JP2014144166A - Vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vacuum cleaner including an upper case that is excellently designed while having respective functional components and being inexpensive.SOLUTION: A vacuum cleaner includes: a body outer shell; and functional components mounted on the inside of the outer shell. The outer shell includes a lower case and an upper case covering the lower case. The upper case is constituted by multiple case components. The case components are constituted by a first upper case where outer appearance design is mainly involved; and a second upper case where functions and structures are mainly involved.

Description

  The present invention relates to a case constituting an outer shell of a vacuum cleaner body.

  Conventionally, the outer shell of the main body of a vacuum cleaner has a lower case on which functional parts such as an electric blower, a dust collector, a controller, and a cord reel are mounted, and an upper lid that covers these functional parts and opens and closes the position of the dust collector. It is comprised from the upper case etc. which attached (for example, refer patent document 1).

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2001-238827 (FIG. 2)

The upper case formed in this way has an outer shell portion that serves as a design surface, an opening that the cord storage button that serves as a functional part faces, a rib for strength maintenance, a boss for screws to be attached to the lower case, An opening or the like on which various lamps indicating the operating state face is integrally formed by resin molding to constitute one part.
In order to improve the texture of the design surface of such an upper case, painting has been conventionally performed, but there is a problem that costs are increased.

Further, by providing ribs or bosses on the back side of the design surface of the upper case, sink marks (indentations and depressions caused by molding shrinkage caused by materials during molding in industrial products) are generated, and the finish of the design surface is lowered.
In order to prevent this, it is necessary to take measures such as increasing the thickness of the upper case, which is a factor that impedes weight reduction of the cleaner body.

As an alternative to painting to improve the texture of the upper case, a method of kneading and molding a material that improves design properties (for example, a metallic material that reflects light to show shine) as a molding material (hereinafter referred to as “molding material”) There is a kneading molding), and a low-cost texture close to that of painting (high quality) can be obtained.
However, in kneading molding, the shape of the part to be molded includes openings, steep steps and corners, protrusions around the exhaust holes, ribs and bosses (usually a function required for the upper case of a vacuum cleaner). If this is the case, uneven flow of the above-mentioned material may occur during molding, and a flow mark (appearance defect) may occur, and in the conventional upper case shape in which many parts that become the design surface and many functional parts are integrated. It was unsuitable.
In particular, in the kneading molding of metallic materials, it is important to flow the resin in one direction from end to end when molding the part, and it is difficult to install the mold gate trace other than the design part. It was.

  That is, the upper case in which the functional parts are integrally formed has a problem in the cost or the finish of the design surface as described above.

  This invention solves the said subject, and it aims at providing the vacuum cleaner provided with the upper case which was excellent in the design property while having low cost and having each functional part.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in a vacuum cleaner, the case has a case serving as an outer shell of the main body and a functional component mounted inside the case, and the case includes a lower case and an upper case covering the lower case The upper case is constituted by a plurality of upper case parts, and the upper case part is constituted by a first upper case mainly having an appearance design and a second upper case mainly having a function and a structure. Thus, the problem can be solved.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to provide the vacuum cleaner provided with the upper case which has each functional site | part and was excellent in design property.

The perspective view which shows the cleaner body of this invention Side surface sectional drawing which shows the vacuum cleaner main body of this invention The perspective view which shows the whole vacuum cleaner of this invention The exploded perspective view which looked at the upper case of the cleaner body of the present invention from the upper side The exploded perspective view which looked at the upper case of the cleaner body of the present invention from the lower side Detailed view 1 showing the configuration of the upper case of the vacuum cleaner body of the present invention Detail drawing 2 showing the configuration of the upper case of the vacuum cleaner body of the present invention

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
1 and 2, this cleaner body 1 (hereinafter referred to as “main body 1”) collects dust sucked together with the intake air generated when the electric blower 2 housed therein is driven into the dust collecting section 13. is there.
Note that the dust collection method of the dust collection unit 13 may be, for example, a paper pack type or a cyclone type dust collection box. In the present embodiment, a paper pack type is used.

The outer shell of the main body 1 includes a lower case 3 constituting the lower surface of the main body 1, upper cases 20 and 30 provided on the upper side of the lower case 3, and the dust collecting portion 13 provided on the upper cases 20 and 30. It is comprised from the cover body 11 which opens and closes upward.
The lower case 3 is open on the upper side, and displays an electric blower 2, a dust collecting unit 13, a control unit 14, a cord reel (not shown) for winding a power cord, a cord reel button 12 for operating the cord reel, and an operating state. Functional parts such as LED18 which is an indicator lamp are mounted.

