Vacuum cleaner

Abstract

To provide a vacuum cleaner capable of achieving power saving while stabilizing control of a motor.SOLUTION: A vacuum cleaner includes a motor 12, a rotary cleaning body 11 rotated by the motor 12, and control means for controlling the motor 12. The control means executes at least either decrease processing or increase processing for drive power of the motor 12 on the basis of the determination result of the increase and decrease in a load current value or its related value of the motor 12. When the increase processing is executed within a first time from the decrease processing, the control means can execute at least either a change in a determination criterion for the determination to make the decrease processing difficult to be generated or a change in a determination criterion for the determination to make the increase processing easy to be generated on the basis of a control history for the drive power of the motor 12 prior to the decrease processing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] An embodiment of the present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner having a rotating cleaning body rotated by a motor. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a suction port body with a so-called active brush structure, which includes a rotating cleaning body and a motor that rotates the rotating cleaning body, has been known as a cleaning tool used in an electric vacuum cleaner. In this type of suction port body, the rotating cleaning body rotated by the force of the motor first picks up dust from the surface to be cleaned and then sucks it in, thereby efficiently removing dust from surfaces to be cleaned, such as carpets, on which dust tends to become entangled.

[0003] Considering safety and energy saving, it is preferable that the rotation of the rotating cleaning body is suppressed or stopped when the rotating cleaning body of the suction port body is separated from the surface to be cleaned. On the other hand, in a situation where the dust removal performance of the suction port body is required, such as on a carpet, it is preferable that the rotating cleaning body rotates with sufficient torque. Therefore, there is known a device that reduces the driving power of the motor when a comparison value based on the current consumption of the motor continues to be below a predetermined threshold value for a predetermined time while the motor is running, and increases the driving power of the motor to increase the rotation torque when the comparison value exceeds the predetermined threshold value, such as when the suction port body is on a carpet.

[0004] In this way, in a configuration in which motor behavior is controlled based on fluctuations in current, it is necessary to stabilize the control of the motor's driving power against fluctuations and differences in the load current value caused by differences in conditions that are closely related to the rotational load of the rotating cleaning body or motor, such as bending of flooring or tatami mats due to temperature and humidity, differences in the softness of carpet pile, and the speed and stroke at which the user moves the suction mouth body.

[0005] Therefore, for example, it is conceivable to perform stable control by using control to increase or decrease the drive power based on fluctuations in the load current value of the motor, estimating the type of surface to be cleaned and the operation of the suction port body from the frequency of increase or decrease in the drive power, and changing the judgment criteria for determining whether or not to increase or decrease the drive power according to the estimation. When performing such control, if the accuracy of the estimation from the frequency of increase or decrease in the drive power is poor, the control may be the opposite of the intended control, so it is necessary to improve the estimation accuracy. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2022-68680 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum cleaner that is capable of stabilizing control of a motor while saving power. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The vacuum cleaner of the embodiment includes a motor, a rotating cleaning body rotated by the motor, and a control means for controlling the motor. The control means performs at least one of a reduction process and an increase process of the driving power of the motor based on the result of a determination of an increase and a decrease of the load current value of the motor or a value related thereto. When an increase process is performed within a first time period after the reduction process, the control means can at least one of change of the judgment criteria for the determination to make the reduction process less likely to occur and change of the judgment criteria for the determination to make the increase process more likely to occur based on the control history of the driving power of the motor before the reduction process. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic view of a part of a vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a part of the internal structure of the vacuum cleaner. [Diagram 3] FIG. [Figure 4] 4 is a graph showing an example of a change in the duty ratio of a motor of the electric vacuum cleaner. [Diagram 5] 10 is a graph showing another example of a change in the duty ratio of the motor. [Figure 6] 10 is a graph showing yet another example of a change in the duty ratio of the motor. [Figure 7] 10 is a graph showing yet another example of a change in the duty ratio of the motor. [Figure 8] 4 is a flowchart showing the control of the electric vacuum cleaner. [Figure 9] 6 is a flowchart showing a control performed when the driving power of the motor of the vacuum cleaner is less than a power threshold value. [Figure 10] 5 is a flowchart showing a control process performed when the driving power of the motor of the electric vacuum cleaner is equal to or greater than a power threshold value. [Figure 11] 10 is a graph showing yet another example of a change in the duty ratio of the motor. [Figure 12] 10 is a graph showing yet another example of a change in the duty ratio of the motor. [Figure 13] 10 is a graph showing yet another example of a change in the duty ratio of the motor. [Figure 14] 10 is a graph showing yet another example of a change in the duty ratio of the motor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, one embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0011] In FIG. 1, 1 is a cleaning tool. The cleaning tool 1 is also called a cleaning head or the like, and cleans a part to be cleaned F, which is a surface to be cleaned such as a floor. The cleaning tool 1 includes a case body 10. A dust collection port 100 is formed in the case body 10. A rotating cleaning body 11 is rotatably attached to the case body 10 facing the dust collection port 100. The rotating cleaning body 11 is rotated by a motor 12 to pick up dust on the part to be cleaned F. The motor 12 is controlled by a control means 13 shown in FIG. 2. In the following, the front-rear direction of the cleaning tool 1 shown in FIG. 1 is based on the direction seen from the user when the user uses the cleaning tool 1. Generally, the direction away from the user is the front direction, and the direction toward the user is the rear direction. For example, the direction of the arrow FR in FIG. 1 is the front direction, and the direction of the arrow RR is the rear direction.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 3, the cleaning tool 1 is used in a vacuum cleaner CL. In this embodiment, the cleaning tool 1 is applied to a suction-type vacuum cleaner CL that sucks dust together with air into a separation unit 4 by negative pressure generated by driving a suction source 3 such as an electric blower arranged in a vacuum cleaner body 2 of the vacuum cleaner CL. The vacuum cleaner CL may be any type such as a floor-traveling type or a canister type, a stick type, an upright type, a handy type, or a self-propelled vacuum cleaner. In this embodiment, the vacuum cleaner CL will be described taking a stick-type vacuum cleaner as an example. In the illustrated example, the cleaning tool 1 is also called a suction port body or a floor brush, and is mechanically and fluidically connected to the vacuum cleaner body 2 via an extension tube 5, which is a tube part, or a connection tube 14, which is a connection part connected to the case body 10. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the operation or suction force of the suction source 3 and the on / off or switching of the rotation of the rotating cleaning body 11 or the motor 12 are set by the user by operating a switch 7 on a hand-held operation unit 6 for gripping operation. A body control unit 8 is disposed in the vacuum cleaner body 2, which operates the suction source 3 in response to an operation set by the switch 7. The switch 7 or the body control unit 8 is electrically connected to control means 13. The control means 13 may be disposed in the cleaning tool 1, but in this embodiment, at least a part of the control means 13 is incorporated in the body control unit 8. A power supply unit B of the electric vacuum cleaner CL is disposed in, for example, the vacuum cleaner body 2. In this embodiment, the power supply unit B is a battery or a secondary battery, but is not limited thereto, and may be a cord reel device that draws power from an external power source such as a commercial power source, or the like.

[0013] Next, the internal structure of the control means 13 will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0014] The control means 13 has a power variable section 130 that varies the drive power of the motor 12. The power variable section 130 may vary the drive power of the motor 12 steplessly, or may vary it in one of a plurality of steps. In this embodiment, the power variable section 130 is capable of setting the drive power of the motor 12 in at least one of a plurality of steps.

[0015] As a method of varying the driving power of the motor 12 by the power variable unit 130, for example, the power supply time or the amount of power supplied from the power source to the motor 12 is adjusted, and the driving power of the motor 12 is set according to the power supply time of the motor 12. As an example, the power variable unit 130 sets the driving power of the motor 12 by using a PWM signal as a control signal to the motor 12, i.e., an applied voltage, and adjusts the duty ratio of the PWM signal. In other words, when the duty ratio of the PWM signal is set to 100%, the driving power of the motor 12 is maximized, and by lowering the duty ratio of the PWM signal, the driving power of the motor 12 is reduced, and the rotation speed and rotation torque of the rotating cleaning body 11 are reduced. In other words, when the power variable unit 130 increases the driving power of the motor 12, it increases the duty ratio, and when it decreases the driving power of the motor 12, it decreases the duty ratio. In this embodiment, the power variable unit 130 has a plurality of different duty ratios, and by selectively setting the duty ratio of the PWM signal of the motor 12 to one of these duty ratios, it is possible to set the drive power of the motor 12 to a plurality of different drive powers.

