JPH04117930A - Vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the efficiency and the operability of cleaning by providing a spherical wheel in front of the advance direction, and providing a driving shaft which comes into contact therewith, and also, is connected to a motor in parallel to the center line in the advance direction, contact detectors on the left and the right of the front, and a timer circuit. CONSTITUTION:As for a spherical wheel 4, its rotating direction is free, and a driving shaft 5 comes into contact therewith. In contact detectors 6a, 6b of the right side and the left side, a tape switch is placed. By a contact detecting circuits 7a, 7b of the right side and the left side, a signal from the contact detector is received and whether a main body 1 is against an obstacle or not is decided. Subsequently, by a signal from the circuit concerned, the rotating direction of a motor 5 is determined by a forward/backward rotation circuit 8 and the motor 5 is rotated. The driving shaft 5 is in parallel to the running direction shaft of the main body, therefore, when a rotation is transferred to the spherical wheel, the rotating direction of the wheel becomes the direction for moving the front part of the main body to the left and the right. When the contact detector is separated from an obstacle, its tape switch is opened, but even if the contact detector is separated from the obstacle, the motor 5 is operated for a prescribed time by a timer circuit 9.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Industrial applications The present invention relates to vacuum cleaners for industrial and domestic use.

Conventional Technology Traditionally, vacuum cleaners have been equipped with a blower motor and a dust collector.The hose extends from the main body of the vacuum cleaner, and a suction device attached to the end of the hose is used to clean the floor while using the hose. To clean while moving the main body of a vacuum cleaner, which is connected to a hose, by moving it around.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, with the above-mentioned conventional configuration, when cleaning a place with many obstacles such as furniture, the front part of the vacuum cleaner gets caught on the obstacle, and the hose must be operated each time to clean the area. This has the problem of poor cleaning efficiency and operability since the main body of the vacuum cleaner must be moved directly by hand after being separated from obstacles.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum cleaner whose main body does not get caught on obstacles and has good cleaning efficiency and operability.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve this object, the vacuum cleaner of the present invention includes a spherical wheel provided at the front in the direction of travel, a spherical wheel in contact with the spherical wheel,
and a drive shaft disposed parallel to the center line in the traveling direction, an electric motor connected to the drive shaft, and contact detectors each having a length of 3 pages provided on the left and right sides of the front part in the traveling direction, It has a configuration including a timer circuit that operates for a predetermined period of time.

With this configuration, when the vacuum cleaner body hits an obstacle, the contact detector determines whether it is left or right, rotates the spherical wheels, and moves the front part of the vacuum cleaner body left or right. The timer circuit operates the electric motor for a predetermined period of time even after the contact detector no longer detects contact, so that the front part of the cleaner body is completely separated from the obstacle.

EXAMPLE An example of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the left wheel 2a of the vacuum cleaner main body 1 (hereinafter referred to as the main body) is equipped with a blower motor and a dust collector.
The left wheel 2b receives the weight and rotates passively, improving the mobility of the main body 1. 3 indicates an electric motor.

The spherical wheels 4 bear the weight of the front part of the main body 1 and can rotate freely.

A drive shaft 5 is in contact with the spherical wheel 4. Right side contact detector 6
A tape switch is arranged between the contact detector a and the left contact detector 6b. Right side contact detection circuit 7a and left side contact detection circuit 7
At step b, it is determined whether the main body 1 has hit an obstacle by receiving signals from the contact detectors 6a and 6b, respectively.

The forward/reverse circuit 8 is activated by signals from the contact detection circuits 7a and 7b.
The rotation direction of the electric motor 3 is determined and the electric motor 3 is rotated.

The timer circuit 9 is a contact detector 6a or a contact detector 6b.
This is to continue rotating the electric motor 3 for a predetermined period of time from when an obstacle is detected and the obstacle is no longer detected.

The support body 10 supports the spherical wheel 4 by receiving it by friction. The spherical wheel 4 is made of hard urethane rubber, the support body 10 is made of Teflon (trademark of DuPont), and the surface of the drive shaft 5 is coated with soft urethane rubber. Ho 711
A floor suction device or the like is provided at the tip of the hose 11, and the user can move the main body 1 by pulling the hose 11. 12 indicates the floor surface.

The operation of the vacuum cleaner constructed as described above will be explained in less than 5 pages. When an obstacle comes into contact with the right side contact detector 6a of the main body 1 of the stain cleaner, the circuit of the tape switch is closed, and the information is transmitted to the right side contact detection circuit 7d, and the forward/reverse circuit 8 rotates the electric motor 3. The rotation of the electric motor 3 is transmitted from the drive shaft 5 to the spherical wheels 4 by frictional force. Since the drive shaft 5 is parallel to the running direction axis of the main body 1, when the rotation is transmitted to the spherical wheel 4, the direction of rotation of the spherical wheel 4 is a direction that moves the front part of the main body 1 from side to side.

Therefore, the front part of the main body 1 is swung to the left and the right side contact detector 6
When a moves away from the obstacle, its tape switch opens. However, even if the right contact detector 6a moves away from the obstacle, this does not mean that the entire right side of the main body 1 has avoided the obstacle. After operating step 3, the series of operations is stopped.

According to this embodiment, as described in "2" below, there is a contact detector.

The contact detection circuit and the forward/reverse circuit operate to rotate the spherical wheel using the electric motor, so that when an obstacle hits the front of the vacuum cleaner's body, the front of the vacuum cleaner's body is rotated. By shaking left and right, you can avoid the front part of the vacuum cleaner's body from obstacles. Furthermore, since a timer circuit is provided, even after the contact detector has moved away from the obstacle, the electric motor can be operated for a predetermined period of time to completely move the main body of the vacuum cleaner away from the obstacle.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the description of the embodiments above, the present invention has a spherical wheel at the front of the vacuum cleaner body in the direction of travel, and a wheel that is in contact with the spherical wheel and parallel to the center line of the main body in the direction of travel. A drive shaft disposed in the main body, an electric motor connected to the drive shaft, and contact detectors respectively provided on the left and right sides of the front part of the main body, and a timer circuit for operating the electric motor for a predetermined period of time. It is possible to realize an excellent vacuum cleaner in which the front part of the vacuum cleaner body can be completely cleared from obstacles and cleaning efficiency and operability can be improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing the structure of a vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a circuit diagram showing the control system, and Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the structure of the spherical wheel. It is. 1...Vacuum cleaner body, 3...Electric motor, 4...
Spherical wheel, 5... Drive shaft, 6a - Right side contact detector, 6b - Left side contact detector, 9... Timer circuit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A spherical wheel provided at the front of the main body of the vacuum cleaner in the direction of movement; a drive shaft disposed in contact with the spherical wheel and parallel to a center line in the direction of movement of the main body of the vacuum cleaner; and a drive shaft connected to the drive shaft. What is claimed is: 1. A vacuum cleaner comprising: an electric motor; and a timer circuit, which has contact detectors provided on the left and right sides of the front part of the vacuum cleaner body, respectively, and operates the electric motor for a predetermined period of time.