JP3987946B2 - Electric vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner in which a power supply body such as a battery pack for supplying electric power to an electric blower is mounted and a power cord is not required.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Some cordless vacuum cleaners equipped with a battery pack can be removed from the vacuum cleaner case for maintenance and inspection services. The service guide that defines the maintenance and inspection procedures for this type of vacuum cleaner describes the procedures for disassembling and assembling the vacuum cleaner body. According to it, it is a procedure to first remove the battery pack from the vacuum cleaner body case and then disassemble the vacuum cleaner body case, and the procedure to assemble the battery pack into the vacuum cleaner body case at the end of assembly. ing.
[0003]
When the main body of the vacuum cleaner is disassembled and assembled according to the procedure defined in this way, no problem is caused. However, the conventional vacuum cleaner is configured such that the vacuum cleaner body case can be disassembled and assembled even when the battery pack is not removed.
[0004]
When the cleaner body case is disassembled without removing the battery pack, the battery voltage is still applied to the electric blower supplied with power from the battery pack and the circuit device for controlling the electric blower. Therefore, when the electric blower, the circuit device, and other electrical wiring are removed, the plus and minus may be short-circuited. During a short circuit, a current corresponding to the battery capacity of the battery pack flows through the circuit. If it is for a large current electric blower, a larger current flows in the circuit. For example, taking a battery pack for an electric blower of about 10 amperes as an example, the current that flows during the short circuit exceeds 100 amperes.
[0005]
Therefore, when a current fuse for protecting the electric circuit is not provided in the electric circuit, the insulation coating of the wire melts or the electric conductor covered with the insulation coating melts due to the short circuit, and the electric wire set It may be forced to exchange. Moreover, if the operator touches the wire during a short circuit, there is a risk of scalding.
[0006]
Some cordless vacuum cleaners are equipped with a current short-circuit current fuse for protecting the electrical circuit when the winding of the motor part of the electric blower causes a rare short. is there. When a short circuit occurs in this type of vacuum cleaner due to an error in the disassembly procedure, the current fuse is blown. Therefore, the set of electric wires including the blown current fuse must be replaced. On the other hand, if a current fuse for rare short circuit is incorporated in the battery pack, and the current fuse is blown as described above, the battery pack including the current fuse must be replaced.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The problem to be solved by the present invention is to obtain a vacuum cleaner that does not cause a short circuit during maintenance inspection work.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is mounted on a base case having a base case having a power source housing portion and a cover case removably coupled to the base case, and the base case. An electric blower covered by the cover case; and a power supply body that is detachably accommodated in the power supply body accommodating portion and supplies electric power to the electric blower, and the power supply body is configured to remove the cover case from the base case. A case disassembly restraint means that enables the base case to be removed from the power supply body housing portion. The case disassembly restraint means is provided in the cover case, and the case is connected to the base case. An engagement portion that faces the power supply body housing portion when the power supply body is disposed, and is pulled from the opposite side of the power supply body housing portion to the engagement portion provided on the power supply body. A case hooking portion for restraining the cover case, and a power supply for holding the power supply body in the power supply body housing portion close to the engaging portion so as to maintain the hooking portion on the engaging portion. It is characterized by being formed with body pressers. In the present invention, a battery pack or a battery itself can be used as the power source.
[0009]
In the electric vacuum cleaner of the present invention, the cover case cannot be disassembled from the base case unless the power source is removed when performing maintenance and inspection.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A reference example of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
[0011]
As shown in FIG. 5, the vacuum cleaner body 1 of the cordless vacuum cleaner of the reference example incorporates an electric blower 3 and a circuit device 4 that controls the operation of the blower 3 in the vacuum cleaner body case 2. For example, the battery pack 5 is detachably housed as a power supply body for supplying electric power to the electric blower 3, and the dust collecting part, for example, the dust cup 6 is detachably provided upstream of the suction of the electric blower 3.
