GB2353095A

GB2353095A - Autonomous vacuum cleaner with top-mounted, side-looking obstacle sensor

Info

Publication number: GB2353095A
Application number: GB9917913A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Lindsey Bisset; Michael David Aldred
Original assignee: Notetry Ltd
Current assignee: Dyson Technology Ltd
Priority date: 1998-12-18
Filing date: 1999-08-02
Publication date: 2001-02-14
Anticipated expiration: 2019-08-02
Also published as: EP1141803A1; GB2353095B; ATE237834T1; US6493612B1; WO2000038026A1; JP4545318B2; EP1141803B1; DE69907025D1; GB9917913D0; JP2002533796A; GB2344888A; ES2197693T3; GB9827758D0; AU754477B2; AU1576600A; DE69907025T2

Abstract

An autonomous vacuum cleaner has a plurality of sensors for detecting obstacles in the vicinity of the vehicle, characterised in that at least one sensor (212) is located on the vehicle and directioned so as to detect the presence of obstacles located to one side of the vehicle at or near an uppermost extremity of the vehicle. The sensor (212) is ultrasonic and is provided to enable the cleaner to follow the line of an object, eg a sofa, which is too low for the cleaner to pass freely beneath. The cleaner also comprises a brush bar which protrudes on one side of the cleaner, one of the sensors being arranged to detect obstacles located on this side of the cleaner.

Description

2353095 Sensors The invention relates to an arrangement of sensors for an

autonomous vehicle, particularly but not exclusively for an autonomous vacuum cleaner.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an autonomous vehicle having a plurality of sensors for detecting obstacles in the path of the vehicle in which the arrangement and nature of the sensors is selected so as to give improved performance of the vehicle during operation. It is a further object of the invention to provide an autonomous vehicle whose sensor arrangement is capable of detecting obstacles in its path with a high degree of accuracy. It is a still further object of the invention to provide an autonomous vehicle which is capable of autonomous operation with a high degree of safety.

The invention provides an autonomous vehicle having a plurality of sensors for detecting obstacles in the vicinity of the vehicle, characterised in that at least one sensor is located on the vehicle and directioned so as to detect the presence of obstacles located to one side of the vehicle at or near an uppermost extremity of the vehicle.

Advantageous and preferred features of the invention are set out in the subsidiary claims.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure I is a perspective view of an autonomous vehicle, specifically a vacuum cleaner, according to the invention; Figure 2 is a front view of the autonomous vehicle of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a rear view of the autonomous vehicle of Figure 1; Figures 4a and 4b are side views, taken from the right and left sides respectively, of the autonomous vehicle of Figure 1; 2 Figures 5a and 5b are underneath and plan views respectively of the autonomous vehicle of Figure 1; Figure 6 is a schematic view illustrating the positioning of infra-red sensors on the autonomous vehicle of Figure 1; Figure 7 is a schematic view illustrating the grouping of infra-red sensors on the autonomous vehicle of Figure 1; Figure 8 is a schematic view illustrating the positioning of ultra-sonic sensors on the autonomous vehicle of Figure 1; and Figure 9 is a schematic view illustrating the positioning of further infra-red sensors on the autonomous vehicle of Figure 1.

The embodiment illustrated takes the form of an autonomous vacuum cleaner. The vacuum cleaner 100 shown in the said drawings has a supporting chassis 102 which is generally circular in shape and is supported on two driven wheels 104 and a castor wheel 106. The chassis 102 is preferably manufactured from high-strength moulded plastics material, such as ABS, but can equally be made from metal such as aluminium or steel. The chassis 102 provides support for the components of the cleaner 100 which will be described below. The driven wheels 104 are arranged at either end of a diameter of the chassis 102, the diameter lying perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the cleaner 100. Each driven wheel 104 is moulded from a high-strength plastics material and carries a comparatively soft, ridged band around its circumference to enhance the grip of the wheel 104 when the cleaner 100 is traversing a smooth floor. The soft, ridged band also enhances the ability of the wheels 104 to mount and climb over small obstacles. The driven wheels 104 are mounted independently of one another via support bearings (not shown) and each driven wheel 104 is connected directly to a motor 105 which is capable of driving the respective wheel 104 in either a forward direction or a reverse direction. By driving both wheels 104 for-ward at the same speed, the cleaner 100 can be driven in a forward direction. By driving both wheels 104 in a reverse direction at the same speed, the cleaner 100 can be driven in a backward direction. By driving the wheels 104 in opposite directions, the cleaner 100 can be made to rotate about its own central axis so as to effect a turning manoeuvre. The aforementioned 3 method of driving a vehicle is well known and will not therefore be described any further here.

