JPH07110269B2 - Self-propelled vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a floor-cleaning self-propelled cleaner having a cleaning function and a moving function.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a cleaner having a moving function added to the cleaner to improve operability during cleaning has been developed. In particular, recently, a so-called self-supporting induction type self-propelled vacuum cleaner has been developed in which a micro computer and various sensors are mounted on this to move and clean the cleaning place while judging by itself.

This type of self-propelled cleaner has a suction nozzle, a brush, etc. at the bottom of the main body as a cleaning function, and a traveling and steering means and an obstacle detection means for detecting an obstacle at the time of traveling and a position for recognizing the position as a moving function. With the recognizing means, while moving along the wall around the cleaning place by the obstacle detecting means, the cleaning area is recognized by the position recognizing means, and the cleaning area is moved so as to be filled. The entire cleaning area is cleaned. Further, in some cases, a cleaning area can be taught by a remote control device in response to a case where the cleaning place is not surrounded by a wall or the like.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention In such a conventional configuration, for example, even when moving along a wall for cleaning, there is a limit to the distance to approach the wall, so that there is an uncleaned portion near the wall or in the corner of the room. It was unavoidable that they remained, and it was impossible to clean passages narrower than the width of the main body and furniture gaps. Therefore, when using such a conventional self-propelled cleaner, it is necessary to separately prepare an ordinary cleaner having a suction hose for cleaning an uncleaned portion. This must be a vacuum cleaner 2
It is uneconomical because it requires a table, and there is a problem in that the labor for preparing the vacuum cleaner and the labor for dumping the dust collected in the dust collection chamber are doubled, and the space for housing the vacuum cleaner becomes large. In addition, since it is basically based on the recognition of the cleaning area by moving along the wall around the cleaning place, there is no wall, such as an open doorway, or you do not want to go. If there is a place, it is necessary to temporarily install a temporary wall such as a stand, which makes preparation difficult and impractical. There is also a method of teaching the cleaning area by artificially guiding the main body with a remote control device, but it is not easy for the first user to arbitrarily guide the cleaning area, and there is a problem that it requires considerable skill.

The present invention aims to realize a self-propelled cleaner having both an automatic cleaning function and a manual cleaning function with a single cleaner, and moreover, this automatic and manual switching operation is easy and optional. It is an object of the present invention to provide a self-propelled cleaner that can easily teach the cleaning area.

A self-propelled cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the cleaner main body is self-propelled to be cleaned by a floor nozzle of the main body, a suction hose different from the floor nozzle, and an electric blower. An air passage switching device for switching the suction direction of the suction hose to either the floor nozzle side or the suction hose side, and hose attachment / detachment detection means for detecting the attachment / detachment state of the suction hose are provided. The suction direction is switched according to the state of the detection means.

The self-propelled cleaner according to claim 2, wherein the cleaner body is self-propelled and cleaned by the floor nozzle of the body, and the suction hose different from the floor nozzle and the suction direction of the electric blower are set to the floor nozzle. Side or suction hose side, an air passage switching device and an openable mount cover that covers the hose mount to which the suction hose is attached are provided, and the air passage switching device opens and closes the mount cover. The feature is that the suction direction is switched in conjunction with each other.

The self-propelled cleaner according to claim 3 is the self-propelled cleaner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a hose direction detection sensor for detecting a direction in which the suction hose is led out from the cleaner body and a suction hose being pulled are detected. Hose pull force detection sensor,
A hose direction detection sensor and a follow-up movement control means for causing the main body to self-propel in the suction hose outlet direction based on the outputs of the hose tension detection sensor are provided.

The self-propelled vacuum cleaner according to claim 4 is the self-propelled cleaner according to claim 3,
The route moved by being instructed by the follow-up movement control means is written in the storage means, and the area inside the movement path written in the storage means during the cleaning operation by the floor nozzle is judged as the cleaning area and the cleaning operation is performed. It is characterized in that it is configured in.

The self-propelled vacuum cleaner according to claim 5 is the self-propelled cleaner according to claim 1, 2 or 3, when the suction direction is switched to the suction hose side in conjunction with the switching of the air passage switching device. A floor nozzle lifting device for raising the floor nozzle above the cleaning surface is provided.

According to the structure of claim 1 or claim 2, in a narrow place where it cannot be self-propelled for cleaning and on a desk or the like, the air passage switching device switches the electric blower, the suction direction to the suction hose side, and the suction hose is removed. Use and clean manually.

According to the structure of claim 3, when the user pulls the suction hose, the cleaner main body is self-propelled in the direction in which the suction hose is stretched by the follow-up movement control means, and the cleaner is moved behind the user. Follow and move.

