JP4550922B2 - Vacuum cleaner and vacuum cleaner filter cleaning method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner that separates dust in a dust-containing airflow sucked by an electric blower by a dust separating dust collecting means and a filter disposed downstream of the dust collecting means, and dust captured by the filter. It is related with the filter cleaning method of the vacuum cleaner which removes by airflow.

  Conventionally, dust in a dust-containing airflow sucked by an electric blower is separated by a first separation portion by the inertial force of the dust, and the separated dust is collected in a first dust collection portion. A second dust separating means having a pleated filter is disposed downstream of the dust separating means, the dust passing through the first dust separating means is filtered by the second dust separating means, and the second dust separating means is removed by the dust removing means. There is known a technique for collecting fine dust dropped from a second dust collecting part provided below the second dust separating means (for example, see Patent Document 1).

In this technique, the second dust collecting part is formed below the lower part of the frame body of the second dust separating means, and the lower part of the frame body is projected toward the rear wall of the first dust collecting part. A narrow gap is formed between the rear wall and the lower part of the frame, and the dust dropped by the dust dropping means is collected in the second dust collecting section through this gap. Due to the gap, the dust collected in the second dust collecting part is sucked up by the negative suction pressure of the electric blower and is prevented from reattaching to the pleated filter of the second dust separating means.
Japanese Patent No. 3490081 (Claims, paragraphs 0009-0060, FIGS. 1 to 6)

  In the technique of Patent Document 1, the dust trapped by the pleated filter of the second dust separating means can be dropped by operating the dust removing means while the electric blower is stopped.

  However, in the technique of Patent Document 1, the space facing the upstream surface of the pleated filter, the air that has passed through the first dust separation means, and the air that has passed through the first separation part merge to reach the second dust separation means. It does not actively clean the negative pressure chamber and the gap formed between the lower portion of the frame of the second dust separating means and the rear wall of the first dust collecting portion in communication with the negative pressure chamber. .

  For this reason, it cannot be prevented that the dust dropped from the upstream side surface of the pleated filter due to dust dropping reattaches to the negative pressure chamber and the wall surface facing the gap, such as reattaching to the upstream side surface of the pleated filter. In particular, there is a high possibility that dust floating in the negative pressure chamber or the like due to dust dropping will fall freely after the dust dropping operation ends and reattach to the upstream side surface of the pleat filter.

  Therefore, when the pleat filter of the second dust separating means is removed and its upstream side surface is visually recognized, and when the negative pressure chamber inner surface is visually recognized, a situation where dust is attached thereto is recognized. There is a need for improvement. In addition, the dust remaining as described above is not preferable because when the next cleaning is started, it is immediately sucked and reattached to the upstream side surface of the pleated filter by the intake negative pressure, which also causes early clogging. .

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum cleaner capable of cleaning an accommodating portion facing an upstream surface of a filter disposed on the downstream side of a dust separating and collecting means by an air current sucked by an electric blower, and a filter of the vacuum cleaner It is to provide a cleaning method.

  The vacuum cleaner of the present invention is a dust separating and collecting unit through which air sucked by an electric blower passes, and includes a separating unit that separates dust contained in the air and a dust collecting unit that collects the separated dust. A dust separating and collecting means, a filter disposed in a housing provided downstream of the dust separating and collecting means and upstream of the electric blower and filtering the dust passing through the dust separating and collecting means, and the filter And the electric blower, allowing the flow of the first air flow that passes through the dust separating and collecting means and the filter during cleaning and is sucked into the electric blower, and faces the upstream surface of the filter. An airflow control means that allows the second airflow to be sucked into the electric blower without passing through the filter when purging the upstream space of the housing portion; and the airflow that has passed through the dust separation and dust collection means A fine dust air passage portion that leads to the side space, a first opening and closing member that opens and closes the fine dust air passage portion, a second opening and closing member that opens and closes an outside air inlet that introduces outside air into the upstream space, A third opening / closing member that opens and closes a return air passage portion that guides the second air flow flowing out from the upstream space, and a part of the dust separation and dust collecting means guides the second air flow. A part of the dust separating and collecting means is located on the downstream side of the upstream space with respect to the flow of the second airflow, and the airflow control means allows the flow of the first airflow. When the first opening and closing member opens the fine dust air passage portion, the second opening and closing member closes the outside air intake, the third opening and closing member closes the return air passage portion, When the air flow control means allows the second air flow to flow, the first opening / closing member closes the fine dust air passage. The second opening / closing member opens the outside air intake port, the third opening / closing member opens the return air passage portion, and dust in the upstream space is collected in a part of the dust separating and collecting means. It is characterized by being moved by the second air stream.

  Further, the filter cleaning method of the vacuum cleaner according to the present invention includes a separation unit for separating dust contained in air sucked by an electric blower, and a downstream side of a dust separation and dust collection means including a dust collection unit for collecting the separated dust. And a filter cleaning method for an electric vacuum cleaner that cleans a filter that is disposed in a housing provided on the upstream side of the electric blower and filters the dust that has passed through the dust separating and collecting means, the upstream side of the filter Open and close the open / close member that opens and closes the outside air intake port that introduces outside air into the upstream space of the housing portion facing the surface, and allows the upstream space and the dust collecting portion to communicate with each other and pass through the filter. By operating the electric blower in a state in which the flow of the air sucked into the electric blower is allowed without being performed, the air collecting port passes through the upstream space from the outside air intake. The air flowing through the part is air purged with dust on the upstream space and the upstream surface of the filter, and the dust collected in the dust collecting part is captured as a filtering material. Yes.

  According to the vacuum cleaner and the filter cleaning method of the vacuum cleaner of the present invention, the housing portion facing the upstream surface of the filter disposed on the downstream side of the dust separating and collecting means is caused by the airflow sucked by the electric blower. Can be cleaned.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  Reference numeral 1 in FIG. 1 indicates a canister-type vacuum cleaner, for example. The vacuum cleaner 1 includes a vacuum cleaner body 2 and a suction member 3 connected to the vacuum cleaner body 2. The vacuum cleaner main body 2 can run on the floor surface of the room, which is the surface to be cleaned, by wheels or the like that the vacuum cleaner body 2 has. In the front part of the cleaner body 2, a connection port 2 a that is open to the front surface is provided. As shown in FIG. 3, an electric blower 4 is accommodated in the rear part of the cleaner body 2. The electric blower 4 is arranged with its intake port 4a facing forward. Further, an exhaust part 2 b made up of a large number of small holes is formed on the rear wall of the cleaner body 2.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the suction member 3 that guides the dust-containing airflow to the connection port 2 a includes a dust suction hose 5, an extension pipe 6, and a suction port body 7 that are detachably fitted and connected to each other. Yes. The dust suction hose 5 has a connecting cylinder part 5b at one end of a flexible hose body 5a, and a hand operating part 5c at the other end of the hose body 5a.

