JP2007068684A - Electric vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To detect the amount and the size of floating dust by temporarily sucking the floating dust mainly having pollens or the like floating in the air in a room subject to cleaning. <P>SOLUTION: The cleaner is provided with a freely openable communication hole 202 which is provided within an air path on the upstream from a dust sensing means (dust sensor) 9 and communicates with the outside air existing at a position higher than the floor surface. A control means opens the communication hole 202 while temporarily shielding the suction from the floor surface to suck the outside air through the communication hole 202 leaving a suction piece 7, actively sucking the air containing the dust on the floor surface, placed on the floor surface with the communication hole 202 closed. This enables the easier and more precise detection of the dust mainly having the pollens floating in the air of a room subject to cleaning. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner, and more particularly to a dust detection device that detects dust passing over an air passage.

  Conventionally, in this type of vacuum cleaner, as shown in FIG. 5, a hose 5 is detachably connected to the vacuum cleaner main body 2, and a light receiving portion 231 and a portion near the insertion port of the hose 5 with the main body 2 are provided. A dust detection device 9 including a light emitting unit 230 is provided. At the other end of the hose 5, a tip pipe 16 that forms the operation portion 15 is provided. An extension pipe 6 is connected to the tip pipe 16, and a suction tool 7 is connected to the extension pipe 6. The main body 2 is formed with a dust collection chamber 4 communicating with the hose 5 and containing paper bags and the like, and a fan motor disposed behind the dust collection chamber 4 so that the air intake portion 19 faces the dust collection chamber 4 side. 60, a control board 200, an exhaust port 8, and a cord reel 14 are provided. The control board 200 is electrically connected to the switch and board provided in the operation unit 15, the dust detection device 9, the fan motor 60, and the cord reel 14.

The dust detection device 9 of the above-described electric vacuum cleaner has a configuration as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a light emitting unit 230 that emits light into an air passage through which dust flows, and a light receiving unit 231 that receives light from the light emitting unit 230 and outputs a signal corresponding to the amount of received light are an air passage through which dust flows. The light emitting unit 230 is provided opposite to the light emitting unit 230 (hereinafter, the light emitting unit 230 and the light receiving unit 231 are collectively referred to as a dust detection device 9). After the output Vs from the light receiving unit 231 is amplified by the amplification unit A232, the signal Va is converted into the pulse Sa by the pulse conversion unit A235 and input to the dust discrimination unit 238. The dust discriminating means 238 counts the number of the pulses Sa and simultaneously corrects the control means 10 to increase the number counted to the pulse Sa when the pulse width is wide by measuring the pulse width, that is, when the dust is large. Is controlled to increase the input of the fan motor 60 when the count of the dust discriminating means 238 is large, and at the same time, in order to inform the user of the dust suction state, the amount and the size of the sucked dust are set to A dust display unit (not shown) having a light emitting body such as an LED for interlocking display is provided in a part of the vacuum cleaner 1. This makes it possible to select the optimum suction force according to the dust distribution on the surface to be cleaned, such as automatically increasing the suction force when large dust is present, so that the dust can be sucked. Since the suction force is controlled by the amount of dust, the suction force is saved and the suction tool is attracted to the floor surface and the operation becomes heavy because the suction force is controlled by the amount of dust. (See, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-28847

  Currently, with the increase in population suffering from hay fever symptoms, not only does it react to dust sucked from the floor, but it also floats around pollen that floats in the air of the room where the user cleans. Reacts to dust and displays the amount and size of airborne dust, or automatically controls the fan motor input to the optimum input in conjunction with the detected amount and size of airborne dust. Vacuum cleaners are required.

