JP2660251B2 - Cleaning robot - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention particularly relates to a cleaning robot for self-propelling a wall surface and cleaning the wall surface, and relates to an arm portion structure for connecting the cleaning device and the traveling device.

(Prior art)

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are two types of robots for cleaning a wall surface of a large tank or the like, in which a main body adheres to an iron plate wall surface by electromagnetic force, and in which a main body adheres to a wall surface by generating a negative pressure by an exhaust fan. Then, the traveling device cleans the wall by rotating a brush or the like while traveling on the wall. The rotary brush for this cleaning is integrated with the wall surface traveling device, is provided in the wall surface traveling device, or is located near the wall traveling device. Therefore, the lower surface of the traveling device and the lower surface of the cleaning rotary brush are always kept the same.

[Problem to be solved]

However, when the traveling device and the rotating brush are close to each other or a rotating brush is provided in the traveling device, if there is a climbing ladder or the like on the wall, the robot does not enter between it and the wall,
There was a drawback that it was difficult to clean that part. This is because the traveling device of the robot itself has to be relatively thick (height) due to the necessity of providing various devices for adsorbing the wall surface, and as a result, it is difficult to enter a narrow place. is there.

Further, since the lower surface of the traveling device and the lower surface of the cleaning brush are not always the same surface, there are cases where the rotating brush does not contact the wall surface and cannot clean it.

[Means for solving the problem]

Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention arranges the traveling device and the cleaning device separately from each other, connects them with an arm, and the cleaning device constantly contacts the wall surface via the arm. The gist is as follows.

The cleaning robot of the present invention includes at least a traveling device 1 that adheres to a wall surface and travels on the surface, and a cleaning device 2 that is attached to the traveling device 1 and cleans a traveling surface. Here, a feature of the present invention is that the traveling device 1 is provided with an arm drive unit 8 that swings the tip of the arm 3 along the surface to be cleaned. At the same time, the height of the cleaning device 2 is set lower than the entire height of the traveling device 1. Further, the traveling device 1
The arm 3 is connected via an arm drive unit 8 to the cleaning device 2 disposed away from the suction position. The arm 3 is protruded so that at least the intermediate portion and the distal end of the arm 3 can be lower than the height of the traveling device 1.

Next, in addition to the above configuration, one end and the other end of the arm 3 are connected to the traveling device 1 and the cleaning device 2 so that the arm 3 rotates in a direction orthogonal to the surface to be cleaned. The elastic body 4 is pivotally attached to the cleaning device 2 so as to be pressed against the surface to be cleaned, and the elastic body 4 is attached to each of the pivotally attached portions.

A third aspect of the present invention is a lock for locking the relative rotation between the arm 3 and the traveling device 1 and the cleaning device 2 in a detachable manner, in addition to the configuration of the second aspect of the invention. apparatus
5 and 6 are provided between the arm 3 and the traveling device 1 and the cleaning device 2.

[Action]

Therefore, according to this cleaning robot, the arm 3 can be moved and cleaned by driving the arm driving unit 8 while moving the traveling device 1 while swinging the arm 3. Thus, a wide area can be quickly cleaned with the relatively small cleaning device 2. Further, only the cleaning device 2 can be inserted between the elevating ladder and the wall surface to clean the portion.

