Vacuum cleaner station, vacuum cleaner system, and control method therefor

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a method of controlling a cleaner system, the method including a differential pressure detection step of detecting a differential pressure between air before passing through a prefilter provided in a cleaner and air after passing through the prefilter, and a cleaner foreign substance removal step of cleaning the prefilter when the cleaner is coupled to the cleaner station when the differential pressure detected in the differential pressure detection step is equal to or higher than a preset reference differential pressure, such that when a degree of contamination of the prefilter is high regardless of the usage period, the degree of contamination may be automatically detected and notified to a user, and the prefilter may be automatically cleaned.

1 . A cleaner system including:
 a cleaner comprising a suction part having a suction flow path through which air flows, a dust separating part configured to separate dust from the air, a main body having a suction motor configured to generate a suction force for sucking the air along the suction part, and a dust bin configured to store the dust separated by the dust separating part; and   a cleaner station comprising a coupling part including a dust bin guide surface to which an outer peripheral surface of the dust bin is coupled, a dust collecting part disposed below the coupling part and configured to capture dust in the dust bin, a dust collecting motor disposed below the dust collecting part and configured to generate a suction force for sucking the dust in the dust bin to the dust collecting part, and a housing having the dust collecting part and the dust collecting motor therein,   wherein the cleaner further comprises:   a prefilter disposed in a flow path configured to connect the dust separating part and the suction motor, the prefilter being configured to filter out foreign substances contained in the air; and   a differential pressure sensor configured to detect a differential pressure between air before passing through the prefilter and air after passing through the prefilter, and   wherein the dust collecting motor operates when the cleaner is coupled to the cleaner station when the differential pressure detected by the differential pressure sensor is equal to or higher than a preset reference differential pressure.   
     
     
         2 . The cleaner system of  claim 1 , wherein the cleaner station further comprises a suction port blocking part disposed in the housing and configured to open or close a suction port of the cleaner in a state in which the cleaner is coupled. 
     
     
         3 . The cleaner system of  claim 2 , wherein the suction port blocking part blocks the suction port when the dust collecting motor operates. 
     
     
         4 . The cleaner system of  claim 1 , wherein the differential pressure sensor comprises:
 a first differential pressure sensor disposed in a flow path configured to connect the dust separating part and the prefilter; and   a second differential pressure sensor disposed in a flow path configured to connect the prefilter and the suction motor.   
     
     
         5 . The cleaner system of  claim 2 , wherein the suction port blocking part comprises:
 a blocking part main body coupled to the housing and disposed at a position that faces a cleaner nozzle of the cleaner; and   a shutter provided on the blocking part main body and configured to rectilinearly reciprocate, and wherein the shutter moves in a state in which the dust collecting motor operates.   
     
     
         6 . The cleaner system of  claim 5 , wherein the suction port blocking part comprises a suction port opening/closing door configured to provide driving power for moving the shutter, and
 wherein the suction port opening/closing door operates in a state in which the dust collecting motor operates.   
     
     
         7 . The cleaner system of  claim 5 , wherein the shutter is made of a material having elasticity. 
     
     
         8 . A method of controlling a cleaner system, which is coupled to a cleaner comprising a cleaner nozzle having a suction port configured to suck dust, and a dust bin configured to store the dust sucked through the suction port, and collects dust in the dust bin to a dust collecting part, the method comprising:
 a differential pressure detection step of detecting a differential pressure between air before passing through a prefilter provided in the cleaner, and air after passing through the prefilter; and   a cleaner foreign substance removal step of cleaning the prefilter when the cleaner is coupled to the cleaner station when the differential pressure detected in the differential pressure detection step is equal to or higher than a preset reference differential pressure.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 a dust collecting step of collecting dust in the dust bin by operating a dust collecting motor of the cleaner station after the differential pressure detection step.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein in the cleaner foreign substance removal step, a shutter is moved to block the suction port in a state in which a dust collecting motor of the cleaner station operates. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the cleaner comprises an air discharge port formed to discharge the air sucked into the dust bin, and
 wherein outside air is introduced into the prefilter through the air discharge port in the cleaner foreign substance removal step.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein in the cleaner foreign substance removal step, a flow rate of air passing through the air discharge port is higher than a flow rate of air passing through the cleaner nozzle. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the cleaner comprises an air discharge port formed to discharge the air sucked into the dust bin, and
 wherein a flow rate of air passing through the air discharge port in the cleaner foreign substance removal step is higher than a flow rate of air passing through the air discharge port in the dust collecting step.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the cleaner station comprises a shutter configured to open or close the suction port in a state in which the cleaner is coupled, and
 wherein the shutter moves at least once in the cleaner foreign substance removal step.