  The connection cylinder part 5b is inserted and connected to the connection port 2a. An operation panel 8 is attached to the handle portion formed in the hand operation portion 5c. By operating various operation buttons provided on the operation panel 8, various operation commands including on / off control of the electric blower 4 are given to the control device 9 (see FIG. 22) built in the cleaner body 2. The operation panel 8 includes an air purge button 8a (see FIG. 22) for giving a command to clean the filter 61 by air purge which will be described later. Here, the air purge refers to cleaning the filter 61 by expelling dust adhering to the filter 61 by flowing air.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the upstream side of the electric blower 4, for example, a portion between the connection port 2a and the electric blower 4 is formed as a device set recess 2c, and the device set recess 2c is opened upward. A device receiver 11 is attached to the cleaner body 2 so as to cover the electric blower 4 from the front side. A perforated plate 12 is disposed inside the circular portion of the device receiver 11. A through hole 11a (see FIG. 3) is formed in the wall portion of the device receiver 11 covered from the front side with the perforated plate 12.

  A dust separation device 15 is disposed in the device setting recess 2c. The dust separator 15 includes a separator main body 16 that can be attached to and detached from the cleaner main body 2, and a dust collecting case 17 as a dust collecting part that can be attached to and detached from the separator main body 16.

  The separation device body 16 includes a separation case 21. The separation case 21 has a case member 22 at its rear part. 3 and 17, the case member 22 includes a circumferential wall 22a and a wall 22b provided to close the front end of the circumferential wall 22a, and the rear surface of the case member 22 is open. The separation case 21 is combined with the device receiver 11 by arranging the dust separation device 15 in the device set recess 2 c, and forms a housing portion 23 on the upstream side of the electric blower 4 together with the device receiver 11.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 7, the separation case 21 is integrally formed with an air flow inlet 24 and a fine dust air passage portion 25. The air flow inlet 24 is provided on the front side of the connection port 12a in front of the wall 22b, and is opened forward (upstream). The air flow inlet 24 is arranged so as to be connected to and communicated with the connection port 2a of the cleaner body 2 from the rear side as shown in FIG. 3 by arranging the dust separating device 15 in the device setting recess 2c. The

  The fine dust air passage portion 25 is formed below the air flow inlet 24. As shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the rear end of the fine dust passage portion 25 is opened as a first outlet 25 a to the lower center of the wall 22 b. One side of the fine dust passage portion 25, for example, the right side surface in FIG. 11, is opened as a first inlet 25b, and an annular hermetic seal 26 is attached to surround the first inlet 25b. A lower end portion of the fine dust air passage portion 25 forms a second outlet 25c.

  An auxiliary filter 27 that covers the second outlet 25c from above and is exposed to the airflow flowing through the fine dust passage 25 is attached to the lower portion of the fine dust passage 25. As the auxiliary filter 27, a pleated filter can be suitably used. The folds formed by the folds of the auxiliary filter 27 are parallel to each other, and extend in the front-rear direction so as not to greatly impede the flow of the airflow flowing into the first outlet 25a.

  The inlet of the duct 28 communicates with the second outlet 25c in an airtight manner from below. The duct 28 is fixed to the cleaner body 2, and the second outlet 25 c is brought into contact with and separated from the inlet of the duct 28 as the dust separating device 15 is attached to and detached from the device set recess 2 c. The duct 28 extends in the front-rear direction, and an outlet 28 a (see FIG. 7 and the like) is disposed immediately before the electric blower 4.

  The auxiliary filter 27 can be detachably provided not on the second outlet 25c but on a part of the duct 28. In this case, the auxiliary filter 27 may be attached to the front portion of the duct 28 facing the device set recess 2c, whereby maintenance of the auxiliary filter 27 can be performed in the device set recess 2c.

  The separation case 21 has a separation part 31. The separation unit 31 separates air and dust by, for example, inertia force of dust in the sucked dust-containing air, preferably centrifugal force. As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the separation portion 31 includes a cylindrical guide wall 32 and an intake cylinder 33, and a third opening / closing member 34 shown in FIGS. 11 and 12.

  The guide wall 32 is integrally formed on the front side of the wall 22 b and on the side of the air flow inlet 24 and the fine dust passage portion 25. The guide wall 32 is provided on the opposite side of the first inlet 25b with the fine dust air passage 25 interposed therebetween. 11 and 13, reference numeral 35 indicates a partition wall between the separation portion 31 and the air flow inlet 24 and the fine dust air passage portion 25.

  The intake cylinder 33 protrudes from the partition wall 35 and is provided at the center of the guide wall 32. The intake cylinder 33 has air permeability that enables filtration and separation. For this purpose, the peripheral wall of the intake cylinder 33 is formed of a filtering member, for example, a mesh member such as nylon resin. The tip of the intake cylinder 33 is closed. The inside of the intake cylinder 33 communicates with the fine dust air passage 25 through a through hole 35a (see FIG. 11) opened in the partition wall 35. The through hole 35a forms a second inlet for the fine dust air passage 25.

  As shown in FIG. 14 and the like, the annular space between the guide wall 32 and the intake cylinder 33 is communicated with the rear portion of the air flow inlet 24. The rear portion of the air flow inlet 24 has a slanted surface so as to guide the air flow obliquely downward toward the annular space. Therefore, when the partition wall 35 is viewed from the side, the communication portion 36 (see FIGS. 14 and 19) between the annular space and the rear portion of the air flow inlet 24 is formed as an arcuate opening.

  As shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, a dust passage opening 37 that opens upward is formed in the upper portion of the guide wall 32, and an annular airtight seal 38 is attached to the dust passage opening 37. A first dust recovery hole 39 is provided in the lower part of the guide wall 32. Further, a second dust collection hole 40 is provided in the upper part of the guide wall 32 that is closer to the wall 22b than the dust passage port 37 is.

  The third opening / closing member 34 is formed of a back wall 41, a closing wall 42, and a first arc wall 43 to a third arc wall 45 connecting them. The back wall 41 has a window hole 41 a having the same size and shape as the communication portion 36. The third opening / closing member 34 is rotatably fitted in the guide wall 32 by sliding the first arc wall 43 to the third arc wall 45 on the inner surface of the guide wall 32.

  The third opening / closing member 34 is reciprocally rotated between the first position and the second position by the reciprocating rotation mechanism 46 shown in FIG. The reciprocating rotation mechanism 46 includes, for example, a tooth portion 42a formed on the outer peripheral portion of the closing wall 42, a motor 46a that rotates forward and backward, and a gear 46b that is connected to the output shaft of the motor 46a and meshed with the tooth portion 42a. And is formed from.

  In the state where the third opening / closing member 34 is positioned at the first position as shown in FIG. 19, the window hole 41a of the back wall 41 is opposed to the communication portion 36, and the first arc wall 43 and the first opening The space between the two arc walls 44 faces the dust passage port 37. In the same state, the first arc wall 43 closes the first dust collection hole 39 and the space between the second arc wall 44 and the third arc wall 45 is the second dust collection hole. 40 to be opposed.

