A vacuum cleaner

Abstract

This invention relates to a vacuum cleaner with a downward-facing suction chamber on the front side of the floor brush in the direction of travel, and an upward-facing nozzle on the top of the connector. The forward or backward movement of the vacuum cleaner applies different forces to the handheld part. Simultaneously with the floor brush moving forward or backward, the connector to the handheld part swings back and forth relative to the floor brush. Because the wheel assembly is linked to the connector, when the connector swings forward, the wheel assembly moves downward, causing the bottom wall of the floor brush to tilt downwards from back to front. This creates a first gap between the bottom wall of the floor brush and the surface to be cleaned, allowing debris and dust to enter. This ensures that when the vacuum cleaner moves backward, there is sufficient space at the rear of the vacuum cleaner for dust and debris to be sucked into the suction chamber. Therefore, even if some debris or dust is missed when the vacuum cleaner moves in any direction, it can be cleaned by reversing the vacuum cleaner without needing to change direction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of dust removal equipment, and more particularly to a vacuum cleaner. Background Technology

[0002] In existing negative pressure cleaning equipment, such as robotic vacuum cleaners and handheld vacuum cleaners, the default direction of travel is the cleaning direction. This means the cleaning nozzles are located at the front of the device's path. Cleaning is more effective when the device moves forward, but dust removal is often ineffective when it moves in the opposite direction. Since debris and dust are often missed during cleaning, the device needs to turn around and retrace its original route, which is very inconvenient.

[0003] To address this, Chinese invention patent CN201210342193.X discloses a "Vacuum Cleaner Floor Brush with Dual Suction Ports." This floor brush has a front suction port at the front and a rear suction port at the rear of its base, and a guide hole is located downstream of its air inlet, forming an airflow channel upstream of the guide hole between the upper and lower fan hoods. The dual suction ports solve the problem of existing floor brushes being unable to clean effectively when reversing or achieving unsatisfactory cleaning results. However, this dual-suction port design still has certain drawbacks. Firstly, the rear suction port disrupts the original structure of the entire airflow duct design; the channel cooperating with the rear suction port occupies the total suction flow, affecting the suction effect of the front suction port. Secondly, the rear suction port is only moved backward relative to the front suction port; the overall ground clearance of the machine remains unchanged, meaning that dust and debris that cannot be sucked up when moving forward still cannot be smoothly sucked up when reversing.

[0004] Chinese invention application CN200580004495.4 discloses a "floor suction port for a vacuum cleaner". The floor brush (1) has baffles at both the front and rear ends of the roller (4). Moving the brush forward or backward causes the corresponding baffles to move upward, creating a side seam at the front or rear of the suction port, which is originally downward-facing. This facilitates repeated dust removal from hard-to-clean areas such as carpets by moving the brush back and forth through the side seam. However, while this up-and-down design of the suction port is effective for cleaning soft surfaces like carpets, it is ineffective for cleaning debris on the floor, and therefore does not meet the requirements for conventional dust removal environments. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The first technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a vacuum cleaner that can effectively remove dust from the rear of the housing when reversing, in light of the current state of the prior art.

[0006] The second technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a vacuum cleaner that can automatically raise or lower the rear of the housing by means of the swing of the connecting member, in view of the current situation of the prior art.

[0007] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve the first technical problem mentioned above is as follows: The vacuum cleaner includes:

[0008] The floor brush has a downward-facing suction chamber on its front side in the direction of travel.

[0009] A connector for attaching the handheld part of a vacuum cleaner to a floor brush, having an upward-facing opening at the top for the bottom of the handheld part to be inserted into;

[0010] A wheel assembly is mounted at the rear of the floor brush and has a support wheel that can rotate relative to the floor brush, the axis of rotation of which is perpendicular to the direction of travel of the floor brush;

[0011] The bottom of the connector is constrained to the floor brush by swinging back and forth. The power input end of the wheel assembly is connected to a position near the bottom of the connector. Under the swinging action of the bottom of the connector, it moves up and down relative to the floor brush. When the wheel assembly is in the downward moving state, the bottom wall of the floor brush tilts downward from back to front, thereby forming a first gap between the bottom wall of the floor brush and the ground to be cleaned, allowing debris and dust to enter.

