JPH04176423A - Vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce an operational force on going ahead and increase workability without decrease of cleaning capacity due to a suction force on retreating, by controlling the suction force in accordance with the reciprocating movement of a floor nozzle. CONSTITUTION:In accordance with going ahead of a floor nozzle 7, the angle made by a pipe 5 against a floor face to be cleaned is lessened. At the same time, a joint 11 is rotated also and a photocoupler is confronted at a reflecting part and then a photo-transister is put on. And hence, a signal to advance the floor nozzle is output from a detection circuit 12. A control circuit 15 lessens current to an electric fan 1 through an electric current controller 14. In this way, the input of the fan 1 is constricted to regulate the suction force. Next, when the floor nozzle 7 is retreated, the angle made by the pipe 5 against the floor face is increased and the joint 11 is rotated counter-clock-wisely and the confronting relationship of the reflecting part and the photocoupler is released to put off the photo-transister. And hence, the detection circuit 12 does not output signals and the control circuit 25 returns the current to the electric fan 1 to the original figure through the electric controller 14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner in which input to an electric blower is automatically controlled depending on the operating state of the vacuum cleaner.

Conventional technology Conventional vacuum cleaners either manually control the input to the electric blower according to the cleaning conditions, or use sensors to detect differences in floor surfaces and adjust the electric blower to suit each floor surface. There was something that automatically set the input. However, under the same cleaning conditions and floor surface, the input to the electric blower was constant.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention As is well known, in actual use of a vacuum cleaner, the floor nozzle is generally moved back and forth. When moving forward, the operating force acts to press the floor nozzle against the surface to be cleaned, and the suction force against the surface to be cleaned increases as the floor nozzle takes in air. Further, when retracting, a pulling force, that is, an operating force acts to lift the floor nozzle above the surface to be cleaned.

Therefore, as described above, if the input to the electric blower is constant under the same cleaning conditions and floor surface, the operating force becomes unbalanced during the reciprocating movement of the floor nozzle, making it inconvenient to use.

Furthermore, during cleaning work, when cleaning chairs and other small items, the floor nozzle is often left on the surface to be cleaned, and an electric blower is left running. However, in this state, the vacuum cleaner is essentially running idle, leading to wasted power.

The present invention solves these conventional problems and aims to provide a vacuum cleaner with improved operability and energy saving.

ll! Means for Solving Problem i In order to achieve the above object, the first means of the present invention is to provide a vacuum cleaner body having an electric blower, a dust collection unit, etc. inside, and a dust suction device on the suction side of the vacuum cleaner body. A floor nozzle connected through a passage, a detection circuit that detects the advancement or retreat of the floor nozzle, and a control circuit that receives an output from the detection circuit and reduces the input of the electric blower when the floor nozzle moves forward. Be equipped. The detection circuit for detecting the forward and backward movement of the floor nozzle may be one in which the floor nozzle is connected to the dust suction passage so as to be able to move up and down, and the angle of the dust suction passage with respect to the surface to be cleaned is detected, or one that detects the angle of the dust suction passage with respect to the surface to be cleaned. The dust suction passage is connected to the floor nozzle at a position above the floor nozzle, and the relative positional relationship between the floor nozzle and the dust suction passage is detected. - The second means includes a vacuum cleaner body that has an electric blower and a dust collection section inside, a floor nozzle connected to the suction side of the vacuum cleaner body via a dust suction passage, and a floor nozzle connected to the suction side of the vacuum cleaner body through a dust suction passage. A detection circuit that detects forward movement and backward movement, and a control circuit that substantially cuts off input to the electric blower if there is no pressure change from this detection circuit for a predetermined period of time are provided.

Function In the first means of the present invention, in which the detection circuit detects the angle of the dust suction passage with respect to the surface to be cleaned, the angle becomes smaller during forward movement. This decrease in angle is electrically sensed, and upon receiving the output signal, a control circuit reduces the input to the electric blower.

In addition, in the case where the dust suction passage is connected to the floor nozzle with some operational play, the operational play is reduced when moving forward. This is detected electrically and the output signal is received to control ml! l
duct reduces the power input of the electric blower.

In the second means, the control circuit substantially cuts off input to the electric blower if there is no movement of the floor nozzle for a predetermined period of time.

Example Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In FIGS. 1 to 4, a floor nozzle 7 is connected to the suction side of the vacuum cleaner main body 3, which has an electric blower 1, a dust collecting section 2, etc., through a dust suction passage 6 consisting of a hose 4 and a pipe 5. are connected so that they can be raised or lowered freely.

The floor nozzle 7 includes an agitator 8 and an electric motor 9 for driving it.
, which are connected by a belt 10. Further, in order to allow the floor nozzle 7 to be raised and lowered, a joint 11 that is connected to the pipe 5 and is rotatable in the vertical direction is provided at the rear of the floor nozzle 7. A detection circuit H12 for electrically detecting the rotation angle of the joint 11 is provided internally. The hose 4 and pipe 5 constituting the dust suction passage 6 include a power supply conductor for supplying power from the vacuum cleaner body 3 to the drive motor 9 of the floor nozzle 7, and an output signal line connected from the detection circuit 12. It is buried. Reference numeral 13 denotes a control section disposed inside the vacuum cleaner main body 1, and its specific configuration is as shown in FIG.

That is, 14 is a current control means connected in series to the electric blower 1, which increases or decreases the current flowing to the electric blower 1 according to the output of the control circuit 15 which operates in response to the detection result of the detection circuit 12.

