CN215305447U - Electric vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model provides an electric dust collector, which can naturally prompt a charging cable of a secondary battery to be pulled out when the electric dust collector is used for dust collection. An electric vacuum cleaner (1) is provided with a main body case (12); an electric blower (13) which is accommodated in the main body case (12) and generates suction negative pressure; a secondary battery (18) for storing the electric power consumed by the electric blower (13); a handle part (11) provided in the main body case (12); and a charging inlet (67) that is provided in the main body case (12) and that introduces charging power into the secondary battery (18). The shortest distance between the charging socket (67) and the handle (11) is set to be equal to or less than a predetermined distance (L) at which a charging plug (68) inserted into the charging socket (67) interferes with the fingers of a user gripping the handle (11) or blocks the movement of the fingers of the user gripping the handle (11).

Description

Electric vacuum cleaner

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present invention relate to an electric vacuum cleaner.

Background

An electric vacuum cleaner is known which can achieve both the ease of attaching and detaching the electric vacuum cleaner to and from a storage device and the stability of storage in which the electric vacuum cleaner does not come off from the storage device when a charging cable for a secondary battery is detached from the electric vacuum cleaner.

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2018-015325

In general, an electric vacuum cleaner is provided with an electric blower that generates suction negative pressure in order to suck dust together with air. The electric blower consumes a large electric power of 130 watts, for example, in order to generate a sufficient suction negative pressure. On the other hand, the secondary battery is charged with a very small charging power, for example, 13 watts, compared to the power consumed by the electric blower, that is, with a power of one tenth of the power consumed by the electric blower, taking a longer time than the operable time of the electric blower. That is, the electric power consumption of the electric blower greatly exceeds the charging power of the secondary battery.

Such a large difference between the discharge power of the secondary battery, that is, the power consumption of the electric blower, and the charging power of the secondary battery contributes to simplification of the charging circuit of the secondary battery, and further contributes to downsizing and weight reduction of the electric vacuum cleaner.

However, since the power consumption of the electric blower is extremely large compared to the charging power of the secondary battery, it is difficult to operate the electric blower only by the power supplied from the charging cable in a state where the charging cable of the secondary battery is connected to the electric vacuum cleaner. That is, even in a state where the charging cable of the secondary battery is connected to the electric vacuum cleaner, the electric blower is driven by consuming the electric power stored in the secondary battery. Therefore, when the charging rate (the remaining battery level) Of the secondary battery is insufficient, the electric blower is stopped in a very short time even though the charging cable Of the secondary battery is connected to the electric vacuum cleaner.

Therefore, when a charging cable of the secondary battery is connected to the electric vacuum cleaner, control for suppressing the operation of the electric blower may be applied to the electric vacuum cleaner. However, the control of suppressing the activation of the electric blower while the cable is connected may give a sense of incongruity to a user who operates the operation start switch, and may suspect that the electric cleaner is out of order.

Disclosure of Invention

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an electric vacuum cleaner capable of naturally prompting the removal of a charging cable of a secondary battery when the electric vacuum cleaner is used for vacuum cleaning.

In order to solve the above problem, an electric vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a main body case; an electric blower housed in the main body case and generating a suction negative pressure; a secondary battery that stores electric power consumed by the electric blower; a handle part arranged on the main body shell; and a charging socket provided in the main body case and configured to introduce charging power to the secondary battery, wherein a shortest distance between the charging socket and the grip portion is set to be equal to or less than a predetermined distance at which a charging plug inserted into the charging socket interferes with a finger of a user gripping the grip portion, or is set to be equal to or less than a predetermined distance at which the charging plug inserted into the charging socket blocks movement of the finger of the user gripping the grip portion.

Preferably, the charging socket is disposed such that a direction in which the charging plug is inserted into the charging socket is set to a direction substantially parallel to a virtual plane including a direction in which the handle portion extends, or such that a direction in which the charging plug is inserted into the charging socket is set to a direction away from the virtual plane.

Preferably, the charging socket is configured such that a charging plug inserted into the charging socket interferes with a finger of a user gripping the grip portion, or is configured to block movement of the finger of the user gripping the grip portion.

Effect of the utility model

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an electric vacuum cleaner capable of naturally prompting the removal of a charging cable of a secondary battery when used for vacuum cleaning.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a left side view of an electric vacuum cleaner of an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the electric vacuum cleaner according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of an electric vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of an electric vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a perspective sectional view of an electric vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of an electric vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Description of the symbols

1 electric vacuum cleaner, 2 vacuum cleaner body, 3 extension pipe, 11 handle part, 12 body case, 12a front part, 12b central part, 12c rear part, 13 electric blower, 15 suction pipe, 15a first opening, 15b second opening, 16 separation dust collecting part, 17 body control part, 18 secondary battery, 19 holding mechanism, 21 control circuit board, 22 input part, 22a operation start switch, 22b operation stop switch, 25 electric blower housing part, 25a first part, 25b second part, 25c third part, 26 battery housing part, 31 dust collecting chamber, 32 side surface, 33 inlet, 35 outlet, 36 centrifugal separation part, 37 filtration separation part, 38 filter, 39 container, 41 first mechanism, 41a recess of first mechanism, 41b … convex part of the first mechanism, 42 … second mechanism, 42a … second mechanism, 42b … concave part of the second mechanism, 43 … operation piece, 51 … connection port, 52 … separation part downstream wind path pipe, 55 … impeller, 56 … motor, 57 … rotation shaft, 58 … suction port, 59 … casing, 61 … circuit board accommodation part, 65 … exhaust port, 67 … charging socket, 68 … charging plug, 71 … concave part of the main body casing, 72 … inclined surface.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the electric vacuum cleaner according to the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 6. In the drawings, the same or corresponding components are denoted by the same reference numerals.

