JP2020000919A - Autonomous travel-type vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an autonomous travel-type vacuum cleaner having high dust removal force.SOLUTION: The autonomous travel-type vacuum cleaner comprises an air blower, a suction port structure, a dust collection case and at least two drive wheels. The suction port structure includes: a rotary brush 5 driven by a motor to rotate in a first direction; a rotational scraping brush 1 located adjacent to the rotary brush 5; a rotary brush storage part 15 rotatably storing the rotary brush 5; and a scraping brush storage part 11 for rotatably storing the scraping brush 1. The scraping brush 1 includes bristles heading for a second rotation direction in the opposite direction of the first rotation direction. The bristles of the scraping brush 1 is formed into a counter direction of the advancing direction of the autonomous travel-type vacuum cleaner, tips of the bristles of the rotary brush 5 and the bristles of the scraping brush 1 come into contact, and the outermost periphery of the scraping brush 1 is spaced from a cleaning object face more than the outermost periphery of the rotary brush 5 is spaced therefrom.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

  The present invention relates to an autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner that cleans a room while moving autonomously among electric vacuum cleaners. The autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner is equipped with a rechargeable battery as a power source, controls the traveling motor with a control device, scrapes dust using a motor driven rotating brush while performing autonomous traveling, and suctions with a blower to clean. Do. Since the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner uses a mounted rechargeable battery as a power source, there is a limit in usable electric capacity. However, many users want to extend the operating time of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner.

  Patent Literature 1 discloses an autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner including two motor-driven rotary brushes for the purpose of improving the ability to scrape dust (see claims). Patent Document 2 discloses a suction device of a vacuum cleaner having improved dust suction performance (see claims).

Japanese Patent No. 5486657 JP-A-2015-116414

  The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner described in Patent Literature 1 has two rotary brushes driven by a motor, and thus has a large resistance to a floor surface. For this reason, in the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner described in Patent Literature 1, it is necessary to employ a motor that generates high torque or to increase the reduction ratio of the motor. Since a motor that generates high torque uses a high-performance magnet, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost of an autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner increases. To increase the reduction ratio of the motor, it is necessary to increase the diameter of the pulleys and gears or increase the number of pulleys and gears. As a result, there is a problem that the size of the main body of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner is increased.

  The suction opening of the vacuum cleaner described in Patent Literature 2 aims to guide dust from the rear to the brush chamber, and does not increase the dust removing power.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner having a high dust removing power.

  The present invention provides a blower for generating a negative pressure, a suction structure having a suction port for sucking dust on the surface to be cleaned by the negative pressure of the blower, and a blower disposed between the blower and the flow path of the suction opening. In an autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner including a dust collection case for accumulating dust and at least two drive wheels for autonomous traveling, the suction structure includes a rotating brush that is rotationally driven in a first direction by a motor, Adjacent to the rotating brush, a rotatable scraping brush, a rotating brush accommodating portion rotatably accommodates the rotating brush, and a scraping brush accommodating portion rotatably accommodating the scraping brush, The scraping brush has flocking in a second rotation direction that is a rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction, and the flocking of the scraping brush is in a forward direction of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner. Be a converse In addition, the tip of the flocking of the rotating brush and the flocking of the scraping brush are in contact with each other, and the outermost circumference of the scraping brush is farther from the surface to be cleaned than the outermost circumference of the rotating brush. And

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner having improved dust removing power.
Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will be described in the specification.

It is the perspective view which looked down on the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention from the left front. It is the perspective view which looked down at the state which removed the upper case of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention from the left front. It is the figure which looked up at the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention from the bottom. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1. It is the figure which looked up at the suction part of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention from the lower surface, and is the figure where the rotating brush and the scraping brush were removed. It is the perspective view which looked down at the suction part of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention from the left front. It is a perspective view of a rotating brush of an autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention. (A) is a perspective view of a scraping brush of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and (b) is a scratching brush of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner according to the second embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of a removing brush, and (c) is a perspective view of a scraping brush of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner concerning a 3rd embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a suction cover assembly of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a sectional side view of the suction part of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an exploded schematic view showing a positional relationship of a dust collecting case in the autonomous traveling cleaner body according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a lineblock diagram showing the control device of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention, and the equipment connected to the control device. It is a sectional side view of a suction part of an autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner concerning a 2nd embodiment of the present invention.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. The present embodiment is not limited to the following contents, and can be implemented with appropriate modifications within the scope of the present invention.
In the direction in which the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner C (see FIG. 1) travels, the side on which the side brush 7 is provided is forward, the vertically upward direction is upward, and the direction in which the drive wheel 61 faces is leftward and rightward. . That is, front and rear, up and down, left and right are defined as shown in FIG.

<First embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner according to the present embodiment when viewed from the left front.
The autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner C is a vacuum cleaner that autonomously moves and cleans a predetermined cleaning area (for example, a room). The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner C includes an upper case 91 as an upper wall, a lower case 51 (see FIG. 2) as a bottom wall (and some side walls), and a bumper 92 installed at the front. Is provided. The upper case 91 is provided with a lid 93 for taking in and out a dust collecting case K (see FIG. 11) described later.

(Body)
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the state in which the upper case 91 is removed, as viewed from the front left.
The lower case 51 is a housing on which the traveling motor, the rotating brush motor 21, the blower 81, the control device 95, and the like are mounted, and has a thin disk shape.

FIG. 3 is a view of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner as seen from below.
In the lower case 51, the drive wheels 61 are exposed, a drive mechanism housing portion 54 that houses a drive mechanism that includes the drive wheels 61, a traveling motor, and a reduction mechanism, a side brush attachment portion 82, , A hole 52 for fixing the suction section 10, an exhaust port 53, and a battery accommodating section 55 (see FIG. 4) for accommodating the rechargeable battery B (see FIG. 4).

A drive mechanism accommodating portion 54 is formed on the left and right sides of the center of the lower case 51 having a disk shape in plan view. Further, a plurality of exhaust ports 53 are formed in the vicinity of the center of the lower case 51 having a circular shape in a plan view and at a position sandwiched by the drive mechanism accommodating portion 54.
A battery housing portion 55 is formed on the front side of the center of the lower case 51. Side brush attachment portions 82 for attaching the side brushes 40 are formed on the left and right sides of the battery housing portion 55.

A hole 52 to which the suction unit 10 is fixed is formed on the rear side of the center of the lower case 51, that is, on the exhaust port 53 and the rear side of the drive mechanism housing unit 54.
The suction portion 10 fixed to the hole portion 52 is a member that has the suction port 17 (see FIG. 5) and accommodates the scraping brush 1 and the rotating brush 5.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.
The bumper 92 is installed so as to be movable in the front-rear direction according to a pressing force acting from the outside. The bumper 92 is urged outward by a pair of left and right bumper springs (not shown). The tip of the bumper spring is curved in a J-shape, and the curved portion is in contact with the inner wall surface of the bumper 92.