[0012] To further enable the drive wheel assembly of the connector to move up and down, preferably, the floor brush has a housing, the rear of which is hollow to form a mounting cavity. On each side of the connector in the direction of travel of the floor brush, a wheel assembly is arranged. The wheel assembly includes a wheel seat located in the mounting cavity and a mounting shaft connected to the wheel seat. The mounting shaft is at least partially exposed outside the housing, and the support wheel is mounted on the mounting shaft.

[0013] To facilitate the swinging of the connector, preferably, the bottom wall of the mounting cavity has guide ribs extending along the connector. There are two guide ribs, which are arranged opposite each other on both sides of the swinging direction of the connector. Correspondingly, the connector is provided with laterally extending guide portions on both sides of its swinging direction that match the corresponding guide ribs.

[0014] Specifically, the guide portion is a boss protruding from the outer wall of the connector, and the guide rib has an upward-facing notch. The boss is housed in the notch, and the length of the notch in the swing direction of the connector is greater than the diameter of the boss.

[0015] To further solve the second technical problem mentioned above, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows: a first transmission part is also provided on the boss, and for each first transmission part, a matching second transmission part is provided on the wheel seat corresponding to the boss, and the wheel seat and the support wheel are linked with the connecting member through the cooperation of the first transmission part and the second transmission part.

[0016] Specifically, the connector is basically cylindrical, the first transmission part is a convex post provided on the protrusion and extending laterally, and the second transmission part is a guide groove opened on the side wall corresponding to the wheel seat and extending along the swing direction of the connector, and the convex post and the guide groove are slidably matched.

[0017] To further ensure the fit between the protrusion and the guide groove, preferably, the guide groove is arranged at an upward angle from front to back, and the wheel seat and the support wheel are in a downward moving state when the connector swings until the protrusion slides to the front end of the guide groove.

[0018] To further ensure smooth switching between forward and backward movement of the floor brush, a roller is provided on each side of the bottom of the floor brush. The roller is arranged adjacent to the dust collection chamber so that when the floor brush is in motion, its bottom wall tilts downward from front to back, thereby creating a second gap between the dust collection chamber and the floor to be cleaned. In this way, the presence of the roller is equivalent to the function of a rocker, which facilitates the switching of the entire floor brush cleaning state when the wheel assembly moves up and down.

[0019] To ensure that the drive wheel has a certain amount of cushioning and to prevent the wheel assembly from moving up and down too suddenly, an elastic element is also included. One end of the elastic element abuts against the bottom wall of the mounting cavity, and the other end abuts against the wheel seat. When the wheel seat is in a downward moving state, the elastic element is in an energy storage state and acts on the wheel seat so that the wheel seat always has a tendency to move upward and reset.

[0020] Specifically, the wheel seat has downward-facing accommodating cavities on both the front and rear sides, and the bottom of the housing has an upward-extending positioning post that matches the accommodating cavity. The elastic element is a spring located inside the accommodating cavity, with its two ends abutting against the top wall of the accommodating cavity and the upper end of the positioning post, respectively.

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the advantages of the present invention are as follows: When the vacuum cleaner is in use, moving forward or backward will apply different forces to the handheld part. At the same time as the floor brush moves forward or backward, the connecting part of the handheld part will swing back and forth relative to the floor brush. Since the wheel assembly and the connecting part are linked, when the connecting part swings forward, the wheel assembly moves downward accordingly, so that the bottom wall of the floor brush tilts from back to front and downward, thereby forming a first gap between the bottom wall of the floor brush and the ground to be cleaned for debris and dust to enter. This ensures that when the vacuum cleaner moves backward, there is enough space on the rear side of the vacuum cleaner for dust and debris to be sucked into the suction chamber. This ensures that if some debris and dust are missed when the vacuum cleaner moves in any direction, the vacuum cleaner can be cleaned by moving backward without having to turn the direction back. Attached Figure Description

[0022] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the vacuum cleaner in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A structural diagram from another angle;

