JP2004016385A - Self-propelled vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a self-prepelled vacuum cleaner which realizes stable running without making the vacuum cleaner large in size. <P>SOLUTION: The self-propelled vacuum cleaner is equipped with rollers 33 for running a main body 20 and a caster 34 for supporting the main body 20 to freely run and has a running part which is formed by attaching the rollers 33 and the caster 34 to a supporting body 35 and is mounted on the main body 20 through an elastic body 37. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a self-propelled vacuum cleaner having a self-propelled function in a main body and automatically cleaning a surface to be cleaned. In particular, the present invention relates to a traveling section configuration for overcoming a step.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Heretofore, this type of self-propelled cleaner has generally been described in JP-A-8-252203. Hereinafter, the configuration will be described with reference to FIG.
[0003]
In FIG. 10, reference numeral 1 denotes a main body of the self-propelled cleaner, and 2 denotes rollers provided on the left and right sides of the main body 1. Reference numeral 4 denotes a caster rotatably attached to the rear of the main body 1. As described above, the roller 2, the drive motor 3, and the casters 4 constitute a traveling unit that allows the main body 1 to run by itself. All of the running parts are integrally attached to the bottom of the main body 1. Reference numeral 5 denotes an electric blower, 6 denotes a dust collection chamber, and 7 denotes a filter formed of a paper bag provided therein.
[0004]
Reference numeral 8 denotes a suction unit provided in front of the bottom of the main body 1 and has a rotary brush (not shown) for scraping dust on the floor surface. The suction part 8 is connected to the dust collecting chamber 6 via the connecting pipe 9 and the telescopic hose 10, and dust on the floor is sucked by the electric blower 5 and collected in the filter 7. The suction part 8 is attached to the main body 1 by a suspension lever 11 so as to be vertically movable. Reference numeral 12 denotes a distance measuring sensor including an ultrasonic sensor and the like provided around the main body 1, and an obstacle detecting device that detects an obstacle by measuring a distance to an object located in front of, right, left, and right of, and behind the main body 1. Is composed. Reference numeral 13 denotes a bumper made of an elastic body attached around the main body 1. A traveling control device 14 controls the traveling of the main body 1. The traveling control device 14 controls the traveling motor 2 based on data from a position recognition means (not shown) such as a gyro or the like and an obstacle detecting device. It controls operations such as retreating, turning, and stopping.
[0005]
An operation unit 15 operates the main body 1 through an operation panel 16 provided with various switches and indicators such as LEDs and a buzzer. Reference numeral 17 denotes a main body handle used for manual cleaning or movement between places.
[0006]
Reference numeral 18 denotes a battery storage chamber which stores a battery (not shown) which is composed of a storage battery and supplies electric power to the entire main body, and is connected to a charging terminal 19.
[0007]
Then, as shown by a one-dot chain line in the figure, the suction portion 8 moves up and down with respect to the main body 1 to get over a step.
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described conventional configuration, since the roller and the casters are fixed to the main body, even when the step of the height H from the floor surface of the lower end surface of the main body rides on, the lower front end of the main body is at the floor when descending the step. The roller did not get off because it idled before hitting the surface. That is, assuming that the distance between the lower front end of the main body and the lower end of the roller is L0 and the distance between the lower end of the roller and the lower end of the caster is L, h = H × L / L0, and h is smaller than H when L0 is larger than L. Therefore, it is necessary to make the height of the lower end surface of the main body from the floor surface larger than the height of the step that needs to be overcome, and there is a problem that the main body is enlarged.
[0009]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a self-propelled cleaner capable of realizing stable traveling without increasing the size of a main body.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a suction unit that sucks dust on a surface to be cleaned, an electric blower that generates a flow of air that sucks dust, and a dust collection unit that collects dust sucked by the electric blower. A roller driven by a drive motor to move the main body, a caster for supporting the main body in a freely movable manner, and a power supply unit for supplying power to the electric blower and the drive motor, and supports the roller and the caster. A running portion is formed on the body, and the running portion is mounted on the main body via an elastic body.
