JP7614009B2 - Rotating brush for suction port body and suction port body equipped with the same - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a rotating brush for a suction port body and a suction port body equipped with the same.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional vacuum cleaners have suction inlets equipped with a motor-driven or turbine-driven rotating brush.
For example, the rotating brush (rotating cleaning body) described in Patent Document 1 is configured such that when the fabric of the cleaning body is wrapped around the outer periphery of a rod-shaped core rod and integrally fixed, the brush rows formed of long pile and the brush rows formed of short pile are approximately parallel to the axis of the core rod. The long pile is made of straight fibers with high rigidity, and the short pile is made of straight fibers with high elasticity.

JP 2009-11374 A

When cleaning a carpet using the suction mouth body equipped with the rotating brush of Patent Document 1, the long pile is used to rub the carpet surface to scrape out the dirt, but because the long pile is made of highly rigid straight fibers, it is difficult to remove the cotton-like dirt that has become embedded in the fibers on the carpet surface. Also, when cleaning flooring, it is difficult to achieve the flooring polishing effect of removing dirt (e.g., scab-like dirt) that has adhered to the flooring surface with the long pile made of highly rigid straight fibers.

The present invention aims to provide a rotating brush for a suction port body, and a suction port body equipped with the same, which has been made in consideration of the above circumstances.

The present invention provides a cleaning device comprising a shaft body rotatably attached in the vicinity of the suction port in the suction port main body, and a cleaning material provided on the periphery of the shaft body,
The cleaning material includes a plurality of soft brushes provided at a predetermined central angle in a circumferential direction around the axis of the shaft body and extending in the axial direction, and one or more hard brushes provided between the plurality of soft brushes and extending in the axial direction,
The soft brushes are configured to include crimped fibers having a cross section other than a circular shape,
The one or more hard brushes are configured to include straight fibers having a higher stiffness than the plurality of soft brushes,
The present invention provides a rotating brush for a suction port body, characterized in that the height of the one or more hard brushes in the direction of a rotational radius is lower than the height of the plurality of soft brushes in the direction of a rotational radius.
The present invention also provides an electric vacuum cleaner comprising: a vacuum cleaner body that uses a built-in electric blower to suck in air containing dust from the outside; and a suction port body as described in claim 5 or 6 that is connected to the vacuum cleaner body directly or via an extension tube.

The rotating brush for the suction port body of the present invention provides high dirt removal performance for the surface being cleaned.

1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the electric vacuum cleaner of the present invention, as viewed from the right rear. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the suction mouth body of the first embodiment as viewed from the front left side. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the suction mouth body of the first embodiment as viewed from the bottom side. 4 is a plan view of the upper case part of the suction mouth body of the first embodiment with the rear cover removed. FIG. FIG. 2 is a partial left-side cross-sectional view of the suction mouth body of the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line I-I in FIG. 4 . 4A to 4C are three-view diagrams of a shaft body of a rotating brush in the suction port body of the first embodiment. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a rotating brush in the suction port body of the first embodiment. FIG. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a rotating brush in a suction port body of a second embodiment.

The present invention will be described in further detail below with reference to the drawings. Note that the following description is illustrative in all respects and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

(Embodiment 1)
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the vacuum cleaner of the present invention as seen from the rear right side. In Fig. 1, the front-rear, rear-right, left-right, top-bottom directions of the vacuum cleaner as seen by a user during use (cleaning) are indicated by arrows, and the following description of the vacuum cleaner will be based on these front-rear, rear-left, left-right, top-bottom directions.

<Overall configuration of the vacuum cleaner>
1, the vacuum cleaner 1 of the first embodiment is a cyclone-type stick-type vacuum cleaner including a vacuum cleaner body 10, a suction port body 60, and an extension tube 50 that airtightly connects the vacuum cleaner body 10 and the suction port body 60. It is also possible to connect the suction port body 60 directly to the vacuum cleaner body 10 without using the extension tube 50, and use the vacuum cleaner as a handheld vacuum cleaner.

The vacuum cleaner body 10 includes a drive unit 20, a dust collection device 30 that is detachably attached to the drive unit 20, and a battery 40 that is detachably attached to the drive unit 20 as a power source.

The drive unit 20 includes an electric component storage section 21 that stores an electric blower and a control board (not shown), a handle 22 connected to the rear end of the electric component storage section 21, an operation switch section 23 provided at the top of the handle 22, a battery mounting section 24 provided at the bottom of the electric component storage section 21, and a pipe section 25 connected to the top front end of the electric component storage section 21 so as to protrude forward. The dust collector 30 is detachably attached along the lower end edge of the pipe section 25 and the front end edge of the electric component storage section 21. The central axis of the attached dust collector 30 is parallel to the central axis of the pipe section 25. In this embodiment, the positional relationship between the dust collector 30 and the pipe section 25 is such that the pipe section 25 is above and the dust collector mounting section 26 is below, but the positional relationship may be such that the pipe section 25 is below and the dust collector mounting section 26 is above.

The dust collecting device 30 includes a dust collecting container portion 31 and a filter portion 32 that is detachably attached to the dust collecting container portion 31 .
The dust collection container 31 has an introduction passage 31a formed around its periphery for introducing dust-containing air into the inside of the dust collection container 31.