[0012]
The vacuum cleaner main body case 2 made of hard synthetic resin includes a base case 11 shown in FIGS. 2, 4, and 5 and a cover case 12 that is detachably connected to the base case 11 from above. The cover case 12 includes a cover lower case 13 and a cover upper case 14 as shown in FIGS. The rear end portions of the lower cover case 13 and the upper cover case 14 are connected via a hinge mechanism 15. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 15 a indicates the hinge shaft of the hinge mechanism 15. The upper cover case 14 is pivoted about the hinge mechanism 15 so as to cover the lower cover case 13 from above (see FIG. 1 for the state of the upper cover case 14 disposed at this position), and from this position. It can be moved over an open position that is reversed by approximately 180 ° and continuously arranged behind the lower cover case 13.
[0013]
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the base case 11 has a swivel wheel 16 attached to the lower surface of the front part and a pair of wheels 17 attached to the rear part. A cup receiving portion 18 defined by a relatively short cylindrical wall 18 a having an open upper end is formed on the upper surface of the front portion of the base case 11. An electric blower 3 is mounted on the upper surface of the rear portion of the base case 11 with its intake port 3 a facing upward, and a circuit device 4 is disposed in the vicinity of the electric blower 3. The circuit device 4 is formed by mounting a TFT transistor for controlling an electric motor and other circuit components (including a circuit component for charging) on a printed wiring board.
[0014]
A battery housing portion 19 is formed integrally at the middle portion of the base case 11 in the front-rear direction so as to protrude upward as a power source housing portion. The housing portion 19 is formed long in the width direction of the base case 11 as shown in FIG. 4, and is opened in the lower surface of the base case 11 as shown in FIG. This opening is closed by a lid 20 that can be attached to and detached from the lower surface of the base case 11. The lid 20 has a hooking tongue piece 21 on one side edge and a positioning convex piece 22 on the other side edge.
[0015]
The lid 20 is disposed so as to close the opening of the battery housing part 19 after the hooking tongue piece 21 is inserted into the hooking recess 23 provided at the opening edge of the battery housing part 19 and hooked . Then, the positioning convex piece 22 is fitted into the positioning concave portion 24 provided at the opening edge of the battery accommodating portion 19, and then in this state, the screw is inserted into the screw hole 25 in the positioning concave portion 24 through the positioning convex piece 22. The lid 20 is attached to the base case 11 by screwing 26. The lid 20 can be removed from the base case 11 by a procedure reverse to the above attachment procedure.
[0016]
The battery pack 5 is accommodated in the battery accommodating portion 19 through the opening. The battery pack 5 is formed by packing a battery assembly in which a number of secondary batteries made of, for example, nickel metal hydride batteries are electrically connected in series with a package member. The battery pack 5 has a size that substantially fills the battery accommodating portion 19 and includes a connector 5a as shown in FIG.
[0017]
The battery pack 5 accommodated in the battery accommodating portion 19 is elastically pressed by a foamed urethane piece (not shown) bonded to the inner surface of the lid 20 as the lid 20 is attached to the base case 11, It is held so as not to connect. The connector 5a of the battery pack 5 is detachably connected to a case-side connector 27 (see FIG. 2) disposed in the battery accommodating portion 19. Therefore, it is possible to remove the battery pack 5 from the battery accommodating portion 19 by disconnecting the battery side connector 5 a and the case side connector 27.
[0018]
The plus-side and minus-side insulated wires 28a and 28b (see FIG. 4) connected to the case-side connector 27 are connected to a carbon brush (not shown) included in the electric motor portion of the electric blower 3. A current fuse 30 (see FIG. 2) for preventing a short circuit is attached to the middle part of one insulated wire 28b in order to protect the electric circuit when the winding of the motor unit causes a short circuit. Yes.
