JPH0595879A - Vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an electric vacuum cleaner, with which the revolving speed of a fan motor can finely be decided so as to suit the dust amount, dust type, and the traits of floor surface and which can perform cleaning with a suction force which suits to the domestic conditions of the user's house. CONSTITUTION:An electric vacuum cleaner comprises a dust amount sensing means 6 to sense the amount of dust from the output of a dust sensor 1, a dust type sensing means 7 to sense the type of the dust, a dust change rate sensing means 8 to sense the rate of dust changing, and a memory means which stores at certain time intervals the values given by these means. A fuzzy inferential device 9 to decide the revolving speed of a fan motor 12 through fuzzy inference made on the basis of the outputs of the dust amount sensing means 6, dust type sensing means 7, and dust change rate sensing means 8 alters the revolving speed inferential rule according to the contents of the memory means 10, and thus a fine determination of the fan motor revolving speed can be made.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric vacuum cleaner used in general households, and more particularly to an electric vacuum cleaner which detects dust on a floor surface and automatically adjusts suction force.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a vacuum cleaner of this type generally has a structure as shown in FIG. The configuration will be described below.

As shown in the drawing, a hose 24, an extension pipe 25 and a floor nozzle 26 are attached to a suction port 23 of a cleaner body 22.
Are connected. A hand switch 27 is provided at the tip of the hose 24, and by operating the hand switch 27, the rotation speed of the fan motor 28 disposed in the cleaner body 22 is controlled.

[0004]

In such a conventional vacuum cleaner, when cleaning, the user judges the material of the floor surface, the amount of dust, and the quality of dust, and the preset hand switch 27 is used. I was pushing the position button. In addition, it is repeated every time cleaning is performed, and there is a problem that the user's hand is troubled.

The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems. The number of rotations of a fan motor is finely determined in accordance with the amount of dust, the quality of dust, and the characteristics of the floor surface, and cleaning is performed with a suction force suitable for the user's home. The purpose is to provide a vacuum cleaner that can.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a fan motor for sucking dust, a dust sensor for detecting dust on the floor, and a dust amount from the output of the dust sensor. Of the waste amount detecting means for detecting, the waste quality detecting means for detecting the waste quality, the waste change rate detecting means for detecting the change rate of the waste, the waste amount detecting means, the waste quality detecting means and the waste change rate detecting means A fuzzy inference device that fuzzy infers from the output to determine the rotation speed of the fan motor, and a storage unit that stores the detected dust amount, dust quality, and dust change rate at predetermined time intervals and outputs them to the fuzzy inference device. The fuzzy reasoner has a problem solving means in which the rotation speed inference rule is changed according to the stored contents of the storage means.

[0007]

According to the present invention, the rotation speed of the fan motor can be finely determined by the fuzzy reasoning from each output of the amount of waste, the quality of waste, and the rate of change of waste (characteristics of the floor) by the above-mentioned means for solving the problem. Since the output of the quantity, the quality of dust, and the characteristic of the floor surface are stored and the rotation speed inference rule is changed, the rotation speed of the fan motor suitable for the user's home can be determined more finely.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

As shown in the figure, the dust sensor 1 is provided in a part of a suction hose, and the light emitting portion 2 and the light receiving portion 3 are arranged so as to face each other, and the sucked dust always passes between them. Is configured as follows. The signal of the light receiving unit 3 is amplified by the amplifying unit 4, the waveform is shaped by the pulse converting unit 5, and the result is input to the dust amount detecting unit 6, the dust quality detecting unit 7, and the dust change rate detecting unit 8. The dust amount detecting means 6 detects the dust amount by calculating an integrated amount of the sucked dust for a predetermined time.
The dust quality detection means 7 is a dust sensor 1 for the dust that has been sucked in.
The time required to pass between the two is measured to detect dust. The dust change rate detecting means 8 detects the change rate of the sucked dust for a predetermined time and detects the characteristic of the floor surface. The fuzzy inference unit 9 performs fuzzy inference based on the outputs of the dust amount detecting unit 6, the dust quality detecting unit 7, and the dust change rate detecting unit 8. The storage unit 10 stores the outputs of the dust amount detecting unit 6, the dust quality detecting unit 7, and the dust change rate detecting unit 8 at predetermined time intervals, and outputs them to the fuzzy reasoner 9 when a predetermined time elapses. The control means 11 controls the rotation speed of the fan motor 12 based on the output of the fuzzy reasoner 9.

