JP2015192878A - Cleaning robot and cleaning sheet to be used with the cleaning robot - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique that contributes to the improvement of the cleaning ability of a self-propelled cleaning robot.SOLUTION: A self-propelled cleaning robot 100 includes: a body unit 120; a cleaning unit; and a cleaning sheet 200 removably attached to the cleaning unit for performing a work to clean a cleaning target by wiping. The cleaning sheet 200 has a cleaning surface 210 formed thereon that can be brought into contact with a cleaning target in a planar state. The cleaning surface 210 includes: raised parts 220 constituted by raised fibers and capable of holding dust; and guide passages 230 formed adjacent to the raised parts 220, for catching dust on the cleaning target and guiding the dust to the raised parts 220 so that the dust is held thereby. The guide passages 230 include areas extending so as to intersect with at least a D1 direction.

Description

The present invention relates to a technique for constructing a self-propelled cleaning robot.

  In Japanese translations of PCT publication No. 2008-529752, as an autonomous surface cleaning robot, an apparatus configuration that is set to automatically perform a cleaning operation on a cleaning target based on a predetermined cleaning operation start command is disclosed.

  In this conventional technology, a device configuration is disclosed that drastically streamlines the cleaning work environment by automatically cleaning the object to be cleaned using a self-propelled cleaning robot, thereby eliminating the need for manual cleaning work. Has been.

  On the other hand, as a technique for constructing such a cleaning robot, further technical improvement is desired in order to further improve the cleaning efficiency for the object to be cleaned.

Special table 2008-529752 gazette

  An object of this invention is to provide the technique which contributes to improving the cleaning capability in a self-propelled cleaning robot in view of the above.

The above problems are solved by the invention described in the claims. The solution according to the present invention is a self-propelled cleaning robot, a main body, a travel unit provided in the main body and configured to travel at least in a predetermined first direction, and the travel A drive control unit for controlling the drive of the unit;
A cleaning unit provided in the main body, and a cleaning sheet that is detachably attached to the cleaning unit and performs a wiping cleaning operation on a cleaning target; and the cleaning unit is configured to lock the cleaning sheet. And a deployment portion for deploying the cleaning sheet in a planar shape, and the cleaning sheet is attached to the cleaning portion via the engagement portion in the deployment portion. The cleaning surface is configured to form a cleaning surface that can come into contact with a surface to be cleaned, and the cleaning surface is formed of a raised fiber and can hold dust, and is adjacent to the raised portion. A guide path that captures the dust to be cleaned, guides it to the raised portion, and holds the dust in the raised portion, and the guide path intersects at least the first direction. Having an extended area Configured as a cleaning robot to butterflies.

Further, as one aspect of the solution means according to the present invention, in the cleaning robot, the main body includes a motor, the traveling unit includes a wheel that is rotationally driven by the motor, and the first direction is the The cleaning robot is defined by the rolling direction of the wheel.

Further, as one aspect of the solution means according to the present invention, in the cleaning robot, the wheels are constituted by first and second traveling wheels, and the drive control unit rotates the first and second traveling wheels. By controlling each, it is comprised so that it can drive | work to the all directions which cross | intersect the said 1st direction and the said 1st direction in the extension direction of the said cleaning surface, The said guide path is in the said cleaning surface extension direction. It has a region that extends in a crossing manner in all directions, and dust in the cleaning target can be captured by the guide path when traveling in any direction in the cleaning surface extending direction. A cleaning robot characterized by being configured as described above is configured.

Moreover, as one aspect of the solution means according to the present invention, in the cleaning robot, a plurality of guide paths are formed in parallel on the cleaning surface while being inclined in the first direction. The cleaning robot is characterized in that an end portion of the one guide path in the first direction is disposed so as to overlap another adjacent guide path in the first direction.

Further, as one aspect of the solution means according to the present invention, the cleaning robot is configured such that a surface pressure acting on the cleaning surface is substantially constant when the cleaning robot travels through the traveling unit. The cleaning robot characterized by this is configured.

Moreover, as one aspect of the solving means according to the present invention, in the cleaning robot, at least a part of the fibers constituting the raised portion of the cleaning sheet is attached to the cleaning unit from the cleaning unit. The cleaning robot is configured to protrude in the direction of.

Moreover, as one aspect of the solution means according to the present invention, the protruding length of the fiber is set to be shorter than the separation distance between the cleaning unit and the traveling unit with respect to the first direction. A cleaning robot is configured.

  Moreover, as one aspect of the solution means according to the present invention, a cleaning robot is configured in which the width dimension of the cleaning sheet is set larger than the width dimension of the cleaning unit.

Moreover, as one aspect of the solution means according to the present invention, in the cleaning robot, the fiber of the raised portion is not raised in the state before the cleaning sheet is attached to the cleaning portion. The cleaning robot is configured to extend substantially along the line and to be raised when the cleaning sheet is attached to the cleaning part to form the raised part.

According to the present invention, a technique that contributes to further improving the cleaning ability of a self-propelled cleaning robot is provided.

1 schematically shows an overall configuration of a cleaning robot 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As a side configuration of cleaning robot 100 according to the present embodiment, a configuration in a state where cleaning head 180 is removed is schematically shown. As a side configuration of cleaning robot 100 according to the present embodiment, a configuration in a state where cleaning head 180 is attached is schematically shown. The upper surface structure of the cleaning head 180 in the cleaning robot 100 according to the present embodiment is schematically shown. The structure of the cleaning sheet 200 before being mounted on the cleaning robot 100 according to the present embodiment is schematically shown in plan view. 1 schematically shows a cross-sectional structure of cleaning sheet 200 in cleaning robot 100 according to the present embodiment. In the cleaning robot 100 according to the present embodiment, a state in which the cleaning sheet 200 is attached to the cleaning head 180 is schematically shown as a bottom view. In cleaning robot 100 according to the present embodiment, a state in which cleaning sheet 200 is attached to cleaning head 180 is schematically shown as a cross-sectional view from the side. About cleaning robot 100 concerning this embodiment, the state where cleaning sheet 200 was equipped is shown roughly by bottom view. About the cleaning robot 100 which concerns on this Embodiment, the state which performs the cleaning operation | work with respect to the cleaning target surface C is shown schematically. About the cleaning robot 100 which concerns on this Embodiment, it shows schematically about the detailed structure of the D1 direction front side of the cleaning sheet 200 with which the cleaning head 180 was mounted | worn. About the cleaning robot 100 which concerns on this Embodiment, the detailed structure of the D1 direction back side of the cleaning sheet 200 with which the cleaning head 180 was mounted | worn is shown roughly.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on embodiments for carrying out the present invention.
The present invention is configured as a self-propelled cleaning robot. “Self-propelled” refers to a device configuration that has its own device configuration for traveling and can travel without other assistance. The “cleaning robot” refers to an autonomous device configuration that is set to automatically perform a cleaning operation on a cleaning target based on a predetermined cleaning operation start command, for example, by turning on an activation switch.

  A cleaning robot according to the present invention includes a travel unit configured to travel at least in a predetermined first direction, a drive control unit that performs drive control of the travel unit, a cleaning unit provided in a main body unit, A cleaning sheet that is detachably attached to the cleaning unit and performs a wiping and cleaning operation on a cleaning target is provided.

“At least” means that the traveling unit and thus the cleaning robot need only be able to travel in at least the first direction, and the traveling unit can travel in directions other than the first direction. Preferably included.

The “predetermined first direction” is typically preferably set to match the cleaning direction of the cleaning robot. The “traveling unit” typically has a device configuration including a traveling wheel provided in the main body and a motor for rotationally driving the traveling wheel.

The “drive control unit” typically performs drive control of the traveling unit based on area information to be cleaned, information on the degree of achievement of cleaning to be cleaned, or a combination thereof. For example, if the object to be cleaned is the floor surface of an indoor partitioned room, the development status of the floor surface of the room is converted into data using infrared rays, etc., and how the traveling unit is based on the data related to the development status of the floor surface. An example of application in which driving control is performed by determining whether to run the vehicle is listed.

  The “cleaning portion” typically corresponds to a rectangular flat plate-shaped cleaning head portion that is detachably attached to the main body portion. A cleaning sheet for wiping and cleaning the object to be cleaned is detachably attached to the cleaning head. This “cleaning sheet” is typically made of a nonwoven fabric, a fiber bundle, or a nonwoven fabric and a fiber bundle. It is comprised by combining suitably.

  The “cleaning target” related to the present cleaning robot typically corresponds to the floor surface of a room indoors, but for example, the wall surface or ceiling surface of the room, the outdoor floor surface, or even a vehicle. Such as a floor surface, a wall surface or a ceiling surface of a compartment in a transportation means such as an airplane or a ship. Moreover, the “wiping cleaning work” to be cleaned by the cleaning sheet typically means that the surface of the cleaning target is stained by relatively moving the cleaning sheet in a state of being in surface contact with the cleaning target, This particularly applies to a cleaning mode in which dust is removed by contact with the cleaning sheet.

  Furthermore, the cleaning part in the cleaning robot according to the present invention has a locking part for locking the cleaning sheet and a developing part for expanding the cleaning sheet into a planar shape.