  In the state where the third opening / closing member 34 is positioned at the second position as shown in FIG. 20, the back wall 41 closes the communication portion 36, the window hole 41 a is closed by the partition wall 35, and The space between the first arc wall 43 and the third arc wall 45 faces the dust passage port 37. In the same state, the first arc wall 43 closes the second dust collection hole 40 and the space between the first arc wall 43 and the second arc wall 44 is the first dust collection hole. 39, and the space between the second arc wall 44 and the third arc wall 45 is closed by the guide wall 32.

  The dust collection case 17 stores dust separated by the separation unit 31. The dust collecting case 17 constitutes dust separating and collecting means A together with the separating portion 31. As shown in FIGS. 11 and 15, the dust collection case 17 includes a dust moving portion 51 that extends in the width direction of the cleaner body 2 and covers the air flow inlet 24 and the separation portion 31 from above, and a fine dust air passage portion 25. And a dust reservoir 52 that covers the first inlet 25b.

  The inside of the dust moving part 51 and the inside of the dust storage part 52 are connected. A dust passage port 53 that is in contact with and separated from the dust passage port 37 is opened on the lower surface of the dust moving unit 51. The base 52a of the dust reservoir 52 that covers the side surface of the air flow inlet 24 has an air vent 55 that is in contact with and separated from the first inlet 25b. A mesh member 56 is attached to the vent 55 from the inside of the dust reservoir 52. For the mesh member 56, for example, a thin stainless plate provided with a large number of small holes over the entire region is used. The mesh member 56 prevents the passage of dust having a size larger than that of the mesh.

  The dust reservoir 52 that collects the dust blocked from passing by the mesh member 56 includes a base 52a and a cover 52b connected to the base 52a so as to be opened and closed. The cover 52b that is opened when the dust in the dust storage portion 52 is thrown away is rotatably connected to a bearing portion 58 having a hinge shaft 57 formed at the lower end portion of the base 52a. The closed state of the cover 52b is held by hooking the upper end of the cover 52b on an engaging member (not shown) incorporated in the ceiling of the dust moving unit 51, and the hooked state is moved manually by the engaging member. Can be removed. 11 and 15, reference numeral 59 denotes an airtight seal that ensures airtightness between the base 52 a and the cover 52 b, and the airtight seal 59 is attached to the four circumferences of the base 52 a.

  A filter 61 that filters dust that has passed through the mesh member 56 of the dust separating and collecting means A and separates it from the air is disposed in the accommodating portion 23 provided on the downstream side of the dust separating and collecting means A. Yes. As shown in FIG. 3 and FIGS. 19 to 21, the filter 61 includes a circular outer peripheral wall 62, a filter frame 63 integrally formed on the inner side thereof, and a connection part integrally formed on the center portion of the frame. 64 and a filter element 65.

  The filter element 65 for filtering and separating fine dust is shaped by the filter frame 63 so as to have a large number of soots and is attached to the filter frame 63. Therefore, the filter 61 is a pleated filter. A large number of ridges of the filter 61 are provided radially around the connection portion 64, and the width of the groove formed between the adjacent ridges is gradually expanded from the connection portion 64 toward the outer peripheral wall 62. The front surface of the filter 61 is referred to as an upstream surface, and the rear surface of the filter 61 is referred to as a downstream surface. The end of the groove on the upstream surface formed between the adjacent ribs on the connection portion 64 side is not in contact with the connection portion 64 and is open, and the outer peripheral wall 62 side of the groove on the upstream surface. Is closed by an outer peripheral wall 62.

  Rollers 66 (only one is shown in FIG. 21) are attached to the three front portions of the outer peripheral wall 62 at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction. Further, a gear portion 67 is formed integrally with the rear portion of the outer peripheral wall 62. Further, as shown in FIG. 10, a handle 68 is provided at the center of the filter frame 63. The handle portion 68 is coupled to the rear end of the connection portion 64.

  The filter 61 can be inserted into and removed from the case member 22 from the rear with the connecting portion 64 facing forward. The front portion of the outer peripheral wall 62 of the filter 61 is fitted to the circumferential wall 22 a of the case member 22. Therefore, the filter 61 is supported by the case member 22 so as to be rotatable in the circumferential direction with the circumferential wall 22a as a guide. The rear portion of the outer peripheral wall 62 having the gear portion 67 of the filter 61 passes between the case member 22 and the separation case 21 and is exposed to the outside of the housing portion 23 formed by the case member 22 and the separation case 21. ing.

  Each of the separation case 21 and the case member 22 is provided with an airtight seal (not shown) in contact with the outer peripheral wall 62 of the filter 61, thereby ensuring the airtightness of the housing portion 23. As described above, the upstream space 23 a is formed between the filter 61 and the case member 22 that are rotatably accommodated in the accommodating portion 23. The upstream surface of the filter 61 faces the upstream space 23a.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a dust removing motor 71 is disposed near the one side wall of the cleaner body 2 at the bottom of the device setting recess 2 c. A driving gear 72 composed of a small gear is connected to the motor 71. The drive gear 72 is meshed with the gear portion 67 of the filter 61. Thus, the drive gear-equipped motor 71 and the dust removing member 95, which will be described later, form the rotational drive unit of the filter 61 constitute dust removing means for dropping the dust captured by the filter 61.

  The wall 22b of the case member 22 partitions the separation portion 31 and the upstream space 23a. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 17, an outside air intake port 81 and a support shaft 82 for introducing outside air are provided at the center of the wall 22 b. The support shaft 82 projects rearward from the lower edge of the outside air intake port 81, that is, protrudes into the upstream space 23a. The outside air inlet 81 and the support shaft 82 are formed immediately above the first outlet 25 a of the fine dust air passage portion 25.

  A first opening / closing member 83 for opening and closing the fine dust air passage portion 25 is provided at the first outlet 25a. A plurality of, for example, two first opening / closing members 83 are used, and are individually attached to attachment shafts 84 or 85 passing through the first outlet 25a in the vertical direction. The attachment shafts 84 and 85 are connected to a motor 86 capable of rotating in the forward and reverse directions shown in FIG. 22 via an interlocking mechanism (not shown), and are reciprocally rotated 90 degrees synchronously with the power of the motor 86.

  That is, by this synchronous rotation, the two first opening / closing members 83 are mutually closed as shown in FIG. 17 and the closed position where the first outlet 25a is continuously closed in a planar shape as shown in FIG. Are arranged over the open position where the first outlet 25a is opened with the side surfaces facing each other in parallel. Providing a plurality of first opening / closing members 83 requires more space for preventing interference with the filter 61 in the upstream space 23a than in the case where the number of the first opening / closing members 83 is one. There is no. Therefore, it is preferable at the point which can make the dust separation apparatus 15 compact in the front-back direction.

