JP4818064B2 - Vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner having a filter and capable of collecting dust sucked by driving an electric blower.

Conventionally, this type of vacuum cleaner includes a vacuum cleaner body that houses an electric blower. A dust collecting part communicating with the suction side of the electric blower is provided on the front side of the vacuum cleaner body, and a main body suction port is formed in the front part of the dust collection part. A hose is provided in the main body suction port. The body, the extension pipe and the floor brush are sequentially connected to each other. And, in the dust collecting part, a substantially bottomed cylindrical dust collecting cup that is a cyclone separation type dust collecting device that collects dust sucked from the main body suction port by driving of the electric blower is detachably provided. ing. This dust collection cup has a filter attached inside, and when the suction air obtained by cyclone separating coarse dust, which is relatively large dust, passes through the filter, fine dust, which is fine dust contained in the suction air, It is collected by this filter (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-265376 A (page 3-5, FIG. 1)

  However, the above-described electric vacuum cleaner has a problem that the filter is clogged with time, and the suction force of the electric blower is reduced when the filter is clogged in this way.

  For this reason, it is necessary to periodically clean the filter and frequently remove fine dust adhering to the filter. Since it adheres, the maintainability is not good.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a point, and it aims at providing the vacuum cleaner which suppressed the fall of the suction force with time.

  The present invention includes a first dust collecting unit having a filter and capable of collecting dust sucked from a main body suction port by driving of an electric blower, and a second dust collecting unit connected to the first dust collecting unit. The circulation air passage communicating the exhaust side of the electric blower and the first dust collecting part, the first dust collecting part and the upstream side of the electric blower communicated, and the first dust collecting part and the second dust collecting part A first state in which the communication is blocked, the upstream side of the first dust collecting unit is opened and the communication between the first dust collecting unit and the circulation air passage is blocked, and the second dust collecting unit and the upstream side of the electric blower. Communicating, releasing the blocking of the communication between the first dust collecting part and the second dust collecting part, closing the upstream side of the first dust collecting part and blocking the communication between the first dust collecting part and the circulation air passage And a switching mechanism capable of switching between the second state to be released.

  According to the present invention, the first dust collection unit and the upstream side of the electric blower are communicated, and the switching mechanism blocks communication between the first dust collection unit and the second dust collection unit. By selecting a first state in which the upstream side is opened and the communication between the first dust collecting part and the circulation air passage is blocked by the switching mechanism, dust is collected in the first dust collecting part, and the second dust collecting part is collected. And the upstream side of the electric blower, the first dust collecting part and the second dust collecting part are communicated, and the upstream side of the first dust collecting part is closed and the first dust collecting part and the circulating air are connected. By selecting the second state for releasing the disconnection of the communication with the road by the switching mechanism, the dust collected in the first dust collector is moved to the second dust collector by the exhaust air circulated from the electric blower. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in suction force over time.

  Hereinafter, the structure of the vacuum cleaner of one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

  In FIG. 3, 1 is a vacuum cleaner main body, and this vacuum cleaner main body 1 is a so-called canister type electric vacuum cleaner capable of traveling on the floor surface. The vacuum cleaner main body 1 includes a main body case 4 having a lower case 2 whose upper side is opened to be inclined downward from the rear to the front, and a lid 3 that covers an upper portion of the lower case 2. In the case 4, an electric blower 5 is disposed on the rear side, and a dust collection unit 7 (FIG. 1) as a dust collection portion whose upper part is opened and closed by the lid 3 is disposed on the front side. A control means 8 is provided for controlling the operation and the like.

  A main body suction port 11 that can communicate with the suction side of the electric blower 5 through the dust collecting unit 7 is formed at the front end of the main body case 4. A hose body 12 is attached to and detached from the main body suction port 11. A hand operating part 13 is provided at the tip of the hose body 12, and a gripping part 14 is provided on the hand operating part 13 to be gripped by an operator. A plurality of setting buttons 15 for setting an operation mode and the like of the electric blower 5 are provided by an operator. The extension pipe 16 and a floor brush 17 as a suction port body are sequentially connected to the distal end portion of the hand operation unit 13 in communication.

  Further, a cord reel around which a power cord (not shown) for supplying power to the electric blower 5 is wound is disposed in the main body case 4 so that the power cord can be taken in and out of the main body case 4.

