JP2010167153A - Vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vacuum cleaner, capable of improving the operability of a brake button which is to be operated in order to wind a cord into a cord reel. <P>SOLUTION: The vacuum cleaner is provided with a body handle 35 and a brake button 45 on the assumption that this is a vacuum cleaner in which wheels 31 for running are rotatably supported at the middle part of the back-and-forth direction of the vacuum cleaner body 2 having an built-in cord reel, and the vacuum cleaner body 2 is capable of joggling so that the front part and the rear part of the vacuum cleaner body 2 move in the vertical direction with these wheels 31 being the supporting point. The body handle 35 has a gripping part 35a extending in the width direction of the vacuum cleaner body 2, and a root part 35b crossing over the upper part of the vacuum cleaner body 2 from both ends of the gripping part 35a. The body handle 35 is provided at the vacuum cleaner body 2 in the position right above the wheel 31 when seen from the side of the body. The brake button 45 is installed at the body handle 35 in such a manner that the brake button 45 is pressed in to operate by the finger of the hand gripping the gripping part 35a when allowing the rotation of the cord reel. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner including a cord reel built in a vacuum cleaner body.

  Conventionally, there has been known an electric vacuum cleaner in which a large wheel for traveling is rotatably supported on both sides in the width direction of the vacuum cleaner body and a brake button for winding a cord is provided on the upper surface of the rear portion of the vacuum cleaner body ( For example, see Patent Document 1.)

  In this electric vacuum cleaner 1, by pushing down the brake button with the user's hand, as the brake against the rotation of the cord reel built in the vacuum cleaner body is released, the cord reel is rotated in the winding direction, The cord drawn out of the vacuum cleaner body is caught in the cord reel.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-33415 (paragraphs 0003 and 0013, FIGS. 1-2 and 8)

  In the electric vacuum cleaner of Patent Literature 1, a floor contact portion located on the front side of a large-diameter wheel for traveling is provided on the lower surface of the cleaner body, and the floor-contact portion and the large-diameter wheel are not in a traveling state. The vacuum cleaner body in a stationary state is supported, and the rear lower surface of the vacuum cleaner body is separated from the indoor floor surface in this supported state.

  Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 1 (a), 2 and 8 (b) of Patent Document 1, the brake button is located above the substantially central portion of the large-diameter wheel when the stationary vacuum cleaner body is viewed from the side. However, when the brake button is pressed down, the main body of the vacuum cleaner moves to the seesaw so that the front of the main body of the vacuum cleaner rises and the rear of the vacuum cleaner lowers with the large-diameter wheel as a fulcrum. May be upset.

  When the main body of the vacuum cleaner is shaken like a seesaw, there is an inconvenience that it becomes difficult to push down the brake button. In order to cope with this inconvenience, there is a trouble that the brake button must be pushed down while holding the vacuum cleaner body so that it does not shake with the hand that does not operate the brake button. However, it is inconvenient in operation.

  As described above, the conventional technique has a problem that the operability of the brake button operated to wind the cord around the cord reel is not good.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention supports a traveling wheel rotatably in a front-rear direction intermediate portion of a cleaner body having a built-in cord reel, and uses the wheel as a fulcrum to support the front of the cleaner body. In a vacuum cleaner in which the main body of the vacuum cleaner can be shaken so that the upper part and the rear part move in the vertical direction, the grip part extending in the width direction of the vacuum cleaner body and the left and right roots extending from both ends of the grip part to the upper part of the vacuum cleaner body A handle with a handle is provided on the vacuum cleaner main body at a position directly above the wheel when the main body is viewed from the side, and the handle that is gripped when the cord reel is allowed to rotate on the handle. It is characterized in that a brake button that is pushed in with a finger is attached.

  According to the present invention, the brake button operated to wind the cord around the cord reel is pushed in by one hand holding the main body handle, and at that time, regardless of the fluctuation of the cleaner body with the wheel as a fulcrum. Since the relative position of one hand and the brake button does not change, the operability of the brake button when winding the cord on the cord reel can be improved.