[0016] The control means 13 or the power variable unit 130 may control the motor 12 to rotate the rotating cleaning body 11 in any direction. For example, the control means 13 or the power variable unit 130 may control the motor 12 so that the rotation direction of the rotating cleaning body 11 is fixed to one direction regardless of the moving direction of the cleaning tool 1, or the motor 12 may be controlled so that the rotation direction of the rotating cleaning body 11 is switched depending on the moving direction of the cleaning tool 1. In this embodiment, the control means 13 or the power variable unit 130 controls the rotation direction of the motor 12 so that the rotating cleaning body 11 rotates in a direction in which the part to be cleaned F faces from the front to the rear, that is, in a counterclockwise direction indicated by the arrow X in FIG. 1. In other words, in this embodiment, the control means 13 or the power variable unit 130 controls the rotation direction of the motor 12 so that the rotating cleaning body 11 rotates in a direction in which the part to be cleaned F rubs from the front to the rear. In other words, the control means 13 or the power variable unit 130 sets the rotation direction of the motor 12 to a predetermined constant direction. In this embodiment, the rotation direction of the rotating cleaning body 11 is forward rotation or normal rotation for the forward movement of the cleaning tool 1, i.e., a direction that assists the forward movement of the cleaning tool 1, and is reverse rotation or inverse rotation for the backward movement of the cleaning tool 1, i.e., a direction that imposes a greater load on the backward movement of the cleaning tool 1.

[0017] The control means 13 also has a current detection unit 131 that detects the load current value of the motor 12. The load current value of the motor 12 is a current value that indicates the load state of the rotating cleaning body 11 rotated by the motor 12, and is correlated with the actual current value of the motor 12. The actual current value of the motor 12 is, for example, an average value of current values ​​acquired a predetermined number of times at a predetermined time interval. This actual current value is highly dependent on the duty ratio of the PWM signal of the power variable unit 130. Therefore, in this embodiment, the load current value is calculated as a value obtained by dividing the actual current value by the duty ratio of the PWM signal in the power variable unit 130 in order to make the load current value independent of the duty ratio of the PWM signal. That is, (load current value)=(actual current value) / (duty ratio). Therefore, the load current value in this embodiment is a value calculated from the current value flowing through the motor 12. The detection period T of the load current value by the current detection unit 131 is, for example, 100 ms.

[0018] In the control or judgment by the control means 13, a related value of the load current value may be used instead of or in addition to the load current value. The related value of the load current value may be the current value itself flowing through the motor 12, a value obtained by subtracting a predetermined value from the current value flowing through the motor 12, or the like. This predetermined value is the load current value when the rotation load of the rotating cleaning body 11 or the motor 12 is constant or approximately constant, for example, half the load current value of the motor 12 detected when the rotating cleaning body 11 is rotated idly, particularly when the rotating cleaning body 11 is rotated idly for confirmation during the manufacture of the cleaning tool 1. In other words, the related value of the load current value includes a value calculated from the current value flowing through the motor 12 and having a correlation with this current value. Hereinafter, the "load current value or its related value" will be simply referred to as the "load current value", and the "rotation load of the rotating cleaning body 11 or the motor 12" will be simply referred to as the "rotation load".

[0019] As an example of a method for detecting the current value of the motor 12 by the current detection unit 131, a current is passed through a resistor with a small resistance value, which is the detection element, a so-called shunt resistor, and the potential difference generated across the shunt resistor is amplified and input to an A / D converter, which is the conversion unit, and the output of the A / D converter is captured.

[0020] In this embodiment, the current detection unit 131 has been described as including a current value acquisition unit that has a detection element, an A / D converter, and the like and acquires the value of a current flowing through the motor 12, an actual current value calculation unit that calculates an actual current value, and a load current value calculation unit that calculates a load current value, but the current value acquisition unit, actual current value calculation unit, and load current value calculation unit may each be configured as separate circuit units, or may be configured in any combination, or some of them may form part of other circuit units. In other words, the current detection unit 131 is not limited to being equipped integrally with the current value acquisition unit, actual current value calculation unit, and load current value calculation unit.

[0021] Furthermore, the control means 13 has a storage unit 132 such as a memory. In this embodiment, the load current value detected by the current detection unit 131 is stored and held in the storage unit 132 each time. The load current value stored in the storage unit 132 may be updated each time a new load current value is detected, or may be held for a predetermined time and the oldest load current value may be deleted each time a new load current value is detected. Furthermore, the storage unit 132 stores a minimum value and / or a maximum value of the load current value. The minimum value and the maximum value may be deleted after being held for a predetermined time. Furthermore, the storage unit 132 stores various judgment thresholds, judgment values, and the like. Note that, hereinafter, the minimum value is not limited to a single minimum value, but may be a value sufficiently close to the minimum value, or any of a plurality of minimum values ​​or peak values ​​of the fluctuating load current value, or an average value of at least any of the minimum values ​​or peak values. Similarly, the maximum value is not limited to a single maximum value, but may be a value sufficiently close to the maximum value, or any of a plurality of maximum values ​​or peak values ​​among the fluctuating load current values, or an average value of at least any of the maximum values ​​or peak values, etc. In addition, the memory unit 132 stores various data used for control by the control means 13, such as other arbitrary threshold values, flags, programs, etc.

[0022] The control means 13 also has a determination unit 133. The determination unit 133 determines an increase or decrease in the load current value based on the load current value detected by the current detection unit 131 and the past load current values ​​stored in the memory unit 132, and determines the state of the cleaning tool 1 or the rotating cleaning body 11 from the result of the determination, and controls the setting of the drive power of the motor 12 by the power variable unit 130 in accordance with the determination. The determination by the determination unit 133 will be described later.

[0023] The power source for the motor 12 and the control means 13 may be provided in the cleaning tool 1 or may be taken from the power source section B of the cleaner body 2.

[0024] Next, the operation of one embodiment will be described.

[0025] When cleaning, the user holds the hand-operated control unit 6 and operates the switch 7, which causes the main body control unit 8 to operate the suction source 3. The negative pressure generated by the operation of the suction source 3 acts on the extension tube 5 and the cleaning tool 1 via the separation unit 4, so that dust on the part to be cleaned is sucked into the separation unit 4 together with the air from the dust collection port 100. The user uses the hand-operated control unit 6 to move the cleaning tool 1 back and forth alternately while placed on the part to be cleaned F, thereby successively sucking the dust on the part to be cleaned F into the separation unit 4. The dust-containing air sucked into the separation unit 4 is separated and collected in the separation unit 4. The air from which the dust has been separated cools the suction source 3 and is then discharged to the outside of the vacuum cleaner main body 2.

[0026] The control means 13 also starts the motor 12 of the cleaning tool 1 by the power variable unit 130 to rotate the rotating cleaning body 11. At this time, the control means 13 may arbitrarily set the drive power at the time of starting the motor 12, but for example, by starting the motor 12 with a relatively small drive power by the power variable unit 130, the rotating cleaning body 11 rotates at a low speed, so that it is possible to obtain higher safety. The rotation of the rotating cleaning body 11 scoops up dust on the part to be cleaned F, and the scooped up dust is sucked into the separation part 4 by the negative pressure acting on the dust collection port 100. Note that the user can operate the switch 7 to stop the rotation of the rotating cleaning body 11 of the cleaning tool 1 as necessary, such as to prevent an object from being caught in the rotating cleaning body 11.

