TW201825035A - Electric vacuum cleaner with which a filter bag can be correctly inserted into a filter chamber by using an operating element disposed on the filter bag and/or disposed on a filter bag adapter accommodating the filter bag - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is an electric vacuum cleaner (1), which includes a housing (2), an energy supply device (3), a motor fan device (4), and a filter chamber (5) for accommodating a filter bag (6). The housing (2) includes a first housing part (7) having a filter chamber (5), and a second housing part (8) movable with respect to the first housing part (7) for replacing the filter bag (6). The two housing parts (7, 8) are at least partially detachably connected to each other on a housing separation point (9), and there is a power supply line (10) disposed between the two housing parts (7, 8). In order to ensure that the filter bag (6) and/or the filter bag adapter (12) can be correctly inserted, the present invention proposes that: the power supply line (10) corresponds to a movable switching element (11) in a region of the housing separation position (9), which can be moved by means of an operating element (13) disposed on the filter bag (6) and/or disposed on the filter bag adapter (12) accommodating the filter bag (6).

Description

   Electric vacuum cleaner   

The invention relates to an electric vacuum cleaner, which has a housing, an energy supply device, a motor fan device, and a filter cavity for accommodating a filter bag. The housing has a first housing part including the filter cavity and a filter bag is replaced Whereas the second housing part is displaceable relative to the first housing part, wherein the two housing parts are at least partially detachably connected to each other at a housing separation point, and wherein between the two housing parts With power lines.

In the prior art, electric vacuum cleaners of the aforementioned type have been known to me. It has at least two housing parts, and the two housing parts are relatively displaceable so that a filter bag provided inside one of the housing parts can be taken out of the vacuum cleaner or inserted into the filter bag.

The vacuum cleaner may be, for example, a handheld rechargeable vacuum cleaner, which is mainly composed of two housing parts. If the two housing parts are not completely separated from each other, they are connected to each other through a hinge connection so that the two housing parts can be Relative deflection to operate the filter bag. A power supply line is provided between the two housing parts, for example, an energy consuming component from an energy supply device of one housing part to the other housing part. The energy-consuming component can be, for example, an electric brush connected to a vacuum cleaner, or another additional component.

In addition to the handheld rechargeable vacuum cleaner, the electric vacuum cleaner of the present invention may also be a handheld horizontal vacuum cleaner, an automatic travelling vacuum cleaner, or a similar vacuum cleaner.

When the user of the vacuum cleaner forgets to insert the filter bag, although the housing can be closed and the vacuum cleaner can be started, the lack of the filter bag will cause the following erroneous operation: the to-be-collected material collected from the floor directly enters the filter cavity of the vacuum cleaner and reaches the motor fan device , And the motor fan unit may be damaged or at least contaminated.

In order to propose remedial measures for the above situation, the present invention aims to improve the vacuum cleaner to help the filter bag be inserted into the filter cavity correctly. Therefore, the changes that need to be made to the vacuum cleaner should not greatly increase the difficulty of manufacturing the vacuum cleaner, but should make the vacuum cleaner particularly easy to install and can be quickly installed.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an electric vacuum cleaner, in which the power supply line corresponds to a displaceable switching element in the region of the housing separation point, which can be provided on the filter bag and / or on the filter bag. The operating element on the filter bag adapter is displaced.

The invention is provided with a switching element for an electric vacuum cleaner, which can act on the power supply line based on whether a filter bag or a filter bag fitting is present inside the housing, thereby preventing the vacuum cleaner from being supplied when the filter bag or the filter bag fitting is missing. Can, in particular, prevent the motor fan unit from operating. When the switch element is in the position where the filter bag or the filter bag attachment is missing, this position can be detected by the electronic device of the vacuum cleaner and can trigger the shutdown of the motor fan device. Thereby, in a particularly simple and low-cost manner, the user is prevented from using the vacuum cleaner without a filter bag inserted in the vacuum cleaner. This prevents the filter cavity from being contaminated and prevents damage to the motor fan device.

