JPH01112312A - Self-traveling cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent an uncleaned part from being left and to efficiently clean a prescribed area by discriminating a direction for the advancing direction of a cleaner main body, and deciding a travel quantity in a horizontal direction based ion the direction. CONSTITUTION:When the wall plane of a cleaning area is recognized and the direction of the cleaner main body 101 is discriminated based on a distance from a measuring means 106 by a discrimination means 107, a first wall plane is selected by a calculation means 108, and the advancing direction along the wall plane is calculated, and also, the travel quantity at a time when approaching in the neighborhood of the first wall plane is calculated. And the travel quantity is corrected by a correction means 109 based on the direction of the cleaner main body 101, and the traveling of the cleaner is controlled by a control means 110 based on a calculated advancing direction and a corrected travel quantity. In such a way, it is possible to prevent the uncleaned part from being left even when the longitudinal axis of a dust collection opening facing with a floor is positioned obliquely due to the change of the direction of the cleaner main body for the traveling path of cleaning.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of Industrial Application This invention relates to a self-propelled vacuum cleaner that cleans flat surfaces such as floors and roads by itself.

(B) Conventional technology Self-propelled vacuum cleaners that have been proposed so far clean by traveling in a straight line, and when they come close to an obstacle or wall, they move laterally to the travel path and move forward. There is a method, as seen in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 55-97608, in which the cleaning device runs straight again in the opposite direction to the travel route of the robot, and repeats this process to clean a predetermined area.

(c) Problems to be Solved by the Invention By the way, in the travel control of such a self-propelled vacuum cleaner, a driving wheel and a steering wheel are separately provided and these are controlled by a control unit, Some vehicles are designed to steer all wheels, including the drive wheels, in the same direction. However, in the former case, when turning such as the above-mentioned lateral movement or reversal, inner wheel difference or rear wheel difference occurs, so complex driving control that takes these into consideration is required, and there is also waste in driving. .

In addition, although the latter does not cause the above-mentioned inner wheel difference or rear wheel difference, when the direction of the vacuum cleaner body changes with respect to the cleaning travel path, the direction cannot be corrected, so the dust pickup facing the floor The long sleeve of the opening is diagonal to the direction of travel, and if the amount of movement during the lateral movement is constant as described above, there will be some cleaning left behind.

This invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and in the latter case, it is possible to determine the orientation of the main body of the vacuum cleaner in the cleaning direction with respect to the traveling direction, and to determine the amount of lateral movement described above based on the orientation. This provides a self-propelled vacuum cleaner that can efficiently clean a predetermined area without leaving any cleaning residue.

(d) Means to solve problems FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the present invention.

In this figure, 101 is a traveling means 102 and a steering means 1.
03 is the main body of the vacuum cleaner that runs, and 104 is the main body 10!
106 is a measuring means for measuring the distance from the main body 101 to surrounding objects; 107 is a measuring means 106
Discrimination means recognizes an area whose wall surface is a line continuously connecting the distances obtained by , and determines the orientation of the main body +01 with respect to the area. The main body 101 selects a first wall surface that is suitable for cleaning based on the direction of lO1, moves the main body 101 along that wall surface, and when it reaches the vicinity of the end of the first wall surface, moves along a second wall surface that is continuous with the first wall surface. body 10
1 is moved, and then the main body 101 is moved backward along the first wall surface. Calculating means calculates the traveling direction of the main body 101 so as to continuously move the main body 101 along the first wall surface. Correction means 110 corrects the amount of movement of the main body 101 based on the direction of the main body 101 obtained by the discrimination means 107;
This is a control means for causing the 01 to run for cleaning.

(E) Operational cleaning travel is started, and the determining means 107 recognizes the wall surface of the cleaning area based on the distance from the measuring means 106;
When the direction of the vacuum cleaner body 101 is determined, the calculation means 10B selects the first wall surface, calculates the direction of movement along the wall surface, and calculates the direction of movement when reaching the vicinity of the end of the first wall surface. The amount of movement is calculated.

