Surface treatment device rotational speed indicator user interface

Abstract

A surface treatment apparatus may include a surface cleaning head having an agitator; an agitator motor configured to rotate the agitator; a suction motor configured to cause debris to be extracted from the surface to be treated; a debris sensor configured to generate a signal indicative of an amount of debris in the dirty air path; a user interface (UI); and a controller. The controller may be configured to receive the signal indicative of the amount of the debris in the dirty air path; adjusting a rotational speed of at least one of the suction motor or the agitator motor; and adjusting the UI based on the rotational speed of at least one of the suction motor or the agitator motor.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to surface treating device user interfaces (UIs), and more particularly to surface treating device rotation speed indicator UIs. Background Art

[0002] The surface treating device may include an upright vacuum cleaner configured to be convertible between a storage position and an in-use position. The upright vacuum cleaner may include a suction motor configured to draw air into an air intake of the upright vacuum cleaner so that debris deposited on the surface may be pushed into the air intake. At least a portion of the debris pushed into the air intake may be deposited in a dust cup of the upright vacuum cleaner for subsequent disposal. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0003] Reference should be made to the following detailed description, which should be read in conjunction with the following drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts.

[0004] Figure 1 is an illustrative example of a vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0005] Figure 2 is an illustrative example of a vacuum cleaner surface cleaning head assembly incorporating a light bar according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0006] Figure 3 According to the embodiment of the present disclosure Figure 2 Exploded view of the light bar assembly of the vacuum cleaner surface cleaning head assembly.

[0007] Figure 4 A chip sensor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure Figure 1 Example cross-sectional view of an upright section of a vacuum cleaner.

[0008] Figure 5 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a method for adjusting a surface treating device UI based on the rotational speed of a suction motor, an agitator motor, or both. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0009] The present disclosure generally relates to a surface treatment device rotation speed indicator UI. An example of a surface treatment device may be a vacuum cleaner having an agitator configured to stir / remove debris adhered to a surface to be cleaned (e.g., a floor); an agitator motor configured to rotate the agitator; a dust cup configured to collect debris from the surface to be cleaned; and a suction motor configured to extract debris from the surface to be treated into the dust cup through a dirty air path. The operating mode of the vacuum cleaner may be based at least in part on a determined amount of collected debris. For example, a suction power proportional to the rotation speed of the suction motor may be based at least in part on the amount of collected debris.

[0010] What is needed is for a user of a surface treating device to determine the rotational speed of a suction motor, an agitator motor, or both while using the surface treating device without the user having to take their eyes off the surface being treated. A surface treating device is disclosed herein that incorporates a UI that indicates to the user the rotational speed of a suction motor, an agitator motor, or both. It should be noted that the rotational speed of the suction motor, the agitator motor, or both can further indicate the amount of debris collected because the rotational speed of the suction motor, the agitator motor, or both can be adjusted based on a debris sensor in the dirty air path of the surface treating device.

[0011] The rotational speed (in revolutions per minute or RPM) of the suction motor and the agitator motor is adjusted based on the amount of debris detected by a debris sensor that monitors the dirty air path of the surface treatment device. When more debris is detected, the rotational speed of the suction motor and the agitator motor is increased accordingly; when less debris is detected, the rotational speed of the suction motor and the agitator motor is decreased accordingly. Therefore, the rotational speed of the suction motor and the agitator motor can indicate the amount of debris in the dirty air path of the surface treatment device.

[0012] Another method of indicating the rotational speed of the suction motor, the agitator motor, or both to a user via a surface treatment device is to adjust the output of a display (e.g., a light bar consisting of a series of light emitting diodes (LEDs)) based on the output of a debris sensor. However, debris sensors typically change very quickly, and when these rapid changes are directly coupled to a display, the display will also change very quickly, which is perceived by the user as flickering. Many users may find this flickering distracting.

[0013] The present disclosure avoids the flickering problem by using the rotational speed of the suction motor, the agitator motor, or both to control the UI (e.g., light bar). Since the rotational speeds of the suction motor and the agitator motor change at a much slower rate than the output of the debris sensor, the rotational speeds of the suction motor, the agitator motor, or both are used to suppress changes in the UI and avoid the flickering display problem. In addition, since changes in the rotational speeds of the suction motor, the agitator motor, or both cause proportional changes in the noise level of the surface treatment equipment, the audio (motor sound) and visual (e.g., light bar display) will change simultaneously, thereby providing synchronized audio and visual feedback to the user.