  One mounting shaft 84 extends to above the outside air intake port 81, and a cam 87 shown in FIG. The cam 87 is positioned on the front side of the wall 22b and is rotated integrally with the mounting shaft 84. A second opening / closing member 88 that opens and closes the outside air intake port 81 from the front side is provided at the center of the wall 22b. The second opening / closing member 88 is provided so as to be movable in the front-rear direction with its lower end as a fulcrum, and is always urged in a direction to close the outside air intake 81 by a spring 89 supported on the rear outer surface of the air flow inlet 24. ing. The second opening / closing member 88 has a cam receiver 88a formed integrally therewith. A cam 87 is in contact with the cam receiver 88a. When the cam receiver 88 a is pushed forward by the cam 87, the second opening / closing member 88 is inclined against the spring 89 as shown in FIG. 3 and the outside air intake port 81 is opened.

  As described above, since the cam 87 and the first opening / closing member 83 are attached to the attachment shaft 84, the opening / closing operation of the first opening / closing member 83 and the opening / closing operation of the second opening / closing member 88 are interlocked. In this case, the second opening / closing member 88 closes in conjunction with the opening of the first opening / closing member 83, and conversely, the second opening / closing member 88 opens in conjunction with the closing of the first opening / closing member 83. It is supposed to be.

  As shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, the annular space between the guide wall 32 and the intake cylinder 33 in the separation portion 31 is communicated with the upstream space 23 a by the return air passage portion 91. Thereby, the separation part 31 is located on the downstream side of the upstream space 23a on the basis of the flow of the second airflow described later. The return air passage portion 91 is formed between the air passage wall 92 extending between the wall 22b and the outer surface of the guide wall 32, and the lower outer periphery of the guide wall 32 facing the air passage wall 92. An inlet 91 a of the return air passage portion 91 is opened at a lower portion of the wall 22 b, and an outlet of the return air passage portion 91 is formed by the first dust collection hole 39.

  For example, the return air passage portion 91 is opened and closed by the third opening / closing member 34 in the first dust collection hole 39 as described above, and the opening / closing thereof is interlocked with the opening / closing of the first opening / closing member 83. That is, when the first opening / closing member 83 is opened, the third opening / closing member 34 closes the first dust collection hole 39 of the return air passage portion 91 as shown in FIG. Conversely, when the first opening / closing member 83 is closed, the third opening / closing member 34 opens the first dust collection hole 39 of the return air passage portion 91 as shown in FIG. Yes.

  As shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the wall 22b has a dust removing member 95 located on the opposite side of the inlet 91a with the first outlet 25a and the first opening / closing member 83 as a boundary in the upstream space 23a. It is installed on the front. The dust drop member 95 is formed, for example, by bending a leaf spring, and its tip portion 95a is folded back. As the filter 61 is rotated, the tip 95a of the dust drop member 95 can repel the soot positioned on the front side on the upstream surface of the filter 61 at the center in the direction in which the soot extends. It is arranged so as to intersect with the rotation trajectory of the front heel.

  Fine dust attached to the upstream surface of the filter element 65 can be dropped by repelling the dust with the dust removing member 95 to vibrate the filter element 65. Therefore, the dust removing member 95 and the motor 71 with the drive gear 72 that rotates the filter 61 constitute dust removing means for the filter 61. Further, the dust removing member 95 generates a sound and notifies the outside of the dust removing operation when it is elastically deformed and returned to its original position when the front heel gets over it. .

  A dust discharge member 101 (see FIG. 16) that is rotatable about the support shaft 82 is disposed in the upstream space 23a. A cylindrical portion 101 a at the center of the dust discharge member 101 is rotatably fitted to the support shaft 82. The dust discharge member 101 includes a plurality of, for example, three arms 102 protruding in a radial direction from the cylindrical portion 101a, and the tip portions of these arms 102 are formed as a scraped portion 102a. The scraping portion 102a slides on the inner surface of the peripheral portion of the wall 22b to scrape dust that has fallen to the lower end portion in the upstream space 23a.

  Reference numeral 108 in FIG. 17 denotes an arc-shaped dust receiving projection that protrudes from the wall 22b. The dust receiving convex portion 108 is provided for receiving dust falling from the moved scraping portion 102 and guiding the dust to a position where the first outlet 25a is removed.

  A connecting portion 64 of the filter 61 is fitted on the outer periphery of the tube portion 101a so as to be detachable. Further, although not shown, the connection portion 64 has the same number of engagement grooves as the arm 102, and these engagement grooves are removably fitted to the root portion of the arm 102. Therefore, the dust discharge member 101 is rotated in conjunction with the rotation of the filter 61.

  As shown in FIG. 16, a dust outlet 104 is opened at, for example, the upper portion of the wall 22b. The dust outlet 104 is formed on the rotation locus of the scraping portion 102a. The dust outlet 104 communicates with the inside of the separation unit 31. For this purpose, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, a cylindrical chute member 105 extending in the vertical direction is provided on the front surface of the wall 22b. The dust outlet 104 is covered with the upper part of the chute member 105 from the front, and the lower end part of the chute member 105 covers the second dust recovery hole 40 of the separation part 31 from above.

  An outlet opening / closing member 106 that opens and closes the dust outlet 104 is disposed inside the chute member 105. The outlet opening / closing member 106 is urged backward by a spring (not shown) sandwiched between the outlet opening / closing member 106 and the upper inner surface of the chute member 105, and the dust outlet 104 is held closed by this urging force. The outlet opening / closing member 106 has a cam projection 106a (see FIGS. 14 and 16). The cam convex portion 106 a protrudes into the upstream space 23 a through the dust outlet 104 so as to be pushed by the scraping portion 102 a of the arm 102. Therefore, when the scraped portion 102a to be moved crosses the dust outlet 104, the outlet opening / closing member 106 is pushed and moved to open the dust outlet 104. Therefore, at the same time as the scraping portion 102a finishes passing through the dust outlet 104, the outlet opening / closing member 106 returns and the dust outlet 104 is closed.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, an airflow control means, for example, an airflow control device 111 is arranged on the downstream side of the dust separation and dust collection means A and on the upstream side of the electric blower 4. As shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, the airflow control device 111 includes a case 112, a control member 113, and a drive unit 114.

  The case 112 is disposed between the dust separation device 15 and the electric blower 4 disposed behind this. As shown in FIG. 3, the front wall of the case 112 is in contact with the rear surface of the device receiver 11, and a ventilation inlet 115 that is continuous with the through hole 11 a is opened on the front wall. The rear wall of the case 112 is in contact with the front surface of the front ring-shaped support rubber 4b of the electric blower 4, and a ventilation outlet 116 facing the air inlet 4a is opened on the rear wall. The centers of the through hole 11 a, the vent inlet 115, the vent outlet 116, and the intake port 4 a arranged in the front-rear direction are located on the central axis of the electric blower 4. The case 112 accommodates an outlet 28 a of the duct 28. Further, the case 112 has a pivot portion (not shown) inside.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the control member 113 has a substantially fan shape, has a tooth portion 117 on the arc-shaped portion thereof, and has a bearing hole 118 in a portion corresponding to the center of the fan shape. ing. The control member 113 is accommodated in the case 112 except for the tooth portion 117, and is supported by fitting the bearing hole 118 to the pivot portion of the case 112 in a rotatable manner. The tooth part 117 protrudes outside the case 112. The control member 113 can reciprocate between the first position and the second position by rotation about the pivot portion.

