JP2002000516A - Vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to operate an auxiliary means such as a rotating brush or the like provided on a suction means for a floor without supplying electricity from a vacuum cleaner body. SOLUTION: The suction means 5 for a floor is provided with the rotating brush 53 that is a cleaning auxiliary means, and an electric motor 54 for driving the rotating brush 5, wherein storage batteries 6 are arranged inside a suction housing 51 so as to be placed generally equally on both sides of a connecting position of a linking part of a linking tube 50 that is a communicating part with an extended tube. Thereby, the electric motor 54 is driven by electricity supplied from the storage batteries 6.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a floor suction device connected to an intake port of a cleaner body via an intake hose and an extension pipe, and a cleaning auxiliary means such as a rotary brush driven by an electric motor. It relates to a provided vacuum cleaner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Vacuum cleaners widely used in general households are equipped with an electric fan for suction and a dust collection chamber for dust collection. A vacuum cleaner body having wheels, an extension pipe connected to the intake port via a flexible intake hose, and a suction tool detachably attached to a tip of the extension pipe. Holding the operation handle provided at the base of the extension pipe, and moving the cleaner body on the floor surface by rolling the wheels, pressing the suction tool attached to the tip against a desired cleaning surface, In this state, the electric fan is rotated and used.

At this time, the rotation of the electric fan causes
From the suction tool, a flow of suction air introduced into the cleaner body through the extension pipe, the suction hose, and the suction port is generated, and the dust around the suction tool is sucked together with the suction, and is provided in front of the electric fan. Collected in the dust collection chamber.

In the vacuum cleaner constructed as described above, the suction tool attached to the tip of the extension pipe has a function of efficiently collecting dust by suction, and the shape of the suction port and the shape of the suction port Various different shapes such as the shape of a brush to be taken are prepared, and by appropriately changing and using the cleaning surface to be cleaned, a good dust collection performance can be obtained.

[0005] Among the suction tools of this type, a floor suction tool used for a floor surface has a communication port with the extension pipe at the center for the purpose of efficiently cleaning a wide range of the floor surface. Although it is configured to have a rectangular suction port that opens wide, there is a problem that the dust collection power is insufficient due to the large size of the suction port.

Further, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-8852 (A47L 9/28, 5
/ 28), etc., have a storage battery inside the vacuum cleaner body,
A rechargeable vacuum cleaner has been proposed which is configured to drive an electric fan for intake by power supply from the storage battery, eliminates the need for a power cord for connection to an external power supply, and improves operability. In such a vacuum cleaner, it is difficult to enhance the suction performance of the electric fan, and the shortage of the dust collecting force when the floor suction tool is used appears more remarkably.

[0007] In order to solve such a problem, a floor suction tool incorporating a cleaning assist means for assisting dust collection and an electric motor for driving the same has been widely used. The cleaning assisting means, for example, a brush is implanted on a peripheral surface of a cylindrical body spanned across the suction port, and is configured as a rotating brush driven to rotate around an axis by the electric motor, The area around the cleaning location against which the suction port is pressed is knocked, and dust at the location is knocked out to assist suction.

[0008]

When a floor suction tool having the above-described cleaning assisting means is used, it is necessary to supply power to an electric motor serving as a drive source of the cleaning assisting means.
The power is supplied along a conductive line that extends along the extension pipe and the intake hose and is connected to a power supply in the cleaner body.

However, in this configuration, a connecting mechanism for connecting the conductive wires at a connecting portion between the cleaner body and the suction hose and a connecting portion between the suction hose and the extension pipe are required. There is a problem that the configuration of the extension pipe is complicated. Further, the extension pipe is generally configured by connecting a plurality of pipes in the length direction, and can be used by changing the length by connecting or separating according to a cleaning place. The connection mechanism is also required at the connecting portion of the pipe, which further complicates the configuration.