The lower case 3 constitutes the lower surface of the vacuum cleaner main body 1, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the front wheel 9 is rotatably and pivotably provided at the lower part facing the front floor surface. The rear wheels 10 are rotatably provided on both sides of the rear portion of the cleaner body 1.
Furthermore, a main body suction port 4 communicating with the suction side of the electric blower 2 is formed at the front end of the lower case 3, and a dust collecting portion 13 is located between the main body suction port 4 and the electric blower 2. . An arch-shaped handle 16 is provided above the main body inlet 4.

As shown in FIG. 3, the main body suction port 4 is connected with an elongated substantially cylindrical hose body 15 that is flexible and can be bent. At the tip of the hose body 15, a hand operation unit 5 that is an operation unit that can select an operation mode of the electric blower 2 is provided.
The hand operating section 5 is provided with a plurality of setting buttons for setting the electric blower 2 and the like to a plurality of operation modes, and an operation gripping section 6 gripped by an operator when cleaning is directed toward the base end side. Projecting.

Furthermore, an elongated, substantially cylindrical extension tube 7 that can be extended and contracted is detachably connected to the distal end of the hand operation unit 5.
At the tip of the extension pipe 7, for example, a suction port body 8 that is placed on a carpet on the floor of the room and operated by the operation gripping unit 6 and sucks dust on the carpet or the like is detachable. It is connected in communication.

  Next, referring to FIG. 4 to FIG. 7, the upper case 20, 30 is composed of two case parts, a first upper case 20 and a second upper case 30, and both members are connected in the front-rear direction. Thus, the upper surface, the side surface, and the rear surface of the main body 1 extending from the upper part of the electric blower chamber that is partitioned in the rear part of the lower case 3 and accommodates functional parts such as the electric blower 2 to the attachment end of the handle 16 are covered.

Here, the first upper case 20 forms the upper side surface of the main body 1, and includes a right side surface portion 20a and a left side surface portion 20b extending from the rear end to the front end, and a connection portion 20c that connects the left and right side surface portions. Has been.
The right side surface portion 20a and the left side surface portion 20b form a predetermined curved surface and are portions that contribute to the improvement of the design of the main body 1.
In addition, a fixing boss 21 that is a fixing portion for fixing the first upper case 20 to the lower case 3 by screws is formed at the front ends of the right side surface portion 20a and the left side surface portion 20b.

  Furthermore, a space surrounded by the front side and the left and right side surfaces of the connection portion 20c is a dust collection portion opening 20d where the dust collection portion 13 enters and exits. Further, a space surrounded by the rear side of the connecting portion 20c and the left and right side surface portions 20a and 20b is a connecting portion 20e where a second upper case 30 described later is connected to the first upper case 20.

In addition, a pair of fixing claws 24 projecting toward the coupling portion 20e are formed at the rear end of the connection portion 20c. The fixing claw 24 is a fixing portion for engaging and fixing a second upper case 30 described later.
In addition, a fixed shaft structure portion 23 that holds the upper lid 11 so as to be freely opened and closed is formed on the upper surface of the connection portion 20c.

  The first upper case 20 is molded by kneading a resin that is a molding material with a material that improves designability (for example, a metallic material such as aluminum that reflects light to show a shine). That is, the first upper case 20 has a shape mainly emphasizing appearance design, and has a configuration in which deep ribs and bosses are not provided more than necessary so that sink marks and flow marks do not occur in the appearance. Is preferred.

(Second upper case)
Next, the second upper case 30 is a member constituting the upper surface and the rear surface of the main body 1, and the LED through hole 33 where the LED 18 is located and the opening 31 where the power cord winding button 12 faces is formed on the upper surface. Has been.
In addition, on both sides of the opening 31, engagement openings 37 that are engaged with the fixing claws 24 of the formed first upper case 20 are formed.

  Here, the opening 31 is formed with a predetermined strength so that the opening 31 is not deformed because the cord reel button 12 appears and disappears in the opening 31. Therefore, by forming the engagement openings 37 on both sides of the opening 31, the structure of the engagement openings 37 can be maintained.

Further, the rear surface is formed with an exhaust port 32 that opens rearward and exhausts the airflow from the electric blower 2, and a power plug housing portion 35 that holds the power plug when the power cord is housed in the cord reel. Yes.
Also, on the back side, there are provided a fixing boss 34 for fixing the second upper case 30 to the lower case 3 with a screw, and a cord reel fixing structure portion 36 for fixing the cord reel. Sinking may occur during molding, and the dimensions are focused on strength and function.

