JP2019076790A - Self-propelled type cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a self-propelled type cleaner capable of discharging air from which dust has been removed from a housing to an outer side without enlarging the housing.SOLUTION: A self-propelled type cleaner includes: a housing having a suction port and discharge ports; a rotary brush arranged in the suction port; a pair of drive wheels arranged to allow the housing to perform self-propelling on a floor surface; a drive motor for rotating the rotary brush; and a blow part for sucking dust on a floor surface with air from the suction port into the housing and discharging air from which dust has been removed to an outer side from the housing. The drive motor and the blow part are arranged inside the housing. The discharge ports include a first discharge port and a second discharge port arranged on both right and left sides on an upper surface of the housing. An air stream generated in the blow part is discharged to an outer side of the housing from the first discharge port, the second discharge port, and a gap and a through-hole in the housing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a self-propelled cleaner. More specifically, the present invention relates to a self-propelled vacuum cleaner provided with a rotating brush on the bottom surface of a housing.

  As a self-propelled cleaner for cleaning a floor surface, Patent Document 1 discloses a self-propelled cleaner provided with a cleaner body and an attachment rotatably coupled to a lower portion of the cleaner body about a horizontal axis. Vacuum cleaners have been proposed. In this self-propelled cleaner, an air passage from the suction port to a space in the suction portion, a duct, a dust collection chamber provided in the cleaner body, and an air blower leading to an exhaust port provided on the front of the cleaner body. Is provided. Moreover, while a self-propelled unit is arrange | positioned in the cover case of an attachment, the suction part which has the suction inlet provided with the rotating brush in the front of the self-propelled unit is provided.

  The self-propelled unit includes a case having an air vent on the top surface, a pair of left and right wheels disposed at the bottom of the case, and two motors for driving the wheels in the forward and reverse directions through the reduction gear. It is equipped and connected with the suction part in the cooling air path (see Fig. 3). According to the first configuration, the internal space of the suction portion has a negative pressure during the cleaning operation of sucking in air containing dust on the floor surface from the suction port and collecting the dust in the dust collection chamber. The heat-heated air in the self-propelled unit is drawn into the suction portion through the cooling air passage, and the outside air is sucked into the self-propelled unit from the air vent. As a result, heat is prevented from remaining in the self-propelled unit, and the motor, the reduction gear and the wheels are cooled to improve their durability.

  In addition, Patent Document 1 shows a second configuration in which the exhaust port of the cleaner body and the internal space of the self-propelled unit are connected by a cooling air passage as a modified example of the self-propelled cleaner (see FIG. See Figure 5). According to this configuration, the air flow discharged from the exhaust port during the cleaning operation flows into the self-propelled unit through the cooling air passage and is then discharged from the air vent. Therefore, as in the first configuration, it is supposed that heat is prevented from being accumulated in the self-propelled unit.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-308269

  The self-propelled vacuum cleaner of Patent Document 1 is a vacuum cleaner which cleans the floor surface by running a self-propelled unit while the user holds a handle and supports the cleaner body, but recently, the user's hands are completely A self-propelled cleaner, that is, a rechargeable cleaning robot that cleans itself while self-running on the floor surface is judged on its own without being judged on the market, is commercially available.

  In general, the cleaning robot is a self-propelled disc-shaped housing having a suction port on its bottom surface, a rotary brush rotatably provided at the suction port, a drive motor for rotating the rotary brush, and suction with air from the suction port. The dust collection unit for collecting dust on the floor surface and the electric blower for making the dust collection unit under negative pressure are provided, and dust on the floor surface is discharged to the outside of the housing while scraping into the suction port. Is configured as. Therefore, the exhausted air may be strongly blown to the user.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and is a self-propelled cleaner capable of dispersing and discharging the air discharged to the outside of the housing without increasing the size of the housing. To provide

According to the invention
A housing having a suction port and an exhaust port;
A rotating brush provided at the suction port;
A pair of drive wheels provided for the housing to self-propelled on the floor surface;
A drive motor for rotating the rotating brush;
And a blower for sucking dust on the floor together with air from the suction port into the housing and removing the dust-removed air from the housing to the outside.
The drive motor and the blower are disposed inside the housing.
The exhaust port comprises a first exhaust port and a second exhaust port provided on the left and right sides of the upper surface of the housing,
A self-propelled cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the air flow generated by the blower is discharged from the first exhaust port, the second exhaust port, and a gap or a through hole of the housing to the outside of the housing. Provided.

  According to the self-propelled cleaner (cleaning robot) of the present invention, since the air from which dust has been removed is discharged from a plurality of locations to the outside of the housing, the amount of air discharged can be reduced.

