JP6941764B2 - Autonomous vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner.

Conventionally, an autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner including a body on which various components are mounted, a drive unit for moving the body, a main brush, and a suction unit has been disclosed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

The main brush is placed at the suction port formed on the body and collects the dust existing on the cleaning surface. The suction unit sucks dust from the suction port of the body.

The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner disclosed in many documents such as Patent Document 1 has a substantially circular body. The shape of this body gives the autonomous driving vacuum cleaner high turning performance.

On the other hand, in recent years, research efforts have been made on the SLAM (Simultaneus Localization and Mapping) problem. Many techniques have been proposed for simultaneously estimating one's own position and mapping the surroundings (see, for example, Patent Document 2). As an example, camera images are collected. The image data is combined with odometry information to estimate the traveling locus and position of the autonomous driving vacuum cleaner to generate a map showing the layout of the rooms. Then, it is possible to analyze the constructed map or divide it according to the user input to formulate a driving route strategy and give an area designation cleaning instruction.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-07855 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-518677

However, in the configuration of the conventional autonomous driving type vacuum cleaner as described in the above patent document, the traveling route strategy is determined so that the traveling path (number of times) and the cleaning time are as small as possible by using the map, and the waste. May not be fully removed. There are some that manually or automatically increase the number of runs according to the settings decided by the user and the overall size, but there is a problem that garbage such as carpets remains depending on the environment.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and to provide an autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner capable of removing dust according to the environment and the floor surface.

The present invention controls a body having a suction port on the bottom surface, a suction unit mounted on the body, a floor surface detection sensor that detects the type of floor surface, a drive unit for running the body, and a drive unit. It is equipped with a control unit, which detects the type of floor surface with a floor surface detection sensor when the body separates from the charging stand and executes an outer peripheral travel mode in which the vehicle travels along the wall of the room, and then the control unit is provided. This is an autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner that controls a drive unit so as to make the traveling pattern different according to the type of the floor surface detected by the floor surface detection sensor when traveling inside the room.

The autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner of the present invention can realize a traveling operation that reliably removes dust according to the environment and the floor surface.

Top view of the autonomous driving type vacuum cleaner according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Bottom view of the autonomous driving vacuum cleaner Flowchart about running control of the autonomous driving type vacuum cleaner The figure which shows the running pattern in the running control of the autonomous driving type vacuum cleaner

The first invention comprises a body having a suction port on the bottom surface, a suction unit mounted on the body, a floor surface detection sensor for detecting the type of floor surface, a drive unit for running the body, and the like. The control unit includes a control unit that controls the drive unit, and the control unit is such that the body travels in an arch shape, cross travels, and four directions according to the type of the floor surface detected by the floor surface detection sensor. It controls the amount of dust and can remove dust according to the type of floor surface.

In the second invention, in particular, the drive unit of the first invention includes a right-side traveling motor for driving the right wheel and a left-side traveling motor for driving the left wheel, and the control unit is left and right. The drive unit is controlled to move the wheel forward and backward so that the body can be moved forward and rotated. Since the direction of the body can be changed in a narrow range, suction leakage of dust on the surface to be cleaned can be prevented. Can be prevented.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to this embodiment.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a plan view of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart relating to traveling control of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner. , FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a traveling pattern in the traveling control of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner.

The autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 in the present embodiment is a robot type vacuum cleaner that autonomously travels on the cleaning surface of the target area and sucks dust existing on the cleaning surface. An example of the target area is a room, and an example of a cleaning surface is the floor surface of the room.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 according to the present embodiment has a body 20 on which various components are mounted, a pair of drive units 30, a cleaning unit 40, a suction unit 50, and a trash can unit 60. , A control unit 70, a power supply unit 80, a caster 90, and other functional blocks.

The pair of drive units 30 move the body 20 back and forth, left and right, and so on. The cleaning unit 40 collects dust existing in the target area. The suction unit 50 sucks the dust collected by the cleaning unit 40 into the body 20. The trash can unit 60 collects the trash sucked by the suction unit 50. The control unit 70 controls the drive unit 30, the cleaning unit 40, the suction unit 50, and the like. The power supply unit 80 supplies electric power to the drive unit 30, the cleaning unit 40, the suction unit 50, and the like. The caster 90 rotates following the rotation of the drive unit 30.

The pair of drive units 30 include a right drive unit 30 arranged on the right side with respect to the center of the body 20 in the width direction and a left drive unit 30 arranged on the left side with respect to the center of the body 20 in the width direction. Consists of. Either the right or left drive unit 30 constitutes the first drive unit, and the other drive unit 30 constitutes the second drive unit.

Here, the left-right direction, which is the width direction of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10, is defined with reference to the forward direction of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10.

