JP2006061439A - Self-propelled vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a self-propelled vacuum cleaner allowing the joint use of one camera for two or more kinds of purposes, reducible in manufacturing cost and having excellent economical efficiency. <P>SOLUTION: A CCD sensor 73 for imaging a suspicious person is turnable and capable of imaging the interior of a dust box 90 formed of a transparent member, and two markers 78 formed of LED lamps are provided in predetermined positions inside the dust box 90. Since it is constituted to determine that a dust accumulated quantity in the dust box 90 is large when the markers 78 cannot be imaged by the CCD sensor 73, one sensor can be jointly used for two purposes of preventing crime and determining the dust accumulated quantity. As a result, only one imaging sensor has to be installed. The manufacturing cost can thereby be reduced, and power consumption can be cut down. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a self-propelled cleaner provided with a main body having a cleaning mechanism and a drive mechanism for realizing steering and driving.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are provided two cameras, a first monitoring camera for photographing a suspicious person and a second monitoring camera for capturing an image of the inside of a dust collecting unit for storing sucked dust. A vacuum cleaner configured to calculate the amount of dust in a dust collecting unit based on a signal is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-164401 A

  However, the above-described electric vacuum cleaner is provided with two cameras, which has a problem in that the cost for manufacturing is increased. Also, since the camera consumes a large amount of power, using two cameras makes it extremely uneconomical.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a single camera can be used for two or more types of applications, can reduce the manufacturing cost, and is self-propelled cleaning that is excellent in economic efficiency. The purpose is to provide a machine.

In order to achieve the above object, a second aspect of the present invention is to image a suspicious person, a cleaning mechanism and a main body including a dust box for storing dust sucked by the cleaning mechanism, a driving mechanism for realizing steering and driving, and In a self-propelled cleaner comprising an imaging sensor that
The dust box is made of a transparent member,
The imaging sensor is movably provided so that the inside of the dust box can be imaged,
A marker is provided in the imaging range when the imaging sensor is provided so as to image the inside of the dust box,
Image analysis means for determining whether or not the marker is imaged by the imaging sensor by analyzing an imaging signal from the imaging sensor when the imaging sensor is imaging the inside of the dust box When,
Dust accumulation amount determination means for determining that the amount of dust accumulation in the dust box is increased in response to the image analysis means determining that the marker has not been imaged. As a configuration.

The self-propelled cleaner according to claim 2 configured as described above includes a main body including a cleaning mechanism and a dust box storing dust sucked by the cleaning mechanism, a drive mechanism that realizes steering and driving, An imaging sensor for imaging a person.
The dust box is made of a transparent member. The imaging sensor is movably provided so that the inside of the dust box can be imaged. That is, it is possible to appropriately move the image sensor between the position where the suspicious person is imaged and the position where the inside of the dust box is imaged by a driving device such as a motor or manually. Furthermore, a marker is provided in the imaging range when the imaging sensor is provided so as to image the inside of the dust box.

  Furthermore, when the imaging sensor is imaging the inside of the dust box, by analyzing the imaging signal from the imaging sensor, it is opposed whether the marker is being imaged by the imaging sensor. Image analysis means and dust accumulation amount determination means for determining that the amount of dust accumulation in the dust box is increased in response to the determination that the marker is not captured by the image analysis means It is equipped with. When the amount of dust accumulated in the dust box increases and is blocked by the dust, and the imaging sensor cannot capture the marker, the amount of dust accumulated in the dust box increases. It is judged. By configuring in this way, it is possible to use one image sensor for two purposes, that is, an application for imaging a suspicious person and an application for determining the amount of accumulated dust. As a result, only one imaging sensor is installed, and it is possible to realize a reduction in manufacturing cost and suppress power consumption.

