Intelligent cat litter basin and control assembly and control circuit thereof

Abstract

The utility model relates to the technical field of intelligent cat litter basins, and discloses an intelligent cat litter basin and a control assembly and a control circuit thereof, and the control circuit comprises a main control module, a driving module and a detection module used for obtaining node voltage of a motor in the cat litter basin; the input end of the main control module receives node voltage, obtains motor working current according to the node voltage, outputs a first pulse signal to the first analog input end when the motor working current is smaller than or equal to a set threshold value, and outputs a second pulse signal to the second analog input end when the motor working current is larger than the set threshold value; the output end of the driving module is connected with the wiring end of the motor; the driving module is used for outputting a first control signal according to the first pulse signal to control the motor to rotate forwardly or outputting a second control signal according to the second pulse signal to control the motor to rotate reversely. The cat litter box can effectively solve the problem that the motor is blocked due to the fact that the valve of the cat litter box is blocked, so that the reliability of the cat litter box is improved, and the service life of the cat litter box is prolonged.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of smart cat litter boxes, and in particular to a smart cat litter box and a control component and a control circuit thereof. Background Art

[0002] The smart cat litter box pours cat litter into the storage compartment of the smart cat litter box. After the cat uses the toilet, the cat litter clumps together. The machine rotates and separates the unused cat litter and the clumped cat litter through the filter. The clumped part will fall into the trash box from the opening, and the unclumped part can be reused in the cat litter box.

[0003] When adding cat litter, the smart cat litter box uses a motor to control the valve of the storage compartment to open. During the process of opening and closing the valve, the valve may be stuck by the cat litter. Therefore, the storage compartment valve of the smart cat litter box cannot be safely closed. Utility Model Content

[0004] In view of this, the embodiments of the present application provide a smart cat litter box and its control component and control circuit, which can effectively solve the problem of the valve of the smart cat litter box being stuck.

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a control circuit for a smart cat litter box, comprising a main control module, a drive module, and a detection module;

[0006] The detection module is used to obtain the node voltage of the motor in the cat litter box;

[0007] The input end of the main control module receives the node voltage; the output end of the main control module is connected to the first analog input end and the second analog input end of the driving module; the main control module is used to obtain the motor operating current according to the node voltage, and output a first pulse signal to the first analog input end when the motor operating current is less than or equal to a set threshold, and output a second pulse signal to the second analog input end when the motor operating current is greater than the set threshold;

[0008] The output end of the driving module is used to connect to the connection terminal of the motor; the driving module is used to output a first control signal according to the first pulse signal or output a second control signal according to the second pulse signal; wherein, the first control signal is used to control the forward rotation of the motor, and the second control signal is used to control the reverse rotation of the motor.

[0009] In some embodiments, the driving module further includes a detection input terminal and a reference input terminal;

[0010] The reference input terminal is used to obtain a reference voltage; the detection input terminal is used to obtain a detection voltage of the motor;

[0011] The driving module is further configured to automatically adjust a current amplitude of the first control signal or the second control signal according to the reference voltage and the detection voltage.

[0012] In some embodiments, the main control module includes a microcontroller unit; the driving module includes a motor driving chip; the motor driving chip also includes a power supply end; the power supply end provides a power supply voltage for the motor driving chip.

[0013] In some embodiments, the driving module is composed of separate components; the driving module includes a receiving unit, a processing unit and an output unit;

[0014] The receiving unit includes a first input terminal and a second input terminal; the first input terminal of the receiving unit is the first analog input terminal, and the second input terminal of the receiving unit is the second analog input terminal; the first input terminal of the receiving unit receives the first pulse signal, and the second input terminal of the receiving unit receives the second pulse signal;

[0015] The output unit includes a first output end and a second output end, the first output end of the output unit is connected to the first connection port of the motor, and the second output end of the output unit is connected to the second connection port of the motor; the output unit is used to output the first control signal or the second control signal to the first connection port and the second connection port of the motor;

[0016] The processing unit includes a first input terminal and a second input terminal; the first input terminal of the processing unit is the reference input terminal, and the second input terminal of the processing unit is the detection input terminal; the first input terminal of the processing unit receives the reference voltage, and the detection input terminal of the processing unit receives the detection voltage.

[0017] In some embodiments, the control circuit further includes a filter capacitor; the filter capacitor is connected in parallel between two output terminals of the driving module for connecting to the motor.

[0018] In some embodiments, the detection module includes a first resistor, a second resistor, and a first capacitor;

[0019] The first end of the second resistor is connected to the detection input end of the driving module; the second end of the second resistor is used to connect to the node voltage;

[0020] The first end of the first resistor is connected to the first end of the second resistor, and the second end of the first resistor is grounded;

[0021] A first end of the first capacitor is connected to the second end of the second resistor, and a second end of the first capacitor is grounded.