  When a drag from an obstacle acts on the bumper spring via the bumper 92, the bumper spring is deformed to fall inward in plan view, and allows the bumper 92 to move backward while urging the bumper 92 outward. When the bumper 92 is separated from the obstacle and the above-mentioned drag is eliminated, the bumper 92 returns to the original position by the urging force of the bumper spring. Incidentally, retraction of the bumper 92 (that is, contact with an obstacle) is detected by sensors 96 (photocouplers) described later (see FIG. 2), and the detection result is input to the control device 95 (see FIG. 12). You.

(Drive wheel)
As shown in FIG. 3, the drive wheel 61 is a wheel for moving the main body 50 forward, backward, and turn by the rotation of the drive wheel 61 itself. The drive wheels 61 are arranged on the left and right sides of the center of the lower case 51.

(Support mechanism)
The support mechanism housed in the drive mechanism housing section 54 shown in FIG. 3 is a mechanism that supports the drive mechanism on the main body 50. The support mechanism includes an arm 71 that supports the drive mechanism.

(Battery storage section)
As shown in FIG. 4, the battery accommodating portion 55 is a space for accommodating the rechargeable battery B inside the lower case 51, and has a downward opening surrounded by a wall surface.

(Front lid)
As shown in FIG. 3, the front lid 56 is a substantially rectangular plate-shaped member that closes the opening of the battery housing portion 55 (see FIG. 4) formed in the lower case 51 from the lower surface of the lower case 51.
The front lid 56 includes a locking claw 56a near the center of the front part, and includes a protruding part 56b having screw holes on both left and right sides of the rear part. The front lid 56 is fixed to the lower case 51 from below by a locking claw 56a and a screw inserted into the screw hole.
The front lid 56 is formed with an arc-shaped taper 56c on both left and right sides to prevent interference with the side brush 40 described later. Thereby, the side brush 40 is rotatable.

The front lid 56 includes a circular auxiliary wheel mounting portion 84 near the center side of the lower case 51 for mounting the auxiliary wheel 83. The auxiliary wheel mounting portion 84 has a protruding portion forward.
The front lid 56 has a groove for fixing the guide brush (L) 45 at a position connecting the rotation axis of the side brush 40 and a hypotenuse of an arm 71 described later when attached to the lower case 51. The guide brush (L) 45 (brush) is provided in the groove.

(Training wheels)
As shown in FIG. 3, the auxiliary wheels 83 are auxiliary wheels for moving the autonomous traveling cleaner C smoothly while maintaining the main body 50 at a predetermined height. The auxiliary wheel 83 is supported so as to be driven and rotated by a frictional force generated between the auxiliary wheel 83 and the floor surface as the main body 50 moves. The auxiliary wheel 83 is configured to be rotatable 360 ° in the horizontal direction.
The auxiliary wheel 83 shown in FIG. 3 is provided at the center in the left-right direction in front of the main body 50 and is attached to the above-mentioned auxiliary wheel attachment portion 84.

(Suction part)
FIG. 5 is a view of the suction unit 10 according to the present embodiment in a state where the rotary brush 5 and the scraping brush 1 are removed, as viewed from below. The suction part 10 shown in FIG. 5 is attached to the hole 52 of the lower case 51 (see FIG. 3).
Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the suction unit 10 is connected to the dust collection case K, the dust collection filter F, the blower 81, and the exhaust port 53 (see FIG. 3) in order from the suction unit 10 to the downstream side. A part of a flow path through which air can flow is formed. The suction portion 10 is a member that has the suction port 17 formed therein and accommodates the rotating brush 5 and the scraping brush 1 (see FIG. 3), and also a member that fixes the rotating brush motor 21 (see FIG. 6). .

As shown in FIG. 5, a rotary brush housing 15 for housing the rotary brush 5 is formed at the front of the suction unit 10. In the rear part of the suction part 10, a scraping brush accommodation part 11 for accommodating the scraping brush 1 is formed. The rotating brush 5 (see FIG. 3) is arranged in the rotating brush housing 15. The scraping brush 1 is disposed in the scraping brush housing 11. That is, the rotating brush 5 and the scraping brush 1 are arranged in this order from the front of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner C.
The rotating brush 5 and the scraping brush 1 are rotatably mounted. The rotating brush 5 and the scraping brush 1 are detachably attached to the suction unit 10.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the suction unit 10 viewed from the front left.
As shown in FIG. 6, a rotary brush motor 21 for rotating the rotary brush 5 and a power transmission mechanism 22 are provided on the upper surface side of the suction unit 10. The rotation direction of the rotating brush 5 is called a first rotation direction. The rotating brush 5 rotating in the first rotating direction rotates from the front to the rear on the side in contact with the floor (see FIG. 10).
The rotary brush motor 21 is attached to one end of the suction unit 10 in the left-right direction. The rotating brush motor 21 has a rotating shaft arranged in parallel with the rotating shaft 5b of the rotating brush 5 (see FIG. 7). The rotating shaft (not shown) of the rotating brush motor 21 extends toward one end in the left-right direction, and is connected to the rotating shaft 5 b of the rotating brush 5 via a power transmission mechanism 22 at one end of the suction unit 10. I have.

(Rotating brush storage section)
The shape of the rotating brush housing 15 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the rotating brush housing portion 15 is a concave portion having a cross section extending in the left-right direction and having an arc-shaped curved surface. As shown in FIG. 5, a suction port 17 is formed on a curved surface on the rear side of the rotating brush housing 15. The suction port 17 communicates with the opening of the dust collection case K (see FIG. 4).

  As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of dust collecting ribs 16 (three in this example) are provided on the curved surface on the right side of the suction port 17 of the rotating brush housing 15, that is, on the curved surface on the side opposite (distant from) the suction port 17. ) Is provided. Similarly, a dust collecting rib 16 (one in this example) is provided on the curved surface on the left side of the suction port 17 of the rotating brush housing 15. When viewed from the lower surface side of the suction portion 10, the dust collection rib 16 is provided obliquely so that the front side (forward direction side) is closer to the suction port 17 than the rear side (reverse direction side). Further, as shown in FIG. 10 described later, the shape of the dust collecting rib 16 is formed so as to conform to the shape of the outer diameter of the rotating brush 5 when viewed in the left-right direction (the rotation axis direction of the rotating brush 5). .

A bearing (A) 18 (see FIG. 5) that supports one end of the rotating shaft 5b (see FIG. 7) of the rotating brush 5 is provided on the right side of the rotating brush housing portion 15. The bearing (A) 18 corresponds to the outer shape of the fitting portion 6 provided at one end of the rotating brush 5 (see FIG. 7), and has a fitting recess (not shown) in which the fitting portion 6 fits.
A locking portion 19 (see FIG. 5) for locking a bearing (B) 7 provided at the other end of the rotating shaft 5b (see FIG. 7) of the rotating brush 5 is provided on the left side of the rotating brush housing portion 15, and a rotating brush. 5 is formed with a concave portion 19a (see FIG. 5) in which the rotating shaft 5b is rotatably accommodated in a non-contact manner.