As described above, the second upper case 30 is configured to reflect functions (structure, strength, etc.) required as the upper cases 20 and 30 other than the design function of the first upper case 20 mainly. More than the shape of the first upper case 20, more protruding parts, openings and ribs are provided, resulting in a more complicated shape, and the basic wall thickness is larger than that of the first case 20, and is therefore used. There are many resin materials and the mass is also large.
Since the second upper case 30 has a complicated shape for constituting each functional part, the kneading material is not used, and the second upper case 30 is formed of a resin material made of a normal resin material or a recycled material. Yes.

Each part comprised as mentioned above comprises the main body 1 by assembling as follows.
4 and 5, the fixing claw 24 of the first upper case 20 is inserted into the engagement opening 37 of the second upper case 30, so that Two upper cases 30 are fixed.

At this time, since the engagement opening 37 is formed on both sides of the opening edge 31a formed with a predetermined strength, the engagement state with the fixing claw 24 can be firmly maintained. Two upper cases 30 are fixed to the coupling portion 20e.
Further, since the fixing claw 24 enters the engagement opening 37, the flow mark formed on the fixing claw 24 can be hidden.

The upper cases 20 and 30 configured in this manner are screwed to the bosses 21 and 34 so as to cover the lower case 3 on which the functional parts are mounted.
Here, after fixing the upper cases 20 and 30 and the lower case 3, the handle 16 is attached so as to cover the portion where the boss 21 is located. Thereby, the flow mark (appearance defect) produced in the vicinity of the boss 21 located at the front end of the first upper case 20 can be hidden.

In the state where the handle 16 is attached to the case, the right side surface portion 20a and the left side surface portion 20b of the first case 20 and the surface of the handle 16 are continuously connected to each other, and are integrated with the first case 20. The exterior design is configured.
Further, the first case 20 and the second case 30 assembled and combined as described above can be disassembled again when the vacuum cleaner is discarded, and can be separated into different resins. ing.

In the case assembled as described above, packing (not shown) or the like is provided at each attachment portion (contact portion) such as the lower case 3, the upper case 20, 30 and the lid 11, and the airtightness is maintained. Yes.
Further, in the present embodiment, the cover 11 is provided above the dust collection unit 13 and the dust collection unit opening 20d is configured to be openable and closable so that the dust collection unit 13 cannot be seen from the outside. When the cyclone type dust collecting unit 13 is adopted, the lid 11 may not be provided and the dust collecting unit itself may be seen from the outside.

  In this embodiment, as a means for improving the appearance at a low cost, for example, when a kneaded molding material is used, the openings required for the normal upper cases 20 and 30 and the power cord winding button 12 If there is an opening 31, a power plug accommodating portion 35 that serves as a power plug entrance / exit, and a steep step or corner, a convex portion around the exhaust opening 32, a back rib or a boss, a flow mark (defective appearance) will occur during molding. Therefore, the upper case is composed of two parts, and functional parts having a complicated shape are gathered in one case as much as possible, and a part to be an appearance design is formed in the other case.

Therefore, in the case of the present embodiment, the shape of the first upper case 20 is made smooth and the back surface (core side) is also used as a measure for kneading and forming the first upper case 20 occupying most of the appearance design. It is as smooth as possible.
However, the fixing boss 21 with the lower case 3, the rib 22, the fixed shaft structure portion 23 with the upper lid (dust collecting portion) 11, and the second upper case 30 fixing claw 24 are inevitably required. It is provided at the end of the upper case 20 so as to be inconspicuous even if a flow mark is generated.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, when the first upper case 20 is molded, a mold opening 26 formed by entering and exiting (pushing) a mold for forming the fixed shaft structure portion 23 is When the first case 20 and the second case 30 are joined, the projecting portion 38 formed on the second upper case 30 is closed.

With this configuration, the design of the first upper case 20 mainly composed of the appearance is free from mold split lines, and the appearance is neatly organized and the mold can be simplified and the molding process costs can be reduced. It leads to reduction of.
Further, in the past, the mold opening 26 was filled with parts such as urethane material in order to suppress the leakage of exhaust gas and the leakage of driving sound. However, in this configuration, the opening is added to block the protrusion 38 as described above. Holes and grooves can be reliably hidden without generating parts.

