JP4050945B2 - Cleaning aid - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a cleaning aid used by being attached to an intake pipe of a vacuum cleaner so as to perform various operations for cleaning assistance.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A vacuum suction type vacuum cleaner has a built-in intake fan, a main body portion in which an intake port and an exhaust port of the fan are opened, an intake pipe whose one end is connected to the intake port, and the intake pipe And the intake nozzle attached to the other end of the nozzle, and the fan is driven in a state where the intake nozzle is pressed against a desired cleaning place, so that the intake nozzle is introduced into the main body through the intake pipe and the intake port. The flow of intake air is generated, and the dust around the cleaning place is sucked and collected.
[0003]
The applicant of the present invention uses a heavy duty operation such as driving a rotary brush for polishing floors and tiles by using the vacuum cleaner configured as described above by attaching to the tip of the intake pipe instead of the intake nozzle. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-000514 discloses a cleaning assisting tool that can perform various cleaning assisting operations including the above using the air flowing inside the intake pipe.
[0004]
The cleaning aid includes a cylindrical housing that forms an air passage that is continuous with the intake pipe by being attached to an end of the intake pipe, and an air flow that is supported inside the housing and flows through the air passage. An impeller that rotates due to the action, a rotating body that is disposed at a front end opening of the housing and rotates about its axis by transmission from the impeller, and is detachably attached to the rotating body to perform a cleaning assisting operation. And an action part.
[0005]
According to this configuration, when the fan of the cleaner body is driven to generate an intake air flow inside the air passage, this flow vents the inside of the impeller, and the impeller causes the rotational force to rotate. Thus, the rotating body to which this rotational force is transmitted rotates, and the action unit attached to the rotating body can perform a cleaning assisting operation.
[0006]
As the impeller, a plurality of blade plates are arranged in parallel between a disk-shaped front plate and a back plate, and an inlet opening to the outer peripheral side between each blade plate and a shaft center portion of the front plate. A centrifugal impeller having a flow path that communicates with the outlet that opens is used, and a reduction gear is interposed in the transmission system from the impeller to the action part to increase the rotational force of the impeller. This is transmitted to the action part so that the action part can also perform a heavy load cleaning assisting operation.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the cleaning aid as described above, the rotating body has a hollow cylindrical shape that communicates with the inside of the housing and also serves as an intake passage, and this intake air is also used in an action portion that is mounted on the rotating body. However, dust generated accompanying each cleaning assisting operation is sucked and collected in the cleaner body through the housing and the intake pipe.
[0008]
However, since intake to the inside of the housing also occurs between the peripheral edge of the opening of the housing and the rotating body, in order to secure a large amount of intake air that can be used in the action portion, the rotating body And a sealing means for hermetically sealing between the fixed housing and the housing.
[0009]
This type of sealing means can be simply configured by interposing an annular sealing member made of an elastic material such as an O-ring between the sealing surfaces. However, when this type of sealing means is employed between the above-described rotating body and the sealing surface of the housing, the sealing member that slides in elastic contact with one sealing surface rotates the rotating body. In particular, there is a problem that a large amount of resistance is added at the start of rotation and the operation of the action portion is hindered. Further, the seal member is worn by sliding contact with the sealing surface, and it is long-lasting. Therefore, there is a problem that good sealing performance cannot be maintained.
[0010]
Many sealing means for realizing reliable sealing between the rotating part and the fixed part have existed in the past on the premise that they are applied to turbo-type rotating equipment such as pumps and turbines. These sealing means have a complicated structure and are bulky, and their use in the cleaning aid described above is not practical.
[0011]
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and achieves a reliable sealing between the opening of the housing and the rotating body by utilizing the intake air into the housing that occurs at the start of operation. An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning aid including a sealing means having a simple configuration that can reduce resistance at the initial stage of rotation and maintain good sealing performance over a long period of time.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cleaning auxiliary tool comprising: a rotating body that rotates under sealing by a sealing means provided around the opening at an opening of a housing attached to an intake pipe of a vacuum cleaner. In the cleaning aid provided, the sealing means acts on one side of the seal ring, a seal ring disposed in the opening of the housing so as to be movable in the axial direction, and intake air into the housing. And pressing means for pressing the other side of the seal ring against the sealing surface of the rotating body.
