JPH0549576A - Dirt detector for electric cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a dirt detecting capacity from lowering during the use by arranging a light emitting section and a photodetecting section as opposed to each other horizontally so as to be orthogonal to direction of an air current with a connection part of a hose and an elbow communicating with each other. CONSTITUTION:An LED 18 and a phototransistor 19 are arranged in an air suction packing 17 as opposed to each other horizontally across the width of the body 1 and is made orthogonal to the direction of an air current which passes through the hose 8 keeping the hose projecting toward the front of the body 1. As dirt passes through the parts. the dirt intercepts the light emitted from the LED 18 partially to lover an amount of light received with a phototransistor 19 and a signal is transmitted according to a change in the quantity of light. Thus, the air current sucked exceeding an average flow velocity in the elbow runs to the light emitting section and a photodetecting section thereby enabling the maintaining a proper operating condition corresponding to an intake value of the dirt.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a dust detector for an electric vacuum cleaner which detects dust passing through a ventilation path of the electric vacuum cleaner and controls the input of an electric blower.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the structure of this type of dust detection device has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-285236. As shown in FIG. 6, a connection pipe 36 of a hose 35 is detachably connected to an intake port rotating body 34 that is rotatably provided in an intake portion of a lid 33 that covers a dust collecting chamber 32 of a main body 31 from above. ing. The hose 35 is located in the dust collecting chamber 32 in the ventilation direction immediately before the connecting pipe 36 and flows in from the extension pipe side.
It has an elbow portion 37 which is changed to the inside. Further, inside the air inlet packing 38 arranged on the dust collecting chamber 32 side of the air inlet rotating body 34, an LED 39, which is a light emitting side of the dust detecting device, is provided on the outer peripheral side of the elbow portion 37 so as to face each other, and the elbow portion 37. The phototransistor 40 on the light receiving side was disposed on the inner peripheral side of the.

[0003]

In the above structure, since the hose 35 is rotatably connected to the main body 31 by the rotary inlet 34, the pulling direction of the hose 35 changes according to the operation. The speed of the airflow flowing on the surfaces of the LED 39 and the phototransistor 40 is not constant. The flow velocity in the connecting pipe 36 is large on the outer peripheral side of the elbow portion 37 and small on the inner peripheral side.
Further, in a normal use, a state in which the hose 35 is pulled forward is a general use state. Therefore, in this state, the flow velocity is the lowest on the surface of the phototransistor 40 arranged on the inner peripheral side, and conversely, on the surface side of the LED 39. Then, the flow velocity becomes the highest. Therefore, of the dust passing through the hose 35, once the cement-like dust that is apt to adhere to the inner surface of the phototransistor 40 once adheres to the surface of the phototransistor 40, natural cleaning of the surface by the suction air flow becomes insufficient. , LE
There is a drawback that the amount of incident light from D39 decreases and the input control becomes incomplete.

The present invention solves such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a dust detection device for a vacuum cleaner in which the dust detection capability does not deteriorate during use.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention relates to a drive chamber containing an electric blower, a dust collecting chamber for accumulating dust, and attachment / detachment / rotation to / from the main body in communication with the dust collecting chamber. An elbow that is freely connected and has a connecting part that changes the ventilation direction, a hose that has a connecting part that is connected to an extension tube or a suction tool on the other end side, and emits light that emits light between these hoses and the dust collection chamber. And a dust detection device provided with a light receiving portion for receiving the light and outputting a signal, the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion being substantially orthogonal to the ventilation direction communicating the connecting portion of the hose and the elbow. It is arranged so as to face each other.

As a second means, the attendance section and the light emitting section are arranged so as to face each other on the outer peripheral side of the elbow.

[0007]

According to this structure, the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion for detecting dust are arranged so as to face each other so as to be substantially orthogonal to the ventilation direction that communicates the connecting portion of the hose and the elbow, and the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion are rotatable with respect to the main body. In the flow velocity distribution in the elbow connected to the, the suction air flow part above the average flow velocity can be made to flow to the light emitting part and the light receiving part, dust can be prevented from adhering to both parts and input control can be kept in a predetermined state. It is a thing.

In particular, the second means makes it possible to flow the suction airflow having a high flow velocity in the outer peripheral portion of the elbow to the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion, and thus it is possible to prevent dust adhesion more reliably.

[0009]

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

1 and 4 show the construction of an electric vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 show the construction of the dust detection apparatus.
As shown in the figure, the main body 1 of the electric vacuum cleaner has a dust collection chamber 3 for accommodating a paper bag 2 and a drive chamber 5 for accommodating an electric blower 4. The paper bag 2 has a floor suction tool 6 and an extension tube 7 provided therein. A suction airflow containing dust flows in through the hose 8. A hand operation unit 9 is formed at the tip of the hose 8, and a switch 10 for starting and stopping the electric blower 4 is provided. At the other end of the hose 8, a connection pipe 13 that is rotatably attached to an intake port 12 of a lid 11 that covers an opening above the dust collection chamber 3 of the main body 1 is detachably fixed. There is. The connection pipe 13 integrally includes an elbow 14 that inclines a ventilation direction in the hose 8 and an intake air inflow direction into the intake port portion 12 by approximately 45 degrees.

An intake port rotating body 15 is provided inside the lid body 11 to fix the connecting pipe 13 of the hose 8 and to hold the hose 8 rotatably around the main body 1.