According to this electric vacuum cleaner 1, by operating the operating switch section 23 to drive the electric blower, dust on the floor surface is sucked in together with air from the suction port 62b (see FIG. 3) of the suction port body 60, which will be described later, and the dust-containing air flows into the pipe section 25 of the drive unit 20 of the vacuum cleaner body 10 via the extension tube 50. The dust-containing air that has flowed into the pipe section 25 flows into the dust collection container section 31 from the introduction passage 31a of the dust collection device 30, and the relatively large first dust particles are centrifuged out of the air and accumulate in the dust collection container section 31.

Air containing second dust particles smaller than the first dust particles flows from inside the dust collection container 31 into the filter unit 32 and is captured. The air from which the dust has been removed by passing through the filter unit 32 flows into the electric component storage unit 21 of the drive unit 20 and is exhausted to the outside from an exhaust port 21 a provided on the right side surface of the electric component storage unit 21.
In the vacuum cleaner 1, an electrical wiring system is provided between the drive device 20 and the suction inlet body 60, and during operation, power is supplied from the battery 40 to a drive motor 89 (described later) of the suction inlet body 60 to drive it, and the drive motor 89 rotates the rotating brush 80 (see Figures 3 and 4). This will be described in detail later.

<Configuration of the suction port>
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the suction port body of the first embodiment as viewed from the front left side, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the suction port body of the first embodiment as viewed from the bottom side. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the suction port body of the first embodiment with the rear cover of the upper case part removed, Fig. 5 is a partial left sectional view of the suction port body of the first embodiment, and Fig. 6 is a partial sectional view taken along line II in Fig. 4. In Figs. 2 to 6, the front-rear, left-right, up-down directions of the suction port body as viewed by the user during use (cleaning) are indicated by arrows, and the following description of the suction port body is based on these front-rear, left-right, up-down directions.

As shown in Figures 1 to 6, the suction port body 60 comprises a suction port body 61 having a suction port 62b at the bottom 62a and moving in the front-rear direction on the floor surface, a connection part 90 provided behind the suction port of the suction port body 61, a cylindrical connection part 70 (see Figure 4, etc.) provided within the suction port body 61 to connect the suction port and the connection part 90, a rotating brush 80 provided in the suction port body 61 near the suction port 62b so as to be rotatable around a rotation axis in the left-right direction, and a drive motor 89 (see Figure 4) that rotates the rotating brush 80 in a direction to sweep dust on the floor surface toward the cylindrical connection part 70.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, the suction port body 61 has a lower case portion 62 constituting a bottom portion 62 a , and an upper case portion 65 provided on the lower case portion 62 .
The lower case portion 62 has a front portion 62c extending in the left-right direction and a rear portion 62d protruding rearward from the left-right middle portion of the rear end of the front portion 62c, with the front portion 62c and the rear portion 62d forming a bottom portion 62a (see Figures 3 to 5).

In the front part 62c of the lower case part 62, an intake port 62b extending in the left-right direction is provided in approximately the front half, and approximately the rear half serves as a mounting part on which the drive motor 89, the cylindrical communicating part 70, etc. are mounted (see Figures 3 and 4).
In addition, a bumper 62ca is provided at the front end of the front portion 62c, and a left side wall 62cb and a right side wall 62cc continuing from the bumper 62ca are provided at the left and right edges of the front portion 62c, and left and right ribs 62ce, 62cf are provided on the inside of the left side wall 62cb and the right side wall 62cc to support the left and right ends of the rotating brush 80 (see Figure 6).

Furthermore, a pair of raised cloths 62cg are provided on the left and right sides of the suction port 62b on the underside of the bottom 62a of the lower case 62, and a raised brush 62ch is provided in the rear vicinity of the suction port 62b. As a result, when cleaning the floor surface, the left and right sides and the rear side of the suction port 62b are surrounded by the pair of raised cloths 62cg and the raised brush 62ch, thereby increasing the suction force in front of the suction port 62b.
A rear roller 62da is provided on the lower surface side of the rear portion 62d of the lower case portion 62 so as to be rotatable about an axis extending in the left-right direction (see FIG. 3).

The upper case part 65 has a rotating brush cover 66 provided on the front half of the front part 62c of the lower case part 62 so as to cover the upper periphery of the rotating brush 80, and a rear cover 67 provided on the rear half of the front part 62c of the lower case part 62 so as to cover the drive motor 89, the cylindrical communication part 70, etc. The rotating brush cover 66 and the rear cover 67 are each separate components.

As shown in Figures 2 and 4 to 6, in the upper case part 65, the rotating brush cover 66 has a curved plate part 66a located above the rotating brush 80 and a left side wall 66b provided at the left end part of the curved plate part 66a, and the front end edge 66aa of the curved plate part 66a is connected to the inside of the bumper 62ca. The entire right side wall of the suction port main body 61 is formed by the right side wall 62cc of the lower case part 62.

