JP3038591B2 - Vacuum cleaner pipe fittings - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a pipe connector used when storing a vacuum cleaner.

[Prior Art] Although the history of vacuum cleaners has already been counted for decades, it has spread to most domestic households and is now one of the essential electric appliances for each household. As such, there are many types of vacuum cleaners, and their functions are becoming more sophisticated. However, there is no limit to the development of functions, and new functions are developed and provided on a daily basis by each manufacturer, and new products that are more convenient and more usable are currently being introduced and put on the market.

Normally, the most popular vacuum cleaners include a motor-driven fan for air suction, a main unit with a built-in paper pack that filters and stores garbage from the sucked air, and a floor that moves on the floor to remove garbage with air. It is composed of a floor nozzle for suctioning, and a hose connecting the floor nozzle to the main body.

FIG. 12 is a side view showing the above vacuum cleaner, in which (1) is shown.
Is a vacuum cleaner body, (2) is a floor nozzle, (3) is a pipe,
(4) is a hose, (5) is an operation unit, (5a) is a switch,
(6) is a cord, (6a) is its plug, and (7) is a floor.

When using the above vacuum cleaner, insert the plug (6a) of the cord (6) of the vacuum cleaner into a wall outlet,
With the operation unit (5) in hand and operating the switch (5a), while dragging the main body (1) on the floor (7), the floor nozzle (2) at the tip of the pipe (3) is moved to the floor (7). ) Is moved to suck the dust on the floor (7) together with the air.

In addition, when storing the above vacuum cleaner after cleaning,
As shown in FIG. 13, the main body (1) was put upright, and the floor nozzle (2), the pipe (3), the hose (4), etc. were fixed to the pipe (3) while being connected to the main body (1). A method has been adopted in which the hook of the locking tool (9) is engaged with a hook receiving portion (10) fixed to the lower surface of the main body (1) and stored in a closet or the like as it is.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, as described above, when the main body (1) is stored in an upright state, there is no need for disassembly and connection, and the usability is good. There is a problem in that a place with a low ceiling, such as below, cannot be used as a storage space for a vacuum cleaner.

In order to solve this problem, it is conceivable that two pipes of the vacuum cleaner are joined, and when storing the vacuum cleaner, the pipes may be disassembled into two pieces and stored. A new problem has emerged as a method of compactly assembling the pipe and the main body or how to use the apparatus.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems at the time of storing the vacuum cleaner, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a pipe connector that can collectively store pipes and a main body in a compact manner without reducing usability. Is what you do.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner in which two pipes following a floor nozzle are joined, wherein each of the two pipes that are disassembled into the two nozzles has A connector is provided for connecting the pipes in parallel within a plane along the lower surface of the cleaner body, and the connector is detachably attached to the cleaner body.

Further, a hook portion is formed at a position orthogonal to the side surface of each of the pipes in any of the connection tools, and a hook engagement portion for engaging the hook portion with the cleaner body is formed.

A floor nozzle was attached to one of the two pipes.

[Operation] When storing the vacuum cleaner, the pipe is disassembled into two pieces, and the two pipes are connected in parallel in a plane along the lower surface of the cleaner body by a connecting tool, and the connecting tool is connected to the cleaner. Attach it to the main body and store it with the main body. As the height of the vacuum cleaner becomes lower, the two separated pipes are arranged side by side in the space between the left and right wheels projecting from the lower surface of the cleaner body when viewed two-dimensionally. Effective utilization is achieved, and the height of the pipe protruding from the lower surface of the cleaner body when the pipe is stored can be compressed, resulting in compactness.

Further, a hook is formed at a position orthogonal to the joint surface of the pipes in the connecting tool, and the hook is engaged with a hook engaging portion formed on the main body, so that the main body and the pipe are integrated. It is much easier to handle the vacuum cleaner when it is stored, and each pipe can be cleaned simply by connecting each pipe with a connector and hooking the hook to the hook engaging section of the main body. It can be arranged in a plane along the lower surface of the machine body.

In addition, if a floor nozzle is attached to one of the two pipes, the operation is simple because it is not necessary to remove the floor nozzle from the pipe when storing the main body and the pipe.

