JP7240366B2 - vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a cyclone separator for centrifugally separating objects to be collected, and a vacuum cleaner provided with the cyclone separator detachably.

Conventionally, by exhausting the air in the collection container from the exhaust part provided at the center of the collection container, the air is sucked from the air suction part provided at the circumference of the collection container. After the collected air is swirled along the inner peripheral surface of the collection container, it is exhausted from the exhaust part through the filter means, and relatively large dust contained in the air is collected at the bottom of the collection container. In addition, a cyclone dust collector as an example of a cyclone separating device that collects relatively small dust in the filter means is known as Patent Document 1.

This cyclone dust collector collects relatively large dust particles by centrifugal force by rotating them, and collects relatively small dust particles that fly in the air stream by means of a filter placed in the air stream. Therefore, noise is reduced and dust collection efficiency is also improved.

When such a cyclone dust collector as described above is used in general households, cotton dust generated from futons and clothes occupies the majority of the collected dust volume. Since the fibers and the like that make up this cotton dust themselves have elasticity, the density of the dust is low, and it is necessary to frequently remove (throw away) the dust from the dust collecting section. In addition, since such dust is light and scatters easily, there is a problem that the user feels uncomfortable when the dust scatters and scatters again when discarded in an external trash can.

However, the cyclone dust collector described in Patent Literature 1 collects dust relying only on the flow of air, so the collected low-density dust such as fibers is compressed to a certain degree or more. Therefore, the degree of accumulation of dust in the limited dust collection space cannot be improved so much. Therefore, if the collected dust is not frequently thrown away, the collection efficiency will decrease, so it takes time to throw away the dust. Therefore, it is impossible to solve the problem that it is impossible to eliminate the unpleasant feeling caused by the scattering of dust and re-scattering when discarding it in a trash box or the like.

In order to solve such problems, it is necessary to compress the collected dust as hard as possible. As such a conventional dust collector equipped with dust compression means, there is a dust collector equipped with mechanical compression means described in Patent Document 2. A dust collector having such a mechanical compression means can compress the collected dust firmly, so that the dust collection efficiency does not decrease even if it is used continuously for a long period of time.

JP 2006-75584 A JP 2005-13312 A

However, in the dust collector described in Patent Document 2, a doughnut-shaped compression disk is pushed down from above the dust collector via a handle operated by a person to compress the dust. This creates a new problem of bothering the user.

In addition, in the dust collector of Patent Document 2, by pushing down the compression disk, dust and the like are simply compressed linearly (without rotation). , the volume of dust whose shape is likely to be restored, such as cotton dust, becomes close to that before compression.

The above-mentioned problems are not limited to dust collectors such as electric vacuum cleaners. A problem equally arises in separating cyclone separators.

In order to solve such a problem, the present applicant has provided a collection container having a substantially cylindrical inner peripheral surface, and has an air intake port provided in the circumference of the collection container in the circumferential direction. After the air is swirled along the substantially cylindrical inner peripheral surface, the air is exhausted from the center of the collection container through the filter means, thereby removing relatively large objects to be collected contained in the air. A cyclone separating device for collecting at the bottom of a collection vessel and collecting relatively small objects in said filter means is improved so that the vertical central axis of said collection vessel is positioned within said collection vessel. We have developed a cyclone separating device comprising a compression member that has a helical curved surface at the center and is rotatable around the vertical center axis, and have already applied for Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-072942.

In this cyclone separation device, by opening the bottom lid of the collection container, it is possible to throw away the objects to be collected such as dust accumulated in the collection container. Therefore, clogging of the filter member must be taken care of, and it is desirable to be able to easily and quickly remove it from the filter member. Such problems are not limited to dust collectors such as electric vacuum cleaners to which the present invention is typically applied, but are also problems in cyclone separators for separating a wide variety of materials.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a cyclone dust collector in which relatively small objects to be collected that have been removed from an airflow by a filter member can be easily taken out from a collection container. intended to

In a cyclone separator provided in a vacuum cleaner for centrifugally separating dust from sucked air, a dust collecting container for collecting the dust centrifuged by swirling the sucked air along an inner peripheral surface; an inner cylinder provided in the dust collection container; a shaft provided at the bottom of the inner cylinder; a plate-like member including a spiral inclined surface that is inclined toward the bottom of the dust-collecting container along the direction of rotation of the swirling airflow in the dust-collecting container, wherein the plate-like member has an outer edge as described above. The plate-like member is spaced from the inner peripheral surface of the dust collection container, and has both an upper surface and a lower surface formed in a spiral shape. A shielding member is provided for partitioning into a separating portion that separates dust by a whirling airflow and a dust collecting portion, the plate-shaped member is provided in the dust collecting portion, and the airflow is formed in a gap between the dust collecting container and the shielding member. to guide the dust to the dust collecting portion, and the airflow is passed through the gap between the dust collecting container and the plate-like member to guide the airflow toward the bottom of the dust collecting container.

