KR100813723B1 - Vacuum cleaner and controlling method therof - Google Patents

Abstract

A vacuum cleaner and a controlling method thereof are provided to inform time for emptying dust easily for a user by forming the time for emptying dust in a collection device if a predetermined amount of dust is collected inside the collection device. A vacuum cleaner comprises a collection device having at least one dust storage part, cases, a first pressurizing member, a second pressurizing member, a compressed motor, a counter, a dust empty signal display part(630), and a control part(610). The first pressurizing member formed on the cases rotates with the cases. The second pressurizing member is fixed on the dust storage part. The compressed motor drives the cases. The counter measures time for moving the first pressurizing member. The dust empty signal display part shows information for emptying dust stored in the dust storage part. The control part operates the dust empty signal display part if the measured time for moving is below the reference time.

Description

Vacuum cleaner and controlling method therof}

1 is a perspective view of a state in which the dust collector is separated from the vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is an exploded perspective view of the dust collecting device according to the present invention.

Figure 3 is a bottom perspective view of the dust separation unit according to the present invention.

4 is an exploded perspective view of the dust collecting container according to the present invention;

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II ′ of FIG. 2.

6 is a perspective view illustrating a coupling relationship between a driving device and a dust collecting container provided for compressing dust stored in the dust collecting container.

7 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the driving device and the dust collecting container according to the present invention are coupled.

8 is a bottom perspective view of a driven gear constituting the drive device;

9 is a side view of the driven gear.

10 is a view showing a coupling relationship between the driven gear and the micro switch.

11 is a block diagram showing an apparatus for controlling a vacuum cleaner according to the present invention.

12 and 13 are views for explaining the on state of the micro switch when the first pressing member for compressing the dust is close to one side of the second pressing member.

14 and 15 are views for explaining an off state of a micro switch when the first pressing member and the second pressing member are located in a straight line.

16 and 17 are views for explaining the on state of the micro switch when the first pressing member is close to the other side of the second pressing member.

FIG. 18 is a view for collectively explaining the rotation operation of the first pressing member described with reference to FIGS. 12 to 17.

19 is a flowchart illustrating a dust compression process and a dust emptying time of the dust collector according to the present invention.

20 is a flowchart for explaining an operating state of the cleaner when performing the dust emptying notification function.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100: cleaner body 200: dust collector

210: dust separation unit 230: dust collecting container

240: first case 250: second case

270: first pressing member 280: second pressing member

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a vacuum cleaner and a control method thereof in which a dust collecting capacity of a dust collecting device is maximized.

In general, a vacuum cleaner is a device that sucks air containing dust by using a vacuum pressure generated by a suction motor mounted inside the body, and then filters the dust inside the body.

The vacuum cleaner may include a suction nozzle for sucking air containing dust, a cleaner body in communication with the suction nozzle, an extension pipe for guiding air sucked from the suction nozzle toward the cleaner body, and air passing through the extension pipe. A connector is connected to the cleaner body. Here, a nozzle suction port having a predetermined size is formed at the bottom of the suction nozzle to allow the air containing the dust accumulated on the floor to be sucked.

On the other hand, the inside of the cleaner body, there is provided a drive device for generating an air suction force to suck the outside air containing dust to the suction nozzle.

In addition, the dust collector is detachably mounted to the cleaner body to separate and store dust. The dust collector performs a function of separating and storing dust contained in the air sucked from the suction nozzle.

In detail, the dust collecting apparatus includes a dust collecting body, an inlet for allowing air to be sucked into the dust collecting body, a cyclone portion for separating dust from the air sucked into the dust collecting body, and dust separated from the cyclone portion. The dust storage unit and a discharge port through which the dust is separated from the cyclone portion is discharged.

Meanwhile, dust stored in the lower space of the dust collecting body, that is, the dust storage unit, continuously rotates along the inner circumferential surface of the dust collecting body by the rotational flow inside the dust collecting body while the vacuum cleaner is operating.

When the operation of the vacuum cleaner is stopped, the vacuum cleaner sinks to the bottom of the dust collecting body and is stored in a low density state.

Therefore, in the conventional dust collecting apparatus, when a predetermined amount or more of dust is stored in the dust collecting apparatus while the vacuum cleaner is operating, the dust rises while rotating along the inner wall of the dust collecting body, and is formed in the upper space of the dust collecting body. There is a problem in that the cyclone portion is violated, and thus the unseparated dust is discharged to the discharge port by piggybacking on the discharge airflow, so that dust collection performance is reduced.

In addition, when the operation of the vacuum cleaner is stopped, the dust sinks to the bottom of the dust collecting body as it is stored in a low density state. That is, since dust inside the dust collecting body occupies a volume too large for its weight, there is an inconvenience of frequently emptying the dust collecting body in order to maintain dust collecting performance.