The fuzzy reasoner 9 is constructed as shown in FIG. 2, and the antecedent part membership function storage means 13 is
It remembers membership functions related to waste volume, waste quality, and waste change rate. Waste amount compatibility calculation means 14, waste quality compatibility calculation means 15, waste change rate compatibility calculation means 16
Calculates the degree of conformity between the membership function relating to the waste amount, the waste quality, and the waste change rate stored in the antecedent part membership function storage means 13 and the input waste amount, waste quality, and waste change rate. .. Further, the stored contents of the storage means 10 are input to the waste amount adaptability calculating means 14, the waste quality adaptability calculating means 15, and the waste change rate adaptability calculating means 16. The antecedent part minimum calculating means 17 takes the MINs of the three suitability levels which are the outputs of the waste amount adaptability calculating means 14, the waste quality adaptability calculating means 15, and the waste change rate adaptability calculating means 16 to obtain the To conclude. The suction force inference rule storage unit 18 stores the inference rule regarding the suction force. The suction force membership function storage means 19 stores the membership function relating to the suction force of the consequent part. The consequent part minimum calculation means 20 follows the inference rule stored in the suction force inference rule storage means 18 and draws the suction force member of the consequent part stored in the antecedent part conclusion and suction force membership function storage means 19. The MIN of the ship function is taken to conclude the rule. The center-of-gravity means 21 finally obtains the suction force by obtaining the respective conclusions for all the rules, then taking the MAX of all the conclusions, and calculating the center of gravity thereof.

The operation of the above structure will be described. The light emitted from the light emitting portion 2 of the dust sensor 1 can be received by the light receiving portion 3 when there is no dust, but is blocked when the dust has passed therethrough. No light can be received at 3. Therefore, the presence or absence of dust can be determined from the output of the light receiving unit 3. The dust amount detecting means 6 detects the amount of dust on the floor at that time by integrating the signals amplified by the amplification unit 4 and waveform-shaped by the pulse conversion unit 5 for a certain period of time (for example, 0.1 seconds). it can.

FIG. 3 shows a pulse waveform of dust detected by the dust sensor 1. FIG. 3 (a) shows a pulse waveform when sucking cotton dust, and FIG. 3 (b) shows sucking dust. The pulse waveform in the case is shown. Therefore, by detecting this pulse waveform by the dust quality detection means 7, it is possible to determine whether the sucked dust is large and light like cotton dust or small and heavy like sand dust. Can be detected.

Next, FIG. 4 shows the degree of change in the integrated value of the amount of dust when cleaning is continuously performed. From the start of cleaning in FIG. 4 to T2, the amount of dust is reduced at a stretch, which indicates that dust on the floor surface has been removed. Further, from T2 onward, it is largely divided into curves a, b, and c depending on how the dust is removed thereafter. Curve c in FIG.
In the case of, the integrated value of dust is almost 0, which means that almost all the waste has been removed by T2. This is the case when the floor surface to be cleaned is a wooden floor, cushion floor, tatami mat, or the like. In addition, when the floor surface is a carpet, dust is buried between the hairs, and generally, the amount of dust is relatively large and difficult to remove as compared with a wooden floor or tatami mat. That is, a characteristic is shown in which the integrated value of the amount of waste gradually decreases as shown by the curves a and b in FIG. In this way, when the rate of change in the amount of dust is detected by the dust change rate detection means 8, the characteristics of the floor surface currently being cleaned can be estimated. A small rate of change in the amount of waste indicates that it is a floor surface such as a carpet, and a large rate of change in the amount of waste means a floor surface such as a wooden floor, a cushion floor, or a tatami mat. Is shown.

The optimum suction force for cleaning is determined by the amount of dust on the floor, the quality of dust, the characteristics of the floor, etc. The amount of dust detecting means 6, the dust quality detecting means 7, and the dust change rate calculating means. Fuzzy inference is performed by the fuzzy inference unit 9 from the output value of 8 and the storage content of the storage unit 10, and the control unit 11 controls the rotation speed of the fan motor 12 based on the result.

Next, the process of inferring the suction force will be described. The inference rule of the fuzzy inference according to the present embodiment is a general judgment such as "if the amount of waste is large, the quality of waste is large like cotton waste, and the rate of change of waste is large like carpet, the suction force is set to be very large". It is formed based on. The amount of waste is "large", the quality of waste is "small",
The rate of change of waste is "large" or the suction force is "large"
Such a qualitative concept is quantitatively expressed by a membership function as shown in FIGS. 5 (a), (b), (c) and (d). In the waste amount compatibility calculation means 14, the waste amount detection means 6
Input from and the antecedent part membership function storage means 13
Find the goodness of fit for the membership function of the amount of waste stored in. At this time, the waste amount adaptability calculating means 14
In, the average value of the amount of dust stored in the storage means 10 is input at the same time, and the average value of the amount of dust is corrected when the fitness is obtained. This correction uses the ratio of the output of the dust amount detection means 6 and the average value of the dust amount stored in the storage means 10,
Calculate the goodness of fit. Similarly, the waste quality adaptability calculation means 15
Then, the goodness of fit is obtained with respect to the input from the waste quality detecting means 7 and the membership function of the waste quality stored in the antecedent part membership function storage means 13. At this time, the average value of the dust quality stored in the storage means 10 is simultaneously input to the waste quality adaptability calculating means 15, and the average value of the waste quality is corrected when the fitness is calculated. Further, the garbage change rate conformity calculation means 16 obtains the degree of conformity with respect to the input from the garbage change rate detection means 8 and the membership function of the garbage change rate stored in the antecedent part membership function storage means 13. At this time, the refuse change rate conformity calculation means 16
, The average value of the rate of change of dust stored in the storage means 10 is input at the same time, and the average value of the rate of change of dust is corrected when obtaining the conformity.

