JP3209016B2 - Electric 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 vacuum cleaner used in ordinary households, and more particularly to a vacuum cleaner with improved operability.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional general vacuum cleaner is provided with a cleaner body having a built-in dust collecting chamber at the front and a built-in electric blower at the rear, and a lid that can be opened and closed above the dust collecting chamber. A suction hose was connected to the lid, and an extension tube was connected to the end. In addition, a front wheel is provided at the front of the bottom of the cleaner body and a rear wheel is provided at the rear of the bottom, and the user pulls the extension pipe or the suction hose so that the cleaner follows the user in the traveling direction. Was. In the configuration of the conventional general vacuum cleaner, when the vehicle gets over a step or a sill on the floor surface, the weight of the vacuum cleaner is mainly applied to the rear wheel, so that the floor surface and the sill are damaged by an impact or noise is generated. There was a problem.

Accordingly, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-228080, the outer portion of the rear wheel bearing is inclined at a high angle, and the rear wheel is inclined so that the opposing interval is wide at a lower position. There has been proposed a vacuum cleaner in which the side plate is made of an elastic member to absorb a shock from a floor surface or a sill to reduce noise.

[0004]

In many cases, a vacuum cleaner is mainly used by women, and it is desired that the vacuum cleaner body can follow lightly with as small a pulling force as possible.
Further, from the viewpoint of resource saving, miniaturization and weight reduction are aimed at.

[0005] However, in the technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-228080, no consideration is given to improving the followability of the cleaner body during cleaning. The followability of the vacuum cleaner body in the case of a U-turn was poor.

In addition, the main body of the vacuum cleaner requires a large dust collection chamber to secure a large dust collection capacity, and requires a large electric blower to obtain a higher dust absorbing power. There is a limit to miniaturization of.

An object of the present invention is to provide an electric vacuum cleaner which improves the operability of the main body of the vacuum cleaner during cleaning.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is characterized in that a cleaner main body having a dust collecting portion, a cord reel, an electric blower and the like inside, and a communication with the dust collecting portion are provided. A vacuum cleaner having a hose connected to the cleaner body, a suction body connected to a tip of the hose, and a pair of left and right wheels arranged to move the cleaner body. The wheel is tilted so that the opposing interval becomes narrower at the bottom, and is supported by the cleaner body.

[0009]

In the wheel according to the present invention, a turning force is generated which always tends to the inclined side. That is, the wheel on the right side of the cleaner body always tries to roll toward the right side, and similarly, the wheel on the left side always tries to roll toward the left side. However, when the left and right wheels have the same inclination, when the cleaner body is being pulled straight by the hose and moving, the forces generated on the left and right wheels are balanced to go straight. On the other hand, when the hose is pulled left and right, the load caused by the movement of the hose is applied to the wheel on the side pulled by the hose, that is, the wheel inside the turn, and the wheel outside the turn is pulled by further pulling the hose. The floor contact force is weakened, and the turning force generated on the inner wheels is increased. As a result, the load acts to assist the turning force of the main body, and at the same time, weakens the ground contact force of the wheels on the outside, so that the operating force at the time of turning the cleaner main body can be reduced.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a vacuum cleaner according to one embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 8, reference numeral 801 denotes a cleaner main body;
2 is a lid cover for covering the front part of the cleaner body 801, 803 is a hose connected to the suction port 804 of the cleaner body 801, 805 is an extension pipe connected to the tip of the hose 803,
Reference numeral 806 denotes a suction port connected to the extension pipe 805, and reference numeral 807 denotes a switch operation unit provided at a hand of the hose 803.

The cleaner body 801 also includes a bumper 808 for protecting the cleaner body and preventing damage to furniture and the like in the event of a collision, a front wheel 809 located on the bottom front side, and a bottom rear side. , A rear wheel 101 is disposed.

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of a cleaner body according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 10 is a transverse sectional view of the cleaner body according to one embodiment of the present invention.

9 and 10, the cleaner body 8
01, an electric blower 901 for generating a suction airflow, a dust collection bag 902 for collecting dust, a dust collection chamber 903 containing a dust collection bag 902, a control circuit device 904 for controlling a vacuum cleaner, and a power cord. Reel 100 for winding up
1 etc. are built in.

In such a configuration, when a vacuum cleaner user operates a switch of a switch operating unit provided at the hand of the hose 803, signal information according to the switch is transmitted via the control circuit device 904 to use the cleaner. The vacuum cleaner is controlled according to the needs of the people.