1 is a perspective view showing a canister-type vacuum cleaner according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the vacuum cleaner main body with which the electric vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1 was equipped. It is a top view which shows the vacuum cleaner main body with which the electric vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1 was equipped. It is a rear view which shows the vacuum cleaner main body with which the electric vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1 was equipped. It is a bottom view which shows the vacuum cleaner main body with which the electric vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1 was equipped. It is a perspective view which shows the relationship between the brake of the cord reel with which the vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1 was equipped, and the brake button which cancels | releases the braking state of this brake. It is a side view which shows the vacuum cleaner main body of the vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1 in the state from which the dust suction hose was removed from this main body. It is a side view which shows the vacuum cleaner main body of the vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1 in the state by which the dust suction hose was connected to this main body.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a vacuum cleaner, and the vacuum cleaner 1 includes a cleaner main body 2 and a suction air passage body 3.

  A suction air passage body 3 that guides dust on the surface to be cleaned together with air to the cleaner body 2 includes a dust suction hose 5, an extension pipe 7, and a suction port body 8.

  The dust suction hose 5 is formed by connecting the connecting pipe portion 5b to one end of the flexible hose portion 5a and connecting the hose grip portion 5c to the other end portion of the hose portion 5a. The connecting pipe portion 5b is detachably inserted into and connected to a main body suction port 13 to be described later of the cleaner body 2. The hose grip part 5c has a pipe part 5c1 communicating with the hose part 5a and a hand handle 5c2 formed on the outer periphery of the pipe part 5c1. An operation panel 6 having a plurality of operation buttons is attached to the hand handle 5c2, and when the operation button is pressed, a command signal such as starting / stopping of an electric blower 15 to be described later and the strength of operation is transmitted to the dust suction hose 5 Is sent to a control unit (not shown) in the cleaner body 2.

  The extension pipe 7 is formed so as to be able to expand and contract, for example, by combining the upstream pipe 7a and the downstream pipe 7b. The downstream side pipe 7b is detachably inserted into and connected to the pipe portion 5c1 of the dust suction hose 5. The suction port body 8 has a suction port body 8a having a suction opening (not shown) on the lower surface, and a connecting pipe 8b connected to the rear end portion via a universal joint. The connecting pipe 8b is detachably inserted and connected to the upstream pipe 7a of the extension pipe 7.

  The vacuum cleaner main body 2 includes a synthetic resin main body case 11 having a dust collection chamber (not shown) that is open on the upper side and the front portion, and a main body case 11 rotatably supported by the main body case 11. A synthetic resin case lid 12 that opens and closes the opening of the dust collecting chamber by movement is provided. The case lid 12 has a main body inlet 13 at its front end. A connecting pipe portion 5b of the suction air passage body 3 is connected to the main body suction port 13, and the dust collection chamber and the main body suction port 13 are communicated with each other by this connection.

  A dust separation portion 14 (see FIG. 3) that is taken in and out in a state where the case lid 12 is opened is accommodated in the dust collection chamber. The dust separation unit 14 separates the introduced dust-containing air into air and dust and accumulates the dust separated from the air. For example, a dust collection pack or a cyclone dust separation unit is used for the dust separation unit 14.

  The rear part of the vacuum cleaner body 2 is divided into a blower chamber and a reel chamber which are separated from the dust collection chamber. When the vacuum cleaner body 2 is viewed from the rear side, a reel chamber is provided on the left side, and an air blowing chamber is provided on the right side of the reel chamber. The blower chamber is formed on the downstream side of the dust collection chamber, and the blower chamber and the dust collection chamber communicate with each other. An electric blower 15 (see FIG. 3 and FIG. 4) is built in the air blowing chamber with its intake port facing forward (in other words, toward the dust collecting chamber).

  A pair of exhaust parts 16 and 17 are provided at the rear end of the vacuum cleaner main body 2 to let the air discharged from the electric blower 15 out of the main body case 11. These exhaust parts 16 and 17 are arranged in the width direction of the cleaner body 2.

  A cord reel 21 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) is built in a reel chamber at the rear of the cleaner body 2. As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the cord reel 21 is disposed so as to approach either the left or right side wall of the cleaner body 2, preferably the left side when the cleaner body 2 is viewed from the rear side. In addition, the cord reel 21 is provided with the central axis C (see FIGS. 3 and 4) serving as the center of rotation aligned with the width direction of the cleaner body 2, and therefore the cord reel 21 is arranged in the vertical direction. Built in the reel chamber in a wake up position.

  The cord reel 21 includes the case-shaped reel holder 22 shown in FIG. 6, a reel (not shown), a mainspring spring (not shown), and a brake member 23.

