US-12622557-B2 - Method of automatically adjusting strength of suction power of suction motor and cordless vacuum cleaner therefor

US12622557B2US 12622557 B2US12622557 B2US 12622557B2US-12622557-B2

Abstract

Provided is a method, performed by a cordless vacuum cleaner, of automatically adjusting the strength of a suction power of a suction motor. More specifically, the method may include obtaining data about a flow path pressure measured by a pressure sensor, obtaining data related to a load of the brush apparatus through a load detection sensor, identifying a current usage environment state of the brush apparatus by applying the data related to the flow path pressure and the data related to the load of the brush apparatus to an AI model stored in a memory of the cordless vacuum cleaner, and adjusting the strength of the suction power of the suction motor, based on the identified current usage environment state of the brush apparatus.

Inventors

Seongu LEE
Hyunkoo KANG
Seehyun KIM
Sanghyuk Park
Yeongju LEE
Jaeshik JEONG
Jeonghee Cho
Jiwon Choi
Junggyun HAN

Assignees

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20230418
Priority Date: 20220415

Claims (19)

1 . A cordless vacuum cleaner comprising: a vacuum cleaner body; and a brush apparatus detachably coupled to the vacuum cleaner body, wherein the vacuum cleaner body comprises: a suction motor configured to generate a vacuum inside the cordless vacuum cleaner; a pressure sensor configured to measure a flow path pressure inside the cordless vacuum cleaner; a load detection sensor configured to measure an electrical load of the brush apparatus; a memory storing at least one artificial intelligence (AI) model trained to identify a type of floor to which the brush apparatus is applied, wherein the at least one AI model is dynamically modifiable; and at least one processor configured to: determine an electrical input power consumed by the cordless vacuum cleaner and determine a suction power of the suction motor based on the electrical input power, modify at least one parameter of the at least one AI model stored in the memory based on the determined suction power of the suction motor, determine the flow path pressure through the pressure sensor, determine the electrical load of the brush apparatus through the load detection sensor, identify a current type of floor by applying the flow path pressure and the electrical load of the brush apparatus to the at least one AI model having the modified at least one parameter, and adjust the suction power of the suction motor, based on the current type of floor identified by the at least one AI model having the modified at least one parameter.
2 . The cordless vacuum cleaner of claim 1 , wherein the electrical load of the brush apparatus comprises at least one of an operating current of the brush apparatus, a voltage applied to the brush apparatus, or a power consumption of the brush apparatus.
3 . The cordless vacuum cleaner of claim 1 , wherein the current type of floor comprises at least one of a hard floor, a carpet, or a mat.
4 . The cordless vacuum cleaner of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to: determine a target revolutions per minute (RPM) of a rotating brush of the brush apparatus, based on the identified current type of floor, and transmit a control signal indicating the determined target RPM of the rotating brush to the brush apparatus.
5 . The cordless vacuum cleaner of claim 4 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive a signal indicating a current state of the brush apparatus from the brush apparatus, in response to the control signal.
6 . The cordless vacuum cleaner of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to: determine at least one of a color or a brightness of a lighting device included in the brush apparatus, based on the identified current type of floor, and transmit a control signal indicating at least one of the determined color or the brightness of the lighting device to the brush apparatus.
7 . The cordless vacuum cleaner of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to: select a first dynamically modifiable AI model corresponding to a first type of the brush apparatus from among a plurality of dynamically modifiable AI models stored in the memory, and identify the current type of floor by applying the flow path pressure and the electrical load of the brush apparatus to the selected first dynamically modifiable AI model.
8 . The cordless vacuum cleaner of claim 7 , wherein the brush apparatus has assigned thereto a first identification (ID) resistance indicating a resistance that is applied to the suction motor when the first type of the brush apparatus is coupled to the to the cordless vacuum cleaner, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to identify the first type of the brush apparatus corresponding to the first ID resistance by determining a first voltage value input to the suction motor via an electrical connection established through an electrical circuit that is established between a first electrical interface of the cordless vacuum cleaner and a corresponding second electrical interface of the detachably coupled first type of brush apparatus when the first type of the brush apparatus is detachably coupled to the to the cordless vacuum cleaner.
9 . The cordless vacuum cleaner of claim 7 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive a data signal indicating the first type of the brush apparatus from the brush apparatus via a signal line different from the power lines, the data signal being generated by the brush apparatus, the brush apparatus transmitting the data signal to the at least one processor of the vacuum cleaner body by controlling an operation of a switch element connected to the signal line.
10 . The cordless vacuum cleaner of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to: modify a parameter value of the at least one AI model by applying the current strength of the suction power of the suction motor to the at least one AI model, and identify the current type of floor by applying the flow path pressure and the electrical load of the brush apparatus to the at least one AI model having the modified parameter value.
11 . The cordless vacuum cleaner of claim 1 , wherein the at least one dynamically modifiable AI model comprises at least one of a support vector machine (SVM) model, a neural network model, a random forest model, or a graphical model.
12 . The cordless vacuum cleaner of claim 1 , wherein the pressure sensor comprises at least one of an absolute pressure sensor or a relative pressure sensor.
13 . The cordless vacuum cleaner of claim 1 , further comprising a vacuum cleaner that includes the suction motor, wherein the pressure sensor is disposed in a suction duct of the vacuum cleaner body.
14 . The cordless vacuum cleaner of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to obtain, as the flow path pressure, a difference between a first pressure value measured through the pressure sensor before driving the suction motor and a second pressure value measured through the pressure sensor after driving the suction motor.
15 . The cordless vacuum cleaner of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to: adjust the current strength of the suction power of the suction motor to a first strength that is a medium intensity when the current type of floor is a hard floor, adjust the current strength of the suction power of the suction motor to a second strength lower than the first strength when the current type of floor is a mat or a high-density carpet, and adjust the current strength of the suction power of the suction motor to a third strength higher than the first strength when the current type of floor is a normal carpet.
