JP2005080973A - Cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify a work by eliminating the need to wipe off stain floating by steam with a towel or the like. <P>SOLUTION: The cleaner includes: a cleaning medium storage part for storing a medium for cleaning; a medium carrying part for carrying the medium; a heating part for receiving the medium carried by the medium carrying part and generating steam by heating; a steam injecting part for injecting the steam toward a part to be cleaned; and a suction part which is arranged to be close to the steam injecting part, so as to face the part to be cleaned and sucks the stain floated in the part to be cleaned. In this case, the steam is injected toward the part to be cleaned and the stain floated in the part to be cleaned is sucked. The work therefor is simplified by eliminating necessity to wipe off the stain floated by the steam through the use of the towel, etc. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaner.

Conventionally, a steam cleaner is provided to remove dirt on walls, floors, window glass, and the like. The steam cleaner heats water supplied from a water tank by a heater to generate steam, and jets the steam from a nozzle toward a wall, floor, window glass, etc., and the dirt is floated by the steam. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent No. 3210300

  However, in the conventional steam cleaner, if the wall, floor, window glass, or the like is left in a state where the dirt is floated by steam, the dirt again adheres to the wall, floor, window glass, or the like. Therefore, it is necessary to immediately wipe off the dirt floating by the steam with a towel or the like, which is troublesome.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the conventional steam cleaner, and to provide a cleaner that can simplify the work without the need to wipe off dirt floating by steam with a towel or the like.

  For this purpose, in the cleaner of the present invention, a cleaning medium storage unit that stores a cleaning medium, a medium transport unit that transports the medium, and a medium transported by the medium transport unit are received and heated to generate steam. A heating part to be generated, a steam injection part for injecting the steam toward the part to be cleaned, and a dirt floated in the part to be cleaned, disposed close to the steam injection part so as to face the part to be cleaned And a suction part for sucking.

  According to the present invention, in the cleaner, the cleaning medium storage unit that stores the cleaning medium, the medium transport unit that transports the medium, and the medium transported by the medium transport unit are received and heated to generate steam. A heating part to be generated, a steam injection part for injecting the steam toward the part to be cleaned, and a dirt floated in the part to be cleaned, disposed close to the steam injection part so as to face the part to be cleaned And a suction part for sucking.

  In this case, the steam is sprayed toward the portion to be cleaned, and the dirt that floats in the portion to be cleaned is sucked. Therefore, it is not necessary to wipe off the dirt that has been lifted by the steam, and the work can be simplified.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  1 is a sectional view of a cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a rear view of the cleaner according to the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the cleaner according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. It is a figure which shows the mounting state of the handle pipe in the embodiment.

  In the figure, 11 is a cleaner, and the cleaner 11 is detachably disposed in a main body 12, a front portion of the main body 12 (left side in FIGS. 1 and 3), and contains a dust box 13 for containing dust. A detachable arrangement is provided at the rear end (the right end in FIGS. 1 and 3) of the main body 12, and a first handle 14 for using the cleaner 11 in a mop type is provided.

  The cleaner 11 includes a pair of first wheels 15 in front of the bottom (leftward in FIGS. 1 and 3) and a pair of second wheels 16 at the rear end of the bottom. , 16 can be rotated to move the cleaner 11 on the floor. The cleaner 11 has a second handle 20 as a holder swingably disposed on the upper portion of the main body 12, and raises and grips the second handle 20 so that the cleaner 11 is handheld. Can be used in

  By the way, in the cleaner 11 having the above-described configuration, dirt on a portion to be cleaned such as a wall, a floor, and a window glass can be removed by steam. For this purpose, a second mode change switch (not shown) is provided at a predetermined position of the first handle 14, and a first mode change switch (not shown) is provided at a predetermined position of the second handle 20. By switching the second mode changeover switch, the cleaner 11 is operated in the dirt removal mode as the first operation mode, and the dirt of the portion to be cleaned is floated by steam, or the cleaner 11 is set in the second operation mode. It operates in the dirt collection mode to collect floating dirt. A mode switching unit is configured by the first and second mode changeover switches.

  In the main body 12, a tank 21 serving as a cleaning medium storage unit that stores water as a cleaning medium, a filter 22 that is disposed below the tank 21 and filters water discharged from the tank 21, A pump 23 serving as a medium transport unit that transports the water discharged from the filter 22 by sucking and discharging, and a heating unit and a steam generation unit that receive and heat the water transported by the pump 23 and generate steam. As a heater 24, a silicone rubber steam transport pipe 25 for transporting the steam generated by the heater 24, and a metal injection nozzle as a steam spraying section for spraying the transported steam toward the cleaned portion 26 etc. are arranged. The filter 22, the heater 24, the steam transport pipe 25, and the injection nozzle 26 are disposed in the vicinity of the bottom portion, and the filter 22 is detachably disposed from the bottom surface side. The spray nozzle 26 is disposed with its tip exposed toward the portion to be cleaned and close to it, and a plurality of spray ports 27 having a small cross-sectional area are formed at the tip of the spray nozzle 26. The spray ports 27 are formed at a constant pitch so as to face the portion to be cleaned.

