Battery-powered cordless cleaning system

Abstract

A cleaning system comprising a rotor; an agitator; a rechargeable battery having a housing and at least two cells within the housing; a suction motor receiving power from the rechargeable battery, the suction motor coupled to the rotor; a brush motor receiving power from the rechargeable battery, the brush motor coupled to the agitator; a user-controlled switch configured to generate a user-activated signal in response to user manipulation; and a controller. The controller configured to output a first pulse-width modulated signal at a first duty cycle to control the suction motor, output a second pulse-width modulated signal at a second duty cycle to control the brush motor at a first speed, receive the user-activated signal, and upon receiving the user-activated signal, output the second pulse-width modulated signal at a third duty cycle to control the brush motor at a second speed.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for operating a cleaning system, the cleaning system including a rotor, an agitator, a rechargeable battery, a suction motor coupled to the rotor, a brush motor coupled to the agitator, a user-controlled switch, and a controller, the method comprising:
 calculating a voltage of the rechargeable battery;   outputting a first pulse-width modulated signal at a first duty cycle to control the suction motor;   outputting a second pulse-width modulated signal at a second duty cycle to control the brush motor at a first speed;   receiving a user-activated signal from the user-controlled switch; and   upon receiving the user-activated signal, outputting the second pulse-width modulated signal at a third duty cycle to control the brush motor at a second speed.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein one of the first duty cycle, second duty cycle, and third duty cycle are based on the voltage of the rechargeable battery. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first speed and the second speed are equal. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further including indicating the voltage of the rechargeable battery to a user via a fuel gauge. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further including indicating a fault of the cleaning system to a user via an indicator. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further including indicating that the brush motor is operating at the first speed or the second speed to the user via an indicator. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further including outputting a first pulse-width modulated signal having a fourth duty cycle to the suction motor when outputting the second pulse-width modulated signal at the third duty cycle to control the brush motor at the second speed.