  The control member 113 includes a vent hole 119 and a duct portion 120.

  The vent hole 119 penetrates the control member 113 straight in the thickness direction. The vent hole 119 is preferably a tapered hole having a diameter that gradually decreases from the front end toward the rear end. The diameter of the front end opening of the vent hole 119 is not larger than the diameter of the vent inlet 115. The diameter of the rear end opening of the ventilation hole 119 is larger than the diameter of the ventilation outlet 116.

  One end of the duct portion 120 forms an inlet 120a, and the other end of the duct portion 120 forms an outlet 120b. The inlet 120a is opened within the width in the thickness direction of the control member 113 so as to come in contact with and away from the outlet 28a of the duct 28 as the control member 113 reciprocates. The outlet 120 b is opened only on the electric blower 4 side, that is, only on the rear surface of the control member 113, and the front side of the outlet 120 b is closed by the front wall of the control member 113. The vent hole 119 and the outlet 120b are located on the movement trajectory when the control member 113 is rotated with the pivot portion serving as a fulcrum, and are shifted along the movement direction of the control member 113.

  8 and 9, reference numeral 121 indicates a seal ring having slipperiness attached to the opening edge of the vent hole 119, and similarly, reference numeral 122 has slipperiness attached to the opening edge of the outlet 120 b. A seal ring is shown. The seal rings 121 and 122 are provided to make sliding contact with the inner surface of the case 112 to ensure airtightness with the case 112.

  The drive unit 114 is formed of a motor 125 and a drive small gear 126 that can rotate forward and backward. The motor 125 is fixed to the outer surface of the case 112, and the driving small gear 126 is meshed with the teeth 117 of the control member 113. Therefore, the control member 113 can be reciprocally rotated between the first position and the second position by rotating the motor 125 forward and backward by a predetermined number of rotations.

  The control member 113 is held in the first position during cleaning. In this arrangement state, the inlet 120a of the duct portion 120 is spaced apart from the outlet 28a of the duct 28 as shown in FIG. 8, and the vent hole 119 is connected to the vent inlet 115 and the vent outlet 116 as shown in FIG. The housing portion 23 and the intake port 4a are communicated with each other.

  When energization of the vacuum cleaner 1 is maintained, the control member 113 is disposed at the second position during an air purge operation performed based on designation by the user on the operation panel 8 or the like. In this arrangement state, as shown in FIG. 9, the inlet 120 a of the duct portion 120 contacts the outlet 28 a of the duct 28 and communicates with the duct 28, and the vent hole 119 is disconnected from the vent inlet 115 and the vent outlet 116. Thus, the outlet 120 b of the duct portion 120 is opposed to the ventilation outlet 116.

  The control device 9 includes a microcomputer and various circuit components mounted on a circuit board, and performs input control for the electric blower 4 in response to an operation command from the operation panel 8 or the like, as well as a third opening / closing member. 34 controls the motor 46a for driving the motor 34, the motor 71 for dust removal, the motor 86 for driving the first opening / closing member 83, and the motor 125 for driving the control member 113 independently or synchronously. . Furthermore, the control device 9 is also responsible for controlling the notifying means 131 (see FIG. 22) for notifying this operation during the air purge operation described later. As the notification means 131, a blinking lamp, a buzzer, a voice alarm, or the like is used.

  At the time of cleaning, as shown in FIG. 16, the first opening / closing member 83 is held in a state where the first outlet 25 a of the fine dust air passage portion 25 is opened, and the first opening / closing member 83 is interlocked with the first opening / closing member 83. Two open / close members 88 are held in a state in which the outside air intake port 81 is closed. At the same time, as shown in FIG. 19, the third opening / closing member 34 closes the first dust collection hole 39 of the separation unit 31, and opens the second dust collection hole 40 and the dust passage port 37, respectively. The window hole 41 a is held in a state where it is communicated with the communication portion 36 of the airflow inlet 24.

  Further, the air hole 119 of the air flow control device 111 faces the air outlet 116 and the air inlet 115 of the case 112 during cleaning. Thereby, the accommodating part 23 and the inlet 4a of the electric blower 4 are held in communication with each other through the through hole 11a of the device receiver 11. At the same time, the outlet 120b of the duct portion 120 of the case 112 is separated from the outlet 28a of the duct 28 so that the suction force of the electric blower 4 does not reach the second outlet 25c of the fine dust passage 25 (see FIG. 8). ).

  When the electric blower 4 is operated during cleaning in the above state, air containing dust on the floor surface is sucked into the connection port 2 a of the cleaner body 2 through the suction member 3. While the dust-containing air passes through the dust separation device 15, the dust-containing air is subjected to the dust separation action by the dust separation dust collecting means A and the dust separation action by the filter 61. The air from which the dust is thus separated is sucked into the electric blower 4 from the through hole 11a through the vent hole 119, and is circulated through the electric blower 4 and discharged to the outside from the exhaust part 2b of the cleaner body 2. .

  In this case, the flow of air sucked into the electric blower 4 from the airflow inlet 24 communicating with the connection port 2a is referred to as a first airflow. A first air path is formed by a member that guides the first air flow. The first air path includes a first upstream path, a second upstream path, and a downstream path through which airflows passing through these paths merge and flow.

  The first upstream path is an air flow inlet 24, a guide wall 32 that forms an annular space in the separation section 31 and an intake cylinder 33, and a fine dust wind that communicates with the annular space via a through hole 35a that is a second inlet. It is formed by the path portion 25. The second upstream path includes a guide wall 32 and an intake cylinder 33 that form an annular space in the separation unit 31, a dust moving unit 51 that communicates with the annular space through dust passage ports 37 and 53 that are in contact with each other, and the dust moving unit 51. A dust collection case 17 having a dust storage portion 52 that communicates with each other, and a fine dust air passage portion 25 that connects the dust storage portion 52 via a mesh member 56 are formed.

  The downstream path is a case facing the device receiving body 11 and the case member 22 that form the accommodating portion 23 of the separation case 21 that communicates with the second outlet 25 c of the fine dust air passage portion 25, and the through hole 11 a that communicates with the accommodating portion 23. 112, the vent hole 119 of the control member 113 facing the vent hole 115, and the vent outlet 116 of the case 112 facing the vent hole 119.