"Locking part" broadly includes means capable of locking the cleaning sheet to the cleaning part. For example, both the means for permanently fixing the cleaning sheet to the cleaning part and the means for removably attaching the cleaning sheet are preferably included, and the attachment means is a mode in which a locking aid prepared separately from the cleaning part is used. Any embodiment that does not use a stop aid is also suitably included.

The “developing part” is not limited to a mode in which the cleaning sheet attached to the cleaning part is developed in a planar shape, and the developing part itself is formed in a planar shape, but the developing part itself is not formed in a planar shape. However, the aspect which the attached cleaning sheet expand | deploys planarly is also included suitably.

Furthermore, the cleaning surface according to the present invention is provided with a raised portion that is made of raised fibers and can hold dust, and is provided adjacent to the raised portion, and captures dust to be cleaned and guides it to the raised portion. And a guide path that is held by the raised portion.

The “raised fiber” is typically a state in which a plurality of fibers each have a free end and are arranged on the cleaning surface, and the free end extends in a number of directions intersecting the cleaning surface. Correspond.

  The guide path provided on the cleaning surface according to the present invention is configured to have a region extending at least in a crossing manner with respect to the first direction. “Crossing” with respect to the first direction means that a component that crosses the first direction is sufficient, and as a crossing mode, a mode or curve that intersects the first direction in a linearly inclined manner is sufficient. Any of the embodiments that intersect in a shape is suitably included.

  In the present invention, since the guide path described above is configured to extend at least intersecting the first direction, when the cleaning surface advances in at least the first direction, While being easily captured by the guiding path extending in a crossing manner, it is reliably guided to the raised portion provided adjacent to the guiding path. As a result, the dust captured by the guide path can be guided to the raised portion and securely held, so that the cleaning efficiency of the cleaning robot can be improved.

  As one aspect of the present invention, the main body portion has a motor, the traveling portion has wheels that are rotationally driven by the motor, and the first direction is defined by the rolling direction of the wheels. It is preferable to configure. With such a configuration, it is possible to ensure the reliable traveling performance of the self-propelled cleaning robot and to ensure the reliable cleaning work capability.

  Moreover, as one aspect of the present invention, the wheel is composed of first and second traveling wheels, and the drive control unit controls the rotation of the first and second traveling wheels, whereby the cleaning is performed. It is preferable to be configured to be able to travel in all directions intersecting the first direction and the first direction in the surface extending direction. “All directions intersecting the first direction” correspond to the extending direction of the cleaning surface, that is, all the directions orthogonal to the normal vector of the cleaning surface. That is, the cleaning robot can freely travel in the extending direction of the cleaning surface including the first direction.

In the cleaning robot according to the present invention, the first traveling wheel and the second traveling wheel constituting the wheels are controlled, for example, to rotate the first traveling wheel faster than the second traveling wheel. It is possible to ensure the efficient turning ability of the cleaning robot only by controlling the running wheel, such as turning to the second running wheel side, which contributes to avoiding complication of the apparatus configuration.

  In the above configuration, the guide path provided on the cleaning surface has a region extending in an intersecting manner with respect to any of the omnidirectional directions in the cleaning surface extending direction, and in any of the omnidirectional directions of the cleaning surface extending direction. Even when traveling, it is preferable that dust on the object to be cleaned can be captured by the guide path. With this configuration, no matter what direction the cleaning robot travels in the extending direction of the cleaning surface, all the dust that contacts the cleaning surface will be trapped in the guideway and cleaned. It is possible to maintain high cleaning efficiency during work.

  As one aspect of the present invention, a plurality of taxiways are formed in parallel on the cleaning surface while being inclined in the first direction, and the first of the taxiways is the first of the taxiways. The end portion in one direction is preferably arranged so as to overlap with another adjacent guide path in the first direction. The angles of the “tilts” of the plurality of taxiways with respect to the first direction may all be set the same or may be set different from each other. Further, regarding the “parallel” formation of a plurality of taxiways, the separation distances of the taxiways may all be set equal or different from each other. By configuring the end portion of one guide path in the first direction so as to overlap another adjacent guide path in the first direction, dust that contacts the cleaning surface can be removed from any of the plurality of guide paths. Therefore, the cleaning operation efficiency by the cleaning robot can be maintained high.

  Moreover, as one aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that the surface pressure acting on the cleaning surface is substantially constant when the cleaning robot travels through the travel unit. With this configuration, the pressure between the cleaning surface and the object to be cleaned can be made steady, and the occurrence of unevenness in the wiping operation can be effectively avoided.

  Moreover, as one aspect of the present invention, at least a part of the fibers constituting the raised portion of the cleaning sheet is configured to protrude from the cleaning portion in the first direction when attached to the cleaning portion. It is preferable that With this configuration, even when dust is swept up when performing wiping and cleaning work, the dust is trapped and held by the protruding fibers, so that the dust rises and is scattered around, or the raised dust is cleaned by the cleaning robot. This effectively prevents the situation from getting dirty.

  Moreover, as one aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that the protruding length of the fiber is set shorter than the separation distance between the cleaning unit and the traveling unit with respect to the first direction. With this configuration, in the first direction, a situation in which the protruding fiber 221 is caught in the traveling unit is prevented.

  Moreover, as one aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that the width dimension of the cleaning sheet is set larger than the width dimension of the cleaning portion. With this configuration, the widthwise dimension of the cleaning sheet attached to the cleaning unit is maximized, and further cleaning efficiency can be improved.

Moreover, as one aspect of the present invention, the fiber of the raised portion extends substantially along the sheet surface of the cleaning sheet without being raised in a state before the cleaning sheet is attached to the cleaning portion. It is preferable that when the cleaning sheet is attached to the cleaning portion, the raised portion is formed by raising the cleaning sheet. With this configuration, it can be stored compactly before use, and can be brushed by attaching it to the cleaning unit during use, ensuring high cleaning efficiency. It is possible to constitute a cleaning sheet that is excellent in both cleaning efficiency.

(Configuration of cleaning robot 100)
Hereinafter, a cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

First, an overall configuration of the cleaning robot 100 according to the present embodiment is schematically shown in FIG.
The cleaning robot 100 includes a main body 120 that is configured mainly by a main body base 121 and a cleaning head mounting base 129.

An operation unit 123, a reception unit 125, and a display light 127 are disposed on the upper surface area of the main body base 121. As the operation unit 123, a sweep button for dry wiping, a wiping button for water wiping, and a power button are individually assigned to be able to be turned on. The receiving unit 125 receives room information and information on the cleaning area from room information detecting means (generally called a navigation base or the like) configured independently of the cleaning robot 100. The display light 127 is turned on when the signal from the room information detecting means is received, when the cleaning robot 100 is energized, when a predetermined error signal is output in the cleaning operation, and the like. Information about this is visually notified.

  The cleaning head mounting base 129 is provided at the front lower portion of the main body base 121, and a bumper 131 is provided at the front side thereof. The bumper 131 is provided in order to mitigate an impact when the cleaning robot 100 abuts against a room structure or equipment when the cleaning robot 100 performs a self-propelled cleaning operation.

  Furthermore, the side structure of the cleaning robot 100 according to the present embodiment is shown in FIGS. On the bottom surface side of the cleaning head mounting base 129, a cleaning head 180 formed on a flat plate can be mounted by a suction action by the magnetic force of the cleaning head mounting magnet 137 provided in the cleaning head mounting base 129. . The cleaning robot 100 with the cleaning head 180 attached to the cleaning head attachment base 129 is shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cleaning head 180 is formed with a locking portion 181 and a sheet developing portion 183. The locking portion 181 is used to lock and attach a cleaning sheet 200 described later to the cleaning head 180. The sheet developing unit 183 is provided on the bottom surface of the cleaning head 180 and is used to form the cleaning surface 210 when a cleaning sheet 200 described later is attached to the cleaning head 180.

As shown in FIG. 2, a buffer portion 135 that protrudes downward from the cleaning head mounting base portion 129 is provided on the bottom surface of the cleaning head mounting base portion 129. The buffer portion 135 serves as a tension applying mechanism for the cleaning sheet 200 attached to the cleaning head attaching portion 181 and serves as a buffer member in the vertical direction during the cleaning operation (see also FIG. 10).

As shown in FIG. 4, the cleaning head 180 is formed with a buffer portion insertion hole 185 having an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the buffer portion 135. As shown in FIG. When attaching 180 to the bottom surface of the cleaning head attachment base portion 129, the buffer portion 135 is inserted into the buffer portion insertion hole 185 with sufficient clearance, and therefore does not interfere with the attachment operation of the cleaning head 180.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a battery (not shown), a drive control unit 160, and a drive motor 170 are housed in the main body base 121, and wheels 143 are provided on the bottom surface of the main body base 121. (As shown in FIG. 9, the wheel 143 includes a first traveling wheel 141 and a second traveling wheel 142). The wheel 143 is connected to a drive motor 170 that rotates by receiving a current supply from the battery, and is appropriately rotationally driven via the drive control unit 160. Thus, in the present embodiment, the traveling unit 140 is configured by the wheels 143 driven by the drive motor 170 and the drive control unit 160. The traveling unit 140 can be configured not only with the wheels 143 as in the present embodiment, but also with various traveling devices such as an endless track or a sphere.