[0027] When the determination unit 133 determines that a predetermined increase condition is satisfied while the driving power of the motor 12 is relatively low during operation of the motor 12, the control means 13 increases the driving power of the motor 12 using the power variable unit 130 to rotate the rotating cleaning body 11 at high speed. This control is hereinafter referred to as an increase process or power increase control. Also, when the determination unit 133 determines that a predetermined decrease condition is satisfied while the driving power of the motor 12 is relatively high during operation of the motor 12, the control means 13 decreases the driving power of the motor 12 using the power variable unit 130 to rotate the rotating cleaning body 11 at a low speed or stop it. This control is hereinafter referred to as a decrease process or power decrease control.

[0028] The above-mentioned reduction process is a control aimed at reducing the rotation speed or rotation torque of the rotary cleaning body 11 by reducing the rotation speed of the motor 12 from a relatively high state. The conditions for performing the reduction process may be set arbitrarily based on the result of the judgment of the increase and decrease of the load current value of the motor 12, etc., but in this embodiment, the reduction process is performed based on at least the fluctuation of the load current value of the motor 12 within a predetermined first judgment time. For example, the reduction process is performed based on the fact that it is not judged that the load current value of the motor 12 has increased at least within the first judgment time, that is, the fact that the load current value of the motor 12 has not been judged to increase at least within the first judgment time. This condition corresponds to the fact that it is detected that the part to be cleaned F is a wooden floor or the like with a small rotation load, that the cleaning tool 1 has not moved on the part to be cleaned F, or that the cleaning tool 1 or the rotary cleaning body 11 is separated from the part to be cleaned F.

[0029] The above-mentioned increase process is a control that aims to increase the rotation speed or rotation torque of the rotating cleaning body 11 by increasing the rotation speed of the motor 12 from a relatively low state. The condition for performing the increase process may be set arbitrarily based on the result of the determination of the increase and decrease of the load current value of the motor 12, etc., but in this embodiment, the increase process is performed based on at least the increase in the load current value of the motor 12 within a predetermined second determination time after the increase in the load current value of the motor 12 is determined. For example, the increase process is performed based on at least the determination of the decrease in the load current value of the motor 12 within the second determination time after the increase in the load current value of the motor 12 is determined, that is, the determination of at least the increase in the load current value of the motor 12, and the determination of the decrease in the load current value of the motor 12 within the second determination time after the determination. This condition focuses on the action of the user reciprocating the cleaning tool 1 back and forth while in contact with the part to be cleaned F during cleaning, and corresponds to the detection of the cleaning tool 1 moving forward and backward on the part to be cleaned F such as a carpet.

[0030] Here, the moving speed of the cleaning tool 1 by a general user is 0.5 m / sec as specified in a given standard such as JIS, the time from when the cleaning tool 1 starts moving forward until when it stops is about 0.8 to 1 second, and the time from when the cleaning tool 1 starts moving backward until when it stops or moves forward again is about 1 to 1.5 seconds. Therefore, for example, the first judgment time is the time required for the cleaning tool 1 to make one round trip, and is set to an initial value of 2.0 seconds, etc. Also, for example, the second judgment time is the time from when the cleaning tool starts moving forward until when it stops, and is set to an initial value of 0.8 seconds, etc.

[0031] In this embodiment, "reducing the driving power of the motor 12" or "setting it to a relatively small driving power" in the reduction process means that the control means 13 sets the driving power of the motor 12 to a predetermined first driving power of 0 or more by the power variable unit 130. The first driving power is a relatively small driving power among a plurality of driving powers that can be set by the power variable unit 130, or a driving power that provides a small rotation speed that is safe even if the user touches the rotating cleaning body 11. If the driving power of the motor 12 satisfies the judgment condition for the reduction process in the state of the first driving power, the driving power of the motor 12 is maintained as it is. The first driving power set by the reduction process may be different depending on whether the part to be cleaned F is a wooden floor or the like with a small rotation load, whether the cleaning tool 1 has not moved on the part to be cleaned F, or whether the cleaning tool 1 or the rotating cleaning body 11 is away from the part to be cleaned F, or any two of these may be equal and one may be different from them.

[0032] Similarly, in this embodiment, "increasing the driving power of the motor 12" or "setting it to a relatively large driving power" in the increasing process means that the control means 13 sets the driving power of the motor 12 to a predetermined second driving power with a duty of 100% or less by the power variable unit 130. The second driving power is a relatively larger driving power among a plurality of driving powers that can be set by the power variable unit 130, and is larger than the first driving power. In this embodiment, the power variable unit 130 sets the duty ratio of the PWM signal for the second driving power to, for example, 100%. Therefore, if the driving power of the motor 12 satisfies the judgment condition for the increasing process when it is the second driving power, the driving power of the motor 12 is maintained as it is.

[0033] In this embodiment, the determination of an increase or decrease in the load current value of the motor 12 is performed by the determination unit 133 based on the fluctuation in the load current value of the motor 12 detected by the current detection unit 131 of the control means 13. Specifically, the control means 13 determines whether the load current value of the motor 12 increases or decreases in the determination unit 133 based on a comparison between a predetermined load current value of the motor 12 detected by the current detection unit 131 and / or a value calculated from the predetermined load current value and a predetermined threshold value.

[0034] In this embodiment, the "predetermined load current value" refers to a load current value within a predetermined short time from the time of determination, i.e., the most recent load current value, and is preferably used, but is not limited to this, and may be the load current value immediately before the latest load current value, i.e., the most recent load current value stored in the storage unit 132, i.e., the load current value one detection cycle T seconds before the time of determination. The immediately previous load current value refers to the past load current value closest to the latest load current value among the load current values ​​stored in the storage unit 132, i.e., the load current value detection cycle T seconds before the latest load current value, but is not limited to this, and may be a past load current value within a sufficiently short predetermined time, such as 2T seconds or 3T seconds before the latest load current value, or may be a value calculated from multiple immediately previous load current values, such as the average value of load current values ​​within a predetermined time from the latest load current value.

[0035] In this embodiment, the value calculated from the load current value is a calculated value based on a predetermined load current value and the load current value immediately preceding it. This calculated value is a correlation value of the fluctuation of the load current value or a related value, for example, the difference between the predetermined load current value and the load current value immediately preceding it, and / or the ratio between the predetermined load current value and the load current value immediately preceding it. In other words, this calculated value is the amount of fluctuation of the load current value and / or the fluctuation ratio of the load current values.

[0036] Then, the control means 13 determines in the determination section 133 that the load current value has increased in at least one of the following cases (1-a) to (1-c).

[0037] (1-a) A case in which the load current value of the motor 12 detected by the current detection unit 131 becomes greater than a predetermined increase threshold value within a predetermined increase detection time.

[0038] (1-b) When the absolute value of the difference between the load current value of the motor 12 detected by the current detection unit 131 and the minimum load current value stored in the memory unit 132 within a specified increase detection time in the past, i.e., the amount of fluctuation, becomes greater than a specified increase threshold value.

[0039] (1-c) A case where the ratio between the load current value of the motor 12 detected by the current detection unit 131 and the minimum load current value stored in the memory unit 132 within a specified increase detection time in the past, i.e., the fluctuation ratio, becomes greater than a specified increase threshold value.

[0040] Similarly, the control means 13 determines in the determination section 133 that the load current value has decreased in at least one of the following cases (2-a) to (2-c).

[0041] (2-a) A case in which the load current value of the motor 12 detected by the current detection unit 131 becomes equal to or less than a predetermined decrease threshold value within a predetermined decrease detection time.

[0042] (2-b) When the absolute value of the difference between the load current value of the motor 12 detected by the current detection unit 131 and the maximum load current value stored in the memory unit 132 within a specified decrease detection time in the past, i.e., the amount of fluctuation, becomes greater than a specified decrease threshold value.

[0043] (2-c) When the ratio between the maximum load current value stored in the memory unit 132 within a specified decrease detection time in the past and the load current value of the motor 12 detected by the current detection unit 131, i.e., the fluctuation ratio, becomes smaller than a specified decrease threshold value.

[0044] The increase detection time and the decrease detection time are predetermined short times less than the first judgment time and the second judgment time, respectively. The increase detection time and the decrease detection time may be the same or different. Furthermore, the increase threshold value and the decrease threshold value may be the same or different in absolute value.

