JP2025015058A - Vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

To perform control corresponding to deterioration of a secondary battery.SOLUTION: A vacuum cleaner includes a main body control section 200 and a memory section 300. The memory section 30 preserves a detection value of a deterioration state of a secondary battery detected by a SOC/SOHQ detection section 210 of the main body control section 200 and use history information of the secondary battery. The main body control section 200 includes: a deterioration suppression control section 280 for generating a deterioration formula of the second battery on the basis of the use history information of the secondary battery preserved in the memory section 300; and a deterioration determination section 240 for comparing a target value of a deterioration state of the secondary battery with the detection value of the deterioration state of the second battery so as to determine whether deterioration suppression operation is to be executed, and performing the deterioration suppression control on the basis of the deterioration formula of the second battery when executing the deterioration suppression operation. The deterioration suppression control section 280 compares a calculation value of the deterioration state of the secondary battery with the detection value so as to detect that the secondary battery has exchanged into another secondary battery, and corrects the deterioration formula of the secondary battery when the battery is exchanged into another secondary battery.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner equipped with a secondary battery.

As devices equipped with secondary batteries, for example, there are technologies described in Patent Documents 1 and 2. Secondary batteries deteriorate with repeated charging cycles, so appropriate control is required.

Patent Document 1 relates to a vacuum cleaner equipped with a secondary battery. In this patent document, a secondary battery unit that can be removed from the vacuum cleaner is provided. The secondary battery unit includes a secondary battery, a charging unit, a temperature detection unit, a charging current control unit, and a deterioration detection unit. The deterioration detection unit detects the degree of deterioration of the secondary battery. The charging current control unit changes the magnitude of the charging current based on the degree of deterioration detected by the deterioration detection unit in addition to the temperature of the secondary battery.

Patent Document 2 relates to secondary batteries used in vehicles such as railways and automobiles, solar power generation, wind power generation, etc. In Patent Document 2, the rate at which the secondary battery deteriorates is calculated, and if the current rate of deterioration is greater than the past rate of deterioration by a certain value or more, the charging and discharging conditions of the secondary battery are restricted.

JP 2021-44950 A JP 2013-65481 A

Vacuum cleaners equipped with secondary batteries have multiple secondary battery packs, and if the charge capacity of a secondary battery decreases during cleaning, the secondary battery pack may be replaced with another one to continue cleaning. The degree of deterioration of secondary battery packs varies depending on the usage conditions, charging state, when use began, etc.

The technology described in Patent Document 1 had an issue in that when the secondary battery pack in use was replaced with another secondary battery pack with a different degree of deterioration while cleaning, discharge control according to the degree of deterioration of the replaced secondary battery pack could not be performed. Furthermore, the technology described in Patent Document 2 did not take into consideration the possibility of replacing and using secondary batteries.

The object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and provide a vacuum cleaner that can perform control according to the degree of deterioration of the replaced secondary battery pack even if the secondary battery pack is replaced during cleaning.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a vacuum cleaner comprising a vacuum cleaner main body having an electric blower and a main body control unit, a secondary battery pack having a secondary battery detachably connected to the vacuum cleaner main body and supplying power to the electric blower, and a memory unit for storing information about the secondary battery, the main body control unit including a deterioration state detection unit that detects the deterioration state of the secondary battery based on the voltage, current, and surface temperature of the secondary battery, an operation information collection and analysis unit that collects the detection values detected by the deterioration state detection unit and usage history information of the secondary battery and stores them in the memory unit, and an operation information collection and analysis unit that analyzes the operation of the secondary battery based on the usage history information of the secondary battery stored in the memory unit. The system includes a degradation suppression control unit that creates a degradation formula for the secondary battery, and a degradation determination unit that compares a target value for the degradation state of the secondary battery stored in the memory unit with a detection value detected by the degradation state detection unit to determine whether or not to perform degradation suppression operation, and executes degradation suppression control based on the degradation formula for the secondary battery created by the degradation suppression control unit when degradation suppression operation is to be performed. The degradation suppression control unit detects that the secondary battery has been replaced with another secondary battery by comparing the calculated degradation state of the secondary battery with the detected degradation state of the secondary battery, and corrects the degradation formula for the secondary battery when the secondary battery is replaced with the other secondary battery.

According to the present invention, even if the secondary battery pack is replaced during cleaning, control can be performed according to the degree of deterioration of the replaced secondary battery pack.

1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a vacuum cleaner 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is stored in a charging stand. FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the vacuum cleaner 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a view taken in the direction of the arrow III in FIG. 2 . 1 is an external perspective view of a vacuum cleaner 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a top view of an example of an operation unit 121 provided in the vacuum cleaner 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the electric vacuum cleaner 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. 10 is a flowchart showing the process of a degradation determination unit 240 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a flowchart of deterioration suppression control using a deterioration equation according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of degradation suppression control according to an embodiment of the present invention. 13 is a flowchart showing a method for correcting the deterioration equation. 10 is a flowchart showing a method for correcting the deterioration equation for secondary battery 1 and creating a deterioration equation for secondary battery 2. 2 is an example of a display unit of a vacuum cleaner.

