JP2006198150A - Vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vacuum cleaner capable of securing the size of a handle without increasing the quantity of projection of the handle from a cleaner body in the stored state. <P>SOLUTION: By pivotting an arm part 61 of the handle 56 to both sides of the cleaner body 1 in front of a swivel wheel 21, when the handle 56 is turned backward to be stored along the cleaner body 1, the arm part 61 of the handle 56 is located along the diagonal line between the front lower side and the rear upper side of the cleaner body 1. Accordingly, the size of the handle 56 can be secured without increasing the quantity of projection of the handle 56 from the cleaner body 1 in the stored state. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner including a handle that is pivotally supported by a vacuum cleaner body.

Conventionally, this type of electric vacuum cleaner includes a vacuum cleaner body that houses an electric blower. In this cleaner body, a turning wheel and a rear driven wheel are rotatably provided on the front side, and the cleaner body can travel on the floor surface by the turning wheel and the driven wheel. In addition, a handle that is gripped when the cleaner body is lifted is attached to the cleaner body. The handle is formed in a substantially U shape having an arm portion pivotally supported on both side portions of the cleaner main body and a grip portion that connects between one end portions of the arm portions and is gripped by an operator. . And each arm part is pivotally supported so that it can each rotate to the front rather than the center area of the front-back direction of a cleaner body and back from the turning wheel of a cleaner body. For this reason, the handle | steering-wheel side can be rotated to the front-back direction in the upper part of a cleaner main body (for example, refer patent document 1).
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-267071 (page 3, FIG. 1)

  In order to allow the operator to lift the vacuum cleaner body without bending his / her waist, the handle should be made large so that the handle protrudes as high as possible from the vacuum cleaner body with the front and rear wheels grounded. Is desired.

  On the other hand, the handle can be stored compactly by tilting backward and storing it along the main body of the cleaner to reduce the amount of protrusion from the main body of the cleaner.

  However, in the above-described electric vacuum cleaner, the end of the arm portion pivotally supported by the vacuum cleaner main body is behind the swivel wheel, so that the operator is prevented from bending over as described above. It is not possible to satisfy the ease of holding the handle and making it compact when stored.

  This invention is made in view of such a point, and it aims at providing the vacuum cleaner which can ensure the magnitude | size of a handle | steering-wheel, without increasing the protrusion amount from the cleaner main body in the accommodation state of a handle | steering_wheel. To do.

  The present invention includes a rear wheel provided at the rear part of the vacuum cleaner body, a front wheel provided in front of the rear wheel of the vacuum cleaner body, and one end supported in front of the front wheel on both sides of the vacuum cleaner body. A pair of arm portions and a handle having a grip portion for connecting the other end portions of the arm portions.

  According to the present invention, the handle main body of the handle when the handle is in the stowed state along the main body of the vacuum cleaner by pivotally supporting the handle arm on both sides of the main body of the vacuum cleaner in front of the front wheel. The size of the handle can be secured without increasing the amount of protrusion from the handle.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of a vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

  In FIG. 5, reference numeral 1 denotes a vacuum cleaner body, which is a vacuum cleaner that collects dust sucked together with intake air generated by driving an electric blower 2 housed in a dust collection pack (not shown). It is. The vacuum cleaner main body 1 includes a case body 3 that houses the electric blower 2, and a main body suction port 4 that communicates with the suction side of the electric blower 2 is formed in the front end portion of the case body 3. And as shown in FIG. 1, the vacuum cleaner main body 1 will be in a use state in the state mounted horizontally on the floor F as a surface to be cleaned.

  As shown in FIG. 5, an elongated substantially cylindrical hose body 5 that is flexible and can be bent is connected to the main body suction port 4. In addition, a hand operation unit 6 is provided at the tip of the hose body 5 as an operation unit capable of selecting an operation mode of the electric blower 2. The hand operating section 6 is provided with a plurality of setting buttons 7 for setting the electric blower 2 and the like to a plurality of operation modes, and an operation gripping section 8 gripped by an operator at the time of cleaning is provided on the proximal end side. Projected toward.

  Furthermore, an elongated, substantially cylindrical extension tube 9 that can be extended and retracted is detachably connected to the distal end of the hand operation unit 6. At the tip of the extension pipe 9, for example, a floor brush 10 as a suction port body that is placed on a carpet on the floor surface of the room and operated by the operation gripping portion 8 and sucks dust on the carpet or the like. Are connected in a detachable manner.

