JP2009254402A - Vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a convenient vacuum cleaner capable of suppressing adverse effects of dust on a human body by efficiently removing the dust re-scattered when cleaning. <P>SOLUTION: The vacuum cleaner includes a suction nozzle 95 having a first air intake 2 for sucking the dust on a floor surface, and a cleaner body 100 having a dust collection part 3 and an electric blower 5 built into the cleaner body. The first air intake 2, the dust collection part 3 and the electric blower 5 serially communicate with each other. The vacuum cleaner also has a second air intake 8 for sucking floating dust outside the cleaner body 100 at a position of the body higher than the floor surface to communicate with the dust collection part 3 or the upstream side of the dust collection part 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to an electric vacuum cleaner having a function of simultaneously sucking dust on a floor surface and dust scattered around the main body of a cleaner by a cleaning operation, and particularly effectively sucks dust re-scattered during a cleaning operation. It is related with the vacuum cleaner which has a function to do.

Conventionally, when using a vacuum cleaner, dust such as pollen, allergens, and dust attached to the floor or carpet is removed, but on the other hand, the walking action of the operator and the exhaust from the vacuum cleaner, The dust on the floor surface was scattered again in the air by the cleaning operation. Since these re-scattered dust continues to float around the floor for a long time, especially infants with low mouth and nose positions suck in floating dust and cause allergies such as hay fever and atopic dermatitis. It may be one of the causes. As one of the countermeasures, a vacuum cleaner having an air cleaning function is known (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 10-151097

However, in the conventional configuration, when the vacuum cleaner is used, the dust adhering to the floor surface or the carpet can be removed, but the dust scattered again in the air cannot be sucked at the same time. there were.

The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an easy-to-use electric vacuum cleaner that efficiently removes dust that has re-scattered at the same time as cleaning and suppresses adverse effects on the human body. To do.

In order to achieve the above object, a vacuum cleaner according to the present invention has a suction tool having a first air inlet for sucking dust on a floor surface, a main body incorporating a dust collector and an electric blower, In the vacuum cleaner in which the one air inlet, the dust collecting unit, and the electric blower are communicated in order, the main body communicates with the dust collecting unit or the upstream side of the dust collecting unit at a position higher than the floor surface of the main unit. A second air inlet for sucking outside floating dust is provided.

As described above, the vacuum cleaner according to the present invention has a suction tool having a first air inlet for sucking dust on the floor, a main body incorporating a dust collecting portion and an electric blower, and the first air inlet. In the vacuum cleaner in which the dust collection unit and the electric blower communicate with each other in sequence, the dust collection unit or the upstream side of the dust collection unit is communicated with the upstream side of the dust collection unit at a position higher than the floor surface of the main unit. By providing a second air intake port that sucks in dust, it is possible to simultaneously remove dust on the floor and dust that has re-scattered into the air by the cleaning operation, and also float in the dust and air on the floor. Since the collected dust can be collected in the same dust collecting section, it is possible to improve usability when discarding the dust.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
1 is a perspective view of the vacuum cleaner according to the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the vacuum cleaner according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 3 is an opening / closing of the vacuum cleaner according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a detailed view of the door, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the main body of the electric vacuum cleaner according to the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vacuum cleaner according to Embodiment 1 includes a suction tool 95 having a first air inlet 2 that sucks dust on the floor, and air sucked from the first air inlet 2. A pipe 96 and a hose 99 for sending dust to the vacuum cleaner main body 100, a hand handle 97 that the user holds in his hand and operates the suction tool 95, and a power source of the vacuum cleaner provided in a part of the hand handle 97 Etc., and an operation unit 98 that operates the above.
Further, a flow meter 94 for detecting the air volume in the pipe 96 is provided in the vicinity of the hand handle 97 of the pipe 96.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cleaner body 100 is connected to the hose 99 and collects fine dust from a dust collection chamber 3 a that collects large dust out of the dust sent from the hose 99. A dust collecting part 3 composed of a dust collecting filter 3b and a dust collecting filter case 3c covering and holding the dust collecting filter 3b, an electric blower 5 communicating with the dust collecting filter 3b and generating a suction force, An exhaust port 6 for exhausting the air discharged from the electric blower 5 to the outside of the cleaner body 100, a lid 7 provided on a part of the upper portion of the cleaner body 100 so as to be openable and closable via a hinge 11; A second air inlet 8 provided between a lower lid 7a and an upper lid 7b constituting the lid 7, an air passage 9 for communicating the second air inlet 8 and the dust collecting filter case 3c, and the air passage 9 Of air flowing into the part of the air from the second air inlet 8 And an adjustable door 10.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the second air inlet 8 is open upward and forward of the cleaner body 100. Further, the air passage cross-sectional area 9a of the air passage 9 and the second air inlet opening area 8a of the second air inlet 8 are formed so as to widen so that the second air inlet opening area 8a becomes larger. By adopting this shape, not only a wider range of outside air can be sucked, but also the generation of fluid noise when passing through the second intake port 8 can be reduced.