[0022] In some embodiments, the control circuit further includes a sampling module; the sampling module includes a first power supply, a voltage dividing branch and a second capacitor;

[0023] The voltage dividing branch includes a third resistor and a fourth resistor; a first end of the third resistor is connected to the first power supply; a second end of the third resistor is connected to the first end of the fourth resistor, and a second end of the fourth resistor is grounded; a connection point between the third resistor and the fourth resistor is connected to the reference input terminal of the driving module;

[0024] A first end of the second capacitor is connected to a first end of the fourth resistor, and a second end of the second capacitor is connected to a second end of the fourth resistor.

[0025] In some embodiments, the control circuit further includes a power supply module; the power supply module includes a second power supply and a filtering unit;

[0026] The second power supply is connected to the power supply terminal of the driving module, and the second power supply provides a power supply voltage for the driving module;

[0027] The filtering unit includes a third capacitor and a fourth capacitor; the first end of the third capacitor and the first end of the fourth capacitor are both connected to the power supply end of the driving module; the second end of the third capacitor and the second end of the fourth capacitor are both grounded.

[0028] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a control assembly for a smart cat litter box, comprising a motor and a control circuit for the smart cat litter box;

[0029] The motor is fixed in the smart cat litter box;

[0030] The control circuit is connected to the connection terminal of the motor, and the control circuit is used to control the forward rotation of the motor according to the first control signal when the operating current of the motor is less than or equal to the set threshold; or, when the operating current of the motor is greater than the set threshold, control the reverse rotation of the motor according to the second control signal.

[0031] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a smart cat litter box, comprising a storage bin provided with a valve and a control assembly of the smart cat litter box;

[0032] When the motor for driving the valve of the intelligent cat litter box is not blocked, the control circuit controls the motor to rotate forward; when the motor is blocked, the control circuit controls the motor to rotate reversely.

[0033] The embodiments of the present application have the following beneficial effects:

[0034] The intelligent cat litter box control circuit of the present application compares the working current of the motor in the cat litter box obtained by detection with a set threshold value. When the working current of the motor is greater than the set threshold value, it is determined that the valve is stuck and the motor is blocked. After the motor is blocked, the motor is controlled to reverse, so as to effectively solve the problem of valve being stuck and motor being blocked, thereby improving the reliability and service life of the cat litter box. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the following is a brief introduction to the drawings required for use in the embodiments. It should be understood that the following drawings only show certain embodiments of the present application and therefore should not be regarded as limiting the scope. For ordinary technicians in this field, other relevant drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0036] Figure 1 A functional block diagram of a control circuit of an intelligent cat litter box in an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0037] Figure 2 A circuit diagram of a control circuit of an intelligent cat litter box in an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0038] Figure 3 A structural diagram of a driving module in an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0039] Description of main component symbols:

[0040] 10-main control module; 20-driving module; 30-detection module; 40-sampling module; 201-receiving unit; 202-processing unit; 203-output unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments.

[0042] The components of the embodiments of the present application generally described and illustrated in the drawings herein may be arranged and designed in a variety of different configurations. Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present application provided in the drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed application, but rather merely represents selected embodiments of the present application. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present application without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0043] Hereinafter, the terms "including", "having" and their cognates used in various embodiments of the present application are intended only to indicate specific features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, components or combinations of the aforementioned items, and should not be understood as excluding the existence of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, components or combinations of the aforementioned items or adding the possibility of one or more features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, components or combinations of the aforementioned items. In addition, the terms "first", "second", "third" and the like are only used to distinguish descriptions and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0044] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein (including technical and scientific terms) have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the various embodiments of the present application belong. The terms (such as those defined in generally used dictionaries) will be interpreted as having the same meaning as in the context of the relevant technical field and will not be interpreted as having an idealized meaning or an overly formal meaning unless clearly defined in the various embodiments of the present application.

[0045] The following describes some embodiments of the present application in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the absence of conflict, the following embodiments and features in the embodiments may be combined with each other.

[0046] In current smart litter boxes, adding cat litter can cause the valve in the storage compartment to become stuck, causing the motor that controls the valve's opening and closing state to become stalled. Prolonged motor stalling can lead to a sudden increase in current, which in turn reduces the motor's service life and may even damage it. Therefore, this application proposes a control circuit for a smart litter box that detects motor current to determine whether the motor is stalled. If a stall occurs, it controls the motor to reverse, ejecting the cat litter stuck in the valve.

