JP4356458B2 - Electric vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner that removes the odor of dust sucked using a deodorizing material and reduces the odor of exhaust.

  In recent years, as the comfort of the living environment has been demanded, the need for improving the clean function has been increasing year by year for vacuum cleaners, and in particular, the need for reduction and removal of dust, odors, bacteria, etc. contained in the exhaust is the most. Needs are high.

With respect to exhaust deodorization of conventional vacuum cleaners, a configuration in which a deodorization filter is mounted in an exhaust path has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP-A-4-231019

  However, in the method of installing a deodorizing filter in the exhaust path, since the air volume of the electric blower is large, the contact time between the deodorant and the odor in the deodorizing filter is shortened, the deodorizing efficiency is small, and the odor reduction is also small. Had.

  Moreover, when the capacity | capacitance of the deodorizing filter was increased in order to improve the deodorizing performance, there existed a subject that exhaust_gas | exhaustion resistance also increased and the attraction | suction force of an electric blower fell.

  This invention solves the said conventional subject, and it aims at providing the vacuum cleaner which reduces significantly the odor contained in the exhaust_gas | exhaustion at the time of vacuum cleaner use.

In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, the electric vacuum cleaner of the present invention includes a dust collection chamber that is disposed in a vacuum cleaner body and collects dust, an electric blower that sucks dust into the dust collection chamber, and the vacuum cleaner. A suction tube connected to the main body and communicating with the upstream of the dust collection chamber for sucking and introducing dust, a storage chamber provided in communication with the suction tube for storing deodorizing material, and a deodorizing material provided at the bottom of the storage chamber Charging means; solidified deodorizing material stored in contact with the deodorizing material charging means in the storage chamber; vibration means installed in the suction pipe for vibrating the deodorizing material charging means; the electric blower; Control means for controlling the power supplied to the vibration means, and the solidified deodorized material is forcibly cut and pulverized by causing the control means and the vibration means to vibrate the deodorized material charging means for a certain period of time. Throw into the suction tube. And, turning to the dust collecting chamber by suction air of the electric blower
It is a configuration .

As a result, it is possible to easily create a powdery deodorizing material having a high contact rate with dust, and for the sucked dust, the deodorizing material can be quantitatively introduced into the suction pipe in the middle of the suction air passage in the powdered state. can, dust mixed in direct contact with the deodorizing material, will be efficiently odor is removed by direct adsorption with deodorizing material, it is reduced odor of the dust collecting chamber, largely odor contained in the exhaust during the operation In addition, the odor does not stay in the dust collection chamber even when the operation is stopped, so air containing high-concentration odor will not be discharged during the next operation. It will always be maintained in a comfortable state.

In addition, the deodorizing material charging operation is controlled by the control means , and an optimal amount of deodorizing material is added to the dust to ensure proper deodorizing performance and to prevent excessive deodorizing material from being added. Reduction of the frequency of addition is realized.

  In addition, since the inside of the solidified deodorizing material is difficult to adsorb moisture and the like, it is possible to prevent deterioration of the solidified deodorizing material itself, increase durability, and improve performance.

In addition, by configuring the deodorizing material input unit separately from the dust collection chamber, it is possible to construct a deodorizing material input mechanism without being affected by the type and configuration of the dust collection chamber. Even in a vacuum cleaner body of a different paper pack type or a centrifugal separation type, the above deodorizing effect can be obtained in the same manner by connecting a suction pipe provided with a deodorizing material charging mechanism to the cleaner body.

  The electric vacuum cleaner of the present invention, by introducing a deodorizing material into the dust collection chamber and controlling the input operation, greatly increases the clean level of exhaust during operation of the vacuum cleaner, and further maintains the proper capacity of the deodorizing function. The frequency of adding a deodorizing material can be reduced.

A first aspect of the invention is a dust collection chamber that is disposed in a cleaner body, collects dust, an electric blower that sucks dust into the dust collection chamber, and is connected to the cleaner body and communicates with the upstream of the dust collection chamber. A suction pipe for sucking and introducing dust, a storage chamber provided in communication with the suction pipe for storing the deodorizing material, a deodorizing material charging means provided at the bottom of the storage chamber, and the deodorizing material charging in the storage chamber Solidified deodorizing material housed in contact with the device, vibration means installed in the suction pipe for vibrating the deodorizing material charging means, control means for controlling the electric blower and power supplied to the vibration means The solidified deodorized material is forcibly cut and pulverized by causing the deodorizing material charging means to vibrate for a certain period of time by the control means and the vibrating means, and is put into a suction pipe. Dust collection chamber by suction air With the construction to be introduced, the deodorizing materials of the contact ratio is high powder state and dust easily able to create, with respect to the sucked dust, quantitatively suction air passage middle suction deodorizing material in a powder state Dust that can be thrown into the pipe and is in direct contact with and mixed with the deodorizing material is efficiently removed by direct adsorption with the deodorizing material, reducing the odor in the dust collection chamber and exhausting during operation Not only can the odor contained in the chamber be significantly reduced, but the amount of odor retention in the dust collection chamber when the operation is stopped is also reduced, so that the odor with increased concentration may be discharged from the dust collection chamber at the next operation. The room environment at the time of cleaning work is always maintained in a comfortable state.

