WO2011074716A1

WO2011074716A1 - Robot cleaner

Info

Publication number: WO2011074716A1
Application number: PCT/KR2009/007489
Authority: WO
Inventors: 강성수
Original assignee: 엘지전자 주식회사
Priority date: 2009-12-15
Filing date: 2009-12-15
Publication date: 2011-06-23

Abstract

The present invention relates to a robot cleaner of which the dust collection capacity is increased. The robot cleaner according to the present invention includes: a main body having a driving motor and a suction motor for generating suction force; an impurity storing section detachably provided in the main body and storing dust contained in the air which is collected by the suction motor; and a dust compression means provided to the impurity storing section and compressing the collected dust by moving in a predetermined direction. According to the present invention, it is possible to increase the dust collection capacity of the robot cleaner and improve convenience.

Description

robotic vacuum

The present invention relates to a robot cleaner with increased dust collection capacity.

In general, the robot cleaner uses a charged battery as a power source, and moves the bottom of an area to be cleaned according to an input program while sucking foreign matter together with dust to perform cleaning by itself.

To this end, the robot cleaner includes a main body forming an outline, a driving motor for moving the main body, a suction motor for generating suction force, and a dust bin provided inside the main body to store sucked dust.

That is, the robot cleaner transports the air sucked while driving the cleaning area to the dust container through a predetermined flow path, and the air introduced into the dust container is filtered and discharged to the outside of the robot cleaner, and dust separated from the air is stored in the dust container. Configured to be stored.

On the other hand, if the dust collection amount inside the dust container during the cleaning process increases, the cleaning performance may be reduced due to the reduced suction force of the robot cleaner. In addition, the robot cleaner is provided with a plurality of components for movement inside the body, the size of the dust bin is relatively small compared to the general household cleaner.

Therefore, the user may feel uncomfortable to check the dust container from time to time before and after the cleaning operation of the robot cleaner and empty the dust collected in the dust box.

An object of the present invention is to provide a robot cleaner in which the dust collecting capacity is increased by compressing the dust collected by the dust compressing means.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a robot cleaner which allows the dust compressing means to be activated when the robot cleaner is charged or terminated to increase dust collection capacity.

Another object of the present invention, by providing an air flow rate sensor for detecting the flow rate on the flow path of the air flowing into the robot cleaner to operate the dust compression means when the flow rate is reduced by the suction force of the robot cleaner can be improved To provide a robot cleaner.

The present invention provides a main body including a driving motor for movement and a suction motor for generating a suction force, and a foreign matter storage unit detachably provided inside the main body to store dust in the air collected by the suction motor; It is characterized in that it comprises a dust compression means for compressing the dust collected in the foreign matter storage unit.

According to the robot cleaner according to the present invention, the dust contained in the foreign matter storage unit is compressed by the dust compression means, so that the dust collecting capacity of the robot cleaner is increased.

In addition, in the robot cleaner according to the present invention, a decrease in suction force of the robot cleaner due to dust collected by an air flow sensor provided on a flow path of air introduced into the main body may be detected. That is, when the flow path of the air is blocked by the collected dust, the flow rate detected by the air flow sensor is lowered. When the decrease in the flow rate is detected, the dust compressing means operates.

Therefore, by compressing the dust collected using the dust compression means, the suction force can be smoothly transmitted without emptying the dust, thereby having the advantage that the cleaning operation can be resumed without the operation of the robot cleaner.

In addition, the dust compression means includes a brush for cleaning the exhaust filter to clean the dust formed on the exhaust filter at the same time as the dust compression. Therefore, there is an advantage that the suction force can be more smoothly transmitted after the dust compression.

In addition, the robot cleaner according to the present invention may be controlled to operate the dust compression means even when the battery is charged, thereby reducing the number of times the user emptyes the foreign matter storage unit, thereby improving convenience of use.

1 is a view showing the appearance of a robot cleaner according to the present invention.

2 is a view for showing a detailed configuration of a robot cleaner according to the present invention.

Figure 3 is a view for showing the detailed configuration of the foreign matter storage unit that is the main configuration of the robot cleaner according to the present invention.

4 is a view for showing a movement path of the air sucked in the robot cleaner according to the present invention.

5 is a view for showing the operation of the dust compression means in the robot cleaner according to the present invention.

6 is a flow chart for showing a control process of the robot cleaner according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the spirit of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments presented, and those skilled in the art who understand the spirit of the present invention can easily suggest other embodiments within the scope of the same idea.