[0045] Here, the load current value of the motor 12 includes factors that are less related to the rotation load and factors that are more related to the rotation load. Examples of factors that are less related to the rotation load include variations in the current value of the motor 12, the internal temperature of the motor 12, and the influence of aging deterioration due to hair entanglement in the rotating cleaning body 11. In the control means 13, in the decrease process and the increase process, as described above, the determination unit 133 determines whether the load current value is decreased or increased based on a comparison between the fluctuation in the load current value of the motor 12 and the decrease threshold and the increase threshold, thereby eliminating factors that are less related to the rotation load to some extent and improving the accuracy of the decrease and increase determinations.

[0046] On the other hand, factors highly related to the rotation load include bending of the surface to be cleaned F due to temperature and humidity when the surface to be cleaned is a wooden floor or tatami mat, differences in the softness of the bristles when the surface to be cleaned F is a carpet or the like, and the speed and stroke at which the user moves the cleaning tool 1. Fluctuations in the load current value of the motor 12 due to these factors can affect the decrease and increase judgments. If the decrease and increase judgments of the load current value of the motor 12 are affected, it is expected that the decrease and increase processing will be performed at a timing unnecessary for the user, or the decrease and increase processing will be repeated in a short period of time, resulting in unstable control of the drive power of the motor 12.

[0047] For example, when cleaning a part to be cleaned F such as a carpet, the load current value fluctuates greatly, and generally, once the state in which the driving power of the motor 12 is high, i.e., the rotation speed of the rotary cleaning body 11 is set to a high state, the user often desires to maintain it. However, carpets, etc. have a large rotation resistance, and the rotation resistance varies greatly depending on the direction of the pile, for example, with the grain or against the grain, and the moving direction of the cleaning tool 1 relative to the carpet, etc., so that the load current value of the motor 12 increases and decreases rapidly, and it is expected that the control means 13 will perform an increase process relatively quickly after performing a decrease process based on the result of the judgment of the increase and decrease of the load current value. In other words, if the control means 13 performs an increase process immediately after performing a decrease process, it is assumed that the situation is not such that the driving power of the motor 12 or the rotation speed of the rotary cleaning body 11 should be decreased, or that the control means 13 has performed the decrease process because the user is moving the cleaning tool 1 slowly and the first judgment time has passed faster than the cleaning tool 1 reciprocates. Furthermore, when the cleaning tool 1 is moved back and forth, the moment when the load current value of the motor 12 is highest, i.e., the peak, is the moment when the cleaning tool 1 is closest to the user, that is, at the front side. This is because the acceleration of the cleaning tool 1 is highest at this position as the cleaning tool 1 changes from moving backward to moving forward, that is, the force moving the cleaning tool 1 forward is strongest, and the force pressing the cleaning tool 1 against the part to be cleaned F is also strong. Therefore, when the cleaning tool 1 is moved slowly, the force moving the cleaning tool 1 forward is also weak, and the peak of the load current value of the motor 12 tends to be lower.

[0048] Therefore, when an increase process is performed within a predetermined first time after a decrease process, the control means 13 enables the change of the judgment criteria for the judgment of an increase and / or decrease of the load current value in the judgment unit 133 in order to make the decrease process less likely to occur and / or to make the increase process more likely to occur. That is, the control means 13 enables the criterion for the judgment of an increase and / or decrease of the load current value in the judgment unit 133 for performing a decrease process to be made stricter and / or the criterion for the judgment of an increase and / or decrease of the load current value in the judgment unit 133 for performing an increase process to be made more relaxed. Note that hereinafter, the "criterion for the judgment of an increase and / or decrease of the load current value" will be simply referred to as the "criterion".

[0049] The first time is assumed to be a time when the transient current of the motor 12 after the decrease process settles down and the increase process can be performed thereafter. The first time is longer than each of the first and second judgment times, and in this embodiment, is longer than the sum of the first and second judgment times. In this embodiment, the increase process is performed when the judgment unit 133 detects one and a half reciprocations of the cleaning tool 1 forward, backward, and forward based on the load current value of the motor 12. Therefore, if the increase process is performed before the cleaning tool 1 makes three reciprocations, which is twice as long as the decrease process, after the decrease process, it is determined that the timing of the increase process after the decrease process is too early. Therefore, the first time is a multiple of the detection cycle T, and is preferably, for example, about 5 to 10 seconds.

[0050] By configuring in this manner, it is expected that unnecessary repetition of decrease and increase processes in a short period of time can be prevented, for example, when a user slowly moves the cleaning tool 1 to clean a surface F to be cleaned, such as a carpet, which has a large rotational load.

[0051] Also, when cleaning a part to be cleaned F such as a wooden floor or tatami mat, the fluctuation of the load current value is small, and generally, once the driving power of the motor 12 is set to a low state, i.e., the rotation speed of the rotating cleaning body 11 is set to a low state, the user often desires to maintain it. However, when the wooden floor is in a high temperature and high humidity state, or when the tatami mat is old, it is assumed that the control means 13 will perform an increase process due to the influence of the rotation load. In these cases, it is assumed that the user will stop the cleaning tool 1 on the part to be cleaned F to observe it, and even if it is not stopped, in the case of the part to be cleaned F such as a wooden floor or tatami mat, the increase and decrease of the load current value of the motor 12 is not large, so it is expected that the control means 13 will perform a decrease process relatively quickly after performing an increase process based on the result of the judgment of the increase and decrease of the load current value. In other words, when the control means 13 performs an increase process and then a decrease process immediately, it is assumed that the situation is not one in which the driving power of the motor 12 or the rotation speed of the rotating cleaning body 11 should be increased.

[0052] Therefore, when a decrease process is performed within a predetermined second time after an increase process, the control means 13 can change the judgment criteria to make the increase process less likely to occur and / or to make the decrease process more likely to occur. That is, the control means 13 can make the judgment criteria for performing the increase process stricter and / or make the judgment criteria for performing the decrease process more relaxed. The second time is a multiple of the detection period T, and is preferably about 2 to 3 times the first judgment time, for example, 5 to 10 seconds.

[0053] By configuring in this manner, it is expected that unnecessary repetition of increase and decrease processes in a short period of time can be suppressed, for example, when a user is cleaning a surface F to be cleaned that has a small rotational load, such as a hot and humid wooden floor or old tatami mat.

[0054] However, the above-mentioned fluctuation in the drive power of the motor 12 alone is not necessarily sufficient to accurately determine the type of the part to be cleaned F that the cleaning tool 1 is currently cleaning. If the determination criteria are not changed according to the type of the part to be cleaned F, there is a concern that control may be performed contrary to the user's intention, for example, the drive power of the motor 12 may be difficult to increase when cleaning a carpet, etc., and the drive power of the motor 12 may be difficult to decrease when cleaning a wooden floor, etc.

[0055] Therefore, in this embodiment, it is determined whether or not to change the criteria for the increase and / or decrease determination based on the control history of the driving power of the motor 12 for a predetermined period prior to the driving power processing that is the starting point for determining whether to change the criteria. That is, the control means 13 determines whether or not to change the criteria for the increase and / or decrease determination by estimating the part to be cleaned F based on the driving power of the motor 12 in a stable state before the driving power of the motor 12 frequently fluctuates.

[0056] In other words, if the control means 13 performs an increase process within a first time period after a decrease process, it determines whether or not to at least either change the judgment criteria to make the decrease process less likely to occur or change the judgment criteria to make the increase process more likely to occur, based on the control history of the driving power of the motor 12 prior to the decrease process.

[0057] In addition, when the control means 13 performs a decrease process within a second time period after the increase process, it determines whether or not to at least either change the judgment criteria to make the decrease process more likely to occur or change the judgment criteria to make the increase process less likely to occur, based on the control history of the driving power of the motor 12 prior to the increase process.

[0058] The control history is a record of how the control means 13 set the drive power of the motor 12 during a series of operations of the motor 12, and refers to, for example, data stored in the storage unit 132. For example, the control history refers to the state of the drive power about 10 to 60 seconds, preferably about 20 to 30 seconds, before the drive power process that is the starting point for determining whether the criteria are changed during a series of operations of the motor 12, that is, the decrease process or increase process.

