JP7633872B2 - Cleaning Equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cleaning device.

There is a cleaning device that moves over a surface to be cleaned, such as a road or floor, and removes dirt adhering to the surface by using a rotating cylindrical brush that is pressed against the surface.

For example, Patent Document 1 describes a cleaning device that can switch between a wet cleaning mode in which a cleaning solution is sprayed onto a floor, a rotating brush is pressed against the floor where the cleaning solution has been sprayed to remove dirt adhering to the floor, the removed dirt is collected in a hopper, and the solution remaining on the floor is collected with a squeegee and sent to a cleaning solution collection tank, and a dry cleaning mode in which a rotating brush is pressed against a floor where the cleaning solution has not been sprayed to remove dust adhering to the floor, the air containing the removed dust is collected with a squeegee, water particles are sprayed into the collected air, and the water particles to which the dust in the air has adhered are collected in a collection tank.

JP 2018-99512 A

In a cleaning device such as that described in Patent Document 1, which moves over a surface to be cleaned (hereinafter referred to as surface to be cleaned S) while cleaning the surface to be cleaned with a cylindrical brush (hereinafter referred to as brush B) that rotates around an axis parallel to the surface to be cleaned (hereinafter referred to as surface to be cleaned S), brush B is rotatably supported at fulcrums FL and FR near both ends of central axis A, as shown diagrammatically in FIG. 13, and is pressed against the surface to be cleaned S by a downward load applied to fulcrums FL and FR. Therefore, the brush, which receives an upward resistance from the surface to be cleaned S, bends upward more the further it moves from fulcrums FL and FR near both ends of central axis A toward the center.

As a result, as shown diagrammatically in FIG. 14, cleaning spots E are generated on the surface S to be cleaned by the cleaning device in a direction (hereinafter referred to as the width direction W) parallel to the surface S to be cleaned and perpendicular to the direction of movement of the cleaning device (hereinafter referred to as the movement direction M). In other words, a state occurs in which dirt is sufficiently removed near both ends of the cleaned area of the surface S to be cleaned in the width direction W, but dirt is not sufficiently removed near the center.

In consideration of the above circumstances, the present invention provides a cleaning device that cleans a surface to be cleaned using a brush that rotates while moving over the surface to be cleaned, and that is less likely to produce cleaning spots compared to conventional techniques.

The present invention proposes as a first aspect a cleaning device that moves over a surface to be cleaned while cleaning the surface with a plurality of cylindrical brushes that rotate around an axis parallel to the surface, the plurality of brushes being arranged so that only a portion of the cleaning area overlaps in a width direction that is parallel to the surface to be cleaned and perpendicular to the direction of movement , and one or more of the plurality of brushes are provided with a drive side connecting portion that is connected to the central end of the brush in the width direction and applies a rotational force to the brush, and a non-drive side connecting portion that is connected to the end of the brush that is not connected to the drive side connecting portion and supports the brush rotatably without applying a rotational force to the brush .

The cleaning device according to the first aspect has a smaller amount of brush deflection than the conventional cleaning device that covers the entire width of the cleaning area with a single brush, so cleaning spots are less likely to occur. Also, the cleaning device according to the first aspect allows easy replacement of the brush, which is applied with a rotational force at the end on the center side in the width direction.

In the cleaning device according to the first aspect above, a second aspect may be adopted in which, for one or more of the plurality of brushes, the end portion on the outer edge side in the width direction of the brush is positioned rearward in the direction of movement relative to the end portion on the central side.

According to the cleaning device of the second aspect, cleaning liquid and air containing dirt, dust, etc. removed from the surface to be cleaned by the brush are less likely to scatter outside the cleaning area.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cleaning device according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the cleaning device according to the embodiment. 11 is a diagram showing a state in which the cleaning areas of two brushes included in a cleaning device according to an embodiment overlap only partially in the width direction. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the central shafts of two brushes included in the cleaning device according to the embodiment are bent upward due to a resistance force from a surface to be cleaned. FIG. 5A and 5B are schematic diagrams illustrating cleaning spots that appear on a surface to be cleaned by two brushes included in the cleaning device according to an embodiment. 1 is a diagram showing a structure in which a rotational force generated by a drive unit is transmitted to two brushes in a cleaning device according to an embodiment; 5A to 5C are diagrams illustrating a procedure for replacing a brush in the cleaning device according to an embodiment. FIG. 13 is a bottom view of a cleaning device according to a modified example. 13 is a diagram showing a structure in which a rotational force generated by a drive device is transmitted to two brushes in a cleaning device according to one modified example. FIG. 11A and 11B are diagrams for explaining the effects of a cleaning device according to a modified example in comparison with the cleaning device according to an embodiment. 13A and 13B are diagrams showing examples of arrangements of a plurality of brushes included in a cleaning device according to one modified example. 13A and 13B are diagrams showing examples of arrangements of a plurality of brushes included in a cleaning device according to one modified example. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a central shaft of a brush provided in a cleaning device according to a conventional technology is bent upward due to a resistance force from a surface to be cleaned. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing cleaning spots that appear on a surface to be cleaned by a brush provided in a cleaning device according to a conventional technique.