In addition, the connection mechanism repeats connection and disconnection every time the suction hose and the extension pipe are attached and detached, and as a result, it is inevitable that contact failure occurs during long-term use.
In such a case, a malfunction of the cleaning assisting means provided in the floor suction tool may be caused, and a desired cleaning performance may not be obtained.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a storage battery is arranged in a well-balanced manner inside a floor suction tool, and is not supplied from the cleaner body but supplied from the storage battery. Activating the cleaning assist means eliminates the need for a conductive wire along the intake hose and the extension pipe, and a connection mechanism for the conductive wire, thereby making it possible to perform a reliable auxiliary operation for a long period of time and to arrange the storage battery. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vacuum cleaner that is easy to use by preventing deterioration in handling of a floor suction tool due to the above.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vacuum cleaner which is detachably attached to a distal end portion of an extension pipe connected to a suction port of a cleaner body via a flexible suction hose. A vacuum cleaner which is mounted and used and has an electric motor and a cleaning assisting means driven by the electric motor inside a floor suction tool provided with a suction port which opens wide around a communication portion with the extension pipe. In the inside of the floor suction tool,
It is characterized by comprising a storage battery which is arranged substantially equally on both sides in the width direction of the communicating portion with the extension pipe, and which supplies power to the electric motor.

In the present invention, a storage battery is disposed inside a floor suction tool provided with a cleaning auxiliary means such as a rotary brush and an electric motor for driving the same, and the electric motor is driven by power supply from the storage battery. Activate the cleaning aid. In addition, the storage batteries are arranged at substantially equal intervals on both sides of the communicating portion with the extension pipe located at the center in the width direction of the floor suction device, to maintain the weight balance in the width direction of the floor suction device, and to maintain the cleaning posture. It is possible to prevent deterioration in the handling of the floor suction tool which is attached to the tip of the extension pipe in various directions to be free to follow the change.

[0014] A vacuum cleaner according to a second invention is characterized in that the storage battery according to the first invention is disposed over substantially the entire width of the floor suction tool.

In the present invention, it is possible to dispose a large-capacity storage battery by using the entire width of the floor suction tool for disposing the storage battery.

[0016] A vacuum cleaner according to a third invention is characterized in that the storage battery according to the first or second invention is disposed above the suction port.

[0017] In the present invention, the suction port is provided above the suction port so as not to be bothered by the presence of the air passage formed from the suction port opening below the floor suction tool to the communicating portion with the extension pipe. Install a storage battery.

A vacuum cleaner according to a fourth invention is characterized in that the storage battery according to the first to third inventions comprises a plurality of cylindrical batteries arranged in tandem.

In the present invention, the above arrangement is realized by using a plurality of inexpensive cylindrical batteries, which are rich in versatility, and arranging them in tandem.

Further, in the vacuum cleaner according to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the electric motor is disposed coaxially with the plurality of cylindrical batteries.

In the present invention, the electric motors for driving the cleaning assisting means are arranged coaxially with the cylindrical batteries arranged in a plurality in tandem, and the arrangement space is shared with these to provide the electric motor inside the floor suction tool. It fits comfortably in the limited space.

[0022]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings showing the embodiments. FIG. 1 is a side view showing an external appearance of a vacuum cleaner according to the present invention when not in use. In FIG.

The cleaner body 1 includes a pair of left and right large-diameter rear wheels 11 and 11 (only one side is shown) and a small-diameter front wheel 12 configured as a caster wheel. An electric fan for intake and a dust collection chamber (not shown) for collecting dust are provided, and an inlet 13 is provided on the front (upper side in the figure), and an outlet (not shown) is provided on the rear. It is configured.

In the vacuum cleaner according to the present invention, the extension pipe 4 is connected to the suction port 13 of the cleaner body 1 via the flexible suction hose 3 as described above. Suction device 5
And the floor suction tool 5 is pressed against the floor surface to drive the electric fan inside the cleaner body 1 for use. As a result, a flow of intake air flowing into the cleaner body 1 from the floor suction tool 5 through the extension pipe 4 and the suction hose 3 is generated, and the dust around the floor suction tool 5 is sucked together with the suction air. A known cleaning operation is performed in which the dust is collected in a dust collection chamber provided in front of the electric fan.

