JP4946924B2 - Electric vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner, and more particularly to control for improving dust collection performance on a floor surface.

As a conventional vacuum cleaner of this type, there is one that strikes the floor surface with an air sucked from an air intake provided in the vicinity of the suction port of the suction tool with an optimum air volume (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-155781

  As a numerical value representing the suction performance of an electric vacuum cleaner, “suction power” is widely known. This value is calculated by "Vacuum Degree x Air Volume x Proportional Coefficient", and the suction performance is "Vacuum Degree Required to Lift Garbage from the Floor" and "Air Volume Necessary for Carrying Garbage away" It is based on the idea that it can be expressed by.

  The method described in Patent Document 1 is one method that raises dust on the floor surface by blowing the air sucked from the air intake into the floor surface to improve dust collection performance. However, if the opening area of the air intake is reduced and the wind speed is increased in order to increase the amount of dust on the floor surface, the air volume decreases.

  The present invention is to improve the dust collection performance of the vacuum cleaner from a viewpoint different from the above-described conventional invention, and not to "impact the wind on the floor" but to "improve the suction work rate" We propose a vacuum cleaner with high dust collection performance by controlling the opening area of the air intake.

  In order to solve the conventional problem, the present invention includes an electric blower that generates suction air, a suction tool that communicates with the electric blower and sucks dust on the floor surface from a dust suction port provided on a lower surface, A dust collection chamber for collecting the sucked dust; an air intake port provided on the upper surface and / or side surface of the suction tool for sucking floating dust; and current detection means for detecting the current flowing through the electric blower. The opening of the air intake is configured such that the opening area can be increased or decreased by a shutter, and the current value detected by the current detection means becomes a predetermined value. Changed to increase or decrease. As described above, the “suction power” is obtained by “vacuum degree × air volume × proportional coefficient”. The larger the opening area of the air intake, the larger the air volume, but the lower the degree of vacuum. Therefore, when the energization amount to the electric blower is constant, a parabola is drawn when the relationship between the air volume and the suction work rate is represented in a graph. That is, the air volume that maximizes the suction work rate is uniquely determined with respect to the energization amount to the electric blower. On the other hand, since the amount of air flowing from the suction tool to the dust collection chamber also varies depending on the degree of adhesion between the dust suction port and the floor surface, naturally the amount of air is different between the carpet and the floor. According to the present invention, by controlling the opening area of the air intake port, it is possible to control the air volume so that the suction work rate is always maximized regardless of the floor condition and the energization amount to the electric blower. In the present invention, three types of feedback data for opening area control are proposed. That is, “air volume”, “vacuum degree”, and “current”, but only “current” will be briefly described below.

  In the predetermined suction force mode of the electric blower selected by the selection means, the load applied to the electric blower increases as the air volume increases, so the current and power consumption are reduced. Conversely, the smaller the air volume, the greater the current and power consumption. That is, the air volume can be indirectly estimated from the energization amount and current to the electric blower. Since the energization amount is known in advance, the opening area of the air intake port is increased or decreased by opening / closing means such as a shutter so that the current value becomes a predetermined value. Regardless of the amount, it is possible to always operate with the air volume that maximizes the suction power, and to obtain the accompanying effect that the power consumption can be suppressed. In addition, although it demonstrated with "the air volume that the suction work rate becomes the maximum" here, it cannot be overemphasized that it is also possible to control to a desired suction work rate by the setting of the aim electric current of opening area control of an air intake. Yes.

  The vacuum cleaner of the present invention can provide an electric vacuum cleaner that can be operated at the maximum suction work rate or a desired suction work rate and can also suck floating dust regardless of conditions such as the floor surface. It will be.

  1st invention collects the suck | inhaled dust, the electric blower which generate | occur | produces suction | inhalation wind, the suction tool which attracts | sucks the dust of a floor surface from the dust suction inlet provided in the said electric blower, and is provided in the lower surface A dust collection chamber, an air intake port provided on the upper surface and / or side surface of the suction tool, for sucking floating dust, and current detection means for detecting a current flowing through the electric blower, wherein the air intake port is The vacuum cleaner is configured so that the opening area can be increased or decreased by the shutter, and the opening area of the air intake port is increased or decreased so that the current value detected by the current detection means becomes a predetermined value. Thus, it is possible to provide a vacuum cleaner that can be operated in a state of a desired suction work rate and can also suck floating dust regardless of conditions such as a floor surface.