Next, the operation according to this embodiment will be described.
The electric blower 5 is driven by a switch (not shown) provided in the operation unit 98 to generate a suction force. Thereby, dust and air on the floor surface are sucked from the first air inlet 2 of the suction tool 95, and large dust is collected in the dust collecting chamber 3a provided in the cleaner body 100 via the pipe 96 and the hose 99. Further, fine dust is collected by the dust collection filter 3b further downstream. On the other hand, dust and air floating around the vacuum cleaner are sucked from the second air inlet 8 provided in the upper direction and the front direction of the vacuum cleaner main body 100, and the dust collection filter case 3c is passed through the air passage 9. Fine dust is collected by the dust collection filter 3b.
The air that has passed through the dust collection filter 3b is exhausted from the exhaust port 6 that opens upward at the rear of the cleaner body 100 via the electric blower 5.

In general, mite allergen and pollen contained in fine dust of 2 μm or more are known to cause causes of congenital diseases such as atopic dermatitis, hay fever and dust allergy. There is a report that the fine dust is likely to be re-scattered by the convection of the surroundings, and that the scattering concentration is about 120 cm in height and 30 cm in height. “Studies on the behavior of house dust particles in the air by indoor activities” Yamamoto, N., Kumagai, K. and Yanagisawa, Y., 2004, p. Next, Fig. 6 is a graph showing the average height of infants and Fig. 7 is a graph showing how long it takes for infants to stand and walk. (Reference: "Infant physical development survey in 2000," Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare employment. Equivalent / Child and Family Bureau, 2000. Fig. 5: p82, Fig. 6: p89).

From this, it can be seen that most infants under the age of 1 year are still standing high and are breathing at a height of about 10 to 40 cm from the floor. Therefore, it can be seen that the height of the infant's mouth and nose is high in the concentration of the fine dust that causes congenital diseases, and re-scattering the dust during cleaning adversely affects the infant. Therefore, by providing the intake port at a position of 10 cm to 40 cm where the fine dust concentration is high during the cleaning operation, the dust scattered again near the floor surface can be efficiently removed, and the ambient environment during cleaning is effectively Can be improved. In addition, by providing the air inlet toward the cleaner user who is the most scattering factor, it is possible to remove the fine dust that would actually have been scattered again to a high position.

FIG. 8 is a graph showing how the concentration of dust at the position of 30 cm on the floor surface changes with time relative to the opening area of the second air inlet 8 provided at a floor surface height of about 20 cm. is there.
The dust is resprayed at the same time as the cleaning operation, and a stable concentration is reached when all the fine dust that can be resprayed is scattered. On the other hand, it can be seen that by sucking the outside air around the cleaner from the second air inlet 8, not only after the cleaning operation but also the dust scattered during the cleaning operation is reduced. In addition, when the area of the second suction port 8 is ½, it can be seen that the dust scattered after the cleaning operation has a higher concentration than that when fully opened.
That is, surrounding dust can be efficiently removed by providing the second intake port 8 at a slightly higher position in addition to the first intake port 2 provided near the floor surface.

Next, the optimum suction direction of the second intake port in the electric vacuum cleaner described in the first embodiment will be described.
FIG. 9 shows the result of measuring the amount of dust scattered around in the cleaning operation at each site. When the cleaner body moves, it can be seen from this result that the amount of dust is the highest near the user. This is because the user who operates the vacuum cleaner moves best, so that the dust from the floor is re-scattered and the clothes are rubbed to generate dust. Accordingly, it is desirable that the direction of the suction port for sucking outside air is directed to the user.

FIG. 5 shows the position of the cleaner body 100 and the user 101 when the cleaner is actually used. As shown in FIG. 5, the user 101 always cleans by holding the hand handle 97. In addition, since the front portion of the cleaner body 100 and the hand handle 97 are connected via the hose 99, the cleaner body 100 always faces the hand handle 97.

