JP2017144006A - Vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vacuum cleaner that has reduced a dead space.SOLUTION: A vacuum cleaner includes a body, a left driving wheel located on the left side of a body, a right driving wheel located on the right side of the body, facing the left driving wheel, a rotary brush having a rotary shaft in a right-left direction, and a dust collection part, and moves in a front-back direction by the rotation of the left driving wheel and the right driving wheel. The dust collection part has a part of the volume in an area just above a part or the whole of the rotary brush in a front-back direction, and has another part or the remainder of the volume in an area on a side away from the center of the body as compared with the above area.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner.

  As an autonomous running type cleaner that cleans while moving autonomously, it is equipped with a rechargeable battery in the power source and controls the running motor that drives the drive wheels to perform autonomous running while using a motor-driven rotating brush to remove dust It is known to perform cleaning with a suction fan.

  Since it is desired that the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner can enter and clean a narrow passage or a gap below the furniture, the main body preferably has a small shape with a small width and height, for example. Autonomous vacuum cleaners have a rechargeable battery, brushes, etc. arranged in the outer shell and its interior, but when deciding the shape, along with miniaturization, balance the weight of the main unit, brush sweep area It is desired to have a main body layout capable of partly, preferably all of maintaining the rechargeable battery volume and the dust storage volume high.

  Patent Document 1 has a main body layout in which a dust collecting unit 30 is provided on a rotating shaft of a drive wheel, the electric blower 22 and the rotating brush 9 are arranged on one side of the dust collecting unit 30, and the battery 14 is arranged on the other side. Furthermore, the electric blower 22 is located on one side and the dust collecting part 30 is located on the other side with respect to the rotating brush 9 (FIG. 2, 0051).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-070951

  In Patent Document 1, the volume of the intake passage 12 (flow path) that connects the electric blower 22 and the dust collection unit 30 tends to be large. As a result, this becomes a dead space, and it is difficult to secure the volume of the dust collection unit 30. Further, if it is attempted to increase the volume of the dust collecting unit 30, it is necessary to expand the interval between the drive wheels and increase the height of the main body, which may lead to an increase in the size of the main body.

  The first aspect of the present invention made in view of the above circumstances includes a main body, a left driving wheel located on the left side of the main body, a right driving wheel located on the right side of the main body and facing the left driving wheel, A vacuum cleaner comprising a rotating brush having a rotating shaft in a direction and a dust collecting part, and moving in the front-rear direction by rotation of the left driving wheel and the right driving wheel, wherein the dust collecting part is the rotating It has a part of the volume in a region directly above a part or all of the brush, and another part or the remainder of the volume on the side farther from the center of the main body than the region.

  The second aspect of the present invention made in view of the above circumstances includes a main body, a left driving wheel located on the left side of the main body, a right driving wheel located on the right side of the main body and facing the left driving wheel. A vacuum brush that has a rotating shaft in the horizontal direction and a dust collecting part, and moves in the front-rear direction by rotation of the left driving wheel and the right driving wheel, the dust collecting part, A part of the volume is provided in a region directly above a part or all of the rotating brush, and another volume is provided on the side farther from the region between the left driving wheel and the right driving wheel than the region. It has a part or the remainder.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the vacuum cleaner which reduced the flow path as a dead space can be provided.

Perspective view of autonomous running type vacuum cleaner Bottom view of autonomous vacuum cleaner AA sectional view of FIG. Perspective view of autonomous running type vacuum cleaner with dust collector removed Figure showing the internal structure through the upper case of the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner Perspective view of suspension unit

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Similar components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the same description will not be repeated.

[Autonomous vacuum cleaner S]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an autonomous traveling cleaner S that is an example of an electric vacuum cleaner, and FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the autonomous traveling cleaner. Of the directions in which the autonomously traveling cleaner S travels, the side on which the side brush 7 is provided is the front, the vertically upward direction is the upper side, the driving wheels 2 and 3 are facing each other, and the driving wheel 2 side is the left side. The third side is on the right. That is, as shown in FIG.