  The reel (not shown) is disposed inside the reel holder 22 and supported by the reel holder 22 so as to be rotatable around the central axis C. One end of a cord 24 (see FIGS. 1 to 3) is connected to the reel, and the cord 24 is wound around the reel. The mainspring spring (not shown) is provided by urging the reel so that the reel rotates in the direction in which the cord 24 is wound.

  The brake member 23 is provided on an upper portion of the reel holder 22 over the inside and outside of the reel holder 22, and an intermediate portion thereof is pivotally supported by a pivot 25 shown in FIG. The brake member 23 is urged by a spring 26 that is sandwiched between a brake portion 23 a having one end thereof and the reel holder 22. The brake portion 23a disposed in the reel holder 22 is pressed against the brake wheel portion of the reel (not shown) from the outside by the force of the spring 26, thereby preventing the rotation of the reel (not shown). Yes.

  The other end portion of the cord 24 is passed through the cord passage portion 22a of the reel holder 22 and passes through a cord doorway 27 (see FIG. 4) provided in the rear portion of the cleaner body 2, and a power plug is connected to the tip thereof. 28 is attached. The cord doorway 27 is opened in the vicinity of the exhaust part 16 provided immediately after the reel chamber.

  A pair of traveling wheels 31 are rotatably supported at the front-rear direction intermediate portion of the cleaner body 2, and these wheels 31 are provided on both sides in the width direction of the cleaner body 2 as shown in FIGS. Each is arranged. Reference numeral 32 in the drawing indicates an axle. The pair of left and right wheels 31 have a thickness in the vertical direction of the cleaner body 2 so that the steps such as the sill of the indoor floor surface F (see FIGS. 7 and 8) that are the surfaces to be cleaned can be easily overcome. It has a diameter corresponding to more than half the thickness. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to such a wheel 31, and a smaller diameter wheel can be used in the present invention.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the rear end portion of the cleaner body 2 is located further rearward than the rear end of the wheel 31 when the cleaner body 2 is viewed from the side, and the exhaust portions 16 and 17 are disposed there. Is provided.

  The rear lower surface of the vacuum cleaner body 2 is curved so as to rise toward the rear end, and a rear wheel 33 is attached thereto. The front lower surface of the cleaner body 2 in front of the wheel 31 is also curved so as to rise toward the front end, and a front wheel 34 is attached thereto. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the rear wheel 33 and the front wheel 34 are formed by a roller having a diameter much smaller than that of the large diameter wheel 31, and both are arranged at the center in the width direction of the cleaner body 2. It is installed. The vacuum cleaner body 2 can be shaken with the wheel 31 as a fulcrum so that its front and rear parts move up and down.

  As described above, built-in components such as the electric blower 15 and the like, and external components such as the wheels 31 are attached, and the center of gravity G of the vacuum cleaner body 2 having a body handle 35 described later is always It is set so as to be located behind the vertical line V (see FIGS. 7 and 8) passing through the contact point with the floor surface F and the center of the axle 32.

  With this setting, the cleaner body 2 in a state where the dust suction hose 5 is not connected is supported on the floor surface F by the pair of wheels 31 and the rear wheel 33 due to the relationship with the center of gravity G. As shown in FIG. 7, the wheel 34 is separated from the floor surface F upward. At the same time, the cleaner body 2 in a state where the dust suction hose 5 is connected, such as during cleaning, has a pair of wheels 31 and a front wheel 34 on the floor F due to the relationship between the weight of the dust suction hose 5 and the center of gravity G. At this time, the rear wheel 33 is separated from the floor surface F upward as shown in FIG. Even in the state of FIG. 8, the center of gravity G is located behind the vertical line V.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 and the like, a main body handle 35 is provided on the upper portion of the cleaner body 2. The main body handle 35 is a middle portion in the front-rear direction of the cleaner body 2, that is, a position directly above the wheel 31 when the cleaner body 2 is viewed from the side, more preferably as shown in FIGS. The vacuum cleaner main body 2 is disposed so as to be positioned on a straight line S passing through the center of the axle 32 that pivotally supports the wheel 31 and the center of gravity G of the vacuum cleaner main body 2 when viewed from the side. Further, one end of the main body handle 35 is disposed directly above the cord reel 21 when the cleaner main body 2 is viewed from the rear as shown in FIG.

