JP2007181660A - Robot cleaning system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a robot cleaning system having both a general cleaning function using a cleaner and a cleaning robot charging function using a cleaning robot. <P>SOLUTION: The robot cleaning system comprises the cleaner 100 structured to allow a user to perform the manual cleaning while moving the cleaner in a cleaning zone, and a charging device 140 coupled to the cleaning robot 10, which performs the automatic cleaning, for charging a charging battery 60 set inside the cleaning robot 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

 The present invention relates to a robot cleaning system, and more particularly to a robot cleaning system including a vacuum cleaner for manual cleaning and a cleaning robot for automatic cleaning having a charging device.

 A vacuum cleaner is a device that cleans a room by removing dust and the like in the room. In general, a vacuum cleaner that collects dust and dirt by using a suction force generated from a low-pressure part is used. Recently, a cleaning robot has been developed that removes foreign substances such as dust from the floor surface while moving by itself through an automatic running function without manual operation of the user. Hereinafter, removing a foreign substance while the cleaning robot moves by itself is referred to as “automatic cleaning”, and removing a foreign substance while the user moves using a vacuum cleaner is referred to as “manual cleaning”.

 Inside the cleaning robot, a rechargeable battery that supplies power necessary for driving is installed. Accordingly, the cleaning robot is used in one cleaning system together with a docking station that is located at a specific place in the room and charges the cleaning robot.

 The cleaning robot as described above is advantageous in that it can reduce the labor force of the user during manual cleaning, but the cleaning robot has the following problems. First, the cleaning robot has an automatic cleaning function limited to the floor surface. That is, the cleaning robot cannot automatically clean a place other than the floor (for example, a place on a sofa or a shelf) and has a limited cleaning area. Secondly, since the cleaning robot is smaller in size than a general vacuum cleaner, it cannot generate a strong suction force and the cleaning becomes incomplete.

 Due to the disadvantages of the cleaning robot as described above, the user needs to manually clean a specific area using a general vacuum cleaner other than the cleaning robot. That is, since the cleaning robot lacks the power to sufficiently clean all the areas, it is preferable to perform manual cleaning in specific areas.

 Accordingly, in order to perform all automatic cleaning and manual cleaning, a cleaning robot, a docking station, and a general vacuum cleaner are required, which increases the manufacturing cost and reduces the available indoor space. there were.

 The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and its purpose is to clean a robot robot that has a general cleaning function using a vacuum cleaner and a cleaning robot charging function using a cleaning robot. To provide a system.

 To achieve the above object, a robot cleaning system according to the present invention is connected to a vacuum cleaner configured to allow a user to perform manual cleaning while moving in a cleaning area, and to a cleaning robot that performs automatic cleaning, And a charging device for charging a charging battery installed in the cleaning robot.

 When the cleaning robot returns to the vacuum cleaner for charging, it further includes a main body having a space for accommodating the cleaning robot, and the charging device is disposed outside the main body so as to be connected to the cleaning robot. Includes provided power terminals.

 The main body has a protruding portion protruding forward to form a space for accommodating the cleaning robot at a lower portion thereof, and the power terminal is located on a lower surface of the protruding portion.

 The vacuum cleaner according to the present invention is a vacuum cleaner configured such that a user can perform manual cleaning while moving in a cleaning area, and the vacuum cleaner is a storage space for storing a cleaning robot for automatic cleaning. A power source installed on a side surface of the main body forming the housing space so as to supply electric power to the cleaning robot when the cleaning robot is located in the housing space. It is characterized by including a terminal.

 The main body further includes a protruding portion that protrudes forward from the upper end by a predetermined length and forms the accommodating space at a lower portion thereof, and the power terminal is located on a lower surface of the protruding portion.

 The vacuum cleaner which concerns on this invention has the effect that the efficiency of the apparatus for automatic cleaning and manual cleaning can be improved by having a general cleaning function and a cleaning robot charge function.

 Therefore, compared with the conventional case provided with a large number of devices for automatic cleaning and manual cleaning, it is possible to reduce the economic burden and to achieve improved space utilization.

 Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

 FIG. 1 is a side view schematically showing the external appearance of a vacuum cleaner according to the present invention and a cleaning robot that returns to the vacuum cleaner according to the present invention for charging. FIG. 2 shows the vacuum cleaner shown in FIG. It is a sectional side view which shows the internal structure of a cleaning robot.

  Before describing the configuration of the vacuum cleaner according to the present invention, the configuration of the cleaning robot 10 that returns to the vacuum cleaner according to the present invention when charging is required during automatic cleaning will be briefly described.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the cleaning robot 10 includes a robot body 20, a suction unit 30, a drive unit 40, a control unit 50, a recognition unit (not shown), a charging battery 60, and a battery charge amount detection unit 70. Is done.

  The suction part 30 is for sucking and collecting dust, and includes a brush 31, a suction pipe 32, a dust collector 33 and a blower 34. The drive unit 40 is for autonomously moving the cleaning robot 10, and includes a drive wheel 41, a driven wheel 42, and a drive motor (not shown) for rotating the drive wheel 41. The recognition unit (not shown) includes an obstacle detection sensor, a travel distance detection sensor, a camera, and the like so that the cleaning robot 10 can smoothly perform operations such as cleaning, traveling, and returning. When the cleaning robot 10 is connected to the cleaner 100 according to the present invention, the rechargeable battery 60 has a charging terminal 61 that protrudes to the outside of the robot body 10 so as to be charged by a commercial AC power source. When the cleaning robot 10 returns to the vacuum cleaner 100, the battery charge amount detection unit 70 detects the charge amount of the rechargeable battery 60, and when the detected charge amount reaches the lower limit level of the setting, the charge request signal is transmitted to the control unit. 50.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a vacuum cleaner 100 according to the present invention includes a main body 110 in which various components are mounted, and an inhaler 120 for inhaling dust and foreign substances on the floor surface B. And a connecting pipe 130 for connecting the suction body 120 and the main body 110 so that the suction input generated from the main body 110 is transmitted to the suction body 120.

  The connecting pipe 130 includes a suction hose 131 and a suction pipe 132, and a handle 133 in which various buttons are installed between the suction hose 131 and the suction pipe 132 to facilitate user operation. Is provided. The suction hose 131 is made of a stretchable bellows tube, one end of which is connected to the main body 110 and the other end is connected to the handle 133. The suction pipe 132 has one end connected to the suction body 120 and the other end connected to the handle 133. With such a configuration, the user can manually clean dust and foreign substances on the floor surface while moving freely while standing.

  Inside the main body 110, a blower 111 for providing power for sucking dust during manual cleaning and a dust collector 112 for storing the sucked dust are installed. At this time, the dust collector 112 is a dust bag or a cyclone dust collector that has been widely adopted recently. Moreover, although not shown in drawing, the air blower 111 is comprised including the suction motor and the ventilation fan rotated by this suction motor.

  In particular, the vacuum cleaner 100 according to the present invention also functions as a docking station that charges the charging battery 60 installed in the cleaning robot 10 that performs automatic cleaning. Accordingly, when the cleaning robot 10 is used for automatic cleaning, a separate docking station is not necessary, and the number of cleaning devices can be prevented from increasing. As a result, the present invention can reduce manufacturing costs and reduce the space required to store and operate the cleaning device.

  In order to perform the function as a docking station, the main body 110 of the cleaner 100 according to the present invention forms a space S for accommodating the cleaning robot 10 when the cleaning robot 10 returns to the cleaner 100 for charging. In the main body 110, a charging device 140 for charging the charging battery 60 of the cleaning robot 10 is provided. Although the internal shape of the main body 110 for accommodating the cleaning robot 10 can be realized in various forms, in the present embodiment, the main body 110 protrudes forward by a predetermined length and forms a storage space S at a lower portion thereof. The case where the part 113 is provided was shown.

  The charging device 140 has a power supply terminal 141 provided on the outside of the main body 110 so as to be connected to the charging terminal 61 of the cleaning robot 10 when the cleaning robot 10 returns to the cleaner 100. In particular, the power terminal 141 is located on the lower surface 113 a of the protrusion 113.

