JP2007319485A - Self-propelling vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent even the surfaces of tatami mats of Japanese-style rooms from being damaged while cleaning. <P>SOLUTION: A self-propelling vacuum cleaner 1 is provided with a movable body, a moving means for moving the movable body on a floor surface, and a cleaning means for cleaning the floor surface. The cleaner is also provided with a floor selector switch 10 for selecting Tatami mat as the floor surface, a means for detecting the amount of light reflected from the floor surface, and a means for memorizing the time-series variation in the amount of light. When Tatami is selected by the floor selector switch 10 the cleaner detects the direction of the texture of Tatami by the time-series variation in the amount of light and moves based on the direction of the texture detected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a self-propelled cleaner that performs self-propelled cleaning.

  In order to run a self-propelled vacuum cleaner for home use, an obstacle detection sensor such as a bumper sensor or ultrasonic sensor is installed in the self-propelled vacuum cleaner, and the direction of travel by detecting or contacting the obstacle It is known that the vehicle travels while changing the randomness. Also, some patterns are prepared to change the direction, etc., and it is possible to run by combining them, to automatically generate a map of the room while running, or to run regularly. Yes.

  In general vacuum cleaners, the suction brush position is changed or the suction force is changed according to the floor surface. Even in a self-propelled vacuum cleaner, the floor material is identified by the floor sensor. It is known that fine cleaning, suction force and running speed are changed, for example, described in Patent Document 1.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-211364

  Considering the use of self-propelled vacuum cleaners in ordinary houses in Japan, the floor on which the self-propelled vacuum cleaner travels may be flooring, carpets and tatami mats. In the above prior art, the tatami surface is not considered in cleaning the Japanese-style room.

  In addition, when cleaning with the old scissors, it is recommended to move the scissors along the texture of the tatami mats. In the case of a self-propelled cleaner, the self-propelled cleaner is not related to the texture. There is no choice but to feel uncomfortable with running on a tatami mat randomly.

  An object of the present invention is to prevent not only flooring and carpets (carpets) but also particularly Japanese-style tatami mats from being damaged during cleaning. Another object of the present invention is to provide a self-propelled cleaner that allows cleaning suitable for a Japanese-style room and does not feel uncomfortable with tatami mats.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a self-propelled cleaner comprising a moving body, a moving means for moving the moving body on the floor surface, and a cleaning means for cleaning the floor surface. A floor selection switch for selecting that the floor is a tatami mat, a means for detecting the amount of light reflected from the floor surface, and a means for storing a time-series change in the amount of light, wherein the floor selection switch selects the tatami mat. In this case, the direction of the texture of the tatami mat is detected from the time-series change of the light amount, and the vehicle travels based on the detected direction of the texture.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when cleaning a Japanese-style room, a self-propelled cleaner can be travel-controlled along the texture of a tatami mat, the damage of a tatami surface can be prevented, and a user's discomfort can be reduced.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an external appearance. 1 is a self-propelled cleaner, 2 is a housing of the self-propelled cleaner 1, and 3 is a wheel on the right side of the traveling direction of the self-propelled cleaner 1. 4 is a left wheel, 5 is a motor for driving a wheel 3, 6 is a motor for driving a wheel 4, 7 is an encoder associated with the motor 5, 8 is an encoder associated with the motor 6, 9 is a controller, and 10 is a floor selection. A switch, 11 is an operation switch, 12 is a distance sensor for detecting a front obstacle, 13 is a distance sensor for detecting a right obstacle, 14 is a gyro, and 15 is an optical sensor for detecting a texture of a tatami mat. Reference numeral 20 denotes a CPU, 21 denotes a memory, and 22 denotes a peripheral circuit. In the figure, a line 23 is an internal signal connection line of the controller 9, and a line 24 is an external signal connection line of the controller 9.

  Although not shown in the figure, a suction mechanism including a suction fan motor, a suction nozzle, and a suction flow path and its control circuit, and a drive power supply battery and its control circuit are incorporated in the housing 2. Hereinafter, the self-propelled cleaner 1 refers to a mechanical device including the above-described components.