  The dust separation in the dust separation and dust collecting means A is performed as follows. The dust-containing air that has passed through the connection port 2 a is guided to the rear oblique surface of the air flow inlet 24 and flows into the annular space obliquely downward through the communication portion 36, so that it is swirled along the guide wall 32. To flow. Due to the centrifugal force acting on the dust accompanying such flow, dust having a large mass, such as coarse dust, is attracted to the guide wall 32 side due to its inertia and passes through the dust passages 37 and 53 together with the air. It flows out to the moving part 51. On the other hand, cotton dust having a small mass, dust having a small shape, and a part of air are sucked into the fine dust air passage portion 25 through the through hole 35a through the intake tube 33. In this way, the dust having a large mass is separated from the first air stream in the separation unit 31.

  On the other hand, the dust-containing air that has flowed into the dust collection case 17 by the centrifugal separation in the separation part 31 passes through the second upstream path, that is, reaches the dust storage part 52 of the dust collection case 17, and further, the mesh member 56. The air is sucked into the fine dust air passage portion 25 and passes through the first upstream passage and merges with the air flowing in from the separation portion 31 as described above. In this case, dust having a large mass such as coarse dust is captured by the mesh member 56 due to the filtering action of the mesh member 56. Accordingly, coarse dust and the like are stored in the dust storage portion 52 and air separated from the dust flows into the fine dust air passage portion 25.

  As described above, when the first airflow flows through the first upstream path and the second upstream path, coarse dust in the airflow is collected in the dust collecting case 17 and light dust such as cotton dust and air Through the first inlet 25b and the through hole 35a which is the second inlet, and joins in the fine dust air passage 25.

  Dust separation for the airflow flowing through the downstream path is performed as follows. The air merged in the fine dust air passage portion 25 is sucked into the housing portion 23 from the first outlet 25a, and is filtered through the filter element 65 of the filter 61 in a stationary state in the housing portion 23. As a result, fine dust contained in the air that is about to pass through the filter 61 is captured by the filter element 65.

  Then, the air that has been purified by passing through the filter element 65 passes through the ventilation hole 115 of the control member 113 facing the air inlet 115 of the air flow control device 111 from the through hole 11a of the device receiver 11. To do. Furthermore, the purified air is sucked into the electric blower 4 through the ventilation outlet 116 of the airflow control device 111 facing the ventilation hole 119.

  When the cleaning operation is interrupted for a predetermined time or longer in the power supply state, or immediately after the cleaning operation is completed, automatic dust removal is performed.

  That is, since the dust removing motor 71 is driven for a predetermined time while the third opening / closing member 34 remains in the state shown in FIG. 19, the engagement of the drive gear 72 and the gear portion 67 of the filter 61 causes the filter 61 to move. Rotated beyond 360 degrees. For this reason, every time the soot on the upstream surface of the filter element 65 of the filter 61 passes through the dust drop member 95, it is repelled by the dust drop member 95. Accordingly, fine dust trapped on the upstream surface of the filter element 65 is dropped.

  In this case, the dust removing member 95 flips not the upper part of the filter 61 but the lower part. Therefore, there is no possibility that dust dropped from above will remain on the lower surface unlike when dust is dropped from the upper surface of the filter element 65. Therefore, the dust can be dropped immediately so that it does not stay on the surface of the filter element 65.

  The dust thus dropped and received at the lower end of the upstream space 23a is collected in the separation unit 31 as follows.

  That is, since the dust discharge member 101 rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the filter 61, when the scraping portion 102a moves to the lower end portion of the upstream space 23a, the dust at the lower end portion is scraped up, and the scraping portion 102a When moving to the upper part of the upstream space 23a, it passes through the dust outlet 104. With this passage, the scraping portion 102a pushes and moves the cam convex portion 106a of the outlet opening / closing member 106 that closes the dust outlet 104, so that the dust outlet 104 is opened.

  Therefore, the dust scraped up by the scraping portion 102 a is dropped into the chute member 105 through the dust outlet 104. The dust thus dropped further passes through the second dust collection hole 40 and falls into the annular space between the guide wall 32 of the separation unit 31 and the intake cylinder 33 and is collected. Most of the collected dust is returned to the dust reservoir 52 through the second upstream path in the next cleaning operation, and is attached to the dust accumulated in the dust reservoir 52. The remaining dust is returned to the fine dust air passage 25 by the first upstream path.

  Further, when an air purge operation is commanded by an operation on the operation panel 8 in the power supply state, the control device 9 automatically keeps the air purge and dust dropping for the upstream space 23a of the housing portion 23 constant. During the time is done as follows.

  First, when the first opening / closing member driving motor 86 is driven, the two first opening / closing members 83 are rotated by 90 degrees via the mounting shafts 84, 85, so At the same time as the outlet 25a is closed, as the cam 87 is rotated 90 degrees by the mounting shaft 84, the second opening / closing member 88 is pushed open against the spring 89 and the outside air inlet 81 is opened. .

  In synchronization with the motor 86, the motor 46a of the third reciprocating rotation mechanism 46 for driving the opening / closing member is driven for a predetermined time, and in accordance with the change in meshing between the gear 46b and the tooth portion 42a of the closing wall 42, the third The opening / closing member 34 is rotated by a predetermined angle and stopped. As a result, the first dust recovery hole 39 is opened as shown in FIG. 20, and the upstream space 23 a of the storage portion 23 and the inside of the separation portion 31, more precisely, between the guide wall 32 and the intake cylinder 33. The annular space in between is communicated via the return air passage portion 91. At the same time, the third opening / closing member 34 closes the second dust collection hole 40 with the first arc wall 43, closes the communication portion 36 of the air flow inlet 24 with the back wall 41, and The space between the arc wall 43 and the third arc wall 45 is opposed to the dust passage port 37.

  Further, since the motor 125 for driving the control member is driven for a predetermined time, the control member 113 is rotated by a predetermined angle due to the engagement between the drive small gear 126 and the tooth portion 117 of the control member 113, and the state shown in FIG. Become. As a result, the vent hole 119 of the control member 113 is shifted from the position facing the vent inlet 115 and the vent outlet 116 of the case 112. Instead, the outlet 120 b of the duct portion 120 of the control member 113 is disposed at a position facing the ventilation outlet 116 of the case 112, and the ventilation inlet of the case 112 is closed by the front wall of the control member 113. At the same time, the inlet 120 a of the duct portion 120 of the control member 113 is held in contact with the outlet 28 a of the duct 28, and the second outlet 25 c of the fine dust air passage portion 25 and the duct portion 120 communicate with each other via the duct 28. The

  Next, in this state, the electric blower 4 is driven and the dust removal motor 71 is driven to perform the automatic dust removal operation described above. The dust removal operation may be preceded by driving of the electric blower 4.

  By the operation of the electric blower 4, the air outside the separation device main body 16 is sucked from the outside air intake port 81. While the sucked air passes through the dust separation device 15, it performs air purge for discharging the dust in the upstream space 23 a adhering to the filter 61, and after receiving the dust separation action by the auxiliary filter 27, the duct 28. Is then sucked into the electric blower 4, and then flows through the electric blower 4 and is discharged to the outside from the exhaust part 2 b of the cleaner body 2.