[0013]
In the present invention, the intake air into the housing attached to the intake pipe of the vacuum cleaner acts on the seal ring disposed at the opening end of the housing, and the seal ring moves in the axial length direction to seal the rotating body. Pressed against the surface to seal between the rotating body and the housing. The seal ring is pressed after the flow of the intake air is generated and the rotating body starts to rotate, and does not hinder the rotation of the rotating body, in particular, the start of rotation. Further, when the seal ring is worn, the amount of movement due to the action of the intake air is increased, the pressing state of the rotating body against the sealing surface is maintained, and good sealing performance is maintained.
[0014]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cleaning aid, wherein the seal ring according to the first aspect is supported in a concave groove formed on the periphery of the opening with a gap between the bottom surface of the concave groove. The pressing means according to the first aspect of the present invention is configured to apply a pressing force to the seal ring by intake air passing through the gap.
[0015]
In the present invention, the sealing means is realized by a simple configuration in which a seal ring is disposed in a recessed groove provided around the opening of the housing and is supported with a gap between the bottom surface of the recessed groove. The seal ring is pushed up when a flow of intake air slightly generated in the concave groove passes through the gap, and is pressed against the sealing surface of the rotating body to form a sealing action.
[0016]
A cleaning aid according to a third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that a part of the peripheral surface of the seal ring according to the second aspect is provided with a ventilation hole.
[0017]
In the present invention, the air flow acting on the seal ring is stably secured by the air holes formed in a part of the peripheral surface of the seal ring, and a good sealing state is realized by sufficient pressing.
[0018]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings showing embodiments thereof. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a cleaning aid according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, a cleaning aid according to the present invention is detachably attached to a housing 1, a drive unit 2 built in the housing 1, and one side of the housing 1, and is transmitted in a predetermined manner by transmission from the drive unit 2. The action part 3 which makes | forms this operation | movement is provided.
[0019]
The housing 1 includes a cylindrical first housing 10 that surrounds the outside of the drive unit 2 and a second housing 11 that is coaxially connected to one side of the first housing 10. 2 is an external perspective view of the first housing 10, and FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the second housing 11. As shown in FIG. 2, the first housing 10 has a pair of half housings 10a and 10b that can be divided into two by a split surface including an axial center, and a circular dish shape having one of these sides coaxially expanded in diameter. Large-diameter portion 10c.
[0020]
As shown in FIG. 3, the second housing 11 includes a circular dish-shaped large-diameter portion 11a corresponding to the large-diameter portion 10c of the first housing 10, and a cylindrical cylinder continuously connected to the bottom axis of the large-diameter portion 11a. The second housing 11 and the first housing 10 have large-diameter portions 11a and 10c abutted with each other as shown by arrows in FIG. It is integrated by fastening with a fastening bolt (not shown). A large-diameter space formed between the large-diameter portions 10c and 11a by this integration is used as an impeller chamber in which the impeller 4 is disposed as described later. The connecting cylinder 11b of the second housing 11 is a part used for connecting to an intake pipe of a vacuum cleaner (not shown), and at the tip thereof, is elastically contacted with the inner surface of the intake pipe by the insertion, and between the two. A seal ring 12 made of an elastic material that is hermetically sealed is wound.
[0021]
In addition, a speed adjusting slider 13 capable of sliding in the axial direction is provided at the base of the connecting cylinder 11b. The speed adjusting slider 13 constitutes speed adjusting means for slidingly moving an accelerator cylinder (not shown) arranged inside the connecting cylinder 11b to increase / decrease the rotational speed of the impeller 4 described later. . Such speed control means is disclosed in detail in the above-mentioned JP-A-2002-000514 filed by the applicant of the present application, and detailed description of the configuration and operation is omitted.
[0022]
The drive unit 2 built in the first housing 10 is configured inside a cylindrical gear housing 20 having a pair of half housings that can be divided into two by a split surface including the shaft center, like the first housing 10. Has been. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the upper half portions of the first housing 10 and the gear housing 20 are removed in order to show the internal structure of the drive unit 2.
[0023]
FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the drive unit 2 as viewed from slightly above FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 1, the drive unit 2 includes an input shaft 21 and a large gear 22a that are integrally provided with a small gear 21a. The output shaft 22 is integrally provided in the gear housing 20 so as to be arranged coaxially and supported, and the transmission shaft 23 is supported on one side of both the shafts 21 and 22 in parallel with them. . The transmission shaft 23 includes a large gear 23a that meshes with the small gear 21a of the input shaft 21 and a small gear 23b that meshes with the large gear 22a of the output shaft 22, and performs a reduction transmission from the input shaft 21 to the output shaft 22. A spur gear reduction device is configured.
