JP2006346099A - Electric cleaner and its dust collecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a dust collecting cup of an electric cleaner for which the maintenance of a separation part and a dust housing part is facilitated by simple constitution. <P>SOLUTION: An opening/closing lid 18 which can be opened and closed to a dust collecting part main body 15 forms a part of the outer wall of the dust collecting cup 3 from the separation part 16 to the dust housing part 17 in a closed state. The separation part 16 and the dust housing part 17 can be both exposed from a disposal opening 29 to the outside of the dust collecting part main body 15 by the opening operation of the opening/closing lid 18 by the simple constitution, and the separation part 16 and the dust housing part 17 can be simultaneously and easily maintained. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric vacuum cleaner including a separating unit for separating dust sucked from a suction opening in a dust collecting unit main body and a dust collecting device therefor.

Conventionally, this type of electric vacuum cleaner includes a vacuum cleaner body that houses an electric blower. A dust collection chamber communicating with the suction side of the electric blower is defined in the front portion of the cleaner body, and a dust collection cup as a dust collection device is detachably provided in the dust collection chamber. The dust collecting cup includes a dust collecting unit body having a suction opening, an exhaust port and a disposal opening, and an opening / closing lid capable of opening and closing the disposal opening. The dust collecting body is sucked together with air by driving an electric blower. A separation unit that separates the dust sucked in from the cyclone into coarse dust having a relatively large weight and fine dust having a relatively small weight, and a coarse unit that contains the coarse dust separated by the separation unit and communicates with the waste opening. And a dust container. A mesh-like filter that collects fine dust is attached to the separation portion at a predetermined position in the circumferential direction. Furthermore, the dust collection unit body is provided with an extrusion mechanism that pushes the separation unit toward the coarse dust storage unit (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2004-33241 (Page 6-8, FIGS. 11-12)

  However, since the above vacuum cleaner is configured to push out the separating portion by the push-out mechanism, the structure inside the dust collecting body is complicated, and it is not easy to clean the filter in the cyclone separating portion. Have.

  This invention is made in view of such a point, and it aims at providing the vacuum cleaner and its dust collector which made easy the maintenance of a isolation | separation part and a dust accommodating part by simple structure.

  The present invention is a dust collection unit main body having a suction opening, a separation unit provided in the dust collection unit main body for separating dust sucked from the suction opening, and provided in the dust collection unit main body. A dust container that is formed in a partitioned manner and that can be opened and closed on the dust collector main body, and in the closed state forms a part of the outer wall from the separator to the dust container. And an opening / closing part.

  According to the present invention, the opening / closing part provided in the dust collector main body so as to be openable / closable forms a part of the outer wall from the separating part to the dust container in the closed state, so that the opening / closing part can be opened with a simple configuration. By the operation, both the separation unit and the dust storage unit can be exposed to the outside of the dust collection unit body, and the separation unit and the dust storage unit can be easily maintained.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of a vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

  In FIG. 4, reference numeral 1 denotes a vacuum cleaner body, which separates dust sucked together with suction air generated by driving an electric blower 2 housed in a dust collecting cup 3 as a dust collector. The vacuum cleaner collects dust and can travel on the floor as a surface to be cleaned.

  The vacuum cleaner main body 1 can be opened and closed by rotating a main body case 4 housing the electric blower 2 and an opening 5 communicating with an upper portion of a dust collection chamber (not shown) formed on the front side of the main body case 4. A main body lid 6 is provided.

  A main body suction port 7 that communicates with the dust collection chamber and sucks air from the outside is opened at the front portion of the cleaner body 1. An elongated substantially cylindrical hose body 8 that is flexible and can be bent is connected to the main body suction port 7. At the tip of the hose body 8, a hand operation unit 9 that can select the operation mode of the electric blower 2 is provided. The hand operating section 9 is provided with a hand gripping section 10 that is held by an operator, and the hand gripping section 10 is provided with a plurality of setting buttons 11 for setting the electric blower 2 and the like to a plurality of operation modes. ing.

  In addition, an extensible and elongated cylindrical extension tube 12 is detachably connected to the distal end of the hand operation unit 9. In addition, the extension pipe 12 is detachably connected to a floor brush 13 that is placed on, for example, a carpet on the floor of the room, and serves as a suction port for sucking dust on the carpet. Yes.