It is a perspective view of a self-propelled cleaner concerning Embodiment 1 of the present invention. It is AA arrow sectional drawing of the self-propelled (vacuum) cleaner shown by FIG. It is a bottom view of the self-propelled (vacuum) cleaner shown by FIG. It is the FIG. 2 corresponding view which shows the state from which the cover part of the housing | casing was open | released and the dust collection part was taken out. It is a perspective view which shows the disassembled state which removed the top plate, control board, etc. of the housing | casing of the self-propelled (vacuum) cleaner shown by FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the electric constitution of the self-propelled (vacuum) cleaner shown by FIG. It is the FIG. 5 corresponding view which shows the decomposition | disassembly state which removed the drive motor of the rotating brush further. It is a perspective view which shows the motor unit to which the duct for exhaust_gas | exhaustion paths in the self-propelled (vacuum) cleaner shown by FIG. 1 was attached. It is a perspective view which shows the motor unit of the self-propelled (vacuum) cleaner shown by FIG. It is a top view which shows the motor unit of the self-propelled (vacuum) cleaner shown by FIG. It is a front view which shows the motor unit of the self-propelled (vacuum) cleaner shown by FIG. It is a right view which shows the motor unit of the self-propelled (vacuum) cleaner shown by FIG. It is a graph which shows a time-dependent change of the surface temperature of the drive motor of the rotating brush in Example 1 and Comparative Example 1.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a self-propelled cleaner according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the self-propelled cleaner shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the self-propelled cleaner shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2 showing a state in which the lid of the case is opened and the dust collecting portion is removed; 6 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the self-propelled cleaner shown in FIG. 1. is there. Hereinafter, the “self-propelled cleaner” may be referred to as a “cleaning robot”.

The cleaning robot (self-propelled vacuum cleaner) 1 according to the present invention sucks air containing dust on the floor surface while self-propelled on the floor surface of the installed place, and exhausts the air from which the dust has been removed. It is a cleaning robot that cleans the floor.
The cleaning robot 1 is provided with a disk-shaped housing 2, and a blower having a rotating brush 9, a side brush 10, a dust collection box 30 and an electric blower 22 inside and outside the housing 2, and a pair of drive wheels 29. Components such as a rear wheel 26, a front wheel 27, and a control unit including various sensors are provided.
In the cleaning robot 1, a portion where the front wheel 27 is disposed is a front portion, a portion where the rear wheel 26 is disposed is a rear portion, and a portion where the dust collection box 30 is disposed is an intermediate portion.

  The casing 2 is opened and closed when the dust collection box 30 is taken in and out of the casing 2 and the bottom plate 2a having a circular plan view circular shape having a suction port 6 formed at a position near the boundary with the middle portion in the front portion. It has a top plate 2b having a lid 3 at an intermediate portion, and a side plate 2c in a plan view annular shape provided along the outer peripheral portion of the bottom plate 2a and the top plate 2b. Further, the bottom plate 2a is formed with a plurality of holes for causing the lower portions of the front wheel 27, the pair of drive wheels 29 and the rear wheel 26 to protrude from the inside of the housing 2 to the outside. An exhaust port 7 is formed in the vicinity. The side plate 2c is divided into two in the front and rear direction, and the front side plate functions as a bumper.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a front storage room R1 for housing a motor unit (air blower) 20 having an electric blower 22 at the front part, an ion generator 25 (see FIG. 5), etc. And an intermediate storage room R2 for storing the dust collection box 30 at the middle part, and a rear storage room R3 for storing the control board 15 of the control part, the battery 14, the charging terminal 4 and the like at the rear part. A suction passage 11 and an exhaust passage 12 are provided near the boundary between the front portion and the middle portion. The suction passage 11 communicates the suction port 6 with the intermediate storage chamber R2, and the exhaust passage 12 communicates the intermediate storage chamber R2 with the front storage chamber R1. Each of the storage chambers R1, R2, and R3, the suction passage 11, and the exhaust passage 12 are provided inside the housing 2 and are separated by a partition wall 39 that constitutes these spaces.

The pair of drive wheels 29 is fixed to a pair of rotation axes perpendicular to the center line C passing through the center of the circular case 2 in plan view, and when the pair of drive wheels 29 rotate in the same direction, the case 2 The housing 2 rotates around the center line C when the drive wheels 29 rotate in the reverse direction.
The pair of rotary shafts are connected so as to obtain rotational force individually from a pair of motors (not shown), and each motor is fixed to the bottom plate 2a of the housing directly or via a suspension mechanism.