Furthermore, by controlling the charging operation of the deodorizing material by the control means , insufficient and excessive charging of the deodorizing material can be prevented, so that the optimum deodorizing performance can be maintained and the frequency of adding the deodorizing material to the storage chamber can be reduced.

  In addition, since the solidified deodorizing material is difficult to adsorb moisture and the like, the solidified deodorizing material
It is possible to prevent deterioration of the product, increase durability, and improve performance.

  In addition, by configuring the deodorizing material input unit separately from the dust collection chamber, it is possible to construct a deodorizing material input mechanism without being affected by the shape of the dust collection chamber, and paper with a different dust collection chamber configuration. Even in the case of a vacuum cleaner body of a pack type or a centrifugal separation type, the above deodorizing effect can be obtained in the same manner by connecting a suction pipe provided with a deodorizing material charging mechanism to the cleaner body.

A second invention is, in particular, control means in the first invention, by supplying power to the vibrating means in conjunction with the operation of the electric blower, by deodorizing material supplying device is configured to vibrate, electrical In conjunction with the operation of the cleaner, the deodorizing material charging means is operated, and the deodorizing material is continuously charged during the operation of the electric blower, so that the deodorized material can be reliably mixed with the sucked dust.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the dust detection means is provided on the upstream side of the deodorizing material charging means and facing the air passage in the suction pipe. By supplying power to the vibration means in conjunction, the deodorizing material input means vibrates, so that when the dust detection means detects the suction of dust during operation of the vacuum cleaner, it is linked to the detection of dust. Then, the deodorizing material input means operates for a predetermined time, inputs the deodorizing material, and mixes the deodorizing material with the dust. The amount can be saved.

In a fourth aspect of the invention, in particular, in the first aspect of the invention , the odor detection means is provided in the exhaust air flow path downstream of the dust collection chamber, and the control means supplies power to the vibration means in conjunction with a signal from the odor detection means. Since the deodorizing material charging means vibrates to increase the amount of dust accumulated in the dust collection chamber, the odor concentration in the air passing through the dust collection chamber has exceeded a predetermined concentration. In this case, the odor detecting means detects an increase in odor concentration, the deodorizing material feeding means is operated for a predetermined time, and the deodorizing material is charged. By covering the surface, it is possible to contain the generation of odor and further reduce the amount of deodorizing material used.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention, in particular, in the first aspect of the invention , the deodorizing material charging switch is provided in the main body of the vacuum cleaner, and the control unit supplies power to the vibration unit via the deodorizing material charging switch operation, By adopting a configuration in which the charging means vibrates , the user operates the deodorizing material charging means for a predetermined time by using the deodorizing material charging switch at any timing, such as before, during and after operation of the electric blower, when using the vacuum cleaner. The deodorizing material can be mixed with the dust, and when the odor generation amount of the dust is extremely increased, the amount of the deodorizing material can be flexibly dealt with. It is also possible to suppress it.

  In the sixth invention, in particular, the storage chamber for storing the deodorizing material of any one of the first to fifth inventions is provided with a lid, and an elastic means is provided between the lid and the deodorizing material, so that the deodorizing material is charged. By adopting a configuration in which the deodorizing material is pressed against the means with a constant force, the amount of cutting by which the solidified deodorizing material is cut and pulverized can be stabilized.

In the seventh invention, in particular, the deodorizing material according to any one of the first to sixth inventions is obtained by solidifying a deodorizing material in a powder state having a particle size of less than 100 microns through a binder. The deodorizing material in powder form has a large surface area per weight, so it has a large odor adsorption capacity and is easily charged with static electricity, so it easily adheres when mixed with dust, and can remove odors directly. By the force of the suction air flow generated by the blower, it can easily diffuse inside the accumulated dust, and the odor inside the accumulated dust can also be removed.In addition, by solidifying this deodorized material in the powder state via a binder, Since it can be easily installed in the storage room and contact with the outside air can be minimized by solidification, the performance of the deodorizing material can be maintained for a long time.

