JP6382634B2 - Autonomous vehicle - Google Patents

Description

  Embodiments of the present invention relate to a traveling body capable of autonomous traveling and an autonomous traveling body apparatus including a charging device that charges a secondary battery of the traveling body.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, autonomous traveling bodies such as cleaning robots and surveillance robots that autonomously travel while avoiding obstacles or along walls while detecting obstacles or walls using sensors or the like are known. When such an autonomous traveling body reaches a predetermined time or is instructed to travel by a remote controller or the like, it automatically leaves the charging device (charging stand) and completes a predetermined operation such as cleaning or looking around the room. Return to the charging device and charge the built-in secondary battery.

  Depending on the situation of the place where the vehicle travels, an obstacle may be placed near the charging device, or there may be a step. Such obstacles and steps may cause a failure to leave the autonomously traveling body from the charging device. And when the separation from the charging device fails, if the secondary battery stays in the vicinity of the charging device as it is, the secondary battery is discharged and charging is required. Therefore, it is desirable to reconnect the autonomous traveling body to the charging device when the disconnection fails.

  However, when returning to the charging device from the position where the separation failed, searching for the surroundings using a sensor that detects an obstacle causes unnecessary power consumption of the secondary battery, the position of the charging device, etc. If the travel control is performed using a map or the like stored in advance, the configuration becomes complicated. In addition, in order to avoid a collision with an autonomous vehicle that is traveling autonomously, the charging device may have a virtual predetermined entry prevention area around it, such as by infrared rays. When the failed autonomous traveling body returns to the charging device, it may be possible to perform traveling control so that the autonomous traveling body once goes out of the entry prevention area, and the power of the secondary battery is consumed unnecessarily.

JP 2013-242738 A

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an autonomous traveling body device that can suppress the consumption of the secondary battery by reliably returning the traveling body to the charging device at the time of failure to leave the charging device without using a complicated configuration or control. Is to provide.

The autonomous traveling body device of the embodiment includes a traveling body capable of autonomous traveling and a charging device. The traveling body includes a main body case, drive wheels, a motor, object detection means, control means, a secondary battery, and a charging terminal. The drive wheel causes the main body case to travel. The motor drives the drive wheels. The object detection means detects at least an object in front of the main body case. The control means controls driving of the motor based on detection by the object detection means. The secondary battery supplies power to at least the motor, the control unit, and the object detection unit. The terminal is electrically connected to the secondary battery. The charging circuit includes a charging terminal connected to the terminal and a charging circuit that is electrically connected to the charging terminal and charges the secondary battery. The control means is configured such that when the traveling body is detached from the charging device from a state where the terminal of the traveling body is connected to the charging terminal of the charging device, the moving distance with respect to the charging device is the main body case with respect to the charging device. When the object is detected by the object detection means at a position less than a first predetermined distance that is a distance at which the vehicle can turn , the drive of the motor is controlled so that the traveling body returns to the charging device.

It is an explanatory top view showing typically operation of an autonomous traveling body device of a 1st embodiment, (a) shows separation operation of a traveling body from a charging device, and (b) fails in separation from a charging device. The homing operation of the traveling body when doing is shown. (a) is a plan view showing the traveling body from above, and (b) is a plan view showing the traveling body from below. (a) is a block diagram showing the internal structure of the traveling body, and (b) is a block diagram showing the internal structure of the charging device. It is a flowchart which shows control of an autonomous traveling body apparatus same as the above. It is explanatory plan view which shows typically operation | movement of the traveling body at the time of detachment | leave from the charging device of the autonomous traveling body apparatus of 2nd Embodiment in order of (a) (b). It is a flowchart which shows control of an autonomous traveling body apparatus same as the above.

  The configuration of the first embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  1 to 3, reference numeral 10 denotes an electric vacuum cleaner as an autonomous traveling body device. The electric vacuum cleaner 10 includes an electric vacuum cleaner main body 11 as a traveling body and a charging base for the electric vacuum cleaner main body 11. And a charging device (charging stand) 12 as a part.

