EP0683639B1 - Ultra-lärmarmer staubsauger - Google Patents

Ultra-lärmarmer staubsauger Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0683639B1
EP0683639B1 EP94907955A EP94907955A EP0683639B1 EP 0683639 B1 EP0683639 B1 EP 0683639B1 EP 94907955 A EP94907955 A EP 94907955A EP 94907955 A EP94907955 A EP 94907955A EP 0683639 B1 EP0683639 B1 EP 0683639B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
noise
vacuum cleaner
motor
cleaner system
inlet
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP94907955A
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English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0683639A4 (de
EP0683639A1 (de
Inventor
Dexter G. Smith
Christopher P. Nowicki
Michael F. Arnold
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
NCT Group Inc
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NCT Group Inc
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Publication date
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Publication of EP0683639A1 publication Critical patent/EP0683639A1/de
Publication of EP0683639A4 publication Critical patent/EP0683639A4/de
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0683639B1 publication Critical patent/EP0683639B1/de
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Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L9/00—Details or accessories of suction cleaners, e.g. mechanical means for controlling the suction or for effecting pulsating action; Storing devices specially adapted to suction cleaners or parts thereof; Carrying-vehicles specially adapted for suction cleaners
    • A47L9/0081—Means for exhaust-air diffusion; Means for sound or vibration damping

Definitions

  • vacuum cleaner can encompass a wide variety of appliances that use negative pressure to collect various solids and even liquids into a collection area for disposal.
  • This invention relates to vacuum cleaners of all sizes that need to reduce broad band noise, with or without tonal components present.
  • the heart of any vacuum cleaner is the motor/blower unit. This is typically a universal motor with one or more stages of fan blades attached.
  • a typical household unit might be a two horsepower motor with a two stage backward curved fan system.
  • One fan might have 6 blades and the other 7.
  • the bag cavity area On the inlet side of the motor/blower is the bag cavity area.
  • the negative pressure developed by the motor/blower is transferred to the hose and nozzle by the bag volume.
  • the outlet of the motor/blower is exhausted to the environment usually through some type of dust filter.
  • vacuum cleaners having active noise compensation in accordance with Japanese Patent Specifications No. 5-3841, 5-3843 and 5-7536, which form the basis of the preamble of claim 1. All these vacuum cleaners have an exhaust passage from the motor/blower which has a wrapped configuration.
  • the vacuum cleaner designed following the teachings of the present invention using passive and active noise control methods, has resulted in a vacuum cleaner with superior acoustic performance and comparable hydraulic performance to similar units. Random broad band noise and tonal noise can be reduced depending on the exact configuration of the vacuum cleaner.
  • the noise sources in the vacuum cleaner are as follows:
  • An object of the present invention is to provide acoustic design and isolation techniques on the bag cavity, motor/blower area and coupling on a vacuum cleaner to produce cost effective active noise control thereto.
  • a vacuum cleaner system adapted for quiet operation, said system comprising
  • the bag cavity 20 area is essentially an acoustically designed muffler.
  • a muffler can be described as a section of duct or pipe shaped to reduce the transmission of sound while allowing the free flow of air.
  • the vacuum inlet muffler must meet acoustical, aerodynamic, geometrical and mechanical criteria.
  • the acoustic criteria specifies the amount of noise reduction required from the muffler as a function of frequency. Aerodynamically, the muffler should produce the minimum pressure drop so that the smallest rated motor/blower unit can be used. As will be mentioned later, using a smaller rated motor/blower unit 21 will result in quieter noise levels.
  • the muffler should also possess the smallest practical dimensions. Since muffler acoustic characteristics are highly dependent on geometry, there will be a tradeoff between muffler performance and geometry. The muffler must be mechanically sound as well, meaning that it must have enough structural rigidity so the wall will not collapse due to the negative pressure in the bag cavity area. In addition, acoustic foam used to line the surface of the muffler must have a cleanable, puncture resistant surface in case the bag breaks.
  • the muffler is basically a combination reactive/dissipative type muffler.
  • the geometry of the muffler determines the acoustical performance of the reactive portion of the muffler. In principle, the acoustic energy travelling through the pipe is reflected back towards the source because of the impedance mismatch created by a change in cross-sectional area.
