ELECTRIC VACUUM CLEANER

• US 20080201897A1
• Filed: 02/08/2008
• Published: 08/28/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/09/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Shikano, Hirotaka, Mukumoto, Eiji, Matsumoto, Yoshiaki, Nakai, Kouichi, Inui, Shigeki, Morita, Akihiro, Tsuchida, Hideya, Fukumoto, Akihiro, Matsumoto, Chizuyo, Kodera, Sadaki
• Granted Patent: US 7,712,183 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 15/339
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/202 having separate drive for the cleaning brushes
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4041 Roll shaped surface treating tools
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4044 Vacuuming or pick-up tools; Squeegees
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4047 Wound-up or endless cleaning belts
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4069 Driving or transmission means for the cleaning tools
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/0477 Rolls
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/0488 Combinations or arrangements of several tools, e.g. edge cleaning tools
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2805 Parameters or conditions being sensed
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2842 Suction motors or blowers
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2847 Surface treating elements
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2857 User input or output elements for control, e.g. buttons, switches or displays
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2889 Safety or protection devices or systems, e.g. for prevention of motor over-heating or for protection of the user
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 40/00 Technologies aiming at improving the efficiency of home appliances, e.g. induction cooking or efficient technologies for refrigerators, freezers or dish washers

Abstract

An electric vacuum cleaner (1) of the invention is adapted for wipe off cleaning using a sheet wound about a rotary brush (25) incorporated in a suction device (10). In order to wind a sheet (50) around a periphery of the rotary brush (25), a brush motor (44) rotates the rotary brush (25) in a predetermined direction at a predetermined rotational speed. At the same time, suction force of an electric blower fan (42) is set to the lowest level. This achieves the following advantage in a case where a wet sheet is used as the sheet (50). During sheet winding, water and alcohol released from the wet sheet (50) can be prevented from being scattered on a surface (100) to be cleaned. Further, the released water and alcohol do not adversely affect the electric blower fan (42).

Claims

1. An electric vacuum cleaner, comprising:

a suction device including a housing having a suction port opposed to a surface to be cleaned, a rotary brush disposed in the housing and having a periphery partially facing into the suction port, a motor incorporated in the housing and driving the rotary brush into rotation, and a cylindrical bend projecting from the housing and guiding air, dirt and dust sucked into the housing via the suction port; and

an electric cleaner body connected to the bend of the suction device and generating suction force by unit of an electric blower fan, and being capable of winding a sheet around the periphery of the rotary brush and performing the wipe-off cleaning of the surface to be cleaned by using the sheet,

the electric vacuum cleaner comprising a sheet-removal control unit which operates the motor to drive the rotary brush in repeated positive and reverse rotations in order to remove the sheet wound around the periphery of the rotary brush.

2. An electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the sheet-removal control unit increases the suction force of the electric blower fan to a high level.

3. An electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the sheet-removal control unit activates the rotary brush after the lapse of a predetermined length of time from a startup of the electric blower fan.

4. An electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, further comprising a sheet-winding control unit which operates the motor to rotate the rotary brush at a predetermined rotational speed and in a predetermined direction and controls the suction force of the electric blower fan to the lowest level.

5. An electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein a wet sheet is used as the sheet.

6. An electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 4, wherein the housing has a blocking member provided therein for inhibiting the sheet from being wound around the periphery of the rotary brush when the rotary brush is rotated in a direction opposite to the predetermined direction.

7. An electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 4, further comprising:

a dust-collector function detecting unit arranged to determine whether a dust collector function provided in the electric vacuum cleaner is a predetermined dust collector function or not; and

an inhibiting unit which inhibits a control by the sheet-winding control unit in a case where the dust collector function detected by the dust-collector function detecting unit is the predetermined dust collector function.

8. An electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 4, wherein a wet sheet is used as the sheet, and the motor rotates the rotary brush at a low rotational speed during startup and the rotational speed of the rotary brush is increased with time.

9. An electric vacuum cleaner comprising:

a suction device including a housing having a suction port opposed to a surface to be cleaned, a rotary brush disposed in the housing and having a periphery partially facing into the suction port, and a motor incorporated in the housing and driving the rotary brush into rotation; and

an invert control unit which supplies an inversion signal to the motor at a predetermined time, the inversion signal supplied for a predetermined length of time to alternately switch a rotational direction of the rotary brush between positive rotation and reverse rotation.

10. An electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 9, wherein the predetermined time is at a start of the rotation of the rotary brush.

11. An electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 9, wherein the predetermined time is when a predetermined operation switch is operated.

12. An electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 9, further comprising an electric blower fan for generating suction force,

wherein the invert control unit drives the electric blower fan into a preset high-power operation.