  The electric blower 5 is disposed at a substantially central position in the left-right direction of the cleaner body 1 with the suction side as the front side and the exhaust side as the rear side. The electric blower 5 is operated according to the operation mode set in the control means 8 by the setting button 15.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the dust collection unit 7 has, for example, the main dust collection chamber 21 as the first dust collection unit on the upper side and the sub dust collection chamber 22 as the second dust collection unit on the lower side, for example. The main dust collection chamber 21 and the sub dust collection chamber 22 are connected to each other through a communication path 26. Further, the downstream side of the dust collection unit 7 is connected in communication with the suction side of the electric blower 5 via the suction air passage 28.

  The main dust collection chamber 21 is used mainly when cleaning the electric vacuum cleaner, and is connected to the downstream side of the main body suction port 11 and is disposed along the central axis of the main body suction port 11, This is a so-called cyclone type dust collecting unit that separates dust sucked by driving of the blower 5 from the air, for example, by centrifugation. Further, a communication pipe valve 31 as an upstream valve body capable of blocking communication between the main dust collection chamber 21 and the main body suction port 11 is disposed outside the upstream side of the main dust collection chamber 21. Further, a pleated filter 33 as a filter is disposed in the main dust collection chamber 21 on the exhaust side, which is a communication portion with the suction air passage 28.

  The open / close operation of the communication pipe valve 31 is controlled by the control means 8.

  The pleated filter 33 accumulates in the main dust collection chamber 21 without passing coarse dust, which is relatively large dust, and attaches and collects fine dust, which is fine dust contained in the passing air. A pleated shape along the vertical direction is formed over the entire horizontal direction of the cleaner body 1. Further, a dust drop body 34 as a dust removing mechanism that removes dust adhering to the pleat filter 33 and drops it into the main dust collecting chamber 21 is attached to the downstream side of the pleat filter 33.

  The dust drop body 34 is provided so as to be movable in the left-right direction of the cleaner body 1 with the tip part fitted to the pleat part on the downstream side of the pleat filter 33, and by this movement, the tip part is a peak of the pleat part. By repeatedly going over the section, vibration is given to the pleated filter 33, and dust attached to the pleated filter 33 is dropped.

  The dust drop body 34 is configured to be automatically operated by the control means 8 (FIG. 3) or the like at an arbitrary timing such as when the electric blower 5 is turned on or off, or manually operated by an operator. It is possible to make it.

  The auxiliary dust collection chamber 22 is an auxiliary dust collection unit that moves and collects the dust collected in the main dust collection chamber 21, and a paper pack 37 as a disposable dust collection bag is detachably accommodated therein. In addition, a filter 38 having a finer mesh than the paper pack 37 is disposed outside the paper pack 37 on the exhaust side, which is a communicating portion with the suction air passage 28.

  The paper pack 37 includes a mouth plate 37a attached to the lower end portion of the communication path 26, and a bag-like filter portion 37b provided integrally with the mouth plate 37a. An opening (not shown) is formed in the mouth plate 37a so that the communication path 26 and the filter portion 37b communicate with each other. Further, the filter part 37b is configured to be folded in an unused state and to swell throughout the sub dust collection chamber 22 when used.

  The communication passage 26 is a hollow pipe-like air passage that communicates the upstream side of the pleat filter 33 in the main dust collection chamber 21 and the upstream side of the filter 38 in the sub dust collection chamber 22 and is disposed along the vertical direction. The on-off valve 41 serving as a communication switching valve can be opened and closed. The opening / closing operation of the opening / closing valve 41 is controlled by the control means 8.

  The suction air passage 28 includes a main dust collection air passage 45 as a first air passage communicating with the downstream side of the main dust collection chamber 21 and a sub air collection as a second air passage communicating with the downstream side of the sub dust collection chamber 22. The dust wind passage 46 and the dust collection wind passages 45, 46 join together to have a suction air passage body 47 communicating with the suction side of the electric blower 5, and the main dust collection air passage 45 and the sub dust collection wind A switching valve 48 is disposed at a communication portion between the passage 46 and the suction air passage main body 47.