  • the acoustic performance of the dissipative portion of the muffler is determined by the absorption properties of the acoustic material used to line the inside of the muffler.
  • the coupling 22 between the bag cavity 20 and motor chamber 23 is a flexible rubber tube.
  • This tube helps quiet the vacuum in two ways.
  • the tube provides a smooth flow path for the air that minimises the noise produced by turbulence and separation. It is important that air flow coming into the entrance of the blower (fan) be as uniform as possible in order to keep fan noise to a minimum and fan efficiency at a maximum.
  • the flexible coupling 22 reduces the transmission of structural vibrations from the motor chamber to the bag cavity (muffler) walls. This is achieved through the large impedance difference between the motor chamber structure and the flexible coupling 22. Because the coupling is lower in impedance, it reflects the structural vibration wave back towards the source. Obviously, the greater the impedance mismatch, the greater the attenuation of structure borne noise will be.
  • the hose must be rigid enough to withstand the negative pressure created by the vacuum motor 21.
  • the motor chamber 23 is the most important part of the vacuum acoustic design because it houses the primary noise source of the vacuum, the motor/blower unit 21. This motor chamber isolates the motor from the rest of the vacuum both acoustically and structurally by incorporating a sealed chamber design. It is important that all transmission paths be treated with some noise reduction method or else a sound "short" will exist allowing the acoustic or vibration energy to escape to the surrounding medium. The only openings are for the flow of air at the inlet coupling and the exhaust duct. In essence, these represent acoustic sound shorts but they have been minimised by this design. On the inlet side, the use of a flexible coupling and cross-sectional area change impede the transfer of the acoustic energy to the bag cavity 20. In the exhaust duct, the use of passive materials and active noise cancellation reduce motor noise significantly.
  • Motor/blower noise is comprised of both discrete frequency and broad band noise.
  • Discrete frequency signals are produced by the electrical line frequency and its harmonics, the fundamental shaft frequency and harmonics, and the blade passing frequency of the fan(s) and harmonics.
  • Broad band noise is produced by turbulent air flow over the motor cage and other surrounding discontinuities. The nature of the noise will dictate the noise control method to be used for the motor/blower chamber.
  • High frequency noise typically above 2000 Hz, can be attenuated using simplistic passive noise control methods.
  • Acoustic foam is used to absorb the acoustic energy and convert into mechanical energy (i.e. heat) for the high frequency noise attenuation. This method is effective because the wavelengths of the sound are short in this frequency region allowing them to penetrate the material.
  • the material chosen for the motor chamber is a decoupled absorber/barrier.
  • the barrier is massive enough to reduce low frequency noise while the absorber reduces the high frequency.
  • Air used to cool the motor is vented through a substantially straight exhaust duct 25.
  • the exhaust is vented out the back away from the operator to minimise the noise the operator hears.
  • the duct 25 is attached to the motor chamber 23 and extends beyond it to the back of the cleaner. It therefore has a length relatively short when compared to the overall length of the system, and as compared to a wrapped duct.
  • This design purposely forces motor noise into the duct because this vacuum, unlike any existing vacuum design, utilises active noise cancellation to cancel the low frequency noise that is not addressed by passive noise control measures.
  • the duct 25 is a primary source of noise because of the turbulent flow in the duct and discrete frequency motor noise. As previously discussed in the design of the motor chamber, passive noise control works for the high frequency.
  • acoustic foam lines the ductwork to attenuate the high frequency.
  • active noise cancellation is employed for the first time on a vacuum. Active noise control is necessary for the low frequency because passive noise control methods would require very thick and massive materials that would cause the vacuum to be bigger and heavier than necessary.
  • Microphones 28, 29 are placed along the straight exhaust duct and act as an upstream noise and a downstream residual error sensor, respectively, to sense noise to be cancelled and to provide feedback.
  • the active cancelling noise is introduced via speaker 27 to counter the existing noise in the duct and is run by controller 26.
  • Take up reel 24 is located between the speaker and the motor chamber.
  • Controller 26 houses the power supply and processor having the cancellation algorithm.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Electric Suction Cleaners (AREA)
  • Soundproofing, Sound Blocking, And Sound Damping (AREA)