The front wheel 27 is formed of a roller and is in contact with a step that appears on the path, and is slightly raised from the floor F on which the drive wheel 29 comes in contact so that the case 2 can easily get over the step. It is provided rotatably in the unit.
The rear wheel 26 is a free wheel, and is rotatably provided on part of the bottom plate 2 a of the housing 2 so as to be in contact with the floor surface F on which the drive wheel 29 is in contact.
In this manner, the pair of drive wheels 29 is disposed in the middle in the front-rear direction with respect to the housing 2 to float the front wheels 27 from the floor F and support the weight of the cleaning robot 1 by the pair of drive wheels 29 and rear wheels 26 Thus, the weight is distributed to the housing 2 in the front-rear direction. Thereby, dust in front of the path can be guided to the suction port 6 without being blocked by the front wheel 27.

  The suction port 6 is an open surface of the recess 8 formed on the bottom surface (the lower surface of the bottom plate 2 a) of the housing 2 so as to face the floor surface F. A rotary brush 9 is provided in the recess 8 so as to rotate around a first axis parallel to the bottom surface of the housing 2. A second rotation on the left and right sides of the recess 8 is perpendicular to the bottom surface of the housing 2. A side brush 10 is provided that rotates about an axis. The rotating brush 9 is formed by implanting a brush helically on the outer peripheral surface of the roller which is a rotating shaft. The side brush 10 is formed by radially providing a brush bundle at the lower end of the rotation shaft. The rotating shaft of the rotating brush 9 and the rotating shaft of the pair of side brushes 10 are pivotally attached to a part of the bottom plate 2a of the housing 2 and a drive motor M (see FIG. 5) and pulleys provided in the vicinity It is connected via a power transmission mechanism including a belt and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a floor surface detection sensor 13 for detecting a floor surface F is disposed between the bottom surface of the housing 2 and the front wheel 27, and a similar floor is provided in front of the side portions of the left and right drive wheels 29. The surface detection sensor 19 is disposed. When the floor surface detection sensor 13 detects the down stairs, the detection signal is transmitted to the control unit, and the control unit controls both drive wheels 29 to stop. In addition, when the floor surface detection sensor 13 breaks down, the floor surface detection sensor 19 can detect the downward stairs and stop both drive wheels 29, so that the cleaning robot 1 can be prevented from falling to the downward stairs. . In addition, when the floor surface detection sensor 19 detects a down stairs, the detection signal may be transmitted to the control unit, and the control unit may control the drive wheel 29 to travel down while avoiding the stairs.

The control board 15 is provided with a control circuit for controlling the respective elements of the cleaning robot 1 such as the drive wheel 29, the rotary brush 9, the side brush 10, the electric blower 22 and the like.
At the rear end of the side plate 2c of the housing 2, a charging terminal 4 for charging the battery 14 is provided. The cleaning robot 1 which cleans the room while self-traveling returns to the charging stand 40 installed in the room. As a result, the charging terminal 4 comes into contact with the terminal portion 41 provided on the charging stand 40, and the battery 14 is charged. The charging stand 40 connected to a commercial power source (outlet) is usually installed along the side wall S in the room.
The battery 14 is charged from the charging stand 40 through the charging terminal 4 and supplies power to the control board 15, the driving wheel 29, the rotating brush 9, the side brush 10, the electric blower 22, various sensors, and other elements.

The dust collection box 30 is normally stored in the intermediate storage room R2 above the axial center of the rotation shaft of both drive wheels 29 in the housing 2, and the dust collected in the dust collection box 30 is When discarding, as shown in FIG. 4, the lid 3 of the housing 2 can be opened to put the dust collection box 30 in and out.
The dust collection box 30 includes a dust collection container 31 having an opening, a filter part 33 covering the opening of the dust collection container 31, and a cover part 32 covering the filter 33 and the opening of the dust collection container 31. ing. The cover portion 32 and the filter portion 33 are pivotally supported by the opening edge of the front side of the dust collection container 31.
At the front of the side wall of the dust collection container 31, in a state where the dust collection box 30 is stored in the intermediate storage chamber R2 of the housing 2, an inflow path 34 communicating with the suction path 11 of the housing 2, And an exhaust passage 35 communicating with the exhaust passage 12 of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the control unit for controlling the operation of the entire cleaning robot 1 is a control unit 15 having a control circuit composed of a CPU 15a and other electronic components (not shown) and a storage unit for storing a travel map 18a. 18, a motor driver 22a for driving the electric blower 22, a motor driver 51a for driving the traveling motor 51 of the driving wheel 29, a louver 17 rotatably provided in the vicinity of the exhaust port 7 in the housing 2, and Control unit 17a for driving it, odor sensor 52 and its control unit 52a, humidity sensor 53 and its control unit 53a, human sensor 54 and its control unit 54a, contact sensor 55 and its control unit 55a etc. Configured

The CPU 15a is a central processing unit and individually transmits control signals to the motor drivers 22a and 51a and the control unit 17a based on program data stored in advance in the storage unit 18, and the electric blower 22, the traveling motor 51 and the louver Drive control 17 performs a series of cleaning operation and ion emission operation.
Further, the CPU 15a receives the condition setting relating to the operation of the cleaning robot 1 by the user from the operation panel (not shown) and stores the condition setting in the storage unit 18. The storage unit 18 can store a travel map 18 a around the installation location of the cleaning robot 1. The travel map 18a is information related to travel such as the travel path and travel speed of the cleaning robot 1 and is stored by the user in advance in the storage unit 18 or automatically recorded during the cleaning operation by the cleaning robot 1 itself. Can.

