JP2010269044A - Vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vacuum cleaner capable of automatizing the function recovery of dust detection means. <P>SOLUTION: The vacuum cleaner includes: a light receiving portion 22 for receiving light from a light emitting portion 21 which emits the light into an air path (not shown in the figure) where dust flows and outputting signals according to an amount of light received; a dirt discrimination portion 34 for discriminating whether or not the change of the output signals of the light receiving portion 22 is by dirt; path limiting means 71 provided near the light emitting portion 21 and the light receiving portion 22, so as to be put in and out of the air path, for partially limiting the air path when it is put into the air path; control means 37 for controlling driving means (not shown in the figure) operating the path limiting means 71; and a control time threshold 74 for determining the operation time of the control means 37. When determining that the light emitting portion 21 or/and the light receiving portion 22 are dirty, the path limiting means 71 is inserted into the air path for a time fixed by the control time threshold 74. Since an air path is partially limited, an air flow speed near the light emitting portion 21 and the light receiving portion 22 is increased and the dust nearby is blown away. Then, an appropriate operation is performed normally. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner, and more particularly to a vacuum cleaner having dust detection means for detecting dust.

  Conventional dust detection means of this type of vacuum cleaner generally have a configuration as shown in FIGS. Hereinafter, the configuration will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the vicinity of a suction port of a floor suction tool of a conventional vacuum cleaner, from a floor suction port 1 that sucks dust to a suction port 2 that communicates with a vacuum cleaner body (not shown). A light emitting diode 4 that emits light and a phototransistor 5 that receives light from the light emitting diode 4 are provided in the air passage 3 that leads to the air. The light emitting diode 4 and the phototransistor 5 are generally installed by being inserted into transparent holders 18 and 19 in order to prevent dirt due to dust. At this time, even when the surfaces of the holders 18 and 19 are covered with dust, the holders 18 and 19 protrude into the air passage 3 as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram of a conventional vacuum cleaner, and FIG. 7 (a) is a main portion output waveform diagram when dust does not pass through the air passage of the dust detector of the vacuum cleaner, (B) is a main part output waveform diagram when there is no dirt in the air passage of the dust detector, and (c) is a main part output waveform when the air path of the dust detector is dirty. FIG.

  The light emitting unit 21 emits light into an air passage through which dust flows, and uses the light emitting diode 4. The light receiving unit 22 receives the light from the light emitting unit 21 and outputs a signal corresponding to the amount of light received. The voltage formed by the phototransistor 5, the resistors 6 and 7, the capacitor 8, and the OP amplifier 9. It consists of an amplifier.

  In the phototransistor 5, if dust is contained in the suction air flow that flows through the suction passage during the cleaning operation, light from the light emitting diode 4 is blocked by the dust, and the amount of light received by the phototransistor 5 is reduced. The voltage increases. As a result, the output voltage of the light receiving unit 22 once decreases and then increases. The output of the light receiving unit 22 is input to a comparison unit 26 constituted by resistors 23 and 24 and an OP amplifier 25.

  The voltage setting unit 27 sets the detection level of the light receiving unit 22 and is composed of resistors 28 and 29, and is set to about 3.1V. The change detection unit 30 detects a change in the output voltage of the light receiving unit 22 based on outputs from the light receiving unit 22 and the voltage setting unit 27, and uses a comparator 31.

  Next, the time measuring unit 32 measures the time during which the output voltage of the light receiving unit 22 is changing based on the output of the change detecting unit 30. The time setting unit 33 presets the maximum time measured by the time measurement unit 32. The dirt determination unit 34 determines whether or not the change in the output voltage of the light receiving unit 22 is due to dirt by comparing the two outputs of the time measurement unit 32 and the time setting unit 33. Further, the light reception current setting unit 35 sets a plurality of energization currents to the light reception unit 22 and is configured by a plurality of resistance groups.

  The light reception current selection unit 36 selects the current of the light reception current setting unit 35 based on the output of the dirt determination unit 34, and selects the output voltage of the light reception unit 22 to be about 3V. All these systems are set to operate at 5V.

