RU2478335C1 - Vacuum cleaner and vacuum cleaner control method - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: personal use articles.

SUBSTANCE: this invention relates to vacuum cleaners, more specifically - to a vacuum cleaner that determines the relative position of the handle assembly relative the body and such relative position change for forced automatic movement of the body according to the handle assembly movement, as well as to a vacuum cleaner control method. The vacuum cleaner contains a handle assembly connected to the suction fitting, a body connected to the handle assembly with the help of a connective hose, a drive device for setting in motion the wheels mounted on the body, a transmitter device and a receiver device (mounted on the handle assembly and on the body respectively and intended for establishment of ultrasonic communication between the latter) as well as a control device for control of the transmitter device and the receiver device; for usage of data on the distance between the transmitter device and the receiver device (obtained as a result of ultrasonic communication during trilateration) for determination of the relative position and such relative position change for and for control of the drive device for the body to move according to the handle assembly relative position change.

EFFECT: new vacuum cleaner design proposed.

15 cl, 15 dwg

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to vacuum cleaners and, more particularly, to a vacuum cleaner that determines the relative position of the handle assembly relative to the housing and changing the relative position to cause the housing to automatically move in accordance with the movement of the handle assembly and the method of controlling the vacuum cleaner.

Description of the prior art

A vacuum cleaner is an electrical device for sucking contaminants from a predetermined surface to be cleaned with a vacuum created by a vacuum motor located in a housing.

In accordance with the design of the vacuum cleaner, vacuum cleaners are divided into vertical type vacuum cleaners and container-type vacuum cleaners. The vertical type vacuum cleaner contains a suction nozzle and a housing made as a whole, the container-type vacuum cleaner contains a suction nozzle and a housing connected by an elastic connecting sleeve.

The vertical type vacuum cleaner comprises a handle located on the housing for cleaning a predetermined surface to be cleaned when moving the housing.

In contrast, a container-type vacuum cleaner comprises a handle assembly located at a distance from the housing. Therefore, if the user moves the handle assembly to adjust the direction of movement of the suction nozzle, the housing moves in the direction of travel of the handle assembly, since the housing, which is connected to the handle assembly by the connecting sleeve, is moved by the connecting sleeve.

Thus, the container-type vacuum cleaner has the disadvantage that the movement of the housing and the suction nozzle, however much the user wishes, is burdensome due to the weight of the housing.

Typically, the housing is located behind the user, and since there are cases where the user is hooked on the housing in the middle of a backward movement, the container-type vacuum cleaner causes user inconvenience.

Disclosure Summary

Therefore, the present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner and a method for controlling a vacuum cleaner.

The aim of the present invention is to provide a vacuum cleaner that contains a housing that can be moved automatically in accordance with the manipulation of the handle unit by the user to increase the convenience of the user.

Additional advantages, objects, and features of the disclosure will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following description or in practice of the present invention. The objectives and other advantages of the present invention can be realized and achieved due to the design detailed in its written description and claims, as well as shown in the accompanying drawings.

To achieve these goals and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, a vacuum cleaner includes a handle assembly connected to a suction nozzle, a housing connected to a handle assembly using a connecting sleeve, a drive device for driving the wheels located on the housing, the transmitting device and the receiving device, respectively, located on the handle assembly and the housing for establishing ultrasonic communication between them, and the control device To control the transmitting device and the receiving device, using the distance data between the transmitting device and the receiving device obtained by ultrasonic communication during three-way measurement to determine the relative position and change the relative position, and to control the drive device so that the housing moves in accordance with a change in the relative position of the handle assembly.

The receiving device includes a plurality of receiving devices located on the housing at a distance from each other, and at least one transmitting device located on the handle assembly.

The control device multiplies the speed of the ultrasonic wave transmitted by the transmitting device and received by the receiving device by the period from the transmission time of the transmitting device to the receiving time of the receiving device to calculate the distance between the transmitting devices and the receiving device.

Receiving devices located on the housing communicate with the transmitting device simultaneously or alternately.

The transmitting device includes a plurality of transmitting devices, which comprises a first transmitting device and a second transmitting device located at a distance from each other and on both sides of the latch located on the handle assembly.

The latch is fixed to the handle assembly in order to move along the path of the handle assembly, and the control device compares the relative position of the first transmission device relative to the housing with the relative position of the second transmission device relative to the housing to determine the rotation and direction of rotation of the handle assembly and controls the drive device in accordance with rotation and direction of rotation defined in this way.