[0059] By configuring in this manner, the desired driving power, i.e., the desired rotation speed or rotation torque of the rotating cleaning body 11, can be determined with high accuracy depending on the type of cleaned part F, and unnecessary repetition of decrease and increase processes in a short period of time can be suppressed with high accuracy to stabilize the control of the motor 12, while decrease or increase processes are performed when necessary, thereby enabling power saving.

[0060] First, a case in which the determination criteria are not changed based on the control history will be described.

[0061] For example, when the vacuum cleaner CL is started, when the rotation of the rotary cleaning body 11 is switched from a stopped state to an operating state by operating the switch 7, or when the suction power of the suction source 3, i.e., the operating mode, is switched, the control means 13 sets the driving power of the motor 12 to a predetermined initial value. That is, this initial value is set basically regardless of the type of the part to be cleaned F. Therefore, if this initial value is used as a condition for changing the judgment criterion, there is a risk that the judgment criterion will be changed without reflecting the type of the part to be cleaned F, which is unreasonable. Therefore, in this embodiment, the initial value is not used as a condition for changing the judgment criterion, thereby improving the accuracy of changing the judgment criterion.

[0062] As an example, when the initial value is the second drive power, even if a decrease process occurs shortly after the drive power of the motor 12 is set to the initial value and an increase process follows within a first time from the decrease process, the control means 13 does not change the judgment criteria to make the decrease process less likely to occur and / or to make the increase process more likely to occur.

[0063] Specifically, as shown in Fig. 4, if there is no increase process during the period tHi1 from the timing t01 of the process for determining the initial value to the timing t11 of the decrease process, and the period tHi1 is shorter than a predetermined third time, even if an increase process occurs at the timing t21 within the first time from the timing t11, the determination criteria are not changed to make the decrease process less likely to occur and / or to make the increase process more likely to occur. This process is intended to prevent the control means 13 from changing the determination criteria to make it easier to increase the driving power of the motor 12 by erroneously determining that the part to be cleaned F is a carpet or the like when the part to be cleaned F is, for example, a wooden floor, and the increase process occurs at the timing t21 due to twisting or quickly moving the cleaning tool 1 on the part to be cleaned F. The third time is set to be longer than the first time, for example, 10 seconds. In the example shown in FIG. 4, if a decrease process occurs at timing t31 within a predetermined second time period after timing t21, the judgment criteria will be changed to make the decrease process more likely to occur and / or make the increase process less likely to occur.

[0064] As another example, when the initial value is, for example, a first driving power, even if an increase process occurs shortly after the driving power of the motor 12 is set to the initial value and a decrease process follows within a second time from the increase process, the control means 13 does not change the judgment criteria to make the decrease process more likely to occur and / or to make the increase process less likely to occur.

[0065] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, if there is no decrease process in the period tLo1 from the timing t02 of the process for determining the initial value to the timing t12 of the increase process, and the period tLo1 is shorter than a predetermined fourth time, even if the decrease process occurs at the timing t22 within the second time from the timing t12, the determination criteria are not changed to make the decrease process more likely to occur and / or to make the increase process less likely to occur. This process is intended to prevent the control means 13 from changing the determination criteria to make it easier to reduce the driving power of the motor 12 when the part to be cleaned F is, for example, a carpet, etc., and the decrease process occurs at the timing t22 due to the cleaning tool 1 being moved slowly on the part to be cleaned F. The fourth time is set longer than the second time, for example, 9 seconds. In this embodiment, the fourth time is set shorter than the third time. In the example shown in FIG. 5, if an increase process occurs at timing t32 within a predetermined first time period after timing t22, the judgment criteria are changed to make a decrease process less likely to occur and / or to make an increase process more likely to occur.

[0066] In this way, by not changing the judgment criteria based on the initial value of the driving power that is set when the motor 12 is started or when the operation is switched, it is possible to avoid erroneous changes in the judgment criteria caused by erroneous determination of the type of the part F to be cleaned based on the initial value of the driving power that is set regardless of the type of the part F to be cleaned.

[0067] Next, a case where the determination criteria are changed based on the control history will be described.

[0068] For example, even if a temporary decrease or increase process occurs due to the operation of the cleaning tool 1 on the area to be cleaned F, if the driving power of the motor 12 was stable for a long period of time prior to the decrease or increase process during a series of operations of the motor 12, it is assumed that there is a high probability that the stable driving power is the power corresponding to the actual area to be cleaned F.

[0069] Therefore, as an example, if an increase process is performed within a first time after a decrease process, and the state in which the driving power of the motor 12 is equal to or greater than a predetermined power threshold value before the decrease process has continued for a predetermined fifth time or more, the control means 13 will at least either change the judgment criteria to make the decrease process less likely to occur, or change the judgment criteria to make the increase process more likely to occur.

[0070] 6, if an increase process occurs at timing t23 within the first time from timing t13 when the decrease process was performed, and if the time tHi2 during which the drive power of the motor 12 continues to be the second drive power equal to or greater than the power threshold before timing t13 is equal to or greater than the fifth time, the determination criterion is changed to make the decrease process less likely to occur and / or to make the increase process more likely to occur. This process is intended to change the determination criterion so that the control means 13 can easily increase the drive power of the motor 12, assuming that the decrease process occurs at timing t13 when the part to be cleaned F is, for example, a carpet, by moving the cleaning tool 1 slowly over the part to be cleaned F.

[0071] The fifth time period is set to be longer than the first time period, and is preferably set to be equal to or longer than the third time period, for example, 10 seconds.

[0072] As another example, if a decrease process is performed within a second time period after an increase process, and the state in which the driving power of the motor 12 is less than the power threshold value has continued for a predetermined sixth time period or longer before the increase process, at least one of the following is performed: the judgment criteria are changed to make the decrease process more likely to occur, or the judgment criteria are changed to make the increase process less likely to occur.

[0073] Specifically, as shown in an example in Fig. 7, if a decrease process occurs at timing t24 within the second time from timing t14 when an increase process was performed, and if the time tLo2 during which the drive power of the motor 12 continues to be the first drive power less than the power threshold before timing t14 is equal to or longer than the sixth time, the determination criterion is changed to make the decrease process more likely to occur and / or make the increase process less likely to occur. This process is intended to change the determination criterion so that the control means 13 can more easily decrease the drive power of the motor 12 on the assumption that the increase process occurs at timing t14 due to the cleaning tool 1 being twisted or moved quickly on the part to be cleaned F when the part to be cleaned F is, for example, a wooden floor.

[0074] The sixth time period is set to be longer than the second time period, and is preferably set to be equal to or greater than the fourth time period, for example, 9 seconds, etc. In this embodiment, the sixth time period is set to be shorter than the fifth time period.

[0075] These controls will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

[0076] 8, when the vacuum cleaner CL is started, in step S1, the control means 13 sets the drive power of the motor 12 to an initial value by the power variable unit 130, and performs initial setting of timers, counters, flags, threshold values, determination times, etc. for determining an increase and decrease in the load current value to their initial values. Here, the control means 13 sets a timer tLo that measures the continuous time of the first drive power and a timer tHi that measures the continuous time of the second drive power to 0, respectively.

[0077] Next, in step S2, the control means 13 detects the load current value of the motor 12 by the current detection unit 131, and determines the drive power of the motor 12 by the determination unit 133. Then, if it is determined in step S2 that the drive power of the motor 12 is the first drive power, the process proceeds to a first determination control in step S3, and if it is determined that the drive power of the motor 12 is the second drive power, the process proceeds to a second determination control in step S4. When the processes of steps S3 and S4 are completed, in step S5, the control means 13 associates the load current value with the time from start-up and stores it in the storage unit 132, and then proceeds to step S2. The processes of steps S2 to S5 are performed, for example, every detection period T.

[0078] The first determination control is shown in Fig. 9. First, in step S11, the control means 13 increments the timer tLo by 1. Next, in step S12, the control means 13 determines whether or not the increase process has been performed. If it is determined in step S12 that the increase process has not been performed, that is, if the answer is NO in step S12, the control means 13 returns directly.

