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Electric vacuum cleanerRelated Patent Categories: Pumps, Motor Driven, Electric Or Magnetic Motor, Rotary Motor And Rotary Nonexpansible Chamber Pump, Vacuum CleanerElectric vacuum cleaner description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060204383, Electric vacuum cleaner. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS REFERENCE OF THE INVENTION [0001] This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-064330 filed on Mar. 8, 2005, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] (1) Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates generally to an electric vacuum cleaner, and more particularly to a controller controlling operation of a blower provided to the electric vacuum cleaner. [0004] (2) Description of the Related Art [0005] An electric vacuum cleaner has a blower generating an air-flow containing dust and a filter which separates the dust from the air-flow and collects the dust. Increasing the amount of collected dust causes air-flow resistance in an intake side of the blower to increase and the air-flow to decrease, resulting in reducing the suction power by the blower in the cleaner if the applied power is constant. An operator or user generally desires that an electric vacuum cleaner can have a stable suction power generating an air-flow irrespective of an amount of collected or trapped dust in the filter. [0006] In connection with this, the Japanese Laid-open (Kokai) Patent No. HEI 08-228978 discloses an electric vacuum cleaner configured to compare a current varying depending on air-flow resistance in an intake side of a blower, i.e., current flowing through the blower, with a prescribed threshold value, and vary in rise and/or descent the applied power to the blower step by step in response to the compared result, repeatedly. [0007] In a household electric vacuum cleaner, an upper limit value is applied to an input power for the sake of energy saving and it is occasionally required under some circumstance to have a high suction power generating air-flow within an input power range not exceeding the upper limit value. [0008] Conventionally, an electric vacuum cleaner has been configured to compare a current flowing through a blower with a prescribed threshold value and to control the input power to the blower to be increased or decreased step by step to vary an amount of air-flow drawing through the blower in response to the compared result. In case that an applied power is controlled to become a target value using the conventional method, it is required beforehand to prepare a lot of current threshold values to smoothly adjust the applied power to the target value and thus a memory having a large storage capacity is needed. In addition, a lot of experiments are also needed to determine such a large amount of current threshold values and thus, development efficiency of a controller is deteriorated. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0009] Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electric vacuum cleaner implementing two different controls, one of which is to maintain a suitable amount of air flow irrespective of increasing an amount of collected dust on a filter and the other is to adjust an applied power to a target value. [0010] To accomplish the above object, an electric vacuum cleaner comprising: [0011] a blower for generating an air flow containing dust; [0012] a filter configured to separate dust from the air flow; [0013] a switching element for switching a current flowing through the blower in response to a control signal; [0014] an air-flow-amount sensing section for sensing an amount of the air flowing through the filter to output a first value indicating the sensed result, the air-flow-amount being varied in response to amount of the dust separated by the filter; [0015] a current detecting section for detecting a current flowing through the blower to output a second value indicating the detected current value; and [0016] a control section for selecting, in accordance with power applied to the blower, one of a first control mode in which a suitable output timing of the control signal from the control section to the switching element is determined so that variation of the amount of the air flow is restrained based on the first value and a second control mode in which a suitable output timing of the control signal is determined so that the applied power to the blower is maintained at a prescribed target value based on the second value and for controlling the operation of the switching element with the control signal outputted at the suitable output timing of the selected mode. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0017] These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following detailed description of the presently preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein: [0018] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an electric vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention; [0019] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a controller of an electric vacuum cleaner according to a first embodiment of the present invention; [0020] FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a voltage waveform, a current waveform, and a signal waveform from respective sections according to the first embodiment; Continue reading about Electric vacuum cleaner... Full patent description for Electric vacuum cleaner Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Electric vacuum cleaner patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Electric vacuum cleaner or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: External fan Next Patent Application: Water cannon Industry Class: Pumps ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Electric vacuum cleaner patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 0.54509 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Qualcomm , Schering-Plough , Schlumberger , Seagate , Siemens , Texas Instruments , 174 |
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