JP2013226176A - Suction tool for vacuum cleaner, and vacuum cleaner equipped with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a suction tool for a vacuum cleaner, which is superior in the visibility of dust on a surface to be cleaned.SOLUTION: Provided is a suction tool for a vacuum cleaner, which includes: a suction port 14 that opens while facing a surface to be cleaned; a left irradiation means 25 and a right irradiation means 26 for irradiating the surface to be cleaned; a dust detection means 16 disposed in an air inlet channel 15a communicated with the vacuum cleaner to detect the dust to be sucked in; and an illumination control means 32 for controlling the irradiation by the left irradiation means 25 and right irradiation means 26 in response to the result of detection by the dust detection means 16. The optical axes of the left irradiation means 25 and right irradiation means 26 are arranged to be tilted from a side part of the suction tool 15 to a front center direction of the suction tool 15 so that a wide area of the surface to be cleaned around a portion ahead of the suction tool 15 can be irradiated. Since an irradiation can be controlled according to a dust distribution state by the dust detection means 16, it is possible to change the irradiance in consideration of the visibility of the dust. Thus, a dust detection state can be made known to a user.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner suction tool and a vacuum cleaner connected to a vacuum cleaner used in a general household.

  As conventional vacuum cleaner suction tools (hereinafter referred to as “suction tools”), those equipped with lighting means such as light bulbs, and those that control lighting only in dark places using light sensors etc. are proposed. (For example, refer to Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  Moreover, it has already been verified that the dirt on the surface to be cleaned becomes easy to see by configuring the illumination means with a highly rectilinear one and disposing it at a low position on the front surface of the suction tool (for example, Patent Document 3). And 4).

Japanese Patent Publication No. 61-50616 JP-A-60-236624 Japanese Patent No. 2998074 Utility Model Registration No. 3138321

  However, as shown in FIG. 7, in the configuration of the conventional suction tool 1 in which illumination means such as a light bulb 2 is provided in the front part, the suction port 3 has to be located rearward, and when cleaning a wall or the like. There was a problem that dust residue was generated.

  Further, since the high luminance LED is required to have a luminous flux in order to ensure the luminance, when it is irradiated with a small number of LEDs, a portion that is not irradiated appears as shown in FIG. Therefore, when illuminating the full width of the suction tool, it is necessary to increase the number of LEDs, and there are problems such as deterioration in usability due to an increase in power consumption and mass.

  In addition to visual confirmation of the surface to be cleaned, in the case of an electric vacuum cleaner that controls the input of the electric blower according to the amount of dust sucked, the appearance of dirt on the surface to be cleaned and the electric blower It is preferable that the input change correspond instantly, and an impression that does not match the actual feeling remains even if the position away from the suction tool is irradiated.

  Therefore, it is preferable that the vicinity of the suction tool is uniformly irradiated over the entire width of the suction tool as much as possible, and in order to make dust clearly visible, irradiation from a low angle of about 10 ° to the surface to be cleaned may be performed. It becomes necessary.

  In addition, since it is easy to visually recognize the dust by irradiating the floor surface, it is assumed that there are many situations in which the user is gazing near the suction tool. There was a problem that it was difficult to see even if a notice was provided.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problem, and without reducing the dust collection performance as a suction tool, the suction tool is made to the full width of the suction tool at a low angle of about 10 ° with respect to the surface to be cleaned. It provides illumination means that can irradiate across, and is designed to perform irradiation suitable for the distribution of dust. The surface to be cleaned can be cleaned by the presence or absence of dirt on the surface to be cleaned and the vacuum cleaner's excellent dust collection ability. An object of the present invention is to provide an excellent suction tool for a vacuum cleaner and a vacuum cleaner that can further improve the efficiency of cleaning work and the feeling of achievement after cleaning by being able to visually check the degree of removal of dirt.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, a vacuum cleaner suction tool according to the present invention is a vacuum cleaner suction tool attached to the tip of a dust suction passage communicating with a dust collecting portion of a vacuum cleaner body, A suction port that is open to face the surface, an illuminating unit that irradiates the surface to be cleaned, an intake path that communicates with the dust suction path, and a dust detection unit that detects dust that is disposed and sucked in the intake path; Illumination control means for controlling irradiation by the illumination means in accordance with the detection result of the dust detection means, and the optical axis of the illumination means is connected to the vacuum cleaner suction from the side of the vacuum cleaner suction tool. Even in the configuration where the suction port is arranged at the most advanced position, the surface to be cleaned near the front of the vacuum cleaner can be widely irradiated, and the dust detection means Judgment is made after judging the dust distribution. It is possible to control the, can have to change the amount of irradiation in consideration of the visibility of dust, the effect of informing the user of the detection status of the dust.

