JP2016041201A - Vacuum cleaner and cleaning system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vacuum cleaner and a cleaning system to which an imaging function and a commutation function can be easily added.SOLUTION: A vacuum cleaner 11 includes a body case, a drive wheel, control means 37, a cleaning part, and a communication unit 35. The control means 37 causes the body case to autonomously travel by controlling the drive of the drive wheel. The communication unit 35 is connected to the control means 37. The communication unit 35 includes a camera 51 capable of taking an image, a wireless LAN device 52 capable of transmitting/receiving a signal to/from the outside, and a signal processing circuit 53, and is a unit separate from the control means 37. The signal processing circuit 53 is electrically connected to the wireless LAN device 52, the control means 37, and the camera 51 respectively, and mediates the transmission/reception of the signal among the wireless LAN device 52, the control means 37, and the camera 51.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  Embodiments of the present invention relate to a vacuum cleaner having a main body case capable of autonomous traveling and a cleaning system including the same.

  Conventionally, a so-called autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner (cleaning robot) that cleans the floor surface while autonomously traveling on the floor surface as a surface to be cleaned while detecting an obstacle using a sensor or the like is known. ing.

  In recent years, using the autonomous running function of such a vacuum cleaner, the state of your home while you are out (for example, whether the window is left open or the light is on) and pets There is a cleaning system in which a vacuum cleaner can automatically capture an indoor state with a camera in response to a command from a portable terminal so that the state of the camera can be monitored and confirmed.

  However, since the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner has a basic purpose of cleaning, the above-described camera is not usually mounted. Therefore, it is desirable to make it possible to easily manufacture a model equipped with a camera according to the needs of the user, based on a model that does not have a camera and is basically cleaned.

JP 2013-235351 A JP 2006-139525 A

  Problem to be solved by the invention is providing the vacuum cleaner which can add an imaging function and a communication function easily, and a cleaning system provided with the same.

  The vacuum cleaner of an embodiment has a main part case, a drive wheel, a control means, a cleaning part, and a communication part. The drive wheel is allowed to travel in the main body case. The control means causes the main body case to autonomously travel by controlling driving of the drive wheels. The cleaning unit cleans the surface to be cleaned. The communication unit is connected to the control means. The communication unit includes an imaging unit that can capture an image, a communication unit that can transmit and receive a signal to and from the outside, and a signal processing circuit, and is separate from the control unit. The signal processing circuit is electrically connected to the communication means, the control means, and the imaging means, respectively, and intervenes signal exchange between the communication means, the control means, and the imaging means.

It is a block diagram showing typically a cleaning system containing a vacuum cleaner of one embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows a cleaning system same as the above. It is a top view which shows the main body case of a vacuum cleaner same as the above from the downward direction. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the interface image displayed on a display apparatus by a display means same as the above. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other example of the interface image displayed on a display apparatus by a display means same as the above. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the imaging of the image by the imaging means of a vacuum cleaner same as the above. (a) is an explanatory diagram showing examples of individual images taken by the imaging means, (b) is an explanatory diagram showing examples of images obtained by performing lens distortion correction processing on these images, and (c) is those lens distortion correction processing performed It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the synthesized image which synthesize | combined the image. (a) and (b) are explanatory diagrams respectively showing examples of images obtained by cutting out images to be displayed on the display device from the synthesized image of FIG. 7 (c) at positions I and II and performing distortion correction processing. It is a flowchart which shows control of mode switching of a vacuum cleaner same as the above. It is a flowchart which shows the control in the imaging mode of a vacuum cleaner same as the above. It is a flowchart which shows control of a display means same as the above.

  The configuration of one embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  1 to 3, reference numeral 10 denotes a cleaning system. The cleaning system 10 is an electric vacuum cleaner 11 serving as an autonomous traveling body, a charging base portion of the electric vacuum cleaner 11, and a dust disposal portion. An access point 14 as a relay means such as a vacuum cleaner 11 and a home gateway (router) disposed in a room which is a cleaning area in a building H such as a house. To and from the building H via a general-purpose (external) network 15 such as the Internet by communicating (transmitting / receiving) with a wireless communication such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or Bluetooth (registered trademark). This is a system capable of wired or wireless communication with a general-purpose server 16 serving as a data storage means and a general-purpose external device 17 serving as a display device.