Fig. 1 is a left side view of an electric vacuum cleaner of an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the electric vacuum cleaner according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of an electric vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of an electric vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a perspective sectional view of an electric vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in fig. 1 to 5, the electric vacuum cleaner 1 of the present embodiment is, for example, a stick type and is also a hand-held type. The electric vacuum cleaner 1 includes a cleaner body 2 that can be handled by hand.

Further, the electric vacuum cleaner 1 includes an extension pipe 3 that is attachable to and detachable from the cleaner body 2, and a suction port body that is attachable to and detachable from the extension pipe 3, as in a general electric vacuum cleaner.

In a state where the user holds the electric vacuum cleaner 1, fig. 1 corresponds to a view of the electric vacuum cleaner 1 viewed from the right side of the user, fig. 4 corresponds to a view of the electric vacuum cleaner 1 viewed from the oblique right rear of the user, and fig. 5 corresponds to a view of the electric vacuum cleaner 1 viewed from the oblique left rear of the user.

The cleaner body 2 includes: a main body case 12 having a grip portion 11; an electric blower 13 housed in the main body case 12 and generating suction negative pressure; a suction pipe 15 fluidly connected to a suction side of the electric blower 13; a separation dust collecting part 16 detachably mounted on the main body case 12; a main body control unit 17 that mainly controls the electric blower 13; a secondary battery 18 housed in the main body case 12; and a holding mechanism 19 for detachably holding the separation dust collection unit 16 to the main body case 12.

The cleaner body 2 drives the electric blower 13 by the electric power stored in the secondary battery 18, generates a negative pressure by the driving of the electric blower 13, and applies the generated suction negative pressure to the dust separating and collecting unit 16. The suction negative pressure applied to the dust separating collecting part 16 is applied to the suction pipe 15, the extension pipe 3, and the suction port body in this order. The suction negative pressure reaching the suction port body acts on the suction port of the suction port body. The suction negative pressure acting on the suction port sucks air containing dust (hereinafter referred to as "dust-containing air") from the floor surface at the suction port. The air containing dust sucked from the suction port flows into the dust separating and collecting part 16 through the suction port body, the extension pipe 3 and the suction pipe 15. The dust separating and collecting unit 16 separates dust from the dust-containing air sucked by the suction negative pressure, collects and accumulates the separated dust, and sends the air from which the dust is separated to the electric blower 13. The electric blower 13 discharges the air from which the dust is separated to the outside of the main body case 12.

The main body case 12 accommodates the electric blower 13, the control circuit board 21 on which the main body control unit 17 is mounted, and the secondary battery 18.

The main body case 12 includes a front portion 12a that supports a suction pipe 15 protruding toward the front surface of the main body case 12, a central portion 12b that houses the electric blower 13 and the control circuit board 21, a rear portion 12c that houses the secondary battery 18, and a grip portion 11 that is bridged between the central portion 12b and the rear portion 12 c.

The main body case 12 includes an input unit 22, and the input unit 22 is disposed in a range in which fingers of a user holding the grip 11 move.

The front portion 12a and the rear portion 12c of the main body casing 12 are disposed on an extension line of the longitudinal direction of the suction pipe 15, that is, the extending direction, while the central portion 12b of the main body casing 12 has a portion located on an extension line of the longitudinal direction of the suction pipe 15, that is, the extending direction, and a portion protruding in the radial direction of the suction pipe 15 from the front portion 12a and the rear portion 12 c. The central portion 12b of the main body case 12 of the present embodiment has a portion which is located above the front portion 12a and the rear portion 12c of the main body case 12 and protrudes in the direction of the solid arrow U in fig. 1. The central portion 12b of the main body case 12 has an appearance that is inclined downward toward the rear portion 12c of the main body case 12.

The central portion 12b of the main body case 12 is an electric blower housing portion 25 that houses the electric blower 13, and the rear portion 12c of the main body case 12 is a battery housing portion 26 that houses the secondary battery 18.

The suction pipe 15 protrudes from the front portion 12a of the main body casing 12 toward the front. The suction pipe 15 is a straight pipe extending straight without being substantially bent. The direction along the center line of the suction pipe 15, the extending direction of the suction pipe 15, and the longitudinal direction of the suction pipe 15 are substantially the same, and substantially coincide with the front-rear direction of the main body casing 12.

The suction pipe 15 has a joint structure in which the extension pipe 3 can be attached and detached. This joint structure is provided at a portion farthest from the main body casing 12, that is, at a protruding end portion of the suction pipe 15. The suction pipe 15 is a fluid inlet of the cleaner body 2, and is a joint that fluidly connects the extension pipe 3 and the dust separation collection part 16. By removing the extension pipe 3 from the cleaner body 2, the suction pipe 15 has a first opening 15a that also functions as a suction port when the cleaner body 2 is used as a single body. That is, the protruding end of the suction pipe 15 is open in the longitudinal direction of the suction pipe 15.

The proximal end of the suction pipe 15 is accommodated in the front portion 12a of the main body case 12 and supported by the main body case 12. The base end of the suction pipe 15 has a second opening 15b connected to the separate dust collecting part 16. The base end of the suction pipe 15 is aligned with the dust separating and collecting part 16 arranged along the radial direction of the suction pipe 15, and the second opening 15b of the base end opens toward the dust separating and collecting part 16 and toward the radial outside of the suction pipe 15. That is, the second opening 15b of the suction pipe 15 is opened upward of the main body case 12. The second opening 15b of the suction pipe 15 is provided at the top surface of the front portion 12a of the main body case 12. When the separate dust collecting part 16 is mounted to the main body housing 12, the top surface of the front part 12a of the main body housing 12 contacts the separate dust collecting part 16. Then, the second opening 15b of the suction pipe 15 fluidly connects the dust separating collecting part 16 with the suction pipe 15.

