JP2017221595A - Wireless charging system for self-traveling cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To charge the battery of a self-traveling cleaner wirelessly from a charging stand and make the floor area of the charging stand compact.SOLUTION: A wireless charging system for a self-traveling cleaner comprises: a self-traveling cleaner which includes a battery, a cleaning-and-traveling device, and a control part for driving and controlling the cleaning-and-traveling device by the electric power of the battery, and which cleans a floor surface while traveling on the floor surface; and a charging stand which is used to charge the battery. The charging stand includes a power supply coil and an excitation circuit for exciting the power supply coil. The self-traveling cleaner includes: a power reception coil for receiving electric power from the power supply coil by electromagnetic coupling; and a charging circuit for charging the battery by receiving output of the power reception coil. The power supply coil is mounted on the charging stand such that a magnetic flux is generated parallel with the floor surface, and the power reception coil is mounted on the self-traveling cleaner such that the magnetic flux is receivable parallel with the floor surface.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless charging system for a self-propelled cleaner.

  As a background art of the present invention, the power receiving metal terminal provided in the self-propelled cleaner is brought into physical contact with the power feeding metal terminal provided in the charging stand, so that the self-propelled cleaner is removed from the charging stand. A charging system is used in which power is supplied to a battery for charging. However, if dust or water adheres to at least one of the power supply metal terminal and the power reception metal terminal, there is a problem in that a contact failure occurs between them and charging cannot be performed safely and efficiently. On the other hand, a flat feeding coil that generates magnetic flux in a direction perpendicular to the floor surface is horizontally installed on the charging stand, and the receiving coil provided on the bottom surface of the self-propelled cleaner is overlaid on the feeding coil. Thus, a dielectric system, that is, a system in which power is supplied by a wireless system is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP-A-2-239830

  However, in such a wireless power feeding method, since a flat feeding coil is present on the charging stand in a plane, the area occupied on the floor of the charging stand is large, and there is a problem that it may be difficult to select the installation location. there were.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and by arranging both coils so that the feeding coil generates magnetic flux parallel to the floor surface and the receiving coil receives it, the floor with a large charging stand is provided. A wireless charging system for a self-propelled cleaner that does not occupy an area is provided.

  The present invention includes a self-propelled cleaner that includes a battery, a cleaning and traveling device, and includes a control unit that drives and controls the cleaning and traveling device with electric power of the battery, and performs cleaning while traveling on a floor surface, and the battery. The charging stand includes a feeding coil and an excitation circuit for exciting the feeding coil, and the self-propelled cleaner receives a power from the feeding coil by electromagnetic coupling and a receiving coil. A charging circuit for charging the battery in response to the output of the coil, wherein the feeding coil is installed on a charging stand so as to generate a magnetic flux in a direction parallel to the floor surface, and the receiving coil is configured to cause the magnetic flux to be parallel to the floor surface The present invention provides a wireless charging system for a self-propelled cleaner, which is installed in a self-propelled cleaner so as to be acceptable.

  According to this invention, the feeding coil is installed so as to generate a magnetic flux in a direction parallel to the floor surface, and the receiving coil is installed so as to receive the magnetic flux in parallel to the floor surface. Since the transfer surface is vertical (vertical) to the floor surface, the area occupied on the floor of the charging stand that accommodates the feeding coil can be made compact.

It is an upper surface perspective view of the self-propelled cleaner concerning a 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a bottom view of the self-propelled cleaner shown in FIG. It is a side view which shows the internal structure of the self-propelled cleaner shown in FIG. It is a perspective view of the charging stand which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. 1 is a block diagram of a control circuit according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view which shows an example of the cleaning operation | movement of the self-propelled cleaner concerning 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of operation | movement of 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a principal part top view which shows the operation | movement of 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows operation | movement of 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a FIG. 1 corresponding view which shows the self-propelled cleaner which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4 illustrating a charging stand according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 5 illustrating a control circuit according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