  Further, a power cord 14 that can be fed from an external commercial AC power source to the electric blower 2 or the like is housed in the vacuum cleaner body 1 so that it can be pulled out.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the dust collection cup 3 includes a hollow, substantially rectangular parallelepiped dust collection body 15, and a separation section 16 provided on one side of the dust collection body 15. The dust container 17 provided on the other side of the dust collector main body 15 adjacent to the separation part 16 and the opening / closing as a bottom cover as an opening / closing part rotatably attached to the dust collector main body 15 A lid 18 and a filter body (not shown) that is detachably provided on the dust collector main body 15 are provided. Hereinafter, the upstream side of the dust collection cup 3 as a whole is referred to as a front side, and the downstream side is referred to as a rear side.

  The dust collector main body 15 includes a horizontally long front wall portion 21, a first side wall portion 22 that continues rearward from one side portion of the front wall portion 21, and a second side wall portion that continues rearward from the other side portion of the front wall portion 21. 2 side wall portions 23, an upper wall portion 24 continuous with the upper end portion of the front wall portion 21 and the upper end portions of the side wall portions 22, 23, and a rear end portion of the side wall portions 22, 23 and the upper wall portion 24. And a filter mounting portion 25 that is formed in a rectangular frame shape and to which the filter body is attached and detached. Further, in the dust collecting unit main body 15, a first partition wall 27 protruding from the first side wall portion 22 and continuing to the front wall portion 21 and a second partition wall portion 23 protruding from the second side wall portion 23 are formed on the first partition wall 27. A continuous second partition wall 28 is formed. The peripheral edge portion of the disposal opening 29 that is opened and closed by the opening / closing lid 18 is defined by the front wall portion 21, the side wall portions 22 and 23, and the lower end portion of the filter mounting portion 25.

  In a substantially central region of the front wall portion 21, a cylindrical cylindrical portion 32 that defines a suction opening 31 for sucking dust together with air into the dust collecting portion main body 15 protrudes forward. The cylindrical portion 32 is a portion that is connected to the downstream side of the main body suction port 7 shown in FIG. 4 in a state where the dust collection cup 3 is attached to the dust collection chamber.

  The first side wall 22 is provided with an opening / closing mechanism 34 for engaging and disengaging one side of the opening / closing lid 18 with respect to the dust collector main body 15 in front of the continuous portion with the filter mounting portion 25. The opening / closing mechanism 34 is provided with a gear train (not shown) and the like, and when the opening / closing button 35 exposed at the upper part is pressed, one side of the opening / closing lid 18 is engaged with the dust collecting body 15. Can be released.

  On the second side wall portion 23, a pair of shaft support portions 36 that project the other side portion of the opening / closing lid 18 so as to be rotatable are projected.

  The upper wall portion 24 is provided with a grip handle portion 38 for grip operation in the left-right direction. The grip handle portion 38 is provided at a position corresponding to the open / close mechanism portion 34 in the front-rear direction, and is configured so that the open / close button 35 of the open / close mechanism portion 34 can be simultaneously operated by a hand gripping the grip handle portion 38. ing.

  In the filter mounting portion 25, both side wall portions 22, 23 and an upper wall portion 24 are continuously expanded. For this reason, the filter mounting portion 25 defines the exhaust port 41 having a relatively large opening area. This exhaust port 41 is an opening through which the air sucked from the suction opening 31, that is, the suction air, is exhausted to the outside of the dust collection cup 3, and the dust collection cup 3 is attached to the dust collection chamber in FIG. It is a part connected to the suction side of the electric blower 2 shown. In addition, a locking projection 42 for locking the filter body to the dust collector main body 15 is provided in the center area in the width direction at the top of the filter mounting portion 25 so as to protrude rearward.

  The first partition wall 27 protrudes rearward from a position closer to the rear side of the first side wall portion 22, and passes through a continuous portion with the second partition wall 28, so that the second partition wall is more than the suction opening 31 of the front wall portion 21. It is formed in an arc shape continuous to the wall 28 side. Further, the first partition wall 27 has a lower end abutted against the opening / closing lid 18 in a state where the opening / closing lid 18 is closed, so that the first partition wall 27 and the front wall portion 21 and the first side wall portion 22 are part of the dust collecting body 15. The separation part 16 is partitioned and formed on the side part. Further, a first communication opening 43 is formed in the upper part of the first partition wall 27 so as to communicate the exhaust side of the separation part 16 to the filter mounting part 25, that is, the exhaust port 41. At the lower end of the continuous portion of the first partition wall 27 with the front wall portion 21, a ventilation opening 44 that communicates the separation portion 16 with the dust accommodating portion 17 is formed. The ventilation opening 44 is cut out in a substantially triangular shape that expands upward toward the front wall portion 21.