Then, the amount of movement is corrected by the correction means 109 based on the orientation of the cleaner body 101, and the amount of movement is corrected by the control means 109 based on the calculated traveling direction and the corrected amount of movement.
A cleaning run according to No. 10 is performed.

Therefore, even if the direction of the vacuum cleaner body changes with respect to the cleaning path, that is, even if the long sleeve of the dust suction port facing the floor is located diagonally to the direction of movement, cleaning will not be completed. (This makes it possible to efficiently clean a predetermined area.

(f) Examples Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on examples shown in the drawings. Note that this invention is not limited to this.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing an embodiment of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway side view showing the back side of FIG.

In these figures, ■ is a self-propelled vacuum cleaner body, which is covered with an exterior case 4 consisting of an upper case 2 and a base skirt part 3, and the base skirt part 3 has a plurality of built-in collision sensors 5a. A bumper 5 is provided. Furthermore, a rotatable distance measuring section 6, which will be described later, is arranged in the upper part of the upper case 2.

7 is a board of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner main body 1, and a pair of dust suction mechanisms 8a and 8b are arranged in front and behind this board.

These dust suction mechanisms 8a and 8b pass through the dust suction parts 9a and 9b, which each have a built-in dust suction fan motor and dust collection filter, the floor suction tool 11a, tlb, and the base 7, to the dust suction part 9a.
, 9b and a floor suction tool 11a.

flexible hoses 10a that connect the zb and zb respectively.

10b, floor suction device lifting motors 12a, 12b attached to the lower surface of the base 7, and floor suction device 11a.

The suction device 11b is made up of wires 13a and 13b that are wound up by motors 12a and 12b for raising and lowering the suction device for the floor. 15
is a rechargeable battery for power supply placed on the base 7.

16a, 16b, 16c, and 16d are wheel units installed at the front and rear left and right positions of the base 7, and the wheels 17
a=17d, driving motor 18a connected to the wheel=18
d (travel motor 18a.

18b is not shown), wheel support shafts 19a to 19d (wheel support shafts 19a, 19b are not shown), wheel support shaft housings 20a to 20d (wheel support shaft housings 20a, 2.O
(b is not shown), and wheel support shafts 19a to 19
It is rotatable around d.

Steering pulleys 21a to 21 are mounted on the wheel support shafts 19a and 19d.
d (the steering pulleys 21a and 21b are not shown) are fixed to each other, and the output pulley 21e and the steering pulleys 21'a to 2 are fixed to the output shaft of the steering motor 22.
Since the steering timing belt 23 is passed over the frame 1d, it is possible to change the directions of the four wheel units 161 to 16d by rotating the steering motor 22 and steer the four wheel units 161 to 16d.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the distance measuring section 6 with the outer cover removed.

As shown in the figure, the distance measuring unit 6 includes a light source wJ25 consisting of a semiconductor laser and a collimator lens on the rotary table 24;
Light receiving sections 26a to 26c each include a collective lens and a light irradiation position detection element such as a COD linear image sensor.
are arranged based on the principle of triangulation, and these and their circuits (not shown) are rotatable about a rotation axis 27 that coincides with the central axis of the self-propelled cleaner body 1.

By rotating the distance measuring section 6 with a rotation motor (not shown), it is possible to measure the distance to the object in the entire circumferential direction of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner main body l.

In order to increase the measurement resolution, three light receiving sections 26a to 26c are installed: a short distance light receiving section 26a, a middle distance light receiving section 26b, and a long distance light receiving section 26c. It is possible to set it to .

Note that an ultrasonic distance measuring device, a TV camera, or the like may be used as the distance measuring section 6.