  In this embodiment, the electric vacuum cleaner body 11 is a so-called self-propelled robot cleaner that cleans the floor surface while autonomously traveling (self-propelled) on the floor surface as a surface to be cleaned. The vacuum cleaner main body 11 includes a hollow main body case 15. In the lower part of the main body case 15 facing the surface to be cleaned, for example, a plurality of (a pair of) driving wheels 16, driven wheels 17, a dust collecting port 18 for collecting dust, and a lower part of the main body case 15 ( A step sensor 20 or the like, which is a step detecting means for detecting a step by detecting the distance between the lower surface) and the floor surface below it, is disposed (FIG. 2 (b)). Further, on the outer side of the main body case 15, a transmission means for wireless communication with the detection sensor 21, which is an object detection means (obstacle detection means) for detecting an obstacle O that is a front object, the charging device 12, and the like 22 and receiving means 23 are arranged, and inside the main body case 15, a communication means 24 (FIG. 3A) for communicating with an external device (not shown) is arranged. The main body case 15 is provided with a cleaning unit 25 that is an electric unit for cleaning the floor surface, and is connected to a dust collection port 18 for collecting dust collected by the cleaning unit 25. A control unit 27 (not shown), a circuit board and the like, and a secondary battery 28 constituting a power supply unit for supplying power to the cleaning unit 25 and the like are disposed inside (FIG. 2A). And FIG. 3 (a)). Hereinafter, the direction along the traveling direction of the vacuum cleaner main body 11 (main body case 15) will be referred to as the front-rear direction (arrows FR and RR shown in FIG. 2), and the left-right direction intersecting (orthogonal) with the front-rear direction. A description will be given on the basis of the state in which the (both sides) is the width direction and the vacuum cleaner body 11 is placed on a flat surface to be cleaned.

  The main body case 15 is configured in a flat cylindrical shape (disk shape) by combining a plurality of case bodies formed of, for example, hard synthetic resin.

  The drive wheels 16 and 16 enable the body case 15 to travel on the surface to be cleaned (autonomous traveling), that is, for traveling, and are formed in a disk shape having a rotation axis along the horizontal direction (width direction). In the position near the center in the front-rear direction at the lower part of the main body case 15, the main body case 15 is disposed so as to be separated from each other in the width direction. The drive wheels 16 and 16 are connected to motors 31 and 31 as drive means via gear boxes as drive transmission means (not shown). The operations of the motors 31 and 31 are individually controlled by the control means 27, and the drive wheels 16 and 16 can be driven independently.

  The driven wheel 17 is disposed in a lower part of the main body case 15 so as to be appropriately rotatable at a position where the weight of the vacuum cleaner main body 11 can be supported in a well-balanced manner together with the drive wheels 16 and 16. In the present embodiment, the driven wheel 17 is a turning wheel that is turnably attached to the front portion of the central portion of the main body case 15 in the left-right direction.

  The dust collection port 18 is located between the drive wheels 16 and 16 at a substantially central part in the width direction of the main body case 15 and near the rear part in the front-rear direction (in front of the dust collection part). It is formed in a square shape.

  The step sensor 20 is a non-contact type sensor such as an infrared sensor (optical sensor), for example, and is arranged in a plurality spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction, for example, in front of the lower part of the main body case 15. The distance between the lower floor surface can be detected separately. In the present embodiment, the step sensor 20 detects the distance between the lower front side of the main body case 15 and both diagonal sides (the front left and right 45 ° direction of the main body case 15) and the floor surface facing these positions. ing.

  The detection sensor 21 is a non-contact type sensor such as an infrared sensor or an ultrasonic sensor, and detects an obstacle O located within a predetermined distance ahead by detecting the distance from the obstacle O. It is. For example, in the present embodiment, the detection sensors 21 are respectively disposed on both sides of the front portion sandwiching the central portion of the main body case 15 in the left-right direction, and in a front oblique direction (for example, the front left-right 60 ° direction of the main body case 15) ing.

  Further, the transmission means 22 emits infrared rays or the like to the charging device 12, and is disposed, for example, on the upper front side of the main body case 15.

  The receiving means 23 detects infrared rays emitted from the charging device 12, and a plurality of receiving means 23 are arranged in the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral portion of the main body case 15, for example. For example, in the present embodiment, the receiving means 23 is in the front diagonal direction of the main body case 15 (for example, the front left and right 45 ° direction of the main body case 15) and the rear diagonal direction (for example, the rear left and right 45 ° direction of the main body case 15). Each is arranged.

  The communication unit 24 is a wireless communication unit such as a wireless LAN device or a Bluetooth (registered trademark) device, for example, via an access point (not shown) arranged indoors or the like and a network such as the Internet connected to the access point. For example, it is for wireless communication with an external device such as a portable terminal. Therefore, it is possible to receive various information from the network via this communication means 24, or to input various information from an external device (external terminal) such as a smartphone.

