JP2006099327A - Self-propelled cleaner and light emitting device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a self-propelled cleaner for reducing manufacturing costs, and for guiding a main body by a simple operation. <P>SOLUTION: A desired place is irradiated with the rays of light by using a remote controller (for example, a television remote controller) for emitting infrared rays so that the rays of light can be detected by an infrared CCD sensor 73, and that while the rays of light are emitted, the main body BD can made to travel to the irradiation position. Thus, it is not necessary to provide any complicatedly configured remote controller for performing the remote operation of the main body BD or any control circuit for inputting instructions from the remote controller, and for performing driving control based on the instructions. As a result, it is possible to reduce manufacturing costs. Also, it is possible to guide the main body BD by pointing by using the remote controller, and to guide the main body BD by a simple operation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a self-propelled cleaner provided with a main body provided with a cleaning mechanism, a drive mechanism that realizes steering and driving, and a light emitting device for guiding the self-propelled cleaner to an arbitrary place. It is.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of self-propelled cleaner, one that enables remote operation with a remote controller or the like has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). According to such a self-propelled cleaner, it is not necessary to move around the cleaning place while holding the suction pipe in which the suction port is formed, so that it is possible to reduce the burden on the user. .
JP 2003-79552 A

  However, in the self-propelled cleaner as described above, a remote control for performing remote operation, a control circuit for performing drive control based on an instruction input from the remote control, and the like are required, resulting in an increase in cost. There is a problem that it ends up. In addition, there is a problem that the cleaner cannot be accurately moved to a desired place until it gets used to the operation of the remote control, and the cleaning efficiency is deteriorated.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a self-propelled cleaner capable of reducing the manufacturing cost and guiding the main body with a simple operation.

In order to achieve the above object, a second aspect of the present invention provides a self-propelled cleaner including a main body having a cleaning mechanism and a driving mechanism for realizing steering and driving.
An imaging sensor having light receiving sensitivity in a predetermined wavelength region;
Image analysis means for determining whether or not light is emitted from a light emitting device that emits light in the predetermined wavelength region by analyzing an imaging signal from the imaging sensor;
The driving mechanism is controlled based on the determination result by the image analysis means, and a movement control means for moving the main body to or near the irradiation position of the light from the light emitting device is provided.

  In claim 2 configured as described above, when the self-propelled cleaner performs cleaning by the cleaning mechanism provided in the main body, the drive mechanism realizes steering and driving. The self-propelled cleaner includes an imaging sensor having light receiving sensitivity in a predetermined wavelength region, detects light in the predetermined wavelength region from the light emitting device, and outputs an imaging signal. The self-propelled cleaner includes a movement control unit that controls the drive mechanism based on a determination result by the image analysis unit and moves the main body to an irradiation position of the light from the light emitting device or the vicinity thereof. Yes. With such a configuration, the user can guide the main body to the irradiation position by irradiating light to a desired location using the light emitting device. As a result, a remote controller with a complicated configuration equipped with a direction lever for determining the moving direction of the main body, a control circuit for performing drive control based on an instruction input from the remote controller, and the like are eliminated, resulting in a reduction in manufacturing cost It can be reduced. Moreover, since it becomes possible to guide a main body by pointing the place which wants to move the main body of a self-propelled cleaner using a light-emitting device, it becomes possible to guide a main body by simple operation. .

