JP2002034874A - Charging type electric vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To fully charge batteries with different capacities for a cleaner body and a suction tool for a floor with electricity by the same time and to provide displaying means for remaining amounts of the batteries which easily attract a person's attention. SOLUTION: Two chargers 30b and 30c respectively have different charging capacities and the battery 13 in an electric power source circuit 1b for the cleaner body 1 and the battery 23 in an electric power source circuit 20b for the suction tool 20 for the floor are respectively charged by means of the chargers 30b and 30c. The battery 13 is fully charged in 6 hours with a charging electric current of 0.3 A from the electric power source of the charger 30b through a charging electric current control circuit 31. On the other hand, the battery 23 is fully charged in 6 hours with a charging electric current of 0.1 A from the electric power source of the charger 30c through a charging electric current control circuit 31. In addition, the displaying means for remaining amounts of the batteries are provided on the top face of the suction tool for the floor.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rechargeable vacuum cleaner having a built-in storage battery.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a vacuum cleaner for driving an electric blower with a storage battery is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-8852 (A47L9).
/ 28). This rechargeable vacuum cleaner has a configuration in which the electric current supplied from the charged storage battery is supplied to the electric blower to drive the electric blower, thereby sucking the dust. Then, the storage battery had to be increased in size, the vacuum cleaner became heavy, the operability deteriorated, and the cost increased.

Therefore, if the size of the storage battery or the size of the electric blower is reduced with emphasis on the operability and cost of the vacuum cleaner, the battery capacity of the storage battery is reduced and the usage time of the vacuum cleaner is shortened. In view of the above, it is necessary to reduce the size of the electric blower. However, if the electric blower is miniaturized, the suction power will be insufficient, so when cleaning a carpet with long hairs, the dust inside the carpet cannot be sufficiently sucked, and the dust remains on the carpet. In some cases. Therefore, a method of compensating for the insufficient suction force can be considered by arranging a rotary brush driven by a motor on the floor suction tool and efficiently sucking the dust while scraping out the dust on the floor surface by the rotary brush. In addition, a dedicated battery is used for each of the electric blower and the motor, and the storage battery for driving the electric blower is arranged in the cleaner body so that the motor for driving the rotating brush can be driven by the storage battery in the same manner as the electric blower. Is conceivable in which a storage battery for driving the power supply is arranged in the floor suction tool.

[0004]

In a vacuum cleaner having such a structure, the capacity of the storage battery arranged in the cleaner body is usually larger than the capacity of the storage battery arranged in the floor suction tool. At the time of charging, when the same current was applied to both storage batteries, the storage battery of the floor suction device having a smaller capacity was fully charged earlier. As a result, the storage battery of the floor suction device is overcharged and the life of the storage battery is shortened. If the charging operation is completed and used before the storage battery of the vacuum cleaner is fully charged, the usage time of the vacuum cleaner main body is shortened. There was a problem.

Further, if the remaining battery level is not known when the vacuum cleaner is used, including the state of charge of the storage battery, it may cause a problem such as a sudden running out of the remaining battery level during cleaning. If the battery is provided only in the cleaner body which is hardly noticeable during cleaning, the same trouble as when the battery level is suddenly exhausted during cleaning is caused. Accordingly, the present invention provides a battery charging device in which a storage battery having different capacities of a storage battery of a vacuum cleaner main body and a storage battery of a floor suction tool is fully charged in the same time, and a battery remaining amount display means that is easy to notice when using the vacuum cleaner is provided. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vacuum cleaner.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rechargeable vacuum cleaner having a dust collecting chamber and an electric blower driven by a first storage battery. A flexible hose connected to the cleaner body, an extension pipe connected to the flexible hose, a rotary brush connected to the extension pipe, and a motor for rotating the rotary brush. In a vacuum cleaner provided with a suction tool for use and a second storage battery that is a drive power source for the motor, when the first storage battery and the second storage battery are charged, both storage batteries are fully charged in the same time. In addition, a configuration is adopted in which charging is performed by controlling the charging current of each storage battery.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rechargeable vacuum cleaner having a dust collecting chamber, a cleaner main body having an electric blower driven by a first storage battery, and a flexible hose connected to the cleaner main body. A floor suction device having an extension tube connected to the flexible hose, a rotating brush connected to the extension tube, and a motor for rotating the rotating brush, and a second power supply as a driving power source for the motor. The first storage battery and the second storage battery are charged so that both the storage batteries are fully charged in the same time during charging of the first storage battery and the second storage battery. The batteries are individually provided, and the charging current is controlled by controlling the charging current of each storage battery.

