JPH03234229A - Vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a motor from stopping in spite of the passing of dust by providing an output potential detecting part for detecting the steady potential of a photodetector of a dust sensor part, and releasing the control for stopping a rotation of the motor at the time when dust is not detected in accordance with the potential of the output potential detecting part with a control means. CONSTITUTION:The output potential detecting part 15 is constituted of a buffer 16, a capacitor 17, a comparison potential 18 and a comparator 19 detects the steady potential of a phototransistor 2 of a dust sensor part 9, and inputs it to a signal processing part 10. The collector potential of the phototransistor 2 of the dust sensor part 9 is set to the prescribed potential by light from an LED 1, and at the moment, dust interrupts this light, the collector potential is boosted and dust is detected, also when the cap becomes dirty, the collector potential is boosted. This potential is inputted to the buffer 16, smoothed by the capacitor 17 and inputted to the comparator 19. In this case, when it exceeds the comparison potential 18, its signal is inputted to the signal processing part 10, and when the stain of the cap of the dust sensor part 9 is recognized, the signal processing part 10 releases a function for stopping automatically the motor in the case dust is not detected for a prescribed time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application (1) The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner in which the rotation of a motor is controlled by a dust sensor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In recent years, with the diversification of objects to be cleaned such as carpets, there has been an increase in the number of vacuum cleaners whose motor rotation speed can be varied as needed. It also has a dust sensor that changes the motor rotation speed depending on the presence or absence of dust.
Some vacuum cleaners have a function that automatically stops the rotation of the motor when no dust is detected. Conventionally, this type of vacuum cleaner generally had a configuration as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5. The configuration will be explained below.

As shown in the figure, a light emitting diode (hereinafter referred to as LED)
1 and phototransistor 2 are installed facing each other in the air flow path via transparent caps 3 and 4, and the LED
The dust 5 is configured to pass between the phototransistor 2 and the phototransistor 2. The dust sensor section 9 is configured to output a change in the collector potential of the phototransistor 2 due to the dust 5 passing between the LEDI and the phototransistor 2 from the comparator 8 via the capacitor 6 and the amplifier 7. There is.

The output from the dust sensor section 9 is processed by the signal processing section 10, the rotation speed of the motor is determined based on the presence or absence of dust with respect to the value set by the variable resistor 811, and the bidirectional thyristor 13 is turned on by the phase control section 12. arc and rotate the motor 14.

At this time, if dust is not detected from dust sensor #9 for a predetermined period of time, the rotation of the motor 14 is stopped.
It is carried out.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention In such conventional vacuum cleaners, the cap 3.4 is
If the LEDI light does not reach the phototransistor 2 regularly due to dirt 5, the collector potential of the phototransistor 2 will not change even if the dust 5 passes, and the dust 5 cannot be detected. The problem has been that the motor 14 stops after a predetermined period of time has elapsed, regardless of the presence or absence of dust 5.

The present invention solves the above problem, and the cap 3.4 is dirty! The first purpose is to prevent the motor from stopping despite the passage of dust when detection of No. 15 becomes impossible. It also shows dirt on the cap,
The second purpose is to enable dust detection to be performed again.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above-mentioned first object, the present invention includes a dust sensor section provided in an air flow path and an output from the footwear sensor section to detect dust within a predetermined time. and an output potential detection section that detects the steady potential of the light receiving element of the dust sensor section. The first means of solving the problem is to release the control that stops the rotation of the motor when no detection is detected.In addition to the first means of solving the problem, in order to achieve the second purpose, A second means for solving the problem is that a display section is provided to input the output of the control means, and the display section displays a display according to the potential of the output potential detection section.

According to the first problem-solving means described above, the present invention detects the dirt by using the output potential detection part when the cap of the dust sensor part in the air flow path becomes dirty due to dust sucked in using a vacuum cleaner. Based on this detection output, the control means can cancel the function of stopping the motor if there is no dust within a predetermined time, and the dust sensor section will no longer detect dust because the cap is dirty.
The motor will no longer automatically stop despite the presence of dust after a predetermined period of time has elapsed.