[Embodiment of the Invention] First, before the description of the embodiment, the history of development and the basic principle of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 shows two pipes of a vacuum cleaner equipped with a pipe connector, wherein (a) and (c) are side views, (b) and (d) are plan views, and FIG. 2 is a pipe connection. (A) is a side view and (b) is a plan view showing a state in which pipes are connected in parallel by means of a tool. In the figure, (3a) is a pipe A, (3b) is a pipe B, (11) is a connector A, (11a) is an insertion portion thereof, (12) is a connector B, and (12a) is a hole.

A pipe A (3a) and a pipe B (3b), which have been disassembled into two pieces, are provided with a connector A (11) and a connector B (12), respectively. Tool A (1
The insertion part (11a) of 1) is inserted into the hole (12a) of the connecting tool B (12) of the pipe B to connect both pipes. Since the two pipes are put together, handling becomes easy.

When connecting two pipes (3a) and (3b) in parallel,
Depending on the state of attachment of the fittings to the pipes, a method in which two pipes are overlapped as shown in FIG. 3 and a method in which they are arranged in parallel as shown in FIG. 4 can be considered.
When the pipe is stored, the height of the pipe protruding from the lower surface of the cleaner body cannot be compressed, and the space (dead area) formed between the left and right wheels cannot be sufficiently utilized.

In any case, connecting two pipes like this
By making it possible to connect in parallel by A and B, the height at the time of storage can be kept low, and the pipe and the main body can be compacted to some extent. However, in this state, since the pipe and the main body are free, there is no problem when the pipe is stored in a closet. However, when the pipe is placed in a corner of a room, the pipe may fall. Therefore, the disassembled pipe can be connected to the main body.

FIG. 5 shows a pipe connecting device which can connect the disassembled pipe and the main body, (a) and (c) are side views,
(B) and (d) are plan views, FIG. 6 shows a situation where two pipes are attached to the main body using the connecting tool, (a) is a side view, and (b) is a plan view. . In the figure, (13) is a hook engaging portion formed on the main body, (14) is a connector A attached to the pipe A, (14a) is its hook, (14b) is its hole, and (15) is The connector B attached to the pipe B, (15a) is the insertion part.

The pipe connector is formed on the lower surface of the main body (1), with the connector A (14) mounted on the pipe A (3a), the connector B (15) mounted on the pipe B (3b). And a hook engaging portion (13).

When storing the vacuum cleaner, the pipe (3) of the vacuum cleaner is disassembled into a pipe A (3a) and a pipe B (3b), and as shown in FIG. Into the hook engaging portion (13) of the main body (1) to make the pipe A (3a)
Is attached to the body (1), and then the pipe B (3b) is inserted into the hole (14b) of the connector A of the pipe A (3a) attached to the body.
Insert the insertion part (15a) of the connector B of the pipe B (3
b) is attached to the pipe A (3a).

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state where the pipe A (3a) and the pipe B (3b), which have been disassembled into two pieces, are attached to the main body (1) using the pipe fittings A and B when storing the cleaner. FIG. The two pipes (3a) and (3b) are the vacuum cleaner body (1)
Are mounted on the lower surface of the pipe at right angles to each other, are compacted to some extent, and a floor nozzle (2) is attached to one pipe A (3a).

In FIG. 6, the hole (14b) of the connector A attached to the pipe A is located on the opposite side of the pipe with respect to the hook (14a). Such a relationship can be seen in FIGS. 10 and 11.
This is basically the same in the example shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a side view of a pipe A (3a) equipped with a connecting device,
FIG. 11 (a) shows a pipe A (3a) and a pipe B by a connecting tool.
FIG. 11 (b) is a side view showing the situation when (3b) is connected to the main body (1), and FIG. 11 (b) is a plan view thereof. In the figure, (16) is a pipe connector, (16a) is its frame, (16
b), (16c), (16d) are its axis, (16e) is its hook,
(17) is an arrow indicating the rotation direction.

As shown in FIG. 10, the connector (16) is mounted on the pipe A (3a) by its frame (16a) and shafts (16b) (16c) so as to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow (17). When the vacuum cleaner is used for cleaning, as shown in FIG. 10, the connecting device (16) is parallel to the pipe A (3a) and the two pipes (3
a) and (3b) are connected in the longitudinal direction, but when the vacuum cleaner is stored, the pipe is disassembled into two pieces, as shown in FIG.
Rotate the connector (16) in the direction of the arrow (17), clamp the pipe B (3b) between the frame (16a) and the shaft (16c) (16d), and pipe A (3a) and pipe B (3b). And connect. Next, the hook (16e) of the frame is engaged with the hook engaging portion (13) of the main body, and as a result, the two pipes (3a) and (3b) are compacted to some extent on the lower surface of the vacuum cleaner main body (1). Can do it.