The invention proposes that the displaceable switching element has a conductive ability, and can displace the contact position of the power supply line from a short circuit or an bypass bridge (overbridge, bypass) to a separated position where power can be passed through the power supply line, and vice versa. As a result, the switching elements are constructed and arranged to alternately short-circuit or bypass bridge the power supply lines, or not to contact the power supply lines, so that a short-circuit or bypass bridge is not formed accordingly. The switching element may be, for example, a conductive metal strip that can be deflected about the deflection axis so as to contact or not contact the power supply line. When in the contact position, the switching element abuts on two parts of the power supply line, thereby short-circuiting or bypassing the power supply line, thereby allowing current to pass through the switching element. Here, the so-called short circuit refers to the connection of almost no resistance between the two poles of the energy supply device, while the bypass bridge refers to the current passing through the switching element to overcome the defined resistance, such as a resistance of 1 kΩ. The short circuit can be clearly recognized by the vacuum cleaner's electronics, so that it can be concluded that the switching element is in the contact position, and the motor fan device cannot be operated at this time. Then, the switching element is moved from the contact position to the separation position due to the action of the manipulation element of the filter bag or the filter bag attachment. The operating element can, for example, cause movement, deflection, bending or other displacement of the switching element.

The invention further proposes that the displaceable switching element corresponds to an elastic element, and its reset force is an attempt to move the switching element into a contact position. Therefore, the elastic element is arranged and preset so that the relaxed state of the elastic element corresponds to the contact position of the switching element. When the filter bag or the filter bag containing part containing the operating element is inserted into the vacuum cleaner, the operating element acts on the switching element and then also on the elastic element, and then the elastic element is compressed. When the operating force of the operating element disappears again, that is, when the filter bag or filter bag fitting is removed, the elastic element returns to a relaxed state and causes the switching element to contact the power supply line, thereby finally re-forming the aforementioned short circuit. Or bypass bridge. The elastic element may be a coil spring, a coil spring, a leaf spring or the like. The point is only that the elastic element is constructed in a comparable manner and is arranged on the switching element, so that the switching element can be displaced from the disengaged position to the contact position under the effect of a reset force.

The invention proposes that the operating element is configured to displace the switching element when the filter bag or filter bag fitting is correctly inserted into the vacuum cleaner, in particular, to overcome the reset force of the elastic element corresponding to the switching element. The operating element may be, for example, a protruding nose on the bottom plate of the filter bag or filter bag fitting. When the filtering bag or the filter bag fitting is correctly inserted into the housing of the vacuum cleaner, the protruding nose acts as a push rod on the switching element. . Preferably, after the filter bag or the filter bag fitting is installed in place, the operating element can be directed to the other housing part beyond the separation point of the housing, so that after the two housing parts are completely connected, the operating element automatically moves to the other housing part. A corresponding switching element of a housing portion is urged. Accordingly, the two shell portions of the shell are constructed to correspond in shape, so that the switching element positioned in one of the shell portions and the filter bag or filter bag fitting member positioned in the other shell portion The operating elements can contact each other. As an alternative to the direct contact between the operating element and the switching element, a transmission element may also be provided, which transmits the force of the operating element to the switching element.

The invention proposes that the vacuum cleaner has a control and evaluation device, which is constructed and arranged to measure the current passing through the power supply line, and to control the motor fan device according to the current intensity. When the filter bag or filter bag fitting is correctly installed inside the housing, the operating element pushes against the switching element, so that current does not pass through the switching element. In this case, the control and evaluation device of the vacuum cleaner recognizes that the power supply line is not shorted. The vacuum cleaner can be used in a conventional manner, meaning that the motor fan unit can be turned on to perform a vacuuming operation. When the filter bag or filter bag fitting is removed from the housing of the vacuum cleaner, the switching element is pressed against the power supply line to allow current to pass through the switching element. The control and evaluation device detects a short circuit in the power supply line and prevents the motor fan device from being manipulated. As a result, the user cannot turn on the vacuum cleaner. Advantageously, before the vacuum cleaner is switched on, a test voltage is applied to the power supply line and the resulting or ungenerated current is measured. A current-limiting circuit can also usually be provided, whereby the current-limiting circuit also monitors the current in the power supply line during the normal cleaning operation of the cleaner, and when the limit value is exceeded, that is, when a short circuit is formed, the motor fan device is shut down or turned off . In this way, a situation in which the vacuum cleaner is opened due to the separation of the two housing parts during the cleaning operation is also detected. In this case, a short circuit is formed via the switching element during operation.