The vacuum cleaner further includes an additional transmitting device located on the housing for emitting an ultrasonic wave to the outer side of the housing, and the transmitting device is arranged to receive an ultrasonic wave emitted by the optional transmitting device and reflected from the obstacle on the outer side of the housing, and the control device determines the position of the obstacle near the housing by receiving an ultrasonic wave reflected from an obstacle, and controls the drive device to prevent bringing into contact with an obstacle and hitting it.

The control device controls the transmitting device and the additional transmitting device so that they do not emit ultrasonic waves at the same time, so that no mutual interference occurs between the ultrasonic wave of the transmitting device and the ultrasonic wave of the additional transmitting device.

The control device controls in such a way that the additional transmitting device emits an ultrasonic wave after determining the relative position of the handle assembly relative to the housing as a result of ultrasonic communication between the transmitting device and the receiving device.

The vacuum cleaner further includes a motion sensor located on the handle assembly and connected to the control device for determining the path of the handle assembly, and the control device controls the drive device in accordance with information about a direction of movement or a direction of rotation of the handle assembly received from the motion sensor.

The transmitting device includes many transmitting devices located on the housing at a distance from each other, and at least one receiving device located on the handle assembly.

The control device controls in such a way that the ultrasonic communication between the receiving devices and the transmitting device is established in series.

The control device controls the drive device to move the housing to the handle assembly if the distance between the handle assembly and the housing exceeds a predetermined reference range, and controls the drive device to move the housing in the opposite direction to the handle assembly if the distance between the handle assembly and the housing is less than the specified reference range.

In another aspect of the present invention, a method of controlling a vacuum cleaner includes the steps of transmitting and receiving an ultrasonic wave between a transmitter located on a handle assembly and a receiver located on the housing, calculating a distance between the transmitter and receiver, and determining a position of the handle assembly containing a transmitting device located on it, by means of a three-way measurement, determining what exceeds or not the distance between the handle assembly and the rear housing this reference range, and control the movement of the case, if the distance between the handle assembly and the case exceeds a predetermined reference range.

The method further includes the steps of determining whether the handle assembly is rotated or not with the transmitter located on it by calculating the distance between the transmitter and receiver and the three-way measurement, determining the direction of rotation and the degree of rotation of the handle assembly, if it is determined that the handle assembly is turned , and moving the housing in accordance with the direction of rotation and the degree of rotation of the handle assembly.

It should be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the present invention as claimed.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the present disclosure and form part of this application, illustrate a variant (s) of the present disclosure and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the present disclosure. In the drawings:

figure 1 is a perspective view of a container-type vacuum cleaner in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

figa and 2B are diagrams, respectively, showing the principle of tripartite measurement;

3 is a control block diagram of a control device of the present invention;

4 is a control block diagram in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

5 is a control block diagram in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention;

6 is a perspective view of a container-type vacuum cleaner in accordance with a third preferred embodiment of the present invention;

7 is a control block diagram in accordance with a third preferred embodiment of the present invention;

8 is a control block diagram in accordance with a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention;

figa and 9b are schematic views, respectively, showing the movement of the housing of the vacuum cleaner in accordance with the movement of the user in the present invention;

10 is a control block diagram in accordance with a fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention;

11 is a side view showing the movement of the housing back and forth;

12 and 13 are a flowchart showing the steps of a method for controlling a vacuum cleaner in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Description of specific embodiments

Reference will be made in detail to specific embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Where possible, similar reference numerals will be used throughout the drawings to refer to like elements.

Referring to FIG. 1, a vacuum cleaner includes a housing 10, a suction nozzle 20, an extension tube 30 connected to a suction nozzle 20 to vary length, a handle assembly 40 on one side of the extension tube 30, and a connecting sleeve 50 connected between the assembly 40 handles and body 10.

The handle assembly 40 is provided for holding by the user.

The housing 10 and the handle assembly 40 comprise a transmitter 100 and a receiver 200, respectively mounted thereon for communication with each other by means of an ultrasonic wave.

If the transmitter 100 is mounted on the housing 10, then the receiver is mounted on the handle assembly 40 and vice versa.

The housing 10 comprises a control device (not shown) located therein for controlling the emission of the ultrasonic wave from the transmitting device 100 and the reception of the ultrasonic wave by the receiving device 200.

