KR20230062547A - Vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

The vacuum cleaner includes: a vacuum motor; one or more TOF sensors configured to generate first sensor signals according to proximity of an object to the one or more TOF sensors; a capacitive sensor positioned proximate to a handle of the vacuum cleaner and configured to generate second sensor signals depending on whether or not a user is holding the handle; and a controller configured to: process first and second sensor signals generated to determine whether the vacuum cleaner is being actively used by a user; In response to determining that the vacuum cleaner is being actively used, activate the vacuum motor.

Description

Vacuum cleaner

The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner. In particular - but not exclusively - the present invention relates to a method, apparatus and means including a computer program for operating a vacuum cleaner.

Roughly speaking, there are four types of vacuum cleaners: 'upright' vacuum cleaners, 'cylinder' vacuum cleaners (also called 'canister' vacuums), There are 'handheld' vacuum cleaners and 'stick' vacuum cleaners.

Stand vacuum cleaners and cylinder vacuum cleaners tend to run on mains-power.

Handheld vacuum cleaners are relatively small and highly portable vacuum cleaners, and are particularly suitable for relatively low-volume applications such as spot cleaning of household floors and upholstery, interior cleaning of automobiles and boats, and the like. Unlike stand-up vacuums and cylinder vacuums, these tend to be battery-powered and designed to be hand-held during use.

Stick vacuum cleaners may include handheld vacuum cleaners combined with a rigid, elongate suction wand that effectively reaches the floor so that the user can stand while cleaning the floor surface. Typically, a floor tool is attached to the end of the rigid elongated suction wand, or alternatively may be integrated with the lower end of the wand.

Stick vacuum cleaners are typically operated by pressing a physical trigger switch that activates the vacuum motor. When the trigger switch is released, the vacuum motor is normally deactivated immediately. This has the advantage that the battery is not drained unnecessarily, since the user tends to release the trigger when possible, for example when moving between different areas. Nonetheless, long cleaning sessions in which the user must continuously hold down the physical trigger switch may induce some discomfort for some users.

It is an object of the present invention to mitigate or eliminate the foregoing disadvantages and/or to provide an improved or alternative vacuum cleaner.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a vacuum cleaner, which includes a vacuum motor; one or more time of flight (TOF) sensors configured to generate first sensor signals according to proximity of an object to the one or more time of flight (TOF) sensors; a capacitive sensor positioned proximate to a handle of the vacuum cleaner and configured to generate second sensor signals depending on whether a user is holding the handle; and a controller configured to: process first and second sensor signals generated to determine whether the vacuum cleaner is being actively used by a user; In response to determining that the vacuum cleaner is being actively used, activate the vacuum motor.

Advantageously, the controller activates the vacuum motor upon determining from the one or more TOF sensors and the capacitive sensor that the user is actively using the vacuum cleaner. In this way, when the user holds the handle and operates the vacuum cleaner to approach a surface or object to be cleaned, the controller will automatically activate the vacuum motor without requiring the user to press a physical trigger switch. This improves user comfort and convenience.

In embodiments, the controller is further configured to deactivate the vacuum motor in response to determining that the vacuum cleaner is no longer being actively used by the user.

In embodiments, the controller is configured to process the first and second sensor signals to determine whether the vacuum cleaner is being actively used both when the vacuum motor is activated and when the vacuum motor is deactivated.

In embodiments, the one or more TOF sensors include a radar device and/or a laser device.

In embodiments, the determination that the vacuum cleaner is actively being used includes a determination from the first sensor signals that the object is within a predetermined threshold distance from at least one of the one or more TOF sensors.

In embodiments, the vacuum cleaner further includes one or more removable tools, and the predetermined threshold distance depends on the type of removable tool attached to the vacuum cleaner. This may be desirable to tailor the vacuum cleaner's response to different cleaning scenarios. For example, when using a dusting brush, the preset threshold distance may be smaller than when using a crevice tool, which means that the vacuum only when, for example, the dusting brush actually rests on the surface to be cleaned. Because the motor has to be activated. This helps conserve battery power since the vacuum motor is not activated prematurely.

In embodiments, each of the one or more removable tools includes one of the one or more TOF sensors.

In embodiments, the one or more removable tools include one or more of: a crevice tool, a dusting brush, and a small powered tool.

In embodiments, the vacuum cleaner further includes a removable wand, wherein the removable wand includes one of the one or more TOF sensors.

In embodiments, one of the one or more TOF sensors is located on the body of the vacuum cleaner.

In embodiments, the determination that the vacuum cleaner is being actively used includes a determination from the second sensor signals that the user is holding a handle of the vacuum cleaner.

In embodiments, the controller is configured to process the sensor signals by performing a pre-processing step and a classification step.

In embodiments, the preprocessing step includes extracting features from temporal portions of the sensor signals.

In embodiments, the preprocessing step includes filtering the sensor signals.