〔Example〕

 Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1 is a perspective view of the apparatus, FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof, FIG. 3 is a side view thereof, FIG. 4 shows the inside of the arm 3 of the present invention, and FIG. It is a VV arrow sectional view.
As shown in FIG. 1, the cleaning device of this embodiment includes a traveling device 1 which runs on a wall surface by itself and a cleaning device 2 which is connected to the traveling device 1 via an oscillating body 7 and an arm 3. As the traveling device 1, various known wall traveling robots can be used.
In the robot of this embodiment, four suction pads 9 are provided on the lower surface of the main body of the traveling device. As shown in FIG. 10, the suction pad 9 has, for example, a skirt-like skirt 22 made of a relatively soft rubber material, and a rubber piece 23 provided inside the skirt 22 and made of a relatively hard rubber material. The one-side contact rubber 23 is attached with its annular lower surface inclined so as to make one contact on the running surface. Then, the suction pad 9
In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the inside thereof is suctioned by a suction pipe 11 to generate a negative pressure, and is rotated forward and backward by a pad drive motor unit 10. In FIG. 1, a pair of pads located on the right side and a pair of suction pads 9 located on the left side form a pair, and both rotation shafts are connected by a timing belt so as to make the same rotation for each pair. ing. Then, the forward movement is performed by the forward rotation driving of the pad pair in the left row and the reverse rotation driving of the pad pair in the right row. Also, in both cases, the robot changes its direction clockwise when driven forward, and turns counterclockwise in the opposite case. Next, an arm driving unit 8 is provided on the upper surface of the tip of the traveling device 1. As shown in FIG. 6, the arm drive unit 8 has a motor 18 with a speed reducer inside, and the upper end of the output shaft thereof is connected to one end of the oscillator 7. And
As shown in FIG. 1, the swing body 7 is configured to swing right and left to an arbitrary width within a range of 180 ° by an encoder 19 in the arm drive unit 8 and a control device provided outside the motor (not shown). . Next, one end of the arm 3 is pivotally connected to the other end of the rocking body 7. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the oscillating body 7 is formed to be bent in a U-shape, and its tip is located at substantially the height of the base of the arm driving unit 8. Arm 3
The swinging body 7 is pivotally connected to the rocking body 7 via a pin 12, and a pair of elastic bodies 4 are provided at the pivoted portion as shown in FIGS.
This urges the tip of the arm 3 toward the cleaning surface.
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a tooth portion 16 is formed on the outer end of the rocking member 7, and a rod is formed in the tooth groove of the tooth portion 16.
It is configured so that the tip of 15 can be freely engaged and disengaged. The rod 15 is connected to the shaft of the electromagnetic plunger 13 through a link as shown in FIG. 4, and the rod 15 is engaged with and disengaged from the groove of the tooth portion 16 in accordance with the ON / OFF operation thereof.
Is configured. The locking device 6 can fix the intersection angle between the rocking body 7 and the arm 3 at an arbitrary angle. Next, a cleaning device 2 is pivotally connected to the tip of the arm 3 via a pin 12 as shown in FIGS. This pivot portion is also provided with a pair of elastic members 4 like the pivot portion of the arm 3 and the swinging member 7, thereby urging the cleaning device 2 toward the cleaning surface. At the same time, the tooth 16
Is formed, and the tip of the rod 15 is removably fitted into the tooth space. Next, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the cleaning device 2 has a pair of rotating brushes 17 on the lower surface of its main body, and a number of water turbine blades 21 fixed to the upper end of the rotating brushes 17. The water turbine blades 21 are rotated by water jetted from the nozzles 20, and thereby drive the rotating brush 17. Each rotating brush 17 rotates in a direction opposite to each other. FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the water turbine blade 21. The water turbine blade 21 is formed like a blade of a Kaplan turbine.

(Modification example)

Next, FIG. 11 shows a second embodiment of the arm portion of the robot of the present invention. In this embodiment, a relay arm 24 is provided between the cleaning device 2 and the arm 3 in addition to the first embodiment. ing. The shaft 27 of the cleaning device 2 is pivotally connected to the relay arm 24. The shaft 27 is positioned in a direction (X-axis) orthogonal to the pins 12 (Y-axis) of the arm 3, and supports the cleaning device 2 around the shaft 27 so as to be freely rotatable. And relay arm
A spring 26 is provided between the cleaning arm 2 and the spring arm 25 projecting from
And the cleaning device 2 is held in the state shown in the figure in the free state. When the surface to be cleaned is curved along the Y-axis direction, the pressing force of the elastic body 4 causes the cleaning device 2 to rotate around the shaft 27, and the curved surface has a contact surface of the cleaning device. Are configured to be familiar and in contact.

[Operation of the embodiment]

Next, the operation of the robot of the present invention will be described. First, in FIG. 1, one end of a suction hose is attached to a suction pipe 11, and the other end is connected to a blower. At the same time, a water supply hose is connected to the cleaning device 2, and a control cable for controlling the pad driving motor unit 10, the arm driving unit 8, and the electromagnetic plunger 13 of the arm 3 is connected to the traveling device 1. Then, the suction pad 9 of the traveling device 1
Is adsorbed on the wall surface or floor surface, while driving the respective pad drive motor unit 10 to move forward and backward, rotate, etc.
The rocking body 7 is driven to rock. Then, the rotating brush 17 of the cleaning device 2 is rotated by water jet to clean the wall surface. When the wall surface is a tank or the like, the arm 3 and the cleaning device 2 are bent at an appropriate angle along the inner peripheral surface as shown in FIG. 3, so that the end face of the rotating brush 17 always contacts the wall surface. . In this state, if the oscillating body 7 is oscillated while moving the traveling device 1 forward or backward, the wall surface can be quickly cleaned over a wide range. The cleaning device 2 may be provided with a suction nozzle instead of the rotating brush.