Therefore, in recent years, in order to improve the convenience of cleaner use, efforts have been made to maximize the capacity of dust collected in the dust collecting body and to improve dust collecting performance.

The present invention has been proposed to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to propose a vacuum cleaner and a control method thereof in which the dust collecting capacity of the dust collecting apparatus is increased.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to propose a vacuum cleaner and a method of controlling the same, which automatically compresses the dust provided in the dust collecting apparatus.

In addition, it is an object of the present invention to propose a vacuum cleaner and a control method thereof so that when a predetermined amount or more of dust is stored in the dust collector, the emptying time of the dust is displayed.

Vacuum cleaner according to the present invention for achieving the above object is at least a dust collecting device is formed dust storage unit; A case which forms at least a portion of the dust storage unit and is rotatably provided; A first pressing member formed in the case and rotating together with the case; A second pressing member whose position is fixed in the dust storage unit; A compression motor for driving the case; A counter for measuring a movement time of the first pressing member; A dust empty signal display unit for making empty information of dust stored in the dust storage unit known; And a controller for operating the dust empty signal display unit when the measured movement time is less than the reference time.

According to another aspect of a method of controlling a vacuum cleaner, the method of controlling a vacuum cleaner includes a dust collecting device having at least a dust storage unit, wherein a case forming at least a portion of the dust storage unit is rotated to a pressing member formed in the case. Compressing the dust stored in the dust storage unit by the; Determining the amount of compressed dust; And when the amount of the compressed dust is determined to be greater than or equal to a predetermined amount, the dust emptying information to the outside of the cleaner.

Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings will be described a specific embodiment of the present invention. However, the spirit of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments presented, and those skilled in the art who understand the spirit of the present invention can easily suggest other embodiments within the scope of the same idea.

1 is a perspective view of a state in which the dust collector is separated from the vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a cleaner main body 100 having a suction motor therein and a dust collecting device 200 that separates and stores dust contained in sucked air. do.

In addition, the vacuum cleaner includes a suction nozzle 20 for sucking air containing dust, a handle 40 for allowing a user to operate an operation of the vacuum cleaner, the suction nozzle 20, and a handle 40. Extension tube 30 for connecting the connection, and the connection hose 50 for connecting the suction nozzle 20 and the cleaner body 100 is included.

In this embodiment, a detailed description of the basic configuration of the suction nozzle 20, extension tube 30, handle 40 and the connection hose 50 will be omitted.

In detail, a main body suction part 110 through which the air containing the dust sucked from the suction nozzle 20 is sucked is formed at the front lower end of the cleaner main body 100. In addition, a body discharge part 120 through which dust separated air is discharged to the outside is formed at one side of the cleaner body 100.

In addition, a dust collecting device mounting unit 130 on which the dust collecting device 200 is mounted is formed on the upper side of the main body suction unit 110, and on one side of the dust collecting unit mounting unit 130 through the main body suction unit 110. An air outlet 140 is formed to discharge air sucked into the main body 100 to the dust collecting device 200.

On the other hand, the dust collecting apparatus 200 includes a dust separator 210 for separating the dust contained in the air sucked, and a dust collecting container 230 for storing the dust separated from the dust separator 210.

Hereinafter, the dust collecting apparatus 200 according to the present invention will be described in more detail.

2 is an exploded perspective view of the dust collecting apparatus according to the present invention, Figure 3 is a bottom perspective view of the dust separation unit according to the present invention.

2 and 3, the dust collecting apparatus 200 according to the present invention may be selectively coupled to the dust separating unit 210 and the dust separating unit 210 to separate the dust contained in the inhaled air. A dust collecting container 230 in which dust separated from the dust separating unit 210 is stored, and a cover member 260 coupled to an upper side of the dust separating unit 210 are included.

In detail, the dust separator 210 includes a cylindrical cyclone 211 to separate the sucked air and dust by the cyclone principle, that is, the centrifugal force difference between the air and the dust.

In addition, an upper portion of the cyclone 211 is formed with an inlet 212 through which air containing dust is sucked. Here, the inlet 212 is preferably formed in the tangential direction of the cyclone 211 in order to generate a cyclone flow in the cyclone 211.

Meanwhile, a discharge hole 262 is formed at the center of the cover member 260 to discharge air from which dust is separated by the cyclone 211, that is, inside the dust separator 210.

In addition, a hollow exhaust member 270 is coupled to the discharge hole 262. The outer circumferential surface of the exhaust member 270 is formed with a plurality of through holes 272 through which the air that has undergone the dust separation process from the cyclone 211 is discharged. Therefore, the air that has undergone the dust separation process within the cyclone 211 is discharged from the dust collector 200 through the exhaust hole 262 via the exhaust member 270.

On the other hand, the dust collecting container 230 is coupled to the lower side of the dust separation unit 210 so that the dust separated from the dust separation unit 210 is stored. Here, for easy handling of the dust separation unit 210 and the dust collecting container 230, the dust separating unit 210 and the dust collecting container 230 has an upper handle 213 and a lower handle 258, respectively. It is provided.