  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. Also, 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 in the main body, the steering and the forward, backward, left and right direction change and rotation at the same place It 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, after the main body has moved to or near the irradiation position of the light from the issuing means, the cleaning mechanism and the driving mechanism are controlled so that the arrival position of the main body and the vicinity thereof are controlled. The spot cleaning control means for performing spot cleaning is provided.
In claim 3 configured as described above, it is possible to clean not only the place where the main body of the self-propelled cleaner has moved, but also the surrounding area, so that the target place is reliably cleaned. It becomes possible.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the imaging sensor is an infrared sensor having light receiving sensitivity in the near infrared region.
In claim 4 configured as described above, for example, the main body of the self-propelled cleaner can be guided using a TV remote controller or the like that emits an infrared signal. Can be further reduced.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a suspicious person judging means for judging whether or not a suspicious person has been imaged by the imaging sensor by analyzing an imaging signal from the imaging sensor.
In response to the image of the suspicious person being imaged by the suspicious person determination means, the alarm means transmits an alarm signal to an external device.
In Claim 5 configured as described above, the image sensor can be used as a security sensor.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a main body having a cleaning mechanism, a driving mechanism that realizes steering and driving, an imaging sensor having light receiving sensitivity in a predetermined wavelength region, and an imaging signal from the imaging sensor are analyzed. The image analysis means for determining whether or not the light of the predetermined wavelength region is irradiated, and the drive mechanism is controlled based on the determination result by the image analysis means, and the light of the predetermined wavelength region is A light-emitting device that emits light in the predetermined wavelength region for guiding a self-propelled vacuum cleaner comprising movement control means for moving the main body to or near the irradiation position.
In claim 6 configured as described above, the light-emitting device can be used to guide a self-propelled cleaner configured to move toward the irradiation position of light in a predetermined wavelength region. Become.

As described above, according to the invention of claim 2, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost and to guide the main body with a simple operation.
Moreover, according to the invention concerning Claim 3, it becomes possible to clean the target place reliably.
Furthermore, according to the invention concerning Claim 4, it becomes possible to reduce manufacturing cost more.
Furthermore, according to the invention concerning Claim 5, it becomes possible to use the said imaging sensor together as a security sensor.
Furthermore, according to the invention concerning Claim 6, it becomes possible to perform guidance of a self-propelled cleaner.

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) Operation of the self-propelled cleaner:
(4) 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, an infrared CCD sensor 73 as an image sensor is provided at the front central portion of the main body BD. The infrared CCD sensor 73 is provided in a movable manner, and can capture 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 take an image of the inside of a dust box 90 (not shown) installed in the camera.

  Further, below the infrared 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 an infrared CCD sensor 73 and an infrared light source 72. The imaging signal generated by the infrared CCD sensor 73 is sent to the CPU 21 via the bus 24, and the CPU 21 performs various processes on the imaging signal. The infrared CCD sensor 73 has an optical system capable of imaging the front, and generates an electrical signal in accordance with infrared rays input from a visual field realized by the optical system. Specifically, a large number of photodiodes arranged corresponding to each pixel at the image forming position by the optical system are provided, and each photodiode generates an electric signal corresponding to the input infrared electric energy. . 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 infrared rays incident on the infrared 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.

(3) Operation of the self-propelled cleaner:
Next, the operation of the self-propelled cleaner 10 according to the present invention will be described.
The self-propelled cleaner 10 according to the present invention is provided with three modes: (A) automatic cleaning mode, (B) navigation mode, and (C) monitoring mode. The mode can be changed by the user's selection operation. The above three modes will be briefly described below.

(A) Automatic cleaning mode When the cleaning mode is set, the self-propelled cleaner 10 performs cleaning while automatically running according to a control program stored in advance in the ROM 23 or the like. When the unevenness of the wall or floor surface is detected by the sensor during traveling, traveling control is performed based on the control program described above. The automatic cleaning mode will be described in detail later with reference to the drawings (FIGS. 5 and 6).

(B) Navigation mode When the navigation mode is set, the self-propelled cleaner 10 moves to the vicinity of an irradiation position of infrared rays emitted from a remote controller as a light emitting device, and the surrounding spots. Clean. That is, in the navigation mode, the self-propelled cleaner 10 does not perform the cleaning while automatically running like the above-described automatic cleaning mode, but the user uses the remote controller to perform the cleaning. The place to be performed is pointed out, and the self-propelled cleaner 10 is guided to the same place to perform the cleaning. This navigation mode will be described in detail later with reference to the drawings (FIGS. 7 and 8).