In embodiments, the classification step includes processing the extracted features using a machine learning classifier. Advantageously, the machine learning classifier can be pre-trained by subjecting a vacuum cleaner to a number of different cleaning activities/scenarios, for example in a factory, and defining how the vacuum cleaner should react in each case. Additionally, machine learning classifiers may be capable of further learning in the user's home environment.

In embodiments, the machine learning classifier includes one or more of: an artificial neural network, a random forest, and a support vector machine.

According to an embodiment of the present invention there is provided a method of operating a vacuum cleaner, the method comprising: generating first sensor signals by one or more TOF sensors, the first sensor signals being an object to one or more TOF sensors; depends on the proximity of -; generating second sensor signals by a capacitive sensor positioned proximate to the handle of the vacuum cleaner, the second sensor signals dependent on whether the user is holding the handle; processing the first and second sensor signals to determine whether the vacuum cleaner is being actively used by a user; and in response to determining that the vacuum cleaner is being actively used, activating a vacuum motor of the vacuum cleaner.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a computer program comprising a set of instructions which, when executed by a computerized device, cause the computerized device to perform a method of operating a vacuum cleaner, the method comprising: 1 generating first sensor signals by the one or more TOF sensors, the first sensor signals being dependent on the proximity of the object to the one or more TOF sensors; generating second sensor signals by a capacitive sensor positioned proximate to the handle of the vacuum cleaner, the second sensor signals dependent on whether the user is holding the handle; processing the first and second sensor signals to determine whether the vacuum cleaner is being actively used by a user; and in response to determining that the vacuum cleaner is being actively used, activating a vacuum motor of the vacuum cleaner.

The present invention is not limited to any particular type of vacuum cleaner. For example, embodiments of the present invention may be used in stand-up vacuum cleaners, cylinder vacuum cleaners, or handheld or 'stick' vacuum cleaners.

It should be understood that features described in connection with one embodiment of the invention may be incorporated into other embodiments of the invention. For example, a method embodiment may incorporate any features described with reference to an apparatus embodiment, and vice versa.

Referring now to the accompanying schematic drawings, embodiments of the present invention will be described by way of example only:
1 is a perspective view of a stick-type vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a view of the cleaner head of the vacuum cleaner of Figure 1 viewed from below;
Fig. 3 schematically shows electrical components of the vacuum cleaner of Fig. 1;
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a main body of the stick vacuum cleaner of Fig. 1;
5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating sensor signals corresponding to linear acceleration and angular acceleration generated by an inertial measurement unit of a vacuum cleaner according to embodiments of the present invention;
6 and 7 show other sensor signals corresponding to the bearing generated by the inertial measurement unit of the vacuum cleaner according to embodiments of the present invention;
Fig. 8 is a simplified schematic diagram of the electrical components of the vacuum cleaner of Fig. 3 showing electrical connections between sensors, human-computer interface, motors and controller according to embodiments of the present invention;
9 is a block diagram illustrating exemplary sensor signal processing performed by a controller in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention;
10 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a vacuum cleaner without a trigger according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 11 shows exemplary sensor signal processing performed by a controller applicable to the method shown in Fig. 10 according to embodiments of the present invention;
12 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a vacuum cleaner based on a latching trigger according to embodiments of the present invention;
13 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a vacuum cleaner based on a time of flight (TOF) sensor and a capacitive sensor according to embodiments of the present invention;
14A and 14B show exemplary cleaning activities applicable to the method shown in FIG. 13 in accordance with embodiments of the present invention;
15 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a vacuum cleaner based on motion and orientation sensors and parameters of a cleaner head according to embodiments of the present invention; and
16A and 16B are diagrams illustrating exemplary cleaning activities applicable to the method shown in FIG. 15 in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

1 to 4 show a vacuum cleaner 2 according to embodiments of the present invention. The vacuum cleaner 2 is a 'stick-type' vacuum cleaner comprising a cleaner head 4 connected to a body 6 by means of an elongated wand 8, generally tubular. Also, the cleaner head 4 is directly connectable to the main body 6 to convert the vacuum cleaner 2 into a handheld vacuum cleaner. Other removable tools such as a crevice tool (3), a dusting brush (7) and a small electric vacuum cleaner head (5) are attached directly to the body (6) or to the end of the elongated wand (8) to It can be suitable for different cleaning tasks.

The main body 6 includes a dust separator 10, which in this case is a cyclone separator. The cyclone separator has a first cyclone stage 12 comprising a single cyclone, and a second cyclone stage 14 comprising a plurality of cyclones 16 arranged in parallel. The body 6 also has a removable filter assembly 18 provided with vents 20 through which air can escape from the vacuum cleaner 2 . The body 6 of the vacuum cleaner 2 has a pistol grip 22 which is positioned to be held by a user. At the upper end of the pistol grip 22 there is a user input device in the form of a trigger switch 24, which is normally pressed to turn on the vacuum cleaner 2. However, in some embodiments the physical trigger switch 24 is optional. Below the lower end of the pistol grip 22 is a battery pack 26 containing a plurality of rechargeable cells 27. A vacuum motor 52 including a fan driven by an electric motor and a controller 50 are provided behind the dust separator 10 in the body 6 .