The castor wheel 106 is significantly smaller in diameter than the driven wheels 104 as can be seen from, for example, Figures 4a and 4b. The castor wheel 106 is not driven and merely serves to support the chassis 102 at the rear of the cleaner 100. The location of the castor wheel 106 at the trailing edge of the chassis 102, and the fact that the castor wheel 106 is swivellingly mounted on the chassis by means of a swivel joint I 10, allows the castor wheel 106 to trail behind the cleaner 100 in a manner which does not hinder the manoeuvrability of the cleaner 100 whilst it is being driven by way of the driven wheels 104. The castor wheel 106 can be made from a moulded plastics material or can be formed from another synthetic material such as Nylon.

Mounted on the underside of the chassis 102 is a cleaner head 122 which includes a suction opening 124 facing the surface on which the cleaner 100 is supported. The suction opening 124 is essentially rectangular and extends across the majority of the width of the cleaner head 122. A brush bar 125 is rotatably mounted in the suction opening 124 and a motor (not shown) is mounted on the upper surface of the cleaner head 122 for driving the brush bar 125 by way of a drive belt (not shown) extending between a shaft of the motor and the brush bar 125. The cleaner head 122 is mounted on the chassis 102 in such a way that the cleaner head 122 is able to float on the surface to be cleaned. This is achieved in this embodiment in that the cleaner head 122 is pivotally connected to an arm (not shown) which in turn is pivotally connected to the underside of the chassis 102. The double articulation of the connection between the cleaner head 122 and the chassis 102 allows the cleaner head to move freely in a vertical direction with respect to the chassis 102. This enables the cleaner head to climb over small obstacles such as books, magazines, rug edges, etc. Obstacles of up to approximately 25mm in height can be traversed in this way. A flexible or telescopic conduit is located between a rear portion of the cleaner head 122 and an inlet port located in the chassis 102.

4 As can be seen from Figures 5a and 5b, the cleaner head 122 is asymmetrically mounted on the chassis 102 so that one side of the cleaner head 122 protrudes beyond the general circumference of the chassis 102. This allows the cleaner 100 to clean up to the edge of a room on the side of the cleaner 100 on which the cleaner head 122 protrudes.

The chassis 102 carries a plurality of sensors which are designed and arranged to detect obstacles in the path of the cleaner 100 and its proximity to, for example, a wall or other boundary such as a piece of furniture. The sensors comprise several ultra-sonic sensors and several infra-red sensors. The array of sensors will be described in more detail below. Control software, comprising navigation controls and steering devices for navigating and manoeuvring the cleaner 100 around a defined area in order to clean the carpet or other surface within the area, is housed within a housing 142 located beneath a control panel 144 or elsewhere within the cleaner 100. The specific design of the control software does not form part of the present invention. In the manner of known autonomous vehicles, the control software is able to receive the outputs of the sensors and to drive the motors 105 so that obstacles are avoided whilst following a path specified by algorithms appropriate to the nature of the vehicle. Any appropriate software can be used in this way to navigate the cleaner 100 around a room to be cleaned.