In addition, a hook device is provided in the dust collecting device 200 so that the dust collecting container 230 and the dust separation unit 210 may be coupled to each other. In detail, a hook hook 214 is provided at the bottom of the outer circumferential surface of the dust separation unit 210, and a hook part 256 is selectively coupled to the hook hook 214 at the top of the outer circumferential surface of the dust container 230. do.

In addition, the partition plate 252 is formed in a horizontal direction above the dust collecting container 230. The partition plate 252 serves to partition the dust separation unit 210 and the dust collecting container 230. In addition, the partition plate 252 is dust is stored inside the dust collection container 230 is scattered toward the dust separation unit 210 in a state in which the dust separation unit 210 is coupled to the dust collection container 230. To further prevent this from happening.

In addition, an opening 254 is formed in the partition plate 252 to allow the dust separated from the cyclone 211 to flow into the dust collecting container 230. Therefore, the dust separated by the dust separation unit 210 is introduced into the dust collecting container 230 through the opening 254 and stored in the dust collecting container 230.

In addition to the above configuration, the dust collecting apparatus 200 is preferably configured to maximize the dust collecting capacity of the dust stored therein. To this end, it is preferable that a configuration for reducing the volume of dust stored in the dust storage unit 241 is added to the dust collector (241).

Hereinafter, a vacuum cleaner equipped with a dust collecting device 200 according to the present invention having a maximum dust collecting capacity will be described.

4 is an exploded perspective view of the dust collecting container according to the present invention, Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II 'of FIG.

4 and 5, the dust collecting container 230 according to the present invention includes a second case 250 coupled to the dust separator 210 and a second case 250 rotatably. The first case 240 is included.

In detail, the second case 250 is formed in a cylindrical shape, the partition plate 252 is formed on the upper side thereof, and the lower case 250 is formed to be opened. In addition, a lower handle 258 is formed on the side of the second case 250.

The first case 240 is formed by opening the upper side, and is accommodated in the second case 250 through the opened portion of the second case 250. In addition, a seating end 242 is formed below the first case 240 to allow the lower end of the second case 250 to be seated.

As the first case 240 is accommodated in the second case 250 as described above, the dust separated from the dust separator 210 is stored in the first case 240. Therefore, the first case 240 is formed with a dust storage unit 241 for storing the separated dust.

In addition, a guide protrusion 244 for guiding rotation of the first case 240 is formed on an outer circumferential surface of the first case 240, and the guide protrusion 244 is formed on an inner circumferential surface of the second case 250. Is inserted into the projection insertion groove 259 is inserted.

In detail, the guide protrusion 244 is formed along the circumferential direction of the first case 240, and a cross section is formed to be round. The protrusion insertion groove 259 is formed along the circumferential direction of the second case 250 and is formed in a shape corresponding to the guide protrusion 244. Therefore, the first case 240 may be stably rotated with respect to the second case 250 by the guide protrusion 244 and the protrusion insertion groove 259.

At this time, the first case 240 and the second case 250 may be coupled by the guide protrusion 244 and the protrusion insertion groove 259 without a separate fastening means. That is, the guide protrusion 244 and the protrusion insertion groove 259 additionally serve to couple the second case 250 and the first case 240.

Here, the outer circumferential surface of the first case 240 and the inner circumferential surface of the second case 250 may be spaced a predetermined distance apart from each other when the first case 240 is coupled to the second case 250. The reason is that only the guide protrusion 244 of the first case 240 is in contact with the inner circumferential surface of the second case 250, so that the friction with the second case 250 during the rotation of the first case 240 By minimizing the area, the noise generated during friction is minimized.

On the other hand, the dust collecting container 230 is provided with a pair of pressing members (270, 280) to reduce the volume of dust stored in the dust storage unit 241, to increase the dust collection capacity. Here, the pair of pressing members 270 and 280 compress the dust by interaction with each other to reduce the volume of dust, thereby increasing the density of the dust stored in the dust storage unit 241. The maximum dust collecting capacity of the dust collecting container 230 is increased.

The pair of pressing members 270 and 280 may include a first pressing member 270 formed in the first case 240 and a second pressing member 280 formed in the second case 250. ) Is included. Therefore, when the first case 240 is rotated, the first pressing member 270 rotates toward one side of the second pressing member 280, and one side surface of the first pressing member 270 is rotated. And a gap between one side of the second pressing member 280 opposite to one side of the first pressing member 270 is narrowed, and thus the first pressing member 270 and the second pressing member ( 280 between the dust is compressed.

Here, the first pressing member 270 is rotated together when the first case 240 is rotated, so that the first pressing member 270 may be referred to as a rotating member, the second pressing member 280 Since it remains fixed, it may be called a fixed member.