A right wheel 3, a left wheel 4, and a controller 9 are connected to the housing 2. A motor 5 having an encoder 7 is connected to the wheel 3, and a motor 6 having an encoder 8 is connected to the wheel 4. The motors 5 and 6 are connected to the controller 9 via the external signal connection line 24, respectively. In addition, the floor selection switch 10, the operation switch 11, the front obstacle detection distance sensor 12, the right obstacle detection distance sensor 13, the gyro 14 and the tatami mat texture detection optical sensor 15 are external signal connection lines, respectively. 24 to the controller 9.
The controller 9 is an electronic circuit composed of a CPU 20, a memory 21, a peripheral circuit 22, an internal signal connection line 23 and an external signal connection line 24, and is a part that controls the traveling operation of the self-propelled cleaner 1. .

The self-propelled cleaner 1 drives the left and right motors 5 and 6 according to a control command from the controller 9, and controls the rotation operation of the wheels 3 and 4 connected to the motors 5 and 6. The casing 2 performs forward movement, backward movement, right rotation, and left rotation by the rotation operation of the wheels 3 and 4.
The floor selection switch 10 is a switch for selecting a tatami mat floor and the other. For example, when a Japanese-style room is selected using a switch for switching between two types of high and low digital signals, a high signal is input to the controller 9. When a room other than the Japanese-style room is selected, a low signal is input to the controller 9.

The operation switch 11 is a part for inputting start and stop of the self-propelled cleaner 1, and is constituted by a button switch.
The distance sensors 12 and 13 are infrared distance sensors, projecting an infrared light beam having a constant spot diameter from the sensor onto the object, and receiving the reflected light of the beam light reflected and returned from the surface of the object. Thus, the electronic component has a function of measuring the distance to the obstacle from the correlation between the amount of received light and the distance.
The gyro 14 is an electronic component composed of an element that can obtain an analog voltage output corresponding to the rotational angular velocity.
The tatami weave detection optical sensor 15 is a sensor for irradiating light on the tatami weave and detecting the direction of the weave by the reflected light. The infrared distance sensor exemplified in the distance sensors 12 and 13 It is an electronic component with a similar function.

  Currently known home self-propelled vacuum cleaners are either running randomly on the floor or running vertically and horizontally throughout the room. It is not running considering the texture. Therefore, there is a possibility of damaging the tatami mat while traveling.

Next, the details of the method of running the self-propelled cleaner 1 along the direction of the texture of the tatami mat will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram when the self-propelled cleaner 1 travels along the room wall of a Japanese-style room with 6 tatami mats. The self-propelled cleaner 1 starts traveling from the start position indicated by S in the figure, and returns to S through a broken line route in the figure.

  The traveling along the broken line route is realized as follows. The distance to the wall of the room is detected using the right obstacle detection distance sensor 13, and the left and right motors 5 and 6 are driven so that the distance becomes a set constant value, and the vehicle moves forward along the wall. When the front obstacle detection distance sensor 12 detects a wall in front, the housing 2 is rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise when the housing 2 is viewed from above, and the right obstacle detection distance sensor 13 is detected. Let the wall be detected. After that, the right obstacle detection distance sensor 13 is used again to advance the vehicle so that the distance from the wall is kept constant.

The position of the casing 2 during traveling is obtained by encoders 7 and 8 attached to the motors 5 and 6. Further, the attitude angle of the housing 2 is obtained by the gyro 14. It is assumed that the point at which the posture angle obtained by the gyro 14 is 360 degrees is the original start position S. 3- (1), 3- (2), and 3- (3) are enlarged views at the positions indicated by A, B, and C in the drawing along the route of traveling around the room as described above. The position A shown in 3- (1) is running on the tatami surface, and only the texture of the tatami is visible in the enlarged view. The position B shown in 3- (2) is in a state of running across the edge of the tatami mat, and in the enlarged view, the direction of the weave is changed by 90 degrees across the edge of the tatami mat. The position of C shown in 3- (3) is in the state where the tatami mat and tatami border are in contact with each other at the edge of the border. The texture is lined up.

