KR20080069940A - Vacuum cleaners having wheel driving parts and the methods of controlling the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A vacuum cleaner having a wheel driving part and a method of controlling the same are provided to move a body of the cleaner automatically according to a relative position of a suction nozzle part and to release a power cord, using a cord reel driving part, to prevent a user from releasing the cord. A suction nozzle part has sensors(61,63). A body(1) has sensors(62,64). When more than two pairs of sensors are installed, the body is kept from the suction nozzle part in predetermined interval, the motion direction of the suction nozzle part is sensed, and the moving path of the body is controlled. A cord reel driving part is installed at a cord reel having a power cord(6).

Description

Vacuum cleaner with wheel drive and control method thereof {VACUUM CLEANERS HAVING WHEEL DRIVING PARTS AND THE METHODS OF CONTROLLING THE SAME}

1 illustrates an example of a conventional cleaner.

2 illustrates a vacuum cleaner including a sensor unit, a wheel driving unit, and a control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 illustrates a vacuum cleaner including two or more pairs of sensors according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4A and 4B illustrate that a vacuum cleaner including two or more pairs of sensors according to an embodiment of the present invention selects a path under control of a controller.

5 illustrates a vacuum cleaner including a sensor unit, a wheel driving unit, a cord reel driving unit, and a control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 and 7 illustrate a flowchart for controlling the wheel drive unit and the cord reel drive unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of Signs of Major Parts of Drawings>

1: body 2: wheels

3: suction nozzle portion 4: suction pipe

5: corrugated pipe 6: power cord

8: cord reel drive unit 10: cord reel

61, 62, 63, 64: sensor

The present invention relates to a cleaner that recognizes a relative position with a suction nozzle, and autonomously drives a wheel to maintain a distance within a predetermined distance from the suction nozzle, thereby improving operability.

The vacuum cleaner is a device that collects the waste by filtering the dirt from inside the body by using the vacuum pressure formed by the vacuum motor installed inside the body, and then suctioning the air containing the foreign matter.

The vacuum cleaner sucks the air containing the foreign matter through the suction nozzle. In order to clean a large area, the vacuum cleaner needs to be cleaned while changing the position of the suction nozzle. Therefore, the body connected to the suction nozzle must also continue to move. However, the conventional vacuum cleaner is designed to move the vacuum cleaner in reaction to the user by applying a traction force by pulling the hose connected to the main body. As a result, in addition to the labor of cleaning itself, more work has been done to move the vacuum cleaner. This puts a physical burden on users, especially women or the elderly, making cleaning more difficult and cumbersome. To solve this problem, the traction force to move the cleaner should be minimized, and the cleaner should move or change direction as the user intends even in a narrow place.

The present invention to solve the above problems, by improving the vacuum cleaner towed by the conventional manpower to install a sensor, a wheel drive device, a control unit in the vacuum cleaner can move along the body of the vacuum cleaner in the direction that the user wants to proceed It is an object to provide a vacuum cleaner. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a method of controlling the driving device by receiving the position information of the sensor.

The present invention provides a vacuum cleaner body, a plurality of wheels provided on the main body, a driving unit for driving the wheels, a suction nozzle unit connected through the main body, a suction pipe and a corrugated pipe, an infrared sensor installed at a predetermined position of the main body; And controlling the driving unit according to a relative position of the main body and the suction nozzle part obtained by the transmission and reception of an infrared sensor installed at a predetermined position of the suction nozzle part so as to correspond to the infrared sensor of the main body, and an infrared sensor of the main body infrared sensor and the suction nozzle part corresponding thereto. It provides a vacuum cleaner comprising a control unit. Preferably, the infrared sensor of the main body and the infrared sensor of the corresponding suction nozzle part are provided at least two pairs or more at intervals, respectively, to detect the traveling direction of the suction nozzle part, and the control unit considers the position and the traveling direction of the suction nozzle part. To control the drive unit. The vacuum cleaner further includes a cord reel driver for driving the cord reel, and the controller is more preferable to control the cord reel driver in response to the driving of the wheel reel driver.

In the control method of the cleaner provided with a drive unit on the wheel,

a) setting a reference distance between the vacuum cleaner body and the suction nozzle unit,

b) measuring the comparison distance between the vacuum cleaner body and the suction nozzle unit,

c) comparing the reference distance with the comparison distance,

d) It provides a control method of a vacuum cleaner, characterized in that determining the rotational direction and rotational speed of the body wheel.

Preferably, the reference distance setting in step a) is set to the distance between the main body and the suction nozzle portion at the time of turning on the power.

Also preferably, the reference distance setting in step a) is continuously reset to the comparison distance of the previous step.

In addition, it is preferable that the reference distance setting of step a) is a predetermined range set in advance.

More preferably, the reference distance of step a) is set to a predetermined range based on the distance between the main body and the suction nozzle unit at the time of turning on the power.