(C) Monitoring mode When the monitoring mode is set, the self-propelled cleaner 10 monitors the intrusion of a suspicious person. Specifically, monitoring is performed using the pyroelectric sensor 35 and the infrared CCD sensor 73 shown in FIG. 2, and when a suspicious person is detected, the wireless LAN module 61 is used to send the information to the outside. The alarm signal is transmitted.

  Hereinafter, the flow of the main process executed in the self-propelled cleaner 10 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG. First, in step S100, initial setting is performed. In this processing, processing related to initialization such as clearing of the register in the CPU 21 and the RAM 22 is performed.

  Next, in step S110, it is determined whether or not a mode selection instruction has been issued. In this process, it is determined whether or not an instruction for selecting any one of the three modes (automatic cleaning mode, navigation mode, and monitoring mode) has been input. If it is determined in step S110 that the automatic cleaning mode has been selected, an automatic cleaning mode execution process is performed in step S120. The automatic cleaning mode execution process will be described later with reference to FIG. If it is determined in step S110 that the navigation mode has been selected, a navigation mode execution process is performed in step S130. This navigation mode execution process will be described later with reference to FIG. Further, if it is determined in step S110 that the monitoring mode has been selected, a monitoring mode execution process is performed in step S140. This monitoring mode execution process is a process of monitoring a suspicious person using the infrared CCD sensor 73 and outputting a predetermined alarm sound or transmitting an alarm mail when the suspicious person is inspected. .

  When the process of step S120, step S130, or step S140 is executed, or when it is determined that there is no mode selection instruction in step S110, next, in step S150, the power of the self-propelled cleaner 10 is supplied. It is specified whether or not an instruction to turn OFF is input. If there is no instruction to turn off the power of the self-propelled cleaner 10, the process returns to step S110, and if there is an instruction, the main process is terminated.

  Next, the automatic cleaning mode execution process called and executed in step S120 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of the automatic cleaning mode execution process. FIG. 6 shows the self-propelled cleaner 10 traveling when the automatic cleaning mode execution process is being performed. It is a figure which shows typically an example of the driving | running route to do. First, in step S200, cleaning traveling is performed. In the process of step S200, the detection results of various sensors provided in the self-propelled cleaner 10 are input while driving the drive wheel motors 42R and 42L to cause the main body BD to travel straight, and the detection results are obtained. Based on the drive control, the main brush motor 52 and the suction motor 55 are driven to perform the cleaning operation. When a change in the direction angle of the main body BD detected by the gyro sensor 37 is detected, the traveling direction of the main body BD is corrected by controlling the driving wheel motor 42R or the driving wheel motor 42L. The main body BD is kept straight.

  Once the process of step S200 has been executed, it is next determined in step S210 whether a front wall has been detected. That is, it is determined whether or not a wall located in the traveling direction of the main body BD is detected by the ultrasonic sensor 31. If it is determined in step S210 that a front wall has been detected, then a gyro sensor reset process is executed in step S220. In the process of step S220, the travel control is performed so that the traveling direction of the main body BD is perpendicular to the wall based on the distance to the wall measured by the two ultrasonic sensors 31, and the traveling direction is on the wall. When it becomes vertical to the main body, the main body BD is stopped and the integrated value of the sensor output value of the gyro sensor 37 is reset, so that the direction angle indicated by the gyro sensor 37 is based on the direction perpendicular to the wall. Perform a reset process.

  If the process of step S220 is executed, the main body BD is then rotated 90 degrees in step S230. When this process is performed, the main body BD travels parallel to the wall. For example, when the cleaning running is started from the cleaning start position of the main body BD shown in FIG. 6 and the upper wall is detected in the figure, the main body BD is rotated 90 degrees to the right. When the process of step S230 is executed, next, a wall-side travel is performed in step S240. In this process, the main brush motor 52 and the suction motor 55 are driven to perform the cleaning operation, and the gyro sensor 37 performs a cleaning run while controlling the traveling direction so as to be parallel to the wall. . When the wall travel is performed for a predetermined distance in step S240, next, in step S250, the process of rotating the main body BD by 90 degrees is performed again. In FIG. 6, after the main body BD has traveled a predetermined distance along the upper wall, the main body BD is rotated 90 degrees to the right again, so that the main body BD is perpendicular to the wall and away from the wall. Will run.