  The cleaning unit 25 is, for example, an electric blower that sucks dust together with air, a side brush that is a side cleaning unit that cleans the dust on the side of the main body case 15, or a rotary cleaning body that is rotatably provided in the dust collection port 18 ( A rotary brush), etc., which collects dust from the dust collection port 18 to the dust collection part by cleaning the dust on the floor surface.

  The control means 27 is, for example, a timekeeping means (RTC) 41 that is a time timer, a memory for storing programs, setting values for controlling the sensors 20, 21, motors 31, etc., threshold values for various judgments, etc. Storage means 42, motor control section 43 that controls driving of motor 31, step sensor control section 44 that controls step sensor 20, detection sensor control section 45 that controls detection sensor 21, and transmission control section 46 that controls transmission means 22. A reception control unit 47 that controls the reception means 23, a communication control unit 48 that controls the communication means 24, a cleaning control unit 49 that controls the cleaning unit 25, and functions such as interrupt control and timer control. A control unit 50 such as a microcomputer (MPU) for controlling operations of the control units 43 to 49 is provided. Then, the control means 27 uses the sensor control sections 44 and 45, the reception control section 47 and the communication control section 48 which are controlled by the control section 50, to detect the detection values by the sensors 20, 21, the reception means 23 and the communication means 24. Based on the result of the reading, the motor control unit 43 controlled by the control unit 50 controls the driving wheels 16 and 16 via the motors 31 and 31 to control the main body case 15 (the vacuum cleaner main body 11 ), Autonomously traveling so as to avoid obstacles O and steps, and controlling the driving of the cleaning unit 25 by the cleaning control unit 49 controlled by the control unit 50 to cause the vacuum cleaner body 11 to clean, Various signals can be transmitted via the transmission unit 22 or the communication unit 24 by the transmission control unit 46 and the communication control unit 48 controlled by the control unit 50. Specific control by the control means 27 will be described later.

  The secondary battery 28 supplies power to the step sensor 20, the detection sensor 21, the transmission unit 22, the reception unit 23, the communication unit 24, the cleaning unit 25, the control unit 27, the motors 31 and 31, and the like. The secondary battery 28 is electrically connected to charging terminals 52 and 52 located at the lower part of the main body case 15, and charging is performed by connecting the terminals 52 and 52 to the charging device 12. It is possible. These terminals 52, 52 are exposed, for example, on both sides of the lower part of the main body case 15 near the rear.

  On the other hand, the charging device 12 includes a charging device case 55, a charging circuit 56 accommodated in the charging device case 55, charging terminals 57 and 57 electrically connected to the charging circuit 56, and a commercial power source (not shown). Charging device side transmission means 59 for outputting various signals such as position information of the charging device 12 by a power cord, for example, infrared rays, charging device side reception means 60 for receiving a signal from the transmission means 22 of the vacuum cleaner body 11, charging Output means 61 for outputting a signal for setting the entry prevention area A around the apparatus 12, and charging device control means for controlling operations of the charging device side transmitting means 59, the charging device side receiving means 60, the output means 61, etc. 62 and the like (FIG. 3B).

  The charging device case 55 is formed of, for example, a synthetic resin, and is disposed at a position that does not hinder cleaning, such as the vicinity of a wall section that divides a room. The charging device case 55 is integrally provided with a case main body portion 64 positioned along the vertical direction and a support base portion 65 protruding from the case main body portion 64 along the floor surface.

  The case body 64 is a position facing the rear part of the vacuum cleaner body 11 that has returned (returned) to the charging device 12. The case main body 64 is provided with a charging circuit 56, charging terminals 57 and 57, a charging device side transmission unit 59, a charging device side reception unit 60, an output unit 61, a charging device control unit 62, and the like. A power cord is connected to the side of the case body 64.

  The support base 65 is formed in a thin plate shape and placed on the floor surface. In addition to the charging terminals 57, a guide for guiding the vacuum cleaner body 11 to the correct position when leaving or returning to the charging device 12 is provided on the upper portion of the support base 65, in addition to the charging terminals 57 described above. In addition, various structures such as positioning protrusions for positioning the vacuum cleaner body 11 are projected, and each driving wheel 16 of the vacuum cleaner body 11 connected to the charging device 12 is placed. Recesses are respectively provided.