(Configuration of cleaning sheet 200)
A detailed configuration of the cleaning sheet 200 is shown in a plan view in FIG. Before the cleaning sheet 200 is attached to the cleaning head 180, the cleaning sheet 200 is formed in a thin sheet shape, and a plurality of raised portions 220 and a plurality of guide paths 230 have a predetermined inclination angle on each of the front and back surfaces. However, it is formed in an extended shape. The detailed structure of the raised portion 220 and the guide path 230 is shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a front cross-sectional view of the cleaning sheet 200, and concave guide paths 230 are formed in parallel at equal intervals on both front and back surfaces of the base material sheet 215 made of nonwoven fabric, and adjacent to the guide paths 230. The plurality of fibers 221 are joined to form the raised portion 220. One end of each fiber 221 is joined to the base sheet 215 in the vicinity of the guide path, and the other end is in a free end state, and is appropriately developed in a direction different from the surface extending direction of the base sheet 215. Gives the basic structure of the raised portion 220.

In the state before the cleaning sheet 200 is attached to the cleaning head 180, the fiber 221 is not yet raised, and is generally configured to extend in the surface extending direction of the base material sheet 215 ( That is, when the cleaning sheet 200 is attached to the cleaning head 200, the free ends of the plurality of fibers 221 are set up to extend in each direction to form the raised portions 220.

As the base material sheet 215, a sheet-like nonwoven fabric typically made of heat-meltable fibers (thermoplastic fibers) can be used. The non-woven fabric is a sheet-like composition made by fixing or intertwining fibers by a mechanical, chemical, or thermal treatment, and can be joined by partially including thermoplastic fibers. And configured as a nonwoven fabric having a plurality of strips. As the thermoplastic fiber (hot melt fiber), polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, or the like can be used.

This nonwoven fabric is preferably composed of 10 to 100 g / m ² of thermoplastic fibers (PE / PET fibers, PE / PP fibers, PP / PP fibers) having practical strength. As this non-woven fabric, those manufactured by air-through method, spun bond method, thermal bond method, spun lace method, point bond method, melt blow method, stitch bond method, chemical bond method, needle punch method, etc. should be used appropriately. Can do. Further, instead of or in addition to the nonwoven fabric, a material such as urethane, sponge, woven fabric, net, or walif processed into a strip shape can be used.

Further, for the fibers 221 constituting the raised portion 220, a single fiber structure or a fiber structure in which fibers are aligned in the length direction and / or radial direction (twisted yarn, spun yarn, a plurality of long fibers are partially Connected thread material, etc.) or an aggregate of the fiber structure, and is configured as a fiber body that includes thermoplastic fibers in part and can be joined.

The fiber forming each fibrous body is a structural unit such as a thread or a woven fabric, and is defined as a thin and flexible form having a sufficient length compared to the thickness, and typically a long continuous The shaped fibers are long fibers (filaments), and the short fibers are short fibers (staples). As the material of the fiber, typically, PE, PP, PET, nylon, rayon, or the like is used, and practically, an aggregate of long fibers (filaments) obtained by opening the tow can be used. . This long fiber preferably has a fineness of 0.5 to 66 dtex. Moreover, when using the fiber containing a thermoplastic resin, it is preferable to use at least 2 or more types of resin of different melting | fusing point (For example, resin whose melting | fusing point difference is 20 degreeC or more).

  Further, the fiber 221 may include a crimped fiber. In this case, it is preferable to use crimped fibers having 5 to 30 crimps per inch. A crimped fiber here is comprised as a fiber to which the predetermined winding shrinkage process was provided, and is set as the structure where fibers are easy to get entangled. When such a crimped fiber is used, the fibrous body at the time of use becomes bulky, and further, it is structured such that dust is easily taken into the crimped portion, and it is possible to improve dust retention characteristics in the raised portion 220. This structure can be realized in particular by using crimped fibers formed from tow fibers. In view of improving the dust adsorption effect, it is preferable to use fibers containing a dusting oil.

(Operation of cleaning robot according to the present embodiment)
(Preparation for cleaning work)
Next, the operation of the cleaning robot 100 described above will be described.
As shown in FIG. 2, the user resists the suction force of the cleaning head mounting magnet 137 built in the cleaning head mounting base 129 from the cleaning head mounting base 129 with respect to the cleaning robot 100 shown in FIG. 1. Then, the cleaning head 180 is removed.

As already described, at this time, the buffer part 135 is arranged so as not to interfere with the cleaning head 180 via the buffer part insertion hole 185 shown in FIG. There is no.

As shown in FIG. 4, a zigzag locking portion 181 is formed on the upper surface side of the cleaning head 180 removed from the mounting base portion 129 (the surface facing the mounting base portion 129).
Next, as shown in FIG. 7, the cleaning sheet 200 is laid on the cleaning surface 210 side of the cleaning head 180, and the folded portion 205 of the cleaning sheet 200, that is, the end region of the cleaning sheet 200 in the D1 direction is folded back. As shown in FIG. 8, the cleaning sheet 200 is attached to the cleaning head 180 by inserting a predetermined portion of the folded portion 205 into a locking hole 182 provided in the locking portion 181 of the cleaning head 183. The locking hole 182 is set to a holding force that can be easily released by the user's manual operation at the insertion portion of the folded portion 205, and the cleaning sheet 200 can be removed by the user's manual operation. It is attached to the cleaning head 180. Further, as described above, the cleaning sheet 200 is not yet raised in a state before being attached to the cleaning head 180, and when the cleaning sheet 200 is attached to the cleaning head 200, the plurality of fibers 221 are not formed. The free ends are set so as to stand upright in each direction to form a raised portion 220 (see also FIG. 6).

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, in the direction D <b> 2, that is, in the width direction of the cleaning head 180, the end region of the cleaning sheet 200 protrudes outward from the end of the cleaning head 180 by the length dimension W. The extending portion 240 in the width direction is formed in an extended state, so that the effective area of the cleaning surface 210 is set to be larger than that of the cleaning head 180.

As shown in FIG. 8, the cleaning sheet 200 forms a cleaning surface 210 along the sheet developing portion 183 of the cleaning head 180 when attached to the cleaning head 180.
Thus, as shown in FIG. 9, the cleaning robot 100 with the cleaning sheet 200 attached thereto is prepared.

  In this embodiment, the cleaning sheet 200 attached to the cleaning robot 100 is a dry-type dry wiping sheet in which a liquid such as a medicine is not immersed, and a wet water wiping state in which the liquid such as the drug is immersed. Although it is possible for the user to select and use the sheet as appropriate, in the description of the present embodiment, a dry wiping sheet is used as the cleaning sheet 200.

(Start of cleaning work)
When the user turns on the power button in the operation unit 123 shown in FIG. 1, the cleaning robot 100 is energized, and a battery (not shown in particular for convenience) accommodated in the main unit 120 controls the drive control unit 160. Energization is performed. At this time, the display light 127 is turned on, and it is visibly shown to the user that the power is on.

  Next, the user selects and inputs a dry wiping or water wiping button in the operation unit 123. Then, the drive control unit 160 receives information on the cleaning area from a room information detection unit (not shown) in particular, and receives and rotates the wheel 143 via the drive motor 170 shown in FIG. 2 based on the information. . As a result, the traveling robot 100 starts the self-running operation, and the cleaning operation starts. In the present embodiment, during the cleaning operation, information regarding the cleaning area is continuously received through the receiving unit 125 and used for driving control of the wheels 143 by the driving control unit 160.

(Implementation of cleaning work)
FIG. 9 shows the cleaning robot 100 with the cleaning sheet 200 attached in a bottom view. This cleaning robot has first traveling wheels 141 on the left side as wheels 143 and second traveling wheels 142 on the right side as wheels 143, and the drive control unit 160 (see FIG. 2) includes the first traveling wheels 141 and the first traveling wheels 141. By individually rotating and controlling the two traveling wheels 142, the cleaning robot 100 exemplarily shows the D1 direction in FIG. 9 and all directions intersecting the D1 direction (Dx and Dy directions in FIG. 9). ) To be self-propelled. In other words, the cleaning robot 100 according to the present embodiment is configured to be able to travel by itself in a 360-degree enclosure with respect to the surface extending direction of the cleaning surface 210.

Further, when the cleaning robot 100 is self-propelled, the cleaning surface 210 of the cleaning sheet 200 attached to the cleaning robot 100 via the cleaning head 180 contacts the surface to be cleaned C in a planar shape as shown in FIG. The surface pressure acting on the cleaning surface 210 is set to be substantially constant, and the cleaning surface 210 is configured not to cause unevenness in the wiping operation.