The curved plate portion 66a of the rotating brush cover 66 has a rear edge 66ab perpendicular to the bottom portion 62a, and an end of the rear edge 66ab has a bent portion 66ax bent rearward (see FIG. 5).
The curved plate portion 66a has an arcuate portion 66ay in front of the rear end edge 66ab, and has a plurality of locking holes 66az provided at predetermined intervals in the left-right direction on the rear end edge 66ab side of the arcuate portion 66ay (see FIG. 4).

The rear cover 67 has a raised middle portion 67a in the left-right direction to accommodate the cylindrical communication portion 70 and the joint portion 91 of the connection portion 90, which will be described later, and the middle portion 67a is open to the rear. In addition, the front edge of the rear cover 67 is provided with multiple locking claws 67b that lock into multiple locking holes 66az of the rotating brush cover 66 (see FIG. 5).

The cylindrical communication part 70 is a part that connects the rotating brush storage chamber 66R and the suction port 62b inside the rotating brush cover 66 of the suction port main body 61 to the joint part 91 of the connection part 90. The cylindrical communication part 70 has a front opening 70a that is long in the left-right direction on the suction port 62b side, and a cylindrical rear opening 70b on the connection part 90 side (see Figure 5). The cylindrical communication part 70 will be described in more detail later.

As shown in Figures 1 to 5, the connection part 90 has a joint part 91 that connects to the rear opening 70b of the cylindrical communication part 70 so as to be rotatable about a first axis P1 in the front-rear direction, and a pipe part 92 that connects to the joint part 91 so as to be rotatable about a second axis P2 in the left-right direction.

The joint portion 91 includes a first part 91a and a second part 91b.
The first part 91a has a cylindrical portion 91aa on its front side that fits into the rear opening 70b of the cylindrical communicating portion 70 so as to be rotatable around the first axis P1, and has a concave sliding surface portion 91ab on its rear side that slidably supports the lower portion of the base end portion 92a of the pipe portion 92.
The second part 91b is coupled to the rear end of the cylindrical part 91aa of the first part 91a and has a concave sliding surface part 91ba that slidably holds the upper convex surface part 92aa of the base end part 92a of the pipe part 92.

In the connection part 90, the joint part 91 can rotate about 180° in the left-right direction around the first axis P1 relative to the cylindrical communication part 70, and the pipe part 92 can rotate about 90° in the front-rear direction around the second axis P2 relative to the joint part 91 (from approximately horizontal to approximately vertical).

As shown in FIG. 5 , the cylindrical communicating portion 70 is made up of two parts: a front member 71 and a rear member 75 .
In the cylindrical communication portion 70 formed by assembling a front member 71 and a rear member 75 with a plurality of screws, the front member 71 is disposed on the front side, and the rear member 75 is disposed on the rear side.

The rear member 75 is a member extending in the left-right direction, and is provided with a cylindrical rear opening 70b at its left-right intermediate portion. The axis of the rear opening 70b is aligned with the second axis P.
The rear member 75 has a recess 75a extending in the left-right direction and recessed rearward in a concave shape, and a semi-cylindrical portion 75b connected to a middle portion of the recess 75a in the left-right direction, in front of the rear opening 70b. The middle portion of the recess 75a in the left-right direction is connected to a lower portion of the rear opening 70b, and the semi-cylindrical portion 75b is connected to an upper portion of the rear opening 70b.

The front member 71 is a plate-like member that covers the upper front edge side of the recess 75 a of the rear member 75 from the front.
In the cylindrical connecting portion 70 formed by combining a front member 71 and a rear member 75, the front opening 70a has an upper edge portion 70ax (the lower edge portion of the front member 71) that connects with the rear end edge 66ab of the rotating brush cover 66, and a lower edge portion 75x (the lower edge portion 75x of the rear member 75) that connects with the bottom 62a of the lower case portion 62 (see Figure 5).

In addition, in the cylindrical communication part 70, the front opening 70a extends in the left-right direction, and the rear opening 70b is cylindrical and located in the middle in the left-right direction and at a higher height than the front opening 70a from the bottom 62a (see Figure 5).

As shown in FIG. 5, according to the suction port body 60 of this embodiment, the joint between the rear end edge 66ab of the rotating brush cover 66 and the upper edge 70ax of the front opening 70a of the cylindrical communication part 70 is located at a height position approximately equal to the height position of the rotation axis Q of the rotating brush 80 from the bottom 62a. In this embodiment, the lower end surface of the bent part 66ax of the rear end edge 66ab of the rotating brush cover 66 that constitutes the joint is located at a height position approximately equal to the height position of the rotation axis Q of the rotating brush 80 from the bottom 62a.

As a result, each brush 80b of the rotating brush 80 comes into sliding contact with the lower end surface of the bent portion 66ax of the rear end edge 66ab of the rotating brush cover 66, and dust adhering to each brush 80b can be scraped off (see FIG. 5). More specifically, the periphery of the rear side of the rotating brush 80 (rear periphery) comes into sliding contact with the lower end surface of the bent portion 66ax of the rear end edge 66ab of the rotating brush cover 66, and dust adhering to the periphery of the rotating brush 80 can be scraped off. This point will be described in detail later.