[Embodiment]
A cleaning device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In the following description, the up and down of the cleaning device 1 refer to the up and down of the cleaning device 1 when placed in a normal use state on a horizontal surface to be cleaned, the front and rear of the cleaning device 1 refer to the front and rear when the direction in which the cleaning device 1 moves during cleaning (hereinafter referred to as the cleaning direction) is defined as the front, and the left and right of the cleaning device 1 refer to the left and right when facing the cleaning direction.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the cleaning device 1, and Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the cleaning device 1. The cleaning device 1 includes a housing 101 that houses a control unit (not shown) that controls the operation of the cleaning device 1, a rear wheel 102R arranged on the rear right side on the bottom surface of the housing 101, a drive unit 103R that applies a rotational force to the rear wheel 102R, a rear wheel 102L arranged on the rear left side on the bottom surface of the housing 101, a drive unit 103L that applies a rotational force to the rear wheel 102L, and a front wheel 104 arranged on the front center on the bottom surface of the housing 101.

The cleaning device 1 moves autonomously over the surface to be cleaned by rear wheels 102R, which rotate with the rotational force provided by a drive unit 103R that operates under the control of the control unit, and rear wheels 102L, which rotate with the rotational force provided by a drive unit 103L that operates under the control of the control unit. The front wheels 104 are not driven and rotate as the cleaning device 1 moves.

The cleaning device 1 further includes a cylindrical brush 105R arranged between the front wheel 104 and the rear wheel 102R on the bottom surface of the housing 101, a cylindrical brush 105L arranged between the front wheel 104 and the rear wheel 102L on the bottom surface of the housing 101, and a drive device 106 that applies a rotational force to the brush 105R and the brush 105L.

Brush 105R and brush 105L are arranged so that their central axes are parallel to the width direction W. Brush 105R and brush 105L are also arranged so that only a portion of the area they clean (hereinafter referred to as the cleaning area) overlaps in the width direction W. To achieve this arrangement, the central axis of brush 105R and the central axis of brush 105L are located at different positions in the front-to-rear direction.

Figure 3 shows a state in which the cleaning area CR of brush 105R and the cleaning area CL of brush 105L overlap only in a partial area CW in the width direction W. With brush 105R and brush 105L positioned in this way, the surface to be cleaned S is cleaned without any gaps over the entire area in the width direction W.

Furthermore, cleaning spots E are less likely to occur on the surface S cleaned by the brushes 105R and 105L arranged as described above, compared to the surface S cleaned by the brush B according to the conventional technology shown in FIG. 14.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing the state in which the central axes of brush 105R and brush 105L are bent upward due to the resistance force received from the surface S to be cleaned. Note that the length of the width direction W of the cleaning area of brush B shown in Figure 13 is the same as the length of the width direction W of the cleaning area of brush 105R and brush 105L shown in Figure 4. The distance between fulcrum FRR and fulcrum FRL at which the central axis of brush 105R is supported is shorter than the distance between fulcrum FR and fulcrum FL at which the central axis A of brush B is supported. In addition, the distance between fulcrum FLR and fulcrum FLL at which the central axis of brush 105L is supported is shorter than the distance between fulcrum FR and fulcrum FL at which the central axis A of brush B is supported. Therefore, the amount of bending caused by the resistance force received from the surface S to be cleaned in brush 105R and brush 105L is smaller than the amount of bending caused in brush B.

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram showing cleaning spots E that appear on the surface S to be cleaned by brush 105R and brush 105L. As shown in Figure 5, when cleaning is performed by brush 105R and brush 105L provided in cleaning device 1, cleaning spots E that appear on the surface S to be cleaned are significantly reduced compared to when cleaning is performed by brush B according to the conventional technology shown in Figure 14.