FIG. 5 is a circuit block diagram showing the configuration of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

As shown in this figure, a central processing circuit 28 consisting of a CPU
is connected to the collision sensor 5a via the interface circuit 30.
and the distance measurement data from the distance measurement circuit 31 of the distance measurement unit 6 are read together with the angle with respect to the self-propelled cleaner main body l. Then, the area where the wall surface is defined by a line connecting the obtained distances continuously is recognized, and furthermore, the orientation of the cleaner main body l with respect to that area is determined. Also, from among the recognized plurality of wall surfaces, a first wall surface suitable for cleaning is selected based on the orientation of the vacuum cleaner main body l, the vacuum cleaner main body l is advanced along the selected wall surface, and the first wall surface When reaching the closest point, move the vacuum cleaner main body I along the second wall surface that is continuous with the first wall surface, and then move the vacuum cleaner main body I along the first wall surface again.
The moving direction of the cleaner main body 1 is calculated so that the vacuum cleaner main body 1 moves backwards and performs these steps continuously. Based on the calculation results, the driving motors 18a to 18d1, the dust suction motors 9a, 9b, the floor suction tool lifting motor I2, +2b
, the steering motor 22 and the rotation motor 32 of the distance measuring section 6
control.

Furthermore, the measurement data, discrimination data, calculation data, and control data are stored in a storage circuit 29 consisting of a RAM, and are referred to and processed by the central processing circuit 28 as necessary.

The operation of such a configuration will be explained below using FIGS. 6 and 7.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner;
FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory diagram based on FIG. 6.

In FIG. 6, when cleaning is started at an arbitrary position, for example, position A shown in FIG. 7, the central processing circuit 28
First, the range finder rotation motor 32 is driven via the interface circuit 30 to rotate the range finder 6, and the range finder circuit 3 rotates the range finder 6 at intervals of, for example, 1 degree around the entire circumference of the cleaner body 1.
1 measurement data is read and stored in the storage circuit 29.

The second measurement data is distance data in all directions between the cleaner body 1 and an external object such as a wall or an obstacle.

Regarding this distance data, from now on, distance measurement will be continued until the entire cleaning area has been cleaned and moved to a predetermined position (position B in Fig. 7, but it can be set arbitrarily).
The distance measurement data stored in the storage circuit 29 is updated.

Based on this distance measurement data, the central processing circuit 28 determines the shape of the cleaning area, such as a room, in which the vacuum cleaner main body 1 is currently placed, such that a line connecting the distances continuously is the wall surface. recognize. Then, the position of the cleaner body 1 within the cleaning area and the direction in which the cleaner body 1 faces with respect to the cleaning area are determined (step 201).

If the position of the vacuum cleaner main body 1 is not the cleaning start position (step 202), the front and rear floor suction tool lifting motors 12a, 12b are driven, and the floor suction tool 11a, Il
b away from the floor, and the steering motor 22 is driven to direct the running wheels 16a to 16d toward a cleaning start position B, which is set in advance at a corner of the cleaning area depending on the shape of the cleaning area. (See Figure 7), traveling motor 18
a=18d to move to the cleaning start position B (step 203).

When the cleaning start position B is reached, the traveling motor 18a=1
8d, the central processing circuit 2 selects a first wall surface M suitable for cleaning travel based on the orientation of the vacuum cleaner main body l from among the plurality of wall surfaces previously recognized, and The traveling direction of the cleaner body 1 is calculated so that the cleaner body 1 runs along the direction. Then, the steering motor 22 is driven to move the running wheels 16a-16d in the direction shown by arrow C in FIG.
(The direction of arrow C in the figure is the front direction of the vacuum cleaner main body 1.)

Next, the floor suction device lifting motors 12a, 12b are driven to ground the front and rear floor suction devices 11a, llb to the floor surface, and the front and rear dust suction fan motors 9a, 9b are operated.

Thereafter, the traveling motor 18a=18d is driven to move the cleaner body 1 forward along the first wall surface M (step 2
04).

The central processing circuit 28 constantly calculates the travel distance of the cleaner main body l based on the distance signal from the distance measuring circuit 31 of the distance measuring section 6.