According to the present invention, the dust separated by the swirling flow is collected on the bottom lid of the dust collection container, and the collected dust can be easily discarded by opening the bottom lid.

1 is an external view of an electric vacuum cleaner X according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. Sectional drawing for demonstrating the internal structure of the cyclone dust collector Y which concerns on embodiment of this invention. Sectional drawing for demonstrating the internal structure of the cyclone dust collector Y which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure for demonstrating the spiral rotary compression part provided in the cyclone dust collector Y which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a state in which the top lid of the cyclone dust collector Y according to the embodiment of the present invention is opened. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the internal structure of the cyclone dust collector Y according to the embodiment of the present invention, focusing on the helical rotary compression section; 1 is an exploded perspective view for explaining the internal structure of a cyclone dust collector Y according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. Sectional drawing for demonstrating the rotational force transmission path|route to the spiral rotary compression part of the cyclone dust collector Y which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the cyclone dust collector Y for explaining how dust is compressed and stacked by the rotation of the helical rotary compressor.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings for understanding of the present invention. It should be noted that the following embodiment is an example that embodies the present invention, and is not intended to limit the technical scope of the present invention.

1 is an external view of a vacuum cleaner X according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are for explaining the internal structure of a cyclone dust collector Y according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a helical rotary compression section provided in the cyclone dust collector Y according to the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a cyclone according to the embodiment of the present invention FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing a state in which the upper lid of the dust collector is opened, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the internal structure of the cyclone dust collector Y according to the embodiment of the present invention, focusing on the helical rotary compression section. 7 is an exploded perspective view for explaining the internal structure of the cyclone dust collector Y according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a spiral shape of the cyclone dust collector Y according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a cyclone dust collector Y illustrating how dust is compressed and stacked by the rotation of the helical rotary compression unit; FIG. be.

First, with reference to FIG. 1, a schematic configuration of an electric vacuum cleaner X according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the electric vacuum cleaner X is generally configured including a cleaner body 1, an air inlet 2, a connection pipe 3, a connection hose 4, an operation handle 5, and the like. The cleaner body 1 incorporates an electric blower (not shown), a cyclone dust collector Y, a control device (not shown), and the like. The cyclone dust collector Y will be described later in detail.

The electric blower has a blower fan for sucking air and a blower driving motor for rotating the blower fan. The control device includes control devices such as a CPU, RAM, and ROM, and controls the vacuum cleaner X in an integrated manner. Specifically, in the control device, the CPU executes various processes according to control programs stored in the ROM.

The operation handle 5 is provided with an operation switch (not shown) for the user to select whether or not the electric vacuum cleaner X is to be operated and to select an operation mode. A display unit (not shown) such as an LED for displaying the current state of the vacuum cleaner X is also provided in the vicinity of the operation switch.

The cleaner body 1 is connected to the intake port 2 via the connection hose 4 connected to the front end of the cleaner body 1 and the connection pipe 3 connected to the connection hose 4. ing.

Therefore, in the electric vacuum cleaner X, the electric air blower (not shown) incorporated in the cleaner main body 1 is operated so that air is drawn in from the air inlet 2 . The air sucked from the intake port 2 flows into the cyclone dust collector Y through the connection pipe 3 and the connection hose 4 . In the cyclone dust collector Y, dust is centrifuged from the sucked air. The air after dust is separated by the cyclone dust collector Y is exhausted from an exhaust port (not shown) provided at the rear end of the cleaner body 1 .

A cyclone dust collector Y, which is an example of the cyclone dust collector according to the present invention, will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cyclone dust collector Y includes a housing 10, a dust collection container 11 (an example of a collection container), and the like. The housing 10 is generally configured to include an inner cylinder 12, an upper filter unit 13, a dust receiving portion 14, a dust removal driving mechanism 15, a lid portion 16, and the like.

In the cyclone dust collector Y, the dust collection container 11, the inner cylinder 12, the upper filter unit 13, and the dust receiver 14 are coaxially arranged with a vertical central axis P as the center. The cyclone dust collector Y is configured to be detachable from the main body 1 of the cleaner.

The housing 10, which is an example of the upper lid, includes an inner cylinder 12 having a filter 122 therein.

In this cyclone dust collector Y, the air inside the dust collection container 11 is exhausted from the inner cylinder 12 provided at the center of the substantially cylindrical dust collection container 11 , thereby reducing the circumference of the dust collection container 11 . After the air sucked from the air inlet 111a (see FIG. 7) provided in the part is swirled along the inner peripheral surface of the dust collection container 11, it passes through the upper filter unit 13, etc., which is an example of the filter means. The air is exhausted through the inner cylinder 12, and relatively heavy objects to be collected contained in the air are collected at the bottom of the dust collecting container 11, and relatively light objects to be collected are removed from the upper filter. It is collected in the unit 13 or the like.