  The time measuring unit 32, the time setting unit 33, and the dirt determination unit 34 are configured in the control unit 37. Further, the output of the comparison unit 26 that compares the output of the light receiving unit 22 with the output of the OP amplifier 25 is input to the control means 37 to drive the electric blower 62. That is, the suction force of the electric blower 62 is varied depending on the output of the light receiving unit 22, that is, the presence or absence of dust. The basic time for detecting the dust of the control means 37 is 0.1 second. That is, the control unit 37 determines the amount of dust based on the number of changes in the output of the light receiving unit 22 for 0.1 seconds.

  If dust is not sucked, the output of the light receiving unit 22 is constant at 3V, and the change detection unit 30 does not operate. Therefore, an arbitrary resistance is applied from the received light current selection unit 36 so that the output voltage of the light receiving unit 22 is 3V. Is selectively output (FIG. 7A). However, when the dust passes, the output of the light receiving unit 22 is decreased from steady 3V to 0V and then returns to 3V again, so the output of the change detection unit 30 changes from 'L' to 'H'. The time measuring unit 32 measures the changing time.

  When the dust actually passes, the output of the change detection unit 30 repeats the operation of “L” → “H” → “L”. Therefore, the time measurement unit 32 repeats the start and stop of the operation to obtain a large value. Never count. By inputting a large value in advance to the time setting unit 33 and comparing it with the output of the time measurement unit 32, the dirt determination unit 34 does not operate.

  In this example, the value of the time setting unit 33 is set to 0.1 seconds, which is a basic time for the control means 37 to detect dust (FIG. 7B).

  On the other hand, as it is used, the light emitting unit 21 and the light receiving unit 22 are accommodated, and dirt due to dust gradually adheres to the surfaces of the holders 18 and 19 that are present as protrusions in the air passage 3. The amount of light received by the transistor 5 from the light emitting diode 4 decreases, and the output voltage of the light receiving unit 22 gradually increases from 3V.

  Then, by comparison with the voltage setting unit 27, the output of the change detection unit 30 changes from 'L' to 'H', and the time measurement unit 32 starts operating (FIG. 7 (c) T1). In this case, since the output voltage of the light receiving unit 22 does not change, the time measuring unit 32 continues its operation and finally becomes larger than the value preset in the time setting unit 33. Then, the stain determination unit 34 operates to drive the light reception current selection unit 36 and select an arbitrary value of the light reception current setting unit 35. As a result, the voltage of the light receiving unit 22 also decreases. This operation continues until the output of the change detection unit 30 changes from “H” to “L”, that is, until the output of the light receiving unit 22 becomes smaller than the set voltage of the voltage setting unit 27, and the relationship is reversed. It stops at the time (FIG. 7 (c) T2).

  That is, the time measuring unit 32 measures the change time of the light receiving unit 22 to determine whether or not the voltage change of the light receiving unit 22 is due to dust detection. 36 can be driven to correct the output voltage of the light receiving unit 22 to an initial value of 3V.

  Therefore, the output voltage of the light receiving unit 22 is constantly measured, and when there is a change in the output, the stain determining unit 34 determines whether or not the output is due to contamination. Since the light reception current is adjusted by the light reception current selection unit 36 so that the output voltage of the unit 22 is always a constant voltage, the voltage of the light reception unit 22 does not increase due to dirt, and dust cannot be detected. Further, the user does not need to clean the holders 18 and 19 (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP-A-4-276226

  However, in the configuration of the conventional vacuum cleaner described above, the sensitivity of the dust detection means can be optimized by changing the output of the light receiving unit, so that the normal use can be continued, but eventually the light receiving unit is covered with dust. There has been a problem that proper operation of the dust detection means cannot be performed.

  The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and an object thereof is to provide an easy-to-use vacuum cleaner.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, the vacuum cleaner of the present invention includes an electric blower that generates a suction force, a light emitting unit that emits light into an air passage through which dust flows, and a light receiving amount that receives light from the light emitting unit. A light receiving unit that outputs a signal in accordance with the light receiving unit, a dirt determining unit that determines whether or not the change in the output signal of the light receiving unit is due to dirt, and the air that is disposed in the vicinity of the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit. Passage restricting means capable of entering and exiting the passage and partially restricting the air passage when entering the air passage; drive means for operating the passage restricting means; and control means for controlling the drive means; A control time threshold value for determining an operation time of the control means, and when the control means determines that the light emitting part and / or the light receiving part is dirty by the output of the dirt determination part, the control Defined by time threshold The passage restricting means is inserted into the air passage by the driving means only in the meantime, and part of the air passage is restricted by the passage restricting means, so that the wind speed in the vicinity of the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion increases, and the light emitting portion The dust in the vicinity of the light receiving part is blown away, so that even if the user does not bother to clean, the signal output level from the light receiving part does not drop and normal operation can always be realized, and a convenient vacuum cleaner can be provided Is.