In view of the above, the present invention proposes that the control and evaluation device is configured to prevent the motor fan device from being started when the current intensity is higher than a defined current intensity. In this way, when the current intensity of the current passing through the power supply line is greater than the defined current intensity (limit value), this current will be identified as a short circuit, and the lack of the filter bag or filter bag fittings will be inferred accordingly. As an alternative, a specific limit value greater than zero can be defined for the current intensity of the current through the switching element, and the motor fan device is shut down when the corresponding current can be measured in the switching element.

The invention further proposes that the vacuum cleaner has a signal output device connected to a control and evaluation device, wherein the control and evaluation device is configured to trigger the signal output device to output a prompt signal when the current intensity is higher than a defined current intensity. According to this technical solution, when a short circuit or a bypass bridge is formed via the switching element, not only the vacuum cleaner is safely shut down, but also information is output to the user of the vacuum cleaner so that the user can understand the reason why the vacuum cleaner does not work. The output prompt signal may be an acoustic signal, a light signal or a tactile signal. The acoustic signal may be, for example, an alert sound defined for a case where a filter bag or a filter bag fitting is not inserted. The light signal is, for example, a blinking LED, a specific color of the LED, an error indication on the display, and the like. The tactile alert signal may be, for example, a vibration signal of a vacuum cleaner, particularly a handle. In addition, the control and evaluation device can also trigger a signal output device to send a prompt signal to an external device, such as a user's mobile phone, through the communication device of the vacuum cleaner. This technical variant is particularly suitable when the vacuum cleaner is a cleaning robot that is out of sight of the user.

It can be set as follows: the power supply line has an electrical separation point in the region of the case separation point, which includes a corresponding contact element assigned to the first case portion or the second case portion. Therefore, while the filter cavity is opened, that is, while the two housing parts are separated at the housing separation point, the mating contact elements provided on the first housing part and the second housing part are also separated. . This technical solution enables the two housing parts to be completely separated from each other, thereby facilitating the operation of the vacuum cleaner when changing the filter bag. The contact elements of the two housing parts can be constructed in the form of a plug connection, wherein one of the housing parts has a plug and the other housing part has a socket. As an alternative, there can also be a fixedly installed, inseparable power supply line between the two housing parts, which, for example, only allows the two housing parts to be partially separated, which means, for example, that a hinge connection is maintained, from which the power supply line is connected Connected by. If so, the casing is unfolded in the region of the casing separation point for operation on the filter bag.

The invention particularly proposes that the first housing part has a filter cavity, and the second housing part has an energy supply device and / or a motor fan device. According to this technical solution, at least the energy supply device or the motor fan device is located in one of the housing portions, and the filter cavity and the filter bag or the filter bag fitting are located in the corresponding other housing portion. As a result, a zone can be defined on the vacuum cleaner. This zone has, for example, electrical components, and the other zone has an energy source. The housing portion having the filter cavity can provide, for example, an electrical connector for a selectively connectable electrical component, wherein a power supply line starting from the other housing portion passes into the housing portion where the filter cavity is located. Particularly advantageous, in this case, the power supply line can not only be used to connect electrical components, but also can be designed to detect whether there is a filter bag or a filter bag attachment according to the present invention. Therefore, the housing of the vacuum cleaner can be particularly advantageously divided into a plurality of housing parts providing different functions. This is particularly advantageous for the maintenance and / or cleaning of the filter chamber of a vacuum cleaner, because in this way, no special consideration has to be given to sensitive electrical or electronic components when performing the maintenance and / or cleaning.