Furthermore, the reference distance of step a) and the comparison distance of step b) are preferably obtained at a plurality of positions.

The rotational speed of step d) is preferably obtained through the relative position of the reference distance and the comparison distance and the comparison distance measurement time interval.

In addition, the rotation direction of step d) is preferably determined in a direction in which the main body approaches the suction nozzle part when the comparison distance is farther than the reference distance, and in a direction in which the main body moves away from the suction nozzle part when the comparison distance is closer than the reference distance. Do.

More preferably, the direction of rotation of step d) is determined such that the difference between the reference distance and the comparison distance is to turn further.

More preferably, e) further comprises releasing the power cord at the same speed as the rotational speed of the body.

The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

The present invention provides a vacuum cleaner in which the main body is automatically moved in the moving direction by installing a sensor in the vacuum cleaner in order to solve the problem of the cumbersome cleaning by moving the vacuum cleaner main body by manpower for the conventional cleaning.

1 illustrates a conventional cleaner, which includes a main body 1 having a suction motor and the like, a moving wheel 2 installed on the main body, a suction nozzle part 3 and a suction nozzle part 3. And a suction pipe 4 and a corrugated pipe 5 through which the suctioned dust and air are connected to the main body 1.

FIG. 2 shows that the sensors 61 and 62 are installed in the main body 1 and the suction nozzle part 3 in one embodiment of the present invention. Preferably, the sensors 61 and 62 are capable of distance measurement by optical sensors such as infrared sensors and non-contact sensors such as ultrasonic sensors. As an example, by installing an infrared ray transmitting sensor in the suction nozzle unit 3 and an infrared ray receiving sensor in the main body 1, the distance can be measured by measuring the time that the originating sensor arrives at the receiving sensor. Alternatively, an ultrasonic sensor may be installed in the main body 1 and the suction nozzle part 3 to measure a time at which a signal is transmitted from the main body 1 to return to the main body 1 through the suction nozzle part 3 to measure the distance. You can decide. When the user grabs the handle formed on the suction pipe 4 and moves the foreign matter through the suction nozzle unit 3, the sensor 61 installed in the suction nozzle unit 3 and the sensor 62 installed in the main body 1 are moved. Sends a distance signal between the sensors to the controller in real time, the controller issues a forward / reverse driving command to the wheel driver (not shown). When the distance between the suction nozzle part 3 and the main body 1 increases, the main body 1 is advanced toward the suction nozzle part 3 so that the suction nozzle part 3 maintains an appropriate distance, and the suction nozzle part 3 If the distance between the main body 1 and the main body 1 is too close, the main body 1 is moved backward from the suction nozzle part 3. This control is performed through a control unit (not shown) which receives position information from the sensors 61 and 62 and issues a driving command to the wheel driving unit (not shown).

According to another embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 3, two or more pairs of the sensors 61 and 63 of the suction nozzle unit 3 and the sensors 62 and 64 of the main body corresponding thereto may be provided. In this case, the sensors 61, 62, 63, and 64 are preferably provided on the left and right sides of the suction nozzle part 3 and the main body 1. When two or more pairs of sensors 61, 62, 63, and 64 are provided, not only the main body 1 moves so as to maintain a constant distance from the suction nozzle part 3, but also the direction of movement of the suction nozzle part 3 is adjusted. By sensing, the path up to which the main body 1 moves can be controlled. For example, to avoid obstacles such as wall edges or indoor furniture, when the suction nozzle part 3 rotates, the distance between one sensor pair will be farther than the distance between the other sensor pairs. Thereby, the main body 1 is also controlled to bypass in the same direction. Therefore, when the position information received from each pair of sensors 61, 62, 63, 64 is compared, and the distance between the pair of first sensors 61, 62 is farther than the distance between the pair of second sensors 63, 64, 1 Drive the rotation speed (RPM) of the wheel installed on the same side as the pair of sensors (61, 62) to be larger. On the contrary, when the distance between the pair of the second sensors 63 and 64 is farther than the distance between the pair of the first sensors 61 and 62, the number of rotations of the wheels provided on the same side as the pair of the second sensors 63 and 64 is increased. The second pair of sensors (63, 64) is bypassed toward the installation.

4A and 4B illustrate a path of a main body under control of a controller to avoid obstacles to a destination point. When the distance α between the pair of first sensors 61 and 62 is greater than the distance β between the pair of second sensors 63 and 64, the first path 61 is installed in the direction in which the pair of sensors 61 and 62 is installed, as in the first path. The bypass β and the distance β between the pair of second sensors 63 and 64 is greater than the distance α between the pair of first sensors 61 and 62, Control to bypass the 2 path.

In addition, referring to FIG. 5, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the cord reel driver 8 may be installed in the cord reel 10 that winds and unwinds the power cord 6. Preferably, the cord reel driver is a motor capable of forward / reverse rotation, and the controller controls the cord reel driver at the same speed (speed and direction) as the speed of driving the wheel driver.

