JPH10118963A - Autonomous mobil vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an autonomous mobile vehicle which is inexpensive and lightweight and can be easily handled and to use the autonomous mobile vehicle as an ordinary cleaner in the place in which autonomous work can be hardly carried out by mounting a working apparatus provided with a working unit which can be operated independently toward a worked face and providing grounding means by which the working part in the working apparatus is properly brought into contact with the worked surface. SOLUTION: An autonomous mobile carriage 1 is constructed of a traveling part 10 provided with driving wheels traveling on a working surface, a mounting part 20 on which a home electric cleaner 40 is placed, and a holding part 30 in which a nozzle pipe 41 of the home electric cleaner 40 is held movably in the arrow D direction. The holding part 30 holds a nozzle pipe 4 surroundingly. By means of the holding part 30, a nozzle 42 of the home electric cleaner 40 is brought into contact with the working surface 60, and cleaning can be carried out properly. By means of this autonomous mobile carriage 1 which is inexpensive and lightweight can be handled easily, work can be operated autonomously, while an independently usable conventional home electric cleaner 40 can be attached/removed for use.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an autonomous mobile vehicle that moves autonomously, and more particularly to an autonomous mobile vehicle that carries a cleaning device and moves autonomously.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, various cleaning robots and the like are being researched and developed as an application of the autonomous movement technology.

[0003]

However, the conventional cleaning robot has a cleaning work unit and an autonomous moving unit integrated with each other. For this reason, the cleaning robot as a whole becomes expensive, and it is not easy to select an optimum cleaning operation unit for the object to be cleaned or replace an aging cleaning operation unit.

[0004] Further, the conventional cleaning robot has a large weight and is difficult for an operator to handle because the cleaning work unit and the autonomous moving unit are integrated.
In particular, it has been very difficult to handle a place having a complicated shape, which is difficult to handle with an autonomous robot, by manually operating the robot with a human.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to remove a cleaning device in a place where it is inexpensive, lightweight, easy to handle, and difficult to work autonomously. Another object of the present invention is to provide an autonomous mobile vehicle that can be easily handled by a person as a conventional vacuum cleaner.

[0006]

The present invention according to claim 1 is an autonomous mobile vehicle that autonomously moves to perform a predetermined operation on a work surface.

This autonomous mobile vehicle is provided with a mounting means for mounting a working device having a working portion capable of working independently on a work surface, and for properly grounding the working portion of the working device to the work surface. Grounding means.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the work unit of the mounted work equipment which can be operated independently can perform a predetermined work on the work surface while being properly grounded. This makes it possible to remove conventional work equipment that can be worked independently and manually work in places where it is difficult to work autonomously, and attach it in places where it is easy to work autonomously and make it possible to work autonomously It is possible to provide an inexpensive, lightweight, and easy-to-handle autonomous mobile vehicle that performs a predetermined task.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the autonomous mobile vehicle according to the first aspect, wherein the grounding means moves a working part of the working equipment in a vertical direction.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the working part of the mounted working equipment can be moved up and down so as to be properly grounded and perform a predetermined work on the work surface. As a result, it is possible to perform autonomous work while attaching and detaching conventional work equipment that can be used independently, and to provide an inexpensive, lightweight, easy-to-handle autonomous mobile vehicle that performs predetermined work. Can be.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the autonomous mobile vehicle according to the first aspect, wherein the grounding means rotationally moves the work unit of the work equipment in a plane intersecting the work surface.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the working unit of the mounted working equipment is rotated and moved in a plane intersecting with the work surface so as to be properly grounded and to perform predetermined work on the work surface. Can be performed. As a result, it is possible to perform autonomous work while attaching and detaching conventional work equipment that can be used independently, and to provide an inexpensive, lightweight, easy-to-handle autonomous mobile vehicle that performs predetermined work. Can be.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a cleaning robot according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The cleaning robot comprises an autonomous mobile trolley 1 and a household vacuum cleaner 40. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an autonomous mobile trolley 1 (partial cross section) equipped with a household vacuum cleaner 40 according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view for explaining the configuration of the autonomous mobile trolley 1.

The autonomous mobile trolley 1 autonomously travels on the work surface 60 and performs a cleaning operation by the following schematic configuration and control by the control unit.