[0024] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram showing the fit between the connector and the wheel assembly;

[0025] Figure 4 for Figure 3 A partial structural breakdown diagram;

[0026] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the wheel seat;

[0027] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the floor brush in the forward-moving state in this embodiment;

[0028] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the floor brush in the retracted state in this embodiment;

[0029] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the overall vacuum cleaner in an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0030] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0031] like Figures 1 to 8As shown, this is a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the vacuum cleaner includes a floor brush 1, a connector 2, and a wheel assembly 3. The floor brush 1 has a downward-facing suction chamber 11 on its front side in the direction of travel, that is, the bottom of the suction chamber 11 is the suction port 111. An air outlet 113 is also provided at the rear of the floor brush 1, which is in fluid communication with the suction port 111. Along the airflow path, the air outlet 113 is located downstream of the suction port 111, so that the suction port 111, the suction chamber 11, and the air outlet 113 form a complete suction flow channel. Of course, to ensure that the vacuum cleaner covers a sufficient cleaning area, at least two suction chambers 11 are usually provided. In this embodiment, four suction chambers 11 are used as an example for illustration. The four suction chambers together form the upstream section of the suction channel, while the position adjacent to the air outlet 113 forms the downstream section of the suction channel. Generally speaking, the upstream and downstream sections of the suction channel are not necessarily in the same direction. In fact, since the suction port 111 and the air outlet 113 often face opposite directions in actual production, for example, the suction port 111 is usually set downward to facilitate the suction of dust from surfaces such as bottoms and tabletops, while the air outlet 113 is often set upward or sideways to facilitate ventilation. Therefore, in order to match the design of the suction port 111, the suction channel in this embodiment is basically vertical or arranged at a slight angle to the vertical in the upstream section; while in order to match the design of the air outlet 113, the suction chambers 11 are basically horizontal or arranged at a slight angle to the horizontal in the downstream section.

[0032] Of course, in order to achieve the vacuuming function, in addition to the operation of the various components inside the floor brush 1, other structures are also needed to cooperate: the vacuum cleaner also includes a fan 7 and a separation module 8 for separating the mixture of water and dust. Along the airflow path, the separation module 8 is located between the floor brush 1 and the fan 7. The inlet end of the separation module 8 is fluidly connected to the outlet end of the floor brush 1, and the outlet end of the separation module 8 is fluidly connected to the inlet end of the fan 7.

[0033] In this embodiment, the brush head 14 is used to clean the object to be cleaned, and the brush head 14 is located at the suction port 111 of the suction chamber 11. The brush head 14 here can be a fixed brush or other movable brush heads such as a roller brush. In this embodiment, a disc brush is used. The disc brush achieves cleaning by rotating, and the rotation axis of the disc brush extends vertically to ensure the maximum contact area with the surface to be cleaned, thereby improving the cleaning effect.

[0034] In this embodiment, the connector 2 is used to connect the handheld part of the vacuum cleaner to the floor brush 1. The top of the connector 2 has an upward-facing opening for the bottom of the handheld part to be inserted. The opening of the opening 21 is the air outlet 113. The wheel assembly 3 is installed at the rear of the floor brush 1 and has a support wheel 31 that can rotate relative to the floor brush 1. The rotation axis of the support wheel 31 is perpendicular to the direction of travel of the floor brush 1. The bottom of the connector 2 is constrained to the floor brush 1 by swinging back and forth. The power input end of the wheel assembly 3 is connected to the position near the bottom of the connector 2. Under the swinging action of the bottom of the connector 2, the wheel assembly 3 moves up and down relative to the floor brush 1. When the wheel assembly 3 is in the downward movement state, the bottom wall of the floor brush 1 tilts downward from back to front, thereby forming a first gap 1a between the bottom wall of the floor brush 1 and the floor to be cleaned, allowing debris and dust to enter.