The body 20 is configured by combining a lower unit 100 (see FIG. 2) that forms an outer shape on the lower side of the body 20 and an upper unit 200 (see FIG. 1) that forms an outer shape on the upper side of the body 20.

As shown in FIG. 1, the upper unit 200 includes a cover 210, a lid 220, a bumper 230, and the like. The cover 210 forms the main part of the outer shell of the upper unit 200. The lid 220 is provided so as to open and close the cover 210. The bumper 230 is displaced with respect to the cover 210 to cushion an impact or the like.

The planar shape of the body 20 has, for example, a Reuleaux triangle, a polygon having substantially the same shape as the Reuleaux triangle, or a shape in which an R is formed on the top of these triangles or polygons. This shape contributes to giving the body 20 properties that are the same as or similar to the geometric properties of the Reuleaux triangle.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the body 20 has, for example, substantially the same planar shape as the Reuleaux triangle.

Further, the body 20 includes a plurality of outer peripheral surfaces and a plurality of tops as described below.

Examples of the plurality of outer peripheral surfaces are the front surface 21, the right side surface 22, and the left side surface 22. The front surface 21 exists on the forward side of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10. The right side surface 22 exists on the right rear side with respect to the front surface 21. The left side surface 22 exists on the left rear side with respect to the front surface 21. The front surface 21 is a curved surface curved outward, and is mainly formed on the bumper 230. Each side surface 22 has a curved surface shape curved outward, and is formed on the side portion of the bumper 230 and the side portion of the cover 210.

Examples of the plurality of tops are the front top 23 on the right side, the front top 23 on the left side, and the rear top 24 on the left side. The front top 23 on the right side is defined by the front surface 21 and the side surface 22 on the right side. The front top 23 on the left side is defined by the front surface 21 and the side surface 22 on the left side. The rear apex 24 is defined by a right side surface 22 and a left side surface 22.

Then, as shown in FIG. 1, the front surface 21 and the side surface 22 are formed so that the angle formed by the tangent line L1 of the front surface 21 and the tangent line L2 of the side surface 22 is an acute angle.

Further, the front top 23 on the right side and the front top 23 on the left side define the maximum width of the body 20. According to the example shown in FIG. 1, the maximum width of the body 20 corresponds to the distance between the apex of the front apex 23 on the right side and the apex of the front apex 23 on the left side, that is, the distance between the two vertices of the Reuleaux triangle. ..

As shown in FIG. 2, the body 20 further includes a suction port 101 for sucking dust into the body 20. The suction port 101 is formed on the bottom surface of the lower unit 100, which is the bottom surface of the body 20. The suction port 101 is formed, for example, in a rectangular shape. The longitudinal direction of the suction port 101 is substantially the same as the width direction of the body 20, and the lateral direction is substantially the same as the front-rear direction of the body 20.

The suction port 101 is formed in a portion of the bottom surface of the body 20 from the front surface 21. The positional relationship of the suction port 101 is defined by one or both of the following two types of relationships, for example, with respect to each element. The first relationship is that the center line of the suction port 101 along the longitudinal direction of the suction port 101 (hereinafter, "the center line in the longitudinal direction of the suction port 101") is in front of the center of the body 20 in the front-rear direction. Be on the side. The second relationship is that the suction port 101 is formed on the front side of the body 20 with respect to the pair of drive units 30.

The width of the suction port 101, which is the longitudinal dimension of the suction port 101, is wider than the inner distance between the drive unit 30 on the right side and the drive unit 30 on the left side. As a result, a wider width of the suction port 101 is secured. As a result, it contributes to increasing the amount of dust sucked by the suction unit 50.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the drive unit 30 is arranged on the bottom surface side of the lower unit 100 and includes a plurality of elements. The drive unit 30 includes, for example, a wheel 33 traveling on a cleaning surface, a traveling motor 31 for applying torque to the wheel 33, and a housing 32 for accommodating the traveling motor 31. The wheel 33 is housed in a recess (not shown) formed in the lower unit 100. Then, the wheel 33 is supported by the lower unit 100 so that it can rotate with respect to the lower unit 100.

The wheel 33 is arranged outside the traveling motor 31 in the width direction of the body 20. With this arrangement, the distance between the right wheel 33 and the left wheel 33 can be increased as compared with the case where the wheel 33 is arranged inside the traveling motor 31 in the width direction. This contributes to the improvement of the stability of the body 20.

The drive system of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 in the present embodiment is an opposed two-wheel type. Therefore, the drive unit 30 on the right side and the drive unit 30 on the left side are arranged so as to face each other in the width direction of the body 20. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the rotation axis H of the right wheel 33 and the rotation axis H of the left wheel 33 are substantially coaxial with each other.