  However, in the conventional invention, the air containing the dust passing through the dust detection device is basically the dust-containing air containing the dust volumed on the floor surface or the like, and is sucked from the suction tool. Since air is passed through the dust detection device, if you want to determine the amount and size of dust, mainly pollen floating in the room to be cleaned, place the suction tool in the air. An annoying operation such as lifting up is necessary. Even if the dust detector reacts, the dust detector itself cannot be identified as dust sucked from the floor or dust sucked from the air. It has been difficult to perform operations such as automatically controlling the fan motor input to the optimum input in conjunction with the size.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, the present invention provides a suction tool for sucking dust, dust collecting means for collecting dust in a dust collecting chamber, suction means having a fan motor for sucking dust-containing air, A dust detector for detecting dust in the air containing dust, a dust display means for displaying the amount of dust and the size of the dust according to the output of the dust detector, and the fan according to the output of the dust detector Control means for changing the input to the motor, and an openable and closable communication hole provided in the air passage upstream from the dust detection device and communicating with the outside air present at a position higher than the floor surface, the control means, While the communication hole is closed, suction from the floor surface is temporarily blocked and the communication hole is opened while the suction tool that is sucking dust-containing air on the floor surface is placed on the floor surface. By adopting a configuration for sucking outside air from the communication hole, Only dust around the pollen floating in the air for the room in which the dividing ease, and it is possible to detect accurately.

  The vacuum cleaner of the present invention can detect the amount and size of dust centered on pollen floating in the outside air, that is, the room air to be cleaned, without troublesome operations such as lifting the suction tool toward the air, The input of the fan motor and the like can be controlled to an optimum input according to the amount and size of dust centered on pollen floating in the air.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a suction tool for sucking dust, dust collecting means for collecting dust in a dust collecting chamber, suction means having a fan motor for sucking dust-containing air, and dust in dust-containing air. A dust detection device to detect, a dust display means for displaying the amount and size of dust according to the output of the dust detection device, and an input to the fan motor according to the output of the dust detection device A control means, and an openable and closable communication hole that is provided in an air passage upstream of the dust detection device and communicates with the outside air located at a position higher than the floor surface, and the control means is in a state in which the communication hole is closed. While sucking the dust-containing air on the floor surface, the suction tool from the floor surface is temporarily shut off while the suction tool is placed on the floor surface, and the communication hole is opened to remove the outside air from the communication hole. Because of the suction configuration, it floats in the air of the room where it is being cleaned. Dust around the pollen to, without the need for troublesome operations such as lifting toward the suction unit in the air, easily, and it is possible to detect accurately.

  According to a second aspect of the invention, the dust display means of the first aspect of the invention displays the amount of dust floating in the outside air and the size of the dust according to the output of the dust detection device when the outside air is sucked from the communication hole. As a result, it is possible to display to the user the amount and size of dust centered on pollen floating in the air.

  The third invention is used in the first or second invention, because the outside air is sucked from the communication hole for a predetermined time from the start of the operation of the vacuum cleaner, and then the dust-containing air is sucked from the suction tool. By automatically sucking the outside air before the person cleans the floor, it is possible to estimate the dust condition including pollen on the floor in advance, and the user does not have to arbitrarily perform the outside air suction operation. Thus, it becomes possible to provide a vacuum cleaner with improved usability.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect, the control of the fan motor when the dust-containing air is subsequently sucked from the suction tool is changed according to the output from the dust detection device when sucking the outside air from the communication hole. As a result, before the user cleans the floor, etc., it automatically recognizes the dust situation centered on pollen that floats in the air, and then when the dust-containing air is sucked from the suction tool It is possible to provide a vacuum cleaner with improved usability by automatically performing input control of the fan motor that is optimal for the above.

  According to a fifth invention, in the third invention, there is provided a vibration dust removing means for contacting the dust bag provided in the dust collecting chamber or the removable dust storage box to give a fine vibration, and at the time of sucking outside air from the communication hole. Depending on the output from the dust detector, the control of the vibration dust removal means when the dust-containing air is sucked from the suction tool is changed so that the user can automatically clean the floor before cleaning. By recognizing the dust situation centered on pollen floating in the air and then sucking in the dust-containing air from the suction tool, it automatically controls the vibration dust removal means that best suits the situation, making it easier to use An improved vacuum cleaner can be provided.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited by this embodiment.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, about the components of the same structure as the past, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  1 and FIG. 2 show the configuration of the dust detection device 9, but FIG. 1 and FIG.

  FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view of the electric vacuum cleaner 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As can be seen from the drawing, the outside air suction means 201, which is a feature of the present embodiment, is one of the paths of the extension pipe 6. Installed in the department. The outside air suction means 201 shown in FIG. 3A includes an outside air opening / closing lid 31 and a passage opening / closing lid 32, the passage of the extension pipe 6 is blocked by the passage opening / closing lid 32, and the outside air opening / closing lid 31 opens the communication hole 202. Shows open state. 3B is different from FIG. 3A in that the outside air opening / closing lid 31 closes the communication hole 202 and the passage opening / closing lid 32 is open, that is, the outside air is not sucked and sucked from the suction tool 7. It shows a normal cleaning state.

  The operation of the vacuum cleaner configured as described above will be described below.

  Usually, when sucking in the dust collected on the floor surface or the like with the suction tool 7, the outside air suction means 201 is in a state in which outside air is not sucked as shown in FIG. 3 (b), but shown in FIG. 3 (a). As described above, the suction of dust from the suction tool 7 is temporarily blocked, and only the outside air in the cleaning chamber is allowed to pass through the dust detection device 9, so that pollen floating in the outside air in the cleaning chamber is mainly used. It becomes possible to identify the amount and size of floating dust. In this case, the amplification degree of the amplification means A232 shown in the block diagram of FIG. 1 is set so as to detect dust having a diameter of about 20 μm to 200 μm. This is intended to increase the detection accuracy of about 20 μm, which is the diameter of the pollen, since the target is to detect pollen mainly. In particular, since this diameter is relatively small among dusts, it is necessary to match the discrimination target of the dust detection device 9 with a diameter of around 20 μm. Actually, the dust detection device 9 can discriminate even if the diameter of the dust is somewhat different, but from dust having a diameter of around 20 μm, which is called fine dust having a relatively small diameter, such as pollen, to dust having a diameter of 200 μm or more. In fact, it is very difficult to allow one amplification means A232. Therefore, in order to discriminate dust having a relatively small diameter such as pollen floating in the cleaning chamber sucked by the outside air suction means 201 as in this time, the amplification degree of the amplification means A232 is around 20 μm which is the diameter of the pollen. The accuracy can be further improved by matching the amplification level so that can be discriminated. Further, in this case, the opening / closing operation of the outside air opening / closing lid 31 and the passage opening / closing lid 32 of the outside air suction means 201 may be performed manually, but rotation of a motor or the like is performed on the opening / closing axis of the outside air opening / closing lid 31 and the passage opening / closing lid 32. By providing a drive source and separately providing an open / close operation switch (not shown) of the outside air suction means 201, the usability can be further improved.

  In the above-described state, when dust, mainly pollen in the cleaning room, is sucked, a dust display unit that displays the amount and size of the sucked dust in conjunction with the output of the dust detector 9 with an LED or the like Although it is possible to display the amount and size of dust to the user (not shown), it is mainly used as a display means when dust such as a floor surface is sucked from a normal suction tool 7. In addition, since it is shared and displayed, it is assumed that the user misunderstands the determination of dust centering on pollen and the like floating in the cleaning room. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, an external air contamination level display unit 143 for displaying the external air contamination level is separately provided in the vacuum cleaner 1, and is displayed in conjunction with the operation of opening the outdoor air opening / closing lid 31 of the external air suction means 201. Thus, it can be clearly informed that the user is judging fine dust, mainly pollen floating in the cleaning room.

  As for the operation timing of the outside air suction means 201, the outside air may be sucked by the user's own judgment during cleaning, but during the cleaning, the air is exhausted from the exhaust port 8 of the cleaner body 2. The flow of air in the cleaning chamber is disturbed by exhausted air or the like, or dust accumulated on the floor surface rises. Especially when it is desired to determine pollen floating in the cleaning chamber, it is difficult to accurately determine the pollen. Therefore, it is desirable to suck out the outside air in the cleaning chamber immediately before cleaning, and to perform discrimination / display before cleaning. After the vacuum cleaner body 2 starts operating, the outside air suction means 201 is operated for a certain period of time to start the operation. Sometimes, by sucking outside air in the cleaning chamber without sucking dust from the suction tool 7, the pollen state in the cleaning chamber can be displayed to the user before or immediately after cleaning.