[0035] Specifically, in this embodiment, the floor brush 1 has a housing 12, the rear of which is hollow to form a mounting cavity 1c. A wheel assembly 3 is arranged on each side of the connecting member 2 along the travel direction of the floor brush 1. The wheel assembly 3 includes a wheel seat 33 located within the mounting cavity 1c and a mounting shaft 32 connected to the wheel seat 33. The mounting shaft 32 is at least partially exposed outside the housing 12, and a support wheel 31 is mounted on the mounting shaft 32. The bottom wall of the mounting cavity 1c has guide ribs 13 extending along the connecting member 2. There are two guide ribs 13, arranged opposite each other on both sides of the swing direction of the connecting member 2. Correspondingly, the connecting member 2 has laterally extending guide portions 22 on both sides of its swing direction, which match the corresponding guide ribs 13. The guide portion 22 is a boss protruding from the outer wall of the connecting member 2. The guide rib 13 has an upward-facing notch 14, in which the boss is accommodated, and the length of the notch 14 in the swing direction of the connecting member 2 is greater than the diameter of the boss.

[0036] To further ensure that the swing of the connector 2 can drive the wheel assembly 3 to move up and down, a first transmission part 221 is provided on the aforementioned boss. For each first transmission part 221, a matching second transmission part 222 is provided on the wheel seat 33 corresponding to the boss. The wheel seat 33 and the support wheel 31 are linked with the connector 2 through the cooperation of the first transmission part 221 and the second transmission part 222. In this embodiment, the connector 2 is basically cylindrical. The first transmission part 221 is a convex post provided on the boss and extending laterally. The second transmission part 222 is a guide groove opened on the side wall corresponding to the wheel seat 33 and extending along the swing direction of the connector 2. The convex post and the guide groove are slidably matched. The aforementioned guide groove is arranged inclined upward from front to back. When the connector 2 swings until the convex post slides to the front end of the guide groove, the wheel seat 33 and the support wheel 31 are in a downward moving state.

[0037] In this embodiment, the up-and-down movement of the wheel assembly 3 does not directly cause the vacuum cleaner to switch states. Instead, it is achieved through the rollers 4 located on both sides of the bottom of the floor brush 1. Both rollers 4 are arranged adjacent to the suction chamber 11 so that when the floor brush 1 is in motion, its bottom wall tilts downward from front to back, thereby forming a second gap 1b between the suction chamber 11 and the floor to be cleaned. Thus, the presence of the rollers 4 is equivalent to the function of a rocker, which facilitates the switching of the entire vacuum cleaner's cleaning state when the wheel assembly 3 moves up and down.

[0038] In this embodiment, to ensure the drive wheel has a certain buffer and to prevent the wheel assembly from moving up and down too suddenly, an elastic element 5 is also included. One end of the elastic element 5 abuts against the bottom wall of the mounting cavity 1c, and the other end abuts against the wheel seat 33. When the wheel seat 33 is in a downward moving state, the elastic element 5 is in an energy storage state and acts on the wheel seat 33 so that the wheel seat 33 always has a tendency to move upward and reset. Specifically, the wheel seat 33 has a downward-opening receiving cavity 331 on both the front and rear sides. The bottom of the housing 12 has a positioning post 332 that extends upward and matches the receiving cavity 331 at the corresponding position. The elastic element 5 is a spring located in the receiving cavity 331 and whose two ends abut against the top wall of the receiving cavity 331 and the upper end of the positioning post 332, respectively.

[0039] The term "fluid connectivity" as used in this invention refers to the spatial relationship between two components or parts (hereinafter referred to as the first part and the second part, respectively), that is, a fluid (gas, liquid, or a mixture of both) can flow from the first part along a flow path and / or be transported to the second part. This can be a direct connection between the first part and the second part, or an indirect connection between the first part and the second part through at least one third party. This third party can be a fluid channel such as a pipe, channel, conduit, guide, hole, or groove, or a chamber or combination thereof that allows fluid to flow through.

[0040] Furthermore, the specification and claims of this invention use terms indicating direction, such as "front," "rear," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "side," "top," and "bottom," to describe various exemplary structural parts and elements of the invention. However, these terms are used herein merely for ease of explanation and are determined based on the exemplary orientations shown in the accompanying drawings. Since the embodiments disclosed in this invention can be arranged in different orientations, these terms indicating direction are for illustrative purposes only and should not be considered as limitations. For example, "upper" and "lower" are not necessarily limited to directions opposite to or consistent with the direction of gravity.