[0047] The following describes the intelligent cat litter box machine control components and control circuits in conjunction with some specific embodiments.

[0048] Figure 1 A principle block diagram of the control circuit of the smart cat litter box according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. Figure 2 A circuit diagram of a control circuit of a smart cat litter box according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. For example, the control circuit of the smart cat litter box includes a main control module 10 , a drive module 20 , and a detection module 30 .

[0049] The detection module 30 of this embodiment is used to obtain the node voltage V_cur of the motor in the cat litter box.

[0050] The input end of the main control module 10 of this embodiment receives the node voltage V_cur; the output end of the main control module 10 is connected to the first analog input terminal IN2 and the second analog input terminal IN1 of the driving module 20; the main control module 10 is used to obtain the motor operating current according to the node voltage V_cur, and when the motor operating current is less than or equal to the set threshold, output the first pulse signal PMW1 to the first analog input terminal IN2, and when the motor operating current is greater than the set threshold, output the second pulse signal PMW2 to the second analog input terminal IN1.

[0051] The output end (OU2, OUT1) of the driving module 20 of this embodiment is used to connect to the terminal J(1, 2) of the motor; the driving module 20 is used to output a first control signal according to the first pulse signal PMW1 or output a second control signal according to the second pulse signal PMW2; wherein the first control signal PMW1 is used to control the forward rotation of the motor, and the second control signal PMW2 is used to control the reverse rotation of the motor.

[0052] For example, in the normal use of the smart cat litter box of the present application, assuming that the motor operating current is 0.2A, when the motor is stalled, the motor operating current can usually reach about 0.6A. Therefore, in order to ensure the safety and stability of the motor in the smart cat litter box, the present application sets the threshold value to 0.5A; therefore, the smart cat litter box control circuit compares the motor operating current of the cat litter box obtained by detection with the set threshold value of 0.5A to determine whether there is a valve stuck causing the motor to stall, and when the motor operating current is greater than the set threshold value of 0.5A, it determines that the motor is stalled, and then controls the motor to reverse, thereby solving the problem of the valve being stuck. It can be understood that the above-mentioned specific numerical values ​​are only examples and are not intended to be specific limitations on the operating current and set threshold value in this application.

[0053] In some embodiments, the driver module 20 further includes a detection input terminal ISESE and a reference input terminal VREF; the reference input terminal VREF is used to obtain a reference voltage V_ref, and the detection input terminal ISESE is used to obtain a detection voltage V_jc of the motor; the driver module 20 is further configured to automatically adjust the current amplitude of the first control signal or the second control signal based on the reference voltage V_ref and the detection voltage V_jc. Specifically, when the detection voltage V_jc is greater than the reference voltage V_ref and the operating current of the motor is determined to be greater than a set current value, the driver module 20 directly controls the output of no control signal, thereby stopping the motor from rotating to prevent the motor from stalling. For example, the set current value is 0.9A, 1A, etc.

[0054] In some embodiments, as Figure 2As shown, the main control module 10 includes a microcontroller unit (MCU); the driver module 20 includes a motor driver chip U. It is understood that this application does not specifically limit the specific model of the motor driver chip, as long as it can drive the motor to rotate forward and reverse. For example, the motor driver chip U uses the DRV8251DDAR, STK682-010, or MX615B SOP.

[0055] In some embodiments, the driving module 20 can be implemented with an integrated motor driving chip or with lower-cost discrete components, thereby reducing the cost of the driving module and the control circuit. Figure 3 As shown, the driving module 20 includes a receiving unit 201 , a processing unit 202 and an output unit 203 .

[0056] The receiving unit of this embodiment includes a first input end and a second input end; the first input end of the receiving unit is the first analog input end IN2, and the second input end of the receiving unit is the second analog input end IN1; the first input end of the receiving unit receives a first pulse signal, and the second input end of the receiving unit receives a second pulse signal.

[0057] The output unit of this embodiment includes a first output end and a second output end, the first output end of the output unit is connected to the first connection port J(1) of the motor, and the second output end of the output unit is connected to the second connection port J(2) of the motor; the output unit is used to output the first control signal or the second control signal to the first connection port J(1) and the second connection port J(2) of the motor.

[0058] The processing unit of this embodiment includes a first input terminal and a second input terminal; the first input terminal of the processing unit is a reference input terminal VREF, and the second input terminal of the processing unit is a detection input terminal ISESE; the first input terminal of the processing unit receives a reference voltage, and the detection input terminal of the processing unit receives a detection voltage.

[0059] This application does not limit the specific components selected for the independent circuit units in the driving module, as long as they can meet the needs of signal reception, comparison processing, output, and control the control signal of the motor.

