JP2014087703A - Handy cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a small-sized light-weight handy cleaner to be used by a single hand, although the rechargeable battery pack of the prior art is assembled in a cleaner body and although a cover for closing a battery storage portion has to be opened and closed when the battery pack is mounted and removed, so that the battery pack of the prior art is troublesome in handling and may have its cover lost, and to enhance the handleability at the times of mounting and removing the battery pack mainly on and from the cleaner body.SOLUTION: A battery pack 20 is not of an internal build-in type but of a cartridge type, in which the battery pack 20 is mounted in a cleaner body 11 in a wholly or partially exposed state. Thus, the cover of the prior art is eliminated to improve the handleability for mounting and removing the battery pack 20.

Description

  The present invention relates to a small hand-held vacuum cleaner called a handy cleaner, for example.

In general, many handy cleaners are provided with direct current power supply in consideration of their convenience. A battery pack that can be charged and used repeatedly is used as the power source of the handy cleaner. For example, the following patent document discloses a technique related to the battery pack of the handy cleaner.
Conventionally, as disclosed in these patent documents, the battery pack can be attached and detached through a battery outlet provided in the rear portion of the main body housing. When the battery pack is inserted from the battery outlet and attached, it is electrically connected to the power supply circuit in the main body housing. In this attached state, the battery pack is incorporated in the main body housing as a built-in (built-in) component, like the drive motor and the circuit board. For this reason, the battery outlet is closed by the lid, and the attached battery pack is not visible from the outside.
On the other hand, the battery pack can be used repeatedly by removing the lid, removing it from the main body housing, and charging with a separately prepared charger.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-198646 JP-A-63-240815 JP-A 63-296721

As described above, the battery pack of the conventional handy cleaner becomes invisible when incorporated in the interior when the take-out port is closed with the lid, and it is necessary to remove the lid in order to remove the battery pack for charging or the like. For this reason, the lid opening / closing operation is troublesome, and the removed lid may be lost. In addition, it is difficult to reduce the size of the cleaner because the battery pack needs to be accommodated in the main body housing.
The battery pack is not limited to the above-described handy cleaner, and many electric tools such as a rechargeable electric driver for drilling are used. In recent years, in addition to nickel-cadmium batteries, lighter lithium ion batteries have been used for battery packs of this type of power tool.
As for the electric power tool, a cartridge-type tool that can be attached to and detached from the front end of the handle portion by a simple operation is provided instead of a form in which the battery pack is incorporated in the main body housing.
Therefore, the present invention has an object to provide a cartridge type handy cleaner that is easy to install and remove as a result of not requiring the opening and closing operation of the lid in the conventional internal built-in type for the battery pack mounting form. To do.

For this reason, the present invention is a handy cleaner having the structure described in each of the claims.
According to the handy cleaner of the first aspect, since the battery pack is mounted in a cartridge type instead of a conventional internal built-in type, it is not necessary to open and close the lid. The operation can be performed easily.
Further, by using a battery pack as a cartridge type, it becomes easy to share the battery pack with other types of handy cleaners or electric tools (general-purpose power supply).
According to the handy cleaner of claim 2, it can be securely attached to the cleaner body, and can be removed by a simple operation of the removal button, which further enhances the handling of the battery pack. it can.
According to the handy cleaner of the third aspect, by attaching a relatively heavy battery pack along the lower side of the handle portion, the weight feeling of the battery pack received by the user can be reduced. You can improve the usability of the handy cleaner.
According to the handy cleaner of the fourth aspect, the battery pack can be attached to and removed from the cleaner body by a simple sliding operation, and in this respect, the usability of the handy cleaner can be improved.
According to the handy cleaner of the fifth aspect, the battery pack can be easily removed without using any special anti-slip means.

