JPH0829134B2 - Electric vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an electric vacuum cleaner that performs cleaning while pulling a cleaner body with a hose connected to the cleaner body and running the cleaner body on a mounting surface. .

(Prior Art) Conventionally, as a floor moving type vacuum cleaner of this type, as shown in FIG. 11, for example, one or two swivel wheels 2 are provided on the front side of the bottom surface of the cleaner body 1. At the same time, a structure in which a pair of left and right rear wheels 3 are pivotally attached to the rear side is adopted. The swivel wheel 2 is pivotally attached to a rotating body 5 which is supported on the cleaner body 1 by a support shaft 4 so as to be horizontally rotatable, so that the direction of the horizontal axle a ₂ can be freely changed. . On the other hand, the direction of the axle a ₃ of the rear wheel 3 is constant in the left-right direction. The swivel wheel 2 and the rear wheel 3 are not drive wheels, but are driven wheels that rotate when the cleaner body 1 is manually pulled through a hose connected to the cleaner body 1. In FIG. 11, 6 is a bumper provided on the outer peripheral surface of the cleaner body 1, and 7 is a name plate.

However, in the conventional floor-moving type vacuum cleaner shown in Fig. 11, when cleaning the main body of the vacuum cleaner by pulling the hose to avoid running obstacles such as furniture and repeating right and left turns, Since the main body of the cleaner simply tries to follow the direction in which it is pulled by the hose, the main body of the cleaner may collide with a traveling obstacle inside the bending direction. Then, when the vacuum cleaner body is caught on a traveling obstacle, simply pulling the hose in the intended traveling direction will continue to be caught, so if you forcibly pull the hose in the same direction, it will be hit. Moving obstacles,
There is a problem that the vacuum cleaner body falls over. And in order to avoid such a situation, it is necessary to move the cleaner body itself that hits the obstacle by hand, which is time-consuming or does not always hit the obstacle when running the cleaner body. There is a problem that must be paid attention to.

Therefore, for example, as described in JP-A-57-145634, a switch circuit that is activated by contact is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the cleaner main body so as to prevent traveling obstacles such as furniture and walls while the cleaner main body is traveling. A structure is adopted in which the wheel angle changing machine changes the wheel angle when the switch circuit is actuated and the running angle is avoided, and the cleaner main body is run to clean the wheel.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the conventional electric vacuum cleaner described in JP-A-57-145634, it is necessary to avoid the traveling obstacle by changing the angle of the wheels due to contact with the traveling obstacle. Therefore, when the traveling obstacle is located on the front surface of the cleaner body such as the wall, it may not be possible to avoid the traveling obstacle only by adjusting the wheel angle.

The present invention is intended to solve such a problem, and the vacuum cleaner body is capable of automatically avoiding a traveling obstacle and is convenient, and an electric vacuum cleaner that prevents damage to the cleaner body and the traveling obstacle. The purpose is to provide. Also,
An object of the present invention is to make a cleaner body easily movable by using a drive device.

(Means for Solving the Problem) In the electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, a dust collection chamber communicating with an electric blower and an intake side of the electric blower via a dust collection filter is provided inside the dust collection chamber. A cleaner main body which is provided with a connection port communicating with the outer surface and travels on a mounting surface, and a suction hose whose one end is connected to the connection port of the cleaner main body and which has a hand-held grip at the other end. A traveling obstacle located in the vicinity of the front end of the cleaner body and having at least two sensing units arranged at positions sandwiching a straight line in the front-back direction passing at least the connection port from the left and right An obstacle sensor that senses the presence and position of the cleaner and a bottom surface of the cleaner body that faces the mounting surface are vertically movable and descend when the obstacle sensor detects the presence of the traveling obstacle. The vacuum cleaner body to the mounting surface And a moving device for further moving it linearly in the left-right direction and in the direction away from the sensed traveling obstacle.

A vacuum cleaner according to a second aspect of the present invention is the vacuum cleaner according to the first aspect of the present invention, in which a manual switch for activating and deactivating the moving device is provided on the hand grip of the hose.