  The main dust collection air passage 45 is provided such that the exhaust dust side and the center position of the main dust collection chamber 21 are located on a substantially straight line. An exhaust circulation hole 51 is formed in the main dust collection air passage 45, and a circulation air passage 52 is connected between the exhaust circulation hole 51 and the exhaust side of the electric blower 5. Therefore, in the main dust collection chamber 21, the intake air of the electric blower 5 can pass through the pleat filter 33 from the main body suction port 11 side in the first state, that is, the cleaning state, and the circulation air passage 52 in the second state, that is, the dust movement state. The exhaust from the electric blower 5 can be introduced through the exhaust circulation hole 51 and the main dust collecting air passage 45 from the backwashing side, which is the downstream side of the pleated filter 33. Hereinafter, backwashing removes dust adhering to the filter by allowing fluid to pass through the filter from a direction opposite to the direction in which the fluid passes when dust is collected by the filter. That means.

  Further, a deodorizing filter 54 as a deodorizing mechanism for deodorizing the inside is attached in the circulation air passage 52. The circulation air passage 52 is provided on the exhaust side of the electric blower 5 so as to branch from the exhaust air passage 55. The circulation air passage 52 and the exhaust air passage 55 are selectively selected by an exhaust switching valve 56. The electric blower 5 is configured to communicate with the exhaust side.

  The exhaust air passage 55 is an air passage communicating the exhaust side of the electric blower 5 and the exhaust hole 57 provided in the main body case 4.

  The exhaust switching valve 56 is provided at a position closer to the electric blower 5 than the deodorizing filter 54, and its opening / closing operation is controlled by the control means 8.

  The sub dust collection air passage 46 is provided so that the exhaust dust side and the center position of the sub dust collection chamber 22 are located on a substantially straight line.

  Further, the switching valve 48 selectively connects either the main dust collection air passage 45 or the sub dust collection air passage 46 to the suction side of the electric blower 5 through the suction air passage main body 47. The opening / closing operation is controlled by the control means 8.

  The communication pipe valve 31, the on-off valve 41, the switching valve 48, the exhaust switching valve 56, the control means 8, and the like constitute a switching mechanism 58. The switching mechanism 58 allows the floor brush 17, the extension pipe 16, the hose body. 12. Main air inlet 11, main dust collecting chamber 21, main dust collecting air passage 45 and suction air main body 47, electric blower 5, exhaust air passage 55 and exhaust hole 57 are formed to form main air passage W1 through which air sequentially passes. The cleaning state, which is the first state, and the main dust collecting chamber 21, the communication passage 26, the sub dust collecting chamber 22, the sub dust collecting air passage 46, the suction air passage main body 47, the electric blower 5, the circulation air passage 52, it is possible to switch between the dust moving state (air circulating state), which is the second state, which forms the auxiliary air passage W2 that circulates with the exhaust circulation hole 51 and the main dust collecting air passage 45.

  Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.

  First, the hose body 12, the extension pipe 16 and the floor brush 17 are sequentially connected to the main body suction port 11, the lid body 3 of the main body case 4 is opened, the dust collecting unit 7 is attached, and the lid body 3 is closed.

  Then, the power cord is pulled out from the main body case 4 and connected to an outlet such as a wall surface. When the operator grips the grip portion 14 and operates a predetermined setting button 15, the control means 8 drives the electric blower 5.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 1, the control means 8 closes the sub dust collection air passage 46 by the switching valve 48 and moves the electric dust blower 5 to the downstream side of the main dust collection chamber 21 through the main dust collection air passage 45. The open / close valve 41 to shut off the communication between the main dust collection chamber 21 and the sub dust collection chamber 22, open the communication pipe valve 31 to open the upstream side of the main dust collection chamber 21, Further, the circulation air passage 52 is blocked by the exhaust switching valve 56, and the exhaust side of the electric blower 5 is communicated with the exhaust hole 57 via the exhaust air passage 55 (cleaning state).

  As a result, the electric blower 5 is driven to suck the dust D together with the air into the main dust collecting chamber 21 through the main air passage W1.

  Of the dust D sucked into the main dust collection chamber 21, coarse dust is centrifuged, for example, and collected in the main dust collection chamber 21, and air passes through the pleat filter 33. At this time, the pleated filter 33 is collected. Note that the coarse dust accommodated in the main dust collecting chamber 21 is compressed by the passing air.