The user of the vacuum cleaner pulls the hose 803 or the extension tube 805 so that the cleaner main body 801 follows. Therefore, in order for the cleaner main body 801 to follow, it is required to improve the handleability of the cleaner main body 801. Means for solving this will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 1, a main body 801 of the present embodiment includes a pair of large-diameter rear wheels 101 located on the left and right sides of a lower rear portion of the main body 801 of the cleaner, and a central portion 1 located at the center of the bottom surface of the lower front portion. It has two small diameter front wheels 809.

The rear wheel 101 has a pair of left and right bearings 103 provided on a side wall 102 inclined toward the lower side of the cleaner body.
It is assembled by press fitting 104. This rotating shaft 104
A projection 105 is provided at the tip of the projection 10.
The rear wheel 101 is made rotatable by contact of the end of the bearing 103 with the body side of the bearing 103, and the rear wheel 101 is prevented from coming off.

The rotating shaft 104 in the present embodiment is configured to incline downward and outward by an angle θ with respect to a horizontal line, and a pair of rear wheels 10 joined to the rotating shaft 104 is provided.
1 is a cleaner body 8 which is tilted at an angle θ with respect to the vertical so that a camber state in which the facing interval becomes narrower at the lower side.
01 is supported on the left and right sides at the rear lower part.

Next, FIG. 2 shows the measurement results of the change in the turning operation force and the change in the straight-moving operation force when the inclination angle θ of the rotating shaft 104 is changed.

In this measurement, a cleaner having a weight of 2.9 kg, a diameter of the rear wheel 101 of 160 mm, a diameter of the front wheel 809 of 32 mm, and a distance of 200 mm between the center axis of the rear wheel 101 and the center axis of the front wheel 809 was used. It was used.

Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the straight-ahead operating force is a force used for attaching the spring 301 to the front of the cleaner body 801 and pulling it forward, and the cleaner body starts moving on the linoleum surface 302. The turning operation force refers to a force used for the cleaner body to start moving when pulled in a direction perpendicular to the forward direction as shown in FIG. That is,
It can be said that the smaller the force used to start the movement of the cleaner body, the better the operability.

In FIG. 2, the straight-line operation force does not show a large change up to the inclination angle of 2 degrees, but the operation force decreases greatly at the inclination angle of 5 degrees and increases after the inclination angle of 10 degrees. In addition, the turning operation force starts to decrease at an inclination angle of 2 degrees,
At an inclination angle of 5 degrees, the operating force decreases greatly, and thereafter the operating force gradually increases. Summarizing the above, the straight-line operation force and the turning operation force are greatly reduced at the inclination angle of 5 degrees, and if the inclination angle is in the range of 2 degrees to 10 degrees, either the straight-line operation force or the turning operation force, or Both operating forces can be reduced.

In FIG. 2, the cause of the gradual increase of the straight-ahead operating force and the turning operation force at an inclination angle of 5 degrees is considered to be an increase in the bending force applied to the rotating shaft of the wheel.

Generally, when the inclination angle θ is closer to 0 degree, the bending force applied to the rotating shaft of the wheel is smaller, so that the straight-line operation force is improved. In FIG. 2, however, the straight-line operation force is improved up to the inclination angle of 5 degrees. The contact state between the outer peripheral surface of the rear wheel 101 and the floor surface may be cited.

That is, as shown in FIG. 11, which shows a partially enlarged view of A in FIG. 10, the outer peripheral surface of the rear wheel 101 is inclined with respect to the floor surface.
1 is no longer in contact with the floor. Therefore, the wheel does not bite into the floor due to the concentrated load, and the operability is improved.

Further, the inner peripheral end 11 of the rear wheel 101
01 and the floor surface 1002 can be prevented from being damaged by contact with the floor surface 1002.

In this embodiment, the vacuum cleaner having the front wheels and the rear wheels has been described.
As shown in FIG. 3, a pair of left and right large wheels 1201 are provided, and the rotation axis of the large wheels 1201 is configured to incline downward and outward by an angle θ with respect to a horizontal line, as in the previous embodiment.
It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the pair of large wheels 1201 joined to the rotating shaft is in a camber state in which the facing interval becomes narrower below.

According to the present embodiment, the rotation axis of the rear wheel 101 is configured to be inclined downward and outward by an angle θ with respect to the horizontal line, and the opposing interval of the rear wheel 101 is narrowed downward. , The swivel of the vacuum cleaner body is improved, it is possible to make small turns in small spaces and make a U-turn at the edge of the wall quickly, and follow the user during cleaning. Is improved.

