JP6707362B2 - Autonomous vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Description

Embodiments according to the present invention relate to an autonomous vacuum cleaner.

An autonomous electric vacuum cleaner that moves autonomously to clean a surface to be cleaned is known. The autonomous vacuum cleaner has a suction port on the bottom surface of the main body.

Generally, the opening width of the suction port is narrower than the entire width of the main body. Therefore, the conventional autonomous electric vacuum cleaner is provided with a swirl cleaning body that sweeps dust into the area from the outside of the front projection area of the suction opening, that is, the area where the suction opening passes along with the forward movement. The swivel cleaning body swirls a linear brush that spreads radially, for example, a brush that spreads in three forks, on the surface to be cleaned.

JP, 2014-097235, A

Dust, such as fiber dust and cotton dust, that has a relatively small mass is swept into the front projection area of the suction port by the swirl cleaning body, and even if it is not swept into the front projection area of the suction port, it swirls. Being lifted up by the cleaning body, the air flows into the suction port and is sucked into the suction port.

However, dust with a relatively large mass, such as stone grains and rice grains, may be swept away by the swirling cleaning body, and may cross the front projection area of the suction port. It is difficult to be supplemented by the flow of air flowing into the suction opening, and in some cases, the air may not be sucked into the suction opening only by moving on the surface to be cleaned.

Therefore, the present invention proposes an autonomous electric vacuum cleaner that can be surely sucked by being guided to the suction port regardless of the nature of dust, specifically, the lightness or weight of the dust.

In order to solve the above problems, an autonomous electric vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a main body having a suction port, a swirling cleaning body that swivels around a rotation center disposed in front of the suction port, and A wall-shaped guide portion that is disposed in front of the suction port and behind the rotation center of the swivel cleaning body, projects from the bottom surface of the main body, and guides dust swept by the swirl cleaning body to the suction port, and the guide. A guide part supporting mechanism that supports a portion to the main body and changes the height of the guide part with respect to the bottom surface of the main body, and when the main body turns, the guide part precedes the suction port in the turning direction. Is provided with a guide part retracting mechanism for reducing the height of the guide part .

The perspective view by the side of the top of the autonomous type vacuum cleaner concerning the embodiment of the present invention. The perspective view by the side of the bottom of the autonomy type vacuum cleaner concerning the embodiment of the present invention. The bottom view of the autonomous vacuum cleaner which concerns on embodiment of this invention. Sectional drawing of the principal part containing the induction|guidance|derivation part of the autonomous vacuum cleaner which concerns on embodiment of this invention. Sectional drawing of the principal part containing the induction|guidance|derivation part of the autonomous vacuum cleaner which concerns on embodiment of this invention. Sectional drawing of the principal part containing the induction|guidance|derivation part of the autonomous vacuum cleaner which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

An embodiment of an autonomous electric vacuum cleaner according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a top surface side of an autonomous electric vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the bottom surface side of the autonomous vacuum cleaner according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the autonomous vacuum cleaner according to the embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 according to the present embodiment is a so-called robot cleaner, and autonomously moves and cleans a surface to be cleaned.

The arrow F in FIG. 1 is the forward direction of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1, and the direction opposite to the arrow F is the backward direction of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1. The direction orthogonal to the arrow F is the width direction or the left-right direction of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1.

The autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 includes a main body 3 having a suction port 2, a dust container 5 provided at a rear portion of the main body 3, an electric blower 6 housed in the main body 3 and connected to the dust container 5, and an object to be cleaned. The moving unit 7 that supports and moves the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 on a surface, the driving unit 8 that drives the moving unit 7, and the driving unit 8 to control the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 on the surface to be cleaned. A robot control unit 9 that moves the battery physically and a secondary battery 11 as a power source are provided.

The dust container 5 may be detachable from the main body 3 or may be provided integrally with the main body 3.

Further, the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 is provided on the bottom surface 12 of the main body 3 with a rotary cleaning body 13 provided on the bottom surface 12 of the main body 3, a rotary cleaning body drive unit 15 as an electric motor for driving the rotary cleaning body 13. A pair of left and right swivel cleaning bodies 16 are provided, and a pair of left and right swivel cleaning body drive units 17 that drive each of the swivel cleaning bodies 16.

The main body 3 is, for example, a hollow disk body made of synthetic resin, and can be easily swiveled on the surface to be cleaned.

