JP2013208160A - Vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vacuum cleaner having excellent running stability by avoiding collision to the utmost with structures near the running course when a vacuum cleaner body deviates from the straight direction to either the left or right direction.SOLUTION: In a vacuum cleaner 1, a hose 3 freely attachably detachably connected to a vacuum cleaner body 2 includes a hose body 31, and a connecting part 32 for connecting the hose body 31 to the vacuum cleaner body 2. The connecting part 32 is formed in such a way that a first connecting part 32a which is connected to the vacuum cleaner body 2 is joined mutually to a second connecting part 32b which is connected to the hose body 31. In the joined part, the first connecting part 32a and the second connecting part 32b are made relatively bendable, wherein a guiding wheel 33 holding the vacuum cleaner body 2 and rolling on a surface to be cleaned is arranged in the second connecting part 32b.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner.

The vacuum cleaner has a vacuum cleaner body, a hose connected to the vacuum cleaner body, a hand control pipe connected to the end of the hose, an extension pipe connected to the tip of the hand control pipe, And a suction tool detachably attached to the tip.
When using such a vacuum cleaner to clean the floor, the user grasps the handle of the hand control tube and slides the suction tool back and forth on the floor to remove dust on the floor. , Suck and collect in the vacuum cleaner body through the suction tool, extension tube, hand control tube, and hose.

  The cleaner body has a pair of traveling wheels provided on both sides of the cleaner body, and one guide wheel provided in the center in the width direction on the front side of the lower surface of the cleaner body. And the vacuum cleaner body is grounded to the floor with these three wheels, and when the user pulls the hose, these wheels roll so that the vacuum cleaner body in the direction in which the hose is pulled. Is designed to run on the floor.

  By the way, as above-mentioned, since the vacuum cleaner main body is earth | grounded on the floor surface with a pair of driving | running | working wheel and one guide wheel, stability at the time of driving | running | working pulled by a hose becomes inadequate. In particular, the stability when the traveling direction deviated from straight traveling to either the left or right was not good.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a cleaner main body for improving running stability, a vacuum cleaner main body with a hose coupling member pivotally supported at the front end portion of the cleaner main body is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).
FIG. 6 to be referred to next is a diagram schematically showing a vacuum cleaner body of a conventional electric vacuum cleaner, FIG. 6 (a) is a plan view, and FIG. 6 (b) is a state when the cleaner body travels. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, in the conventional vacuum cleaner 101, a hose connecting member 104 is interposed between the cleaner main body 102 and the hose 103, and the base end portion of the hose connecting member 104 is the cleaner main body. It is pivotally supported at the front end portion of 102. Incidentally, the hose 103 is detachably attached to the hose connecting member 104. For example, when the electric vacuum cleaner 101 is stored, the hose 103 can be detached from the cleaner main body 102.

The hose connecting member 104 is rotatable around the shaft portion 105 with respect to the cleaner body 102. That is, the hose 103 connected to the hose connecting member 104 can swing with respect to the cleaner body 102.
Further, a guide wheel 106 is disposed on the front surface of the hose connecting member 104, that is, on the side where the hose 103 is connected, on the surface facing the floor surface. In FIG. 6A, the guide wheel 106 is represented by a hidden line (dotted line).

  According to such a vacuum cleaner 101, when the cleaner body 102 deviates from the straight travel to the left or right, the hose coupling member 104 is adjusted so as to match the traveling direction of the hose 103 deviated from the straight travel. It rotates around the shaft part 105. Thereafter, the cleaner body 102 is pulled in the direction in which the hose 103 and the hose connecting member 104 are pulled. As a result, the front end portion of the cleaner body 102 swings so as to go in the direction in which the hose 103 and the hose connecting member 104 are pulled. Thereby, the cleaner main body 102 can run in a different direction while following the movement of the hose 103 and the hose connecting member 104 without overturning.