At this time, the distance between the rotation axis H of the wheel 33 and the center of gravity G of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 is set with the intention of giving the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 a predetermined turning performance, for example. The predetermined turning performance is a performance that allows the body 20 to form a locus similar to or similar to the locus of a quadrangle formed by the contour of a Reuleaux triangle. Specifically, for example, the position of the rotating shaft H is set to the rear side of the body 20 from the center of gravity G of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10, and the distance between the rotating shaft H and the center of gravity G is set to a predetermined distance. With this setting, it is possible to form the quadrangular locus by utilizing the contact between the body 20 and surrounding objects.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the cleaning unit 40 is arranged inside and outside the body 20 and includes a plurality of elements. The cleaning unit 40 includes, for example, a brush drive motor 41, a gearbox 42, and a main brush 43. The brush drive motor 41 and the gearbox 42 are arranged inside the body 20. The main brush 43 has substantially the same length as the length of the suction port 101 in the longitudinal direction, and is arranged at the suction port 101 of the body 20.

The brush drive motor 41 and the gearbox 42 are attached to the lower unit 100. The gearbox 42 is connected to the output shaft (not shown) of the brush drive motor 41 and the main brush 43, and transmits the torque of the brush drive motor 41 to the main brush 43.

The main brush 43 is supported by a bearing portion (not shown) so that it can rotate with respect to the lower unit 100. Bearings are formed, for example, in one or both of the gearbox 42 and the lower unit 100. The rotation direction of the main brush 43 is set, for example, so as to scrape dust on the floor surface rearward, that is, the rotation trajectory is set from the front to the rear of the body 20 on the cleaning surface side.

As shown in FIG. 1, the suction unit 50 is arranged inside the body 20 and includes a plurality of elements. The suction unit 50 is arranged, for example, on the rear side of the trash can unit 60 and on the front side of the power supply unit 80 described later.

The suction unit 50 includes, for example, a fan case 52 attached to the lower unit 100 (see FIG. 2) and an electric fan 51 arranged inside the fan case 52. The electric fan 51 sucks the air inside the trash can unit 60 and discharges the air to the outside in the circumferential direction of the electric fan 51. The air discharged from the electric fan 51 passes through the space inside the fan case 52 and the space around the fan case 52 inside the body 20, and is exhausted to the outside of the body 20.

As shown in FIG. 2, the trash can unit 60 is arranged inside the body 20 between the pair of drive units 30 on the rear side of the main brush 43 and on the front side of the suction unit 50. The body 20 and the trash can unit 60 have a detachable structure that allows the user to arbitrarily select a state in which the trash can unit 60 is attached to the body 20 and a state in which the trash can unit 60 is removed from the body 20.

As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 70 is arranged inside the body 20 on the rear side of the suction unit 50.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 in the present embodiment further includes a plurality of sensors. The plurality of sensors include, for example, an obstacle detection sensor 71, a pair of distance measurement sensors 72, a collision detection sensor 73, and a plurality of floor surface detection sensors 74.

The obstacle detection sensor 71 detects an obstacle existing in front of the body 20. The pair of distance measurement sensors 72 detect the distance between the body 20 and an object existing around the body 20. The collision detection sensor 73 detects that the body 20 has collided with a surrounding object. The floor surface detection sensor 74 detects a cleaning surface existing on the bottom surface of the body 20. Each detection signal of the obstacle detection sensor 71, the distance measurement sensor 72, the collision detection sensor 73, and the floor surface detection sensor 74 is input to the control unit 70, and the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner 10 is controlled based on the detection signals.

The obstacle detection sensor 71 is composed of, for example, an ultrasonic sensor (not shown), and includes a transmitting unit and a receiving unit. The distance measurement sensor 72 and the floor surface detection sensor 74 are composed of, for example, an infrared sensor (not shown), and include a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit.

The collision detection sensor 73 is composed of, for example, a contact type displacement sensor (not shown). The collision detection sensor 73 includes a switch (not shown) that is turned on when the bumper 230 comes into contact with an object and is pushed against the cover 210.

As shown in FIG. 1, the pair of distance measurement sensors 72 includes a distance measurement sensor 72 on the right side and a distance measurement sensor 72 on the left side. The distance measurement sensor 72 on the right side is arranged on the right side with respect to the center in the width direction of the body 20. The distance measurement sensor 72 on the left side is the body 2
It is arranged on the left side with respect to the center in the width direction of 0. Further, the distance measurement sensor 72 on the right side is arranged near the front top portion 23 on the right side, and outputs light (for example, infrared rays) toward the diagonally front right side of the body 20.

The distance measurement sensor 72 on the left side is arranged near the front top portion 23 on the left side, and outputs light (for example, infrared rays) toward the diagonally forward left side of the body 20. With this arrangement, the distance between the contour of the body 20 and the closest surrounding object to the body 20 can be detected regardless of whether the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner 10 turns to the left or right.