The dust separating and collecting unit 16 is disposed in an L-letter shaped housing space formed by the front portion 12a of the main body case 12 and the center portion 12b of the main body case 12. The dust separating and collecting unit 16 separates, collects, and accumulates dust from the dust-containing air flowing into the cleaner body 2, and sends the clean air from which the dust is removed to the electric blower 13. The dust separation/collection unit 16 may be a centrifugal separation system for centrifugally separating dust from air by utilizing a mass difference between the dust and the air, or a filtration/separation system having a filter for filtering out dust from air containing dust.

The dust separating and collecting unit 16 extends in a cylindrical shape along the front-rear direction of the main body case 12. In other words, the dust separating and collecting unit 16 is a cylindrical container having a center line extending in the front-rear direction of the main body case 12. The direction along the center line of the dust separating collecting part 16, the extending direction of the dust separating collecting part 16, and the longitudinal direction of the dust separating collecting part 16 are substantially the same, and substantially coincide with the front-rear direction of the main body case 12. Thereby, the center line of the dust separating and collecting part 16 is substantially parallel to the center line of the suction pipe 15. The dust separating and collecting unit 16 is arranged in parallel with the suction pipe 15. That is, the longitudinal direction of the dust separating and collecting unit 16 follows the longitudinal direction of the suction pipe 15. The diameter of the dust separating collecting part 16 is larger than that of the suction pipe 15, and the dust separating collecting part 16 protrudes in the left-right direction (width direction) of the cleaner body 2 from the suction pipe 15 and the front part 12a of the main body case 12. The left-right direction (width direction) of the cleaner body 2 corresponds to a normal direction of an imaginary plane substantially including the center line of the cylindrical dust separating collecting part 16 and the center line of the suction pipe 15, or a normal direction of an imaginary plane substantially passing through the center line of the cylindrical dust separating collecting part 16 and the center line of the suction pipe 15. The imaginary plane corresponds to a longitudinal section of the electric vacuum cleaner 1 in fig. 3.

The separation dust collection unit 16 includes: a dust collecting chamber 31 disposed at one end of the cylindrical shape for accumulating dust separated from air; an inlet 33 disposed on the cylindrical side surface 32 and fluidly connected to the suction pipe 15; and an outlet port 35 disposed at the other end of the cylindrical shape and configured to send the air from which the dust is separated to the electric blower 13. One end of the dust separating and collecting part 16 is an end disposed on the front side in a state where the dust separating and collecting part 16 is attached to the main body case 12, and the other end of the dust separating and collecting part 16 is an end disposed on the rear side in a state where the dust separating and collecting part 16 is attached to the main body case 12.

The separation dust collector 16 includes, for example, a centrifugal separator 36 as a first stage separation stage and a filtering separator 37 as a second stage separation stage. The centrifugal separation part 36 centrifugally separates coarse dust having a relatively large mass from the dust-containing air flowing in from the inlet 33. The coarse dust separated by the centrifugation is accumulated in dust collecting chamber 31. In the centrifugal separation section 36, a negative pressure is sucked to generate a swirling flow for separating coarse dust from the dust-containing air. The fine dust having relatively small mass, which is difficult to separate by the centrifugal separation section 36, is concentrated at the center of the vortex of the swirling flow. The air containing the fine dust is guided to the filtering separator 37. The filter 38 of the filtering and separating unit 37 filters fine dust contained in the air. The clean air from which the fine dust has been filtered flows out from the outflow port 35 and is sucked by the electric blower 13.

The centrifugal separation part 36 is a cylindrical centrifugal separation device extending in the front-rear direction of the main body case 12, and is covered with a cylindrical container 39 also serving as the dust collection chamber 31. The container 39 has a cylindrical shape, and an inlet 33 is provided on a side surface of the container 39, that is, a side surface 32 of the dust collecting separating unit 16. The inlet 33 is fluidly connected to the second opening 15b of the suction pipe 15 in a state where the dust separating and collecting part 16 is attached to the main body case 12.

The outlet 35 of the separation dust collecting section 16 is provided at the other end of the cylindrical centrifugal separation section 36. The outlet 35 is disposed in the center of the rear end surface of the dust collecting separating unit 16 and opens toward the rear of the dust collecting separating unit 16. The outlet 35 may be provided on the side surface of the rear end of the dust collecting separating unit 16, that is, the side surface 32 of the dust collecting separating unit 16.

The separation dust collector 16 may be a multistage centrifugal separator having a plurality of stages of centrifugal separation units.

The holding mechanism 19 includes: a first mechanism 41 for detachably connecting one end of the dust separating and collecting unit 16 to the main body case 12; and a second mechanism 42 that detachably couples the other end of the dust separating and collecting unit 16 to the main body case 12.

The first mechanism 41 is a lock mechanism as follows: the convex portion 41b provided in the main body case 12 is hooked in the concave portion 41a provided in the dust separating and collecting portion 16, and the dust separating and collecting portion 16 and the main body case 12 are coupled. The concave portion 41a and the convex portion 41b of the first mechanism 41 are hooked or disengaged by a relative positional change between the dust collecting part 16 and the main body case 12.

The convex portion 41b of the first mechanism 41 is provided at the front end portion of the upper surface of the front portion 12a of the main body case 12. The concave portion 41a of the first mechanism 41 is disposed at one end of the dust separating and collecting portion 16 and at a position matching the convex portion 41 b.

The second mechanism 42 is a lock mechanism as follows: the recess 42b provided in the main body case 12 is hooked to the projection 42a provided in the dust separating and collecting part 16, and the dust separating and collecting part 16 and the main body case 12 are coupled to each other. Unlike the first mechanism 41, the second mechanism 42 includes an operation piece 43 capable of disengaging the convex portion 42a from the concave portion 42b while maintaining the relative position between the separation dust collection unit 16 and the main body case 12. The operation piece 43 is provided in the dust separating and collecting section 16, and the convex portion 42a of the second mechanism 42 is integrated with the operation piece 43.