The invention further proposes that the first housing part has a suction port for sucking an object to be sucked into the vacuum cleaner. Therefore, the first housing portion not only has a filter cavity, but also a suction port capable of sucking an object to be sucked into the filter cavity. When the motor fan device provided inside the second casing portion is operated, a negative pressure is generated on the suction port of the first casing portion, so that the object to be sucked is sucked into the first casing portion and the portion provided in the first casing portion. Filter bag. From there, only the cleaned air flows into the second housing portion through the housing separation point, and enters the field environment of the vacuum cleaner on the pressure side of the motor fan device, for example, through an air vent.

In addition to the vacuum cleaner of the present invention, a filter bag fitting for a vacuum cleaner is also finally proposed. The filter bag fitting has a receiving area for containing the filter bag, and the filter bag fitting There is an operating element for operating the switching element of the vacuum cleaner, and the operating element is a protruding portion on the filter bag fitting member which points outward. According to the invention, the operating element protrudes on a section of the filter bag fitting. For example, the operating element may be integrally formed on the filter bag fitting, and protrude beyond the outline of the filter bag fitting to a degree of, for example, a few millimeters to a few centimeters. The control element is particularly preferably substantially in the shape of a cylinder or a projection, and the cylinder or the projection advantageously projects perpendicularly from the surface plane of the filter bag fitting. In particular, the manipulation element may be formed in an area on the filter bag fitting, which area is adjacent to the bottom plate of the filter bag contained in the filter bag fitting.

1‧‧‧Vacuum cleaner

2‧‧‧shell

3‧‧‧ energy supply device

4‧‧‧motor fan unit

5‧‧‧ filter cavity

6‧‧‧ filter bag

7‧‧‧ (first) housing section

8‧‧‧ (second) housing section

9‧‧‧shell separation point

10‧‧‧ Power Line

11‧‧‧ Switching element

12‧‧‧Filter bag fittings

13‧‧‧Control element

14‧‧‧Elastic element

15‧‧‧ (electrical) separation point

16‧‧‧ (electrical) contact element

17‧‧‧ (electrical) contact element

18‧‧‧ Suction port

19‧‧‧handle

20‧‧‧on-off switch

21‧‧‧air vent

22‧‧‧deflection axis

23‧‧‧Connecting element

Figure 1 is an external perspective perspective view of the vacuum cleaner of the present invention; Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the vacuum cleaner shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is an enlarged view of the area of the vacuum cleaner at the separation point of the housing when the filter bag fitting has been inserted into the vacuum cleaner; Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of the partition of Fig. 3 when the inside of the vacuum cleaner is lacking a filter bag connecting piece.

The present invention is described in detail below with reference to the examples. Fig. 1 shows a vacuum cleaner 1 according to the present invention, which is constructed in the form of a handheld rechargeable vacuum cleaner. The vacuum cleaner 1 has a housing 2 including a first housing portion 7 and a second housing portion 8, which are connected to each other at a housing separation point 9 and are separable from each other so as to be separated from the first housing portion 7 Remove the filter bag 6 from the filter chamber 5 or insert a new filter bag 6. The second housing part 8 has a handle 19 that can be grasped by a user of the vacuum cleaner 1 in order to control the vacuum cleaner 1 to move on the surface to be cleaned during a normal work operation. An energy supply device 3 and a motor fan device 4 are further provided inside the second housing portion 8. The energy supply device 3 can be operated by the on-off switch 20. The motor fan device 4 is operated when the energy supply device 3 is turned on. The energy supply device 3 has a battery in this case and provides the required energy for the operation of the vacuum cleaner 1. The second casing portion 8 of the casing 2 has a plurality of air outlets 21 in the area of the motor fan device 4. The air sucked by the motor fan device 4 can escape from the casing 2 through the air outlets. The first housing portion 7 has a suction port 18 through which air and an object to be sucked can be sucked into the filter bag 6. After that, the object to be sucked remains in the filter bag 6, and the air to be sucked is removed from the first case part 7 into the second case part 8 through the case separation point 9, and finally reaches the motor fan device there. 4.