  FIG. 4 shows changes in the light quantity of the tatami-texture detecting optical sensor 15 for each of A, B, and C shown in FIG. 4- (1) is a change in the amount of light with respect to A in FIG. 3, and the amount of light keeps a constant value as time passes, and is always larger than the light amount threshold value Ws indicated by a one-dot chain line in the drawing. 4- (2) is a change in the amount of light with respect to B in FIG. 3, and the amount of light is smaller than the threshold value Ws during the time t1 to t2 while running on the edge of the tatami mat. 4- (3) is a change in the amount of light with respect to C in FIG. 3, and the amount of light is smaller than the threshold value Ws during the time t3 to t4 when traveling on the boundary between the tatami mats. At this time, the time interval between t3 and t4 is smaller than the time interval between t1 and t2 shown in 4- (2).

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a time-series pattern of a change in the amount of light of the texture detection optical sensor 15 when the 6-tatami Japanese-style room travels once along the wall. In the figure, 5- (1) is a schematic diagram showing the method 1 of tatami mat layout, and 5- (2) is a schematic diagram of a time-series pattern of a light amount change with respect to the laying pattern shown by 5- (1). -(3) is a schematic diagram showing method 2 of tatami mat layout, and 5- (4) is a schematic diagram of a time-series pattern of a change in light quantity with respect to the layout method shown in 5- (3). In both cases, the self-propelled cleaner 1 shows a case where the room travels around the room from the position S in the drawing along the broken line.

FIG. 6 shows a time-series pattern of the light amount change of the texture detection optical sensor 5 shown in FIG. 5 as a data string. In the figure, 6- (1) represents the time series pattern shown in FIG. 5- (2) as the data string Q1, and 6- (2) in the figure shows the time series pattern shown in FIG. 5- (4). This is expressed as a data string Q2. In the data string of FIG. 6, H indicates that the light amount is larger than the threshold value Ws, and L indicates that the light amount is smaller than the threshold value Ws. Long indicates that the duration of the light amount is long, and short indicates that the duration of the light amount is short. Specifically, (H, long) is running in the longitudinal direction on the tatami mat, (H, short) is running in the transversal direction on the tatami mat, and (L, long) is across the edge of the tatami mat. The traveling state (L, short) corresponds to the traveling state between the tatami and the tatami.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a route when the self-propelled cleaner 1 travels around the room wall. The self-propelled cleaner 1 goes around the room along the arrow line in the figure from the position indicated by S in the figure and returns to S. The arrow line indicates the movement path of the center position of the self-propelled cleaner 1. Moreover, P0 (X0, Y0) of a figure shows a center position coordinate when the self-propelled cleaner 1 exists in the lower right corner part of a Japanese-style room. Similarly, P1 (X1, Y1), P2 (X2, Y2), and P3 (X3, Y3) in the figure are respectively when the self-propelled cleaner 1 is in the upper right corner, upper left corner, and lower left corner of the Japanese-style room. The center position coordinate is shown. Lx in the figure indicates the distance between P1 (X1, Y1) and P2 (X2, Y2) and the distance between P3 (X3, Y3) and P0 (X0, Y0). Ly represents the distance between P0 (X0, Y0) and P1 (X1, Y1) and the distance between P2 (X2, Y2) and P3 (X3, Y3).
The position coordinates from P0 to P3 are determined in the controller 9 from the values of the encoders 7 and 8 and the gyroscope 14 associated with the left and right wheel drive motors acquired at regular intervals while the self-propelled cleaner 1 is running. Obtained by arithmetic processing.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing characteristic points for creating a route for traveling inside the room, which is determined from the pattern of how to circulate the room and the tatami mat shown in FIG. In the figure, 8- (1) corresponds to the layout shown in 5- (1), and R10 to R15 in the figure are the positions of feature points. Characteristic points R10, R11, R14, and R15 are characteristic points determined on the round-the-room travel route, and indicate positions where the texture direction of the tatami mat changes on the round-the-room travel route. R12 and R13 are characteristic points defined in the area surrounded by the round-the-room travel route, and indicate the positions of the points that are in contact with each other so that the texture direction of the plurality of tatami mats changes. 8- (2) is a diagram corresponding to the layout shown in 5- (3), and R21 and R22 in the figure are the positions of feature points. R21 and R22 indicate positions where the round-the-room travel route intersects the boundary line where the tatami mat meets.

