JP2981824B2 - Wet vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wet vacuum cleaner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a dry vacuum cleaner that collects dust with a filter of paper, nonwoven fabric, cloth, or the like, removes the sucked dust into dust-collecting water previously placed in a water pan (water dish). 2. Description of the Related Art There is known a wet-type vacuum cleaner in which dust contained in air is brought into contact with the vacuum cleaner. This type of wet-type vacuum cleaner causes dust to be captured by the dust-collecting water by bringing the dust-containing intake air into contact with the dust-collecting water, and the contact causes moisture to be contained in the intake air. When this water-containing air passes through a slit inclined in the peripheral axis direction in the rotary separator coaxially connected to the rotation axis of the fan motor, the air is separated into gas and liquid, and the centrifugal force generated by the rotational motion of the separator causes the air to move in the outer peripheral direction. And is returned to the water pan.

However, the above-mentioned conventional rotary separator is coaxially connected near the intake port of the fan motor and allows the intake air to pass through a narrow slit which rotates at a high speed. ing. In addition, the dust that has not been collected by the dust-collecting water adheres to the rotating separator, and the accumulated dust accumulates moisture, which passes through the narrow slit to reach the fan motor, and as a result, the water separation efficiency. Lower. To cope with the increased load as described above,
Instead of the rotary separator, there is known a water pan having a cylindrical wall whose upper end is closely arranged at an edge of an intake port of the fan motor disposed on a central axis of the water pan (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. HEI 9-103572). JP-A-1-305917 and JP-A-4-92636). However, in this case, the load is reduced, but the moisture contained in the intake air cannot be sufficiently separated, and the dust trapped by the dust catching water as described above is prevented from reaching the fan motor. Can not do it.

[0004] In addition, as described above, there is also provided a rotary separator provided with a blade for blowing off the dust that has been missed by the dust-collecting water and adheres to the rotary separator. Therefore, the above-mentioned load cannot be reduced (Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-34).
008).

[0005] Further, in a wet vacuum cleaner, water is stored in a cleaner body and dust is collected by the water. Therefore, when the body is tilted or falls down, there is a risk that the water for dust removal will blow out. As a countermeasure, there is a wet vacuum cleaner provided with a float closing valve used in a conventional wet / dry vacuum cleaner (JP-A-2-215434, JP-A-4-102425).
issue). However, such a wet-type vacuum cleaner also has a function of collecting dust by contact between the intake air and the dust catching water, and thus causes the following problems. (A) In order to arrange a float above the water level of the dust-collecting water previously stored, a water pan (dust-collection storage section)
Height becomes unnecessarily high, which hinders miniaturization. (B) In the case of the conventional wet-type vacuum cleaner or Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-102425, a guide frame for regulating the position of the float is required, and hair and thread-like dust are entangled with this guide frame, making cleaning difficult. Become. (C) A float guide using a filter cylinder as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-215435 is also considered, but the dust collected on the mesh filter portion causes an intake loss, which is an advantage of a wet vacuum cleaner. Some stable suction efficiency is reduced by accumulated dust as in a dry vacuum.

[0006]

As described above, in the conventional wet vacuum cleaner of this type, the load seen from the fan motor for generating the intake air becomes heavy due to the rotary separator, and the use of the rotary separator is heavy. If not,
There is a problem that the water contained in the intake air cannot be sufficiently separated, and the dust that has not been collected by the dust-collecting water as described above cannot reach the fan motor. To solve this problem, the applicant first
A wet vacuum cleaner having a multiple cylindrical wall structure without using a rotating separator is provided. This wet vacuum cleaner has a problem that when it is inclined or falls as described above, it is easier to discharge water than a conventional rotary separator.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and can reduce the load as viewed from a fan motor, and can efficiently separate moisture and dust in intake air so that the moisture and dust in the intake air reach the fan motor. It is an object of the present invention to provide a wet-type vacuum cleaner which can substantially prevent the occurrence of the above-mentioned problem and can sufficiently cope with the case where the cleaner body is inclined or falls.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the above object, a wet-type vacuum cleaner of the present invention comprises:
A water pan having a substantially cylindrical shape and a fan motor, an intake port of the fan motor is arranged on a central axis of the water pan, and air containing dust sucked by the fan motor is taken in the water pan. There is a discharge in the direction along the circumference of the water pan, thereby contacting the intake air with dust collection water previously put in the water pan to collect dust contained in the intake air, A first cylindrical wall, a lower end of which is disposed coaxially with the water pan, and a first cylindrical wall having a lower end closely disposed to a bottom surface of the water pan, and an upper end disposed closely to an edge of the intake port; A second cylindrical wall having a diameter smaller than that of the wall, only the space between the outer peripheral wall of the water pan and the first cylindrical wall serves as a water storage portion, and the intake air contacts the dust catching water in the water storage portion. And then passes over the upper end of the first cylindrical wall between the first cylindrical wall and the second cylindrical wall, and then passes through the lower end of the second cylindrical wall to form the inlet. , And between the lower end of the second cylindrical wall and the water pan, the bottom diameter is smaller than the diameter of the first cylindrical wall and larger than the diameter of the second cylindrical wall. Is characterized by the fact that the float is freely arranged.