  The main body handle 35 is formed to have a grip portion 35a and left and right root portions 35b, and in the case of this embodiment, has an arch shape as shown in FIG. By connecting a pair of left and right root portions 35b forming both ends of the main body handle 35 to the upper portion of the cleaner body 2, the main body handle 35 extends its grip portion 35a in the width direction of the cleaner body 2. Arranged and provided. Since the main body handle 35 has an arch shape, the front side wall portion of the base portion 35b (this wall portion is formed by an end portion of an outer handle member 37 described later) is closer to the grip portion 35a. The main body 2 has an oblique shape that approaches the center side in the width direction. The main body handle 35 is not limited to the arch shape, and the grip portion 35a is a rod shape that does not bend upward, and the front side wall portion of the base portion 35b is bent at an obtuse angle with respect to the grip portion. Also good.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the main body handle 35 is formed hollow by combining an inner handle member 36 and an outer handle member 37. One base portion 35b forming one end of the main body handle 35 is provided directly above the cord reel 21 as shown in FIGS.

  A button through hole 41 penetrating the one base portion 35b is formed in the front side wall portion. The button through hole 41 is made of a tapered hole whose diameter decreases toward the lower side. At the same time, a guide tube 42 formed integrally with one end portion of the inner handle member 36 and having an upper end opened is disposed inside one root portion 35b. The guide cylinder 42 has a smaller diameter than the button through hole 41 and faces the button through hole 41 from below. Further, a convex spring receiving portion 43 located inside the guide tube 42 is integrally formed with one end portion of the inner handle member 36.

  A cylindrical guide portion 44 communicating with the guide tube 42 is integrally formed on the back surface of the upper wall portion of the cleaner body 2 to which one end portion of the inner handle member 36 is connected. The lower end of the cylindrical guide portion 44 is positioned directly above the other end portion 23 b of the brake member 23 protruding from the reel holder 22.

  A brake button 45 is provided on the one base portion 35b so as to be pushed downward from above. The brake button 45 includes a flange portion 45 a, a cylinder portion 45 b guided along the inner periphery of the guide cylinder 42, and a push rod 45 c that penetrates the cylindrical guide portion 44.

  The brake button 45 passes through the front side wall portion and the cylindrical guide portion 44 of the one base portion 35 b in the vertical direction, and is a coil that is an urging member sandwiched between the back surface of the upper surface portion and the spring receiving portion 43. The spring 46 is biased upward. By this urging, the flange portion 45a is positioned so as to be caught from below at the lower edge of the button through-hole 41 and no longer protrude upward. In this positioning state, the upper surface of the brake button 45 is held at a position lower than the upper surface of the grip portion 35a as shown in FIG. 4, and the push bar 45c is connected to the other end portion 23b of the brake member 23 as shown in FIG. Is approaching or touching from above.

  Therefore, when the brake button 45 is pushed down against the coil spring 46, the brake member 23 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. Along with this, the brake portion 23a of the brake member 23 moves away from the brake wheel portion of the reel (not shown), and the reel is allowed to rotate in the winding direction. In addition, the code | symbol 18 in FIGS. 1-3 has shown the recessed part provided in the front-back direction intermediate part of the cleaner body 2. FIG. The concave portion 18 is opened to the upper surface so that the gripping hand does not interfere with the upper surface of the cleaner body 2 when the user grips the grip portion 35a.

  When the electric vacuum cleaner 1 is used, the cord 24 is manually pulled out by a necessary length, and the power plug 28 is inserted and connected to a power outlet. At this time, the mainspring spring (not shown) of the cord reel 21 is wound. However, the brake member 23 is pressed and held by a spring 26 on a brake wheel (not shown) of the cord reel 21. For this reason, the reel (not shown) of the cord reel 21 is held so as not to be rotated by the mainspring spring in the direction in which the cord 24 is wound.

  The drawing operation of the cord 24 is normally performed in a state where the rear portion of the cleaner body 2 is pressed downward with one hand. Therefore, regardless of whether or not the dust suction hose 5 of the cleaner body 2 is connected, as shown in FIG. 7, the front portion of the cleaner body 2 rises and the cleaner body 2 is paired with a pair of wheels 31 and a rear wheel 33. Therefore, the cord 24 can be pulled out without the cleaner body 2 being shaken. As shown in FIG. 8, even when the rear part of the cleaner body 2 is raised and the cleaner body 2 is supported at three points by the pair of wheels 31 and the front wheel 34, the user can handle the body handle 35. In the state where the cord 24 is pulled out while holding the cord, the cord 24 can be pulled out while suppressing the shaking of the cleaner body 2.