An electrical cable 60 extends inside the connecting sleeve 50 and is connected between the inside of the housing 10 and the handle assembly 40. An electrical cable 60 connects a control device (not shown) to a transmitting device 100 or a receiving device 200 mounted on the handle assembly 40.

A transmitting device 100 or a receiving device 200 on the housing 10 is also connected to a control device (not shown) for executing a working command of the control device.

The wheels 11 are mounted on both sides of the inner part of the housing 10 to move the housing, while the wheels 11 are connected to a drive device (not shown), such as an electric motor, in the housing, and a drive device (not shown) is connected to a control device (not shown) for driving the wheels 11 under the control of a control device for moving the housing 100.

In this case, although it is preferable that if the receiving device 200 or the transmitting device 100 is mounted on the housing 10, two wheels 11 are located on the front side of the housing 10, and one wheel 11 is located on the rear side of the housing, the arrangement of the wheels is not limited to this .

The receiving device 200 or the transmitting device 100 located on the housing 10, thus, establishes ultrasonic communication with the transmitting device 100 or the receiving device 200 located on the node 40 of the handle.

If the transmitting device 100 at the handle assembly 40 transmits an ultrasonic wave towards the receiving device 200 (or, if the transmitting device 100 at the housing 10 transmits an ultrasonic wave towards the receiving device 200 at the handle assembly 40), the distance between the transmitting device 100 and the receiving device 200 is calculated based on the distance reached and the time period of the ultrasonic wave, and the distance data is used for a three-way measurement to determine the position of the handle assembly 40 relative to the housing.

In this case, the time period for reaching the ultrasonic wave is calculated from the time of emission of the ultrasonic wave by the transmitting device 100 to the initial time of receiving the ultrasonic wave by the receiving device 200.

The basic principles of tripartite measurement will be described with reference to FIG. 2A.

A three-sided measurement is a method of obtaining the relative position of an object by using a triangular shape. To obtain the position of an object by means of a three-sided measurement, two or more two reference points and the distance to the reference points from the object are used.

Only for accurate and one-time determination of the relative position in two dimensions by means of a three-sided measurement, at least three reference points are required.

If you want to obtain the relative position of the point T from the reference points P1, P2 and P3, first get the distance r1 from P1 to T, the distance r2 from P2 to T and the distance r3 from P3 to T.

Then the point T becomes the intersection point of the sphere S1 with radius r1, the sphere S2 with radius r2, and the sphere S3 with radius r3. Then, the coordinates of the position of the point T on the X axis, Y axis, and Z axis are determined, as described below.

Equation 1

r ₁ ² = x ² + y ² + z ²

r ₂ ² = (xd) ² + y ² + z ²

r ₃ ² = (xi) ² + (yj) ² + z ²

x =

y =

z = ±

Where x, y and z are the coordinates, respectively, on the X axis, the Y axis and the Z axis, d is the distance between P1 and P2 on the X axis, i is the distance between P1 and P3 on the X axis, and J is the distance between P1 and P3 on the Y axis. In this example, the Z axis has only a positive value.

2B is a schematic view showing the perception of the position of the handle assembly 40 by using distance data obtained from ultrasonic communication between the transmitter 100 on the handle assembly 40 and the receiver 200 on the housing, in a three-way measurement in a vacuum cleaner of the present invention.

Although a three-way measurement is described with reference to a case in which a transmitter 100 is mounted on the handle assembly 40 and a receiver 200 is mounted on the housing 10 in FIG. 2B, the installation positions can be reversed.

In this case, the positions of the receiving devices 200 on the housing 10 are reference points P1, P2 and P3, the position of the transmitting device 100 on the handle assembly 40 is point T.

By calculating and perceiving the distances (speed of achievement / time periods of reaching) between P1, P2 and P3 and using the three-way measurement, the exact position of point T can be obtained.

Upon obtaining the position of the point T by using a three-way measurement, a process is performed in which the position of the point T is converted to a position in the coordinate system of the housing 10, in which the front end of the housing is taken as the reference reference position F.

In this case, since all the points of the reference initial position F P1 ~ P3 and the position of the point T are known, it is easy to transform the position of the point T obtained by the three-sided measurement into a position in the coordinate system of the housing 10.

In accordance with this, the relative position and distance of the point T, i.e. node 40 of the handle, relative to the reference reference position F in the coordinate system of the housing 10.