  The autonomously traveling cleaner S has an upper case 1u that forms an upper outer shell including the upper surface, and a lower case 1s that forms a lower outer shell including the bottom surface. On the upper surface side, a dust collecting portion 12 capable of storing dust is provided. The upper case 1u, the lower case 1s, and members disposed in these cases are collectively referred to as a main body.

  On the bottom surface of the autonomously traveling cleaner S, a pair of drive wheels 2 and 3 and auxiliary wheels 4 that can be grounded to the floor surface Y, a rotating brush 5 and side brush 7 that collects dust on the floor surface Y, and dust. A guide brush 6 for guiding is provided. The autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner S can be provided with various known sensors and can obtain surrounding information by using the sensor output. The drive wheels 2 and 3 are opposed to each other in the left-right direction, and are rotationally driven by a traveling motor 21 (see FIG. 6) provided on each of the left and right sides. The auxiliary wheel 4 is a driven wheel located in front of the drive wheels 2 and 3 and on the center side in the left-right direction, and a caster that freely rotates can be adopted. In addition, although the drive wheels 2 and 3 of this embodiment are facing on both sides of the center of the autonomous traveling type cleaner S main body, you may be facing so that a center may not be pinched | interposed. When the driving force of the traveling motor 21 is transmitted to the driving wheels 2 and 3, the autonomous traveling cleaner S can be driven forward or backward.

  The rotating brush 5 has a rotating shaft in the horizontal direction, and is rotated by a rotating brush motor 5m (see FIG. 6). The side brush 7 has a rotary shaft in the vertical direction and is rotated by a rotary brush motor 5m. The guide brush 6 is a fixed brush that is positioned so as to overlap part or all of the drive wheels 2 and 3 in the front-rear direction, and guides dust blown by colliding with the side brush 7 in the direction of the rotating brush 5. . The guide brush 6 is located between the vicinity of the end of the rotating brush 5 and the rotating shaft of the side brush 7 in the left-right direction. The guide brush 6 extends in the front-rear direction. In addition, the rotating brush 5 of this embodiment has a rotating shaft in the left-right direction.

  Further, the autonomously traveling cleaner S includes a suction fan 11 that generates an airflow for sucking dust, and suspension units 20 and 30 that urge the drive wheels 2 and 3 upward or downward. Have between 3. In addition, the autonomously traveling cleaner S includes a rechargeable battery 9, a control board 10, a dust collection filter 13, and the like. Hereinafter, each of the configurations laid out in the autonomous traveling cleaner S will be further described.

A side brush 7, auxiliary wheels 4, driving wheels 2 and 3, and rotating brush 5 are provided in order from the front on the lower case 1 s side. A guide brush 6, suspension units 20 and 30, and a suction fan motor 11 are provided so as to substantially overlap the drive wheels 2 and 3.
Further, on the lower case 1 s side, drive wheels 2 and 3, suspension units 20 and 30, and a suction fan motor 11 are provided in order from the outer side in the left-right direction.

[Dust collector 12]
(Position and structure of the dust collector 12)
3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. The dust collecting unit 12 is a container having a volume capable of storing dust and having two openings. A part of the volume of the dust collecting unit 12 is in a region directly above a part or all of the rotating brush 5, and the other part or the remaining part of the volume is an autonomous running type cleaning as compared to the rotating brush 5. It is in the area on the side away from the center of the machine S main body. In the present embodiment, the remainder of the volume is in a region on the side farther from the center of the autonomous traveling cleaner S main body than the rotating brush 5. Further, the center of the autonomously traveling cleaner S is substantially located between the drive wheels 2 and 3.

  Since the drive wheels 2 and 3 are provided so as to be positioned at or near the center of the autonomous traveling cleaner S, it is easy to balance the center of gravity of the autonomous traveling cleaner S. The rotating brush 5 and the suction port 14i are located in a region outside the region between the drive wheels 2 and 3. For this reason, it is easy to enlarge the left-right dimension of the rotating brush 5. Furthermore, since the rotary brush 5 and the suction port 14i are provided in a region that is out of the region between the drive wheels 2 and 3, the entire volume of the dust collecting portion 12 or a relatively large portion of the volume of the dust collection unit 12 is reduced. , 3 can be provided in an area outside the area between 3. Thereby, it is easy to enlarge the volume of the dust collecting part 12.

