JPH05115398A - Discrimination of floor surface - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To discriminate a floor surface by a pressure sensor in a cleaner irrespective of a dust amount in a dust collecting pack. CONSTITUTION:A pressure sensor 3 is disposed between a vertically driven nozzle 2 and a dust collecting pack 4. The nozzle 2 is turned up to measure the atmospheric pressure, where the output voltage value V1 of which is made to be a reference one and the nozzle 2 is turned down to again such dust and measure the output voltage value V2 so that a difference V' between the respective voltage values if read. The difference V' is compared with a threshold level V previously determined by a floor surface 1 so that the floor surface 1 is discriminated. Thus, the floor surface can be discriminated irrespective of a change in a dust amount in the dust collecting pack.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of discriminating a floor surface.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a vacuum cleaner, as shown in FIG. 6, for example, a nozzle 2 is fixed to a main body 5 having a dust collecting pack 4, and a pressure sensor 3 is attached between the nozzle 2 and the dust collecting pack 4. Is configured.

When determining the floor surface 1, as shown in FIG. 7, the output voltage value V from the pressure sensor 3 in the suction state.
2, the output voltage value V2 is fetched into the CPU 8 and compared with a predetermined threshold level V in the comparison circuit 9 to determine the type of the floor surface 1.

[0004]

In the conventional method of discriminating the floor surface by the pressure sensor, the discrimination is made only by the output voltage value of the pressure sensor 3, so that the amount of dust clogging the dust collecting pack 4 changes. When the condition changes, the output voltage value of the pressure sensor 3 for judging the floor surface 1 slightly changes, and there is a possibility that the floor surface 1 is erroneously judged.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of discriminating a floor surface with a simple structure, which is capable of discriminating the type of the floor surface without being significantly affected by the amount of dust.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention measures the pressure in a state where the nozzle is not close to the floor surface, and uses the measured value as a reference to set the nozzle to the floor surface. The suction pressure is measured in the state of being close to, and the type of floor surface is determined by the difference in the suction pressure.

[0007]

According to the present invention, the pressure sensor functions to determine the floor surface irrespective of the amount of dust clogged in the dust collecting pack, and the floor is detected from the change in pressure due to the difference in dust clogged in the dust collecting pack. It solves the problem of misjudging the type of surface.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an embodiment for carrying out the present invention. A gear 6 is interposed between the main body 5 and the nozzle 2, and the rotation of the gear 6 drives the nozzle 2 up and down. A pressure sensor 3 is arranged between the nozzle 2 and the dust collecting pack 4.

FIG. 2 shows a specific structure for driving the nozzle 2. A motor 7 for driving the nozzle 2 is arranged on the main body 5 side, and a gear 6 (6a, 6b, 6c) for transmitting the output of the motor 7 is connected between the motor 7 and the nozzle 2.

By driving the motor 7 in the forward and reverse directions, the nozzle 2 is moved around the axis of the gear 6a as indicated by the arrow a in the figure.
Move up and down in the direction.

FIG. 3 shows a pressure sensor 3 according to the type of the floor surface 1.
5 is a diagram showing an output voltage value V2 from V.sub.2 and a reference threshold bell V. FIG. The output voltage value V2 from the pressure sensor 3 changes depending on the type of the floor surface 1. It is possible to determine the threshold bell V in advance and judge whether the pressure difference V ′ from the pressure sensor 3 due to the floor surface 1 is larger or smaller than this value. The threshold bell V changes depending on the output voltage value V1 of the pressure sensor 3 depending on the amount of dust, and as the amount of dust in the dust collecting pack 4 increases, the output voltage value V1 of the pressure sensor 3 increases depending on the amount of dust. Similarly, the hold bell V is also increased.

FIG. 4 shows the output voltage value V from the pressure sensor 3.
FIG. 6 is a circuit block diagram showing a method of determination by 1 · V2.

The output voltage value from the pressure sensor 3 is processed by the pressure sensor output processing circuit 10 and passed through the CPU 8 to
It is stored in the RAM 9. In addition, the nozzle 2 is turned up / down
A signal for causing n is sent from the CPU 8 to the nozzle motor drive circuit 11 to rotate the nozzle drive motor 7.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the contents of comparison of the CPU 8. First, the motor 7 arranged in the main body 5 is rotated to drive the nozzle 2 upward so that the floor surface 1
Suction further away and check the output voltage value V1 of the pressure sensor 3 in the atmosphere. At this time, the output voltage value V1 of the pressure sensor 3 according to the amount of dust in the dust collecting pack 4 can be measured. The threshold level V is determined by the output voltage value V1 of the pressure sensor 3 based on the amount of dust and stored in the RAM 9.

Next, the motor 7 arranged in the main body 5 is rotated in the reverse direction to bring the nozzle 2 closer to the floor surface 1 and suck it, and the output voltage value V2 of the pressure sensor 3 by the floor surface 1 is measured. Here, the pressure difference V ′ between the output voltage value V1 of the pressure sensor 3 and the output voltage value V2 of the pressure sensor 3 depending on the amount of dust is taken, and the type of the floor surface 1 is determined by the pressure difference V ′. To do. The floor 1 is discriminated by the threshold level V obtained from the main force voltage value V1 of the pressure sensor 3 depending on the amount of dust.
Then, the value of the pressure difference V ′ is input to the CPU 8 and the type of the floor surface 1 can be determined based on whether the pressure difference V ′ is larger or smaller than the threshold level V.

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention, the floor surface is judged after checking the amount of dust in the dust collecting pack.
The type of floor surface can be determined regardless of the amount of dust collected, and is not affected by changes in the amount of dust collected.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a comparison of pressure values according to types of floor surfaces according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a circuit block diagram according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a discrimination method of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a conventional vacuum cleaner.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing a method of determination based on an output voltage value from a pressure sensor according to a conventional technique.

[Explanation of Codes] 1 Floor 2 Nozzle 3 Pressure Sensor 4 Dust Pack 5 Main Body 6 (6a, 6b, 6c) Gear 7 Motor 8 CPU 9 RAM 10 Pressure Sensor Output Processing Circuit 11 Nozzle Motor Drive Circuit a Nozzle Rotation Direction V1 Output voltage value of pressure sensor due to amount of dust V2 Output voltage value of pressure sensor due to floor surface V'Pressure difference V Threshold level

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A state in which a pressure sensor is arranged in a suction system of a cleaner having a nozzle, the suction pressure is measured by the pressure sensor when the nozzle is separated from the floor surface, and then the nozzle is brought close to the floor surface. A method for discriminating a floor surface, characterized in that the type of floor surface is discriminated by measuring the suction pressure at and the difference between both suction forces.