At the base of the extension pipe 4, an operating handle 40 is formed, which protrudes from the vicinity of the connection with the intake hose 3 and bends into a hook shape, to press the floor suction tool 5 during the cleaning operation. The operation and the moving operation of the cleaner body 1 are performed by a user holding the operation handle 40. The operation handle 40 is provided with an operation switch (not shown) operable by a user to drive an electric fan inside the cleaner body 1 and a rotary brush (described later) inside the floor suction tool 5. The drive of 50 is performed by operating the operation switch.

At the base of the suction hose 3, an auxiliary handle 30 protruding upward from the cleaner main body 1 at the time of this connection is fixedly provided near a connection portion of the cleaner main body 1 to the suction port 13. . The auxiliary handle 30 is connected to the suction hose 3 to the suction port 13.
The vacuum cleaner main body 1 which is used to easily carry out the attaching / detaching operation when being attached / detached, and which is placed on the charging stand 2 as described later when not in use, with the rear surface serving as the placing surface facing downward. Used when lifting.

The charging stand 2 is used as a mounting table for mounting the used vacuum cleaner body 1 together with the floor suction tool 5 connected via the suction hose 3 and the extension pipe 4. .. (See FIG. 2) in the floor suction tool 5 during this placement.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cleaner main body 1 is placed upright at the approximate center of the charging stand 2 with the rear surface serving as the mounting surface facing downward. This mounting can be easily performed by gripping the auxiliary handle 30. The floor suction device 5 connected to the vacuum cleaner main body 1 via the suction hose 3 and the extension pipe 4 has a mounting portion which is formed by notching an upper edge of one side of the charging stand 2 in a tapered shape. It is placed on top with the suction surface facing down. This mounting is performed using the extension pipe 4 having the floor suction tool 5 attached to the tip.

In the middle of the extension pipe 4, an engaging claw 41 projecting outward and bending at a substantially right angle toward the mounting side of the floor suction tool 5 is fixed. On the other hand, the bottom of the cleaner main body 1 placed in the upright posture as described above is provided with a concave portion having an opening on the front surface facing upward and through which the engaging claw 41 can be inserted.

With the above construction, the extension pipe 4
By inserting the tip of 41 into the recess and engaging it, it is supported along the bottom surface of the cleaner body 1 standing upright on the charging stand 2 as shown in the figure, and is connected to the lower end of the extension tube 4. The floor suction tool 5 thus set is supported from above by the extension pipe 4 and is placed with its lower surface in contact with the placement section set on one side of the charging stand 2.

A charging coil 20 is provided inside the charging stand 2 so as to face the inside of the mounting portion of the floor suction tool 5, and the charging coil 20 is stored on the other side of the charging stand 2. The storage batteries 6, 6,... Inside the floor suction tool 5 placed as described above are charged in a non-contact manner by flowing a current from the charger 21 to the charging coil 20. It is done so.

FIG. 2 is a top view showing a first embodiment of the floor suction tool 5, FIG. 3 is a bottom view thereof, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV. As shown in these figures, a floor suction tool 5 is provided with a connecting pipe for connection to the extension pipe 4.
On the lower surface of a suction housing 51 connected to one side of 50, a well-known configuration including a rectangular suction port 52 that opens wide with the communication part with the connection pipe 50 as a center is provided.

The connection between the suction housing 51 and the connecting pipe 50 is as follows.
As shown in FIG. 4, a spherical male portion formed at the distal end of the connecting pipe 50 is fitted to a spherical female portion connected to the suction housing 51. With this connection, the suction housing 51 can be tilted up and down at the distal end of the connecting pipe 50. On the other hand, the connecting pipe 50 and the extension pipe 4 are connected so as to be rotatable around an axis, and by this turning, the suction housing 51 at the distal end of the connecting pipe 50 can be tilted in the left-right direction. . Accordingly, during the above-described cleaning operation performed by gripping the operation handle 40, the suction port 52 on the floor
Can be satisfactorily pressed.