  A wireless charging system for a self-propelled cleaner according to the present invention includes a battery, a cleaning and traveling device, and includes a control unit that drives and controls the cleaning and traveling device with electric power of the battery, and performs cleaning while traveling on the floor surface. A self-propelled cleaner that performs charging and a charging stand for charging the battery, the charging stand including a power supply coil and an excitation circuit that excites the power supply coil, and the self-propelled cleaner is electromagnetically coupled from the power supply coil. A power receiving coil for receiving power by coupling and a charging circuit for receiving the output of the power receiving coil to charge the battery, wherein the power feeding coil is installed on a charging stand so as to generate magnetic flux in a direction parallel to the floor surface, and the power receiving coil The coil is installed in the self-propelled cleaner so as to receive the magnetic flux parallel to the floor surface.

The power feeding coil and the power receiving coil according to the present invention include those in which a magnetic core (for example, an iron core) is wound, or only winding (coreless).
Preferably, the charging stand and the self-propelled cleaner each include a casing having a flat side surface orthogonal to the floor surface, and the power feeding coil and the power receiving coil are disposed so as to face each other along each side surface.
As for the housing | casing of a self-propelled cleaner, it is desirable for the outline seen from the upper surface to be a triangle, a square, or D shape, and the said flat side surface respond | corresponds to the one side.
The self-propelled cleaner includes a position detection sensor that detects a position where the power receiving coil faces the power supply coil, and the control unit receives an output of the position detection sensor and the power receiving coil is positioned at a predetermined position facing the power supply coil. You may make it control the said traveling apparatus so that it may be positioned.
The predetermined position where the power receiving coil faces the power feeding coil is preferably a position where the leakage inductance between the two coils is minimized.

  Further, the power feeding coil and the power receiving coil may be wound around the first and second magnetic bodies, respectively, and the position detection sensor may include a detection coil wound around the second magnetic body.

Moreover, it is preferable that a control part supplies the output of a charging circuit to a battery, after a receiving coil is positioned with respect to a feed coil.
The charging stand may include a light emitting element or an ultrasonic transmitter, and the position detection sensor may be a light receiving element or an ultrasonic receiver.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments.
(First embodiment)
(1) Configuration of a self-propelled cleaner and a charging stand A self-propelled cleaner (hereinafter referred to as a cleaning robot) according to the present invention sucks dust on the floor together with air while self-propelled on the floor. The floor surface is cleaned by exhausting the air from which the air is removed.

  FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a cleaning robot according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the cleaning robot, and FIG. 3 is a side view showing an internal configuration of the cleaning robot. is there. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the charging stand according to this embodiment.

  As shown in these drawings, the cleaning robot 1A includes a housing 2 having a substantially triangular outline when viewed from above. As shown in FIG. 2, the bottom plate 2a is provided with a rotating brush 3, a pair of side brushes 4, a suction port 11, a pair of drive wheels 5a and 5b, a rear wheel 7, and two floor surface detection sensors 12. Yes. The floor surface detection sensor 12 includes an infrared light emitting diode and a phototransistor, and the detection surface is exposed toward the floor.

  Further, in the housing 2, as shown in FIG. 3, a suction path 10 connected to the suction port 11, a dust collecting part 20 provided on the downstream side of the suction path 10, and a downstream side of the dust collecting part 20 And an exhaust passage 40 that connects the electric blower 30 and the exhaust port 41 to each other.

  The housing 2 includes a lid 2d and a top plate 2b as shown in FIG. A side plate 2c is provided on the outer peripheral side surface between the bottom plate 2a and the top plate 2b. The top plate 2 is provided with an input unit 31 for inputting operation conditions and operation commands of the cleaning robot 1A.

  The dust collection unit 20 illustrated in FIG. 3 includes a dust collection box 21 connected to the suction path 10 and a filter 22 provided in the dust collection box 21 so as to be detachable. The dust collection box 21 is usually housed in the housing 2. However, when the dust collected in the dust collection box 21 is discarded, the lid 2 d (FIG. 1) of the housing 2 is opened. It comes to be taken in and out.