[0009]

In the wet-type vacuum cleaner constructed as described above, the first cylindrical wall and the second cylindrical wall are arranged so as to be spaced from each other and the ends are alternately arranged. A curved air path is gradually formed along each cylindrical wall surface to reach the central fan motor intake port.When this vacuum cleaner is used, the intake air that comes in contact with the dust catching water flows in the water pan inner wall circumferential direction. The air passes through the curved air path while rotating due to the discharge ports along the air path. Then, due to the centrifugal force generated by the rotation, when the vehicle passes through the sharply curved air path (for example, at the time of transition from between the first cylindrical wall and the second cylindrical wall to the center of the second cylindrical wall). Due to the inertia force of
Moisture contained in the intake air and dust that has not been collected, which is larger in mass than air, are separated, and the intake air substantially free of moisture and dust reaches the intake port of the fan motor. The separated moisture and dust are deposited on the bottom surface of the water pan.

Further, when the separated water becomes extremely large, or when the stored water flows between the first and second cylindrical walls due to the inclination or overturn of the cleaner body. The substantially frusto-conical float, which is provided at the bottom of the first cylindrical wall so as to be free to float, is in close contact with the lower end of the second cylindrical wall to prevent water from being discharged.

[0011]

1 and 2 show an embodiment of the present invention.
Will be described. FIG. 1 is a partially cut-away schematic cross-sectional view of a main body of a wet vacuum cleaner, in which an upper case 2 in which a fan motor 1 is provided, a substantially cylindrical water pan (water dish) 3, and an upper lid of the water pan 3. 4. The upper case 2, the upper lid 4 and the water pan 3 are combined in a watertight manner by a clamp 5. The water pan 3 has a first cylindrical wall 6 vertically raised from the bottom surface of the center thereof, and a radius shorter than the radius by a predetermined length, and is coaxial with the first cylindrical wall 6. A second cylindrical wall 7 is provided, and the upper end of the cylindrical wall 7 is
Is in close contact with an edge of an intake port 8 (an exhaust port when viewed from the water pan 3) of the fan motor 1 at the center. An air path is formed between the lower end 9 of the second cylindrical wall 7 and the bottom surface of the water pan 3. An air path is formed between the upper end 10 of the first cylindrical wall 6 and the upper lid 4. That is, the lower end 9 of the second cylindrical wall 7 is staggered in the axial direction of the cylindrical walls 6, 7 with respect to the position of the upper end 10 of the first cylindrical wall 6, and The overlapping portion of the cylindrical walls 6, 7 has a sufficient length so that an airway between the walls is formed between the cylindrical walls 6, 7.

The provision of the first cylindrical wall 6 on the water pan 3 substantially reduces the water pan 3
Has a ring shape. The upper cover 4 of the water pan 3 is provided with an intake port 12 for introducing intake air containing dust from a well-known suction port (not shown). It is arranged in a direction along one direction of the outer peripheral wall of the water storage unit 11 and obliquely downward. A flange 14 projecting in the direction of the central axis is provided at a position higher than the discharge port 13 for intake air on the inner periphery of the upper portion of the water pan 3. The flange 14 is desirably provided horizontally or slightly downward.

A substantially conical float 16 is built in the lower surface of the center of the water pan 3. And
The diameter of the outer circumference of the bottom surface is smaller than the inner diameter of the first cylindrical wall 6 and larger than the diameter of the second cylindrical wall 7.
Its center of gravity is at the top.

When using this vacuum cleaner, for example, according to a marker (not shown) provided on the first cylindrical wall 6 of the water pan 3, the dust collecting water 15 is poured to a designated water level, and then the upper cover 4 is turned on. , And the upper case 2 having the fan motor 1 provided therein is mounted thereon and fixed with the clamp 5 to complete the preparation. FIG. 2 shows the water pan 3, the cylindrical walls 6 and 7, the suction outlet 13, and the flange 14.
FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the positional relationship of FIG.