(Scraping brush storage section)
The shape of the scraping brush housing 11 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the scraping brush housing portion 11 is a concave portion extending in the left-right direction and having a curved surface with a circular cross section.

  By providing the curved surface of the scraping brush housing 11 so as to approach the scraping brush 1 (flocked), the airtightness of the suction unit 10 is increased, and the flow rate of the air sucked in the rotating brush housing 15 is kept high. And dynamic pressure can be secured. For this reason, the performance of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner C to remove dust can be improved.

(Rotating brush)
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the rotating brush 5.
The rotating brush 5 is arranged along an axis (left-right direction) passing through the center of rotation of the driving wheel 61 (see FIG. 3). The rotating brush 5 is provided continuously from one end to the other end in the longitudinal direction (left-right direction) of the rotating brush housing 15. The rotating brush 5 has a cylindrical shape having a rotating shaft 5b, and is rotatably supported by the suction unit 10.

  The rotary brush 5 is driven to rotate in a first rotation direction by a rotary brush motor 21 (see FIG. 6) (see FIG. 10). The rotating brush 5 rotates in the same direction as the direction in which the drive wheel 61 rotates when the main body 50 advances. In the present embodiment, even if the rotation direction of the drive wheel 61 changes (reversed) during reverse travel, the rotation direction of the rotating brush 5 does not change.

  The rotating brush 5 includes a flocking 5c protruding in a normal direction from an outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 5a, and each of the flocking 5c has substantially 90 ° with respect to a tangent line on the surface of the shaft portion 5a. .

Also, the flocking 5c of the rotating brush 5 includes a plurality of types of flocking such as flocking having different lengths and different stiffness, and each flocking is arranged in a helical line with respect to the rotating shaft 5b (see the figure). It is arranged.
In the present embodiment, the case where two types of flocking are arranged has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and one type or three or more types may be used. . Further, a configuration in which a blade member made of an elastic material such as rubber is spirally arranged between the spirally implanted flocks may be added, and may be appropriately changed.

As shown in FIG. 7, one end (the left side in the figure) of the rotating shaft 5b of the rotating brush 5 is fitted into a fitting recess of a bearing (A) 18 (see FIG. 5) provided in the rotating brush housing portion 15. The fitting portion 6 is provided.
The fitting portion 6 is a polygon (a pentagon in the present embodiment) having an odd number of angles in a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the rotation shaft 5b from the viewpoint of transmission of rotational force and the like, and is tapered toward the end of the rotation shaft 5b. Is formed.

The bearing (A) 18 (see FIG. 5) is connected to a power transmission mechanism 22 that transmits the rotational force of the rotary brush motor 21 (see FIG. 6) to the rotary brush 5.
The power transmission mechanism 22 can have any configuration. The power transmission mechanism 22 may be configured to include, for example, a pulley, may be configured to include a gear, and may be configured to include a toothed belt or a timing belt.

As described above, the other end (right side in the figure) of the rotating shaft 5b of the rotating brush 5 is provided with the bearing (B) 7 (see FIG. 7).
The bearing (B) 7 is locked by a locking portion 19 (see FIG. 5) formed on the left side of the rotating brush housing 15.

(Scraping brush)
FIG. 8 is a diagram of a scraping brush.
The scraping brush 1 is arranged along an axis (left-right direction) passing through the center of rotation of the drive wheel 61 (see FIG. 3). The scraping brush 1 is provided continuously from one end to the other end in the longitudinal direction (left-right direction) of the scraping brush housing 11. The scraping brush 1 has a cylindrical shape having a rotating shaft 4 and is rotatably supported by the suction unit 10.

  The scraping brush 1 is provided with a flocking 2 on a part or the whole surface of the shaft portion. The scraping brush 1 is provided with a flocking 2 protruding in the front direction of the main body 50 (at the time of mounting) on an outer peripheral surface which is in contact with the floor surface of the shaft portion. On the other hand, it has a certain range of angles (for example, 0 to 45 °) (see FIG. 10). From the root of the flocking 2 to the tip of the bristle, the hair is planted so as to be directed in a second rotation direction which is a rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction.

In order to improve the scraping force, the flocking 2 of the scraping brush 1 is preferably longer and harder. The flocking of the scraping brush 1 is preferably soft to reduce power consumption.
If the flocking 2 of the scraping brush 1 is long, the flocking reaches deep inside the carpet or the like, and it becomes possible to scrape dust from the deep. If the flocking 2 of the scraping brush 1 is hard, it is possible to scrape dust from the back against the resistance of the carpet hair and the like. If the flocking 2 of the scraping brush 1 is soft, the contact resistance of the carpet bristles and the like is reduced, and the scraping brush 1 is easily rotated, so that the power consumption of the traveling motor and the rotating brush motor 21 is reduced.

  When the flooring (between the plates) is to be cleaned, it is preferable that the position of the flocking 2 of the scraping brush 1 be raised about 0.5 mm from the floor surface. In addition, it is preferable that the position of the flocking of the scraping brush 1 overlap the bristles of the carpet when cleaning the carpet.

  The scraping brush 1 shown in FIG. 8A is of a type that keeps following rotation due to friction with a cleaning surface (floor surface, carpet) as the main body 50 moves. The scraping brushes 1A and 1B shown in FIGS. 8B and 8C have ribs 3a and 3b. After the driven rotation is started by friction with the cleaning surface with the movement of the main body 50, the ribs 3a and Since the rotation is regulated by 3b, the rotation is not continued and the rotation is stopped. That is, the main body 50 advances while slipping the scraping brush 1 that has stopped rotating. The rotation of the scraping brushes 1A and 1B will be described later as Embodiments 2 and 3.

(Bearing holding member)
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the mouthpiece cover assembly 30A.
The suction cover assembly 30A includes a suction cover 30, a suction cover mounting member 35, and a bearing holding member 37.
The bearing holding member 37 constituting the mouthpiece cover assembly 30A is a member that is located on the left side of the mouthpiece cover assembly 30A and holds the bearing (B) 7 provided on the rotating shaft 5b of the rotating brush 5 from below. That is, the bearing holding member 37 is a member that holds the rotating shaft 5 b of the rotating brush 5.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the bearing holding member 37 has a latch 37a at the front and a locking claw 37b at the rear, and is fixed to the suction portion 10 by the latch 37a and the locking claw 37b. The bearing holding member 37 holds the bearing (B) 7 in the suction part 10 by a concave portion formed between the latch 37a and the locking claw 37b.

The bearing holding member 37 has a meshing claw formed from the base of the rear locking claw 37b toward the lower surface (see FIG. 3). The meshing claw forms a hinge that rotates from the lower surface of the main body 50 toward the floor surface by meshing with the meshing claw formed on the mouthpiece cover 30.
The bearing holding member 37 has a locking portion (not shown) for locking an elastic body (not shown) inserted between the bearing holding member 37 and the mouth cover 30.