[0060] In some embodiments, the control circuit further includes a filter capacitor C; between the filter capacitor C and the two output terminals of the drive module 20 for connecting to the motor; specifically, the first terminal of the filter capacitor C is connected to the first connection port J(1) of the motor, and the second terminal of the filter capacitor C is connected to the second output terminal J(2) of the motor.

[0061] In some embodiments, the detection module 30 includes a first resistor R1, a second resistor R2, and a first capacitor C1; the first end of the second resistor R2 is connected to the detection input terminal ISESE of the driving module 20; the second end of the second resistor R2 is used to connect the node voltage V_cur; the first end of the first resistor R1 is connected to the first end of the second resistor R2, and the second end of the first resistor R1 is grounded; the first end of the first capacitor C1 is connected to the second end of the second resistor R2, and the second end of the first capacitor C1 is grounded. The first resistor R1 in this embodiment is a sampling resistor. When the motor is working, the current of the detection input terminal ISESE of the driving module 20 flows into the earth through the first resistor R1. Different currents will produce different pressure differences. Therefore, different detection voltages V_jc can be obtained through the detection input terminal ISESE of the driving module 20, and the node voltage of the motor can be obtained through the voltage difference of the second resistor R2, so that the main control module 10 can obtain the magnitude of the motor operating current according to the node voltage of the motor.

[0062] In some embodiments, the control circuit further includes a sampling module 40; the sampling module 40 includes a first power supply 3.3V, a voltage divider branch, and a second capacitor C2; the voltage divider branch includes a third resistor R3 and a fourth resistor R4; the first end of the third resistor R3 is connected to the first power supply 3.3V; the second end of the third resistor R3 is connected to the first end of the fourth resistor R4, and the second end of the fourth resistor R4 is grounded; the connection point between the third resistor R3 and the fourth resistor R4 is connected to the reference input terminal VREF of the driving module 20; the first end of the second capacitor C2 is connected to the first end of the fourth resistor R4, and the second end of the second capacitor C2 is connected to the second end of the fourth resistor R4. The sampling module of the present application outputs a reference voltage through the voltage divider branch and filters the reference voltage through the second capacitor C2 to ensure the stability and reliability of the reference voltage.

[0063] In some embodiments, a power supply module is further included; the power supply module includes a second power supply 5V and a filtering unit; the second power supply 5V is connected to the power supply terminal VM of the driving module 20, and the second power supply 5V provides a supply voltage for the driving module 20; the filtering unit includes a third capacitor C3 and a fourth capacitor C4; the first end of the third capacitor C3 and the first end of the fourth capacitor C4 are both connected to the power supply terminal of the driving module 20; the second end of the third capacitor C3 and the second end of the fourth capacitor C4 are both grounded.

[0064] An embodiment of the present application also proposes a control component for a smart cat litter box. Exemplarily, the control component of the smart cat litter box includes a motor and the control circuit of the smart cat litter box in the above embodiment; the motor is fixed in the smart cat litter box; the control circuit is connected to the terminal of the motor, and the control circuit is used to control the motor to rotate forward according to the output first control signal when the motor operating current is less than or equal to a set threshold; or to control the motor to rotate reversely according to the output second control signal when the motor operating current is greater than the set threshold.

[0065] It can be understood that the options in the above embodiment are also applicable to this embodiment, so they will not be described again here.

[0066] The present application also provides a smart cat litter box. Exemplarily, the smart cat litter box includes a storage compartment with a valve and the aforementioned smart litter box control assembly. When the motor driving the valve is not stalled, the control circuit controls the motor to rotate forward. When the motor is stalled, the control circuit controls the motor to rotate reversely.

[0067] In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed device can also be implemented in other ways. The device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the structural diagrams in the accompanying drawings show the possible architectures, functions and operations of the control circuits, control components and smart cat litter boxes according to multiple embodiments of the present application. In this regard, each box in the block diagram can represent a module, a program segment or a part of a code, and the module, program segment or a part of the code contains one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function. It should also be noted that each box in the structural diagram, and the combination of boxes in the structural diagram, can be implemented with a dedicated hardware-based system that performs the specified function or action, or can be implemented with a combination of dedicated hardware and computer instructions.

[0068] In addition, the functional modules or units in the various embodiments of the present application can be integrated together to form an independent part, or each module can exist independently, or two or more modules can be integrated to form an independent part.