In detail, the second pressing member 280 extends downward from the partition plate 252 of the second case 250. At this time, the vertical length of the second pressing member 280 is located close to the inner bottom surface of the first case 240 in a state in which the first case 240 is coupled to the second case 250. It is preferable. The reason is to minimize the leakage of dust pushed by the first pressing member 270 through the gap formed under the second pressing member 280.

The one end 281 of the second pressing member 280 is preferably spaced apart from the inner circumferential surface of the second case 250 by a predetermined distance, and the other end 282 of the second pressing member 280 is It is preferable to be spaced apart a predetermined distance from the axis forming the central axis of the second case 250. Here, one side end 281 of the second pressing member 280 is formed to be spaced apart from the inner peripheral surface of the second case 250 by a predetermined distance to form a space for the first case 240 is coupled For sake. In addition, the space may correspond to or be formed to be larger than the thickness of the first case 240.

The reason why the other end 282 of the second pressing member 280 is spaced apart from the axis forming the central axis of the second case 250 by a predetermined distance is the first case 240 when the first case 240 is rotated. This is to prevent interference between the first pressing member 270 and the second pressing member 280.

On the other hand, the first pressing member 270 is protruded upward from the bottom of the first case 240. One end of the first pressing member 270 is integrally formed on the inner circumferential surface of the first case 240, and the other end is integrally formed on the rotation shaft 272 of the first case 240.

It is preferable that the 1st press member 270 and the 2nd press member 280 comprised as mentioned above are comprised by the plate of square shape. In addition, the second pressing member 280 is formed by the second pressing member 280 to prevent the falling of the dust flowing into the dust storage unit 241 through the opening 254. 2 is preferably located opposite the opening 254 with respect to the central axis of the case (250).

In addition, an upper end of the first pressing member 270 may be formed with a cutout 274 (Chamfer) cut at a predetermined angle. The cutout 274 has a space formed between the opening 254 and the first pressing member 270 when the upper end of the first pressing member 270 is positioned below the opening 254. In this case, dust may be easily introduced through the opening 254. That is, the cutout 274 serves to prevent the dust flowing through the opening 254 from interfering with the first pressing member 270.

In addition to the above configuration, the vacuum cleaner according to the present invention further includes a driving device that is selectively connected to the first case 240 to rotate the first case 240.

Hereinafter, the coupling relationship between the dust collecting container 230 and the driving device will be described in detail.

6 is a perspective view illustrating a coupling relationship between a driving device provided for compressing dust stored in the dust collecting container and a dust collecting container, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the driving device and the dust collecting container according to the present invention are coupled.

6 and 7, a driving device for rotating the first case 240 includes a compression motor 330 for generating a driving force and a driving force of the compression motor 330 with the first case 240. It includes a power transmission unit 310, 320 to transmit. In addition, a micro switch 350 that is turned on / off in response to the rotation of the driven gear 310 is provided below the dust collector mounting unit 130.

In detail, the power transmission units 310 and 320 may be driven gear 310 coupled to the rotation shaft 272 of the first case 240, and drive gear 320 for transmitting power to the driven gear 310. Included. In addition, the driving gear 320 is coupled to the rotation shaft of the compression motor 330 is rotated by the compression motor 330.

Accordingly, when the compression motor 330 is rotated, the drive gear 320 coupled with the compression motor 330 is rotated, and the rotational force of the compression motor 330 is driven by the drive gear 320. The driven gear 310 is rotated by being transmitted to the gear 310. Then, the rotation of the driven gear 310 is sensed by the micro switch 350.

In addition, the first case 240 is rotated by the rotation of the driven gear 310, and the first pressing member 270 is rotated at the same time. In detail, the gear shaft 314 of the driven gear 310 is coupled to the rotation shaft 272 at the lower side of the first case 240. As the driven gear 310 is coupled to the lower side of the first case 240 as described above, the driven gear 310 is exposed to the outside of the dust collecting device 200.

Here, when the driven gear 310 is rotated, the inner circumferential surface of the rotating shaft 272 and the driven gear 310 so that the driven gear 310 is rotated simultaneously with the first case 240 without turning. The outer circumferential surface horizontal cross-sectional shape of the gear shaft 314 is preferably polygonal.

That is, the horizontal cross-sectional shape of the rotation shaft 272 and the gear shaft 314 of the driven gear 310 is formed in a non-circular shape, the first case 240 smoothly rotates when the driven gear 310 is rotated It is desirable to be able to.

On the other hand, the compression motor 330 is provided below the dust collector mounting portion 130, the drive gear 320 is coupled to the rotary shaft of the compression motor 330, the bottom surface of the dust collector mounting portion 130 Is provided.

In addition, a portion of the outer circumferential surface of the drive gear 320 is exposed to the outside from the bottom of the dust collector mounting portion 130. To this end, it is preferable that a motor accommodating part (not shown) in which the compression motor is installed is formed below the bottom of the dust collecting device mounting part 130.