  In this case, the air flow sucked into the electric blower 4 from the outside air inlet 81 is referred to as a second air flow. A second air passage is formed by a member that guides the second air flow. The second air path includes an introduction path, the second upstream path, and a lead-out path from the upstream path to the intake port 4a of the electric blower 4.

  The introduction path is formed by the outside air intake port 81, the upstream space 23 a, and the return air passage portion 91. The second upstream path is the second upstream path described above. The lead-out path is formed by the duct 28, the duct part 120 of the control member 113, and the ventilation outlet 116 of the case 112.

  The introduction path guides the outside air sucked from the outside air inlet 81 through the upstream space 23a and the return air passage section 91 into the separation section 31. Further, the sucked outside air has a dust storage section 52. Then, the air passes through the second upstream path as described above and is sucked into the fine dust channel portion 25. On the other hand, a part of the air in the separation part 31 is sucked into the fine dust air passage part 25 through the intake cylinder 33. As described above, since the first outlet 25a of the fine dust air passage 25 is closed by the first opening / closing member 83 during the air purge, the air introduced into the fine dust air passage 25 is upstream. It is not sucked into the side space 23a.

  As described above, due to the second airflow passing through the upstream space 23a, the dust that has been dropped from the filter element 65 and suspended in the upstream space 23a in accordance with the dust removal described above is purged to collect the dust 52 Can be transported to. Furthermore, fine dust adhering to the surface of the case member 22 facing the space and the upstream surface of the filter element 65 can be purged and transferred to the dust reservoir 52 by the airflow passing through the upstream space 23a. .

  In this air purge, the outside air intake port 81 is opposed to the center of the filter element 65 and the second opening / closing member 88 is introduced while guiding the outside air obliquely downward, so that it rotates counterclockwise in FIG. The outside air is blown obliquely downward on the center of the filter 61. For this reason, immediately after being blown by the dust removing member 95, outside air flows downward from above the groove of the filter element 65 located in the vicinity of the downstream side in the rotation direction of the filter 61 with respect to the dust removing member 95. The dust adhering to the groove can be purged with air, in other words, it can be carried away by outside air.

  Since the filter 61 is rotated over 360 degrees, the entire upstream surface of the filter element 65 can be cleaned and cleaned with air. Therefore, when the dust separation device 15 is removed from the cleaner body 2 and the filter 61 is removed and the upstream surface and the case member 22 are visually recognized, no dust is left there. it can. In addition, immediately after the next cleaning is started by the air purge, dust sucked on the upstream surface of the filter 61 does not remain in the upstream space 23a, so that the filter 61 can be prevented from being clogged early. .

  As described above, the dust purged from the upstream space 23 a passes through the dust reservoir 52 before reaching the fine dust air passage 25. At this time, the dust accumulated in the dust reservoir 52 is almost trapped by the dust in the dust reservoir 52 as a filter medium. Therefore, much of the air purged dust does not flow out to the fine dust air passage portion 25.

  The second air stream that reaches the fine dust air passage section 25 is sucked into the duct 28 from the second outlet 25c. In this case, since the second airflow passes through the auxiliary filter 27, fine dust contained in the second airflow is captured by the auxiliary filter 27. Then, the airflow passing through the duct 28 is guided to the duct portion 120 of the control member 113 arranged in communication therewith, and is sucked into the intake port 4a of the electric blower 4 through the outlet 120 of the duct portion 120. Be turned.

  As described above, the second airflow passing through the second air passage is sucked into the electric blower 4 without passing through the filter 61 arranged in the middle of the first air passage, and passes through the upstream space 23a of the housing portion 23. In the process, the air purge described above is performed to clean the upstream surface of the filter 61 and the like. Such an air purge operation is terminated after a predetermined time.

  Until the air purge operation starts and ends, the control device 9 operates the notification means 131 to notify that the air purge operation is being performed. As a result, the user can be informed that there is no malfunction.

  In the air purge operation described above, since the inside of the separation unit 31 has a negative pressure, every time the outlet opening / closing member 106 of the dust outlet 104 is opened by the dust removing operation being performed at the same time, the second dust collection is performed. Air in the upstream space 23 a is sucked into the dust outlet 104 through the hole 40 and the chute member 105. For this reason, the dust on the scraping part 102a facing the dust outlet 104 is easily sucked into the annular space between the guide wall 32 of the separation part 31 and the intake cylinder 33 from the second dust recovery hole 40. Can be recovered.

  When the above-described cleaning is performed after the air purge operation is completed, the open / close members 83, 88, and 34 are returned to predetermined positions so that the first airflow is formed based on the control of the control device 9, and After the control member 113 selects the first position and is switched from the second position, the electric blower 4 is driven. During this cleaning, the auxiliary filter 27 is exposed to the second upstream path of the first air path, so that the auxiliary filter 27 is exposed to the first airflow passing through the second upstream path. For this reason, the dust trapped by the auxiliary filter 27 during the air purge operation described above is automatically removed by the first air stream. Therefore, the number of times of manually cleaning the auxiliary filter 27 can be reduced.

  The present invention is not limited to the one embodiment. For example, in the one embodiment, the dust in the upstream space 23a is used as a part of the dust separating and collecting means A located on the downstream side of the upstream space 23a with the second airflow as a reference, based on the flow of the second airflow. For example, although it moved to the separation part 31, instead of this, the channel | path which connects the dust collection part 17 and the upstream space 23a is made, and without passing through the separation part 31, the dust collection part 17 in the upstream space 23a The dust may be moved by the second air stream. In this case, even if the dust in the upstream space 23a is moved not to the dust collecting unit 17 but directly to the air path portion from the separating unit 31 to the dust collecting unit 17, the result is the same. Therefore, in the present invention, the part of the dust separation and dust collection means A refers to the dust collection portion 17 provided in the dust separation and dust collection means A and the air path portion on the upstream side thereof.

  Moreover, in the said one embodiment, although the back wall 41 which opens and closes the communication part 36 of the airflow inlet 24 and the isolation | separation part 31 was provided in the 3rd opening / closing member 34, this may be abbreviate | omitted. In this case, when the dust in the upstream space 23a is air purged, the outside air passing through the air flow inlet 24 is sucked into the separation unit 31 through the communication portion 36 and merges with the second air flow. For this reason, the air flow inlet 24 is located on the upstream side with respect to the dust collection portion 17 with respect to the second air flow. In this configuration, a passage communicating the air flow inlet 24 and the upstream space 23a is formed, and the dust in the upstream space 23a is moved by the second air flow from the air flow inlet 24 to the dust collecting portion 17 via the separation unit 31. You may let them.