According to the configuration of claim 4, when the user pulls the suction hose to move in the cleaning area, the cleaner main body moves behind the user by the follow-up moving means while moving by itself,
The movement route at this time is read into the storage means, and when the automatic cleaning is instructed next, the cleaning area is read from the storage means and the area is self-propelled for cleaning.

According to the configuration of claim 5, the floor nozzle moves up and down in conjunction with the switching of the suction path by the air passage switching device, so that the floor nozzle does not move up and hinder the movement of the main body during cleaning with the suction hose. In addition, the floor nozzle that had been raised when cleaning the floor nozzle falls.

Embodiments Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9.

1 and 2 show the overall structure of the self-propelled cleaner of the present invention. Inside the main body 1 of the self-propelled cleaner, an electric blower 2,
In addition to the basic part of the cleaner consisting of the dust collection chamber 3 and the filters 4 and 5 provided inside the dust collection chamber 3, the following components are provided. A floor nozzle 6 is provided at the center of the bottom of the main body 1, and has a rotating brush 7 '. Reference numeral 8 denotes a suction hose led out from the upper part of the main body 1, which is detachably attached to a hose mount 9. Reference numeral 10 is an air passage switching device for switching the suction side of the electric blower 2 to either the floor nozzle 6 side or the suction hose 8 side, and floor nozzle connection pipes 11 and 12 slidably connected downward are attached, The tip is connected to the floor nozzle 6, and the suction hose connection pipe is located above.
13 is attached and suction hose 8 via hose mount 9
It is connected to the. The air passage switching device 10 has a switching motor 14
The suction passage is switched by using Further, the switching motor 14 drives the crank plate 15 to rotate together, and switches the air passage as described above, and at the same time, it raises and lowers the floor nozzle connecting pipe 12 via the link 16 to raise and lower the floor nozzle 6. The floor nozzle lifting device is composed of the above 14 to 16. Reference numerals 17 and 18 denote traveling wheels attached to the traveling mechanical case 19, which are driven by a traveling motor 20 via a traveling speed reducer (not shown). Reference numerals 21 and 22 are driven wheels that are rotatably attached to the rear of the main body 1. The traveling mechanical case 19 is driven by a steering motor 25 via a steering shaft 23 and a steering reduction gear 24 attached to the traveling mechanical case 19, whereby the traveling mechanical case 19 is rotated left and right to change the traveling direction. The traveling means and the steering means are constituted by the above 17 to 25. Reference numeral 26 is a travel encoder that detects the rotation speed of the travel motor 20, and 27 is a steering encoder that also detects the rotation speed of the steering motor 25. Reference numeral 28 denotes a direction detection sensor attached to the steering shaft 23, which is a rate gyro in this embodiment. The position recognizing means is configured to recognize the position by detecting the traveling distance and the traveling direction of the main body 1 from the rotational speed detected by the traveling encoder 26 and the direction of the traveling wheels 17 and 18 detected by the direction detection sensor 28. I am configuring. Reference numeral 29 denotes a distance measuring sensor such as an ultrasonic sensor or a photo sensor provided around the main body 1, which measures the distance to an obstacle. Reference numeral 30 is a contact sensor provided on a bumper 31 attached to the outer periphery of the main body 1,
Detects that an object touches an obstacle. The distance measuring sensor 29 and the contact sensor 30 constitute an obstacle detecting means. Reference numeral 32 denotes a control circuit for performing overall control, which has a judgment processing means 33 for outputting signals to the traveling means and the steering means and a storage device 34 [see FIG. 3]. Reference numeral 35 is a hose direction detection sensor that detects the direction in which the suction hose 8 is pulled out from the main body 1, and an encoder is used in this embodiment. 36 is a hose tension detection sensor that detects that the suction hose 8 has been pulled.
The displacement of the hose mount 9 is detected by a switch. The hose direction detecting sensor 35 and the hose pulling force detecting sensor 36 constitute a follow-up movement control means. Reference numeral 37 denotes a hose detection switch provided on the hose mount 9, which serves as a hose attachment / detachment detecting means for detecting the suction / detachment state of the hose 8 which is sucked into the hose mount 9. 38 is a power source composed of batteries and the like.
The operation unit 39 includes an operation switch 40 and a display 41.