In any case, in the case of the stacking method, as described above, the height of the pipe protruding from the lower surface of the cleaner body when the pipe is stored is high, and there is a limit in further reducing the size.

Such a problem is caused by setting the direction of the connecting portion of each pipe by the connecting tool and the direction of the mounting portion to the cleaner body by the connection so that the two pipes disassembled at the time of storage are the cleaner. The problem can be solved by arranging them side by side in a plane along the lower surface of the main body.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show an embodiment of the present invention in which two pipes disassembled at the time of storage can be arranged in parallel in a plane along the lower surface of the cleaner body. a)
FIG. 8B is a side view showing a state in which two pipes are engaged with the main body using the connecting tool, FIG. 8B is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view thereof. 6 and 7 of FIG.
Parts that are the same as or correspond to those in the figures are given the same reference numerals.

In the figure, (13) is a hook engaging portion formed on the main body (1) of the vacuum cleaner, (14) is a connector A attached to the pipe A (3a),
(14a) is the hook, and (14b) is the hole. The hook (14a) and the hole (14b) are in a positional relationship perpendicular to each other with respect to the center of the pipe A (3a). Are located in (15) is the connecting device B attached to the pipe B (3b),
(15a) is the insertion part.

That is, the pipe connecting device of the present embodiment is
A connector A (14) attached to (3a) and a connector B (15) attached to the pipe B (3b) connected thereto;
A hook engaging portion (13) formed on the lower surface of the main body (1) and to which the connector A (14) is detachably attached;
The hole (14b) on the connector A (14) side into which the insertion portion (15a) of (3b) is inserted, and the connector A (14) side inserted into the hook engaging portion (13) of the cleaner body. Hook (14a) and pipe A
The positions are set so as to be perpendicular to the center of (3a).

When storing the vacuum cleaner, the pipe (3) of the vacuum cleaner is disassembled into a pipe A (3a) and a pipe B (3b), and as shown in FIG. The part (14a) is engaged with the hook engaging part (13) of the main body (1) and the pipe A
(3a) is attached to the main body (1), and then the pipe B is inserted into the hole (14b) of the connecting member A of the pipe A (3a) attached to the main body.
The insertion part (15a) of the connection tool B of (3b) is inserted, and the pipe B (3b) is engaged with the pipe A (3a). This allows
As the height of the vacuum cleaner is reduced, the two separated pipes A and B are arranged side by side in the space between the left and right wheels projecting from the lower surface of the cleaner body when viewed two-dimensionally. Effective use of the space can be achieved, and the height of the pipe projecting from the lower surface of the cleaner body when the pipe is stored can be compressed, so that the pipe can be further compacted.

Further, since the hooks (14a) are formed at positions perpendicular to the joint surfaces of the pipes A and B in the connecting tool (14), the pipes A and B are connected by the connecting tools A and B, and the hooks are formed. Part (14a)
The pipes A and B can be arranged in a plane along the lower surface of the cleaner main body only by engaging the hooks with the hook engaging portion (13) of the main body (1). Handling becomes much easier.

Further, since the floor nozzle (2) is attached to one of the pipes A (3a), it is not necessary to remove the floor nozzle from the pipe when storing the main body and the pipe, so that the operation is simplified.

Note that the hook (14a) of the connector A and the hook engaging portion (1
3) Alternatively, if a tapered portion is provided between the insertion portion (15a) of the connection tool B and the hole (14b) of the connection tool A, the engagement becomes more complete.

[Effects of the Invention] The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner in which two pipes following a floor nozzle are joined, and each of the two pipes disassembled into two pipes extends along the lower surface of the cleaner body. It has a connecting device that connects in parallel in the plane, and the connecting device is detachably attached to the main body of the vacuum cleaner. It is arranged side by side in the space between the left and right wheels that protrudes from the lower surface of the cleaner body, so that the space between the left and right wheels can be effectively used,
When the pipe is stored, the height of the pipe projecting from the lower surface of the cleaner body can be compressed, so that the pipe can be further compacted. For this reason, it was possible to store it in a low-width frontage or a storage location with a small depth.