Below, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In principle, the same reference numerals are used in all drawings to refer to the same elements. Also, explanations of parts having the same functions will be omitted. Note that the configurations described below are merely examples, and it is not intended that the embodiments of the present invention be limited to the specific embodiments described below.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a vacuum cleaner 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is stored in a charging base. In FIG. 1(a), the vacuum cleaner 100 is stored in a stick state in the charging base.

The vacuum cleaner 100 can be changed into various states for use, such as a handheld state or a stick state, for cleaning. The charging stand 70a in which the vacuum cleaner 100 is stored stores the vacuum cleaner 100 in a stick state, and is composed of a base member 71, three stand members 72, and a holder member 73. The holder member 73 is adapted to receive an output plug of an AC adapter for charging the secondary battery pack 3 attached to the vacuum cleaner 100, and when the vacuum cleaner 100 is set on the charging stand 70a, the output plug is connected to the input jack of the vacuum cleaner 100, enabling charging.

The base member 71 has a mounting surface 71a and an extension portion 71b. The mounting surface 71a is a generally rectangular plate-shaped portion. The extension portion 71b is a generally truncated cone-shaped portion. The extension portion 71b is provided so as to be generally perpendicular to the mounting surface 71a. The central axis of the extension portion 71b is provided so as to be located approximately in the center of the mounting surface 71a in the left-right direction and approximately 3/4 of the way in the front-back direction.

In FIG. 1(b), the vacuum cleaner 100 is stored in the charging base in a handheld state. The charging base 70b in this state stores the vacuum cleaner 100 in a handheld state, and unlike the charging base 70a, it is configured with one stand member 72, a base member 71, and a holder member 73, omitting two stand members 72. The user can also omit three stand members 72 for compact storage, or omit one and adjust the height to make it easier to take out. The pillar of the charging base, which is made up of the stand member 72 and the holder member 73, is formed on the axis of the dust case 2, so the vacuum cleaner 100 can be placed on the charging base and stably held when charging.

Figure 2 is an exploded view of a vacuum cleaner 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 2, the vacuum cleaner 100 is configured to include a vacuum cleaner body 1, a dust case 2 (dust collection device), a secondary battery pack 3 (power storage device), and an airtight member 90.

The vacuum cleaner body 1 is composed of a main body section 10, a motor case section 11, and a handle section 12.

The main body 10 is formed with a connection port 10a (suction port) to which an extension tube 150 (see FIG. 1) or a standard suction port 160 (see FIG. 1) is connected. This connection port 10a is molded from the same resin as the main body 10, motor case 11, handle 12, etc. The connection port 10a has a substantially circular opening and is formed facing forward. In addition, the connection port 10a is designed to allow attachments such as a gap suction port 110, an extension tube 150, or a standard suction port 160 to be connected as accessories.

The main body 10 is provided with a dust case 2 that is removably attached, and an inlet pipe 14 (see Figure 3) that sends dust-containing air sucked in from the connection port 10a into the dust case 2.

The motor case section 11 contains an electric blower (not shown) and a main body circuit board (not shown). A circular suction port 11a is formed on the front surface of the motor case section 11, through which clean air is sucked in after dust is collected in the dust case 2. In addition, a main body terminal section 17 is provided on the front surface of the motor case section 11, below the suction port 11a, for connection to the charging stands 70a and 70b.

The handle 12 is provided on the rear side of the main body 10 and is formed in a generally arc shape. By forming the handle 12 in a generally arc shape, the user can grip the handle 12 in a position that is most convenient for them depending on the situation in which they are using it.

The handle portion 12 is also provided with a locking member 13 for locking the secondary battery pack 3. The locking member 13 is button-shaped and supported so that it can swing. The handle portion 12 has an operating section 121 on its upper surface (Figure 5).

Furthermore, a release button 18 is provided at the upper front end of the handle portion 12, which is operated when removing accessories such as the extension tube 150 (see FIG. 1). By pressing this release button 18, the lock between the main body portion 10 and the accessory is released, allowing the accessory to be removed from the main body portion 10.

An airtight member 90 is attached to the front end of the main body 10. This airtight member 90 has a substantially circular cylinder 91. This cylinder 91 has a brush section 90s with soft bristles planted in a bundle at the tip. The brush section 90s is planted at multiple locations with spaces between them, and is made of an elastically deformable (flexibly deformable) material such as polyamide resin. By attaching such an airtight member 90 to the connection port 10a of the vacuum cleaner main body 1, it is possible to sweep up dirt from the surface to be cleaned, and by pressing the tip of the airtight member 90 against the floor surface, it is possible to improve suction power. In addition, by forming the connection section 91b from a hard material, the airtight member 90 can be stably attached to the main body 10 without falling off.

In this embodiment, the brush portion 90s is formed of a brush with polyamide bristles, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the tip may be formed in a ring shape with soft resin. That is, the cylindrical body 91 is formed by integrally molding two different members, the elastic portion 91a and the connecting portion 91b. The elastic portion 91a is made of an elastically deformable (flexibly deformable) material such as an elastomer. In this way, the entire brush portion 90s of the airtight member 90 can be closely attached to the floor surface, and the suction force can be improved compared to when it is not closely attached.

The cylindrical body 91 may be substantially entirely made of the same material as the connecting portion 91b, and the tip of the cylindrical body 91 may be provided with a ring of electrostatically planted short hairs. Even with such electrostatic planting, it is possible to bring the tip of the airtight member 90 into close contact with the floor surface, as with elastomers, and the suction force can be improved.