The concave portion 42b of the second mechanism 42 is provided at the top of the central portion 12b of the main body casing 12, that is, at a position farthest from the suction pipe 15 in the radial direction of the suction pipe 15. The convex portion 42a of the second mechanism 42 is disposed at the other end of the dust separating and collecting portion 16 and at a position matching the concave portion 42 b. The concave portion 41a of the first mechanism 41 and the convex portion 42a of the second mechanism 42 are both provided in the dust separating and collecting portion 16, and are arranged substantially symmetrically with respect to the center in the longitudinal direction and the center in the short direction of the dust separating and collecting portion 16. The convex portion 42a of the second mechanism 42 is disposed at the farthest position in the dust collecting separating unit 16 as viewed from the concave portion 41a of the first mechanism 41.

The operation piece 43 is a part of various mechanisms that can perform operations involving mechanical movements including sliding and swinging, and convert the movements involved in the operations into operations for disengaging the convex portion 42a from the concave portion 42 b. For example, the user can disengage the convex portion 42a of the second mechanism 42 from the concave portion 42b by sliding the operation piece 43. When not operated by the user, the operation piece 43 can move the convex portion 42a of the second mechanism 42 to a position where it is hooked on the concave portion 42 b.

When the dust separating collecting part 16 is attached to the main body case 12, the first mechanism 41 engages the convex portion 41b with the concave portion 41a to couple the dust separating collecting part 16 to the main body case 12, and the second mechanism 42 engages the convex portion 42a with the concave portion 42b to couple the dust separating collecting part 16 to the main body case 12. Then, when the operation piece 43 is operated and the convex portion 42a of the second mechanism 42 is pulled out from the concave portion 42b of the second mechanism 42, the locking of the second mechanism 42 is released. At this time, the convex portion 41b of the first mechanism 41 maintains the state of being hooked in the concave portion 41 a. Therefore, in a state where the lock of the second mechanism 42 is released, the user separates the other end of the dust collecting part 16 from the main body case 12 with the first mechanism 41 as a fulcrum. Then, the dust separating and collecting unit 16 is separated from the main body case 12, and finally the convex portion 41b of the first mechanism 41 is pulled out from the concave portion 41a, and the lock of the first mechanism 41 is released.

When the dust collecting part 16 is detached from the main body case 12, first, the convex part 41b of the first mechanism 41 is hooked on the concave part 41 a. In a state where the first mechanism 41 is locked, the user brings the other end of the dust separating collecting part 16 close to the main body case 12 with the first mechanism 41 as a fulcrum. Then, the dust separating and collecting unit 16 is attached to the main body case 12, and finally the convex portion 42a of the second mechanism 42 is hooked to the concave portion 42b and the second mechanism 42 is also locked.

Further, the dust separating and collecting unit 16 of the present embodiment is attached to and detached from the main body case 12 while describing an arc orbit, but may be attached to and detached from the suction pipe 15 while describing a linear orbit in the radial direction. In this case, the first mechanism 41 and the second mechanism 42 are preferably locked or unlocked substantially simultaneously. The moving direction of the dust collecting part 16 when the dust collecting part 16 is attached to and detached from the main body case 12 may be a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of the suction pipe 15. Accordingly, when the dust separating collecting part 16 is attached to the main body case 12, the dust separating collecting part 16 moves in a direction approaching the suction pipe 15 in the radial direction of the suction pipe 15, and when the dust separating collecting part 16 is detached from the main body case 12, the dust separating collecting part 16 moves in a direction separating from the suction pipe 15 in the radial direction of the suction pipe 15.

The electric blower housing 25, which is the central portion 12b of the main body case 12, includes: a connection port 51 fluidly connected to the outlet port 35 of the dust separating collecting part 16; and a downstream air passage pipe 52 that fluidly connects the connection port 51 and the electric blower 13. Electric blower housing portion 25 is provided between connection port 51 and battery housing portion 26. The electric blower housing portion 25 includes: a first part 25a connected to the dust separating and collecting part 16 in a state of being mounted on the main body case 12; a second portion 25b connected to the battery housing portion 26; and a third portion 25c midway connecting the first portion 25a and the second portion 25 b. The second portion 25b is the rear portion 12c of the main body case 12.

Coupling port 51 is provided at first portion 25a of electric blower housing portion 25. In a state where the dust separating and collecting unit 16 is attached to the main body case 12, the connection port 51 faces the outlet port 35 provided on the rear end surface of the dust separating and collecting unit 16. That is, the connection port 51 faces the outlet port 35 disposed at the center of the rear end surface of the dust separating collecting part 16. Thus, in a state where the dust separating and collecting unit 16 is attached to the main body case 12, the connection port 51 is arranged on an extension line of the center line of the dust separating and collecting unit 16.

The suction side of the electric blower 13 is connected to the dust collecting separating unit 16 via a connection port 51 and a duct 52 downstream of the separating unit. The electric blower 13 sucks air from the dust separating and collecting unit 16 to generate a suction negative pressure. The electric blower 13 includes: an impeller 55; a motor 56 that generates a rotational driving force of the impeller 55; and a rotary shaft 57 for transmitting a rotational driving force from the motor 56 to the impeller 55.

The impeller 55 is, for example, a turbo fan and includes a plurality of blades. Each blade has a twisted shape that gradually stands upright in the radial direction of the hub from the center of the conical hub toward the outer edge of the hub. In other words, each blade is a so-called three-dimensional wing in which the airfoil profile (airfoil) or the wing section (wing section) changes from the leading edge to the trailing edge. Impeller 55 is covered by a casing 59 having a suction port 58.