  The bottom plate 2a (FIG. 2) is formed with a hole for projecting the lower part of the pair of drive wheels 5a and 5b from the inside of the housing 2 to the outside. As shown in FIG. 1, three ultrasonic distance measuring sensors 1112a, 112b, and 112c for detecting an obstacle in the forward direction indicated by an arrow X are provided on the front surface of the cleaning robot 1A.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the drive wheels 5a and 5b are provided so as to be rotatable around a pair of rotary shafts 6a and 6b that are parallel to the bottom plate 2a of the housing 2 and coaxial with the straight line L. When the drive wheels 5a and 5b rotate in the same direction and at the same speed, the robot 1A advances and retreats in the direction of the arrow X or Y. When the drive wheels 5a and 5b rotate in the opposite directions at the same speed, the robot 1A turns at the same position. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the rotating shafts 6a and 6b of the drive wheels 5a and 5b are individually connected to a pair of traveling motors 51a and 51b via reduction gears 52a and 52b, respectively. The traveling motors 51a and 51b incorporate an encoder for measuring the rotational speed. The rear wheel 7 is a free wheel, and is provided so as to be able to turn behind the bottom plate 2a of the housing 2 so as to come into contact with the floor surface.

  In this way, the pair of drive wheels 5a and 5b are arranged in the middle of the traveling direction with respect to the housing 2, and the entire weight of the cleaning robot 1A can be supported by the pair of drive wheels 5a and 5b and the rear wheel 7. Weight is distributed to the housing 2 in the front-rear direction. Thereby, the dust in the course direction can be efficiently guided to the suction port 11.

  The aforementioned rotating brush 3 is provided at the inlet of the suction port 11 so as to be rotatable about an axis parallel to the bottom plate 2a of the housing 2. Further, the side brushes 4 on the left and right sides of the suction port 11 in the bottom plate 2a rotate around an axis perpendicular to the bottom plate 2a. The rotating brush 3 is formed by implanting a brush spirally on the outer peripheral surface of a roller that is a rotating shaft.

  The side brush 4 has a plurality (four in this case) of brush bundles provided radially at the lower end of the rotating shaft. The rotating shaft of the rotating brush 3 and the rotating shaft of the pair of side brushes 4 are supported on the inner surface of the bottom plate 2a of the housing 2 and are powered by a brush driving motor and a side brush driving motor, which will be described later, provided near the rotating plate. It is connected via a transmission mechanism.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an infrared detection main sensor 110 is provided at the center of the front portion of the top plate 2b of the housing 2, and three infrared detection sub-sensors 111a and 111b are provided at the center of the front portion of the side plate 2c. , 111c are provided in a horizontal row.

  The infrared detection main sensor 110 can detect infrared rays incident from all directions (360 degrees), and the infrared detection sub-sensors 111a, 111b, and 111c can detect infrared rays incident from the front. Also, the ultrasonic distance measuring sensors 112a, 112b, and 112c shown in FIG. 1 emit ultrasonic waves forward, and receive the reflected waves to measure the distance to the object (obstacle).

  The cleaning robot 1A incorporates a battery as will be described later, but a power receiving side iron core 108 for charging the built-in battery is provided inside the side plate 2c on the front surface of the housing 2 as shown in FIG. ing. As will be described later, a power receiving coil 107 (FIG. 5) is wound around the power receiving side iron core 108, and the power receiving side iron core 108 generates a magnetic flux parallel to the floor surface generated from the power feeding side iron core 106 of the charging base 101 (FIG. 4). Is arranged to be accepted efficiently.

  The cleaning robot 1 </ b> A that cleans the room while traveling by itself returns to the charging stand installed in the room when cleaning is completed, and the battery is charged from the charging stand. The charging stand connected to the commercial power source (outlet) is usually installed along the side wall of the room.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the housing 2 includes a central circular central housing portion 60 and an outer shell housing portion 61 around it. The outer casing 61 is rotatably supported by a ring-shaped thrust bearing 62 provided on the outer periphery of the central casing 60.