  As for the cleaning mechanism provided in the main body, a suction type cleaning mechanism may be adopted, a cleaning mechanism of a type scraped with a brush may be adopted, or a combination of both may be adopted. In addition, with respect to a drive mechanism capable of steering and driving, by separately controlling the rotation of the drive wheels arranged on the left and right sides in the main body, steering such as forward, backward, left and right direction change and rotational travel at the same place And can be driven. In this case, it goes without saying that auxiliary wheels may be provided at the front and rear. Further, the drive wheel may be realized by a configuration that drives not only the wheel but also an endless belt. Of course, besides this, the drive mechanism can be realized with various configurations such as four wheels and six wheels.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a notifying means for notifying the determination result by the dust accumulation amount determining means.
In claim 3 configured as described above, if the amount of accumulated dust in the dust box increases, this can be notified, so it becomes possible to know the timing for processing the dust inside the dust box.
The notification means is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a speaker that performs sound notification, an LED lamp that performs light notification, or the like.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the marker is an LED lamp.
In the fourth aspect configured as described above, it is possible to determine the amount of accumulated dust by the light from the LED lamp.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a moving means for moving the image sensor from a position where the suspicious person is imaged to a position where the inside of the dust box can be imaged.
In the fifth aspect configured as described above, the position of the image sensor can be automatically changed.

As described above, according to the second aspect of the invention, it is possible to realize a reduction in manufacturing cost and suppress power consumption.
Moreover, according to the invention concerning Claim 3, it becomes possible to know the timing which processes the dust inside a dust box.
Furthermore, according to the invention concerning Claim 4, it becomes possible to determine the accumulation amount of dust with the light from an LED lamp.
Furthermore, according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to automatically change the position of the image sensor.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order.
(1) Appearance of self-propelled vacuum cleaner:
(2) Internal configuration of self-propelled cleaner:
(3) Various modifications:

(1) Appearance of self-propelled vacuum cleaner:
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a self-propelled cleaner according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a rear view of the self-propelled cleaner shown in FIG. In FIG. 1, the direction indicated by arrow A is the traveling direction of the self-propelled cleaner. As shown in FIG. 1, a self-propelled cleaner 10 according to the present invention includes a substantially cylindrical main body BD, and two drive wheels 12R and 12L provided on the back side of the main body BD (see FIG. 2). Are driven individually, it is possible to go straight, reverse and turn. In addition, a CCD sensor 73 as an image sensor is provided at the center on the front side of the main body BD. The CCD sensor 73 is provided in a movable manner, and can capture an image of the front side of the main body BD as shown in FIG. 1, and will be described later with reference to FIGS. It is also possible to photograph the inside of the installed dust box 90 (not shown).

  Further, under the CCD sensor 73, seven ultrasonic sensors 31 (31a to 31g) as distance measuring means are provided. The ultrasonic sensor 31 includes a transmitter that generates an ultrasonic wave, and a receiver that receives the ultrasonic wave that is emitted from the transmitter and reflected back to the front wall, and is transmitted from the transmitter. The distance to the wall can be calculated from the time until the sound wave is received by the receiving unit. Among these seven ultrasonic sensors 31, an ultrasonic sensor 31d is provided in the center of the front side of the main body BD. The ultrasonic sensor 31a and the ultrasonic sensor 31g, the ultrasonic sensor 31b and the ultrasonic sensor 31f, and the ultrasonic sensor 31c and the ultrasonic sensor 31e are provided symmetrically. When the traveling direction of the main body BD is perpendicular to the front wall, the distances measured by the ultrasonic sensors 31 provided symmetrically are the same.

  In addition, pyroelectric sensors 35 (35a, 35b) as human body sensors are provided on both the left and right sides of the front side of the main body BD. The pyroelectric sensors 35a and 35b can detect a person existing in the vicinity of the main body BD by detecting infrared rays generated from the human body. Although not shown in FIG. 1, pyroelectric sensors 35 (35c, 35d) are also provided on the left and right sides of the back side of the main body BD, respectively, so that the detection range is 360 ° around the main body BD. It is configured.

In FIG. 2, two drive wheels 12R and 12L are respectively provided at the left and right ends at the center of the back side of the main body BD. Also, three auxiliary wheels 13 are provided on the front side (traveling direction side) on the back side of the main body BD. Furthermore, step sensors 14 for detecting road surface irregularities and steps are provided on the upper right, lower right, upper left, and lower left of the back side of the main body BD, respectively. A main brush 15 is provided below the center of the back side of the main body BD. The main brush 15 is rotationally driven by a main brush motor 52 (not shown), and can scrape off dust on the road surface. Moreover, the opening of the part to which the main brush 15 is attached is a suction port, and the scraped dust is sucked into the suction port while the main brush 15 scrapes the dust. Further, side brushes 16 are respectively provided on the upper right and upper left on the back side of the main body BD.
The self-propelled cleaner 10 according to the present invention includes various sensors in addition to the ultrasonic sensor 31, pyroelectric sensor 35, and step sensor 14 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Will be described later with reference to the drawing (FIG. 3).