  The second invention has a selection means capable of selecting a plurality of suction force modes of the electric blower of the first invention, and the user selects a predetermined suction force mode by the selection means and moves the electric blower. When the operation of the vacuum cleaner is started, a predetermined current value that flows through the electric blower, in which the suction work rate becomes substantially maximum, is obtained in advance by experiment, and the current value detected by the current detection means is The vacuum cleaner is characterized by changing the opening area of the air intake so that it approaches the predetermined current value obtained in advance in the experiment. It becomes possible to drive in the state.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, at the start of operation of the electric vacuum cleaner according to the second aspect of the present invention, the opening area of the air intake is maintained at a maximum state for at least a predetermined time. This is a vacuum cleaner that corrects the current value obtained by experiments in advance, which becomes the standard for changing the opening area, and monitors the current value when the opening area of the air intake is maximum By doing so, it becomes possible to perform control that corrects the air volume drop due to dust accumulation in the dust collection chamber. Therefore, in addition to the effect of the second invention, even if dust accumulates, It is possible to operate in a state where the suction power of the gas is substantially maximum.

  4th invention is a vacuum cleaner which has the operation means for switching whether the opening area of the air intake port of any one invention of 1st-3rd invention is increased / decreased by control, for example, It is possible to switch according to the convenience of the user, for example, when it is desired to suppress an increase in wind noise generated as an adverse effect of reducing the air volume or an increase in the rotational sound of the electric blower.

  In the fifth invention, instead of the current detection means of any one of the first to fourth inventions, an air volume detection means is provided on the suction side of the electric blower, and the opening area of the air intake is determined by the air volume detection means. The vacuum cleaner is characterized in that it is controlled by the detected air volume, and an effect similar to that of the first to fourth inventions can be obtained by the air volume detector instead of the current detector.

  6th invention provides the pressure detection means which detects the vacuum degree in a dust collection chamber instead of the electric current detection means of any one of 1st-4th invention, and the opening area of an air intake is said pressure The vacuum cleaner is controlled by the degree of vacuum detected by the detecting means, and the same effect as in the first to fourth inventions can be obtained.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment)
The vacuum cleaner in embodiment of this invention is demonstrated using FIGS. 1-4. FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view of the electric vacuum cleaner according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 2, the vacuum cleaner main body 21 is provided with an electric blower chamber 22 containing the electric blower 2 at the rear, a dust collection chamber 23 for collecting dust is arranged at the front, and the front of the vacuum cleaner main body 21. Is provided with an intake port 26 to which a connection pipe 25 provided at one end of the hose 24 is detachably connected. The other end of the hose 24 is provided with a tip pipe 28 having a handle 27 having an operation part 5 for gripping during cleaning and operating the operation of the cleaner body 21. The operation unit 5 includes a “strong” switch 5a (not shown), a “medium” switch 5b (not shown), a “weak” switch 5c (not shown), a “off” switch 5d (not shown), A “shutter switching” switch 5e (not shown) is used. Reference numeral 29 denotes a telescopic extension pipe, the downstream end of which is detachably connected to the tip pipe 28, and the other end is detachably connected to the suction tool 31. Further, a power cord 13 is connected to an outlet (commercial power source 1) at the rear of the cleaner body 21 to supply power to a circuit board A32 (not shown) built in the cleaner body 21. Is provided.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the suction tool 31, which has a connecting pipe 37 connected to the extension pipe 29 and configured to be rotatable within a certain range, and dust on the floor surface on the lower surface. It has a dust suction port 34 for suction, and has a built-in rotary brush 30 that is driven to rotate by the rotary brush motor 6 and scrapes up dust on the floor surface. Further, air for sucking air containing floating dust rising to the front of the suction tool 31 is sucked to the side surface on the front side (opposite to the connection pipe 37), and air for joining the intake air from the dust suction port 34 through the vicinity of the floor surface. An intake port 35 and a shutter 36 for changing the opening area thereof are provided. The shutter 36 is engaged with a shutter motor 10 that can rotate in both directions via a speed reducer 38.

  Next, the configuration of the control circuit will be described with reference to FIG. The commercial power supply 1 is connected to a zero cross detection circuit 11 for detecting a zero cross of the power waveform, a power supply circuit 4 for supplying power to the signal control means 9, an electric blower 2, and a rotating brush motor 6. Yes. The electric blower 2 and the rotary brush motor 6 are configured to be supplied with power from the commercial power supply 1 via a drive circuit A3 and a drive circuit B7, respectively, and phase-controlled by the signal control means 9. It is configured as follows. The phase control angle at this time is determined in accordance with the input signals from the switches 5 a to 5 d of the operation unit 5 connected to the signal control means 9. The zero-cross detection circuit 11 required for performing phase control is connected to the signal control means 9. Current detection means 12 is provided on the power supply line of the electric blower 2, and the current detection means 12 performs a full-wave rectification on the alternating current waveform of the electric blower 2, and the smoothed current waveform is It is configured to output to the signal control means 9. The shutter motor 10 is connected to a DC power source produced by the power supply circuit 4 via a drive circuit C39, and the drive circuit C39 is controlled by the signal control means 9.