  The vacuum cleaner of the present invention can recover the automatic function of the dust detection means.

Overall view of the electric vacuum cleaner according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention Circuit diagram of the vacuum cleaner Sectional drawing of the hose and passage restriction means of the vacuum cleaner Sectional drawing of the hose and passage restriction means of the vacuum cleaner Sectional drawing of the vicinity of the inlet of the suction tool for floors of the conventional vacuum cleaner Circuit diagram of the vacuum cleaner (A) The main part output waveform diagram when there is no dirt in the air passage of the dust detector of the electric vacuum cleaner and dust does not pass, (b) The air passage of the dust detector is free of dirt and when the dust passes. Main part output waveform diagram, (c) Main part output waveform diagram when there is dirt in the air passage of the dust detector

The first invention includes an electric blower that generates a suction force, a light emitting unit that emits light into an air passage through which dust flows, a light receiving unit that receives light from the light emitting unit and outputs a signal corresponding to the amount of light received, A dirt determining section for determining whether or not the change in the output signal of the light receiving section is due to dirt; and disposed in the vicinity of the light emitting section and the light receiving section and capable of entering and exiting from the air passage. A passage restriction means for partially restricting the air passage when entering, a drive means for operating the passage restriction means, a control means for controlling the drive means, and a control for determining an operation time of the control means A time threshold, and when the control means determines that the light emitting unit and / or the light receiving unit is dirty based on the output of the stain determination unit, the drive is performed for the time determined by the control time threshold. Means in the passage restriction hand Is inserted into the air passage, and a part of the air passage is restricted by the passage restriction means, so that the wind speed in the vicinity of the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion is increased, and dust in the vicinity of the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion is blown away. Even if the user does not bother with cleaning, the signal output level from the light receiving unit does not drop and normal operation can always be realized, and a convenient vacuum cleaner can be provided.

  The second invention is provided with an informing means for notifying the operation of the passage restricting means of the first invention, particularly when the passage restricting means of the first invention is operated. It is possible to provide an easy-to-use vacuum cleaner that eliminates the sense of discomfort felt by the user due to the weakening of the power.

  In the third aspect of the invention, in particular, after the operation of the passage restricting means of the first or second aspect of the invention, the dirt determining means again determines whether the light emitting part or / and the light receiving part is dirty, and determines that they are still dirty. When the amount of dust that cannot be removed by only one operation of the passage restriction means is adhered to the light receiving part or the light emitting part, the dust removal is performed again by the operation of the passage restriction means. It is possible to increase the rate and always provide a user with a convenient vacuum cleaner because sufficient light quantity of the light emitting part and sensitivity of the light receiving part are ensured.

  In particular, the fourth invention includes an operation counter that counts the number of continuous operations of the passage restriction means according to the third invention, and a continuous operation restriction threshold that restricts continuous operation of the passage restriction means, and the continuous operation restriction threshold. When the passage restriction means is operated by the value of, the notification means is operated without operating the passage restriction means any further, and the user is encouraged to clean the light receiving part and the light emitting part. In the case of dirt that cannot be removed only by the limiting means, it is possible to provide a user with an easy-to-use vacuum cleaner by preventing wasteful operation and waste of energy.

  In particular, the fifth aspect of the invention relates to a wind speed detection means for detecting the wind speed of the suction wind by the electric blower of the fourth invention, and a wind speed judgment threshold value for judging that the wind speed detected by the wind speed detection means has fallen below a certain value. When the wind speed detected by the wind speed detection means is below a certain value, the value of the continuous operation restriction threshold is increased, and when the wind speed is reduced due to the suction of dust, the operation of the passage restriction means Since the cleaning function of the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit is lowered, the cleaning ability of the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit is improved by increasing the number of times of operation of the passage restriction means, and the operation according to the situation becomes possible. A good vacuum cleaner can be provided to the user.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
The vacuum cleaner in the 1st Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated using FIGS. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same part as the said prior art example, and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 1 is an overall view of the electric vacuum cleaner in the present embodiment.