  In order to wind the cord 24 around the reel of the cord reel 21 after the cleaning is finished and store it in the cleaner body 2, the main body handle 35 is grasped from directly above with one hand, and the brake button 45 is coiled with the thumb of the hand. What is necessary is just to push down against 46.

  At this time, when the posture of the cleaner body 2 is in the state shown in FIG. 8, the angle between the vertical line V and the straight line S is very small. For this reason, it is difficult for the cleaner body 2 to be shaken by the wheel 31 as a fulcrum by the force of pushing down the brake button 45, and the operability of the brake button 45 can be improved as the cleaner body 2 is easily held in a stable state. .

  Not only that, even if the vacuum cleaner body 2 is shaken by the wheel 31 as a fulcrum due to the force of pushing down the brake button 45, it is attached to the main body handle 35 and the one hand holding the grip portion 35a of the main body handle 35. The relative position with the brake button 45 is not changed. Therefore, the user can push in the brake button 45 with one hand while holding the cleaner main body 2 by grasping the main body handle 35. Therefore, the operability of the brake button 45 can be improved.

  In addition, in order to prevent the power plug 28 from moving freely so as to be exposed to the momentum when the cord 24 is wound on the reel, the user usually releases the power plug of the cord 24 when releasing the brake on the cord reel 21. It is common to grip the 28th side. Therefore, in a state where the user is located on the rear side of the cleaner body 2, the user grasps the grip portion 35 a of the main body handle 35 from right above with his right hand. In such a gripping state, the thumb of the right hand of the user who grips the main body handle 35 is positioned lower than the grip portion 35a.

  Therefore, the thumb of the right hand of the user naturally overlaps with the outer wall portion of the one base portion 35 b of the main body handle 35. Along with this, the brake button 45 can be pushed down by bringing the thumb of the thumb into contact with the upper surface of the brake button 45 without forcing the right hand holding the main body handle 35. Therefore, also in this respect, the operability of the brake button 45 when the cord 24 is wound around the cord reel 21 can be improved.

  When the brake button 45 is pushed down, the brake member 23 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 6 about the pivot 25 against the spring 26, and the brake portion 23a of the brake member 23 is It leaves | separates from the braking wheel part of the said reel which is not shown in figure. For this reason, the reel is rotated in the winding direction by the spring force of the mainspring spring (not shown). Accordingly, the cord 24 is wound around the reel of the cord reel 21 and stored in the cleaner body 2.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electric vacuum cleaner, 2 ... Vacuum cleaner main body, 21 ... Cord reel, 22 ... Reel holder, 23 ... Brake member, 24 ... Cord, 25 ... Axis, 26 ... Spring, 27 ... Cord doorway, 31 ... Wheel, 32 ... Axle 35 ... body handle 35a ... grip part 35b ... root part 41 ... button through hole 45 ... brake button 45c ... push rod 46 ... coil spring C ... center axis of reel, G cleaner body Center of gravity

Claims (2)

A traveling wheel is rotatably supported in the front-rear direction intermediate part of the cleaner body and on both sides in the width direction of the cleaner body, and a cord reel around which a cord is wound is incorporated in the rear part of the cleaner body. In the vacuum cleaner in which the cleaner body can be shaken so that the front and rear parts of the cleaner body move in the vertical direction with the wheel as a fulcrum,
A main body handle formed with a grip portion extending in a width direction of the vacuum cleaner body and left and right root portions extending from both ends of the grip portion to an upper portion of the vacuum cleaner main body, and the main body handle on the side of the vacuum cleaner body. The brake button is provided at a position directly above the wheel as viewed from the wheel, and a brake button that is pushed in with a finger of a hand that grips the grip when the cord reel is allowed to rotate is attached to the main body handle. Electric vacuum cleaner.   The cord reel is disposed below one of the left and right root portions with the central axis thereof aligned with the width direction of the cleaner body, and the front side wall portion of the one root portion. The front side wall of the one base portion is formed so as to be inclined toward the center in the width direction of the vacuum cleaner main body as it approaches the grip portion, and the brake button is pushed down from above. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the vacuum button is passed through a portion in a vertical direction and an upper end of the brake button is lower than an upper surface of the grip portion.

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