  Moreover, the vacuum cleaner of this invention was equipped with the suction tool for vacuum cleaners of any one of Claims 1-4, and the vacuum cleaner main body which incorporated the electric blower, and is for vacuum cleaners. Since the surface to be cleaned near the front of the suction tool can be widely irradiated, it is possible to provide a vacuum cleaner that is easy to use with good visibility of dust and less cleaning leakage.

  The vacuum cleaner suction tool and the vacuum cleaner using the same according to the present invention irradiate the vicinity of the suction tool at a low angle of about 10 ° with respect to the surface to be cleaned without deteriorating the dust collecting performance of the suction tool. It is possible to raise the dirt on the surface to be cleaned near the suction tool. This makes it easy to understand not only dirty places but also places that have been cleanly cleaned due to their excellent dust collection ability, reducing the amount of dust left behind, and avoiding cleaning the places that have been cleaned again. In addition, since it is possible to control the irradiation after judging the dust distribution status from the detection result of the dust detection means, the irradiation amount can be changed in consideration of the visibility of the dust, or the dust detection status can be changed by the user. It can have the effect of informing. Therefore, it is possible to provide a small-sized and easy-to-use vacuum cleaner that can make more efficient use of electric power and can realize a sense of accomplishment of cleaning.

Whole view of the vacuum cleaner which connected the suction tool for vacuum cleaners in Embodiment 1 of this invention Top view of the vacuum cleaner suction tool Front view of the vacuum cleaner suction tool Side view of the vacuum cleaner suction tool Side sectional view of the vacuum cleaner suction tool Control block diagram of the vacuum cleaner Side sectional view of a conventional vacuum cleaner suction tool The figure which shows the state of the suction tool for other conventional vacuum cleaners

1st invention is the suction tool for vacuum cleaners attached to the front-end | tip of the dust collection path | route connected to the dust collection part of a cleaner body, Comprising: The suction inlet opened facing the surface to be cleaned, and a surface to be cleaned Illuminating means for irradiating, an intake path communicating with the dust suction passage, dust detecting means for detecting dust sucked and sucked in the intake path, and irradiation by the illuminating means according to a detection result of the dust detecting means An illumination control means for controlling the illumination means, and the optical axis of the illumination means is arranged so as to be inclined from the side of the vacuum cleaner suction tool toward the front of the center of the vacuum cleaner suction tool. Even in the most advanced configuration, the surface to be cleaned near the front of the vacuum cleaner suction tool can be widely irradiated, and the dust detection means can control the irradiation after judging the dust distribution status. Because it is possible, considering the visibility of dust Change the amount of irradiation Te, can have the effect of informing the user of the detection status of the dust.

  In the second invention, in particular, the dust detection means of the first invention is configured to be able to simultaneously detect dust of different sizes and output a plurality of detection signals, depending on the size and quantity of the detected dust. For example, when there is a lot of fine dust, the user can sensibly know that there is a lot of fine dust by increasing the amount of light to increase the visibility. It is possible to improve usability.

  According to a third aspect of the invention, in particular, the illumination means of the first or second aspect of the invention comprises a plurality of or multicolor light emitting means so as to irradiate a plurality of colors, and the illumination depends on the dust distribution detected by the dust detection means. Irradiation control for switching the coloring of the means is performed, so that the user can easily grasp the dust distribution state intuitively and the usability can be further improved.

  According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in particular, in the vacuum cleaner suction tool according to any one of the first to third aspects of the invention, a rotating brush that rotates on the surface to be cleaned and collects dust, an electric motor, and the rotation of the electric motor An electric motor control means for controlling the rotation of the rotary brush by transmitting force to the rotary brush, and controls the rotation of the rotary brush according to the detection result of the dust detection means and the irradiation result of the surface to be cleaned. Since the number of rotations of the brush can be controlled according to the surface condition and dust distribution, efficient cleaning can be performed.

  The vacuum cleaner which concerns on 5th invention is equipped with the suction tool for vacuum cleaners of any one of Claims 1-4, and the vacuum cleaner main body which incorporated the electric blower, A vacuum cleaner Since the surface to be cleaned in the vicinity of the front side of the suction tool can be widely irradiated, it is possible to provide a vacuum cleaner that has good visibility of dust and is easy to use with little cleaning leakage.