In addition, an opening 131 is formed at a bottom of the dust collector mounting unit 130 to expose a portion of the outer circumferential surface of the drive gear 320 to the dust collector mounting unit 130.

As the driving gear 320 is exposed to the dust collecting device mounting unit 130, when the dust collecting device 200 is mounted on the dust collecting device mounting unit 130, the driven gear 310 is connected to the driving gear ( And 320).

Here, the compression motor 330 is preferably a motor capable of forward rotation and reverse rotation. In other words, the compression motor may be a motor capable of bidirectional rotation.

Accordingly, the first case 240 may rotate forward and reverse, and as the first case 240 rotates forward and reverse, dust compressed on both sides of the second pressing member 280 may occur. Will accumulate.

As such, in order to enable forward and reverse rotation of the compression motor 330, the compression motor 330 may use a synchronous motor.

The synchro-motor is configured such that forward and reverse rotation is possible by the motor itself. The rotation of the motor is converted in the other direction.

In this case, the force applied to the motor may be determined by sensing a current value of the compression motor 330. That is, the present invention may further include a current detector (not shown) for detecting the current of the compression motor 330.

In detail, when the resistance applied to the first pressing member 270 becomes greater than or equal to a set value, the current value of the compression motor 330 increases momentarily, so that the current of the compression motor 330 in the current sensing unit is increased. You can let it detect the value.

Since the synchronized motor is generally known in the motor art, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. However, it is one of the technical ideas of the present invention to enable forward and reverse rotation of the driving motor by the synchro motor.

In addition, even when the first pressing member 270 rotates to reach a peak that can no longer rotate while compressing the dust, the first pressing member 270 may continuously press the dust for a predetermined time. Do.

Here, the peak that the first pressing member 270 cannot rotate refers to when the resistance reaches a set value.

When the resistance reaches the set value, the power for rotating the first pressing member 270, that is, the power applied to the compression motor 330 is cut off for a predetermined time and the first pressing member ( The dust is compressed in the state in which the 270 is stopped, and after a predetermined time, the first pressurizing member 270 is moved by applying power to the compression motor 330 again.

In addition, when a dust or more of a predetermined amount of dust is collected inside the dust storage unit 241, in order to prevent deterioration of dust collection performance and overload of the motor, it is possible to display the dust emptying time of the dust collector 200 to the user. desirable.

To this end, the notification unit 510, 520 is provided on the cleaner body 100 or the handle 40, dust is accumulated in a predetermined amount or more in the dust storage unit 241, the first pressing member 270 When the range of rotation is less than a predetermined angle, the emptying time of the dust collector 200 is displayed to the user.

The notification units 510 and 520 may be light emitting diodes (LEDs) for visually notifying the user of the emptying time of the dust collecting apparatus 200, and emptying of the dust collecting apparatus 200 acoustically to the user. It may also be a speaker 520 to inform the timing.

In addition, the LED 510 and the speaker 520 may be applied at the same time to inform the user of the emptying time of the dust collector 200, in this case, the LED 510 is a handle 40 for the user to adjust the operation Preferably, the speaker 520 may be provided at any position of the cleaner body 100 or the handle 40.

Hereinafter, a coupling relationship between the driven gear and the micro switch will be described.

8 is a bottom perspective view of a driven gear constituting the drive device, FIG. 9 is a side view of the driven gear, and FIG. 10 is a view showing a coupling relationship between the driven gear and the micro switch.

8 to 10, the micro switch 350 has a state in which a lever 360 that enables on / off of the micro switch 350 is in contact with a lower side of the driven gear 310. Located at the bottom of the driven gear 310 so as to.

The driven gear 310 has a disc-shaped body portion 312, a contact rib 313 extending downward from the lower edge portion of the body portion 312 to be in contact with the lever 360, and the It consists of a plurality of gear teeth (316) formed along the circumference of the side of the body portion 312.

The contact rib 313 is provided with a positioning groove 315 for confirming the position of the driven gear 310 by not being in contact with the lever 360 at a predetermined position of the driven gear 310. .

Here, the fact that the lever 360 and the contact rib 313 are not in contact with each other means that the lever 360 is connected to the contact rib 313 as a part of the lever 360 is inserted into the positioning groove 315. It means no contact with the bottom.

That is, when the dust collecting device 200 is mounted on the dust collecting device mounting unit 130, the lever 360 is in contact with the contact rib 313 to press the contact 352 of the micro switch 350. When the driven gear 310 is rotated and moved to a predetermined position, the lever 360 is separated from the contact 352 as a part of the lever 360 is inserted into the positioning groove 315. .

In this case, the micro switch 350 is turned off only when the lever 360 is located in the positioning groove 315. In other cases, the micro switch 350 is in contact with the bottom surface of the contact rib 313. Keep on.

Therefore, when the driven gear 310 is rotated, the micro switch 350 is kept on except when the lever 360 is located in the positioning groove 315.