The dust collection container 11 is a container having a substantially cylindrical inner peripheral surface and a cylindrical outer shape for containing dust separated from the sucked air. The dust collection container 11 is configured to be attachable to and detachable from the housing 10 of the cyclone dust collector Y. As shown in FIG.

A bottom lid 310 is attached to the bottom of the dust collection container 11 so as to be openable and closable as shown in FIG. FIG. 2 shows the bottom cover 310 closed, and FIG. 3 shows it open. After taking out the cyclone dust collector Y from the cleaner body 1, the user opens the bottom lid 310 as shown in FIG. The opening and closing mechanism of the bottom lid 310 will be described later in detail.

An annular seal member 161 is provided between the housing 10 of the cyclone dust collector Y and the dust container 11 . This seal member 161 prevents air leakage between the housing 10 and the dust container 11 .

Further, the bottom cover 310 of the dust collecting container 11 is provided with a fitting portion 11a that is fitted to a rotating shaft portion 123b provided on the inner cylinder 12, which will be described later. An annular seal member 11b for filling a gap between the fitting portion 11a and the rotating shaft portion 123b of the inner cylinder 12 is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the fitting portion 11a. Air leakage between the rotating shaft portion 123b and the dust container 11 is prevented by the sealing member 11b.

Further, the dust collection container 11 is provided with a connection portion 111 provided so as to communicate with the connection hose 4 (see FIG. 1). The air sucked from the air inlet portion 2 through the connection pipe 3 and the connection hose 4 flows into the dust collection container 11 from the connection portion 111 .

Here, the air inlet 111 a of the connection portion 111 to the dust collection container 11 is formed so that the air from the connection hose 4 swirls within the dust collection container 11 . Specifically, since the air inlet 111a is formed to face the tangential direction of the dust collecting container 11, the air sucked from the inlet 111a flows along the inner circumference of the dust collecting container 11. swirl. Therefore, the dust contained in the swirling air is pressed against the inner peripheral surface of the dust container 11 by the centrifugal force caused by the swirling, loses the speed of swirling, falls to the bottom of the dust container 11, and is separated from the swirling air. (centrifuged). The dust centrifugally separated in the dust container 11 is collected at the bottom of the dust container 11 .

On the other hand, the air from which the dust has been separated is discharged from the dust collection container 11 along the exhaust path 112 indicated by the arrow 112a (FIG. 2) through an exhaust port (not shown) provided in the cleaner body 1 to the outside. exhausted. Here, the inner cylinder 12, the dust receiving portion 14, the upper filter unit 13, and the lid portion 16 are arranged in this order on the exhaust path 112 from the dust collecting container 11 to the exhaust port (not shown). Relatively fine dust in the airflow is removed by filters provided in the inner cylinder 12 and the upper filter unit 13 .

The inner cylinder 12 is a cylindrical member arranged inside the dust container 11 . Here, the inner cylinder 12 is rotatably supported by the dust receiving portion 14 . Specifically, the inner cylinder 12 is configured such that an annular recess 12a provided at the upper end of the inner cylinder 12 is supported by an annular support portion 14c provided at the lower end of the dust receiving portion 14, so that the dust is removed. It is suspended so as to be rotatable integrally with the receiving portion 14 . The configuration for rotatably supporting the inner cylinder 12 is not limited to this. For example, it is conceivable to pivotally support the upper and lower ends of the inner cylinder 12 . Specifically, the upper end of the inner cylinder 12 is provided with a plurality of connecting portions 12b that engage with engaging portions 134c provided on an inclined dust removing member 134, which will be described later. The connecting portion 12b is a rib that protrudes upward from the opening edge portion of the upper end of the inner cylinder 12. As shown in FIG.

The inner cylinder 12 is integrally rotatably connected to the inclined dust removing member 134 by engaging the connecting portion 12b and the engaging portion 134c. As a result, the inner cylinder 12 rotates in conjunction with the inclined dust removing member 134 . Note that the connection structure of the inner cylinder 12 and the inclined dust removing member 134 is not limited to this. For example, it is conceivable that the inner cylinder 12 and the inclined dust removing member 134 are connected to each other so as to be rotatable by fitting fitting portions provided on the respective inclined dust removing members 134 .

In addition, an inner cylinder exhaust port 121 is formed in the upper portion of the inner cylinder 12 for exhausting the air from which dust has been separated in the dust collecting container 11 toward the upper filter unit 13 . The inner cylinder exhaust port 121 is provided with a cylindrical inner cylinder filter 122 covering the entire inner cylinder exhaust port 121 . The inner cylinder filter 122 filters the air passing through the inner cylinder exhaust port 121 .