[0024]
An end portion of the input shaft 21 protrudes from one side of the gear housing 20 into a large-diameter space formed by the large-diameter portions 10c and 11a. The impeller 4 is fitted and fixed to the projecting end, and the input shaft 21 rotates around the axis in accordance with the rotation of the impeller 4 that occurs as described later. The end of the output shaft 22 protrudes from the other side of the gear housing 20 to the opening on the same side of the first housing 10. A rotating cylinder 24 having a short cylindrical shape is fitted and fixed to the protruding end, and the rotating cylinder 24 is rotated by the rotation of the output shaft 22 generated by being decelerated from the input shaft 21 via the transmission shaft 23. It is designed to rotate around.
[0025]
The action part 3 is attached to the rotating cylinder 24 as described above. The action part 3 shown in FIG. 1 is a rotary brush made of sponge formed in a disk shape, and is detachably attached to the rotary cylinder 24 via an attachment 30 fixed coaxially on the back surface. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the action part 3 as viewed from the attachment side of the attachment 30. As shown in this figure, the attachment 30 includes a short cylindrical base 31 fixed to the center of the back surface of the rotating brush as the action part 3 and a position radially opposite the circumference of the base 31 in the axial direction. It has a pair of engaging claws 32, 32 that protrude and are bent in the shape of a bowl in the same direction in the circumferential direction.
[0026]
As shown in FIG. 1, a pair of engaging projections 25 and 25 (only one of them is shown) are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the rotary cylinder 24 to which the action part 3 is attached. 3 is realized by fitting the base 31 of the attachment 30 to the rotating cylinder 24 and engaging the engaging claws 32 and 32 extending along the outer surface of the rotating cylinder 24 with the engaging protrusions 25 and 25, respectively. ing. The action part 3 attached in this way rotates together with the rotary cylinder 24. When the sponge rotating brush as shown in the figure is used as the action part 3, the floor surface or the wall surface pressed against the brush surface can be cleaned. It can be used to polish the place.
[0027]
The action part 3 is not limited to the sponge-made rotating brush illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 5, but may be one having an appropriate configuration such as a flocked brush or a hammer, A similar attachment 30 is used to attach to and detach from the rotating cylinder 24, and it is exchanged depending on the purpose.
[0028]
Inside the first housing 10, an air passage for ventilation is secured between the first housing 10 and the transmission housing 20 of the drive unit 2. The ventilation in the air passage is sucked from the opening on one side of the first housing 10 through the rotary cylinder 24, and the flow direction is changed radially outward in the large-diameter portion 10c on the other side to change the flow of the impeller 4. It is guided to the outer peripheral portion, passes through the inside of the impeller 4, is sent into the connecting cylinder 11b of the second housing 11, and is sucked into an intake pipe of a cleaner (not shown) connected to the connecting cylinder 11b.
[0029]
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the impeller 4. As shown in the figure, the impeller 4 includes a plurality of impeller plates 42, 42,... Arranged on the surface of a disc-shaped rear plate 41 having a fitting hole 40 to the input shaft 21 at the center and equally distributed in the circumferential direction. Are arranged as an open-type centrifugal impeller. The blades 42, 42,... Each have a circular arc shape that curves in the same direction, and forms a ventilation passage that increases in height toward the inner diameter side of the back plate 41 therebetween.
[0030]
A disc-shaped front plate 5 is attached to the large-diameter portion 11a of the second housing 11 facing the open side of the impeller 4 as shown in FIGS. Are arranged in parallel. The front plate 5 is provided with an outlet 50 that opens in the center and communicates with the connecting cylinder 11b, and a plurality of communication grooves 51, 51 that are concentrically arranged on a surface facing the impeller 4 outside the outlet 50. When the second housing 11 and the first housing 10 are integrally connected, they are opposed to the open side of the impeller 4 with a slight gap, and the flow path between the blade plates 42, 42. Is positioned.