  The charging circuit 56 is a constant current circuit for charging the secondary battery 28 of the electric vacuum cleaner main body 11 in which each terminal 52 is connected to each charging terminal 57.

  Each charging terminal 57 is mechanically and electrically connected to the terminal 52 of the vacuum cleaner main body 11 that has returned to the charging device 12.

  The power cord is electrically connected to the charging circuit 56, the charging device side transmission means 59, the charging device side reception means 60, the output means 61 and the charging device control means 62, and is connected to an outlet installed on a wall or the like. By doing so, power can be supplied to these from a commercial power source.

  The charging device-side transmission means 59 emits infrared rays or the like.For example, the charging device side transmitting means 59 is paired substantially horizontally (left and right) above the support base 65 on the side surface of the case main body 64 of the charging device case 55. Has been placed. The charging device side transmission means 59 transmits, for example, infrared rays (light emission) and outputs signals when the charging device side reception means 60 receives the homing request signal from the transmission means 22 of the vacuum cleaner body 11. It is configured. The signal output from the charging device side transmission means 59 is a so-called beacon that guides the vacuum cleaner main body 11 to the charging device 12 at the time of homing, and is radial or oval (elliptical from the side surface of the case main body 64. Output).

  The charging device side receiving means 60 receives infrared rays emitted from the transmission means 22 of the electric vacuum cleaner main body 11, or infrared rays emitted (transmitted) from a remote controller (not shown), for example, the case of the charging device case 55 The main body 64 is disposed.

  The output means 61 emits infrared rays or the like, and is disposed on the upper surface of the case body 64 of the charging device case 55, for example. The output means 61 is configured to emit light and output a signal when the request signal from the transmission means 22 of the vacuum cleaner body 11 is received by the charging device-side receiving means 60. The signal output from the output means 61 prevents the main body 11 of the vacuum cleaner 11 from accidentally entering the entry prevention area A, in other words, the signal output from the output means 61 is the vacuum cleaner. When the main body 11 is received by the receiving means 23, the control means 27 controls the driving of the motors 31, 31 so that the vacuum cleaner main body 11 (main body case 15) does not enter the entry prevention area A any more. When viewed from above, the charging device case 55 (case main body portion 64) is centered on the charging device case 55 and is output in a semicircular shape with a predetermined radius extending about 180 ° from the case main body portion 64 to the support base 65 side. It has become so. That is, at least the support base 65 of the charging device 12 is positioned in the entry prevention area A.

  The charging device control means 62 controls the operation of the charging circuit 56, generates an infrared signal emitted from the charging device side transmission means 59 and the output means 61, and processes the infrared signal received by the charging device side reception means 60 It is something to do.

  Next, the control of the first embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  The vacuum cleaner body 11 is connected to the charging device 12 in a non-use state (standby state). That is, in the vacuum cleaner body 11, each terminal 52 is electrically and mechanically connected to each charging terminal 57, receiving means 23, communication means 24 and control means 27 (control unit 50, reception control unit 47, communication control) The unit 48) is in a standby state waiting for input, and the other units other than the timing means 41 are in a stopped state. Further, the vacuum cleaner main body 11 is in a state in which, for example, the rear portion of the main body case 15 faces the case main body portion 64 of the charging device 12. In the charging device 12, the charging device control means 62 operates the charging circuit 56 as necessary to charge the secondary battery 28. When charging is completed, the charging is stopped, and the charging device side receiving means 60 and the charging device 12 are charged. Each of the device control means 62 is in a standby state waiting for input, and the other units are in a paused state.

  In this state, when the control means 27 of the main body 11 of the vacuum cleaner detects that the predetermined start time has been reached, for example, by the time measuring means 41, the travel instruction (cleaning start instruction) transmitted from the user via the network by the external device. ) Is received by the communication means 24, or there is a request to leave the charging device 12 (removal request), such as when a traveling instruction (cleaning start instruction) transmitted by the remote control is received by the receiving means 23 Is determined (step 1). If it is determined in this step 1 that there is no separation request, step 1 is repeated as it is. If it is determined that there is a separation request, the control means 27 drives the motors 31 and 31 to drive wheels 16 and 16. To start detachment from the charging device 12 (step 2). At the time of detachment from the charging device 12, for example, the motors 31 and 31 (drive wheels 16 and 16) are rotated by the same number so as to move straight forward (FIG. 1 (a)). In the vacuum cleaner body 11, the control unit 27 controls the transmission unit 22 to transmit an infrared signal to the charging device 12. When this infrared signal is received by the charging device side receiving means 60, the charging device 12 controls the output means 61 by the charging device control means 62, and sends a signal (infrared signal) for setting the entry prevention area A, for example, indoors Output for a certain period of time, such as when cleaning can be completed.