It is a whole side view of the handy cleaner concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, it shows in the state which mounted | wore the battery pack. It is a whole side view of the handy cleaner concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, the internal structure on the rear side is shown. It is a whole side view of the handy cleaner concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, the battery pack is removed. It is the bottom view which looked at the battery pack attachment part from the arrow (IV) direction in FIG. It is a perspective view of a battery pack simple substance. It is a whole side view of the handy cleaner concerning a 2nd embodiment. It is a whole side view of the handy cleaner concerning a 2nd embodiment. In this figure, the internal structure on the rear side is shown. It is a whole side view of the handy cleaner concerning a 2nd embodiment. In this figure, the battery pack is removed. It is the rear view which looked at the battery pack attachment part from the arrow (IX) direction in FIG. It is a whole side view of the handy cleaner concerning a 3rd embodiment. In this figure, it shows in the state which mounted | wore the battery pack. It is a whole side view of the handy cleaner concerning a 3rd embodiment. In this figure, the battery pack is removed. It is a perspective view of the battery pack single-piece | unit which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is the rear view which looked at the battery pack attachment part from the arrow (XIII) direction in FIG.

Next, three embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The handy cleaners 10, 30, and 50 according to each embodiment are small and lightweight that can be easily used by a user with one hand, for example, when cleaning the interior of a car or simply cleaning a small room. It is a rechargeable vacuum cleaner, and is characterized by the mounting form of the battery packs 20, 30, 60 to the cleaner bodies 11, 31, 51, respectively. The cleaner bodies 11, 31, 51 have a conventionally well-known configuration and need not be particularly changed in each embodiment, so detailed description thereof will be omitted.
1 to 3 show a handy cleaner 10 according to the first embodiment. The handy cleaner 10 includes a battery pack 20 that can be reused by being removed from the cleaner body 11 and being charged. The cleaner body 11 incorporates an electric motor 12 driven by the battery pack 20 as a power source and a suction mechanism 13 mainly composed of a fan rotated by the electric motor 12 in the main body housing 14. A dust suction port 15 is provided at the tip of the main body housing 14. The front half of the main housing 14 can be removed to discard the sucked dust and the like.
A loop-shaped handle portion 16 that is gripped by the user is provided at the rear portion of the main body housing 14. A switch lever 17 that is pulled by the user with a fingertip is provided on the inner peripheral side of the handle portion 16. When the switch lever 17 is pulled upward in the figure, the electric motor 12 is activated and dust or the like can be sucked from the dust suction port 15. A hanging strap 16a is attached to the rear portion of the handle portion 16, and a lighting fixture 16b that is convenient for cleaning in a dark place is provided to the front portion. As shown in FIG. 2, the lighting fixture 16b is incorporated in a state where it does not protrude from a front surface of the handle portion 16 where there is no obstacle. The illumination tool 16b mainly illuminates the periphery of the dust suction port 15 brightly. An LED (light emitting diode) is used as a light source of the lighting fixture 16b. A light bulb may be used instead of the LED. The battery pack 20 is also used as a power source for the lighting fixture 16b.
A battery mounting portion 18 for mounting the battery pack 20 is provided on the lower surface side of the handle portion 16. An exhaust port 19 is provided on the front side of the battery mounting portion 18.
The battery pack 20 can be attached by sliding it forward with respect to the battery attachment portion 18. Conversely, the battery pack 20 can be removed by sliding it backward from the battery mounting portion 18.

