JPH0433630A - Vacuum cleaner dust collection display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To minimize the clearance between the outside periphery of a pointer and the inside surface of a pointer cylinder, and also, to eliminate the need of providing a projecting part such as a rib, etc., by forming the pointer displaced by receiving deformation of a pointer valve to the outside peripheral surface dimensions being a little smaller than the inside surface dimensions of the pointer cylinder, and also, forming no projecting part in the normal direction on the outside peripheral surface of the pointer. CONSTITUTION:A pointer 31 is a little smaller than the inside surface of a pointer cylinder 30, consists of an outside peripheral wall 37 formed smoothly and a roughly cylindrical inner cylinder 38, and a roughly cap-like pointer valve 35 covers the inner cylinder 38 with a thin film having rubber elasticity. The pointer valve 35 is inserted and held by the pointer cylinder 30 and a pointer cover 34 and cuts off completely a vacuum pressure part and an atmosphere pressure part, therefore, even if it is deformed as vacuum pressure rises and the pointer 31 is displaced, it does not occur that the atmosphere flows into the pointer cylinder 30. Therefore, a clearance between the inside surface of the pointer cylinder 30 and the outside peripheral wall 37 of the pointer 31 can be minimized. Also, a movement of the pointer 31 becomes a slow motion caused by a rise of vacuum pressure due to accumulation of dust, therefore, it becomes unnecessary to form a projecting part such as a rib, etc., on the surface of the outside peripheral wall 37.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mechanical dust collection amount display device for a vacuum cleaner.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This type of display device has conventionally been constructed as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. That is, the display device 1 includes a pointer 2, a pointer spring 3 that biases the pointer backward, a pointer lid 5 located behind the pointer 2 and having a through hole 4, and a transparent cylindrical pointer that holds these. It consists of a cylinder 6 and a communication pipe 8 that communicates the tip of the pointer cylinder 6 with the dust collection chamber 7, and is attached to a recess 11 provided in the front main body 10 that covers the dust collection chamber 7 of the vacuum cleaner main body 9 from above. A communication pipe 8 communicates with the dust collection chamber 7, and the pointer 2 can be seen from the outside through a display window 13 provided on the cover plate 12. The pointer 2 has a substantially cylindrical shape with a bottom, and ribs 14 are provided at regular intervals on the outer circumferential surface of the pointer 2 so that the gap between the pointer 2 and the inner surface of the pointer barrel 6 is almost even.

When the vacuum cleaner main body 9 is used and dust accumulates in the shoe collection bag 15, the pressure in the dust collection chamber 7 gradually decreases below atmospheric pressure. Due to the vacuum pressure generated, the pointer 2 resists the spring biasing force of the pointer spring 3.
moves to the communication pipe 8 side. At this time, the position of the pointer 2 visible through the display window 13 changes, allowing the user to recognize when it is time to discard the dust.

By the way, when the pointer 2 moves toward the communication tube 8, the atmosphere flows into the pointer tube 6 through the hole 4 at the same time as it leaves the pointer cover 5, and the pressure inside the pointer tube 6 rises from the pressure at the start of movement. As a result, the pressure difference across the pointer 2 decreases, and the movement of the pointer 2 becomes slight. Therefore, the above-mentioned incoming air flow collides with the bottom surface 16 of the pointer 2, and then flows from between the outer peripheral surface of the pointer 2 and the inner surface of the pointer barrel 6 to the communication pipe 8 side, thereby applying dynamic pressure due to the air flow to the pointer 2. In addition, the amount of movement of the pointer 2 was increased.

Problem to be Solved by the Invention However, in order to utilize the amount of inflowing air as described above, the gap between the pointer 2 and the inner surface of the pointer barrel 6 is ensured to be almost uniform over the entire circumference, and the air flowing into the dust collection chamber 7 is It is necessary to provide a rib 14 to make the flow almost uniform between the above gaps and to minimize contact with the inner surface of the pointer tube 6 when the pointer 2 moves, thereby making the movement smooth. In contrast, the outer diameter of the pointer 2 has become smaller, making it difficult to see the pointer 2 through the window hole 13. Furthermore, when the rib 14 is visible through the window hole 13 (which may not be visible depending on the relative position of the rib 14 with respect to the window hole 13), the rib 14 is not always visible through the window hole 13.
In some cases, the image was not located in the center of the image but was shifted to one side, resulting in a poor appearance.

An object of the present invention is to solve this problem and provide an easy-to-use dust collection amount display device for a vacuum cleaner.