For example, the inner cylinder filter 122 is a mesh-like air filter or the like. The inner cylinder filter 122 may be provided inside or outside the inner cylinder exhaust port 121 . Also, instead of the exhaust port 121 and the inner cylinder filter 122, a configuration in which mesh-shaped holes are formed in the inner cylinder 12 is also conceivable. In that case, the mesh-like holes function as the inner cylinder exhaust port 121 and the inner cylinder filter 122 .

On the other hand, a helical rotary compression part 123 rotatable around a vertical central axis for compressing dust in the dust container 11 is provided at the bottom of the inner cylinder 12 .

Here, the helical rotary compression section 123 will be described with reference to FIG. 4, which is a perspective view of the helical rotary compression section 123, in addition to FIGS.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the spiral rotary compression part 123 is provided with a spiral part 123a having a spiral curved surface, a rotating shaft part 123b, and a disk-shaped shielding member 123c.

The rotating shaft portion 123b is a hollow cylinder that is fitted into the fitting portion 11a provided at the bottom of the dust container 11. As shown in FIG. As described above, the seal member 11b (see FIGS. 2 and 3) is interposed between the rotating shaft portion 123b and the fitting portion 11a.

The disk-shaped shielding member 123c has an upper space portion (separation portion 104) that separates dust by the centrifugal separation force of a swirling flow described later and a lower space portion (collection) that accumulates dust in the dust collection container 11. It serves as a partition from the dust section 105). This prevents the collected dust from rising up and clogging the inner cylinder filter 122 . Moreover, since it is disc-shaped, dust contained in the cyclone airflow is not caught and can be efficiently guided to the bottom of the dust collection container 11 .

In addition, the rotation shaft portion 123b has a helical shape extending toward the bottom surface of the dust collecting portion 105 with the rotation shaft portion 123b as the center, and the upper and lower surfaces of the rotation shaft portion 123b are spirally arranged around the vertical central axis P. A plate-like spiral portion 123a (an example of a compression member) curved with a curved surface is provided. As will be described later, the spiral portion 123a collects dust in the dust container 11 when the inner cylinder 12 is rotated, and is in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the dust container 11 to resist rotation. is moved toward the bottom of the dust container 11 by the carrying action of the screw. At this time, when the helical curved surface of the compression member is assumed to be a screw, the screw is retracted by the rotation of the compression member. can be compressed.

At this time, it is preferable that the helical curved surface of the helical portion 123a is formed in the same inclination direction as the whirling airflow indicated by the arrow A in FIG. By rotating the helical portion 123a in the direction opposite to the turning direction indicated by the arrow A in FIG. will do.

However, the helical curved surface of the helical portion 123 a can be inclined in the direction opposite to the direction of inclination of the airflow swirling along the inner peripheral surface of the dust container 11 . At this time, the rotation direction of the helical portion 123a is the same as the whirling direction of the whirling airflow indicated by arrow A in FIG.

Further, when the inner cylinder 12 is rotated, the dust that has moved to the bottom of the dust container 11 is moved between the spiral portion 123a and the bottom surface of the dust container 11 due to friction with the bottom of the dust container 11. The dust is pushed outward from the center of the rotation shaft and compressed by the rotation. With such a configuration, the dust is tightly compressed by the rotation, so that the amount of dust that can be accumulated in the dust container 11 can be increased. Therefore, for example, the size of the dust collection container 11 can be reduced. In addition, since the tightly compressed dust does not dissolve easily, there is no problem of scattering in the air when the dust is taken out, and the dust can be disposed of as it is as it is.

Further, part of the dust compressed by the spiral portion 123a due to the rotation of the spiral rotary compression portion 123 as described above includes long hair and the like, and thus entangles the spiral portion 123a. Therefore, even if the bottom cover 310 is opened as described above and the dust is to be discharged from the opening 330 formed in the bottom of the dust collecting container 11, the dust is not easily discharged to the outside. In addition, if the dust is vigorously released, the fine dust contained in the dust will be scattered in the air and the room will be dirty. Therefore, there is a need for a mechanism that slowly discharges dust to the outside with a simple operation. A mechanism provided for this purpose for slowly releasing dust to the outside with a simple operation will be described below.

A handle 314 is provided on the upper surface of the lid portion 16 forming the upper portion of the housing 10 . The handle 314 is an example of an operating member that can be operated from the outside.

The handle 314 is rotatable around the vertical axis independently of the upper housing 312 . An upper handle built-in gear 316 forming a slope is integrally built inside the handle 314, and the upper handle built-in gear 316 and a lower handle built-in gear 318 which also form a slope are sloped in the same direction. facing each other. As described above, since the gear 316 with built-in handle and the gear 318 with built-in handle are sloped surfaces, when the gear with built-in handle 316 on the upper side rotates, the gear with built-in handle 318 on the lower side is pushed downward by the sloped surface. Moving. Therefore, by rotating the handle 314 , the upper handle built-in gear 316 meshes with the lower side handle built-in gear 318 , and the rotation of the handle 314 is transmitted to the lower side handle built-in gear 318 .