  The second partition wall 28 is formed substantially along the width direction of the dust collecting cup 3, and the upper side is inclined in an arc shape toward the front. In addition, the second partition wall 28 is continuous with the rear portion of the first partition wall 27 in front of the filter mounting portion 25, and the lower end of the second partition wall 28 abuts on the opening / closing lid 18 with the opening / closing lid 18 closed. Thus, together with the front wall portion 21 and the second side wall portion 23, the dust accommodating portion 17 is partitioned and formed on the other side portion in the dust collecting portion main body 15. Further, a plurality of second communication openings 46 are formed in the second partition wall 28 in a lattice shape so that the exhaust side of the dust accommodating portion 17 communicates with the filter mounting portion 25, that is, the exhaust port 41. Further, mesh-like filters 47 for collecting fine dust from the air passing through the second communication openings 46 are attached to the second communication openings 46, respectively.

  A plurality of ribs 51 extending in the front-rear direction are provided between the rear part of the partition walls 27 and 28 near the lower end part and the lower end part of the filter mounting part 25 in the width direction. Therefore, a plurality of dust drop holes 52 partitioned by these ribs 51 are formed between the partition walls 27 and 28 and the lower end of the filter mounting portion 25 in the width direction. These dust drop holes 52 communicate with the upper side of the disposal opening 29.

  The separation part 16 is a part that centrifuges the dust sucked together with air from the suction opening 31 into coarse dust having a relatively large weight and fine dust having a relatively small weight, that is, a cyclone separation, and a lower end part is a waste opening. Communicate with 29. The separation portion 16 has a bottomed cylindrical separation tube portion 54 provided continuously inside the first partition wall 27.

  The separation cylinder portion 54 includes an upper cylinder portion 54a located on the upper side and a projecting portion 54b continuous to the lower portion of the upper cylinder portion 54a, and is located at the center of the arc shape of the first partition wall 27 in plan view. Yes. For this reason, between the outer peripheral portion of the separation cylinder portion 54 and the first partition wall 27, an annular separation space portion 56 in which the air sucked from the suction opening 31 to the separation portion 16 swirls and flows to the ventilation opening 44. Is formed. That is, the vent opening 44 is located on the outermost periphery of the separation space portion 56.

  The upper cylindrical portion 54a is a substantially cylindrical portion that communicates with the first communication opening 43, and is reduced in diameter so that the lower end portion is continuous with the protruding portion 54b.

  The protruding portion 54b is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape having a smaller diameter than the upper cylindrical portion 54a, protrudes downward continuously from the upper cylindrical portion 54a, and the bottom portion serving as the lower end portion is the front wall portion 21, the first side wall portion 22, and It is positioned slightly above the lower end of the first partition wall 27. Further, the protruding portion 54b is formed substantially vertically. Further, a plurality of separation portion openings 58 are provided in the circumferential direction on the side portion of the projecting portion 54b so that the separation space portion 56 communicates with the first communication opening 43 through the inside of the separation cylinder portion 54. Are provided with mesh-like mesh filters 59 for collecting fine dust from the air passing through the separation portion openings 58, respectively.

  The dust accommodating portion 17 is a space portion in which coarse dust separated by the separating portion 16 and flowing in through the ventilation opening 44 is accommodated, and a lower end portion communicates with the disposal opening 29.

  The opening / closing lid 18 forms a part of the outer wall of the dust collecting cup 3 from the separating portion 16 to the dust accommodating portion 17 in the closed state, and is formed in a horizontally long shape corresponding to the shape of the disposal opening 29. The opening / closing mechanism portion An engagement / disengagement projection 61 that is engaged with and disengaged from 34 is provided on one side, and a pair of pivot support portions 62 that are pivotally supported by a pair of pivot support portions 36 of the dust collecting body 15 are respectively provided. Projected on the other side.

  Further, the opening / closing lid 18 is formed such that a portion on the upper surface and inside the outer peripheral edge portion is recessed, and the first lid wall portion 64 is formed from the outer peripheral edge portion of one side portion to the center side in the left-right direction. The second cover wall 65 extends from the outer peripheral edge of the other side to the center in the left-right direction. A packing 66 that is continuous over the outer peripheral edge portion and the lid wall portions 64 and 65 is fitted on the upper surface of the open / close lid 18. That is, the packing 66 has a first packing portion 66a located on the first lid wall portion 64 and a second packing portion 66b located on the second lid wall portion 65.

  The first lid wall portion 64 has a substantially arc shape corresponding to the shape of the lower end portion of the first partition wall 27, and extends to the rear edge portion of the vent opening 44. Therefore, the first packing portion 66a is formed in an arc shape along the first lid wall portion 64.