  The odor sensor 52 detects the odor around the outside of the housing 2. For example, a semiconductor or contact combustion type odor sensor can be used as the odor sensor 52. In order to detect the odor around the exterior of the cleaning robot 1, for example, the odor sensor 52 is disposed in the state of being exposed to the outside from the side plate 2c or the top plate 2b of the housing 2. The CPU 15a is connected to the odor sensor 52 through the control unit 52a, and obtains odor information on the outer periphery of the housing 2 based on the output signal from the odor sensor 52.

  The humidity sensor 53 detects the humidity around the outside of the housing 2. As the humidity sensor 53, for example, a capacitance sensor or an electric resistance humidity sensor using a polymeric moisture sensitive material can be used. In order to detect the relative humidity around the exterior of the cleaning robot 1, for example, the humidity sensor 53 is disposed in the state of being exposed to the outside from the side plate 2c or the top plate 2b of the housing 2. The CPU 15a is connected to the humidity sensor 53 via the control unit 53a, and obtains humidity information on the outer periphery of the housing 2 based on an output signal from the humidity sensor 53.

  In the traveling map 18a, a place where an odor equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value may drift at a location where the cleaning robot 1 is installed and a point where moisture is higher than the predetermined threshold may be stored in advance as a specific location. In this way, it can be determined that the CPU 15a determines this specific location based on the peripheral environment of the housing 2. That is, the traveling map 18a plays a role as an environment detection device that detects the surrounding environment of the housing 2 as the odor sensor 52 and the humidity sensor 53 do.

  As the human sensor 54, for example, a human sensor that detects the presence of a human by infrared light, ultrasonic waves, visible light or the like can be used. In order to detect the presence of a person around the exterior of the cleaning robot 1, for example, the human sensor 54 is disposed in a state of being exposed to the outside from the side plate 2c or the top plate 2b of the housing 2. The CPU 15a is connected to the human sensor 54 via the control unit 54a, and obtains presence information of a person around the outside of the housing 2 based on an output signal from the human sensor 54.

  The contact sensor 55 is disposed, for example, at the front of the side plate 2c of the housing 2 in order to detect that the cleaning robot 1 has come into contact with an obstacle during traveling. The CPU 15a is connected to the contact sensor 55 via the control unit 55a, and obtains presence information of an obstacle around the outside of the housing 2 based on an output signal from the contact sensor 55.

  In the cleaning robot 1 configured as described above, the electric blower 22, the ion generator 25, the driving wheel 29, the rotating brush 9, and the side brush 10 are driven by a cleaning operation command. Thereby, in a state where the rotating brush 9, the side brush 10, the driving wheel 29 and the rear wheel 26 are in contact with the floor surface F, the housing 2 self-runs a predetermined range and dust on the floor surface F from the suction port 6 Inhale air that contains. At this time, dust on the floor surface F is scraped up by the rotation of the rotating brush 9 and guided to the suction port 6. Further, dust on the side of the suction port 6 is guided to the suction port 6 by the rotation of the side brush 10.

Air including dust sucked into the housing 2 from the suction port 6 passes through the suction path 11 of the housing 2 and passes through the inflow path 34 of the dust collection box 30, as shown by the arrow A1 in FIG. It flows into the dust collection container 31. The air flow that has flowed into the dust collection container 31 passes through the filter portion 33, flows into the space 50 between the filter portion 33 and the cover portion 32, and is discharged to the exhaust passage 12 of the housing 2 through the discharge passage 35. Be done. At this time, dust contained in the air flow in the dust collection container 31 is captured by the filter unit 33, so dust is accumulated in the dust collection container 31.