Further, since the hook engaging portion is formed on the cleaner body, and the hook engaging with the hook engaging portion is formed at a position orthogonal to the joint surface of each of the pipes in any of the connecting tools,
Simply connecting the two disassembled pipes with a connector and engaging the hooks to the hook engaging parts of the main body, each pipe can be arranged in a plane along the lower surface of the cleaner body, Handling of the vacuum cleaner became extremely convenient for storage.

In addition, since the floor nozzle is attached to one of the two pipes, it is not necessary to remove the floor nozzle from the pipe when storing the main body and the pipe, and the operation is simplified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view for explaining the basic principle of the present invention, in which (a) and (c) show side views, (b) and (d) show plan views, and (b) and (d) show pipes of a vacuum cleaner equipped with pipe fittings. FIGS. 2A and 2B are views for explaining the basic principle of the present invention, in which pipes are connected by a pipe connector. FIG. 2A is a side view, FIG. 2B is a plan view, and FIG.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view for explaining the basic principle of the present invention, and is a perspective view of a vacuum cleaner compacted by pipe fittings. FIG. 4 is a view showing one embodiment of the present invention, compacted by pipe fittings. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the vacuum cleaner, and FIG. 5 is a view for explaining the basic principle of the present invention, wherein (a) and (c) are side views, (b) and (d) of the pipe of the vacuum cleaner to which the pipe connector is attached. ) Is a plan view, FIG. 6 is a view for explaining the basic principle of the present invention, and FIG. 6A is a side view, FIG. 6B is a plan view, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a view for explaining the basic principle of the present invention, and is a perspective view of a vacuum cleaner in which a pipe is mounted on a main body, and FIG. 8 is a view showing one embodiment of the present invention. (A) shows a side view, (b) shows a plan view, and FIG. 9 shows a pipe attached to a main body thereof. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a vacuum cleaner, FIG. 10 is a view for explaining the basic principle of the present invention, a side view of a pipe with a connector attached thereto, and FIG. 11 is a view for explaining the basic principle of the present invention. FIG. 12A shows a side view, FIG. 12B shows a plan view, FIG. 12 shows a side view of a conventional vacuum cleaner, and FIG. 13 shows a state in which the conventional vacuum cleaner is stored. FIG. In the figure, (1) is a main body, (3a) is a pipe A, (3b) is a pipe B, (11) is a connector A, (11a) is an insertion portion, (12) is a connector B, (12a) is a Hole, (13) hook hook, (14)
Is a connector A, (14a) is a hook, (14b) is a hole, (15) is a connector B, (15a) is an insertion portion, (16) is a connector, (16a)
Is the frame, (16b), (16c), (16d) is the axis, (16e)
Is a hook, and (17) is an arrow indicating the direction of rotation. In each drawing, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Tokio Ichinose, 1728 Koeda, Oaza, Hanazono-cho, Osato-gun, Saitama 1 Inside Mitsubishi Electric Home Equipment Co., Ltd. (72) Tomohisa Imai 1728 Koeda, Oaza, Hanazono-cho, Osato-gun, Saitama 1 Mitsubishi Electric In Home Equipment Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yoshihiro Noguchi 1728 Komaeda, Hanazono-cho, Osato-gun, Saitama 1 Mitsubishi Electric Home Equipment Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-3-237952 (JP, A) JP-A-2 -136115 (JP, A) JP-A-2-98329 (JP, A) JP-A-63-189152 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A47L 9/00 105

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A vacuum cleaner having two pipes connected to a floor nozzle, wherein each of the two pipes is arranged in parallel with each other in a plane along a lower surface of the cleaner body. A pipe connector for an electric vacuum cleaner, comprising: a connector for connecting with the vacuum cleaner, wherein the connector is detachably attached to the cleaner body. 2. A vacuum cleaner having two pipes connected to a floor nozzle, wherein each of the two pipes is arranged in parallel with each other in a plane along a lower surface of the cleaner body. And a hook portion for engaging with a hook engaging portion formed on the cleaner body at a position orthogonal to the joint surface of each of the pipes in any of the connecting devices. A pipe connector for a vacuum cleaner, comprising: 3. A floor nozzle is attached to one of the two pipes.
A pipe connector for the vacuum cleaner as described.