In addition, the micro switch 350 may detect mounting of the dust collecting device 200. That is, when the dust collecting device 200 is mounted, the driven gear 310 generally presses the lever 360 of the micro switch 350, and the micro switch is turned on. When it is turned ON, it can be confirmed that the dust collector is mounted.

The reason for detecting the mounting of the dust collector 200 as described above is to prevent the suction motor and the compression motor 330 from operating while the dust collector 200 is not mounted.

Here, the present embodiment detects the mounting of the dust collector 200 by the micro switch 350, but alternatively, a pressure sensor or the like may be mounted on the dust collector mounting unit 130. In the structure to detect the mounting of the dust collecting device 200 is found that there is no limitation.

11 is a block diagram showing an apparatus for controlling a vacuum cleaner according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 11, the vacuum cleaner according to the present invention includes a control unit 610, an operation signal input unit 620 for selecting dust suction power (eg, strong, medium, or weak mode), and the dust storage unit 241. Dust is collected according to the signal display unit 630 for displaying a signal to empty the dust stored in the) and whether the dust collector is installed, and an operation mode (ie, strong, medium, or weak mode) input from the operation signal input unit 620. Operate the suction motor driver 640 to operate the suction motor 650 for suction into the apparatus 200 and the compression motor 330 used to pressurize the dust stored in the dust storage unit 241. Compression motor driver 660 for driving, drive gear 320 driven by the compression motor 330, driven gear 310 to rotate in engagement with the drive gear 320, the driven gear 310 Micro switch on or off depending on the rotation of the And a (350) at least.

12 and 13 are views for explaining an on state of the micro switch when the first pressing member for compressing the dust is close to one side of the second pressing member, and FIGS. 14 and 15 show the first pressing member and the first pressing member. 2 is a view for explaining the off state of the micro switch when the pressing member is located in a straight line, and FIGS. 16 and 17 show the on state of the micro switch when the first pressing member is close to the other side of the second pressing member. It is a figure for demonstrating.

12 to 17, in the present invention, when the first pressing member 270 rotates about 180 degrees with respect to the second pressing member 280 and is positioned in a straight line, the lever 360 may be located in the straight line. It is positioned in the positioning groove 315 of the driven gear 310. In this case, the lever 360 is separated from the contact point 352 so that the micro switch 350 is turned off.

Here, the position of the first pressing member 270 shown in FIG. 14 in which the micro switch 350 is turned off is referred to as a “reference position” for convenience of description.

And, while the first pressing member 270 compresses the dust stored in the dust storage unit 241 while rotating in a counterclockwise direction from the reference position, the lever 360 is the contact rib of the driven gear 310 In contact with 313, the micro switch 350 is turned on by pressing the contact 352 of the micro switch 350 as shown in FIG. 13.

When the first pressing member 270 that has rotated in the counterclockwise direction no longer rotates due to the influence of dust, the first pressing member 270 rotates in the clockwise direction. Accordingly, the first pressing member 270 compresses the dust stored in the dust storage unit 241 while rotating to the right side of the second pressing member 280 as shown in FIG. 16 through the reference position shown in FIG. 14. .

In addition, when the first pressing member 270 that rotates in the clockwise direction no longer rotates due to the influence of dust, the compression motor 330 rotates in the counterclockwise direction and repeatedly stores the dust while repeating the processes described above. Compression of the dust stored in the section 241 is performed.

FIG. 18 is a view for collectively explaining the rotation operation of the first pressing member described with reference to FIGS. 12 to 17.

18, the time TD1 required for the first pressing member 270 to rotate clockwise from the reference position and return to the reference position again, and the first pressing member 270 counterclockwise from the reference position. The time TD2 required to rotate to return to the reference position again is indicated. For convenience of explanation, the time TD1 is referred to as the first round trip time and the time TD2 is referred to as the second round trip time. In general, since the dust is spread evenly inside the dust collecting body 210, it can be said that the first round trip time TD1 and the second round trip time TD2 are almost the same.

Meanwhile, as the amount of dust compressed by the first pressing member 270 increases, the first round trip time TD1 and the second round trip time TD2 are gradually shortened.

According to the present invention, when one of the first round trip time TD1 and the second round trip time TD2 reaches a predetermined reference time, it is determined that the dust is sufficiently accumulated in the dust collecting body 210, and a dust empty signal is displayed. Be sure to

19 is a flow chart for explaining the dust compression process and the dust emptying time of the dust collector according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 19, a user selects one of strong, medium, and weak modes, which are suction powers displayed on the operation signal input unit 620, to operate a vacuum cleaner. Then, the controller 610 operates the suction motor driver 640 to drive the suction motor 650 according to the suction mode selected by the user (S110).