The cleaner head 4 is shown from below in FIG. 2 . The cleaner head 4 has a casing 30 defining a suction chamber 32 and a sole plate 34 . The sole plate 34 has a suction opening 36 through which air can enter the suction chamber 32, and wheels 37 that engage the floor surface. Casing 30 defines an outlet 38 through which air can pass from suction chamber 32 to wand 8 . An agitator 40 in the form of a brush bar is positioned inside the suction chamber 32 . Agitator 40 may be driven to rotate within suction chamber 32 by agitator motor 54 . The agitator motor 54 of this embodiment is accommodated inside the agitator 40 . The agitator 40 has helical arrays of bristles 43 protruding from grooves 42 and is positioned in the suction chamber such that the bristles 43 project out of the suction chamber 34 through the suction opening 36 .

3 is a schematic representation of the electrical components of the vacuum cleaner 2 . Controller 50 manages the power supply from cells 27 of battery pack 26 to vacuum motor 52 . When the vacuum motor 52 is powered on, it creates an airflow to generate suction. Dust-entrained air is sucked into the cleaner head 4 (or one of the other tools, such as crevice tool 3, small electric vacuum cleaner head 5, or dusting brush 7, if attached), and sucked in It enters the suction chamber 32 through the opening 36. From there, air is sucked into the dust separator 10 along the wand 8 through the outlet 38 of the cleaner head 4 . After the entrained dust is removed by the dust separator 10, relatively clean air leaves the vacuum cleaner 2 through the vacuum motor 52, through the filter assembly 18, and through the vent 20. In addition, the controller 50 rotates the agitator 40 by supplying power from the battery pack 26 to the agitator motor 54 of the cleaner head 4 through the wires 56 running along the inside of the wand. When the cleaner head 4 is on a hard floor, it is supported by wheels 37, and the sole plate 34 and agitator 40 are spaced from the floor surface. When the cleaner head 4 is placed on a carpeted surface, the wheels 37 sink into the pile of the carpet, so the sole plate 34 (together with the rest of the cleaner head 4) sinks further down. is located This causes the carpet fibers to protrude toward (and potentially through) the intake opening 36 so that they are scattered by the bristles 43 of the rotating agitator 40 to shed debris and dust therefrom.

The vacuum cleaner 2 according to embodiments of the present invention includes additional components as can be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4 . These are: a current sensor 58 that senses the current drawn by the agitator motor 54 of the cleaner head 4, and a pressure sensor 60 that senses the pressure applied to the sole plate 34 of the cleaner head 4. , an inertial measurement unit (IMU) 62 sensitive to the motion and orientation of the body 6 of the vacuum cleaner 2, a human-computer interface (HCI) 64, typically time of flight (TOF) sensors 72 ), a tool switch sensor 74, and a capacitive sensor 76 located in the pistol grip 22. The current sensor 58 is shown as being placed on the cleaner head 4, but it could alternatively be located on the body 6. For example, current sensor 58 may be incorporated as part of controller 50 if operable to sense the current supplied to agitator motor 54 from battery 26 via wires 56 . In the embodiment shown, one TOF sensor 72 is located at the end of the removable wand 8 close to where the cleaner head 4 or one of the other tools 3, 5, 7 is attached. Additional TOF sensors 72 may be provided on the removable tools 3, 5, 7 themselves. Each TOF sensor 72 generates a sensor signal according to the proximity of objects to the TOF sensor 72 . Suitable TOF sensors 72 include radar or laser devices. The tool switch sensor 74 is located on the body 6 of the vacuum cleaner 2 and generates signals depending on whether a tool 3, 4, 5 or 7 or a wand 8 is attached to the body 6. do. In embodiments, tool switch sensor 74 generates signals depending on the type of tool 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 attached to body 6 or wand 8 . A capacitive sensor 76 is located on the pistol grip 22 and generates signals depending on whether or not the user is holding the pistol grip. In embodiments, the vacuum cleaner 2 may include one or more additional IMUs. For example, the cleaner head 4 may include an IMU that is sensitive to the movement and orientation of the cleaner head 4 and generates additional sensor signals to supplement the signals generated by the IMU 62 of the body 6. can IMU 62 may include one or more accelerometers, one or more gyroscopes, and/or one or more magnetometers.