  Further, an arc-shaped rack 63 is provided on the outer periphery of the central housing portion 60 over 180 degrees, and the output shaft of the outer shell housing portion motor 43 installed in the outer shell housing portion 61 has the pinion 64. It is coupled to the rack 63 via By driving the outer shell housing motor 43, the outer shell housing portion 61 can rotate 90 degrees clockwise and 90 degrees counterclockwise around the central housing portion 60 from the position shown in FIG. It is like that.

  The drive wheels 5a and 5b, the reduction gears 52a and 52b, the travel motors 51a and 51b, and the rear wheel 7 are mounted on the central housing portion 60, and the others are mounted on the outer shell housing portion 61. . The outer shell housing motor 43 also includes an encoder for measuring the number of rotations, like the traveling motors 51a and 51b.

  FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of a casing (hereinafter simply referred to as a charging stand) 101 constituting the charging stand. As shown in the figure, the charging stand 101 is provided with an infrared transmitter 103 that emits infrared rays for indicating a return path to the cleaning robot 1A on a flat side surface on the front side, and a power receiving side iron core 108 (FIG. 1). ) Is provided with a power supply side iron core 106 for electromagnetically coupling to the electric power supply, electrical components for power supply described later, and the like. A power supply coil 105 (FIG. 5) is wound around the power supply side iron core 106 as described later, and the power supply side iron core 106 is arranged so that magnetic flux is generated from the power supply coil 105 in parallel to the floor surface.

(2) Control System for Cleaning Robot and Charging Base FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a control system for the cleaning robot 1A and the charging base 101. As shown in the figure, the control system of the cleaning robot 1A controls a control unit 34 having a microcomputer comprising a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, and traveling motors 51a and 51b for driving the two drive wheels 5a and 5b, respectively. The motor driver circuit 57, the motor driver circuit 59 that controls the brush drive motor 58 that drives the rotating brush 3, the motor driver circuit 72 that controls the two side brush drive motors 70 that drive the two side brushes 4, and the electric blower 30 A motor driver circuit 68 for controlling the built-in blower motor 69, a motor driver circuit 44 for driving the outer shell housing unit motor 43, a power switch 15, a sensor control unit 32 for driving and controlling various sensors 33, and an input unit 31. Is provided.

  The various sensors 33 are for the floor detection sensor 12, the ultrasonic distance measuring sensors 112a, 112b, and 112c, the infrared detection main sensor 110, the infrared detection sub-sensors 111a, 111b, and 111c, the travel motors 51a and 51b, and the outer shell housing unit. The encoder etc. which the motor 43 incorporates are included.

  When the power switch 15 is turned on, the output power of the battery 14 is supplied to the motor driver circuits 44, 57, 59, 68, 72, and also to the control unit 34, the input unit 31, the sensor control unit 32, etc. Supplied.

  As described above, the control unit 34 includes a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. The CPU is a central processing unit, and calculates signals received from the input unit 31 and various sensors 33 based on a program stored in advance in the ROM. It is processed and output to the motor driver circuits 44, 57, 59, 68, 72 and the like. Note that the RAM stores various commands input by the user from the input unit 31, various operating conditions of the cleaning robot 1A, outputs of various sensors 33, and the like.

  Further, the RAM can store a travel map of the cleaning robot 1A. The travel map is information relating to travel such as the travel route and travel speed of the cleaning robot 1A, and can be stored in advance by the user in the RAM, or can be automatically recorded during the cleaning operation of the cleaning robot 1A itself. In addition, as will be described later, the control unit 34 has a function of detecting the terminal voltage of the battery 14 and the like to detect the remaining amount of power stored in the battery 14.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the cleaning robot 1A rectifies and smoothes the power receiving coil 107 for receiving power from the charging stand 101, the power receiving side core 108 around which the power receiving coil 107 is wound, and the AC output power of the power receiving coil 107. A rectifying / smoothing circuit 35 that controls the DC output of the rectifying / smoothing circuit 35 and charging the battery 14.