  If the process of step S250 is executed or if it is determined in step S210 that no wall has been detected, then in step S260, it is determined whether or not the remaining amount of the battery 27 has decreased. In this processing, it is determined whether or not the remaining amount of the battery 27 detected by the battery monitoring circuit 26 is below a predetermined reference value. If it is determined in step S260 that the remaining amount of the battery -27 has decreased, an automatic charging process is executed in step S270. In this process, the main body BD is moved to the charging device 100 installed on a predetermined wall in the room to be cleaned, the charging terminal 27a of the main body BD is connected to the power supply terminal 101 of the charging device 100, and charging is performed. .

  If the process of step S270 is executed or if it is determined in step S260 that the remaining battery level has not decreased, then in step S280, it is determined whether or not an instruction to end the cleaning operation has been issued. If it is determined that there is no instruction, the process returns to step S200. If it is determined that there is an instruction, the automatic cleaning mode execution process is terminated.

  Next, the navigation mode execution process called and executed in step S130 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of the navigation mode execution process which is called and executed in step S130 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, and FIGS. It is a figure which shows typically operation | movement of the self-propelled cleaner 10 when the flowchart shown in FIG. 7 is performed.

  When the navigation mode mode execution process is started, first, in step S400, a process for turning off the infrared light source 72 is performed. This process is performed in order to easily detect infrared rays emitted from the remote controller for guiding the self-propelled cleaner 10. Next, in step S410, the infrared CCD sensor 73 is rotated so as to image the front floor surface. In this processing, the rotating device 77 is driven, and the infrared CCD sensor 73 is rotated so as to face diagonally downward so that infrared light from the remote control irradiated on the front floor surface can be imaged. is there.

  If the process of step S410 is executed, the process of analyzing the imaging signal is then performed in step S420. In this processing, the imaging signal generated by the infrared CCD sensor 73 is analyzed, and the amount of change of the screen imaged by the infrared CCD sensor 73 is obtained. Specifically, for example, it can be performed by detecting a difference between frames (image signals for one screen) of the video signal based on the imaging signal from the infrared CCD sensor 73.

  Next, in step S430, it is determined whether or not infrared rays emitted from the remote controller are captured. This process is performed by determining whether or not the fluctuation of the irradiation area of the infrared ray from the remote control to the floor surface is detected as a result of the analysis of the imaging signal in the process of step S420 described above. That is, the camera shake of the user who is holding the remote control in his hand and irradiating the floor with infrared rays is detected. In addition, when performing the process of step S420, S430, the infrared CCD sensor 73, RAM12, and CPU11 in the self-propelled cleaner 10 function as an image analysis means. If it is not determined in step S430 that infrared rays have been captured, the process returns to step S420.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S430 that infrared rays are being imaged, in step S440, the orientation of the main body BD is controlled so that the infrared irradiation region is in the center. Specifically, drive control of the drive wheel motors 42R and 42L is performed so that the infrared light irradiated on the floor surface is located at the left and right central portions of the imaging range of the infrared CCD sensor 73. By doing in this way, in the process of step S450 mentioned later, it becomes possible to drive the main body BD accurately toward the infrared irradiation position.

  When the process of step S440 is executed, next, in step S450, a process of moving the main body BD forward by a predetermined distance (for example, 30 cm) is performed in step S440. In this process, the drive wheel motors 42R and 42L are driven to cause the main body BD to travel the predetermined distance toward the infrared irradiation position. Then, after the process of step S450 is performed, the travel of the main body BD is stopped in step S460.