  The power terminal 141 is connected to the power cord 150 through an internal transformer and a power cable, and is connected to the charging terminal 61 of the cleaning robot 10 to supply power to the charging battery 60. When the vacuum cleaner 100 performs the charging function of the cleaning robot 10, the power cord 150 is connected to an external commercial AC power source.

  The operation of the cleaning robot and the vacuum cleaner related to the gist of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the initial state, the power cord 150 of the cleaner 100 is connected to an external commercial AC power source, and the cleaning robot 10 is accommodated in the accommodating space S formed below the protrusion 113 of the cleaner 100 main body 110. The charging terminal 61 is on standby with the power supply terminal 141 connected to the vacuum cleaner. In this state, when a signal instructing the cleaning operation is transmitted to the cleaning robot 10, the cleaning robot 10 removes dust and foreign substances on the floor surface while autonomously moving in a predetermined cleaning area. During automatic cleaning, the battery charge amount detection unit 70 of the cleaning robot 10 periodically checks the state of the charge battery 60 and sends a charge request signal to the control unit 50 when the charge battery 60 needs to be charged. When the charging request signal is transmitted to the control unit 50, the control unit 50 controls the driving unit 40 so that the cleaning robot 10 returns to the accommodation space S of the cleaner 100. In this case, the recognition unit (not shown) collects various types of information and transmits the collected information to the control unit 50 so that the cleaning robot 10 returns to a predetermined position. When the cleaning robot 10 returns to the accommodation space S, the charging terminal 61 of the cleaning robot 10 is connected to the power terminal 141 connected to the external power source through the power cord 150. As a result, the electric power is supplied from the external power source, so that the charging battery 60 of the cleaning robot 10 is charged.

  On the other hand, during manual cleaning, after separating the cleaning robot 10 from the cleaner 100, the user can remove dust and foreign substances on the floor through the inhaler 120 while moving with the cleaner 100.

It is a side view which shows roughly the external appearance of the cleaning robot which returns to the cleaner which concerns on this invention, and the cleaner which concerns on this invention for charge. It is a sectional side view which shows the internal structure of the cleaner and cleaning robot shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Cleaning robot 20 Robot main body 100 Vacuum cleaner 110 Main body 120 Inhaler 130 Connecting pipe

Claims (10)

A vacuum cleaner configured to allow the user to perform manual cleaning while moving through the cleaning area;
A robot cleaning system, comprising: a charging device connected to a cleaning robot that performs automatic cleaning, and charging a charging battery installed in the cleaning robot.  When the cleaning robot returns to the vacuum cleaner for charging, it further includes a main body having a space for accommodating the cleaning robot, and the charging device is disposed outside the main body so as to be connected to the cleaning robot. The robot cleaning system according to claim 1, further comprising a power terminal provided.  3. The robot cleaning system according to claim 2, wherein the main body has a protruding portion protruding forward in order to form a space for accommodating the cleaning robot at a lower portion thereof.  The robot cleaning system according to claim 3, wherein the power terminal is located on a lower surface of the protrusion. In a vacuum cleaner configured to allow the user to perform manual cleaning while moving through the cleaning area,
The cleaner includes a main body having an accommodating space for accommodating a cleaning robot that performs automatic cleaning, and the main body supplies electric power to the cleaning robot when the cleaning robot is located in the accommodating space. In order to do so, a vacuum cleaner including a power terminal installed on a side surface of the main body forming the housing space.  The vacuum cleaner according to claim 5, wherein the main body further includes a protruding portion that protrudes forward from the upper end by a predetermined length and that forms the accommodating space at a lower portion thereof.  The vacuum cleaner according to claim 6, wherein the power terminal is located on a lower surface of the protrusion.   The robot cleaning system of claim 2, wherein the main body of the cleaning robot is coupled to the cleaner so that manual cleaning and automatic cleaning can be performed simultaneously. The cleaning robot is
A battery charge amount detection unit for detecting a charge amount of the charge battery and transmitting a charge request signal;
The vacuum cleaner according to claim 5, further comprising a control unit that receives a charge request signal indicating a charge amount of the rechargeable battery.   10. The cleaning according to claim 9, wherein the controller controls a driving device for driving the cleaning robot into the housing space when the transmitted charge request signal indicates a shortage of charge. Machine.

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