  In addition, a detection coil 109 is wound around the power-receiving-side iron core 108 as an auxiliary winding, and the output of the detection coil 109 is rectified by the rectifier circuit 37 and input to the control unit 34.

  Since the battery 14 uses a nickel-cadmium battery, a nickel metal hydride battery, a lithium ion battery, or the like, the charging circuit 36 has a constant voltage charging, a constant current charging, or a constant charging depending on the characteristics of the battery 14. A circuit for current constant voltage charging is selectively used.

  On the other hand, the charging stand 101 includes a rectifying / smoothing circuit 102 that rectifies and smoothes power from an external commercial power supply (AC 100 V, 50/60 Hz) 18, an inverter 104 that converts the output of the rectifying and smoothing circuit 102 into an AC output, and a power supply side. A power supply coil 105 wound around an iron core 106 and applied with the output of the inverter 104 is provided.

  As will be described later, when the battery 14 is charged, the power feeding coil 105 and the power receiving coil 107 are magnetically coupled via the power feeding side iron core 106 and the power receiving side iron core 108, and electromagnetic induction is performed from the power feeding coil 102 to the power receiving coil 107. Power transmission is performed. In this case, the transmission frequency of the inverter 104 is preferably about 200 kHz from the viewpoint of miniaturization and efficiency.

(3) Cleaning operation of the cleaning robot In the cleaning robot 1A configured as described above, when a cleaning operation is instructed by the user via the input unit 31, the electric blower 30, the drive wheels 5a and 5b, the rotating brush 3, and the side The brush 4 is driven.

  As a result, in a state where the rotary brush 3, the side brush 4, the drive wheels 5a and 5b, and the rear wheel 7 are in contact with the floor surface, the housing 2 is allowed to move from a suction port 11 to dust on the floor surface while traveling in a predetermined range. Inhale air containing.

  At this time, the dust on the floor surface is scraped up by the rotation of the rotating brush 3 and guided to the suction port 11. Further, the dust on the side of the suction port 11 is guided to the suction port 11 by the rotation of the side brush 4.

  The air containing the dust sucked into the housing 2 from the suction port 11 passes through the suction path 10 and flows into the dust collection box 21 as shown in FIG. The airflow that has flowed into the dust collection box 21 passes through the filter 22, passes through the discharge path 40, and is discharged to the exhaust port 41.

  At this time, dust contained in the airflow in the dust collection box 21 is captured by the filter 22, so that dust accumulates in the dust collection box 21. The airflow that has flowed into the exhaust path 40 from the dust collection box 21 is discharged to the outside from the discharge port 41 as clean air removed by the filter 22.

  Further, as described above, the cleaning robot 1A turns when the left and right drive wheels 5a and 5b rotate forward in the same direction, move forward, move backward in the same direction, move backward, and rotate forward and backward. . Accordingly, when the cleaning robot 1A reaches a large step (cliff), when it reaches the periphery of the cleaning area, or when it tries to collide with an obstacle on the course, the floor detection sensor 12 (FIG. 2). ) And ultrasonic distance measuring sensors 112a, 112b, 112c (FIG. 1) notify the controller 34 (FIG. 5), and the cleaning robot 1A stops or reversely rotates the drive wheels 5a, 5b. Change direction. Thereby, the cleaning robot 1A can self-run and clean the entire installation place or the entire desired range while avoiding large steps and obstacles.

  Further, when the cleaning robot 1A runs on the floor surface of the room and cleans it, if it encounters a corner or a wall surface of the room, the control unit 34 turns on the running motors 51a and 51b and the outer shell housing unit motor 43. The central casing 60 and the outer casing 61 are driven to rotate, and the pair of guide brushes 4 (FIG. 2) are controlled so as to suitably follow corners and walls of the room.