(Operation) In the electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, at the time of cleaning, the vacuum cleaner main body is pulled by holding the hand grip of the suction hose connected to the connection opening of the vacuum cleaner main body, and is appropriately placed on the mounting surface. When running, if any of the sensing parts of the obstacle sensor at the front end of the cleaner body is located near the traveling obstacle, the obstacle sensor detects the presence and position of the traveling obstacle. In response to the detection of the obstacle sensor, the moving device provided on the bottom surface portion facing the mounting surface of the cleaner body descends to lift the cleaning body from the mounting surface and to move from the obstacle in the left-right direction. Since it moves linearly in the away direction, the vacuum cleaner body can automatically avoid running obstacles, and if you pull the hose by hand, the vacuum cleaner body follows and is easy to use.
Do not damage the vacuum cleaner body or obstacles to travel.

A vacuum cleaner according to a second aspect is the vacuum cleaner according to the first aspect, in which a manual switch for activating and deactivating the moving device is provided in the hand grip of the hose, so that, for example, the floor surface under the main body of the vacuum cleaner is cleaned. At this time, by operating the movement switch on the hand holding portion of the hose that is being held during cleaning, the moving device is operated and stopped independently of the obstacle sensor, and the cleaner body is moved to the right and left appropriately. .

(Embodiment) Hereinafter, the configuration of an embodiment of the vacuum cleaner of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG.

In FIG. 1, 11 is a cleaner body, which is the cleaner body.
Inside the 11, an electric blower (not shown) is arranged on the rear side, and a dust collecting chamber communicating with the intake side of the electric blower via a dust collecting filter is formed on the front side. A rotary tool 12 is rotatably supported on the front side of the upper surface of the cleaner main body 11 and in the center in the left-right direction so as to face the dust collection chamber. Connection port 13 that communicates with
Is formed with an opening. Further, the rotating tool 12 is provided with a connector portion 14, and the connector portion 14 is a cleaner body.
It is electrically connected to an electric blower control circuit (not shown) provided inside 11. Reference numeral 15 is a power cord electrically connected to a control circuit or the like. In addition, the cleaner body 11
A substantially U-shaped handle 16 is formed at the foremost end of the.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a swivel wheel 21 is provided on the front side and a pair of left and right rear wheels 22 are pivotally mounted on the rear side on the bottom surface of the cleaner body 11. And the slewing wheel
Reference numeral 21 is pivotally attached to a rotating body 24 which is supported by a cleaner body 11 by a support shaft 23 so as to be horizontally rotatable. Moreover, the axial direction of the rear wheel 22 is constant in the left-right direction.

On the other hand, in FIG. 1, 26 is a suction hose, which is detachably connected to a flexible hose body 27 and a connection port 13 provided at one end of the hose body 27. The bent insertion tube 28 and the grip tube 29 which is a hand-held grip portion provided at the other end of the hose body 27. Then, the insertion tube 28 has a connector portion of the cleaner body 11
A connector portion (not shown) connected to the connector 14 is provided. On the other hand, at the base of the grip pipe 29, a hand operation unit 30 electrically connected to the connector portion of the insertion pipe 28 is provided.
Then, the suction force adjusting plug 31
The rotation of the electric blower can be controlled by operating the.

Further, 32 is an extension pipe, and one end of the extension pipe 32 is detachably connected to the grip pipe 29 of the hose 26.

Furthermore, 33 is a suction port body, and the suction port body 33 has a suction port (not shown) on the bottom surface, and is a rotatable connecting pipe 34 that is detachably connected to the other end of the extension pipe 32. At the rear.

On the other hand, the handle 16 of the cleaner body 11 has a running obstacle.
An obstacle sensor 41 is provided to sense the presence and position of 40.

Next, the structure of the obstacle sensor 41 will be described with reference to FIG.

The obstacle sensor 41 has a pair of left and right sensing units 42 and 43. The sensing parts 42, 43 are located across the center line of the cleaner body 11 in the left-right direction, and have the same structure symmetrical with respect to the center line. And
Each of the sensing units 42 and 43 is independently supported by the cleaner main body 11 by a plurality of elastic bodies, for example, springs 44 and 45, and can be moved at least back and forth and left and right. In addition, movable contacts 46 and 47 are attached to the back surfaces of the sensing units 42 and 43 on the cleaner body 11 side, respectively.