(2) Internal configuration of self-propelled cleaner:
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the self-propelled cleaner shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In the figure, a CPU 21, a ROM 23, and a RAM 22 are connected to a main body BD as a control unit via a bus 24. The CPU 21 executes various controls using the RAM 22 as a work area according to the control program and various parameter tables stored in the ROM 23.

  The main body BD has a battery 27, and the CPU 21 can monitor the remaining amount of the battery 27 through the battery monitoring circuit 26. Further, the battery 27 is provided with a charging terminal 27a for charging from a charging device 100 described later. The charging terminal 27a is connected to the power supply terminal 101 of the charging device 100 for charging. The battery monitoring circuit 26 mainly monitors the voltage of the battery 27 and detects the remaining amount. The main body BD has an audio circuit 29a connected to the bus 24, and the speaker 29b emits audio in accordance with the audio signal generated by the audio circuit 29a.

  The main body BD includes an ultrasonic sensor 31 (31a to 31g) as a distance measuring unit, a pyroelectric sensor 35 (35a to 35d) as a human body sensor, and a step sensor 14 (FIG. 1, FIG. 1). (See FIG. 2). The main body BD includes lateral wall sensors 36R and 36L for detecting side walls as other sensors not shown in FIGS. The lateral wall sensors 36R and 36L can be constituted by, for example, a passive sensor or an ultrasonic sensor. Furthermore, the main body BD includes a gyro sensor 37 as the other sensor. The gyro sensor 37 includes an angular velocity sensor 37a that detects a change in angular velocity caused by a change in the traveling direction of the main body BD. The gyro sensor 37 integrates the sensor output values detected by the angular velocity sensor 37a, and the direction angle that the main body BD faces. Can be detected.

The self-propelled cleaner 10 according to the present invention has motor drivers 41R and 41L as drive mechanisms.
Drive wheel motors 42R, 42L, and a gear unit (not shown) interposed between the drive wheel motors 42R, 42L and the drive wheels 12R, 12L described above. The driving wheel motors 42R and 42L are driven and controlled in detail by the motor drivers 41R and 41L when rotating. Each motor driver 41R, 41L outputs a corresponding drive signal in response to a control instruction from the CPU 21. Various types of gear units and drive wheels 12R and 12L may be employed, and may be realized by driving a circular rubber tire or driving an endless belt.

  Further, the actual rotation direction and rotation angle of the drive wheel can be accurately detected from the output of a rotary encoder (not shown) attached integrally with the drive wheel motors 42R and 42L. Note that the rotary encoder is not directly connected to the drive wheel, and a driven wheel that can be freely rotated is mounted in the vicinity of the drive wheel, and the drive wheel slips by feeding back the rotation amount of the driven wheel. It may be possible to detect the amount of rotation. The acceleration sensor 44 detects the acceleration in the XYZ triaxial directions and outputs the detection result. Various types of gear units and drive wheels can be employed, and may be realized by driving a circular rubber tire or driving an endless belt.

  The cleaning mechanism in the self-propelled cleaner 10 according to the present invention includes two side brushes 16 (see FIG. 2) provided on the back surface side of the main body BD and a main brush 15 ( 2) and a suction fan (not shown) for sucking dust scraped by the main brush 15 and storing it in the dust box 90. The main brush 15 is driven by a main brush motor 52, and the suction fan is driven by a suction motor 55. The main brush motor 52 and the suction motor 55 are supplied with driving power from motor drivers 54 and 56, respectively. Cleaning using the main brush 15 is controlled by the CPU 21 as appropriate according to the floor condition, battery condition, user instruction, and the like.

  The main body BD has a wireless LAN module 61, and the CPU 21 can communicate with an external LAN wirelessly according to a predetermined protocol. The wireless LAN module 61 assumes that there is an access point (not shown), and the access point can be connected to an external wide area network (for example, the Internet) via a router or the like. Suppose that Therefore, it is possible to send and receive normal mail via the Internet and browse the WEB site. The wireless LAN module 61 is composed of a standardized card slot and a standardized wireless LAN card connected to the slot. Of course, the card slot can be connected to other standardized cards.