  In this embodiment, the electric vacuum cleaner 11 is a so-called self-propelled robot cleaner that cleans the floor surface while autonomously running (self-propelled) on the floor surface as a surface to be cleaned. And this electric vacuum cleaner 11 has a hollow main body case 20 as a running / cleaning part, an electric blower 21 as an operation part (cleaning part) housed in the main body case 20, and a suction side of the electric blower 21 For example, a plurality of (a pair of) driving wheels 23 and 23 for driving, and motors 24 and 24 as driving means for driving these driving wheels 23 and 23. For example, a plurality of (a pair of) swivel cleaning parts (cleaning parts), which are auxiliary cleaning means disposed in a lower part of the main body case 20 so as to be turnable along the floor surface, Side brush motors 27 and 27, which are turning drive means as an operation part for turning the side brushes 26, 26, and rotation which is a cleaning means as a rotary cleaning body (cleaning part) rotatably arranged at the lower part of the main body case 20 The brush 28 and the rotary brush 28 are driven to rotate. And a like brush motor 29 is a rotation driving means as an operation unit. Further, this vacuum cleaner 11 includes, as an input / output / control unit, a sensor unit 31 as an operation unit having various sensors, a display unit 34 as a display means, a communication unit 35 as an operation unit (communication unit), a circuit board. The control means 37 etc. which are main body control circuits comprised by the above are provided. The vacuum cleaner 11 is provided with a secondary battery 39 in the main body case 20 for supplying power to each of the above parts. Hereinafter, the direction along the traveling direction of the vacuum cleaner 11 (main body case 20) is defined as the front-rear direction (arrow FR, RR direction shown in FIG. 3), and the left-right direction intersecting (orthogonal) with the front-rear direction ( The description will be made assuming that the width direction is the width direction.

  The main body case 20 is formed into a flat columnar shape (disk shape) by, for example, synthetic resin, etc., and is long in the width direction, that is, horizontally long at a position near the rear portion of the center portion in the width direction of the circular bottom surface. The suction port 41 is opened, and a plurality of exhaust ports 42 are opened in front of the suction port 41. In addition, an openable / closable discharge port 43 communicating with the dust collecting unit 22 is opened at the left and right central portion of the rear portion of the main body case 20, and the secondary battery 39 is connected to both sides of the discharge port 43. Electrically connected charging terminals 45, 45 are arranged.

  The suction port 41 is in communication with the suction side of the electric blower 21 via the dust collecting unit 22. In addition, the rotary brush 28 is rotatably disposed in the suction port 41.

  The exhaust port 42 communicates with the exhaust side of the electric blower 21 through the dust collecting unit 22.

  The electric blower 21 generates a negative pressure by driving and sucks and cleans floor dust from the suction port 41 to the dust collecting part 22.For example, the suction side is directed rearward and the axial direction is It is accommodated in the main body case 20 along the direction (horizontal direction). The electric blower 21 may not be necessary in the case of, for example, a configuration in which dust is scraped up to the dust collection unit 22 by the rotating brush 28 or the like, and is not an essential configuration.

  The dust collection unit 22 collects dust sucked from the suction port 41 by driving the electric blower 21.

  Each drive wheel 23 causes the vacuum cleaner 11 (main body case 20) to travel in the forward and backward directions (autonomous traveling) on the floor surface, that is, for traveling, and is not illustrated along the left-right width direction. It has an axis and is arranged symmetrically in the width direction.

  Each motor 24 is arranged corresponding to each of the driving wheels 23, for example, and can drive each driving wheel 23 independently.

  The swivel wheel 25 is a driven wheel that is positioned at the front and substantially at the center in the width direction of the main body case 20, and is capable of swiveling along the floor surface.

  Each side brush 26 has a rotation axis along the vertical direction (vertical direction), swivels along the floor surface, and collects and cleans dust. A plurality of (for example, 3) protruding radially and contacting the floor surface. And bristles 48 as cleaning bodies. The side brushes 26 and 26 are disposed at positions on both sides of the main body case 20 in front of the drive wheels 23 and 23 and behind the swivel wheel 25.

  Each side brush motor 27 moves each side brush 26 to the center side in the width direction of the body case 20, in other words, the right side brush 26 to the left side, and the left side brush 26 to the right side, that is, each side. The brushes 26 can be rotated so that dust in the front (traveling direction) is scraped to the suction port 41 side.

  The side brush 26 and the side brush motor 27 are not indispensable as long as they can be sufficiently cleaned by the electric blower 21 or the rotating brush 28.

  The rotating brush 28 has a rotating shaft in the horizontal direction along the floor surface, and sweeps out dust on the floor surface to clean it.It is formed in a long shape, and both end portions rotate around both sides of the suction port 41 in the width direction. It is pivotally supported. The rotating brush 28 protrudes from the suction port 41 to the lower side of the lower surface of the main body case 20, and with the vacuum cleaner 11 placed on the floor surface, the lower portion touches the floor surface and scrapes dust. Is configured to take.

  The brush motor 29 is housed inside the main body case 20, and is connected to the rotating brush 28 via a gear mechanism (not shown) as a mechanism portion.

  Note that the rotating brush 28 and the brush motor 29 are not essential components as long as they can be sufficiently cleaned by the electric blower 21 or the side brushes 26 and 26.

  The sensor unit 31 is, for example, a rotational speed detection means such as an optical encoder that measures the rotational speed of the motor 24, an obstacle such as an ultrasonic sensor that detects an obstacle by detecting a distance from an obstacle such as a wall or furniture. It is equipped with functions such as obstacle detection means that is distance measurement means such as an infrared sensor and step detection means such as an infrared sensor that detects a step on the floor surface, etc., and the upper and outer peripheral parts (front and rear parts) of the main body case 20 ) And the lower part.

  The display unit 34 displays time and time, or various types of information related to the vacuum cleaner 11, and is disposed, for example, on the upper portion of the main body case 20. The display unit 34 may be, for example, a touch panel that also has a function of an input operation unit that allows a user to directly input various settings.