Therefore, the second air inlet 8 can always be opened in the direction of the user 101 by being installed in the direction of the hand handle 97, in the present embodiment, in the front direction of the cleaner body 100. The scattered dust can be sucked effectively, and a comfortable cleaning environment can be maintained.
Here, the position and orientation of the second intake port 8 are not limited, but the function of adjusting the height of the intake port according to the user's request, or the suction angle of the intake port with a louver or the like is used. You may have the function which can be changed.

Next, the function of adjusting the air volume from the second air inlet 8 by the door 10 in the vacuum cleaner described in the first embodiment will be described.
FIG. 10 shows changes in the floor suction air volume (first air inlet 2 air volume) with respect to the outside air intake air volume (second air inlet 8 air volume). From this, it can be seen from the figure that if the outside air suction air volume increases, the floor suction air volume decreases. This is because the outside air suction from the second intake port 8 and the floor surface suction from the first intake port 2 are performed by one electric blower 5. That is, the higher the air cleaning capability by outside air suction, the lower the floor surface cleaning capability.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, by adjusting the flow rate sucked from the second air inlet 8 by the opening / closing door 10 that can adjust the opening area of the air passage 9 by rotation, for example, cleaning with a strong suction force is performed. When the door 10 is moved, the opening / closing door 10 is moved in the closing direction to increase the suction force of the first suction port 2, and when the room where the infant is present is moved, the opening / closing door 10 is moved in the opening direction. The user can arbitrarily select the ratio of the suction force of the first intake port 2 and the second intake port 8 according to the situation, such as improving the indoor air environment by increasing the suction force of the suction port 8. It is good to do so.
Here, the opening / closing door 10 is provided with a protrusion so that the user can arbitrarily adjust the opening / closing door 10 or the opening / closing of the opening / closing door 10 is controlled by a stepping motor (not shown). A structure in which the operation unit 98 is driven in conjunction with the switch may be employed.

Further, by detecting the flow rate from the first air inlet 2 by the flow meter 94, the suction force from the first air inlet 2 can be detected. Thereby, for example, when a large amount of dust is sucked and then a decrease in the flow rate from the first air inlet 2 is detected by the dust accumulated in the dust collecting chamber 3a, the suction force of the first air inlet 2 is reduced. Therefore, even if the amount of accumulated dust in the dust collecting unit 3 increases, the suction performance from the floor surface can be maintained.
Here, the flow meter 94 only needs to be able to detect the suction force of the first intake port 2. For example, the flow meter 94 detects the load of the suction drive unit 5 from the current value of the suction drive unit 5 and detects the first intake air. The structure etc. which guess the flow volume of the opening | mouth 2 may be sufficient.

FIG. 11 shows a change in the amount of dust re-scattering depending on the type of floor surface. As shown in FIG. 11, the amount of re-scattering varies greatly depending on the type of floor surface, and it can be seen that a lot of dust is re-scattered especially when the tatami is vacuumed. Therefore, it is preferable to select which of the outside air suction and the floor surface suction should be emphasized by adjusting the opening / closing of the door 10 depending on the floor surface type. For example, a sensor for detecting the floor type may be provided in the suction tool 95, and the door 10 may be controlled according to the result.

By setting it as the above structures, in the vacuum cleaner as described in this Embodiment 1, a user can clean without worrying about the fall of the floor surface cleaning capability by provision of air cleaning capability.

Next, the operation | movement regarding the dust collection filter 3b and the effect in the vacuum cleaner of this Embodiment 1 are demonstrated.
The dust collection filter 3b is for collecting fine dust from both the first air inlet 2 and the second air inlet 8 and collecting it. Therefore, it is particularly preferable that the fine dust collection performance is high. For example, it is desirable to use a filter having a dust collection efficiency of 99.99% or more for a particle size of 0.3 μm, such as a HEPA filter or a ULUPA filter, for the dust collection filter 3b. Alternatively, electret fibers may be used for the filter, and a mechanism for charging dust and dirt before reaching the filter may be provided to improve the collection performance by static electricity.

However, a filter having a high dust collection performance is clogged with the collected dust when it is continuously used, so that the pressure loss increases and the suction force of the outside air and the suction force of the floor surface are reduced. Therefore, in order to maintain the performance of the vacuum cleaner, the dust collection filter 3b should be regularly maintained by the user such as replacement and cleaning. Specifically, the filter can be taken out. It is necessary to have. However, since it is easier to use if the number of maintenance is less, it is desirable that the dust collecting filter 3b can be removed and has a mechanism for automatically removing dust adhering to the filter. For example, there are a method of vibrating and dropping the filter, a method of rotating and dropping with a centrifugal force, and a method of blowing off by blowing wind.