1 is a view showing the appearance of a robot cleaner according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a view for showing a detailed configuration of the robot cleaner according to the present invention.

Referring to these drawings, the robot cleaner 1 according to the present invention has an external appearance formed by a main body 10 formed to open at an upper side thereof, and a cover 20 to shield the opened upper portion of the main body 10. The foreign material storage unit 100 is provided in the space formed by the main body 10 and the cover 20 to store foreign substances in the sucked air.

In addition, the cover 20 shields an upper portion of the main body 10 and selectively covers an opened portion of the first cover 22 and a first cover 22 formed to open an upper center portion thereof. A second cover 24 is included.

The first cover 22 is formed with a seating portion 21 for mounting the foreign matter storage unit 100, the foreign material storage unit 100 accommodated in the seating portion 21 is generated in the main body 10 Although not shown, the foreign matter suction unit 28 communicating with the main body 10 may be provided with an air discharge unit for discharging the air introduced into the foreign matter storage unit 100 to the outside so that the suction force may be transmitted. .

That is, the seating portion 21 is recessed downward from the top of the first cover 20, the foreign matter suction portion 28 may be in communication with the suction motor 40 provided in the main body 10. One side of the seating portion 21 is formed to be open so that it is open.

In addition, the mounting portion 21 may be provided with a mounting guide groove 23 is formed recessed for smooth mounting of the foreign material storage unit 100.

The second cover 24 is located above the receiving position of the foreign matter storage unit 100 to detach the foreign matter storage unit 100 without separating the first cover 22 and the main body 10. It is connected by the first cover 22 and the rotation lever 25 in a configuration for.

Here, the pivoting lever 25 is formed in the form of a spring hinge rotatably inserted into the inside of the first cover 22, so that the second cover 24 can be kept open by elasticity.

In addition, a blocking protrusion 24A protruding downward is formed on a lower surface of the second cover 24 to shield the second cover 24, and the locking protrusion 24A is formed on the first cover 22. A locking portion 27 is further formed to be accommodated and locked.

In addition, the second cover 24 is connected to the locking protrusion 24A to release the restraint force between the locking portion 27 and the locking protrusion 24A by a user's pressing operation. It is further provided with an open button 26 to be opened.

On the other hand, the bottom of the main body 10 is provided with a moving wheel 80 for running. The moving wheel 80 may be provided in plural on both left and right sides of the main body 10.

In addition, an agitator (see 60 FIG. 4) is further provided on the bottom surface of the main body 10 to allow foreign substances in the cleaning area to be scattered to more effectively suck the foreign substances from the suction unit (see FIG. 4).

And, both sides of the main body 10 is provided with a side brush 90 for collecting foreign matters of the cleaning area to the suction unit (see Fig. 4) of the cleaner. The side brush 90 may be rotatably coupled to the main body 10.

The main body 10 is further provided with a suction motor 40 for generating a suction force for suction of the foreign material, and a drive unit 60 for the rotation of the moving wheel 80 and the agitator (see 60 Figure 4). do.

The driving unit 60 may be divided into a wheel driving unit 62 for providing a rotational force to the moving wheel 80 and an agitator driving unit 64 for providing a rotational force to the agitator (see FIG. 4).

Hereinafter, the foreign material storage unit 100 will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3 is a view for showing the detailed configuration of the foreign matter storage unit that is a main component of the robot cleaner according to the present invention, Figure 4 is a view for showing the movement path of the air sucked in the robot cleaner according to the present invention is shown 5 is a view for showing the operation of the dust compression means in the robot cleaner according to the present invention.

As shown in these drawings, the foreign matter storage unit 100 includes a storage unit body 110 that forms a storage space of foreign matter, and a storage unit cover 120 that shields an upper side of the storage unit body 110. do.

The storage cover 120 may be provided with a handle 122 for the user's grip, in consideration of the mounting of the cover 20, the handle 122 is downward from the upper surface of the storage cover 120. It may be rotatably mounted in the handle receiving groove 121 is formed recessed. That is, the end of the handle 122 is provided with a rotating shaft 122A protruding outward, the shaft insertion hole 121A corresponding to the rotating shaft 122A is provided at the edge of the handle receiving groove 121 is provided. The pivot shaft 122A may be fitted into the shaft insertion hole 121A to be rotatably mounted.

The storage unit main body 110 is formed with a suction port 111 in communication with the foreign material suction unit 28 formed in the first cover 22 to suck the foreign material together with the air.

