Cleaning device

Abstract

To eliminate a need for setting a configuration for reducing vibration for each of configurations of attachment objects.SOLUTION: A cleaning device 10 includes a housing 12, a drive part 16, and a vibration control material 18. The drive part 16 is provided within the housing 12 and operated to send a cleaning fluid to the cleaning object side. The vibration control material 18 is provided within the housing 12, connects the drive part 16 with the housing 12, and is deformed, thereby damping vibration of the drive part 16 against the housing 12.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cleaning device. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 below discloses a mounting structure for a drive unit that suppresses the generation of abnormal noise. In the configuration described in this document, a bracket is provided on the mounting member side to which the drive unit is mounted. In addition, an elastic member is provided between the bracket and the drive unit, and an end of this elastic member contacts the mounting member. This reduces vibration of the drive unit relative to the mounting member, making it possible to suppress the generation of abnormal noise.

[0003] However, in a configuration in which an elastic member for reducing vibration of the drive device relative to the mounting member comes into contact with the mounting object, such as the mounting member, as in the structure described in Patent Document 1 below, it may be necessary to set a configuration for reducing vibration for each configuration of the mounting object. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-26242 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In consideration of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device that can eliminate the need to set a configuration for reducing vibration for each component of an object to which the device is attached. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The cleaning device of the first aspect comprises a housing, a drive unit provided inside the housing that, when activated, sends cleaning fluid toward the object to be cleaned, and a vibration-damping material provided inside the housing, connecting the drive unit to the housing, and deforming to dampen vibrations of the drive unit relative to the housing.

[0007] A cleaning device according to a second aspect is the cleaning device of the first aspect, wherein the drive unit and the housing are spaced apart.

[0008] The cleaning device according to the third aspect is the cleaning device according to the first or second aspect, wherein the housing has a cylinder portion to which cleaning fluid is supplied and a discharge portion from which the cleaning fluid supplied to the cylinder portion is discharged.

[0009] The cleaning device of the fourth aspect is the cleaning device of the third aspect, wherein a piston is provided within the cylinder portion, which is moved to one side by operation of the drive unit to supply cleaning fluid into the cylinder portion, and is moved to the other side by operation of the drive unit to compress the cleaning fluid supplied into the cylinder portion and discharge it from the discharge portion.

[0010] The cleaning device of the fifth aspect is the cleaning device of the fourth aspect, wherein the amount of deformation of the vibration-damping material when pressed in the direction in which the piston moves is greater than the amount of deformation of the vibration-damping material when pressed in a direction different from the direction in which the piston moves. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] In the cleaning device according to the first aspect, the drive unit is provided inside the housing. When the drive unit is activated, the cleaning fluid is sent to the object to be cleaned. Also, a vibration-damping material is provided inside the housing, connecting the drive unit to the housing. When the vibration-damping material is deformed, the vibration of the drive unit relative to the housing can be damped. In this way, with a configuration in which the structure for damping the vibration of the drive unit relative to the housing is completed inside the housing, it is not necessary to set a structure for reducing vibration for each structure of the object to which the cleaning device is attached.

[0012] In the cleaning device according to the second aspect, the drive unit and the housing are spaced apart, which can prevent abnormal noise from being generated at the contact point between the drive unit and the housing.

[0013] In the cleaning device according to the third aspect, the housing has a cylinder portion to which cleaning fluid is supplied and a discharge portion from which the cleaning fluid supplied to the cylinder portion is discharged. This configuration can prevent an increase in the number of parts of the cleaning device compared to a configuration in which the cylinder portion and the discharge portion are separate from the housing.

[0014] In the cleaning device according to the fourth aspect, vibrations caused by the movement of the piston can be damped by the vibration-damping material.