  Accordingly, the water in the tank 21 is discharged by a certain amount, filtered by the filter 22, sucked by the pump 23, and then conveyed to the heater 24. Subsequently, water is heated in the heater 24 to generate steam having a temperature of about 100 [° C.], and the steam is sent to the spray nozzle 26 through the steam transport pipe 25, and is to be cleaned from the spray nozzle 26. It is injected toward the part.

  By the way, when the steam is jetted from the jet nozzle 26 toward the portion to be cleaned, dirt on the portion to be cleaned is floated by the cleaning action by the steam. Therefore, a suction device 30 as a vacuum generation source and a suction nozzle 31 as a suction part are disposed in the main body 12, and a vacuum is generated by operating the suction device 30, and the object to be cleaned is passed through the suction nozzle 31. The dirt floating in the section is sucked and collected.

  For this purpose, the suction device 30 includes a motor 41, output shafts 43 and 44 that output rotation generated by driving the motor 41, and first and second attached to the output shafts 43 and 44. Fans 45 and 46 are provided. In addition, the suction nozzle 31 is disposed in the vicinity of the injection nozzle 26 and is detachably attached to the front of the injection nozzle 26 in the present embodiment, and one end of the suction nozzle 31 is the portion to be cleaned. A slit-shaped nozzle port 32 is formed at one end of the suction nozzle 31. The nozzle port 32 is formed to face the portion to be cleaned. The other end of the suction nozzle 31 communicates with a guide path 33 formed upward from the bottom surface of the dust box 13 in the space 49. The guide path 33 guides the sucked dirt into the dust box 13. Therefore, it is not necessary to wipe off the dirt floating by the steam with a towel or the like (not shown), and the operation can be simplified.

  A brush 71 is attached to the suction nozzle 31 in front of and behind the nozzle port 32 (rightward in FIGS. 1 and 3). Therefore, as the cleaner 11 moves, the brush 71 rubs the portion to be cleaned and scrapes off the floating dirt, so that the dirt can be sucked effectively. In addition, since the nozzle openings 32 are formed between the brushes 71, the scraped dirt can be reliably sucked.

  The suction nozzle 31 is attached with one end projecting downward from the bottom surface of the main body 12 by a predetermined amount. For example, the suction nozzle 31 is replaced according to the height of the bottom portion of the main body 12 with respect to the floor surface. The amount of protrusion is changed so that and can be in good contact with each other.

  The main body 12 includes a partition wall 34 at a predetermined location, and the tank 21, the filter 22, the pump 23, the motor 41, the second fan 46, and the like are disposed behind the partition wall 34 in the main body 12. An accommodating chamber 35 is formed, and an air flow path 48 having a substantially “L” -shaped shape is formed in front of the partition wall 34 and between the dust box 13 and the space 49 and the air flow in the dust box 13. An air circulation path is formed by the path 48.

  The air flow channel 48 includes an air suction flow channel 51 formed vertically along the partition wall 34 and an air heating flow channel 52 formed horizontally along the bottom of the main body 12. A filter 53 for filtering the circulated air is detachably disposed between the suction channel 51 and the suction channel 51. Accordingly, when the first fan 45 is rotated as the motor 41 is driven, the air in the space 49 is sucked through the filter 53 and a vacuum is generated in the space 49. As a result, the dirt floating in the portion to be cleaned is sucked by the suction nozzle 31 and taken into the space 49 through the guide path 33.

  The first fan 45 is housed in an annular case (not shown), sucks air through an opening formed in the center of the case, and draws air from a discharge port formed on the outer peripheral edge. Discharge into the road 51.

  Then, the air taken into the space 49 is separated into water containing dirt and air containing no dirt by the filter 53, and the water containing dirt is stored in the bottom of the dust box 13. The dirt-free air enters the air suction flow channel 51 and is then sent to the air heating flow channel 52 by the centrifugal force generated with the rotation of the first fan 45. After that, the air is heated by the heat radiated from the heater 24 and the steam transport pipe 25 in the air heating flow path 52 and becomes high temperature (about 40 [° C.]), and is formed behind the injection port 27. In addition, it is discharged as a drying medium from the plurality of discharge ports 55 toward the portion to be cleaned. Each of the discharge ports 55 has a slit shape and is formed adjacent to each other at a constant pitch.