[0031]
As described above, ventilation introduced to the outer peripheral portion of the impeller 4 is introduced into the plurality of flow paths of the impeller 4 defined as described above, and a plurality of impellers are indicated as indicated by arrows in FIG. It flows inward in the radial direction along the curved flow path between the plates 42, 42,..., And the impeller 4 rotates in the direction indicated by the white arrow in the drawing. The ventilation is sent into the connecting cylinder 11b of the second housing 11 through the outlet 50 opened in the center of the front plate 5, and is sucked into an intake pipe of a cleaner (not shown).
[0032]
At this time, the plurality of rectifying plates 6, 6... Arranged side by side on the inner surface of the large-diameter portion 11a are located on the outer peripheral portion of the impeller 4, and the flow of air introduced into the impeller 4 is changed to the impeller 42 , 42 ... rectifies along the flow path. Further, the communication grooves 51, 51... Provided in the front plate 5 allow passage of air in the circumferential direction between the respective flow paths, and reduce aeration sound generated due to sudden pressure reduction in the respective flow paths. It works to dampen. Due to these actions, the impeller 4 can generate a large rotational force under a quiet driving sound, and after the deceleration by the drive unit 2, a sufficient rotational force is taken out to the action part 3, Various cleaning assistance operations including the operation can be performed.
[0033]
The ventilation that rotates the impeller 4 and causes the action part 3 to perform the cleaning assisting operation as described above is sucked into the housing 1 through the action part 3 attached to the rotary cylinder 24 and is accompanied by the operation of the action part 3. The dust generated is sucked into the air passage along with the intake air, and is collected in the cleaner body through the housing 1 and the intake pipe. On the other hand, since the intake air into the housing 1 is also generated at the boundary between the front end opening of the first housing 10 and the rotary cylinder 24, in the cleaning aid according to the present invention, the boundary is hermetically sealed. The sealing means 7 is provided, and the intake air is concentrated on the action portion 3 to enhance the dust collecting effect described above.
[0034]
The sealing means 7 includes a ring groove 70 formed on the peripheral edge of the opening of the first housing 10 and a seal ring 71 inserted and held in the ring groove 70. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the ring groove 70 is a narrow groove with a deep bottom, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4, and has an opening on the side facing the rotary cylinder 24. Is formed.
[0035]
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the seal ring 71. As shown in the figure, the seal ring 71 is a synthetic resin ring formed with a thin rectangular cross section, and four support protrusions 72, 72... Each of the two parts is provided in a projecting manner on the facing part. Further, the peripheral wall of the seal ring 71 includes a projecting portion of each of the two support projections 72, 72 arranged as described above in the vicinity of the edge where the support projections 72, 72,. Ventilation holes 73 having a length and opening in a narrow rectangle are formed. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the seal ring 71 thus configured is inserted into the ring groove 70 with the projecting side of the support protrusions 72, 72,. It is brought into contact with the opposing surface of the rotating cylinder 24.
[0036]
FIG. 8 is an explanatory view of the operation of the sealing means configured as described above. As shown in the figure, the seal ring 71 inserted into the ring groove 70 is supported with a gap between itself and the bottom of the ring groove 70 with the tips of the support protrusions 72, 72. Yes. The thickness of the seal ring 71 supported in this way is smaller than the width of the ring groove 70, and a slight gap is secured between the ring groove 70 and the side wall of the ring groove 70. It is possible to move in the axial length direction using the side wall of this as a guide. The edge of the seal ring 71 that slightly protrudes toward the opening side of the ring groove 70 is in contact with the opposing surface of the rotary cylinder 24, and the movement of the seal ring 71 is restricted by this contact. In FIG. 8, the gap and the gap between the ring groove 70 and the seal ring 71 are shown enlarged for explaining the operation.
[0037]
The rotating cylinder 24 starts rotating under the contact of the seal ring 71. At this time, the contact force of the seal ring 71 is weak, and the rotation can be started smoothly. On the other hand, when the rotation of the rotary cylinder 24 is started, intake air into the housing 1 is generated, and a part of the intake air is formed between the side wall of the ring groove 70 and the seal ring 71 as indicated by arrows in the drawing. Further, the gap formed by the support protrusions 72, 72... Is ventilated between the bottom surface of the ring groove 70 and the seal ring 71. The seal ring 71 is pushed away from the bottom surface by this air flow action, and is pushed against the opposite surface of the rotary cylinder 24, so that the boundary between the front end opening of the first housing 10 and the rotary cylinder 24 is hermetically sealed. The
[0038]
The pressing force of the seal ring 71 on the rotary cylinder 24 increases as the amount of intake air into the housing 1 increases, and the rotational speed of the rotary cylinder 24 also increases as the amount of intake air increases. The sealing performance by the stopping means 7 is improved as the rotational speed of the rotary cylinder 24 increases, the peripheral portion of the rotary cylinder 24 rotating at high speed can be satisfactorily sealed, and the rotating cylinder 24 rotating at low speed can be sealed. The degree of inhibition of rotation can be minimized.