On the other hand, a pair of left and right fixed contacts 48 and 49, which face each other in substantially parallel to each other, are provided on the movable contacts 46 and 47, respectively.
Installed in 1. Then, the corresponding movable contacts 46,
47 and the fixed contacts 48, 49 are normally separated from each other by the urging force of the springs 44, 45, but are in contact with each other when the sensing parts 42, 43 are pressed from the outside. Furthermore, the movable contacts 46, 47 and the fixed contacts 48, 49 are electrically connected to a drive device control circuit provided in the cleaner body 11 via lead wires (not shown), respectively. , 47 and fixed contact 4
When they come into contact with 8, 49, an electric signal is transmitted to the drive device control circuit.

Further, as a moving device for moving the cleaner body 11 in the left-right direction, the operation is controlled by the drive device control circuit in the approximate center of the bottom surface portion facing the floor surface 66 which is the mounting surface of the cleaner body 11. A drive device 51 is provided.

Next, the structure of the driving device 51 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5.

A storage chamber 52 that opens downward is formed on the bottom surface of the cleaner body 11. Inside the storage chamber 52, there is stored a box 54 which is vertically moved by a plurality of solenoids 53, for example, two solenoids 53 provided on the upper surface thereof. Further, driven rollers 57 and 58 are rotatably supported on the left and right sides of the box body 54 by supporting shafts 55 and 56 having the front-rear direction as an axial direction, respectively.
An endless drive belt 59 is stretched between them. In addition, in the upper part of the box 54, a drive belt 59 is sandwiched between one driven roller 57 and one driven roller 57, and a drive roller 60 for rotating the drive belt 59 in the left-right direction is rotated by a support shaft 61 having an axial direction in the front-rear direction. It is movably supported. Further, in the box 54, a drive motor 62 that can rotate in the forward and reverse directions and rotationally drives the drive roller 60.
The pinion gear 63 fixed to the output shaft of the drive motor 62 is meshed with the gear 64 provided at the end of the drive motor 62.

It should be noted that the vertical stroke of the box 54 is such that when the box 54 is raised, the drive belt is moved more than the lower ends of the turning wheels 21 and the rear wheels 22.
The lower surface of the drive belt 59 is set below the lower surface of the drive belt 59 when the lower surface of the drive belt 59 is located below.

The solenoid 53 and the drive motor 62 are electrically connected to the drive device control circuit via the lead wires 65 and the like. This drive device control circuit, when an electric signal is input from the obstacle sensor 41, the solenoid 53 for a certain period of time.
Is operated to lower the box 54, and the drive motor 62 is operated to rotate the drive belt 59. When the electric signal is output from the right sensing unit 42, the drive motor 62 is controlled so that the drive belt 59 moves to the right at the bottom, and when the electric signal is output from the left sensing unit 43. The drive motor 62 is controlled so that the drive belt 59 moves in the opposite direction. The amount of movement of the drive belt 59 in one operation is not less than 1/2 of the total width of the cleaner body 11 in the left-right direction.
It should be noted that the drive unit 51 does not operate when outputs from both sensing units 42 and 43 at the same time.

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

Normally, the cleaner body 11, the hose 26, the extension pipe 32, and the suction port body 33 are connected to each other for cleaning. When nothing touches the sensing units 42 and 43 of the obstacle sensor 41, the driving device 51
The box 54 is raised and is housed in the storage room 52 of the cleaner body 11, and the swivel wheel 21 and the rear wheel 22 are placed on the floor surface 66 as a mounting surface.
The drive belt 59 of the drive device 51 is not grounded. Then, the user holds the gripping tube 29 of the hose 26, and through this hose 26, the cleaner main body 11 pulls and appropriately runs on the floor surface 66 to perform cleaning. At this time, the vacuum cleaner body 11
Will follow the hose 26 behind the user. Since the swivel wheel 21 is provided, the direction of the cleaner body 11 changes relatively smoothly only by pulling the hose 26. Then, the dust sucked from the suction port body 33 by the driving of the electric blower (not shown) is transferred to the extension pipe 32 and the hose 26.
It is guided to the dust collection chamber of the cleaner body 11 via the and is captured by the dust collection filter.