  The communication unit 35 is configured separately from the control unit 37, and includes a camera 51 as an imaging unit, a wireless LAN device 52 as a communication unit for transmitting and receiving signals to and from the outside, and the camera 51 and the wireless LAN. A signal processing circuit 53 electrically connected to the device 52 is provided in a unit form.

  The camera 51 is an imaging camera module including a wide-angle lens 51a and a CMOS sensor (not shown), and is detachably connected to the signal processing circuit 53 via a connector (not shown). The camera 51 is disposed, for example, in the direction of the rear 45 ° of the outer periphery of the main body case 20, and is inclined in the direction along the radial direction of the central axis of the main body case 20, in this embodiment, from the front to the front. It is possible to capture an image of the region extending over the upper part with a predetermined horizontal angle of view (for example, 105 °), and the captured image can be converted into data and output to the signal processing circuit 53. That is, the camera 51 is disposed at a position away from the turning center (center axis) of the main body case 20.

  The wireless LAN device 52 is used for wireless communication with the external device 17 via the access point 14 and the network 15. Accordingly, various information can be received from the network 15 and various information can be input from the external device 17 via the wireless LAN device 52. That is, the wireless LAN device 52 has functions of an external signal receiving unit and a signal receiving unit that receive an external signal transmitted from the access point 14 from the external device 17 via the network 15. The wireless LAN device 52 is detachably connected to the signal processing circuit 53 via a connector (not shown) or the like.

  The signal processing circuit 53 is detachably connected to the control means 37 via a connector or the like (not shown), processes a signal received via the wireless LAN device 52, and outputs it to the camera 51 and the control means 37 It is possible to output signals from the camera 51 and the control means 37 to the wireless LAN device 52. This signal processing circuit 53 is a lens distortion correction process that corrects lens distortion caused by the wide-angle lens 51a of the camera 51, and a synthesis process that generates a composite image (data) by combining adjacent images based on overlapping image information. And various image processing functions such as compression processing for compressing the image data 55 generated by the synthesis processing into a predetermined format, for example, a format such as jpeg.

  The control means 37 includes various memory areas such as a CPU which is a main body of the control means, a ROM which is a storage unit storing fixed data such as a program read by the CPU, and a work area which is a work area for data processing by the program. A RAM that is an area storage unit that is dynamically formed, a memory that is a storage unit such as an SDRAM that stores image data captured by the camera 51, a timer that measures calendar information such as the current date and time, and the like are provided. The control unit 37 is electrically connected to the electric blower 21, each motor 24, each side brush motor 27, the brush motor 29, the sensor unit 31, the display unit 34, and the signal processing circuit 53, and is detected by the sensor unit 31. Based on the results, the autonomous battery and the cleaning mode, which is a running mode for controlling the driving of the electric blower 21, each motor 24, each side brush motor 27, the brush motor 29, and the like, and the secondary battery 39 via the charging device There are a charging mode in which charging is performed, an imaging mode in which imaging is performed by the camera 51, and a standby mode in standby for operation.

  Secondary battery 39 includes electric blower 21, each motor 24, each side brush motor 27, brush motor 29, sensor unit 31, communication unit 35 (camera 51, wireless LAN device 52 and signal processing circuit 53), control means 37, etc. The power is supplied to

  On the other hand, the charging device is disposed at a position that does not interfere with cleaning, such as in the vicinity of a wall section that divides a room. The charging device includes a charging circuit for charging the secondary battery 39 such as a constant current circuit, a pair of charging terminals electrically connected to the charging circuit, a power supply cord for power supply connected to a commercial power source, And a detachable dust box for collecting dust. In addition, the charging device is airtightly connected to the discharge port 43 of the vacuum cleaner 11 that has returned, and a suction port that sucks out the dust in the dust collecting portion 22 by driving the electric blower 21 in the main body case 20 is a dust box. Open to communicate.

  The access point 14 is installed in the building H and connected to the network 15 by, for example, a wired connection.

  The server 16 is a computer connected to the network 15 and can store various data. The server 16 stores image data 55 captured by the camera 51 and display means 56, which is a dedicated program for viewing the image data 55. These image data 55 and display The means 56 can be downloaded to the external device 17 via the network 15.

  The image data 55 includes composite image (panoramic image) data obtained by combining the image data captured by the camera 51 by the signal processing circuit 53.

  The display means 56 is described in a language that does not depend on the type of the external device 17 such as Javascript (registered trademark), in other words, can be executed by various external devices 17, and is combined with the image data 55. It is downloaded to the external device 17 via the network 15. In this display means 56, for example, a display mode for instructing the camera 51 to capture an image and displaying the captured image, a state display mode for displaying the state of the vacuum cleaner 11, Various modes such as a setting mode for inputting various settings are installed. The display means 56 is dedicated to the cleaning system 10 of the present embodiment, and the cleaning system 10 is configured by the display means 56, the electric vacuum cleaner 11, the charging device, and the like.