The description of the configuration of the cleaning device 1 will be continued with reference to FIG. 2. The cleaning device 1 further includes a drive belt 107R that transmits the rotational force generated by the drive device 106 to the brush 105R, a drive side connector 108R that is rotated by the drive belt 107R and connected to one end of the central shaft of the brush 105R, and a non-drive side connector 109R that is connected to the other end of the central shaft of the brush 105R. The cleaning device 1 also includes a drive belt 107L that transmits the rotational force generated by the drive device 106 to the brush 105L, a drive side connector 108L that is rotated by the drive belt 107L and connected to one end of the central shaft of the brush 105L, and a non-drive side connector 109L that is connected to the other end of the central shaft of the brush 105L.

The drive side connecting part 108R is rotatably attached to the housing 101, and rotates due to the rotational force applied from the drive unit 106 via the drive belt 107R. One end of the central shaft of the brush 105R is connected to the drive side connecting part 108R. The central shaft of the brush 105R rotates as the drive side connecting part 108R rotates. The non-drive side connecting part 109R is non-rotatably attached to the housing 101, and is connected to the other end of the central shaft of the brush 105R to rotatably support the central shaft of the brush 105R.

The drive side connecting part 108L is rotatably attached to the housing 101, and rotates due to the rotational force applied from the drive device 106 via the drive belt 107L. One end of the central shaft of the brush 105L is connected to the drive side connecting part 108L. The central shaft of the brush 105L rotates as the drive side connecting part 108L rotates. The non-drive side connecting part 109L is non-rotatably attached to the housing 101, and is connected to the other end of the central shaft of the brush 105L to rotatably support the central shaft of the brush 105L.

Figure 6 shows the structure in which the rotational force generated by the driving device 106 is transmitted to the brushes 105R and 105L.

In the cleaning device 1, the driving device 106 applies a rotational force to the end portion on the center side in the width direction W of the brush 105R (the end portion on the right side in FIG. 2) via the driving belt 107R. The driving device 106 also applies a rotational force to the end portion on the center side in the width direction W of the brush 105L (the end portion on the left side in FIG. 2) via the driving belt 107L. Therefore, the brushes 105R and 105L can be easily replaced.

Figure 7 shows the replacement procedure using brush 105L as an example. Figure 7(a) shows the normal state in which brush 105L is installed. When replacing brush 105L, a user (maintenance staff, etc.) removes non-drive side connecting portion 109L as shown in Figure 7(b). Next, the user removes old brush 105L in the direction of arrow X as shown in Figure 7(c). The user installs new brush 105L in the reverse order to the procedure used to remove old brush 105L.

If the driving device 106 applied a rotational force to the outer edge of the brush 105L in the width direction W, the user would not be able to reach the side of the cleaning device 1 when removing the non-drive side connecting part 109L, and would have to lift the cleaning device 1 or turn it over. However, because the driving device 106 is configured to apply a rotational force to the center end of the brush 105L in the width direction W, the user can easily replace the non-drive side connecting part 109L from the side of the cleaning device 1. The same applies to the brush 105R.

The description of the configuration of the cleaning device 1 will continue with reference to FIG. 2. The cleaning device 1 further includes a squeegee 110 attached to the rear of the housing 101. The cleaning device 1 also includes a suction mechanism not shown in FIG. 2. The squeegee 110 plays a role in collecting the cleaning liquid containing the dirt, dust, etc. removed by the brushes 105R and 105L from the surface S to be cleaned onto which the cleaning liquid has been sprayed. The cleaning liquid collected by the squeegee 110 is sucked into the housing 101 by the suction mechanism and collected in a cleaning liquid collection tank within the housing 101.

The cleaning device 1 may be provided with a nozzle forward of the brushes 105R and 105L for spraying cleaning liquid toward the surface S to be cleaned, and the pre-use cleaning liquid contained in a cleaning liquid supply tank in the housing 101 may be sprayed from the nozzle by a pump in the housing 101. In this case, when cleaning the surface S to be cleaned with the cleaning device 1, there is no need to take the trouble of spraying cleaning liquid onto the surface S in advance using a separate device or the like.

The above configuration is for the case where the cleaning device 1 performs cleaning using a cleaning liquid (wet cleaning), but the cleaning device 1 may also be configured to perform cleaning without using a cleaning liquid (dry cleaning). In that case, instead of a cleaning liquid recovery tank, the cleaning device 1 is provided with a filter or the like that separates dirt, dust, etc. from air containing dirt, dust, etc., and a removed matter recovery tank that recovers the separated dirt, dust, etc., within the housing 101, and separates and recovers the dirt, dust, etc. from the air sucked in by the suction mechanism.

The above-described cleaning device 1 makes it difficult for cleaning spots E to occur on the surface S to be cleaned. In addition, the above-described cleaning device 1 makes it easy to replace the brushes 105L and 105R.