In this way, when the cleaner body 11 is being cleaned while traveling, as shown in FIG. 6, the cleaner body 11 is pulled forward as shown by the arrow A and is located at the front end of the cleaner body 11, for example, on the left side. When the sensing unit 43 hits a running obstacle 40 such as a pillar, a chest, a desk or a sofa, the left movable contact 47 and the fixed contact 49 come into contact with each other, and a signal is output from there to the drive device control circuit. In response to this signal, the drive device control circuit drives the drive device 51.
After lowering the box (54), the drive belt (59) is rotated in the lower part in the direction of moving leftward with respect to the cleaner body (11).
When the box 54 descends, as shown in FIG.
59 contacts the ground, and the turning wheel 21 and the rear wheel 22 move away from the floor surface 66. Therefore, due to the rotation of the drive belt 59, the cleaner main body 11 is moved to the left and right shown by the arrow B in FIG.
Move a certain distance away from. Thus drive
After 51 generates the driving force for a certain period of time, the box 54 is lifted up and stored in the storage room 52 of the cleaner body 11, and the swivel wheel 21 again.
And the rear wheel 22 is grounded.

The moving distance of the cleaner body 11 by the drive device 51 is 1/2 or more of the entire width of the cleaner body 11, but the traveling obstacle 40 is hit to the right or left of the hose 26, and the hose 26
Is usually located on the extension of the center line of the vacuum cleaner body 11 in the left-right direction. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
The cleaner main body 11 moves to a position where it can travel without hitting the traveling obstacle 40. That is, the vacuum cleaner body
When the user pulls the cleaner main body 11 via the hose 26 after moving the cleaner 11 to the right, the cleaner main body 11 passes the right side of the traveling obstacle 40 without hindrance.

When the traveling obstacle 40 hits the right sensing unit 42, the cleaner body 11 is moved to the left in the same manner,
The traveling obstacle 40 is automatically avoided.

In this way, according to the above-mentioned composition, at the time of cleaning, the traveling obstacle
The cleaner body 11 is caught on the 40, and even if the hose 26 is pulled by hand, the cleaner body 11 does not move and does not follow, and the cleaner body 11 caught on the traveling obstacle 40 is moved by hand. There is no need to do this and cleaning becomes extremely easy. Then, the nerve can be concentrated only on the portion to be cleaned currently being cleaned, that is, the vicinity of the suction port body 33 without worrying about whether or not the cleaner body 11 is following. In addition, there is a concern that the cleaner body 11 may be overturned by forcibly pulling the cleaner body 11 while being caught by the traveling obstacle 40, and that the cleaner body 11, floor 66, furniture, etc. may be damaged. Disappear.

In the above embodiment, the sensing units 42 and 4 of the obstacle sensor 41 are used.
Although the number of 3 is two, three or more sensing units may be arranged side by side in the left-right direction.

Further, the means for supporting the cleaner body 11 at normal times is not limited to the wheels such as the turning wheel 21 and the rear wheel 22.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

In the second embodiment shown in FIG. 8, airbags 72 and 73 as the sensing portions of the obstacle sensor 71 are attached to the left and right sides of the front end of the cleaner body 11 so as to project forward and sideways. Has been. These airbags 72, 73 are hollowed out by an elastic material so that the inside is filled with air and the internal pressure does not leak to the outside. The pressure inside the two airbags 72, 73 is
They are guided to one differential pressure sensor 76 provided in the cleaner body 11 via the pressure pipes 74 and 75, respectively. The differential pressure sensor 76 detects a pressure difference between the airbags 72 and 73, converts the pressure difference into an electric signal, and outputs the electric signal to the drive device control circuit. That is, inside the differential pressure sensor 76, the diaphragm 77
With this, the air bags 72 and 73 are partitioned into two spaces that communicate with each other, and the displacement of the diaphragm 77 corresponding to the internal pressures of the air bags 72 and 73 is converted into an electric signal and output via a signal line 78. ing.