The two openings of the dust collector 12 are provided on the dust collection filter 13 side and the suction port 14i side, respectively.
The dust collection filter 13 is located between a suction fan motor 11 described later and an opening on the dust collection filter 13 side. With respect to the front-rear direction, the suction port 14i is provided as an entrance of a flow path through which dust can circulate on the side farther from the center of the autonomous traveling cleaner S main body than the rotational axis of the rotating brush 5 (backward in this embodiment). ing. The suction port 14 i is connected by a suction channel 12 i connected to the opening on the suction port 14 i side of the dust collecting portion 12. Moreover, about the front-back direction, a part or all of the rotating brush 5 is stored between the opening on the suction port 14i side and the opening on the dust collection filter 13 side.

  The opening on the suction port 14i side is arranged at a position farther from the center of the autonomous traveling cleaner S body than the opening on the dust collection filter 13 side. The opening on the dust collection filter 13 side can be opened and closed by the dust collection filter 13.

By making the shape of the dust collecting part 12 and the positional relationship with the rotating brush 5 and the suction fan motor 11 as described above, the suction channel 12i can be shortened to reduce the dead space, or the dust collecting part 12 can be autonomous. It becomes easy to arrange on the outer peripheral side of traveling type vacuum cleaner S.
Specifically, the dust collector 12 has an opening on the dust collection filter 13 side closer to the center of the autonomous traveling cleaner S main body than the opening on the suction port 14i side. It can also serve as a flow path to the center of the body. Thereby, the volume of the dust collection part 12 can be enlarged, reducing a flow path volume. At this time, since a part of the volume of the dust collecting portion 12 exists directly above the rotating brush 5, a region that tends to become a dead space can be effectively used. Moreover, if the dust collecting part 12 is arranged on the outer peripheral side of the autonomous traveling cleaner S in this way, the volume of the dust collecting part 12 can be easily increased by increasing the outer peripheral dimension of the autonomous traveling cleaner S. I can plan. Further, since the opening on the suction port 14i side is open on the side far from the center of the autonomous traveling cleaner S main body, the dust collecting part 12 can be easily attached and detached.

(Removal of dust collecting part 12)
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the autonomous traveling cleaner S in a state in which the dust collecting unit 12 is not attached. For example, the dust collecting unit 12 can be attached or detached together with the dust collecting filter 13 in the upward or backward direction. By removing the dust collecting filter 13, the user can discard the dust. The dust collecting unit 12 may be arranged on the lower side of the lid with a part of the upper case 1u as a lid, but the height of the upper case 1u and the upper surface of the dust collecting unit 12 as in the present embodiment. Are formed so as to substantially match each other, the dust collecting portion 12 can be enlarged while maintaining aesthetics, so that it is easy to secure a dust collection volume.

[Dust collection filter 13]
As illustrated in FIG. 3, the dust collection filter 13 is located between the suction fan 11 and the rotating brush 5 in the front-rear direction and is provided substantially vertically in the horizontal direction (in the present embodiment, the front-rear direction). Provided substantially vertically). The dust collection filter 13 is located on the center side of the autonomous traveling cleaner S main body, preferably on the center side of the autonomous traveling cleaner S body relative to the end of the rotating brush 5 relative to the rotational axis of the rotating brush 5. It is preferable. This is because the rotary brush 5 has a substantially cylindrical shape, and therefore has the largest vertical dimension at the position of the rotation shaft. Therefore, the dust collection filter 13 is arranged on the center side of the autonomously traveling cleaner S main body rather than the rotation shaft. This is because it is easy to arrange a larger dust collection filter 13.