  When performing the wiping and cleaning operation on the object to be cleaned, as shown in FIG. 9, on the cleaning surface 210 of the cleaning sheet 200, the plurality of raised portions 230 and the guide path 230 extend in a cross shape with respect to the D1 direction. Each region has a structure. In particular, the end portion 230a in the direction D1 of the guide path 230 is formed to be inclined toward the adjacent guide path 230 side with respect to the center portion 230b of the adjacent guide path 230 in the D1 direction. That is, on the cleaning surface 210, the plurality of guide paths 230 are arranged in parallel while being inclined with respect to the D1 direction, and among the plurality of guide paths 230, an end portion of one guide path in the D1 direction. 230a is disposed so as to overlap with another adjacent guide path 230b in the direction D1.

As a result, the cleaning robot 100 is in the D1 direction shown in FIG. 9 or a direction intersecting the D1 direction, that is, all directions such as the D2, Dx, or Dy directions (360 degrees with respect to the surface extending direction of the cleaning surface 210). In the case of self-propelled, dust that comes into contact with the cleaning surface 210 is surely captured by any of the guide paths 230 arranged in parallel. That is, dust that has contacted the cleaning surface 210 is prevented from passing through the cleaning surface 210 without encountering any of the guide passages 230, so that high dust capturing performance by the guide passages can be ensured. .

The dust trapped in the guide path 230 is guided to the raised portion 220 adjacent to the guide path 230 on the cleaning surface 210, and is held by the fibers 221 (see FIG. 6) in the raised portion 220. That is, in the present embodiment, the dust capturing performance by the cleaning surface 210 is not only maintained high regardless of the traveling direction of the cleaning robot 100 but also the captured dust is guided to the raised portion 220. Since it can hold | maintain reliably, the cleaning capability in the cleaning robot 100 will improve remarkably.

  Further, in the state of performing the cleaning operation by the self-running cleaning robot 100, as shown in FIG. 11, raising is performed in the cleaning sheet 200 region on the front side of the cleaning head 180 (the side close to the surface C to be cleaned in FIG. 10). It is comprised so that the fiber 221 of a part may form the protrusion part 223 which protruded in D1 direction. For this reason, when the cleaning surface 210 comes into contact with the surface to be cleaned C (see FIG. 10) to perform the cleaning operation, even if the dust on the cleaning surface 210 is about to rise, the protrusion 223 Therefore, it is effective that the dust rises toward the cleaning head mounting base portion 129 or the main body portion 120 and is scattered around the surroundings or the raised dust stains the cleaning robot 100. Will be prevented.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 12, in the cleaning sheet 200 region on the rear side of the cleaning head 180 (side away from the surface C to be cleaned shown in FIG. 10), the protruding portion 223 in which the fibers 221 of the raised portion protrude in the D1 direction. However, the protrusion dimension of the protrusion 223 is the distance between the rear end portion of the cleaning head 180 and the front end portion of the wheel 141 (that is, the first traveling wheel 141 and the second traveling wheel 142) with respect to the direction D1. Since the distance is set to be shorter than the distance, a situation in which the fibers 221 forming the protruding portion 223 are caught in the traveling wheel 141 is prevented in advance.

  That is, the protruding dimension of the fiber 221 forming the protruding portion 223 in the present embodiment, that is, the free end length of the fiber 221 in the raised portion 220 of the cleaning sheet 200 shown in FIG. On the front side in the direction D1, while effectively capturing and holding the dust rising from the surface C to be cleaned, it functions as a dust rising prevention mechanism that restricts the rising of the dust, and the cleaning surface 210 shown in FIG. On the rear side in the D1 direction, it is set so as to act as a wheel entanglement preventing mechanism that prevents the wheel 143 from being rotated.

  As the cleaning surface 210 of the cleaning sheet 200 wipes and cleans the surface C to be cleaned, the dust that is captured by the guide path 230 shown in FIG. The amount increases and becomes saturated, and eventually the cleaning effect of the cleaning surface 210 decreases. In this case, since the guide path 230 and the raised portion 220 are formed on both front and back surfaces of the cleaning sheet 200, the cleaning sheet 200 is removed from the cleaning head 180, and the front and back surfaces of the cleaning sheet 200 are changed and attached to the cleaning head 180. The unused side surface can be used as the cleaning surface 210.

  In addition, the cleaning sheet 200 in a present Example is comprised as what is called a disposable type discarded after use, when it is once used for the wiping cleaning work.

(Correspondence between embodiments or examples and each component of the present invention)
The cleaning robot 100 is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “cleaning robot” in the present invention. The main body 120 is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “main body” in the present invention. The traveling unit 140 is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “traveling unit” in the present invention. The first traveling wheel 140 is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “first traveling wheel” in the present invention. The second second traveling wheel 142 is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “second traveling wheel” in the present invention. The wheel 143 is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “wheel” in the present invention. The drive control unit 160 is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “drive control unit” in the present invention. The cleaning head 180 is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “cleaning unit” in the present invention. The locking portion 181 is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “locking portion” in the present invention. The sheet developing unit 183 is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “developing unit” in the present invention. The cleaning sheet 200 is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “cleaning sheet” in the present invention. The cleaning surface 210 is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “cleaning surface” in the present invention. The raised portion 220 is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “raised portion” in the present invention. The fiber 212 is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “fiber” of the present invention. The guide path 230 is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “guide path” of the present invention. The cleaning target surface C is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “cleaning target” in the present invention.

100 ... Cleaning robot (cleaning robot)
120 ... Main unit (main unit)
121 ... Main body base 123 ... Operation part 125 ... Reception part 127 ... Display light 129 ... Cleaning head mounting base 131 ... Bumper 135 ... Buffering part 137 ... Cleaning head mounting magnet 140 ... Traveling part (traveling part)
141. First traveling wheel (first traveling wheel)
142 ... second traveling wheel (second traveling wheel)
143 ... wheels
160... Drive control unit (drive control unit)
170 ... Drive motor 180 ... Cleaning head (cleaning part)
181 ... Locking part (locking part)
182 ... Locking hole 183 ... Sheet unfolding part (developing part)
185 ... Buffer portion insertion hole 200 ... Cleaning sheet (cleaning sheet)
205 ... Folding part 210 ... Cleaning surface (cleaning surface)
215 ... base material sheet 220 ... raised portion (raised portion)
221 ... Fiber (fiber)
223 ... Projection 230 ... Taxiway (guidance path)
240 ... width direction protrusion C ... surface to be cleaned (cleaning target)
D1 ... 1st direction D2 ... 2nd direction W ... Projection length in width direction

The present invention relates to a self-propelled cleaning robot and a technique for constructing a cleaning sheet used for the cleaning robot .

  In Japanese translations of PCT publication No. 2008-529752, as an autonomous surface cleaning robot, an apparatus configuration that is set to automatically perform a cleaning operation on a cleaning target based on a predetermined cleaning operation start command is disclosed.

  In this conventional technology, a device configuration is disclosed that drastically streamlines the cleaning work environment by automatically cleaning the object to be cleaned using a self-propelled cleaning robot, thereby eliminating the need for manual cleaning work. Has been.

  On the other hand, as a technique for constructing such a cleaning robot, further technical improvement is desired in order to further improve the cleaning efficiency for the object to be cleaned.

Special table 2008-529752 gazette

  An object of this invention is to provide the technique which contributes to improving the cleaning capability in the cleaning sheet | seat used for a self-propelled cleaning robot and the said cleaning robot in view of the above.

The above problems are solved by the invention described in the claims. The solving means according to the present invention is a self-propelled cleaning robot, a main body part, a traveling part provided in the main body part and configured to travel at least in a predetermined first direction , and the traveling part. A drive control unit for controlling the drive of
A cleaning unit provided in the main body, and a dry cleaning sheet that is detachably attached to the cleaning unit and performs a wiping cleaning operation on a cleaning target, and the cleaning unit engages the cleaning sheet. An unfolding portion that expands the cleaning sheet into a planar shape, and the cleaning sheet is attached to the cleaning portion via the latching portion. In addition, it is configured to form a cleaning surface that can be contacted in a planar manner with the object to be cleaned , and further includes a base sheet made of non-woven fabric, and a base fiber sheet that is provided on the base sheet and an assembly of long fibers by tow The cleaning surface is provided with a raised portion that is configured of raised fibers and can hold dust, and is provided adjacent to the raised portion, and captures dust to be cleaned. The above Induced into parts, configured as a cleaning robot, characterized in that it has a guide path to be retained in the hair raising portion.

Further, with respect to the cleaning robot, the main body has a motor, the traveling unit has wheels that are driven to rotate by the motor, and the first direction is defined by the rolling direction of the wheels. Configured as a featured cleaning robot.

Further, with respect to the cleaning robot, the wheels are composed of first and second traveling wheels, and the drive control unit controls the rotation of the first and second traveling wheels, respectively. The extending direction is configured to be able to travel in all directions intersecting the first direction and the first direction, and the guide path is formed in a concave shape with respect to the base sheet, and the cleaning surface An area extending in an intersecting manner with respect to all directions in the extending direction, and when traveling in all directions in the extending direction of the cleaning surface, dust in the object to be cleaned becomes the guide path The cleaning robot is configured so as to be able to be captured by the robot.