  The air that has passed through the pleated filter 33 is sucked into the electric blower 5 through the main dust collection air passage 45 and the suction air passage main body 47, passes through the electric blower 5 and becomes exhaust air, and the exhaust air passage 55 and the exhaust hole. The air is exhausted to the outside of the cleaner body 1 through 57.

  Next, when the operator operates the setting button 15 when cleaning is finished, the control means 8 operates the dust drop body 34 for a predetermined time, for example, and collects fine dust collected by the pleat filter 33 in the main dust collection chamber. As shown in FIG. 2, the main dust collecting air passage 45 is closed by the switching valve 48 and the downstream side of the sub dust collecting chamber 22 is sucked into the electric blower 5 through the sub dust collecting air passage 46 as shown in FIG. Open the open / close valve 41 to connect the main dust collection chamber 21 and the sub dust collection chamber 22, close the communication pipe valve 31 to close the upstream side of the main dust collection chamber 21, and switch the exhaust The exhaust air passage 55 is shut off by the valve 56 to release the circulation air passage 52 from being shut off (dust movement state).

  At this time, a part of the dust D collected in the main dust collection chamber 21 falls to the sub dust collection chamber 22 through the communication path 26 by its own weight, and is collected in the paper pack 37.

  Further, by driving the electric blower 5, the exhaust of the electric blower 5 sequentially passes through the circulation air passage 52, the exhaust circulation hole 51, and the main dust collection air passage 45 via the auxiliary air passage W2, and the downstream side of the pleat filter 33 The pleated filter 33 is passed back to the upstream side, and the pleated filter 33 is backwashed, and further flows into the sub dust collection chamber 22 through the communication path 26, and sequentially passes through the paper pack 37 and the filter 38, and the sub dust collection wind. The air passes through the passage 46 and the suction air passage main body 47 and is sucked into the electric blower 5 and circulated.

  As a result, the remainder of the dust D collected in the main dust collecting chamber 21 flows into the paper pack 37 of the sub dust collecting chamber 22 from the communication path 26 by circulation of the exhaust of the electric blower 5, and this paper pack 37, Or it is collected by the filter 38.

  And the control means 8 will stop the electric blower 5 and stop the operation | movement of a vacuum cleaner, if predetermined time passes.

  When dust of a predetermined amount or more accumulates in the paper pack 37, the lid 3 is opened, the paper pack 37 is removed from the sub dust collection chamber 22 and discarded together with the dust, and a new paper pack 37 is disposed in the sub dust collection chamber 22. Attach to.

  As described above, in the above embodiment, the switching valve 48 allows the main dust collection chamber 21 and the upstream side of the electric blower 5 to communicate with each other, and the on-off valve 41 is connected to the main dust collection chamber 21 and the sub dust collection chamber 22. The communication pipe valve 31 opens the upstream side of the main dust collecting chamber 21, and the switching mechanism 58 selects a cleaning state in which the circulation air passage 52 is blocked by the exhaust switching valve 56. D is sucked into the main dust collection chamber 21 and collected. The switching valve 48 communicates the sub dust collection chamber 22 with the upstream side of the electric blower 5, and the open / close valve 41 connects the main dust collection chamber 21 and the sub dust collection chamber 22. And the communication pipe valve 31 closes the upstream side of the main dust collecting chamber 21, and the exhaust switching valve 56 releases the shutoff of the circulation air passage 52 to shut off the exhaust air passage 55. By selecting with the switching mechanism 58, the dust D collected in the main dust collecting chamber 21 is exhausted by the electric blower 5 circulated through the circulation air passage 52. It is possible to move to the dust collecting chamber 22.

  As a result, it is possible to prevent dust D from continuously accumulating on the main dust collection chamber 21 side used in the main cleaning or clogging of the pleat filter 33 over time. Until the moved dust D is accumulated in the paper pack 37, it is possible to suppress a decrease in suction force over time.

  Further, since the dust D once compressed in the main dust collecting chamber 21 is moved to the paper pack 37 in the sub dust collecting chamber 22, the volume of the dust D moved to the paper pack 37 is reduced, and the capacity of the paper pack 37 is increased. It can be used effectively.