The vacuum cleaner 100 also includes a motor and fan unit 150 supported on the chassis 102 for drawing dirty air into the vacuum cleaner 100 via the suction opening 124 in the cleaner head 122. The chassis 102 also carries a cyclonic separator 152 for separating dirt and dust from the air drawn into the cleaner 100. The inlet port which communicates with the rear portion of the cleaner head 122 via the conduit mentioned above forms the inlet to the cyclonic separator 152. The cyclonic separator, which preferably comprises two cyclones in series, need not be described any further here, being known technology and described adequately elsewhere.

The cyclonic separator 152 is releasable from the chassis 102 in order to allow emptying of the cyclonic separator 152. A hooked catch (not shown) is provided by means of which the cyclonic separator 152 is held in position when the cleaner 100 is in use. When the hooked catch is released (by manual pressing of a button 134 located in the control panel 144), the cyclonic separator 152 can be lifted away from the chassis 102 by means of gripper portions 170. The cyclonic separator 152 can then be emptied.

Two battery packs 160 are located on the chassis 102 on either side of the cyclonic separator 152. The battery packs 160 are identical and are spaced from the central axis of the vacuum cleaner 100 by a significant distance, say between 50 and 150 mm.

The vacuum cleaner 100 described above operates in the following manner. In order for the cleaner 100 to traverse the area to be cleaned, the wheels 104 are driven by the motors 105 which, in turn, are powered by the batteries 160. The direction of movement of the cleaner 100 is determined by the control software which communicates with the sensors which are designed to detect any obstacles in the path of the cleaner 100 so as to navigate the cleaner 100 around the area to be cleaned. The normal forward direction of the cleaner 100 is such that the cleaner head 122 trails behind the driven wheels 104. The battery packs 160 also power the motor and fan unit 150 which draws air into the cleaner 100 via the cleaner head 122 and passes it to the cyclonic separator 152 where the dirt and dust is separated from the airflow. The battery packs 160 are also used to power the motor which drives the brush bar 125 which, in turn assists with pick-up, particularly on carpets. The air which exits the cyclonic separator 152 is passed across the motor and fan unit 150 by appropriate ducting, as is common in many appliances, including vacuum cleaners.

The sensor array forming part of the vacuum cleaner 100 will now be described in more detail. The array comprises a plurality of ultra-sonic sensors and a plurality of infra-red sensors. The majority of the sensors are located in a forward surface 180 of the vacuum cleaner 100. The forward surface 180 is substantially semi-circular in plan view, as can be seen from Figures 5a and 5b. However, further sensors are located at the uppermost 6 extremity of the cleaner 100, at the rear of the cleaner 100, immediately over the brush bar 122, and on the underside of the cleaner 100. Details are given below.

Three ultra-sonic sensors 202, 204 and 206, each consisting of an ultrasonic emitter and an ultra-sonic receiver, are positioned in the forward surface 180. A first of the said ultra-sonic sensors 202, comprising an emitter 202a and a receiver 202b, is directed in a forward direction so that the emitted signals are transmitted in the normal forward direction of travel of the cleaner 100. A second ultra-sonic sensor 204, comprising an emitter 204a and a receiver 204b, is directed such that the emitted signals are transmitted outwardly to the left of the cleaner 100 in a direction which is perpendicular to the direction of transmission by the ultra-sonic sensor 202. A third ultra-sonic sensor 206, comprising an emitter 206a and a receiver 206b, is directed such that the emitted signals are transmitted outwardly to the right of the cleaner 100 in a direction which is perpendicular to the direction of transmission by the ultra-sonic sensor 202 and opposite to the direction of transmission by the ultra-sonic sensor 204, A fourth ultra-sonic sensor 208, comprising an emitter 208a and a receiver 208b, is located in the rear of the cleaner 100 (see Figure 3) and is directed rearwardly so that the emitted signals are transmitted parallel to the normal forward direction of travel of the cleaner 100 but in the opposite direction. These four sensors 202, 204, 206, 208 detect the presence of walls and obstacles to the front, left, right and rear of the cleaner 100.