Claims

1. A vacuum cleaner, comprising: The floor brush (1) has a downward-facing suction chamber (11) on its front side in the direction of travel; The connector (2) is used to connect the handheld part of the vacuum cleaner to the floor brush (1), and has an opening (21) at the top for the bottom of the handheld part to be inserted. The wheel assembly (3) is installed at the rear of the floor brush (1) and has a support wheel (31) that can rotate relative to the floor brush (1). The axis of rotation of the support wheel (31) is perpendicular to the direction of travel of the floor brush (1). The feature is that the bottom of the connector (2) is constrained to the floor brush (1) by swinging back and forth, and the power input end of the wheel assembly (3) is connected to the position near the bottom of the connector (2). Under the swinging action of the bottom of the connector (2), it moves up and down relative to the floor brush (1). Furthermore, when the wheel assembly (3) is in the downward moving state, the bottom wall of the floor brush (1) tilts downward from back to front, thereby forming a first gap (1a) between the bottom wall of the floor brush (1) and the ground to be cleaned for debris and dust to enter. The floor brush (1) has a housing (12), the rear of which is hollow to form a mounting cavity (1c). The connecting member (2) is arranged on each side of the floor brush (1) in the direction of travel, and a wheel assembly (3) is arranged on each side. The wheel assembly (3) includes a wheel seat (33) located in the mounting cavity (1c) and a mounting shaft (32) connected to the wheel seat (33). The mounting shaft (32) is at least partially exposed outside the housing (12), and the support wheel (31) is mounted on the mounting shaft (32). The bottom wall of the mounting cavity (1c) has guide ribs (13) extending along the connector (2). There are two guide ribs (13), which are arranged opposite to each other on both sides of the swing direction of the connector (2). Correspondingly, the connector (2) has a guide portion (22) that extends laterally and matches the corresponding guide rib (13) on both sides of its swing direction. The guide part (22) is a boss protruding from the outer wall of the connector (2). The guide rib (13) has an upward-facing notch (14). The boss is housed in the notch (14), and the length of the notch (14) in the swing direction of the connector (2) is greater than the diameter of the boss. The boss is also provided with a first transmission part (221), and for each first transmission part (221), a matching second transmission part (222) is provided on the wheel seat (33) corresponding to the boss. The wheel seat (33) and the support wheel (31) are linked with the connecting member (2) through the cooperation of the first transmission part (221) and the second transmission part (222). The connector (2) is basically cylindrical. The first transmission part (221) is a convex post provided on the protrusion and extending laterally. The second transmission part (222) is a guide groove opened on the side wall corresponding to the wheel seat (33) and extending along the swing direction of the connector (2). The convex post and the guide groove are slidably matched. The guide groove is arranged at an upward angle from front to back, and when the connector (2) swings to the point where the protrusion slides to the front end of the guide groove, the wheel seat (33) and the support wheel (31) are in a downward moving state.

2. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, characterized in that: On each side of the bottom of the floor brush (1), there is a roller (4) arranged adjacent to the dust collection chamber (11) so that the bottom wall of the floor brush (1) is inclined downward from front to back when it is in motion, thereby forming a second gap (1b) between the dust collection chamber (11) and the floor to be cleaned.

3. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes an elastic element (5), one end of which abuts against the bottom wall of the mounting cavity (1c) and the other end abuts against the wheel seat (33). When the wheel seat (33) is in a downward moving state, the elastic element (5) is in an energy storage state and acts on the wheel seat (33) so that the wheel seat (33) always has a tendency to move upward and reset.

4. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 3, characterized in that: The wheel seat (33) has a downward-facing accommodating cavity (331) on both the front and rear sides. The bottom of the housing (12) has a positioning post (332) that extends upward and matches the accommodating cavity (331) at the corresponding position. The elastic element (5) is a spring located in the accommodating cavity (331) and whose two ends abut against the top wall of the accommodating cavity (331) and the upper end of the positioning post (332) respectively.

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