The running distance from the cleaning start position B is the front and rear floor suction tools 1.
When the distance fiL between 1a and 11b (see Figure 7) is exceeded,
That is, when moving forward, when the rear floor suction tool zb travels from the cleaning start position B to the position where the front floor suction tool 11a was, the rear dust suction fan motor 9b is stopped and , the rear floor suction device lifting motor 12b is rotated, and the rear floor suction device 11b is separated from the floor surface (as shown in the position in FIG. 7).

In this state, the vehicle runs while cleaning until it approaches the first wall surface M end, that is, the second wall surface N continuous to the first wall surface M end.

If any abnormality occurs in the vacuum cleaner main body 1 on the way (step 205), it is determined whether it can be moved from that position (step 206), and if it is possible to move, it will move to the cleaning starting position B. Step 207), if it is impossible to move, it stops there and turns off the power itself to complete the cleaning.

If no abnormality occurs, the robot continues cleaning while detecting obstacles, and if an obstacle is detected (step 206), an avoidance operation is performed to avoid the obstacle. (Step 207), and the cleaning run is resumed.

Further, if no obstacle is detected but an object comes into contact with the collision sensor 5a of the vacuum cleaner body 1 (step 208), the vacuum cleaner body 1 is stopped (step 209).
), if a restart key (not shown) is pressed (step 210), the cleaning run is restarted.

If nothing comes into contact with the collision sensor 5a, the cleaning movement is continued to the end of the first wall surface M while calculating the moving direction of the cleaner main body l (step 211),
When approaching the second wall N (step 2+2), the central processing circuit 28 calculates a stopping position based on the distance measurement data from the distance measuring section 6, and the driving motor is moved at a predetermined distance from the second wall N. 18a to 18d (step 213), and further stops the front dust suction fan motor 9a, rotates the front floor suction device lifting motor 9a, and moves the front floor suction device 11a away from the floor surface. (7th
(shown in Figure E).

If the cleaning has not been completed, that is, if there is an uncleaned area (step 214), the steering motor 22
After rotating the traveling wheels 16a to 16d by 90 degrees in the direction along the second wall surface N, that is, in the direction shown by arrow F in FIG. )
If the direction to the floor suction tool lla, llb is located at right angles to the direction of movement (arrow C), the traveling motor 18a=18d is driven to The suction tools 11a to llb move by the length Q (see FIG. 7) (step 215) and stop (step 215).
(shown in Figure G). If the direction of the floor suction tools 11a, 11b is oblique to the direction of movement, a correction described later is performed, and the suction tools 11a and llb for the floor move by the corrected distance and then stop.

Therefore, the steering motor 22 is driven again to direct the running wheels +6a=16d along the first wall surface M in the direction indicated by the arrow H in FIG. After rotating the motors 12a and 12b for raising and lowering the dust suction tool to ground the front and rear floor suction tools lla and llb on the floor, and operating the front and rear dust suction fan motors 9a and 9b, the traveling motors 18a and 18d are turned on. and move the vacuum cleaner body l backwards.

In this case, as well as when moving forward, when the vacuum cleaner main body l moves the distance between the front and rear floor suction devices 11a and llb (indicated by device r in FIG. 7), The dust suction fan motor 9a located on the rear side in the direction of travel is stopped, and the floor suction tool lifting motor 12λ, also located on the rear side in the travel direction, is driven to move the floor suction tool 11a away from the floor surface.
A cleaning run is performed from the wall surface ① to the third wall surface O connected to the other end of the wall ②.

Thereafter, the same process is repeated, and when the entire cleaning area is cleaned (as shown by device J in FIG. 7), the traveling motor 18a=i8d
Then, the dust suction motors 9a and 9b are stopped, and the floor suction tool lifting motors 12a and 12b are driven, and the floor suction tool 11a is driven.
, llb away from the floor.

Thereafter, the steering motor 22 is moved so that the running wheels 16a to 16d are directed in the direction of the cleaning start position (indicated by device B in FIG. 7).
and drives the traveling motors 18a to 18d to move to the cleaning start position B. Step 216L After notifying the completion of cleaning with a light emitting element or a sounding element, etc., the cleaner turns off the power to the main body L and cleans. end.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of lateral movement when the direction of the floor suction tools 11a and 11b is not perpendicular to the direction of movement, and FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the operation based on FIG. 8. .