  As described above, since the pollen state in the cleaning chamber can be recognized before cleaning, the input control of the fan motor 60 can be set to an optimum state based on the data information. For example, when there is a large amount of pollen floating in the cleaning room, the fan can be used to suppress pollen floating due to exhaust air and to absorb with a weak suction force if it is a relatively light pollen without increasing the suction force. The input to the motor 60 can be set without increasing so much.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3A, a vibration dust removing means 61 is provided as a function for preventing the clogging by vibrating the paper bag behind the dust collecting chamber 4 and removing dust adhered to the paper bag. In the vacuum cleaner, the pollen state in the cleaning room can be recognized before cleaning, so it is possible to optimally set the number of dust removal times, dust removal time, dust removal strength, etc. of the vibration dust removal means 61 based on the data information. It is. For example, when there is a large amount of pollen floating in the cleaning room, there is a high possibility that the paper bag will be clogged, so set the number of dust removal times higher than usual or set the dust removal time longer than usual. Further, by setting the dust removal strength stronger than usual, it is possible to effectively prevent the paper bag from being clogged.

  In the present embodiment, the dust detection device has a light emitting unit, a light receiving unit, and an amplifying unit that amplifies a signal from the light receiving unit. However, other configurations are not problematic.

  As described above, the electric vacuum cleaner according to the present invention can also determine fine dust centered on pollen floating in the outside air in the cleaning room, and can determine not only the floor surface but also the degree of dirt in the air. It is effective as

The block diagram of the vacuum cleaner in the 1st Embodiment of this invention Same as above, sectional view of dust detector of vacuum cleaner (A) The same sectional drawing at the time of the communication hole opening for external air suction of a vacuum cleaner (b) Same as the above, The principal part enlarged view at the time of the communication hole blocking for external air suction Same as above, front view of outside air contamination level display of vacuum cleaner Cross-sectional view of a conventional vacuum cleaner

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vacuum cleaner 2 Main body 4 Dust collection chamber 5 Hose 6 Extension pipe 7 Suction tool 8 Exhaust port 9 Dust detection apparatus 10 Control means 14 Cord reel 15 Operation part 16 Tip pipe 31 Outside air opening / closing lid 32 Passage opening / closing lid 60 Fan motor 61 Vibration Dust removal means 143 Outside air contamination level display section 200 Control board 201 Outside air suction means 202 Communication hole 230 Light emitting section 231 Light receiving section 232 Amplifying means A
235 Pulse conversion means A
238 Dust discrimination means

Claims (5)

A suction tool for sucking dust, dust collecting means for collecting dust in a dust collecting chamber, suction means having a fan motor for sucking dust-containing air, and a dust detection device for detecting dust in the dust-containing air; Dust display means for displaying the amount and size of dust according to the output of the dust detection device, control means for changing the input to the fan motor according to the output of the dust detection device, and the dust And an openable and closable communication hole provided in an air passage upstream from the detection device and communicating with outside air present at a position higher than the floor surface, and the control means includes an on-floor surface with the communication hole closed. Electricity configured to temporarily block suction from the floor surface and open the communication hole to suck outside air from the communication hole while the suction tool that is sucking dust air is placed on the floor surface Vacuum cleaner. 2. The electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the dust display means displays the amount of dust floating in the outside air and the size of the dust according to the output of the dust detection device when sucking the outside air from the communication hole. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a predetermined time from the start of operation of the vacuum cleaner is configured to suck outside air from the communication hole and then suck dust-containing air from the suction tool. The electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 3, wherein the control of the fan motor when the dust-containing air is subsequently sucked from the suction tool is changed in accordance with the output from the dust detection device when sucking the outside air from the communication hole. It is equipped with vibration dust removing means that contacts the dust bag provided in the dust collection chamber or the removable dust storage box and gives fine vibrations, and then suctions according to the output from the dust detection device when sucking outside air from the communication hole. The electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 3, wherein the control of the vibration dust removing means when sucking dust-containing air from the tool is changed.

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