  Moreover, as one aspect of the solution means according to the present invention, in the cleaning robot, a plurality of guide paths are formed in parallel on the cleaning surface while being inclined in the first direction. The cleaning robot is characterized in that an end portion of the one guide path in the first direction is disposed so as to overlap another adjacent guide path in the first direction.

  Further, as one aspect of the solution means according to the present invention, the cleaning robot is configured such that a surface pressure acting on the cleaning surface is substantially constant when the cleaning robot travels through the traveling unit. The cleaning robot characterized by this is configured.

  Moreover, as one aspect of the solving means according to the present invention, in the cleaning robot, at least a part of the fibers constituting the raised portion of the cleaning sheet is attached to the cleaning unit from the cleaning unit. The cleaning robot is configured to protrude in the direction.

  As one aspect of the solution means according to the present invention, the protruding length of the fiber is set to be shorter than the separation distance between the cleaning unit and the traveling unit with respect to the first direction. A characteristic cleaning robot is constructed.

  Moreover, as one aspect of the solving means according to the present invention, a cleaning robot is configured in which the width dimension of the cleaning sheet is set larger than the width dimension of the cleaning unit.

  Moreover, as one aspect of the solution means according to the present invention, in the cleaning robot, the fiber of the raised portion is not raised in the state before the cleaning sheet is attached to the cleaning portion. The cleaning robot is configured to extend substantially along the line and to be raised when the cleaning sheet is attached to the cleaning part to form the raised part.

Moreover, as one aspect of the solution means according to the present invention, in the cleaning robot, the raised portions and the guide path are respectively formed on both surfaces of the base sheet.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a dry cleaning sheet used for a self-propelled cleaning robot, wherein the cleaning robot is provided in the main body and the main body, and includes at least a predetermined first. A travel unit configured to travel in a direction, a drive control unit that performs drive control of the travel unit, and a cleaning unit provided in the main body unit, the cleaning unit engaging the cleaning sheet. The main body portion further includes a motor, and the traveling portion includes wheels that are rotationally driven by the motor. The first direction is defined by the rolling direction of the wheel, the wheel is composed of first and second traveling wheels, and the drive control unit rotates the first and second traveling wheels. In the extending direction of the cleaning surface The cleaning sheet is configured to be able to travel in all directions intersecting the first direction and the first direction, and the cleaning sheet is detachably attached to the cleaning unit to perform a wiping and cleaning operation on a cleaning target. In the state of being attached to the cleaning part via a stop part, the unfolded part is configured to form a cleaning surface that can contact the object to be cleaned in a planar shape, and further, a base sheet made of nonwoven fabric and the base A raised fiber that is provided on the material sheet and has a raised fiber composed of an aggregate of long fibers by tows, and the cleaning surface is made of the raised fiber and can hold dust, and The guide path is provided adjacent to the raised portion, and has a guide path that captures the dust to be cleaned, guides the dust to the raised section, and holds the dust in the raised section. And has a region extending in an intersecting manner with respect to any of all directions in the extending direction of the cleaning surface, and travels in any direction in the extending direction of the cleaning surface. Even in such a case, the cleaning object is configured such that dust on the object to be cleaned can be captured by the guide path.

According to the present invention, a technology that contributes to further improving the cleaning ability of a self-propelled cleaning robot and a cleaning sheet used for the cleaning robot is provided.

1 schematically shows an overall configuration of a cleaning robot 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As a side configuration of cleaning robot 100 according to the present embodiment, a configuration in a state where cleaning head 180 is removed is schematically shown. As a side configuration of cleaning robot 100 according to the present embodiment, a configuration in a state where cleaning head 180 is attached is schematically shown. The upper surface structure of the cleaning head 180 in the cleaning robot 100 according to the present embodiment is schematically shown. The structure of the cleaning sheet 200 before being mounted on the cleaning robot 100 according to the present embodiment is schematically shown in plan view. 1 schematically shows a cross-sectional structure of cleaning sheet 200 in cleaning robot 100 according to the present embodiment. In the cleaning robot 100 according to the present embodiment, a state in which the cleaning sheet 200 is attached to the cleaning head 180 is schematically shown as a bottom view. In cleaning robot 100 according to the present embodiment, a state in which cleaning sheet 200 is attached to cleaning head 180 is schematically shown as a cross-sectional view from the side. About cleaning robot 100 concerning this embodiment, the state where cleaning sheet 200 was equipped is shown roughly by bottom view. About the cleaning robot 100 which concerns on this Embodiment, the state which performs the cleaning operation | work with respect to the cleaning target surface C is shown schematically. About the cleaning robot 100 which concerns on this Embodiment, it shows schematically about the detailed structure of the D1 direction front side of the cleaning sheet 200 with which the cleaning head 180 was mounted | worn. About the cleaning robot 100 which concerns on this Embodiment, the detailed structure of the D1 direction back side of the cleaning sheet 200 with which the cleaning head 180 was mounted | worn is shown roughly.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on embodiments for carrying out the present invention.
The present invention is configured as a self-propelled cleaning robot. “Self-propelled” refers to a device configuration that has its own device configuration for traveling and can travel without other assistance. The “cleaning robot” refers to an autonomous device configuration that is set to automatically perform a cleaning operation on a cleaning target based on a predetermined cleaning operation start command, for example, by turning on an activation switch.

  A cleaning robot according to the present invention includes a travel unit configured to travel at least in a predetermined first direction, a drive control unit that performs drive control of the travel unit, a cleaning unit provided in a main body unit, A cleaning sheet that is detachably attached to the cleaning unit and performs a wiping and cleaning operation on a cleaning target is provided.

  “At least” means that the traveling unit and thus the cleaning robot need only be able to travel in at least the first direction, and the traveling unit can travel in directions other than the first direction. Preferably included.

  The “predetermined first direction” is typically preferably set to match the cleaning direction of the cleaning robot. The “traveling unit” typically has a device configuration including a traveling wheel provided in the main body and a motor for rotationally driving the traveling wheel.

  The “drive control unit” typically performs drive control of the traveling unit based on area information to be cleaned, information on the degree of achievement of cleaning to be cleaned, or a combination thereof. For example, if the object to be cleaned is the floor surface of an indoor partitioned room, the development status of the floor surface of the room is converted into data using infrared rays, etc., and how the traveling unit is based on the data related to the development status of the floor surface. An example of application in which driving control is performed by determining whether to run the vehicle is listed.

  The “cleaning portion” typically corresponds to a rectangular flat plate-shaped cleaning head portion that is detachably attached to the main body portion. A cleaning sheet for wiping and cleaning the object to be cleaned is detachably attached to the cleaning head. This “cleaning sheet” is typically made of a nonwoven fabric, a fiber bundle, or a nonwoven fabric and a fiber bundle. It is comprised by combining suitably.

  The “cleaning target” related to the present cleaning robot typically corresponds to the floor surface of a room indoors, but for example, the wall surface or ceiling surface of the room, the outdoor floor surface, or even a vehicle. Such as a floor surface, a wall surface or a ceiling surface of a compartment in a transportation means such as an airplane or a ship. Moreover, the “wiping cleaning work” to be cleaned by the cleaning sheet typically means that the surface of the cleaning target is stained by relatively moving the cleaning sheet in a state of being in surface contact with the cleaning target, This particularly applies to a cleaning mode in which dust is removed by contact with the cleaning sheet.

  Furthermore, the cleaning part in the cleaning robot according to the present invention has a locking part for locking the cleaning sheet and a developing part for expanding the cleaning sheet into a planar shape.

  "Locking part" broadly includes means capable of locking the cleaning sheet to the cleaning part. For example, both the means for permanently fixing the cleaning sheet to the cleaning part and the means for removably attaching the cleaning sheet are preferably included, and the attachment means is a mode in which a locking aid prepared separately from the cleaning part is used. Any embodiment that does not use a stop aid is also suitably included.

  The “developing part” is not limited to a mode in which the cleaning sheet attached to the cleaning part is developed in a planar shape, and the developing part itself is formed in a planar shape, but the developing part itself is not formed in a planar shape. However, the aspect which the attached cleaning sheet expand | deploys planarly is also included suitably.

  Furthermore, the cleaning surface according to the present invention is provided with a raised portion that is made of raised fibers and can hold dust, and is provided adjacent to the raised portion, and captures dust to be cleaned and guides it to the raised portion. And a guide path that is held by the raised portion.

  The “raised fiber” is typically a state in which a plurality of fibers each have a free end and are arranged on the cleaning surface, and the free end extends in a number of directions intersecting the cleaning surface. Correspond.

  The guide path provided on the cleaning surface according to the present invention is configured to have a region extending at least in a crossing manner with respect to the first direction. “Crossing” with respect to the first direction means that a component that crosses the first direction is sufficient, and as a crossing mode, a mode or curve that intersects the first direction in a linearly inclined manner is sufficient. Any of the embodiments that intersect in a shape is suitably included.

  In the present invention, since the guide path described above is configured to extend at least intersecting the first direction, when the cleaning surface advances in at least the first direction, While being easily captured by the guiding path extending in a crossing manner, it is reliably guided to the raised portion provided adjacent to the guiding path. As a result, the dust captured by the guide path can be guided to the raised portion and securely held, so that the cleaning efficiency of the cleaning robot can be improved.