A horizontally elongated fitting groove 10b is formed on the upper side of the connection port 10a of the main body 10. A protrusion (not shown) is formed at the base end of the connection part 91b, which fits in and locks with the fitting groove 10b.

The main body 10 is also provided with a light-emitting element 10c (see FIG. 2) above the connection port 10a. This light-emitting element 10c is configured to emit light forward, that is, toward the surface to be cleaned (such as a floor surface).

When the airtight member 90 is attached to the vacuum cleaner body 1, the light-emitting element 10c is located above the airtight member 90. In other words, the outer diameter of the airtight member 90 is set so that the light-emitting element 10c is located outside the airtight member 90.

The secondary battery pack 3 supplies power to an electric blower (not shown) and is equipped with secondary batteries such as lithium ion or nickel-metal hydride batteries. The secondary battery pack 3 has a roughly cylindrical case 3a made of synthetic resin, and can be attached to and detached from the main body 10 by sliding the case 3a in the forward and backward directions.

A terminal portion 3b that is connected to the main body portion 10 is provided on the upper surface of the case 3a. A slide groove 3c that is slidably supported by the main body portion 10 is formed on the upper surface of the case 3a in front of the terminal portion 3b. Slide rails 3d, 3d that are slidably supported by the main body portion 10 are formed protruding to the left and right sides on the upper surface of the case 3a behind the terminal portion 3b.

In addition, an inlet hole 3e is formed on one side (left side) of the front surface of the case 3a in the left-right direction (width direction) to introduce cooling air to cool the secondary battery pack 3. This inlet hole 3e is elongated in the vertical direction.

In addition, an exhaust hole 3f is formed on the front surface of the case 3a on the other side (right side) in the left-right direction (width direction) through which air is exhausted after cooling the secondary battery pack 3. This exhaust hole 3f is formed to have a shape symmetrical to the aforementioned introduction hole 3e.

The back surface of the case 3a is formed with a lock recess 3g into which the lock member 13 fits to lock the case to the main body 10.

Figure 3 is a view in the direction of the arrow III in Figure 2. As shown in Figure 3, the dust case 2 is of a cyclone type, and has the function of separating the dust-containing air sucked in from the inlet pipe 14 into dust and air, and collecting the dust. The dust case 2 is disposed in front of the motor case 11 with the axial direction in the front-rear direction, and has a substantially cylindrical storage section 2a. The storage section 2a has a storage section opening on the front side. The upper surface (side surface) of the dust case 2 is formed with a substantially rectangular inlet 2b (see Figure 2) that connects to the inlet pipe 14. The dust-containing air that flows into this inlet 2b becomes a swirling flow, and centrifugal force acts on the dust, separating the dust and air inside the dust case 2, and the air from which the dust has been separated is discharged from the rear (back) of the dust case 2.

The front of the dust case 2 is supported by a hinge 2d to be rotatable relative to the storage section 2a. The lid 2c is opened and closed when disposing of dust accumulated in the dust case 2. When the lid 2c is closed, the opening of the storage section is blocked. A lid locking mechanism 2e is provided on the top of the lid 2c to unlock the lid 2c.

An exhaust port 16 is provided at the bottom of the motor case 11. Although not shown, this exhaust port 16 has multiple slits 16a along the front-rear direction, and the multiple slits 16a are formed in a line in the up-down direction. The exhaust port 16 is provided on both the left and right sides. A cover member 16b is provided to cover either the left or right side of this exhaust port 16. The dust case 2, the motor, and the secondary battery pack 3 are arranged in a straight line in the longitudinal direction of the vacuum cleaner body or on the same axis, and the cover member 16b slides around the axis of the motor case 11 or the dust case 2 as a rotation center, allowing the left or right exhaust port 16 to be selectively opened. The outer shell surface of the cover member 16b is formed to be approximately the same surface as the motor case 11.

Figure 4 is an external perspective view of the vacuum cleaner 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 4, the vacuum cleaner 100 has a dust case 2 attached below the main body 10 and in front of the motor case 11. In this case, when the dust case 2 is attached to the vacuum cleaner main body 1, the lid lock mechanism 2e is located on the vacuum cleaner main body 1 side. This is because if the lid lock mechanism 2e is provided on the opposite side (outside), there is a risk that the lid lock mechanism 2e will be released during cleaning, but by positioning the lid lock mechanism 2e on the vacuum cleaner main body 1 side, it is possible to prevent malfunction. For example, when cleaning under a sofa or bed in the stick state, the vacuum cleaner main body 1 may be brought close to the horizontal surface of the floor. At this time, if the lid lock mechanism 2e is provided on the front side, there is a possibility that the lid lock mechanism 2e will come into contact with the floor surface and be released. The positions of the lid lock mechanism 2e and the hinge part 2d are not limited to this, and they may be provided on the left and right sides of the vacuum cleaner main body 1.

The dust case 2 is also provided with a removable maintenance brush 2s (see Figures 2 and 3). This maintenance brush 2s is positioned in a position that is difficult to see from the outside when the dust case 2 is attached to the vacuum cleaner body 1. This makes it difficult for the maintenance brush 2s to come off during operation, and there is no need to store the maintenance brush 2s in a location separate from the vacuum cleaner 100.