[0019]
A connection hole 31 is formed in the inner wall 19a of the battery housing portion 19 so as to penetrate in the direction in which the base case 11 and the lower cover case 13 of the cover case 12 are aligned, in this reference example . The hole 31 is covered and hidden by the battery pack 5 housed in the battery housing portion 19 (see FIG. 5), and can be visually recognized when the battery pack 5 is removed from the battery housing portion 19 and the battery housing portion 19 is viewed. Accordingly, the case connecting operation and the operation for releasing the connection described later are allowed in a state where the battery accommodating portion 19 is empty as described above. In addition, the code | symbol 19b in FIG. 4 has shown the thermal radiation hole for suppressing the temperature rise of the battery pack 5 at the time of charge.
[0020]
As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of upward screw receiving bosses 32 are integrally projected on the base case 11.
[0021]
The cover lower case 13 provided so as to be detachably attached to the base case 11 from above is formed by using a plurality of screws 35 (see FIG. 3) that pass through this from above and are screwed downward into the screw receiving boss 32. 11. As shown in FIG. 5, the cover lower case 13 is integrally provided with a screw receiving portion, for example, a connection boss 36 that is in contact with the connection hole 31 downward. A connection screw 37 is screwed upward into the connection boss 36 from the inside of the battery housing portion 19 through the connection hole 31. The base case 11 and the lower cover case 13 are also connected at this connecting portion. The connection screw 37 can be inserted and removed only from the inside of the battery housing part 19 in a state where the battery pack 5 is not housed in the battery housing part 19. The lower cover case 13 can be removed from the base case 11 by removing all of the connecting screws 37 and the respective screws 35.
[0022]
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, a filter 38 is attached to a portion of the lower cover case 13 covering the electric blower 3 from above so as to face directly above the intake port 3a. As shown in FIG. 3, the lower cover case 13 has a wall portion 13a continuous with the upper side of the cylindrical wall 18a.
[0023]
The dust cup 6 is attached so that a part of the dust cup 6 extends along the wall portion 13 a and the lower portion of the dust cup 6 is removably inserted into the cup receiving portion 18. The lower end portion of the substantially L-shaped handle 41 of the dust cup 6 is detachably fitted to the outside of a cylindrical portion 13b (see FIG. 5) that houses the head of the screw 35 screwed into the front end of the case. Thus, the set state of the dust cup 6 is stabilized. With the cover upper case 14 opened, the dust cup 6 can grasp the handle 41 and take it out upward.
[0024]
As shown in FIG. 5, the dust cup 6 includes a cup lid 42 and performs cyclone type dust collection. For this purpose, the air inlet 43 of the cup lid 42 is provided with an airflow guide plate 44 for changing the direction of the airflow passing through the inlet 43 along the inner peripheral surface of the dust cup 6, and the cup lid 42. A cage-like filter 45 is attached to the center of the plate, and a plate-like filter 46 is attached to cover the filter 45 from above. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 47 denotes a filter press fitted into the cup lid 42 from above, and the airflow can pass through the presser 47.
[0025]
The cover upper case 14 that covers the dust cup 6 and the cover lower case 13 from above is coupled to the cover lower case 13 when it is disposed at the assembly position. This combined state can be released by pressing the button 51 shown in FIG. 1, and can be released thereby. A dust suction port 52 is provided at the front end of the cover upper case 14. In a state where the cover upper case 14 is disposed at the assembly position, the dust suction port 52 is connected to the air inlet 43 as shown in FIG. A dust suction hose (not shown) is connected to the dust suction port 52, and a suction port body is connected to the hose directly or via an extension pipe.
[0026]
As shown in FIG. 5, an air passage 53 is provided on the inner surface side of the upper cover case 14. In a state where the cover upper case 14 is disposed at the assembly position, the inlet portion 53a of the air passage 53 overlaps the cup lid 42 from above, communicates with the dust cup 6 through the filters 45 and 46, and the air passage 53. The outlet portion 53 b overlaps the filter 38 from above and communicates with the air inlet 3 a of the electric blower 3 through the filter 38. Therefore, when the electric blower 3 is driven, an air flow indicated by an arrow in FIG. 5 is formed, and cyclone type dust collection can be performed.