The suction port 2 is provided on the bottom surface 12 of the main body 3 and in the widthwise center of the latter half. The suction port 2 is horizontally long and has a width dimension of the main body 3, that is, a width dimension of about two-thirds of the diameter dimension. The suction port 2 is fluidly connected to the electric blower 6 via the dust container 5.

The dust container 5 accumulates the dust sucked from the suction port 2 by the suction negative pressure generated by the electric blower 6. A filter that collects dust by filtration, a separator that accumulates dust by inertial separation such as centrifugal separation (cyclone separation) or straight-line separation is applied to the dust container 5. The dust container 5 is arranged at the rear part of the main body 3.

The moving unit 7 includes a pair of left and right drive wheels 18 arranged on the bottom surface 12 of the main body 3, and a turning wheel 19 arranged on the bottom surface 12 of the main body 3.

The pair of drive wheels 18 projects from the bottom surface 12 of the main body 3, and grounds the surface to be cleaned with the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 placed on the surface to be cleaned. Further, the pair of drive wheels 18 are arranged at a substantially central portion in the front-rear direction of the main body 3, and are arranged on the right side or the left side of the main body 3 while avoiding the front of the suction port 2. The rotation shafts of the pair of drive wheels 18 are arranged on a straight line extending along the width direction of the main body 3. The autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 moves forward or backward by rotating the left and right drive wheels 18 in the same direction, and turns clockwise or counterclockwise by rotating the left and right drive wheels 18 in opposite directions.

The slewing wheel 19 is a driven wheel that can freely rotate and is a so-called caster. The main body 3 is arranged at a substantially central portion in the width direction and a front portion.

The drive units 8 are provided in a pair of left and right and are connected to each of the pair of drive wheels 18. The drive unit 8 drives the left and right drive wheels 18 independently.

The robot controller 9 includes a microprocessor (not shown) and a storage device (not shown) that stores various calculation programs executed by the microprocessor, parameters, and the like. The robot control unit 9 is electrically connected to the electric blower 6, the rotary cleaning body drive unit 15, the drive unit 8, and the swivel cleaning body drive unit 17.

The secondary battery 11 is a power source for the electric blower 6, the rotary cleaning body drive unit 15, the drive unit 8, the swing cleaning body drive unit 17, and the robot control unit 9. The secondary battery 11 is arranged, for example, behind the slewing wheel 19.

The rotary cleaning body 13 is provided at the suction port 2. The rotary cleaning body 13 is a shaft-shaped cleaning body having a rotation center line extending in the width direction of the main body 3. When the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 moves forward, the rotary cleaning body 13 passes through the front projection area A and sweeps up dust on the surface to be cleaned.

The rotary cleaning body drive unit 15 is housed in the main body 3. A power transmission mechanism (not shown) including a belt and a gear is provided between the rotary cleaning body drive unit 15 and the rotary cleaning body 13.

The swivel cleaning bodies 16 are provided in a left-right pair with the front projection area A of the suction port 2 interposed therebetween. The pair of swivel cleaning bodies 16 swivel around a rotation center arranged in front of the suction port 2. The pair of swivel cleaning bodies 16 sweeps into the front projection area A dust in an area where the rotary cleaning body 13 does not pass when the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 moves forward, that is, an area outside the front projection area A. The center of rotation of the pair of swivel cleaning bodies 16 is preferably arranged outside the front projection area A of the suction port 2, specifically, on the right side or the left side of the main body 3. Further, the swivel cleaning body 16 may be provided on only one of the left and right sides.

The swirl cleaning body 16 includes a brush base 21 as a rotation center and a plurality of, for example, three linear brushes 22 radially extending in the radial direction of the brush base 21.

Each of the brush bases 21 is arranged in front of the suction port 2 and each of the left and right drive wheels 18 and behind the swivel wheel 19, and is arranged to the left of the suction port 2 or to the left of the suction port 2. The rotation center line of each brush base 21 is slightly inclined forward with respect to the perpendicular of the surface to be cleaned. Therefore, the linear brush 22 swivels along the surface inclined forward with respect to the surface to be cleaned. That is, the linear brush 22 that swivels forward with respect to the brush base 21 is pressed toward the surface to be cleaned toward the tip end, and the linear brush 22 that swivels rearward with respect to the brush base 21 has a tip. The closer to the side, the farther away from the surface to be cleaned.