When the suction motor 650 is operated, air containing dust is sucked through the suction nozzle 20 by the suction force of the suction motor 650. The dust sucked in this way is stored in the dust storage unit 241. In the dust storage unit 241, a dust compressing action is performed by the pressing members 270 and 280.

That is, the controller 610 drives the compression motor 330 to compress the dust stored in the dust storage unit 241 (S120).

In operation S120, when the compression motor 330 is driven, the driving gear 320 coupled with the compression motor 330 is rotated. In addition, when the driving gear 320 is rotated, the driven gear 310 is rotated in association with the driving gear 320. When the driven gear 310 is rotated, the first case 240 coupled to the driven gear 310 is rotated.

Then, the first pressing member 270 is automatically rotated toward the second pressing member 280 to compress the dust.

At this time, the controller 610 first checks whether the first pressing member 270 is located at a reference position (S130). Since the present invention is to measure the first and second round trip time based on the reference position of the first pressing member 270, it is necessary to confirm that the first pressing member 270 is in the reference position during the first operation. have.

The position of the first pressing member 270 at the reference position may be the first time when the micro switch 350 is turned off for the first time.

Therefore, the controller 610 measures the first round trip time or the second round trip time by a counter (not shown) on the basis of the time when the micro switch 350 is first turned off.

And, starting with the time point when the first pressing member 270 moves to the reference position, the controller 610 moves the clockwise or counterclockwise direction of the first pressing member 270. The first round trip time TD1 and the second round trip time TD2 are measured (S140).

Here, as the amount of dust compressed by the dust storage unit 241 by the first pressing member 270 and the second pressing member 280 increases, the left and right reciprocating rotation time of the driven gear 310 is shorter. Lose.

The controller 610 measures the first round trip time TD1 and the second round trip time TD2 of the first pressing member 270 through the micro switch 350, and the first round trip time TD1. Alternatively, it is determined whether the second round trip time TD2 has reached a predetermined reference time (S150).

Here, the predetermined reference time is a time set by the designer in the controller 610 itself, which is a basis for determining that a predetermined amount or more of dust is accumulated in the dust storage unit 241. The reference time is obtained by a designer repeating the test several times and depends on the capacity of the vacuum cleaner.

In the case of the present invention, when either the first round trip time (TD1) or the second round trip time (TD2) reaches the reference time, it took a way to determine that the amount of dust has reached a predetermined amount, another embodiment The reason for the determination may be the case where both the first round trip time TD1 and the second round trip time TD2 have reached within a predetermined reference time.

As a result of the determination in step S150, when any one of the first round trip time TD1 and the second round trip time TD2 is longer than the reference time, the process returns to step S140 to perform the previous process.

In contrast, when the first round trip time TD1 or the second round trip time TD2 reaches the reference time, the controller 610 sends a signal to empty the dust in the dust collector 200 to the signal display unit 630. By transmitting it so that the user can recognize (S170). Here, it will be easily understood that the signal generated by the signal display unit 630 is set differently from a signal for informing whether or not the dust collecting device is mounted.

20 is a flowchart illustrating an operating state of the cleaner when the dust emptying notification function is performed.

Referring to FIG. 20, when the dust emptying notification function is performed as described above, the first pressing member 270 is moved to a position that allows a user to easily discharge dust from the dust storage unit 241. (S210).

In detail, the first pressing member 270 may stop after being moved to a position approximately 180 degrees with the second pressing member 280. That is, the distance between the first pressing member 270 and the second pressing member 280 is maximized to facilitate dust discharge.

On the contrary, the first pressing member 270 may be stopped at a position moved by 1/2 reference time Sc. In this case, the first pressing member 270 is positioned at the same distance from the end of the compressed dust on both sides of the second pressing member 280.

At this time, the stop position of the first pressing member 270 may vary depending on the amount of dust compressed at both sides of the second pressing member 280.

Then, the notification unit (510, 520) is operated to inform the user when the dust is empty (S520). As the notification unit 510 or 520, the LED 510 and the speaker 520 may be used as described above.

In this case, the LED 510 is preferably repeatedly turned on and off so that the user can easily recognize, and it is preferable that a buzzer or a melody comes out of the speaker 520.

In this case, step 210 and step 220 may be performed sequentially or simultaneously, or may be reversed.

Next, the suction motor operated by the constant load is continuously operated for the first set time (S230). Here, the constant load refers to an operation state of the suction motor before the notification units 510 and 520 are operated.

Then, after the suction motor is operated for the first set time, the load of the suction motor is reduced to a predetermined value, and is operated for the second set time by the reduced load. Then, after the suction motor is operated for the second set time by the reduced load, the suction motor is finally stopped (S240).

As such, the reason why the operation state of the suction motor is divided into several stages is to prevent the user from determining that the cleaner is broken when the suction motor is momentarily stopped.

Then, when the operation of the suction motor is stopped, the operation of the notification unit (510, 520) is stopped (S250).