<About the rotating brush and its surrounding structure>
Fig. 7 is a three-view diagram of the shaft of the rotating brush in the suction port body of the first embodiment, and Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the rotating brush in the suction port body of the first embodiment. In Fig. 7, the left side view is a right side view of the shaft of the rotating brush, the right side view is a left side view of the shaft of the rotating brush, and the view between them is a plan view of the shaft of the rotating brush. In Fig. 7, the left and right directions are defined in a state in which the rotating brush 80 is attached to the suction port body 61 of this embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 6.
3 and 5 to 8, the rotating brush 80 includes a shaft 81 rotatably attached in the vicinity of the suction port 62b inside the suction port body 61, and a cleaning material provided around the shaft 81. Note that the cleaning material of the rotating brush 80 is not shown in FIGS. 3 and 6.

As shown in Figures 5 to 7, the shaft body 81 has a substantially cylindrical shaft body 81a having a plurality of spiral dovetail grooves 81as extending in the longitudinal direction around its periphery, a pair of cap bodies 81b, 81c fitted into openings at both ends of the shaft body 81a, and a pair of pin-shaped core portions 81d fixed to the pair of cap bodies 81b, 81c so as to be positioned on the axis of the shaft body 81a (third axis P3).
Further, a plurality of raised portions for forming dovetail grooves are provided on the periphery of shaft body 81a, and dovetail grooves 81as are formed on each raised portion. In the present embodiment, dovetail grooves 81as (a total of eight dovetail grooves 81as) are provided at every central angle of 45° centered on third axis P3 of shaft body 81a. Note that the dovetail grooves of this embodiment (grooves narrow on the front side (opening side) and wide on the back side (rear side) when viewed in cross section) are inverted T-shaped (see FIG. 5), but may be other shapes such as a figure of eight.

The pair of cap bodies 81b, 81c are fitted and fixed to cover both ends of the shaft body 81a, and the pair of core portions 81d are fixed to the centers of the cap bodies 81b, 81c (see FIG. 6).
The left cap body 81b is integrally connected to a pulley 81ba provided around the core portion 81d.
In the pair of core portions 81d, bearing members 81f and 81g are provided at positions outside the pair of cap bodies 81b and 81c via a bearing 81e.

Within the suction port body 61, a partition wall 66ba separates the space on the suction port 62b side from the space on the pulley 81ba side of the rotating brush 80. This makes it difficult for dust sucked into the space on the suction port 62b side to enter the space on the pulley 81ba side.
Furthermore, a pulley 81ba of the rotating brush 80 and another pulley 86 fixed to an output shaft 89a of a drive motor 89 are connected by a timing belt 87, and the power of the drive motor 89 is transmitted to the rotating brush 80 by a pulley-belt mechanism M. Note that the power of the drive motor 89 may be transmitted to the rotating brush 80 by using a plurality of gears instead of the pulley-belt mechanism M.

The ribs 62ce and 65ce are provided on the left side of the suction port 62b in the suction port body 61, into which the left bearing portion 81f of the rotating brush 80 is fitted and held. In addition, the rib 62cf is provided on the right side of the suction port 62b in the suction port body 61, into which the right bearing member 81g of the rotating brush 80 is fitted and held. As a result, when the pulley 81ba of the pulley-belt mechanism M rotates, the left core portion 81d, the left cap body 81b, the shaft body 81a, the right cap body 81c, and the right core portion 81d rotate. At this time, the left and right bearing members 81f and 81g do not rotate.

As shown in Figures 5 and 8, in this embodiment, the cleaning material of the rotating brush 80 consists of four soft brushes 85a, two hard brushes 85b, and two rubber blades 85c. Note that in Figure 5, the cross-sectional shapes of the soft brushes 85a and the hard brushes 85b are shown in a simplified form.

The four soft brushes 85a are provided at central angles of 90° in the circumferential direction about the third axis P3 of the shaft body 81 and extend in the direction of the third axis P3.
The two hard brushes 85b are provided at central angles of 180° in the circumferential direction about the third axis P3 of the shaft body 81 and extend in the direction of the third axis P3.
The two rubber blades 85c are provided at central angles of 180° in the circumferential direction about the third axis P3 of the shaft body 81 and extend in the direction of the third axis P3.
Therefore, in this rotating brush 80, with one soft brush 85a as a reference, the following are arranged in the following order in the rotation direction of the rotating brush 80 (the direction of arrow A) or the opposite direction: soft brush 85a, hard brush 85b, soft brush 85a, rubber blade 85c, soft brush 85a, hard brush 85b, soft brush 85a and rubber blade 85c.

As shown in FIG. 8, the soft brush 85a includes an elongated base sheet portion 85aa attached to the dovetail groove 81as of the shaft body 81, and brush bristles 85ab made of irregularly crimped fibers having a cross section other than circular and provided on the base sheet portion 85aa.
The cross section other than a circle (irregular shape) may be a cross section having an angle, such as a star shape, a gear shape, a Y-shape, a cross shape, or a triangle shape. The crimped fiber is a fiber in which each fiber is in a shrunk state, and if it is a resin fiber, it can be made into a crimped fiber by applying heat. In this embodiment, the "super irregular crimped fiber" is used as the crimped fiber (irregular crimped fiber) having an irregular cross section other than a circle, but other irregular crimped fibers may be used. An example of the "super irregular crimped fiber" is "Solotex (registered trademark) Octa (registered trademark)" manufactured by Teijin Frontier Co., Ltd., which has an 8-fin cross section shape and crimping property with a hollow structure.

