WO2008039287B1 - Control arrangement for a propulsion unit for a self-propelled floor care appliance - Google Patents

Control arrangement for a propulsion unit for a self-propelled floor care appliance

Info

Publication number
WO2008039287B1
WO2008039287B1 PCT/US2007/019037 US2007019037W WO2008039287B1 WO 2008039287 B1 WO2008039287 B1 WO 2008039287B1 US 2007019037 W US2007019037 W US 2007019037W WO 2008039287 B1 WO2008039287 B1 WO 2008039287B1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
care appliance
floor care
response characteristic
self
microprocessor
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2007/019037
Other languages
French (fr)
Other versions
WO2008039287A1 (en
Inventor
Evan A Gordon
Ethan S Miller
Original Assignee
Hoover Co
Evan A Gordon
Ethan S Miller
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Hoover Co, Evan A Gordon, Ethan S Miller filed Critical Hoover Co
Priority to EP07811597A priority Critical patent/EP2073679A1/en
Priority to MX2009003161A priority patent/MX2009003161A/en
Priority to CA002664391A priority patent/CA2664391A1/en
Publication of WO2008039287A1 publication Critical patent/WO2008039287A1/en
Publication of WO2008039287B1 publication Critical patent/WO2008039287B1/en

Links

Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L9/00—Details or accessories of suction cleaners, e.g. mechanical means for controlling the suction or for effecting pulsating action; Storing devices specially adapted to suction cleaners or parts thereof; Carrying-vehicles specially adapted for suction cleaners
    • A47L9/28—Installation of the electric equipment, e.g. adaptation or attachment to the suction cleaner; Controlling suction cleaners by electric means
    • A47L9/2894—Details related to signal transmission in suction cleaners
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L5/00—Structural features of suction cleaners
    • A47L5/12—Structural features of suction cleaners with power-driven air-pumps or air-compressors, e.g. driven by motor vehicle engine vacuum
    • A47L5/22—Structural features of suction cleaners with power-driven air-pumps or air-compressors, e.g. driven by motor vehicle engine vacuum with rotary fans
    • A47L5/28—Suction cleaners with handles and nozzles fixed on the casings, e.g. wheeled suction cleaners with steering handle
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L9/00—Details or accessories of suction cleaners, e.g. mechanical means for controlling the suction or for effecting pulsating action; Storing devices specially adapted to suction cleaners or parts thereof; Carrying-vehicles specially adapted for suction cleaners
    • A47L9/009—Carrying-vehicles; Arrangements of trollies or wheels; Means for avoiding mechanical obstacles
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L9/00—Details or accessories of suction cleaners, e.g. mechanical means for controlling the suction or for effecting pulsating action; Storing devices specially adapted to suction cleaners or parts thereof; Carrying-vehicles specially adapted for suction cleaners
    • A47L9/28—Installation of the electric equipment, e.g. adaptation or attachment to the suction cleaner; Controlling suction cleaners by electric means
    • A47L9/2805—Parameters or conditions being sensed
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L9/00—Details or accessories of suction cleaners, e.g. mechanical means for controlling the suction or for effecting pulsating action; Storing devices specially adapted to suction cleaners or parts thereof; Carrying-vehicles specially adapted for suction cleaners
    • A47L9/28—Installation of the electric equipment, e.g. adaptation or attachment to the suction cleaner; Controlling suction cleaners by electric means
    • A47L9/2805—Parameters or conditions being sensed
    • A47L9/2831—Motor parameters, e.g. motor load or speed
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L9/00—Details or accessories of suction cleaners, e.g. mechanical means for controlling the suction or for effecting pulsating action; Storing devices specially adapted to suction cleaners or parts thereof; Carrying-vehicles specially adapted for suction cleaners
    • A47L9/28—Installation of the electric equipment, e.g. adaptation or attachment to the suction cleaner; Controlling suction cleaners by electric means
    • A47L9/2836—Installation of the electric equipment, e.g. adaptation or attachment to the suction cleaner; Controlling suction cleaners by electric means characterised by the parts which are controlled
    • A47L9/2842—Suction motors or blowers
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L9/00—Details or accessories of suction cleaners, e.g. mechanical means for controlling the suction or for effecting pulsating action; Storing devices specially adapted to suction cleaners or parts thereof; Carrying-vehicles specially adapted for suction cleaners
    • A47L9/28—Installation of the electric equipment, e.g. adaptation or attachment to the suction cleaner; Controlling suction cleaners by electric means
    • A47L9/2857—User input or output elements for control, e.g. buttons, switches or displays
    • A47L9/2863—Control elements activated by pivoting movement of the upright vacuum cleaner handle
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L9/00—Details or accessories of suction cleaners, e.g. mechanical means for controlling the suction or for effecting pulsating action; Storing devices specially adapted to suction cleaners or parts thereof; Carrying-vehicles specially adapted for suction cleaners
    • A47L9/28—Installation of the electric equipment, e.g. adaptation or attachment to the suction cleaner; Controlling suction cleaners by electric means
    • A47L9/2889—Safety or protection devices or systems, e.g. for prevention of motor over-heating or for protection of the user
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47L9/00—Details or accessories of suction cleaners, e.g. mechanical means for controlling the suction or for effecting pulsating action; Storing devices specially adapted to suction cleaners or parts thereof; Carrying-vehicles specially adapted for suction cleaners
    • A47L9/32—Handles
    • A47L9/325—Handles for wheeled suction cleaners with steering handle

Abstract

A self propelled upright vacuum cleaner (10) is provided with a Hall effect sensor (310) to provide a Hall voltage that varies according to the position of a handgrip (114) maintained by the vacuum cleaner (10). A microprocessor generates a PWM control signal to control the movement of the vacuum based on the magnitude of the Hall voltage with respect to various response characteristics, including a non-linear logistic function. As such, the vacuum cleaner (10) imparts a user-friendly responsiveness to the user during the operation of the vacuum cleaner (10).