The suction port 111 is formed by opening at least a portion of the storage unit body 110, and the surface on which the suction port 111 is formed is inclined in a direction corresponding to the foreign material suction unit 28. Accordingly, when the foreign matter storage unit 110 is accommodated in the seating unit 21, the foreign matter introduced together with the air while the suction port 111 and the foreign matter suction unit 28 are in contact with each other is in communication with the storage unit main body 110. It can be captured inside.

In addition, the storage unit main body 110 is provided with an exhaust port 113 for external discharge of the air introduced into the other side and the formation position of the suction port 111. In addition, the suction motor 40 is positioned at the rear side of the exhaust port 113, and a first exhaust filter 160 may be further provided between the suction motor 40 and the exhaust port 113. That is, in the robot cleaner 1 according to the present invention, the suction port 111, the exhaust port 113, and the suction motor 40 are arranged in a straight line so that suction force can be effectively transmitted.

On the other hand, the storage unit body 110 is provided with a shielding member 141 so that the suction port 111 can be selectively shielded. The shielding member 141 is formed in a flat plate shape of a size that shields all of the suction port 111 is mounted to be rotatable based on one side of the suction port 111.

To this end, a coupling member 143 to which the shielding member 141 is mounted is provided at the edge of the suction port 111.

In detail, the shielding member 141 is configured to fit the upper end to the coupling member 143 to shield the suction port 111 in a fitted state.

To this end, the shielding member 141 is formed with a plurality of first insertion holes 142 formed therein, and the coupling member 143 is formed to protrude upwardly so that the first insertion holes 142 can be fitted thereto. The first coupling portion 144 is formed to correspond.

Accordingly, when the shielding member 141 is fitted to the first coupling part 144, the shielding member 141 is placed along the inclined surface that is the position at which the suction part 111 is formed. Can be shielded.

In addition, the coupling member 143 is further provided with an interference member 147 to prevent the shield member 141 from being removed to the upper side in the fitted state.

That is, the interference member 147 is fitted to the coupling member 143 at the upper side of the shielding member 141 to prevent the shielding member 141 from being removed upward. To this end, the second coupling portion 145 having a smaller diameter protrudes from the coupling member 143 to the upper side of the first coupling portion 144, and the second coupling portion 145 is formed on the interference member 147. The second insertion hole 148 having a size corresponding to) is formed in a plurality of perforations.

On the other hand, the shielding member 141 is rotated by the suction force generated by the suction motor 40 is operated.

In detail, when the suction motor 40 is operated to transfer the suction force into the foreign substance storage unit 100, the suction member is transferred to the shielding member 141 which is shielding the suction port 111 by its own weight, and thus the shielding member. 141 is raised while rotating relative to the first coupling portion 144.

As a result, the suction port 111 may be opened to collect foreign substances together with air into the foreign substance storage unit 100. When the suction motor 40 is stopped, the suction force inside the foreign matter storage unit 100 disappears and the shielding member 141 shields the suction port 111 by its own weight. Therefore, the dust collected in the foreign matter storage unit 100 does not flow back to the outside through the suction port 111.

On the other hand, the exhaust port 113, the first exhaust filter for separating the dust from the air introduced into the foreign matter storage unit 100 so that only the air from which the dust is removed can be discharged to the outside of the foreign matter storage unit 100 160 is provided. The first exhaust filter 160 is detachably provided at the filter fixture 180 mounted along the edge of the exhaust port 113 and may be replaced as necessary.

The air from which the foreign matter is removed while passing through the first exhaust filter 160 mounted as described above is transferred by the blower 30 to pass through the suction motor 40 and then passes through the second exhaust filter 35. After the foreign material is filtered, it is discharged to the outside.

That is, in the robot cleaner 1 according to the present invention as shown in FIG. 4, the air sucked together with the foreign matter through the suction unit 18 is introduced into the foreign matter storage unit 100, and the foreign matter storage unit ( In 100, the air from which the dust is removed by the first exhaust filter 160 is discharged through the exhaust port 113, and then passes through the second exhaust filter 35 through the air blower 30 and the suction motor 40. Is discharged to the outside.

On the other hand, on the flow path of the air as described above may be provided with an air flow rate sensor 400 for measuring the flow rate to detect whether the suction force is lowered.

In the present embodiment, the air flow rate sensor 400 is provided between the blower 30 and the second exhaust filter 35 so as to measure the displacement.