The bristles 85ab of the soft brush 85a are formed as a bulky, lightweight, three-dimensional mesh of irregularly shaped crimped fibers that are intertwined with each other in a complex manner. Therefore, the bristles 85ab spread out in the circumferential direction to the extent that they come into contact with or are close to the adjacent hard brush 85b and rubber blade 85c (see Figure 8).

The height H1 of the soft brush 85a from the dovetail groove 81as in the radial direction of rotation is set to a height at which the tips of the brush bristles 85ab come into sliding contact with the bent portion 66ax of the rear edge 66ab of the rotating brush cover 66 inside the suction port body 61 when the rotating brush 80 rotates in the direction of arrow A. As shown in Figures 7 and 8, both ends of the brush bristles 85ab of the soft brush 85a are held down by the cap bodies 81b, 81c provided on both ends of the shaft body 81, so that both end tips of the brush bristles 85ab protrude toward the cap bodies 81b, 81c. This makes it difficult for fibrous dust such as hair to get wrapped around the cap bodies 81b, 81c.

The hard brush 85b includes an elongated base sheet portion 85ba attached to the dovetail groove 81as of the shaft body 81, and a first hard brush portion 85bb and a second hard brush portion 85bc provided on the base sheet portion 85ba.
The first hard brush portion 85bb and the second hard brush portion 85bc are made of straight fibers having a higher rigidity than the bristles 85ab of the soft brush 85a.

The second hard brush portion 85bc is made of second straight fibers that are more rigid than the first straight fibers that make up the first hard brush portion 85bb, and is adjacent to the first hard brush portion 85bb in the circumferential direction. At this time, the second hard brush portion 85bc is provided at a position that approaches or contacts the surface to be cleaned before the first hard brush portion 85bb, that is, at a position on the rotation direction side (arrow A direction side) (see FIG. 8). In this embodiment, the volume ratio of the second hard brush portion 85bc in the hard brush 85b is about 10%, but it may be increased to about 50%.

In addition, the height H2 of the hard brush 85b from the dovetail groove 81as in the radial direction of rotation, i.e., the height H2 of the first hard brush part 85bb and the second hard brush part 85bc from the dovetail groove 81as in the radial direction of rotation, is set lower than the height H1 of the soft brush 85a. This creates a space on the tip side of the hard brush 85b between the two soft brushes 85a.

The rubber blade 85c has a base end 85ca attached to the dovetail groove 81as of the shaft body 81, and a tip end 85cb in the direction of the radius of rotation.
The height H3 of the rubber blade 85c from the dovetail groove 81as in the radial direction of rotation is set lower than the height H1 of the soft brush 85a. This results in a space being formed around the rubber blade 85c. In this embodiment, the height H3 of the rubber blade 85c is set lower than the height H2 of the hard brush 85b, but they may be approximately the same.

With the rotating brush 80 configured in this way, dirt is easily caught in the three-dimensional mesh of irregularly shaped crimped fibers (soft brush 85a) formed by the complex intertwining of irregularly shaped crimped fibers, so even cotton-like dirt that has become embedded in the fibers on the carpet surface can be effectively removed. In addition, the soft brush 85a made of the three-dimensional mesh of irregularly shaped crimped fibers is more effective at polishing flooring than a brush made of straight fibers, making it easier to remove fibrous dust such as hair and pet hair that has become wrapped around the rotating brush 80, and improving the sealing around the suction port 62b, thereby improving the dust suction performance deep inside the suction port body 60. Note that the deep part here refers to, for example, the gaps between flooring boards or between tatami mats.

In addition, by lowering the height of the hard brushes 85b between the soft brushes 85a, an appropriate space is formed, so that granular dust on the carpet can easily get into this space and be sent to the suction port.
Furthermore, by providing rubber blades 85c between the soft brushes 85a, it is possible to adjust the sealing performance around the suction port 62b, and it is possible to balance the front dust suction performance and deep dust suction performance of the suction port body 60. Note that there is a trade-off between the front dust suction performance and deep dust suction performance of the suction port body 60. When the sealing performance of the rotating brush 80 is high, the dust suction force from the front of the suction port body 60, i.e., the front dust suction performance, deteriorates and the deep dust suction performance improves, but when the sealing performance of the rotating brush 80 is low, the dust suction force from the front of the suction port body 60, i.e., the front dust suction performance, improves and the deep dust suction performance deteriorates.

The tip of the soft brush 85a located at the rear of the rotating brush 80 comes into sliding contact with the lower end surface of the bent portion 66ax of the rear edge 66ab of the rotating brush cover 66, so that dust adhering to the soft brush 85a can be scraped off (see FIG. 5). At this time, even if dust is difficult to remove because it gets inside the soft brush 85a, the mesh of the three-dimensional mesh structure spreads when the soft brush 85a comes into sliding contact with the lower end surface of the bent portion 66ax, and the dust is sucked and removed. Furthermore, since the soft brush 85a, which has scraped off dust on the floor surface, comes into contact with the bent portion 66ax when it moves to the rearmost position, the dust is effectively removed from the soft brush 85a due to the synergistic effect of the centrifugal force, the airflow from the suction port 62b toward the front opening 70a, and the beating effect caused by contact with the bent portion 66ax.