  The second lid wall portion 65 has a substantially straight shape corresponding to the shape of the lower end portion of the second partition wall 28 and is continuous with the rear side of the first lid wall portion 64. Accordingly, the second packing portion 66b is formed in a substantially linear shape along the second lid wall portion 65.

  Further, the lid wall portions 64 and 65 have an upper end portion at a height position substantially equal to the peripheral edge portion of the opening / closing lid 18. That is, the upper end portions of the lid wall portions 64 and 65 are substantially flush with the upper end portion of the peripheral edge portion of the open / close lid 18. Then, with the opening / closing lid 18 closed, the packing 66 abuts against the front wall portion 21, the side wall portions 22, 23, the filter mounting portion 25, and the lower end portions of the partition walls 27, 28, respectively, thereby the first lid wall. The section 64 defines the lower end of the separating section 16, the second cover wall section 65 partitions the lower end of the dust accommodating section 17, and the rear walls of both the cover wall sections 64 and 65 and the opening / closing lid 18 The outer peripheral edge section defines a lower end portion of a fine dust accommodating portion (not shown) which is a left and right elongated space portion communicating with the lower side of the dust drop hole 52.

  Therefore, the dust collecting cup 3 is released from the contact between the packing 66 and the front wall portion 21, the side wall portions 22, 23, the filter mounting portion 25, and the lower end portions of the partition walls 27, 28 by the opening operation of the opening / closing lid 18. Thus, the lower end portions of the separation portion 16 and the dust storage portion 17 are configured to communicate simultaneously with the outside of the dust collection cup 3 via the disposal opening 29. In other words, the lower end part which is a part of the wall partitioned into the separation part 16 and the dust accommodating part 17 is formed by the common opening / closing lid 18. In other words, the opening / closing lid 18 is a wall that continues across the separating portion 16 and the dust accommodating portion 17.

  The filter body is detachably attached to the filter mounting portion 25, and has a substantially square pleated filter in plan view, and a rectangular frame-like mounting frame that holds the pleat filter and is detachably attached to the filter mounting portion 25. And a dust dropping mechanism for knocking down the fine dust collected by the pleat filter to the fine dust accommodating portion through the dust dropping hole 52.

  The pleat filter is formed in a substantially square shape when viewed from the front, and has a pleat shape that is alternately curved in the front-rear direction across the left-right direction, and the mounting frame is used when the filter body is removed from the filter mounting portion 25. A knob is formed on the top of the knob, and a locking hole is formed in the knob. The locking protrusion 42 is inserted and locked with the filter body attached to the filter mounting portion 25. The dust dropping mechanism is attached to the rear part of the attachment frame in the left-right direction.

  Next, the cleaning operation according to the above embodiment will be described.

  First, the main body lid 6 of the vacuum cleaner main body 1 is opened to expose the dust collection chamber, the dust collection cup 3 is attached to the dust collection chamber from the opening 5, and then the main body lid 6 is closed.

  Further, the hose body 8, the extension pipe 12 and the floor brush 13 are connected in order to the main body suction port 7, the power cord 14 is pulled out from the cleaner body 1 and connected to an outlet (not shown), and the hand grip 10 is gripped. A predetermined setting button 11 is pressed to drive the electric blower 2 in a predetermined operation mode.

  Then, the operator causes the floor brush 13 to run back and forth on the floor surface, and sucks dust on the floor surface from the front end portion of the floor brush 13 together with air.

  The sucked air becomes suction air and flows into the dust collecting chamber through the floor brush 13, the extension pipe 12, the hose body 8 and the main body suction port 7.

  The suction air is sucked into the dust collector main body 15 from the suction opening 31, and the suction air swirls along the first partition wall 27 and the separation space portion 56, whereby the dust sucked together with the suction air is collected. The coarse dust contained in the air is housed in the dust container 17 through the ventilation opening 44 together with a part of the suction air by centrifugal separation by its own weight, and the other part of the suction air is separated from the fine dust contained in the dust. When passing through the part opening 58, it is collected by the mesh filter 59.

  The suction air flowing into the dust container 17 collects fine dust by the filter 47 when passing through the second communication opening 46, and presses the coarse dust stored in the dust container 17 against the filter 47. After this coarse dust is compressed, it merges with the other part of the suction air that has passed through the separation part opening 58 and the first communication opening 43 and flows to the filter attachment part 25. When passing through the pleated filter of the filter body, fine dust is further collected and sucked into the electric blower 2.

  Thereafter, the suction air passes through the electric blower 2 to become exhaust air, and is exhausted to the outside of the cleaner body 1 through an exhaust hole (not shown).