  In particular, the sixth aspect of the present invention is a vacuum cleaner according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, which controls the irradiation of the illumination means in accordance with the detection result of the dust detection means and controls the electric power of the electric blower for cleaning. It is possible to provide a vacuum cleaner that is very easy to use because it is possible to see how dust is removed from the floor surface while looking at the floor surface.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same or corresponding elements are denoted by the same reference symbols throughout the drawings, and redundant description thereof is omitted.

(Embodiment 1)
1 is an overall view of a vacuum cleaner to which a vacuum cleaner suction tool according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is connected, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the vacuum cleaner suction tool, and FIG. 3 is the same vacuum cleaner. FIG. 4 is a side view of the vacuum cleaner suction tool, FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of the vacuum cleaner suction tool, and FIG. 6 is a control block of the vacuum cleaner. FIG.

  In FIG. 1, the vacuum cleaner suction tool 15 (hereinafter referred to as “suction tool 15”) in Embodiment 1 of the present invention is connected to the vacuum cleaner body 10 of the vacuum cleaner via the extension pipe 20 and the hose 13. Is done.

A dust collection bag 11 as a dust collection unit for collecting dust is disposed at the front of the vacuum cleaner main body 10, and an electric blower 12 is disposed at the rear. One end of a hose 13 is connected to the cleaner body 10,
At the other end of the hose 13, there is an operating portion 19, and an extension pipe 20 is connected to the tip of the operation section 19, and a dust suction passage 35 is formed by the hose 13 and the extension pipe 20. And the suction tool 15 which opened the suction inlet 14 facing the to-be-cleaned surface is connected with the front-end | tip of the dust suction path 35, ie, the tip of the extension pipe 20. As shown in FIG.

  The signal of the operation unit 19 is sent to the main body control means 18 in the cleaner body 10, and the main body control means 18 operates the electric blower 12.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the suction tool 15 has a rotary brush storage chamber 22 for storing the rotary brush 21 formed integrally with the suction port 14, and the rotary brush 21 is interposed between the motor 23 and the rotary brush 21. The belt 24 is rotated by receiving a driving force by the suspended belt 24. The driving of the rotating brush 21 by the electric motor 23 is an existing technology, and a detailed description thereof is omitted.

  Further, in the suction passage 15a of the suction tool 15 communicating with the dust suction passage 35, there is, for example, an infrared sensor and dust detection means 16 capable of simultaneously detecting dust having different sizes depending on a plurality of amplification factors. Dust distribution determining means 17 is provided for receiving the signal and determining the dust distribution status.

  A left irradiation means 25 and a right irradiation means 26 are arranged on the left end and the right end of the upper part of the rotary brush storage chamber 22 of the suction tool 15, respectively. 28 is arranged and configured.

  Each of the left irradiating means 25 and the right irradiating means 26 provided with the LED 27 and the reflecting tube 28 is disposed obliquely with the tip down, and the left irradiating means 25 is located in front of the right end of the suction tool 15. The right irradiation means 26 is arranged facing the left end front of the suction tool 15. That is, the left irradiating means 25 and the right irradiating means 26 arranged on both sides of the suction tool 15 are directed toward the center front direction of the suction tool 15 and light to illuminate the surface to be cleaned with an irradiation angle of about 10 °. An axis is arranged. In addition, for each light quantity, in a steady state, an electric current is passed so as to reach a distance of about 150 mm from the LED 27.

  The mounting positions of the left irradiating means 25 and the right irradiating means 26 are at a height exceeding 30 mm from the surface to be cleaned, but are directed to the opposite ends of each other, so in this embodiment, the irradiation angle with respect to the surface to be cleaned Is about 10 ° at the center of the optical axis. Since the light beams from the left irradiating means 25 and the right irradiating means 26 are diffused at an angle of about 20 °, the range of the surface to be cleaned illuminated by the light is about 70 mm from the front surface of the suction tool 15.

  Although the irradiation means is not particularly arranged in the central portion of the suction tool 15, the light from the left irradiation means 25 and the right irradiation means 26 intersects at the central portion, and the light quantity at the central portion is doubled. Therefore, the surface to be cleaned can be illuminated with sufficient brightness even in the central portion without the irradiation means.

  In the present embodiment, a window 29 made of highly transparent acrylic is provided in front of the left irradiation means 25 and the right irradiation means 26 to prevent dust from entering the left irradiation means 25 and the right irradiation means 26. Yes. In addition, a front wall 30 of the rotating brush storage chamber 22 protrudes slightly below the window 29, and a bumper 31 for absorbing shock is disposed to cover the periphery of the front wall 30.