As shown in more detail in FIG. 4 , the body 6 of the vacuum cleaner 2 defines a longitudinal axis 70 running from the front end 9 to the rear end 11 of the body 6 . When attached to the front end 9 of the body 6, the wand 8 is parallel (in this case collinear) to the longitudinal axis 70. In the embodiment shown, HCI 64 includes a visual display unit 65, more specifically a flat full color backlit thin film transistor (TFT) screen. Screen 65 is controlled by controller 50 and receives power from battery 26 . The screen displays information such as an error message, an indication of the mode in which the vacuum cleaner 2 is operating, or an indication of the remaining amount of the battery 26 to the user. The screen 65 faces substantially rearward (ie its plane is oriented substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 70). Located below the screen 65 (in the vertical direction defined by the pistol grip 22) is a pair of control members 66, which also form part of the HCI 64, each of which screen 65 ) and is configured to receive a control input from a user. In embodiments, the control members are configured to change the mode of the vacuum cleaner, for example to manually increase or decrease the power of the vacuum motor 52 . In embodiments, HCI 64 also includes an audio output device such as speaker 67 that can provide audible feedback to a user.

The IMU 62 generates sensor signals according to the movement and orientation of the body 6 of the vacuum cleaner 2 in three spatial dimensions (x, y and z). The movement includes linear acceleration and angular acceleration of the body 6 . 5A shows exemplary generated IMU 62 sensor data corresponding to the linear acceleration of the body 6 before, during, and after a cleaning operation. The time scale represents the index of samples collected at a sampling rate of 25 Hz. The vertical scale is the unit of acceleration due to gravity. Traces 91a, 91b and 91c correspond to the linear acceleration of body 6 in the x, y and z directions, respectively. FIG. 5B shows exemplary generated IMU 62 sensor data corresponding to the angular acceleration of the body 6 before, during and after the same cleaning operation as shown in FIG. 5A. Traces 92a, 92b and 92c correspond to angular acceleration about the x, y and z axes, respectively. In both Figures 5A and 5B, the vacuum cleaner 2 is initially static (stationary). This is followed by a cleaning session comprising cleaning strokes that cause vibratory behavior in some of the generated sensor data. Finally, the vacuum cleaner 2 returns to the stationary state again. The data shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B have been smoothed, for example by a band-pass filter or a low-pass filter. 6 shows exemplary generated IMU 62 sensor data corresponding to the orientation of the body 6 about the y axis during different handheld vacuum cleaner operations. Specifically, interval 93a corresponds to cleaning of a low-level surface, for example a skirting board, interval 93b corresponds to a period in which the main body 6 is placed on a table, interval 93c corresponds to a high surface, For example, it corresponds to cleaning ceilings, blinds, curtains or cupboard tops. FIG. 7 shows another exemplary generated IMU 62 sensor data corresponding to the orientation of the body 6 about the y axis during different cleaning tasks using the motorized cleaner heads 4 , 5 . Trace 94a corresponds to cleaning under furniture with the main cleaner head 4 attached to the wand 8 . Trace 94b corresponds to stair cleaning using a small electric vacuum cleaner head 5 attached directly to the main body 6 without using a wand 8 . Trace 94c corresponds to normal line vacuuming using the cleaner head 4 attached to the wand 8 . It should be understood that different cleaning activities result in different signatures in the sensor data generated by IMU 62 . It should be appreciated that in this way, IMU 62 sensor data may be processed to infer information about the cleaning activity being performed by a user using the vacuum cleaner, or the environment in which the vacuum cleaner is operating.

8 schematically shows an electrical layout of a vacuum cleaner 2 according to embodiments. In embodiments, the controller 50 includes a trigger 24, a current sensor 58, a pressure sensor 60, an IMU 62, one or more TOF sensors 72, a tool switch sensor 74, and a capacitive sensor. (76) receives and processes signals generated by one or more of The controller 50 has a memory 51 in which instructions for the controller 50 to process sensor signals are stored. Based on the processing of the sensor signals, controller 50 controls one or more of vacuum motor 52, agitator motor 54, and HCI 64 to improve operation of vacuum cleaner 2 and thus improve user experience. to control Exemplary enhancements include improved garbage collection and improved battery life, among others.