Referring to FIG. 7, when kneading molding, it is important to mold a part by flowing resin in one direction from one end to the other inside the molding die.
The gate position 25 facing the gate into which the resin of the mold located in the molded first upper case 20 is poured is in a range that overlaps with the second upper case 30 when connected to the second upper case 30. It is good to place it.

In the present embodiment, the gate position 25 can be covered with the opening edge 31a of the opening 31 of the winding button of the power cord when the first upper case 20 and the second upper case 30 are connected. Formed.
As described above, the gate position 25 is formed in a range where the two cases overlap so that the first case 20 is located below the second case 30, thereby making the gate position 25 inconspicuous. It is not necessary to add processing parts or parts for hiding the gate position 25, and the appearance design of the upper cases 20 and 30 can be neatly collected at low cost.

As described above, this embodiment is composed of two parts in the upper case 20 and 30 of the cleaner body 1, one of which mainly has a design appearance function, and the other mainly has a function, structure and strength. This is a component configuration having the functional parts.
With such a configuration, it is possible to separately design each of the contradictory design design and the function, structure, and strength ensuring design, so that the degree of freedom of design with respect to product specifications and design can be improved.
In addition, when changing the model of a product (especially a minor change), it is only necessary to design the case for changing the shape and change the mold, so that it is possible to cope with the necessary minimum investment and labor.

In addition, it is preferable to design the second upper case 30 that collects functional parts as few as possible on the surface as a design. Specifically, it is preferable to cover the first upper case 20 and hide a portion that is not desired to be shown as a design, such as a structure and a shape for securing strength.
In the present embodiment, the design area of the second upper case 30 is made smaller than the design area of the first upper case 20. Therefore, in the second upper case 30, it is possible to reduce the cost by applying a recycled material that is not suitable for forming the design surface.

  Furthermore, since the basic functions (structure, strength, etc.) required for the vacuum cleaner case excluding the design appearance are secured by the second case 30, the first upper case 20 is molded without worrying about the strength. It is possible to reduce the thickness of the resin to the minimum, sometimes to reduce the weight, and to reduce the use of a kneading material resin that is difficult to recycle.

On the other hand, the second case 30 is configured as a part that gives the structure and strength of the functional part, and uses a larger amount of resin and mass than the first case 20, but functions as an exterior design part. Is small, it is possible to use a resin made of recycled material, and to reduce the cost.
Further, since the second case 30 is made of such a recyclable resin material, it is easy to reuse the resin.

In this way, the upper case is constituted by the first upper case 20 mainly for the design appearance and the second upper case 30 mainly for the function and structure, thereby ensuring the appearance design and re-applying. It is possible to minimize the use of kneaded resins that are difficult to use and costly, to use more recycled materials, and to use more resins that can be reused again.
That is, rather than the conventional structure in which the upper case is formed of one component, the configuration of two components as in the present invention can reduce the overall weight and cost while ensuring the appearance design.

  In the present embodiment, the upper cases 20 and 30 are composed of two case parts, one part is a part mainly having a design appearance (appearance design part), and the other part is mainly a function and structure. 3 parts or more as long as the part configuration is divided into the role of parts mainly of design appearance and parts mainly of function and structure. You may comprise.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vacuum cleaner body, 2 Electric blower, 3 Lower case, 4 Body suction port, 5 Hand operation part, 6 Operation grip part, 7 Extension pipe, 8 Suction port body, 9 Front wheel, 10 Rear wheel, 11 Top cover, 12 Power cord Winding button, 13 dust collecting part, 14 control part, 15 hose body, 16 handle, 18 LED, 20 first upper case, 21 fixing boss, 22 rib, 23 fixed shaft structure part, 24 fixing claw, 30 Second upper case, 31 Opening of power cord take-up button, 32 Exhaust port, 33 Through hole for LED for displaying operation state, 34 Fixing boss, 35 Power plug accommodating portion, 36 Cord reel fixing structure portion.

Claims (4)

A case that becomes the outer shell of the main body,
Having functional parts mounted inside the case;
The case has a lower case and an upper case covering the lower case,
The upper case is composed of a plurality of upper case parts,
The upper case component includes a first upper case mainly composed of an appearance design and a second upper case mainly composed of a function and a structure.   The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the first upper case is made of a material that improves designability as a molding material.   The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an area of the second case is smaller than an area of the first upper case.   4. The electricity according to claim 1, wherein a fixing portion for coupling with another case formed on the first upper case is formed on an end side of the first upper case. Vacuum cleaner.

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