  The case body 3 includes a lower case 15 that opens on the upper side and serves as a lower surface of the cleaner body 1, an upper case 16 that is provided on the upper rear side of the lower case 15, and a lid that is provided on the front side of the upper case 16. 17 and a bumper 18 sandwiched between the lower case 15, the upper case 16 and the lid body 17. The case body 3 is provided with packings (not shown) on the mounting portions such as the lower case 15, the upper case 16, the lid body 17 and the bumper 18, and has airtightness with respect to the suction side of the electric blower 2. ing.

  The lower case 15 is the lower surface of the cleaner body 1 and, as shown in FIG. 1, a turning wheel 21 as a front wheel is rotatably and turnably provided in a lower portion facing the front floor surface F. At the same time, driven wheels 22 (only one is shown) as rear wheels are rotatably provided on both sides of the rear portion of the cleaner body 1. Further, the swivel wheel 21 and the driven wheel 22 enable the cleaner body 1 to travel on the floor F in the front-rear direction. Further, the lower case 15 is engaged with a locking portion 23 shown in FIG. 5 provided on the outer peripheral portion on the distal end side of the extension tube 9 so that the electric vacuum cleaner is brought into the storage state shown in FIG. A locking recess is provided.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the upper case 16 is positioned at the upper part of an electric blower chamber (not shown) that is partitioned in the rear part of the case body 3 and accommodates the electric blower 2. A substantially U-shaped small handle 24 that is gripped when lifting the fan is provided adjacent to the lid 17, and a power cord (not shown) for supplying electric power to the electric blower 2 or the like from a commercial AC power source (not shown) is provided in the case body. 3 is provided with a take-up button 25 that can be taken up.

  Here, the small handle 24 is provided so as to be pivotable in the front-rear direction with respect to the case body 3, protrudes substantially vertically in a state of being pivoted forward, can lift the cleaner body 1, and is rearward. And is substantially parallel to the upper case 16 and is stored without protruding upward from the case body 3. Note that the small handle 24 is not necessarily provided.

  Furthermore, the lid 17 covers the upper part of a dust collection chamber (not shown) that is partitioned at the front part in the case body 3 and detachably accommodates the dust collection pack, and the rear part is a front part of the upper case 16. It is pivotally supported by the shaft. The dust collection chamber communicates with the front side of the electric blower chamber, that is, the suction side of the electric blower 2. A hooking recess 26 is provided below the front end of the lid 17 so that an operator can hook his / her finger when the lid 17 is opened and closed.

  Further, the bumper 18 is for reducing the impact to the inside when the cleaner body 1 collides with an obstacle or the like. For example, the bumper 18 is provided with a soft synthetic resin or the like. 4 from one side of 4 through the rear part of case body 3 to the other side of main body suction port 4. Further, an exhaust port (not shown) is provided at the rear part of the bumper 18 which is the rear part of the cleaner body 1. A suction port cover 31 provided separately from the case body 3 is attached between both sides of the front portion of the bumper 18.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the suction port cover 31 covers the periphery of the main body suction port 4 and serves as the front end of the cleaner body 1. The cover main body 32 is formed in a substantially square shape in front view, It has a shaft support portion 33 that projects from the lower portion of the cover body 32 and is positioned in front of the lower case 15.

  The cover main body 32 is attached between both sides of the front end portion of the bumper 18 with substantially no gap, a communication port 34 communicating with the main body suction port 4 is formed in the central portion, and continues to the hooking recess 26 of the lid body 17. A horizontally long recess 35 is provided at the top.

  The communication port 34 is provided at the base end portion of the hose body 5 and is substantially circular in a front view where a substantially cylindrical attachment / detachment portion 41 is inserted as a tube portion that allows the hose body 5 to be attached to and detached from the main body suction port 4. A communication port portion 42 having a shape, and an attachment / detachment recess 43 that is cut out in a substantially square shape in front view and attaches / detaches the attachment / detachment portion 41 at one side portion of the communication port portion 42 are provided.