Means for Solving the Problems The technical means of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problem is to create a thin-walled, almost hat-shaped atmospheric pressure device that deforms due to the differential pressure between the vacuum pressure generated by the operation of an electric blower and atmospheric pressure. A pointer valve having a protrusion protruding to the side; a pointer disposed on the vacuum pressure side with respect to the pointer valve and displaced in response to deformation of the pointer valve; It is equipped with a pointer spring that biases the pointer toward the atmospheric pressure side, and a pointer tube that is a substantially transparent cylindrical body that slidably holds these pointers and pointer spring inside. It is formed to have a small outer circumferential surface dimension, and furthermore, no convex portion is formed in the normal direction on the outer circumferential surface of the pointer.

Effect The effect of the above technical means is that the vacuum pressure part on the dust collection chamber side and the atmospheric pressure part are shut off by the valve body, and the pointer is displaced according to the displacement of the valve body, so there is no inflow of atmospheric air, and therefore the pointer The gap between the outer periphery and the inner surface of the pointer cylinder can be minimized.

Furthermore, the movement of the pointer is determined by the differential pressure between the vacuum pressure and atmospheric pressure acting on the valve body and the spring biasing force of the pointer spring, so it gradually moves as the vacuum pressure increases, and there are ribs on the outer circumferential surface of the pointer. There is no need to provide protrusions such as the like.

Example Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

In FIGS. 1 to 3, the main body 21 of the vacuum cleaner has a dust collection chamber 23 at the front that accommodates a paper bag 22 that filters and collects dust sucked in through a floor suction tool, an extension pipe, and a hose. An electric blower 24, a cord winding device, etc. are built into the rear. An upper lid 25 is attached above the dust collection chamber 23 to cover the dust collection chamber 23 so as to be openable and closable. The upper lid 25 has a rear part engaged with the upper main body 26, a front part attached to the main body 21 by a buckle type 27, and a recessed part 28 is formed in the center of the upper part, and a dust collection amount display device 29 is attached thereto. There is.

The dust collection amount display device 29 includes a transparent pointer tube 30, a pointer 31 that slides within the pointer tube 30, a communication tube 32 that communicates the dust collection chamber 23 and the pointer tube 30, and a communication tube 32 and the pointer. 31
A pointer spring 33 is placed between the pointer spring 33 and the pointer spring 33 that biases the pointer 31 in a direction opposite to that of the communication tube 32, and is held between the pointer tube 30 and the pointer lid 34 to airtightly isolate the pointer 31 side and the pointer lid 34 side. It is composed of a pointer valve 35.

A double cylindrical inner wall 36 is formed inside the pointer tube 30 on the side where the pointer lid 34 is attached, and the position of the pointer 31 is regulated at the tip of the inner wall 36 on the communication tube 32 side. The pointer 31 is the pointer tube 30
The outer peripheral wall 3 is slightly smaller than the inner surface of the
7 and a substantially cylindrical inner cylinder 38, a substantially hat-shaped pointer valve 35 made of a thin film having rubber elasticity covers the inner tube 38, and a pointer lid 34 covers the pointer valve 35 from the outer peripheral side.

The center of the pointer cover 34 is open and communicates with the outside of the main body 21, while one end of the communication pipe 32 is fitted into a through hole 39 provided on the lower surface of the recess 28 and communicates with the dust collection chamber 23. Atmospheric pressure acts on the pointer lid 34 side of the pointer valve 35, and vacuum pressure generated by the operation of the electric blower 24 acts on the pointer 31 side. The pointer valve 35 receives the inward suction force of the dust collection chamber 23 due to this pressure difference and the spring biasing force of the pointer spring 33, and displaces the inner cylinder 38 of the pointer 31 within the inner wall 36 toward the communication pipe 32 side.

Reference numeral 40 denotes a cover plate having a window hole 41 above the pointer barrel 30, and is fitted into the recess 28.

Next, the operation and effects of the above configuration will be explained. When dust accumulates in the paper bag 22 using the vacuum cleaner main body 21, the flow rate of air flowing into the electric blower 24 decreases, and the pressure in the dust collection chamber 23 drops below atmospheric pressure. As the amount of accumulated dust increases and this vacuum pressure becomes lower than a predetermined pressure (when it becomes lower than the predetermined pressure), the suction force that draws the pointer valve 35 toward the communication pipe 32 is generated due to the differential pressure between the atmospheric pressure and the inner wall 36 of the pointer barrel 30. The spring biasing force of the pointer spring 33 is greater than that of the pointer spring 33. At this time, the pointer valve 35 is reversely deformed between the inner tube 38 and the inner wall 36 so that the portion of the pointer 31 that touches the inner tube 38 has a substantially U-shaped cross section toward the communication tube 32. At the same time, the pointer 31 is slightly displaced toward the communication tube 32.