The present invention also provides a control method of a vacuum cleaner provided with a wheel drive unit. Referring to FIG. 7, according to an embodiment of the present invention, first, a reference distance between the main body and the suction nozzle unit is set, and the comparison distance is measured and compared. If the comparison distance is larger than the reference distance, to reduce the distance between the main body and the suction nozzle part, the wheel is rotated forward to advance the main body, and if the comparison distance is smaller than the reference distance, the distance between the main body and the suction nozzle part is reduced. To reverse the body, the wheel is rotated in reverse. The comparison distance is measured in real time with a short time interval, measured continuously.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the setting of the reference distance may be set to the distance between the main body and the suction nozzle at the moment of turning on the power by using a power switch installed in the handle for suctioning foreign matter. In addition, the reference distance can be continuously reset without maintaining a constant value. Once the first reference distance is set to the distance between the main body and the suction nozzle as soon as the power is turned on as above, from the second reference distance thereafter, the previous comparison distance, that is, the first comparison distance becomes the second reference distance, It can be continuously reset such that the second comparison distance becomes the third reference distance.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the reference distance may be set in advance in a predetermined range. This is because it is necessary to avoid the main body from repeating forward and backward unnecessarily in a range in which the suction nozzle part reciprocates for suctioning foreign matters, since the suction nozzle part is reciprocated back and forth in a narrow range. Therefore, the distance of the proper range is set in advance as the reference distance, and the wheel is driven only when the comparison distance is out of the range of the reference distance. For example, a reference distance is given in a range of a ≦ reference distance ≦ b. When the comparison distance <a, the distance between the suction nozzle portion and the main body is closer than the proper distance, so that the main body is moved back away from the suction nozzle portion. In addition, when the comparison distance> b, since the distance between a suction nozzle part and a main body is farther than an appropriate distance, it advances so that a main body may become closer to a suction nozzle part.

In addition, in another embodiment of the present invention, the reference distance may be set as a range, but not a preset value, but may have a predetermined range around the distance between the main body and the suction nozzle unit at the time of turning on the power switch. For example, when the distance between the main body and the suction nozzle portion is l at the moment of turning on the power switch, the reference distance may be set to l-c ≦ reference distance ≦ l + d. At this time, when the measured comparison distance is smaller than l-c, the main body is moved backward from the suction nozzle part, and when the measured comparison distance is larger than l + d, the main body is advanced to be closer to the suction nozzle part.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the reference distance and the comparison distance may be obtained at a plurality of positions, such that the main body moves in response to the left and right movements of the suction nozzle unit. Preferably, the reference distance and the comparison distance are measured at the left and right sides of the suction nozzle unit and at the left and right sides of the main body.

By comparing the reference distances and the comparative distances measured in this way, it is possible to make the wheel rotation on the side with the larger difference between the reference distance and the comparative distance larger so that the distance is bypassed to the farther side. For example, when the suction nozzle unit moves forward and the direction is turned to the left, the difference between the reference distance, the comparison distance, and the reference distance and the comparison distance on the right rather than the change of the reference distance, the comparison distance, and the difference between the reference distance and the comparison distance on the left side. The change of will be greater, and therefore, if the drive on the right side is controlled to rotate more, the body can also rotate to the left side. According to this embodiment, the main body is driven in consideration of the moving direction of the suction nozzle unit, rather than simply driving the main body to maintain the distance between the main body and the suction nozzle unit can be more conveniently cleaned.

In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention, since the reference distance and the comparison distance are continuously measured at short time intervals, the moving speed of the suction nozzle unit can be calculated through the change of the time interval and the reference distance and the comparison distance, thereby Up to drive speed of the body wheel can be controlled.

In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention, while moving the main body, it can be controlled to drive the cord reel winding and unwinding the power cord at the same speed. The process of winding the power cord in advance according to the moving speed of the main body by automatically winding and releasing the power cord according to the moving distance, and tangling the power cord when cleaning if the length of the released power cord is long, and winding the power cord after cleaning. Can be omitted and can be cleaned more easily.

As described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described specific preferred embodiments, and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the gist of the present invention claimed in the claims. Of course, such changes are within the scope of the claims.

The present invention is to move itself according to the relative position with the suction nozzle, even if the user does not directly pull the main body of the vacuum cleaner. Therefore, the labor required to move the vacuum cleaner body can be reduced or eliminated.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, when there is an obstacle such as a corner of a wall or furniture, it is possible to bypass the main body of the vacuum cleaner, thereby preventing the vacuum cleaner main body from hitting the obstacle.

In addition, by installing the cord reel drive unit, the user can use the movement information received through the infrared sensor to release the power cord along with driving the main body. It can save you a lot of trouble.

Claims (2)

Vacuum cleaner described in the drawings and the description of the invention. The vacuum cleaner control method as described in drawing and detailed description of the invention.

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