U.S. Philips Corporation

Johannes At Driessen

Peter Sofrides Viet

Gilles Delmas

Jan Bijma

Robert H Munnig Schmidt

Michiel A Schallig

Jan Tiesinga

Paul A Beijer

Raimond Visser

A vacuum cleaner, has a housing and a suction motor, arranged in the housing. When in operation, the motor draws in air via a suction opening and discharges the air via at least one outlet opening in the housing. A dust chamber in the housing collects dust entrained by the drawn-in-air when the vacuum cleaner is in operation. An odor filter is arranged in the housing downstream of the dust chamber. The odor filter includes a unit which temporarily prolongs the residence time of air drawn through the odor filter, in the odor filter during an odor suppression cycle.

Vacuum cleaner comprising an odor filter

A vacuum cleaner comprises a suction unit (23) which is drivable by means of a first electric motor (25). A suction attachment (7) of the vacuum cleaner comprises a rotatable brush (41) which is drivable by means of a second electric motor (45). The vacuum cleaner comprises a control unit (29) by means of which an electric current through the first motor (25) can be controlled. In accordance with the invention, the control unit (29) controls the current through the first motor (25) as a function of a mode of operation of the brush (41), which mode can be selected by a user of the vacuum cleaner. In this way, the suction power of the suction unit (23) is adapted to the mode of operation of the brush (41), thereby improving a relationship between cleaning performance, ease of use, current consumption and noise production of the vacuum cleaner. In a special embodiment of a vacuum cleaner in accordance with the invention the control unit (29) controls an air pressure and an air flow in the suction attachment (7) in such a manner that the air pressure does not decrease below a first limit value (H.sub.MIN), the air flow does not exceed a second limit value (Q.sub.MAX), and at least one of the limit values (H.sub.MIN, Q.sub.MAX) is substantially reached.

Vacuum cleaner with power control in dependence on a mode of operation

Power-supply and communication

A vacuum cleaner has: an air outlet, an air inlet, a dust chamber in communication with the air inlet, a fan driven by a main motor provided in a housing in communication with the air outlet and the dust chamber, a pressure detector which provides a signal showing variations characteristic of the floor type being cleaned; and circuitry, including a neural network for recognizing and classifying the floor type as a function of these variations, a setpoint generator for determining a pressure setpoint as a function of the variations, and a control circuit for controlling the power of the main motor so as to maintain the pressure setpoint.

Vacuum cleaner with floor type detection means and motor power control

Growing community of inventors

Hoogeveen, Netherlands

Johannes At Driessen