9 is a block diagram illustrating exemplary sensor signal processing performed by controller 50 according to various embodiments of the present invention. Unfiltered sensor signals 88 are received at controller 50 from one or more of the available sensors. Different embodiments use sensor signals from different sensors. Some embodiments use sensor signals from only one sensor, such as IMU 62 for example. A band-pass filter or low-pass filter 82 filters the raw sensor signals 88 to produce smoothed sensor signals 90 that are more suitable for further processing. At block 84, preset features F ₁ , F _{2 ...} F _n are extracted from the smoothed sensor signals and subsequently analyzed by classifier 86 . In embodiments, the classifier 86 determines, from the extracted features, the specific cleaning activity being performed by the user using the vacuum cleaner 2 . In other embodiments, the classifier 86 determines, from the extracted features, the specific surface type on which the vacuum cleaner 2 is operating. In other embodiments, the classifier 86 determines, from the extracted features, whether the vacuum cleaner 2 is being actively used to help provide a trigger-free vacuum cleaner 2 . Having determined the foregoing, controller 50 may associate with at least one of vacuum motor 52, agitator motor 54 and HCI 64 configured according to shunt 86 output and optionally the state of trigger 24. to cause an action or actions to be performed. It should be understood that filter 82 , feature extraction block 84 and classifier 86 are generally implemented as software modules running on or under the control of controller 50 . Controller memory 51 stores sets of instructions that define the operation of filter 82, feature extraction 84, classifier 86 and resulting operation. In embodiments, the classifier is based on a machine learning classifier such as an artificial neural network, random forest, support vector machine, or any other suitable trained model. The model may have been pre-trained, for example in a factory, using a supervised learning approach. A sliding window approach is commonly used to span the filtered sensor signals and extract features corresponding to that particular temporal portion of the signal. Consecutive frames usually overlap to some extent, but are usually treated separately. It should be understood that it is not always necessary to receive and process sensor data from all available sensors. For example, in embodiments the controller 50 may process only the IMU 62 sensor data to obtain the classifier output. In addition, in the case of the IMU 62 sensor data, the controller 50 may consider, for example, only the IMU 62 sensor data regarding the orientation of the vacuum cleaner 2, or the IMU 62 sensor data regarding the acceleration of the vacuum cleaner 2 ( 62) Only sensor data can be considered.

The vacuum cleaner 2 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 typically includes a physical trigger 24 used to activate the vacuum motor 52 when the trigger 24 is depressed, but for user convenience, vacuum cleaning operation. It is understood that it would be desirable to relax the requirement of continuously depressing the trigger 24 during Indeed, some of the embodiments described below allow the vacuum cleaner 2 to be operated without pressing the trigger 24 at all. Thus, in embodiments, the provision of the physical trigger 24 may be optional such that it may be omitted from the vacuum cleaner 2 entirely.

10 is a flowchart illustrating a method 230 of operating the vacuum cleaner 2 according to embodiments. In step 232, sensor signals are generated by a plurality of different sensors of the vacuum cleaner. These may include any combination of IMU 62 , TOF sensor 72 , current sensor 58 , pressure sensor 60 , capacitive sensor 76 and tool switch sensor 74 . In step 234, a first module of the controller 50 processes the generated sensor signals to generate a plurality of control signals. In step 236, a second module of the controller 50 processes the plurality of control signals to generate an output signal indicating that the vacuum cleaner 2 is currently being used. At step 238, the vacuum motor 52 is activated or deactivated according to the output signal.

Referring to FIG. 11 , the first module 100 receives sensor signals generated by various sensors available in the vacuum cleaner 2 . It should be understood that sometimes, not all sensors are necessarily present, i.e. installed in a device. For example, current sensor 58 and pressure sensor 60 are located on or within removable cleaner head 4, but vacuum cleaner 2 operates with crevice tool 7 instead of cleaner head 4. In emerging embodiments, the current sensor 58 and pressure sensor 60 are then absent. However, the general architecture described in FIG. 11 is flexible in terms of adding or removing sensors that provide signals to the first module 100 . The first module 100 generates a plurality of control signals 101 periodically (eg, once per second) based on processing of the generated sensor signals. For example, the control signal “ctrl_detectedHAND” indicates whether the user is holding the handle (pistol grip 22) of the vacuum cleaner 2 as detected by the capacitive sensor 76 for example. The control signal "ctrl_toolType" indicates the type of tools 3, 4, 5, 7 attached to the body 6 or wand 8 as sensed by the tool switch sensor 74. The control signal "ctrl_cleaningShortTool" indicates whether the user is operating the vacuum cleaner 2 in a manner indicating a cleaning operation using a tool directly attached to the main body 6. The control signal "ctrl_cleaningLongTool" indicates whether the user is operating the vacuum cleaner in a manner indicating a cleaning operation using a tool attached to the wand 8 . In embodiments, the processing of the generated sensor signals performed by the first module 100 is based on the approach described above with reference to FIG. 9 . Specifically, in embodiments, the first module 100 is configured to process sensor signals generated by performing a preprocessing step (filtering and feature extraction) and a classification step (based on a machine learning classifier). In this regard, the classifier 86 is configured to provide a plurality of control signals 101 .

A plurality of control signals are analyzed by the second module 102 which generates an output signal 103 according to the control signals 101 . The vacuum motor 52 is activated or deactivated depending on the value of the output signal 103 . In embodiments, the output signal is a binary signal that turns the vacuum motor 52 on and off at an initial default power level. In other embodiments, the output signal is one of several values that cause the vacuum motor 52 to turn on at different initial power levels (eg, low, medium, and high) according to the plurality of control signals 101 . can take A suitable architecture for the second module 102 is a finite state machine where the different states correspond to the states (power levels or on/off state) of the vacuum motor 52 . It should be understood that the first module 100 and the second module 102 may be implemented as a single software module executed by a single controller 50 or as separate software modules. The provision of the first module 100 and the second module 102 at different stages of the signal processing chain described in FIG. 11 enables independent development of the two modules. For example, changes to the way the classifier operates in the first module 100 do not necessarily affect the operation of the second module 102 if the output control signals 101 adopt a consistent format. It should be understood that the general architecture described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11 may form the basis of a trigger-free vacuum cleaner 2 according to embodiments of the present invention.