  Therefore, the portion to be cleaned after the dirt is sucked is heated by the air discharged from the discharge port 55 and dried. In this case, since the discharge port 55 is disposed close to the nozzle port 32, the portion to be cleaned after the dirt is sucked can be effectively heated and dried. Moreover, since the heat radiated from the heater 24 and the steam transport pipe 25 can be removed, the temperature of the main body 12 can be prevented from becoming excessively high.

  In the present embodiment, the nozzle port 32, the injection port 27, and the discharge port 55 are formed in order from the front end (left end in FIGS. 1 and 3) to the rear of the cleaner 11, but each nozzle port 32, the order of the injection port 27 and the discharge port 55 can be freely changed.

  Further, the air used for sucking dirt is circulated by the air flow path 48, and then discharged from the discharge port 55 to be used as a drying medium, and further used to suck dirt again. The Therefore, it is possible to prevent the exhaust odor from being generated.

  By the way, the cleaner 11 can be used in a mop type by holding the first handle 14 and moving it on the floor.

  For this purpose, a handle holder 57 is provided at the rear end of the cleaner 11 so as to be swingable about a swing shaft sh1 formed at the lower end so that the first handle 14 can be attached and detached. A button (not shown) for operation is provided at the rear end of the cleaner 11, and the operator can attach and detach the first handle 14 by stepping on the button with his foot.

  The handle holder 57 includes a case 58, a coupling 59 disposed in the case 58, a cap 61 detachably disposed on an upper end of the case 58, and the like. The first handle 14 can be set by engaging the handle 14 with the coupling 59. In addition, an accommodation portion 62 for accommodating the handle holder 57 in a vertical state is formed at the rear end of the main body 12.

  By the way, since the pump 23, the motor 41, and the like are disposed in the storage chamber 35, heat is radiated from the pump 23, the motor 41, and the like as the pump 23, the motor 41, and the like are driven. Therefore, the second fan 46 is rotated by the motor 41, and the air in the accommodation chamber 35 is discharged through the handle holder 57 and the first handle 14. For this purpose, the handle holder 57 and the first handle 14 have a hollow structure, and the upper end of the first handle 14 is communicated with the outside air through a predetermined hole. An intake port 60 for taking the air in the storage chamber 35 into the handle holder 57 is formed at the lower end of the handle holder 57 and the lower end of the front wall (left wall in FIG. 1) of the storage portion 62. Therefore, the heat radiated from the pump 23, the motor 41, and the like can be taken in through the intake port 60 and released to the outside air through the handle holder 57 and the first handle 14, so that the temperature of the main body 12 is increased. It can be prevented from becoming excessively high.

  In addition, a bumper 63 is attached to the front end of the main body 12, and the bumper 63 moves when the front end portion (the left end portion in FIGS. 1 and 3) of the cleaner 11 collides with a foreign object while the cleaner 11 is moved. Relieve shock. Further, at the rear end of the main body 12, a power switch 65 for turning on / off the power of the cleaner 11, a bush 66 for taking out a cord for connecting the cleaner 11 and the power source (commercial power source), and water in the tank 21 are provided. A window 67 for indicating the liquid level of the liquid, an LED 68 for preventing emptying as a display unit, and the like are disposed.

  Next, the control circuit of the cleaner 11 having the above-described configuration will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a control circuit in the embodiment of the present invention.

  In the figure, 65 is a power switch, 72 is a jack for insertion / removal with respect to a power outlet (not shown), and a high temperature side thermostat 73 as a first temperature detection unit, a heater with respect to the power switch 65. 24 and a thermal fuse 74 are connected in series. The thermostat 73 and the thermal fuse 74 are disposed in the vicinity of the heater 24. When the power switch 65 is turned on, the cleaner 11 (FIG. 1) is turned on. When the power switch 65 is turned off, the cleaner 11 is turned off.

  When the cleaner 11 is powered on, a current flows through the thermostat 73, the heater 24, and the thermal fuse 74, and the heater 24 heats the water. The thermostat 73 detects the temperature of the heater 24 and is turned on when the detected temperature is lower than 160 [° C.], and is turned off when the detected temperature is higher than 160 [° C.]. 100 [° C.] steam is generated. The thermal fuse 74 is blown when the heater 24 reaches 220 [° C.] when an abnormality occurs in the thermostat 73, and the power supply of the cleaner 11 is forcibly cut off.