The lower side handle built-in gear 318 is formed on the upper surface of the intermediate body 320, and the clutch gear 322 is formed on the lower side of the intermediate body 320. Therefore, when the lower side handle built-in gear 318 moves downward, the intermediate body 318 rotates. Clutch gear 322 will also move downward with body 320 .

Below the intermediate body 320, a clutch receiving portion 326 is integrally fixed to the filter dust removing member 132 via a gap (not shown). The gear 322 and the clutch receiving portion 326 are engaged with each other, and the rotation of the handle 314 is transmitted to the filter dust removing member 132 via the clutch mechanism composed of the clutch gear 322 and the clutch receiving portion 326, and is connected to the filter dust removing member 132. Then, the inner cylinder 12 and the helical rotary compression member 123 integrally connected thereto rotate, and the helical portion 123a rotates. As a result, the dust entangled in the spiral portion 123a is slowly carried toward the tip of the spiral portion 123a by the conveying action of the screw of the spiral portion 123a, and is removed from the bottom opening of the dust collection container 11 opened by opening the bottom cover 310. released to the outside.

As the handle 314 is rotated by the operator in this way, the dust is slowly released to the outside, so that fine dust contained in the dust does not rise or scatter, and the room is not contaminated with dust. never

When the handle 314 is released, the intermediate pair 320 is pushed up by a spring (not shown) built in the spring accommodating portion 328, and the clutch mechanism composed of the clutch gear 322 and the clutch receiving portion 326 is released. As a result, the clutch mechanism is in the released state unless the handle 314 is operated. Therefore, even if the filter dust removing member 132 is rotated by the dust removing drive motor 151, the handle 314 does not rotate, which ensures safety.

On the other hand, the air filtered by the inner cylinder filter 122 of the inner cylinder 12 is led to the upper filter unit 13 through the inner cylinder 12 .

Here, the upper filter unit 13 will be described with reference to FIG. 5 in addition to FIGS. Here, FIG. 5(a) is a perspective view of the lid portion 16 viewed from below, and FIG. 5(b) is a perspective view of the upper filter unit 13 viewed from above.

The upper filter unit 13 includes a HEPA filter (High Efficiency Particulate Air Filter) 131, a filter dust removing member 132, an inclined dust removing member 134, and the like.

The HEPA filter 131 is a kind of air filter that filters the air exhausted from the inner cylinder 12 and flowing through the exhaust path 112 .

The HEPA filter 131 is composed of a set of a plurality of filters that are annularly arranged around the vertical central axis P and fixed. In addition, each of the plurality of filters is fixed to a framework as shown in FIG. 5(b), for example. Also, the plurality of filters included in the HEPA filter 131 are arranged in a pleated shape that repeats unevenness in a substantially horizontal direction. Thereby, the filter area of the HEPA filter 131 is sufficiently secured. An annular seal member 162 is provided between the lower end of the HEPA filter 131 and the housing 10 . This prevents air leakage between the HEPA filter 131 and the housing 10 .

2 and 3, a hollow portion 131a is formed in the center of the HEPA filter 131, into which a connecting portion 133 of a filter dust removing member 132, which will be described later, is inserted. A support portion 131b that rotatably supports the connecting portion 133 is provided in the hollow portion 131a.

As described above, in the cyclone dust collector Y, the air is filtered in two stages, the inner tube filter 122 and the HEPA filter 131, thereby enhancing the dust collecting power.

However, if the HEPA filter 131 is clogged with dust accumulated thereon, air passage resistance increases. As a result, the load on the electric blower (not shown) is increased, and there is a risk that the dust suction power will be reduced. Therefore, the upper filter unit 13 is provided with the filter dust removing member 132 for removing dust adhering to the HEPA filter 131 .

The filter dust removing member 132 is rotatably supported by the support portion 131b provided at the central portion of the HEPA filter 131. As shown in FIG. Specifically, the filter dust removing member 132 is provided with a connection member 133 that is rotatably supported by the support portion 131b.

Further, the inclined dust removing member 134 is screwed into a screw hole 133a provided in the connecting portion 133 with a screw 133b. Accordingly, the filter dust removing member 132 and the inclined dust removing member 134 are connected so as to be rotatable together. An annular seal member 163 is provided between the inclined dust removing member 134 and the HEPA filter 131 to fill the gap. Accordingly, air leakage between the inclined dust removing member 134 and the HEPA filter 131 is prevented.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5A, the filter dust removing member 132 has three contact portions 132a arranged at predetermined intervals along the HEPA filter 131 so as to contact the upper end portion of the HEPA filter 131. have. The contact portion 132a is an elastic member in the form of a leaf spring. The contact portion 132a is not limited to the leaf spring-like elastic member. Also, the number of the contact portions 132a may be one or more.