Figure 5 is an example of a top view of the operating unit 121 provided on the vacuum cleaner 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The operation unit 121 has buttons 124 and 125 that change the operating mode by controlling the rotation speed of the electric blower housed in the motor case unit 11 (Fig. 2) to vary the suction force through the standard suction port 160 (Fig. 1). Button 124 drives the electric blower by switching the suction force to suit the user's preference. Button 124a switches the suction force from "standard" to "strong" to "standard" each time it is pressed. "Strong" is a mode with stronger suction force than "standard". Button 125 drives the electric blower by automatically switching the suction force to suit the type of floor surface.

When both the electric blower housed in the motor case 11 (Figure 2) and the rotating brush housed in the standard suction port 160 are stopped, pressing buttons 124 and 125 drives the motor to provide the corresponding suction force.

The operation unit 121 includes a battery display unit 122 that flashes to indicate a decrease in the remaining battery power of the secondary battery pack 3 (FIG. 2), and a clogging display unit 123 that flashes to indicate a clogging of the filter (not shown) housed in the dust case 2 when a decrease in suction power is detected. The operation unit 121 further includes a button 126 that stops the operation of the vacuum cleaner 100 by stopping the drive of both the motor housed in the motor case unit 11 (FIG. 2) and the rotating brush.

The vacuum cleaner 100 of this embodiment is equipped with a secondary battery pack 3. If the remaining battery power of the secondary battery pack 3 becomes low during cleaning, the secondary battery pack 3 may be replaced with another secondary battery pack to continue cleaning. Since the degree of deterioration of the secondary battery pack 3 varies depending on the usage state, charging state, and time of start of use, it is preferable to perform charge and discharge control according to the secondary battery pack 3 attached to the vacuum cleaner 100 at the time of cleaning. The configuration for achieving this is described below.

Figure 6 is a control block diagram of the main body control unit 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The main body control unit 200 is connected to a higher-level control unit 400 that controls the electric blower, etc.

The main body control unit 200 includes an SOC/SOHQ detection unit 210 (charging rate/degradation state detection unit) that detects the charging rate SOC and the degradation state SOH of the secondary battery based on the voltage V, current I, and surface temperature T of the secondary battery, and an operation information collection/analysis unit 220 that collects the detection values (charging rate SOC, degradation state SOH) detected by the SOC/SOHQ detection unit 210, the number of charge/discharge cycles of the secondary battery calculated based on the voltage V, current I, and surface temperature T of the secondary battery, and the usage history information of the secondary battery (discharge current I _dis , charge current I _cha , upper limit voltage V _max , and battery surface temperature T _S ° C. of the secondary battery for each charge/discharge cycle), and stores them in the memory unit 300. The operation information collection/analysis unit 220 collects information necessary for predicting degradation of the secondary battery and information necessary for degradation suppression control operation. In this embodiment, the SOC/SOHQ detection unit 210 (charging rate/deterioration state detection unit) is mainly used as the deterioration state detection unit.

The state of deterioration SOH of a battery generally includes the capacity maintenance rate SOHQ and the resistance rise rate SOHR. In this embodiment, the capacity maintenance rate SOHQ is used as the state of deterioration SOH, but the resistance rise rate SOHR may also be used. Any method may be used to detect the state of charge SOC and the capacity maintenance rate SOHQ, but the Kalman filter method is preferred from the viewpoint of low calculation load and high accuracy in detecting these values.

The main body control unit 200 also includes a time and storage temperature management unit 230 that acquires the shipping time (day) of the secondary battery detected by the real time clock 500 and the storage temperature T (°C) detected by the thermometer 600 and stores them in the memory unit 300.

Furthermore, the main body control unit 200 is equipped with a degradation suppression control unit 280 that creates a degradation equation for the secondary battery in use based on the shipping time (day) of the secondary battery stored in the memory unit 300, the heat retention temperature T ( _° C) of the secondary battery, the detected value of the charging rate SOC/capacity maintenance rate SOHQ, the number of charge/discharge cycles, the usage condition history (the discharge current _Idis , the charge current _Icha , the upper limit voltage _Vmax , and the battery surface temperature Ts (°C) of the secondary battery for each charge/discharge cycle), information on the user's tendency to use the secondary battery, the daily charge/discharge amount of the secondary battery, the target degradation curve data for the secondary battery, and the degradation equation information for the secondary battery.

Furthermore, the main body control unit 200 is equipped with a degradation determination unit 240 that determines the degradation state of the secondary battery based on the detected value of the charging rate SOC of the secondary battery, the target value of the capacity maintenance rate SOHQ of the secondary battery based on the target degradation curve, the detected value of the capacity maintenance rate SOHQ of the secondary battery, the number of charge/discharge cycles of the secondary battery, and the history of the usage conditions of the secondary battery (discharge current _Idis , charge current _Icha , upper limit voltage _Vmax , and battery surface temperature _Ts °C of the secondary battery for each charge/discharge cycle), and executes degradation suppression control based on a degradation equation for the secondary battery created by the degradation suppression control unit 280.