  When the dust container 17 is full or the filters 47 and 59 are clogged, the operator stops the vacuum cleaner, opens the main body lid 6 and opens the dust collecting cup 3 from the opening 5. After removing the dust, the fine dust collected in the pleat filter by operating the dust drop mechanism is knocked down from the dust drop hole 52 to the fine dust container, and the open / close button 35 of the open / close mechanism 34 is placed above the trash can, for example. , The open / close lid 18 is rotated about the pivot support 62 by its own weight, and the waste opening 29 is opened and stored in the dust storage unit 17 and the coarse dust stored in the dust storage unit 17. Fine dust is simultaneously disposed of in a trash can.

  Further, the operator appropriately removes dust and the like attached to the filters 47 and 59.

  When the cleaning of the dust collecting cup 3 is completed, the opening / closing lid 18 is rotated upward to be closed, and the dust collecting cup 3 is attached to the dust collecting chamber of the cleaner body 1 again and used.

  As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, the open / close lid 18 provided in the dust collector main body 15 so as to be openable and closable is disposed between the separating portion 16 and the dust container 17 in the closed state. By configuring it as a part of the outer wall, the separation part 16 and the dust container 17 are both exposed to the outside of the dust collecting part body 15 from the disposal opening 29 by opening the opening / closing lid 18 with a simple structure. Therefore, the separation part 16 and the dust storage part 17 can be easily maintained at the same time.

  In addition, the opening / closing lid 18 opens and closes the lower ends of the separation portion 16 and the dust storage portion 17, so that the dust accumulated in each of the separation portion 16 and the dust storage portion 17 Can be dropped by its own weight from the disposal opening 29, and the disposal of dust becomes easy.

  In addition, since the dust accumulated in the separation unit 16 and the dust storage unit 17 can be discarded, the number of times the filters 47 and 59 are maintained can be suppressed, and the suction force by the electric blower 2 can be maintained.

  Further, by separating the separation unit 16 and the dust storage unit 17 into separate chambers, the dust to the filters 47 and 59 is compared with the case where the separation unit 16 and the dust storage unit 17 are provided in the same room. Good adhesion.

  Then, the sealing portions 66a and 66b of the packing 66 attached to the opening / closing lid 18 abut against the partition walls 27 and 28 with the opening / closing lid 18 closed, so that the airtightness of the separation portion 16 and the dust storage portion 17 is achieved. Can be secured.

  Further, for example, the structure of the dust collection cup 3 can be simplified because the inside of the separation part 16 can be easily maintained from the disposal opening 29 without using a mechanism for attaching and detaching the separation part 16 to and from the dust collection body 15. Become.

  In the above-described embodiment, for example, when the separation unit 16 and the dust storage unit 17 are arranged vertically in the dust collection unit main body 15, for example, on the side of the dust collection unit main body 15 By configuring the provided opening / closing portion to open and close from the separating portion 16 to the dust accommodating portion 17, it is possible to achieve the same operational effects as the one embodiment.

  In addition, the opening / closing lid 18 may be configured to simultaneously open and close the separation unit 16 and the dust storage unit 17 by sliding or sliding, for example, instead of rotating about the dust collection unit main body 15. It is.

  Further, the electric vacuum cleaner is not limited to the canister type, and may be a self-propelled electric vacuum cleaner, for example, or an upright type in which the floor brush 13 is directly formed on the lower surface of the vacuum cleaner body 1 or a handy type. Even molds can be used correspondingly.

It is a perspective view which shows the state which opened the opening-and-closing part of the dust collector of the vacuum cleaner of one embodiment of this invention from the lower side. It is a perspective view which cuts off a part of dust collection device same as the above. It is a perspective view which shows a dust collector same as the above from the back. It is a perspective view which shows a vacuum cleaner same as the above.

Explanation of symbols

1 Vacuum Cleaner Body 2 Electric Blower 3 Dust Collection Cup as Dust Collector
15 Dust collector body
16 Separation part
17 Dust container
18 Opening / closing lid as opening / closing part
31 Suction opening

Claims (2)

A dust collector body having a suction opening;
A separation unit that is provided in the dust collection unit main body and separates dust sucked from the suction opening;
A dust container that is provided in the dust collecting unit main body, is divided from the separation unit, and stores the dust separated by the separation unit;
A dust collecting device for a vacuum cleaner, comprising: an opening / closing portion that is provided in the dust collecting portion main body so as to be openable and closable and forms a part of an outer wall from the separating portion to the dust accommodating portion in the closed state. . A vacuum cleaner body containing an electric blower,
A vacuum cleaner comprising: the dust collector according to claim 1, which can be attached to the main body of the vacuum cleaner so as to communicate with the electric blower.

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