The suction port 58 is disposed in the projection area PA of the outlet port 35 in the opening direction of the outlet port 35 of the dust collecting part 16. The suction port 58 of the present embodiment is located on the center line of the dust separating collecting part 16 and overlaps the outlet port 35 when viewed along the longitudinal direction of the dust separating collecting part 16 so as to match the outlet port 35 disposed at the center of the rear end surface of the dust separating collecting part 16. When the outlet port 35 is disposed on the side surface 32 of the dust separating collecting part 16, the suction port 58 may be opposed to the side surface 32 of the dust separating collecting part 16 and may overlap the outlet port 35 when viewed in the radial direction of the dust separating collecting part 16.

The rotation shaft 57 extends from the projection area PA to an extension line of the suction pipe 15 in the longitudinal direction. In other words, the rotary shaft 57 is inclined with respect to the front-rear direction of the main body case 12, the longitudinal direction of the suction pipe 15, and the longitudinal direction of the dust separating and collecting unit attached to the main body case 12. The rotation axis 57 may or may not enter the projection area PA. The rotation shaft 57 may or may not extend on the extension line of the longitudinal direction of the suction pipe 15. The rotation shaft 57 extends from the connection port 51 toward the battery housing portion 26. That is, the rotary shaft 57 is inclined with respect to the direction in which the dust collecting separating unit 16, the electric blower housing unit 25, and the battery housing unit 26 are arranged in the state of being attached to the main body case 12. In other words, the rotation shaft 57 is inclined with respect to the front-rear direction of the main body case 12. The rotation shaft 57 is inclined so as to be lower toward the rear, and is spaced apart from the suction pipe 15 on an extension line extending from the connection port 51 toward the longitudinal direction of the suction pipe 15.

The electric blower 13 has a cylindrical shape or a columnar shape centered on the rotation shaft 57. The electric blower 13 is housed in the electric blower housing portion 25 with its center line inclined from the connection port 51 toward the secondary battery 18. The inclination of the electric blower 13 is such that the upstream side of the electric blower 13 having the suction port 58 is directed upward and forward of the main body case 12, that is, is directed downward and rearward.

The central portion 12b of the main body case 12 is adjacent to the front portion 12a, and is a circuit board housing portion 61 that houses the control circuit board 21 to which the main body control portion 17 is attached. The circuit board housing portion 61 is disposed on an extension line of the suction pipe 15 in the longitudinal direction and directly behind the suction pipe 15. Thus, the control circuit board 21 housed in the circuit board housing portion 61 is arranged directly behind the suction pipe 15. Further, the control circuit board 21 is sandwiched between the electric blower 13 inclined so as to rise forward and the suction pipe 15.

The main body control unit 17 includes a microprocessor and a storage device for storing various operation programs, parameters, and the like executed by the microprocessor. The storage device stores arguments, which are various settings related to a plurality of preset operation modes. A plurality of operating modes are associated with the output of the electric blower 13. In each operation mode, a different input value, that is, an input value of the electric blower 13 is set, and the target value of the current flowing through the electric blower 13 is set. Each operation mode is associated with an operation input received by the input unit 22. The main body control unit 17 selects an arbitrary operation mode corresponding to an operation input to the input unit 22 from a plurality of operation modes set in advance, reads the setting of the selected operation mode from the storage unit, and operates the electric blower 13 in accordance with the read setting of the operation mode.

The battery housing 26, which is the rear portion 12c of the main body case 12, is located on an extension of the suction pipe 15 in the longitudinal direction, and is connected to the rear end of the electric blower housing 25. The battery housing portion 26 is disposed directly behind the lowermost portion of the electric blower 13 that is inclined so as to rise forward. Thus, the secondary battery 18 housed in the battery housing portion 26 is disposed on the extension line of the longitudinal direction of the suction pipe 15, and is disposed behind the control circuit board 21 and directly behind the lowermost portion of the electric blower 13.

The secondary battery 18 is also referred to as a storage battery, a rechargeable battery, and a rechargeable battery. The secondary battery 18 stores electric power consumed by the electric blower 13 and the main body control unit 17. The secondary battery 18 may be detachably fixed to the main body case 12 or may be fixed to the main body case. The detachable secondary battery 18 can be replaced and used as appropriate by preparing a plurality of secondary batteries 18 in advance. When the charging rate of the secondary battery 18 attached to the electric vacuum cleaner 1 decreases, the electric vacuum cleaner 1 can continue to operate by replacing the secondary battery 18 with the charged secondary battery 18.

The handle portion 11 is integrally provided to the main body case 12. The handle portion 11 is a portion that is held by a hand of a user to clean the floor surface by the electric vacuum cleaner 1. Therefore, the grip portion 11 preferably has an appropriate shape that can be easily gripped by a human finger.

The handle portion 11 is disposed between the first portion 25a of the main body case 12 and the battery housing portion 26. The front end of the grip 11 is connected to a portion of the center 12b of the main body case 12 farthest from the suction pipe 15 in the radial direction of the suction pipe 15, in other words, a portion corresponding to the top of the center 12 b. The rear end of the handle portion 11 is connected to the rearmost portion of the top surface of the rear portion 12c of the main body case 12. Between the grip portion 11 and the back surface of the central portion 12b of the main body case 12 and between the grip portion 11 and the top surface of the rear portion 12c of the main body case 12, continuous spaces penetrate in the left-right direction (width direction) of the main body case 12. Fingers of a user who grips the grip portion 11, particularly four fingers including an index finger, a middle finger, a ring finger, and a little finger, are arranged in the space.