[0011]
According to the above invention, when the main body is on the floor surface, the main body is held in a substantially horizontal state, and when descending the step, the front lower end of the main body hits the floor surface, and the reaction force from the floor surface to the rollers is eliminated. Due to the relative relationship between the weight of the main body and the elastic force of the elastic body, the driving force of the roller is transmitted because the roller is displaced until it hits the floor in a direction protruding from a plane connecting the lower end of the main body and the lower end of the caster. It is possible to get down a step having the same height as the height from the lower end surface to the floor surface, and to reduce the size of the main body.
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
The self-propelled cleaner according to claim 1 of the present invention includes a suction unit that sucks dust on a surface to be cleaned, an electric blower that generates a flow of air that sucks dust, and a dust collector that collects dust sucked by the electric blower. A dust collecting unit, a roller driven by a drive motor to run the main body, a caster for supporting the main body so as to run freely, a power supply unit for supplying power to the electric blower and the drive motor, and the roller The caster is attached to a support to form a traveling section, and the traveling section is attached to the main body via an elastic body.When the main body is on the floor, the main body is held in a substantially horizontal state. When descending the step, the front lower end of the main body hits the floor surface, and the reaction force from the floor surface against the roller is eliminated, and at the same time, the roller moves relative to the weight of the main body and the elastic force of the elastic body. The driving force of the roller is transmitted by the engagement so that the roller is displaced until it hits the floor in a direction protruding from a plane connecting the lower end of the main body and the lower end of the caster, and has the same height as the height from the lower end surface of the main body to the floor surface. The step can be lowered, and the main body can be downsized.
[0013]
And since a traveling part can be unitized with a roller, a caster, and a drive motor, assemblability with respect to a main body can be improved.
[0014]
The self-propelled cleaner according to claim 2 of the present invention includes a suction unit that sucks dust on a surface to be cleaned, an electric blower that generates a flow of air that sucks dust, and a dust collector that sucks dust sucked by the electric blower. A dust collecting unit, a roller driven by a drive motor to travel the main body, and a power supply unit for supplying power to the electric blower and the drive motor, and the traveling unit is formed by attaching the roller to a support. Since the running portion is attached to the main body via an elastic body, it is possible to improve both the performance of getting up and down the step and the performance of getting on and off with a small amount of displacement of the roller.
[0015]
A self-propelled cleaner according to claim 3 of the present invention is a suction unit that sucks dust on a surface to be cleaned, an electric blower that generates a flow of air that sucks dust, and a dust collector that sucks dust sucked by the electric blower. A dust collecting part, a caster that supports the main body in a freely movable manner, and a power supply part that supplies power to the electric blower and the drive motor, and the caster is attached to a support to form a traveling part, Since the running portion is attached to the main body via an elastic body, the performance of getting on and off a step can be improved with a simple and inexpensive configuration.
[0016]
In the self-propelled cleaner according to claim 4 of the present invention, the suction portion is vertically movable with respect to the main body, and the displacement regulation is performed such that the lower end surface of the suction portion is projected downward from the lower end surface of the main body. Part is formed.
[0017]
For small irregularities on the surface to be cleaned, the suction unit moves up and down while maintaining the gap between the lower end surface of the suction unit and the floor surface optimally. When the vehicle descends and climbs down, the lower end of the suction unit hits the floor surface and the reaction force from the floor surface against the rollers is eliminated. As a result, the driving force is transmitted to the suction portion, so that it is possible to improve the dust collection performance of the suction portion and improve the ability to get on and off the step.
[0018]
The self-propelled cleaner according to claim 5 of the present invention is provided with a small roller on the lower surface of the suction portion, and when the small roller smoothly moves the suction portion with respect to the surface to be cleaned and descends a large step. When the lower end of the suction portion hits the floor surface, the small roller contacts the floor surface first, so that the floor surface can be prevented from being damaged.
[0019]
The self-propelled vacuum cleaner according to claim 6 of the present invention is provided with an inclined surface that is inclined from the side surface of the suction portion toward the lower surface toward the suction port side. Further, when the main body rotates and climbs over the step from the side, the suction portion can be smoothly displaced upward, so that the step-over performance can be enhanced.