Claims (9)

  1. Staubsaugersystem für geräuscharmen Betrieb, gekennzeichnet durch
    eine Einlass-Vorrichtung, die das Aufnehmen von Feststoffen und Flüssigkeiten ermöglicht und einen Hohlraumbereich (20) aufweist, der akustisch so konstruiert ist, dass er einen möglichst geringen Druckabfall ergibt, wobei die Querschnittsfläche der Einlass-Vorrichtung in der Lage ist, die Übertragung der akustischen Energie in den Hohlraum zu unterdrücken,
    eine Motor-Gebläsevorrichtung (21), die der Einlass-Vorrichtung zugeordnet und in der Lage ist, einen negativen Druck an der Einlass-Vorrichtung zu erzeugen, um das Einbringen der Feststoffe und Flüssigkeiten zu erleichtern,
    eine Sammelvorrichtung, die der Einlass-Vorrichtung so zugeordnet ist, dass sie Feststoffe und Flüssigkeiten sammelt, die in die Einlass-Vorrichtung durch den negativen Druck eingesaugt werden,
    eine Auslaßleitung (25), die Kühlluft führt, welche zum Kühlen der Motor/Gebläse-Vorrichtung (21) aus dem System dient, und
    eine aktive Geräusch-Steuervorrichtung, die dem System zugeordnet ist, um das Geräusch zu messen, das von dem System erzeugt wird, und um ein gleichgroßes Gegengeräusch zu erzeugen, damit das vom System erzeugte Geräusch reduziert wird.
  2. Staubsaugersystem nach Anspruch 1, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die aktive Geräusch-Steuervorrichtung eine Abfühlvorrichtung (28, 29) im durch die Auslass-Leitung (25) strömenden Luftpfad zum Feststellen des Geräusches aufweist.
  3. Staubsauger nach Anspruch 2, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die Mikrophon-Vorrichtung einen Sensor (28) für das stromaufwärts auftretende Geräusch und einen Sensor (29) für den stromabwärts auftretenden Restfehler in einem geradlinigen Bereich der Auslass-Vorrichtung aufweist.
  4. Staubsaugersystem nach Anspruch 1, 2 oder 3, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die Kombination aus Motor und Gebläse in einer abgedichteten Kammer (23) aufgenommen ist, die den Motor gegenüber dem übrigen Teil des Vakuumsystems sowohl akustisch als auch baulich isoliert.
  5. Staubsaugersystem nach Anspruch 4, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die Kammer (23) einen Lufteinlass und einen Abluft-Auslass aufweist und dass der Kammer-Lufteinlass mit der Hohlraumvorrichtung durch eine flexible Rohrkupplung (22) verbunden ist, um einen ungestörten Fluss zu erzielen, damit das durch Turbulenzen und Ablösen erzeugte Geräusch ein Minimum wird und bauliche Vibrationen reduziert werden.
  6. Staubsaugersystem nach Anspruch 5, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die relativen Querschnitte der Kammer (23) und der flexiblen Rohrkupplung (22) eine erhebliche akustische Impedanz-Differenz erzeugen.
  7. Staubsaugersystem nach Anspruch 5 oder 6, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die Kammer (23) als eine entkoppelte Absorber/Barriere-Vorrichtung konstruiert ist, die eine Reduzierung von Geräusch niedriger Frequenz ermöglicht, während Geräusch hoher Frequenz absorbiert wird.
  8. Staubsaugersystem nach einem der Ansprüche 1 - 7, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass der das Gegengeräusch erzeugende Lautsprecher in der Auslass-Vorrichtung (25) angeordnet ist.
  9. Staubsaugersystem nach Anspruch 8, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass der Lautsprecher (27) in der Nähe des Ausgangs der Auslass-Vorrichtung (25) angeordnet ist.
EP94907955A 1993-02-09 1994-02-08 Ultra-lärmarmer staubsauger Expired - Lifetime EP0683639B1 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US15100 1987-02-17
US1510093A 1993-02-09 1993-02-09
PCT/US1994/001190 WO1994017719A1 (en) 1993-02-09 1994-02-08 Ultra quiet vacuum cleaner

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0683639A1 EP0683639A1 (de) 1995-11-29
EP0683639A4 EP0683639A4 (de) 1996-03-27
EP0683639B1 true EP0683639B1 (de) 2000-05-31

Family

ID=21769538

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP94907955A Expired - Lifetime EP0683639B1 (de) 1993-02-09 1994-02-08 Ultra-lärmarmer staubsauger

Country Status (4)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0683639B1 (de)
JP (1) JP2887354B2 (de)
DE (1) DE69424772T2 (de)
WO (1) WO1994017719A1 (de)

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE10056498B4 (de) * 2000-11-15 2006-07-06 BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH Programmgesteuertes Haushaltgerät mit verbessertem Geräuschbild
DE10114634A1 (de) * 2001-03-23 2002-09-26 Markus Bodden Aktive Geräuschgestaltung bei Staubsaugern

Family Cites Families (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4878188A (en) * 1988-08-30 1989-10-31 Noise Cancellation Tech Selective active cancellation system for repetitive phenomena
US5105377A (en) * 1990-02-09 1992-04-14 Noise Cancellation Technologies, Inc. Digital virtual earth active cancellation system
US5091953A (en) * 1990-02-13 1992-02-25 University Of Maryland At College Park Repetitive phenomena cancellation arrangement with multiple sensors and actuators
JP2741951B2 (ja) * 1990-11-22 1998-04-22 松下電器産業株式会社 電気掃除機
JPH053841A (ja) * 1991-06-28 1993-01-14 Sharp Corp 掃除機
JPH053843A (ja) * 1991-06-28 1993-01-14 Sharp Corp 掃除機
JPH057536A (ja) * 1991-07-05 1993-01-19 Sharp Corp スタンド型掃除機

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0683639A4 (de) 1996-03-27
JPH08502916A (ja) 1996-04-02
DE69424772T2 (de) 2000-11-16
DE69424772D1 (de) 2000-07-06
EP0683639A1 (de) 1995-11-29
JP2887354B2 (ja) 1999-04-26
WO1994017719A1 (en) 1994-08-18

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