Cleaning device and control method thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12440078-B2
Application number	US-202318196138-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 11, 2023
Priority date	May 13, 2022
Publication date	Oct 14, 2025
Grant date	Oct 14, 2025

Abstract

A cleaning device including a suction motor; a suction head including a suction port; a rotatable brush inside the suction head; a brush motor; a pressure sensor; a memory storing coefficient tables including coefficients of a hyperplane equation for determining a type of surface to be cleaned; and a controller. The controller is configured to, in a first state with the suction head separated from the surface, select a reference coefficient table corresponding to a first suction pressure and a first load of the brush motor, in a second state with the suction head in contact with the surface, identify a type of the surface based on a second suction pressure, a second load of the brush motor, and the reference coefficient table, and adjust an output of the suction motor and/or the brush motor based on the identified type of the surface to be cleaned.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A cleaning device comprising:
a body;
a suction motor arranged in the body and configured to generate a suction force;
a suction head including a suction port through which foreign substances are sucked by the suction force;
a brush configured to rotate inside the suction head;
a brush motor configured to rotate the brush;
a pressure sensor configured to detect a suction pressure at the suction port;
a memory configured to store a plurality of coefficient tables including coefficients of a hyperplane equation for determining a type of surface to be cleaned; and
a controller configured to control the suction motor, the brush motor, the pressure sensor, and the memory,
wherein the controller is configured to:
in a first state in which the suction head is separated from the surface to be cleaned, select from the memory a reference coefficient table corresponding to a first detected suction pressure at the suction port and a first load of the brush motor,
in a second state in which the suction head is in contact with the surface to be cleaned, identify a type of the surface to be cleaned based on a second detected suction pressure at the suction port, a second load of the brush motor, and the selected reference coefficient table, and
adjust at least one of an output of the suction motor and an output of the brush motor based on the identified type of the surface to be cleaned.

2. The cleaning device of claim 1 , wherein
the controller is configured to:
determine, based on the selected reference coefficient table, a plurality of linear equations related to a plurality of hyperplanes on a two-dimensional coordinate plane, and
identify the type of the surface to be cleaned based on a position of coordinates corresponding to the second detected suction pressure and the second load of the brush motor on the two-dimensional coordinate plane.

3. The cleaning device of claim 1 , wherein
the controller is configured to:
select from the memory the reference coefficient table further corresponding to a first rotational speed of the brush motor obtained in the first state, and
identify the type of the surface to be cleaned further based on a second rotational speed of the brush motor obtained in the second state.

4. The cleaning device of claim 3 , wherein
the controller is configured to:
determine, based on the selected reference coefficient table, a plurality of plane equations related to a plurality of hyperplanes in a three-dimensional coordinate space, and
identify the type of the surface to be cleaned based on a position of coordinates corresponding to the second detected suction pressure, the second load of the brush motor, and the second rotational speed of the brush motor in the three-dimensional coordinate space.

5. The cleaning device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a user interface configured to obtain a user input,
wherein the controller is configured to drive the suction motor and the brush motor in response to obtaining the user input for entering a diagnosis mode in the first state to determine the first detected suction pressure and the first load of the brush motor.

6. The cleaning device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a docking station configured to be coupled to the body,
wherein the controller is configured to drive the suction motor and the brush motor based on the body being coupled to the docking station and entering a diagnosis mode to determine the first detected suction pressure and the first load of the brush motor.

7. The cleaning device of claim 1 , wherein
the controller is configured to:
select, as the reference coefficient table, a coefficient table including values equal to the first detected suction pressure and the first load of the brush motor among the plurality of coefficient tables.

8. The cleaning device of claim 1 , wherein
the controller is configured to:
select, as the reference coefficient table, a coefficient table including values closest to the first detected suction pressure and the first load of the brush motor among the plurality of coefficient tables.

9. The cleaning device of claim 1 , wherein
the controller is configured to:
select a plurality of candidate tables including values within a predetermined error range of each of the first detected suction pressure and the first load of the brush motor, from among the plurality of coefficient tables, and
determine the reference coefficient table by linearly interpolating the plurality of candidate tables.

10. The cleaning device of claim 1 , wherein
the controller is configured to:
determine the first load of the brush motor or the second load of the brush motor based on a current applied to the brush motor or power consumption of the brush motor.

11. A method of controlling a cleaning device, the method comprising:
driving a suction motor and a brush motor of the cleaning device in a first state in which a suction head is separated from a surface to be cleaned;
determining a first suction pressure at a suction port in the suction head and a first load of the brush motor in the first state;
selecting a reference coefficient table corresponding to the first suction pressure and the first load of the brush motor, from among a plurality of coefficient tables related to a hyperplane equation stored in a memory;
driving the suction motor and the brush motor in a second state in which the suction head is in contact with the surface to be cleaned;
determining a second suction pressure of the suction port and a second load of the brush motor in the second state;
identifying a type of the surface to be cleaned based on the second suction pressure at the suction port, the second load of the brush motor, and the reference coefficient table; and
adjusting at least one of an output of the suction motor and an output of the brush motor based on the identified type of the surface to be cleaned.

12. The control method of claim 11 , wherein
the identifying the type of the surface to be cleaned includes;
determining, based on the selected reference coefficient table, a plurality of linear equations related to a plurality of hyperplanes on a two-dimensional coordinate plane, and
identifying the type of the surface to be cleaned based on a position of coordinates corresponding to the second suction pressure and the second load of the brush motor on the two-dimensional coordinate plane.

13. The control method of claim 11 , wherein
the selecting the reference coefficient table is further based on a first rotational speed of the brush motor obtained in the first state; and
the identifying the type of the surface to be cleaned is further based on a second rotational speed of the brush motor obtained in the second state.

14. The control method of claim 13 , wherein
the identifying the type of the surface to be cleaned includes:
determining, based on the selected reference coefficient table, a plurality of plane equations related to a plurality of hyperplanes in a three-dimensional coordinate space, and
identifying the type of the surface to be cleaned based on a position of coordinates corresponding to the second suction pressure, the second load of the brush motor, and the second rotational speed of the brush motor in the three-dimensional coordinate space.

15. The control method of claim 11 , wherein
the driving of the suction motor and the brush motor in the first state is performed in response to obtaining a user input, which is for entering a diagnosis mode, through a user interface.

16. The control method of claim

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kim Juhyuk
• Kang Hyunkoo
• Kim Seehyun
• Park Sanghyuk
• Yoon Jinwook
• Lee Seongu
• Lee Yeongju
• Cho Jeonghee
• Choi Sanghwa
• Choi Jiwon

Classifications

• A47L5/26 Primary

  with driven dust-loosening tools · CPC title

• A47L9/2857

  User input or output elements for control, e.g. buttons, switches or displays · CPC title

• A47L9/2873

  Docking units or charging stations (for autonomous or robotic vacuum cleaners A47L2201/02) · CPC title

• A47L9/2826

  the condition of the floor · CPC title

• A47L9/0477

  Rolls · CPC title