The memory unit 300 stores the shipping time (day) of the secondary battery, the heat retention temperature T (°C) of the secondary battery, the detected value of the charging rate SOC/capacity maintenance rate SOHQ, the number of charge/discharge cycles, the usage condition history (discharge current _Idis , charge current _Icha , upper limit voltage _Vmax , and battery surface temperature _{Ts (} °C) of the secondary battery for each charge/discharge cycle), the user's secondary battery usage tendency information, the daily charge/discharge amount of the secondary battery, the target deterioration curve data of the secondary battery, a parameter table, and deterioration equation information. In addition to the base deterioration equation information, the memory unit 300 also stores newly created deterioration equation information for other secondary batteries.

The data relating to the target deterioration curve stored in the memory unit 300 is, for example, the value of the capacity maintenance rate SOHQ versus the number of charge/discharge cycles. The target of the target deterioration curve data is a value that can be set arbitrarily in advance by the user or manufacturer and stored in the memory unit 100. The deterioration suppression control unit 280 compares the detected value of the capacity maintenance rate SOHQ with the value of the target deterioration curve to provide a guideline for selecting whether or not to perform suppression operation when charging or discharging the device.

Next, the processing of the degradation determination unit 240 will be described with reference to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the degradation determination unit 240 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The deterioration determination unit 240 of the main body control unit 200 determines whether the charge/discharge cycle of the secondary battery has passed a predetermined number of cycles (step S701).

When the charge/discharge cycle of the secondary battery has passed a predetermined number of cycles, the deterioration determination unit 240 of the main body control unit 200 extracts the detected value of the capacity maintenance rate SOHQ from the memory unit 300 (step S702).

The deterioration determination unit 240 of the main body control unit 200 also extracts the target value of the target deterioration curve of the capacity maintenance rate SOHQ from the memory unit 300 (step S703).

The deterioration determination unit 240 of the main body control unit 200 compares the detected value of the capacity maintenance rate SOHQ with the target value of the target deterioration curve (step S704), and if the detected value of the capacity maintenance rate SOHQ is equal to or greater than the target value of the target deterioration curve (YES in step S704), continues normal operation of the vacuum cleaner 100 (step S705). This corresponds to condition A in FIG. 6 for continuing operation without deterioration suppression control. After continuing normal operation, the process ends.

If the detected value of the capacity maintenance rate SOHQ is less than the target value of the target deterioration curve (NO in step S704), the deterioration determination unit 240 of the main body control unit 200 determines that deterioration suppression control operation is necessary, and prompts the user whether or not to operate the vacuum cleaner 100 in deterioration suppression control operation (step S706). To prompt the user whether or not to operate the vacuum cleaner 100 in deterioration suppression control operation, for example, the battery display unit 122 of the operation unit 121 is used. For the display, the battery display unit 122 is made to flash at a faster interval than when the battery level is low.

Step S706 is a step for selecting the desired degradation suppression control. Some users desire a longer battery life and desire degradation suppression operation, while other users do not care much about battery life and place emphasis on performance, overworking the device and thinking that it is okay to replace the battery frequently. Therefore, by providing step S706, it is possible to obtain the effect of increasing user satisfaction. In addition, in step S706, the operating state is selected from buttons 124 and 125 of the operation unit 121 shown in FIG. 5, for example, in response to the user's request. As an example, pressing button 125 results in degradation suppression operation, and pressing button 124 results in normal operation.

If the user desires operation under deterioration suppression control (YES in step S706), the deterioration determination unit 240 of the main body control unit 200 executes deterioration suppression control operation based on information from the deterioration suppression control unit 280 (step S707). This corresponds to condition B for executing deterioration suppression control operation in FIG. 6. After the deterioration suppression control operation is executed, the process ends.

If the user does not wish to operate with degradation prevention control (NO in step S706), the degradation determination unit 240 of the main body control unit 200 continues normal operation (step S808). This corresponds to condition C in FIG. 6 for continuing operation without degradation prevention control. Furthermore, the degradation determination unit 240 of the main body control unit 200 displays an alert on the battery display unit 122 of the operation unit 121 to the effect that the secondary battery will deteriorate early (step S809). A display unit may be provided on the vacuum cleaner main body 1 of the electric vacuum cleaner 100 to display the alert.

Step S708 is a step when degradation prevention control operation is not desired in step S806. Since degradation prevention control operation is not performed in step S808 and there is a possibility that the battery may deteriorate early, step S809 may be provided to display an early deterioration alert. Displaying the alert has the effect of enabling the user to predict the need for early battery replacement and to prepare a replacement battery in advance. When displaying the alert, the battery display unit 122 is made to flash at a faster interval than when the battery level is low. Then, after continuing normal operation, the processing ends.

As described above, in this embodiment, the frequency of application of the deterioration equation, which imposes a high calculation load, can be reduced by comparing the detected value of the capacity maintenance rate SOHQ with the target value of the target deterioration curve to determine whether or not deterioration suppression control operation is performed. By applying an algorithm that makes such a judgment, it becomes possible to apply the system to devices such as home appliances that require a reduction in the calculation load.

In addition, in this embodiment, in the case of condition B, deterioration suppression control is performed using a deterioration formula. Various deterioration formulas have been devised, and there is no particular restriction as long as the prediction accuracy is guaranteed, but in this embodiment, the following formula is used. The capacity maintenance rate SOHQ is expressed as formula (1).