In FIG. 1, the vacuum cleaner main body 61 of the vacuum cleaner in the present embodiment has an electric blower 62 built in the rear part, and a dust collection chamber 63 for collecting dust is arranged in the front part. A hose 64 is connected to the part. At the other end of the hose 64, the operation of the vacuum cleaner main body 61 and the display of the operation state, and a cleaning notification means 6 described later for prompting the user to clean the light emitting unit 21 and the light receiving unit 22 are provided.
An operation unit 65 that also serves as 9 is provided.

  Reference numeral 66 denotes a telescopic extension tube, one end of which is connected to the hose 64 and the other end is detachably connected to a suction tool 67 for dust lifting. In addition, a power cord plug 68 for supplying power to a circuit board (not shown) built in the cleaner body 61 is provided at the rear of the cleaner body 61 and connected to an outlet (commercial power supply). It has been.

  Further, in the vicinity of the connection portion between the cleaner body 61 and the hose 64, a passage restriction means 71 and a wind speed detection means 77 for detecting the wind speed in the hose are provided.

  Next, FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of the electric vacuum cleaner in the present embodiment.

  The control unit 37 includes a determination result storage unit 60 that stores the result of the dirt determination unit 34, a control time threshold value 74 that determines the operation time of the passage restriction unit 71, and an operation counter 75 that counts the number of operations of the passage restriction unit 71. And a continuous operation restriction threshold value 76 that is an upper limit value of the operation counter 75 and a wind speed judgment threshold value 78 for making a judgment when the wind speed in the hose 64 becomes a predetermined value or less.

  3 and 4 are cross-sectional views of the hose 64 and the passage restricting means 71, showing the flow of air in the air passage 3. A passage restricting means 71 composed of a drive means 72 composed of a solenoid and a passage restricting plate 73 covers the hose 64 in a completely sealed manner, and the drive means 72 fixed to the passage restricting means 71 includes a passage restricting plate 73. The passage restriction plate 73 can be moved in and out of the air passage 3 in the hose 64 by the operation of the driving means 72.

  A packing (not shown) is disposed between the passage restriction plate 73 and the hose 64 so that no air leakage occurs due to the movement of the passage restriction plate 73. The driving unit 72 is connected to the control unit 37 (not shown) and operates in response to a signal from the control unit 37.

  The operation and action of the vacuum cleaner according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As the vacuum cleaner is used, the dirt of the light emitting unit 21 and the light receiving unit 22 is gradually attached to the light emitting unit 21, so that the amount of light received by the phototransistor 5 from the light emitting diode 4 is reduced. The output voltage gradually increases from 3V.

  Then, the output of the change detection unit 30 changes from 'L' to 'H' by comparison with the voltage setting unit 27, and the time measurement unit 32 starts operation (FIG. 7 (c) T1). In this case, since the output voltage of the light receiving unit 22 does not change, the time measuring unit 32 continues its operation and finally becomes larger than the value preset in the time setting unit 33. Then, the dirt determination unit 34 operates to operate the driving means 72 for a time set by the time limit threshold 74 by a signal output from the control means 37, thereby pushing out the passage restriction plate 73 into the air passage 3 and the electric blower. 62 is operated.

  During normal use, the flow of air through the air passage 3 goes straight as in the normal state of FIG. 3, but by inserting the passage restriction plate 73, the flow of air is bent as shown in FIG. The cross-sectional area of the flow path of the hose 64 is reduced, and the wind whose wind speed is increased by Bernoulli's theorem flows in the vicinity of the light emitting unit 21 and the light receiving unit 22.

Thereby, the wind speed in the vicinity of the light emitting unit 21 and the light receiving unit 22 is rapidly increased, and the attached dust is blown off. As a result, the amount of light received by the phototransistor 5 from the light emitting diode 4 increases, the output of the light receiving unit 22 returns to around 3 V, dust detection is possible as usual, and the user himself cleans the light emitting unit 21 and the light receiving unit 22. Therefore, it is possible to provide a vacuum cleaner that is easy to use and saves time and effort.