A gear 132b is formed on the outer periphery of the filter dust removing member 132. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, the gear 132b is meshed with a gear 15a provided on the rotating shaft of a dust removal drive motor 151 provided in the dust removal drive mechanism 15 provided in the cyclone dust collector Y. As shown in FIG.

8, the dust removal drive mechanism 15 has a dust removal drive motor 151 (an example of a drive motor) provided on the cleaner main body 1 side. In the dust removal drive mechanism 15, the rotational force of the dust removal drive motor 151 is transmitted to the gear 15a. The rotational force of the gear 15a of the dust removing drive mechanism 15 is transmitted to the gear 132b. As a result, the filter dust removing member 132 is rotated.

As described above, the rotation of the filter dust removing member 132 is transmitted to the inclined dust removing member 134, and the inner cylinder 12 rotating integrally with the inclined dust removing member 134 and the spiral rotary compression portion 123 integral with the inner cylinder 12 rotate. It rotates around the vertical central axis P.

In this embodiment, the case where the filter dust removing member 132 is rotated by the dust removing drive motor will be described as an example. It is also conceivable as another embodiment to provide a mechanism that can be turned on.

Furthermore, it is naturally conceivable to rotate the helical rotary compression section 123 by a motor other than the dust removal drive motor. If the dust removal of the upper filter unit 13 and the rotation of the helical rotary compression part 123 are desired to be performed separately, it is conceivable to adopt such a separate drive.

When the filter dust removing member 132 is rotated, each of the three contact portions 132a provided on the filter dust removing member 132 intermittently collides with the pleated HEPA filter 131 to give vibration. Therefore, the dust adhering to the HEPA filter 131 is knocked off by the vibration given by the filter dust removing member 132 . The timing at which the dust removal drive motor (not shown) is operated is preferably before the dust collection operation of the electric vacuum cleaner X is started or after it is finished, for example. As a result, dust can be effectively removed from the HEPA filter 131 in a state in which there is no downstream airflow in the HEPA filter 131 due to the intake air by the electric blower.

Further, as described above, the dust receiving portion 14 rotatably supports the inner cylinder 12 . Specifically, at the lower end of the edge of the opening 14a of the dust receiving portion 14, there is provided the annular support portion 14c that fits into the annular recess 12a provided at the upper end of the inner cylinder 12. . Thereby, the inner cylinder 12 is suspended by the dust receiving portion 14 in a rotatable state.

Next, the structure of the spiral rotary compression portion 123 will be described in more detail.

As described above, the cyclone dust collector Y is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and includes the upper filter unit 13 arranged at the upper portion and the dust collection container 11 arranged at the lower portion.

A disk-shaped shielding member 123c, which is a boundary portion between the separation portion 104 and the dust collection portion 105, is integrally joined to the lower end of the inner cylinder 12 housed in the dust collection container 11. As shown in FIG. The disk-shaped shielding member 123c and the lower spiral portion 123a have substantially the same outer diameter and are smaller than the inner diameter of the separating portion 104. A clearance 106 (FIG. 2) exists. The clearance 106 allows even dust having a certain volume to move smoothly when moving the dust separated in the separation unit 104 to the dust collection unit 105, and once moved to the dust collection unit 105 This is a suitable value to prevent clogging of the inner cylinder filter 122 by lifting accumulated dust. According to experiments, it was found that about 13 mm is desirable.

Also, the disk-shaped shielding member 123c has a predetermined thickness in the height direction. The thickness of the disk-shaped shielding member 123c in the height direction affects the centrifugal separation performance of the separating section 104, and in this embodiment, it is set to about 13 mm, which is determined by experiment.

The helical portion 123a of the helical rotary compression portion 123 is formed in a curved plate shape sandwiched between the upper and lower helical curved surfaces as described above. Centering on the extending rotating shaft portion 123b, the bottom surface of the dust collecting container 11 extends from the starting end (connecting portion with the disc-shaped shielding member 123c) to the terminal end (lower end) for one turn or more around the rotating shaft portion 123b. formed to wrap around. A desirable number for the winding angle is 1.6 rounds. Due to such winding, the spiral portion 123 a forms a spiral swirling surface that slopes downward along the direction of rotation of the cyclone swirling airflow along the inner peripheral surface of the dust collection container 11 .

A gap (clearance) 108 (see FIG. 2) is interposed between the end (lower end) of the spiral portion 123a of the spiral rotary compression portion 123 and the bottom surface of the bottom lid 310. As shown in FIG. As a result, the amount of dust that can be pushed out and compressed from the center of the rotation shaft can be greatly increased.

