Vacuum cleaner and control method of the same

• US 9,820,623 B2
• Filed: 09/13/2016
• Issued: 11/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Ha, Gunho
• Primary Examiner(s): REDDING, DAVID A
• Application Number:
  US15/264,174
• Publication Number:
  US 20170071430A1
• Time in Patent Office: 434 Days
• Field of Search: 15319, 153272, 15DIG 10
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 5/36 Suction cleaners with hose between nozzle and casing; Suction cleaners for fixing on staircases; Suction cleaners for carrying on the back
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 5/362 of the horizontal type, e.g. canister or sledge type
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 5/365 of the vertical type, e.g. tank or bucket type
• 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

Abstract

A vacuum cleaner includes a cleaner main body; a suction device communicated with the cleaner main body; a wheel which may move the cleaner body; a motor for driving the wheel; a sensor for detecting a rotation angle of the cleaner main body about a rotation angle of the wheel; a memory in which a plurality of reference values about the sensor are stored; and a controller determining one reference value of the plurality of reference values and controlling the motor according to a size of an angle value detected from the sensor based on the determined reference value.

Claims

1. A vacuum cleaner comprising:

a cleaner main body;

a suction device in communications with the cleaner main body;

a wheel to move the cleaner main body;

a motor to drive the wheel;

a sensor to detect a rotation angle of the cleaner main body;

a memory in which a plurality of reference angles are stored; and

a controller which determines one reference angle of the plurality of reference angles and controls the motor depending on a difference between the rotation angle detected by the sensor and the determined reference angle,

wherein the controller determines the one of the plurality of reference angles after operating the motor to position the cleaner main body at each of the plurality of reference angles.

2. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein, when determining the one reference angle of the plurality of reference angles, the controller operates the motor to rotate the main body at each of the reference angles in a second direction which is opposite to a first direction after operating the motor to rotate the main body at the reference angles in the first direction.

3. The vacuum cleaner of claim 2, further comprising a current sensor that detects a current to the motor,

wherein, when the motor is operated with respect to each of the plurality of reference angles, a respective current is detected by the current sensor, and

the controller determines the one reference angle of the plurality of references angles based on the respective currents, the determined one reference angle having a smallest one of the respective currents detected by the current sensor.

4. The vacuum cleaner of the claim 1, wherein the sensor is one of an angle sensor, an acceleration sensor, or a gyroscopic sensor.

5. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the controller determines one reference angles of the plurality of reference angles whenever the vacuum cleaner starts to be operated.

6. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein, when the difference between the rotational angle detected by the sensor and the determined reference angle is outside a range between a particular forward angle value and a particular backward angle value, the controller controls the motor so that the cleaner main body moves forward or backward based on the difference.

7. The vacuum cleaner of claim 6, wherein one or more of the particular forward angle value or the particular backward angle value is varied depending on the determined reference angle.

8. The vacuum cleaner of claim 6, further comprising an auxiliary wheel provided on the cleaner main body,

wherein when the difference between the rotational angle detected by the sensor and the determined reference angle is within the range between the particular forward angle value and the particular backward angle value, the auxiliary wheel is spaced apart from a surface under the cleaner main body and contacting the wheel.

9. A vacuum cleaner comprising:

a cleaner main body;

a suction device in communications with the cleaner main body;

a wheel;

a motor to drive the wheel to move the cleaner main body;

a sensor to detect a movement of a detection target about a rotation center of the wheel; and

a controller which determines one reference value of a plurality of reference values, each of the reference values being associated with a respective starting position for the detection target, and controls the motor according to a relative movement of the detection target based on the movement of the detection target detected by the sensor from the starting position associated with determined reference value,

wherein the controller determines the one reference value of the plurality of reference values after operating the motor to position the detection target about each of the starting positions associated with the plurality of reference values, and

wherein, when the detected value exceeds a forward reference value, the controller controls the motor so that the cleaner main body moves forward, and when the detected value exceeds a backward reference value, the controller controls the motor so that the cleaner main body moves backward.