In the eighth aspect of the invention, in particular, the deodorizing material according to any one of the first to seventh aspects of the present invention includes any one of activated carbon and zeolite, thereby efficiently removing a composite odor such as dust of an electric vacuum cleaner. can do.

In the ninth aspect of the invention, in particular, the deodorizing material according to any one of the first to eighth aspects includes an antibacterial material, so that the antibacterial material directly acts on the dust and the inside of the dust collecting chamber. Proliferation of bacteria can be suppressed, and it can be effective in terms of hygiene in addition to odor.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited by this embodiment.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the structure of the electric vacuum cleaner according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a dust collection chamber 2 and an electric blower 3 are disposed in a main body 1 of the vacuum cleaner, and a suction port 4 communicates with the dust collection chamber 2 at the front of the main body 1. Is connected to a suction pipe 5 for sucking and introducing dust from the floor or the like. The cleaning work is performed by operating the electric blower 3 to generate suction air and sucking dust, so that the dust is stored in the dust collecting chamber 2 through the suction pipe 5, and only the suction airflow passes through the dust removing means. The fine dust is removed and discharged outside the main body 1.

  Next, a description will be given with reference to an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of the deodorizing material input part in FIGS. 1 and 2. A storage chamber 6 is installed in the communication upper part of the suction pipe 5 before the dust collection chamber 2, and a deodorizing material 7 is loaded in the storage chamber 6. The deodorizing material 7 is obtained by forming activated carbon powder having an average particle size of 20 microns into a prismatic shape using colloidal silica as a binder and solidifying it.

  A deodorizing material charging means 8 is incorporated at the bottom of the storage chamber 6 facing the suction pipe 5. As shown in FIG. 3, the deodorizing material charging means 8 has a plurality of thin metal plates fixed at equal intervals by a frame-shaped jig, and the end surfaces of the thin plates support the deodorizing material 7. . In the deodorizing material charging means 8, when the amplitude operation occurs in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the thin plate, the contact surface of the deodorizing material 7 is cut from the surface layer by a certain width, and the deodorizing material 7 is The bond between the binder and the activated carbon powder is broken, and it falls into the suction pipe 5 while returning to the powder state again.

  The amplitude operation of the deodorizing material charging means 8 can generate a stable amplitude by using a vibration means 9 such as an electromagnetic vibrator. Further, if an elastic means 10 such as a spring is installed on the opposite side of the vibration means 9 with the deodorizing material charging means 8 interposed therebetween, the amplitude becomes more stable.

  Further, since the amount of cutting can be stabilized by pressing the deodorizing material 7 with a constant force against the deodorizing material charging means 8, the elastic means 10 is provided between the deodorizing material 7 and the lid of the storage chamber 6.

  Further, an infrared sensor is installed as a dust detection means 11 toward the inside of the suction pipe 5 on the upstream side of the deodorizing material input means 8. The electric blower 3, the deodorizing material charging means 8, the dust detection means 11, the power supply circuit 12 for controlling the power supplied to the vacuum cleaner, and the operation stop switch 13 are configured as shown in the electric circuit block diagram of FIG. The electric blower 3 and the dust detection means 11 are activated by the operation stop switch 13, and the dust detection means 11 continuously irradiates infrared rays into the suction pipe 5, and the dust is sucked to irradiate infrared rays. The change in the amount is detected as a signal, the deodorizing material charging means 8 is operated for a certain time, the deodorizing material 7 is cut, and activated carbon powder is charged into the suction pipe 5. The charged activated carbon powder moves in an air stream into the dust collection chamber 2 while being mixed with dust.

  The effect of the present invention was examined using the vacuum cleaner configured as described above.

(Experimental example 1)
Using the above vacuum cleaner, the actual room was cleaned for 15 minutes. As a control experiment, the deodorizing input means 8 continues during the operation of the electric blower 3 as shown in the electric circuit block diagram of FIG. 5 without the deodorizing material 7 and without the dust detection means 11 in the above vacuum cleaner. The actual room was also cleaned for 15 minutes using a total of two conditions of vacuum cleaner. This actual room cleaning was continued for 30 days. As a result of continuing the cleaning work while sensuously conscious of exhaust odor, the vacuum cleaner of the target experiment without deodorizing material was worried about the exhaust odor immediately after the start of operation from about the seventh day In both the electric vacuum cleaner of this embodiment and the control experiment of introducing the deodorizing material without the dust detection means 11, both the exhaust odor was noticed both at the start of the operation and during the operation even at the end of the test on the 30th day of the experiment. Never happened.