[0020]
The self-propelled cleaner according to claim 7 of the present invention has the uneven portion formed only on the inside of the roller, and in order to increase the gripping force between the roller and the step portion when the stepped member runs over a step obliquely from the front of the main body. It is possible to improve the riding performance on a step.
[0021]
【Example】
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0022]
(Example 1)
FIG. 1 is a central longitudinal sectional view showing the entire configuration of a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view thereof, FIG. 3 is a front view thereof, FIG. 4 is a bottom view thereof, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view, FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the traveling section, and FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of the roller (a-a sectional view of FIG. 6).
[0023]
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, the main body 20 has a suction portion 22 having two rotating brushes 21 at a front bottom portion, which can be moved up and down by a suspension lever 23 and a displacement regulating portion 25 provided on a main body bottom frame 24. It is configured to be fixed at a position where the upper end is in contact, and to scrape up dust attached to the surface to be cleaned by the rotating brush 21. The electric blower 26 generates a flow of air that sucks dust. The electric blower 26 communicates with the suction unit 22 through a dust collection unit 27, and collects dust sucked from the suction unit 22 by the electric blower 26 into the dust collection unit 27. It is configured to
[0024]
The power supply unit 28 includes a battery pack 29 containing a plurality of rechargeable rechargeable batteries, and supplies power to the electric blower 26 and a drive motor 30 described later. The distance measurement sensor 31 measures the distance at an angle between the light (infrared ray) and the irradiation light of the reflected light reflected by an obstacle such as furniture, as shown in FIG. A plurality is provided on each of the front, side, and rear sides. The level difference sensor 32 detects a level difference on the surface to be cleaned, has the same configuration as the above-described distance measurement sensor 31, and is provided obliquely downward at a corner of the main body 20.
[0025]
The rollers 33 are for driving the main body 20, are provided on the left and right sides of the main body 20, and are independently driven by the drive motor 30. The drive motor 30 is constituted by a geared motor having a built-in reduction gear (not shown). The casters 34 support the main body 20 so as to run freely. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the roller 33, the drive motor 30, and the caster 34 are integrally mounted on a support 35 which is a frame formed by bending a hard aluminum material to form a traveling unit. The four support bosses 36 are fixed by screws 38 via elastic bodies 37 made of compression springs.
[0026]
The operation unit 39 includes a panel switch having a function of displaying characters and the like, and has a function of turning on and off when touched. The display unit 40 includes a display device such as a light-emitting diode and a buzzer. When the user operates a panel switch, the control device 41 controls the operation of the electric blower 26, the drive motor 30, and the like. It is configured to automatically travel by a roller 33 driven by 30. Reference numeral 42 denotes a power switch.
[0027]
The main body 20 includes a suction unit 22, an electric blower 26, a dust collection unit 27, a power supply unit 28, a drive motor 30, a distance measurement sensor 31, a step sensor 32, a control device 41, and the like, and as shown in FIG. Alternatively, it is covered with a translucent outer shell 43 and fixed to a tightening boss 44 of the main body bottom frame 24 shown in FIG. 1 with screws 45 as shown in FIG. For this reason, the distance measuring sensor 31 and the step sensor 32 transmit and receive light (infrared rays) through the outer shell 43, and the step sensor 32 is provided obliquely downward at the corner of the main body 20. The light (infrared ray) is transmitted and received through the protruding portion 43-a that protrudes the light.
[0028]
A bumper 45 made of an elastic body is provided below the outer shell 43.
[0029]
The handle 46 is provided on the upper surface of the main body 20 so as to be able to be pulled out, and carries the main body 20.
[0030]
Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, an inclined surface 47 descending from the outer periphery toward the suction port side is provided on the front and side surfaces of the suction portion 22, and a small roller 48 is attached on the front lower surface, and the suction portion 22 is displaced. At the position where the small roller 48 hits the restricting portion 25, the small roller 48 projects below the lower end surface of the main body 20 (in this embodiment, the lower end surface of the bumper 45). As shown in FIG. 7, the roller 33 is screwed to the shaft of the drive motor 30 and has a plurality of uneven portions 49 formed only on the inner side.