In the wet vacuum cleaner constructed as described above, the intake air sucked by the fan motor 1 through the intake port 12 is discharged from the discharge port 13, so that the dust catching water 15 is formed into an annular water storage. It flows along the part 11.
Further, the discharged intake air comes into contact with the dust catching water 15 and dust contained in the intake air is collected. When the fan motor 1 of the vacuum cleaner is stopped, the dust catching water 15 which keeps a flat water surface as shown by a dashed line in FIG. 1 flows as described above when the fan motor 1 is operated. As shown by the solid line, the centrifugal force causes the water level on the outer periphery to rise and stabilize in this state.

At this time, if the flange 14 is not provided, the highest part of the rising water level, that is, the outermost water, splashes toward the center along the water pan 3 and the upper lid 4 to splash water. However, the rise of the water level is suppressed at a relatively low position by providing the flange 14, the outermost water is directed downward, and the water falls into the water pan 3. Therefore, the intake air sucked by the fan motor 1 comes into contact with the downwardly directed water and the falling water. Therefore, the contact area between the intake air and the water increases, and the dust collection efficiency improves.

When the flange 14 is not provided, the water splash toward the center passes between the cylindrical walls 6 and 7, and a part of the water drops accumulates on the bottom surface of the cylindrical wall 6.
Others are sucked and discharged by the fan motor 1 through the inside of the cylindrical wall 7. When water accumulates on the bottom surface of the cylindrical wall 6 or is discharged as described above, the amount of the dust catching water 15 decreases, and the dust catching efficiency decreases.

As described above, when the intake air comes into contact with the dust catching water 15, moisture is contained in the intake air. However, since the intake air moves along the substantially circumferential direction of the water pan 3, its centrifugal force causes Water having a mass greater than that of air falls on the inner surface of the outer peripheral wall of the water pan 3 and returns to the water storage unit 11. In addition, the intake air passes through a curved air path that passes through the cylindrical wall 7 from between the cylindrical walls 6 and 7.
Moisture having a larger mass than air hits the walls of the cylindrical walls 6 and 7 due to its inertia and falls, so that the amount discharged by the fan motor 1 is negligible.
In the same manner as in the above-described separation of the moisture contained in the intake air, the cylindrical walls 6 and 7 prevent the water splash toward the center along the upper lid 4 from reaching the fan motor 1 as described above. It is also conceivable. However, the amount of the water droplets is extremely large compared to the moisture contained in the intake air.
There is no way to prevent it.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the water contained in the intake air is separated by the cylindrical walls 6 and 7, so that the conventionally used rotary separator becomes unnecessary. This rotary separator is coaxially connected near the intake port of the fan motor, and allows the intake air to pass through a narrow slit that rotates at high speed, and when viewed from the fan motor, it becomes a considerable load and the suction efficiency as a vacuum cleaner Is decreasing. In particular, for recent lightweight, high-rotation type fan motors, the rotating separator is a larger load.

In normal use, the water pan 3
Some amount of separated water accumulates in the center. When the main body of the vacuum cleaner is tilted or overturned, the substantially conical float 16 having the center of gravity at a high position is moved to the second cylindrical wall 7.
, Thereby making the air path of the lower end 9 extremely narrow. As a result, the entire float 16 is sucked up by the fan motor 1 and the opening of the lower end 9 is closed. This prevents a large amount of the dust catching water 15 from being released. At this time, a configuration may be adopted in which the degree of vacuum in the second cylindrical wall 7 is detected to notify the abnormality, but the fan motor 1
Due to the characteristics described above, the rotation increases at the time of sealing and the noise increases, so that an abnormality can be determined without a sensor.
In order to restore the function of the cleaner, the posture of the cleaner body is set to a normal use state, and the drive power supply current of the fan motor 1 is cut off. As a result, the float 16 falls, and the vacuum cleaner returns to a usable state. In the embodiment, the shape of the float 16 is substantially triangular when viewed from the side, but if the bottom area is reduced to a shape close to a pentagon, the response sensitivity can be further increased and the influence of dust can be further reduced. Can be reduced. In this case, it goes without saying that the device operates as a normal float.