As shown in FIG. 2, the plurality of floor surface detection sensors 74 include, for example, the floor surface detection sensor 74 on the front side arranged on the front side of the body 20 with respect to the drive unit 30, and the rear side of the body 20 with respect to the drive unit 30. It is composed of a floor surface detection sensor 74 on the rear side arranged on the side and the like.

The autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 in the present embodiment further includes a power supply unit 80. As described above, the power supply unit 80 supplies electric power to the drive unit 30, the cleaning unit 40, the suction unit 50, the obstacle detection sensor 71, the distance measurement sensor 72, the collision detection sensor 73, the floor surface detection sensor 74, and the like.

The power supply unit 80 is arranged on the rear side of the body 20 with respect to the center of the body 20 in the front-rear direction, and on the rear side of the body 20 with respect to the suction unit 50. The power supply unit 80 includes, for example, a battery case 81, a storage battery 82, a main switch 83, and the like. The battery case 81 is attached to the lower unit 100. The storage battery 82 is composed of, for example, a secondary battery or the like, and is housed in the battery case 81. The main switch 83 switches between supplying and stopping power from the power supply unit 80 to each element.

The autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 in the present embodiment further includes a camera unit (not shown). The camera unit autonomously photographs the ceiling and walls of the room. The camera unit is connected to a CPU (Central Processing Unit) in the control unit 70, and the CPU analyzes an image taken during autonomous driving to identify the space of the house and divides the house into a plurality of areas. Generate a map.

The CPU determines the traveling route based on the map information of the house and the information obtained from the various sensors. Various modes are defined in order to realize traveling according to the determined traveling route, and drive control is performed according to the mode to drive the vehicle. For example, in the outer peripheral traveling mode, the distance to the outer peripheral wall is measured by the distance measuring sensor 72, and drive control is performed so that the distance becomes constant.

As described above, the electric system of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 according to the present embodiment is configured.

Hereinafter, the operation of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

In FIGS. 3 and 4, the control unit 70 controls the traveling of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 in the room as follows.

First, the control unit 70 separates the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 from the charging stand (not shown) and travels to the outer peripheral wall (S1).

Next, the outer peripheral traveling mode is entered, and the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 is driven along the wall (S2). During the traveling, the control unit 70 determines the material of the floor surface by the floor surface detection sensor 74 (S3). For example, it is detected by classification such as flooring, a carpet with short hair, or a carpet with long hair.

The CPU detects that it has made one round of the outer circumference of the corresponding room based on the map information or the position information by the odometry (S4), and then enters the outer peripheral inner area running mode. At that time, if the floor surface is flooring, bow-shaped running (one-way running) (S7), if the carpet has short hair, cross running (two-way running) (S8), and long-haired carpet. In the case of, the four-way traveling mode is set (S9), and the area is cleaned.

As a result, it is possible to realize a running pattern according to the floor surface and remove dust. When the cleaning in the area is completed, it is determined whether the uncleaned room or the area remains (S10), and if there is, the room is moved to another room (S11) and the outer peripheral running mode is entered again. Similarly, the area inside the outer circumference is cleaned according to the result of determining the floor surface while traveling on the outer circumference.

When it is determined that the cleaning of the entire area is completed, the charging stand return mode is set, the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 is driven to the charging stand, and after connecting to the charging stand (S12), the cleaning is completed.

The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner according to the present invention can remove dust according to the environment and the floor surface, and includes autonomous traveling vacuum cleaners for home or business use that require high corner cleaning ability. , Applicable to autonomous vacuum cleaners used in various environments.

10 Autonomous driving type vacuum cleaner 20 Body 21 Front 22 Side 23 Front top 24 Rear top 30 Drive unit 31 Driving motor 32 Housing 33 Wheel 40 Cleaning unit 41 Brush drive motor 42 Gearbox 43 Main brush 50 Suction unit 51 Electric fan 52 Fan Case 60 Recycle bin unit 70 Control unit 71 Obstacle detection sensor 72 Distance measurement sensor 73 Collision detection sensor 74 Floor detection sensor 80 Power supply unit 81 Battery case 82 Storage battery 83 Main switch 90 Caster 100 Lower unit 101 Suction port 200 Upper unit 210 Cover 220 Lid 230 bumper

Claims (2)

A body having a suction port on the bottom surface, a suction unit mounted on the body, a floor surface detection sensor for detecting the type of the floor surface, a drive unit for running the body, and a control for controlling the drive unit. Equipped with a unit,
The control unit detects the type of floor surface with the floor surface detection sensor when the body is separated from the charging stand and is executing the outer peripheral traveling mode in which the vehicle travels along the wall of the room, and then the inside of the room. An autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner that controls the drive unit so as to make the traveling pattern different according to the type of the floor surface detected by the floor surface detection sensor. The autonomous driving type vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls to start cleaning the next room when it determines that the cleaning of one room is completed.

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