  If the process of step S460 is executed, next, a process of analyzing the imaging signal is performed in step S470. Since this process is the same as the process of step S420 described above, description thereof is omitted. Next, in step S480, it is determined whether or not infrared rays emitted from the remote controller are captured. Since this process is the same as the process in step S430 described above, the description thereof is omitted. The reason why the processing of steps S470 and 480 is performed after the travel of the main body BD is stopped by the processing of step S460 is that an erroneous determination in step S480 occurs due to the shaking during the travel of the main body BD. This is to prevent this. If it is determined in step S480 that infrared rays have been captured, the process returns to step S440.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S480 that infrared rays are not captured, spot cleaning is performed in step S490. In this process, the travel of the main body BD is temporarily stopped, and thereafter, the drive wheel motors 42R and 42L are driven to travel near the position where the main body BD is stopped, while the main brush motor 52 and the suction motor are driven. And the cleaning operation is performed. When the process of step S490 is executed, the navigation mode execution process ends.

  Hereinafter, a specific example when the flowchart shown in FIG. 7 is executed will be described with reference to FIGS. First, as shown in FIG. 8, infrared light from the remote control 40 is irradiated on the floor surface by the user's operation, and fluctuations caused by camera shake of the infrared user are detected (steps S420 and S430). ), The main body BD travels a predetermined distance toward the infrared irradiation portion as indicated by the white arrow in FIG. 8 (steps S440 and S450). When the main body BD travels a predetermined distance, the main body BD stops (step S460), and it is again determined whether there is an infrared fluctuation caused by the user's camera shake (steps S470 and S480). When infrared fluctuations are detected, the main body BD is run again for a predetermined distance, and when infrared fluctuations are no longer detected, such as by stopping infrared irradiation from the remote control by user operation, The traveling of the BD is stopped, and as shown in FIG. 9, a cleaning operation is performed while the main body BD is traveling in a spiral manner with the stop position of the present invention as a starting point (step S490). As a result, it is possible to surely clean the place indicated by the user. In the present embodiment, the case where only one infrared CCD sensor 73 is provided has been described. However, in the present invention, a plurality of infrared CCD sensors are provided so that infrared rays can be detected over a wide range. You may comprise a type vacuum cleaner. Alternatively, an omnidirectional infrared imaging sensor or the like that can monitor the entire 360 ° range may be used. The remote controller may be a normal TV remote controller that emits infrared light, or a dedicated remote controller.

(4) Various modifications:
In the embodiment described above, the case where the imaging sensor is an infrared CCD sensor has been described. However, the imaging sensor applied to the self-propelled cleaner of the present invention is not limited to this, for example, a predetermined sensor It may be a camera or the like having light reception sensitivity for colored light (for example, blue light). In this case, as the light emitting device, one that generates the predetermined color light (for example, a blue LED lamp) is used.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the main body BD travels toward the irradiation position of the light while the light is detected by the infrared CCD sensor 73 has been described. However, in the present invention, for example, the infrared CCD The self-propelled cleaner may be configured such that when light is detected by the sensor 73, the distance to the irradiation position is calculated based on the imaging signal, and the main body BD travels by the calculated distance. . By doing in this way, it is not necessary to continuously perform light irradiation with the remote control until the main body BD arrives at a target location.

As described above, in the self-propelled cleaner 10 according to the embodiment, the infrared CCD sensor 73 is the same by irradiating a desired portion with light using a remote controller that irradiates infrared light (for example, a TV remote controller). While the light is detected and the same light is irradiated, the main body BD travels toward the irradiation position. This eliminates the need for a remote controller with a complicated configuration for performing remote operation of the main body BD, a control circuit for inputting an instruction from the remote controller, and performing drive control based on the instruction, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost. It can be reduced. Further, since the main body BD can be guided by pointing using the remote controller, the main body BD can be guided by a simple operation.
.