  The communication port portion 42 is formed in the cover main body 32 along the front-rear direction, has an inner peripheral surface 45 that receives the outer peripheral surface of the detachable portion 41, and the rear portion communicates with the main body suction port 4.

  The attachment / detachment recess 43 includes an inner side surface 47 that is continuous with the inner peripheral surface 45, and an attachment / detachment receiving surface 48 that is located at the rear of the inner side surface 47 and receives the tip of the attachment / detachment portion 41.

  The inner side surface 47 is provided with a fitting recess 51 in which a not-shown clamp portion provided in the detachable portion 41 is detachably fitted. The fitting recess 51 is formed in a longitudinal shape along the front-rear direction of the cleaner body 1.

  Further, the attachment / detachment receiving surface 48 is formed along the width direction of the cleaner body 1, that is, the left-right direction, and a pair of insertion holes 53 into which a pair of contact fittings (not shown) provided in the attachment / detachment portion 41 are inserted are formed vertically. Are spaced apart from each other. These contact fittings serve as a rotary cleaning body (not shown) that is provided on the setting button 7 of the hand operating unit 6 or the floor brush 10 via an electric wire (not shown) spirally arranged in the hose body 5. This is electrically connected to a control unit of an electric motor that rotates the rotating brush, and the operation of these setting buttons 7 is transmitted to the cleaner body 1 side.

  The insertion holes 53 are provided with contacts 54 therein, and the contact fittings of the attachment / detachment portion 41 are electrically connected to the contacts 54 in a state where the attachment / detachment portion 41 is connected to the communication port 34. ing. That is, the cover body 32 covers the periphery of the contact 54.

  Here, the contact 54 is electrically connected to the control means 55 which is accommodated in the cleaner body 1 and controls the driving of the electric blower 2 and the like.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 5, the shaft support portion 33 is formed in a longitudinal shape along the left-right direction of the cleaner body 1, and both end portions are respectively located on both sides of the front end portion of the cleaner body 1. In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, the lower end portion is located below the lower portion of the lower case 15 and above the lower end portion of the turning wheel 21. That is, the shaft support portion 33 is located in front of the turning wheel 21. And the handle | steering-wheel 56 hold | gripped by the operator when lifting up the cleaner main body 1 is each pivotally supported by the both ends of this axial support part 33 so that rotation is possible in the front-back direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the handle 56 includes a pair of arm portions 61 each having one end portion pivotally supported at both ends of the shaft support portion 33 and positioned on both sides of the cleaner body 1, and these arm portions. A grip portion 62 that connects the other end portions of 61 is provided, and is formed in a substantially U shape in plan view. Then, as shown by an imaginary line in FIG. 1, the handle 56 is brought into a use state by being rotated forward so as to be substantially perpendicular to the cleaner body 1. , 22 can be lifted from a grounded horizontal state, and as shown by the solid line in FIG. 1, it is placed in the stowed state by being rotated backward along the cleaner body 1, and as shown in FIG. The vacuum cleaner main body 1 can be stowed upright in the vertical state with the rear portion of the vacuum cleaner main body 1 as the lower side in the fully rotated state (stand storage state).

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the arm portion 61 is bent upward with respect to a supported portion 65 that is rotatably supported at both ends of the supported portion 33 and a rear portion of the supported portion 65. The arm main body portion 66 is continuous, and the bent portion 67 is continuous to be bent downward with respect to the rear portion of the arm main body portion 66.

  Each pivoted support portion 65 is pivotally supported on a rotating shaft 71 that protrudes from each end surface 33 a of the pivot support portion 33. Further, these pivoted support portions 65 are accommodated by the rotation restricting portion (not shown) provided between the pivot support portion 33 and the pivoted support portion 65 so that the handle 56 is stored in the storage state shown by the solid line in FIG. Can be held at a plurality of predetermined angles such as the use state shown in FIG. 3 or the maximum rotation state shown in FIG. The maximum rotation state of the handle 56 is a state where the rotation is restricted above the axial extension line L of the communication port 34 that is the axial extension line of the main body suction port 4, that is, on the upper case 16 side. .

  Furthermore, each arm main-body part 66 is each located in the both sides of the cleaner body 1, and is formed in the longitudinal shape along the front-back direction of the cleaner body 1. FIG.