Details of the battery mounting portion 18 are shown in FIG. A pair of left and right guide rail portions 18 a and 18 a are integrally provided on both the left and right sides of the battery mounting portion 18. Corresponding to the left and right guide rail portions 18a, 18a, a pair of left and right engaging protrusions 20a, 20a are integrally provided on the left and right side portions of the upper surface side of the battery pack 20. The battery pack 20 is slid back and forth with respect to the battery mounting portion 18, and the engaging protrusions 20 a and 20 a are engaged with and disengaged from the left and right guide rail portions 18 a and 18 a, so that the battery pack 20 is attached to the battery mounting portion 18. It can be attached to and removed from.
In FIG. 5, the battery pack 20 removed from the battery mounting portion 18 is shown alone. This battery pack 20 is a rechargeable lithium ion battery having a voltage of 14.4 V, and can be repeatedly used by charging with a separately prepared charger.
Generally, a lithium ion battery is lighter than a nickel metal hydride battery. For example, a nickel metal hydride battery commonly distributed in the market, which has a voltage of 14.4 V and a nominal capacity of 3.3 Ah, weighs 1020 g, but also has a voltage of 14.4 V and a nominal capacity of 3.0 Ah The ion battery weighs about 500 g and is reduced to about 1/2. Therefore, the handy cleaner 10 as a whole can be reduced in weight by using a lithium ion battery as a power source.
The battery pack 20 has a generally hexahedron block shape, and two upper and lower terminal grooves 20b and 20c provided with a plus terminal 20b and a minus terminal 20c, respectively, are provided on the upper surface thereof. Corresponding to the terminal grooves 20b and 20c, the battery attachment portion 18 is provided with a positive connection terminal 18b and a negative connection terminal 18c. By attaching the battery pack 20 to the battery mounting portion 18 with the positive connection terminal 18b entering the terminal groove 20b and the negative connection terminal 18c entering the terminal groove 20c, the battery pack 20 is cleaned. It is electrically connected to the power supply circuit of the main body 10.
An engagement claw 21 that moves up and down is provided at the rear of the upper surface of the battery pack 20. The engaging claw 21 can be retracted downward by sliding the removal button 22 provided on the rear surface downward with a fingertip. The engagement claw 21 is spring-biased toward the upper lock position. In addition, the front portion of the engaging claw 21 is provided with an inclined surface 21 a for displacing to the retracting side in accordance with the attaching operation of the battery pack 20.

Corresponding to the engagement claw 21, an engagement recess 18d with which the engagement claw 21 engages is provided at the rear portion of the battery mounting portion 18. When the engagement claw 21 enters the engagement recess 18d, displacement of the battery pack 20 to the removal side (rear side) is restricted, and the battery pack 20 is locked to a state where the battery pack 20 is attached to the battery attachment portion 18. Is done.
In this attached state, when the user operates the detach button 22 of the battery pack 20 to move downward with the fingertip, the engaging claw 21 is integrally displaced downward in accordance with this, and retracts from the engaging recess 18d. For this reason, the battery pack 20 can be removed from the battery mounting portion 18 by sliding it backward.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the outer shape of the main body housing 14 is gently inclined in a range from the front portion of the battery mounting portion 18 to the lower portion of the cleaner main body 11. For this reason, when the battery pack 20 is attached to the battery attachment portion 18, a space S for the user to insert a fingertip is generated on the front side of the battery pack 20. The user can push the battery pack 20 backward easily by inserting his fingertip into the space S and remove it.

According to the handy cleaner 10 of the first embodiment configured as described above, the battery pack 20 can be attached to and detached from the battery attachment portion 18 provided at the lower portion of the handle portion 16 by sliding back and forth. When the battery pack 20 is attached, the engagement protrusions 20a, 20a are engaged with the left and right guide rail portions 18a, 18a of the battery attachment portion 18 and slid forward to engage the rear engagement claws 21. Is retracted downward by the action of the inclined surface 21a. When the battery pack 20 reaches the attachment position and is electrically connected, the engagement claw 21 enters the engagement recess 18 d of the battery attachment portion 18. As a result, the displacement in the removal direction of the battery pack 20 is restricted, and the battery pack 20 is locked in a state of being attached along the lower surface side of the handle portion 16.
In order to remove the battery pack 20, the user pushes down the removal button 22 with a fingertip to retract the engagement claw 21 from the engagement recess 18d, and in this state, the user can slide the battery pack 20 backward. That's fine.
In this way, unlike the conventional main body built-in type, since it is a cartridge type that is a mounting type that configures (exposes) a part of the outer shape (external appearance) of the handy cleaner 10, There is no need to open and close the lid, and in this respect, the usability (operability) of the handy cleaner 10 can be enhanced with respect to the attachment and removal operations of the battery pack 20.
Further, according to the handy cleaner 10 of the present embodiment, in a state where the battery pack 20 is attached, a space S in which a user inserts a fingertip is generated in the front portion of the battery pack 20, so that the removal operation of the battery pack 20 is performed. Can be done easily. Since it can be easily removed using this space S, it is not necessary to provide special anti-slip means such as protrusions on the left and right sides of the battery pack 20, for example.
Further, the engagement claw 21 can be engaged with the engagement recess 18d to maintain a reliable attachment state, and can be easily removed by depressing the removal button 22, and also in this respect Good handleability of 10 is ensured.
In addition, although the weight can be reduced by about half compared to a nickel metal hydride battery, the battery pack 20 that is still heavier than each component on the cleaner body 1 side can be attached directly below the handle portion 16 gripped by the user. Therefore, the user can carry the battery pack 20 without feeling much of the weight as compared with the case where the cleaner body 11 is attached to, for example, the tip.
Furthermore, since the battery pack 20 is not a built-in type in which the battery pack 20 is housed in the main body housing 14 but a cartridge type that is attached to the cleaner main body 11 so as to be exposed, only the mounting dimension relationship of the cleaner main body 11 to the battery mounting portion 18 is the same. By doing so, the battery pack can be shared with other types of handy cleaners or power tools regardless of the size.
In addition, an electric motor or a conversion circuit for a wide range of voltages makes it possible to use battery packs having different voltages, such as 12V, 14.4V, or 18V.