[0014] Figure 1 A schematic example of a vacuum cleaner 100 is shown. As shown, the vacuum cleaner 100 includes a surface cleaning head 102, an upright section 104 pivotably coupled to the surface cleaning head 102, and a vacuum assembly 106 coupled to the upright section 104. The vacuum assembly 106 may include a suction motor 108 (shown in dashed lines) and a dust cup 110 each fluidly coupled to the surface cleaning head 102, wherein the suction motor 108 is configured to cause air to be sucked into the surface cleaning head 102, thereby causing debris to be extracted from the surface to be treated. The surface cleaning head 102 may include one or more agitators 112 (e.g., a brush roll), which are configured to engage a surface 114 (e.g., a floor) to be cleaned.

[0015] The vacuum cleaner 100 also includes a UI 116 (e.g., a light bar) coupled to the surface cleaning head 102 and an air inlet 118 that is an inlet for a dirty air path 122. The dirty air path 122 is a passage within the vacuum cleaner 100 that allows debris sucked from the surface to be cleaned 114 through the air inlet 118 to be transferred to the dust cup 110. In some other embodiments, the UI 116 can be coupled elsewhere on the vacuum cleaner 100.

[0016] The vacuum cleaner 100 may include a controller 120 (shown in phantom) communicatively coupled to a debris sensor 124, the UI 116, and the suction motor 108. The controller 120 is configured to adjust the rotational speed of the suction motor 108, the agitator motor 126, or both based on the amount of debris detected by the debris sensor 124, by, for example, changing the current provided to the suction motor 108 and the agitator motor 126 by a power supply (not shown).

[0017] In some embodiments, UI 116 is a light bar composed of LEDs. In some embodiments, the LEDs in UI 116 are sequentially lit based on the rotational speed of the suction motor 108, so that as the rotational speed of the suction motor 108 increases, the next LED in the sequence is turned on until all LEDs are lit when the rotational speed of the suction motor 108 increases to above a predetermined threshold. Similarly, as the rotational speed of the suction motor 108 decreases, each LED in the sequence is turned off starting with the last LED that was turned on until all LEDs are turned off when the rotational speed of the suction motor 108 drops below a predetermined threshold. In some other embodiments, the intensity of the LEDs in UI 116 is adjusted based on the rotational speed of the suction motor 108, wherein a higher rotational speed from the suction motor 108 will cause a higher intensity illumination in the LED light bar. In yet other embodiments, the color of the LEDs in UI 116 is adjusted based on the rotational speed of the suction motor 108.

[0018] Figure 2 is an illustrative example of a vacuum cleaner surface cleaning head assembly incorporating a light bar according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 2 Shown from Figure 1 1 is an example of a top view of a surface cleaning head 102 of a vacuum cleaner 100 . Figure 2 The top view of FIG. 1 more clearly shows the UI 116 (eg, light bar). For reference, the location of the upright section 104 is also shown.

[0019] Figure 3 According to the embodiment of the present disclosure Figure 1 An example exploded view of the light bar assembly 300 of the vacuum cleaner surface cleaning head assembly 102. Figure 3 In the example shown, UI 116 includes UI cover 302, a micro-tie 304 covering a light pipe 306, and a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) 308 containing a component 310. Component 310 may include a plurality of LEDs, circuitry for powering the LEDs, and circuitry for controlling the LEDs. Figure 1 As discussed in , the UI 116 is communicatively coupled to the controller 120 and receives signals from the controller 120 to control an output display of the UI 116 based on the rotational speed of the suction motor 108 and the speed of the agitator 112 .

[0020] Figure 4 A chip sensor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure Figure 1 An example cross-sectional view of an upright section 104 of a vacuum cleaner. Figure 4In the example of , the debris sensor is an infrared (IR) optical sensor that detects the amount of debris in the dirty air path 122 based on the amount of IR light received by the IR receiver 402 versus the amount of IR light emitted by the IR emitter 404. Both the IR receiver 402 and the IR emitter 404 are protected by an IR sensor cover 406. Although Figure 4 An example debris sensor of is an IR optical sensor, but any other type of debris sensor may be used as known to those skilled in the art.