(Suction cover mounting member)
The mouthpiece cover mounting member 35 that constitutes the mouthpiece cover assembly 30A is a member that is located on the right side of the mouthpiece cover assembly 30A and allows the mouthpiece cover 30 to be attached to the rear part of the suction part 10. That is, the inlet cover mounting member 35 is a member that covers the bearing (A) 18 provided in the suction portion 10.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the mouthpiece cover mounting member 35 has a latch 35a at a front part and a locking claw 35b at a rear part, and is fixed to the suction part 10 by the latch 35a and the locking claw 35b.

The inlet cover mounting member 35 has a meshing claw 35c formed from the base of the rear locking claw 35b (in the mounted state) toward the lower surface of the main body 50 (see FIG. 3). The meshing claw 35c forms a hinge by meshing with a meshing claw 30c (see FIG. 3) formed on the mouthpiece cover 30. The suction cover 30 has a pair of left and right hinges formed by a meshing claw 30c and a meshing claw 35c, and the unevenness of the cleaning surface is directed from the lower surface of the main body 50 toward the cleaning surface (floor surface, carpet) around the pair of hinges. It rotates to fit the cleaning surface accordingly.
The mouthpiece cover attaching member 35 has a locking portion (not shown) for locking an elastic body (not shown) inserted between the mouthpiece cover 30 and the lower surface side.

(Suction cover)
The mouthpiece cover 30 that constitutes the mouthpiece cover assembly 30A is a member that covers the opening of the rotating brush housing part 15 of the suction part 10, and the opening is divided by a thin partition 30a in a region corresponding to the opening of the rotating brush housing part 15. It is a member having a portion.

  The mouthpiece cover 30 has an inclined portion in which the front side (the traveling direction side) of the opening is inclined upward (see FIG. 9). An oblong concave taper is formed in the inclined portion, and the taper and the opening communicate with each other through a rectangular opening near the center of the opening (see FIG. 3).

  The mouth cover 30 has a locking portion (not shown) at a position corresponding to the locking portion of the bearing holding member 37 on the lower surface and the suction cover mounting member 35, and an elastic body (not shown) is provided via the locking portion. ). The suction cover 30 (suction cover assembly 30A) has a pair of left and right hinges formed by the two engagement claws 30c, 35c provided at the rear portion engaging with the suction cover mounting member 35 and the bearing holding member 37 as described above. Can be swung about the axis.

  The suction cover 30 uses the rear hinge (the pair of hinges) as a rotation axis, is pressed against an object to be cleaned, such as a floor or a carpet, by an elastic member, and abuts (fits into the unevenness of the cleaning surface) to hermetically seal the suction space. Improve the performance. In other words, regardless of whether the object to be cleaned is inclined or has a step, the suction cover 30 follows the object to be cleaned and maintains and improves the airtightness of the suction space.

  The mouthpiece cover 30 has grooves on both left and right sides of the opening where the guide brush (S) 49 is fixed. The guide brush (S) 49 (brush) is provided in the groove (see FIG. 3).

  When the cleaner C is placed on the cleaning surface, the suction unit 10 is grounded to the cleaning surface by the driving wheel 61 and the auxiliary wheel 83. Since the driving wheel 61 and the auxiliary wheel 83 are grounded at three places, the grounding area between the flocking of the rotating brush 5 and the cleaning surface is not excessively widened. This prevents the load on the rotary brush motor 21 from increasing.

(Operation of scraping brush, etc.)
FIG. 10 is a side sectional view of the suction unit 10. The rotation of the scraping brush 1 in FIG. 8A will be described with reference to FIG.
Since the scraping brush 1 is in contact with the rotating brush 5, the rotation of the rotating brush 5 causes the rotation corresponding to the rotating brush 5, that is, a rotational force in the opposite direction (second rotating direction) to the rotating brush 5. Given.

  Here, when the main body 50 advances in a state where the scraping brush 1 is in contact with the cleaning surface, the scraping brush 1 rotates in the first rotation direction to cancel the rotational force given by the rotating brush 5 due to friction with the cleaning surface. Power is given.

  The flocking 2 of the scraping brush 1 is reverse to the cleaning surface of the main body 50 when the main body 50 advances, and is positive to rotation of the rotating brush 5. For this reason, when the main body 50 advances, the rotational force from the cleaning surface exceeds the rotational force from the rotary brush 5, and the scraping brush 1 rotates following the first rotational direction. However, since the rotating force from the rotating brush 5 in the second rotating direction is applied, resistance against the floor surface of the scraping brush 1 is generated. For this reason, the scraping brush 1 can collect the dust so as to scrape the dust from the floor surface. The flocking 2 of the present embodiment is provided over the entire circumference of the scraping brush 1 in the circumferential direction.

  On the other hand, in the case of hitting a wall or avoiding an obstacle, the main body 50 moves backward with the scraping brush 1 in contact with the cleaning surface. Then, the scraping brush 1 is given the same rotational force in the first rotational direction as the rotational force given by the rotating brush 5 due to friction with the cleaning surface.

  The flocking of the scraping brush 1 is smooth with respect to the cleaning surface when the main body 50 moves backward, and is smooth with respect to the rotation of the rotating brush 5. Therefore, when the main body 50 moves backward, the rotational force of the cleaning brush 1 from the cleaning surface is increased by the rotational force from the rotary brush 5. Then, the scraping brush 1 rotates following the second rotation direction.

Since the flocking 2 of the scraping brush 1 extends in a reverse direction from the surface of the scraping brush 1 toward the front side (the traveling direction) of the main body 50, it is possible to scrape dust from a cleaning surface (for example, a carpet) at the time of forward movement. The dust is continuously scraped using the entire surface of the scraping brush 1 in the width direction (see FIG. 10).
In addition, the flocking 2 of the scraping brush 1 is in order with respect to the cleaning surface (for example, a carpet) at the time of reversing. Dust is continuously scraped off by using the entire surface in the width direction of the scraping brush 1 like scooping (see FIG. 10).
That is, the scraping brush 1 can scrape off dust both when the main body 50 moves forward and when it moves backward. The scraping brush 1 is provided behind the rotating brush 5 in order to suppress the situation in which the dust is entangled and saturated because the dust can be collected deep in a carpet or the like. Thereby, the relatively soft rotating brush 5 collects a certain amount of dust first, and then the scraping brush 1 can collect the dust.

  When the main body 50 moves forward, the dust scraped out by the scraping brush 1 follows the flocking 2 of the scraping brush 1, passes through the scraping brush housing 11, and is sucked from the suction port 17 into the dust collecting case K. The dust remaining on the scraping brush 1 is swept from the scraping brush 1 by the rotation motor 21 by flocking of the rotating brush 5 rotating in the first rotation direction.

  When the main body 50 moves backward, the dust scraped out by the scraping brush 1 is scraped from the flocking 2 by the rotating brush 5 that comes into contact with the scraping brush 1. In addition, since the direction of the flocking 2 of the scraping brush 1 and the direction of rotation of the flocking of the rotating brush 5 are the same, the flocking of the rotating brush 5 easily removes dust from the flocking 2 of the scraping brush 1 (sweeping). Take) is possible.