FIG. 2 shows a longitudinal section of the vacuum cleaner 1. The two housing parts 7, 8 can be seen there. The filter bag 6 is held inside the filter cavity 5 of the first housing portion 7 by the filter bag fitting 12. The filter bag fitting 12 has an operating element 13 which, like a nose, extends beyond the housing separation point 9 and projects into the second housing portion 8 of the housing 2 and acts there on the conductive switching element 11 . A power supply line 10 is further provided between the first housing part 7 and the second housing part 8 in the form of a cable connection interrupted by the contact elements 16, 17 of the electrical separation point 15. The power supply line 10 connects the energy supply device 3 with the connection element 23 provided in the first housing portion 7, the motor fan device 4 provided in the second housing portion 8, and other energy-consuming components that exist as the case may be. The connecting element 23 is used to selectively connect an energy consuming component, which can be connected to the first housing portion 7, such as an electric brush or the like for the vacuum cleaner 1 that can be placed on the suction port. The mating contact elements 16 and 17 are disposed in the region of the electrical separation point 15 between the first and second housing portions 7 and 8, and they are also separated from each other when the two housing portions 7 and 8 are separated. The contact element 17 of the second housing part 8 is here constructed, for example, in the form of a spring contact, and the contact element 16 of the first housing part 7 is a fixed mating contact. By the switching element 11, the contact element 17 of the second case portion 8 can be short-circuited. The switching element 11 is a metal element, which is fixed on the deflection axis 22 so that the switching element 11 can be deflected about the deflection axis 22. This deflection occurs when the operating element 13 of the filter bag fitting 12 exerts a force on the switching element 11. During deflection, the switching element 11 overcomes the resetting force of the elastic element 14 acting on the switching element 11 and leaves the electrical contact element 17, thereby conducting the circuit formed by the power supply line 10 and crossing the separation point 15. In addition, the vacuum cleaner 1 has a control and evaluation device that measures and evaluates the current passing through the power supply line 10, and infers the switching position of the switching element 11 based on the strength of the measured current, and further infers whether there is a filter bag containing the operating element 13接 装 件 12。 12 pieces.

3 and 4 show enlarged views of the area of the housing separation point 9 and the electrical separation point 15 of the vacuum cleaner 1. Among them, FIG. 3 shows a state in which the filter bag fitting 12 including the filter bag 6 has been inserted into the first housing portion 7. FIG. 4 shows the case where the housing 2 of the vacuum cleaner 1 is closed, but the filter bag receiving member 12 including the filter bag 6 is not inserted in the filter cavity 5.

FIG. 3 shows a separated position of the switching element 11. In this position, the switching element 11 is separated from the electrical contact element 17, thereby allowing current to pass through the entire circuit of the power supply line 10. The way to reach this separation position is that the user of the vacuum cleaner 1 inserts the filter bag adapter 12 into the filter cavity 5 of the first housing portion 7. The filter bag fitting piece 12 is provided with a filter bag 6 for containing an object to be sucked into the vacuum cleaner 1 through the suction port 18. When the filter bag fitting 12 is in the correct installation position, once the two housing parts 7, 8 are re-engaged, that is, the housing 2 of the vacuum cleaner 1 is closed, the operating element 13 of the filter bag fitting is then formed over the two The housing separation point 9 between the housing parts 7 and 8 extends into the cavity of the second housing part 8 and pushes the adjacently arranged switching element 11 there. Under the action of its operating force, the switching element 11 overcomes the resetting force of the elastic element 14 and turns away from the electrical contact element 17 about the deflection axis 22, thereby releasing the contact element 17 that was previously short-circuited by the switching element 11 and enabling the current to self-power the device 3 The first housing portion 7 of the vacuum cleaner 1 flows into the vacuum cleaner 1 through the power supply line 10.