  Also, by operating the cleaning notification means 69 simultaneously with the operation of the passage restriction means 71, the air passage 3 is restricted by the passage restriction means 71, thereby eliminating the uncomfortable feeling that the user feels due to the temporary weakening of the suction force. In addition, an easy-to-use vacuum cleaner can be provided.

  Further, after the operation of the passage restricting means 71, the dirt is determined again, and when it is determined that it is still dirty, the passage restricting means 71 is operated again.

  Even when an amount of dust that cannot be obtained by only one operation of the passage restricting means 71 adheres to the light emitting unit 21 or the light receiving unit 22 by the above operation, the dust removal rate is increased by the operation of the passage restricting means 71 again, and it is always sufficient. Since the light quantity of the light-emitting part 21 and the sensitivity of the light-receiving part 22 are ensured, a user-friendly vacuum cleaner can be provided to the user.

  Further, the number of operations of the passage restriction means 71 is stored in the operation counter 75, and when the passage restriction means 71 is operated by the continuous operation restriction threshold value 76, the passage restriction means 71 is not operated any more.

  By the operation described above, it is possible to provide a user with an easy-to-use vacuum cleaner by preventing the operation from being continued in vain when the dirt cannot be removed only by the operation of the passage restricting means 71.

  When the wind speed detected by the wind speed detection unit 77 is lower than the wind speed determination threshold 78, the value of the continuous operation threshold 76 is increased. When the wind speed is reduced due to the suction of dust due to the above operation, the cleaning function of the light emitting unit 21 and the light receiving unit 22 due to the operation of the passage restriction unit 71 is lowered, so by increasing the number of operations of the passage restriction unit 71, Since the cleaning capability of the light emitting unit 21 and the light receiving unit 22 is improved and the operation according to the situation becomes possible, a user-friendly vacuum cleaner can be provided to the user.

  As described above, the vacuum cleaner according to the present invention reduces the maintenance of the vacuum cleaner by the user by automatically removing the dust adhering to the vicinity of the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit for detecting dust. Thus, a more convenient vacuum cleaner can be provided, which is particularly useful for all vacuum cleaners that perform dust detection control.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 21 Light emission part 22 Light reception part 34 Dirt discrimination | determination part 37 Control means 60 Discrimination result memory | storage part 62 Electric blower 69 Cleaning notification means (notification means)
71 Passage restriction means 72 Drive means 74 Control time threshold 75 Operation counter 76 Continuous operation restriction threshold 77 Wind speed detection means 78 Wind speed determination threshold

Claims (5)

An electric blower that generates a suction force, a light emitting unit that emits light into an air passage through which dust flows, a light receiving unit that receives light from the light emitting unit and outputs a signal corresponding to the amount of received light, and an output signal of the light receiving unit A dirt determining portion for determining whether or not the change is due to dirt, and is disposed in the vicinity of the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion and is capable of entering and exiting the air passage, and when entering the air passage, A passage restriction means for partially restricting the air passage, a drive means for operating the passage restriction means, a control means for controlling the drive means, and a control time threshold value for determining an operation time of the control means, When the control means determines that the light emitting part and / or the light receiving part is dirty based on the output of the dirt determination part, the path restriction means is controlled by the driving means for a time determined by the control time threshold. The air vent Vacuum cleaner, which is characterized in that is inserted into. The electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, further comprising a notifying means for notifying the operation of the passage restriction means. After operation of the passage restricting means, the dirt determining means again determines whether the light emitting part or / and the light receiving part is dirty, and when it is determined that they are still dirty, the passage restricting means is restarted. The electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 1 or 2. An operation counter for counting the number of continuous operations of the passage restriction means, and a continuous operation restriction threshold for restricting the continuous operation of the passage restriction means, and when the passage restriction means is operated by the value of the continuous operation restriction threshold, 4. The electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 3, wherein the passage restricting means is not operated any more, and the notifying means is operated to prompt the user to clean the light receiving part and the light emitting part. Wind speed detection means for detecting the wind speed of the suction wind by the electric blower, and a wind speed determination threshold value for determining that the wind speed detected by the wind speed detection means is below a certain value, the wind speed detected by the wind speed detection means The vacuum cleaner according to claim 4, wherein the value of the continuous operation restriction threshold is increased when the value is equal to or less than a predetermined value.