  That is, the surface of the scraping brush 1 is cleaned by the suction force to the suction port 17 when the main body 50 advances, and by the rotating brush 5 when the main body 50 moves backward. As a result, a cleaning surface such as a floor can be satisfactorily cleaned.

In any case where the main body 50 moves forward or backwards, the dust swept by the rotating brush 5 is introduced into the rotating brush housing 15 and is sucked into the dust collecting case K via the suction port 17. .
After the dust sucked in the dust collecting case K is removed, the air passes through the filter F and the inside of the blower 81, and is discharged to the outside of the main body 50 from the exhaust port 53 at the center of the lower case 51. The air discharged from the exhaust port 53 passes between the guide brushes (M) 47 and is again sucked into the suction port 17 via the rotary brush accommodating section 15 of the suction section 10 and the like. That is, the air is circulating.

(Side brush)
The side brush 40 shown in FIG. 3 sucks dust on the outside of the main body 50 due to the rotation of the side brush 40 itself, such as a corner of a room, where it is not easy to reach the rotating brush 5. The brush is guided to the (suction port 17), and a part of the brush is exposed from the main body 50 in a plan view. The side brush 40 has three bundles of brushes extending radially at 120 ° intervals in a plan view, and is disposed on the left and right in front of the suction unit 10.

  The root of the right side brush 40 is fixed to the side brush holder 41. The flocking of the side brush 40 is inclined so as to approach the floor as it approaches the tip, and the vicinity of the tip is in contact with the floor.

The side brush holder 41 is installed near the bottom surface of the lower case 51, and is connected to the side brush motor 42 (see FIG. 2). When the side brush motor 42 is driven, the side brush 40 rotates inward (in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 3), and collects dust between the guide brushes (L) 45. .
The same applies to the left side brush 40.

(Guide brush L)
The guide brush (L) 45 shown in FIG. 3 is a flocking fixed to the groove of the front lid 56. It is arranged at a position connecting the rotation axis of the side brush 40 and the oblique side of the arm 71 (near the front end of the guide brush 47).
The guide brush (L) 45 is a brush that guides dust collected by the side brush 40 between the guide brushes (M) 47 and guides the dust to the suction unit 10. The guide brush (L) 45 preferably has a length that contacts the object to be cleaned (floor surface, carpet) during use. Thereby, dust can be prevented from being escaped from between the guide brushes (L) 45. The material, length, and the like of the flocking of the guide brush (L) 45 are not limited to these, and can be appropriately selected.

(Guide brush M)
The guide brush (M) 47 shown in FIG. 3 is a flocking fixed to a groove of an arm (suspension arm) 71. It is arranged inside an extension of the side wall of the rotating brush housing 15 and parallel to the drive wheel 61. The arm 71 is a member in which a rotation axis along the front-rear direction is located inside the drive wheel 61 in the left-right direction, and is capable of rotating the drive wheel 61.
The guide brush (M) 47 is a brush that guides the dust collected by the side brush 40 to the suction unit 10 via the guide brush (L) 45. The guide brush (M) 47 preferably has such a length that it always comes into contact with the object to be cleaned even when the arm 71 moves up and down during use. The material, length, and the like of the flocking of the guide brush (M) 47 are not limited to these, and can be appropriately selected. Each of the guide brush (L) 45 and the guide brush (M) 47 is attached in a direction toward the rear as it goes inward in the left-right direction.

(Blower)
The blower 81 shown in FIG. 4 has a function of discharging the air in the dust collection case K to the outside to generate a negative pressure when driven, and sucking the dust from the floor surface through the suction port 17 (suction unit 10). are doing. The blower 81 is installed between the blower 81 and the lower case 51 via an elastic body (not shown). By interposing the elastic body in this way, the vibration of the blower 81 is attenuated and hardly transmitted to the main body 50, and the vibration and noise of the main body 50 can be reduced.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, the blower 81 is arranged near the center of the lower case 51.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a positional relationship among the suction unit 10 (suction port 17), the dust collection case K, and the blower 81 in the main body 50.
As shown in FIG. 11, a dust collecting case K, a dust collecting filter F, a blower 81, and an exhaust port 53 (see FIG. 3) are provided in this order from the suction port 17 to the downstream side. In the vicinity of the suction port 17, a rotary brush 5 for scraping dust on the floor surface is provided (see FIG. 10).

  When the blower 81 and the rotating brush motor 21 are driven, dust on the floor or the like is sucked through the suction port 17 (suction unit 10) and is scraped by the rotating brush 5 (see FIG. 10). This dust is guided to the dust collecting case K via the inflow port K1. The air from which dust has been removed by the dust collecting filter F is discharged through the exhaust port 53 (see FIG. 3). The dust collecting case K is detachable by opening a lid 93 (see FIG. 11) provided on the upper case 91.

(Sensors)
FIG. 12 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a control device 95 of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner and devices connected to the control device 95.

  The bumper sensor (obstacle detection means) is a photocoupler that detects retreat of the bumper 92 (that is, contact with an obstacle). As shown in FIG. 4, a photocoupler is provided in front of the main body 50. For example, when an obstacle comes into contact with the bumper 92, the light receiving time of (the reflected light of) the sensor light is shortened. A detection signal corresponding to the change in the light receiving time is output to the control device 95.

The distance measuring sensor (obstacle detecting means) is an infrared sensor that detects a distance to an obstacle. In the present embodiment, distance measuring sensors are provided at a total of five places, three places at the front and two places at the side.
The distance measuring sensor has a light emitting unit (not shown) that emits infrared light, and a light receiving unit (not shown) that receives reflected light that is reflected by the obstacle and returned. The distance to the obstacle is calculated based on the intensity of the reflected light detected by the light receiving unit. Note that at least the vicinity of the distance measurement sensor in the bumper 92 is formed of resin or glass that transmits infrared rays.
Incidentally, another type of sensor (for example, an ultrasonic sensor or a visible light sensor) may be used as the distance measuring sensor. Further, some of the distance sensors may determine only the presence / absence of an obstacle (the distance is unknown) to reduce the cost.

  The floor distance measuring sensors (obstacle detecting means) are infrared sensors that measure the distance to the floor, and are installed at four locations on the lower surface of the lower case 51 (see FIG. 3). By detecting a large step such as a stair by the floor distance measuring sensor, the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner C can be prevented from falling (from the stair). For example, when a step of about 30 mm is detected forward by the floor distance measuring sensor, the control device 95 (see FIG. 11) controls the traveling motor to move the main body 50 backward to change the traveling direction. Here, some of the floor distance measuring sensors, for example, sensors that are not normally used in the rear portion may be sensors that determine only the presence or absence of a step (distance is unknown), thereby reducing costs.