When the rotating brush 80 rotates, the tip of the hard brush 85b may also be in sliding contact with the lower end surface of the bent portion 66ax of the rear end edge 66ab of the rotating brush cover 66. The tip of each soft brush 85a and the tip of each hard brush 85b may be in light sliding contact with the inner surface of the rotating brush cover 66 and the inner surface of the bumper 62ca, or may not be in contact at all. The height H3 of the rubber blade 85c is set low so that it does not come into contact with any of the components of the suction port body 61.

Second Embodiment
Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the rotating brush in the suction mouth body of the second embodiment. In Fig. 9, the same elements as those in Fig. 8 are denoted by the same reference numerals.
As shown in FIG. 8, a rotating brush 180 of the second embodiment is provided with a separate hard brush 185c instead of the rubber blade 85c of the rotating brush 80 of the first embodiment, and other configurations are generally similar to those of the first embodiment.

In the second embodiment, another hard brush 185c is configured with the first fibers for the first hard brush portion 85bb or the second fibers for the second hard brush portion 85bc of the hard brush 85b of the first embodiment.
A height H4 of the hard brush 185c from the dovetail groove 81as in the radial direction of rotation is set lower than the height H1 of the soft brush 85a and approximately equal to the height H2 of the hard brush 85b.
Like the rotating brush 80 of the first embodiment, the rotating brush 180 of the second embodiment also enables adjustment of the sealing property around the suction port 62b, thereby achieving a balance between the front dust suction performance and deep dust suction performance of the suction port body 60 (see Figure 5).

Third Embodiment
In the first and second embodiments (see Figures 8 and 9), four soft brushes 85a are provided around the shaft body 81 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction (central angle of 90°), but three soft brushes 85a may be provided around the shaft body 81 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction (central angle of 120°). In this case, a hard brush 85b may be provided between two adjacent soft brushes, or another hard brush 185c may be provided.
In this configuration, the distance between two adjacent soft brushes 85a is wider, so that the space at the tip side of the hard brush 85b or the tip side of another hard brush 185c can be made wider. This also makes it possible to adjust the sealing performance around the suction port 62b, and a balance can be achieved between the front dust suction performance and deep dust suction performance of the suction port body 60.

Other Embodiments
In the first to third embodiments, a stick-type vacuum cleaner 1 is exemplified, but the rotating brush for the suction mouth body of the first to third embodiments can also be applied to the suction mouth body of a canister type vacuum cleaner or an upright type vacuum cleaner.

(summary)
As mentioned above,
(1) A rotating brush for a suction port body according to the present invention comprises a shaft body rotatably attached in the vicinity of the suction port in the suction port body, and a cleaning material provided on the periphery of the shaft body,
The cleaning material includes a plurality of soft brushes provided at a predetermined central angle in a circumferential direction around the axis of the shaft body and extending in the axial direction, and one or more hard brushes provided between the plurality of soft brushes and extending in the axial direction,
The soft brushes are configured to include crimped fibers having a cross section other than a circular shape,
The one or more hard brushes are configured to include straight fibers having a higher stiffness than the plurality of soft brushes,
The height of the one or more hard brushes in the direction of a rotational radius is lower than the height of the plurality of soft brushes in the direction of a rotational radius.

According to this configuration, the following effects (i) to (v) can be obtained.
(i) The tips of the soft brushes located at the outermost side in the direction of the rotation radius of the rotating brush can strongly slide against the surface to be cleaned (carpet, flooring, etc.). This can particularly provide the effect of scraping off dust on the carpet surface, and in particular the effect of entangling cotton-like dust that has entered the fibers on the surface side of the carpet, which is difficult to remove with a brush made of straight fibers, by the soft brushes that include crimped fibers with a cross section other than a circular shape (irregular crimped fibers). In other words, irregular crimped fibers are fibers that are not circular in cross section and are not straight, and are twisted in a complex manner, so that cotton-like dust is easily caught by the irregular crimped fibers (soft brushes) that are intricately entangled to form a three-dimensional mesh, and therefore even cotton-like dust that has entered the fibers on the surface of the carpet can be effectively removed. Note that when cleaning a carpet using the suction mouth body equipped with the rotating brush of Patent Document 1, the long pile may push the cotton-like dust into the fibers on the surface of the carpet.
(ii) The three-dimensional mesh of the irregularly crimped fibers of the soft brushes contacts the surface of the flooring, increasing the contact area compared to brushes made of straight fibers. This makes it easier to achieve a polishing effect that thoroughly removes even dirt that has adhered to the surface of the flooring.
(iii) The three-dimensional mesh-like irregular crimped fiber group constituting the multiple soft brushes is located at the outermost position in the rotation radius direction of the rotating brush, so that fibrous dust such as hair or pet hair is unlikely to penetrate into the interior (root side) of the irregular crimped fiber group and become entangled. Therefore, even if fibrous dust is entangled around the rotating brush, it is easy to loosen and remove the entangled fibrous dust, reducing the maintenance work. In addition, in the rotating brush of Patent Document 1, both the long pile and the short pile are made of straight fibers radial to the rotation axis, so that fibrous dust such as hair or pet hair is likely to penetrate into the root side of the straight fibers and become tightly entangled. Therefore, it is difficult to loosen the fibrous dust tightly entangled around the rotating brush during maintenance, and it takes a lot of work to remove it.
(iv) Since the multiple soft brushes are composed of a group of irregularly crimped fibers in a three-dimensional mesh pattern, the density of each soft brush is higher than that of a brush made of straight fibers. As a result, the sealing performance around the suction port is improved, and the dust suction performance deep inside the suction port is improved.
(v) By providing one or more hard brushes between multiple high-density soft brushes that are lower in height (shorter bristles) in the direction of the rotation radius than the multiple soft brushes, a suitable space is secured between the multiple soft brushes, so that granular dirt on the carpet can easily get into this space and be sent to the suction port. If the cleaning material were to be composed only of high-density soft brushes, the pressure would increase and the suction port body would be sucked into the floor surface, reducing operability, and the granular dirt on the carpet would be crushed by the soft brush and would be difficult to send to the suction port. However, this configuration can prevent such problems. In addition, the one or more hard brushes can also scrape out granular dirt that has gotten into the fibers on the surface side of the carpet.