[Modification]
The above-described embodiment may be modified in various ways within the scope of the technical concept of the present invention. The modifications are shown below. Note that two or more of the modifications shown below may be combined as appropriate.

(Variation 1)
In the embodiment described above, brush 105R and brush 105L are arranged such that their central axes extend parallel to width direction W. Alternatively, for one or more of the brushes included in cleaning device 1, the outer edge side end of the brush in width direction W may be arranged rearward in the movement direction M from the central end.

Figure 8 is a bottom view of cleaning device 1 according to one example of this modified example. In this modified example, brushes 105R and 105L are arranged to form a V shape. That is, the outer edge end (left edge in Figure 8) of brush 105R in the width direction W is arranged further back in the movement direction M than the center end (right edge in Figure 8). And the outer edge end (right edge in Figure 8) of brush 105L in the width direction W is arranged further back in the movement direction M than the center end (left edge in Figure 8).

Figure 9 is a diagram showing the structure in which the rotational force generated by the driving device 106 is transmitted to the brushes 105R and 105L in the cleaning device 1 configured as shown in Figure 8. The driving device 106 provided in this cleaning device 1 is composed of a driving device 106R for rotating the brush 105R and a driving device 106L for rotating the brush 105L.

Figure 10 is a diagram for explaining the effect of the cleaning device 1 according to this modified example in comparison with the above-mentioned cleaning device 1. The dirt and the like removed from the surface S to be cleaned by the brushes 105R and 105L are scattered toward the rear and spread out somewhat.

Therefore, in the case of the cleaning device 1 according to the embodiment described above, as shown in FIG. 10(a), some of the dirt and other debris removed from the surface S to be cleaned by the brushes 105R and 105L scatters to the left and right outside the cleaning area. Therefore, in order to collect the dirt and other debris that scatters to the left and right outside, it becomes necessary to widen the width of the squeegee 110 or increase the suction force of the suction mechanism.

On the other hand, with the cleaning device 1 according to this modified example, as shown in FIG. 10(b), there is a low risk that some of the dirt and other debris removed from the surface S to be cleaned by the brushes 105R and 105L will scatter to the left and right outside the cleaning area. Therefore, compared to the cleaning device 1 according to the above-described embodiment, the width of the squeegee 110 can be narrowed, and the suction force required for the suction mechanism can be reduced.

(Variation 2)
In the above-described embodiment, the number of brushes provided in the cleaning device 1 is two. The number of brushes provided in the cleaning device 1 may be three or more. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement of the brushes when the cleaning device 1 has three brushes. In this way, by increasing the number of brushes arranged in the direction along the width direction W, the length of the central axis of each brush can be shortened. As a result, the amount of bending generated in each brush is reduced, and cleaning spots E generated on the surface S to be cleaned can be further reduced.

Figure 12 shows an example of the arrangement of the brushes when the cleaning device 1 is equipped with four brushes. In this way, by increasing the number of brushes arranged in the direction along the movement direction M, the same position on the surface S to be cleaned can be scrubbed multiple times with the brushes. As a result, the dirt removal ability of the cleaning device 1 can be improved.

(Variation 3)
The cleaning device 1 according to the embodiment described above is configured to travel autonomously under the control of the control unit, but the cleaning device 1 may move while the direction of movement is adjusted by a user such as an operator.

1...cleaning device, 101...housing, 102L and 102R...rear wheels, 103L and 103R...driving device, 104...front wheels, 105L and 105R...brushes, 106...driving device, 107L and 107R...driving belt, 108L and 108R...driving side connecting part, 109L and 109R...non-driving side connecting part, 110...squeegee.

Claims (2)

A cleaning device that moves over a surface to be cleaned while cleaning the surface with a plurality of cylindrical brushes that rotate around an axis parallel to the surface,
The plurality of brushes are arranged such that only a portion of the cleaning area overlaps with another in a width direction parallel to the surface to be cleaned and perpendicular to the moving direction ,
For one or more of the plurality of brushes, a drive side connecting part is provided which is connected to an end part of the brush on the center side in the width direction and applies a rotational force to the brush, and a non-drive side connecting part is provided which is connected to an end part of the brush which is not connected to the drive side connecting part and rotatably supports the brush without applying a rotational force to the brush.
Cleaning equipment. The cleaning device according to claim 1 , wherein an end portion on an outer edge side in the width direction of one or more of the plurality of brushes is disposed rearward in the movement direction of the brush relative to an end portion on a central side.