The handle 11 is disposed on an extension of the cylindrical dust separating collecting part 16 in the longitudinal direction and extends to intersect with an extension of the center line of the cylindrical dust separating collecting part 16. The handle portion 11 extends substantially parallel to the direction in which the rotary shaft 57 of the electric blower 13 extends.

The input portion 22 is provided on the top surface of the front end portion of the grip portion 11 so that a user gripping the grip portion 11 can easily operate with his thumb.

The input unit 22 includes: an operation start switch 22a for receiving an operation start operation of the electric blower 13; and an operation stop switch 22b for receiving an operation stop operation of the electric blower 13. The operation start switch 22a and the operation stop switch 22b are electrically connected to the main body control unit 17. The user of the electric vacuum cleaner 1 can select an operation mode of the electric blower 13 by operating the input unit 22. The operation start switch 22a also functions as a switch for switching the operation mode during the operation of the electric blower 13. In this case, the main body control unit 17 switches the operation mode in the order of strong → medium → weak → … … each time an operation signal is received from the operation start switch 22 a. Instead of the operation start switch 22a, the input unit 22 may be provided with a strong operation switch (not shown), a medium operation switch (not shown), and a weak operation switch (not shown) independently.

The handle portion 11, the rotary shaft 57 of the electric blower 13, the secondary battery 18, and the input portion 22 are arranged to describe a parallelogram. The handle portion 11 and the rotary shaft 57 of the electric blower 13 are disposed on opposite sides of one of the parallelograms. The secondary battery 18 and the input unit 22 are disposed on the opposite side of the other parallelogram.

However, the electric blower 13 and the secondary battery 18 are being downsized and highly efficient. The secondary battery 18 is made compact and highly efficient, and can be continuously used for a longer period of time while the battery housing 26 is allocated the same volume as in the conventional case. On the other hand, the electric blower 13 is preferably as small and light as possible as long as it can exhibit the required suction efficiency and the required suction performance.

Further, although the electric blower 13 and the secondary battery 18 are reduced in size and increased in efficiency, the separation dust collecting part 16 needs to have a capacity corresponding to the function as a container for accumulating dust. The separation dust collecting part 16, which is too small, requires frequent treatment, which is detrimental to user convenience.

In view of the above, the size reduction of the cleaner body 2 is limited by the capacities of the dust collecting part 16 and the secondary battery 18, and is achieved by using the smaller electric blower 13.

However, if it is assumed that the center line of the electric blower 13 and the center line of the dust separating and collecting portion 16 are aligned in a straight line in the front-rear direction of the main body case 12 and the electric blower 13 is housed in the main body case 12 which extends cylindrically with the same outer diameter as that of the dust separating and collecting portion 16, the cleaner main body 2 has a poor design which extends long in the front-rear direction.

Therefore, the main body case 12 of the electric vacuum cleaner 1 of the present embodiment includes: an electric blower housing part 25 connected to the rear of the separation dust collecting part 16 and housing the electric blower 13; and a battery housing portion 26 connected to the rear of the electric blower housing portion 25 and housing the secondary battery 18.

Then, the electric blower housing portion 25 has a saddle-shape (saddle-shape). That is, the third portion 25c in the middle of the connection between the first portion 25a connected to the dust separating collecting part 16 in the state of being attached to the main body case 12 and the second portion 25b connected to the battery housing part 26 is narrower than the first portion 25a and the second portion 25 b. The bottom surface of electric blower housing portion 25 is substantially flat, and the left and right side surfaces and the top surface of electric blower housing portion 25 are narrowed in a saddle shape.

The electric blower housing portion 25 is recessed in an arc shape. That is, in a plan view (fig. 2) of the main body case 12, both side surfaces of the electric blower housing portion 25 are recessed so as to face the inside of the main body case 12 and so as to be hollowed out inside the electric blower housing portion 25. In the side view of the main body case 12 (fig. 1 and 4), the top surface of the electric blower housing portion 25 is recessed so as to face the bottom surface of the main body case 12 and to hollow the bottom surface of the electric blower housing portion 25. Thus, electric blower housing portion 25 has an outer appearance surface and a design surface depicted by an arc having a chord that spans between first portion 25a and second portion 25 b.

The electric blower housing portion 25 is in the shape of a saddle having an arc shape recessed in a direction away from the grip portion 11.

Further, the electric blower housing portion 25 has a saddle shape of an arc shape recessed in a direction approaching the rotation shaft 57 when viewed in a cross section passing through the center of the rotation shaft 57 of the electric blower 13.

The saddle-shaped electric blower housing portion 25 contributes to making the main body case 12 in front of the grip portion 11 slim. Further, when fingers are arranged in a space between electric blower housing portion 25 and handle portion 11 when handle portion 11 is gripped, the degree of freedom of movement of the fingers in the space can be increased. In other words, the saddle-shaped electric blower housing portion 25 can improve the ease of gripping the grip portion 11.

The electric blower housing portion 25 has an exhaust port 65 for discharging the exhaust gas of the electric blower 13 from the main body case 12 in the vicinity of the battery housing portion 26. The normal line of the outer surface of the portion where exhaust port 65 is provided is inclined toward first portion 25a of electric blower housing portion 25. The exhaust port 65 has a plurality of long holes arranged in a fan shape having a wide front portion along the saddle shape of the electric blower housing portion 25. Each long hole extends in the front-rear direction of the main body case 12 while being inclined to rise forward. The opening areas of the plurality of elongated holes may be set to be larger as they are farther from the fan-shaped shaft, or may be set to be the same. Exhaust port 65 may be located on the left and right sides of electric blower housing portion 25, avoiding the bottom and upper portions of electric blower housing portion 25.

In addition, a charging inlet 67 for introducing charging power to the secondary battery 18 is provided in the electric blower housing portion 25. The charging inlet 67 is connected to the secondary battery 18 via a charging circuit of the secondary battery 18.