The air flow that has flowed from the dust collection box 30 into the exhaust passage 12 of the housing 2 flows into the front storage room R1 as shown by arrow A2 in FIG. 2 and flows through the first exhaust passage 24a and the second exhaust passage 24b. (See Figure 9). As will be described later, the air flow flowing through the second exhaust passage 24 b includes the ions emitted by the ion generator 25. Then, from the exhaust port 7 provided on the upper surface of the housing 2, as shown by arrow A3 in FIG. As a result, cleaning on the floor surface F is performed, and the ions contained in the exhaust gas of the cleaning robot 1 perform sterilization and deodorization in the room. At this time, since exhausting air obliquely upward from the exhaust port 7 to the rear, rolling up of dust on the floor surface F is prevented, and the cleanliness of the room can be improved. The ions emitted from the ion generator 25 may be either negative ions or positive ions, or both. In the case of releasing both negative ions and positive ions, there is a particularly excellent air purification, sterilization or deodorizing effect.
Moreover, although mentioned later, a part of air flow which distribute | circulates the 2nd exhaust passage 24b may be guide | induced to the recessed part 8. As shown in FIG. In this way, since the ions are contained in the air flow guided from the suction port 6 to the suction passage 11, the inside of the dust collection container 31 of the dust collection box 30 and the filter 33 can be disinfected and deodorized.

  In the cleaning robot 1, the left and right drive wheels 29 rotate forward in the same direction to move forward, reversely rotate in the same direction to move backward, and rotate in opposite directions to pivot around the center line C. For example, when the cleaning robot 1 reaches the peripheral edge of the cleaning area and collides with an obstacle on the path, the drive wheel 29 stops, and the left and right drive wheels 29 rotate in opposite directions to change the direction. As a result, the cleaning robot 1 can travel by itself while avoiding obstacles in the entire installation site or the entire desired range.

Also, the cleaning robot 1 is grounded at three points of the left and right driving wheels 29 and the rear wheel 26, and the weight is distributed with a balance such that the rear wheel 26 does not lift up from the floor F even if it stops suddenly at the time of forward movement. There is. Therefore, it is prevented that the cleaning robot 1 suddenly stops in front of the down stairs while moving forward, whereby the cleaning robot 1 is inclined to the front and falls to the down stairs. The drive wheel 29 is formed by fitting a rubber tire having a groove to the wheel so as not to slip even if the vehicle is suddenly stopped.
Further, since the dust collection box 30 is disposed above the rotation shaft of the drive wheel 29, the weight balance of the cleaning robot 1 is maintained even if the weight is increased by dust collection.

The cleaning robot 1 can execute unique operations based on the information obtained from the odor sensor 52, the humidity sensor 53, the travel map 18a and the human sensor 54 which are environment detection devices. For example, the cleaning robot 1 can stay for a certain period of time at a specific location determined based on the surrounding environment detected by the environment detection device, and can release an air stream containing ions from the exhaust port 7.
The cleaning robot 1 returns to the charging stand 40 when the cleaning is completed. As a result, the charging terminal 4 contacts the terminal portion 41 and the battery 14 is charged.

  In addition, the cleaning robot 1 can drive the electric blower 22 and the ion generator 25 in a state of returning to the charging stand 40. As a result, an air flow containing ions is emitted obliquely upward rearward from the exhaust port 7, and the air flow containing ions rises along the side wall S, and flows along the indoor ceiling wall and the opposite side wall. As a result, the ions spread throughout the room, and the sterilization effect and the deodorizing effect can be improved. Thus, the cleaning robot 1 can also execute the ion ejection operation alone.

An operation unit is provided on the top surface of the cleaning robot 1, and the operation unit can execute a cleaning operation and an ion emission operation. Moreover, while providing a receiving part in the housing | casing 2, a transmitter which transmits a command signal to a receiving part may be provided, and remote control operation may be enabled. Alternatively, a command signal may be transmitted to the cleaning robot 1 from a mobile phone called a smart phone via the Internet connection and a router provided in the room for remote control.

<Cooling structure of drive motor of rotating brush>
In the inside of the housing 2, an intermediate storage room R2 in which the dust collection box 30 is stored is a separation room in which circumferential surfaces and bottoms of four sides are covered by partition walls 39, and each wall except the front wall is closed There is. A suction passage 11 communicating with the recess 8 and an exhaust passage 12 disposed above the recess 8 and communicating with a motor unit 20 described later are provided on the front wall of the intermediate storage chamber R2.

  FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a motor unit attached with an exhaust duct in the self-propelled cleaner shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the motor unit of the self-propelled cleaner shown in FIG. Fig. 10 is a plan view showing a motor unit of the self-propelled cleaner shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 11 is a front view showing a motor unit of the self-propelled cleaner shown in Fig. 1; FIG. 12 is a right side view showing the motor unit of the self-propelled cleaner shown in FIG.

The motor unit 20 which is a blower unit includes a housing 21 which is a resin molded product, and an electric blower 22 housed in the housing 21.
The electric blower 22 is composed of a turbo fan (not shown) and a motor case 22 a covering the turbo fan. The motor case 22b of the electric blower 22 has an air inlet (not shown) in the front, and an air outlet (not shown) on the left and right sides of the peripheral surface. In the state where motor unit 20 is assembled in housing 2, the front of motor unit 20 faces the rear of housing 2, so the front of motor unit 20 is the rear in the assembled state. . Therefore, the “front” in the description of the motor unit 20 using FIGS. 9 to 12 means the “rear surface” of the motor unit 2 in FIGS.