Inside the suction housing 51, the suction port is provided.
A rotating brush (cleaning assisting means) 53 is erected across the 52. One side of the rotating brush 53 is a suction housing
The rotary brush 53 is rotatably driven by the electric motor 54 coaxially connected to the output end of an electric motor 54 fixed inside the same side of the 51.

As shown in FIG. 4, the rotating brush 53 has brush bristles 53a, 53a planted at radially opposite positions on the circumferential surface of a cylindrical body having a small diameter, and intersecting therewith. In addition, spatula plates 53b, 53b are implanted, and the electric motor 54
When the brush bristles 53a, 53a and the spatula plates 53b, 53b alternately strike the floor against which the suction port 52 is pressed, and strike out the dust at the corresponding location, the suction of these The assisting cleaning operation is performed.

A storage battery 6 for supplying power to the electric motor 54 is provided inside the suction housing 51. The storage battery 6 is configured by arranging a plurality of cylindrical batteries in tandem as shown by a broken line in FIG. The suction housing 51 is substantially equally arranged on both sides in the direction, and is arranged over substantially the entire width of the suction housing 51. As shown in FIG. 4, such a storage battery 6 is disposed inside a battery chamber 60 that is located above the suction port 52 and is connected to an upper portion of the suction housing 51.

The storage battery 6 arranged as described above is connected to the electric motor 54 by a power supply line (not shown).
Electric power is supplied to the electric motor 54 in accordance with the ON operation of the operation switch performed while the operation handle 30 is gripped.

As described above, the floor suction device 5 incorporates a storage battery 6 for supplying power to the electric motor 54 in addition to the rotating brush 53 as a cleaning assisting means and the electric motor 54 for driving the same. Therefore, as described above, power supply from the cleaner main body 1 connected via the extension pipe 4 and the suction hose 3 is unnecessary, and the conductive wire along the suction hose 3 and the extension pipe 4 and the conductive wire No connection mechanism, electric motor
The rotating brush 53 driven by 54 can be reliably driven for a long period of time, and the above-described cleaning assisting operation can be stably performed.

The storage batteries 6 are arranged substantially equally on both sides in the width direction of the communicating portion with the extension pipe 4 so that the floor suction device 5 can maintain a good weight balance in the width direction. When the floor suction device 5 is lifted from the floor surface, the floor suction device 5 is not likely to tilt with the rotation of the connecting pipe 50, and the floor suction device 5 is not cleaned during cleaning. Good handling can be achieved. The storage battery 6 in FIG.
Of the electric motor arranged on one side of the floor suction tool 5
In consideration of the weight balance with the 54, it is arranged slightly shifted to the other side.

The storage battery 6 is disposed over substantially the entire width of the floor suction tool 5, so that the storage value 6 can be increased. Further, the storage battery 6 is configured by arranging cylindrical batteries having high versatility in tandem, and can be configured at low cost.

Further, the storage battery 6 is disposed inside a battery chamber 60 formed above the suction port 52 of the floor suction tool 5, and connects a communication portion between the suction port 52 and the extension pipe 4. The arrangement can be performed without bothering the existence of the air passage, and the arrangement does not hinder the formation of the air passage.

FIG. 5 is a top view showing a second embodiment of the floor suction tool 5, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines AA and BB in FIG.

In this embodiment, the storage battery 6 inside the floor suction tool 5 is constituted by arranging a plurality of cylindrical batteries in tandem, as in the first embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 6A, which is a cross section taken along the line A, it is disposed inside a battery chamber 60 which is located above the suction port 52 and connected to the suction housing 51. The configuration and arrangement of the storage battery 6 described above are the same as those in the first embodiment.