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 flowchart showing the flow of main processing. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of an automatic cleaning mode that is called and executed in step S120 of the flowchart shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of a traveling route on which the self-propelled cleaner travels when the automatic cleaning mode execution process illustrated in FIG. 5 is performed. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of navigation mode execution processing that is called and executed in step S130 of the flowchart shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows typically operation | movement of a self-propelled cleaner when the flowchart shown in FIG. 7 is performed. It is a figure which shows typically operation | movement of a self-propelled cleaner when the flowchart shown in FIG. 7 is performed.

Explanation of symbols

10 ... Self-propelled cleaners 12R, 12L ... Drive wheels 14 ... Step sensor 21 ... CPU
22 ... RAM
23 ... ROM
26 ... Battery-monitoring circuit 27 ... Battery-
27a ... Charging terminal 29a ... Audio circuit 29b ... Speaker 31 (31a-31g) ... Ultrasonic sensor 35 (35a-35d) ... Pyroelectric sensor 36R, 36L ... Horizontal wall sensor 37 ... Gyro sensor 37a ... Angular velocity sensor 61 ... Wireless LAN module 72 ... Infrared light source 73 ... Infrared CCD sensor

Claims (6)

In a self-propelled cleaner provided with a main body provided with a cleaning mechanism and a drive mechanism that realizes steering and driving,
An infrared sensor having light receiving sensitivity in the near infrared region;
Image analysis means for determining whether or not light is emitted from a light emitting device that emits near infrared rays by analyzing an imaging signal from the infrared sensor;
A movement control means for controlling the drive mechanism based on a determination result by the image analysis means, and for moving the main body to a near infrared irradiation position from the light emitting device or the vicinity thereof;
Spot cleaning control means for controlling the cleaning mechanism and the driving mechanism to perform spot cleaning of the arrival position of the main body and its surroundings after the main body has moved to or near the irradiation position of near infrared rays from the light emitting device. When,
Suspicious person judgment means for judging whether or not a suspicious person has been imaged by the infrared sensor by analyzing the imaging signal from the infrared sensor,
A self-propelled cleaner, comprising alarm means for transmitting an alarm signal to an external device when the suspicious person is imaged by the suspicious person judging means. In a self-propelled cleaner provided with a main body provided with a cleaning mechanism and a drive mechanism that realizes steering and driving,
An imaging sensor having light receiving sensitivity in a predetermined wavelength region;
Image analysis means for determining whether or not light is emitted from a light emitting device that emits light in the predetermined wavelength region by analyzing an imaging signal from the imaging sensor;
A self-propelled type comprising: a movement control unit that controls the drive mechanism based on a determination result by the image analysis unit and moves the main body to an irradiation position of the light from the light emitting device or the vicinity thereof. Vacuum cleaner.   Spot cleaning control means for controlling the cleaning mechanism and the drive mechanism to perform spot cleaning of the arrival position of the main body and its surroundings after the main body has moved to or near the irradiation position of light from the light emitting device. The self-propelled cleaner according to claim 2, further comprising:   The self-propelled cleaner according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the imaging sensor is an infrared sensor having light receiving sensitivity in a near infrared region. A suspicious person determination means for determining whether or not a suspicious person has been imaged by the imaging sensor by analyzing an imaging signal from the imaging sensor;
A self-propelled cleaner, comprising alarm means for transmitting an alarm signal to an external device when the suspicious person is imaged by the suspicious person judging means. A main body having a cleaning mechanism, a driving mechanism that realizes steering and driving, an imaging sensor having light receiving sensitivity in a predetermined wavelength region, and an imaging signal from the imaging sensor are analyzed, whereby the predetermined wavelength region An image analysis unit that determines whether or not light is irradiated, and the drive mechanism is controlled based on a determination result by the image analysis unit, and the main body is moved to or near the irradiation position of light in the predetermined wavelength region. A light-emitting device that emits light in the predetermined wavelength region for guiding a self-propelled cleaner comprising a movement control means for movement.

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