  Next, the operation and action of the electric vacuum cleaner configured as above will be described.

  When the power is turned on, that is, when the power cord 8 is inserted into the outlet (commercial power source 1), the electric blower 2 is in a stopped state. On the other hand, the shutter 36 is fully opened by rotating the shutter motor 10 in the direction in which the shutter 36 opens (hereinafter referred to as reverse rotation) for 3 seconds. When the switches 5a to 5c of the operation unit 5 are pushed by the user's operation, the signal control means 9 performs phase control on the electric blower 2 via the drive circuit A3. At this time, the signal control means 9 It is determined which switch of the operation unit 5 is pressed, and phase control is performed with a predetermined energization amount, that is, a phase control angle, according to the pressed switch. The table below shows the relationship between each switch, the energization amount (rate) to the electric blower 2 and the phase control angle in this embodiment.

  The signal control means 9 starts detecting the signal input from the current detection means 12 after 1 second from the start of operation, stores the average value for 1 second as the initial current value, and then controls the shutter motor 10. Start.

  If the switches 5a to 5c of the operation unit 5 are pressed while the electric blower 2 is driven, the operation is continued by changing to the phase control angle according to Table 1 according to the pressed switch. However, in this case as well, when the phase control angle is changed, the shutter motor 10 is reversed for 3 seconds and the average value of the signal input from the current detection means 12 is stored as the initial current value for 1 second. Later, control of the shutter motor 10 is started.

  If the “OFF” switch 5d is pressed while the electric blower 2 is driven, the signal control means 9 stops the electric blower 2 and simultaneously reverses the shutter motor 10 for 3 seconds to fully open the shutter 36. ing.

  Next, control of the shutter motor 10 after storing the initial current value will be described.

  FIG. 4 shows that when the “medium” switch 5b is pressed, that is, when the energization amount is 50%, the current of the electric blower 2, the suction power of the vacuum cleaner, the degree of vacuum in the suction tool 31, the air volume, The graph shows the relationship between the suction power when the switch 5a is pressed and the aperture ratio of the shutter 36 when the accumulation amount of dust in the dust collection chamber 23 is small and large. .

  In the present embodiment, since the lower surface of the suction tool 31 is devised so as to maintain high adhesion to the floor surface and the operability of the suction tool 31 does not become heavy, the floor surface condition Even if changes, the shape of the graph shown in FIG. 4 hardly changes.

From FIG. 4, when the “middle” switch is pressed, that is, when the electric blower 2 is driven at an energization amount of 50%, when there is no dust in the dust collection chamber 23, the current value is a ₁ (shutter when the aperture ratio of b1) is most suction work rate is high, the collector when the dust to dust chamber 23 is often accumulated when a current value of a ₂ is the most suction work rate is high, whereas, When there is no dust and there are many, the initial current values are a ₁ ′ and a ₂ ′. That is, the initial current value is a ₁ 'when the current value a _1, the initial current value is a _2' When is such that a current value a _2, by controlling the opening ratio of the shutter 36 is always It turns out that it becomes possible to drive | operate in a state with the maximum suction work rate. The number of initial current values and the current value to be aimed at are determined by experiments in advance, and the signal control unit 9 controls the shutter motor 10 so as to approach the target current setting value to control the shutter 36. Adjust the aperture ratio. The table below shows the relationship between the initial current value, the target current setting value, and the aperture ratio of the target shutter 36 when driven by the “medium” switch.

  Specifically, for example, it is assumed that a certain amount of dust is accumulated in the dust collection chamber 23 and the initial current value is 4.2A. In this case, the target current set value corresponding to the initial current value 4.2A is the target current set value “3.4A” at the initial current value “4.5A” in Table 2 and the initial current value “4A”. From the target current setting value “3.0 A” at the time, the target current setting value at the initial current value “4.2 A” is obtained by proportional calculation (the following formula).

Target current set value = 3.4 A− (4.5 A−4.2 A) × (3.4 A−3.0 A) / (4.5 A−4.0 A) = 3.16 A
After storing the initial current value, the signal control means 9 rotates the shutter motor 10 forward (in the direction to close the shutter 36) until the current value reaches the target “3.16A”. Thereafter, when the current value becomes higher than the target “3.16 A”, the shutter motor 10 is rotated forward until the current value reaches the target “3.16 A” again, but the current value decreases. Determines that the amount of accumulated dust in the dust collection chamber 23 has increased, and does not drive the shutter motor 10. However, when the energization amount to the electric blower 2 is changed by the user's switch operation, the target current value is changed again. As an example, when the “strong” switch is pressed, that is, when the electric blower 2 is driven with an energization amount of 100%, the initial current value, the target current setting value, and the target shutter 36 opening degree The relationship is shown in the table below.