[0069] The above is only a specific implementation method of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with this technical field can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical scope disclosed in this application, which should be covered by the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A control circuit for an intelligent cat litter box, characterized in that: Including main control module, drive module and detection module; The detection module is used to obtain the node voltage of the motor in the cat litter box; The input end of the main control module receives the node voltage; the output end of the main control module is connected to the first analog input end and the second analog input end of the driving module; the main control module is used to obtain the motor operating current according to the node voltage, and output a first pulse signal to the first analog input end when the motor operating current is less than or equal to a set threshold, and output a second pulse signal to the second analog input end when the motor operating current is greater than the set threshold; The output end of the driving module is used to connect to the connection terminal of the motor; the driving module is used to output a first control signal according to the first pulse signal or output a second control signal according to the second pulse signal; wherein, the first control signal is used to control the forward rotation of the motor, and the second control signal is used to control the reverse rotation of the motor.

2. The control circuit of the smart cat litter box according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving module further includes a detection input terminal and a reference input terminal; The reference input terminal is used to obtain a reference voltage; the detection input terminal is used to obtain a detection voltage of the motor; The driving module is further configured to automatically adjust a current amplitude of the first control signal or the second control signal according to the reference voltage and the detection voltage.

3. The control circuit of the smart cat litter box according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main control module includes a microcontroller unit; the drive module includes a motor drive chip; the motor drive chip also includes a power supply end; the power supply end provides a power supply voltage for the motor drive chip.

4. The control circuit of the smart cat litter box according to claim 2, characterized in that: The driving module is composed of separate components; the driving module includes a receiving unit, a processing unit and an output unit; The receiving unit includes a first input terminal and a second input terminal; the first input terminal of the receiving unit is the first analog input terminal, and the second input terminal of the receiving unit is the second analog input terminal; the first input terminal of the receiving unit receives the first pulse signal, and the second input terminal of the receiving unit receives the second pulse signal; The output unit includes a first output end and a second output end, the first output end of the output unit is connected to the first connection port of the motor, and the second output end of the output unit is connected to the second connection port of the motor; the output unit is used to output the first control signal or the second control signal to the first connection port and the second connection port of the motor; The processing unit includes a first input terminal and a second input terminal; the first input terminal of the processing unit is the reference input terminal, and the second input terminal of the processing unit is the detection input terminal; the first input terminal of the processing unit receives the reference voltage, and the detection input terminal of the processing unit receives the detection voltage.

5. The control circuit of the smart cat litter box according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a filter capacitor; the filter capacitor is connected in parallel between the two output terminals of the driving module for connecting to the motor.

6. The control circuit of the intelligent cat litter box according to claim 2, characterized in that: The detection module includes a first resistor, a second resistor and a first capacitor; The first end of the second resistor is connected to the detection input end of the driving module; the second end of the second resistor is used to connect to the node voltage; The first end of the first resistor is connected to the first end of the second resistor, and the second end of the first resistor is grounded; A first end of the first capacitor is connected to the second end of the second resistor, and a second end of the first capacitor is grounded.

7. The control circuit of the smart cat litter box according to claim 2, characterized in that: It also includes a sampling module; the sampling module includes a first power supply, a voltage dividing branch and a second capacitor; The voltage dividing branch includes a third resistor and a fourth resistor; a first end of the third resistor is connected to the first power supply; a second end of the third resistor is connected to the first end of the fourth resistor, and a second end of the fourth resistor is grounded; a connection point between the third resistor and the fourth resistor is connected to the reference input terminal of the driving module; A first end of the second capacitor is connected to a first end of the fourth resistor, and a second end of the second capacitor is connected to a second end of the fourth resistor.

8. The control circuit of the smart cat litter box according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes a power supply module; the power supply module includes a second power supply and a filter unit; The second power supply is connected to the power supply terminal of the driving module, and the second power supply provides a power supply voltage for the driving module; The filtering unit includes a third capacitor and a fourth capacitor; the first end of the third capacitor and the first end of the fourth capacitor are both connected to the power supply end of the driving module; the second end of the third capacitor and the second end of the fourth capacitor are both grounded.

9. A control component for an intelligent cat litter box, characterized in that: A device comprising a motor and a control circuit of the smart cat litter box according to any one of claims 1 to 8; The motor is fixed in the smart cat litter box; The control circuit is connected to the connection terminal of the motor, and the control circuit is used to control the forward rotation of the motor according to the first control signal when the operating current of the motor is less than or equal to the set threshold; or, when the operating current of the motor is greater than the set threshold, control the reverse rotation of the motor according to the second control signal.

10. A smart cat litter box, characterized in that: A storage compartment provided with a valve and a control assembly of the smart cat litter box according to claim 9; When the motor for driving the valve of the smart cat litter box is not blocked, the control circuit controls the motor to rotate forward; When the motor is stalled, the control circuit controls the motor to reverse.

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