12 is a flowchart illustrating a method 240 of operating the vacuum cleaner 2 according to embodiments. At step 242, vacuum motor 52 is activated (ie, turned on) in response to activation of the user input device by the user. In step 244, sensor signals are generated based on the detected movement and orientation of the vacuum cleaner. At step 246, the generated sensor signals are processed by controller 50 to determine whether vacuum cleaner 2 is being actively used by a user. In step 248, in response to a determination that vacuum cleaner 2 is being actively used, vacuum motor 52 remains activated. Since the user input device is typically a trigger 24, activation of the user input device involves pressing the trigger 24. However, unlike conventional triggerable devices, the user does not necessarily have to keep depressing the trigger 24 constantly during the vacuuming session. This is because the vacuum motor 52 remains activated if the controller 50 determines that the vacuum cleaner 2 is being actively used by the user. As such, the vacuum cleaner 2 can be turned on by momentarily pressing the trigger 24 for a period of less than 0.5 seconds, for example. Once turned on, the trigger 24 can be released, which improves user comfort. Therefore, the trigger is effectively 'latched' (in the non-mechanical sense). A capacitive sensor 76 located in the pistol grip 22 may form part or all of the user input device. For example, instead of a physical trigger 24, action of the capacitive sensor 76 detecting the user's hand may cause activation of the vacuum motor 52.

In embodiments, determining that the vacuum cleaner is being actively used by the user includes determining that the user is holding and/or operating the vacuum cleaner in a manner indicative of a vacuuming operation. In this regard, controller 50 processes sensor signals, such as those generated by IMU 62, in the manner previously described with reference to FIG. 9 . When the controller 50 determines that the vacuum cleaner is no longer being actively used, for example when it is placed on a table, the controller 50 deactivates the vacuum motor 52 to conserve battery power. Controller 50 typically waits for a predetermined period of time (eg, 0.5 to 5 seconds) before deactivating vacuum motor 52 to avoid turning off vacuum motor 52 when the device is only briefly stopped. something to do. If no movement is detected during this preset period, the vacuum motor 52 is deactivated. Once deactivated, the user is generally required to 're-latch' the vacuum cleaner 2 before the vacuum motor 52 can be reactivated, for example by briefly pressing the trigger 24 . In other words, simply moving the vacuum cleaner 2 will not, in embodiments, cause the vacuum motor 52 to be reactivated once it has been deactivated after a period of inactivity. Additional sensor readings may be taken to determine whether the user is actively using the vacuum cleaner. Examples include readings from a current sensor 58 and a pressure sensor 60 that sense parameters of the cleaner head 4 .

13 is a flowchart illustrating a method 250 of operating the vacuum cleaner 2 according to embodiments. At step 252, first sensor signals are generated by one or more TOF sensors 72. The first sensor signals depend on the proximity of an object to one or more TOF sensors 72 . In step 254, second sensor signals are generated by the capacitive sensor 76, depending on whether or not the user is holding the handle 22 of the vacuum cleaner. At step 256, the first and second sensor signals are processed by the controller 50 to determine whether the vacuum cleaner 2 is being actively used by a user. In step 258, in response to a determination that vacuum cleaner 2 is being actively used, vacuum motor 52 is activated. The controller 50 processes the sensor signals in the manner previously described with reference to FIG. 9 .

14A and 14B show an exemplary scenario in which a TOF sensor 72 and a capacitive sensor 76 are used to operate the vacuum cleaner 2 . In this example, a crevice tool 3 containing a TOF sensor 72 is attached directly to the body 6 . The user wants to clean some dirt 96 from the gap 97b formed between the floor 98a and the wall 98c. In FIG. 14A , the user's hand (not shown) is gripping the pistol grip 22 of the body 6 , which is detected by a capacitive sensor 76 located on the handle 22 . The TOF sensor 72 may be a laser device or a radar device that emits and receives electromagnetic or acoustic radiation 73 to determine the proximity of objects and surfaces. In FIG. 14A, the TOF sensor 72 detects that an object, in this case gap 97b, is farther away than a preset threshold distance. Therefore, the vacuum motor 52 is not yet activated and remains turned off to conserve battery power. In Fig. 14b, the user has moved the vacuum cleaner 2 closer to the gap 97b, bringing it within a predetermined threshold distance from the TOF sensor 72. Thus, controller 50 determines that vacuum cleaner 2 is being actively used, and activates vacuum motor 52 in time to effectively remove dust 96 . When the user moves the vacuum cleaner 2 away from the gap 97b, this is detected by the TOF sensor 72 and the vacuum motor 52 is deactivated. Thus, the vacuum cleaner 2 is activated and deactivated as needed without the user pressing a physical trigger 24 . When the vacuum cleaner 2 is stored, the user's hand will not grip the handle 22, and thus the vacuum motor 52 will not be activated even if an object is within a preset distance from the TOF sensor 72. In embodiments, the preset threshold distance depends on the type of removable tool attached to the vacuum cleaner 2 . This may be desirable in order to tailor the response of the vacuum cleaner 2 to different cleaning scenarios. For example, when using the dusting brush 7, the preset critical distance may be smaller than when using the crevice tool 3, which is only when the dusting brush 7 is actually placed on the surface to be cleaned, the vacuum motor 52 ) must be activated.