  The external device 17 can be wired or wirelessly communicated with the network 15 via the access point 14 inside the building H, for example, and can be wired or wirelessly communicated with the network 15 outside the building H, for example, PC (Tablet terminal (tablet PC)) 17a and a general-purpose device such as a smartphone (mobile phone) 17b. The external device 17 includes a display unit that can display an image, a display engine that controls display of the display unit, and external device control means that controls various operations.

  Next, the operation of the one embodiment will be described.

  When cleaning, for example, the vacuum cleaner 11 uses a wireless LAN to send a cleaning command signal transmitted from the external device 17 and transmitted by the access point 14 via the network 15 when a preset cleaning start time is reached. Control means that has received the device 52 and has entered the cleaning mode from the standby mode at the start of cleaning, such as when a cleaning start signal based on this cleaning command signal is input to the control means 37 via the signal processing circuit 53 37 drives the electric blower 21, drive wheels 23, 23 (motors 24, 24), side brushes 26, 26 (side brush motors 27, 27), rotating brush 28 (brush motor 29), etc. Then, the cleaning is started while autonomously running on the floor surface by the drive wheels 23 and 23. The cleaning start position can be set at an arbitrary place such as the travel start position of the electric vacuum cleaner 11 or the entrance / exit of the room.

  During traveling, the control means 37 detects, for example, the distance from the wall portion surrounding the room or an obstacle in the room, the floor level difference, and the like via the sensor unit 31, and the vacuum cleaner 11 ( The main body case 20) is monitored for running conditions, and the drive wheels 23 and 23 (motors 24 and 24) are driven in response to the detection from the sensor unit 31, thereby avoiding obstacles and steps, etc. The machine 11 is made to travel on the floor surface, for example, randomly or along the wall.

  Then, the vacuum cleaner 11 collects dust to the suction port 41 by the side brushes 26, 26 that are driven to rotate, and the suction port in which the negative pressure generated by driving the electric blower 21 acts via the dust collection unit 22 41 sucks dust on the floor together with air. In addition, the rotary brush 28 that is driven to rotate scrapes off dust on the floor surface to the dust collecting unit 22.

  The dust sucked together with the air from the suction port 41 is separated and collected by the dust collecting unit 22, and the air from which the dust is separated is sucked into the electric blower 21, and after cooling the electric blower 21, it becomes exhaust air. The air is exhausted from the exhaust port 42 to the outside of the main body case 20.

  Cleaning of the cleaning area has been completed, or the capacity of the secondary battery 39 has fallen to a predetermined amount and is insufficient to complete the cleaning (the voltage of the secondary battery 39 has dropped to near the discharge end voltage) ) And the like, the vacuum cleaner 11 drives the drive wheels 23 and 23 (motors 24 and 24) by the control means 37 and returns to the charging device. At the time of this return, for example, the vacuum cleaner 11 may be brought close to the charging device based on a guide signal output from the charging device, or charging may be performed according to a room map stored in advance in the control means 37. You may return to the position of the device. Then, the vacuum cleaner 11 connects the charging terminal 45 (mechanically and electrically) to the charging terminal in a state of moving (returning) to the charging device, stops each part, and finishes the cleaning operation.

  After the cleaning operation is completed, for example, the control unit 37 drives the electric blower 21 to suck out dust collected in the dust collecting unit 22 from the discharge port 43 to the dust box through the suction port of the charging device. Further, the control means 37 shifts to the charging mode at a predetermined timing, for example, when a preset charging start time is reached or when a predetermined time has elapsed since the vacuum cleaner 11 was connected to the charging device. When the charging circuit of the charging device is driven to charge the secondary battery 39, and it is determined that the voltage of the secondary battery 39 has increased to a predetermined usable voltage, the charging device stops charging by the charging circuit and performs charging work. And the control means 37 enters the standby mode.

  Then, when taking a picture of the interior (home) of the building H such as a room using the camera 51, the signal processing circuit 53 is connected from the external device 17 to the network 15 as described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. Whether or not the wireless LAN device 52 has received an imaging instruction signal, which is an external signal instructing imaging with the camera 51 transmitted by the access point 14 via, is determined, for example, in real time or at predetermined time intervals (step 1). . For wireless communication between the external device 17 and the vacuum cleaner 11, for example, by setting an ID and a password for each external device 17 and each vacuum cleaner 11 and requesting authentication at the time of connection, it is illegal. It is preferable not to receive the signal.

  If it is determined in step 1 that an imaging instruction signal has not been received, step 1 is repeated. If it is determined that an imaging instruction signal has been received, the signal processing circuit 53 sends a movement command signal based on the imaging instruction signal to the control means 37. (Step 2). Next, the control means 37 that has received the movement command signal detects the remaining capacity of the secondary battery 39 regardless of the mode, and the remaining capacity of the secondary battery 39 is an imageable capacity that can be imaged by the camera 51. It is determined whether or not there is (step 3). Hereinafter, the imageable capacity means, for example, that the main body case 20 (the vacuum cleaner 11) can travel for a predetermined distance or more, and the signal processing circuit 53 processes the image 55 captured by the camera 51 and the captured image data 55. The capacity can be transmitted from the network 15 to the external device 17 via the wireless LAN device 52.