JP 2010-240441 A

  However, as shown in FIG. 6 (b), the conventional vacuum cleaner 101 travels straight from the position A to the position B, and then the hose 103 is pulled in the direction of the arrow X so that the travel direction deviates from the straight travel. In this case, the hose connecting member 104 rotates around the shaft portion 105 so as to be directed in the direction pulled by the hose 103. Thereafter, the cleaner body 102 swings its head toward the white arrow Y so as to follow it. For this reason, the cleaner body 102 that is traveling may collide with a structure S such as furniture or a pillar in the vicinity of the traveling course.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electric machine having good running stability while avoiding as much as possible collision with a structure in the vicinity of the running course when the running direction of the cleaner body deviates from one of the straight running direction to the left and right direction. To provide a vacuum cleaner.

  This invention which solves the above-mentioned subject is a vacuum cleaner which has a suction tool via a vacuum cleaner main part which has a running wheel which rolls on a surface to be cleaned, and a hose which is detachably connected to this vacuum cleaner main body, The hose includes a hose body and a connection portion for connecting the hose body to the cleaner body, and the connection portion is connected to the first connection portion connected to the cleaner body and the hose body. And the second connection portion is connected to each other, and the first connection portion and the second connection portion are relatively bendable at the connection portion. The part is provided with a guide wheel that rolls while supporting the cleaner body on the surface to be cleaned.

  According to the present invention, a vacuum cleaner having good running stability while avoiding as much as possible collision with a structure in the vicinity of the running course when the running direction of the vacuum cleaner body deviates from one of the straight running direction to the left or right direction. Can be provided.

It is an appearance perspective view showing the whole vacuum cleaner concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a partial expansion perspective view which shows a mode that the hose was removed from the cleaner body. It is a side view which shows the connection part vicinity of a vacuum cleaner main body and a hose of the vacuum cleaner which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the vacuum cleaner main body of the vacuum cleaner which concerns on embodiment of this invention, FIG. 4 (a) is a top view, FIG.4 (b) is the operation | movement which shows a mode when a cleaner main body drive | works. It is explanatory drawing. It is a top view which shows typically the cleaner body of the vacuum cleaner which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the vacuum cleaner main body of the conventional vacuum cleaner, Fig.6 (a) is a top view, FIG.6 (b) is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows the mode at the time of a cleaner body driving | running | working. .

The main feature of the electric vacuum cleaner of the present invention is that a connecting portion that connects the hose body to the cleaner body is formed to be bendable, and a guide wheel is disposed at the connecting portion.
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate. First, the whole structure of the vacuum cleaner of this invention is demonstrated.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an entire vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, the front-rear, left-right, upper-lower directions are based on the front-rear, left-right, upper-lower directions shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the vacuum cleaner 1 according to this embodiment includes a vacuum cleaner body 2, a hose 3 described in detail later, a hand operation tube 4 provided with an operation switch 46 and the like, an extension tube 5, The suction tool 10 is provided.

The outer shell of the cleaner body 2 is covered with an upper case and a lower case. The upper case is positioned above the approximate center in the vertical direction, and the lower case is positioned below the approximate center in the vertical direction.
A pair of traveling wheels 6 and 6 (not shown for the right traveling wheel in FIG. 1) are arranged on the left and right sides of the outer shell. The traveling wheels 6 and 6 together with guide wheels 33 provided on the hose 3 to be described later are grounded on the floor surface to be cleaned to support the cleaner body 2 on the floor surface and roll to clean the cleaner. The main body 2 is caused to travel.

  The vacuum cleaner main body 2 includes a built-in electric blower (not shown) that generates a suction force, a dust collection unit that stores dust collected by the suction force of the electric blower, and the like. The operation of the electric blower can be switched by operating the switch 46 or the like.

When sucking dust accumulated on the surface to be cleaned such as the floor surface, the dust is sucked from the suction tool 10 and passes through the extension pipe 5 through the hand control pipe 4 and cleaned through the hose 3. Dust is collected in the machine body 2.
In addition, the dust collection part is located in the front side of the vacuum cleaner main body 2, and the lid | cover 2b which can be opened and closed is provided in the front side of the upper case. Therefore, the lid 2b closes the upper part of the dust collecting portion so that it can be opened and closed.

  The hand operation tube 4 has a connection portion 4a connected to the extension tube 5 and a handle 45 having a grip portion 44 that is gripped by a user's hand. For example, the user performs cleaning while holding the grip 44. The handle 45 is configured to have a substantially triangular (saber-shaped) closed region in a side view.