At this time, if the user of the vacuum cleaner 1 forgets to insert the filter bag 6 or the filter bag fitting 12 for holding the filter bag 6 into the filter cavity 5 before using the vacuum cleaner 1, the situation shown in FIG. 4 will occur. Due to the lack of the filter bag attachment 12, the non-manipulating element 13 acts on the switching element 11, and the switching element is pressed against the electrical contact element 17 of the second housing portion 8 under the reset force of the elastic element 14. As a result, the switching element 11 is made conductive and the power supply line 10 is short-circuited. The current intensity inside the power supply line 10 is measured by the control and evaluation device of the vacuum cleaner 1 and is recognized as a short-circuit current when it exceeds a defined limit value. The control and evaluation device immediately stops the operation of the motor fan device 4. As a result, the user cannot perform the vacuuming operation by the vacuum cleaner 1. The motor fan device 4 is kept off to prevent air that enters the filter cavity 5 or reaches the motor fan device 4 from causing damage and / or pollution to the cleaner 1 without filtering. Further, the control and evaluation device can output a prompt signal immediately when a short circuit is recognized, and provide the user of the vacuum cleaner 1 with information about the missing filter bag attachment 12 and the filter bag 6. The prompt signal can be, for example, an optical prompt signal emitted by a red-emitting LED.

Claims (11)

    An electric vacuum cleaner has a housing (2), an energy supply device (3), a motor fan device (4), and a filter cavity (5) for containing a filter bag (6), wherein the housing (2) a first housing part (7) containing the filter cavity (5) and a second housing part that is displaceable relative to the first housing part (7) in order to replace the filter bag (6) (8), wherein the two shell portions (7, 8) are at least partially detachably connected to each other on a shell separation point (9), and wherein, between the two shell portions (7, 8) There is a power supply line (10) in between, which is characterized in that the power supply line (10) corresponds to a displaceable switching element (11) in the area of the housing separation point (9), which can be provided by the filter A manipulation element (13) on the bag (6) and / or a filter bag receiving member (12) containing the filter bag (6) is displaced.         For example, the electric vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the displaceable switching element (11) has a conductive ability, and can be displaced from a contact position where the power supply line (10) is short-circuited or bypass bridged to be accessible through the power supply line (10 ) To achieve separate locations for power supply and vice versa.         The electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 2, wherein the displaceable switching element (11) corresponds to an elastic element (14), and the resetting force is an attempt to move the switching element (11) into the contact position.         The electric vacuum cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the operating element (13) is configured to be correctly inserted into the vacuum cleaner (1) in the filter bag (6) or the filter bag fitting (12). ), The switching element (11) is displaced.         For example, the electric vacuum cleaner of claim 1 is provided with a control and evaluation device, which is constructed and arranged to measure the current passing through the power supply line (10) and control the motor fan device (4) according to the current intensity.         The electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 5, wherein the control and evaluation device is configured to prevent the motor fan device (4) from being started when the current intensity is higher than the defined current intensity.         If the electric vacuum cleaner of claim 5 or 6 is provided with a signal output device connected to the control and evaluation device, and wherein the control and evaluation device is set to: when the current intensity is higher than its defined current intensity , Trigger the signal output device to output a prompt signal.         The electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the power supply line (10) has an electrical separation point (15) in the area of the casing separation point (9), which includes a corresponding one that is assigned to the first casing The contact element (16, 17) of the part (7) or the second housing part (8).         The electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the first housing part (7) has the filter cavity (5), and the second housing part (8) has the energy supply device (3) and / or the Motor fan unit (4).         The electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the first housing part (7) has a suction port (18) for sucking an object to be sucked into the vacuum cleaner (1).         A filter bag fitting for a vacuum cleaner, wherein the filter bag fitting (12) has an accommodating area for containing the filter bag (6), and is characterized by the filter bag fitting (12) An operating element (13) is provided for operating the switching element (11) of the vacuum cleaner (1), wherein the operating element (13) is a protrusion on the filter bag adapter (12), which is directed outward. unit.