Capacity maintenance rate SOHQ (%) = 100 - ΔQ (%)... (1)
ΔQ is the capacity loss %, and ΔQ is expressed by formula (2).

ΔQ=f(a: upper limit voltage, b: charging current, c: discharging current, d: storage temperature)...(2)
Although (2) is a case where the deterioration factors are the discharge current, the charge current, the upper limit voltage, and the temperature, the present invention can also be applied to other deterioration factors.

An example of the degradation formula is shown below.

ΔQ=100-ast×day-acyc×day...(3)
(day: number of days, ast: storage deterioration coefficient, acyc: cycle deterioration coefficient)
Additionally, ast and acyc are expressed by equations consisting of constants and degradation factors which are variables.

Furthermore, the equation for cycle degradation minus storage degradation can be expressed as equation (4).

ΔQ=100-acyc×day...(4)
It is also possible to convert the number of days into the number of cycles.

Next, the degradation suppression control process will be explained using Figures 8 and 9.

Figure 8 is a flowchart of degradation suppression control using a degradation equation according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 9 is a conceptual diagram of degradation suppression control according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 9 illustrates a specific method of the flowchart in Figure 8 in the past, present, and future. Note that Figure 9 shows an example in which the horizontal axis is the number of cycles, and the actual number of cycles is, for example, 1st cycle in the past, 10th cycle at present, and 20th cycle in the future. In addition, if deterioration is expected not only during cycles but also during storage, the contribution of storage deterioration can also be added to the deterioration formula. Note that the number of cycles and the number of days can be calculated based on the time required for the cycle and converted to the number of days. The target deterioration curve shown by the dashed line in Figure 9 indicates the target value of the capacity maintenance rate SOHQ at the number of cycles on the horizontal axis. In Figure 9, the detected value of the capacity maintenance rate SOHQ at the 10th cycle is significantly below the target value. Therefore, deterioration suppression control is executed to limit the deterioration factors of the secondary battery (upper limit voltage, charging current, discharging current, temperature) so that the detected value of the capacity maintenance rate SOHQ at the 20th cycle in the future approaches the target value.

In FIG. 8, the deterioration determination unit 240 of the main body control unit 200 acquires operating information from the memory unit 300 (step S801).

The deterioration suppression control unit 280 of the main body control unit 200 calculates the capacity maintenance rate SOHQ from the past to the present using the deterioration equation (step S802). Step S802 corresponds to the process of calculating using the deterioration factors stored in the memory unit 300 from the past to the present in FIG. 9.

The deterioration determination unit 240 of the main body control unit 200 compares the detected value of the capacity maintenance rate SOHQ with the past to present capacity maintenance rate SOHQ calculated by the deterioration suppression control unit 280, and sets the target value of the capacity maintenance rate SOHQ that will be the next target (step S803). If there is no difference between the detected value of the capacity maintenance rate SOHQ and the calculated capacity maintenance rate SOHQ as a result of comparing the two, there is no need to leave it as it is, but if there is a difference, the future target deterioration curve value in Figure 9 is corrected.

Next, the deterioration determination unit 240 of the main body control unit 200 selects deterioration suppression factor candidates from the operating information (step S804). The factor to be suppressed is not limited to one, and may be multiple.

Next, the deterioration determination unit 240 of the main body control unit 200 uses the deterioration equation and the selected deterioration suppression factor as a parameter to calculate a value that results in the target deterioration curve in a specified cycle (step S805).

Next, the deterioration determination unit 240 of the main body control unit 200 determines whether the detected value of the capacity maintenance rate SOHQ has reached the target value of the target deterioration curve (step S806).

If the detected value of the capacity maintenance rate SOHQ has reached the target value of the target deterioration curve (YES in step S806), the deterioration determination unit 240 of the main body control unit 200 starts suppression control operation of the vacuum cleaner 100 with the suppressed parameters (step S807). After that, the deterioration determination unit 240 of the main body control unit 200 ends the process.

If the detected value of the capacity maintenance rate SOHQ has not reached the target value of the target deterioration curve (NO in step S806), the deterioration determination unit 240 of the main body control unit 200 returns to step S804, raises the restriction rank in the parameter table by one, and performs calculations again in step S805 to check whether the target has been reached.

Now, a vacuum cleaner equipped with a secondary battery may have multiple secondary battery packs 3, and if the charge capacity of a secondary battery decreases during cleaning, the secondary battery pack 3 may be replaced with another secondary battery pack 3 to continue cleaning. The degree of deterioration of the secondary battery pack 3 varies depending on the usage state, charging state, start time of use, etc. When the secondary battery pack 3 in use is replaced with another secondary battery pack 3 with a different degree of deterioration during cleaning, discharge control according to the deterioration degree of the replaced other secondary battery pack 3 cannot be performed. In this embodiment, discharge control according to the deterioration degree of the secondary battery pack 3 is controlled based on a deterioration formula. When the secondary battery pack 3 in use is replaced with another secondary battery pack 3 with a different degree of deterioration, it is desirable to correct the deterioration formula.