Claims

AMENDED CLAIMS received by the International Bureau on 14 April 2008 (14.04.2008)22CLAIMS What is claimed is:
1. A self-propelled floor care appliance comprising: a drive motor to propel the floor care appliance over a surface to be cleaned; a Hall effect sensor positioned in an operative relationship with a handgrip maintained by the floor care appliance, said Hall effect sensor configured to provide a Hall voltage based upon the movement of the handgrip; and a microprocessor configured to receive said Hall voltage, and to store a response characteristic, said response characteristic defined by an exponential increase, followed by a linear change, and a subsequent exponential decay; wherein said microprocessor supplies a pulse width modulation (PWM) control signal to said drive motor based upon said Hall voltage and said response characteristic, so as to propel the floor care appliance over the surface to be cleaned.
2. The self-propelled floor care appliance of claim 1 , wherein said response characteristic comprises a hyperbolic tangent function having the formula:
e + e •
3. The self-propelled floor care appliance of claim 2, wherein said hyperbolic tangent function is scaled by a coefficient.
■4.' The self-propelled floor care appliance of claim 1 , further comprising: a selection switch coupled to said microprocessor to select one of at least two response characteristics maintained by said microprocessor.
5. The self-propelled floor care appliance of claim 1 , further comprising: an H-bridge motor driver coupled between said microprocessor and said motor drive, said H-bridge configured to control said motor drive in accordance with said PWM control signal.
6. A method for controlling the movement of a microprocessor controlled, motor driven vacuum cleaner in accordance with a movable handgrip, comprising: generating a digitized Hall voltage based upon the position of the handgrip; providing the microprocessor with a response characteristic, said response characteristic defined by an exponential increase, followed by a linear change, and a subsequent exponential decay; generating a pulse width modulation (PWM) control signal containing a pulse width modulation output level based on the position of the handgrip and said response characteristic; controlling the motor in accordance with said PWM control signal, so as to propel the floor care appliance in accordance with the movement of the handgrip.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein said response characteristic comprises a e' -e- hyperbolic tangent function having the formula: ^ "" " e' + e-'
8. The method of claim 6, wherein said first generating step is performed by an analog-to-digital converter (ADC).
9. The method of claim 6, wherein said response characteristic is represented by a lookup table stored by said processor that associates a plurality of predetermined Hall voltage levels with associated predetermined PWM output levels.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein said response characteristic comprises a e' -e" hyperbolic tangent function having the formula: , e' + e"
11. The method of claim 9, further comprising: adjusting the total number of said predetermined Hall voltage levels, so as to alter the values of said predetermined PWM output levels, thus changing the response of said response characteristic. 24
12. The self-propelled floor care appliance of claim 1, wherein a lookup table maintained by said microprocessor associates said pulse width modulation (PWM) control signals with said Hall voltages in accordance with said response characteristic.
13. The self-propelled floor care appliance of claim 12, wherein said response characteristic comprises a hyperbolic tangent function having the formula: e' -e" r, ■ tanh(0 = e' + e-'
14. The self-propelled floor care appliance of claim 13, wherein said hyperbolic tangent function is multiplied by a coefficient, so as to alter the response of said logistic response characteristic.
15. The self-propelled floor care appliance of claim 12, further comprising: a response button coupled to said microprocessor, wherein actuation of said response button adjusts the total number of said predetermined digital Hall voltage levels maintained by said lookup table.
16. The self-propelled floor care appliance of claim 15, wherein the magnitude of said predetermined PWM output levels are adjusted based on the total number of predetermined digital voltage levels used.
PCT/US2007/019037 2006-09-26 2007-08-30 Control arrangement for a propulsion unit for a self-propelled floor care appliance WO2008039287A1 (en)

Priority Applications (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP07811597A EP2073679A1 (en) 2006-09-26 2007-08-30 Control arrangement for a propulsion unit for a self-propelled floor care appliance
MX2009003161A MX2009003161A (en) 2006-09-26 2007-08-30 Control arrangement for a propulsion unit for a self-propelled floor care appliance.
CA002664391A CA2664391A1 (en) 2006-09-26 2007-08-30 Control arrangement for a propulsion unit for a self-propelled floor care appliance

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US11/528,049 US7725223B2 (en) 2003-09-30 2006-09-26 Control arrangement for a propulsion unit for a self-propelled floor care appliance
US11/528,049 2006-09-26

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2008039287A1 WO2008039287A1 (en) 2008-04-03
WO2008039287B1 true WO2008039287B1 (en) 2008-06-05

Family

ID=38974057

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/US2007/019037 WO2008039287A1 (en) 2006-09-26 2007-08-30 Control arrangement for a propulsion unit for a self-propelled floor care appliance

Country Status (6)

Country Link
US (1) US7725223B2 (en)
EP (1) EP2073679A1 (en)
CN (1) CN101657132A (en)
CA (1) CA2664391A1 (en)
MX (1) MX2009003161A (en)
WO (1) WO2008039287A1 (en)

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GB2469131B (en) 2009-04-04 2014-04-23 Dyson Technology Ltd Control of an electric machine
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Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
MX2009003161A (en) 2009-09-24
WO2008039287A1 (en) 2008-04-03
US20070061058A1 (en) 2007-03-15
CN101657132A (en) 2010-02-24
CA2664391A1 (en) 2008-04-03
EP2073679A1 (en) 2009-07-01
US7725223B2 (en) 2010-05-25

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