[0027]
A handle 54 is attached to the upper surface of the cover upper case 14. The dust suction port 52 is formed at the front end of the handle 54. The handle 54 has a hollow portion 54a defined from the dust suction port 52, and an electric wire 55 that connects the circuit device 4 and a hand operating portion of a dust collecting hose (not shown) is wired therethrough. In addition, the code | symbol 56 in FIG. 1 has shown the charge display part.
[0028]
In the vacuum cleaner having the above-described configuration, in order to disassemble the vacuum cleaner main body case 2 in order to expose the electric blower 3 and the circuit device 4 for the maintenance and inspection service, a service guide that defines the procedure of the maintenance and inspection service is provided. Is carried out according to the following procedure described in.
[0029]
First, the screw 26 fixing the lid 20 to the base case 11 is removed, the lid 20 is removed, and the battery housing part 19 is opened. In this state, by pulling out the battery pack 5 from the battery housing part 19 and disconnecting the connector 5a and the case side connector 27, the battery voltage of the battery pack 5 is applied to various electrical components in the cleaner body case 2. Do not apply.
[0030]
Next, the connection screw 37 exposed on the inner surface of the battery housing portion 19 is removed, and the connection between the connection boss 36 of the lower cover case 13 and the base case 11 is disconnected.
[0031]
Thereafter, the cover upper case 14 is opened and the dust cup 6 is removed. Then, the screws 35 are respectively removed from the screw receiving bosses 32 of the base case 11 to disconnect the base case 11 from the cover lower case 13.
[0032]
Finally, the cleaner main body case 2 can be disassembled by removing the lower cover case 13 from the base case 11. By this regular disassembling procedure, various electric parts such as the electric blower 3 and the circuit device 4 attached to the base case 11 are exposed, so that inspection and maintenance work can be performed. In this case, since the battery pack 5 has been removed as described above, the inspection / maintenance work can be maintained without causing a short circuit, the electrical parts can be maintained, and the safety of the worker can be ensured. Yes.
[0033]
By the way, without following the above normal procedure, without removing the battery pack 5, the cover upper case 14 is opened, the dust cup 6 and each screw 35 are removed, and the cover lower case 13 is removed from the base case 11. Even if it is going to be removed, in this state, since the connecting screw 37 is screwed into the connecting boss 36 and the base case 11 and the lower cover case 13 are connected, it cannot be disassembled. Therefore, an operator who performs inspection and maintenance notices an error in the disassembling procedure and is forced to remove the battery pack 5 from the battery accommodating portion 19 of the base case 11 based on the description in the service guide.
[0034]
If the battery pack 5 is not removed in this manner, the lower cover case 13 covering and covering various electric components such as the electric blower 3 and the circuit device 4 cannot be removed from the base case 11 to proceed with disassembly.
[0035]
That is, in the reference example , a case disassembly restraining means that enables the removal of the lower cover case 13 from the base case 11 under the condition that the battery pack 5 is removed from the battery accommodating portion 19 of the base case 11 is provided. Since it is formed of the battery pack 5, although it has a simple configuration, as described above, there is no short-circuit in inspection and maintenance work, and inspection and maintenance work is ensured while maintaining electrical parts maintenance and worker safety. Can be performed.
[0036]
6 and 7 show an embodiment of the present invention. Since this embodiment basically has the same configuration as the reference example , the same configuration is denoted by the same reference numeral as the corresponding configuration of the reference example , the description thereof is omitted, and different configurations will be described below. One embodiment differs from the reference example in case disassembly restraint means.
[0037]
In one embodiment , the case disassembly restraining means includes an engaging portion 61 provided in the lower cover case 13, a case hooking portion 62 provided in the battery pack 5, and a power supply body presser provided in the battery housing portion 19. And a battery retainer 63 as a member.