  The housing 21 has an opening 23 facing the air inlet of the motor case 22b at the front center position, and has a first exhaust passage 24a and a second exhaust passage 24b communicating with the respective exhaust openings of the motor case 22b on the left and right sides , And further has a vent 24c at the side (in this case, the left side) of the front opening 23. The first and second exhaust paths 24 a and 24 b are in communication with an exhaust port 7 (see FIG. 2) provided on the top surface of the housing 2. That is, the housing 21 has wall surfaces facing forward, backward, leftward, rightward and leftward with the forward direction of the housing 2 as the front, the opening 23 is disposed at the center position of the rear surface, and ventilation is performed on the left side of the opening 23 in the rear surface. The port 24c is disposed, and the first and second exhaust paths 24a and 24b are disposed on the left and right sides of the upper surface.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, an exhaust passage duct 12 </ b> A that constitutes the exhaust passage 12 is attached to the opening 23 of the housing 21. In the motor unit 20 to which the exhaust passage duct 12A is attached, the vent 24c is not covered by the exhaust passage duct 12A.
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the drive motor M for rotating the rotating brush 9 is disposed laterally (in this case, left lateral) of the exhaust duct 12A so that the shaft thereof rotates about the horizontal axis. ing. Thereby, the vent 24c of the motor unit 20 faces the drive motor M.

  As described above, the flow paths of the air flow including the electric blower 22 are collectively arranged in the front storage room R1 in the housing 2. For this reason, the control board 15 and the battery 14 can be collectively arranged in the rear storage room R3, and as a result, the wiring and the like can be reduced, and the housing 2 can be miniaturized. In addition, since the flow path of the air flow is separated from the control substrate 15, it is possible to reduce a failure caused by the dust contained in the air flow leaking from the flow passage adhering to the control substrate 15.

An ion generator 28 having a pair of electrodes 28a is disposed in the second exhaust passage 24b. A voltage consisting of an alternating current waveform or an impulse waveform is applied to the electrode 28a, and ions generated by corona discharge of the electrode 28a are discharged to the second exhaust path 24b.

  Moreover, the return port 25 which opened the front is provided in the lower part of the 2nd exhaust passage 24b. The return port 25 is covered at the upper side by a protrusion 25 a that protrudes to the front of the housing 21, and the opening surface is formed in a curved surface along the wall surface of the recess 8 (see FIG. 2). Thereby, the return port 25 faces the inside of the recess 8 through the hole (not shown) provided in the wall surface of the recess 8, and a part of the air flow including the ions flowing through the second exhaust passage 24b is guided to the intake side. .

  In the cleaning robot 1 configured as described above, when a cleaning operation is instructed, the electric blower 22, the ion generator 28, the driving wheel 29, the rotating brush 9, and the side brush 10 are driven. As a result, in the housing 2, the rotary brush 9, the driving wheel 29 and the rear wheel 26 are in contact with the floor F and self-propelled in a predetermined range, and the air flow including dust on the floor F is sucked from the suction port 6. At this time, dust on the floor surface F is scraped up by the rotation of the rotating brush 9 and guided into the recess 8. Further, dust on the side of the suction port 6 is guided to the suction port 6 by the rotation of the side brush 10.

  The air flow sucked from the suction port 6 flows into the dust collection box 30 through the rear suction passage 11 as shown by arrow A1 in FIG. The air flow that has flowed into the dust collection box 30 collects dust by the filter 33 and then flows out of the dust collection box 30. As a result, dust is collected in the dust collection container 31 and accumulated. The air flow that has flowed out of the dust collection box 30 flows into the electric blower 22 of the motor unit 20 from the opening 23 through the front exhaust path 12 as shown by arrow A2 in FIG.

  The air flow passing through the electric blower 22 flows through the first exhaust passage 24a and the second exhaust passage 24b, and the air flow flowing through the second exhaust passage 24b contains ions. Then, as shown by an arrow A3 in FIG. 2, the air flow containing ions is exhausted from the exhaust port 7 on the upper surface of the housing 2 obliquely upward. As a result, the room is cleaned, and the ions contained in the exhaust gas of the self-propelled case 2 spread into the room, and the room is disinfected and deodorized. At this time, since the air is exhausted upward from the exhaust port 7, dust on the floor surface F can be prevented from being rolled up to improve the cleanliness of the room.

  A portion of the air flow flowing through the second exhaust passage 24b is led to the recess 8 (see FIG. 2) via the return port 25 as shown by arrow A4 in FIG. Therefore, ions are contained in the air flow guided from the suction port 6 to the suction path 11. Thereby, sterilization and deodorization of the dust collection container 31 and the filter 33 of the dust collection box 30 can be performed.