The left irradiating means 25 and the right irradiating means 26 constituting the illuminating means in the present embodiment are arranged at positions deeper than the front end of the suction tool 15, but use the diagonal distance in the width direction of the suction tool 15. By doing so, the irradiation angle can be set to about 10 °, so it is not necessary to provide it at the front end of the suction tool 15, and it is disposed above the rotating brush storage chamber 22 (30 mm or more from the surface to be cleaned) even at the height position. Can do. Therefore, it is possible to arrange the rotating brush 21 that exerts a powerful dust lifting force while maintaining a light weight without making the suction tool 15 larger than before.

  Furthermore, while the suction port 14 is disposed at the tip of the suction tool 15, an illumination unit that can irradiate the width of the suction tool 15 over a wide range can be disposed, and the illumination unit can be protected from impact and the like. The left irradiation means 25 and the right irradiation means 26 are electrically connected to the illumination control means 32 provided in the suction tool 15. The illumination control means 32 and the electric motor control means 33 are connected so that electric power is supplied from the cleaner body 10 and control can be performed in response to an output signal from the dust distribution determination means 17.

  About the suction tool 15 and the vacuum cleaner in this Embodiment comprised as mentioned above, the operation | movement and an effect | action are demonstrated below.

  When the cleaner body 10 is operated by operating the operation unit 19, suction air is generated by the electric blower 12, and dust on the surface to be cleaned is sucked from the suction tool 15 communicating with the hose 13 and the extension pipe 20.

  At the same time, the rotary brush 21 of the suction tool 15 also rotates, and dust that cannot be lifted by the suction force generated at the suction port 14 is collected and sucked by mechanical force.

  At this time, the front of the suction tool 15 is irradiated by the left irradiation means 25 and the right irradiation means 26. Since the optical axis is set toward the center of the suction tool 15, the dust on the surface to be cleaned Are projected on both the left and right sides in a direction that intersects at an angle with the user's line of sight. In other words, shadows are projected obliquely on both sides of the dust as seen by the user. Moreover, since the irradiation is performed at an angle of about 10 ° with respect to the surface to be cleaned, a shadow having a length 5 to 10 times as large as the actual size of dust is created.

  Normally, only the dust with a size of about 100 μm can be confirmed with the naked eye, but in the present embodiment, even for fine dust of about 10 μm, the shadow expands in the direction intersecting the user's line of sight. And being projected, and the dust itself is brightly illuminated by high illuminance, the contrast is strengthened and its presence can be recognized.

  Furthermore, since the left irradiating means 25 and the right irradiating means 26 are set in the central direction of the suction tool 15 so that the optical axis is set, the light reflected on the surface to be cleaned does not go to the eyes of the user and is cleaned. There is no noticeable glare, and there is no burden on the user's eyes. And since it can illuminate over a wide range over the width direction of the suction tool 15 by a small number of irradiation means, a necessary range can be efficiently illuminated without enlarging the suction tool 15.

  Thereby, the user can visually check the dirty place on the surface to be cleaned, and can clean the dirty place efficiently and with a light operation.

  The above operation is further achieved by the dust detection unit 16 determining whether the dust is large or small by the dust detection unit 16 and the illumination control unit 32 and the motor control unit 33 controlling the LED 27 and / or the motor 23, respectively. Become effective.

Further, by enabling detection of dust of different sizes by the dust detection means 16, it is determined whether there is a lot of fine dust. If there is a lot of fine dust, the amount of light of the LED 27 is increased and the contrast of the dust shadow is increased. In addition to improving the visibility, if there is a lot of coarse dust, the shadow can be projected with a normal amount of light so that the user can see the dust stably and intuitively understand the distribution of the dust. Judgment can be made. In addition, when there is a lot of coarse dust, the collecting performance can be improved by increasing the scraping force of the rotating brush 21 in particular. When neither is necessary, it is possible to suppress unnecessary power consumption by pushing the power consumption.

  On the contrary, when the distribution of dust is small as a whole, by controlling to increase the amount of light and widen the irradiation range, it is possible to make the dust distribution state widely visible and help to increase the cleaning efficiency. As means for expanding the irradiation range, there is a method of changing the irradiation angle in addition to increasing the amount of light, and an illumination control means 32 for that purpose may be provided. For example, it is conceivable to provide another LED for wide range irradiation or a means for changing the angle of the reflecting tube 28.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that the power control of the rotating brush 21 is performed in consideration of the floor surface so as to achieve optimal control depending on the condition of the surface to be cleaned. For example, if there is a lot of coarse dust on a floor without unevenness, it may be repelled if the rotation of the rotating brush 21 is too strong even if there is a lot of dust.