  If it is determined in step 3 that the remaining capacity of the secondary battery 39 is not an imageable capacity, the control means 37 generates a signal indicating that the image cannot be captured and outputs the signal to the signal processing circuit 53. Based on the signal received from the means 37, the signal processing circuit 53 outputs to the wireless LAN device 52, for example, a signal notifying the external device 17 that imaging is impossible, and the access point 14 is transmitted from the wireless LAN device 52 to the wireless LAN device 52. Via the network 15 to the external device 17 (step 4), ignore the imaging instruction signal, and return to step 1.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step 3 that the remaining capacity of the secondary battery 39 is greater than or equal to the imageable capacity, the control means 37 determines the current mode (step 5).

  If it is determined in step 5 that the charging mode or the standby mode is selected, the control means 37 drives the driving wheels 23 and 23 (motors 24 and 24) to separate the vacuum cleaner 11 from the charging device ( Step 6), and shifts to the imaging mode (Step 7). On the other hand, if it is determined in step 5 that the cleaning mode is set, the control means 37 controls the electric blower 21, the side brushes 26 and 26 (side brush motors 27 and 27), and the rotating brush 28 (brush motor 29), for example. The driving is stopped to stop the cleaning (step 8), and the process proceeds to step 7 to shift to the imaging mode. This imaging mode processing will be described later.

  When the imaging mode in step 7 is completed, the signal processing circuit 53 outputs a signal indicating the end of the imaging mode to the control means 37 (step 9), and the control means 37 that has received this signal shifts to the imaging mode. The mode immediately before is determined (step 10). When it is determined in step 10 that the charging mode or the standby mode is set, the control means 37 returns the vacuum cleaner 11 to the charging device in the same manner as in the cleaning operation, and shifts to the charging mode (step 11).

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step 10 that the cleaning mode is set (the cleaning mode is interrupted and the mode is changed to the imaging mode), the control means 37 compares the capacity of the secondary battery 39 with the remaining capacity required for cleaning. It is determined whether or not the capacity is sufficient (step 12). When it is determined that the capacity is sufficient, the control means 37 is operated by the electric blower 21, the side brushes 26 and 26 (side brush motors 27 and 27), and the rotating brush 28 (brush motor 29). Is driven to return to cleaning (step 13), and when it is determined that the capacity is insufficient, the process proceeds to step 11, and the electric vacuum cleaner 11 is returned to the charging device in the same manner as in the cleaning operation to shift to the charging mode. Regardless of the mode immediately before the transition to the imaging mode, the control may be performed such that the transition to the charging mode is always performed when the imaging mode ends. In this case, after the charging of the secondary battery 39 is finished, for example, the standby mode may be shifted as it is, or only when the mode immediately before the transition to the imaging mode is the cleaning mode after the charging. You may return to cleaning.

  Next, the imaging mode in step 7 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  In this imaging mode, first, the control means 37 drives the drive wheels 23 and 23 (motors 24 and 24) to autonomously travel the main body case 20 to a predetermined position (step 21). This movement to the predetermined position may be guided by outputting a guide beacon that guides the main body case 20 to the predetermined position by a guide means (not shown) installed in the room, for example, or using the function of the sensor unit 31. Alternatively, it may be a substantially central position of a room separated by a predetermined distance or more from the surrounding wall. When the position where the imaging instruction signal is received is the predetermined position, imaging is performed at that position. That is, the autonomous traveling of the main body case 20 at a predetermined position includes the case where the autonomous traveling distance of the main body case 20 is zero. The imaging position may be selected from a plurality. In this case, it is preferable that the user can select or set the imaging position using the external device 17 or the like.

  Next, the control means 37 outputs a signal that stops moving to the signal processing circuit 53, and the signal processing circuit 53 that has received this signal outputs a signal instructing imaging to the camera 51, whereby the camera 51 An image is picked up (FIG. 7A), and the image data is output to the signal processing circuit 53 (step 22). Thereafter, the signal processing circuit 53 performs a lens distortion correction process for correcting the distortion of the wide-angle lens 51a of the camera 51 with respect to the received image data (step 23, FIG. 7B). A rectangular area is trimmed from the image data (shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 7B), projected onto the cylindrical surface and synthesized, thereby generating synthesized image (panoramic image) data (step) 24, FIG. 7 (c)). Since the algorithm of this image composition processing is already known, its details are omitted.