Moreover, it is preferable that the main body portion includes a motor, the traveling portion includes wheels that are rotationally driven by the motor, and the first direction is defined by the rolling direction of the wheels. With such a configuration, it is possible to ensure the reliable traveling performance of the self-propelled cleaning robot and to ensure the reliable cleaning work capability.

Further, the wheel is configured by first and second traveling wheels, and the drive control unit controls the rotation of the first and second traveling wheels, respectively, in the extending direction of the cleaning surface, It is preferable that the vehicle is configured to be able to travel in all directions intersecting the first direction and the first direction. “All directions intersecting the first direction” correspond to the extending direction of the cleaning surface, that is, all the directions orthogonal to the normal vector of the cleaning surface. That is, the cleaning robot can freely travel in the extending direction of the cleaning surface including the first direction.

  In the cleaning robot according to the present invention, the first traveling wheel and the second traveling wheel constituting the wheels are controlled, for example, to rotate the first traveling wheel faster than the second traveling wheel. It is possible to ensure the efficient turning ability of the cleaning robot only by controlling the running wheel, such as turning to the second running wheel side, which contributes to avoiding complication of the apparatus configuration.

  In the above configuration, the guide path provided on the cleaning surface has a region extending in an intersecting manner with respect to any of the omnidirectional directions in the cleaning surface extending direction, and in any of the omnidirectional directions of the cleaning surface extending direction. Even when traveling, it is preferable that dust on the object to be cleaned can be captured by the guide path. With this configuration, no matter what direction the cleaning robot travels in the extending direction of the cleaning surface, all the dust that contacts the cleaning surface will be trapped in the guideway and cleaned. It is possible to maintain high cleaning efficiency during work.

  As one aspect of the present invention, a plurality of taxiways are formed in parallel on the cleaning surface while being inclined in the first direction, and the first of the taxiways is the first of the taxiways. The end portion in one direction is preferably arranged so as to overlap with another adjacent guide path in the first direction. The angles of the “tilts” of the plurality of taxiways with respect to the first direction may all be set the same or may be set different from each other. Further, regarding the “parallel” formation of a plurality of taxiways, the separation distances of the taxiways may all be set equal or different from each other. By configuring the end portion of one guide path in the first direction so as to overlap another adjacent guide path in the first direction, dust that contacts the cleaning surface can be removed from any of the plurality of guide paths. Therefore, the cleaning operation efficiency by the cleaning robot can be maintained high.

  Moreover, as one aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that the surface pressure acting on the cleaning surface is substantially constant when the cleaning robot travels through the travel unit. With this configuration, the pressure between the cleaning surface and the object to be cleaned can be made steady, and the occurrence of unevenness in the wiping operation can be effectively avoided.

  Moreover, as one aspect of the present invention, at least a part of the fibers constituting the raised portion of the cleaning sheet is configured to protrude from the cleaning portion in the first direction when attached to the cleaning portion. It is preferable that With this configuration, even when dust is swept up when performing wiping and cleaning work, the dust is trapped and held by the protruding fibers, so that the dust rises and is scattered around, or the raised dust is cleaned by the cleaning robot. This effectively prevents the situation from getting dirty.

  Moreover, as one aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that the protruding length of the fiber is set shorter than the separation distance between the cleaning unit and the traveling unit with respect to the first direction. With this configuration, in the first direction, a situation in which the protruding fiber 221 is caught in the traveling unit is prevented.

  Moreover, as one aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that the width dimension of the cleaning sheet is set larger than the width dimension of the cleaning portion. With this configuration, the widthwise dimension of the cleaning sheet attached to the cleaning unit is maximized, and further cleaning efficiency can be improved.

  Moreover, as one aspect of the present invention, the fiber of the raised portion extends substantially along the sheet surface of the cleaning sheet without being raised in a state before the cleaning sheet is attached to the cleaning portion. It is preferable that when the cleaning sheet is attached to the cleaning portion, the raised portion is formed by raising the cleaning sheet. With this configuration, it can be stored compactly before use, and can be brushed by attaching it to the cleaning unit during use, ensuring high cleaning efficiency. It is possible to constitute a cleaning sheet that is excellent in both cleaning efficiency.

Moreover, as one aspect of this invention, the said cleaning sheet has a base material sheet which consists of a nonwoven fabric,
The raised portions and the guide path are preferably formed on both sides of the base sheet.

Moreover, in the cleaning sheet used for the self-propelled cleaning robot according to the present invention, the cleaning robot is provided on the main body and the main body so as to be able to travel at least in a predetermined first direction. A travel unit; a drive control unit that performs drive control of the travel unit; and a cleaning unit provided in the main body unit.
In addition, the cleaning unit includes a locking unit for locking the cleaning sheet, and a developing unit for expanding the cleaning sheet into a planar shape.
The main body further includes a motor, the traveling unit includes wheels that are rotationally driven by the motor, the first direction is defined by a rolling direction of the wheels, And the second traveling wheel, and the drive control unit controls the rotation of the first and second traveling wheels, respectively, and thereby the first direction and the first direction in the extending direction of the cleaning surface. It is configured to be able to travel in all directions that intersect the direction.
The cleaning sheet is detachably attached to the cleaning unit to perform a wiping cleaning operation on the cleaning target, and in the state where the cleaning sheet is attached to the cleaning unit via the locking unit, It is configured to form a cleaning surface that can be contacted in a planar shape, and further, a base material sheet made of nonwoven fabric, and a raised fiber that is provided on the base material sheet and is made up of an aggregate of long fibers made of tow Have
The cleaning surface is provided with a raised portion made of the raised fibers and capable of holding dust, and adjacent to the raised portion, and captures and guides the dust to be cleaned to the raised portion. And a guide path that is held by the raised portion.
The guide path is formed in a concave shape with respect to the base sheet, and has a region extending in a crossing manner in all directions in the cleaning surface extending direction, and the cleaning surface extension When traveling in all directions, the dust in the object to be cleaned can be captured by the guide path.

(Configuration of cleaning robot 100)
Hereinafter, a cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

First, an overall configuration of the cleaning robot 100 according to the present embodiment is schematically shown in FIG.
The cleaning robot 100 includes a main body 120 that is configured mainly by a main body base 121 and a cleaning head mounting base 129.

  An operation unit 123, a reception unit 125, and a display light 127 are disposed on the upper surface area of the main body base 121. As the operation unit 123, a sweep button for dry wiping, a wiping button for water wiping, and a power button are individually assigned to be able to be turned on. The receiving unit 125 receives room information and information on the cleaning area from room information detecting means (generally called a navigation base or the like) configured independently of the cleaning robot 100. The display light 127 is turned on when the signal from the room information detecting means is received, when the cleaning robot 100 is energized, when a predetermined error signal is output in the cleaning operation, and the like. Information about this is visually notified.

  The cleaning head mounting base 129 is provided at the front lower portion of the main body base 121, and a bumper 131 is provided at the front side thereof. The bumper 131 is provided in order to mitigate an impact when the cleaning robot 100 abuts against a room structure or equipment when the cleaning robot 100 performs a self-propelled cleaning operation.

  Furthermore, the side structure of the cleaning robot 100 according to the present embodiment is shown in FIGS. On the bottom surface side of the cleaning head mounting base 129, a cleaning head 180 formed on a flat plate can be mounted by a suction action by the magnetic force of the cleaning head mounting magnet 137 provided in the cleaning head mounting base 129. . The cleaning robot 100 with the cleaning head 180 attached to the cleaning head attachment base 129 is shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cleaning head 180 is formed with a locking portion 181 and a sheet developing portion 183. The locking portion 181 is used to lock and attach a cleaning sheet 200 described later to the cleaning head 180. The sheet developing unit 183 is provided on the bottom surface of the cleaning head 180 and is used to form the cleaning surface 210 when a cleaning sheet 200 described later is attached to the cleaning head 180.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a buffer portion 135 that protrudes downward from the cleaning head mounting base portion 129 is provided on the bottom surface of the cleaning head mounting base portion 129. The buffer portion 135 serves as a tension applying mechanism for the cleaning sheet 200 attached to the cleaning head attaching portion 181 and serves as a buffer member in the vertical direction during the cleaning operation (see also FIG. 10).

  As shown in FIG. 4, the cleaning head 180 is formed with a buffer portion insertion hole 185 having an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the buffer portion 135. As shown in FIG. When attaching 180 to the bottom surface of the cleaning head attachment base portion 129, the buffer portion 135 is inserted into the buffer portion insertion hole 185 with sufficient clearance, and therefore does not interfere with the attachment operation of the cleaning head 180.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a battery (not shown), a drive control unit 160, and a drive motor 170 are housed in the main body base 121, and wheels 143 are provided on the bottom surface of the main body base 121. (As shown in FIG. 9, the wheel 143 includes a first traveling wheel 141 and a second traveling wheel 142). The wheel 143 is connected to a drive motor 170 that rotates by receiving a current supply from the battery, and is appropriately rotationally driven via the drive control unit 160. Thus, in the present embodiment, the traveling unit 140 is configured by the wheels 143 driven by the drive motor 170 and the drive control unit 160. The traveling unit 140 can be configured not only with the wheels 143 as in the present embodiment, but also with various traveling devices such as an endless track or a sphere.