  Furthermore, each bent portion 67 is positioned above the cleaner body 1, and the rear portion opposite to the arm body portion 66 is smoothly continuous with the grip portion 62. The bent portions 67 are provided so as to be substantially parallel to the pivoted support portion 65, respectively.

  And the holding part 62 is a part which is located on the upper side of the cleaner body 1 and is held by the operator, and is located on the upper rear side of the upper case 16 of the upper case 16 in the storage state of the handle 56 shown by the solid line in FIG. While the lower end abuts, it protrudes forward from the front end of the cleaner body 1 in the maximum rotation state shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a holding recess 76 that can temporarily hold the extension tube 9 during cleaning or the like is provided at the central portion in the left-right direction of the upper portion of the grip portion 62. ing.

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

  First, the lid 17 is rotated backward to open the dust collection chamber, and after the dust collection pack is attached to the dust collection chamber, the lid 17 is rotated forward to close the dust collection chamber.

  Next, the detachable portion 41 of the hose body 5 is connected to the main body suction port 4 of the cleaner body 1. At this time, the contact fitting of the attaching / detaching portion 41 is inserted into the insertion hole 53, the contact fitting is electrically connected to the contact 54, and the contact 54 is electrically connected to the setting button 7 of the hand operating portion 6 through the contact fitting. , And the clamp portion of the detachable portion 41 is fitted into the fitting recess 51 so that the hose body 5 is prevented from being detached from the cleaner body 1.

  Further, after the extension tube 9 and the floor brush 10 are sequentially connected to the tip of the hose body 5, the power cord pulled out from the cleaner body 1 is connected to a commercial AC power source, and the operation grip 8 is gripped to a predetermined setting. By operating the button 7, the electric blower 2 is driven in a predetermined operation mode.

  Then, the operator causes the floor brush 10 to travel back and forth on the floor surface F via the operation gripping portion 8 and sucks dust on the floor surface F together with air.

  The air sucked together with the dust becomes a suction wind and flows into the dust collection pack through the extension tube 9, the hose body 5 and the main body suction port 4 in order, and the dust is collected when passing through the dust collection pack. The

  Thereafter, the suction air flows into the suction side of the electric blower 2, passes through the electric blower 2, becomes exhaust air, and is exhausted from the exhaust port to the outside of the cleaner body 1.

  When lifting the vacuum cleaner body 1 during cleaning work, etc., as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 1, the handle 56 is rotated forward and the gripping part 62 is positioned vertically above the rotation shaft 71. The gripping portion 62 can be gripped and lifted up.

  When the handle 56 is stored along the cleaner body 1, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 1, the handle 56 is rotated rearward so that the lower end portion of the gripping portion 62 is located at the upper rear portion of the upper case 16. It is made to contact | abut to the accommodation state.

  Further, when the cleaning is finished, the setting button 7 is operated to stop the driving of the electric blower 2, the power cord is pulled out from the outlet, and the winding button 25 is operated to wind the power cord in the cleaner body 1. take.

  When the vacuum cleaner is stored, the gripping portion 62 of the handle 56 is lifted upward to float the swivel wheel 21, and as shown in FIG. At the same time, as shown in FIG. 4, the hose body 5 is wound around the extension tube 9, and the locking portion 23 is locked to the locking recess of the lower case 15 to store the stand.

  As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, the handle 56 is pivoted backward by pivotally supporting the arm portion 61 of the handle 56 on both sides of the cleaner body 1 in front of the swivel wheel 21. Since the arm portion 61 of the handle 56 is positioned substantially along the diagonal line between the front lower side and the rear upper side of the vacuum cleaner main body 1 in a side view when the storage state is set along the vacuum cleaner main body 1. In this state, the size of the handle 56 can be maximized without increasing the rearward and upward protrusion amounts of the handle 56 from the cleaner body 1.

  Further, by not increasing the amount of protrusion from the cleaner body 1 when the handle 56 is stored, the handle 56 does not get in the way when the handle 56 is stored, and the size of the handle 56 can be secured. Thus, when the handle 56 is rotated forward, the gripping part 62 protrudes greatly above the cleaner body 1 with the wheels 21 and 22 in contact with the ground, so that the gripping part does not cause the operator to bend. The vacuum cleaner main body 1 can be lifted by easily grasping 62.