15 is a flowchart illustrating a method 260 of operating the vacuum cleaner 2 having the cleaner head 4 according to embodiments. In step 262, first sensor signals are generated based on the detected movement and orientation of the vacuum cleaner. The first sensor signals may be generated by, for example, the IMU 62 . In step 264 second sensor signals are generated based on the sensed parameters of the cleaner head 4 . Second sensor signals may be generated by current sensor 58 and/or pressure sensor 60 . At step 266, the first and second sensor signals are processed by the controller 50 to determine whether the vacuum cleaner 2 is being actively used by a user. In step 268, in response to a determination that the vacuum cleaner 2 is being actively used, the vacuum motor 52 is activated. The controller 50 processes the sensor signals in the manner previously described with reference to FIG. 9 .

16a and 16b show exemplary scenarios in which the first and second sensor signals are used to cause the vacuum cleaner 2 to operate. In Fig. 16a, the vacuum cleaner 2 is placed in a dock 99 mounted to the wall 98c. The cleaner head 4 is attached to a wand 8 which is attached to a body 6. The pressure applied to the cleaner head 4 is small or zero when the vacuum cleaner 2 is suspended in the dock 99 in this way. Also, the IMU 62 will sense that the vacuum cleaner 2 is not experiencing any movement and is held in a fixed orientation. In Fig. 16b, the vacuum cleaner 2 has been taken out of the dock 99 by the user. The cleaner head 4 is placed on the floor 98a, and the user starts to move the vacuum cleaner 2 forward to start cleaning the floor. Controller 50 processes sensor signals from diagnostic sensors 58 and 60 associated with cleaner head 4 and IMU 62 in the manner previously described with reference to FIG. 9 . This causes the controller 50 to determine that the user is now actively using the vacuum cleaner 2 . Thus, the controller 50 activates the vacuum motor 52 without requiring the user to press the trigger 24 .

Any feature described in connection with any one embodiment and/or aspect may be used alone or in combination with other features described, and any other embodiment and/or aspect, or any It should be understood that one may be used in combination with one or more features of any combination of other embodiments and/or aspects. For example, features and/or steps described in connection with a given one of methods 230, 240, 250, and 260 are features described in connection with other ones of methods 230, 240, 250, and 260. It will be appreciated that may be included in place of or in addition to steps and/or steps.

In embodiments of the present invention, the vacuum cleaner 2 includes a controller 50 . Controller 50 is configured to perform various methods described herein. In embodiments, a controller includes a processing system. Such processing systems may include one or more processors and/or memory. Each device, component or function as described in connection with any of the examples described herein, for example IMU 62 and/or HCI 64, may similarly include a processor, or It can be included in a device that includes a processor. One or more aspects of the embodiments described herein include processes performed by a device. In some examples, an apparatus includes one or more processors configured to perform these processes. In this regard, embodiments may be performed at least in part by computer software stored in (non-transitory) memory and executable by a processor, or by hardware, or a combination of software and hardware (and tangibly stored firmware) stored tangibly. can be implemented by Embodiments also extend to a computer program, in particular a computer program on or within a carrier, which is adapted to put the previously described embodiments into practice. A program may be in the form of non-transitory source code, object code, or any other non-transitory form suitable for use in the implementation of processes according to embodiments. A carrier may be any entity or device capable of carrying a program, such as RAM, ROM, or an optical memory device.

One or more processors of the processing systems may include a central processing unit (CPU). The one or more processors may include a graphics processing unit (GPU). The one or more processors may include one or more of a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a complex programmable logic device (CPLD). One or more processors may include an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Those skilled in the art will understand that many other types of device may be used to provide one or more processors in addition to the examples provided. The one or more processors may include multiple co-located processors or multiple differentially positioned processors. Tasks performed by one or more processors may be performed by one or more of hardware, firmware, and software. It will be appreciated that processing systems may include different, more, and/or fewer components than those described.

