Vacuum cleaner

Abstract

A vacuum cleaner includes: a vacuum motor; one or more time of flight sensors configured to generate first sensor signals dependent on the proximity of an object to the one or more time of flight sensors; a capacitive sensor located in proximity to a handle of the vacuum cleaner and configured to generate second sensor signals dependent on whether a user is gripping the handle; and a controller configured to: process the generated first and second sensor signals to determine whether the vacuum cleaner is actively being used by the user; and in response to determining that the vacuum cleaner is actively being used, activate the vacuum motor.

1 . A vacuum cleaner comprising:
 a vacuum motor;   one or more time of flight sensors configured to generate first sensor signals dependent on the proximity of an object to the one or more time of flight sensors;   a capacitive sensor located in proximity to a handle of the vacuum cleaner and configured to generate second sensor signals dependent on whether a user is gripping the handle; and   a controller configured to:   process the generated first and second sensor signals to determine whether the vacuum cleaner is actively being used by the user; and   in response to determining that the vacuum cleaner is actively being used, activate the vacuum motor.   
     
     
         2 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to deactivate the vacuum motor in response to determining that the vacuum cleaner is no longer actively being used by the user. 
     
     
         3 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to process the first and second sensor signals to determine whether the vacuum cleaner is actively being used both when the vacuum motor is activated and when the vacuum motor is deactivated. 
     
     
         4 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more time of flight sensors comprise a radar device and/or a laser device. 
     
     
         5 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein determining that the vacuum cleaner is actively being used comprises determining, from the first sensor signals, that the object is within a predetermined threshold distance from at least one of the one or more time of flight sensors. 
     
     
         6 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 5 , further comprising one or more detachable tools, wherein the predetermined threshold distance is dependent on the type of detachable tool attached to the vacuum cleaner. 
     
     
         7 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 6 , wherein each of the one or more detachable tools comprises one of the one or more time of flight sensors. 
     
     
         8 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 6 , wherein the one or more detachable tools comprise one or more of:
 a crevice tool;   a dusting brush; and   a miniature motorized tool.   
     
     
         9 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , further comprising a detachable wand, wherein the detachable wand comprises one of the one or more time of flight sensors. 
     
     
         10 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein one of the one or more time of flight sensors is located on a main body of the vacuum cleaner. 
     
     
         11 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , wherein determining that the vacuum cleaner is actively being used comprises determining, from the second sensor signals, that the user is gripping the handle of the vacuum cleaner. 
     
     
         12 . The vacuum cleaner of any  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to process the sensor signals by performing a pre-processing step and a classification step. 
     
     
         13 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 12 , wherein the pre-processing step comprises extracting features from time portions of the sensor signals. 
     
     
         14 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 12 , wherein the pre-processing step comprises filtering the sensor signals. 
     
     
         15 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 13 , wherein the classification step comprises processing the extracted features using a machine learning classifier. 
     
     
         16 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 15 , wherein the machine learning classifier comprises one or more of: an artificial neural network, a random forest and a support-vector machine. 
     
     
         17 . A method of operating a vacuum cleaner comprising:
 generating first sensor signals by one or more time of flight sensors, the first sensor signals dependent on the proximity of an object to the one or more time of flight sensors;   generating second sensor signals by a capacitive sensor located in proximity to a handle of the vacuum cleaner, the second sensor signals dependent on whether a user gripping the handle;   processing the first and second sensor signals to determine whether the vacuum cleaner is actively being used by the user; and   in response to determining that the vacuum cleaner is actively being used, activating a vacuum motor of the vacuum cleaner.   
     
     
         18 . A computer program comprising a set of instructions, which, when executed by a computerised device, cause the computerised device to perform a method of operating a vacuum cleaner, the method comprising:
 generating first sensor signals by one or more time of flight sensors, the first sensor signals dependent on the proximity of an object to the one or more time of flight sensors;   generating second sensor signals by a capacitive sensor located in proximity to a handle of the vacuum cleaner, the second sensor signals dependent on whether a user gripping the handle;   processing the first and second sensor signals to determine whether the vacuum cleaner is actively being used by the user; and   in response to determining that the vacuum cleaner is actively being used, activating a vacuum motor of the vacuum cleaner.