FIG. 6 shows an example of control when the cleaning robot 1A cleans a corner or a wall near the room.
When the cleaning robot 1A at the position (a) in the figure advances along the arrow toward the position (b) and faces the wall W1 at the position (b), the drive wheels 5a and 5b have the same speed. And the central casing 60 rotates 90 degrees counterclockwise with respect to the wall W1. At the same time, the pinion 64 is driven and the outer casing 61 rotates clockwise with respect to the central casing 60. Rotate 90 degrees. As a result, the central casing 60 is rotated by 90 degrees counterclockwise with respect to the outer casing 61, and the positional relationship between the side brush 4 and the drive wheels 5a and 5b is shown in FIG. ).

  Therefore, the cleaning robot 1A advances toward the position (d) along the arrow while keeping the two side brushes 4 close to the wall W1. When the other wall W2 is reached at the position (d) in the figure, the outer shell housing part 60 turns 90 degrees counterclockwise with respect to the central housing part 60, and (b) with respect to the wall W2. Return to the state shown in. Therefore, the state shown in (e) of FIG.

  The cleaning robot 1A advances toward the position (f) in the figure along the arrow while keeping the two side brushes 4 close to the wall W2. Similarly, the cleaning robot 1A travels from the position (g) to the position (h) so that the two side brushes 4 are always along the corner and the wall of the room, so that dust is efficiently sucked and removed.

(4) Cleaning Robot Return and Charging Operation As shown in FIG. 5, when the commercial power source 18 is connected to the charging stand 101, the power from the commercial power source 18 is applied to the inverter 104 via the rectifying and smoothing circuit 102. The The inverter 104 supplies a no-load exciting current to the power feeding coil 105 and the output of the rectifying / smoothing circuit 102 operates the infrared transmitter 103.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the charging stand 101 irradiates the cleaning robot 1A with infrared IR having a diffusion angle of 20 degrees to 30 degrees from the infrared transmitter 103 (FIG. 4) in the direction of the arrow in order to show the return path. To do.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the returning operation and charging operation of the cleaning robot 1A to the charging stand 101. The returning operation and charging operation of the cleaning robot 1A to the charging stand 101 will be described below with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the cleaning operation is finished (step S1), or the remaining charge Q of the battery 14 falls below the allowable value Qs (step S2), and the control unit 34 (FIG. 5) causes the cleaning robot 1A. If it is determined that it is necessary to return the battery to the charging base 101, the cleaning robot 1A is present in the infrared IR irradiation area as shown in FIG. 8A (step S3). 110 detects and stops once (step S4). Then, the vehicle rotates on the spot (step S5), detects the direction in which the charging stand 101 exists as shown in FIG. 8B, and changes the direction to that direction (step S6).

As a result, as shown in FIG. 5C, the three infrared detection sub-sensors 111a, 111b, and 111c can detect the infrared IR, and the cleaning robot 1A follows the return path indicated by the infrared IR. (Step S7).

  When the cleaning robot 1A approaches the charging base 101 and the distance D between the two is detected by the ultrasonic distance measuring sensor 111b and becomes equal to or less than the predetermined value Ds (step S8), the traveling speed of the cleaning robot 1A is switched to a low speed. In step S9, when D = 0, the cleaning robot 1A stops (steps S10 and S11).

  At this time, the front surface of the cleaning robot 1A comes into contact with the charging base 101 as shown in FIGS. 9A to 9C, and the horizontal positional relationship of the power receiving side iron core 108 with respect to the power feeding side iron core 106 is as shown in FIG. It is either shifted rightward as shown in a), shifted leftward as shown in FIG. 9B, or matched as shown in FIG. 9C.

  Therefore, the control unit 34 drives the drive wheels 5a and 5b and the pinion 64 as in the above-described cleaning work near the wall, and turns the positions of the drive wheels 5a and 5b by 90 degrees with respect to the front surface of the cleaning robot 1A. As shown in FIG. 10, the cleaning robot 1A is allowed to move parallel to the charging stand 101 (step S12).