[0031]
The operation of the above configuration will be described. When the power switch 42 is turned on and the main body 20 is placed substantially parallel to the wall surface of the cleaning area, and the start button of the operation unit 39 is pressed, the electric blower 26 is activated, the rollers 33 are driven by the drive motor 30, and the vehicle travels straight ahead. To start. During traveling, while performing dust collection work by the electric blower 26, the distance measurement sensor 31 always measures the distance to an obstacle such as furniture around the vehicle, and the step sensor 32 confirms the step on the surface to be cleaned. .
[0032]
When the distance from the main body 20 to an obstacle such as furniture approaches a predetermined distance, the vehicle temporarily stops, swings by a predetermined angle, changes direction, and travels. The same is true when there is a step on the surface to be cleaned. As described above, cleaning is performed by automatically traveling in the cleaning area while avoiding obstacles such as furniture and steps.
[0033]
Since the suction portion 22 is fixed to the main body 20 so as to be movable up and down, the suction portion 22 can always follow the unevenness of the surface to be cleaned to secure an optimum gap with the floor surface, and can keep the cleaning efficiency at the optimum.
[0034]
Next, an operation when the vehicle gets over a step during traveling will be described with reference to FIGS. When there is a step forward, the suction portion 22 is pushed up to the position shown by the one-dot chain line in FIG. 1 by the upward pushing force acting on the inclined surface 47 at all ends, and can be climbed up by the driving force of the roller 33. .
[0035]
Then, when descending the step, as shown in FIG. 5, the suction unit 22 is in contact with the floor surface with the small roller 48 provided at the lower end with the upper end abutting on the displacement regulating unit 25, and in contact with the higher step with the casters 34. Become. Since the load Wc acting on the caster 34 increases from the state where the weight G of the main body 20 is supported by the rollers 33 and the casters 34, the load Wc becomes larger than the elastic force P of the elastic body 37, and The caster 34 is inclined in the direction in which the caster 34 approaches the roller 20, and the driving force is transmitted without the rollers 33 contacting the floor surface and idling, so that the rollers 33 can move forward and go down the step.
[0036]
That is, the elastic force P of the elastic body 37 is set to about 1/2 of the main body weight G in a state where the elastic body 37 is on the floor shown in FIG. 4, when the distance between the center of gravity of the main body 20 and the small roller 48 of the suction unit 22 is L1 and the distance between the casters 34 is L2, the load Wc acting on the casters 34 is Wc = G × L1 / L1 + L2. Since ≒ G × ２, Wc becomes larger than P, and the elastic body 37 is compressed and displaced.
[0037]
Then, the suction portion 22 that has come into contact with the floor surface first can smoothly advance on the floor surface by the small rollers 48, and the lower end surface (bumper 45) of the main body 20 does not come into contact with the floor surface.
[0038]
Further, since the roller 33, the drive motor 30, and the caster 34 are integrally formed by the support 35, the roller 33, the drive motor 30, and the caster 34 can be easily attached to and detached from the main body 20, and the assembling property can be improved.
[0039]
The inclined surface 47 is also provided on the side surface of the suction portion 22, so that it can be smoothly displaced upward even if it hits a step during rotation, and the unevenness 49 is provided only inside the roller 33, so that the appearance is impaired. It is possible to improve the gripping force of the roller 33 when it hits a step diagonally without any trouble, and it is possible to get over the roller smoothly. When a step is obliquely applied to the outer surface of the roller 33, slippage can be avoided.
[0040]
(Example 2)
FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state of descending a step according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
[0041]
The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the caster 50 is fixed to the main body 20, and only the roller 51 and the drive motor (not shown) are attached to the support 35 to form a traveling portion. It is screwed to a support boss 53 provided on the main body bottom frame 24.
[0042]
The components having the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment have the same structure, and a description thereof will be omitted.
[0043]
Next, the operation and operation will be described. As shown in FIG. 8, when the main body 20 is held by the small rollers 48 and the casters 50 and the rollers 51 are in a position where they idle, the elastic force of the elastic body 52 causes the rollers to move to the floor surface. It is pushed down to the position where it touches.