The autonomous mobile trolley 1 includes a traveling unit 10 having driving wheels traveling on a work surface 60, and a home vacuum cleaner 40.
And a home vacuum cleaner 40 for mounting the
The nozzle pipe 41 is held by the arrow D
And a holding unit 30 that can move in one direction.

The traveling section 10 includes a front caster 11, a rear caster 12, a right driving motor 13, a left driving motor 14, a right traveling wheel 15, a left traveling wheel 16, a right encoder 17, and a left encoder. 18.

Right drive motor 13, Left drive motor 14
Drives the right traveling wheel 15 and the left traveling wheel 16, respectively, so that the autonomous mobile trolley 1 can travel straight and rotate. The moving distance in the straight traveling and the rotation angle in the rotating traveling are calculated by the right encoder 17 and the left encoder 18. The front casters 11 and the rear casters 12, together with the right traveling wheel 15 and the left traveling wheel 16, support the weight of the autonomous mobile trolley 1 and the installed household vacuum cleaner 40.

The traveling unit 10 includes a gyro sensor 25.
, A bumper sensor 26, a front distance measurement sensor 27, a right distance measurement sensor 28, and a left distance measurement sensor 29.

The gyro sensor 25 is a rate gyro, and measures a rotational angular velocity of the traveling unit 10. By using the gyro sensor 25, the direction in which the autonomous mobile vehicle tries to rotate and the rotational angular velocity thereof are measured. The bumper sensor 26 detects contact with an obstacle in the traveling direction, and a front distance measuring sensor 27, a right distance measuring sensor 28,
The left ranging sensor 29 measures the distance from the autonomous mobile trolley 1 to the front, right and left obstacles, respectively.

The mounting section 20 includes a mounting base floor surface 21, a power cord 22, and a power supply section 23.

The mounting platform floor 21 is inclined so as to become lower toward the rear of the autonomous mobile vehicle 1. Therefore, the exhaust wind of the installed household vacuum cleaner 40 is directed upward from the horizontal plane, and dust and the like on the work surface 60 are not soared into the air by the exhaust. The power supply unit 23 is connected to a power cord of a household vacuum cleaner 40, and supplies power to the household vacuum cleaner 40. In addition, autonomous mobile trolley 1
Is supplied via the power cord 22 connected to the power cord 70 from the ceiling.

The holding portion 30 holds the nozzle pipe 41 of the household vacuum cleaner 40 so as to be inserted therebetween, and the spring 211 is provided to insert the nozzle pipe 41 with an appropriate force. The holding unit 30 is configured such that the nozzle 42 of the household vacuum cleaner 40 is grounded to the work surface 60 so that the cleaning operation can be appropriately performed.

FIG. 4 is a top view for explaining the configuration around the holding portion 30 as viewed from the direction of arrow A in FIG.
FIG. 5 is a side view for explaining the configuration around the holding unit 30 as viewed from the direction of arrow B in FIG. 4.

In the vicinity of the holding section 30, a disk 201 for detecting a rotational position, a photo interrupter 202, a motor holding member 203, a pulse motor 204, pulleys 205,
06, a timing belt 207, a nozzle lifting roller 208, nozzle holding members 209 and 210, a nozzle pinching spring 211, a nozzle slide holding roller 212, and a holding member rotating shaft 213. .

The operation of each section is outlined below. The pulse motor 204 held by the motor holding member 203 is
In response to an instruction from the control unit of the autonomous mobile vehicle 1, the pulley 2
05, 206, the nozzle lifting roller 208 is rotated via the timing belt 207. This rotation is
The nozzle pipes 41 held by the nozzle holding members 209 and 210, the nozzle pinching spring 211, and the nozzle slide holding roller 212 are moved in the vertical direction.

The disk 201 for detecting the rotational position is provided with a notch.
By performing the detection at 2, the vertical position of the nozzle pipe 41 of the household vacuum cleaner 40 can be adjusted. The nozzle holding members 209 and 210 are rotatable with respect to a holding member rotation shaft 213 extending in the up-down direction.

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining a nozzle-free sliding state of the nozzle pipe 41 of the household vacuum cleaner 40. FIG. 7 is a view showing the nozzle pipe 4 of the household vacuum cleaner 40.
FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a nozzle elevation control state of No. 1; FIGS. 6A and 7A correspond to FIG. 4, and FIGS. 6B and 7B correspond to FIG.

