Vacuum Cleaner Pressure and Load Sensing for Adaptive Surface Cleaning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vacuum cleaners struggle to accurately classify cleaner states and adapt to changes in external environments, such as surface types and suction pressures, leading to inefficient cleaning operations.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a pressure sensor system with relative and absolute pressure sensors, a current sensor, and a voltage sensor, along with a processor that uses a support vector machine (SVM) to determine suction pressure and brush motor load, enabling the classification of cleaner states and controlling the brush and suction motors based on these determinations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a vacuum cleaner uses a simple cleaning mechanism without advanced sensors and processors, then the device complexity is low, but the ability to accurately classify cleaner states and adapt to different surface types deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the cleaning state classification into multiple independent sensing components: a pressure sensor measures suction pressure, a current sensor measures brush motor current, and a voltage sensor measures battery voltage. Each sensor independently collects specific parameters, and the processor integrates these segmented measurements to comprehensively determine cleaner states and surface types, thereby improving adaptability without requiring a single overly complex sensing mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The processor acts as an intermediary that receives raw data from multiple sensors (pressure sensor, current sensor, voltage sensor) and transforms these measurements into meaningful cleaner state classifications. The processor mediates between the physical sensing components and the control system, using algorithms to interpret sensor outputs and determine operational states, thus enabling accurate state classification without direct complex interaction between sensors and control mechanisms.
2Measurement precision
If the vacuum cleaner uses multiple sensors and a processor to determine cleaner states, then the measurement precision of suction pressure and brush load improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The processor serves multiple functions simultaneously: it processes data from the pressure sensor to determine suction pressure, processes data from the current sensor to determine brush motor load, processes data from the voltage sensor to monitor battery status, and integrates all these measurements to classify cleaner states and identify surface types. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated processing units for each measurement, thereby improving measurement precision without proportionally increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system measures multiple physical parameters (suction pressure via pressure sensor, brush motor current via current sensor, battery voltage via voltage sensor) and transforms these parameter changes into meaningful operational states. By monitoring how these parameters change together, the system achieves precise measurement of cleaner states without requiring complex individual sensors for each state, as the combination of simpler parameter measurements provides comprehensive information.
3Productivity
If the vacuum cleaner operates without adaptive control based on cleaner states, then the ease of operation is high, but the cleaning efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The vacuum cleaner system performs self-service by automatically determining cleaner states and surface types based on sensor measurements, and autonomously adjusting operational parameters without user intervention. The processor continuously monitors pressure, current, and voltage sensors, automatically classifies the cleaning state, and controls the brush motor and suction motor accordingly, enabling the system to optimize its own performance and adapt to different surfaces without requiring manual operation adjustments.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback control by continuously measuring cleaner states through sensors and using this information to adjust motor outputs. The processor receives feedback from pressure, current, and voltage sensors, determines the current cleaner state and surface type, and automatically adjusts the operational parameters of the brush motor and suction motor to optimize cleaning efficiency for the detected conditions, creating a closed-loop control system that improves productivity while maintaining ease of operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A vacuum cleaner including a main body; a suction head including a suction port through which debris is sucked up; a brush configured to rotate in the suction head; a brush motor configured to rotate the brush; a suction motor configured to generate suction force so that debris is sucked up through the suction port; a pressure sensor configured to measure atmospheric pressure and pressure at the suction port; and at least one processor configured to determine suction pressure based on the measured atmospheric pressure and the measured pressure at the suction port, and determine cleaner state information, including at least one of operation state information and information of a type of surface to be cleaned, based on the determined suction pressure and a load of the brush motor.