  The rotation speed and rotation angle of the travel motor are detected from the travel motor pulse output shown in FIG. The control device 95 calculates the moving speed and the moving distance of the main body 50 based on the rotation speed and the rotation angle detected from the traveling motor pulse output, the gear ratio of the reduction mechanism, and the diameter of the driving wheel 61. .

  The traveling motor current measuring device is a measuring device that measures the current flowing through the armature winding of the traveling motor. Similarly, the blower current measuring device measures the current value of the blower 81, and the rotating brush motor current measuring device measures the current value of the rotating brush motor 21. The two side brush motor current measuring devices measure the current value of the side brush motor 42. Each current measuring device outputs the measured current value to the control device 95.

(Manual operation button)
The operation button 97 is a button for outputting an operation signal according to a user's operation to the control device 95 (see FIG. 1), and for example, a power button, a cleaning start / end button, and a button for changing the cleaning mode. And a cleaning mode selection button.

The display panel driving device is a device that applies a voltage to the electrodes of the display panel in response to a command from the control device 95.
The display panel (not shown) has a plurality of LEDs (Light Emitting Diode: not shown) and a 7-segment display (not shown), and displays the operation state of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner C and the like. .
The rechargeable battery B is, for example, a secondary battery that can be reused by being charged, and is housed in the battery housing 55 (see FIG. 4). The electric power from the rechargeable battery B is supplied to the sensors 96 (see FIG. 2), each motor, each driving device, and the control device 95.

(Drive device)
The traveling motor driving devices (left) and (right) shown in FIG. 12 are inverters that drive the left and right traveling motors or pulse waveform generators based on PWM control, and operate according to commands from the control device 95. The same applies to the blower driving device, the rotating brush motor driving device, and the side brush motor driving device (left) and (right). Each of these driving devices is installed in a control device 95 (see FIG. 12) in the main body 50.

(Control device)
The control device 95 is, for example, a microcomputer (Microcomputer: not shown), reads a program stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory), expands the program in a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) performs various processes. It is supposed to run.
The control device 95 executes arithmetic processing according to signals input from the operation buttons 97 (see FIG. 1) and the above-mentioned sensors 96, and outputs a command signal to each of the above-mentioned driving devices.

(Cleaning brush)
The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner C according to the present embodiment returns to the charging device in response to a command from the control device 95 mounted when cleaning is completed or when the electric capacity of the rechargeable battery B decreases, and performs charging. The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner C that has returned to the charging device contacts the rotating brush 5 by rotating the rotating brush 5 in the first rotation direction and driving the blower 81 while the rotation of the driving wheel 61 is stopped. It is possible to rotate the scraping brush 1 in the second rotation direction.
Since the flocking 2 of the scraping brush 1 is oriented in the second rotation direction, the flocking of the rotating brush 5 can easily remove (sweep) the dust scraped by the flocking 2 of the scraping brush 1. .
Thereby, the scraping brush 1 is cleaned by the rotating brush 5. If necessary, the driving wheel may be stopped and the scraping brush 1 may be cleaned when not returning to the charging device.

(Cleaning the rotating brush)
The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner C according to the present embodiment returns to the charging device in response to a command from the control device 95 mounted when cleaning is completed or when the electric capacity of the rechargeable battery B decreases, and performs charging. The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner C that has returned to the charging device adheres to the rotating brush 5 by rotating the rotating brush 5 in the second rotation direction and driving the blower 81 while the rotation of the driving wheel 61 is stopped. Dust is sucked in from the side opposite to when traveling. This makes it possible to clean the rotating brush 5 by sucking dust that is hard to be sucked during traveling, such as wrapping around the rotating brush 5 or adhering to the back side in the rotating direction. Note that the rotating brush 5 may be cleaned as needed when it is not returned to the charging device.

(Dust collection case)
The dust collection case K is a container that collects dust sucked from the floor via the suction port 17 (suction unit 10) (see FIG. 11).
The dust collection case K includes a main body that stores the collected dust, a lid that allows the collected dust to be taken out, and a foldable handle. The dust collecting case main body has a shape whose main surface is mainly composed of a cylindrical curved surface corresponding to the shape of the upper part of the suction part 10. And has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole. The lid faces the suction port of the blower and includes a dust collection filter F. The handle is provided at the top of the body.

  The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner according to the present embodiment has the following effects.

The scraping brush 1 is configured to rotate following the frictional force with the cleaning surface when the main body 50 moves. Since the scraping brush 1 does not require a motor, the cleaning ability can be improved while reducing power consumption.
Since the direction of the flocking 2 when the scraping brush 1 faces the floor faces the second rotation direction, dust can be effectively collected by the advance of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner.
Since the rotating brush 5 is provided in front of the scraping brush 1, the rotating brush 5 collects dust that can be collected relatively easily, and the scraping brush 1 scrapes and collects dust from the back of the floor surface. Therefore, a large amount of dust that can be easily collected by the scraping brush 1 can be collected, thereby preventing the dust from being saturated. This is particularly preferable for an autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner in which the forward time tends to be larger than the reverse time.
Since the rotating brush 5 and the scraping brush 1 are in contact with each other, the dust attached to the scraping brush 1 can be collected by the rotating brush 5.

  As the rotating brush 5 rotates in the first rotation direction, the cleaning ability of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner C is improved. In addition, since the rotating brush 5 rotates in the first rotation direction, the traveling performance of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner C is improved.

  Since the shape of the fitting portion 6 (see FIG. 7) is a polygon having an odd number of corners, the force applied to the rotating brush 5 does not face the normal direction and is not canceled out. The rotation of the brush stabilizes.

  A suction cover 30 is provided on the lower surface of the main body 50. The mouthpiece cover 30 includes an elastic body as described above. Due to the repulsive force of the elastic body, the airtightness between the suction cover 30 and the cleaning surface is improved.

  The suction cover 30 prevents the rotary brush 5 from getting caught by an elongated cord-like object such as a power cord by a thin partition 30a formed in the opening.

  When the suction unit 10 is not in contact with the cleaning surface, the flocking of the rotating brush 5 and the scraping brush 1 project below the driving wheel 61. Therefore, in a state where the main body 50 is in contact with the cleaning surface, the flocking of the rotating brush 5 in contact with the cleaning surface is deformed, and the ground contact area between the flocking and the cleaning surface is increased. The running performance of the cleaner C is ensured by the rotation of the rotating brush 5, and the operating time can be improved.

  By providing the lower curved surface of the rotating brush housing 15 so as to approach the rotating brush 5 (flocked), the flow velocity of the air sucked in the rotating brush housing 15 can be kept high, and the dynamic pressure is secured. Therefore, the performance of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner C to remove dust can be improved.

  The guide brush (S) 49 is pressed against the object to be cleaned by the elastic member, thereby improving the airtightness and improving the suction force. In addition, the guide brush (S) 49 prevents the scraped dust from coming off the opening of the rotating brush housing 15.

  Even when the arm 71 moves up and down during use of the guide brush (M) 47, the dust always escapes from between the guide brushes (M) 47 by constantly contacting the object to be cleaned.