FIG. 3 is a system block diagram of this embodiment, which shows the input / output of signals to / from the decision processing means 33 which is the main processor comprising a microcomputer. The bus line 47 on the input side has a counter 42 connected to the hose direction detecting sensor 35, a hose pulling force detecting sensor 36, a hose detecting switch 37 and an operating switch 40 via the input port 43.
Are connected. In addition, the distance measuring sensor 29 and the amplifier 44 connected to the contact sensor 30 are connected to the input side bus line 47 via the obstacle detecting sub-processor 45 and the direction detecting sensor.
The integrator to which 28 is connected is connected via the input port 43. The output side bus line 47 is connected via an output port 49 to a drive circuit to which the display 41, the electric blower 2, the drive motor 7 for the rotating brush 7'and the switching motor 14 are connected. In addition, the drive circuit 50 connected to the steering motor 25 is connected to the output side bus line 47 via the steering motor control sub-processor 51, and the drive circuit 52 connected to the traveling motor 20 is connected to the traveling motor control sub-processor 53. Connected through. A storage device 34 for storing programs and data and a timer 54 for measuring time are also connected to the judgment processing means 33 via a bus line 47. In addition, 55 is an obstacle detection block surrounded by a chain line, 56 is a steering control block, 57 is a traveling control block, and 58 is a position recognition block.

FIGS. 4 to 6 show a specific structure in the vicinity of the air passage switching device 10. A rotary shaft mounted on a semi-cylindrical rotary valve 59.
60 is a rotary shaft gear 61, a motor gear 62 and a motor speed reducer 1
It is driven by the switching motor 14 via 4 '. When the rotary valve 59 is at the position shown in the figure, the air sucked from the floor nozzle 6 flows in the order of arrows A → B → C and enters the dust collecting chamber 3. The rotating shaft 60 is driven by the switching motor 14,
When the rotary valve 59 rotates 90 ° and reaches the position shown by the alternate long and short dash line, the air sucked from the tip of the suction hose 8 flows in the order of arrows D → C and enters the dust collecting chamber 3. Further, the crank plates 15 are attached to both ends of the rotary shaft 60, and the rotary valve 59
Rotates in conjunction with. The link 16 is rotatably attached to a support shaft 16 'provided at an eccentric position of the crank plate 15 and a support shaft 16 "provided on the floor nozzle connecting pipe 12 so as to connect them. A rotary valve 59 is shown. In the position, that is, when the suction direction is on the floor nozzle 6 side, the floor nozzle 6 descends on the floor surface, and when the rotary valve 59 is in the position shown by the alternate long and short dash line, that is, the suction direction is the suction hose 8. On the side, the floor nozzle 6 is elevated above the floor surface.

FIG. 7 shows the structure of the follow-up movement control means. Reference numeral 63 is a rotary table which is rotatably supported by the hose mount 9 in the direction of arrow E in the horizontal plane in the rotational direction, and the suction hose 8 is connected to the rotary table. The rotation of the turntable 63 is detected by the hose direction detection sensor 35 via the gears 64 and 65. The hose mount 9 is pivotally supported by a mounting shaft 66 fixed to the main body 1, and when the suction hose 8 is pulled, the hose mount 9 rotates in the direction of the arrow (F) to activate the hose pull force detection sensor 36.

In the case of cleaning a room surrounded by walls on all sides in the self-propelled vacuum cleaner configured as described above, the main body 1 without the suction hose 8 is placed along the wall and the operation switch 40 is operated. Start. In this state, suction hose 8
The hose detection switch has been removed.
Detected by 37, drive the switching motor 14 to switch the air passage
The suction direction of the electric blower 2 is switched to the side of the floor nozzle 6 by means of 10, and at the same time, the floor nozzle 6 is lowered onto the floor surface. When the floor nozzle 6 is set, the electric blower 2 and the motor 7
Is activated, the traveling motor 20 is driven, and the main body 1 starts traveling. While traveling, while detecting obstacles by the distance measuring sensor 29 and the contact sensor 30, the steering motor 25 is drive-controlled to change the traveling direction, and the traveling motor 20 is drive-controlled to move forward, stop, or retreat. While repeatedly avoiding obstacles, move along the four walls of the room to clean the floor. At this time, the movement locus is recognized by the position recognition means described above, and this is stored in the storage device 34. After completing the circuit around the room, this is detected by the position recognition means, the inside of the movement locus is determined as the cleaning area, and the entire cleaning area is automatically cleaned by traveling through the cleaning area while avoiding obstacles. . Then, when cleaning a portion that cannot be cleaned by this automatic cleaning, for example, a gap between furniture and a furniture or a desk, the suction hose 8 is attached to the main body 1. When the suction hose 8 is connected to the hose mount 9, this is detected by the hose detection switch 37, and in reverse to the above, the switching motor 14 is driven to change the suction direction by the air passage switching device 10 to the suction hose 8 side. And the floor nozzle 6 is raised above the floor surface at the same time. In this state, the power switch of the electric blower 2 is opened / closed by a hand switch (not shown) provided on the suction hose 8, and the electric blower 2 can be manually cleaned like a normal cleaner. At this time,
When the suction hose 8 is pulled, the hose pulling force detection sensor 36 operates, which drives the traveling motor 20 to cause the main body 1 to travel a certain distance. At the same time, the outlet direction of the suction hose 8 is detected by the hose direction detection sensor 35, and the steering motor 25 is drive-controlled so that the traveling direction always coincides with the outlet direction of the suction hose 8. When there is an obstacle ahead of the vehicle, the distance measuring sensor 29 or the contact sensor 30 detects the obstacle and stops. Therefore, if the suction hose 8 is used, the main body 1 always moves after the user,
Although the weight of the main body 1 is larger than that of an ordinary vacuum cleaner, the operation force required for its movement is considerably small.

