JPH0456618B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Application Field The vacuum cleaner of the present invention uses a vacuum fan to
It has a dust collection function due to its suction power, and is particularly applicable to vacuum cleaners that require a long life, such as those used in stores, businesses, and central cleaners.

Configuration of the conventional example and its problems First, the configuration of the conventional example will be explained based on FIG. 1.

In FIG. 1, 1 has an intake port 2 on its side wall, and the upper part is an open dust box,
A dust collection filter 3 is removably fitted into the opening. 4 is an expander, which functions to keep the surface area of the dust collection filter 3 wide during suction. 5 is a body, and a commutator motor 7
A fan motor unit 6 consisting of a fan 8 and a fan 8 is held on the body 5 by a holding plate 11 via upper and lower vibration isolating rubbers 9 and 10. The body 5 is removably fitted into the open part of the dust box 1 via the dust filter 3. Note that 7a is a stator,
7b is a stator winding, 7c is a rotor, 7d is a rotor winding, 7e is a commutator, and 7f is a brush. Further, 8a is a fan intake port, 8b is an impeller, 8c is an air guide, and 8d is a casing, forming a two-stage fan. Reference numeral 8e designates a fan exhaust port, which is an exhaust port for fan intake air, and is provided so that the exhaust air passes through the commutator motor 7 in order to cool the commutator motor 7 at the same time. 12 is a fan filter, 13 is a soundproof board,
13a is a soundproof board exhaust port, and 14 is a soundproof board exhaust port filter. Reference numerals 15a and 15b are exhaust passages formed within the body 5, with the exhaust passage 15a being formed inside the soundproof plate and the exhaust passage 15b being formed outside the soundproof plate. 16 is a body exhaust port. 17
is an air protector, which operates at a predetermined vacuum pressure if the intake path becomes clogged for some reason, sucks air through the air protector intake port 18, and supplies the air to the fan motor unit 6 from the air protector exhaust port 17a. In this way, even if the intake path is clogged, air can flow to the motor 7, which serves to prevent the motor from burning out. 19
is a handle, and 20 is a caster.

Next, problems in the conventional example with the above configuration will be described.

In the prior art, the motor used is generally a commutator motor, as mentioned above. The reason for this is that fans used in vacuum cleaners and the like require a high degree of vacuum for suction, which requires high-speed rotation. This commutator motor was the most suitable as a motor that could provide this high-speed rotation at low cost.

However, a drawback of this commutator motor is that it requires a commutator consisting of a commutator 7e and a brush 7f, and the brush 7f is worn out due to contact with the commutator 7e during high-speed rotation. The wear life is generally about 500 to 1000 hours (depending on the length of the brush), and if the brush is used for longer than that, it is necessary to replace the brush 7f. However, this does not mean that the brush 7f can be replaced many times; the commutator 7e naturally wears out, and generally, the life of the commutator 7e is reached by replacing the brush 7f about two times. Therefore, for further use, the motor must be replaced, but in reality, the fan motor unit 6 is replaced.

There is no problem when used for a short period of time, but when used frequently such as in stores or for business purposes, the above-mentioned maintenance is required for long-term use, which is extremely troublesome. Furthermore, the maintenance costs were naturally high.

Furthermore, since the central cleaner is built into a house, it is required to have a lifespan equal to the lifespan of the house, and the above-mentioned commutator motor also has the same drawbacks.

Purpose of the Invention As described above, conventional vacuum cleaners using commutator motors require maintenance due to the above-mentioned reasons for long-term use. It also provides a highly reliable vacuum cleaner that requires no maintenance.

Configuration of the Invention The vacuum cleaner of the present invention has an air intake port on the side wall,
and a fan motor unit consisting of a dust box with an open upper part, a removable dust collection filter fitted into the open part of the dust box, and a brushless motor having an electronic control circuit for driving the fan and the motor. The fan motor unit has a body that holds the fan motor unit with its intake port facing toward the open part of the dust box, and also forms an exhaust passage for intake air from the intake port of the fan. The heat dissipation fin of the electronic component of the electronic control circuit is disposed in the body exhaust passage, and the fin part of the heat dissipation fin of the electronic component of the electronic control circuit is disposed on the side of the open part of the dust box outside the exhaust passage, and the air protector An air protector is placed near the fins to allow air to flow. This configuration provides a highly reliable vacuum cleaner that requires no maintenance.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 2 and subsequent figures. Components that are the same as those in the conventional example are designated by the same reference numerals and their description will be omitted.

In FIG. 2, 21 is a brushless motor;
Reference numeral 2 denotes an electronic control circuit for driving the motor, which is disposed in the exhaust passage 15b within the body 5. 23 is a heat dissipation fin of an electronic control circuit component.

FIG. 3 shows an enlarged view of this part, and FIG. 4 shows a perspective view. In the figure, 23a is the heat dissipation fin 23
This fin portion is arranged so as to be on the side of the open part of the dust box outside the exhaust passage 15b, and the fin portion 23a is arranged near the fin portion 23a so that the intake air from the air protector 17 can easily flow into the fin portion 23a. An air protector 17 is installed at the 22a is an example of an electronic component that requires cooling.