[0008] Thus, the rechargeable vacuum cleaner of the present invention,
The charging current of both the vacuum cleaner main unit and the floor suction tool can be fully charged in the same time by the charging current, so that the life of the storage batteries can be eliminated, and both storage batteries can be fully charged. And the variation in the remaining battery level of both storage batteries can be eliminated.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rechargeable vacuum cleaner, comprising: a cleaner body having a dust collecting chamber, an electric blower driven by a first storage battery, and a flexible hose connected to the cleaner body. A floor suction device having an extension tube connected to the flexible hose, a rotating brush connected to the extension tube, and a motor for rotating the rotating brush, and a second power supply as a driving power source for the motor. The display device is provided on the upper surface of the floor suction tool so that the remaining battery level of the first storage battery and / or the second storage battery can be displayed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rechargeable vacuum cleaner having a dust collecting chamber, a cleaner main body having an electric blower driven by a first storage battery, and a flexible hose connected to the cleaner main body. A floor suction device having an extension tube connected to the flexible hose, a rotating brush connected to the extension tube, and a motor for rotating the rotating brush, and a second power supply as a driving power source for the motor. In a vacuum cleaner having a storage battery, a plurality of LEDs are provided as display means on the upper surface of the floor suction tool, and the degree of remaining battery power is indicated by the number of lit LEDs,
It is configured to be able to display the remaining battery level of the second storage battery.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rechargeable vacuum cleaner having a dust collecting chamber, a cleaner main body having an electric blower driven by a first storage battery, and a flexible hose connected to the cleaner main body. A floor suction device having an extension tube connected to the flexible hose, a rotating brush connected to the extension tube, and a motor for rotating the rotating brush, and a second power supply as a driving power source for the motor. In a vacuum cleaner provided with a storage battery, a plurality of LEDs are provided as display means on the upper surface of the floor suction tool, and the number of lit LEDs and the lit area are changed to display the degree of remaining battery power. The storage capacity of the storage battery of No. 2 is configured to be displayed.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rechargeable vacuum cleaner comprising: a cleaner body having a dust collecting chamber, an electric blower driven by a first storage battery, and a flexible hose connected to the cleaner body. A floor suction device having an extension tube connected to the flexible hose, a rotating brush connected to the extension tube, and a motor for rotating the rotating brush, and a second power supply as a driving power source for the motor. In the vacuum cleaner equipped with a storage battery, two LEDs are provided as display means on the upper surface of the floor suction tool so that the color display is different between the fully charged state and the required charging state, and the battery is fully charged immediately before reaching the required charging state. The color display of the state is made to blink so that the remaining battery level of the second storage battery can be displayed.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rechargeable vacuum cleaner, comprising: a cleaner body having a dust collecting chamber, an electric blower driven by a first storage battery, and a flexible hose connected to the cleaner body. A floor suction device having an extension tube connected to the flexible hose, a rotating brush connected to the extension tube, and a motor for rotating the rotating brush, and a second power supply as a driving power source for the motor. In the vacuum cleaner provided with the storage battery of the above, the current remaining battery level is displayed at the position of the pointer as a display means on the upper surface of the floor suction tool, so that the remaining battery level of the second storage battery can be displayed. Configured.

Thus, the rechargeable vacuum cleaner of the present invention
The battery level, including the state of charge of the storage battery, becomes clear when the vacuum cleaner is used, and there is no problem such as suddenly running out of battery power during cleaning. Various display means of the amount can be provided, and the operation from cleaning to charging can be performed smoothly.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a rechargeable vacuum cleaner according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 is a sectional view of the main body of the vacuum cleaner, FIG. 2 is an external view showing a use state of the rechargeable vacuum cleaner, FIG. 3 is a top external view of the suction tool for the floor, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a charging circuit of the storage battery, and FIG. 6 is a diagram of various display means on the upper surface of the floor suction tool.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a cleaner main body, which has a dust collecting chamber 3 formed with an intake port 2 at the front and an electric blower storage chamber 5 for storing an electric blower 4 at the rear. Reference numeral 6 denotes a dust collecting bag which is housed in the dust collecting chamber 3 and is mounted so that an opening thereof communicates with the intake port 2. Reference numeral 7 denotes a dust collecting lid which closes an upper opening of the dust collecting chamber 3 so as to be openable and closable. is there.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a front cover attached to the front surface of the dust collecting chamber 3, which forms a connecting tube 9 communicating with the intake port 2. The connecting tube 9 has a flexible hose 1 to be described later.
5 is detachably attached to one end.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a caster roller disposed in front of the bottom surface of the cleaner main body 1, and reference numeral 11 denotes a pair of rear wheels rotatably disposed on the rear side surface of the cleaner main body 1.
Reference numeral 12 denotes a cover which is attached to a lower portion of the electric blower storage room 5 and forms a part of a lower surface of the cleaner main body 1, and supplies a current to the electric blower 4 between the cover and the bottom wall of the electric blower storage room 5. A storage section 14 for storing the storage battery 13 is formed.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 15 denotes a flexible hose for inserting a connecting tube 16 formed at one end into the connecting tube 9 of the cleaner body 1 and detachably connecting the connecting tube 16 to the air inlet 2. The extension tube 17 and the floor suction shell 20 are sequentially and detachably connected to the other end of the conductive hose 15. Reference numeral 18 denotes a grip portion including a hand switch formed at one end of the extension tube 17, and 19 denotes a handle integrally formed with the connection tube 16 of the flexible hose 15. When connected to the main body 1, it is located on the upper surface side of the cleaner main body 1.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the floor suction device 20. A motor 22 drives a rotary brush (not shown) rotatably mounted on the floor suction device 20 via a drive transmission means. , 23 supply a current to the motor 22.
Storage battery.