  Further, in the signal processing circuit 53, it is determined whether or not a predetermined number of preset images, for example, 8 images in the present embodiment has been captured by the camera 51 (step 25). If it is determined in step 25 that a predetermined number of images have not been captured, a signal is output to the control means 37, and the control means 37 that has received this signal turns the drive wheels 23, 23 (motors 24, 24) on. The main body case 20 is driven to turn to the left (or right) at a predetermined turning angle (step 26), and the process returns to step 22. The predetermined turning angle is a predetermined imaging angle, in this embodiment, an angle obtained by dividing 360 ° by a predetermined number and a predetermined angle less than the horizontal angle of view of the camera 51, preferably a predetermined angle equal to or less than half of the horizontal angle of view. In the embodiment, it is set to 45 °. By controlling in this way, the vacuum cleaner 11 can capture images in a plurality of adjacent directions at an angle less than the horizontal angle of view of the camera 51 by a predetermined imaging angle (FIG. 6). Therefore, these images include, for example, 30 ° of image information (imaging area) that overlaps at least adjacent images, and in this embodiment, more than half of the images adjacent to each other overlap, An image is captured without a blind spot over a predetermined imaging angle. Hereinafter, the turning of the main body case 20 (the vacuum cleaner 11) means that one driving wheel 23 (one motor 24) and the other driving wheel 23 (the other motor 24) are rotated in opposite directions. Thus, it is said to be a so-called super-spindle turn that keeps its position around the central axis of the main body case 20, but is not limited to this, for example, around a predetermined turning center with a predetermined radius This includes the case where the vehicle travels in a circle to turn.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step 25 that a predetermined number of images have been captured, the signal processing circuit 53 compresses the composite image data to generate image data 55 (step 27), and the wireless LAN device 52 The image data 55 is output, and the image data 55 is transmitted from the wireless LAN device 52 to the server 16 via the access point 14 via the network 15 (step 28).

  Then, the server 16 that stores the wirelessly transmitted image data 55 generates a composite image, a URL indicating the location of the image data 55, and the like to the external device 17 during the storage. The described electronic mail is transmitted (step 29), and the imaging mode processing is terminated.

  The image data 55 saved in the server 16 in the above step 29 is downloaded to the external device 17 together with the display means 56 by accessing the above URL from the external device 17 via the network 15, and this display means 56 is externally transmitted. By being executed by the device 17, it can be visually confirmed at an arbitrary timing. In this display means 56, for example, an angle range to be reproduced (cut out) from a composite image generated from the image data 55 is converted into a turning angle of the main body case 20 and changed by a predetermined angle (a constant interval) to change one sheet. A method of displaying images one by one (frame advance display), and a composite image generated from the image data 55 is converted into a turning angle of the main body case 20 and continuously displayed at predetermined time intervals at predetermined time intervals. Any of the methods (animation display) can be selected.

  For example, the display unit 56 displays an input / output interface image as shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5, for example, in a state where the display mode is selected by being executed by the external device 17. The interface image shown in FIG. 4 is for a terminal such as a PC 17a having a relatively wide display screen, for example, and the interface image shown in FIG. 5 is, for example, a smartphone 17b having a relatively narrow display screen in a portrait orientation. For terminals. In these screens, a display area 61 for displaying an image is provided at a substantially central portion, and an operation input means for instructing a frame advance direction when displaying an image frame by frame is displayed below the display area 61. The frame advance buttons 62 and 63, and an automatic display operation button 64 as animation operation input means for instructing start and stop when an image is displayed in animation are arranged. Furthermore, in this interface image, a mode switching button 65 for switching the mode of the display means 56 is arranged at the upper part of the display area 61 or the like.

  Then, the display means 56 operates the frame advance buttons 62 and 63, for example, bidirectionally at an angle smaller than a predetermined angle (45 ° in the present embodiment) that is a turning angle of the main body case 20 at the time of imaging, In the present embodiment, for example, an angular range of ± 15 ° is cut out from the composite image and displayed in the display area 61, and the automatic display operation button 64 is operated, for example, from the angle to be reproduced at the time of frame advance display from the composite image. In this embodiment, for example, an image in the above angle range is cut out and displayed continuously in the display area 61 at a smaller angle. Of course, the angle to be reproduced at the time of frame advance display and animation display need not be limited to the above-mentioned angle, and may be appropriately set to a captured image or an angle that is easy for the user to view.

  Specific display control by the display means 56 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  The display means 56 determines whether a display operation has been input (step 31). The display operation in step 31 specifically refers to a frame advance operation for frame advance display by operating the frame advance buttons 62 and 63, or an operation for starting or stopping animation display by operating the automatic display operation button 64.

  If it is determined in step 31 that the frame advance button 62 has been operated, that is, a display operation for performing a frame advance operation in the forward direction (the same direction as the turning direction during imaging of the main body case 20) is input, The means 56 increases the angle for reproducing the image by a predetermined angle (for example, + 15 °) (step 32), and cuts out the image to be reproduced and displayed in the display area 61 from the synthesized image (step 33). On the other hand, if it is determined in step 31 that the frame advance button 63 has been operated, that is, a display operation for performing a frame advance operation in the reverse direction (the direction opposite to the turning direction during imaging of the main body case 20) has been input, The means 56 increases the reproduction angle by a predetermined angle (for example, −15 °) (step 34), and proceeds to step 33. After step 33, the display means 56 corrects the image distortion of the clipped reproduced image (FIG. 8 (a) and FIG. 8 (b)) and displays it in the display area 61 (step 35). The distortion correction process in step 35 is an inverse conversion process in which an image projected on a cylindrical surface is projected onto a plane when generating a composite image (panoramic image), and is a known technique, so a detailed description will be given. Is omitted.

  After this step 35, the display means 56 determines whether or not to end the display mode (step 36). The end of the display mode indicates, for example, a case where another mode is selected by the mode switching button 65. If it is determined in step 36 that the display mode is to be terminated, the display mode is terminated as it is. If it is determined in step 36 that the display mode is not terminated, the process returns to step 31.

