Floor care apparatus with multiple agitator speeds and constant suction power
First Claim
1. A floor care apparatus, comprising:
- a nozzle assembly;
an agitator in said nozzle assembly;
a motor coupled to said agitator for driving said agitator at two or more speeds;
a switch with at least two positions for a user to indicate a mode-of-operation preference; and
an agitator motor control circuit responsive to said switch and coupled to supply at least two signals to said motor, one of said two signals having a fixed duty cycle of less than 1.0, the other of said two signals being substantially constant.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A floor care apparatus has a nozzle assembly housing an agitator. A motor couples to the agitator to drive it at two or more speeds and constant suction power. A user indicates their mode-of-operation preference by positioning a switch. An agitator motor control circuit, responsive to the switch, effectuates motor control by supplying either a fixed duty cycle signal or a substantially constant voltage signal. The fixed duty cycle signal includes a waveform with a substantially constant voltage value that is on for a first or first and second of four quarters of the waveform period. Thereafter, it repeats for additional periods. The switch preferably embodies a resistor network and a fixed current source that creates a voltage input to an A/D converter that falls within a specified range. Other apparatus embodiments contemplate multiple agitators with one or more agitator motors. A suction fan motor, separate from the agitator motor(s), may also exist.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A floor care apparatus, comprising:
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a nozzle assembly; an agitator in said nozzle assembly; a motor coupled to said agitator for driving said agitator at two or more speeds; a switch with at least two positions for a user to indicate a mode-of-operation preference; and an agitator motor control circuit responsive to said switch and coupled to supply at least two signals to said motor, one of said two signals having a fixed duty cycle of less than 1.0, the other of said two signals being substantially constant. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A floor care apparatus, comprising:
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a suction fan motor for providing a suction airflow during use; a nozzle assembly in fluid communication with the suction fan motor, an airflow path existing from said nozzle assembly to said suction fan motor; a first and second agitator in said nozzle assembly; at least one motor, separate from the suction fan motor, for driving at least one of the first and second agitator; an agitator motor control circuit to drive said first agitator at a first and second speed and said second agitator at a first and second speed, said first and second speeds of each of said first and second agitators being one of the same speed and a different speed. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A vacuum cleaner, comprising:
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a suction fan motor for providing a suction airflow during use; a nozzle assembly in fluid communication with the suction fan motor, an airflow path existing from said nozzle assembly to said suction fan motor; at least one agitator in said nozzle assembly; an agitator motor coupled to said at least one agitator for driving said agitator at two or more speeds; a switch with at least two positions for a user to indicate a mode-of-operation preference thereby indicating a preference of said two or more speeds; and an agitator motor control circuit responsive to said switch and coupled to supply at least two signals to said agitator motor in accordance with said speed preference wherein one of the two signals has a fixed duty cycle of less than 1.0. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A vacuum cleaner, comprising:
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a suction fan motor for providing a suction airflow during use; a nozzle assembly in fluid communication with the suction fan motor for sucking up dirt and debris from a surface to be cleaned, an airflow path existing from said nozzle assembly to said suction fan motor; at least one agitator in said nozzle assembly; an agitator motor coupled to said at least one agitator for driving said agitator at two or more speeds, said agitator motor not existing in said airflow path; a switch with at least two positions for a user to indicate a mode-of-operation preference thereby indicating a speed preference of said two or more speeds; and an agitator motor control circuit responsive to said switch and coupled to supply at least two signals to said agitator motor in accordance with said speed preference, wherein one of said two signals has a substantially repeating rectangular voltage waveform with a fixed duty cycle and the other of said two signals has a substantially constant voltage level.
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24. A floor care apparatus, comprising:
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a nozzle assembly; a first and second agitator in said nozzle assembly; an agitator motor control circuit to drive said first agitator at a first and second speed and said second agitator at a first and second speed, said first and second speeds of each of said first and second agitators being one of the same speed and a different speed, wherein an output of said agitator motor control circuit is one of a signal having a fixed duty cycle of less than 1.0 and a signal being substantially constant. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26)
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Specification