[0021] Figure 5 A flow chart illustrating an example of a method 500 for adjusting a surface treatment device UI based on the rotational speed of the suction motor 108, the agitator motor 126, or both is shown. The method 500 may be embodied in any one or more of software, firmware, and / or hardware. For example, the method 500 may be embodied as a device configured to Figure 1 Although a single cycle of method 500 is shown below for illustrative purposes, it should be understood that method 500 is continuously repeated as long as the surface treating device (eg, vacuum cleaner 100) is in operation.

[0022] As shown, method 500 begins when, for example, vacuum cleaner 100 is powered on. Method 500 may include step 502. Step 502 includes receiving a signal indicative of an amount of debris in dirty air path 122 of vacuum cleaner 100. For example and as shown, the signal may be received from debris sensor 124.

[0023] The method 500 may also include step 504. Step 504 includes adjusting the rotational speed of at least one of the suction motor 108 or the agitator motor 126. The rotational speeds of the suction motor 108 and the agitator motor 126 may be adjusted by signaling a power supply for each of the motors to supply a current that causes each motor to rotate at a desired rotational speed. It should be noted that in order to achieve the desired rotational speed, the current required for the suction motor 108 and the current required for the agitator motor 126 may be different.

[0024] The method 500 may also include step 506. Step 506 includes adjusting the UI 116 based on the rotational speed of at least one of the suction motor 108 or the agitator motor 126. For example, the UI 116 may receive an indication of the rotational speed of the suction motor 108, the agitator motor 126, or both, and adjust the output of the UI 116 based on either or both rotational speeds. In another example, the UI 116 may receive an indication of the rotational speed of both the suction motor 108 and the agitator motor 126, and may select the suction motor 108 or the agitator motor 126 to use as a basis for adjusting the UI 116.

[0025] In some embodiments, step 506 may adjust the UI 116 based on the rotational speeds of both the suction motor 108 and the agitator motor 126. The UI 116 may receive an indication of the rotational speeds of both the suction motor 108 and the agitator motor 126 and adjust the output of the UI 116 based on the rotational speeds of both motors, for example, by averaging the rotational speeds of both the suction motor 108 and the agitator motor 126 and adjusting the UI 116 using the average rotational speed.

[0026] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a surface treatment device is thus provided. The device comprises: a surface cleaning head having an agitator; an agitator motor configured to rotate the agitator; a suction motor configured to cause debris to be extracted from a surface to be treated; a debris sensor configured to generate a signal indicating an amount of debris in a dirty air path; a user interface (UI); and a controller. The controller may be configured to receive the signal indicating the amount of debris in the dirty air path; adjust the rotation speed of at least one of the suction motor or the agitator motor; and adjust the UI based on the rotation speed of at least one of the suction motor or the agitator motor.

[0027] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a vacuum cleaner is provided. The vacuum cleaner includes: a surface cleaning head having an agitator; a dust cup, the dust cup being fluidly coupled to the surface cleaning head; a suction motor, the suction motor being fluidly coupled to the surface cleaning head; an agitator motor, the agitator motor being configured to rotate the agitator; a debris sensor, the debris sensor being configured to generate a signal indicating the amount of debris in a dirty air path; a user interface (UI); and a controller. The controller may be configured to: receive the signal indicating the amount of debris in the dirty air path; adjust the rotation speed of at least one of the suction motor or the agitator motor; and adjust the UI based on the rotation speed of at least one of the suction motor or the agitator motor.

[0028] According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a surface treatment device is provided. The device includes: a suction motor configured to cause debris to be extracted from a surface to be treated; a debris sensor configured to generate a signal indicating an amount of debris in a dirty air path; a user interface (UI); and a controller. The controller may be configured to: receive the signal indicating the amount of debris in the dirty air path; adjust the rotation speed of the suction motor; and adjust the UI based on the rotation speed of the suction motor.

[0029] Although the present disclosure has discussed the rotation speed indicator UI of a surface treating device using an upright vacuum cleaner, other surface treating devices may be used. For example, the surface cleaning device may be a robot cleaner, a handheld cleaner, a tank vacuum cleaner, and / or any other type of cleaner.

[0030] Although the principles of the present invention have been described herein, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that this description is made by way of example only and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. In addition to the exemplary embodiments shown and described herein, other embodiments are also within the scope of the present invention. Modifications and substitutions made by those of ordinary skill in the art are considered to be within the scope of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is limited only by the following claims.