  The operation switch 46 is provided on the upper surface of the hand operation tube 4. An attachment / detachment button 47 for attaching / detaching the extension tube 5 is provided on the upper surface of the hand operation tube 4 in front of the operation switch 46.

  The extension pipe 5 includes an outer pipe 5a and an inner pipe 5b, and a rear end portion of the inner pipe 5b is inserted into a front end portion of the outer pipe 5a so as to be provided inside the outer pipe 5a and the inner pipe 5b (not shown). The air passages are connected so as to communicate with each other, and are configured to be extendable.

Next, the hose 3 that is detachably connected to the cleaner body 2 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the hose 3 includes a hose body 31 and a connection portion 32 that is connected to the hose body 31 and is detachably connected to the cleaner body 2.
Further, the hose 3 further includes a guide wheel 33 at the connection portion 32. That is, the guide wheel 33 is disposed near the cleaner body 2 of the hose 3.
The hose body 31 has flexibility with a surface formed in a bellows shape, and has a rear end connected to the connection portion 32 and a front end rotatably connected to the hand operation tube 4.

Next, FIG. 2 to be referred to is a partially enlarged perspective view showing a state in which the hose is removed from the cleaner body.
As shown in FIG. 2, the connection portion 32 includes a first connection portion 32a and a second connection portion 32b.
The first connection portion 32 a is a substantially cylindrical member that is fitted into the opening 2 a formed on the front side of the cleaner body 2. Reference numeral T denotes an electrode terminal. When the first connection portion 32a is inserted into the opening 2a, the operation switch 46 of the hand control tube 4 shown in FIG. 1 and the electric system (not shown) of the cleaner body 2 are electrically connected. Connected. With this connection, as described above, the operation of the electric blower (not shown) can be turned on / off, switched in strength, and the like by operating the operation switch 46.

  The second connection part 32 b is a substantially cylindrical member connected to the hose body 31. The second connecting portion 32b is provided with a guide wheel 33 which will be described later.

  The first connection portion 32a and the second connection portion 32b are cut out so as to draw a substantially U-shape on the left and right sides of the end portions facing each other (however, only the left side is visible in FIG. 2). . And the extension part 32d formed in the upper and lower sides of the edge parts which the 1st connection part 32a and the 2nd connection part 32b face is mutually overlap | superposed. The overlapped extension portions 32d are pivotally supported by a pair of upper and lower shaft members 32c on the upper and lower sides, respectively.

Thereby, the 1st connection part 32a and the 2nd connection part 32b can be mutually rotated around this shaft member 32c (connection part). In other words, the first connection portion 32a and the second connection portion 32b can be bent relatively around the shaft member 32c (connection portion).
In addition, the shaft member 32c in the present embodiment is disposed coaxially as a pair so as to penetrate the extending portion 32d vertically, so that the second connecting portion 32b is in the left-right direction with respect to the first connecting portion 32a. Is swingable.

  And in order to maintain airtightness between the hose main body 31 and the cleaner main body 2, the flexible pipe | tube 32e is arrange | positioned between the 1st connection part 32a and the 2nd connection part 32b. As a result, dust is efficiently sucked into the cleaner body 2 through the hose 3 without air leakage between the first connection portion 32a and the second connection portion 32b.

As described above, the guide wheel 33 is disposed in the second connection portion 32b. The guide wheel 33 is a fixed wheel in which the direction of the rotation shaft is fixed. More specifically, the rotation axis direction of the guide wheel 33 is such that the guide wheel 33 is orthogonal to the extending direction of the second connecting portion 32b extending in a direction away from the shaft member 32c (connecting portion). It is fixed.
In other words, the guide wheel 33 is easy to roll in the extending direction of the second connecting portion 32b when it rolls in contact with the floor surface (surface to be cleaned).
As the guide wheel 33, a free wheel whose direction of the rotating shaft can be freely changed can be used. However, a fixed wheel is more preferable than a free wheel in terms of excellent straightness.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing the vicinity of the connection between the vacuum cleaner main body and the hose in the electric vacuum cleaner according to the embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 3, the vacuum cleaner 1 according to this embodiment is configured such that the position of the shaft member 32 c (connecting portion) is in a state where the traveling wheel 6 and the guide wheel 33 are grounded to the floor surface F that is a surface to be cleaned. P1 and the ground contact position P2 of the guide wheel 33 with respect to the floor F are arranged in this order from the cleaner body 2 toward the hose body 31 side. That is, the position P1 of the shaft member 32c (connecting portion) is on the front side of the cleaner body 2, and the ground contact position P2 of the guide wheel 33 is further on the front side of the position P1 of the shaft member 32c (connecting portion).