Next, in order to clean a wall provided with a ladder for a worker to ascend and descend provided on the wall of the tank or the like, the cleaning device 2 in FIG. 1 is moved 90 ° to the left or right from the position shown in FIG. Move and insert the cleaning device 2 between the ladder and the wall surface. Then, without swinging the arm, the traveling device 1
, The lower surface of the ladder can be easily cleaned.

〔The invention's effect〕

The cleaning robot of the present invention has a cleaning device 2 that is lower than the height of the traveling device 1, connects the cleaning device 2 and the traveling device 1 with an arm 3, and connects the arm 3 to an arm driving unit 8. As a result, the cleaning device 2 can be swung along the surface to be cleaned, so that the cleaning device 2 can be inserted between the elevating ladder and the wall surface to clean that portion. In addition, by moving the traveling device 1 while swinging the arm 3 by the arm driving unit 8, cleaning can be performed over a wide range by one traveling operation, and the work efficiency of the cleaning operation can be improved.

Next, the invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that the arm 3
And the other end are pivotally attached to the traveling device 1 and the cleaning device 2, and both pivot portions are urged by the elastic body 4. Therefore, the cleaning device 2 is constantly pressed against the surface to be cleaned, and the surface to be cleaned is curved. Even if it is formed, it can be reliably cleaned.

In addition, the present structure can follow the change in the curvature of the surface to be cleaned and clean the surface without fail, despite having a very simple configuration using the elastic body 4.

Next, the invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that the arm 3
And lock devices 5 and 6 for removably locking relative rotation between the traveling device 1 and the cleaning device 2 between the arm 3 and the traveling device 1 and the cleaning device 2. Thereby, when cleaning a certain flat surface or a curved surface, the contact surface of the cleaning device 2 can be stably held in conformity with the surface to be cleaned, and the surface can be quickly and easily cleaned.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the robot, FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof, FIG. 3 is a side view thereof, FIG. 4 shows the inside of the arm 3 of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of the arm drive unit 8, FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway plan view of the cleaning device 2, FIG. 8 is a side view thereof, and FIG.
FIG. 10 is a schematic vertical sectional view of the suction pad 9, and FIG. 11 is another embodiment of the arm portion of the robot. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Running device, 2 ... Cleaning device 3 ... Arm, 4 ... Elastic body 5, 6 ... Locking device, 7 ... Oscillator 8 ... Arm drive part, 9 ... Suction pad 10 ... Pad Driving motor section 11 Suction pipe, 12 Pin 13 Electromagnetic plunger, 14 O-ring 15 Rod, 16 Teeth 17 Rotating brush, 18 Motor with reduction gear 19 Encoder, 20… Nozzle 21… Turbine blade, 22… Skirt 23… Rubber on one side, 24… Relay arm 25… Arm for spring, 26… Spring 27… Shaft

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A device comprising: a traveling device (1) adsorbed on at least a wall surface and traveling on the surface; and a cleaning device (2) attached to the traveling device (1) for cleaning the traveling surface. An arm drive unit (8) for swinging the tip of the arm (3) along the surface to be cleaned is provided in the traveling device (1), and the height of the cleaning device (2) is increased by the traveling device (1). The traveling device (1)
And the cleaning device (2) arranged away from the suction position by the arm (3) via the arm drive unit (8), and at least an intermediate portion of the arm (3) and A cleaning robot characterized in that the arm (3) is protruded so that the tip can be lower than the height of the traveling device (1). 2. An arm (3) according to claim 1, wherein one end and the other end of said arm (3) are rotated so that said cleaning device (2) rotates in a direction perpendicular to the surface to be cleaned. 2)
And an elastic body (4) is attached to each of the pivot portions by urging the cleaning device (2) so as to be pressed against the surface to be cleaned. 3. A locking device (5) according to claim 2, wherein the relative rotation between said arm (3) and said two devices (1) and (2) at said two pivoting portions is releasably locked. )
(6) provided between the arm (3) and the two devices (1) and (2).