The feature of this embodiment resides in the arrangement of an electric motor 54 that is rotated and driven by power supply from the storage battery 6, and the electric motor 54 is coaxial with one side of the storage battery 6 as shown in FIG. Are arranged side by side. As shown in FIG. 6B, which is a cross section taken along the line BB in FIG.
This can be realized by disposing the electric motor 54 inside a battery chamber 60 formed for disposing the storage battery 6 above the suction port 52, and in a limited space inside the floor suction tool 5. It is possible to fit it easily.

The electric motor 54 arranged as described above
Is connected to a rotating brush 53 disposed at a lower position of the timing belt 55 by extending a timing belt 55 between belt wheels fitted to corresponding portions of the two. Is transmitted to the rotating brush 53 via
The rotating brush 53 is designed to be rotated.

[0046]

As described above in detail, in the vacuum cleaner according to the first aspect of the present invention, a cleaning auxiliary means such as a rotary brush and a floor suction tool provided with an electric motor for driving the cleaning auxiliary means are provided. Since a storage battery for supplying power to the electric motor is provided, a conductive wire for supplying power from the cleaner body is not required, and the configuration of the suction hose and the extension pipe can be simplified, and contact failure of the conductive wire can be reduced. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of malfunctioning of the cleaning assisting means caused by it,
Further, since the storage batteries are arranged substantially equally on both sides of the communicating portion with the extension pipe located at the center in the width direction of the floor suction device, it is possible to maintain a good weight balance in the width direction of the floor suction device. Thus, the handling of the floor suction tool during cleaning is not hindered, and the usability is good.

Further, in the vacuum cleaner according to the second aspect of the present invention, since the storage battery is disposed over substantially the entire width of the floor suction tool, the storage battery can have a large capacity.

In the vacuum cleaner according to the third aspect of the present invention, since the storage battery is disposed above the suction port of the floor suction tool, this arrangement is extended from the suction port opening below the floor suction tool. There is no need to bother with the presence of the air passage formed toward the communicating portion with the pipe.

Further, in the vacuum cleaner according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since a storage battery having a plurality of cylindrical batteries arranged in tandem is used, the storage battery can be constructed at a low cost.

Further, in the vacuum cleaner according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the electric motors are arranged coaxially with the plurality of storage batteries arranged in tandem, the arrangement space for both can be shared, and the inside of the floor suction device can be shared. The present invention has an excellent effect, for example, because it can be easily accommodated in a limited space.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an external appearance of a vacuum cleaner according to the present invention when not in use.

FIG. 2 is a top view showing the first embodiment of the floor suction tool.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the floor suction tool shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a top view showing a second embodiment of the floor suction tool.

6 is a transverse sectional view taken along lines AA and BB of FIG. 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vacuum cleaner main body 2 Charging stand 3 Intake hose 4 Extension pipe 5 Floor suction tool 6 Storage battery 50 Connecting pipe 51 Suction housing 52 Suction port 53 Rotary brush (cleaning auxiliary means) 54 Electric motor 60 Battery room

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Jun Yoshida 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Yoshihiro Mori 2-chome Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka No. 5 Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kenichiro Doi 2-5-2-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi City, Osaka Prefecture (72) Inventor Rizo Kobayashi Keihanhondori, Moriguchi City, Osaka Prefecture 2-5-5 Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 3B057 DA09 DE06 3B061 AA06 AA26 AD01 AD05 AE02

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An extension pipe connected to an intake port of a cleaner body via a flexible intake hose so as to be detachably attached to a tip of the extension pipe. Inside the floor suction tool with a wide opening suction port,
An electric motor, and a cleaner comprising: a cleaning auxiliary means driven by the electric motor; wherein the inside of the floor suction tool is disposed substantially equally distributed on both sides in a width direction of a communicating portion with the extension pipe. And a storage battery for supplying power to the electric motor. 2. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the storage battery is disposed over substantially the entire width of the floor suction tool. 3. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the storage battery is disposed above the suction port. 4. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the storage battery includes a plurality of cylindrical batteries arranged in tandem. 5. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 4, wherein the electric motor is disposed coaxially with the plurality of cylindrical batteries.