16 . The cordless vacuum cleaner of claim 15 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: identify that the brush device is lifted from a surface to be cleaned based on the flow path pressure and the electrical load, and based on identifying that the brush device is lifted from the surface to be cleaned, adjust the current strength of the suction power of the suction motor to a fourth strength that is a minimum intensity and is less than the second strength.
17 . The cordless vacuum cleaner of claim 15 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to adjust the current strength of the suction power of the suction motor to a fifth strength that is a maximum intensity and is greater than the third strength when the brush apparatus is applied to a wall corner.
18 . The cordless vacuum cleaner of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to: identify a transition of the current type of floor to a second type of floor different from the current type of floor by applying the flow path pressure and the electrical load of the brush apparatus to the at least one dynamically modifiable AI model, and adjust the current strength of the suction power of the suction motor as the transition of the current type of floor is identified.
19 . A method, performed by a cordless vacuum cleaner, of automatically adjusting a suction power of a suction motor of the cordless vacuum cleaner, the method comprising: determining an electrical input power consumed by the cordless vacuum cleaner and determine the suction power of the suction motor based on the electrical input power; modifying at least one parameter of at least one AI model stored in a memory of the cordless vacuum cleaner based on the determined suction power of the suction motor; obtaining a flow path pressure measured by a pressure sensor of the cordless vacuum cleaner; obtaining an electrical load of a brush apparatus using a load detection sensor of the cordless vacuum cleaner; identifying a current type of floor at which the brush apparatus is applied by applying the flow path pressure and the electrical load of the brush apparatus to the at least one AI model having the modified at least one parameter; and adjusting the suction power of the suction motor, based on the current type of floor identified by the at least one AI model having the modified at least one parameter.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation application, claiming priority under § 365(c), of International Application No. PCT/KR2023/005000, filed on Apr. 13, 2023, which is based on and claims the benefit of Korean patent application number 10-2022-0143950, filed on Nov. 1, 2022, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office and of Korean patent application number 10-2022-0047180, filed on Apr. 15, 2022, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. TECHNICAL FIELD An embodiment of the disclosure relates to a method, performed by a cordless vacuum cleaner, of automatically adjusting the strength of suction power of a suction motor. BACKGROUND ART A cordless vacuum cleaner is a type of vacuum cleaner that charges and uses a battery built in the vacuum cleaner itself without having to connect a wire to an outlet. The cordless vacuum cleaner includes a suction motor that generates suction power, and may suck up foreign substances such as dust along with air from a vacuum cleaner head (e.g., a brush) through the suction power generated by the suction motor, separate the sucked up foreign substances from the air, and collect dust. Recently, types of vacuum cleaner heads or attachments (e.g., brushes) connected to a main body of the cordless vacuum cleaner have been diversified. The brushes, for example, of the cordless vacuum cleaner may be generally divided into a main brush used for cleaning the floor and an auxiliary brush used for a special purpose. In order to be applicable to various cleaning environments, types of auxiliary brushes used for special purposes have been further subdivided. However, it is inconvenient for the consumer to have several different types of brushes depending on the floor state and to directly replace the brushes. DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Solution to Problem According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a cordless vacuum cleaner may include a suction motor configured to form a vacuum inside the cordless vacuum cleaner, a pressure sensor configured to measure a flow path pressure inside the cordless vacuum cleaner, a load detection sensor configured to measure a load of a brush apparatus, a memory storing an artificial intelligence (AI) model trained to infer a usage environment state of the brush apparatus, and at least one processor. The at least one processor may be configured to obtain data about the flow path pressure measured by the pressure sensor from the pressure sensor. The at least one processor may be configured to obtain data related to the load of the brush apparatus through the load detection sensor. The at least one processor may be configured to identify a current usage environment state of the brush by applying the data related to the flow path pressure and the data related to the load of the brush apparatus to the AI model stored in the memory. The at least one processor may be configured to adjust the strength of the suction power of the suction motor, based on the identified current usage environment state of the brush apparatus. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, a method, performed by a cordless vacuum cleaner, of automatically adjusting the strength of a suction power of a suction motor of the cordless vacuum cleaner may include obtaining data about a flow path pressure measured by a pressure sensor of the cordless vacuum cleaner, obtaining data related to a load of the brush apparatus through a load detection sensor of the cordless vacuum cleaner, identifying a current usage environment state of the brush apparatus by applying the data related to the flow path pressure and the data related to the load of the brush apparatus to an AI model stored in a memory of the cordless vacuum cleaner, and adjusting the strength of the suction power of the suction motor, based on the identified current usage environment state of the brush apparatus. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a cleaning system according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a cordless vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a vacuum cleaner body according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating operations of processors of a cordless vacuum cleaner, according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a brush apparatus according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an operation in which a vacuum cleaner body identifies a type of a brush apparatus, according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an identification (ID) resistance of a brush apparatus according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method performed by a cordless vacuum cleaner of controlling the strength of the suction power of a suction motor, accordi