The nozzle pipe 41 is brought into contact with the nozzle slide holding rollers 212 (three upper and lower spherical rollers, a total of six spherical rollers), and the nozzle pinching spring 2
11 held by the spring force. The nozzle lifting roller 208 rotated by the pulse motor 204 has a cutting portion in a direction perpendicular to the radius, and the contact and non-contact between the cutting portion, the non-cutting portion and the nozzle pipe 41 are in a nozzle-free sliding state. , The nozzle elevating control state is determined.

When the nozzle lifting roller 208 is at the position shown in FIG. 6 and the nozzle lifting roller 208 does not contact the nozzle pipe 41, the nozzle pipe 4
1 descends by its own weight (in the direction of arrow D2) and contacts the ground. This state is referred to as a nozzle free slide state, and this position of the nozzle lifting roller is referred to as a nozzle free position. To check the nozzle free position, see Rotational position detection disk 2.
01 is detected by the photo interrupter 202. FIG. 6B shows a state in which the notch of the rotational position detection disk 201 is detected by the photo interrupter 202.

When the nozzle lifting roller 208 is at a position as shown in FIG. 7 and the nozzle lifting roller 208 comes into contact with the nozzle pipe 41, the rotation of the nozzle lifting roller 208 in the direction of arrow D4
It is transmitted as a parallel movement in the direction of arrow D3. This state is referred to as a nozzle elevation control state. In this nozzle raising / lowering control state, the nozzle lifting roller 208 is slightly crushed by the elasticity of the nozzle lifting roller 208, and the contact area with the nozzle pipe 41 increases.
This increases the frictional force of the contact surface, the nozzle pipe 41 is firmly held by the nozzle lifting roller 208, and the nozzle can be moved up and down by rotating the nozzle lifting roller 208.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the process of lifting the nozzle pipe 41. The process of lifting the nozzle pipe 41 is as shown in the following processes a) to d). These steps a) to d) are described with reference to FIGS. 8A to 8D, respectively.

A) The nozzle free position. The notch of the rotational position detecting disk 201 is the photo interrupter 202
, The nozzle free position is confirmed.

B) When the nozzle lifting roller 208 is rotated counterclockwise (in the directions of arrows d1 and d2), it comes into contact with the nozzle pipe 41. Lifting of the nozzle pipe 41 starts from the point of contact.

C) Following b), when the nozzle lifting roller 208 is further rotated counterclockwise, the nozzle pipe 41 is gradually lifted in the direction of arrow d3.

D) The nozzle pipe 41 is held up. Rotation angle is pulse motor 204
And the rotation of the nozzle lifting roller 208 is stopped at the position shown in the figure.

The autonomous mobile trolley 1 as described above can operate autonomously while attaching and detaching the conventional home vacuum cleaner 40 which can be used independently, and is inexpensive, lightweight and easy to handle. .

A signal from a dust detection sensor attached to the home vacuum cleaner 40 is input to the autonomous mobile trolley 1 and, if dust is detected, the traveling speed of the autonomous mobile trolley 1 is reduced. The vehicle can be stopped on the spot or normal running can be resumed when no garbage is detected. Further, when this signal is input and dust is detected, it is possible to reciprocate in an area before and after the place. These enhance the cleaning effect.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate the mechanism for moving the nozzle 42 up and down by moving the nozzle pipe 41 up and down. FIGS. 9 and 10 show the mechanism for moving the nozzle 42 up and down.
A mechanism for moving the holding unit 30 up and down as shown in FIG. In these mechanisms, the position of the nozzle pipe 41 is fixed with respect to the holding unit 30.

FIG. 9 is a view for explaining a first mechanism for moving the holding unit 30 up and down. 9A shows a nozzle free movement state in which the nozzle 42 descends by its own weight and is in contact with the work surface 60, and FIG. 9B shows a state in which the nozzle 42 is lifted from the work surface 60. I have.

In FIG. 9, a cam 81 driven by a motor 80 rotates a holding member 82 about a fulcrum 83 in the direction of an arrow D5 to move the nozzle 42 up and down (grounded and not grounded). In FIG. 9A,
The cam 81 and the holding member 82 are not in contact with each other.
2 can freely move up and down according to the unevenness of the work surface 60 within a range until the cam 81 and the holding member 82 come into contact with each other.