The shortest distance D1 _ min between the charging inlet 67 and the grip portion 11 is set to: the charging plug 68 inserted into the charging socket 67 is not more than a predetermined distance that interferes with the fingers of the user gripping the grip portion 11 or blocks the movement of the fingers of the user gripping the grip portion 11. The prescribed distance is, for example, 3 cm. The shortest distance D1 _ min is more preferably in the range of 1.5 cm to 3 cm, for example.

Charging inlet 67 is provided at a position where electric blower housing portion 25 can be seen from handle portion 11 side.

The charging socket 67 is disposed such that the insertion direction of the charging plug 68 into the charging socket 67 is set to a direction substantially parallel to a virtual plane including the extending direction of the handle portion 11, or to a direction away from the virtual plane. The virtual plane is a virtual plane substantially including the center line of the cylindrical dust separating collecting part 16 and the center line of the suction pipe 15 or substantially passing through the center line of the cylindrical dust separating collecting part 16 and the center line of the suction pipe 15 in the electric vacuum cleaner 1 of the present embodiment, and corresponds to the vertical cross section of the electric vacuum cleaner 1 in fig. 3.

When charging plug 68 is inserted into charging socket 67, charging plug 68 protrudes from charging socket 67 in a direction substantially parallel to an imaginary plane including the extending direction of handle portion 11, or when charging plug 68 is inserted into charging socket 67, charging plug 68 protrudes from charging socket 67 in a direction approaching an imaginary plane including the extending direction of handle portion 11. The charging plug 68 inserted into the charging inlet 67 in this manner projects in a direction approaching the hand 11 based on the positional relationship between the grip 11 and the charging inlet 67.

In other words, the charging socket 67 is arranged such that the shortest distance D _ min between the charging plug 68 inserted into the charging socket 67 and the grip 11 interferes with the fingers of the user gripping the grip 11 or blocks the movement of the fingers of the user gripping the grip 11. The grip portion 11 has a straight line portion provided with an input portion 22 that is easily reached by the thumb of the user who grips the grip portion 11. The straight line portion extends along the front-rear direction of the main body case 12. The charging inlet 67 is provided at the following positions: the charging plug 68 can be inserted into the charging inlet 67 in such a manner that the charging plug 68 is parallel to the straight portion. Further, the charging inlet 67 is provided at the following positions: the charging plug 68 inserted into the charging inlet 67 projects in a direction intersecting with a portion of the grip 11 gripped by the palm of the user.

Thus, in a state where charging plug 68 is inserted into charging inlet 67, the user is obstructed by charging plug 68 itself or an electric wire connected to charging plug 68, and thus, it is difficult to smoothly hold grip 11. Then, when the user uses the electric vacuum cleaner 1, the user can very naturally pull out the charging plug 68 that hinders the grip of the grip portion 11 from the charging inlet 67. In other words, the electric vacuum cleaner 1 includes the handle portion 11 that is difficult to hold in a state where the charging plug 68 is inserted into the charging inlet 67. The electric vacuum cleaner 1 can naturally urge the charging plug 68 to be removed and pulled out when the user wants to hold the grip portion 11 without special attention or awareness.

Further, since the charging inlet 67 is extremely close to the handle portion 11 (the shortest distance D _ min), for example, by providing a display or a sign that prompts the charging plug 68 to be pulled out when the vacuum cleaner 1 is used in the vicinity of the charging inlet 67, the display or sign can be reliably recognized by the user.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of an electric vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a view of the electric vacuum cleaner 1 as viewed from diagonally front left of the user in a state where the user holds the electric vacuum cleaner 1. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the cleaner body 2 with the dust collecting separation unit 16 removed.

As shown in fig. 6, the main body case 12 of the electric vacuum cleaner 1 of the present embodiment includes a recess 71 as shown in fig. 1 to 5, and the recess 71 shields a part of the side surface 32 of the dust separating collecting part 16 attached to the main body case 12 and accommodates a part of the dust separating collecting part 16.

The recess 71 is provided in the center portion 12b of the main body case 12 and is open to the front and upward of the main body case 12.

The recess 71 has a wall surface facing the rear end surface of the dust collecting part 16. A connection port 51 connected to the electric blower 13 is disposed in the center of the wall surface. When the dust separating collecting part 16 is attached to the main body case 12, the wall surface faces the rear end surface of the dust separating collecting part 16, and the outlet port 35 disposed on the rear end surface of the dust separating collecting part 16 is connected to the connection port 51.

The recess 71 sandwiches and separates a part of the rear end of the dust collection unit 16 from the width direction of the main body case 12. The recess 71 has a shape such that the overlap between the recess 71 and the dust separating collecting part 16 in the longitudinal direction of the dust separating collecting part 16 becomes smaller as the distance from the suction pipe 15 increases. The recess 71 has a U-shaped wall surface in a front view of the main body case 12. That is, the recess 71 is connected to a wall surface facing the front surface of the main body case 12, and is open to the upper side of the main body case 12. The U-shaped wall surfaces stand in a pair of left and right from the connecting portion of the front portion 12a and the center portion 12b of the main body case 12, and sandwich the left and right of the dust separating and collecting portion 16 attached to the main body case 12. Further, the recess 71 has an inclined surface 72 inclined toward the rear upper side of the main body case 12. The inclined surface 72 faces upward of the front surface of the main body case 12. Therefore, the U-shaped wall surface of the recess 71 is a wedge-shaped or tapered wall surface whose width (width in the front-rear direction of the main body case 12) becomes narrower toward the upper side.

The recess 71 formed as described above shields the other end, here, a part of the rear end, of the dust collecting part 16 attached to and detached from the main body case 12. The portion of the dust collecting separating unit 16 shielded by the recess 71 is a portion adjacent to the front portion 12a and the central portion 12b of the main body case 12 at the other end portion of the main body case 12, and in a state of being attached to and detached from the main body case 12, the portion closer to the front portion 12a is to the left and right sides of the main body case 12, the portion is hidden by the recess 71.

