JP2011015772A - Vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vacuum cleaner capable of determining the mounting/unmounting of a dust collecting container without depending on a detection switch.SOLUTION: A vacuum cleaner body 1 incorporates an electric blower 11 and is detachably attached with the dust collecting container 5. In a driving circuit 10 of the electric blower 11, the electric blower 11, a commer power supply 12, a thyristor 13 for controlling an electric current applied to the electric blower 11, and a current transformer 14 for measuring an electric current value applied to the electric blower 11, are connected with each other into a loop shape. A control device 15 controls the operation of the electric blower 11 based on the current flowing the current transformer 14. When the current flowing the current transformer 14 exceeds a threshold, the control device 15 stops the whole operation of the electric blower body 1.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner.

  The vacuum cleaner sucks dust together with the airflow generated by driving the electric blower, and introduces the sucked airflow into the dust collecting container to collect the dust. The dust collection container may be a dust collection bag, or may be a case molded from a synthetic resin or the like. In the case of a cyclone type vacuum cleaner, the dust collecting container is almost limited to the case. Patent Document 1 shows an example of a vacuum cleaner that uses a dust bag as a dust collection container, and Patent Documents 2 and 3 show examples of a vacuum cleaner in which the dust collection container is a cyclone type case. It is shown. Patent Documents 2 and 3 also disclose a configuration in which the filter in the dust collecting container is removed by a dust removal motor.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-3959 JP 2007-252838 A JP 2009-56039 A

  Everyone knows that a vacuum cleaner must be equipped with a dust container, but there are still situations where you forget to attach the dust container. In order to cope with this problem, the vacuum cleaner described in Patent Document 1 is provided with a detection switch for detecting the presence or absence of a dust bag that is detachably attached to the dust chamber, and this detection switch is not attached to the dust bag. Is detected, the input is controlled so that the electric blower is not driven, and the notification means is operated.

  With the configuration described in Patent Document 1, it is expensive to install a detection switch, and a space for arranging the detection switch must be secured in the dust collection chamber. Space for circuit elements that signal the opening and closing of the detection switch is also required. Furthermore, it is not a good practice to place a detection switch in a dusty space such as a dust collection chamber.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum cleaner that can determine whether a dust container is attached or not by means other than a detection switch.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner that sucks dust together with an air flow generated by driving an electric blower and introduces the sucked air flow into a dust collecting container to collect the dust. A current transformer is connected to the circuit, and the controller of the vacuum cleaner controls the operation of the electric blower based on the current flowing through the current transformer.

  In a state where the dust collecting container is not attached, the ventilation resistance is reduced and the air volume is increased. As a result, a phenomenon occurs in which the rotational speed of the electric blower is reduced and the current is increased. When the current transformer catches this increase in current, it can be known that the dust collecting container is not attached. The current transformer does not need to be arranged in the dust collection chamber, and the internal space of the dust collection chamber need not be narrowed. Moreover, it can be kept away from the adverse effects caused by dust in the dust collection chamber.

  In the vacuum cleaner having the above-described configuration, it is preferable that the control device stops the operation of the entire vacuum cleaner body when a current flowing through the current transformer exceeds a threshold value.

  According to this configuration, when the current flowing through the current transformer exceeds the threshold value due to the dust container not being installed, the entire vacuum cleaner main body is stopped to avoid the foolishness of sucking dust when it is not ready. be able to. Also, useless operations such as a dust removal motor can be stopped.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the vacuum cleaner continues to suck while the dust collecting container is not mounted, and the means for determining whether or not the dust collecting container is mounted is a current transformer, and the dust collecting container Since it is not a detection switch that requires physical contact with the container, there is no need to place a current transformer in the dust collection chamber that houses the dust collection container, and erosion of the space inside the dust collection chamber caused by such arrangement, or There is no problem of damage to the current transformer due to dust.

It is a perspective view of the vacuum cleaner main body which shows a dust container attachment state. It is a perspective view of the vacuum cleaner main body which shows a dust container non-wearing state. It is a circuit block diagram of a vacuum cleaner. It is a flowchart of operation | movement. It is a graph which shows the relationship between an electric current and an air volume.

  The vacuum cleaner body 1 shown in FIG. 1 is supported on a pair of left and right rear wheels 2 and a caster-type front wheel (not shown) and is routed on the floor by a hose (not shown) connected to a hose connection port 3 on the front end. Of the type to be used. A dust collection chamber 4 is defined in the front portion of the vacuum cleaner main body 1, and a cyclone type dust collection container 5 is detachably placed therein. The dust collection method of the dust collection container 5 is the same as that described in Patent Document 2 or 3. The dust collection chamber 4 is provided with a dust removal motor (not shown) for removing dust from the filter in the dust collection container 5. An openable / closable lid 6 closes the dust collection chamber 4.