  In addition, a part of the air flowing through the first exhaust passage 24a strikes the drive motor M immediately after flowing out of the vent 24c to the outside of the housing 21, whereby the drive motor M is cooled (see FIGS. 5 and 7). ). The air flow that has cooled the drive motor M passes through the components in the housing 2 to allow the front wheel 27, the pair of drive wheels 29 and the rear wheel 26 to protrude from the inside of the housing 2 to the outside. It is discharged to the outside from the through-hole formed in, the clearance of the housing 2 and the like.

  As described above, since the heat of the drive motor generated at the time of rotational drive of the rotary brush can be removed by using a part of the exhausted air flow as the cooling air, failure due to the heat of the drive motor can be prevented and durability of the drive motor The life span can be extended. Such a cooling effect of the drive motor is particularly effective when rotating the rotating brush at high speed. In addition, since the heat is prevented from remaining in the housing 2 by the cooling air, other motors and electronic parts can be favorably affected, and a dedicated fan or ventilation for generating the cooling air can be provided. Since it is not necessary to provide a path, it is possible to avoid the increase in size and cost of the housing.

  In the present embodiment, an ion generator having a vent 24c and a drive motor M for the rotating brush 9 disposed on the front left side of the housing 21 of the motor unit 20 and having a pair of electrodes 28a on the right side of the front of the motor unit 20 Although the case where 28 and the return port 25 and the protrusion part 25a are arrange | positioned was illustrated, these may be arrange | positioned in the position left-right reverse. Further, the vent holes 24 c may be provided on the left and right sides of the opening 23 in the front of the housing 21. In this case, it is possible to use one of the air vents for cooling the drive motor M and actively flow an air flow from the other air vent into the housing 2 so that hot air does not stagnate in the housing 2.

  The cleaning robot according to the present invention described in FIGS. 1 to 12 (Example 1) and the same configuration as Example 1 except that the vent 24c (see FIG. 7) is not formed in the housing 21 of the motor unit 20. The cleaning robot (comparative example 1) is operated within a 1.25 m × 1.25 m flooring area (room temperature 22 ° C.), and the surface temperature change of the drive motor of the rotating brush at that time is measured. It showed to 13. The rotation speed of the rotating brush at this time is 2000 rpm, and the conditions such as the air volume hitting the other drive motor are the same as in Example 1 and Comparative Example 1. In addition, the surface temperature change of the drive motor over time was measured using a data logger temperature recorder.

  As shown in FIG. 13, in the cleaning robot of Example 1, the surface temperature of the drive motor could be suppressed to 50 ° C. or less even after the cleaning operation for 85 minutes. On the other hand, in the cleaning robot of Comparative Example 1, the surface temperature of the drive motor reached 50 ° C. five minutes after the start of the cleaning operation, and rose to 80 ° C. after 25 minutes. From these results, it has been confirmed that the cooling structure of the drive motor of the rotating brush in the present invention is effective.

[Items to be added]
The self-propelled vacuum cleaner of Patent Document 1 is a vacuum cleaner which cleans the floor surface by running a self-propelled unit while the user holds a handle and supports the cleaner body, but recently, the user's hands are completely A self-propelled cleaner, that is, a rechargeable cleaning robot that cleans itself while self-running on the floor surface is judged on its own without being judged on the market, is commercially available.

  In general, the cleaning robot is a self-propelled disc-shaped housing having a suction port on its bottom surface, a rotary brush rotatably provided at the suction port, a drive motor for rotating the rotary brush, and suction with air from the suction port. The dust collection unit that collects dust on the floor surface and the electric blower that applies a negative pressure to the dust collection unit are provided. The rotating brush rotates at high speed to scrape the dust on the floor surface into the suction port. It is configured to suction while being contained. Therefore, there is a problem that the drive motor of the rotating brush is apt to generate heat, the drive motor is broken due to the heat, or the life of the drive motor is shortened.

  On the other hand, in Patent Document 1, a drive motor for rotating the rotating brush of the self-propelled cleaner at high speed is provided in the suction portion, and the driving motor of the rotating brush generates heat to cause a failure or a short life. The problem of becoming is not shown. Moreover, in the self-propelled (vacuum) cleaner of patent document 1, the cooling air path was provided in the housing | casing, and there existed a problem that an apparatus enlarged.