Next, these vacuum cleaners were set in a 1 m ³ sealed chamber, allowed to stand for one day, and then operated for 30 seconds. The air in the chamber was subjected to odor sniffing sensory evaluation by six sensory evaluation panelists. As a result, in the present embodiment, the average odor intensity was 0.8, whereas the condition without the deodorizing material 7 in the control experiment had an average odor intensity of 2.8. The condition without 11 was that the average odor intensity was 0.5, and it was confirmed that all the conditions for introducing the deodorizing material 7 were significantly reduced in odor intensity quantitatively.

  Taking into account that the odor intensity 1 is the odor detection threshold, both the present embodiment and the condition without the dust detection means 11 in the control experiment realize exhaust without odor.

  Further, in both the present embodiment and the target experiment, the dust in the dust collection chamber 2 is sucked by about 70 g. On the other hand, when the weight of the deodorizing material 7 is measured, the present embodiment is 0.72 g, The control experiment was 2.05 g, each with a reduced weight. That is, about 1 wt% and 3 wt% of the dust in the dust collection chamber 2 are respectively added. Considering together with the sensory evaluation result of the exhaust odor, it is understood that it is sufficient that the deodorizing material 7 is introduced in an amount of 1 wt% with respect to the amount of dust.

  From the above results, as in the present embodiment, the deodorizing material 7 is introduced into the suction airflow and mixed with the dust to remove the odor of the dust. Since no odor is generated in the dust collection chamber 2, the odor contained in the exhaust at the start of operation, in which usually a high concentration of odor is likely to be discharged, is greatly reduced, and cleaning work can be performed in a comfortable air quality environment. Furthermore, since the amount of input can be saved without sacrificing the deodorizing effect by detecting the time when dust is sucked in when the deodorizing material 7 is input, the deodorizing material 7 is regularly added frequently. Less.

  In the present embodiment, the dust detecting means 11 is used as a control means for operating the deodorizing material input means 8 to cut and input the deodorizing material 7, but the electric circuit block of FIG. As shown in the figure, an odor detecting means 14 is installed in the exhaust air passage after the dust collection chamber 2 to detect an increase in the odor level contained in the exhaust, and the deodorizing material charging means 8 is operated. As shown in the electric circuit block diagram, a deodorizing material charging switch 15 is provided so that the user can arbitrarily stop the operation of the deodorizing material charging means 8, and the user periodically inserts the deodorizing material 7 during cleaning work. Even if it does, the same deodorizing effect and the saving effect of the input amount of the deodorizing material 7 can be obtained. If an oxide semiconductor type gas sensor is used as the odor detection means 14, it is possible to detect even a composite odor derived from dust at a low concentration, and the odor concentration for starting the operation of the deodorizing material input means 8. A wide range of levels can be set.

  Moreover, in this Embodiment, although activated carbon was used as the deodorizing material 7, the composite odor from dust can be reduced and the same effect can be acquired also with zeolite etc. besides activated carbon.

  Further, when the storage chamber 6 having a deodorizing material is used, the odor level contained in the exhaust can be further reduced.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the dust collection chamber 2 has been described using a paper pack method, but a centrifugal separation type dust collection chamber 2 that separates dust and air by generating a centrifugal airflow may be used. Since the input mechanism of the deodorizing material 7 is a separate body, the same deodorizing effect can be obtained without being affected by the form of the dust collecting chamber 2. In the case of the centrifugal separation method, since the ratio of the airflow passing through the dust is reduced, the odor contained in the exhaust gas is further reduced.

(Experimental example 2)
Instead of the deodorizing material 7, granular activated carbon having a particle diameter of about 1 to 2 mm, which is hardened with a binder, is loaded into the storage chamber 6 of the present embodiment, and an actual room cleaning experiment is conducted in the same manner as in Experimental Example 1. went. When the chamber test was performed in the same manner after the completion, the average of the odor intensity of the exhaust gas was 2.5, and a remarkable deodorizing effect was not obtained. The amount of deodorizing material obtained by hardening granular activated carbon was 5 g.

  From this result and the result of Experimental Example 1, the deodorizing effect is not obtained regardless of the shape and particle size of the deodorizing material, and the introduction of the powdered deodorizing material 7 gives the most odor. It was confirmed that it could be reduced. It was also confirmed that when the deodorizing material 7 having a large particle size was used, the amount of unit input was increased, the frequency of adding the deodorizing material was greatly increased, and the deodorizing method was inconvenient to use.