[0015] In the cleaning device according to the fifth aspect, the amount of deformation of the vibration-damping material when pressed in the direction of piston movement is greater than the amount of deformation of the vibration-damping material when pressed in a direction different from the direction of piston movement. In this configuration, the vibrations caused by the movement of the piston can be more effectively attenuated by the vibration-damping material than in a configuration in which the amount of deformation of the vibration-damping material when pressed in the direction of piston movement is the same as or smaller than the amount of deformation of the vibration-damping material when pressed in a direction different from the direction of piston movement. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a cross section of a cleaning device of the present embodiment taken along the front-rear direction and the up-down direction. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] A cleaning device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1. In the drawing, the arrow FR indicates the front side of the cleaning device 10, the arrow UP indicates the upper side of the cleaning device 10, the arrow LH indicates the left side of the cleaning device 10, and the arrow RH indicates the right side of the cleaning device 10. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, the front-rear, up-down, and left-right directions refer to the front-rear direction of the cleaning device 10, the up-down direction of the cleaning device 10, and the left-right direction of the cleaning device 10. The front-rear, up-down, and left-right directions are directions defined for the purpose of describing the cleaning device 10. Therefore, the front-rear, up-down, and left-right directions in the following description do not limit the posture in which the cleaning device 10 is mounted.

[0018] 1, a cleaning device 10 of this embodiment is a type that sprays air as a cleaning fluid when activated. The cleaning device 10 includes a housing 12 that forms the outer shell of the cleaning device 10, a piston 14 and a drive unit 16 provided inside the housing 12, and a vibration-damping material 18 provided between the drive unit 16 and the housing 12.

[0019] The housing 12 is configured to include a housing main body 20 and a housing cover 22 attached to the housing 12 .

[0020] The housing main body 20 includes a bottom wall portion 20A extending in the front-rear and left-right directions, a front wall portion 20B extending upward from the front end of the bottom wall portion 20A, and a rear wall portion 20C extending upward from the rear end of the bottom wall portion 20A. The housing main body 20 also includes a cylinder portion 20D protruding forward from the front wall portion 20B. The cylinder portion 20D includes a peripheral wall portion 20E formed in a cylindrical shape with its axial direction extending in the front-rear direction. The rear end side of the peripheral wall portion 20E is open toward the side of the housing 12 where the drive unit 16 (described later) is provided. The cylinder portion 20D also includes a closing wall portion 20F provided to close the front end side of the peripheral wall portion 20E, and a discharge portion 20G provided to protrude forward from the closing wall portion 20F. The discharge portion 20G is formed in a cylindrical shape with its axial direction extending in the front-rear direction. The rear end side of the discharge portion 20G is open toward the inside of the cylinder portion 20D.

[0021] The housing cover 22 includes an upper wall portion 22A extending in the front-rear and left-right directions, and a rear wall portion 22B extending downward from the rear end of the upper wall portion 22A. The housing cover 22 is attached to the housing body 20 with the front end of the upper wall portion 22A engaging with the upper end of the front wall portion 20B of the housing body 20 and the lower end of the rear wall portion 22B engaging with the upper end of the rear wall portion 20C of the housing body 20. This forms a space between the housing cover 22 and the housing body 20 in which the piston 14, the drive unit 16, etc. are disposed. At least one of the housing cover 22 and the housing body 20 is provided with an intake portion (not shown) for taking air into the housing 12.

[0022] The piston 14 includes a cylindrical piston body 14A having an outer diameter corresponding to the inner diameter of the peripheral wall 20E of the cylinder 20D, and a rod engagement portion 14B provided at the rear of the piston body 14A. A fitting groove 14C into which an O-ring 24 fits is formed in the center of the outer periphery of the piston body 14A in the front-to-rear direction. This fitting groove 14C is formed with an open shape on the radially outer side of the piston body 14A and is formed continuously along the circumferential direction of the piston body 14A. The dimension of the fitting groove 14C in the front-to-rear direction is set to be larger than the wire diameter of the O-ring 24. A first communication portion 14D is formed in a front portion of the piston body 14A, communicating the space inside the fitting groove 14C with a space forward of the piston body 14A. Further, a second communication portion 14E is formed on the outer periphery of the rear portion of the piston body 14A, which communicates the space inside the fitting groove 14C with the space on the rear side of the piston body 14A.