  The dust on the floor is swept up on the rear side (reverse direction side) of the flocking by the flocking of the rotating rotary brush 5, but the scraped-up dust moves to the left along the dust collecting ribs 16 and finally ends up. Can be sucked into the suction port 17 provided on the left side.

  An exhaust port 53 arranged near the center of the lower case 51 blows air between the guide brushes (M) 47 and sends dust to the suction unit 10 along the guide brushes (M) 47. For this reason, it becomes easy to collect dust at the time of forward movement, and the cleaning efficiency of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner C is improved.

  Since the exhaust gas from the exhaust port 53 circulates through the suction section 10 (particularly at the time of forward movement), the airtightness and the suction force are not easily reduced.

  By disposing the blower 81 having a large mass near the center of the lower case 51, the center of gravity of the cleaner main body 50 is located near the center, so that the autonomous traveling cleaner C is less likely to float, and Driving stability increases.

  By arranging the battery housing portion 55 near the front center of the lower case 51, the rechargeable battery B (see FIG. 4) having a relatively large mass is arranged near the front center of the lower case 51. That is, since the mass of the front part of the main body 50 becomes large, the front part of the main body 50 becomes difficult to float. Therefore, when the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner C gets over a step, it is difficult to turn over, and the traveling stability of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner C increases.

<Second embodiment>
The second embodiment is an embodiment in which the form of the scraping brush is changed. The configuration of the present embodiment can be the same as that of the first embodiment except for the following points.
Hereinafter, the same components as those of the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted. Further, the same effects as in the first embodiment will not be described repeatedly.

(Scraping brush storage section)
At the front end and the rear end of the scraping brush accommodating portion 11 according to the present embodiment, locking portions 11a, 11a, which are projections extending in the left-right direction facing the inside of the scraping brush accommodating portion 11, are formed. (See FIG. 13).

(Scraping brush)
FIG. 8B is an external perspective view of the scraping brush according to the present embodiment.
The scraping brush 1A according to the present embodiment has a rib 3a that protrudes radially along the rotation axis direction.
The scraping brush 1A is attached to the scraping brush housing 11 so that the rib 3a is located between the locking portions 11a, 11a and opposed to the scraping brush housing 11. That is, the seam of the flocking 2 exists at a position facing the scraping brush housing portion 11. For this reason, a force is not easily applied to the end (joint) of the flocking 2 and the flocking 2 does not easily come off from the scraping brush 1A even if the scraping brush 1A is used for a long time.

(Operation of scraping brush)
FIG. 13 is a side sectional view of the suction unit 10. The rotation of the scraping brush 1A in FIG. 8B will be described with reference to FIG.
Since the scraping brush 1 </ b> A is in contact with the rotating brush 5, the rotation of the rotating brush 5 causes the rotation corresponding to the rotating brush 5, that is, the rotation force in the second rotation direction opposite to the rotating brush 5. Given.

Here, when the main body 50 advances in a state where the scraping brush 1A is in contact with the cleaning surface, the scraping brush 1A rotates in the first rotation direction to cancel the rotational force given by the rotating brush 5 due to friction with the cleaning surface. Power is given.
The flocking of the scraping brush 1 </ b> A is reverse to the cleaning surface of the main body 50 when the main body 50 advances, and is positive to rotation of the rotating brush 5. Therefore, when the main body 50 advances, the scraping brush 1 </ b> A is more driven by the rotating force from the cleaning surface than the rotating force from the rotating brush 5, and is driven by the first rotating direction that is the same as the rotating direction of the rotating brush 5. Start rotation.

  The rib 3a of the scraping brush 1A, which has started the driven rotation in the first rotation direction, rotates from the rear end to the front end of the scraping brush housing portion 11. In the scraping brush 1A that continues to be driven and rotated, the rib 3a eventually comes into contact with the engaging portion 11a at the front end of the scraping brush housing 11, and the driven rotation stops. After the driven brush stops rotating, the scraping brush 1A slips and cleans the surface to be cleaned (floor, carpet).

  At this time, each of the flocking 2 of the scraping brush 1A extends in a reverse direction from the surface of the scraping brush 1A toward the front side (the traveling direction) of the main body 50, so that the flocking of the scraping brush 1A is performed. Each of the two brushes is used to scrape off dust from a cleaning surface (eg, a carpet) using only a portion that comes into contact with the cleaning surface in the width direction of the scraping brush 1A while slipping when moving forward. (See FIG. 13). Since the rotation of the scraping brush 1A in the first rotation direction is regulated, each of the flocking 2 of the scraping brush 1A is fixed toward the front side (the traveling direction) of the main body 50. Dust can be more reliably scraped off using the flocking 2 than in the first embodiment.

  On the other hand, the main body 50 moves backward in a state where the scraping brush 1A is in contact with the cleaning surface when it collides with a wall or avoids an obstacle. Then, the scraping brush 1 </ b> A starts to follow and rotate in the second rotation direction from the front of the main body 50 through the scraping brush housing 11 due to friction with the cleaning surface as the main body 50 moves backward.

  The scraping brush 1A, which continues to be driven and rotated in the second rotation direction, causes the rib 3a to come into contact with the locking portion 11a at the rear end of the scraping brush receiving portion 11 from the rotating brush receiving portion 15 side, and the driven rotation stops. I do. At this time, the portion of the scraping brush 1 that has scraped off the dust during the forward movement comes into contact with the rotating brush 5, and the dust attached to the scraping brush 1 is collected.

The flocking of the scraping brush 1A is smooth with respect to the cleaning surface (for example, a carpet) when moving backward. Since the scraping brush 1 is rotated in the second rotation direction by the rotating brush 5, only the portion that comes into contact with the cleaning surface in the width direction is used to scrape the dust continuously from the cleaning surface. (See FIG. 13).
That is, the scraping brush 1 can scrape off dust both when the main body 50 moves forward and when it moves backward.

  As described above, since the rib 3a reciprocates between the engaging portions 11a and 11a and faces the scraping brush accommodating portion 11, the rib portion of the scraping brush 1A without the flocking 2 has a cleaning surface. It does not come into contact with the surface and does not damage the cleaning surface.

When the main body 50 moves forward, the dust scraped out by the scraping brush 1 (until the rotation is restricted by the rib 3a) follows the flocking of the scraping brush 1, passes through the scraping brush accommodating section 11, and passes through the suction port 17 From the dust collecting case K.
When the main body 50 moves forward, the rotary brush 5 rotated in the first rotation direction by the rotary motor 21 rotates in the second rotation direction, and cleans the scraping brush 1 before scraping dust. .

  When the main body 50 moves forward, the rotating brush 5 rotated by the rotating motor 21 (even after the rotation is restricted by the rib 3a) removes (sweeps) the scraped-out dust in a portion that comes into contact with the scraping brush 1. ).