Moreover, the rotating brush for a suction port body according to the present invention may be configured as follows, and these may be appropriately combined.
(2) The cleaning material further includes one or more rubber blades provided between the plurality of soft brushes and at positions different from the one or more hard brushes,
The height of the one or more rubber blades in a rotational radial direction may be lower than the height of the plurality of soft brushes in a rotational radial direction.
According to this configuration, by providing one or more rubber blades between multiple high-density soft brushes, it is possible to adjust the sealing performance around the suction port, and to balance the front dust suction performance of the suction port body with the deep dust suction performance. This ensures sufficient front dust suction performance, particularly when the front end of the suction port body is pressed against the wall to suck up dust, and also prevents a decrease in operability due to the suction port body sticking to the carpet surface.
In addition, a knocking effect can be obtained in which one or more rubber blades knock out dirt from the carpet surface.

(3) The cleaning material further includes one or more hard brushes provided between the plurality of soft brushes and at a position different from the one or more hard brushes;
The one or more further hard brushes may have a height in a radial direction of rotation that is smaller than a height in a radial direction of rotation of the plurality of soft brushes.
According to this configuration, as in (2) above, it is possible to adjust the sealing performance around the suction port, and it is possible to achieve a balance between the dust suction performance in the front part of the suction port body and the dust suction performance in the deep part.

(4) The one or more hard brushes each have a first hard brush portion extending in the axial direction and a second hard brush portion adjacent to the first hard brush portion in the circumferential direction,
In the one or more hard brushes, the second hard brush portion may be configured to include second fibers having a higher rigidity than first fibers constituting the first hard brush portion.
According to this configuration, the hard brush can be made of two types of fibers (first and second fibers) having different rigidities.

(5) The suction port body according to the present invention includes a suction port main body having a suction port at a bottom portion, and the rotating brush rotatably provided in the suction port main body near the suction port.
In this case, when the shaft body moves in the forward/backward direction, the rotating brush may rotate in a direction in which the lower peripheral portion of the rotating brush moves toward the rear, and the second hard brush portion of the one or more hard brushes may approach or contact the surface to be cleaned before the first hard brush portion.
According to this configuration, the dirt scraping by the hard brush can be started from the second hard brush portion, which has higher rigidity, and then moved to the first hard brush portion, so that high dirt scraping performance can be obtained.

Preferred aspects of the present invention include any combination of the above-mentioned aspects.
In addition to the above-mentioned embodiment, various modifications of the present invention are possible. These modifications should not be interpreted as not belonging to the scope of the present invention. The present invention should include the equivalent meaning of the claims and all modifications within the said scope.