FIG. 10 is a view for explaining a second mechanism for moving the holding unit 30 up and down. FIG. 10A shows a nozzle-free sliding state in which the nozzle 42 descends by its own weight and is in contact with the work surface 60.
(B) shows a state where the nozzle 42 is lifted from the work surface 60.

In FIG. 10, a lever 84 fixed to a motor 80 rotates about a fulcrum 86 and slides a slider 85 in the direction of arrow D6, thereby causing the nozzle 4 to rotate.
2 up and down (grounded, non-grounded). In FIG. 10A, the lever 84 and the slider 85 are not in contact with each other, and the nozzle 42 is free to move up and down in accordance with the unevenness of the work surface 60 within a range until the lever 84 and the slider 85 contact. You can move.

With the first mechanism or the second mechanism for raising and lowering the holding section 30, the cleaning section can be grounded to the work surface 60 with an appropriate pressure.

When a spin turn or a lateral movement is performed while the autonomous mobile trolley 1 is running, the autonomous mobile trolley is driven by the frictional force between the nozzle 42 of the installed household vacuum cleaner 40 and the work surface 60. In some cases, the load on the traveling unit 10 may increase and the wheels may slip. The three mechanisms for raising and lowering the nozzle 42 can prevent wheel slippage by lifting the nozzle 42 when performing a spin turn or a lateral movement.

Further, the holding unit 30 is moved up and down to
The following mechanism can be used to ground the work surface to the work surface 60. Also in this mechanism, the position of the nozzle pipe 41 with respect to the holding unit 30 is fixed.

FIG. 11 is a view for explaining a mechanism for bringing the nozzle 42 into contact with the work surface 60. In this mechanism, the above components such as the motor, the cam, and the lever are unnecessary.

In FIG. 11A, one end of the holding portion 30 is rotatably attached to the mounting portion 20 by a fulcrum 83. The nozzle 42 rotates in the direction of arrow D9 in accordance with the work surface 60, and the nozzle 42 comes into contact with the work surface 60 by its own weight. Also, if the spring is urged in the direction of the work surface 60,
The nozzle 42 can be brought into close contact with the work surface 60 more closely.

In FIG. 11B, one end of the holding portion 30 is slidably attached to the mounting portion 2 by a slider 85. Nozzle 42 is aligned with work surface 60 by arrow D
Sliding in ten directions, the nozzle 42 comes into contact with the work surface 60 by its own weight. When the spring is urged toward the work surface 60 using a spring, the nozzle 42 can be brought into more close contact with the work surface 60.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an autonomous mobile trolley 1 (partial cross section) equipped with a household vacuum cleaner 40, which is one of the embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing an autonomous mobile trolley 1 (partial cross section).

FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view for explaining the configuration of the autonomous mobile trolley 1;

FIG. 4 is a top view for explaining a configuration around a holding unit 30 viewed from the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a side view for explaining the configuration around the holding unit 30 as viewed from the direction of arrow B in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining a nozzle free sliding state of a nozzle pipe 41 of the household vacuum cleaner 40.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a nozzle elevating control state of a nozzle pipe 41 of the household vacuum cleaner 40.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a process of lifting the nozzle pipe 41.

FIG. 9 is a view for explaining a first mechanism for raising and lowering a holding unit 30;

FIG. 10 is a view for explaining a second mechanism for raising and lowering the holding unit 30.

FIG. 11 is a view for explaining a mechanism for grounding the nozzle to the work surface.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Autonomous mobile trolley 10 Running part 20 Mounting part 30 Holding part 40 Household vacuum cleaner 41 Nozzle pipe 42 Nozzle

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An autonomous mobile vehicle that autonomously moves to perform a predetermined operation on a work surface, and has a work unit that can work independently on the work surface. An autonomous mobile vehicle, comprising: mounting means for mounting; and grounding means for appropriately grounding the working section of the work equipment to the work surface. 2. The autonomous mobile vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the grounding means moves a working unit of the work equipment in a vertical direction. 3. The autonomous mobile vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the grounding means rotates a working part of the work equipment in a plane intersecting the work surface.