When the inner pressures of the left and right airbags 72, 73 are equal, the drive device 51 does not operate as in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 7. Further, when the internal pressure of the right airbag 72 is higher, the drive device 51 operates so as to move the cleaner body 11 to the left. On the other hand, when the inner pressure of the left airbag 73 is higher, the drive device 51 operates to move the cleaner body 11 to the right.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8 (b), the left and right airbags are
When neither 72 nor 73 hits, the internal pressures of these airbags 72 and 73 become equal. Therefore,
The drive device 51 does not operate.

However, as shown in FIG. 8C, for example, when the traveling obstacle 79 hits the right airbag 72, the volume of the right airbag 72 is reduced by being pushed by the traveling obstacle 79. Since the air inside the airbag 72 has no escape, the air inside is compressed and
The internal pressure of 72 becomes high. That is, since the internal pressure of the left airbag 73 becomes larger than the internal pressure of the right airbag 72, the drive device 51 operates and the cleaner body 11 is moved leftward.

Further, when the traveling obstacle 79 hits the left airbag 73, a reverse pressure difference occurs between the left and right airbags 72, 73, so that the cleaner body 11 is moved to the right.

According to the above configuration, since the obstacle sensor 71 has no mechanical contact, the number of parts is very small, the configuration is simple, and the reliability is improved. That is,
Compared with the obstacle sensor 41 provided with elastically deformable bumpers on the outer surfaces of the sensing portions 42, 43 of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, the traveling obstacle 79 can be detected more reliably, and contact failure is detected. There is no fear. Further, the sensitivity of the obstacle sensor 71 can be easily adjusted only by adjusting the amplifier in the electronic circuit.

In addition, the sensor that hits the running obstacle 79 is an airbag
72, 73, which can be made very soft and has high shock absorption, so that it is possible to reliably prevent damage to furniture or the like when the sensor is hit.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

The third embodiment shown in FIG. 9 is a grip tube 29 for the hose 26.
The manual operation part 30 in FIG. 2 is provided with two manual switches 81, 82 which are located in front of the suction force adjusting block 31, namely, which are arranged side by side. And these manual switches 81 and 82 are
A normally-open push-button switch, including a signal line provided in the hose 26, a plug-in pipe 28 of the hose 26, and a detachable connector part (not shown) provided near the connection port 13 of the cleaner body 11. Through the electric power source, and is electrically connected to the drive device control circuit in the cleaner body 11, respectively, and enables the drive device 51 of the cleaner body 11 to operate and stop independently of the obstacle sensors 41 and 71. is there.

That is, when the manual switch 81 on the right side is pressed, the drive device 51 operates while the vacuum cleaner main body 11 moves to the right while the manual switch 81 on the right side is pressed, and when the manual switch 82 on the left side is pressed, cleaning is performed in the same manner while pressing. The machine body 11 is adapted to move to the left.

According to this configuration, the user can appropriately move the cleaner body 11 in the left-right direction by operating the manual switches 81, 82 as necessary. Moreover, since the manual switches 81 and 82 are located in the grip tube 29 of the hose 26 which is gripped during cleaning, they can be easily operated. For example, when cleaning a portion of the floor surface 66 below the cleaner body 11, it has conventionally been necessary to bend over and move the cleaner body, which is troublesome. According to the configuration shown in FIG.
The vacuum cleaner body 11 can be moved simply by operating 1,82, which is very easy. Moreover, since the drive device 51 for moving the cleaner body 11 also serves as the drive device 51 for obstacle avoidance, the structure is efficient.

Next, still another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

In the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 10, two display devices 86, 87 arranged side by side are provided on the rear portion of the upper surface of the cleaner body 11. These display devices 86 and 87 have light emitting devices such as a light emitting diode (LED) and an electroluminescent element (EL) that can be turned on independently on the back side, and display the operating state of the drive device 51. is there. That is, when the drive device 51 is activated and the cleaner body 11 is moving to the right,
The display device 86 on the right side lights up, and the display device 87 on the left side lights up when the cleaner body 11 is moving to the left.