  For carpets and the like, the output of the electric motor 23 may be increased as it is in accordance with the amount of dust, but the suction efficiency can be further increased by controlling the rotation so as not to increase excessively on a flat floor. As the method, the user may determine the situation in the vicinity of the suction tool 15 and set it manually, or may determine it automatically from the load state of the rotary brush 21 or the like.

  It is an existing technology that the body control unit 18 controls the electric power of the electric blower 12 based on the dust distribution state by the dust distribution determination unit 17, and although detailed description is omitted, the dust detection unit 16 and the dust distribution determination unit 17. As for the above, it is possible to perform these controls by transmitting and receiving signals anywhere in the suction path from the suction port 14 to the dust bag 11.

  Conventionally, as a notification means for notifying the user of the detection results of the dust detection means 16 and the dust distribution determination means 17, a display means composed of LEDs or the like is used as the operation unit 19, the extension pipe 20, or the cleaner body 10. And so on.

  However, in this Embodiment, since the vicinity of the suction tool 15 is irradiated, it is possible that a user's eyes | visual_axis is concentrated on the part irradiated naturally. Therefore, by changing the left illuminating means 25 and the right illuminating means 26 as the informing means for detecting dust or distribution information, it becomes easy to understand for the user.

  As an example, the amount of irradiation light already described may be changed, but it can be recognized more intuitively by changing the color development more easily. For example, it is effective to display a green system when dust is not detected and to add red or blink when many are detected. Further, the color development and / or the light emission pattern may be changed depending on the distribution of fine dust and coarse dust.

  Further, an acceleration sensor or a gyro sensor may be provided in the suction tool 15 to change the irradiation control in consideration of the operation state of the suction tool 15. Improve usability by changing the amount of light to be irradiated and the angle according to the direction of operation and the speed of operation, so that the dust in the range that the user wants to see rises while performing efficient power control. You can also.

  As described above, the vacuum cleaner suction tool and the vacuum cleaner using the vacuum cleaner according to the present invention are not particularly limited, and it is easy to visually grasp the dust distribution state on the surface to be cleaned. It is useful in a wide range as it can be cleaned efficiently while improving usability by interlocking with.

10 Vacuum cleaner body 11 Dust collection bag (dust collection part)
12 Electric blower 13 Hose 14 Suction port 15 Vacuum cleaner suction tool (suction tool)
15a Intake path 16 Dust detection means 17 Dust distribution judgment means 18 Main body control means 19 Operation section 20 Extension pipe 21 Rotating brush 22 Rotating brush storage chamber 23 Electric motor 24 Belt 25 Left irradiation means (illumination means)
26 Right irradiation means (illumination means)
27 LED
28 Reflecting tube 29 Window 30 Front wall 31 Bumper 32 Illumination control means 33 Electric motor control means 35 Dust absorption passage

Claims (6)

A vacuum cleaner suction tool attached to the tip of the dust suction passage communicating with the dust collecting part of the vacuum cleaner main body, a suction port opened facing the surface to be cleaned, an illumination means for irradiating the surface to be cleaned, An intake passage communicating with the dust suction passage, dust detection means for detecting dust that is disposed in the intake passage and sucked, and illumination control means for controlling irradiation by the illumination means in accordance with a detection result of the dust detection means A suction tool for a vacuum cleaner that is disposed by tilting the optical axis of the illuminating means from the side of the suction tool for the vacuum cleaner toward the center front of the suction tool for the vacuum cleaner. The dust detection unit is configured to simultaneously detect dust of different sizes and output a plurality of detection signals, and controls the illumination unit according to the detected size and quantity of the dust. Vacuum cleaner suction tool. The illumination unit is configured by a plurality of or multicolor light emitting units so as to irradiate a plurality of colors, and performs irradiation control for switching the color of the illumination unit according to the distribution state of dust detected by the dust detection unit. Vacuum cleaner suction tool. A detection result of the dust detection means, comprising: a rotating brush that rotates on the surface to be cleaned and collects dust; an electric motor; and an electric motor control unit that performs a rotational drive by transmitting the rotational force of the electric motor to the rotating brush. The suction tool for a vacuum cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the rotation of the rotating brush is controlled according to the irradiation result of the surface to be cleaned. A vacuum cleaner comprising: the vacuum cleaner suction tool according to any one of claims 1 to 4; and a vacuum cleaner body incorporating an electric blower. The electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 5, wherein the electric power of the electric blower is controlled while controlling the irradiation of the illumination means according to the detection result of the dust detection means.