In addition, the width of the gap 108 is such that it is pressed against the bottom portion of the dust collecting portion 105, and the compressed dust does not clog between the end of the spiral portion and the bottom portion of the dust collecting portion 105, causing damage or clogging with foreign matter. is a value that can prevent In this embodiment, the width of the gap 108 is about 6 to 13 mm, which is obtained by an experiment using 10 g of DMT standard dust TYPE8 based on the IEC standard as test dust.

The operation of the vacuum cleaner configured as described above will be described below.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the airflow entering the separation portion 104 of the dust collection container 11 from the air inlet 111a of the connection portion 111 formed in the circumferential direction of the separation portion 104 flows into the cylindrical shape of the separation portion 104. It turns at high speed along the inner peripheral surface. Centrifugal force acts on the relatively large dust particles in the swirling air current to separate them from the air current and press them against the inner wall of the dust container 11 . As shown in FIG. 2, since the air outlet 121 is located at the bottom, the airflow then enters the dust collecting section 105 while swirling. After reaching the bottom surface of the dust collecting section 105, the swirling airflow (main stream) turns upward.

6 is caught (trapped) in the space 112a between the terminal end (lower end) of the spiral portion 123a and the bottom surface of the dust collection container 11. They are accumulated and stacked in order from the lower side along the curved surface of the spiral shape of the spiral portion 123a. Therefore, it is possible to further prevent an increase in pressure loss.

Furthermore, since the rotating direction of the airflow swirling in the gap 107 around the helical rotary compression section 123 and the inclination direction of the helical portion 123a of the helical rotary compression section 123 are the same, the accumulated and stacked dust is removed by the airflow. is also slightly compressed by As a result, the volume of accumulated and stacked dust is reduced, and more efficient dust collection can be achieved.

Next, the action of accumulation and stacking of dust by airflow will be described. As described above, the sucked dust is separated in the separation section 104 and guided to the dust collection section 105 through the gap 106 (FIG. 2). In the dust collecting portion 105 , dust passes through the gap 107 and is accumulated by being dammed (trapped) by the gap 108 . This accumulation is layered on top of already accumulated dust each time the spiral rotary compression section 123 is rotated. Therefore, in this dust collecting device, since the layers grow evenly along the spiral portion 123a, there is no uneven accumulation in the dust collecting portion 105, and compared with a dust collecting portion of the same volume, As a result, the dust collection capacity is dramatically improved.

Moreover, the spiral portion 123a can be formed in a spiral shape having a directivity that slopes downward along the rotation direction of the cyclone whirling airflow. In this case, the compression effect of the cyclone airflow is also obtained. This further improves the dust collection capacity.

Next, the operation of rotational compression will be specifically described.

For example, when the drive of the blower drive motor is stopped, the airflow stops swirling. When the dust removal drive mechanism 15 is driven after it is confirmed that the blower drive motor is stopped, the inner cylinder 12, the exhaust port 121, the disk-shaped shielding member 123c, the helical rotary compression section 123, and the rotary shaft section are operated as described above. 123b are integrally rotated about the vertical central axis P in the direction of arrow D in FIG. 8 (counterclockwise when viewed from above). In this manner, the rotation by the dust removal drive mechanism 15 is transmitted to the rotation shaft portion 123b via the first rotation axis 152 and the second rotation axis 153 shown in FIG.

When the helical rotary compression part 123 rotates in this manner, a thrust force is generated in the rotation axis direction (the vertically downward direction indicated by the arrow E in FIG. 9) due to the screw principle. By this thrust, the dust 200 in FIG. 9 accumulated in the dust collecting portion 105 is pushed out in the direction of the rotation axis, and pressed against the bottom surface of the dust collection container 11 to be compressed in the direction of the rotation axis.

In addition, since the helical rotary compression section 123 rotates to perform the compression operation, the rotation of the helical rotary compression section 123 generates an outward force on the dust from the axis rotation center. Therefore, dust tends not to adhere to the cylindrical rotating shaft portion 123b portion, and maintainability is dramatically improved. Furthermore, even if dust adheres to the spiral rotary compression section 123, the rotation of the spiral rotary compression section 123 pushes and compresses the dust downward, and the dust is peeled off. Thus, the maintainability of the helical rotary compression section 123 is very high.

Furthermore, as described above, since the dust after compression is compacted and integrated into a donut shape, it is possible to prevent the dust from scattering or spilling when throwing away the dust, so that the dust can be thrown away efficiently. By rotating the spiral rotary compression part 123 by a driving means such as a motor, the spiral rotary compression part 123 can be automatically rotated while the air blowing drive motor is driving (during suction). By this operation, the dust can be collected and accumulated, and at the same time, the dust can be compressed. This allows more efficient compression, further enhancing the above effects. In addition, even if a large amount of dust is sucked at once, it can be compressed, so cleaning can be performed continuously for a long time.