(Configuration of cleaning sheet 200)
A detailed configuration of the cleaning sheet 200 is shown in a plan view in FIG. Before the cleaning sheet 200 is attached to the cleaning head 180, the cleaning sheet 200 is formed in a thin sheet shape, and a plurality of raised portions 220 and a plurality of guide paths 230 have a predetermined inclination angle on each of the front and back surfaces. However, it is formed in an extended shape. The detailed structure of the raised portion 220 and the guide path 230 is shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a front cross-sectional view of the cleaning sheet 200, and concave guide paths 230 are formed in parallel at equal intervals on both front and back surfaces of the base material sheet 215 made of nonwoven fabric, and adjacent to the guide paths 230. The plurality of fibers 221 are joined to form the raised portion 220. One end of each fiber 221 is joined to the base sheet 215 in the vicinity of the guide path, and the other end is in a free end state, and is appropriately developed in a direction different from the surface extending direction of the base sheet 215. Gives the basic structure of the raised portion 220.

  In the state before the cleaning sheet 200 is attached to the cleaning head 180, the fiber 221 is not yet raised, and is generally configured to extend in the surface extending direction of the base material sheet 215 ( That is, when the cleaning sheet 200 is attached to the cleaning head 200, the free ends of the plurality of fibers 221 are set up to extend in each direction to form the raised portions 220.

  As the base material sheet 215, a sheet-like nonwoven fabric typically made of heat-meltable fibers (thermoplastic fibers) can be used. The non-woven fabric is a sheet-like composition made by fixing or intertwining fibers by a mechanical, chemical, or thermal treatment, and can be joined by partially including thermoplastic fibers. And configured as a nonwoven fabric having a plurality of strips. As the thermoplastic fiber (hot melt fiber), polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, or the like can be used.

This nonwoven fabric is preferably composed of 10 to 100 g / m ² of thermoplastic fibers (PE / PET fibers, PE / PP fibers, PP / PP fibers) having practical strength. As this non-woven fabric, those manufactured by air-through method, spun bond method, thermal bond method, spun lace method, point bond method, melt blow method, stitch bond method, chemical bond method, needle punch method, etc. should be used appropriately. Can do. Further, instead of or in addition to the nonwoven fabric, a material such as urethane, sponge, woven fabric, net, or walif processed into a strip shape can be used.

  Further, for the fibers 221 constituting the raised portion 220, a single fiber structure or a fiber structure in which fibers are aligned in the length direction and / or radial direction (twisted yarn, spun yarn, a plurality of long fibers are partially Connected thread material, etc.) or an aggregate of the fiber structure, and is configured as a fiber body that includes thermoplastic fibers in part and can be joined.

  The fiber forming each fibrous body is a structural unit such as a thread or a woven fabric, and is defined as a thin and flexible form having a sufficient length compared to the thickness, and typically a long continuous The shaped fibers are long fibers (filaments), and the short fibers are short fibers (staples). As the material of the fiber, typically, PE, PP, PET, nylon, rayon, or the like is used, and practically, an aggregate of long fibers (filaments) obtained by opening the tow can be used. . This long fiber preferably has a fineness of 0.5 to 66 dtex. Moreover, when using the fiber containing a thermoplastic resin, it is preferable to use at least 2 or more types of resin of different melting | fusing point (For example, resin whose melting | fusing point difference is 20 degreeC or more).

  Further, the fiber 221 may include a crimped fiber. In this case, it is preferable to use crimped fibers having 5 to 30 crimps per inch. A crimped fiber here is comprised as a fiber to which the predetermined winding shrinkage process was provided, and is set as the structure where fibers are easy to get entangled. When such a crimped fiber is used, the fibrous body at the time of use becomes bulky, and further, it is structured such that dust is easily taken into the crimped portion, and it is possible to improve dust retention characteristics in the raised portion 220. This structure can be realized in particular by using crimped fibers formed from tow fibers. In view of improving the dust adsorption effect, it is preferable to use fibers containing a dusting oil.

(Operation of cleaning robot according to the present embodiment)
(Preparation for cleaning work)
Next, the operation of the cleaning robot 100 described above will be described.
As shown in FIG. 2, the user resists the suction force of the cleaning head mounting magnet 137 built in the cleaning head mounting base 129 from the cleaning head mounting base 129 with respect to the cleaning robot 100 shown in FIG. 1. Then, the cleaning head 180 is removed.

  As already described, at this time, the buffer part 135 is arranged so as not to interfere with the cleaning head 180 via the buffer part insertion hole 185 shown in FIG. There is no.

As shown in FIG. 4, a zigzag locking portion 181 is formed on the upper surface side of the cleaning head 180 removed from the mounting base portion 129 (the surface facing the mounting base portion 129).
Next, as shown in FIG. 7, the cleaning sheet 200 is laid on the cleaning surface 210 side of the cleaning head 180, and the folded portion 205 of the cleaning sheet 200, that is, the end region of the cleaning sheet 200 in the D1 direction is folded back. As shown in FIG. 8, the cleaning sheet 200 is attached to the cleaning head 180 by inserting a predetermined portion of the folded portion 205 into a locking hole 182 provided in the locking portion 181 of the cleaning head 183. The locking hole 182 is set to a holding force that can be easily released by the user's manual operation at the insertion portion of the folded portion 205, and the cleaning sheet 200 can be removed by the user's manual operation. It is attached to the cleaning head 180. Further, as described above, the cleaning sheet 200 is not yet raised in a state before being attached to the cleaning head 180, and when the cleaning sheet 200 is attached to the cleaning head 200, the plurality of fibers 221 are not formed. The free ends are set so as to stand upright in each direction to form a raised portion 220 (see also FIG. 6).

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, in the direction D <b> 2, that is, in the width direction of the cleaning head 180, the end region of the cleaning sheet 200 protrudes outward from the end of the cleaning head 180 by the length dimension W. The extending portion 240 in the width direction is formed in an extended state, so that the effective area of the cleaning surface 210 is set to be larger than that of the cleaning head 180.

As shown in FIG. 8, the cleaning sheet 200 forms a cleaning surface 210 along the sheet developing portion 183 of the cleaning head 180 when attached to the cleaning head 180.
Thus, as shown in FIG. 9, the cleaning robot 100 with the cleaning sheet 200 attached thereto is prepared.

  In this embodiment, the cleaning sheet 200 attached to the cleaning robot 100 is a dry-type dry wiping sheet in which a liquid such as a medicine is not immersed, and a wet water wiping state in which the liquid such as the drug is immersed. Although it is possible for the user to select and use the sheet as appropriate, in the description of the present embodiment, a dry wiping sheet is used as the cleaning sheet 200.

(Start of cleaning work)
When the user turns on the power button in the operation unit 123 shown in FIG. 1, the cleaning robot 100 is energized, and a battery (not shown in particular for convenience) accommodated in the main unit 120 controls the drive control unit 160. Energization is performed. At this time, the display light 127 is turned on, and it is visibly shown to the user that the power is on.

  Next, the user selects and inputs a dry wiping or water wiping button in the operation unit 123. Then, the drive control unit 160 receives information on the cleaning area from a room information detection unit (not shown) in particular, and receives and rotates the wheel 143 via the drive motor 170 shown in FIG. 2 based on the information. . As a result, the traveling robot 100 starts the self-running operation, and the cleaning operation starts. In the present embodiment, during the cleaning operation, information regarding the cleaning area is continuously received through the receiving unit 125 and used for driving control of the wheels 143 by the driving control unit 160.

(Implementation of cleaning work)
FIG. 9 shows the cleaning robot 100 with the cleaning sheet 200 attached in a bottom view. This cleaning robot has first traveling wheels 141 on the left side as wheels 143 and second traveling wheels 142 on the right side as wheels 143, and the drive control unit 160 (see FIG. 2) includes the first traveling wheels 141 and the first traveling wheels 141. By individually rotating and controlling the two traveling wheels 142, the cleaning robot 100 exemplarily shows the D1 direction in FIG. 9 and all directions intersecting the D1 direction (Dx and Dy directions in FIG. 9). ) To be self-propelled. In other words, the cleaning robot 100 according to the present embodiment is configured to be able to travel by itself in a 360-degree enclosure with respect to the surface extending direction of the cleaning surface 210.

  Further, when the cleaning robot 100 is self-propelled, the cleaning surface 210 of the cleaning sheet 200 attached to the cleaning robot 100 via the cleaning head 180 contacts the surface to be cleaned C in a planar shape as shown in FIG. The surface pressure acting on the cleaning surface 210 is set to be substantially constant, and the cleaning surface 210 is configured not to cause unevenness in the wiping operation.

