Self-propelled cleaner

• US 9,414,731 B2
• Filed: 02/21/2014
• Issued: 08/16/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Soejima, Ryohichi
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, DUNG V
• Application Number:
  US14/767,081
• Publication Number:
  US 20160000288A1
• Time in Patent Office: 907 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2201/06 Control of the cleaning action for autonomous devices; Automatic detection of the surface condition before, during or after cleaning
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/0411 driven by electric motor
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2815 using optical detectors
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2826 the condition of the floor
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2831 Motor parameters, e.g. motor load or speed
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2842 Suction motors or blowers
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2847 Surface treating elements
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2852 Elements for displacement of the vacuum cleaner or the accessories therefor, e.g. wheels, casters or nozzles

Abstract

A self-propelled cleaner including: a movement unit configured to move a housing; a blower unit configured to generate an air current for sucking dust on a floor surface into the housing; a dust detection unit configured to detect dust contained in the air current; and a control unit configured to control the movement unit and/or the blower unit to select a cleaning mode according to a detection result of the dust detection unit, wherein the control unit is capable of changing a threshold value for selecting the cleaning mode.

Claims

1. A self-propelled cleaner for executing a cleaning operation comprising:

a movement unit configured to move a housing;

a blower unit configured to generate an air current for sucking dust on a floor surface into the housing;

a dust detection unit configured to detect dust contained in the air current;

a floor surface detection unit configured to detect an aspect of a floor surface; and

a control unit configured to control the movement unit and/or the blower unit to select a cleaning mode between a first cleaning mode and a second cleaning mode, the second cleaning mode being for cleaning more carefully than the first cleaning mode, according to a detection result of the dust detection unit, wherein

the control unit is capable of changing a threshold value for selecting the cleaning mode according to the detected aspect of the floor surface, and wherein

a type of the cleaning operation in the second cleaning mode varies according to the detected aspect of the floor surface.

2. The self-propelled cleaner according to claim 1, further comprising:

a drive unit; and

a brush unit configured to be driven by the drive unit to clean a floor surface, wherein

the control unit controls a rotation of the brush unit in the second cleaning mode according to the detected aspect of the floor surface.

3. The self-propelled cleaner according to claim 2, wherein the floor surface detection unit detects the aspect of the floor surface by detecting a load to the drive unit caused by the drive of the brush unit.

4. The self-propelled cleaner according to claim 1, wherein

the control unit selects the cleaning mode according to a number of detection times of dust during a first period set beforehand.

5. The self-propelled cleaner according to claim 4, wherein

the control unit counts the number of detection times of dust by excluding a second period set beforehand during the first period.