A fifth ultra-sonic sensor 210 is located in the forward surface 180. The fifth ultra-sonic sensor 210 comprises an emitter 21 Oa and a receiver 21 Ob. The fifth ultra-sonic sensor 2 10 is positioned so that the emitter 21 Oa transmits at an angle which is substantially midway between the directions in which the forward- and left-looking sensors 202, 204 transmit. In the embodiment, the sensor 210 transmits in a direction of 45'to the normal forward direction of travel of the vacuum cleaner 100. As can be seen from Figure 1, the sensor 210 transmits to the side of the cleaner 100 on which the cleaner head 122 protrudes.

7 Figure 8 shows schematically the arrangement of ultra-sonic sensors 202, 204, 206, 208 and 2 10 on the vacuum cleaner 100 if the normal direction of forward travel is along the arrow F. In the arrangement shown, the angle a is 45', although variations to this arrangement are possible.

The inclusion of the sensor 2 10 provides the vehicle 100 with greater angular control as it moves along a wall or other obstacle with the cleaner head 122 thereagainst or parallel thereto. The sensor 210 is able to detect the presence of a wall or similar large obstacle and, if the wall or other obstacle alongside which the vehicle is moving disappears (for example, when a comer is encountered), then the vehicle 100 is made aware of the change earlier than it would have been if the sensor 210 had not been present. This allows the vehicle to take account of corners and other changes in its environment with greater accuracy and manoeuvrablity.

A sixth ultrasonic sensor 212 is positioned on the upper surface of the housing 142. The sensor 212 is arranged in its own housing 214 which is located so as to ensure that the sensor 212 is level with the uppermost extremity of the vehicle 100. The sensor 212 comprises an emitter 212a and a receiver 212b, both of which are directioned so that they send and receive signals to and from an area directly to the side of the vehicle 100. The side of the vehicle 100 to and from which signals are sent and received is the same side of the vehicle 100 on which the cleaner head 122 protrudes. This allows the vehicle 100 to follow the line of an object which is too low for the cleaner to pass freely beneath but whose boundary does not extend to a level sufficiently close to the surface being cleaned for other sensors to be effective. A specific example is a sofa which has a seat base which is too low for the vacuum cleaner 100 to pass freely underneath but which is supported on legs at each comer. The cleaner must be able to treat the edge of the sofa seat base as a boundary without trying to enter the space beneath the seat base where it could become lodged or damaged. The other sensors (to be described below) which are normally used to cause the cleaner 100 to follow a wall or other boundary will not be effective if the seat base does not extend below a level which is about 15-20 8 cm above the level of the surface to be cleaned and therefore the sixth sensor 212 provides an advantage in this respect.

A plurality of infra-red sensors are also included in the forward surface 180. The infrared sensors comprise emitters 220 and receivers 230. Most of the emitters 220 are arranged in four groups of three which are spaced substantially evenly around the forward surface 180. A first emitter group 220a comprises a central emitter 222a and two side emitters 224a. A second emitter group 220b comprises a central emitter 222b and two side emitters 224b. A third emitter group 220c comprises a central emitter 222c and two side emitters 224c and a fourth emitter group 220d comprises a central emitter 222d and two side emitters 224d. One of the emitter groups 220b is illustrated in Figure 7. Each side emitter 224b is arranged at an angle b of approximately 60' to the central emitter 222b. Each emitter 222b, 224b has a beam angle e of approximately 50'. This arrangement creates a field of relatively even emitted signals covering an angle of substantially 170' to 180'. It will be appreciated that a similar field can be created by providing a larger number of emitters, each having a smaller beam angle than the arrangement illustrated in Figure 7.