  In FIG. 3, reference numeral 32 denotes a connection part, reference numeral 32a denotes a first connection part, reference numeral 32b denotes a second connection part, and reference numeral 32e denotes a flexible tube. Reference numeral 2d denotes a support wheel. The support wheel 2d is grounded to the floor F when the hose 3 is removed from the cleaner body 2 and the electric vacuum cleaner 1 is stored, and the cleaner body 2 Is supported on the floor surface F. Incidentally, the support wheel 2d is not grounded to the floor surface F when the cleaner body 2 is supported on the floor surface F by the traveling wheel 6 and the guide wheel 33.

Next, the effect which the vacuum cleaner 1 which concerns on this embodiment show | plays is demonstrated.
4A and 4B are diagrams schematically showing a vacuum cleaner main body of the electric vacuum cleaner according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4A is a plan view, and FIG. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows the mode at the time.

  As described above, in the conventional vacuum cleaner 101 (for example, refer to Patent Document 1), as shown in FIG. 6B, after traveling straight from the position A to the position B, in the direction of the arrow X, When the hose 103 is pulled and the traveling direction deviates from straight traveling, the hose connecting member 104 rotates around the shaft portion 105 so as to face the direction pulled by the hose 103. Thereafter, the cleaner body 102 swings its head toward the white arrow Y so as to follow it. For this reason, the cleaner body 102 that is traveling may collide with a structure S such as furniture or a pillar in the vicinity of the traveling course.

On the other hand, as shown to Fig.4 (a), the vacuum cleaner 1 which concerns on this embodiment is located ahead of the said vacuum cleaner main body 2, and the 1st connection part 32a and the 2nd connection part 32b, The connecting portion 32 can be bent at the connecting portion, that is, at the position of the shaft member 32c.
Therefore, for example, the vacuum cleaner main body 2 pulled diagonally forward by the hose main body 31 causes the vacuum cleaner main body 2 to be necked at an angle θ1 by the force F1 acting on the shaft member 32c at a distance D1 from the center of gravity C of the vacuum cleaner main body 2. Try to shake.

In FIG. 4A, reference numeral 32a is a first connection part, reference numeral 32b is a second connection part, and reference numeral 33 is a guide wheel.
Incidentally, in a conventional electric vacuum cleaner (for example, see Patent Document 1), the cleaner body 102 (see FIG. 6A) is moved from the angle θ1 by the force F1 acting on the shaft portion 105 at a distance of D2 from the center of gravity C. Tries to swing the head at a larger angle θ2 (see FIG. 4A).

  In other words, the conventional vacuum cleaner 101 swings its head at a large angle θ2 due to the force F1 acting on the shaft portion 105. There is a case of collision (see FIG. 6B).

  On the other hand, as described above, the vacuum cleaner 1 according to the present embodiment has the swing angle of θ1 (see FIG. 4A) even if the same force F1 as the vacuum cleaner 101 is applied. Thus, the swing angle θ2 of the vacuum cleaner 101 (see FIG. 4A) is smaller.

  Therefore, according to the vacuum cleaner 1 according to the present embodiment, the hose body 31 is pulled in the direction of the arrow X after traveling straight from the position A to the position B as shown in FIG. When the traveling direction deviates from the straight traveling direction, the cleaner body 2 has a smaller swing angle θ1 (see FIG. 4A) than the conventional cleaner body 102 (see FIG. 6A) as described above. Continue on the driving course. Therefore, unlike the conventional vacuum cleaner 101 (refer FIG.6 (b)), the vacuum cleaner 1 which concerns on this embodiment has the structure of the cleaner main body 2 in driving | running | working as shown in FIG.4 (b). Colliding with the object S can be avoided.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the guide wheel 33 is provided in the second connection portion 32 b that is directly pulled to the hose body 31, and therefore the first connection of the second connection portion 32 b that is directly pulled to the hose body 31. The rotation operation with respect to the portion 32a becomes smooth. Therefore, a sudden turning operation of the second connecting portion 32b due to the hose body 31 being pulled by the user is suppressed, and the cleaner body 2 exhibits good running stability. This effect becomes more prominent when the guide wheel 33 is the fixed wheel.