[0079] Also, in step S12, when it is determined that the increase process has been performed, that is, in the case of YES in step S12, in step S13, the control means 13 refers to the timer tHi and determines whether the timer tHi is greater than or equal to the fifth time T5, that is, whether tHi≥T5, and refers to the timer tLo and determines whether the timer tLo is less than the first time T1, that is, whether tLo<T1. The case where "the timer tHi is greater than or equal to the fifth time T5" means that at the time when the decrease process immediately before the increase process was performed, the state where the driving power of the motor 12 was in the second driving power state equal to or higher than the power threshold value continued for the fifth time T5 or more. Referring to the example shown in FIG. 6, this means that the time tHi2 is greater than or equal to the fifth time T5 when viewed from the timing t23. Also, the case where "the timer tLo is less than the first time T1" means that the state where the driving power of the motor 12 until the increase process is performed is the first driving power less than the power threshold value is less than the first time T1. Referring to the example shown in FIG. 6, this means that the elapsed time from the timing t13 is less than the first time T1 when viewed from the timing t23.

[0080] In step S13, when it is determined that the timer tHi is greater than or equal to the fifth time T5 and the timer tLo is less than the first time T1, that is, in the case of YES in step S13, in step S14, at least one of the change of the determination criterion for making the decrease process less likely to occur and the change of the determination criterion for making the increase process more likely to occur is performed, and the process proceeds to step S15.

[0081] Then, in step S15, the control means 13 resets the timer tHi and returns.

[0082] Also, in step S13, when it is determined that the timer tHi is not greater than or equal to the fifth time T5 and / or the timer tLo is not less than the first time T1, that is, in the case of NO in step S13, the process proceeds directly to step S15.

[0083] Next, the second determination control is shown in FIG. 10. First, in step S21, the control means 13 increments the timer tHi by 1.

[0084] Next, in step S22, the control means 13 determines whether or not a decrease process has been performed. If it is determined in step S22 that the decrease process has not been performed, that is, in the case of NO in step S22, it returns as it is.

[0085] Also, if it is determined in step S22 that the decrease process has been performed, that is, in the case of YES in step S22, in step S23, the control means 13 refers to the timer tLo and determines whether the timer tLo is equal to or greater than the sixth time T6, that is, tLo ≧ T6, and refers to the timer tHi and determines whether the timer tHi is less than the second time T2, that is, tHi < T2. The case where "the timer tLo is equal to or greater than the sixth time T6" means that the state where the driving power of the motor 12 is in the first driving power state less than the power threshold has continued for the sixth time T6 or more at the time when the increase process before the decrease process was performed. Referring to the example shown in FIG. 7, this means that the time tLo2 is equal to or greater than the sixth time T6 as seen from the timing t24. Also, the case where "the timer tHi is less than the second time T2" means that the state where the driving power of the motor 12 until the decrease process is performed is the second driving power equal to or greater than the power threshold is less than the second time T2. Referring to the example shown in FIG. 7, this means that the elapsed time from the timing t14 is less than the second time T2 as seen from the timing t24.

[0086] If it is determined in step S23 that the timer tLo is equal to or greater than the sixth time T6 and the timer tHi is less than the second time T2, that is, in the case of YES in step S23, in step S24, at least one of the change of the determination criterion for facilitating the decrease process and the change of the determination criterion for making the increase process less likely to occur is performed, and the process proceeds to step S25.

[0087] Then, in step S25, the control means 13 resets the timer tLo and returns.

[0088] Also, in step S23, if it is determined that the timer tLo is not equal to or greater than the sixth time T6 and / or the timer tHi is not less than the second time T2, that is, if step S23 is NO, the process proceeds directly to step S25.

[0089] In this way, when deciding to change the judgment criteria, the condition is whether or not the state in which the driving power of the motor 12 is the first driving power or the second driving power has continued for a long period of time immediately before that, making it possible to change the judgment criteria more accurately.

[0090] Furthermore, even if a temporary decrease or increase process occurs due to the operation of the cleaning tool 1 on the area to be cleaned F, it is assumed that there is a high probability that during a series of operations of the motor 12, the greater of the cumulative period during which the driving power of the motor 12 was the first driving power and the cumulative period during which the driving power was the second driving power during a specified period prior to the decrease or increase process is the power corresponding to the actual area to be cleaned F.

[0091] Therefore, as an example, if the control means 13 performs an increase process within a first time after a decrease process, and the difference or ratio between the total time during which the driving power of the motor 12 continues to be equal to or greater than the power threshold within the seventh time since the decrease process and the total time during which the motor driving power continues to be less than the power threshold is greater than a first comparison value, then the control means 13 changes at least one of the following: the judgment criteria to make the decrease process less likely to occur, or the judgment criteria to make the increase process more likely to occur.

[0092] Specifically, as shown in Fig. 11, when an increase process occurs at timing t25 within the first time from timing t15 when a decrease process was performed, if the ratio of the sum of the time tLo3 and the time tLo4 during which the drive power of the motor 12 continues to be the first drive power less than the power threshold during a predetermined seventh time period from timing t15 to the sum of the time tHi3 and the time tHi4 during which the drive power of the motor 12 continues to be the second drive power equal to or greater than the power threshold is greater than a first comparison value TH1, that is, (tHi3+tHi4) / (tLo3+tLo4)>TH1, the judgment criteria are changed to make the decrease process less likely to occur and / or to make the increase process more likely to occur. The first comparison value TH1 is greater than 1, for example, 1.25. Furthermore, since tHi3+tHi4+tLo3+tLo4=(seventh time), even if (tHi3+tHi4)-(tLo3+tLo4) is greater than the first comparison value, the judgment criteria may be changed to make it less likely for a decrease process to occur and / or to make it easier for an increase process to occur.

[0093] As another example, if the control means 13 performs a decrease process within a second time after an increase process, and the difference or ratio between the total time during which the driving power of the motor 12 continues to be equal to or greater than the power threshold within the eighth hour period since the increase process and the total time during which the motor driving power continues to be less than the power threshold is smaller than a second comparison value, the control means 13 changes at least one of the following: changing the judgment criteria to make the decrease process more likely to occur; or changing the judgment criteria to make the increase process less likely to occur.

[0094] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 12, when a decrease process occurs at timing t26 within the second hour from timing t16 at which an increase process is performed, if the ratio of the total of time tLo5 and time tLo6, during which the driving power of motor 12 is less than the power threshold value, i.e., the first driving power, continues within a predetermined eighth hour in the past from timing t16, and the total of time tHi5 and time tHi6, during which the driving power is the second driving power equal to or greater than the power threshold value, continues, is less than the second comparison value TH2, that is, when (tHi5 + tHi6) / (tLo5 + tLo6) < TH2, a change in the determination criteria is implemented to facilitate the decrease process and / or to make the increase process less likely to occur. The second comparison value TH2 is a positive value less than 1, for example, 0.8 or the like. In the present embodiment, the second comparison value TH2 is set to the reciprocal of the first comparison value TH1. Note that since tHi5 + tHi6 + tLo5 + tLo6 = (eighth hour), even if (tHi5 + tHi6) - (tLo5 + tLo6) is greater than the second comparison value, a change in the determination criteria may be implemented to facilitate the decrease process and / or to make the increase process less likely to occur. The second comparison value in this case is a negative value.

[0095] Furthermore, as another example, when, after the decrease process, an increase process is performed within the first hour by the control means 13, and the difference or ratio between the total of the time during which the driving power of the motor 12 is equal to or greater than the power threshold value continues for a predetermined first number of times in the past from the decrease process and the total of the time during which the driving power of the motor 12 is less than the power threshold value continues for a predetermined first number of times is greater than the third comparison value, at least one of a change in the determination criteria for the determination to make the decrease process less likely to occur and a change in the determination criteria for the determination to make the increase process more likely to occur is implemented.