Figure 6 illustrates the arrangement of the emitter groups 220a, 220b, 220c, 220d on the cleaner 100. As will be seen from the figure, the first emitter group 220a is located at the end of a radial line extending at an angle d of 30' to the transverse axis 190 of the cleaner 100 on the left side thereof. The fourth emitter group 220d is located at the end of a radial line also extending at an angle d of 30' to the transverse axis 190 but on the right side of the cleaner 100. The second and third emitter groups 220b, 220c are located at the ends of radial lines extending at an angle e of 60' to the transverse axis 190 on the left and right sides of the cleaner 100 respectively. The third emitter group 220c is identical to the second emitter group 220b as illustrated in Figure 7. However, the first and fourth emitter groups 220a, 220d each have one side emitter 224a', 224d' which is specifically directioned so that the signal emitted is parallel to the transverse axis 190. This is achieved, in this specific case, by varying the angle b between the relevant central emitter 222a, 222d and the respective side emitter 224a', 224d' from 9 600 to 300. It will be appreciated that, if either of the angles b and d differ from the values given above, then the extent of the variation in angle b between the relevant central emitter 222a, 222d and the respective side emitter 224a, 224d will need to be adjusted so that the side emitter 224a', 224d' remains directed outwardly in a direction parallel to the transverse axis 190, Two additional emitters 226 are positioned close to the central axis of the cleaner 100 and are directioned so that they emit signals in a substantially forward direction with respect to the normal direction of travel.

The first and fourth emitter groups 220a, 220d are located in a horizontal plane which is vertically spaced from the horizontal plane in which the second and third emitter groups 220b, 220c are located. The first and fourth emitter groups 220a, 220d are located at a higher level than the second and third emitter groups 220b, 220c. The additional emitters 226 are also spaced vertically from the two aforementioned horizontal planes. The arrangement is symmetrical about the longitudinal axis of the cleaner 100. The whole of the array of emitters is designed so that at least two of the emitters will send signals directly to any point in the path of the cleaner (in the forward direction). (This will not apply, of course, to points which are extremely close to the cleaner itself.) The receivers 230 are spaced substantially evenly around the forward surface 180. A first receiver 230a is located adjacent each of the emitters 224a, 224d which are directioned parallel to the transverse axis 190 so as to receive signals therefrom. These receivers 230a are specifically paired with the emitters 224a, 224d. The remaining receivers 230b are spaced substantially evenly around the forward surface 180 and are not paired with any of the emitters at all. The receivers 230b are all located in a single horizontal plane with the exception of two central receivers 230b which are located adjacent the forward-looking emitters 226. The lack of pairing of the receivers with the emitters gives the cleaner 100 an enhanced ability to detect its position within an environment and with respect to objects and obstacles.

A passive infra-red detector 240, comprising an emitter 240a and a receiver 240b, is located in the forward surface 180 for the purpose of detecting heat sources such as humans, animals and fires. The passive infra-red detector 240 is directioned so that it looks in a forward direction to detect heat sources in its path.

Two forward-looking ultra-sonic sensors 250, each comprising an emitter 250a and a receiver 250b, are positioned at an uppermost extremity of the cleaner 100 so that they are able to sense obstacles immediately in front of the cleaner and at or near an uppermost extremity thereof. In this case, the sensors 250 are positioned in the casing of the fan and motor unit 150 so that they both look along the uppermost edge of the cyclonic separator 152. The direction of each sensor 250 is parallel to the direction of the other sensor 250. The sensors 250 are able to detect any obstacles which are at a sufficiently high level not to be detected by the sensors arranged in the forward surface 180 but which would constitute an obstruction to the forward movement of the cleaner 100. Rearward-looking sensors could also be provided at a high level if required, but none is shown in the embodiment illustrated in the drawings. It will be appreciated that a similar effect can be achieved using sensors (preferably ultra-sonic sensors) positioned lower on the cleaner than the uppermost extremity but directioned so as to look towards the appropriate area adjacent the uppermost extremity in front of the cleaner 100.