  From when the power is turned on until the “shutter switch” switch 5e is pressed, the shutter motor 10 is controlled as described above. When the “shutter switch” switch 5e is pressed, the shutter motor 10 is immediately set to 3 The rotation speed is reversed for 2 seconds, and after the shutter 36 is fully opened, the initial current value is continuously updated every second. At this time, the shutter motor 10 is not controlled. When the “shutter motor switching” switch 5e is pressed again in this state, the target current value is set again according to the latest initial current value at that time, and the control of the shutter motor 10 is performed in the same manner as described above. To do. Thereafter, every time the “shutter switching” switch 5e is pressed, “shutter 36 fully open” ← → “control of shutter motor 10 by current value” is repeated.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to operate in a state where the suction work rate is almost maximized regardless of the floor surface condition and the energization amount to the electric blower 2, and in the dust collection chamber 23. Even if dust accumulates, the operation can be performed in a state where the suction power in that state is substantially maximized. Further, it is possible to switch according to the convenience of the user, for example, when it is desired to suppress an increase in wind noise generated as a harmful effect of reducing the air volume or rotation sound of the electric blower 2.

  In the present embodiment, the feedback control of the shutter motor 10 based on the current value of the electric blower 2 is used as the suction power adjustment means, but as can be seen from FIG. 4, instead of the current detection means 12. Further, feedback control of the shutter motor 10 may be performed with the detected air volume using the air volume detection means, or feedback control of the shutter motor 10 may be performed with the detected degree of vacuum using the pressure detection means. Needless to say, similar results and effects can be obtained.

  As described above, the present invention is effective for a vacuum cleaner whose main purpose is floor cleaning, and is applicable not only to household use but also to a vacuum cleaner such as a built-in type (central cleaner). Can be applied and deployed.

The circuit block diagram of the vacuum cleaner in embodiment of this invention Overall perspective view of the vacuum cleaner Suction tool cross section of the vacuum cleaner Characteristics graph of the vacuum cleaner

Explanation of symbols

1 Commercial Power Supply 2 Electric Blower 3 Drive Circuit A
4 Power supply circuit 5 Operation unit 6 Rotating brush motor 7 Drive circuit B
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 8 Power supply cord 9 Signal control means 10 Shutter motor 11 Zero cross detection circuit 12 Current detection means 21 Vacuum cleaner main body 22 Electric blower chamber 23 Dust collection chamber 24 Hose 25 Connection pipe 26 Intake port 27 Handle 28 Tip pipe 29 Extension pipe 30 Rotating brush 31 Suction tool 32 Circuit board A
33 Circuit board B
34 Dust inlet 35 Air inlet 36 Shutter 37 Connection pipe 38 Reducer 39 Drive circuit C

Claims (6)

An electric blower that generates suction air, a suction tool that sucks dust on the floor from a dust suction port that communicates with the electric blower and is provided on the lower surface, a dust collection chamber that collects the sucked dust, and the suction An air intake port that is provided on the upper surface and / or side surface of the tool and sucks floating dust; and current detection means that detects a current flowing through the electric blower. The air intake port has an opening area by a shutter. The vacuum cleaner is configured so that the opening area of the air intake can be increased or decreased so that the current value detected by the current detection means becomes a predetermined value. When the user has a selection means capable of selecting a plurality of suction force modes of the electric blower, the user selects a predetermined suction force mode by the selection means, and starts the operation of the electric vacuum cleaner by moving the electric blower. A predetermined current value flowing through the electric blower at which the suction work rate is substantially maximum is obtained in advance by experiment, and the current value detected by the current detection means approaches the predetermined current value obtained in advance by the experiment. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the opening area of the air intake port is increased or decreased. At the start of operation of the vacuum cleaner, the opening area of the air intake port is maintained at a maximum state for at least a predetermined time, and becomes a reference for changing the opening area of the air intake port according to the current value at that time. The electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 2, wherein a predetermined current value obtained in advance by an experiment is corrected. The vacuum cleaner of any one of Claims 1-3 which has an operation means for switching whether the opening area of an air intake port is increased / decreased by control. An air volume detection means provided on the suction side of the electric blower is provided instead of the current detection means, and the opening area of the air intake is controlled by the air volume detected by the air volume detection means. The electric vacuum cleaner according to any one of 4. 2. A pressure detecting means for detecting the degree of vacuum in the dust collecting chamber instead of the current detecting means, wherein the opening area of the air intake port is controlled by the degree of vacuum detected by the pressure detecting means. The vacuum cleaner of any one of -4.

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