Next, the handy cleaner 30 of 2nd Embodiment is shown by FIGS. 6-9. This second embodiment also has a feature in the mounting form of the battery pack 40 to the cleaner body 31. As in the first embodiment, the cleaner body 31 has a configuration in which a body housing 34 includes an electric motor 32 and a suction mechanism 33 that operates thereby. A dust suction port 35 is provided in the front portion of the main body housing 34.
A loop-shaped handle portion 36 that is gripped by the user is provided at the rear portion of the cleaner body 31. On the inner peripheral side of the handle portion 36, a switch lever 37 is provided for a user to perform a pulling operation with a fingertip. When the switch lever 37 is pulled, the electric motor 32 is activated and dust or the like can be sucked from the dust suction port 35.
An exhaust port 39 is provided around the suction mechanism 33 and on the left and right sides of the main body housing 34. Exhaust gas accompanying the suction is blown out in a radial direction through the exhaust port 39.
Similar to the first embodiment, a battery mounting portion 38 is provided on the lower surface side of the handle portion 36. Unlike the first embodiment, the battery mounting portion 38 has a generally cylindrical shape. The battery attachment portion 38 is opened rearward as shown in FIG. A positive connection terminal 38 a and a negative connection terminal 38 b are arranged at the back (bottom) of the battery attachment portion 38. The battery pack 40 can be attached to and removed from the cleaner body 31 by inserting and removing the battery pack 40 from the rear with respect to the battery attachment portion 38. When the battery pack 40 is inserted into the battery mounting portion 38, the connection terminals 38a and 38b are inserted into the terminal holes (not shown) of the battery pack 40 so that the battery pack 40 is electrically connected to the power supply circuit of the cleaner body 31. Connected.

The battery pack 40 according to the second embodiment uses a lithium ion battery of 7.2 V that is smaller than the battery pack 20 of the first embodiment. The battery pack 40 includes a main body portion 40a having an oval cross section (oval shape) and a head portion 40b formed to have a slightly larger diameter at the rear portion of the main body portion 40a. Four battery cells are internally provided in the main body 40a.
As shown in FIG. 8, engaging claws 41 and 41 and push buttons 42 and 42 for operating the claw 41 and 41 to the disengagement side are provided on the left and right sides of the head 40 b of the battery pack 40. A pair of left and right engaging projections 38c and 38c are provided on the inner side of the mouth of the battery mounting portion 38 corresponding to the both engaging claws 41 and 41, as shown in FIG. The engaging claws 41 and 41 engage with both the engaging protrusions 38c and 38c only in the direction of removing the battery pack 40, respectively, and the engaging claws 41 and 41 resist the elastic force in the attaching direction. And evacuate. For this reason, when the battery pack 40 is inserted into the battery attachment portion 38, the left and right engagement claws 41, 41 engage with the engagement protrusions 38c on the battery attachment portion 38 side, and the battery pack 40 is locked in the attachment position. Is done.
In this attached state, when the left and right push buttons 42, 42 are pushed between the fingertips from both sides, the engagement state of the engagement claws 41, 41 with respect to both engagement protrusions 38c, 38c is released, so that the battery The pack 40 can be removed by pulling it backward from the battery mounting portion 38. FIG. 8 shows a state where the battery pack 40 is removed.
Also with the handy cleaner 30 of the second embodiment configured as described above, unlike the conventional battery pack built-in type, the battery pack 40 is attached and detached by inserting and removing the battery pack 40 with respect to the battery attachment portion 38 of the handy cleaner 30. In the attached state, the head 40b is of a cartridge type that is a mounting form in which a part of the outer shape of the handy cleaner 30 is configured (exposed). It is not necessary to open and close the lid as described above, and the handleability of the handy cleaner 30 can be improved in this respect.
Further, since the battery pack 40 having a relatively large weight is attached to the lower portion of the handle portion 36, the weight balance during carrying is good.