  The invention according to one aspect of the present invention is made in consideration of the above circumstances, and the drive motor of the rotating brush is cooled without increasing the size of the case and providing a new cooling air passage inside. Provides a self-propelled cleaner capable of

Thus, according to the invention according to one aspect of the present invention, a self-propelled case having a suction port and an exhaust port;
A rotating brush provided rotatably at the suction port,
A drive motor for rotating the rotating brush,
And a blower for sucking the air on the floor together with the dust into the housing from the suction port and discharging the air from which the dust has been removed from the exhaust port to the outside,
The drive motor and the blower are disposed inside the housing.
A self-propelled cleaner is provided that is configured to cool the drive motor with a portion of the dust free air.
In the present invention, a “self-propelled cleaner” refers to a case having a suction port on the bottom and a dust collection unit inside, a drive wheel for running the case, rotation, stop and rotation direction of the drive wheel, etc. This means a vacuum cleaner that has a control unit to control the user's hand and performs a cleaning operation independently from the user's hand, and an example is shown by an embodiment using the drawings described later.

The self-propelled cleaner of the present invention may be configured as follows.
(1) The blower unit includes a housing and an electric blower housed in the housing,
The housing has an opening for sucking in air from which dust has been removed, an exhaust passage communicating with the exhaust port of the housing, and a vent provided in the middle of the exhaust passage and opening in the housing,
The drive motor of the rotating brush may be disposed at a position close to the air vent of the housing, and part of the air from which the dust has been removed may flow out of the air vent toward the drive motor.

(2) The housing has wall surfaces facing forward, backward, leftward, rightward and leftward with the forward direction of the housing being the front, the opening is disposed at the center position of the rear surface, and at least one of the left and right sides of the opening in the rear surface A vent may be disposed on one side.

(3) The housing may have a first exhaust passage and a second exhaust passage communicating with the exhaust port of the housing on both the left and right sides of the upper surface thereof.

(4) The ion generator may be disposed in any one of the first exhaust passage and the second exhaust passage.

  According to the self-propelled cleaner (cleaning robot) of the invention according to one aspect of the present invention, the drive motor of the rotating brush is cooled by a part of the air from which the dust has been removed. While being able to prevent the failure of a drive motor, the durable period (life) of a drive motor can be extended.

  Further, according to the configuration (1), by providing the vent opening opened in the housing in the middle of the exhaust passage inside the housing of the blower unit, the exhaust passage is utilized as a cooling air passage to the drive motor Since a part of the air from which dust has been removed can be made to flow out, there is no need to provide a new cooling air path in the housing. As a result, the structure of the blower unit is not complicated and the cost is not increased, and the housing is not enlarged.

  Further, according to the configuration (2), the ventilation port is disposed in the vicinity of at least one of the left surface side and the right surface side of the housing of the air blowing unit, which is advantageous. That is, in order to rotate the rotary brush, it is preferable that the drive motor be disposed in the vicinity of one of the left and right ends of the rotary brush. According to the configuration (2), it is convenient because the vent is disposed in the vicinity of the position of the drive motor.

  Further, according to the configuration (3), a long exhaust port can be formed from the left side to the right side of the housing so as to communicate with the first exhaust path and the second exhaust path of the housing of the air blower. Since the air from which dust has been removed can be discharged to the outside from the exhaust port long in the left-right direction by this, the exhaust resistance can be reduced. As a result, the suction unit that sucks dust from the suction port by the blower can be increased. be able to.

  Further, according to the configuration (4), the air containing ions can be discharged to the outside through the exhaust port from one of the first exhaust path and the second exhaust path which is not in communication with the vent. That is, the air containing ions can be effectively used for deodorizing and disinfecting the room without being discharged wastefully into the housing.

1 Self-propelled vacuum cleaner (cleaning robot)
Reference Signs List 2 housing 6 suction port 7 exhaust port 9 rotating brush 20 air blower (motor unit)
Reference Signs List 21 housing 22 electric blower 22 b motor case 23 opening 24 a first exhaust passage 24 b second exhaust passage 24 c air vent 28 ion generator F floor M drive motor

Claims (4)

A housing having a suction port and an exhaust port;
A rotating brush provided at the suction port;
A pair of drive wheels provided for the housing to self-propelled on the floor surface;
A drive motor for rotating the rotating brush;
And a blower for sucking dust on the floor together with air from the suction port into the housing and removing the dust-removed air from the housing to the outside.
The drive motor and the blower are disposed inside the housing.
The exhaust port comprises a first exhaust port and a second exhaust port provided on the left and right sides of the upper surface of the housing,
A self-propelled vacuum cleaner characterized in that the air flow generated by the air blower is discharged from the first exhaust port, the second exhaust port, and a gap or a through hole of the housing to the outside of the housing.   The self-propelled (vacuum) cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the air flow generated by the blower unit is configured to flow out toward the drive motor.   The self-propelled cleaner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the air discharged from the exhaust port is discharged obliquely upward to the outside of the casing.   The self-propelled cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a gap or a through hole of the case is provided on a bottom plate of the case.