In this case, the most important are the relative positions of the handle assembly 40 on the X axis and the Y axis of the housing coordinate system, since they are important parameters for calculating the rotation direction, degree of rotation, and the distance between the handle assembly 40 of the housing 10.

That is, by determining the change in the position of the point T in the coordinate system of the housing 10 and comparing the previous position of the point T with the given position of the point T, one can know the change in the position of the handle assembly 40 and the distance between the handle assembly 40 and the housing 10.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a control device 300 used in a vacuum cleaner of the present invention, in which the control device 300 has a difference E (Ex, Ey, Ez) as input, which is a difference between the positions (Xs, Ys, Zs) of the reference points, i.e. the relative position of the housing relative to the handle assembly in which the housing is supposed to be located, and the actual relative positions (X, Y, Z) of the housing, and the linear velocity V, the angular velocity W (or the speeds of the two wheels) with which the housing must move, as output data.

4 is a control block diagram in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The first embodiment includes one transmitter 100 mounted on the handle assembly 40, and three receiver 200 mounted on the housing. The transmitting device 100 and receiving devices 200 are connected to the control device 300.

The receiving device 200 is connected to the control device 300 using cables passing through the inside of the housing 10, and the transmitting device 100 is connected to the control device 300 using a cable 60 passing through the inside of the connecting sleeve.

In accordance with the command of the control device 300, the transmitting device 100 emits an ultrasonic wave towards the receiving devices 200, and the ultrasonic wave thus emitted is received by the receiving devices 200.

Preferably, the receiving devices 200 communicate with the transmitting device 100 under the control of the control device 300 simultaneously or alternately.

Since the speed of the ultrasonic wave is about 340 m / s and by multiplying the speed by the time periods during which the ultrasonic wave travels, respectively, from the transmitting device 100 to the receiving devices 200, distances can be obtained, respectively, between the transmitting device 100 and the receiving devices 200.

By using the distances between the transmitter 100 and the receivers 200 and the distance data between the receivers 200 in a three-way measurement, the position of the transmitter is calculated, and by using the position of the transmitter 100 in the frame coordinate system, the relative position of the transmitter 100 relative to the reference point can be calculated (front point of the hull) of the hull coordinate system.

Since the transmitter 100 is mounted on the handle assembly 40, the distance between the handle assembly 40 and the housing 10 can be obtained by the aforementioned method.

In this case, the control device 300 is connected to the drive device 400, and the drive device 400 is an element similar to a drive motor connected to the wheels 11 (see FIG. 1) for moving the housing 10.

Therefore, if the distance between the handle assembly 40 and the housing 10 is not appropriate, the control device 300 controls the drive device 400 for rotating the wheels 11 to cause the housing 10 to move closer to the handle assembly 40 or to be located at a greater distance from the handle assembly 40.

If the position of the handle assembly 40 moves left or right or rotates, the control device 300 determines a change in the position of the transmission device 100 and controls the drive device 400 and the wheels 11, respectively, to cause the housing 10 to rotate or move in the left / right directions in accordance with the path the movement of the node 40 of the handle.

5 is a control block diagram in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the receiving device 200 is mounted on the handle assembly 40, and a plurality of transmitting devices 100 are mounted on the housing 10, while the remaining parts are identical to the first embodiment.

In this example, in the case where three transmitting devices 100 are located, assuming that three transmitting devices 100 are referred to as a first transmitting device 101, a second transmitting device 102 and a third transmitting device 103, by using the distance data between the first to third transmitting devices 101 ~ 103 and the receiving device 200 and data on the distance between the transmitting devices in a three-way measurement, the position of the receiving device 200 on the handle assembly 40 can be determined and then, using zovaniya position of receiver unit 200 in the body coordinate system can be calculated relative position and distance of the receiver 200 relative to the support housing initial position of coordinate system 10.

As a result, the distance between the handle assembly 40 and the housing 10 and the relative position can be determined, and based on this, like the first embodiment, by driving the drive device 400 and wheels 11 (see FIG. 1) under the control of the control device 300, they can the distance between the housing 10 and the handle assembly 40 is adjusted and the housing 10 is rotated.

That is, in comparison with the first embodiment, except that only the positions and number of the transmission devices 100 and the handle assembly 40 are changed, the movement control of the housing 10 with respect to the relative position, the distance and direction of rotation between the handle assembly 40 and the transmission devices 100 are identical .