As the suction force increases as the accumulation of dust progresses, the approximately U-shaped reverse deformation of the pointer valve 35 gradually increases, and the pointer 3
1 is gradually moved to the communication pipe 32 side. At this time, window hole 4
1, the visible area of the pointer 31 increases. When the amount of dust exceeds a predetermined value, the displacement amount of the pointer 31 becomes maximum, and only the outer circumferential wall 37 of the pointer 31 is fully visible through the window hole 41. When the user sees this state, he knows it is time to discard the dust, replaces the paper bag 22 with a new one, and begins reusing it under strong suction conditions.

By the way, the pointer valve 35 is held between the pointer tube 30 and the pointer cover 34 and completely blocks off the vacuum pressure section and the atmospheric pressure section, so it deforms as the vacuum pressure increases, and even if the pointer 31 is displaced. Air does not flow into the pointer tube 30. Therefore, the gap between the inner surface of the pointer tube 30 and the outer circumferential wall 37 of the pointer 31 can be minimized, and the pointer 30 can be seen through the pointer tube 30 through the window hole 41.
can be seen larger.

In addition, the movement of the pointer 31 is slow as the vacuum pressure increases due to the accumulation of dust, so the inner surface of the pointer tube 30 and the pointer 3
1. There is no need to form a protrusion such as a rib on the surface of the outer circumferential wall 37 to minimize contact with the outer circumferential wall 37 and make the movement of the pointer 31 smooth, and the pointer 31 can be easily formed. At the same time, the smooth outer peripheral surface of the pointer 31 can be seen through the window hole 41, giving it a nice appearance.

Effects of the Invention As explained above, the present invention provides a pointer having a thin, approximately hat-shaped protrusion protruding toward the atmospheric pressure side that deforms due to the differential pressure between the vacuum pressure generated by the operation of an electric blower and the atmospheric pressure. a valve, a pointer disposed on the vacuum pressure side with respect to the pointer valve and displaced in response to deformation of the pointer valve, and a spring biasing the pointer toward the atmospheric pressure side so that the pointer starts to be displaced at a predetermined vacuum pressure or higher. In a dust collection amount display device that has a pointer spring that holds the pointer and a pointer tube that is a substantially transparent cylindrical body that slidably holds the pointer and pointer spring inside, the pointer has an outer peripheral surface dimension that is slightly smaller than the inner surface dimension of the pointer tube. In addition, by not providing a protrusion in the normal direction on the outer circumferential surface of the pointer, the following effects can be achieved.

■The gap between the inner surface of the pointer tube and the outer peripheral wall of the pointer can be minimized,
The pointer can be seen from the outside through the finger tube.

(2) Since there is no need to form protrusions such as ribs on the outer circumferential wall 37, the pointer can be easily formed.

■ Only the smooth outer peripheral surface of the pointer can be seen through the pointer barrel from the outside, giving it a better appearance.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a dust collection amount display device showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a central sectional view of the same vacuum cleaner, and Fig. 3 shows the operating state of the dust collection amount display device. FIG. 4 is a central sectional view of a conventional vacuum cleaner, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of a display device. 23... Collection chamber, 29... Dust collection amount display device, 30... Pointer tube, 31... Pointer, 32... Communication pipe, 33... pointer spring, 34... pointer lid, 35... pointer valve,
37...Outer wall. Name of agent: Patent attorney Shigetaka Awano and 1 other person 2q-14
%太１艮１Figure 3

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A pointer valve that is deformed by the differential pressure between the vacuum pressure and atmospheric pressure generated when the electric blower is operated, and has a thin, almost hat-shaped protrusion that protrudes toward the atmospheric pressure side, and the vacuum pressure side of the pointer valve. A pointer disposed at the pointer valve and displaced by the deformation of the pointer valve, a pointer spring that biases the pointer toward the atmospheric pressure side so that the pointer starts to be displaced at a predetermined vacuum pressure or higher, and these pointers and the pointer spring. What is claimed is: 1. A dust collection amount display device for a vacuum cleaner, comprising a substantially transparent pointer barrel that is slidably held inside the vacuum cleaner, the pointer having an outer peripheral surface dimension slightly smaller than an inner surface dimension of the pointer barrel. (2) The dust collection amount display device for a vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the outer peripheral surface of the pointer has no protrusion in the normal direction.