In this embodiment, the information on the base deterioration formula is stored in the memory unit 300 in FIG. 6, and the calculation of the deterioration formula is performed by the deterioration suppression control unit 280. Furthermore, in this embodiment, when correcting the deterioration formula, the information on the base deterioration formula and the cleaning history information accumulated in the memory unit 300 are used to correct the base deterioration formula in the deterioration suppression control unit 280, and a deterioration formula for the replaced secondary battery (new secondary battery) is created. Furthermore, the information on the corrected deterioration formula for the replaced secondary battery (new secondary battery) is stored in the memory unit 300.

The method for correcting the base deterioration formula is explained below. In the base deterioration formula, the secondary battery in use is represented as secondary battery 1, and the replaced secondary battery (the other secondary battery) is represented as secondary battery 2.

Figure 10 is a flowchart showing a method for correcting the deterioration formula. The deterioration suppression control unit 280 of the main body control unit 200 calculates the capacity maintenance rate SOHQ from the past to the present using the deterioration formula. In addition, the deterioration determination unit 240 executes deterioration suppression control (step S1001). This step S1001 corresponds to the process shown in the flowchart of Figure 8.

When the user replaces secondary battery 1 with secondary battery 2, the degradation suppression control unit 280 checks whether there is a predetermined difference between the calculated capacity maintenance rate SOHQ and the detected capacity maintenance rate SOHQ, or whether there is a difference between the capacity maintenance rate SOHQ stored in the memory unit and the calculated capacity maintenance rate SOHQ, and detects that secondary battery 1 has been replaced with secondary battery 2 based on the difference between the two (step S1002).

Normally, when secondary battery 1 is not replaced with secondary battery 2, the calculated capacity maintenance rate SOHQ and the detected capacity maintenance rate SOHQ will be similar, but when secondary battery 1 is replaced with secondary battery 2, the calculated capacity maintenance rate SOHQ is calculated using the deterioration formula for secondary battery 1, and the detected capacity maintenance rate SOHQ becomes the value for secondary battery 2, resulting in a difference between the two. Therefore, by detecting that this difference is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, the deterioration suppression control unit 280 determines that secondary battery 1 has been replaced with secondary battery 2, and recognizes that a deterioration formula for secondary battery 2 needs to be created.

Regarding the specified difference, even when secondary battery 1 is used, an error may occur between the detected capacity maintenance rate SOHQ and the capacity maintenance rate SOHQ calculated by degradation formula 1. Therefore, in this embodiment, the specified difference can be set arbitrarily in consideration of this error. An absolute value may be used for the specified difference.

Next, the deterioration suppression control unit 280 corrects the deterioration equation for secondary battery 1 to create a deterioration equation for secondary battery 2. When correcting the deterioration equation, the deterioration suppression control unit 280 uses the daily charge/discharge amounts of secondary batteries 1 and 2, which are history information stored in the memory unit 300, and the usage history of secondary battery 2 to correct the deterioration equation for secondary battery 1 and create the deterioration equation for secondary battery 2.

Figure 11 is a flowchart showing a method for correcting the deterioration equation for secondary battery 1 and creating the deterioration equation for secondary battery 2.

The deterioration equation for secondary battery 1 uses the equation (4) described above. Correction of the deterioration equation for secondary battery 1 is performed in two stages: correction 1 and 2.

First, the SOC/SOHQ detection unit 210 of the main body control unit 200 detects the daily charge/discharge amount (assumed to be β) of the secondary battery 2 and stores it in the memory unit 300 of the vacuum cleaner via the driving information collection/analysis unit 220.

The degradation suppression control unit 280 also calculates the ratio (β/α) of the daily charge/discharge amount (α) of secondary battery 1 to the daily charge/discharge amount (β) of secondary battery 2, and uses this as a correction coefficient to correct equation (4) to obtain equation (5). This equation (5) is the corrected degradation equation 1.

ΔQ=100-(β/α)×acyc×day...(5)
Next, the degradation suppression control unit 280 inputs the usage history information of the secondary battery 2 (the discharge current of the secondary battery 2 for each charge/discharge cycle) stored in the memory unit 300 into the acyc of the correction 1 degradation formula in formula (5). I _dis , charging current I _cha , upper limit voltage V _max , battery surface temperature T _S (° C.) are input to calculate the capacity maintenance rate SOHQ. The calculated capacity maintenance rate SOHQ is compared with the detected capacity maintenance rate SOHQ. When there is a difference between the capacity maintenance ratios SOHQ, the correction coefficient γ is calculated so as to minimize the error between the correction 1 deterioration formula and the detected capacity maintenance ratio SOHQ.

The corrected deterioration formula 2, which is a correction of the corrected deterioration formula 1, is expressed by formula (6). The corrected deterioration formula 2 becomes the new deterioration formula for the secondary battery 2, and the deterioration determination unit 240 performs deterioration suppression control using the corrected deterioration formula 2.

ΔQ=100-γ×(β/α)×acyc×day...(6)
Furthermore, the correction of the deterioration formula 1 requires the use history information of the secondary battery 2. While the history information of the secondary battery 2 is being acquired, the deterioration suppression operation cannot be executed by the deterioration determination unit 240, and the user This may cause a sense of discomfort to the user. Therefore, it is advisable to inform the user as shown in Fig. 12. Fig. 12 shows an example of a display unit of a vacuum cleaner. In Fig. 12, the display unit displays When suppression control is selected, a message such as "Deterioration suppression control selected" is displayed, the secondary battery is replaced from secondary battery 1 to secondary battery 2, and usage history information of secondary battery 2 is obtained. However, if the information is stored in the memory unit 300, a message such as "Usage history information being stored" is displayed. By notifying the user in this manner, the sense of incongruity can be reduced.