Here, this brushless motor 21 will be briefly explained. This motor has a yoke 2 on the rotating shaft 21a.
A magnet 21c is fixed via 1b. These 21a to 21c are called a rotor. A stator 21e around which a winding 21d is wound is disposed around the outer periphery of the rotor with a gap interposed therebetween. A rotor position detecting magnet 21f is fixed to the rotating shaft 21a, and is disposed opposite to a sensor 21g (a Hall element is used in this example) for detecting the magnetic pole of the magnet 21f. It has an electronic control circuit 22 for driving a motor that generates a rotating magnetic field in the stator 21e in response to a signal from the sensor 21g.

Note that the rotor position detection method is one example, and other methods may be used.

The motor has the above-mentioned configuration, and the feature of this motor 21 is that instead of a commutator part with mechanical contact, which is made up of a commutator 7e and a brush 7f, as in the conventional commutator motor 6, an electronic control circuit part is used. 2
2, and is brushless. This brushless design completely eliminates the problem of longevity due to brush wear as in the conventional example.

However, this brushless motor 21 requires the electronic control circuit 22 as described above, and the electronic control circuit 22 naturally uses various electronic components. Among these electronic components, heat-generating components such as transistors and capacitors in particular require cooling, and generally heat dissipation fins or fans are used for cooling.

In the embodiment of the present invention, as shown by arrow A in FIG. 8
Air is exhausted from the fan exhaust port 8e through the impeller 8b and the air guide 8c, and part of it passes through the inside of the motor, that is, the gap between the rotor and the stator 21e, and the gap between the stator slot and the winding 21d, and a part of it passes through the stator. Exhaust passage 15a inside the body 5 while cooling each part of the motor 21 through the outer peripheral part 21e.
It passes through the soundproof board exhaust port 13a from inside the soundproof board 13 through the soundproof board filter 14, and also from the body 5.
It passes through the exhaust passage 15b outside the inner soundproof plate 13 and is exhausted to the outside of the vacuum cleaner from the body exhaust port 16.

Here, this exhaust air is of course the brushless motor 2.
1, the temperature is correspondingly higher, but it can be used to cool the electronic control circuit 22, and as in this embodiment, the electronic control circuit 22 is arranged in the exhaust passage 15b. This makes it possible to cool each electronic component.

However, in the case of a vacuum cleaner, a considerable amount of air flows during normal use, which is sufficient for cooling the electronic control circuit 22, but if the air intake path becomes clogged for some reason, etc., As a result, the air protector 17 is activated. In this case, the intake flow rate becomes small due to only the intake air from the protector 17, and the temperature of the exhaust air increases. There is no problem for a short time, but if it becomes a long time, the electronic control circuit 2
2 becomes insufficiently cooled, and the above-mentioned cooling-required parts 22
This is the cause of a failure.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the fin portion 23a of the heat dissipation fin 23 is located closer to the dust box 1 than the exhaust passage 15b.
Since the intake air of the air protector 17 is designed to flow through the fin section 23a, when the air protector 17 is activated as described above, the outside air directly flows into the fin section 23a.
3a, and its cooling effect is very large. The air flowing through the fin portion 23a becomes the already explained air flow (arrow A) after the fan intake port 8a, and the air flows into the motor 21.
etc. cooling remains unchanged.

Note that when the heat dissipation fins 23 are placed outside the exhaust passage 15b, the inside of the exhaust passage 15b and the dust box 1 side must be airtight. Therefore, it is preferable to use a sealing material 25 as shown in FIG.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the vacuum cleaner of the present invention uses a brushless motor instead of a commutator motor, has its electronic control circuit disposed in the exhaust passage in the body, and has heat dissipation fins for electronic components that require cooling. By protruding the fins outside the exhaust passage to the open side of the dust box, and arranging the air protector near the fins so that the intake air of the air protector flows through the fins, the exhaust air can evacuate electronics during normal use. The control circuit can be cooled, and even if the air protector is activated, the electronic components that require cooling can be sufficiently cooled.

Furthermore, not only does maintenance such as brush replacement as required in conventional models become unnecessary, but the electronic control circuit can be housed compactly within the body, and cooling can be achieved without using a special cooling fan.
It has a configuration that can handle even abnormal situations, and its reliability is extremely high.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a sectional view showing the entire conventional vacuum cleaner, Fig. 2 is an overall sectional view showing an embodiment of the vacuum cleaner of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a part of the main part. , FIG. 4 is a perspective view of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of attaching heat dissipation fins. 21... Brushless motor, 22... Electronic control circuit, 23... Heat radiation fin, 23a... Fin portion of heat radiation fin, 24... Electronic component requiring cooling, 2
5...Sealing material, 17...Air protector.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A dust box with an air intake port on the side wall and an open upper part, a removable dust filter that fits into the open part of the dust box, and a brushless motor with an electronic control circuit for driving the fan and motor. and a body that holds the fan motor unit with its intake port facing toward the dust box opening side and forms an exhaust passage for intake air from the intake port of the fan. the electronic control circuit is disposed in the exhaust passage of the body, and the fin portion of the heat dissipation fin of the electronic component of the electronic control circuit is disposed outside the exhaust passage and on the side of the open part of the dust box, Furthermore, the vacuum cleaner has an air protector disposed near the fins so that the intake air of the air protector flows through the fins.