[0038]
The engaging portion 61 is formed as a convex portion extending in the direction in which the battery pack 5 is inserted and removed. When the lower cover case 13 is combined with the base case 11, the engaging portion 61 is inserted into the escape portion 19 c formed in the battery housing portion 19 so as to protrude, for example, into the battery housing portion 19. It has become. The escape portion 19c is formed by a hole extending in the insertion / removal direction of the battery pack 5 and extending from the back wall 19a of the battery housing portion 19 to a vertical wall continuous therewith.
[0039]
The case hooking portion 62 is attached to the outer surface of the battery pack 5 and is formed, for example, in a concave shape so as to be concavo-convexly fitted to the engaging portion 61. The case hooking portion 62 is not limited to the concave shape, and a protruding portion (indicated by reference numeral 62a in FIG. 7) that hooks on the engaging portion 61 from the opposite direction to the opening of the battery housing portion 19 in a state where the lower cover case 13 is constrained. ).
[0040]
As shown in FIG. 7 and the like, the battery retainer 63 is formed of a retainer plate 63b that can be rotated about a pivot 63a, and a spring 63c that urges the plate 63b from its back surface. The battery retainer 63 is attached to another wall facing the vertical wall provided with the escape portion 19c, and the spring 63c biases the retainer plate 63b toward the escape portion 19c. Further, the battery accommodating part 19 is formed large so that the battery retainer 63 can be disposed therein, and therefore the width of the battery accommodating part 19 is wider than the width of the battery pack 5.
[0041]
The assembly procedure around the battery pack 5 in this embodiment is carried out as follows. First, the base case 11 is combined so as to fit into the lower cover case 13. By this combination, the engaging portion 61 of the lower cover case 13 is inserted into the escape portion 19 c of the battery housing portion 19, and the engaging portion 61 is disposed facing the battery housing portion 19. Thereafter, the cover lower case 13 is screwed to the base case 11 from above, and the cover upper case 14 is attached to the cover lower case 13 to assemble the cover case 12.
[0042]
Next, the battery pack 5 is accommodated in the battery accommodating portion 19. This housing is performed by inserting the battery pack 5 into the battery housing portion 19 while shifting the position so that the case hooking portion 62 does not contact the engaging portion 61 protruding into the battery housing portion 19. It is. Accordingly, the insertion tip of the battery pack 5 pushes the battery retainer 63, so that the retainer plate 63b is opposed to the spring 63c on the side surface opposite to the side surface on which the case hooking portion 62 of the battery pack 5 is provided. Get in touch.
[0043]
Therefore, the battery pack 5 properly inserted to the back of the battery housing part 19 is brought close to the engaging part 61 by the urging force of the battery retainer 63, and the case hooking part 62 is unevenly fitted to the engaging part 61. The Finally, after the connectors are connected to each other, a lid 20 that closes the opening of the battery housing portion 19 is attached and fixed so that the battery pack 5 does not rattle. FIG. 6 shows a state assembled by the above procedure.
[0044]
Therefore, even when the screw screwed into the base case 11 is removed from above the cover lower case 13 during maintenance inspection, the case hooking portion 62 of the battery pack 5 is engaged with the engaging portion 61 of the cover lower case 13. Since the battery pack 5 is caught from the opposite side of the insertion direction, the lower cover case 13 cannot be removed and the electric parts such as the electric blower 3 cannot be exposed as it is, and the disassembly procedure is not appropriate. Can be noticed.
[0045]
When such a situation is reached, the lid 20 is removed from the base case 11, and after the connectors are disconnected, the battery pack 5 is manually moved in the direction of arrow A in FIG. Thus, the hook of the case hooking portion 62 and the engaging portion 61 can be removed, and thereafter the lower cover case 13 can be removed from the base case 11.
