ELECTRIC CLEANER

• US 20090119867A1
• Filed: 10/19/2006
• Published: 05/14/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Itoh, Akihito, Senoo, Hiroyuki, Ohshima, Yasuo, Ishibashi, Takafumi, Ueno, Seiichi
• Application Number:
  US12/091,221
• Publication Number:
  US 20090119867A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 15/319
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2815 using optical detectors
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2842 Suction motors or blowers
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2857 User input or output elements for control, e.g. buttons, switches or displays
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 9/2894 Details related to signal transmission in suction cleaners
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 40/00 Technologies aiming at improving the efficiency of home appliances, e.g. induction cooking or efficient technologies for refrigerators, freezers or dish washers

Abstract

An electric vacuum cleaner includes an electric blower, a driver for driving the electric blower, a determination controller for controlling the electric power supply to the electric blower by transmitting a signal to the driver, and a dust amount sensor for sensing the amounts of dusts of different sizes. The determination controller controls the electric power supply to the electric blower based on the amounts of dusts of the different sizes sensed by the dust amount sensor.

Claims

1. An electric vacuum cleaner comprising:

an electric blower;

a driver for driving the electric blower;

a determination controller for controlling electric power supply to the electric blower by transmitting a signal to the driver; and

a dust amount sensor for sensing amounts of dusts of different sizes, wherein

the determination controller controls the electric power supply to the electric blower based on the amounts of dusts of the different sizes detected by the dust amount sensor.

2. The electric vacuum cleaner of claim 1, further comprising:

a first dust detector for detecting dust of a predetermined size in a suction passage; and

a second dust detector for detecting dust smaller than the predetermined size in the suction passage, wherein

the dust amount sensor senses the amounts of dusts of the different sizes based on detection results of the first dust detector and the second dust detector.

3. The electric vacuum cleaner of claim 2, wherein

the determination controller controls the electric power supply to the electric blower based on a table containing the amounts of dusts of the different sizes detected by the dust amount sensor and a correspondence between the amounts of dusts and the electric power supply to the electric blower.

4. The electric vacuum cleaner of claim 3, wherein

the determination controller compares electric power supplies corresponding to the amounts of dusts of the different sizes, and determines the larger of the electric power supplies as an electric power supply to be supplied to the electric blower.

5. The electric vacuum cleaner of claim 2, further comprising

a dust sensor for sensing dust in the suction passage and outputting a signal, wherein

the first dust detector includes a first amplifier-determiner for amplifying a signal outputted from the dust sensor by a first amplification factor, and when a magnitude of the signal amplified is greater than a predetermined threshold, determining that the dust of the predetermined size has been detected;

and

the second dust detector includes a second amplifier-determiner for amplifying a signal outputted from the dust sensor by a second amplification factor, and when a magnitude of the signal amplified is greater than the predetermined threshold, determining that dust smaller than the predetermined size has been detected, and

the second amplification factor is larger than the first amplification factor.

6. The electric vacuum cleaner of claim 5, wherein

the dust amount sensor senses the amounts of dusts of the different sizes by counting results of the first dust detector and the second dust detector.

7. The electric vacuum cleaner of claim 5, wherein

the first dust detector and the second dust detector output voltages different from each other when detect dust, and

the dust amount sensor senses the amounts of dusts of the different sizes based on the difference in output voltages of the first dust detector and the second dust detector.

8. The electric vacuum cleaner of claim 7, further comprising:

a dust signal superimposer for superimposing outputs of the first dust detector and the second dust detector; and

a dust signal separator for separating the signals superimposed by the dust signal superimposer.

9. The electric vacuum cleaner of claim 1, further comprising a dust amount indicator, wherein

the determination controller determines the amount of dust collected with consideration of the size of the dust collected, based on the amounts of dusts of the different sizes and

the dust amount indicator informs the user of the amount of dust collected determined by the determination controller.

10. The electric vacuum cleaner of claim 9, further comprising an accumulation clear part for resetting the amount of dust collected.

11. The electric vacuum cleaner of claim 10, wherein

the accumulation clear part resets the amount of dust collected when a dust bag is replaced.

12. The electric vacuum cleaner of claim 1, further comprising a detection indicator for informing the user of the amounts of dusts of the different sizes detected by the dust amount sensor.

13. The electric vacuum cleaner of claim 12, wherein

the determination controller determines at least one of power control law of the electric blower and notification control law of the detection indicator based on the amounts of dusts of the different sizes.

14. The electric vacuum cleaner of claim 13, further comprising a setting input part for setting at least one of the power control law and the notification control law.

15. The electric vacuum cleaner of claim 13, further comprising a suction tool identification part for identifying a type of a connected suction tool, wherein

the determination controller determines the at least one of the power control law and the notification control law based on the type of the suction tool.

16. The electric vacuum cleaner of claim 15, wherein

the suction tool identification part identifies the type of the connected suction tool from a potential difference caused by supplying a predetermined current in accordance with a resistance value different depending on the type of the suction tool.