[0023] The drive unit 16 includes a rod 16A whose front end engages with the rod engagement portion 14B of the piston 14, and a drive unit main body 16B that reciprocates the rod 16A in the front-to-rear direction. The drive unit main body 16B includes a motor and a gear that rotates about its axial direction in the up-and-down direction when torque from the motor is transmitted. The rear end of the rod 16A engages with this gear. As a result, as the gear rotates, the rod 16A reciprocates in the front-to-rear direction, causing the piston 14 to reciprocate in the front-to-rear direction.

[0024] The drive unit 16 described above is supported on the housing main body 20 via vibration-isolating material 18. The vibration-isolating material 18 of this embodiment is formed in a block shape using rubber, sponge, or the like. As an example, the vibration-isolating material 18 of this embodiment has an outer shape that is elliptical with the longitudinal direction in the up-down direction when viewed from the left-right direction. A circular through-hole 18A that penetrates the vibration-isolating material 18 in the left-right direction is formed in the center of the vibration-isolating material 18 in the up-down and front-rear directions. As a result, the amount of deformation of the upper end 18B of the vibration-isolating material 18 relative to the lower end 18C per unit load when the upper end 18B of the vibration-isolating material 18 is pressed in the front-rear direction is greater than the amount of deformation of the lower end 18C of the upper end 18B of the vibration-isolating material 18 per unit load when the upper end 18B of the vibration-isolating material 18 is pressed in the left-right direction.

[0025] 1 shows one vibration-isolating material 18. This vibration-isolating material 18 connects the rear portion of the drive unit main body 16B and the bottom wall portion 20A of the housing main body 20 in the vertical direction. Although not shown, other vibration-isolating materials 18 also connect the drive unit main body 16B and the bottom wall portion 20A of the housing main body 20 in the vertical direction. The number and arrangement of the vibration-isolating materials 18 may be appropriately determined taking into consideration the vibration-isolating performance required of the cleaning device 10. The drive unit main body 16B and the bottom wall portion 20A of the housing main body 20 are connected via multiple vibration-isolating materials 18, so that the drive unit 16 is supported at a distance from the housing 12 (the drive unit 16 is supported in a floating manner on the housing 12).

[0026] (Actions and Effects of This Embodiment) Next, the operation and effects of this embodiment will be described.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 1, the cleaning device 10 described above is attached to an attachment object 26 via a connection attachment 28.

[0028] In the cleaning device 10 of this embodiment, when the rod 16A is moved rearward by the drive unit main body 16B, causing the piston 14 to move rearward, the O-ring 24 contacts the front side of the fitting groove 14C of the piston main body 14A (the O-ring 24 is located at the position indicated by the symbol P1 inside the fitting groove 14C). With the O-ring 24 located at this position, air on the drive unit 16 side in the housing 12 is supplied into the cylinder portion 20D via the second communicating portion 14E, the fitting groove 14C, and the first communicating portion 14D of the piston 14.

[0029] Furthermore, when the rod 16A is moved forward by the drive unit body 16B, causing the piston 14 to move forward, the O-ring 24 contacts the rear surface of the fitting groove 14C of the piston body 14A (the O-ring 24 is located at the position indicated by reference symbol P2 inside the fitting groove 14C). With the O-ring 24 located at this position, the second communication portion 14E is closed from the front by the O-ring 24. Therefore, air in the cylinder portion 20D is prevented from leaking to the drive unit 16 side in the housing 12 via the first communication portion 14D, the fitting groove 14C, and the second communication portion 14E. As a result, when the piston 14 moves forward, the air in the cylinder portion 20D is compressed and discharged from the discharge portion 20G. This allows the air discharged from the discharge portion 20G to clean the object to be cleaned.

[0030] Here, when the drive unit 16 is displaced (vibrates) relative to the housing 12 as the drive unit 16 operates, the vibration-damping material 18 deforms. This makes it possible to damp the vibration of the drive unit 16 relative to the housing 12. More specifically, the vibration when air is supplied into the cylinder 20D and the vibration when the air supplied to the cylinder 20D is discharged from the discharge portion 20G (vibration caused by the movement of the piston 14) can be damped by the vibration-damping material 18. In this way, since the configuration for damping the vibration of the drive unit 16 relative to the housing 12 is completed inside the housing 12, it is not necessary to set up a configuration for reducing vibration for each configuration of the attachment target 26 to which the cleaning device 10 is attached.