In FIG. 8, when the vacuum cleaner main body l comes to a stop close to the second wall surface N from the direction indicated by the arrow P in FIG. 9, the central processing circuit 28 Step 21? ), the orientation of the cleaner body 1 with respect to the first wall surface M and the second wall surface N, that is, the angle θ relative to the wall is calculated (step 218).

Then, based on the length Q1 of the floor suction tools 11a and llb, the distance between the floor suction tools 11a and the floor suction tool zb, and the orientation θ of the cleaner body 1, the amount of lateral movement Qc as described later is determined.
(Step 219), moves laterally along the second wall N (Step 220), stops (Step 221), and changes direction in the direction indicated by the arrow Q along the first wall > r. , As described above, the cleaner main body l is moved backward again along the first wall surface Nl.

If this is done, as shown in FIG. 9, the cleaning area R when the cleaner body 1 sweeps in the direction shown by arrow P and the cleaning area S when cleaning runs in the direction shown by arrow Q. It's adjacent to the house, so there's nothing left to clean.

Note that such correction of the amount of lateral movement may be performed in advance at the start of cleaning at the cleaning start position B shown in FIG. 7, and the result may be used thereafter.

Figure 1O shows floor suction tool 1 in calculating the amount of lateral movement.
It is an explanatory view modeling and showing the relationship between 1a and llb and the second wall surface N.

In the figure, actual 111a and Ilb are the lengths of the floor suction devices 11a and Ilb after modeling the floor suction devices, a is the length of the floor suction devices 11a and Ilb, L is the distance between the floor suction devices 11a and the floor suction devices 11b, and θ indicates the direction of the vacuum cleaner body 1, and the lateral movement amount Qc is: Qc = Qs 1n((rr / 2) - θ) - Lc
It can be determined using the formula os((π/2)−〇).

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the cleaner main body 1 when the above-mentioned lateral movement amount is not corrected.

As shown in the figure, the amount of lateral movement is simply determined by the floor suction tool 11a without considering the direction θ of the vacuum cleaner main body l.

When the length of 11b is a, the vacuum cleaner body l is
The cleaning area R and the arrow T when cleaning is carried out in the direction shown in
When cleaning is carried out in the direction indicated by , an uncleaned area V remains, which is not adjacent to the cleaning area U.

In this way, the vacuum cleaner body is equipped with a distance measuring unit that measures the distance to surrounding objects, which allows it to recognize the shape of the current cleaning area and determine the direction of the vacuum cleaner body with respect to that area. If the direction of movement is determined and the direction of movement is determined, and the amount of lateral movement is determined based on the orientation of the cleaner body, there will be nothing left to clean, making it possible to clean efficiently.