Since the dust collection filter 13 is more vertical in the horizontal direction than in the gravity direction, the opening on the dust collection filter 13 side of the dust collection unit 12 can be brought closer to the suction fan motor 11. . For this reason, since it becomes easy to expand the volume of the dust collection part 12 to the suction fan motor 11 side, the volume of the dust collection part 12 can be enlarged.
As a control, for example, consider arranging the dust collection filter 13 substantially perpendicularly to the direction of gravity. The area downstream of the dust collecting filter 13 is the outside of the dust collecting section 12, that is, the flow path. In this case, the autonomous traveling cleaner S has a flow path extending in the direction of gravity and a curved direction from there. It becomes necessary to form a flow path extending to As a result, the flow path volume is increased, and the volume of the dust collecting part 12 is likely to be reduced.

[Suction fan motor 11]
FIG. 5 is a view showing the internal structure through the upper case 1u of the autonomously traveling cleaner S. FIG. Part or all of the suction fan motor 11 is located in the region between the drive wheels 2 and 3. That is, it is located on the center side of the autonomous traveling cleaner S main body together with the drive wheels 2 and 3 in the front-rear direction. In this embodiment, 80% or more of the suction fan motor 11 overlaps the drive wheels 2 and 3 in the front-rear direction.

  The suction fan motor 11 can generate an airflow that flows from the suction port 14 i to the dust collection filter 13 side. As for the air flow, dust or the like that is swung up by the rotating brush 5 is sucked into the suction port 14i, the suction channel 12i, the opening on the suction port 14i side of the dust collecting unit 12, the dust collecting unit 12, and the dust collecting unit 12 on the dust collecting filter 13 side. It flows in the order of the opening, the dust collecting filter 13, the suction fan motor 11, the exhaust port 1s5 (see FIG. 2), and the outside of the autonomous traveling cleaner S main body.

  The shape of the suction fan motor 11 can be a substantially cylindrical shape, and its axial direction can be substantially parallel to the horizontal direction (the front-rear direction in the present embodiment). As the suction fan motor 11, for example, a propeller fan or a sirocco fan can be adopted.

  When the case 1 is intended to form a relatively small autonomous traveling type cleaner S, it is conceivable to set the distance between the drive wheels 2 and 3 short, so that a rotating brush is provided in the region between the drive wheels 2 and 3. 5 and the layout in which the dust collecting unit 12 is arranged, it may be difficult to secure the left and right length of the rotating brush 5 or to secure the volume of the dust collecting unit 12. On the other hand, since the suction fan motor 11 uses, for example, a propeller, a dimension in the height direction that is approximately the same as the horizontal direction is often required. For this reason, from the viewpoint of suppressing the height of the case 1, it is easy to select a size that can be arranged in the region between the drive wheels 2 and 3. That is, by disposing the suction fan motor 11 in the region between the drive wheels 2 and 3, the large rotary brush 5 and the dust collecting part 12 can be easily arranged. The rechargeable battery 9 is also preferably large. In the present embodiment, the rechargeable battery 9 is also provided in a region other than the region between the drive wheels 2 and 3. Note that the dust collection unit 12 and the rechargeable battery 9 do not necessarily have to have their entire volume located in a region other than the region between the drive wheels 2 and 3. For example, the volume or 50% or more or 80% or more of the volume can exist in a region other than the region between the drive wheels 2 and 3.

[Suspension units 20, 30]
It is difficult to dispose other members below the substantially cylindrical suction fan motor 11, and a dead space is likely to occur. However, the suspension units 20 and 30 of the present embodiment extend in the left-right direction with respect to the drive wheels 2 and 3, and a part of the structure is easily arranged in the space below the suction fan motor 11. . As a result, the suspension units 20 and 30 can be disposed together with the suction fan motor 11 in the space between the drive wheels 2 and 3. Specifically, substantially all of the suspension units 20 and 30 can be accommodated in the drive wheels 2 and 3 in the front-rear direction.

  Since the configuration of the suspension unit 30 can be symmetrical with the suspension unit 20, the suspension unit 20 will be described here. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the suspension unit 20. The suspension unit 20 of the present embodiment urges the driving wheel 2 downward and rotates it around the rotation shafts 25a, 25b, 25c, so that it is around the autonomous traveling type cleaner S (around the outer shells 1u, 1s). It is a mechanism for rotating the

  In order to rotatably support the drive wheel 2, a first wheel support shaft 25a extending in the front-rear direction is provided. The first wheel support shaft 25a is provided in a space that tends to be a dead space below the suction fan motor 11 described above. More specifically, although not shown in FIG. 6, the suction fan motor 11 is disposed above the first wheel support shaft 25 a and to the right of the speed reduction mechanism 22.