Further infra-red sensors 260, 262 are positioned on the chassis 102 immediately above the protruding end of the cleaner head 122. Each sensor 260, 262 comprises an emitter 260a, 262a and a receiver 260b, 262b. The first of these sensors 260 is directioned so that the emitter 260a emits a signal in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cleaner head 122 or of the brush bar 125. The direction of the signal from the sensor 260 is therefore perpendicular to the forward direction of travel and parallel to the direction of the signal emitted by emitter 224a'. The sensor 260 is thus able to detect the distance of a wall or other obstacle along which the cleaner 100 is intended to travel. In combination with the emitter 224a' and the receiver 230a, the sensor 260 is also able to maintain the direction of travel of the cleaner 100 parallel with the wall or other obstacle along which the cleaner 100 is intended to travel. This is achieved by way of the parallel signals being maintained essentially identical. Any variation between the two signals can be easily recognised and the path of the cleaner 100 can then be 11 adjusted to compensate for the discrepancy. The arrangement is illustrated in Figure 9. As will be seen from the figure, the distance between the directions of the two signals is approximately one half of the length of the cleaner 100, although this can be varied to a considerable extent. Preferably, the distance will not be less than a quarter of the length of the vehicle nor more than three quarters thereof The second of the further infra-red sensors 262 is directioned so that the emitter 262a sends a signal rearwardly in a direction parallel to the direction of travel of the cleaner 100. The sensor 262 is able to detect the presence of an obstacle on which the cleaner head 122 may become lodged if the cleaner 100 were traveling in a rearward direction or turning or rotating about a vertical axis.

Infra-red sensors 270, 272 are provided on the underside of the cleaner 100. Each sensor 270, 272 is directioned so that it looks downwardly towards the surface across which the cleaner 100 travels and which the cleaner 100 is intended to clean. Two downward- looking sensors 270 are provided in the chassis 102 immediately in front of each of the driven wheels 104. A further downward-looking sensor 272 is provided at the front edge of the chassis 102 and on or close to the longitudinal axis of the cleaner 100. Each sensor 270, 272 comprises an emitter and a receiver. In the embodiment illustrated, the outermost component of each sensor 270 is a receiver and the innennost component is an emitter. Each of the sensors 270, 272 is capable of detecting the presence or absence of the surface across which the cleaner 100 travels. A signal is sent to the control software to bring the cleaner 100 to a halt, or to turn, immediately one of the sensors 270, 272 detects that the surface is absent. This is likely to be due to the presence of a stairway or other edge of the surface. The cleaner 100 is thus prevented from falling from a height in the event that a stairway or other edge is encountered. For safety reasons, each of the sensors located in front of each wheel is connected to the control software via different circuits so that, should one circuit fail, the other sensor will still be functional in order to avoid an accident occurring.

12 The invention is not limited to the precise details of the embodiment illustrated and described above. Although the vehicle described is a vacuum cleaner, it will be appreciated that the sensor arrangement can be applied to any other type of autonomous vehicle which is required to propel itself across a surface without human intervention and without colliding with obstacles or objects in its path. Domestic appliances are becoming increasingly sophisticated and it is envisaged that domestic appliances other than vacuum cleaners will become autonomous over the years. The sensor arrangement described above will be equally applicable thereto.

13

Claims

Claims:

1. An autonomous vehicle having a plurality of sensors for detecting obstacles in the vicinity of the vehicle, characterised in that at least one sensor is located on the vehicle and directioned so as to detect the presence of obstacles located to one side of the vehicle at or near an uppermost extremity of the vehicle.

2. An autonomous vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the or each said sensor is located at or near an uppermost extremity of the vehicle and is directioned so as to detect an obstacle substantially on the same level as the sensor.

3. An autonomous vehicle as claimed in claim 2, wherein the or each said sensor is located at or level with the highest point of the vehicle so as to detect any obstacle beneath which the vehicle cannot pass.

4. An autonomous vehicle as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the or each sensor is an ultrasonic sensor.

5. An autonomous vehicle as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the autonomous vehicle comprises a vacuum cleaner.

6. An autonomous vehicle as claimed in claim 5, wherein the vacuum cleaner has a generally circular shape and a brush bar which protrudes beyond the generally circular shape on one side of the vacuum cleaner, at least one of the said sensors being arranged and located so as to detect the presence of obstacles located on the side of the vacuum cleaner on which the cleaner head protrudes.

7. An autonomous vehicle substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.