The teaching of the cleaning area when automatically cleaning a room not surrounded by walls on all sides or an arbitrary place will be described. To teach the cleaning area, the suction hose 8 is attached to the main body 1, but the manual cleaning mode described above is used, and the operation switch 40 is operated to switch to the teaching mode. In this mode, the apparent operation is exactly the same as in the manual cleaning, but the movement track of the main body 1 following the suction hose 8 is recognized by the position recognition means and stored in the storage device 34. When the teaching is finished, remove the suction hose 8 from the main body 1,
Operate the operation switch 40 to restart. If the taught movement locus is a closed loop, it is determined as a cleaning area, and the entire cleaning area is cleaned by traveling in the cleaning area while avoiding obstacles. Also, if the taught path is not a closed loop, that is, if the boundary line is taught to clean only half of the room, after restarting, it moves along the wall and the path becomes a closed loop. The movement track is judged to be the cleaning area, and the entire cleaning area is cleaned as above. FIG. 8 shows an operation example when a cleaning area is taught by this teaching method, and when the main body 1 is moved along the arrow (G) while manually cleaning the suction hose 8 as shown in FIG. The movement locus is stored in the storage device 34, which is judged to be a cleaning area, and self-propelled all over the area as indicated by an arrow (H) for cleaning.

As described above, in the self-propelled cleaner according to the present invention, the air passage switching device 10 can suck the floor nozzle 6 or the suction hose 8 so that the conventional automatic cleaning cannot clean the place. Can be performed by using the suction hose 8, there is no need to prepare another vacuum cleaner, and there is no double labor and no large storage space. Moreover, the main body 1 can be moved with a slight operating force because it moves in the direction of the suction hose 8 following it.

Further, the floor nozzle elevating device interlocking with the air passage switching device 10 causes the floor nozzle 6 to rise above the floor surface when the suction direction of the electric blower 2 is on the suction hose 8 side, and when the suction direction of the electric blower 2 is on the floor nozzle 6 side, the floor surface must be fixed. Since it descends upward, it is not necessary to pay attention to the state of the floor nozzle 6, and the floor nozzle 6 can travel smoothly without being caught by a protrusion on the floor surface during manual cleaning or when moving to a cleaning place. Floor nozzle 6 for automatic cleaning
There is no reason that cleaning cannot be done with the lifted.

By attaching the suction hose 8 to the main body 1 by making the suction hose 8 removable and equipped with a hose attachment / detachment detection means, the suction direction of the electric blower 2 is always toward the suction hose 8 side, and the suction hose is not removed from the main body. Surely floor nozzle 6
Since it is on the side of, the operation of the air passage switching device 10 is not forgotten and normal cleaning cannot be performed, and the operability is very excellent.

Further, since the main body 1 can be moved along an arbitrary locus by using the suction hose 8 and the movement locus can be stored, anyone can easily perform the teaching of the cleaning area to be cleaned without any special skill. . Further, since this teaching method itself uses the follow-up movement control means, it can be realized without adding another means such as a remote control device as in the conventional case, and it is different for the user. It can be said that this is an excellent teaching method without the need to learn the operation method.