Further, in this embodiment, since the outer peripheral surface of the rear wheel 101 is inclined with respect to the floor, the inner end of the outer peripheral surface of the rear wheel 101 is not in contact with the floor. Of the rear surface of the rear wheel 101 and the floor surface 1002 can be prevented from being damaged.

In general, a vacuum cleaner generally has three wheels, a front wheel 1 and a rear wheel 2, and the distance between the rotation axis of the front wheel and the rotation axis of the rear wheel is also required in order to reduce the size of the cleaner body. Tends to be shorter. For this reason, stability is poor compared to four wheels like a car, and when the user pulls the hose suddenly in either the left or right direction, the rear wheel on the opposite side from the pulled side rises from the floor surface, The front part of the pulled side hit the floor surface, and there was a risk of damaging the floor surface. Also, when the force of pulling the hose is reduced, the wheels come up and then try to return to the original state, hit the floor surface, and may damage the floor surface. In the present embodiment, the rotation axis of the rear wheel 101 is inclined by an angle θ with respect to the horizontal plane to improve the followability to the user, so that the floor surface can be prevented from being damaged and the vacuum cleaner can be downsized. Even in this case, the stability of the vacuum cleaner can be ensured.

In consideration of the traveling performance of an automobile, the centrifugal force cannot be ignored because the vehicle runs at high speed. On the other hand, since the vacuum cleaner moves at a low speed and is pulled by the vacuum cleaner user, the centrifugal force unlike an automobile does not work. For this reason,
If you pull the hose left or right, the wheel on the side where you pulled,
That is, the load due to the movement of the hose is applied to the wheel inside the turn, and the floor contact force of the wheel outside the turn is weakened by further pulling the hose. Therefore, the wheel on the side pulling the hose takes the initiative, making it possible to quickly make a small turn in a narrow space required during cleaning and make a U-turn at the edge of the wall, thereby reducing the user's fatigue and reducing the user's fatigue. Since the followability is improved, the cleaning time can be reduced.

Next, another embodiment according to the present invention will be described.

The vacuum cleaner according to the present embodiment is configured such that the rear wheel 101 is inclined with respect to the vertical similarly to the previous embodiment.

An eave-shaped fender 501 is provided on the rear side of the cleaner body 801 so as to cover an open portion above the rear wheel 101, and is connected to the fender 501 on the front side. Bumper 808 is provided.

The relative relationship between the cleaner body 801, the rear wheel 101, the fender 501, and the bumper 808 will be described below with reference to FIG.
This will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

The rear wheel 101 has a large diameter having a diameter of about 2 / 3H with respect to the height H of the cleaner body 801. Supported at an inclination of about 5 °. The rear wheel 101 preferably has a large diameter as in the present embodiment from the viewpoint of reducing friction generated on the rotating shaft of the rear wheel 101 and improving operability.

When the rear wheel 101 is tilted in this manner, the upper edge portion of the rear wheel 101 separates from the side surface of the cleaner body 801 and opens outward, and the space between the rear wheel 101 and the cleaner body 801 is changed. The gap becomes large and a power cord or the like easily enters.

In order to prevent the gap from increasing, the upper portion of the cleaner main body 801 may be formed to have a shape which is largely swelled as a whole.

In the present embodiment, the fender 501 is used to prevent the cleaner main body 801 from becoming larger overall.
Is the width of the rear wheel 1 from the width D of the contour of the cleaner body 801.
01 has an eaves-like shape with a width t sufficient to cover the open portion, the first half rising from the rear end of the bumper 808 in an arc shape along the side of the main body, and the second half horizontally extending rearward. Is growing.

According to the present embodiment, the gap generated between the rear wheel and the cleaner body by tilting the rear wheel is covered with the fender 501 protruding like an eave to prevent the power cord or the like from entering and being caught. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the overall shape of the cleaner body from becoming large.

In FIG. 10, the code reel shaft 8
03 is configured to protrude toward the outside of the vacuum cleaner, so that when the rear wheel is mounted vertically as in a conventional general vacuum cleaner, the rear wheel is almost vertically positioned so as not to contact the code reel shaft 803. Must be equipped with wheels.
Therefore, a dead space is generated below the code reel shaft 803 and inside the rear wheel. However, in this embodiment, the rear wheel is inclined, and the upper portion of the rear wheel 101 is covered with the fender 501 projecting like an eave, so that the dead space can be eliminated and the main body of the cleaner can be reduced.