  The electric vacuum cleaner main body 1 has a built-in electric blower (not shown) at a location on the other side of the wall behind the dust collection chamber 4 in FIG. Between the dust collection chamber 4 and the electric blower, as shown in FIG. 2, a filter 7 serving as a passage for air to the electric blower is disposed.

  FIG. 3 shows an outline of the circuit configuration of the electric vacuum cleaner main body 1. Reference numeral 10 denotes a drive circuit for the electric blower, which includes an electric blower 11, a commercial power supply 12, a thyristor 13 that controls a current flowing through the electric blower 11, and a current transformer that measures a current value flowing through the electric blower 11. 14 are connected in a loop. Reference numeral 15 denotes a control device that controls the entire vacuum cleaner body 1 and includes a microcomputer 16 that reads the value of the current flowing through the current transformer 14. A current transformer 14 and an operation unit 17 are connected to the control device 15. The operation unit 17 transmits an operation command from the user to the control device 15, and is disposed in a grip portion at the tip of the hose (not shown).

The control apparatus 15 controls the vacuum cleaner main body 1 based on the flowchart of FIG. After starting the control, the control device 15 measures the current flowing through the current transformer 14 in step S101. Subsequently, in step S102, it is checked whether or not the measured current value (I) exceeds the current value (I _TH ) set as the threshold value. If the measured value does not exceed the threshold value, the process returns to step S101, and the current measurement of the current transformer 14 is continued at a predetermined sampling rate.

When the electric vacuum cleaner main body 1 is in operation, an increase in the amount of air sent out by the electric blower 11 means an increase in the amount of work of the electric blower 11, and the current flowing through the electric blower 11 also increases. The measured current value I of the current transformer 14 also increases. As shown in FIG. 5, the measured current value I increases in proportion to the air volume Q and exceeds the threshold current I _TH at a certain location. When the measured current value I exceeds the threshold current I _TH , the control device 15 determines that the dust collecting container 5 is not attached and stops the operation of the entire vacuum cleaner body 1. Note that the threshold current I _TH may be set not in one stage but over several stages, and the operation may be stopped in stages.

Returning to the flowchart of FIG. If the measured value does not exceed the threshold value in step S102, it is determined that the dust container 5 is attached. If the vacuum cleaner body 1 is in operation, the operation state is changed unless the switch of the operation unit 17 is pressed. Return to the start while maintaining. If the switch of the operation unit 17 is pressed, the input is followed. Until I> I _TH , the loop for measuring the current flowing through the current transformer 14 does not exit. The sampling rate for reading the measured current value I may be set appropriately.

When I> I _{TH and} it is determined that the dust container 5 is not attached or has been removed, the controller 15 stops the operation of the entire vacuum cleaner body 1 as described above. In step S103, the control device 15 checks whether the electric blower 11 is in operation. If in operation, the process proceeds to step S104, and the operation is stopped. If it is not in operation, the process proceeds to step S105, and it is checked whether the dust removal motor is in operation. If it is operating, the process proceeds to step S106, and the dust removal motor is stopped. If not in operation, the process proceeds to step S104.

  After the control device 15 stops the operation of the entire vacuum cleaner body 1, the operation of the vacuum cleaner body 1 does not resume even if the switch of the operation unit 17 is pressed. That is, the vacuum cleaner main body 1 cannot be operated with the external switch. If the dust collecting container 5 is attached, this state is reset, and the operation of the electric vacuum cleaner main body 1 can be resumed by operating the switch of the operation unit 17.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

  The present invention is widely applicable to vacuum cleaners.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vacuum cleaner main body 4 Dust collection chamber 5 Dust collection container 10 Drive circuit 11 Electric blower 12 Commercial power supply 13 Thyristor 14 Current transformer 15 Control device 17 Operation part

Claims (2)

In a vacuum cleaner that sucks dust together with the airflow generated by driving the electric blower, introduces the sucked airflow into the dust collecting container, and collects dust,
Connect a current transformer to the drive circuit of the electric blower,
The control device of the electric vacuum cleaner performs operation control of the electric blower based on a current flowing through the current transformer.   2. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the control device stops the operation of the entire vacuum cleaner body when a current flowing through the current transformer exceeds a threshold value. 3.

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