(Embodiment 2)
In this embodiment, 2 parts of zeolite powder containing 5% of silver as antibacterial material 16 is added to 10 parts of activated carbon powder of deodorizing material 7 and shaped into a prismatic shape using colloidal silica as a binder. Turned into.

  This molded product was loaded into the storage chamber 6 of the electric vacuum cleaner according to the first embodiment, and an actual room cleaning experiment was carried out for 30 days in the same manner as in Experimental Example 1. Collect 1g from the dust in the dust collection chamber after the experiment, disperse it in sterilized water containing surfactant, apply 0.2ml of the dispersed aqueous solution on a standard agar medium, and in an incubator at 35 ° C for 40 hours. Cultured. As a control experiment, dust without the deodorizing material 7 of Embodiment 1 was also cultured in the same manner.

  As a result, it was confirmed that the number of bacteria was reduced by 90% or more in this embodiment compared with the control experiment.

  As described above, by adding the antibacterial material 16 to the deodorizing material 7, the antibacterial material 16 directly acts on the dust to suppress the growth of bacteria in the dust collecting chamber 2, and the sanitary level of exhaust is also improved.

  As described above, the vacuum cleaner according to the present invention significantly increases the clean level of exhaust during operation of the vacuum cleaner by introducing the deodorizing material into the dust collecting chamber and controlling the charging operation. Maintaining the proper capability of functions and reducing the frequency of adding deodorizing materials, it can be applied to deodorizing applications for household vacuum cleaners, commercial vacuum cleaners, and garbage processing machines.

Cross-sectional view of the structure of the electric vacuum cleaner according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention Same as above, enlarged sectional view of the main part of the deodorizing material input part of the vacuum cleaner The schematic perspective view which shows the operation state of the deodorizing material injection | throwing-in means of a vacuum cleaner Same as above, electric circuit block diagram when using dust detection means as control means Same as above, electric circuit block diagram when interlocking with the operation of the electric blower as the control means Same as above, electric circuit block diagram in case of using odor detection means as control means The electric circuit block diagram in the case of using the input means operation switch as the control means

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 Dust collection chamber 3 Electric blower 5 Suction pipe 6 Storage chamber 7 Deodorizing material 8 Deodorizing material input means 11 Dust detection means 14 Odor detection means 15 Deodorizing material input switch 16 Antibacterial material

Claims (9)

A dust collection chamber arranged in the vacuum cleaner body for collecting dust, an electric blower for sucking the dust into the dust collection chamber, and connected to the upstream of the dust collection chamber and connected to the upstream side of the dust collection chamber for sucking and introducing dust. A suction pipe, a storage chamber that is provided in communication with the suction pipe and stores a deodorizing material, a deodorizing material input means provided at the bottom of the storage chamber, and is stored in contact with the deodorizing material input means in the storage chamber The control means comprising: the solidified deodorizing material, vibration means installed in the suction pipe for vibrating the deodorizing material charging means, and control means for controlling electric power supplied to the electric blower and the vibration means. The deodorizing material feeding means is vibrated for a certain period of time by the vibration means, and the solidified deodorizing material is forcibly cut and pulverized and put into the suction pipe, and the dust collecting chamber is sucked by the suction air of the electric blower. Structure to put in And the vacuum cleaner. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the control means is configured to vibrate the deodorizing material charging means by supplying electric power to the vibration means in conjunction with the operation of the electric blower. The dust detection means is provided upstream of the deodorizing material charging means and facing the air path in the suction pipe, and the control means supplies power to the vibration means in conjunction with a signal from the dust detection means. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the deodorizing material charging means vibrates . Odor detection means is provided in the exhaust air flow path downstream of the dust collection chamber, and the control means supplies electric power to the vibration means in conjunction with a signal from the odor detection means, so that the deodorizing material input means vibrates. The electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, which is configured . The deodorizing material charging switch is provided in the vacuum cleaner main body, and the control means supplies power to the vibrating means via the deodorizing material charging switch operation, whereby the deodorizing material charging means vibrates . Electric vacuum cleaner. 6. A storage chamber for storing a deodorizing material is provided with a lid, and an elastic means is provided between the lid and the deodorizing material to press the deodorizing material against the deodorizing material charging means with a constant force. The vacuum cleaner of any one of. The vacuum cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the deodorizing material is obtained by solidifying a powdered deodorizing material having a particle size of less than 100 microns through a binder. The vacuum cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , wherein the deodorizing material includes activated carbon or zeolite. The vacuum cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 8 , wherein an antibacterial material is included in the deodorizing material.

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