Moreover, similar to the second embodiment, if the number of transmitting devices 100 is greater than the receiving devices 200, and if the transmitting devices 100 emit ultrasonic waves towards the receiving device 200 at the same time, interference may occur in the reception of signals.

Therefore, it is necessary that communication between transmitting devices 100 and receiving device 200 is established in series.

In detail, if the first transmitting device 101 transmits an ultrasonic wave, the receiving device 200 receives the ultrasonic wave, and the control device 300 calculates the distance between the first transmitting device 101 and the receiving device 200.

Then, if the second transmitting device 102 transmits the ultrasonic wave, the receiving device 200 receives the ultrasonic wave, and the control device 300 calculates the distance between the second transmitting device 102 and the receiving device 200.

Then, if the third transmitting device 103 transmits an ultrasonic wave, the receiving device 200 receives the ultrasonic wave, and the control device 300 calculates the distance between the third transmitting device 103 and the receiving device 200.

Then, by using data on the distances between the first ~ third transmitting devices 101 ~ 103, which are already known, and data on the distances between the transmitting devices 100: 101 ~ 103 and the receiving device 200 in a three-way measurement, the position of the handle assembly 40 can be determined on which is the receiving device 200.

6 is a perspective view of a container-type vacuum cleaner in accordance with a third preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The vacuum cleaner of the third preferred embodiment differs from the vacuum cleaner of the first preferred embodiment in that although the vacuum cleaner of the first embodiment comprises one transmission device 100 mounted on the handle assembly 40, the vacuum cleaner of the third embodiment comprises two transmission devices 100 mounted on the handle assembly 40. With the exception of the above, the vacuum cleaners of the first and third embodiments are identical.

The handle assembly 40 includes a latch 550 mounted thereon, and transmission devices 100 are mounted on both sides of the latch 550 at a distance from each other. Two transmitting devices 100 establish ultrasonic communication, respectively, with a plurality of receiving devices 200 on the housing 10.

The latch 550 includes a first latch 551, which is a protruding part from the handle assembly 40, and a second latch 552, which is a protruding part from the end of the first latch 551 on both sides for installing, respectively, transmission devices 100.

Accordingly, the positions of the transmission devices 100 are calculated by means of a three-way measurement, and the relative position and distance to the housing 10 can also be calculated.

In this state, if the user rotates the handle assembly 40, the rotation direction and the degree of rotation of the handle assembly 40 can be determined based on a change in position of each of the transmission devices 100.

The reason is that since the latch 550 is fixed to the handle assembly 40, making the motion path of the handle assembly 40 and the motion path of the latch 550 identical, respectively, the motion path of each of the transmission devices 100 also corresponds to the motion path of the handle assembly 40.

Based on this, the control device 300 (see Fig. 7) determines the direction of rotation and the degree of rotation of the housing 10 and, in accordance with this, moves the housing 10.

However, the positions of transmitting devices 100 and receiving devices 200 are interchangeable.

7 is a control block diagram in accordance with a third preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As described above, the handle assembly 40 includes a first transmitter 110 and a second transmitter 120 mounted thereon, and the housing 10 includes a plurality of receivers 200 located thereon. If three receiving devices 200 are installed, a first receiving device 201, a second receiving device 202, and a third receiving device 203 are installed.

The first and second transmitting devices 110 and 120 and the control device 300 are connected by electric cables 60 extending inside the connecting sleeve, and the first and third receiving devices 201-203 and the control device 300 are connected by electric cables in the housing 10.

In this case, in order to prevent communication from interfering with each other, an ultrasonic connection is first established between the first transmitter 110 and the first to third receivers 201 ~ 203, and the distances between the first transmitter 110 and the first to third receivers 200 are calculated.

Then, ultrasonic communication is established between the second transmitter 120 and the first to third receivers 201 ~ 203, and the distances between the second transmitter 120 and the first to third receivers 200 are calculated.

The control device 300 enables such a step to be carried out, uses distance data in a three-way measurement to determine the positions of the first transmission device 110 and the second transmission device 120, determines the movement of the handle assembly 40 based on changes in the positions of the first and second transmission devices 110 and 120, and controls the movement of the housing 10 in accordance with the movement thus defined.

However, changes in the positions and quantities of transmitting devices 100 and receiving devices 200 are also included in the scope of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a control block diagram in accordance with a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The vacuum cleaner of the fourth preferred embodiment differs from the vacuum cleaner of the first preferred embodiment in that the vacuum cleaner of the fourth embodiment comprises a motion sensor 600 mounted on the handle assembly 40 to accurately determine the rotation of the handle assembly 40.