  The main body BD includes a CCD sensor 73. The imaging signal generated by the CCD sensor 73 is sent to the CPU 21 via the bus 24, and the CPU 21 performs various processes for the imaging signal. The CCD sensor 73 has an optical system that can image the front surface, and generates an electrical signal in accordance with a light beam input from a visual field realized by the optical system. Specifically, a large number of photodiodes arranged corresponding to each pixel at the imaging position by the optical system are provided, and each photodiode generates an electric signal corresponding to the electric energy of the input light beam. . The CCD element temporarily stores the electrical signal generated for each pixel, and generates an imaging signal in which the electrical signal is continuous for each pixel. The generated imaging signal is output to the CPU 21 as appropriate.

  Here, an imaging sensor using a change in light incident on the CCD sensor 73 is configured, but the imaging sensor is not limited to this. For example, if the processing amount of the CPU 21 is increased, a color image is captured, a skin color region characteristic of the human body is searched, and a suspicious person is detected based on the size and change of the region. . Of course, it is also possible to use CMOS instead of CCD. In addition, when the processing amount of the CPU 21 is highly required, a specialized image arithmetic device may be added to perform image processing on the imaging signal, or a VRAM may be added separately from the RAM 22. May be. Since the imaging signal can be input to the bus 24 of the main body BD, the main body BD may be provided so that the image arithmetic device, the VRAM, and the like are connected to the bus 24.

  The CCD sensor 73 described above is attached to a rotation device 77, and can be rotated to a position where the CCD sensor 73 can image the front and a position where the inside of the dust box 90 can be imaged. . 4 and 5 schematically show that the CCD sensor 73 images the inside of the dust box by the rotating device 77. FIG. 4, a CCD sensor 73 is provided on the left side of the main body BD (the front side in FIG. 1). The CCD sensor 73 is attached to a rotation device 77 fixed to the main body BD, and can rotate about a rotation shaft 77a. Also, a dust box 90 made of a transparent member is installed inside the main body BD and on the right side (rear in FIG. 1) of the CCD sensor 73. The rotation device 77 is driven by a stepping motor (not shown) or the like, and can rotate the CCD sensor 73 at an arbitrary angle. During the normal operation of the self-propelled cleaner 10, the CCD sensor 73 is fixed so as to image the front side. However, when checking the amount of dust accumulated in the dust box 90, the rotation device 77 is used. , And the CCD sensor 73 moves to a position where the inside of the dust box 90 can be photographed (a position indicated by a broken line in the figure).

  In addition, on the lower right side of the dust box 90, two markers 78 made of LED lamps are installed. As shown in FIG. 4, when the CCD sensor 73 has moved to a position for imaging inside the dust box 90, both of the two markers 78 enter the imaging range. However, as shown in FIG. 5, when the accumulation amount of the dust X in the dust box 90 increases, the dust X is interrupted and the two markers 78 cannot be imaged. In the self-propelled cleaner 10 according to the present invention, an image pickup signal from the CCD sensor 73 is analyzed, and two markers 78 are picked up from a frame (image signal for one screen) based on the image pickup signal. When it is determined that both of the two markers are not imaged, it is determined that the amount of accumulated dust in the dust box 90 is full and a predetermined notification is made. . Note that when determining whether or not the two LED lamps 78 are imaged based on the imaging signal from the CCD sensor 73 by the above-described procedure, the CCD sensor 73 and the CPU 21 function as image analysis means. The notification method is not particularly limited, and a predetermined notification sound may be output from the speaker 29b. An LED lamp or the like is provided on the main body BD so as to perform notification by light. May be.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the self-propelled cleaner 10, the main brush 15 is provided behind the main body BD (on the right side in FIG. 5), and the main brush 15 is attached. Dust is sucked from the opening of the part. Although not shown in FIG. 5, the opening communicates with the rear side of the dust box 90 (the right side in FIG. 5), and the dust is expelled from the rear side of the dust box 90 toward the front side. Is done. Therefore, in the inside of the dust box 90, dust accumulates from the front side to the rear side (in FIG. 5, from the left side to the right side). Therefore, in the present embodiment, by arranging the marker 78 behind the dust box 90, when the dust inside the dust box 90 is almost full, the above-described notification can be performed. It becomes. Of course, in the present invention, the position of the marker 78 is not particularly limited. For example, in FIG. 5, a plurality of markers are arranged at predetermined intervals from the front side of the dust box 90 to the rear side. The self-propelled cleaner may be configured so that the above-described notification is performed every time one of the plurality of markers is not imaged. By doing in this way, it becomes possible to notify the dust accumulation amount in a dust box in steps.