  Next, the control unit 34 detects the peak value Vp of the output voltage of the detection coil 109 (FIG. 5) via the rectifier circuit 37 (step 13), and moves the power receiving side iron core 108 to the right with respect to the power feeding side iron core 106. It is moved by a distance ΔS (for example, 0.5 mm) (step S14).

  At this time, if Vp increases (step S15), it is further moved to the right by ΔS (step S22). This operation is repeated (step S23). When Vp does not increase, it is moved leftward by ΔS and stopped (step S24). Further, when Vp does not increase in step S15, it is moved by ΔS to the left, and Vp is detected each time (steps S16 and S17). When Vp does not increase, it is moved by ΔS to the right and stopped ( Step S18).

  As a result, the power receiving side iron core 108 is positioned with respect to the power feeding side iron core 106 at the position shown in FIG. 9C with an accuracy of ± ΔS or less so that the leakage inductance between the power feeding coil 105 and the power receiving coil 107 is minimized. Is done. In this case, the gap between the power feeding side iron core 106 and the power receiving side iron core 108 is 3 to 5 mm including the thickness of the charging stand 101 and the housing of the cleaning robot 1A.

  Therefore, the control unit 34 operates the charging circuit 36 (FIG. 5). As a result, the power supply side iron core 106 and the power reception side iron core 108 are magnetically coupled to each other, and the output of the inverter 104 is supplied from the power supply coil 105 to the power reception coil 107 by electromagnetic induction, via the rectifying and smoothing circuit 35 and the charging circuit 36. The battery 14 is charged (step S19).

  When the control unit 34 detects from the terminal voltage of the battery 14 or the like that the remaining charge Q of the battery 14 has reached the full charge amount Qf (step S20), the control unit 34 stops the charging operation of the power receiving circuit 36 and drives it. The directions of the wheels 5a and 5b are returned to the state shown in FIG. 2, and the next cleaning command is awaited (step S21).

  In this way, when the cleaning robot 1A returns to the charging base 101, the gap between the power supply side core 106 of the charging base 101 and the power reception side core 108 of the cleaning robot 1A is minimized so that the leakage inductance between them is minimized. In addition, since the charging is performed after the positioning for correctly facing the two is performed, the charging from the charging stand 101 to the battery 14 can be performed safely and efficiently.

(Second embodiment)
11 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 12 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 8 showing the second embodiment, and FIG. 13 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 5 showing the second embodiment.

As shown in these drawings, in this embodiment, the power supply coil 105a is replaced with the power supply side iron core 106 and the power supply coil 105 in the first embodiment, and the power reception coil 107a is replaced with the power reception side iron core 108 and the power reception coil 107. Are used respectively. Each of the power feeding coil 105a and the power receiving coil 107a is formed by winding only a copper wire to a thickness of about 1 to 2 mm and fixing it to an adhesive pad. As shown in FIGS. It is pasted. Accordingly, a magnetic flux is generated from the feeding coil 105a in parallel to the floor surface, and the power receiving coil 107a receives the magnetic flux in parallel to the floor surface.
Furthermore, instead of the detection coil 109 wound around the power receiving side iron core 108 and the rectifier circuit 37 that rectifies the output in the first embodiment, it is driven by the output of the rectifying and smoothing circuit 102 provided in the charging base 101. Light-emitting element 113 for positioning (here, a light-emitting diode is used), a light-receiving element for positioning (for example, phototransistor) 115 that is provided on the front surface of cleaning robot 1A and receives light from light-emitting element 113, and light-receiving element A sensor control unit 114 that drives 115 is used.

  The light emitting element (light emitting diode) 113 generally has a Gaussian distribution of intensity around the optical axis of the light beam. Therefore, the power receiving side iron core with respect to the power feeding side iron core 106 according to the intensity change with respect to the position of the detection output of the light receiving element 115. 108 is positioned. Other configurations and operations are the same as those of the first embodiment. Also in this embodiment, charging can be performed efficiently.