  Reference numeral 76 denotes a main changeover switch disposed on the handle holder 57. The main changeover switch 76 includes terminals C, H, and M, and the first state when the first handle 14 is not set. Is connected between the terminals C and H, the power source is connected to the first mode changeover switch 77, and the first handle 14 is set, the second state is established, and the terminals C and M are connected. Are connected, and the power source is connected to the second mode changeover switch 78. In this case, the main selector switch 76 is placed in the first state when the first handle 14 is not set, and is placed in the second state when the first handle 14 is set. The operability of the cleaner 11 can be improved.

  The first mode changeover switch 77 is arranged on the second handle 20 and the second mode changeover switch 78 is arranged on the first handle 14, all of which have terminals C, S and V.

  Then, when the operator operates the first and second mode changeover switches 77 and 78 to place them in the first state, the terminals C and S are connected, the dirt removal mode is set, and the second state is set. Is placed between the terminals C and V, the dirt collection mode is set.

  When the dirt removal mode is set, the power source, the low temperature side thermostat 79 as the second temperature detection unit, the diode 81, the pump 23, and the air-air prevention circuit 82 are connected in series, and the power source and the motor ( M) 41 is blocked. As a result, the pump 23 is operated, the water in the tank 21 is conveyed to the heater 24, and steam is generated in the heater 24.

  Then, the steam is transported to the spray nozzle 26 through the steam transport pipe 25 and sprayed from the spray nozzle 26 toward the cleaned portion, so that dirt is floated in the cleaned portion.

  The thermostat 79 is disposed in the vicinity of the heater 24, detects the temperature of the heater 24, and turns on when the detected temperature is 110 [° C.] or higher, and turns off when the detected temperature is lower than 110 [° C.]. Therefore, as long as the heater 24 does not reach the temperature at which steam is generated, the pump 23 does not operate and water is not conveyed to the heater 24, so water does not leak from the injection nozzle 26.

  The airborne prevention circuit 82 includes a reed switch 83 that is turned on and off in accordance with the movement of a float (not shown) disposed in the tank 21, the LED 68 connected in parallel with the reed switch 83, and a resistor. R is provided. When the water level in the tank 21 is equal to or higher than the lower limit value, the reed switch 83 is turned on and the LED 68 is turned off. When the water level is lower than the lower limit value, the reed switch 83 is turned off and the LED 68 is lit. Be made. Therefore, when the LED 68 is turned on, the operator can be informed that the amount of water in the tank 21 is small.

  On the other hand, when the dirt collection mode is set, the power supply and the motor 41 are connected, and the power supply, the thermostat 79, the diode 81, the pump 23, and the air-pump prevention circuit 82 are shut off. As a result, the motor 41 is operated, a vacuum is generated in the space 49, and dirt is sucked and collected by the suction nozzle 31. At this time, the portion to be cleaned is heated by the air discharged from the discharge port 55 and dried.

  In the present embodiment, the dirt removal mode and the dirt collection mode are selectively set by operating the first and second mode changeover switches 77 and 78. Can also be selected. In the dirt removal / recovery mode, the power supply, the thermostat 79, the diode 81, the pump 23, the air-pump prevention circuit 82, and the motor 41 are connected in series.

  Accordingly, the pump 23 is operated, the water in the tank 21 is supplied to the heater 24, and steam is generated in the heater 24. The steam is transported to the spray nozzle 26 through the steam transport pipe 25, and the spray nozzle Since the spray is directed from 26 to the portion to be cleaned, dirt floats in the portion to be cleaned. At this time, the motor 41 is operated, a vacuum is generated in the space 49, and dirt is sucked and collected by the suction nozzle 31.

  In the present embodiment, the brush 71 is attached to the front and rear of the nozzle port 32 of the suction nozzle 31, but the brush can be attached to the front and rear of the injection port 27 of the injection nozzle 26. . In this case, as the cleaner 11 moves, the brush rubs the portion to be cleaned and scrapes off the dirt on the portion to be cleaned, so that the dirt can be effectively lifted. Moreover, since the injection port 27 is formed between each brush, dirt can be scraped off reliably.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It can change variously based on the meaning of this invention, and does not exclude them from the scope of the present invention.

It is sectional drawing of the cleaner in embodiment of this invention. It is a rear view of the cleaner in embodiment of this invention. It is a bottom view of the cleaner in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the mounting state of the handle pipe in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the control circuit in embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

11 Cleaner 21 Tank 23 Pump 24 Heater 26 Injection nozzle 31 Suction nozzle

Claims (1)

(A) a cleaning medium storage unit for storing a cleaning medium;
(B) a medium transport unit for transporting the medium;
(C) a heating unit that receives and heats the medium conveyed by the medium conveying unit to generate steam;
(D) a vapor injection unit that injects the vapor toward the cleaned portion;
(E) A cleaner having a suction part that is disposed close to the vapor jet part so as to face the part to be cleaned, and sucks dirt floating in the part to be cleaned.

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