  If it is determined in step 31 that the automatic display operation button 64 has been operated, that is, a display operation for displaying an animation has been input, the display unit 56 increases the angle for reproducing the image by a predetermined angle (for example, +1). (Step 37), and a playback image within a predetermined angle range is cut out from the synthesized image (step 38), and image distortion of the cut-out playback image is corrected (reverse conversion) (FIG. 8 (a)). 8 (b)) and displayed in the display area 61 (step 39). In step 37, when the playback angle reaches 360 °, the playback angle may be reset to 0 ° and continued (loop display), or the animation display is stopped and the process proceeds to step 36. But you can.

  After step 39, the display means 56 determines whether or not the automatic display operation button 64 has been operated, that is, whether or not an animation display stop operation has been input (step 40), and the automatic display operation button 64 is operated. When it is determined that the animation display is stopped (step 41), the process proceeds to step 36, and when it is determined that the automatic display operation button 64 is not operated, the process returns to step 37.

  According to the embodiment described above, since the signal processing circuit 53 intervenes transmission / reception of signals (data) among the wireless LAN device 52, the control unit 37, and the camera 51, and transmission / reception of commands from the external device 17, etc. The signal processing circuit 53, the camera 51, and the wireless LAN device 52 operate as an additional function in which the communication unit 35 is a single unit. Therefore, for example, by preparing only the interface with the signal processing circuit 53 in the control means 37 for the camera 51 and the vacuum cleaner having no wireless communication function, it is possible to easily capture images by mounting the communication unit 35. Functions and communication functions can be added (extended). As a result, this is an effective means for increasing the model variation of the product of the vacuum cleaner 11.

  Since the control means 37 drives the drive wheels 23 and 23 to take an image with the camera 51 every time the main body case 20 is turned by a predetermined turning angle, a wide range in the house such as a room can be taken.

  In addition, since the camera 51 includes the wide-angle lens 51a, a wide range can be imaged with one imaging, the number of imaging can be suppressed, and the power consumption of the secondary battery 39 can be suppressed. On the other hand, since the image captured by the wide-angle lens 51a is distorted, by correcting the lens distortion by the signal processing circuit 53, it is possible to provide an image that is easy for the user to capture while capturing a wide range.

  Since the control means 37 captures images in a plurality of adjacent directions at an angle less than the angle of view of the wide-angle lens 51a of the camera 51 by the camera 51, a wide range can be reliably captured by the camera 51 without blind spots. Therefore, for example, it is possible to effectively capture the indoor state and changes.

  Further, by setting the turning angle when imaged by the camera 51 to be less than or equal to half of the horizontal angle of view, a large amount of image information overlapping with adjacent images is included, so that the image quality of the generated composite image can be further improved.

  Since the image data 55 processed by the signal processing circuit 53 is transmitted to the server 16 that can be downloaded to the external device 17 via the network 15 and stored, the access point is used by using the external device 17 such as a PC 17a in the home, for example. The image data 55 can be easily downloaded to the external device 17 via the network 15 via 14 or the like, and the server 16 can be accessed via the network 15 using the external device 17 such as the smartphone 17b outside the home. Thus, the image data 55 can be easily downloaded.

  In addition, since the data of each image captured by the camera 51 is combined into a single image data 55, a wide range can be confirmed by the combined image (panoramic image) that has been combined, and the server 16 can store the image data. The amount of data when transmitting the data 55 is small, the communication time can be shortened, the communication quality can be stabilized, and the communication load can be further reduced.

  Therefore, the image can be seen by the external device 17 even in a remote place, and the state of the house can be easily confirmed.

  Further, since the image data 55 is compressed, the data amount of the image data 55 transmitted from the vacuum cleaner 11 is further reduced, so that communication time can be shortened and transmission errors can be prevented more effectively.

  Moreover, since the above-described various image processing is performed by the signal processing circuit 53, even if the vacuum cleaner 11 performs another operation in the control means 37 such as movement, the image processing is performed without affecting it, so that it is stable. Thus, high-speed image processing can be realized.

  In addition, since the display means 56 that is a program for processing and displaying the image data 55 is stored in the server 16 so as to be downloadable, the display means 56 is downloaded to the external device 17 together with the image data 55. Then, the image processed by the display means 56 can be viewed on the external device 17, and by describing it in a language independent of the model, one display means 56 (program) can deal with various external devices 17.

  Specifically, the display unit 56 sequentially cuts out images by a predetermined angle by converting the synthesized image into the turning angle of the main body case 20 according to the operation input by the frame advance buttons 62 and 63 of the external device 17. Frame-by-frame advance allows you to see the details of the room you have taken in detail.

  In addition, since the frame advance direction of the clipped image can be set in both directions, it is possible to easily select a location that the user wants to see.

  Further, since the display means 56 converts the turning angle of the main body case 20 from the composite image and cuts it out by a predetermined angle and continuously frames it, compared with the case of using a moving image with a large amount of data and a large communication load. The composite image of the panorama can be reproduced as if it were a moving picture with a small amount of data.