10 to 13 show a handy cleaner 50 according to a third embodiment of the battery pack 60 that is different from the second embodiment. The cleaner body 51 is configured in substantially the same manner as the cleaner body 31 according to the second embodiment, and includes a dust suction port 55 at the front end thereof, and a loop-shaped handle portion gripped by the user at the rear of the body housing 54. 56 is provided. A switch lever 57 that is pulled by the user with a fingertip is provided on the inner peripheral side of the handle portion 56. Exhaust ports 59 to 59 are provided on both left and right side portions of the main body housing 54 in the longitudinal center.
A battery attachment portion 58 is provided along the lower portion of the handle portion 56. The battery mounting portion 58 is also formed in a substantially cylindrical shape as in the second embodiment, and is opened rearward. A positive connection terminal 58a and a negative connection terminal 58a are arranged at the back (bottom) of the battery attachment portion 58. The battery pack 60 can be attached to and removed from the cleaner body 51 by inserting / removing the battery pack 60 into / from the battery attachment portion 58 from behind.
As shown in FIG. 12, the battery pack 60 attached to the handy cleaner 50 of the third embodiment includes a main body 60a having a triangular cross section and a head 60b formed in a slightly larger diameter at the rear of the main body 60a. ing. Three battery cells are housed in the main body 60a. Positive and negative terminal holes 60c and 60d are provided on the front end surface of the main body 60a. When the main body portion 60a is inserted into the battery mounting portion 58, the connection terminals 58a and 58b are inserted into the terminal holes 60c and 60d, and the battery pack 60 is electrically connected to the power supply circuit on the cleaner main body 51 side.
Engaging claws 61 and 61 and push buttons 62 and 62 for operating the claw 61 and 61 on the left and right sides of the head 60b are provided. Corresponding to both the engaging claws 61, 61, a pair of left and right engaging protrusions 58c, 58c are provided on the inner side of the mouth of the battery mounting portion 58 as shown in FIG. Engaging claws 61, 61 engage with both engaging protrusions 58c, 58c only in the direction of removing the battery pack 60, and both engaging claws 61, 61 resist the elastic force in the attaching direction. And evacuate. Therefore, when the battery pack 60 is inserted into the battery mounting portion 58, the left and right engaging claws 61, 61 engage with the engaging protrusions 58c, 58c on the battery mounting portion 58 side, respectively, so that the battery pack 60 is mounted. Locked to.
In this attached state, when the left and right push buttons 62, 62 are pushed from both sides with the fingertips, the engagement state of the engagement claws 61, 61 with respect to both engagement protrusions 58c, 58c is released, so that the battery The pack 60 can be removed by pulling it backward from the battery attachment portion 58. FIG. 11 shows a state where the battery pack 60 is removed.
Also with the handy cleaner 50 of the third embodiment configured as described above, the battery pack 60 can be attached and detached by simply inserting and removing it from the battery attachment portion 58. Unlike the conventional main body built-in type, the lid In this respect, the operability and handling of the handy cleaner 50 can be improved.

