transmission of heat is further suppressed.
The drive rechargeable battery 71 is not damaged or malfunctioned due to a temperature rise.

It is an external appearance perspective view which shows the charge thru | or accommodation state which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention and mounted the vacuum cleaner main body in the charging stand. It is an external appearance perspective view which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention and puts a cleaner body vertically and shows a state. 1 is an external perspective view of a charging stand according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a cleaner body according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a cleaner body according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 5 according to one embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which looked at the vacuum cleaner main body from back, and concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which looked at the vacuum cleaner main body which removed the battery cover from back, and concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing a display unit of a cleaner body according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, and shows the connection state of the male / female connector of a connector. 1 is an overall circuit diagram of a cleaner body according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. It is a figure which shows the temperature protection circuit of charge concerning one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vacuum cleaner main body, 2 ... Hose, 70 ... Battery accommodating part, 71 ... Rechargeable battery for a drive.

Claims (2)

Control circuit such as an electric blower, a rechargeable battery for driving the electric blower, an AC / DC changeover switch for switching between the rechargeable battery for driving and an AC power source, and a microcomputer for controlling the operation of the electric blower And a vacuum cleaner having a rectifier circuit provided between the control circuit and the changeover switch,
A vacuum cleaner comprising a DC constant voltage circuit for maintaining a voltage supplied to the control circuit at a constant voltage between the rectifier circuit and the control circuit.   2. The electric constant voltage circuit according to claim 1, wherein the DC constant voltage circuit includes a switching transistor and a coil provided in series, a switching circuit that applies a switching signal to a base of the switching transistor, and a diode that discharges energy of the coil. Vacuum cleaner.

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