  An axle bush 2 </ b> B is provided on the inner side in the left-right direction with respect to the drive wheel 2. Between the drive wheel 2 and the first wheel support shaft 25a, a third wheel support shaft 25c is disposed along the front-rear direction.

  The first arm 24 is rotatably supported by the first wheel support shaft 25a and the third wheel support shaft 25c.

  Thus, one end 24i of the first arm 24 is rotatably supported with respect to the lower case 1s via the first wheel support shaft 25a (arrow β1), and the other end of the first arm 24 is supported. 24t is connected to the shaft bush 2B on which the drive wheel 2 is supported via a third wheel support shaft 25c so as to be rotatable (arrow β2).

  Further, a second wheel support shaft extending in the front-rear direction is disposed near the upper end of the drive wheel 2 and on the same side as the shaft bush 2B with respect to the drive wheel 2 in order to rotatably support the drive wheel 2. 25b is provided.

  A bottomed cylindrical upper compression spring case 26b to which the guide shaft 26a is fixed is rotatably supported on the second wheel support shaft 25b.

  A bottomed cylindrical lower compression spring case 26c into which the guide shaft 26a is inserted is fixed to the shaft bush 2B. The lower compression spring case 26 c constitutes a second arm for the drive wheel 2.

  A compression spring 27 is provided in the upper compression spring case 26b and the lower compression spring case 26c to urge the drive wheel 2 downward. Thereby, when the driving wheel 2 receives no force from the outside, it protrudes from the lower case 1s. On the other hand, when the drive wheel 2 receives a force in a direction from the third wheel support shaft 25c toward the second wheel support shaft 25b, for example, an upward force from the floor surface Y, the drive wheel 2 is in the lower case 1s. Is pushed into. Inside the compression spring 27, for example, in the center, a guide shaft 26a is inserted and provided.

  Thus, the drive wheel 2 is supported by the first arm 24 via the lower first wheel support shaft 25a so as to be rotatable (arrow β1) with respect to the autonomous traveling cleaner S main body. In addition, the first arm 24 is rotatably supported (arrow β2) via the third wheel support shaft 25c. The drive wheel 2 is rotated downward by the urging force of the compression spring 27 and the weight of the drive wheel 2 or the shaft bush 2B, and can be rotated upward by, for example, an upward force from the floor surface Y.

  Further, the drive wheel 2 is rotatable with respect to the autonomous traveling cleaner S via a second wheel support shaft 25b provided above the other end 24t with respect to the autonomous traveling cleaner S ( Supported by the arrow β3) and supported by the compression spring 27 provided substantially horizontally in the vertical direction so as to move up and down (arrow β4).

[Positional relationship between drive wheels 2 and 3 and rotating brush 5]
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the end on the side close to the center of the autonomous traveling cleaner S main body among the ends of the rotating brush 5 in the front-rear direction rotates among the ends of the drive wheels 2 and 3. Compared to the end near the brush 5, it is located on the side away from the center of the autonomous traveling cleaner S main body. For example, in the present embodiment, the front end of the rotating brush 5 is located behind the rear ends of the drive wheels 2 and 3. Thereby, when observing from the left-right direction, since the rotating brush 5 does not overlap with the driving wheels 2, 3, it is easy to keep the autonomous traveling type cleaner S small even if the left-right dimension of the rotating brush 5 is increased.

[Rechargeable battery 9, control board 10]
As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 5, the rechargeable battery 9 and the control board 10 are located on the opposite side of the dust collecting unit 12 with respect to the suction fan motor 11. Among the members accommodated in the autonomous traveling cleaner S, the relatively large suction fan motor 11 is near the center of the autonomous traveling cleaner S, and the rotating brush motor 5m is on the same side as the rotating brush 5. 9 is located on the opposite side to the rotating brush motor 5m. For this reason, it is easy to ensure the balance of the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner S.