(Third embodiment)
In this embodiment, an ultrasonic transmitter is used instead of the positioning light emitting element 113 in the second embodiment, and an ultrasonic receiver is used instead of the positioning light receiving element 115. Also in this embodiment, charging can be performed efficiently as in the first and second embodiments.

  1A cleaning robot, 2 housing, 2a bottom plate, 2b top plate, 2c side plate, 2d lid, 3 rotating brush, 4 side brush, 5a, 5b driving wheel, 6a, 6b rotating shaft, 7 rear wheel, 10 suction path, 11 Suction port, 12 Floor detection sensor, 14 Battery, 18 Commercial power supply, 20 Dust collection unit, 21 Dust collection box, 22 Filter, 30 Electric blower, 31 Input unit, 32,114 Sensor control unit, 33 Various sensors, 34 Control 35, rectifying / smoothing circuit, 36 charging circuit, 37 rectifying circuit, 40 exhaust path, 41 exhaust port, 43 outer casing motor, 44, 57, 59, 68, 72 motor driver circuit, 51a, 51b travel motor , 52a, 52b, reduction gear, 58 brush drive motor, 60 central casing, 61 outer casing, 62 thrust bearing, 63 rack, 64 Nion, 69 Blower motor, 70 Side brush drive motor, 101 Charging stand, 102 Rectifying and smoothing circuit, 103 Infrared transmitter, 104 Inverter, 105 Feeding coil, 106 Feeding iron core, 107 Receiving coil, 108 Receiving iron core, 109 Detection coil , 110 Infrared detection main sensor, 111a, 111b, 111c Infrared detection sub sensor, 112a, 112b, 112c Ultrasonic ranging sensor

Claims (7)

  A self-propelled cleaner that includes a battery, a cleaning and traveling device, and includes a control unit that drives and controls the cleaning and traveling device with the power of the battery, and performs cleaning while traveling on the floor, and for charging the battery The charging stand includes a feeding coil and an exciting circuit for exciting the feeding coil, and the self-propelled cleaner receives power from the feeding coil by electromagnetic coupling and outputs of the receiving coil. A charging circuit for receiving and charging the battery, wherein the feeding coil is installed on the charging stand so as to generate a magnetic flux in a direction parallel to the floor surface, and the power receiving coil is capable of receiving the magnetic flux parallel to the floor surface. A wireless charging system for self-propelled cleaners, which is installed in a traveling cleaner.   The charging base and the self-propelled cleaner each include a casing having a flat side surface orthogonal to the floor surface, and the power feeding coil and the power receiving coil are disposed so as to face each other along each side surface. Wireless charging system for the described self-propelled vacuum cleaner.   The wireless charging system for a self-propelled cleaner according to claim 2, wherein the casing of the self-propelled cleaner has a triangular outline when viewed from above, and the flat side surface corresponds to one side thereof.   The self-propelled cleaner includes a position detection sensor that detects a position where the power receiving coil faces the power feeding coil, and the control unit receives an output of the position detection sensor and receives the output of the position detecting sensor at a predetermined position where the power receiving coil faces the power feeding coil. The wireless charging system for a self-propelled cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the traveling device is controlled so as to be positioned at a position.   5. The self-propelled cleaner according to claim 4, wherein the power feeding coil and the power receiving coil are wound around first and second magnetic bodies, respectively, and the position detection sensor includes a detection coil wound around the second magnetic body. Wireless charging system.   The wireless charging system for a self-propelled cleaner according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the control unit supplies the output of the charging circuit to the battery after the power receiving coil is positioned with respect to the power feeding coil.   The wireless charging system for a self-propelled cleaner according to claim 4, wherein the charging stand includes a light emitting element, and the position detection sensor is a light receiving element that receives light emitted from the light emitting element.

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