[0096] Specifically, as shown in Fig. 13, when an increase process occurs at timing t27 within the first time from timing t17 when the decrease process was performed, if the ratio of the sum of the time tLo7 and the time tLo8 during which the drive power of the motor 12 continues to be the first drive power less than the power threshold for a predetermined first number of times in the past, for example, two times, from timing t17 to the sum of the time tHi7 and the time tHi8 during which the drive power continues to be the second drive power equal to or greater than the power threshold, is greater than a third comparison value TH3, that is, (tHi7+tHi8) / (tLo7+tLo8)>TH3, the determination criterion is changed to make the decrease process less likely to occur and / or to make the increase process more likely to occur. The third comparison value TH3 is greater than 1, for example, 1.25. That is, in this embodiment, the third comparison value TH3 is set equal to the first comparison value TH1. Even if (tHi7+tHi8)-(tLo7+tLo8) is greater than the third comparison value, the judgment criteria may be changed to make the decrease process less likely to occur and / or to make the increase process more likely to occur.

[0097] As another example, if the control means 13 performs a decrease process within a second time after an increase process, and the difference or ratio between the total time during which the driving power of the motor 12 for a predetermined second number of times in the past has been greater than or equal to the power threshold and the total time during which the driving power of the motor 12 for a predetermined second number of times has been less than the power threshold is smaller than a fourth comparison value, then the control means 13 changes at least one of the following: changing the judgment criteria to make the decrease process more likely to occur; or changing the judgment criteria to make the increase process less likely to occur.

[0098] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 14, when a decrease process occurs at timing t28 within the second hour from timing t18 at which an increase process is performed, the total of time tLo9 and time tLo10 during which the driving power of the motor 12 is the first driving power less than the power threshold value, for example, for a predetermined second number of times in the past from timing t18, for example, 2 times, and the total of time tHi9 and time tHi10 during which the driving power is the second driving power equal to or greater than the power threshold value continue. When the ratio of these is less than the fourth comparison value TH4, that is, when (tHi9 + tHi10) / (tLo9 + tLo10) < TH4, a change in the determination criterion is implemented to facilitate the decrease process and / or to make the increase process less likely to occur. The fourth comparison value TH4 is a positive value less than 1, for example, 0.8 or the like. That is, in the present embodiment, the fourth comparison value TH4 is set equal to the second comparison value TH2 and is, for example, the reciprocal of the third comparison value TH3. Note that even when (tHi9 + tHi10) - (tLo9 + tLo10) is less than the fourth comparison value, a change in the determination criterion may be implemented to facilitate the decrease process and / or to make the increase process less likely to occur. The fourth comparison value in this case is a negative value.

[0099] In this way, when determining the change in the determination criterion, by making the degree to which the driving power of the motor 12 has been in the state of the first driving power or the second driving power immediately before that a condition, it becomes possible to more accurately implement the change in the determination criterion.

[0100] The change in the determination criterion for making the decrease process less likely to occur includes, as an example, extending the first determination time and / or reducing the absolute value of the increase threshold.

[0101] For example, if the first judgment time is extended, the control means 13 will have more opportunities to judge in the judgment unit 133 that the load current value of the motor 12 has increased, making it more likely to judge that the load current value has increased. Similarly, for example, if the absolute value of the increase threshold is reduced, the load current value, or its fluctuation amount or fluctuation ratio, will more likely exceed the threshold even if the increase is relatively small, making it more likely to judge that the load current value has increased. Therefore, the situation in which the control means 13 does not judge that the load current value has increased within the first judgment time in the judgment unit 133 will relatively decrease, making it more unlikely that a decrease process will occur.

[0102] In this way, by changing the judgment criteria to make the decrease process less likely to occur, including extending the first judgment time, the extension of the first judgment time can increase the opportunities for determining that the load current value has increased, making it easier to make the decrease process less likely to occur.

[0103] In addition, by changing the judgment criteria to make the decrease process less likely to occur, including reducing the absolute value of the increase threshold, an increase judgment is more likely to occur even if there is no significant increase in the load current value, its fluctuation amount, or the fluctuation ratio, making the decrease process less likely to occur.

[0104] As an example, a change in the judgment criteria to make the increase process more likely includes reducing the absolute value of the increase threshold and / or extending the second judgment time, which is the deadline for determining whether or not there is a decrease in the load current value based on an increase in the load current value.

[0105] For example, if the absolute value of the increase threshold is reduced, the load current value or its fluctuation amount or increase in the fluctuation ratio is likely to exceed the increase threshold, and the load current value is likely to be determined to have increased. Also, for example, if the second determination time is extended, the control means 13 has more opportunities to determine in the determination unit 133 that the load current value of the motor 12 has decreased, and the load current value is likely to be determined to have decreased. Furthermore, regarding the decrease threshold, if the absolute value of the decrease threshold for the load current value or its fluctuation ratio is increased, the load current value or its fluctuation ratio is likely to fall below the decrease threshold even if the decrease in the load current value or its fluctuation ratio is relatively small, and if the absolute value of the decrease threshold for the fluctuation amount of the load current value is reduced, the absolute value is likely to exceed the decrease threshold even if the decrease in the fluctuation amount of the load current value is relatively small, and the load current value is likely to be determined to have decreased. Therefore, the increase in the situation in which the control means 13 determines a decrease and a re-increase after an increase in the load current value in the determination unit 133 makes it easier to perform an increase process.

[0106] In this way, in the control means 13 which performs the increase process at least based on determining an increase in the load current value and then determining a decrease, the change in the judgment criteria for making the increase process more likely to occur includes an extension of the second judgment time, which increases the opportunities for judging a decrease in the load current after judging an increase, making it easier to cause the increase process.

[0107] By changing the judgment criteria to make the increase process more likely to occur, including reducing the absolute value of the increase threshold, an increase judgment is more likely to occur even if there is no significant increase in the load current value, its fluctuation amount, or the fluctuation ratio, making it easier to cause the increase process.

[0108] In addition, by changing the judgment criteria to make the increase process more likely to occur, including increasing the absolute value of the decrease threshold value which is compared with the load current value or its fluctuation ratio, and / or decreasing the absolute value of the decrease threshold value which is compared with the fluctuation amount of the load current value, a decrease judgment is more likely to occur even if the load current value, its fluctuation amount, or the fluctuation ratio does not decrease significantly, making it easier to cause the increase process.

[0109] As another example, the change in the judgment criteria for making the decrease process more likely to occur includes shortening the first judgment time and / or increasing the absolute value of the increase threshold.

[0110] For example, shortening the first judgment time reduces the opportunities for the control means 13 to judge in the judgment unit 133 that the load current value of the motor 12 has increased, making it more difficult to judge that the load current value has increased. Similarly, for example, increasing the absolute value of the increase threshold makes it more difficult for the load current value, or its fluctuation amount or fluctuation ratio, to exceed the increase threshold even if the increase is relatively large, making it more difficult to judge that the load current value has increased. Therefore, the situation in which the control means 13 does not judge that the load current value has increased within the first judgment time in the judgment unit 133 relatively increases, making it more likely that a decrease process will occur.

[0111] In this way, in the control means 13 which performs the reduction process based on the fact that an increase in the load current value has not occurred within at least a predetermined first judgment time, the change in the judgment criteria for making the reduction process more likely to occur includes shortening the first judgment time, so that shortening the first judgment time can reduce the opportunities for making an increase in the load current value, making it easier to make the reduction process occur.

[0112] By changing the judgment criteria to make the decrease process more likely to occur, including increasing the absolute value of the increase threshold, an increase judgment is less likely to occur even if the load current value, its fluctuation amount, or the fluctuation ratio increases significantly, making it easier to cause the decrease process.

[0113] Furthermore, changing the judgment criteria to make the increase process less likely to occur includes increasing the absolute value of the increase threshold and / or shortening the second judgment time.