  Next, the control means 27 (control unit 50) determines whether or not the electric vacuum cleaner main body 11 (main body case 15) has moved from the charging device 12 by a first predetermined distance L1 (step 3). The first predetermined distance L1 is, for example, a distance set in the entry prevention area A with respect to the charging device 12, and a distance (for example, the body case 15 of the vacuum cleaner body 11 can be turned at that position) Several tens of centimeters). That is, when the moving distance L of the electric vacuum cleaner main body 11 (main body case 15) from the charging device 12 is short, the driving wheel 16 and the main body case are attached to the structure (unevenness) on the support base 65 or the support base 65 itself. Since 15 may be caught to prevent turning of the main body case 15, it is determined that the main body case 15 can turn if the vehicle travels more than the first predetermined distance L1 that does not prevent such turning. it can. The first predetermined distance L1 may be set in advance, or may be arbitrarily set by the user for the electric vacuum cleaner main body 11, or may be selected from a plurality of preset values. Then, for example, the determination in step 3 is based on the threshold value corresponding to the first predetermined distance L1 stored in the storage means 42, and the rotation speeds of the motors 31, 31 (drive wheels 16, 16) acquired by the motor control unit 43. This can be realized by comparing the magnitude with (rotation angle).

  If it is determined in step 3 that the vehicle has not moved beyond the first predetermined distance L1 (the moving distance L is less than the first predetermined distance L1 (L <L1)), the detection sensor 21 detects the obstacle O. The control means 27 (control unit 50) determines whether or not is detected (step 4). Further, when it is determined in step 4 that the obstacle O has not been detected, the control means 27 (control unit 50) determines whether or not the step sensor 20 has detected a step (step 5). Hereinafter, the step is defined as at least one of a convex step that cannot be overridden and a concave step that causes a drop or a drop of the driving wheel 16. This can be realized by comparing the threshold value stored in the means 42 with the distance detected by the step sensor 20. If it is determined in step 5 that no step is detected, the process returns to step 3. In addition, although each order of step 3 thru | or step 5 has arisen on description of the flowchart, it can also be performed simultaneously in parallel, and even when an order arises, the order can be changed arbitrarily.

  If it is determined in step 4 that an obstacle O has been detected, and if it is determined in step 5 that a step has been detected, it is determined that separation from the charging device 12 has failed, and control means 27 transmits a signal instructing to stop the entry prevention area A from the transmission means 22 to the charging apparatus 12, and the charging apparatus 12 that has received this signal by the charging apparatus side receiving means 60 The output of the signal for setting A is stopped (step 6), and then the vacuum cleaner body 11 returns to the charging device 12 (step 7, FIG. 1 (b)). The return to the charging device 12 is basically that the vacuum cleaner main body 11 (main body case 15) moves straight forward with respect to the charging device 12 at the time of detachment. Drives the drive wheels 16 and 16 by driving the motors 31 and 31 via the motor control unit 43, and straightly moves forward to the rear, thereby returning to the charging device 12 easily and reliably. it can. Returning to the charging device 12 means a state in which at least each terminal 52 is electrically and mechanically connected to each charging terminal 57.