1: electric vacuum cleaner, 10: vacuum cleaner body, 20: drive unit, 21: electrical component storage section, 22: handle, 23: operation switch section, 24: battery mounting section, 25: pipe section, 30: dust collection device, 31: dust collection container section, 31a: introduction path, 32: filter section, 40: battery, 50: extension tube, 60: suction port body, 61: suction port body, 62: lower case section, 62a: bottom section, 62b: suction port, 62c: front section, 62ca: bumper, 62cb: left side wall, 62cc: right side wall, 62ce, 62cf: rib, 62cg: raised cloth, 62ch: raised brush, 62d: rear section, 62da: rear roller, 65: upper case section, 65ce: rib, 66, 166, 266: rotating brush cover, 66a: curved plate portion, 66aa: front end edge, 66ab, 166ab, 266ab: rear end edge, 66ax, 166ax, 266ax: bent portion, 66ay: arc portion, 66az: locking hole, 66b: left side wall, 66ba: partition wall, 66R: rotating brush storage chamber, 67: rear cover, 67a: middle portion, 67b: locking claw, 70: cylindrical communicating portion, 70a: front opening, 70ax: upper edge portion, 70b: rear opening, 71: front member, 75: rear member, 75a: recessed portion, 75b: semi-cylindrical portion, 75x: lower edge portion, 80, 180: rotating brush, 81: shaft body, 81a: shaft main body, 81as: dovetail groove, 81b, 81c: cap body, 81ba, 86: pulley, 81d: core portion, 81e: bearing, 81f, 81g: bearing member, 85: cleaning material, 85a: soft brush, 85aa: base sheet portion, 85ab: brush bristles, 85b: hard brush, 85ba: base sheet portion, 85bb: first hard brush portion, 85bc: second hard brush portion, 85c: rubber blade, 85ca: base end portion, 85cb: tip portion, 87: timing belt, 89: drive motor, 89a: output shaft, 90: connection portion, 91: joint portion, 91a: first part, 91aa: cylindrical portion, 91ab: Concave sliding surface portion, 91b: Second part, 91ba: Concave sliding surface portion, 92: Pipe portion, 92a: Base end portion, 92aa: Convex surface portion, 185c: Another hard brush, 185ca: Base sheet portion, 185cb: Brush bristles, H1, H2, H3: Height, M: Pulley-belt mechanism, N: Screw, P1: First axis, P2: Second axis, P3: Third axis

Claims (6)

The cleaning device includes a shaft body rotatably attached in the vicinity of the suction port in the suction port body, and a cleaning material provided on a periphery of the shaft body,
The cleaning material includes a plurality of soft brushes provided at a predetermined central angle in a circumferential direction around the axis of the shaft body and extending in the axial direction, and one or more hard brushes provided between the plurality of soft brushes and extending in the axial direction,
The soft brushes are configured to include crimped fibers having a cross section other than a circular shape,
The one or more hard brushes are configured to include straight fibers having a higher stiffness than the plurality of soft brushes,
a height of the one or more hard brushes in a radial direction of rotation is lower than a height of the plurality of soft brushes in a radial direction of rotation;
The cleaning material further includes one or more rubber blades disposed between the soft brushes and at a position different from the one or more hard brushes,
The plurality of soft brushes includes a first soft brush and a second soft brush,
A rotating brush for a suction port body , characterized in that the first soft brush, the one or more hard brushes, the second soft brush, and the one or more rubber blades are arranged in that order in the circumferential direction . The cleaning device includes a shaft body rotatably attached in the vicinity of the suction port in the suction port body, and a cleaning material provided on a periphery of the shaft body,
The cleaning material includes a plurality of soft brushes provided at a predetermined central angle in a circumferential direction around the axis of the shaft body and extending in the axial direction, and one or more hard brushes provided between the plurality of soft brushes and extending in the axial direction,
The soft brushes are configured to include crimped fibers having a cross section other than a circular shape,
The one or more hard brushes are configured to include straight fibers having a higher stiffness than the plurality of soft brushes,
a height of the one or more hard brushes in a radial direction of rotation is lower than a height of the plurality of soft brushes in a radial direction of rotation;
the cleaning material has one or more hard brushes disposed between the plurality of soft brushes and at a different position from the one or more hard brushes;
A rotating brush for a suction port body, characterized in that the height of the one or more other hard brushes in the direction of a rotational radius is lower than the height of the plurality of soft brushes in the direction of a rotational radius. The cleaning device includes a shaft body rotatably attached in the vicinity of the suction port in the suction port body, and a cleaning material provided on a periphery of the shaft body,
The cleaning material includes a plurality of soft brushes provided at a predetermined central angle in a circumferential direction around the axis of the shaft body and extending in the axial direction, and one or more hard brushes provided between the plurality of soft brushes and extending in the axial direction,
The soft brushes are configured to include crimped fibers having a cross section other than a circular shape,
The one or more hard brushes are configured to include straight fibers having a higher stiffness than the plurality of soft brushes,
a height of the one or more hard brushes in a radial direction of rotation is lower than a height of the plurality of soft brushes in a radial direction of rotation;
Each of the one or more hard brushes has a first hard brush portion extending in the axial direction and a second hard brush portion adjacent to the first hard brush portion in the circumferential direction,
A rotating brush for a suction port body, characterized in that, in the one or more hard brushes, the second hard brush portion is composed of second fibers having a higher rigidity than the first fibers constituting the first hard brush portion. A suction port body comprising: a suction port body having a suction port at a bottom portion; and a rotating brush according to any one of claims 1 to 3 rotatably provided in the suction port body in the vicinity of the suction port. A suction mouth body as described in claim 4, which quotes claim 3, wherein when the shaft body moves in the forward/backward direction, the rotating brush rotates in a direction in which the lower peripheral portion of the rotating brush moves rearward, and the second hard brush portion of the one or more hard brushes approaches or contacts the surface to be cleaned before the first hard brush portion. 6. An electric vacuum cleaner comprising: a vacuum cleaner body that sucks in dust-laden air from the outside using a built-in electric blower; and a suction port body according to claim 4 or 5 that is connected to the vacuum cleaner body directly or via an extension tube.

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