That is, when the amount of dust collected in the foreign matter storage unit 100 is increased and a part or the majority of the suction port 111 and the exhaust port 113 is shielded, the transmission path of the suction force generated by the suction motor 40 is reduced. The suction volume is reduced. Therefore, as the amount of intake decreases, the amount of exhaust discharged to the outside is reduced, so that a decrease in the amount of exhaust gas is sensed by the air flow sensor 400.

Therefore, in the air flow sensor 400, when the displacement of the exhaust gas is detected, an operation signal is transmitted to the dust compression means 200, which will be described in detail below, so as to secure a suction path.

Robot cleaner 1 according to the present invention is provided with a dust compression means 200 for compressing the dust collected in the foreign matter storage unit 100.

In detail, the dust compressing means 200 compresses dust in a direction crossing the flow path of air formed inside the foreign material storage part 100 to compress the dust shielding the flow path to one side, thereby smoothly flowing the air. Make it happen.

To this end, the dust compression means 200 has a spiral shaft 240 installed to cross the foreign matter storage unit 100, and a compression motor 220 for generating a rotational force for rotating the spiral shaft 240 and And a plurality of power transmission gears 222 and 224 which connect the compression motor 220 and the spiral shaft 240 to transmit the rotational force of the compression motor 220 to the spiral shaft 240, and the spiral shaft ( The dust collected in the foreign matter storage unit 100 is coupled to the slider 260 and the slider 260 coupled to the slider 260 and coupled with the slider 260 to move together with the slider 260. Compression member 280 is included.

The spiral shaft 240 is mounted to rotate in a fixed position on the left and right sides of the foreign matter storage unit 100 is formed on the outer surface of the spiral proceeding in one direction.

To this end, the foreign material storage unit 100 is formed with a spiral shaft fastening portion 116 protruding inward so that one end of the spiral shaft 240 can be received therethrough, the other side of the spiral shaft 240 While the other side is accommodated, there is provided a compression motor accommodating part 114 that provides an accommodation space of the plurality of power transmission gears 222 and 224 and the compression motor 220.

Here, the compression motor accommodating portion 114 is formed to protrude further to the outside than the side of the foreign material storage portion 100 to secure the receiving space, the mounting guide formed in this way the first cover 22 It is formed to correspond to the groove 23 can guide the mounting position of the foreign material storage unit (100).

In addition, the spiral shaft fastening portion 116 and the compression motor accommodating portion 114 is provided with a spiral shaft support 242 so as to be rotatable in a position where the spiral shaft 240 is fixed. The spiral shaft support 242 is configured to include a ball bearing to reduce the rotational frictional force of the spiral shaft 240 accommodated therein can be smoothly rotated in a fixed state.

The slider 260 is configured to convert the rotational motion of the spiral shaft 240 into a linear motion, and the spiral shaft 240 is mounted to penetrate the center thereof, and a steel ball provided therein is provided in the spiral The linear movement direction of the slider 260 is determined according to the rotational direction of the spiral shaft 240 while meshing with the spiral formed on the shaft 240.

In addition, the pressing member 280 is formed in a shape corresponding substantially to the dust receiving space of the foreign matter storage unit 100 is mounted on the slider 260. That is, as shown in Figure 3 is the upper end of the pressing member 280 is fixed to the lower side of the slider 260 is configured to enable a linear reciprocating movement in the horizontal direction of the foreign material storage unit 100.

Therefore, the dust collected in the foreign matter storage unit 100 is compressed while linearly moving with the movement of the slider 260.

In addition, the pressing member 280 may be further provided with a brush 282 in the direction of the exhaust port 113.

The brush 282 is configured to remove dust accumulated in the first exhaust filter 160 mounted on the exhaust port 113, and contacts the first exhaust filter 160 when the pressing member 280 moves. It will remove the accumulated dust.

Meanwhile, the power transmission gears 222 and 224 are connected to the first power transmission gear 222 in which the rotational axis and the rotational center of the compression motor 220 are connected to the same, and the spiral shaft 240 and the rotational center coincide with each other. Bevel gears divided by the second power transmission gear 224 are positioned to be orthogonal to each other to transmit the rotational force generated by the compression motor 220 to the spiral shaft 240.

Therefore, when the compression motor 220 rotates, the slider 260 moves linearly, and the pressing member 280 can compress the dust collected in the foreign matter storage unit 100.

On the other hand, the compression motor 220 may be operated by a charge signal of a battery (not shown) for supplying the operating power of the air flow sensor 400, the drive unit 60 and the suction motor 40 described above. have.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a control process of the robot cleaner according to the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, when power is supplied to the robot cleaner 1 according to the present invention, a cleaning operation is performed in which the robot cleaner 1 inhales foreign matter together with air while driving the cleaning area according to a built-in program.