  The arm portion 61 of the handle 56 is pivotally supported by a suction port cover 31 that is separate from the case body 3 that is airtight with respect to the suction side of the electric blower 2. Even if the air blower is slightly loosened, the suction air of the electric blower 2 is less likely to leak, for example, without providing a structure for preventing the air blower 2 from leaking as compared with the case where the handle is pivotally supported on the case body. In addition to ensuring airtightness on the suction side of the electric blower 2, the structure of the vacuum cleaner body 1 and the like is complicated to prevent leakage of the suction air, resulting in an increase in manufacturing costs and an increase in the weight of the vacuum cleaner body 1 I don't have to.

  Further, since the arm portion 61 of the handle 56 is pivotally supported by using the suction port cover 31 covering the periphery of the main body suction port 4 and the contact 54, a new separate member is provided for the pivotal support of the arm portion 61. This eliminates the need for an increase in the number of parts, reduces the manufacturing cost, and allows the user to set the presence or absence of the handle 56 simply by replacing the suction port cover 31. The case body 3 can be used in common with the vacuum cleaner, and costs such as a mold cost for the case body 3 can be suppressed.

  Further, by restricting the rotation of the handle 56 above the axial extension line L of the main body suction port 4, the handle 56 does not interfere with the detachable portion 41 at all the rotation positions, so that the storage state shown in FIG. When lifting the vacuum cleaner main body 1, workability is improved without the attachment / detachment portion 41 getting in the way.

  Since the handle 56 can be held at a plurality of predetermined angles between the stored state and the maximum rotation state, the cleaner body 1 moves when the handle 56 is in the use state, or the stand 56 is in the stand stored state. However, the handle 56 does not fall into the stored state, and the usability is improved.

  Further, when the arm portion 61 is in the retracted state as shown by the solid line in FIG. 1 by forming the pivoted support portion 65 and the bent portion 67 of the arm portion 61 substantially parallel to each other, the supported shaft portion 65 and the bent portion are arranged. 67 are substantially parallel to the floor surface F, and are positioned along the front-rear direction of the cleaner body 1, so that the pivoted portion 65 and the bent portion 67 protrude from the cleaner body 1 more than necessary. There is nothing to do.

  In the above embodiment, the structure for pivotally supporting the handle 56 on the suction port cover 31 can be arbitrarily set.

  Further, the rotation angle of the handle 56 can be arbitrarily set between the storage state and the maximum rotation state.

  Further, the handle 56 can be used in correspondence with, for example, a cyclone-separated vacuum cleaner or a rechargeable vacuum cleaner, and the details of the configuration of the vacuum cleaner are described in the above embodiment. It is not limited.

It is a side view which shows the cleaner body of the vacuum cleaner of one embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which expands and shows the principal part of a vacuum cleaner main body same as the above. It is a side view which shows the rotation state of the handle | steering_wheel of a vacuum cleaner same as the above. It is a perspective view which shows the accommodation state of a vacuum cleaner same as the above. It is a perspective view which shows a vacuum cleaner same as the above.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vacuum cleaner main body 2 Electric blower 3 Case body 4 Main body inlet 6 Hand operation part as an operation part
21 Turning wheel as front wheel
22 Follower wheel as rear wheel
31 Suction port cover
41 Detachable part as pipe
54 contacts
56 Handle
61 Arm
62 Grip part

Claims (3)

A vacuum cleaner body containing an electric blower,
A rear wheel provided at the rear of the vacuum cleaner body,
A front wheel provided in front of the rear wheel of the cleaner body;
A pair of arm parts pivotally supported on both sides of the cleaner body in front of the front wheel, and a handle provided with a grip part connecting the other end parts of the arm parts. A vacuum cleaner characterized by that. The vacuum cleaner body
A case body for housing the electric blower;
A main body suction port that is provided at the front end of the case body and communicates with the suction side of the electric blower,
A contact point electrically connected to an operation part provided in a pipe part located near the main body suction port and connected to the main body suction port;
The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, further comprising a suction port cover attached to the case body and covering each of the main body suction port and the contact and supporting a handle. The vacuum cleaner body is provided on the front side in the traveling direction, and includes a main body suction port communicating with the suction side of the electric blower.
The electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the handle is restricted from being rotated above an axially extending line of the main body suction port.

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