  FIG. 9 is a database in which the information shown in FIGS. The first column of the database is the number of Japanese-style tatami mats, the second and third columns are numerical values indicating the fluctuation range of Lx and Ly described in FIG. 7, and the fourth column is the lower right corner and upper right corner described in FIG. , The upper left corner, the lower left corner, the fifth column is the pattern of how to lay the tatami mat as shown in FIG. 5, the sixth column is the position of the feature point described in FIG. 8, and the seventh column is FIG. It is a time-sequential pattern of the light quantity change demonstrated by (2). The database shown in FIG. 9 is stored in the memory 21 constituting the controller 9.

  First, the self-propelled cleaner 1 travels around the room to measure the short length Lx, the long length Ly, and the change in the light amount of the texture detecting optical sensor 15. The number of tatami mats is obtained from the short length Lx and the long length Ly, and a row corresponding to the number of tatami mats on the database is taken out. Then, the measured light quantity change is compared with the time series pattern of the light quantity change in the database row from which the data is taken out, and a tatami mat layout that matches the measured pattern is obtained. A feature point corresponding to the way to lay the tatami mat is extracted to generate a command trajectory for internal travel.

FIG. 10 shows a command trajectory of the traveling route inside the room, which is generated corresponding to one row of the database of FIG. 10- (1) is a schematic diagram of a command trajectory generated for the laying method shown in FIG. 5- (1), and 10- (2) is the laying method shown in FIG. 5- (2). It is a schematic diagram of the command locus to be generated.
In 10- (1), the self-propelled cleaner 1 in S in the figure is first driven to R10. Next, with R10 as the starting position, the vehicle travels in the area defined by R10, R11, R12, and R13 along the route indicated by the arrow line in the figure. Next, the vehicle travels in a region delimited by R11, R13, R14, and P1, with R11 as a starting position. Similarly, the vehicle travels in a region delimited by R14, R15, P2, and P3 with R14 as the start position, and a region delimited by R15, R12, R10, and S with R15 as the start position. Finally, the vehicle is returned to the position S to complete all traveling.

  In 10- (2), the vehicle travels along the route indicated by the arrow line in the figure in the region divided by S, P1, P2, and P3 with S as the start position. In the case of 10- (2), the running inside the room ends at the room wall position on the opposite side of the starting position S. Therefore, in order to return the self-propelled cleaner 1 to the starting S from that position, feature points R21 and R22 Is defined. That is, when traveling on the P1 side is completed, the vehicle travels back from R1 to P1 through S21 and returns to the position S to complete all traveling. When traveling on the P2 side is completed, the vehicle travels straight back from P2 to S through R22 and P3 and returns to the position S to complete all traveling.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a control flow of traveling along the texture of the tatami mat described in FIGS. 3 to 10 above. Reference numerals 101 to 112 denote blocks of the control flow. The self-propelled cleaner 1 is travel-controlled according to the flow shown in FIG. 11 when the floor selection switch 10 selects a tatami room.

Block 101 travels from the current location to the wall of the room. In block 102, the current position and posture of the self-propelled cleaner 1 are stored as initial values. In block 103, the completion of the round-the-room travel is determined. If the round has not been completed, the process proceeds to block 104 where the vehicle runs along the wall of the room. This traveling along the wall is realized by the traveling method along the broken-line route described in FIG.
In block 105, while scanning along the wall, the texture detection optical sensor 15 scans the top of the tatami to obtain a light quantity value. At block 106, a time-series actual measurement pattern of light quantity is generated. At block 107, the current position is compared with the initial position and the sum of the attitude angles.
The sum of the posture angles is obtained by integrating the posture angles with the counterclockwise direction being positive and the clockwise direction being negative with respect to the traveling direction of the self-propelled cleaner 1. If the distance deviation between the current position and the initial position is less than a predetermined value and the total posture angle is less than the predetermined angle deviation with respect to 360 degrees, it is determined that one round of the room has been completed, and the one round completion flag is set in block 108 .

At block 109, a database search is performed as described in FIG. In accordance with the result of the database search, the block 110 calculates the travel route command locus inside the room described with reference to FIG. In block 111, the self-propelled cleaner 1 is moved to the travel start position. Thereafter, in block 112, the traveling of the self-propelled cleaner 1 is controlled according to the internal traveling command locus calculated in block 110.
By executing the above flow, traveling along the texture of the tatami mat can be realized.