  When performing the wiping and cleaning operation on the object to be cleaned, as shown in FIG. 9, on the cleaning surface 210 of the cleaning sheet 200, the plurality of raised portions 230 and the guide path 230 extend in a cross shape with respect to the D1 direction. Each region has a structure. In particular, the end portion 230a in the direction D1 of the guide path 230 is formed to be inclined toward the adjacent guide path 230 side with respect to the center portion 230b of the adjacent guide path 230 in the D1 direction. That is, on the cleaning surface 210, the plurality of guide paths 230 are arranged in parallel while being inclined with respect to the D1 direction, and among the plurality of guide paths 230, an end portion of one guide path in the D1 direction. 230a is disposed so as to overlap with another adjacent guide path 230b in the direction D1.

  As a result, the cleaning robot 100 is in the D1 direction shown in FIG. 9 or a direction intersecting the D1 direction, that is, all directions such as the D2, Dx, or Dy directions (360 degrees with respect to the surface extending direction of the cleaning surface 210). In the case of self-propelled, dust that comes into contact with the cleaning surface 210 is surely captured by any of the guide paths 230 arranged in parallel. That is, dust that has contacted the cleaning surface 210 is prevented from passing through the cleaning surface 210 without encountering any of the guide passages 230, so that high dust capturing performance by the guide passages can be ensured. .

  The dust trapped in the guide path 230 is guided to the raised portion 220 adjacent to the guide path 230 on the cleaning surface 210, and is held by the fibers 221 (see FIG. 6) in the raised portion 220. That is, in the present embodiment, the dust capturing performance by the cleaning surface 210 is not only maintained high regardless of the traveling direction of the cleaning robot 100 but also the captured dust is guided to the raised portion 220. Since it can hold | maintain reliably, the cleaning capability in the cleaning robot 100 will improve remarkably.

  Further, in the state of performing the cleaning operation by the self-running cleaning robot 100, as shown in FIG. 11, raising is performed in the cleaning sheet 200 region on the front side of the cleaning head 180 (the side close to the surface C to be cleaned in FIG. 10). It is comprised so that the fiber 221 of a part may form the protrusion part 223 which protruded in D1 direction. For this reason, when the cleaning surface 210 comes into contact with the surface to be cleaned C (see FIG. 10) to perform the cleaning operation, even if the dust on the cleaning surface 210 is about to rise, the protrusion 223 Therefore, it is effective that the dust rises toward the cleaning head mounting base portion 129 or the main body portion 120 and is scattered around the surroundings or the raised dust stains the cleaning robot 100. Will be prevented.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 12, in the cleaning sheet 200 region on the rear side of the cleaning head 180 (side away from the surface C to be cleaned shown in FIG. 10), the protruding portion 223 in which the fibers 221 of the raised portion protrude in the D1 direction. However, the protrusion dimension of the protrusion 223 is the distance between the rear end portion of the cleaning head 180 and the front end portion of the wheel 141 (that is, the first traveling wheel 141 and the second traveling wheel 142) with respect to the direction D1. Since the distance is set to be shorter than the distance, a situation in which the fibers 221 forming the protruding portion 223 are caught in the traveling wheel 141 is prevented in advance.

  That is, the protruding dimension of the fiber 221 forming the protruding portion 223 in the present embodiment, that is, the free end length of the fiber 221 in the raised portion 220 of the cleaning sheet 200 shown in FIG. On the front side in the direction D1, while effectively capturing and holding the dust rising from the surface C to be cleaned, it functions as a dust rising prevention mechanism that restricts the rising of the dust, and the cleaning surface 210 shown in FIG. On the rear side in the D1 direction, it is set so as to act as a wheel entanglement preventing mechanism that prevents the wheel 143 from being rotated.

  As the cleaning surface 210 of the cleaning sheet 200 wipes and cleans the surface C to be cleaned, the dust that is captured by the guide path 230 shown in FIG. The amount increases and becomes saturated, and eventually the cleaning effect of the cleaning surface 210 decreases. In this case, since the guide path 230 and the raised portion 220 are formed on both front and back surfaces of the cleaning sheet 200, the cleaning sheet 200 is removed from the cleaning head 180, and the front and back surfaces of the cleaning sheet 200 are changed and attached to the cleaning head 180. The unused side surface can be used as the cleaning surface 210.

  In addition, the cleaning sheet 200 in a present Example is comprised as what is called a disposable type discarded after use, when it is once used for the wiping cleaning work.

(Correspondence between embodiments or examples and each component of the present invention)
The cleaning robot 100 is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “cleaning robot” in the present invention. The main body 120 is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “main body” in the present invention. The traveling unit 140 is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “traveling unit” in the present invention. The first traveling wheel 140 is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “first traveling wheel” in the present invention. The second second traveling wheel 142 is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “second traveling wheel” in the present invention. The wheel 143 is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “wheel” in the present invention. The drive control unit 160 is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “drive control unit” in the present invention. The cleaning head 180 is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “cleaning unit” in the present invention. The locking portion 181 is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “locking portion” in the present invention. The sheet developing unit 183 is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “developing unit” in the present invention. The cleaning sheet 200 is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “cleaning sheet” in the present invention. The cleaning surface 210 is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “cleaning surface” in the present invention. The raised portion 220 is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “raised portion” in the present invention. The fiber 212 is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “fiber” of the present invention. The guide path 230 is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “guide path” of the present invention. The cleaning target surface C is an example of a configuration corresponding to the “cleaning target” in the present invention.

100 ... Cleaning robot (cleaning robot)
120 ... Main unit (main unit)
121 ... Main body base 123 ... Operation part 125 ... Reception part 127 ... Display light 129 ... Cleaning head mounting base 131 ... Bumper 135 ... Buffering part 137 ... Cleaning head mounting magnet 140 ... Traveling part (traveling part)
141. First traveling wheel (first traveling wheel)
142 ... second traveling wheel (second traveling wheel)
143 ... wheels
160... Drive control unit (drive control unit)
170 ... Drive motor 180 ... Cleaning head (cleaning part)
181 ... Locking part (locking part)
182 ... Locking hole 183 ... Sheet unfolding part (developing part)
185 ... Buffer portion insertion hole 200 ... Cleaning sheet (cleaning sheet)
205 ... Folding part 210 ... Cleaning surface (cleaning surface)
215 ... base material sheet 220 ... raised portion (raised portion)
221 ... Fiber (fiber)
223 ... Projection 230 ... Taxiway (guidance path)
240 ... width direction protrusion C ... surface to be cleaned (cleaning target)
D1 ... 1st direction D2 ... 2nd direction W ... Projection length in width direction

Claims (9)

A self-propelled cleaning robot,
The main body,
A travel unit provided in the main body unit and configured to travel at least in a predetermined first direction;
A drive control unit that performs drive control of the traveling unit;
A cleaning unit provided in the main body,
It has a cleaning sheet that is detachably attached to the cleaning unit and performs a wiping cleaning operation to be cleaned.
The cleaning unit has a locking unit for locking the cleaning sheet, and a deployment unit for expanding the cleaning sheet into a planar shape,
The cleaning sheet is configured to form a cleaning surface that can contact the cleaning object in a planar shape in the development portion in a state where the cleaning sheet is attached to the cleaning portion via the locking portion.
The cleaning surface is composed of a raised fiber and is provided adjacent to the raised portion that can hold dust, and captures the dust to be cleaned and guides it to the raised portion, Having a guide path to be held in the raised portion,
The cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein the guide path has an area extending at least in a crossing manner with respect to the first direction. The cleaning robot according to claim 1,
The main body has a motor,
The traveling unit has wheels that are rotationally driven by a motor,
The cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein the first direction is defined by a rolling direction of the wheel. The cleaning robot according to claim 2,
The wheels are configured by first and second traveling wheels, and the drive control unit controls the rotation of the first and second traveling wheels, respectively, so that the first in the extending direction of the cleaning surface. It is configured to be able to travel in one direction and all directions crossing the first direction,
The guide path has a region extending in an intersecting manner with respect to any of the all directions in the cleaning surface extending direction, and even when traveling in any direction in the cleaning surface extending direction, A cleaning robot characterized in that dust in a cleaning object can be captured by the guide path. A cleaning robot according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A plurality of guide paths are formed in parallel on the cleaning surface while being inclined in the first direction,
The cleaning robot, wherein an end portion of the one guide path in the first direction among the plurality of guide paths is disposed so as to overlap another adjacent guide path in the first direction. A cleaning robot according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A cleaning robot, wherein a surface pressure acting on the cleaning surface when the cleaning robot travels through the traveling unit is substantially constant. A cleaning robot according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
At least a part of the fibers constituting the raised portion of the cleaning sheet is configured to protrude in the first direction from the cleaning portion when attached to the cleaning portion. robot. The cleaning robot according to claim 6,
The cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein the protruding length of the fiber is set shorter than a separation distance between the cleaning unit and the traveling unit with respect to the first direction. A cleaning robot according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein a width dimension of the cleaning sheet is set larger than a width dimension of the cleaning portion. A cleaning robot according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The fibers of the raised portion are in a state extending substantially along the sheet surface of the cleaning sheet without being raised in a state before the cleaning sheet is attached to the cleaning portion, and the cleaning sheet is A cleaning robot characterized by forming a raised portion by being raised when attached to a portion.

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