FIG. 9 shows another embodiment of the air passage switching device 10. In the above-described embodiment, the switching motor 14 is required to switch the rotary valve 59, but in this another embodiment, the switching motor 14 is required.
14 is unnecessary. 67 is a mount cover for covering the hose mount 9 from the outside, which is made of a bendable material and is slidably mounted between the slide guide 68 provided on the main body 1 and the outer wall of the main body 1 so that it can be opened and closed. ing. A rack 70 is rotatably attached to a mounting pin 69 provided at the lower end thereof,
It is connected to a gear 72 attached to the rotary valve 59 via an intermediate gear 71 meshing with this. In the state in which the mounting base cover 67 is closed, that is, in the state shown in the drawing, the rotary valve 59 is on the upper side and the suction direction of the electric blower 2 is toward the floor nozzle 6. A knob 67 ′ provided on the upper portion of the mounting base cover 67
Slide by hand in the direction of arrow I to open it
Moves in the direction of arrow J, and the rotary valve 59 rotates in the direction of arrow K. When the mount cover 67 is fully opened, the rotary valve 59
Rotates 90 ° and the suction direction is switched to the suction hose 8 side.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION As described above, according to the configuration of claim 1 or 2, not only self-propelled cleaning by the floor nozzle but also the suction hose is used by switching the suction direction by the air passage switching device. Since it can be cleaned manually, it can be cleaned with only one self-propelled cleaner such as a narrow place where the cleaner body cannot enter or on a desk, and when the suction hose is attached to the body, the suction direction is always Since it is switched to the suction hose side, it has excellent operability.

According to the configuration of claim 3, the follower control means is provided, and the cleaner body self-propels in that direction only by pulling the suction hose and follows the cleaner. Therefore, even when the cleaner body is heavy, manual cleaning is performed. The operability inside is good.

According to the structure of claim 4, by pulling the suction hose and walking in the cleaning area, the path is written in the memory element, and when automatic cleaning is instructed, the path is used as the cleaning area and self-propelled by the floor nozzle. Since cleaning is performed, the teaching operation of the cleaning area is simpler and the operability is better than before.

According to the structure of claim 5, during manual cleaning with the suction hose, the floor nozzle is lifted by the floor nozzle elevating device and separated from the floor surface, so that movement of the main body is not hindered. Further, when the air passage switching device is switched to clean the floor nozzle, the floor nozzle descends to the floor, and reliable automatic cleaning can be expected without forgetting to lower the floor nozzle.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a side sectional view of a self-propelled cleaner of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view thereof, FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the same apparatus, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are air passage switching in the same apparatus. 6 is a vertical sectional view and a horizontal sectional view of the apparatus, FIG. 6 is a detailed view of a floor nozzle elevating device in the apparatus, FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing details of the follow-up movement control means in the apparatus, and FIG. 8 is a cleaning area. FIG. 9 is an explanatory view of the teaching method, and FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing another embodiment. 1 ... Vacuum cleaner body, 2 ... Electric blower, 6 ... Floor nozzle, 8 ... Suction hose, 9 ... Hose mount, 10 ...
Air passage switching device, 15 …… crank plate, 16 …… link,
17,18 …… Running wheels, 20 …… Running motors, 21,22 …… Following wheels,
25 …… Steering motor, 26 …… Travel encoder, 28 …… Direction detection sensor, 29 …… Distance measurement sensor, 30 …… Contact sensor, 32
...... Control circuit, 34 …… Memory device, 35 …… Hose direction detection sensor, 36 …… Hose tension detection sensor, 37 …… Hose detection switch, 38 …… Power supply.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Shinji Kondo 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (56) Reference JP-A-62-170219 (JP, A)

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A cleaner main body is self-propelled and cleaned by a floor nozzle of the main body, and a suction hose different from the floor nozzle, and the suction direction of an electric blower is either the floor nozzle side or the suction hose side. A self-propelled cleaning device for switching the suction direction according to the state of the hose attachment / detachment means. Machine. 2. A cleaner main body is self-propelled to be cleaned by a floor nozzle of the main body, and a suction hose different from the floor nozzle and a suction direction of an electric blower are either on the floor nozzle side or the suction hose side. An air passage switching device for switching between the intake and the suction hose and an openable mount cover covering a hose mount for mounting the suction hose are provided, and the air passage switching device automatically switches the suction direction in conjunction with opening and closing of the mount cover. Traveling vacuum cleaner. 3. A hose direction detection sensor for detecting the pulling direction of the suction hose from the cleaner body, a hose tension detection sensor for detecting that the suction hose is pulled, a hose direction detection sensor and a hose tension detection. 3. A follow-up movement control means for causing the main body to move self-propelled in the discharge direction of the hose based on the output of the sensor.
Self-propelled vacuum cleaner described in. 4. An area inside the moving path written in the storage means is determined as a cleaning area when the path moved by being instructed by the follow-up movement control means is written in the storage means during the cleaning operation by the floor nozzle. The self-propelled cleaner according to claim 3, wherein the self-propelled cleaner is configured to perform cleaning operation. 5. A floor nozzle elevating device for raising the floor nozzle above the cleaning surface when the suction direction is switched to the suction hose side in association with the switching of the air passage switching device. The self-propelled vacuum cleaner according to claim 2 or claim 3.