[0046]
In this disassembled state, since the battery pack 5 has already been removed, the battery voltage of the battery pack 5 is not applied to the electrical components exposed by the removal of the lower cover case 13.
[0047]
Therefore, also in one embodiment , since the lower cover case 13 can be removed from the base case 11 under the condition that the battery pack 5 is removed from the battery accommodating portion 19 of the base case 11, a short circuit occurs during inspection and maintenance work. Thus, inspection and maintenance work can be performed while ensuring the maintenance of electrical parts and the safety of workers.
[0048]
In this embodiment , a wedge-shaped member with a knob can also be used for the battery retainer 63, and this wedge-shaped member is inserted into the battery accommodating portion 19 along the battery pack 5 through the opening of the accommodating portion 19. Accordingly, the battery pack 5 may be moved toward the engaging portion 61 and the case hooking portion 62 may be hooked on the engaging portion 61. Further, when the case hooking portion 62 of the battery pack 5 and the engaging portion 61 of the lower cover case 13 are concavo-convexly fitted, either one may be a convex portion and the other may be a concave portion (including a hole). . Therefore, when the case hooking portion 62 is a convex portion, an escape portion into which the convex portion is inserted and removed is formed on the wall of the battery housing portion 19 and the convex portion is fitted to the lower cover case 13. It is also possible to carry out by forming a concave portion.
[0049]
【The invention's effect】
The present invention is implemented in the form as described above, and has the following effects.
[0050]
According to the first aspect of the invention, when performing maintenance inspection, the cover case cannot be disassembled from the base case unless the power source is removed, so that a short circuit does not occur during maintenance inspection work. Can provide a vacuum cleaner.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a vacuum cleaner body of a vacuum cleaner according to a reference example of the present invention.
2 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration around a battery pack of the cleaner body of FIG. 1; FIG.
3 is a plan view showing the vacuum cleaner main body of FIG. 1 with its cover upper case opened and the dust cup removed. FIG.
4 is a perspective view around the base case with the cover case and dust cup of the cleaner body of FIG. 1 removed. FIG.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the cleaner body of FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a vacuum cleaner body of the electric vacuum cleaner according to one embodiment of the present invention.
7 is an exploded cross-sectional view showing a configuration of case disassembly restraining means included in the electric vacuum cleaner of FIG. 6;
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vacuum cleaner main body 2 ... Vacuum cleaner main body case 3 ... Electric blower 5 ... Battery pack (power supply body)
5a ... Connector of battery pack 11 ... Base case 12 ... Cover case 13 ... Cover lower case 14 ... Cover upper case 19 ... Battery housing part (power supply body housing part)
19a ... Back wall of battery housing part 19c ... Escape part of battery housing part 20 ... Lid 27 ... Case side connector
61 ... Engagement part of lower cover case 62 ... Case hook part of battery pack 62a ... Projection part of case hook part 63 ... Battery holder (power supply body holder)
63a ... Axis of battery presser 63b ... Presser plate for battery presser 63c ... Spring for battery presser

Claims (1)

A vacuum cleaner main body case including a base case having a power supply body accommodating portion and a cover case detachably coupled to the base case ;
An electric blower mounted on the base case and covered with the cover case;
A power supply body that is detachably housed in the power supply body housing section and supplies power to the electric blower, and the power supply body removes the cover case from the base case from the power supply body housing section of the base case. A case disassembly restraint means that enables under the removed conditions;
Comprising
The case disassembly restraining means is provided on the cover case, and when the case is connected to the base case, an engaging portion that faces the power supply body accommodating portion, and the power supply body is provided on the engaging portion. A case hooking portion that is hooked from the opposite side of the opening of the power supply body housing portion and restrains the cover case, and the hook in the power supply body housing portion is maintained so as to keep the hooking portion from being hooked to the engaging portion. A vacuum cleaner characterized by being formed of a power supply body presser that holds the power supply body close to the engaging portion.

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