The first storage battery 13 and the second storage battery 2
When the carpet 3 is fully charged, the continuous use time of the electric blower 4 by the first storage battery 13 when cleaning the carpet is the second time.
Is designed to be substantially the same as the continuous use time of the motor 22 by the storage battery 23 of FIG.

In this configuration, when the vacuum cleaner is not used, as shown in FIG. 4, the locking body 35 provided on the extension pipe 17 is locked in the locking hole 34 of the cleaner body 1, Vacuum cleaner body 1 with floor suction device 20 attached
The vacuum cleaner main body 1 is placed on a charging stand 30 having a built-in charger including a transformer and a charging control circuit (not shown), and having a charging terminal (not shown), with the rear surface of the cleaner facing downward. The suction tool 20 is also placed and stored on the charging stand 30.

At this time, the charging terminals (not shown) provided on the charging stand 30 contact the charging receivers (not shown) provided on the rear surface of the cleaner body 1 and the floor suction tool 20, respectively.
Is charged, and the second storage battery 23 built in the floor suction tool 20 is charged.

As described above, by disposing the first storage battery 13 in the cleaner body 1 and arranging the second storage battery 23 in the floor suction device 20, the electric blower 4 and the first storage battery 13 are disposed. Can be arranged close to each other, and the motor 22 and the second storage battery 23 can be arranged close to each other, thereby simplifying wiring between the electric blower 4 and the first storage battery 13. And the wiring between the motor 22 and the second storage battery 23 can be simplified.

Generally, when the first storage battery 13 and the second storage battery 23 are fully charged, the first storage battery 13
Continuous use time of the electric blower 4 by the second storage battery 2
3 is designed to be longer than the continuous use time of the motor 22, so that the capacity of the storage battery arranged in the cleaner body is larger than the capacity of the storage battery arranged in the floor suction tool.

Therefore, when the same current is applied to both storage batteries at the time of charging, the storage battery of the floor suction device having a small capacity becomes fully charged first, and the storage battery of the floor suction device becomes overcharged. If the charging operation is completed and used before the storage battery of the vacuum cleaner body is fully charged before the storage battery of the vacuum cleaner body is fully charged, the use time of the vacuum cleaner body may be shortened. You are.

FIG. 5 shows the connection between the power supply circuit 1b of the cleaner body 1, the power supply circuit 20b of the floor suction device 20, and the chargers 30b and 30c of the charging stand 30. In the figure, the main switch of the power supply is OFF for charging operation, and the chargers 30b and 30c are composed of a power supply, a charge current control circuit 31, and a full charge display means 32.

In the figure, the two chargers 30b and 30c have different charging capacities, respectively, and the battery 30 of the power supply circuit 1b of the cleaner main body 1 and the charger 30b are different by the charger 30b.
c, the storage battery 23 of the power supply circuit 20b of the floor suction tool 20
Are charged individually.

For example, the following Table 1 shows the relationship between the capacity of the storage battery 13 of the cleaner body 1 and the storage battery 23 of the floor suction device 20, the charging current, and the full charging time.

[Table 1]

Thus, in the charging circuit of FIG. 5, the battery 30 of the power supply circuit 1b of the cleaner body 1 is
By charging from the power source b with the charging current of 0.3 A via the charging current control circuit 31, the battery is fully charged in 6 hours.

On the other hand, the storage battery 23 of the power supply circuit 20b of the floor suction device 20 is charged from the power supply of the charger 30c with a charging current of 0.1 A via the charging current control circuit 31, so that the storage battery 23 is charged in 6 hours. It will be charged.

Therefore, in order to fully charge both storage batteries at the same time, the charging current is appropriately set so that the first storage battery 13 is charged at 0.3 A and the second storage battery 23 is charged at 0.1 A. This can be achieved by choice.