The techniques described herein may be implemented in software or hardware, or may be implemented using a combination of software and hardware. These may include configuring the device to perform and/or support some or all of the techniques described herein. Although at least some aspects of the examples described herein with reference to the drawings include computer processes performed on processing systems or processors, the examples described herein also include a computer program, e.g., adapted to put the examples into practice. eg to a computer program on or within a carrier. A carrier can be any entity or device capable of carrying a program. A carrier may include a computer readable storage medium. Examples of tangible computer readable storage media include an optical medium (eg, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or Blu-ray), a flash memory card, a floppy or hard disk, or at least one ROM or RAM or PROM (Programmable ROM). ) microcode in chips or any other medium capable of storing computer-readable instructions such as firmware, but is not limited thereto.

Where in the foregoing description, reference is made to integers or elements having known, apparent, or foreseeable equivalents, such equivalents are incorporated herein as if individually set forth. Reference should be made to the claims to determine the true scope of the invention, which is to be interpreted to encompass any such equivalents. It is also to be understood that integrals or features of the invention which are described as preferred, advantageous, or expedient are optional and do not limit the scope of the independent claims. Moreover, it should be understood that these optional integrals or features, while advantageously possible in some embodiments of the invention, may be undesirable in other embodiments, and thus may be absent.

Claims (18)

As a vacuum cleaner,
vacuum motor;
one or more time of flight (TOF) sensors configured to generate first sensor signals according to proximity of an object to the one or more time of flight (TOF) sensors;
a capacitive sensor positioned proximate to a handle of the vacuum cleaner and configured to generate second sensor signals depending on whether or not a user is holding the handle; and
controller
Including, wherein the controller:
process first and second sensor signals generated to determine whether the vacuum cleaner is being actively used by the user;
and in response to determining that the vacuum cleaner is being actively used, activate the vacuum motor. According to claim 1,
wherein the controller is further configured to deactivate the vacuum motor in response to determining that the vacuum cleaner is no longer being actively used by the user. According to claim 1 or 2,
wherein the controller is configured to process the first and second sensor signals to determine whether the vacuum cleaner is being actively used both when the vacuum motor is activated and when the vacuum motor is deactivated. According to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The one or more TOF sensors include a radar device and/or a laser device. According to any one of claims 1 to 4,
wherein the determination that the vacuum cleaner is being actively used comprises a determination from the first sensor signals that the object is within a predetermined threshold distance from at least one of the one or more TOF sensors. According to claim 5,
and one or more removable tools, wherein the predetermined threshold distance depends on a type of removable tool attached to the vacuum cleaner. According to claim 6,
wherein each of the one or more removable tools includes one of the one or more TOF sensors. According to claim 6 or 7,
The one or more removable tools are:
crevice tool;
dusting brush; and
A vacuum cleaner comprising at least one of the small powered tools. According to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The vacuum cleaner further comprises a removable wand, wherein the removable wand comprises one of the one or more TOF sensors. According to any one of claims 1 to 9,
and one of the one or more TOF sensors is located on a body of the vacuum cleaner. According to any one of claims 1 to 10,
and the determination that the vacuum cleaner is being actively used comprises a determination from the second sensor signals that the user is holding a handle of the vacuum cleaner. According to any one of claims 1 to 11,
wherein the controller is configured to process the sensor signals by performing a pre-processing step and a classification step. According to claim 12,
Wherein the pre-processing step comprises extracting features from temporal portions of the sensor signals. According to claim 12 or 13,
Wherein the pre-processing step comprises filtering the sensor signals. According to claim 13 or 14,
Wherein the classification step comprises processing the extracted features using a machine learning classifier. According to claim 15,
The machine learning classifier comprises at least one of: an artificial neural network, a random forest, and a support vector machine. As a method of operating a vacuum cleaner,
generating first sensor signals by one or more TOF sensors, wherein the first sensor signals are dependent on proximity of an object to the one or more TOF sensors;
generating second sensor signals by a capacitive sensor positioned proximate to the handle of the vacuum cleaner, the second sensor signals dependent on whether or not the user is holding the handle;
processing the first and second sensor signals to determine whether the vacuum cleaner is being actively used by the user; and
responsive to determining that the vacuum cleaner is being actively used, activating a vacuum motor of the vacuum cleaner;
Including, method. A computer program comprising a set of instructions that, when executed by a computerized device, causes the computerized device to perform a method of operating a vacuum cleaner, comprising:
The method is:
generating first sensor signals by one or more TOF sensors, wherein the first sensor signals are dependent on proximity of an object to the one or more TOF sensors;
generating second sensor signals by a capacitive sensor positioned proximate to the handle of the vacuum cleaner, the second sensor signals dependent on whether or not the user is holding the handle;
processing the first and second sensor signals to determine whether the vacuum cleaner is being actively used by the user; and
responsive to determining that the vacuum cleaner is being actively used, activating a vacuum motor of the vacuum cleaner;
Including, a computer program.

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