(3) Various modifications:
In the above-described embodiment, the case where the image sensor is the CCD sensor 73 has been described. However, the image sensor applied to the self-propelled cleaner of the present invention is not limited to this. An infrared CCD sensor having light receiving sensitivity in the outer region may be used. In this case, the amount of dust accumulated in the dust box 90 can be determined by using an infrared light source that emits infrared light as the marker.

  In the present invention, a light source that emits white light may be provided inside the dust box, and a marker (for example, a seal) colored in a specific color may be attached to the inside of the dust box as the marker. In such a case, it is possible to determine the amount of accumulated dust by the marker in the dust box taking an image with the imaging sensor.

  As described above, in the self-propelled cleaner 10 according to the embodiment, the CCD sensor 73 for imaging a suspicious person can be rotated so that the inside of the dust box 90 made of a transparent member can be imaged. Two marker 78 composed of LED lamps are provided at a predetermined position inside, and further, the CCD sensor 73 is caused by the marker 78 being covered with dust accumulated in the dust box 90. When the marker 78 becomes unable to take an image due to the above, it is determined that the amount of dust accumulated in the dust box 90 is large. Therefore, one sensor is used for crime prevention and determination of the amount of dust accumulated. It can be used in combination for two purposes. As a result, only one imaging sensor is installed, and it is possible to realize a reduction in manufacturing cost and suppress power consumption.

It is an external appearance perspective view of the self-propelled cleaner concerning the present invention. It is a reverse view of the self-propelled cleaner shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the self-propelled cleaner shown in FIG. 1, FIG. It is a figure which shows a mode when the inside of a dust box is imaged with a CCD sensor. It is a figure which shows a mode when the inside of a dust box is imaged with a CCD sensor.

Explanation of symbols

10 ... Self-propelled cleaners 12R, 12L ... Drive wheels 14 ... Step sensor 21 ... CPU
22 ... RAM
23 ... ROM
73 ... CCD sensor 77 ... rotating device 78 ... marker
90 ... Dust box

Claims (5)

In a self-propelled cleaner comprising a cleaning mechanism and a main body including a dust box that enables dust sucked by the cleaning mechanism, a drive mechanism that realizes steering and driving, and an image sensor that images a suspicious person,
The dust box is made of a transparent member,
The imaging sensor is movably provided so that the inside of the dust box can be imaged,
An LED lamp is provided in the imaging range when the imaging sensor is provided so as to image the inside of the dust box,
Moving means for moving the image sensor from a position where the suspicious person is imaged to a position where the inside of the dust box can be imaged;
Image analysis means for determining whether or not the LED lamp is imaged by the imaging sensor by analyzing an imaging signal from the imaging sensor when the imaging sensor is imaging the inside of the dust box;
Dust accumulation amount determination means for determining that the amount of dust accumulation in the dust box is increased in response to the determination that the LED lamp is not imaged by the image analysis means;
A self-propelled cleaner, comprising: a notifying means for notifying the determination result by the dust accumulation amount determining means. In a self-propelled cleaner comprising a cleaning mechanism and a body provided with a dust box for storing dust sucked by the cleaning mechanism, a drive mechanism for realizing steering and driving, and an image sensor for imaging a suspicious person,
The dust box is made of a transparent member,
The imaging sensor is movably provided so that the inside of the dust box can be imaged,
A marker is provided in the imaging range when the imaging sensor is provided so as to image the inside of the dust box,
Image analysis means for determining whether or not the marker is imaged by the imaging sensor by analyzing an imaging signal from the imaging sensor when the imaging sensor is imaging the inside of the dust box When,
Dust accumulation amount determination means for determining that the amount of dust accumulation in the dust box is increased in response to the image analysis means determining that the marker has not been imaged. This is a self-propelled vacuum cleaner.   The self-propelled cleaner according to claim 2, further comprising a notifying unit for notifying a determination result by the dust accumulation amount determining unit.   The self-propelled cleaner according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the marker is an LED lamp. The self-propelled cleaning according to any one of claims 2 to 4, further comprising moving means for moving the image sensor from a position where the suspicious person is imaged to a position where the inside of the dust box can be imaged. Machine.

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