According to the configuration shown in FIG. 10, it is possible to see at a glance whether the cleaner main body 11 moves left or right at the next moment, and it is possible to clearly confirm the operating state of the drive device 51. Along with this, the vacuum cleaner body 11 that moves to the left and right for people who are near the vacuum cleaner body 11 other than the person who is cleaning it.
You can call attention to avoid hitting.

(Effect of the invention) According to the electric vacuum cleaner of claim 1, the cleaner main body which has a connection port to which the hose having the hand gripping portion is connected and which is traveled on the mounting surface is forwardly driven. In addition to installing an obstacle sensor that detects the presence and position of obstacles, a moving device that moves the cleaner body in the left-right direction and linearly in a direction away from the detected traveling obstacle is moved up and down on the bottom surface of the cleaner body. Since it is installed freely, even if the cleaner body gets caught in the traveling obstacle during cleaning, the cleaner body can follow only by pulling the hose, and do not pay much attention to the traveling obstacle and pay attention only to the part to be cleaned. You can concentrate and improve usability. Since the traveling obstacle can be automatically avoided, it is possible to prevent the cleaner body from tipping over and the damage to the cleaner body and the traveling obstacle caused by forcibly pulling the cleaner body while being caught by the traveling obstacle.

According to the electric vacuum cleaner of claim 2, in addition to the electric vacuum cleaner of claim 1, since a manual switch for activating and deactivating the moving device is provided in the hand grip of the hose, for example, the floor under the main body of the vacuum cleaner. When cleaning the surface, it is not necessary to bend over to move the cleaner body, and you can move the cleaner body simply by operating the manual switch on the gripping part that is held during cleaning. In addition to being capable of cleaning, the moving device for moving the cleaner body also serves as a moving device for avoiding obstacles, so that a structure without waste can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing a first embodiment of an electric vacuum cleaner according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a front portion of the vacuum cleaner main body with a part cut away, and FIG. Is a bottom view of the same, FIG. 4 is a front view in which a part of the cleaner main body is cut away, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an internal mechanism of the same drive device, and FIG. 6 and FIG. FIG. 8 (a) is a plan view showing a second embodiment of the present invention with a part of the front portion of the vacuum cleaner body cut away, and FIGS. 8 (b) and (c) are explanatory views of the operation of the obstacle sensor. FIG. 9 is a plan view of a hand grip portion of a hose showing a third embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 10 is a plan view of a cleaner body showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 11 is a conventional electric cleaning. It is a bottom view of a cleaner body showing an example of a suction mouth of a machine. 11 …… Vacuum cleaner body, 13 …… Connection port, 26 …… Hose, 29…
… Grip tube, which is a hand grip, 40 …… Running obstacle, 41 ……
Obstacle sensor, 42, 43 ... Sensing part, 51 ... Drive device as moving device, 66 ... Floor surface as mounting surface, 71 ... Obstacle sensor, 72, 73 ... As sensing part Airbag, 76
...... Differential pressure sensor, 79 …… Running obstacle, 81,82 …… Manual switch.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An electric blower and a dust collection chamber communicating with a suction filter of the electric blower via a dust collecting filter are provided inside, and a connection port communicating with the dust collecting chamber is provided on an outer surface portion on a mounting surface. A cleaner main body that travels with a suction hose, one end of which is connected to the connection opening of the main body of the cleaner and has a hand grip at the other end, and a front end of the main body of the cleaner and at least the connection opening. 2 placed in a position that sandwiches a straight line in the front-back direction that passes through
An obstacle sensor having at least one sensing unit for detecting the presence and position of a traveling obstacle located in the vicinity of the sensing unit, and vertically movable on a bottom surface portion of the cleaner body facing the mounting surface. When the obstacle sensor detects the presence of the traveling obstacle, the obstacle sensor descends to float the cleaner main body from the mounting surface and in the left-right direction and away from the sensed traveling obstacle. An electric vacuum cleaner comprising: a moving device that moves linearly. 2. The electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein a manual switch for activating and deactivating the moving device is provided on the hand grip of the hose.