  Furthermore, since the switching mechanism 58 introduces the exhaust of the electric blower 5 from the backwash side of the pleat filter 33, the dust attached to the pleat filter 33 can be efficiently removed from the pleat filter 33 by the backwashing of the exhaust.

  Further, by providing the deodorizing filter 54 in the circulation air passage 52, when the exhaust of the electric blower 5 is circulated to the main dust collection chamber 21 side, the circulating air can be deodorized, and the circulation air passage 52 is It is possible to prevent the odor caused by D from accumulating.

  In addition, by attaching a detachable disposable paper pack 37 to the sub-dust collection chamber 22, the dust D moved from the main dust collection chamber 21 can be easily and reliably put together with the paper pack 37 without being scattered to the outside air. After the paper pack 37 can be discarded, a new paper pack 37 can be attached to the sub-dust collection chamber 22 after the paper pack 37 is discarded, so that the collection capacity of the sub-dust collection chamber 22 can be maintained.

  Furthermore, clogging of the pleat filter 33 can be prevented more reliably by providing a dust drop body 34 that removes dust adhering to the pleat filter 33 and drops it to the main dust collection chamber 21.

  In the above embodiment, the exhaust circulation hole 51 may be opened upstream of the pleated filter 33. In this case, for example, by opening the exhaust circulation hole 51 toward the vicinity of the upstream side surface of the pleat filter 33, the dust attached to the pleat filter 33 can be separated from the pleat filter 33 by the exhaust of the electric blower 5. Therefore, it is possible to achieve the same effects as those of the one embodiment.

  Further, the main dust collection chamber 21 and the sub dust collection chamber 22 can be arranged in various other ways besides the main dust collection chamber 21 being the upper side and the sub dust collection chamber 22 being the lower side.

  The sub dust collection chamber 22 itself can be configured as a dust collection cup that can be attached to and detached from the cleaner body 1 without attaching the paper pack 37 to the sub dust collection chamber 22.

  Further, the opening / closing operation of each valve 31, 41, 48, 56 is controlled by the control means 8. However, a separate valve control means for controlling the valve 31 is provided, or it is mechanically linked to the opening / closing of any one of the valves. Each valve may be opened and closed.

  Further, as the deodorizing mechanism, any one other than the deodorizing filter 54, such as a deodorizing mechanism for performing plasma deodorization, can be used.

  The details of the vacuum cleaner are not limited to the above configuration, and the vacuum cleaner is not limited to the canister type, for example, self-propelled (running assist type) or autonomous running type (robot type) electric For example, a vacuum cleaner or the like may be used. For example, the floor brush 17 may be an upright type or a handy type directly formed on the lower surface of the vacuum cleaner body 1.

It is explanatory side view which shows the 1st state of the vacuum cleaner of one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory side view which shows the 2nd state of a vacuum cleaner same as the above. It is a perspective view which shows a vacuum cleaner same as the above.

Explanation of symbols

1 Vacuum cleaner body 5 Electric blower
11 Main unit inlet
21 Main dust collection chamber as first dust collection unit
22 Sub-dust collection chamber as second dust collection section
33 Pleated filter as a filter
52 Circulating air passage
54 Deodorizing filter as deodorizing mechanism
58 Switching mechanism

Claims (3)

A vacuum cleaner body with a main body suction port that houses the electric blower and communicates with the suction side of the electric blower,
A first dust collecting unit having a filter and capable of collecting dust sucked from the main body suction port by driving the electric blower;
A second dust collector connected to the first dust collector;
A circulation air passage communicating the exhaust side of the electric blower and the first dust collecting part;
The first dust collection unit communicates with the upstream side of the electric blower, the communication between the first dust collection unit and the second dust collection unit is blocked, and the upstream side of the first dust collection unit is opened. And the first state where communication between the first dust collecting part and the circulation air passage is blocked, the second dust collecting part and the upstream side of the electric blower are communicated, and the first dust collecting part and the first dust collecting part are communicated with each other. A second state in which the disconnection of the communication with the dust collecting unit is released, the upstream side of the first dust collecting unit is closed, and the communication between the first dust collecting unit and the circulation air passage is released. A vacuum cleaner comprising a switchable switching mechanism. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the circulation air passage connects the exhaust side of the electric blower to the backwash side of the filter of the first dust collecting unit. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a deodorizing mechanism is provided in the circulation air passage.

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