  The display means 56 performs distortion correction processing (inverse conversion) on the cut-out image, so that it displays not only the image portion actually captured by the camera 51 but also the image portion at the boundary between the images. It becomes possible. That is, by cutting out only the portion of the composite image that is desired to be displayed and performing distortion correction processing, an image at an arbitrary position can be viewed without interruption.

  As a result, the display means 56 can display an image over which a wide range, in this embodiment, the entire circumference of 360 ° can be surely viewed, and an image with a safe watching function can be obtained.

  In addition, the distortion correction process described above can be realized simply by downloading the image data 55 having a small amount of synthesized data by being operated by the display unit 56 on the external device 17, thereby reducing communication time and communication. The quality can be stabilized.

  In the above embodiment, when the imaging instruction signal is received during the charging operation of the secondary battery 39, the secondary battery 39 waits until it is charged to a predetermined capacity (for example, full charge), You may transfer to imaging mode after charging.

  Furthermore, when communication between the network 15 and the wireless LAN device 52 is interrupted, for example, when the vacuum cleaner 11 enters the blind spot of communication with the network 15 (access point 14) during the imaging mode, The electric vacuum cleaner 11 may be stopped at that position, or the electric vacuum cleaner 11 may be stopped after autonomous traveling to a predetermined position.

  Since wireless communication using the wireless LAN device 52 consumes power, it is preferable to suppress communication by the wireless LAN device 52 in a state where the power of the secondary battery 39 is used, that is, during cleaning. Therefore, when the imaging instruction signal is received during the cleaning mode, the wireless LAN device 52 is used to notify the user that the cleaning is currently being performed via the network 15, and the imaging instruction signal is ignored. However, the transition to the imaging mode may be enabled only in the charging mode or standby mode in which the vacuum cleaner 11 is connected to the charging device.

  Also, when the imaging instruction signal is received via the external device 17, the mode is switched to the imaging mode. For example, when the predetermined time stored in advance or every predetermined time is reached, the mode is automatically switched to the imaging mode using a timer. You may make it do. In this case, the predetermined time and the predetermined time may be directly set in the vacuum cleaner 11 (control unit 37) via a display unit 34 having a function of an external input unit such as a remote controller (not shown) or an input operation unit. Alternatively, remote setting may be performed from the external device 17. And in this structure, when there exists a target which a user wants to image regularly, it becomes possible to image automatically.

  The imaging instruction signal is ignored during the charging mode for charging the secondary battery 39. For example, power is supplied to the sensor unit 31 even in the charging mode, and the imaging instruction signal is received even in the charging mode. That way, you can always monitor the room.

  Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

10 Cleaning system
11 Vacuum cleaner
15 network
16 Server as a data storage means
17 External devices that are display devices
20 Main unit case
21 Electric blower as cleaning part
23 Drive wheels
26 Side brush as cleaning part
28 Rotating brush as cleaning part
35 Communication unit as communication unit
37 Control means
51 Cameras as imaging means
51a wide angle lens
52 Wireless LAN devices as communication means
53 Signal processing circuit
56 Display means
62, 63 Frame advance button as operation input means

Claims (12)

A body case,
A drive wheel that allows the main body case to travel,
Control means for autonomously running the main body case by controlling the drive of the drive wheels;
A cleaning section for cleaning the surface to be cleaned;
A communication unit connected to the control means,
The communication unit is electrically connected to an imaging unit capable of imaging, a communication unit capable of transmitting / receiving a signal to / from the outside, and the communication unit, the control unit, and the imaging unit, and the communication unit, the control unit, and A vacuum cleaner comprising a signal processing circuit for intervening transmission / reception of signals between the imaging means and being separate from the control means. The control means drives the driving wheel to rotate the main body case by a predetermined angle when imaging by the imaging means,
The electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the imaging unit captures an image every time the main body case turns by a predetermined angle. The imaging means includes a wide-angle lens,
The electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 2, wherein the signal processing circuit corrects lens distortion of the image captured by the imaging unit. The electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 3, wherein the control means drives the driving wheel to rotate the main body case by a predetermined angle less than the angle of view of the imaging means when imaging by the imaging means. The signal processing circuit processes the image data,
The communication means transmits the data of the image processed by the signal processing circuit via the network to the data storage means capable of storing the data and downloadable by the display device via the network. The vacuum cleaner as described in any one of Claims 2 thru | or 4. The electric vacuum cleaner according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the signal processing circuit combines a plurality of images picked up by the image pickup unit into a single combined image. The electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 6, wherein the signal processing circuit compresses the composite image data. A vacuum cleaner according to claim 5;
A cleaning system comprising: a display unit that is a program that can be executed by a display device to download image data stored in a data storage unit and process the image data. The display means is capable of frame-by-frame feeding by sequentially cutting out images by a predetermined angle in terms of the turning angle of the main body case from the composite image according to the operation input by the operation input means of the external device. The cleaning system according to claim 8. The cleaning system according to claim 9, wherein the display means can set the frame advance direction of the cut-out image in both directions. The cleaning system according to claim 8, wherein the display means converts the turning angle of the main body case from the synthesized image and cuts out by a predetermined angle and continuously feeds the frames. The cleaning system according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the display means corrects distortion of the image of the cut out portion and displays the corrected image on the display device.

Images