  Further, since the control board 10 is arranged on the same side as the rechargeable battery 9, wiring is easy. At this time, by arranging the rechargeable battery 9 directly above or below the control board 10, wiring can be performed more easily.

  Further, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the control board 10 has a shape in which the vicinity of the suction fan motor 11 is recessed. Thereby, it becomes easy to install the large suction fan motor 11.

2, 3 Drive wheels (wheels)
5 Rotating brush 5m Rotating brush motor (motor)
6 Guide Brush 7 Side Brush 9 Rechargeable Battery 10 Control Board 11 Suction Fan Motor 12 Dust Collection Unit 12i Suction Port 13 Dust Collection Filter 14i Suction Port 20, 30 Suspension Unit S Autonomous Traveling Vacuum Cleaner

Claims (11)

The body,
A left drive wheel located on the left side of the body;
A right drive wheel located on the right side of the body and facing the left drive wheel;
A rotating brush having a rotation axis in the horizontal direction;
A dust collecting part,
A vacuum cleaner that moves in the front-rear direction by rotation of the left drive wheel and the right drive wheel,
The dust collecting part has a part of the volume in a region directly above or partially of the rotating brush, and another part or the remaining part of the volume on the side farther from the center of the main body than the region. The vacuum cleaner characterized by having.   2. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the other part or the remaining part of the volume and the rotating brush are located on the same side with respect to the center of the main body. In the front-rear direction, compared to the rotation axis of the rotary brush, a suction port provided on the side far from the center of the main body,
An inlet channel having the inlet at one end,
The dust collecting part is
An inlet-side opening connected to the other end of the inlet channel;
The dust collection filter side opening provided near the dust collection filter arranged on the side near the center of the main part as compared with the suction mouth or the suction mouth side opening. Electric vacuum cleaner. About the left-right direction, it has a suction fan between the left drive wheel and the right drive wheel,
About the front-rear direction, the dust collection filter is located between the suction fan and the rotary brush, and closer to the center of the main body than the rotation axis of the rotary brush,
The vacuum cleaner according to claim 3, wherein the dust collection filter is provided substantially vertically in the horizontal direction. About the left-right direction, it has a suction fan between the left drive wheel and the right drive wheel,
A left suspension unit and / or a right suspension unit for urging the left driving wheel and the right driving wheel in the vertical direction in the left-right direction is provided between the left driving wheel and the right driving wheel,
The suction fan has a substantially cylindrical shape having a central axis in a direction substantially parallel to the front-rear direction;
5. The left suspension unit and / or the right suspension unit has a first wheel support shaft extending in the front-rear direction in the vicinity of the lower end of the suction fan. The vacuum cleaner as described in the item. About the left-right direction, it has a suction fan between the left drive wheel and the right drive wheel,
6. The electric cleaning according to claim 1, wherein the rotary brush and the dust collecting part are provided on one side of the suction fan, and a rechargeable battery and a control board are provided on the other side. Machine.   The vacuum cleaner according to claim 6, wherein the control board has a recessed portion in the vicinity of the suction fan.   The electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the rechargeable battery is provided in a region directly above or below the control board.   Regarding the front-rear direction, the side closer to the center of the main body among the ends of the rotating brush is located on the side farther from the center of the main body than the side closer to the rotating brush among the ends of the driving wheels. The electric vacuum cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the electric vacuum cleaner is provided. The body,
A left drive wheel located on the left side of the body;
A right drive wheel located on the right side of the body and facing the left drive wheel;
A rotating brush having a rotation axis in the horizontal direction;
A dust collecting part,
A vacuum cleaner that moves in the front-rear direction by rotation of the left drive wheel and the right drive wheel,
The dust collection part has a part of the volume in a region directly above or partially of the rotating brush, and is farther from the region between the left driving wheel and the right driving wheel than the region. A vacuum cleaner characterized in that it has another part or the remainder of the volume.   11. The electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 10, wherein the other part or the remaining part of the volume and the rotating brush are located on the same side with respect to a region between the driving wheels.

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