[0021]

As described above, the wet-type vacuum cleaner of the present invention includes the substantially cylindrical water pan 3 and the fan motor 1, and the intake of the fan motor 1 on the central axis of the water pan 3. A mouth 8 is provided, and the intake air containing dust sucked by the fan motor 1 is discharged in a direction along the circumference of the water pan in the water pan 3, whereby the intake air is discharged to the water pan 3. In the apparatus in which the dust contained in the intake air is collected by contacting the dust collecting water 15 previously placed, the lower end is disposed coaxially with the water pan 3 so as to be in close contact with the bottom surface of the water pan. The water pan includes a first cylindrical wall 6 and a second cylindrical wall 7 whose upper end is smaller in diameter than the first cylindrical wall 6 and is arranged close to an edge of the air inlet 8. Outside 3 Only the space between the wall and the first cylindrical wall 6 becomes the water reservoir 11, and the intake air contacts the dust catching water 15 of the water reservoir 11, and then passes over the upper end of the first cylindrical wall 6. The first cylindrical wall 6 passes through the space between the first cylindrical wall 6 and the second cylindrical wall 7 and then reaches the inlet 8 through the lower end of the second cylindrical wall 7. Since the wall 6 and the second cylindrical wall 7 are arranged so as to be spaced from each other and their ends are alternately arranged, the center fan is gradually increased along the surface of each cylindrical wall 6, 7. A bent air path is formed to the intake port 8 of the motor 1, and when the vacuum cleaner is used, the intake air coming into contact with the dust catching water 15 rotates for the discharge port 13 along the inner wall circumferential direction of the water pan 3. While passing through the curved airway. And
Due to the centrifugal force generated by the rotation, and when the vehicle passes through the sharply curved air path (for example, at the time of transition from between the first cylindrical wall 6 and the second cylindrical wall 7 to the center of the second cylindrical wall 7). )
Due to the inertia force, the moisture contained in the intake air and the dust that has not been collected, which is larger in mass than the air, are separated, and the intake air substantially free of moisture and dust reaches the intake port 8 of the fan motor 1. The separated water and dust are deposited on the bottom surface of the water pan 3.

As described above, according to the present invention, the load seen from the fan motor is not heavy as in the conventionally used rotary separator, and the present invention has a water separation function equivalent to that using the rotary separator. Confirmed experimentally by the inventor. When the load of the intake air of the fan motor 1 is reduced, a sufficient amount of suction air is obtained, so that the suction efficiency is improved. And it also contributes to the reduction of noise. A substantially conical shape having a bottom diameter smaller than the diameter of the first cylindrical wall 6 and larger than the diameter of the second cylindrical wall 7 between the lower end of the second cylindrical wall 7 and the water pan 3. Since the float 16 is floatably arranged, a float that functions as a closing valve at the time of increasing water can be set without providing a guide frame or a filter cylinder to which collected dust adheres as in the related art. The float 16 can also prevent the dust-collecting water from being released when the cleaner body is tilted or falls.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cut-away schematic longitudinal front view of a main body of a wet vacuum cleaner showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing an arrangement relationship of each part of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fan motor 2 Upper case 3 Water pan 4 Upper lid 5 Clamp 6,7 Cylindrical wall 8 Inlet 9 Lower end 10 Upper end 11 Reservoir 12 Inlet 13 Outlet 14 Flange flange 15 Dust collecting water 16 Float

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A wet-type vacuum cleaner, comprising: a substantially cylindrical water pan; and a fan motor, wherein an intake port of the fan motor is disposed on a central axis of the water pan. The intake air containing the dust sucked by the water pan is discharged in a direction along the circumference of the water pan in the water pan, whereby the intake air comes into contact with dust-collecting water previously placed in the water pan, and A first cylindrical wall having a lower end coaxially arranged with the water pan and a lower end closely disposed to a bottom surface of the water pan, and an upper end having an edge portion of the intake port. A second cylindrical wall having a smaller diameter than the first cylindrical wall, which is disposed in close proximity to the water pan, and only a portion between the outer peripheral wall of the water pan and the first cylindrical wall serves as a water storage portion; After the air comes into contact with the dust catching water in the water reservoir, it passes between the first cylindrical wall and the second cylindrical wall beyond the upper end of the first cylindrical wall, and then the second A bottom diameter smaller than the diameter of the first cylindrical wall between the lower end of the second cylindrical wall and the water pan; 2. A wet-type vacuum cleaner wherein a substantially conical float larger than the diameter of the second cylindrical wall is arranged so as to float.