[0114] For example, if the absolute value of the increase threshold is increased, the load current value, or its fluctuation amount, or its fluctuation ratio, is less likely to exceed the increase threshold even if the increase is relatively large, and it becomes difficult to determine that the load current value has increased. Also, for example, if the second determination time is shortened, the control means 13 has fewer opportunities to determine that the load current value of the motor 12 has decreased in the determination unit 133, and it becomes difficult to determine that the load current value has decreased. Regarding the decrease threshold, if the absolute value of the decrease threshold is reduced, the load current value, or its fluctuation amount, or its fluctuation ratio, is less likely to fall below the increase threshold even if the decrease is relatively large, and it becomes difficult to determine that the load current value has decreased. Furthermore, regarding the decrease threshold, if the absolute value of the decrease threshold for the load current value or its fluctuation ratio is reduced, the load current value, or its fluctuation ratio, is less likely to fall below the decrease threshold even if the decrease is relatively large, and if the absolute value of the decrease threshold for the fluctuation amount of the load current value is increased, it becomes difficult to determine that the load current value has decreased, and it becomes difficult to determine that the load current value has decreased. Therefore, the control means 13 reduces the number of situations in which the determining unit 133 determines that the load current value has increased, then decreased or increased again, and thus the increase process becomes less likely to occur.

[0115] In this way, by changing the judgment criteria to make the increase process less likely to occur, including increasing the absolute value of the increase threshold, an increase judgment is less likely to occur even if the load current value, its fluctuation amount, or the fluctuation ratio increases significantly, making it less likely that the increase process will occur.

[0116] In the control means 13 in which the increase process is carried out at least based on determining an increase in the load current value, then determining a decrease, and then determining an increase again, the change in the judgment criteria for making the increase process less likely to occur includes shortening the second judgment time, thereby reducing the opportunities for judging a decrease in the load current after determining an increase, and making the increase process less likely to occur.

[0117] The reduction and / or increase of the absolute value of the decrease threshold or increase threshold may be selected from a plurality of fixed values ​​using a pre-stored table or the like, or may be calculated by a predetermined function, etc. Similarly, the shortening and / or extension of each determination time may be selected from a plurality of fixed values ​​using a pre-stored table or the like, or may be calculated by a predetermined function, etc.

[0118] Also, preferably, control means 13 may keep a record in memory unit 132 or the like of the extent to which the criteria have been tightened and / or relaxed, and set the conditions at the start of cleaning, i.e., when operation of vacuum cleaner CL is started, based on the record. In this way, it becomes possible to drive motor 12 under conditions suited to the needs of the user from the start of cleaning.

[0119] The increase process may be performed, for example, based on determining an increase in the load current value of the motor 12 and then determining a decrease in the load current value, i.e., determining an increase in the load current value of the motor 12, determining a decrease in the load current value of the motor 12 within a predetermined second determination time after the determination, and further determining an increase in the load current value of the motor 12 within a predetermined third determination time after the determination. This condition focuses on the action of the user moving the cleaning tool 1 back and forth while in contact with the part to be cleaned F during cleaning, and corresponds to detecting that the cleaning tool 1 has moved forward, backward, and forward on the part to be cleaned F such as a carpet. In this case, the change in the determination criterion for making the increase process more likely to occur may be an extension of the second determination time and / or the third determination time, and the change in the determination criterion for making the increase process less likely to occur may be a shortening of the second determination time and / or the third determination time.

[0120] Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples, and it is not intended that the scope of the invention be limited to these embodiments. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0121] 11 Rotating cleaning body 12 Motor 13 Control Means CL Vacuum Cleaner

Claims

1. A motor; A rotating cleaning body rotated by the motor; A control means for controlling the motor, The control means performs at least one of a process of decreasing and a process of increasing the driving power of the motor based on a result of a determination of an increase and a decrease in a load current value of the motor or a value related thereto, When the increase process is performed within a first time period after the decrease process, the control means can change the criterion for the determination so as to make the decrease process less likely to occur, or change the criterion for the determination so as to make the increase process more likely to occur, based on a control history of the driving power of the motor before the decrease process. A vacuum cleaner characterized by:

2. A motor; A rotating cleaning body rotated by the motor; A control means for controlling the motor, The control means performs at least one of a process of decreasing and a process of increasing the driving power of the motor based on a result of a determination of an increase and a decrease in a load current value of the motor or a value related thereto, When the control means performs the decrease process within a second time period after the increase process, at least one of changing the criterion for the determination to make the decrease process more likely to occur and changing the criterion for the determination to make the increase process less likely to occur can be performed based on a control history of the driving power of the motor before the increase process. A vacuum cleaner characterized by:

3. When the control means performs the decrease process within a second time period after the increase process, at least one of changing the criterion for the determination to make the decrease process more likely to occur and changing the criterion for the determination to make the increase process less likely to occur can be performed based on a control history of the driving power of the motor before the decrease process.

2. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1.

4. When the control means performs the increase process within the first time after the decrease process, and when the increase process does not occur during the period from setting the initial value of the driving power of the motor to the decrease process and the period is shorter than a third time, the control means does not change the criterion for the determination to make the decrease process less likely to occur and does not change the criterion for the determination to make the increase process more likely to occur.

2. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1.

5. When the control means performs the decrease process within the second time period after the increase process, and when the decrease process does not occur during the period from the setting of the initial value of the driving power of the motor to the increase process and the period is shorter than a fourth time period, the control means does not change the criterion for the determination to make the decrease process more likely to occur and does not change the criterion for the determination to make the increase process less likely to occur.

3. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 2.

6. When the control means performs the increase process within the first time after the decrease process and the state in which the driving power of the motor is equal to or greater than the power threshold value before the decrease process has continued for a fifth time or more, the control means changes the judgment criteria to make the decrease process less likely to occur and / or changes the judgment criteria to make the increase process more likely to occur.

2. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1.

7. When the control means performs the decrease process within the second time period after the increase process and the state in which the driving power of the motor is less than the power threshold value has continued for a sixth time period or more before the increase process, at least one of changing the judgment criteria to make the decrease process more likely to occur and changing the judgment criteria to make the increase process less likely to occur is performed.

3. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 2.

8. When the control means performs the increase process within the first time after the decrease process, and the difference or ratio between the total time during which the driving power of the motor continues to be equal to or greater than the power threshold within the seventh time from the decrease process and the total time during which the driving power of the motor continues to be less than the power threshold is greater than a first comparison value, the control means changes at least one of the following: the criterion for the determination is changed to make the decrease process less likely to occur; and the criterion for the determination is changed to make the increase process more likely to occur.

2. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1.

9. When the control means performs the decrease process within the second time period after the increase process, and the difference or ratio between the total time during which the driving power of the motor continues to be equal to or greater than the power threshold within the eighth hour period from the increase process and the total time during which the driving power of the motor continues to be less than the power threshold is smaller than a second comparison value, the control means changes at least one of the following: the criterion for the determination is changed to make the decrease process more likely to occur; and the criterion for the determination is changed to make the increase process less likely to occur.

3. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 2.

10. When the control means performs the increase process within the first time after the decrease process, and the difference or ratio between the total time during which the driving power of the motor for the first number of times in the past has been equal to or greater than the power threshold and the total time during which the driving power of the motor for the first number of times has been less than the power threshold is greater than a third comparison value, the control means changes at least one of the following: the criterion for the determination is changed to make the decrease process less likely to occur; and the criterion for the determination is changed to make the increase process more likely to occur.

2. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1.

11. When the control means performs the decrease process within the second time period after the increase process, and the difference or ratio between the total time during which the driving power of the motor for the second number of times in the past has been equal to or greater than the power threshold since the increase process and the total time during which the driving power of the motor for the second number of times has been less than the power threshold is smaller than a fourth comparison value, at least one of changing the criterion for the determination to make the decrease process more likely to occur and changing the criterion for the determination to make the increase process less likely to occur is performed.

3. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 2.

12. The increase process is performed based on a comparison between at least one of the load current value or the related value and a correlation value of a fluctuation of the load current value or the related value and a threshold value, The change in the criterion for the determination to make the increase process more likely to occur includes a reduction in the absolute value of the threshold value.

11. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, 3, 4, 6, 8 or 10.

13. The decrease process is performed based on at least a determination that the load current value or the related value has not increased within a determination time, The change in the judgment criteria for making the reduction process more likely to occur includes shortening the judgment time.

12. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 2, 3, 5, 7, 9 or 11.

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