  When the main body 50 moves backward, the dust scraped out by the scraping brush 1 is collected by the rotating brush 5 that comes into contact with the scraping brush 1. Further, since the direction of the flocking of the scraping brush 1 and the rotating direction of the rotating brush 5 are opposite, the flocking of the rotating brush 5 easily and reliably removes dust from the flocking of the scraping brush 1 (sweeping). Can be removed), and the cleaning of the scraping brush 1A can be performed more reliably than in the first embodiment.

  That is, in the second embodiment, the cleaning of the scraping brush 1 is mainly performed by the rotating brush 5 when the main body 50 moves backward, in order to remove (sweep) dust.

<Third embodiment>
The third embodiment is an embodiment in which the form of the scraping brush is changed. The configuration of this embodiment can be the same as the first embodiment or the second embodiment except for the following points.

(Scraping brush)
FIG. 8C is an external perspective view of the scraping brush 1B according to the present embodiment. The rotation of the scraping brush 1B in FIG. 8C will be described with reference to FIG.

  The scraping brush 1B according to the present embodiment is provided along the direction of the rotating shaft 4 and has a rib 3b protruding in the radial direction. Further, in the scraping brush 1B according to the present embodiment, the direction of the flocking is opposite between the central portion and the vicinity of the left and right ends, and the flocking 2 at the central portion is similar to the scraping brush in the first and second embodiments. 1B extends from the surface in the second rotation direction. The scraping brush 1B according to the present embodiment extends in the first rotation direction at the left and right ends of the flocking 2b and 2b.

  In the scraping brush 1B according to the present embodiment, when the main body 50 moves backward, the flocking 2b at the left and right ends faces the cleaning surface, so that the frictional force between the scraping brush 1B and the cleaning surface increases. It is possible to rotate more reliably than in the second embodiment, and the rotation speed is also reduced. That is, it is possible to more reliably remove (sweep) dust from the flocking 2 than in the second embodiment.

(Modification)
In the second embodiment and the third embodiment, the scraping brush has one rib, but may have two or more ribs. Since the scraping brush has a plurality of ribs, the rotation range is more restricted. For example, when there are two ribs between the locking portions 11a, 11a, the scraping brush reciprocates in a narrower range around the rotation axis between the cleaning surface and the rotating brush 5. That is, the dust scraped off by the rotating brush 5 can be removed (sweeped) in a focused manner.
The scraping brush may have a flocking 2b in the first rotation direction near one end of the shaft portion in the axial direction, and the same effect as in the third embodiment can be obtained.

  The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner according to the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the embodiments. It is needless to say that the contents of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately modified / changed without departing from the spirit thereof. In the present embodiment, the present invention has been described with reference to an autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner as an example. However, the present invention may be applied to a suction port of another type of vacuum cleaner such as a canister type, a stick type, and a handy type.

1, 1A, 1B Scraping brush 2, 2b Flocked 3a, 3b Rib 4 Rotating shaft 5 Rotating brush 5a Shaft 5b Rotating shaft 5c Flocked 6 Fitting portion 7 Bearing (B)
10 Suction part (suction structure)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Scrape brush accommodating part 11a Locking part 15 Rotary brush accommodating part 16 Dust collecting rib 17 Suction port 18 Bearing (A)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 19 Locking part 21 Rotary brush motor 22 Power transmission mechanism 30 Suction cover 30A Suction cover assembly 30a Partition 30b Taper 30c Meshing claw 35 Suction cover attaching member 35a Latch 35b Latch claw 35c Mating claw 37 Bearing holding member 37a Latch 37b Latch Claw 37c Meshing claw 40 Side brush 41 Side brush holder 42 Side brush motor 45 Guide brush (L)
47 Guide Brush (M)
49 Guide Brush (S)
50 Body 51 Lower Case 52 Hole 53 Exhaust Port 54 Drive Mechanism Housing 55 Battery Housing 56 Front Cover 56a Locking Claw 56b Projection 56c Taper 60 Drive Mechanism 61 Drive Wheel 70 Support Mechanism 71 Arm (Suspension)
81 Blower 82 Side Brush Attachment 83 Auxiliary Wheel 84 Auxiliary Wheel Attachment 91 Upper Case 92 Bumper 93 Lid 95 Controller 96 Sensors (Obstacle Detection Means)
97 Operation button C Autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner K Dust collection case K1 Inlet F Dust collection filter

Claims (5)

A blower for generating a negative pressure, a suction structure having a suction opening for sucking dust on the surface to be cleaned by the negative pressure of the blower, and a dust collecting / discharging device disposed between the blower and the flow passage of the suction opening. In an autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner including a dust case and at least two driving wheels for autonomous traveling,
The mouth structure,
A rotating brush that is rotationally driven in a first direction by a motor,
A rotatable scraping brush adjacent to the rotating brush,
A rotating brush storage unit that rotatably stores the rotating brush,
A scraping brush storage unit that rotatably stores the scraping brush,
The scraping brush has flocking in a second rotation direction that is a rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction,
The flocking of the scraping brush is reverse to the forward direction of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner, and the tip of the flocking of the rotating brush and the flocking of the scraping brush are in contact with each other,
The outermost circumference of the scraping brush is further away from the surface to be cleaned than the outermost circumference of the rotating brush. The scraping brush receives a rotation force in a second rotation direction received when the rotating brush is rotating in a first rotation direction in F2, and when the autonomous traveling cleaner advances, the scraping is performed. If the force in the first rotation direction due to the resistance of the brush from the cleaning surface is F1,
F1> F2,
The scraping brush rotates in a first rotation direction,
When the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner stops, retreats, or moves on a hard floor, the force F1 in the first rotation direction due to the resistance received from the cleaning surface decreases,
F1 <F2,
The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the scraper brush rotates in a second rotation direction. The scraping brush has a rib on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion,
At the front end and the rear end of the scraping brush accommodating portion, when the scraping brush rotates, it has a locking portion that comes into contact with the rib, and the rib comes into contact with the locking portion, The autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the rotation of the scraping brush in the first rotation direction and the rotation of the scraping brush in the second rotation direction are stopped. When cleaning is completed, or when the electric capacity of the rechargeable battery is reduced, the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner automatically returns to the charging device, and drives the blower with the driving wheels stopped, The rotating brush is rotated in a first rotation direction, and the rotation of the rotating brush causes the scraping brush to be disposed on a rib having an outer peripheral surface of a shaft portion of the scraping brush and the scraping brush accommodating portion. Until it comes into contact with the locking part
Further, the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner rotates the rotating brush in a second direction, and rotates the rotating brush to move the scraping brush until the rib and the locking portion come into contact with each other. The autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner is rotated in one rotation direction. The autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner temporarily stops the driving wheels during cleaning and drives the blower, rotates the rotating brush in a first rotation direction, and rotates the scraping brush by rotating the rotating brush. , Until the ribs on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion of the scraping brush and the locking portion arranged in the scraping brush accommodating portion are rotated in the second rotation direction,
In addition, the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner rotates the rotating brush in a second direction, and rotates the rotating brush to move the scraping brush until the rib comes into contact with the locking portion. The autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner is rotated in one rotation direction.

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