Furthermore, by intermittently rotating the helical rotary compression part 123 while the air blow driving motor is being driven (during suction), the dust can be collected and compressed at the same time, and the helical rotary compression part 123 can be rotated. Since it does not continue to drive for a long time, it is possible to prevent an increase in power consumption and extend the life of the product along with the life of the drive mechanism. Furthermore, the noise generated when the compressor drive mechanism is driven can be reduced, and a quieter and easier-to-use cyclone dust collector can be obtained.

[Additional notes]
An invention according to one aspect of the present invention is a cyclone dust collector provided in a vacuum cleaner for centrifugally separating dust from sucked air. This cyclone dust collector includes a dust collection container having an inlet for introducing dust-laden air and swirling along the inner peripheral surface, collecting dust separated by the swirling, and a central portion of the dust collection container. It has an inner cylinder formed with an inner cylinder exhaust port for exhausting air from. The lower portion of the inner cylinder extends to a bottom lid that is openable and closable at the bottom of the dust container. Further, an upper filter is arranged above the inner cylinder to filter the air exhausted from the inner cylinder, and is attached to the upper part of the exhaust side passing upward through the upper filter, and removes dust by vibrating the upper filter. and a lid covering the upper part of the upper filter unit and forming a path for discharging air toward the main body of the cleaner. As a result, the air after dust separation is added above the inner cylinder and the upper filter, and is exhausted to the main body of the cleaner through the lid portion.

Further, the bottom cover is provided with a protruding portion into which the lower part of the inner cylinder protruding upward is inserted, and an annular sealing member is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the protruding portion.

With the above configuration, it is possible to prevent air from leaking between the inner cylinder and the dust collection container at the bottom where dust is collected.

Further, according to the present invention, the inner cylinder may be provided with an inner cylinder filter for filtering air passing therethrough. As a result, even fine dust can be collected.

In addition, the cyclone dust collector of the present invention can be detachably attached to the main body of the cleaner, so that the collected dust can be easily discarded.

In addition, a cyclone separation device according to an aspect of the present disclosure is a cyclone separation device that is provided in a vacuum cleaner and centrifugally separates dust from sucked air, and has a substantially cylindrical inner peripheral surface that separates the sucked air. A dust collection container that collects the dust centrifugally separated by swirling along the substantially cylindrical inner peripheral surface, and an interior that is provided substantially at the center of the dust collection container and exhausts air after centrifugation to the outside. a cylinder, a shielding member that divides the dust collection container into a separation section for separating dust by a whirling air current and a dust collection section, and a plate-like member provided in the dust collection section, wherein the dust collection container and The air current is allowed to pass through the gap between the shielding member and guides the dust to the dust collecting portion, and the air current is allowed to pass through the gap between the dust collecting container and the plate-like member to form the bottom portion of the dust collecting container. The dust collected at the bottom of the dust collection section is compressed by guiding the airflow toward the dust collection section.

10 ... housing (separation device main body)
11 ... dust collection container (collection container)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12... Inner cylinder 13... Upper filter unit 14... Dust receiving part 104... Separating part 105... Dust collecting part 106... Gap (clearance)
123... Spiral rotation compression part 123a... Spiral part (compression part)
123b... Rotating shaft part 123c... Disk-shaped shielding member 123d... Start end part 200, 201... Dust 310... Bottom lid 111a... Inlet 112a... Arrow (exhaust path)
312 ... Upper housing 314 ... Handle 316 ... Gear with built-in upper handle 318 ... Gear with built-in lower side handle 319 ... Gap 320 ... Intermediate body 322 ... Clutch gear 324 ... Gap 326 ... Clutch receiving part

Claims (3)

In a cyclone separation device provided in a vacuum cleaner and centrifuging dust from the sucked air,
a dust collection container for collecting the dust centrifugally separated by swirling the sucked air along the inner peripheral surface;
an inner cylinder provided in the dust collection container;
a shaft provided at the bottom of the inner cylinder;
Below the inner cylinder, it is formed so as to protrude from the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion, and is inclined toward the bottom of the dust collection container along the direction of rotation of the whirling airflow in the dust collection container. a plate-shaped member including a spiral inclined surface,
the plate-like member has an outer edge separated from the inner peripheral surface of the dust collection container,
The plate-shaped member has both upper and lower surfaces spirally formed,
Further, a shielding member is provided on the shaft portion and partitions the dust container into a separating portion for separating dust by a whirling air current and a dust collecting portion,
The plate-shaped member is provided in the dust collecting section,
The airflow is allowed to pass through the gap between the dust collection container and the shielding member to guide the dust to the dust collecting portion, and the airflow is allowed to pass through the gap between the dust collection container and the plate-shaped member to directing the airflow towards the bottom of the dust collection container,
Cyclone separator. A gap is formed between the bottom of the dust collection container and the end of the plate member closest to the bottom,
Cyclonic separator according to claim 1. The plate-shaped member is formed so as to wrap around the shaft,
Cyclone separator according to claim 1 or 2.

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