As the dust emptying time of the dust collecting device 200 is known to the user as described above, the user's convenience is increased, and the operation of the suction motor is controlled in the process of performing the dust emptying notification, thereby causing excessive dust to be absorbed. The deterioration of the operating performance of the cleaner is prevented.

The spirit of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and may further include the following embodiments.

First, in order to detect the amount of dust stored in the dust storage unit, the micro switch may be configured to detect the rotation of the driving gear without detecting the rotation of the driven gear. That is, since the drive gear is formed in a plurality of gear teeth at predetermined intervals along the circumferential direction, the drive gear may be divided into protrusions in which the gear teeth are formed and depressions in which the gear teeth are not formed, and extend from one side of the micro switch. A terminal may be positioned below the drive gear to periodically detect the protrusion and the depression as the drive gear rotates.

In this case, the micro switch may be configured to be turned on when the protrusion of the driving gear is located above the terminal, and to be turned off when the depression is located, and the on-off signal of the micro switch is transmitted to the counter. To output a predetermined pulse signal.

In addition, the degree of rotation of the driving gear may be measured by measuring the number of pulses (that is, the on-off period of the switch), and thus the amount of dust stored in the dust storage unit may be sensed. In such a configuration, the rotation direction of the drive gear may be determined according to the number of pulses.

In the above description, the canister type vacuum cleaner has been described as an example, but the technical idea of the present invention can be applied to an upright type cleaner or a robot cleaner.

According to the present invention as proposed, since the dust stored in the dust collector is compressed to minimize the volume, there is an effect that the capacity of the dust stored in the dust collector is maximized.

In addition, as the dust collecting capacity of the dust collecting device is maximized by the compression of dust, the user has to remove the trouble of frequently emptying the dust stored in the dust collecting device.

In addition, since the compression action of the dust is maintained even when the vacuum cleaner is stopped, the dust stored in the dust collector is easily discharged to the outside of the dust collector when the dust is empty.

In addition, when dust is collected in the dust collector more than a predetermined amount, since the dust emptying time of the dust collector is displayed, there is an effect that the user can easily know when to empty the dust.

In addition, as the dust emptying timing is displayed to the outside and the first pressing member is moved to a position where the dust is easy to be removed, the user can conveniently empty the dust.

Claims (14)

A dust collecting device in which at least a dust storage unit is formed; A case which forms at least a portion of the dust storage unit and is rotatably provided; A first pressing member formed in the case and rotating together with the case; A second pressing member whose position is fixed in the dust storage unit; A compression motor for driving the case; A counter for measuring a movement time of the first pressing member; A dust empty signal display unit for making empty information of dust stored in the dust storage unit known; And And a control unit configured to operate the dust empty signal display unit when the measured movement time is less than a reference time. The method of claim 1, Further comprising a current sensing unit for sensing the current applied to the compression motor, The change in the rotation direction of the case is a vacuum cleaner is determined according to the current value detected by the current sensing unit. The method of claim 1, The counter converts the measured travel time into a pulse signal, and the change in the rotational direction of the case is determined according to the pulse signal. The method of claim 1, The movement time is a vacuum cleaner is a time for the case to rotate in one direction. The method of claim 1, The vacuum cleaner further comprises a micro switch for detecting the reference position of the case. The method of claim 5, wherein The movement time may be returned to the reference position by rotating the first pressing member clockwise or counterclockwise from the reference position toward the fixing member, and then rotating counterclockwise or clockwise again. Vacuum cleaner that is a round trip time to. The method of claim 1, The dust empty signal display unit is a vacuum cleaner of at least one of the LED, the speaker. In the control method of the vacuum cleaner, which includes at least a dust collecting device is formed dust storage, Rotating the case forming at least a part of the dust storage unit to compress the dust stored in the dust storage unit by a pressing member formed in the case; Determining the amount of compressed dust; And And when the amount of the compressed dust is determined to be greater than or equal to a predetermined amount, presenting the dust emptying information to the outside of the cleaner. The method of claim 8, In the step of compressing the dust, the pressing member is rotated in both directions, The control method of the vacuum cleaner, the operation of the compression motor is temporarily stopped before the direction of the pressing member is changed. The method of claim 8, The moving time of the pressing member is continuously sensed while the cleaning is being performed, and the determination of the amount of dust or more is determined from the moving time. The method of claim 8, Further comprising a fixing member is fixed in position in the dust storage, And controlling the vacuum cleaner to stop when the dust emptying information is known to the outside. The method of claim 8, Further comprising a fixing member is fixed in position in the dust storage, The control method of the vacuum cleaner in the step that the dust emptying information is known to the outside, the pressing member is stopped by moving the distance from the compressed dust on both sides of the fixing member to the same position. The method of claim 8, The method of controlling the vacuum cleaner, wherein the operation of the suction motor is stopped when the dust emptying information is known to the outside. The method of claim 8, The dust emptying information control method of the vacuum cleaner is visual information or audio information.

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