The perspective view which shows the vacuum cleaner which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The perspective view which shows the cleaner body of the electric vacuum cleaner of FIG. The longitudinal cross-sectional side view which shows the vacuum cleaner main body of the vacuum cleaner of FIG. The perspective view which shows the state which combined the dust separation apparatus with which the vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1 is equipped, the airflow control apparatus, and the electric blower from the front side. The perspective view which shows the state which combined the dust separation apparatus with which the vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1 is equipped, the airflow control apparatus, and the electric blower from the rear side. The perspective view which shows the state which combined the dust separation apparatus with which the electric vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1 is equipped, and the airflow control apparatus from the rear side. The perspective view which shows the combination state of a part of airflow control apparatus with which the vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1 is equipped, and a dust separator from the rear side. The perspective view which shows the relationship between the control member of the airflow control apparatus and the exit part of a duct in the state in which the airflow control apparatus with which the vacuum cleaner of FIG. The perspective view which shows the relationship between the control member of the airflow control apparatus and the exit part of a duct in the state in which the airflow control apparatus with which the vacuum cleaner of FIG. The perspective view which shows the dust separation apparatus with which the vacuum cleaner of FIG. Sectional drawing which shows the dust separation apparatus with which the vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1 is provided. The perspective view which shows the dust separation apparatus with which the vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1 is provided seeing from the front side. The perspective view which shows the dust separator of FIG. 12 in the state which excluded the part. FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the dust separation device cut and shown through line FF in FIG. 11. The perspective view which shows the dust collection case of the dust separation apparatus with which the vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1 is provided. The perspective view which shows the state which remove | excluded the filter the dust separation apparatus with which the vacuum cleaner of FIG. The perspective view which shows a dust separation apparatus except a dust discharge member further from the state of FIG. The perspective view which expands the surroundings of the external air intake of the dust separation apparatus with which the vacuum cleaner of FIG. The perspective view which cuts and shows the surroundings of the separation part of the dust separation apparatus with which the vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1 is provided through the said FF line in a normal state. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the dust separation device provided in the electric vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1 cut around the separation portion through the FF line in an air purge state. The side view which shows the filter with which the dust separation apparatus with which the vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1 is provided is provided. The block diagram which shows the control system with which the vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1 is provided.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electric blower, 2 ... Vacuum cleaner main body, 2c ... Device set recessed part, 4 ... Electric blower, 4a ... Intake port, 8 ... Operation panel, 9 ... Control apparatus, 11 ... Device receptacle, 11a ... Through-hole, 15 ... Dust separator, 17 ... Dust collecting case (part of dust separating dust collecting means A), 21 ... separating case, 22 ... case member, 22b ... case member wall, 23 ... accommodating portion, 23a ... Upstream space, 24 ... air flow inlet, 25 ... fine dust air passage part, 28 ... duct, 31 ... separation part (part of dust separation dust collecting means A), 34 ... third opening / closing member, 39 ... first Dust collecting hole, 40 ... second dust collecting hole, 51 ... dust moving part, 52 ... dust reservoir, 61 ... filter, 65 ... filter element, 71 ... motor for dust removal (part of dust removing means), 81 ... Outside air inlet, 83 ... first opening / closing member, 88 ... second opening / closing member, 91 ... return air passage 95 ... Dust removal member (part of dust removal means), 111 ... Airflow control device (airflow control device), 112 ... Case, 113 ... Control member, 114 ... Driver, 119 ... Vent, 120 ... Duct, 120a ... inlet of duct part, 120b ... exit of duct part, 125 ... motor for driving control member

Claims (7)

Dust separation and dust collection means through which air sucked by an electric blower passes, and a dust separation and dust collection means provided with a separation part for separating dust contained in the air and a dust collection part for collecting the separated dust;
A filter that is disposed in a housing provided on the downstream side of the dust separation dust collection means and on the upstream side of the electric blower and filters the dust that has passed through the dust separation dust collection means;
This filter is provided between the filter and the electric blower, allows the first airflow to be sucked into the electric blower through the dust separating and collecting means and the filter during cleaning, and faces the upstream surface of the filter. An airflow control means for allowing the second airflow to be sucked into the electric blower without passing through the filter when purging the upstream space of the housing portion;
A fine dust passage section for guiding the airflow that has passed through the dust separation and collection means to the upstream space;
A first opening / closing member that opens and closes the fine dust passage,
A second opening / closing member for opening / closing an outside air inlet for introducing outside air into the upstream space;
A third opening / closing member that opens and closes a return air passage that guides the second airflow flowing out of the upstream space,
A part of the dust separation and dust collection means also serves as a part of an air passage that guides the second air flow, and a part of the dust separation and dust collection means is disposed in the upstream space based on the flow of the second air flow. Located downstream,
When the air flow control means allows the flow of the first air flow, the first opening / closing member opens the fine dust air passage portion, the second opening / closing member closes the outside air inlet, An opening and closing member closes the return air passage,
When the air flow control means allows the second air flow to flow, the first opening / closing member closes the fine dust air passage portion, the second opening / closing member opens the outside air inlet, and the third opening / closing member opens. An open / close member opens the return air passage portion to move dust in the upstream space to a part of the dust separating and collecting means by the second air flow.   2. The electric cleaning according to claim 1, wherein a part of the dust separating and collecting means is the separating portion, the dust collecting portion, or an air passage portion extending from the separating portion to the dust collecting portion. Machine.   During the air purge, outside air that passes through the air flow inlet located on the upstream side with respect to the dust collection unit with respect to the second air flow is sucked into the separation unit and merged with the second air flow, and 2. The electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein dust in an upstream space is moved from the air flow inlet to the dust collection unit via the separation unit by the second air flow.   2. The electric cleaning according to claim 1, wherein the outside air intake is provided above the inlet of the return air passage section, and outside air is introduced downward into the upstream space from the outside air inlet. Machine.   The vacuum cleaner according to claim 4, wherein the second opening / closing member guides the outside air introduced from the outside air inlet so as to blow on the filter. In a receiving part provided on the downstream side of the dust separating and collecting means having a separating part for separating dust contained in the air sucked by the electric blower and a dust collecting part for collecting the separated dust, and on the upstream side of the electric blower A vacuum cleaner filter cleaning method for cleaning a filter that is disposed and filters dust that has passed through the dust separating and collecting means,
An open / close member that opens and closes an outside air inlet that introduces outside air into the upstream space of the housing portion facing the upstream surface of the filter, and the upstream space and the dust collecting portion are in communication with each other; and By operating the electric blower in a state in which the flow of the air sucked into the electric blower is allowed without passing through the filter, the dust collection is performed from the outside air inlet through the upstream space. The air flowing through the part is air purged with dust on the upstream space and the upstream surface of the filter, and the dust collected in the dust collecting part is captured as a filtering material. How to clean the vacuum cleaner filter.   During or after the operation of the dust removing means for dropping the dust trapped in the filter, the outside air is sucked from the outside air intake port, and the upstream space and the dust on the upstream surface of the filter are air purged. The filter cleaning method of the vacuum cleaner of Claim 6.

Images