The antecedent part minimum computing means 17 takes the MINs of these conformances and makes the conclusion of the antecedent part. In the consequent part minimum computing means 20, according to the rules stored in the suction force inference rule storage means 18, the conclusion of the antecedent part and the suction force membership of the consequent part stored in the suction force membership function storage means 19 The MIN of the function is taken to conclude the rule. After obtaining the respective conclusions for all the rules, the centroid calculating means 21 takes MAX of all the conclusions and calculates the centroids thereof to finally obtain the suction force. The control means 11 calculates and controls the phase control amount of the fan motor 12 based on the determined suction force.

As described above, according to the vacuum cleaner of the embodiment of the present invention, the number of revolutions of the fan motor 12 is fuzzy inferred from the outputs of the dust amount detecting means 6, the dust quality detecting means 7 and the dust change rate detecting means 8. The fuzzy reasoner 9 that determines
Since the rotation speed inference rule is changed according to the stored contents of the storage means 10 in which the amount of waste, the quality of waste, and the rate of change of waste are stored at predetermined time intervals, the finer rotation speed of the fan motor is determined, and the user is determined. It is possible to provide an electric vacuum cleaner that can be cleaned with a suction force suitable for households and has a very comfortable operation.

In the above embodiment, the contents stored in the storage means 10 are input to the waste amount adaptability calculating means 14, the waste quality adaptability calculating means 15, and the waste change rate adaptability calculating means 16, and the respective inputs and the antecedent are input. The membership functions stored in the partial membership function storage unit 13 are corrected when the fitness is calculated, but each membership function may be corrected.

[0019]

As is apparent from the above embodiments, according to the present invention, a fan motor for sucking dust, a dust sensor for detecting dust on the floor surface, and an amount of dust from the output of the dust sensor are used. Of the waste amount detecting means for detecting, the waste quality detecting means for detecting the waste quality, the waste change rate detecting means for detecting the change rate of the waste, the waste amount detecting means, the waste quality detecting means and the waste change rate detecting means A fuzzy reasoner that determines the number of revolutions of the fan motor by performing fuzzy inference from the output,
Storage means for storing the detected amount of waste, the quality of waste, and the rate of change of waste at predetermined time intervals and outputting them to the fuzzy inference device, wherein the fuzzy inference device uses a rotation speed inference rule based on the stored contents of the storage device. Since the rotation speed of the fan motor is finely determined, cleaning can be performed efficiently and with less hassle, and with the suction force that suits the user's home, the position button on the hand switch can be used. It is possible to provide an electric vacuum cleaner that does not need to be pushed repeatedly and has a very comfortable operation.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electric vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a fuzzy reasoner of the electric vacuum cleaner.

FIG. 3 (a), (b) is a diagram showing a waveform of dust quality of the vacuum cleaner.

FIG. 4 is a characteristic diagram showing changes in the amount of waste of the vacuum cleaner.

5A to 5D are diagrams showing membership functions of a fuzzy reasoner of the electric vacuum cleaner.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a conventional vacuum cleaner.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Garbage Sensor 6 Garbage Amount Detecting Means 7 Garbage Quality Detecting Means 8 Garbage Change Rate Detecting Means 9 Fuzzy Reasoner 10 Storage Means 12 Fan Motor

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A fan motor for sucking in dust,
A dust sensor that detects dust on the floor, a dust amount detection unit that detects the amount of dust from the output of the dust sensor, a dust quality detection unit that detects dust quality, and a dust change rate detection that detects the change rate of dust. Means, a fuzzy reasoning device for fuzzy reasoning from the outputs of the dust amount detecting means, the dust quality detecting means and the dust change rate detecting means to determine the rotation speed of the fan motor, and the detected dust amount, dust quality and dust change An electric vacuum cleaner comprising: a storage unit for storing the rate at a predetermined time interval and outputting it to the fuzzy inference unit, wherein the fuzzy inference unit changes the rotation speed inference rule according to the stored contents of the storage unit. 2. The electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the fuzzy reasoner corrects the antecedent part fitness calculation processing of the fuzzy reasoning based on the stored contents of the storage means. 3. The electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the fuzzy inference unit corrects the membership function of the fuzzy inference according to the stored contents of the storage means.