10. Handy cleaner (first embodiment)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Cleaner main body 12 ... Electric motor 13 ... Suction mechanism 14 ... Main body housing 15 ... Dust inlet 16 ... Handle part, 16a ... Strap 17 ... Switch lever 18 ... Battery mounting part 18a ... Guide rail part, 18b, 18c ... Connection terminal, 18d ... engaging recess 19 ... exhaust port 20 ... battery pack, 20a ... engaging protrusion, 20b, 20c ... terminal groove 21 ... engaging claw, 21a ... inclined surface 22 ... removal button 30 ... handy cleaner (second embodiment) )
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 31 ... Cleaner main body 32 ... Electric motor 33 ... Suction mechanism 34 ... Main body housing 35 ... Dust suction port 36 ... Handle part 37 ... Switch lever 38 ... Battery attachment part, 38a, 38b ... Connection terminal, 38c ... Engagement protrusion 39 ... Exhaust Port 40 ... Battery pack, 40a ... Main body, 40b ... Head 41 ... Engagement claw 42 ... Push button 50 ... Handy cleaner (Third embodiment)
51 ... Cleaner main body 54 ... Main body housing 55 ... Dust inlet 56 ... Handle portion 57 ... Switch lever 58 ... Battery mounting part, 58a, 58b ... Connection terminal, 58c ... Engaging protrusion 59 ... Exhaust port 60 ... Battery pack 60a ... Main body Part, 60b ... head, 60c, 60d ... terminal hole 61 ... engaging claw 62 ... push button

Therefore, the present invention is a handy cleaner having the configuration described below .
A first aspect of the present invention is a handy cleaner that is used by holding in a hand, and includes a cartridge-type lithium ion battery as a power source.
According to the first aspect of the present invention , since the battery pack is mounted in a cartridge type rather than the conventional built-in type, the lid does not need to be opened and closed. Therefore, the battery pack can be attached to and removed from the cleaner body. It can be done easily.
Further, by using a battery pack as a cartridge type, it becomes easy to share the battery pack with other types of handy cleaners or electric tools (general-purpose power supply).
According to a second aspect, in the first aspect, the battery pack includes a claw portion that engages and disengages with respect to the cleaner body, and a removal button for operating the claw portion to the detachment side.
According to the said 2nd invention , it can attach reliably with respect to a cleaner main body, and it can remove by simple operation of a removal button, and the handleability of the said battery pack can be improved further by this point.
According to a third invention, in the first or second invention, a handle portion gripped by a user is provided at a rear portion of the cleaner body, and the battery pack is attached along a lower portion of the handle portion.
According to the third aspect of the invention , by attaching a relatively heavy battery pack along the lower side of the handle portion, the weight feeling of the battery pack received by the user can be reduced. It is possible to improve the usability of the handy cleaner.
According to a fourth invention, in the third invention, a guide rail portion is provided at a lower portion of the handle portion, the battery pack can be attached to the guide rail portion by sliding it forward and detachable by sliding it backward. It is characterized by that.
According to the fourth aspect of the invention , the battery pack can be attached to and removed from the cleaner body by a simple slide operation, and the usability of the handy cleaner can be enhanced in this respect.
According to a fifth aspect, in the fourth aspect, the user can insert a fingertip between a front portion of the battery pack and the cleaner body in a state where the battery pack is attached.
According to the fifth aspect, the battery pack can be easily removed without using a special anti-slip means.

Claims (5)

A handy cleaner that is handheld and has a cartridge-type lithium-ion battery as its power source. The handy cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the battery pack includes a claw portion that engages with and disengages from the cleaner body, and a removal button for operating the claw portion to the detachment side. 3. The handy cleaner according to claim 1, further comprising a handle portion that is gripped by a user at a rear portion of the cleaner body, and mounting the battery pack along a lower portion of the handle portion. 4. The handy cleaner according to claim 3, wherein a guide rail portion is provided at a lower portion of the handle portion, and the battery pack can be attached to the guide rail portion by sliding forward and detachable by sliding backward. Handy cleaner. 5. The handy cleaner according to claim 4, wherein a user can insert a fingertip between a front portion of the battery pack and the cleaner body in a state where the battery pack is attached.

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