[0031] In this embodiment, the drive unit 16 is spaced apart from the housing 12 (the drive unit 16 is supported in a floating manner on the housing 12). This configuration can suppress the generation of abnormal noise at the contact point between the drive unit 16 and the housing 12. The gap formed between the drive unit 16 and the housing 12 can also be used as an air flow path.

[0032] In this embodiment, the housing 12, which constitutes a part of the housing 12, has the cylinder portion 20D and the discharge portion 20G. In this configuration, an increase in the number of parts of the cleaning device 10 can be suppressed compared to a configuration in which the cylinder portion 20D and the discharge portion 20G are separate from the housing main body 20.

[0033] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the amount of deformation of the lower end 18C of the upper end 18B of the vibration-damping material 18 per unit load when the upper end 18B of the vibration-damping material 18 is pressed in the front-to-rear direction is greater than the amount of deformation of the lower end 18C of the upper end 18B of the vibration-damping material 18 per unit load when the upper end 18B of the vibration-damping material 18 is pressed in the left-to-right direction. In this configuration, vibrations caused by movement of the piston 14 can be more effectively attenuated by the vibration-damping material, compared to a configuration in which the amount of deformation of the lower end 18C of the upper end 18B of the vibration-damping material 18 per unit load when the upper end 18B of the vibration-damping material 18 is pressed in the front-to-rear direction is the same as or smaller than the amount of deformation of the lower end 18C of the upper end 18B of the vibration-damping material 18 per unit load when the upper end 18B of the vibration-damping material 18 is pressed in the left-to-right direction.

[0034] In this embodiment, an example has been described in which the amount of deformation of the upper end 18B of the vibration-damping material 18 relative to the lower end 18C thereof per unit load when the upper end 18B of the vibration-damping material 18 is pressed in the front-to-rear direction is greater than the amount of deformation of the upper end 18B of the vibration-damping material 18 relative to the lower end 18C thereof per unit load when the upper end 18B of the vibration-damping material 18 is pressed in the left-to-right direction, but the present invention is not limited to this. The deformation characteristics of the vibration-damping material 18 may be set as appropriate taking into consideration the vibration characteristics of the cleaning device 10, etc.

[0035] In addition, in the present embodiment, the cylinder unit 20D and the discharge unit 20G are integral with the housing main body 20, but the present invention is not limited to this. Whether the cylinder unit 20D and the discharge unit 20G are integral with the housing main body 20 or are separate from it can be determined appropriately taking into account the overall shape of the cleaning device 10, etc.

[0036] In addition, in the present embodiment, an example has been described in which the drive unit 16 and the housing 12 are spaced apart, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a configuration may be adopted in which the drive unit 16 is supported by a part of the housing 12 so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction.

[0037] The above describes one embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the above, and it goes without saying that it can be implemented in various other modified forms within the scope of the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0038] 10 Cleaning equipment 12. Case 14 Piston 16 Drive unit 18 Vibration isolation material 20D Cylinder section 20G discharge section

Claims

1. The housing and a driving unit that is provided inside the housing and that, when activated, sends the cleaning fluid to the object to be cleaned; a vibration-damping material provided inside the housing, connecting the drive unit and the housing, and deforming to attenuate vibration of the drive unit relative to the housing; A cleaning device comprising:

2. The cleaning device according to claim 1 , wherein the drive unit and the housing are spaced apart from each other.

3. 2. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the housing has a cylinder portion to which the cleaning fluid is supplied, and a discharge portion from which the cleaning fluid supplied to the cylinder portion is discharged.

4. The cleaning device according to claim 3, wherein a piston is provided within the cylinder portion, which is moved to one side by operation of the drive portion to supply cleaning fluid into the cylinder portion, and which is moved to the other side by operation of the drive portion to compress the cleaning fluid supplied into the cylinder portion and discharge it from the discharge portion.

5. 5. The cleaning device according to claim 4, wherein the amount of deformation of the vibration-damping material when pressed in the direction in which the piston moves is greater than the amount of deformation of the vibration-damping material when pressed in a direction different from the direction in which the piston moves.

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