When the dust separating and collecting part 16 is attached to the main body case 12 with the dust separating and collecting part 16 removed as shown in fig. 6, the dust separating and collecting part 16 is attached to the main body case 12 while drawing an arc as indicated by the solid arrow a in fig. 6, as already described. When the dust separating and collecting unit 16 is attached to and detached from the main body case 12, the recess 71 of the main body case 12 accommodates a part of the dust separating and collecting unit 16 without interfering with the movement of the dust separating and collecting unit 16. The recess 71 of the main body case 12 sandwiches a movement path before the dust separating and collecting unit 16 is attached to the main body case 12. Therefore, the recess 71 also functions as a guide for guiding the dust separating collecting part 16 attached to the main body case 12 to a proper attachment position.

The dust separating and collecting unit 16 is a part that is dominant over the entire width of the cleaner body 2. That is, the dust separating and collecting unit 16 projects in the width direction of the cleaner body 2 from other portions including the main body case 12. Therefore, for example, when the cleaner body 2 collides with an obstacle such as furniture during cleaning using the electric vacuum cleaner 1, the dust collecting part 16 is likely to collide with the obstacle before the main body housing 12. When the dust separating collecting part 16 collides with an obstacle before the main body case 12, the dust separating collecting part 16 may fall off from the main body case 12.

However, in the electric vacuum cleaner 1 of the present embodiment, by housing a part of the separation dust collection part 16 in the recess 71 of the main body case 12, even when the separation dust collection part 16 collides with an obstacle before the main body case 12, the separation dust collection part 16 can be firmly held in the main body case 12. In particular, when an external force is applied from the left and right sides of the cleaner body 2, the recess 71 blocks the external force and firmly holds the dust collection part 16. When an external force is applied from above the cleaner body 2, the recess 71 is engaged with the front portion 12a of the main body case 12 to firmly hold the dust collection part 16.

Further, when the electric vacuum cleaner 1 is operated while holding the grip 11, an external force is applied to the dust separating and collecting part 16 from below the cleaner body 2 is very exceptional. An obstacle approaching the cleaner body 2 from below the cleaner body 2 usually contacts the main body case 12 before contacting the dust separating and collecting portion 16.

As described above, the shortest distance between the charging jack 67 and the grip portion 11 of the electric vacuum cleaner 1 according to the present embodiment is set to be equal to or less than the predetermined distance D _ min at which the charging plug 68 inserted into the charging jack 67 interferes with the fingers of the user gripping the grip portion 11, or equal to or less than the predetermined distance D _ min at which the movement of the fingers of the user gripping the grip portion 11 is inhibited. Therefore, in the electric vacuum cleaner 1, when the charging plug 68 is inserted into the charging inlet 67, the user holding the grip 11 can be prompted to pull out the charging plug 68 naturally, giving an uncomfortable feeling.

The electric vacuum cleaner 1 of the present embodiment further includes the charging inlet 67, and the charging inlet 67 is disposed such that the insertion direction of the charging plug 68 into the charging inlet 67 is set to be substantially parallel to a virtual plane including the extending direction of the handle portion 11, or such that the insertion direction of the charging plug 68 into the charging inlet 67 is set to be away from the virtual plane. That is, the charging plug 68 inserted into the charging inlet 67 protrudes toward the grip portion 11, and the electric wire connected to the charging plug 68 passes through the vicinity of the grip portion 11. Therefore, in the electric vacuum cleaner 1, when the charging plug 68 is inserted into the charging inlet 67, the user holding the grip 11 can be prompted to pull out the charging plug 68 naturally, giving an uncomfortable feeling.

The electric vacuum cleaner 1 of the present embodiment further includes the charging inlet 67, and the charging inlet 67 is disposed such that the charging plug 68 inserted into the charging inlet 67 interferes with the fingers of the user gripping the handle portion 11, or such that the charging inlet 67 blocks the movement of the fingers of the user gripping the handle portion 11. Therefore, in the electric vacuum cleaner 1, when the charging plug 68 is inserted into the charging inlet 67, the user holding the grip 11 can be prompted to pull out the charging plug 68 naturally, giving an uncomfortable feeling.

Thus, according to the electric vacuum cleaner 1 of the present invention, when used for cleaning, the removal of the charging cable of the secondary battery can be naturally promoted.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. These new embodiments can be implemented in other various forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the utility model. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the utility model, and are included in the utility model described in the scope of the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

Claims (3)

1. An electric vacuum cleaner is provided with:

a main body case; the method is characterized in that:

an electric blower housed in the main body case and generating a suction negative pressure;

a secondary battery that stores electric power consumed by the electric blower;

a handle part arranged on the main body shell; and

a charging socket provided in the main body case to introduce charging power to the secondary battery,

the shortest distance between the charging socket and the handle portion is set to be equal to or less than a predetermined distance at which a charging plug inserted into the charging socket interferes with fingers of a user gripping the handle portion, or is set to be equal to or less than a predetermined distance at which the charging plug inserted into the charging socket blocks movement of the fingers of the user gripping the handle portion.

2. The electric vacuum cleaner of claim 1,

the charging socket is disposed such that a direction in which the charging plug is inserted into the charging socket is set to a direction substantially parallel to a virtual plane including a direction in which the handle portion extends, or such that a direction in which the charging plug is inserted into the charging socket is set to a direction away from the virtual plane.

3. The electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 1 or 2,

the charging socket is configured such that a charging plug inserted into the charging socket interferes with a finger of a user gripping the grip portion, or is configured to block movement of the finger of the user gripping the grip portion.

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