  After this step 7, the vacuum cleaner main body 11 sends an instruction to the access point via the communication means 24 to indicate that it has failed to leave the charging device 12 via a server on the network. The apparatus is notified by e-mail as a notification means (step 8), and the process returns to step 1.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step 3 that the vehicle has moved more than the first predetermined distance L1 (the movement distance L is not less than the first predetermined distance L1 (L ≧ L1)), it has been successfully detached from the charging device 12. It is determined that it has been performed, and the operation proceeds to an appropriate traveling operation and control, such as a cleaning operation for collecting dust from the dust collection port 18 to the dust collection unit using the cleaning unit 25 (step 9). When these operations such as the cleaning operation are completed, the vacuum cleaner main body 11 outputs a homing request signal from the transmission means 22 to the charging device 12 by the control means 27. The charging device 12 that has received this homing request signal by the charging device side receiving means 60 is a signal that the charging device control means 62 controls the charging device side transmission means 59 to guide the electric vacuum cleaner body 11 to the charging device 12. Are output respectively. The vacuum cleaner main body 11 gradually approaches the charging device 12 while recognizing the direction of the charging device 12 based on the time difference received by the receiving means 23 with these signals, and turns when approaching a predetermined distance. The control means 27 drives the motors 31 and 31 so that the rear portion is directed to the charging device 12 and is moved backward as it is and connected to the charging device 12. When each terminal 52 is connected to each charging terminal 57, the vacuum cleaner body 11 and the charging device 12 are in the standby state described above.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the vacuum cleaner body 11 is connected to the charging device 12 from the state in which the terminals 52 of the vacuum cleaner body 11 are connected to the charging terminals 57 of the charging device 12. On the other hand, when the moving distance L with respect to the charging device 12 is less than the first predetermined distance L1 and an obstacle O is detected by the detection sensor 21, the control means is configured so that the main body 11 of the vacuum cleaner returns to the charging device 12. 27 controls the drive of the motors 31 and 31, so that the vacuum cleaner main body 11 can be reliably transferred to the charging device 12 without mapping of various arrangements of the room or searching for surroundings using the detection sensor 21, for example. Can be homed. That is, the vacuum cleaner main body 11 that has failed to leave the charging device 12 is not left as it is. Therefore, unnecessary consumption of the secondary battery 28 can be suppressed, the time until the next operation such as cleaning can be shortened, and the vacuum cleaner main body 11 can be placed in an appropriate position based on the judgment of the failure and success of detachment. Can be moved to. In particular, since the return to the charging device 12 only needs to move backward as it is advanced from the charging device 12, it is easy to control the motors 31, 31 by the control means 27.

  Further, the first predetermined distance L1 from the charging device 12 is within the entry prevention area A of the charging device 12 where the control means 27 controls the driving of the motors 31 and 31 so that the vacuum cleaner body 11 does not enter inward. Since the distance between the main body case 15 and the charging device 12 can be turned at that position, if the vacuum cleaner main body 11 has moved from the charging device 12 by a first predetermined distance L1 or more, at that position. Even if the obstacle O is detected, the main body case 15 can be turned to avoid the obstacle O, and various subsequent operations can be performed.

  Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, about the structure and effect | action similar to the said 1st Embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the second embodiment, instead of the control in step 3 to step 5 in the first embodiment, the control in step 11 to step 15 described below is performed.

  That is, after step 2, the control means 27 (control unit 50) determines whether or not the electric vacuum cleaner main body 11 (main body case 15) has moved from the charging device 12 by a second predetermined distance L2 (step 11). The second predetermined distance L2 is a receiving means that is located farther from the charging device 12 than the first predetermined distance L1 of the first embodiment and is located behind the electric vacuum cleaner body 11 with respect to the charging device 12. 23 is a distance at which a signal indicating the entry prevention area A is not received, that is, a distance (for example, 50 cm) at which the receiving means 23 positioned at the rear is at least outside the entry prevention area A. In addition, the determination in step 11 is performed by, for example, the threshold value corresponding to the second predetermined distance L2 stored in the storage unit 42, and the rotation speeds of the motors 31, 31 (drive wheels 16, 16) acquired by the motor control unit 43. It can be realized by comparing the size with.

  If it is determined in this step 11 that the vehicle has moved more than the second predetermined distance L2 (the movement distance L is greater than or equal to the second predetermined distance L2 (L ≧ L2)), the process proceeds to step 9 and the second predetermined distance L2 is reached. If it is determined that the distance has not moved more than the distance L2 (the movement distance L is less than the second predetermined distance L2 (L <L2)), the same steps as Step 4 and Step 5 of the first embodiment described above Perform steps 12 and 13. Note that each of the determinations of Step 11 to Step 13 has an order in the description of the flowchart, but can be performed in parallel at the same time, and even when an order occurs, the order can be arbitrarily changed.

  If it is determined in step 12 that an obstacle O has been detected, and if it is determined in step 13 that a step has been detected, the control means 27 stops the motors 31 and 31 to drive wheels. 16 and 16 are stopped and detachment from the charging device 12 is temporarily stopped (step 14, FIG. 5 (a)).