[0044]
At this time, the position of the roller 51 at the time of traveling on the floor surface is indicated by a dashed line in the figure, and a small displacement amount h0 is sufficient, so that the main body can be downsized even when it gets over a large step.
[0045]
(Example 3)
FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state of descending a step according to the third embodiment of the present invention.
[0046]
The third embodiment is different from the first embodiment (or 2) in that the roller 54 and the drive motor (not shown) are fixed to the main body 20, the casters 55 are fixed to the support 56, and the main body bottom frame 24 is fixed. It is attached to the main body 20 via an elastic body 58 so as to be rotatable about a shaft 57 provided.
[0047]
The components having the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment have the same structure, and a description thereof will be omitted.
[0048]
Next, the operation and the operation will be described. As shown in FIG. 9, when the main body 20 is held by the small rollers 48 and the casters 55 and the rollers 54 are in the idle position, the load Wc acting on the casters 55 is reduced by the elastic body 58. The caster 55 is displaced in the direction of the main body 20 to a position where the roller 54 comes into contact with the floor surface when the elastic force P becomes larger than the elastic force P.
[0049]
At this time, the number of constituent parts is minimized and the structure can be made at a low cost.
[0050]
In each of the above embodiments, the suction portion 22 is vertically movable with respect to the main body 20. However, the suction portion 22 may be fixed to the main body 20.
[0051]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the present invention can provide a self-propelled cleaner capable of realizing stable traveling without increasing the size of the main body.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a central longitudinal sectional view of a self-propelled cleaner according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the self-propelled cleaner. FIG. 3 is a front view of the self-propelled cleaner. FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the self-propelled cleaner. FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner when it is stepped down. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the traveling part of the self-propelled cleaner. FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view of the self-propelled cleaner according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention descending the stepped portion. FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the self-propelled cleaner according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. Partial cross-sectional view of the state of descending the step part. [FIG. 10] Central vertical cross-sectional view of a conventional self-propelled vacuum cleaner.
Reference Signs List 20 main body 22 suction unit 26 electric blower 27 dust collection unit 28 power supply unit 30 drive motor 33 roller 34 casters 35, 56 support body 37 elastic body

Claims (7)

A suction unit that sucks dust on the surface to be cleaned, an electric blower that generates a flow of air that sucks dust, a dust collection unit that collects dust sucked by the electric blower, and a main body driven by a drive motor to travel. A roller, a caster that supports the main body in a freely movable manner, and a power supply unit that supplies power to the electric blower and the drive motor.The roller and the caster are attached to a support to form a traveling unit, and the A self-propelled cleaner in which a traveling unit is attached to the main body via an elastic body. A suction unit that sucks dust on the surface to be cleaned, an electric blower that generates a flow of air that sucks dust, a dust collection unit that collects dust sucked by the electric blower, and a main body driven by a drive motor to travel. A roller, and a power supply unit for supplying power to the electric blower and the drive motor. The roller is attached to a support to form a traveling unit, and the traveling unit is attached to the body via an elastic body. A traveling vacuum cleaner. A suction unit that sucks dust on the surface to be cleaned, an electric blower that generates a flow of air that sucks dust, a dust collection unit that collects dust sucked by the electric blower, and a caster that supports the main body so as to be able to travel. And a power supply unit for supplying power to the electric blower and the drive motor, wherein the caster is attached to a support to form a traveling unit, and the traveling unit is attached to the main body via an elastic body. Type vacuum cleaner. 4. The suction control device according to claim 1, wherein the suction portion is vertically movable with respect to the main body, and a displacement restricting portion is formed so as to maintain a state in which a lower end surface of the suction portion protrudes downward from a lower end surface of the main body. Self-propelled vacuum cleaner as described. The self-propelled cleaner according to claim 4, wherein a small roller is provided on a lower surface of the suction part. The self-propelled cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising an inclined surface that is inclined from a side surface of the suction part toward a lower surface toward the suction port. The self-propelled cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein an uneven portion is formed only inside the roller.

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