The paper bag 2 has a core 16, which is airtightly connected to the rotary inlet body 15 by the intake packing 17. Inside the air inlet packing 17, an LED 18 and a phototransistor 19 are arranged horizontally opposite to each other in the width direction of the main body 1, and the hose 8 is pulled out in the front direction of the main body 1 in the hose 8. Is almost orthogonal to the direction of the air flow passing through. When dust passes through this area, the LED
Dust partially blocks the light emitted by 18, and the amount of light received by the phototransistor 19 is reduced, and a signal is transmitted according to this change in the amount of light. The dust detection circuit 20 detects the signal output from the phototransistor 19, and the phase control circuit 21 controls the bidirectional thyristor 22 to control the voltage applied to the electric blower 4. 23 is a power supply.

Next, the operation of the electric vacuum cleaner having the above structure will be described. When dust is detected by the LED 18 and the phototransistor 19 provided on the air inlet packing 17, a signal is sent to the phase control circuit 21, and the bidirectional thyristor 22 increases the voltage applied to the electric blower 4 to cause the electric blower 4 to operate. The rotation speed increases and a strong suction force is exhibited. Then, after the dust has passed, the number of rotations of the electric blower 4 is lowered again and the original operation is resumed.

By the way, since the LED 18 and the phototransistor 19 are arranged so as to face each other in the width direction of the main body 1, when the hose 8 is pulled out in the front direction of the main body 1, the direction of the air flow passing through the inside of the hose 8 is It becomes almost orthogonal. On the other hand, when air passes through the elbow 14,
The airflow has a high velocity distribution on the outer circumference 24 side of the elbow and a slow velocity distribution on the inner circumference 25 side.
In the portion and the phototransistor 19 portion, a suction airflow having an almost average flow velocity is caused to flow, and the frequency of adherence of cement-like dust to both portions is lower than in the conventional case.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the drawing, the LED 18 and the phototransistor 19 are provided on the outer peripheral side of the elbow 14 with respect to the center line in the width direction of the main body 1 of the connection pipe 13, that is, on the electric blower 4 side along the inclination of the intake port portion 12 in FIG. It is biased and placed horizontally.

According to this structure, since the LED 18 and the phototransistor 19 are arranged in a region where the flow velocity of the suction airflow flowing in the elbow 14 is high, dust is less likely to adhere.

When the dust passes through the elbow 14, it tends to be biased toward the outer circumference 24 due to centrifugal force.
Since the LED 18 and the phototransistor 19 are arranged so as to be biased toward the outer periphery 24 side, dust can be accurately detected.

In both of the embodiments, the floor suction device 6 for the user is also provided.
The hose 8 rotates or sways around the connecting pipe 13 by the moving operation of the, and in response to this, the intake port rotating body 15 rotationally slides in the lid body 11, and the elbow 1
The relative positional relationship between the LED 18 and the phototransistor 19 and the outer periphery 24 side of No. 4 changes. As a result of research on the operation of the electric vacuum cleaner in which this type of hose rotates about the main body, it is known that the range of rotation of the hose 8 about the main body 1 is up to about 90 degrees to the left and right. When the hose 8 is rotated as described above, the LED 18 and the phototransistor 1 are moved to the outer periphery 24 side of the elbow 13 having the largest flow velocity each time the hose 8 is rotated.
9 because it is oriented in the arrangement direction, the flow velocity becomes faster, and at the same time dust adhesion is further prevented, and at the same time, even if a slight adhesion occurs temporarily when the hose 8 is pulled out forward, it is caused by the rotation of the hose 8. The maximum velocity airflow blows away the dust that has adhered to it and returns it to the initial state of use, thus eliminating the need for maintenance.

[0019]

As is apparent from the above description of the embodiment, according to the present invention, the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion are horizontally opposed to each other so as to be substantially orthogonal to the airflow direction communicating the connecting portion of the hose and the elbow. By arranging it in such a way, the suction airflow above the average flow velocity in the elbow rotatably connected to the main body is made to flow to the light emitting part and the light receiving part to prevent dust from adhering to both parts and control the input to the electric blower. Is maintained normally, and an appropriate operating condition according to the amount of dust suctioned can be maintained.

Further, by arranging the light receiving portion and the light emitting portion so as to face each other on the outer peripheral side of the elbow, it is possible to surely prevent dust from adhering by allowing a high-velocity suction airflow in the outer peripheral portion of the elbow to flow to the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion. At the same time, dust detection can be performed accurately.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electric vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the same main part.

FIG. 3 is the same electric circuit diagram.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a usage state of the electric vacuum cleaner.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an electric vacuum cleaner according to another embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a main part of a conventional electric vacuum cleaner.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Main Body 2 Paper Bag 3 Dust Collection Room 4 Electric Blower 5 Drive Room 8 Hose 11 Lid 12 Inlet Port 13 Connection Pipe 14 Elbow 15 Inlet Rotating Body 17 Inlet Packing 18 LED 19 Phototransistor 20 Dust Detection Circuit

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An elbow for connecting a drive chamber containing an electric blower, a dust collection chamber for accumulating dust, and a dust collection chamber that is detachably and rotatably connected to a main body and changes a ventilation direction to a main body connecting portion. And a hose having a connecting portion connected to an extension pipe or a suction tool on the other end side, a light emitting portion that emits light between the hose and the dust collecting chamber, and a light receiving portion that receives the light and outputs a signal. And a dust detection device having the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit arranged to face each other so as to be substantially orthogonal to the ventilation direction communicating the connecting portion of the hose and the elbow. apparatus. 2. The dust detection device for an electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the light-receiving portion and the light-emitting portion are installed so as to face each other on the outer peripheral side of the elbow portion.