(G) Effects of the Invention According to this invention, the vacuum cleaner body is provided with a measuring means for measuring the distance from the vacuum cleaner body to surrounding objects, thereby recognizing the shape of the cleaning area currently placed. The system determines the orientation of the vacuum cleaner with respect to the area, calculates the direction of movement, and corrects the amount of lateral movement based on the orientation of the vacuum cleaner, eliminating any leftover cleaning residue.
A self-propelled vacuum cleaner that efficiently cleans a predetermined area is provided.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the present invention; Fig. 2: a side view showing an embodiment of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner according to the invention;
Fig. 3 is a partially cutaway side view showing the back side of Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is a plan view showing the distance measuring section with the outer cover removed, and Fig. 5 is the f shown in Figs. 2 and 3. 2. A circuit block diagram showing the configuration of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner, Fig. 6: A flowchart showing the operation of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner, Fig. 7 is an operation explanatory diagram based on Fig. 6, and Fig. 8 is for floor use. A flowchart showing the operation of lateral movement when the direction of the suction tool is not perpendicular to the direction of movement, Fig. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the operation based on Fig. 8, and Fig. 1O shows the amount of movement in the lateral direction. An explanatory diagram showing a model of the relationship between the floor suction tool and the second wall surface in calculation, and FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the vacuum cleaner main body when the amount of lateral movement is not corrected. . l... Self-propelled vacuum cleaner body, 2... Upper case, 3... Base skirt part, 4...
Exterior case, 5...Bumper, 5a...
Collision sensor, 6... Distance measuring unit, 7... Self-propelled vacuum cleaner main body board, 8a, 8b... Dust suction mechanism, 9a, 9b... Dust suction part, 10a, IOb...
...Flexible hose, 11a, Ilb... Floor suction tool, 12a, 12b... Floor suction tool lifting motor, 13a, l: 3b... Wire , 15・
...Rechargeable battery, 16a-16d...Wheel unit, 17a-17d...Wheel, 18c, 18d...Travel motor, 19c, 1
9d...Wheel support shaft, 20c, 20d...
・Wheel support shaft housing, 20c, 20d... Steering pulley, 21e... Output pulley, 22.
... Steering motor, 23 ... Steering timing belt, 24 ... Turntable, 25 ...
...Light source section, 26a-26c... Light receiving section, 27
...rotation axis, A-J...position, L...distance between front and rear floor suction tools, Q...
・Length of the floor suction tool, θ...Direction of the cleaning area, M...1st
wall surface, N...2nd wall surface, 0...3rd wall surface
Wall surface, R, S, U... Cleaning area, ■...
・Uncleaned area. shi, z] Agent Patent attorney Shinda Nogawa, -,・-1, 4
,0. ! -, j 41 Figure 2 Figure 4 Figure 7 Figure 11a llb Figure 8 Figure 9 Figure 10 Figure 11 Amendment to Figure Procedures January 8, 1988 Mr. Kunio Ogawa, Commissioner of the Patent Office
-1-■, Indication of the case 1986 Patent Application No. 271028 2, Name of the invention Self-propelled vacuum cleaner 3, Relationship with the F+R correction case Patent applicant address Moriguchi type Keihan Hondori 2nd lower 18th address name
(188) Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. Representative Satoshi Iue 4, Agent 530 Address 1-3 Quarter, 5-chome Nishitenma, Kita-ku, Osaka
One Bill 6, Subject of Amendment (1) "Detailed Description of the Invention" Column 7 of the Specification, Contents of Amendment (1) Correct the front dust suction fan motor 91a and the rear dust suction fan motor 91bJ.■Replace [9a. Correct. ■Correct "9b" on page 13, line 19 of the same book to r91bJ. ■Correct "Step 206" in the 8th line of page 14 of the same book to "r step 306". ■“Step 207” on page 14 of the same book, lines 9 to 10
is corrected to "step 307". ■Correct "9a" in the 12th line of page 15 and the 3rd line of page 17 of the same book to r91 aJ. (2) Figures 5 and 6 of the drawings will be corrected as shown in the attached sheet.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A main body of the vacuum cleaner that moves with a traveling means and a steering means, a dust suction means disposed at the front and rear of the main body and having a dust suction port for sucking dust from the floor surface, and a vacuum cleaner from the main body to surrounding objects. a measuring means for measuring the distance between the measuring means, a determining means for recognizing an area whose wall surface is a line continuously connecting the distances obtained by the measuring means, and determining the orientation of the main body with respect to the area, and the determining means Select a first wall surface that is suitable for cleaning based on the orientation of the main body from among the plurality of wall surfaces recognized by the main body, move the main body along the selected wall surface, and when the main body reaches the vicinity of the end of the first wall surface, the first wall surface is selected. Calculating means for calculating the traveling direction of the main body so as to move the main body along a second wall surface connected to the first wall surface, then move the main body backward along the first wall surface, and continuously perform this operation; a correction means for correcting the movement amount of the movement along the first wall surface obtained by the calculation means based on the orientation of the main body obtained by the discrimination means; and a correction means based on the calculation result of the calculation means and the correction means. A self-propelled vacuum cleaner comprising a control means for causing the main body to travel for cleaning based on a correction result.