Further, in order to display the remaining battery level in an easily visible place when using the vacuum cleaner, including the state of charge of the second storage battery 23, a battery remaining level display means is provided on the upper surface of the floor suction tool. Was provided. This allows the user to use the vacuum cleaner
Since the remaining battery level can be confirmed while looking at the floor suction tool in front, the cleaning can be continued with peace of mind, and the operation from cleaning to charging can be performed smoothly.

FIG. 6 illustrates various display means 31. FIG. 6A is characterized in that a plurality of LEDs are provided as a display of the remaining battery level, and the degree of the remaining battery level is indicated by the number of lighting of the LEDs. FIG. 6B is characterized in that a plurality of LEDs are provided as a display of the remaining battery level, the degree of the remaining battery level is indicated by the number of lighting of the LEDs, and the lighting area of the LED is changed.

In FIG. 6C, two LEDs are provided to indicate the remaining battery level, and one of these LEDs is displayed in a different color between a fully charged state and a required charging state. Is characterized by blinking the color display of the fully charged state to indicate the level of the remaining battery level. And FIG.
In (C), the display of the remaining battery level is to display the current remaining battery level at the position of the pointer. In the present embodiment, the remaining battery level of the second storage battery 23 is displayed, but the remaining battery level of the first storage battery 13 may be displayed. Alternatively, the remaining battery levels of the first storage battery 13 and the second storage battery 23 may be separately displayed.

[0036]

As described above, in the rechargeable vacuum cleaner according to the present invention, the charging time of both the storage batteries of the vacuum cleaner body and the floor suction tool is made to be fully charged in the same time by the charging current. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the variation in the life of the storage batteries and the variation in the remaining battery level of both storage batteries after charging.

In the rechargeable vacuum cleaner of the present invention, the remaining amount of the battery becomes clear when the vacuum cleaner is used, including the state of charge of the storage battery, and the remaining battery level suddenly runs out during cleaning. Without having to use the vacuum cleaner, it is possible to provide various means for displaying the remaining battery level in a place that is easily visible.
Work from cleaning to charging can be performed smoothly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a cleaner body according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external view showing a use state of the rechargeable vacuum cleaner of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a top external view of a floor suction tool.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a state where the vacuum cleaner is placed on a charging stand.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a charging method of a floor suction tool battery.

FIG. 6 is a view showing various battery remaining amount display means on the upper surface of the floor suction tool.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vacuum cleaner main body 3 Dust collection room 4 Electric blower 11 Rear wheel 13 1st storage battery 15 Flexible hose 17 Extension tube 18 Grasping part (hand switch) 20 Floor suction tool 21 Battery remaining amount display means 22 Motor 23 Second Storage battery 30 charging stand 31 charging current control circuit 32 full charge display means 34 locking hole 35 locking body

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Toshihiro Shuto 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yasuhiro Iijima 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Inside Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takashi Takehira 2-5-1, Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka F-term in Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. 3B057 DE01 DE03 5G003 AA01 BA02 CA02 CC08 DA07 EA05 5H030 AA04 AS06 AS11 BB01 FF41 FF66

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A cleaner body having an electric blower driven by a dust collection chamber and a first storage battery, a flexible hose connected to the cleaner body, and an extension tube connected to the flexible hose. And a floor suction device connected to the extension tube and having a rotating brush and a motor for rotating the rotating brush, and a second storage battery that is a driving power source for the motor. A rechargeable vacuum cleaner characterized in that when charging the first storage battery and the second storage battery, charging is performed by controlling the charging current of each storage battery so that both storage batteries are fully charged in the same time. 2. The rechargeable vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the first storage battery and the second storage battery have separate chargers. 3. A cleaner body having an electric blower driven by a dust collecting chamber and a first storage battery, a flexible hose connected to the cleaner body, and an extension tube connected to the flexible hose. And a second suction battery connected to the extension tube and having a rotating brush and a motor for rotating the rotating brush, and a second storage battery that is a driving power supply for the motor. Display means is provided on the upper surface of the suction tool,
A rechargeable vacuum cleaner capable of displaying the remaining battery level of the storage battery and / or the second storage battery. 4. The rechargeable vacuum cleaner according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of LEDs are provided for displaying the remaining battery level, and the number of lighting of the LEDs indicates the level of the remaining battery level. 5. The rechargeable vacuum cleaner according to claim 4, wherein a degree of remaining battery power is displayed by changing a lighting area of the LED. 6. The battery remaining amount display is provided with two LEDs, different colors are displayed between a fully charged state and a required state of charge, and the color display of the fully charged state is blinked immediately before reaching the required state of charge. The rechargeable vacuum cleaner according to claim 3, wherein a degree of the remaining amount is displayed. 7. The rechargeable vacuum cleaner according to claim 3, wherein the display of the remaining battery level displays the current remaining battery level at the position of the pointer.