VACUUM CLEANER

• US 20170245713A1
• Filed: 02/28/2017
• Published: 08/31/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: SON, Jungkyu, NAM, Bohyun, PARK, Jaeyong, BAE, Sehwan, SEO, Jonghyun, LEE, Jinwoo
• Granted Patent: US 10,357,135 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/04 Automatic control of the travelling movement; Automatic obstacle detection
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 5/362 of the horizontal type, e.g. canister or sledge type
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/009 Carrying-vehicles; Arrangements of trollies or wheels; Means for avoiding mechanical obstacles
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/102 Dust separators cyclones A47L9/16
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/122 flat
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/1641 for parallel flow
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/242 Hose or pipe couplings
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/248 Parts, details or accessories of hoses or pipes nozzles A47L9/02
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2805 Parameters or conditions being sensed
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2852 Elements for displacement of the vacuum cleaner or the accessories therefor, e.g. wheels, casters or nozzles
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2857 User input or output elements for control, e.g. buttons, switches or displays
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2884 Details of arrangements of batteries or their installation

Abstract

Provided is a vacuum cleaner including a cleaner body; a cover member provided at an upper portion of the cleaner body to be opened and closed; a suction hose installed at a front surface of the cover member and configured to suction dust; moving wheels provided on both side surfaces of the cleaner body; a wheel motor assembly connected to the moving wheels and configured to rotate the moving wheels for travel; a plurality of obstacle detecting members disposed at one side of a front of the cover member and configured to detect an obstacle located at a front and/or a side of the cleaner body; and a PCB configured to control an operation of the wheel motor assembly according to a detected signal of the obstacle detecting member.

Claims

1. A vacuum cleaner comprising:

a cleaner body;

a cover member that is located at an upper portion of the cleaner body and that is configured to open and close the cleaner body;

a suction hose that is located at a front surface of the cover member and that is configured to guide dust to the cleaner body;

wheels that are located on both side surfaces of the cleaner body;

a wheel motor assembly that is connected to the wheels and that is configured to, based on force applied to the suction hose, rotate the moving wheels to move the cleaner body in a direction of the suction hose;

a plurality of obstacle detecting members that are located on a side of a front of the cover member and that are configured to detect an obstacle located in front or beside the cleaner body in the direction of the suction hose; and

a printed circuit board (PCB) that is configured to control an operation of the wheel motor assembly according to a signal from the obstacle detecting member.

2. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the suction hose is located at a center of the cover member.

3. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of obstacle detecting members are located on both sides of the cover member.

4. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of obstacle detecting members are located on a connection portion that is between the suction hose and the cover member.

5. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein both sides of the front surface of the cover member defines a detecting hole through which light emitted from the obstacle detecting member is transmitted.

6. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 5, wherein a portion of the front surface of the cover member that defines the detecting hole is curved.

7. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 5, wherein the detecting hole is configured to transmit light within a set angle range by both internal side surfaces of the detecting hole being inclined.

8. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 5, wherein the detecting hole is symmetric about connecting point of the suction hose.

9. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 5, further comprising a plurality of detecting holes that are located at a same height as the detecting hole.

10. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein:

the cover member comprises a cover base that defines a lower surface of the cover member and an outer cover that defines an upper surface of the cover member,

the obstacle detecting members are fixed to the cover base, and

the outer cover defines a detecting hole through which light emitted from the obstacle detecting member passes.

11. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the obstacle detecting member comprises:

a sensor substrate that is located in the cover member; and

a laser sensor that is configured to detect an obstacle by emitting light and that is located on the sensor substrate.

12. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the obstacle detecting members include a laser sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a proximity sensor or a vision camera.

13. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of obstacle detecting members are located at a same height relative to a bottom of the vacuum cleaner and are configured to face in different directions from each other.

14. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of obstacle detecting members are located on both sides of the suction hose at a set angle relative to the suction hose.

15. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of obstacle detecting members are located on both sides of the suction hose and are configured to avoid detecting objects located in a non-detecting area that is centered about the suction hose.

16. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein:

each of the obstacle detecting members has a detecting range of 25°

degrees, and

the plurality of obstacle detecting members are located at both sides of the suction hose are separated by an angle of 65°

degrees.

17. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the PCB is configured to increase a driving speed of one of the moving wheels based on the plurality of obstacle detecting members detecting an object.

18. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the PCB is configured to reduce or temporarily stop a driving speed of one of the moving wheels based on the plurality of obstacle detecting members detecting an object.

19. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the PCB is configured to switch a driving direction of the wheel motor assembly based on the plurality of obstacle detecting members detecting an object.

20. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein:

the cleaner body comprises a detecting part that is configured to detect a slope of the cleaner body and determine whether the vacuum cleaner is moving or stopped, and

the plurality of obstacle detecting members are active based on the detecting part determining that the vacuum cleaner is moving and are inactive based on the detecting part determining that the vacuum cleaner is stopped.

21. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 20, wherein the plurality of obstacle detecting members are configured to detect objects within a set detection distance and are configured to avoid detecting the ground based on the cleaner body being rotated.

22. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of obstacle detecting members comprises:

front sensors that are located at both sides of the suction hose and that are configured to detect an obstacle located in front of the vacuum cleaner by emitting light forward; and

side sensors that are located between the front sensors and a rear of the vacuum cleaner and that are configured to detect an obstacle located at a side of the vacuum cleaner by emitting light laterally.