  Next, the control means 27 (control unit 50) determines whether or not to continue leaving (continue running) (step 15). For example, in the present embodiment, the determination in step 15 is performed in addition to whether or not the electric vacuum cleaner main body 11 has moved from the charging device 12 by the first predetermined distance L1 or more as in step 3 of the first embodiment. Then, it is determined whether there is a direction around the vacuum cleaner main body 11 in which no object, that is, the obstacle O is detected. Specifically, the control means 27 drives the motors 31, 31 to turn the vacuum cleaner main body 11 (main body case 15) in the predetermined direction by at least 180 degrees forward, preferably 360 degrees, while the detection sensor 21 obstructs the obstacle. It is determined whether or not O is detected and whether or not a step is detected by the step sensor 20 (FIG. 5B). If it is determined that there is a direction in which neither the obstacle O nor the level difference is detected, it is determined that the vehicle can travel as it is, that is, the vehicle has succeeded in leaving. If no direction is detected, it is determined that the vehicle cannot travel, that is, the vehicle has failed to leave, and the process proceeds to step 6. Since it is assumed that an obstacle O or a step is located at least in front of the main body case 15 based on the determination in step 12 or step 13 before proceeding to step 15, as turning in step 15 For example, by rotating one drive wheel 16 (motor 31) and the other drive wheel 16 (motor 31) in opposite directions to each other, the center position of the main body case 15 is rotated without changing the center position, so-called superconductivity. Although it is preferable to make a ground turn, it may be turned so as to make a circular motion with a predetermined small radius, whether or not the obstacle O is detected by the detection sensor 21 every time the vehicle turns by a predetermined angle, and a step sensor 20 may determine whether or not to detect a step.

  As described above, when the vacuum cleaner body 11 is detached from the charging device 12 from the state in which the terminals 52 of the vacuum cleaner body 11 are connected to the charging terminals 57 of the charging device 12, the second predetermined When the obstacle O is detected by the detection sensor 21 within the distance L2, the driving of the motors 31, 31 is controlled to change the direction of the main body case 15, and the surrounding obstacle O is detected by the detection sensor 21, that is, the surroundings are detected. If there is a direction in which the obstacle O is not detected by searching, the drive of the motors 31 and 31 is controlled so that the main body case 15 travels in that direction, and there is no direction in which the obstacle O is not detected. The control means 27 controls the drive of the motors 31 and 31 so that the electric vacuum cleaner main body 11 is returned to the charging device 12. Therefore, the control means 27 controls the drive of the motors 31 and 31 so that the electric vacuum cleaner main body 11 does not enter inward with respect to the charging device 12, and the main body case. Since the main body case 15 can be turned easily and reliably at the position of the second predetermined distance L2, which is longer than the first predetermined distance L1, which is the distance at which 15 can turn at that position, the second predetermined Even if the obstacle O is detected within the distance L2, it is possible to reliably search the surroundings by the detection sensor 21 and to find out the direction in which the vehicle can travel and to leave the charging device 12. The success rate can be improved.

  In each of the above embodiments, instead of notifying the failure of separation by e-mail, for example, the main body case 15 is provided with a display unit such as an LED lamp as a notification means, and this display unit notifies the failure of separation by display. You may comprise, and you may use together this notification and the notification by an email.

  In addition, the vacuum cleaner main body 11 is connected to the charging device 12, and the terminal 52 is connected to the case main body 64 side of the charging device 12 so that the front portion of the main body case 15 faces the lower side of the main body case 15, etc. It is good also as a structure arrange | positioned. In this case, the same control as that in each of the above embodiments is possible only by reversing the front and rear.

  Further, as the object detection means, not only the non-contact detection sensor 21, but also a contact type sensor that detects an object by contact (collision) with the object may be used.

  Furthermore, although the traveling body is applied to the electric vacuum cleaner main body 11 having the cleaning unit 25, it can also be applied to, for example, a monitoring robot for monitoring a room.

  According to at least one embodiment described above, when the signal for setting the entry prevention area A is received by the receiving means 23, the control means 27 causes the vacuum cleaner main body 11 (main body case 15) to move into the entry prevention area A. The drive of the motors 31 and 31 is controlled so that it does not enter any more from the outside. Therefore, when leaving from the charging device 12 fails, the first predetermined distance L1 and the second predetermined distance L2 are set in the entry prevention area A, so when returning to the charging device 12 If this signal remains output from the output means 61, this signal is received by the receiving means 23, and there is a risk that the control means 27 will perform an incorrect travel control. Therefore, when the control unit 27 determines that the vacuum cleaner body 11 returns to the charging device 12, that is, when it is determined that the vacuum cleaner body 11 has failed to be detached from the charging device 12, the charging device 12 outputs When the means 61 stops outputting the signal for setting the entry prevention area A, the reception means 23 receives the signal for setting the entry prevention area A when the vacuum cleaner main body 11 returns to the charging device 12. Thus, the vacuum cleaner main body 11 can be surely returned to the charging device 12 without the control means 27 performing erroneous traveling control.