The motion sensor 600 is a sensor used in a cell phone and the like to detect a change in position due to movement of an object (cell phone).

Since the motion sensor 600 is connected to the control device 300 using an electric cable 60 passing through the connecting sleeve, the rotation direction and the degree of rotation of the handle assembly 40 determined by the motion sensor 600 are transmitted to the control device 300 and are used as basic data for controlling the housing 10 .

Moreover, the fourth embodiment also includes a handle assembly 40 with a transmitter 100 mounted on it, and a housing 10 with first to third receivers 200: 201 ~ 203 mounted on it. A description of the ultrasonic communication between the aforementioned transmitter 100 and receivers 200, distance calculation and position calculation that have already been completed will be omitted.

Figa and 9b are schematic views showing changes in the position of the housing 10 in accordance with the rotation of the node 40 of the handle in the third or fourth embodiment, respectively.

A determination of the rotation of the handle assembly 40, based on a change in the positions of two transmitting devices 100 mounted on the latch 500 (see FIG. 6), may be performed in the third embodiment, or a determination of the rotation of the handle assembly 40 based on the motion sensor 600 (see FIG. 7) mounted on the handle assembly 40 may be performed in the fourth embodiment.

Typically, if the handle assembly 40 makes a large rotation, in most cases the user is facing the direction of rotation of the handle assembly 40.

That is, similar to the state on the left side in Fig. 9a or the state on the left side in Fig. 9b, if the handle assembly 40 moves at a predetermined range of the front region of the housing 10, the housing 10 becomes facing forward, in which case the user will also facing forward.

Moreover, similar to the state on the right side in Fig. 9a, if the user is turned in the left direction to change, respectively, the position of the handle assembly 40, the housing 10 will also move in this direction.

Therefore, similar to the state on the right side in FIG. 9b, the control device 300 controls the housing 10 for movement, taking into account the rotation direction and the degree of rotation of the handle assembly 40 and the relative distance to the handle assembly.

10 is a control block diagram in accordance with a fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention.

In this case, the vacuum cleaner of the fifth embodiment differs from the vacuum cleaner of the first embodiment in that the vacuum cleaner of the fifth embodiment comprises an additional transmitting device 150 mounted on the housing 10.

An additional transmitting device 150 is connected to a control device 300 for emitting an ultrasonic wave to the outside of the housing 10 under the control of the control device 300.

An additional transmitter 150 is used to emit an ultrasonic wave to determine the position of the housing 10 and measure the distance from the housing 10 to an obstacle near the housing 10.

Therefore, the ultrasonic wave of the additional transmitting device 150 is received by the receiving device 200 located on the housing 10, after reflection of the ultrasonic wave from an obstacle near the housing 10.

This is similar to a mechanism in which a bat studies an ultrasonic wave and receives a reflected ultrasonic wave to perceive an obstacle in the vicinity of the bat, and determines the distance to the obstacle.

Therefore, if the receiving device 200 receives the ultrasonic wave reflected in this way, the control device 300 determines the presence and position of the obstacle near the housing 10 and measures the distance between the obstacle and the housing 10.

Thus, if the control device 300 determines an obstacle, measures the distance between the obstacle and the housing 10 and determines that the distance between the obstacle and the housing 10 is within a predetermined distance, the control device 300 drives the drive device 400 and wheels 11 (see FIG. .1) to position the housing 10 at a predetermined distance from the obstacle.

Thus, the housing 10 can be prevented from coming into contact and impact with an obstacle.

In this case, it is necessary to prevent interference between the communications of the transmitting devices 100 with the receiving devices 200 and the additional transmitting device 150 with the receiving devices 200.

Therefore, first, the transmitting device 100 emits an ultrasonic wave, the receiving device 200 receives the ultrasonic wave, and the control device 300 determines the distance between the transmitting device 100 and the receiving device 200 and uses the distance in a three-way measurement to calculate the position of the handle assembly 40 containing the transmitting device 100, located on it.

After the transmission of the ultrasonic wave by the transmitting device 100 is completed, the additional transmitting device 150 emits an ultrasonic wave near the body 10, and a part of the ultrasonic wave thus emitted is received by the receiving device 200 after reflection of the ultrasonic wave from an obstacle near the body 10.