  Moreover, according to this embodiment, unlike the conventional vacuum cleaner 101 which has the axial part 105 in the cleaner main body 102 shown to Fig.6 (a), as shown to Fig.4 (a), as shown in FIG. Is provided in the connection portion 32. In other words, since the shaft member 32c is provided on the hose 3 (see FIG. 1) that is detachably joined to the cleaner body 2, the existing cleaner body 2 can be used without change. Therefore, according to this embodiment, manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  Moreover, in the conventional vacuum cleaner 101 shown in FIG. 6A, even if the distance of the shaft portion 105 from the center of gravity (not shown) of the cleaner body 102 is maximized, the distance is naturally limited. End up. On the other hand, according to this embodiment, since the shaft member 32c is provided in the hose 3 (connection portion 32), the distance D1 of the shaft member 32c from the center of gravity C of the cleaner body 2 (see FIG. 4A). Can be set relatively freely. Thereby, the balance between the running stability of the cleaner main body 102 and the swing angle θ1 (see FIG. 4A) at the time of design can be easily adjusted.

As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It can implement with a various form.
In the embodiment, the first connection portion 32a and the second connection portion 32b are pivotally supported by the shaft member 32c so that they can be bent. However, the present invention is connected to the cleaner body 2. The bent structure is not particularly limited as long as the first connecting portion 32a and the guide wheel 33 and the second connecting portion 32b connected to the hose body 31 are configured to be bendable.

Next, FIG. 5 referred to is a plan view schematically showing a vacuum cleaner body of a vacuum cleaner according to another embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 5, in the electric vacuum cleaner 1, the hose 3 includes a hose body 31, a connection portion 32, and guide wheels 33. In addition, in FIG. 5, description of the traveling wheel of the cleaner body 2 is omitted.

And the connection part 32 is connected to the cleaner body 2, the second connection part 32 b is connected to the hose body 31 and has the guide wheel 33, the first connection part 32 a and the second connection part 32. A flexible tube 32e that connects the connection portion 32b so as to be bendable is provided.
According to such a vacuum cleaner 1, since the connection structure of the 1st connection part 32a and the 2nd connection part 32b can be simplified, a number of parts can be reduced.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vacuum cleaner, 2 ... Vacuum cleaner main body, 3 ... Hose, 4 ... Hand operation pipe, 5 ... Extension pipe, 6 ... Running wheel, 10 ... Suction tool, 31 ... Hose body, 32 ... Connection part, 32a ... No. 1 connection part, 32b ... 2nd connection part, 32c ... shaft member (connection part), 33 ... guide wheel.

Claims (4)

In the vacuum cleaner main body having a traveling wheel that rolls on the surface to be cleaned, and the vacuum cleaner having a suction tool via a hose that is detachably connected to the main body of the cleaner,
The hose comprises a hose body, and a connecting portion for connecting the hose body to the cleaner body,
The connection part is formed by mutually connecting a first connection part connected to the cleaner body and a second connection part connected to the hose body, and the connection part includes the first connection part. The connecting portion and the second connecting portion can be bent relatively,
The vacuum cleaner, wherein a guide wheel that rolls while supporting the vacuum cleaner main body on the surface to be cleaned is disposed in the second connection portion. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein
In a state where the traveling wheel and the guide wheel are grounded to the surface to be cleaned,
The vacuum cleaner, wherein the position of the connecting portion and the grounding position of the guide wheel with respect to the surface to be cleaned are arranged in this order from the cleaner body toward the hose body side. In the vacuum cleaner of Claim 1 or Claim 2,
The vacuum cleaner, wherein the first connection part and the second connection part are connected via a shaft part and are relatively bendable. The electric vacuum cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The guide wheel is a fixed wheel in which a rotation axis direction of the guide wheel is fixed so as to be orthogonal to the extending direction of the second connection portion extending in a direction away from the connecting portion. Characterized vacuum cleaner.

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