One specific example of the detection circuit 12 may be one using a reflective phytocoupler. That is, a reflective part is provided in a predetermined angular range on the side surface of the joint 11, and a photo-force puller is provided opposite to this.

More specifically, when moving the floor nozzle 7 forward, the angle formed between the vibrator 5 and the floor nozzle 7, in other words, the angle of the vibrator 5 with respect to the surface to be cleaned gradually becomes smaller, and along with this, the joint 11 also becomes smaller. Figure 3 Rotates clockwise. Fitting 1
When the photocoupler 1 is rotated by a predetermined angle, the photocoupler faces the reflective part and the phototransistor is turned on.

In the above configuration, when moving the floor nozzle 7 forward during cleaning work, the worker extends his arm and pushes the vibrator 5. A component of this pushing force moves the floor nozzle 7 forward. As the floor nozzle 7 moves forward, the angle formed by the vibrator 5 with respect to the surface to be cleaned becomes smaller. At the same time, the joint 11 also
Rotate clockwise. When the joint 11 is rotated by a predetermined angle, the photocoupler faces the reflective part and the phototransistor is turned on.

Therefore, the detection circuit 12 issues a signal for advancing the floor nozzle, and in response to this signal, the control circuit 15 reduces the current to the electric blower 1 via the current control means 14.

In this way, since the input to the electric blower 1 is narrowed down and the suction force is regulated, the suction force of the floor nozzle 7 against the surface to be cleaned is also reduced, and the floor nozzle 7 is pressed against the surface to be cleaned via the vibrator 5. However, the operating force will not increase significantly. Of course, the input reduction of the electric blower 1 is set within a range that does not substantially affect the cleaning performance.

Next, when the floor nozzle 7 is moved backward, a pulling force is applied to the vibrator 5, and the pressing force of the floor nozzle 7 against the surface to be cleaned is no longer exerted. In this case, the angle formed by the vibrator 5 with respect to the surface to be cleaned increases, and the joint 11 also rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 3. When the joint 11 is rotated by a predetermined angle, the facing relationship between the reflection section and the photocoupler is canceled, and the phototransistor is turned off.

Therefore, since the signal from the detection circuit 12 disappears,
The control circuit 15 controls the electric blower 1 via the current control means 14.
Return the current to its original value.

Therefore, when the floor nozzle 7 is retracted, the input to the electric blower 1 is substantially increased.

In the above embodiment, a reflective photocoupler is used as the detection circuit 12, but it is also possible to rotatably connect the joint 11 to the floor nozzle 7 with some operational play. Circuit 1 detects relative positional relationship with joint 11
It is also conceivable to configure the sensor so that the sensor 2 can be detected, and furthermore, it is also possible to use a small-sized generator.

By the way, during normal cleaning work, since the floor nozzle 7 is moved back and forth, the detection circuit 12 emits a sound at a predetermined period.

However, if the worker leaves the vacuum cleaner running and cleans up chairs, small items, etc., the output of the detection circuit 12 will not change for a predetermined period of time. However, if a means is added to the control circuit 15 to substantially cut off the input to the electric blower 1 via the current control means 14 if the output of the detection circuit 12 does not change for a predetermined period of time, the vacuum cleaner can be used when work is interrupted. It is possible to automatically stop the operation of the system, or bring it into a state close to that, thereby eliminating unnecessary power consumption.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, since the suction force is controlled as the floor nozzle reciprocates, it is possible to reduce the operating force when moving forward, which was a problem in the past, and greatly improve usability. It is something that can be improved. Furthermore, since a predetermined suction force is applied when reversing, there is no overall deterioration in cleaning performance.

Furthermore, by effectively cutting off the input to the electric blower if there is no change in power from the detection circuit for a predetermined period of time, it is possible to virtually stop the operation of the vacuum cleaner when work is interrupted, which is extremely useful in terms of energy conservation. It is.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an electric circuit diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an overall side view of the vacuum cleaner, Fig. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the floor nozzle, and Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the floor nozzle.
The figure is a cross-sectional view of the same. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Electric blower, 2... Dust collection part, 3... Vacuum cleaner body, 6... Dust suction passage, 7... Floor nozzle, 1
2...Detection circuit, 15...Control circuit, 13...Input fluctuation detection circuit, 14...Rotation switching control circuit. Agent's name: Patent attorney Kojiharu Akira 1 Goriki \2 people -1) Thru 3rd
Figure 7

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) A vacuum cleaner body that has an electric blower, a dust collection unit, etc. inside, a floor nozzle connected to the suction side of the vacuum cleaner body via a dust suction passage, and detects the forward movement and retreat of the floor nozzle. and a control circuit that receives the output from the detection circuit and reduces the input of the electric blower when the floor nozzle moves forward. (2) The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the floor nozzle is connected to the dust suction passage so as to be vertically movable, and the detection circuit detects the angle of the dust suction passage with respect to the surface to be cleaned. (3) The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the dust suction passage is connected to the floor nozzle with an operational play, and the detection circuit detects the relative positional relationship between the floor nozzle and the dust suction passage. (4) A vacuum cleaner body that has an electric blower, a dust collection unit, etc. inside, a floor nozzle connected to the suction side of the vacuum cleaner body via a dust suction passage, and detects the forward movement and retreat of the floor nozzle. What is claimed is: 1. A vacuum cleaner comprising: a detection circuit that detects a change in output from the detection circuit; and a control circuit that substantially cuts off input to an electric blower if there is no change in output from the detection circuit for a predetermined period of time.