[0044]

According to the present invention, since the wheels for moving the cleaner main body are tilted and supported so that the opposing interval becomes narrower downward, the cleaner main body is turned with a small turning operation force. Can be done.

Since the gap formed between the cleaner body and the tilted wheel is covered by a fender projecting like an eaves, it is possible to prevent a power cord or the like from entering and being caught, and to prevent the cleaner from being caught. The overall shape of the main body can be prevented from becoming large.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a rear sectional view of a main body of a vacuum cleaner showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a relationship between a turning operation force and a straight-ahead operation force when the value of θ is changed.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a measuring method for measuring a straight-ahead operating force in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view showing a measuring method for measuring a turning operation force in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a rear view of the main body of the vacuum cleaner showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the main body of the vacuum cleaner showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the main body of the vacuum cleaner showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a vacuum cleaner showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of the main body of the vacuum cleaner showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the main body of the vacuum cleaner showing one embodiment of the present invention.

11 is a diagram showing a partially enlarged view of A in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a vacuum cleaner showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a rear view of the main body of the electric vacuum cleaner in FIG. 11;

[Explanation of symbols]

101: rear wheel, 102: side wall, 103: bearing, 10
4 ... rotating shaft, 105 ... projection, 501 ... fender, 80
1. The cleaner itself.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Masao Sunagawa 1-1-1, Higashitaga-cho, Hitachi City, Ibaraki Prefecture Living Equipment Division, Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Inventor Morio Ozawa 1-1-280 Higashi Koigakubo, Kokubunji-shi, Tokyo Number Hitachi Design Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Gen Nagai 1-280 Higashi Koigakubo, Kokubunji City, Tokyo Hitachi, Ltd.Design Research Center Co., Ltd. (72) Masaru Oda 1-280 Higashi Koigabo, Kokubunji City, Tokyo Hitachi, Ltd., Design Laboratory (72) Kazue Miyashita 5-1-1, Nakagawa, Adachi-ku, Tokyo Hitachi, Ltd. Lifestyle Software Development Center, Hitachi, Ltd. (56) References JP-A-5-228080 (JP, A) real public Akira 63-34609 (JP, Y2) (58 ) investigated the field (Int.Cl. ^7, B name) A47L 9/00 102

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A cleaner body having a dust collecting part, a cord reel, an electric blower, etc. therein, a hose connected to the cleaner body in communication with the dust collecting part, and a hose connected to a tip of the hose. A vacuum cleaner having a suction body and a pair of left and right wheels arranged to move the cleaner body, wherein the pair of wheels are tilted so that the opposing interval becomes narrower downward and narrower. An electric vacuum cleaner characterized by being supported by a main body. 2. A cleaner main body having a dust collecting part, a cord reel, an electric blower and the like therein, a hose connected to the cleaner main body in communication with the dust collecting part, and a hose connected to a tip of the hose. And a pair of left and right bearings disposed on both sides of the cleaner body, and a pair of left and right wheels joined to a shaft rotatably provided on the bearings. A vacuum cleaner characterized in that a center line of a rotating shaft is inclined downward and outward by a predetermined value with respect to a horizontal line. 3. A cleaner body having a dust collecting part, a cord reel, an electric blower and the like therein, a hose connected to the cleaner body in communication with the dust collecting part, and a hose connected to a tip of the hose. A vacuum cleaner having a suction body and a pair of left and right wheels arranged to move the cleaner body, wherein the pair of wheels are inclined so that the opposing interval is narrower downward and the cleaning is performed. An electric vacuum cleaner, wherein the vacuum cleaner body is supported by the main body, and an upper side of the wheel of the main body is formed in an eave shape to cover the wheel. 4. A cleaner body having a dust collector, a cord reel, an electric blower and the like therein, a hose connected to the cleaner body in communication with the dust collector, and a hose connected to a tip of the hose. And a pair of left and right bearings disposed on both sides of the cleaner body, and a pair of left and right wheels joined to a shaft rotatably provided on the bearings. An electric vacuum cleaner wherein a center line of a rotating shaft is inclined downward and outward by a predetermined value with respect to a horizontal line, and an upper side portion of a wheel of the cleaner body is formed in an eave shape to cover the wheel. 5. A method according to claim 2 or claim 4, the center line of the rotation axis of the wheel, 2 degrees to the horizontal to 1
An electric vacuum cleaner characterized by being attached at an inclination of 0 degrees.