In addition, in this embodiment, deterioration formula 1 of secondary battery 1 is corrected to create deterioration formula 2 of secondary battery 2. For the correction, a correction coefficient is calculated based on usage history information of secondary battery 2, and deterioration formula 1 is corrected; however, if a correction coefficient is calculated from multiple pieces of usage history information and averaged, and the averaged correction coefficient is used, the accuracy of deterioration formula 2 is improved. Therefore, the accuracy of the corrected deterioration formula can be improved by collecting and correcting usage history information for each unit cycle, for example, every 100 cycles, calculating a correction coefficient for the unit cycle, and averaging the correction coefficients for all unit cycles.

In addition, it is also possible to collect usage history information via a network, process it in a data center to calculate a correction coefficient, and receive the correction coefficient information in the main body control unit and use it as a deterioration formula for the secondary battery 2. One specific example of a network is the Internet.

As described above, according to this embodiment, even when secondary battery 1 is replaced with secondary battery 2, the deterioration formula for secondary battery 1 is corrected to create the deterioration formula for secondary battery 2, making it possible to perform control according to the replaced secondary battery 2.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes various modified examples. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to make the present invention easier to understand, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to those having all of the configurations described. It is also possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. It is also possible to add, delete, or replace part of the configuration of each embodiment with other configurations.

1...vacuum cleaner body, 2...dust case, 2a...storage section, 2b...inlet, 2c...lid, 2d...hinge section, 2e...lid lock mechanism, 2s...care brush, 3...secondary battery pack, 3a...case, 3b...terminal section, 3c...slide groove, 3d...slide rail, 3e...inlet hole, 3f...exhaust hole, 3g...lock recess, 5...information terminal device, 10...main body section, 10a...connection port, 10b...fitting groove, 10c...light-emitting element, 11...motor case section, 11a...suction port, 12...handle section, 13...locking member, 14...inlet tube, 16...exhaust port, 16a...slit, 16b...cover member, 17...main body terminal section, 18...release button, 70a...charging stand, 70b...charging stand, 71...base Component, 71a... placement surface, 71b... extension, 72... stand component, 73... holder component, 90... airtight member, 90s... brush part, 91... cylinder, 91a... elastic part, 91b... connection part, 100... vacuum cleaner, 110... gap suction nozzle, 121... operation part, 122... battery display part, 123... clogging display part, 124... button, 124a... button, 125... button, 126... button, 150... extension tube, 160... standard suction nozzle, 200... main body control part, 210... SOC/SOHQ detection part, 220... operation information collection and analysis part, 230... time and storage temperature management part, 240... deterioration determination part, 280... deterioration suppression control part, 300... memory part, 400... upper control part, 500... real time clock, 600... thermometer

Claims (6)

A vacuum cleaner comprising: a vacuum cleaner main body having an electric blower and a main body control unit; a secondary battery pack having a secondary battery detachably connected to the vacuum cleaner main body and supplying power to the electric blower; and a memory unit for storing information about the secondary battery,
The main body control unit includes:
a deterioration state detection unit that detects a deterioration state of the secondary battery based on a voltage, a current, and a surface temperature of the secondary battery;
an operating information collection and analysis unit that collects the detection values detected by the deterioration state detection unit and usage history information of the secondary battery and stores them in the memory unit;
a degradation suppression control unit that creates a degradation formula for the secondary battery based on usage history information of the secondary battery stored in the memory unit;
a degradation determination unit that compares a target value of the degradation state of the secondary battery stored in the memory unit with a detection value detected by the degradation state detection unit to determine whether or not to perform degradation suppression operation, and when performing degradation suppression operation, executes degradation suppression control based on a degradation equation for the secondary battery created by the degradation suppression control unit,
the deterioration suppression control unit detects that the secondary battery has been replaced with another secondary battery by comparing the calculated deterioration state of the secondary battery with the detected deterioration state of the secondary battery, and corrects the deterioration formula of the secondary battery when the secondary battery is replaced with the other secondary battery. 2. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1,
The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the deterioration state of the secondary battery is a capacity maintenance rate of the secondary battery. 3. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 2,
the deterioration suppression control unit detects that the secondary battery has been replaced with another secondary battery when it detects that the difference between the calculated capacity maintenance rate of the secondary battery and the detected capacity maintenance rate of the secondary battery is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. 4. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 3,
the deterioration suppression control unit calculates a ratio of a daily charge/discharge amount of the secondary battery to a daily charge/discharge amount of the other secondary battery, and corrects a deterioration formula for the secondary battery. In claim 4,
The deterioration suppression control unit further corrects the correction result of the deterioration equation of the secondary battery based on specification history information of the other secondary battery, thereby obtaining a deterioration equation for the other secondary battery. 3. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 2,
2. The vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the usage history information of the secondary battery and the usage history information of the other secondary battery include a discharge current, a charge current, an upper limit voltage, and a battery surface temperature.

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