On the other hand, while the cleaning operation is performed as described above, the battery which is the power source of the robot cleaner 1 is consumed, and when the battery is consumed more than a predetermined state, the robot cleaner 1 automatically returns to the charging device.

When the robot cleaner 1 returns to the charging device, the battery terminal and the charging terminal are in contact with each other, and the battery is charged. When the contact between the battery terminal and the charging terminal is detected, an operation signal is generated by the compression motor 220. Is passed.

Therefore, in the compression motor 220, the spiral shaft 240 rotates in the forward / reverse direction to compress the dust while the pressing member 280 slides in the foreign matter storage unit 100 during the filling process. When the filling is completed, the pressing member 280 is moved to an initial position, that is, the side of the foreign matter storage unit 100, and then the operation of the compression motor 220 is stopped.

In addition, the compression motor 220 operated as described above may be operated by detecting the displacement reduction signal of the air flow sensor 400 described above.

In detail, when the amount of dust collected in the foreign matter storage unit 100 increases, when the flow path of air is shielded, the intake amount of the air introduced into the foreign matter storage unit 100 is reduced, and thus the amount of exhaust gas detected is set. If the displacement is less than the air flow sensor 400 to transmit the operation signal to the compression motor 220.

Therefore, the compression motor 220 receiving the operation signal by the air flow sensor 400 is the dust compression through the pressing member 800 while the forward / reverse rotation is controlled as in the case of receiving the charging signal To be possible.

In addition, the dust accumulated on the first exhaust filter 160 may be removed by the brush 282 provided on one side of the pressing member 280 in the process of compressing the dust.

On the other hand, when the operation signal is transmitted to the compression motor 220 by the air flow sensor 400 as described above, after the operation of the suction motor 40 and the drive unit 60 is stopped to control the dust to be made It would be desirable to be.

In the robot cleaner according to the present invention, the dust collecting means is provided in the foreign matter storage unit for collecting dust, so that the dust collecting capacity may be increased.

Therefore, the number of times that the user emptyes the foreign matter storage unit of the robot cleaner may be reduced, thereby improving convenience of use.

In addition, when the dust is collected in the foreign matter storage unit more than a predetermined amount of the suction force is reduced, the robot cleaner according to the present invention detects a decrease in the suction force through the air flow sensor, when the suction force decrease is detected using a dust compression means By compressing the collected dust to secure the movement path of the air so that the suction force can be transmitted smoothly.

Therefore, since the cleaning performance of the robot cleaner can be further improved, the consumer's preference is expected to be improved, and thus the industrial availability is expected to be very high.

Claims

A main body including a driving motor for moving and a suction motor for generating suction force;

A foreign matter storage unit detachably provided inside the main body and storing dust in the air collected by the suction motor;

And a dust compression means provided at the foreign matter storage unit to compress the collected dust.
The method of claim 1, wherein the dust compression means,

Robot cleaner to perform dust compression after the operation of the suction motor is stopped.
The method of claim 1, wherein the dust compression means,

And a robot cleaner compressing the dust in a direction crossing the flow path of the air flowing into the main body and passing through the foreign matter storage unit and discharged to the outside.
The method of claim 1, wherein the dust compression means,

A robot cleaner operated when the battery is charged to provide power to the drive motor and the suction motor.
The method of claim 1, wherein the main body,

An air flow rate sensor is provided on a flow path of air flowing into the robot cleaner, and the dust compressing means operates when the flow rate detected by the air flow rate sensor is equal to or less than a set value.
The dust compression means according to claim 1,

A spiral shaft installed to cross the foreign matter storage unit;

A compression motor for generating a rotational force for rotating the spiral shaft,

A plurality of power transmission gears connecting the compression motor and the spiral shaft to transmit the rotational force of the compression motor to the spiral shaft;

A slider coupled to the spiral shaft to determine a sliding movement direction according to a rotation direction;

And a pressing member coupled to the slider to compress the dust collected in the foreign matter storage unit while moving together with the slider.
According to claim 6, The foreign material storage unit,

A spiral shaft fastening part to which one end of the spiral shaft is rotatably fixed;

The other end of the spiral shaft is rotatably fixed, the robot cleaner including a compression motor receiving portion for providing a space for receiving the power transmission gear and the compression motor.
The method of claim 6, wherein the pressing member,

Robot cleaner further comprises a brush for cleaning the exhaust filter.