Brushing – scrubbing – and general cleaning – Machines – With air blast or suction
Reexamination Certificate
2001-03-23
2003-09-30
Snider, Theresa T. (Department: 1744)
Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning
Machines
With air blast or suction
C015S352000, C055SDIG003, C055S295000, C055S305000, C055S337000, C055S429000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06625845
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric vacuum cleaner, and particularly to an electric vacuum cleaner having a cyclone-type dust collector that separates dust with a whirling air flow produced from air sucked in.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventionally known type of electric vacuum cleaner has a cyclone dust collector that separates dust with a whirling air flow produced from air sucked in by driving an electric blower.
FIG. 49
is a diagram schematically showing a conventional example of such an electric cleaner. A nozzle unit
4
has a nozzle
4
a
that faces a floor surface F, and, to this nozzle unit
4
, a connection pipe
3
is connected. To the connection pipe
3
, a cyclone dust collector
5
is coupled.
The cyclone dust collector
5
communicates with a main body
1
of the electric vacuum cleaner having an electric blower
1
a through a coupling member
10
and a suction hose
2
, thereby forming a suction air passage. Part of the coupling member
10
is bent so as to form a handle
10
a
to be held by the user. On the handle
10
a
is provided an operation portion log having operation keys with which to control the operation of the electric vacuum cleaner, a display for indicating the operation status thereof, and the like.
When the electric blower
1
a
is driven, air is sucked in through the nozzle
4
a
of the nozzle unit
4
as indicated by arrow f
1
, and the air thus introduced flows through the connection pipe
3
into the cyclone dust collector
5
through an inlet
5
a
thereof. Inside the cyclone dust collector
5
, the air is turned into a whirling air flow by which dust is separated and removed from the air. Thereafter, by the suction force of the electric blower
1
a
, the air is exhausted out of the main body
1
of the electric vacuum cleaner as indicated by arrow f
2
.
FIGS. 50
,
51
, and
52
are a perspective view, a vertical sectional view, and a horizontal sectional view, respectively, showing the details of the cyclone dust collector
5
. The cyclone dust collector
5
has, in an upper portion thereof, a suction air guide
20
having the inlet
5
a
formed therethrough, and is coupled to the connection pipe
3
through this suction air guide
20
. The cyclone dust collector
5
is substantially cylindrical in shape, and is arranged parallel to the connection pipe
3
. The introduced air flows into the cyclone dust collector
5
through the inlet
5
a
in the direction of a line tangent to the inner wall
5
c
of the cyclone dust collector
5
.
The coupling member
10
has a coupling pipe
10
b
formed integrally therewith. The coupling pipe
10
b
has a closed end surface
10
c
at one end, and, at this end, reaches into the cyclone dust collector
5
. In the peripheral surface of the coupling pipe
10
b
is formed, in a position lower than the inlet
5
a
, an outlet
5
b
through which the introduced air is exhausted out of the cyclone dust collector
5
. The outlet
5
b
is fitted with a mesh filter having a large number of through holes.
Inside the suction air guide
20
is provided a valve
13
formed out of an elastic material such as rubber. The vacuum pressure of the introduced air bends this valve
13
in the direction of the flow of the air, and this causes the air that flows in through the inlet
5
a
to flow in the direction of a line tangent to the cyclone dust collector
5
as shown in FIG.
52
. As a result, the introduced air collides with the inner wall
5
c
of the cyclone dust collector
5
and is thereby turned into a whirling air flow, of which the centrifugal force separates dust and collects it in a first dust collection chamber
7
.
When no air is being sucked in, the valve
13
, by its own elasticity, keeps the inlet
5
a
closed so as to prevent backflow of dust. This prevents the collected dust from scattering around, for example, when the electric vacuum cleaner is stored away.
Under the first dust collection chamber
7
is provided, substantially coaxially therewith, a second dust collection chamber
8
, with a partition wall
9
arranged in between. As shown in
FIG. 53
, the partition wall
9
has an opening
9
a
formed therein, and this opening
9
a
is fitted with a mesh filter having a large number of through holes. The filter is formed out of mesh of resin such as a nylon-based resin, mesh of metal, or the like, and is fixed to the partition wall
9
by double molding, welding, or bonding. Fine particles of dust pass through the filter of the opening
9
a
and are collected in the second dust collection chamber
8
.
The dust that flows into the cyclone dust collector
5
as air is sucked in by driving the electric blower la contains very fine particles. Such fine particles of dust are extremely light, and therefore cannot be separated by the centrifugal force of the whirling air flow produced in the cyclone dust collector. Thus, when the introduced air is exhausted through the outlet
5
b
, fine particles of dust are caught on the filter of the outlet
5
b
, and, as a result, this filter becomes clogged. In this case, the clogged portion of the filter exerts resistance to the air passing through the outlet
5
b
, and thereby makes the obtained suction force lower than is expected from the output of the electric blower
1
a
, leading to lower dust suction efficiency.
Much of the dust caught at the outlet
5
b
remains there even after the electric blower
a
stops being driven. Consequently, unless the electric vacuum cleaner is subjected to clearing on a regular basis, every time it is operated, dust collects and the clogging of the filter as described above lowers dust suction efficiency accordingly. That is, regular maintenance, such as the cleaning of the outlet
5
b
, is indispensable, which requires much time and trouble.
In addition, the outlet
5
b
is formed in the coupling pipe
10
b
that reaches into the cyclone dust collector
5
, and thus is not easily detachable from the cyclone dust collector
5
. This makes it difficult to keep the outlet
5
b
well-maintained by cleaning or the like. Hence, an attempt to clean the outlet
5
b
caked with dust by rubbing it with cloth or the like tends to leave not only the fingers and hands of the user but also the floor surface soiled and thus unhygienic with dust that has fallen off. Moreover, giving the outlet
5
b
a through cleaning takes considerable time and trouble, which makes the electric vacuum cleaner unsatisfactory in terms of user-friendliness.
Moreover, when relatively coarse pieces of dust, such as pieces of paper, collect in the first dust collection chamber
7
, they may partially or totally clog the filter fitted in the opening
9
a
of the partition wall
9
, hindering fine pieces of dust from being collected sufficiently in the second dust collection chamber
8
. In this case, when the electric vacuum cleaner is operated next time, the dust left in the first dust collection chamber
7
is blown up by the whirling air flow produced in the cyclone dust collector
5
. As a result, fine particles of dust are more likely to be caught at the outlet
5
b
as described above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide an electric vacuum cleaner that permits easy maintenance, as in the cleaning of a filter disposed in a suction air passage, and in particular an electric vacuum cleaner of a cyclone type that separates dust with centrifugal force produced in a dust collector portion thereof and that permits easy maintenance of a filter provided at an outlet of the dust collector portion.
To achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, in an electric vacuum cleaner provided with a nozzle unit having a nozzle, an electric blower for producing a suction air flow, a suction air passage running between the nozzle unit and the electric blower, and a cyclone dust collector arranged in the suction air passage for separating dust from the suction air flow by turning the suction air flow that flows into the cyclone dust collecto
Hayashi Kazumasa
Kimura Kenji
Matsumoto Yukimichi
Ninomiya Kouji
Onishi Yuji
Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
Snider Theresa T.
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