  Further, when the control means 27 determines that the vacuum cleaner main body 11 is returned to the charging device 12, that is, when it is determined that the vacuum cleaner main body 11 is unsuccessfully detached from the charging device 12, the notification means fails to disconnect. By notifying the user, even if the vacuum cleaner main body 11 has returned to the charging device 12 due to a failure to leave, the user may mistakenly recognize that the vacuum cleaner main body 11 has returned to the charging device 12 after successful removal. Absent. In particular, in the case of the vacuum cleaner 10, since the vacuum cleaner main body 11 often operates in the absence of the user, the actual operation of removing the actual vacuum cleaner main body 11 from the charging device 12 is not directly observed. When the user looks only at the vacuum cleaner main body 11 in the state of returning to the charging device 12, it is after the cleaning from the charging device 12 is successfully completed and the removal from the charging device 12 fails. Thus, it is difficult to determine whether it is after returning to the charging device 12 without cleaning. Therefore, it is possible to easily determine whether or not cleaning has been completed by notifying the failure of separation by the notification means as described above. If the separation from the charging device 12 fails, the charging device 12 It is also possible to prompt the user to improve the cleaning environment such as moving surrounding obstacles.

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

10 Electric vacuum cleaner as an autonomous vehicle
11 Vacuum cleaner body as a running body
12 Charging device
15 Body case
16 drive wheels
21 Detection sensor as object detection means
23 Receiving means
27 Control means
28 Secondary battery
31 Motor
52 terminals
56 Charging circuit
57 Charging terminal
61 Output means A Entry prevention area O Obstacle that is an object

Claims (6)

A main body case, a driving wheel for driving the main body case, a motor for driving the driving wheel, an object detecting means for detecting an object at least in front of the main body case, and driving of the motor based on detection of the object detecting means Control means, at least the motor, a secondary battery for supplying power to each of the control means and the object detection means, and a charging terminal electrically connected to the secondary battery, and capable of autonomous traveling A traveling body,
A charging terminal connected to the terminal, and a charging device including a charging circuit that is electrically connected to the charging terminal and charges the secondary battery,
The control means is configured such that when the traveling body is detached from the charging device from a state in which the terminal of the traveling body is connected to the charging terminal of the charging device, a moving distance with respect to the charging device is the charging device. Driving the motor so that the traveling body returns to the charging device when an object is detected by the object detection means at a position less than a first predetermined distance that is a distance that enables the main body case to turn at that position. An autonomous traveling body device characterized by controlling the vehicle . The charging device includes an output means for outputting a signal for setting an entry prevention area,
The traveling body includes receiving means for receiving the signal,
The control means controls the driving of the motor so that the traveling body does not enter from the outside into the entry prevention area when the signal is received by the receiving means,
The first predetermined distance from the charging device, the autonomous traveling body device according to claim 1, wherein characterized in that said intrusion preventing area. When the traveling unit is detached from the charging device from a state in which the terminal of the traveling body is connected to the charging terminal of the charging device, the control unit is configured such that the moving distance with respect to the charging device is greater than the first predetermined distance. When an object is detected by the object detection means at a distance less than the second predetermined distance, the driving of the motor is controlled to change the direction of the main body case, the surrounding object is detected by the object detection means, and the object is not detected When there is a direction, the drive of the motor is controlled so that the body case travels in that direction, and when there is no direction in which no object is detected, the motor returns so that the traveling body returns to the charging device. The autonomous traveling body device according to claim 1, wherein the driving of the vehicle is controlled. The charging device includes an output means for outputting a signal for setting an entry prevention area,
The traveling body includes receiving means for receiving the signal,
The control means controls the driving of the motor so that the traveling body does not enter the entry prevention area side when the signal is received by the receiving means,
The autonomous traveling body device according to claim 3 , wherein the second predetermined distance from the charging device is a distance at which the receiving means does not receive the signal. The autonomous traveling body device according to claim 2 or 4 , wherein the output means stops outputting the signal when the control means determines that the traveling body returns to the charging device. 6. The notification means according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , further comprising a notification means for notifying the failure of detachment of the traveling body from the charging device when the control means determines that the traveling body returns to the charging device. Autonomous traveling body device.

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