  In the embodiment described above, it is also possible to combine the traveling pattern as shown in FIG. 10 and the drive stop of the suction mouth rotating brush. FIG. 12 shows the control flow. This flow is executed during the internal running of the block 112 described in FIG. In block 120, it is determined whether or not the self-propelled cleaner 1 is traveling straight. If the vehicle is traveling straight, it is determined in block 121 whether or not the tatami weave is moving in the forward direction. If it is moving in the forward direction, the rotary brush is set in the drive state at block 122. In order to generate the zigzag pattern, the rotary brush is stopped at block 123 while moving in the direction perpendicular to the texture at the edge of the tatami mat. Further, while the self-propelled cleaner 1 is rotating in order to change the straight traveling direction, for example, the rotating brush is stopped in a block 124 while performing an operation other than straight traveling. The drive stop of the rotary brush is realized by giving a drive or stop command value to a motor that drives the rotary brush (not shown).

  Further, although not shown, it is also possible to combine the running pattern and the upper and lower portions of the rotating brush by attaching the rotating brush itself to the opening of the suction port with a spring mechanism that can move up and down. That is, when the condition corresponds to the block 122, the spring is extended to bring the rotating brush portion into contact with the tatami surface, and when the condition corresponds to the block 123 and block 124, the spring is compressed so that the rotating brush portion contacts the tatami surface. You may make it not.

  In addition, you may apply the drive stop of a rotary brush, and the up-and-down movable of a rotary brush at the time of a round room travel shown in FIG. That is, the rotating brush is stopped while traveling around the room, or the rotating brush part is not in contact with the tatami surface, and the rotating brush is driven only when the interior of the room goes straight along the texture of the tatami mat, or the rotating brush Make the part touch the tatami mat. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the tatami mat from being damaged due to the rotating brush hitting the weave from other than the normal direction.

The block diagram which shows the whole structure of one Example by this invention. The front view which modeled the external appearance of one Example by this invention. The schematic diagram which shows the driving | running | working of the Japanese-style room 6 tatami by one Example. The graph which shows the light quantity change of the sensor for texture detection by one Example. The time-series pattern figure of the light quantity by the texture detection sensor of one Example. The figure which shows the data string of the time series pattern by the texture detection sensor of one Example. The figure which shows the driving | running route of the one round of the room by one Example. The figure which shows arrangement | positioning of the feature point by one Example. The database of the time series pattern by the sensor for texture detection of one Example. The figure which shows the locus | trajectory of the driving | running | working instruction | command inside the room by one Example. The control flow figure by one Example. The rotation brush drive stop control flow figure by one Example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Self-propelled cleaner, 2 ... Housing, 3, 4 ... Wheel, 5, 6 ... Motor, 7, 8 ... Encoder, 9 ... Controller, 10 ... Floor selection switch, 11 ... Operation switch, 12, 13 ... distance sensors,
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 14 ... Gyro, 15 ... Optical sensor for texture detection, 20 ... CPU, 21 ... Memory, 22 ... Peripheral circuit.

Claims (5)

In a self-propelled cleaner comprising a moving body, a moving means for moving the moving body on the floor surface, and a cleaning means for cleaning the floor surface,
A floor selection switch for selecting that the floor surface is tatami; means for detecting the amount of light reflected from the floor surface; and means for storing a time-series change in the amount of light.
When a tatami is selected with the floor selection switch, the direction of the texture of the tatami is detected from the time-series change of the light quantity, and the self-propelled is characterized in that the vehicle travels based on the detected direction of the texture. Vacuum cleaner.   The self-propelled cleaner according to claim 1, wherein a boundary between the tatami mat and the tatami mat that is in contact with an edge of the tatami mat and a portion with no rim is determined from the time series change of the light amount.   2. The self-propelled cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the correlation between the time series change of the light quantity and the pattern of how to lay the tatami mat is stored in advance.   In the thing of Claim 1, It provided with the rotating brush part which has the brush made rotatable in the suction | inhalation part of the said self-propelled cleaner, and the drive mechanism which rotates and stops the said brush, It was detected. A self-propelled cleaner that rotates and stops the brush in relation to the direction of the weave.   The thing of Claim 1 is provided with the brush provided in the suction | inhalation part of the said self-propelled cleaner, and the up-and-down drive mechanism which drives the said brush up and down, It is related with the direction of the said detected texture A self-propelled vacuum cleaner that moves up and down the brush.

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