Furthermore, according to the second problem-solving means, when the cap becomes dirty, the dirt is displayed on the display section so that the user can recognize the dirt.

EXAMPLE Hereinafter, an example of the first invention will be described with reference to FIG. Components having the same configuration as those of the conventional example are given the same reference numerals and their explanations will be omitted.

As shown in the figure, the output potential detection section 15 includes a buffer 16.
Capacitor 17. It consists of a comparison potential 18 and a comparator 19, and detects the steady potential of the phototransistor 2 of the dust sensor section 9, and inputs it to the signal processing section 10.

To explain the operation in the above configuration, the collector potential of the phototransistor 2 of the dust sensor section 9 is set to a predetermined potential by light from the LEDl. The moment the dust blocks this light, the collector potential rises and dust is detected, but if the cap becomes dirty, the collector potential rises. This potential is input to the buffer 16, smoothed by the capacitor 17, and input to the comparator 19. At this time, when the comparison potential 18 is exceeded, the signal is input to the signal processing section 10, and the dirt on the cap of the dust sensor section 9 is recognized. When detecting dirt, the signal processing unit 10 cancels a function that automatically stops when no dust is detected for a predetermined period of time.

As described above, according to the vacuum cleaner of the first embodiment of the invention, when the potential detected by the output potential detection section 15 exceeds the comparison potential, the signal processing section 10 does not detect dust within a predetermined time. By canceling the function that stops the motor when the dust sensor part 9 becomes dirty and cannot detect dust, it is possible to continue cleaning without stopping even though dust is passing through. Become.

Next, a second embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to FIG. Components having the same configuration as the embodiment of the first invention are given the same reference numerals, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

As shown in the figure, the display section 20 receives the output of the signal processing section 10 and displays a display according to the potential of the output potential detection section 15.

To explain the operation of the above configuration, when the cap of the dust sensor section 9 becomes dirty, the output potential detection section 15 outputs the dirt as an electric signal. This output is sent to the signal processing unit 10
is input, and an LED or the like is turned on at display 82.0 to notify the user that the cap of the dust sensor section 9 is dirty.

In this way, according to the vacuum cleaner of the second embodiment of the invention,
Each time the output potential detection section 15 detects dirt on the dust sensor section 9 and notifies the user on the display section 20, the user can recognize that the cap of the dust sensor section 9 is dirty. When this happens, the user can immediately remove the dirt, and the dust sensor section 9 can again detect dust.

Although the display unit 20 is an LED in the above embodiment, it may also be a light bulb, a fluorescent display tube, a liquid crystal display device, a buzzer, and a speaker.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above embodiments, according to the present invention, when dust cannot be detected when the cap of the dust sensor section becomes dirty, the motor does not stop despite the passage of dust. This provides an excellent vacuum cleaner in which dust detection can be performed again by notifying the user of dirt on the cap of the sensor section.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a circuit diagram of a vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention;
The figure is a circuit diagram of a vacuum cleaner according to another embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3 is a sectional view of a dust sensor section of a conventional vacuum cleaner, and Figure 4 is a circuit diagram of a dust sensor section of a conventional vacuum cleaner. , FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a conventional power control device for a vacuum cleaner]... LED (light emitting element), 2... phototransistor (light receiving element), 7... ...Amplifier (amplification section), 9...Dust sensor section, 1o...
. . . Signal processing section (control means), 14 . . . Motor, 15 . . . Output potential detection section.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) When the dust sensor unit, which is composed of a light emitting element, a light receiving element, and an amplifying unit provided in the air flow path, and the output of the dust sensor unit are inputted, dust is not detected by the dust sensor unit within a predetermined period of time. and a control means for occasionally stopping rotation of the motor, and an output potential detection section for detecting a steady potential of a light receiving element of the dust sensor section, and the control means detects dust according to the potential of the output potential detection section. A vacuum cleaner that cancels the function that stops the rotation of the motor when the motor is not rotated. (2) The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, further comprising a display section into which the output of the control means is input, and the display section displays information according to the potential of the output potential detection section.