Claims

1. A surface treatment device, comprising: a surface cleaning head having an agitator; an agitator motor configured to rotate the agitator; a suction motor configured to cause debris to be extracted from the surface to be treated; a debris sensor configured to generate a signal indicative of an amount of debris in the dirty air path; User interface (UI); as well as A controller, the controller being configured to: receiving said signal indicative of said amount of said debris in said dirty air path; adjusting a rotational speed of at least one of the suction motor or the agitator motor; and and The UI is adjusted based on the rotational speed of at least one of the suction motor or the agitator motor.

2. The surface treating apparatus of claim 1 , wherein adjusting the UI based on the rotational speed of at least one of the suction motor or the agitator motor comprises: The UI is adjusted based on the rotational speeds of both the suction motor and the agitator motor.

3. The surface treating apparatus of claim 1, wherein the debris sensor is an infrared (IR) optical sensor.

4. The surface treatment apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the IR optical sensor further comprises: an IR emitter configured to emit IR light; and An IR receiver is configured to output the signal based on an amount of the IR light received by the IR receiver.

5. The surface treatment device of claim 1, wherein the UI is a light bar, the light bar comprising: a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs); circuitry for powering the plurality of LEDs; and Circuitry for controlling the plurality of LEDs to sequentially turn each of the plurality of LEDs on or off based on the rotational speed of at least one of the suction motor or the agitator motor. 6 . The surface treating apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the rotational speeds of the suction motor and the agitator motor are controlled by adjusting current supplied to the suction motor and the agitator motor.

7. The surface treating appliance of claim 1 wherein the debris sensor is positioned within the dirty air path.

8. A vacuum cleaner comprising: a surface cleaning head having an agitator; a dust cup fluidly coupled to the surface cleaning head; a suction motor fluidly coupled to the surface cleaning head; an agitator motor configured to rotate the agitator; a debris sensor configured to generate a signal indicative of an amount of debris in the dirty air path; User interface (UI); as well as A controller, the controller being configured to: receiving said signal indicative of said amount of said debris in said dirty air path; adjusting a rotational speed of at least one of the suction motor or the agitator motor; and and The UI is adjusted based on the rotational speed of at least one of the suction motor or the agitator motor.

9. The vacuum cleaner of claim 8, wherein adjusting the UI based on the rotational speed of at least one of the suction motor or the agitator motor comprises: The UI is adjusted based on the rotational speeds of both the suction motor and the agitator motor.

10. The vacuum cleaner of claim 8, wherein the debris sensor is an infrared (IR) optical sensor.

11. The vacuum cleaner of claim 10, wherein the IR optical sensor further comprises: an IR emitter configured to emit IR light; and An IR receiver is configured to output the signal based on an amount of the IR light received by the IR receiver.

12. The vacuum cleaner of claim 8, wherein the UI is a light bar, the light bar comprising: a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs); circuitry for powering the plurality of LEDs; and Circuitry for controlling the plurality of LEDs to sequentially turn each of the plurality of LEDs on or off based on the rotational speed of at least one of the suction motor or the agitator motor.

13. The vacuum cleaner of claim 8, wherein the rotational speeds of the suction motor and the agitator motor are controlled by adjusting current supplied to the suction motor and the agitator motor.

14. The vacuum cleaner of claim 8, wherein the debris sensor is positioned within the dirty air path.

15. A surface treatment device comprising: a suction motor configured to cause debris to be extracted from the surface to be treated; a debris sensor configured to generate a signal indicative of an amount of debris in the dirty air path; User interface (UI); and A controller, the controller being configured to: receiving said signal indicative of said amount of said debris in said dirty air path; adjusting the rotation speed of the suction motor; and The UI is adjusted based on the rotational speed of the suction motor.

16. The surface treating apparatus of claim 15, wherein the debris sensor is an infrared (IR) optical sensor.

17. The surface treatment apparatus of claim 16, wherein the IR optical sensor further comprises: an IR emitter configured to emit IR light; and An IR receiver is configured to output the signal based on an amount of the IR light received by the IR receiver.

18. The surface treatment device of claim 15, wherein the UI is a light bar, the light bar comprising: a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs); circuitry for powering the plurality of LEDs; and Circuitry for controlling the plurality of LEDs to sequentially turn each of the plurality of LEDs on or off based on the rotational speed of the suction motor.

19. The surface treating apparatus of claim 15, wherein the rotational speed of the suction motor is controlled by adjusting a current supplied to the suction motor.

20. The surface treating appliance of claim 15, wherein the debris sensor is positioned within the dirty air path.

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