[0039]
As described above, the airflow that presses the seal ring 71 passes through a gap formed in a labyrinth shape between the ring groove 70 and the seal ring 71, so that it is negligible compared to the total amount of intake air into the housing 1. In addition, most of the intake air can be concentrated on the action portion 3, and the above-described dust collecting effect by the intake air can be enhanced.
[0040]
Further, as described above, the air holes 73 and 73 are formed on the peripheral surface of the seal ring 71, and air generated in the entire periphery of the ring groove 70 is concentrated on the portions where the air holes 73 and 73 are formed. As a result, the amount of air passing through the gap formed by the support protrusions 72, 72,... Can be stabilized, and the pressing of the seal ring 71 by the action of the ventilation and the sealing by the pressing can be surely performed.
[0041]
Further, the seal ring 71 is worn by the above-described pressing, but at this time, the amount of movement of the seal ring 71 in the ring groove 70 due to the ventilation is increased, so that the pressing state against the rotating cylinder 24 is maintained. . As a result, it is possible to minimize the deterioration of the sealing performance due to the wear, and it is possible to maintain good sealing performance over a long period of time.
[0042]
【The invention's effect】
As described above in detail, in the cleaning assisting tool according to the first aspect of the present invention, a seal ring is disposed in the opening of the housing attached to the intake pipe of the cleaner so as to be movable in the axial direction. Since the intake air is applied to the housing on one side and the other side is pressed against the sealing surface of the rotating body, good sealing performance can be obtained with a simple structure, and only during operation when intake air is generated When the sealing state is obtained, the rotation of the rotating body, in particular, the start of the rotation is not hindered, and the seal ring is worn, the pressing state is maintained by the increase in the amount of movement, and good sealing is achieved over a long period of time. The stopping performance can be maintained.
[0043]
In the cleaning assisting tool according to the second aspect of the invention, the seal ring pressed against the sealing surface of the rotating body is held in a recessed groove formed at the peripheral edge of the opening of the housing with a gap between the bottom surface. Therefore, it is possible to reliably realize the pressing of the seal ring by a slight flow of intake air that passes through the gap, and to provide a sealing means that can obtain a good sealing performance for a long time without hindering the rotation of the rotating body. It can be configured simply.
[0044]
Further, in the cleaning aid according to the third aspect of the present invention, since a hole for ventilation is formed in a part of the peripheral wall of the seal ring, the flow of the intake air for pressing the seal ring is stabilized, and sufficient pressing is good. The present invention has an excellent effect such that sealing performance can be obtained.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a cleaning aid according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of a first housing.
FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of a second housing.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a drive unit.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an action part viewed from the attachment side of the attachment.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an impeller.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a seal ring.
FIG. 8 is an operation explanatory view of a sealing unit.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Housing 2 Drive unit 3 Action part 4 Impeller 7 Sealing means
10 First housing
11 Second housing
24 Rotating cylinder (Rotating body)
70 Ring groove
71 Seal ring
72 Support protrusion
73 Vent

Claims (3)

In a cleaning assisting tool comprising a rotating body that rotates under sealing by a sealing means provided around the opening at an opening of a housing attached to an intake pipe of a vacuum cleaner,
The sealing means includes a seal ring disposed in the opening of the housing so as to be movable in the axial length direction;
A cleaning assisting tool, comprising: a pressing unit that causes the intake air into the housing to act on one side of the seal ring and presses the other side of the seal ring against the sealing surface of the rotating body. The seal ring is supported in a concave groove formed at the periphery of the opening with a gap between the bottom surface of the concave groove, and the pressing means is provided by intake air passing through the gap. The cleaning aid according to claim 1, wherein a pressing force is applied to the seal ring. The cleaning assisting tool according to claim 2, wherein a ventilation hole is provided in a part of the peripheral surface of the seal ring.

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