As a result, by determining the position and distance to the housing 10 by means of an ultrasonic wave reflected in this way, the control device 300 adjusts the position of the housing 10.

The above steps are repeated to calculate the position of the handle assembly 40 and the position of the obstacle.

As shown in FIG. 11, if the user holds the handle assembly 40 and performs cleaning, a connection is established between the transmitter 100 (or receiver 200) mounted on the handle assembly 40 and the receiver 200 (or transmitter 100) mounted on the housing 10.

Accordingly, the distance between the transmitter 100 and the receiver 200 is measured, based on the distance data, the distance between the handle assembly 40 and the housing 10 and the position of the handle assembly 40 are calculated by means of a three-way measurement.

Therefore, if the distance between the housing 10 and the handle assembly 40 is greater than the predetermined reference distance D at the moment, the housing 10 moves to the handle assembly 40 to set the distance between the housing 10 and the handle assembly 40 to the predetermined reference distance.

If the distance between the housing 10 and the handle assembly 40 is less than a predetermined reference distance D, the housing 10 moves in a direction opposite to the handle assembly 40 to set the distance between the housing 10 and the handle assembly 40 to the predetermined reference distance.

FIG. 12 and 13 are a flowchart showing the steps of a method for controlling a vacuum cleaner in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

First, the transmitting device emits an ultrasonic wave (S1201). Then, the receiving device receives the ultrasonic wave from the transmitting device (S1202).

After receiving the ultrasonic wave, the speed of the ultrasonic wave is multiplied by the obtained time period.

Accordingly, the distance between the receiving device and the transmitting device is measured, and the distance thus measured is used in a three-way measurement to calculate the position of the transmitting device or the receiving device on the handle to obtain the position of the handle assembly (S1203).

By using the position of the handle assembly thus obtained in the coordinate system of the housing, the relative position of the handle assembly based on the reference reference position of the coordinate system of the housing and the distance between the handle assembly and the housing can be set.

When the distance of the handle assembly to the housing is set in this way, it is determined whether or not the distance between the handle assembly and the housing exceeds a predetermined reference distance (S1204).

As a result of the determination, if the distance exceeds a predetermined reference range, indicating that the distance between the handle assembly and the housing is too large, to reduce the distance, the control device moves the housing toward the handle assembly (S1205).

Meanwhile, if the distance does not exceed, but does not reach the specified reference range, indicating that the housing is too close to the handle assembly, so that the user can engage the housing, the control device moves the housing in the opposite direction to the handle assembly (S1206) .

Meanwhile, if the distance between the handle assembly and the body is within a predetermined reference range, this state is maintained (S1207).

In this case, after moving the housing, it is again determined whether or not the distance between the handle assembly and the housing is within a predetermined reference range (S1208), and if so, the housing stops (S1209).

The rotation of the handle assembly may be known by detecting a motion sensor, or by comparing the positions of the transmitter or receiver on the handle assembly before and after rotation.

Therefore, it is determined whether or not the handle assembly is rotated (S1301), if rotated, the control device determines the direction of rotation and the degree of rotation of the handle assembly (S1302) and moves the housing in accordance with the direction of rotation and the degree of rotation of the handle assembly (S1303).

Meanwhile, as described above, it is determined whether or not an obstacle is within a predetermined distance from the housing by means of ultrasonic communication between the additional transmitting device and the receiving device (S1304).

Accordingly, if it is determined that the obstacle is within a predetermined distance from the housing, the control device moves the housing a distance from the obstacle greater than the predetermined distance.

If the obstacle is located at a greater distance from the housing than the predetermined distance, the control unit stops the housing (S1305).

Even if FIG. 12 and 13 illustrate that moving the housing following the back and forth movement of the handle assembly, moving the housing following the rotation of the handle assembly, and moving the housing caused by an obstacle are performed in one way, moving the housing in each situation can be performed independently.

As described, a vacuum cleaner and a method for controlling a vacuum cleaner of the present invention have the following advantages.

Since the housing moves automatically following the movement of the handle assembly, if the user moves the handle assembly, the user does not need to pull the housing using force.

Since the housing moves automatically if the user moves backward, the user will not have trouble engaging with the housing.

In addition, since the vacuum cleaner makes it easy to determine the position of the obstacle and determines the distance from the housing to the obstacle and bypasses the obstacle, damage to the housing caused by hitting the obstacle can be prevented.