The dust collected by the filter contains bacteria and has a smell. Even if the filter is automatically cleaned, these cannot be completely removed and remain on the dust collecting filter 3a. Therefore, in order not to feel uncomfortable when the user removes and maintains the filter member, the filter member is provided with a deodorizing material or an antibacterial agent, and has the ability to suppress the release of odors and the growth of bacteria on the filter. Is desirable.
For example, with regard to the deodorizing material, chemical adsorbents, adsorbents such as activated carbon and zeolite, and catalysts such as metal oxides and noble metals are exemplified. Examples of the antibacterial agent include inorganic substances such as silver and zeolite, naturally derived substances such as ginkgo and tea leaves, and chemicals such as PHMG. Moreover, an ozone generation part and an ion generation part may be provided in the main body, and ozone and ions may be guided to the dust collection filter 3b to perform deodorization and sterilization. Alternatively, a photocatalyst may be applied to the filter, and a lamp radiating portion (not shown) may be provided on the dust collection filter case 3c or the lid 7, and ultraviolet light or visible light may be emitted to perform deodorization and sterilization.

By adopting the configuration of the dust collection filter 3b as described above, the vacuum cleaner described in the first embodiment has an effect of reducing the number of maintenance operations while maintaining the performance and hygiene of the dust collection filter 3b for a long period of time. Can be granted.

It is a perspective view of the whole electric vacuum cleaner concerning this Embodiment 1. FIG. It is side surface sectional drawing of the vacuum cleaner which concerns on this Embodiment 1. FIG. It is detail drawing of the door of the vacuum cleaner which concerns on this Embodiment 1. It is a perspective view of the vacuum cleaner main body which concerns on this Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the cleaner main body 100 at the time of actually using a cleaner, and the position of the user 101. FIG. It is a graph which shows the average value of the infant's height. It is a graph which shows the time taken until an infant stands and walks. It is the figure which showed how the density | concentration of the dust which rescattered changes with respect to the opening area of the 2nd inlet port 8 about the position of the floor surface 30cm. It is a graph which shows the result of having measured the amount of dust which re-scatters in the case of cleaning operation in each part. It is a graph which shows the change of the floor surface suction | inhalation air volume with respect to external air suction | inhalation air volume. It is a graph which shows the change of the amount of dust re-scattering by the kind of floor surface.

Explanation of symbols

2 1st air inlet, 3 dust collecting part, 3a dust collecting chamber, 3b dust collecting filter, 3c dust collecting filter case, 5 electric blower, 6 exhaust port, 7 lid, 7a lower lid, 7b upper lid, 8 second air inlet 8a, second air intake opening area, 9 air passage, 9a air passage cross-sectional area, 10 door, 11 hinge, 94 flow meter, 95 suction tool, 96 pipe, 97 hand handle, 98 operation section, 99 hose, 100 cleaning Machine body, 101 users

Claims (9)

A suction tool having a first air inlet for sucking dust on the floor, and a main body incorporating a dust collector and an electric blower, and reaches the dust collector from the first air intake by the suction action of the electric blower In the vacuum cleaner that created the air flow,
An electric cleaning comprising a second air intake port that communicates with the dust collection unit or the upstream side of the dust collection unit at a position higher than the floor surface of the main unit, and sucks floating dust outside the main unit. Machine. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the second air inlet is provided on an upper surface portion of the main body. The suction tool communicates with the body through a pipe and a hose;
The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the second intake port opens toward a connection side where the main body and the hose are connected. The vacuum cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an adjusting means for adjusting an air volume sucked from the second air intake port is provided in the second air intake port. Comprising a flow rate detecting means for detecting a flow rate flowing from the first air inlet;
5. The control unit according to claim 4, wherein the adjusting unit controls the second intake port in a closing direction after detecting that the flow rate flowing from the first intake port is decreased by the flow rate detecting unit. Electric vacuum cleaner. The dust collecting part has a dust collecting filter for collecting fine dust;
The vacuum cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the second intake port is provided so as to communicate with the upstream side of the dust collection filter. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 6, wherein the dust collecting filter is provided with a deodorizing material. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the dust collection filter is provided with an antibacterial agent. The electric vacuum cleaner according to any one of claims 6 to 8, further comprising a function of automatically cleaning dust adhering to the dust collection filter.

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