In addition, since the vacuum cleaner determines the direction of rotation of the handle assembly and rotates the housing, even if the user does not rotate the housing, user convenience is improved.

Those skilled in the art should understand that modifications and changes are possible in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Thus, it is understood that the present invention includes modifications and variations of the present invention, provided that they are included in the scope of the attached claims and their equivalents.

Claims (15)

1. A vacuum cleaner containing
handle assembly connected to the suction nozzle;
a housing connected to the handle assembly using a connecting sleeve;
a drive device for driving wheels located on the housing;
a transmitting device and a receiving device, respectively located on the handle assembly and the housing, for establishing ultrasonic communication between them; and
a control device for controlling the transmitting device and the receiving device, using the distance data between the transmitting device and the receiving device obtained by ultrasonic communication in a three-way measurement to determine the relative position and change the relative position and control the drive device so that the housing moves in accordance with a change in the relative position of the handle assembly. 2. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, in which the receiving device includes many receiving devices that are located on the housing at a distance from each other, and at least one transmitting device located on the handle assembly. 3. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 2, in which the control device multiplies the speed of the ultrasonic wave transmitted by the transmitting device and the receiving device by a period of time from the transmission time of the transmitting device to the receiving time of the receiving device to calculate the distance between the transmitting device and the receiving device. 4. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 2, in which the receiving devices located on the housing communicate with the transmitting device simultaneously or alternately. 5. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 2, in which the transmitting device includes a plurality of transmitting devices, comprising a first transmitting device and a second transmitting device located at a distance from each other and mounted on both sides of the latch located on the handle assembly. 6. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 5, in which the latch is fixed to the handle assembly in order to move along the path of the handle assembly, and the control device compares the relative position of the first transmission device relative to the housing with the relative position of the second transmission device relative to the housing for determining rotation and direction rotation of the handle assembly and controls the drive device in accordance with the rotation and the direction of rotation determined in this way. 7. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 2, further comprising an additional transmitting device located on the housing for emitting an ultrasonic wave to the outer side of the housing, and a transmitting device is installed to receive an ultrasonic wave emitted by the additional transmitting device and reflected from an obstacle on the outer side of the housing, and in which the control device determines the position of the obstacle near the housing by receiving an ultrasonic wave reflected from the obstacle, and controls the drive device for Avoiding contact with the obstacle and hitting the body against it. 8. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, in which the control device controls the transmitting device and the additional transmitting device so that they do not emit ultrasonic waves at the same time, so that no interference occurs between the ultrasonic wave of the transmitting device and the ultrasonic wave of the additional transmitting device. 9. The vacuum cleaner of claim 8, in which the control device controls in such a way that the additional transmitting device emits an ultrasonic wave after the determination of the relative position of the handle assembly relative to the housing as a result of ultrasonic communication between the transmitting device and the receiving device. 10. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 2, further comprising a motion sensor located on the handle assembly and connected to a control device for detecting the path of the handle assembly, and in which the control device controls the drive device in accordance with information about a moving direction or a turning direction of the handle assembly, received from the motion sensor. 11. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, in which the transmitting device includes many transmitting devices located on the housing at a distance from each other, and at least one receiving device located on the handle assembly. 12. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 11, in which the control device controls in such a way that ultrasonic communication between the receiving devices and the transmitting device is established in series. 13. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, in which the control device controls the drive device to move the housing to the handle assembly if the distance between the handle assembly and the housing exceeds a predetermined reference range, and controls the drive device to move the housing in the opposite direction to the handle assembly if the distance between the handle assembly and the housing is less than the specified reference range. 14. A method of controlling a vacuum cleaner, according to which
transmit and receive an ultrasonic wave between a transmitting device located on the handle assembly and a receiving device located on the body;
calculate the distance between the transmitting device and the receiving device and determine the position of the handle assembly containing the transmitting device mounted on it by means of a three-way measurement;
determine whether or not the distance between the handle assembly and the housing exceeds a predetermined reference range; and
control the movement of the body if the distance between the handle assembly and the body exceeds a predetermined reference range. 15. The method according to 14, according to which additionally
determine whether or not the handle assembly containing the transmitting device mounted on it is rotated by calculating the distance between the transmitting device and the receiving device and three-way measurement;
determine the direction of rotation and the degree of rotation of the handle assembly, if it is determined that the handle assembly is rotated; and
move the housing in accordance with the direction of rotation and the degree of rotation of the handle assembly.

Images