The linear brushes 22 are arranged at equal intervals, for example, in three directions from the brush base 21. Four or more linear brushes 22 may be provided for each brush base 21. Each linear brush 22 is a bundle of a plurality of bristles. The linear brush 22 revolves around the brush base 21 along a locus that extends outward from the outer peripheral edge of the main body 3. It should be noted that the range in which the bristles swirl may or may not hang on the front projection area A of the suction port 2.

Each of the swivel cleaning body drive units 17 includes a rotation shaft that projects downward and is connected to the brush base portion 21 of the swivel cleaning body 16. Each of the swivel cleaning body driving units 17 rotates the swivel cleaning body 16 so as to sweep dust on the surface to be cleaned into the front projection area A of the suction port 2.

The rotary cleaning body drive unit 17 is accommodated in a pair of housings 23 provided on the left and right of the main body 3. Each of the housings 23 is movable back and forth in the radial direction of the disk-shaped main body 3, and thus expands the turning range of the linear brush 22. When the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 is moving along the wall, the housing 23 moves toward the center of the main body 3 so as not to interfere with the movement by competing against the wall or the like. When moving, the brush 3 moves outward in the radial direction of the main body 3 to expand the swivel range of the brush bristles in the width direction of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1.

The autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 is disposed in front of the suction port 2 and rearward of the rotation center of the swivel cleaning body 16 and projects from the bottom surface of the main body 3, so that dust swept by the swirl cleaning body 16 is sucked into the suction port 2. The wall-shaped guiding portion 25 for guiding is provided. The bottom surface of the main body 3 may be flat or may have irregularities. Of the bottom surface of the main body 3, the root portion of the guide portion 25 may be the portion closest to the surface to be cleaned with the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 placed on the surface to be cleaned, or the portion farthest from the surface to be cleaned. Or it may be a part other than these.

The guiding portions 25 are provided in a pair on the left and right. The guide portion 25 extends in the front-rear direction of the main body 3, and at least the rear end portion thereof enters the inside of the front projection area A of the suction port 2.

The guide portion 25 approaches the center of the suction port 2 or the center of the main body 3 as it goes from the front end side toward the rear end side, in other words, as it approaches the swirl cleaning body 16 side toward the suction port 2 side, and a pair of left and right guides are provided. Looking at part 25, they are approaching each other. Therefore, when the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 moves forward, dust is guided to the suction port 2 by the inner surface of the guide portion 25, the surface facing the pair of left and right guide portions 25. That is, the pair of left and right guiding parts 25 has a surface facing the forward direction or the front of the main body 3.

The guide portion 25 may be in contact with the surface to be cleaned, or to the extent that dust having a relatively large mass and size as compared to cotton dust and fiber dust, such as stone grains and rice grains, cannot pass through, for example, 0.2 mm. May be about 1 mm away from the surface to be cleaned. When the drive wheel 18 is suspended by a suspension mechanism (not shown) and the main body 3 moves up and down, there may be a case where it comes in contact with the surface to be cleaned and a case where it separates from the surface within the range of the vertical movement.

The guide portion 25 may be arranged at a position in contact with the linear brush 22 of the swivel cleaning body 16. In this case, when the linear brush 22 comes into contact with the guiding portion 25, the linear brush 22 bends and gets over the guiding portion 25. The guide portion 25 preferably does not interfere with the brush base 21.

When the swivel cleaning body 16 is provided on only one of the left and right sides, the guide portion 25 is preferably disposed on the other side of the front projection area A of the suction port 2. For example, when the swirl cleaning body 16 is provided only on the left side of the main body 3, the guide portion 25 is preferably arranged on the right side of the front projection area A of the suction port 2. Even if there are a pair of left and right swivel cleaning bodies 16, dust can be prevented from being swept away on at least one direction side as long as there is one guide portion 25 on either side.

The swirl cleaning body 16 brings the linear brush 22 from the front side closer to the front projection area A of the suction port 2 and allows the linear brush 22 to enter the front projection area A of the suction port 2 to dust from the outside of the front projection area A of the suction port 2 to the inside. Sweep up. After the dust is swept into the front projection area A of the suction port 2, the swirl cleaning body 16 swirls the linear brush 22 backward while separating from the surface to be cleaned, and the swirl cleaning body 16 linearly moves from the front projection area A of the suction port 2. The brush 22 is ejected. In the operation process of the swirl cleaning body 16, dust D having a relatively large mass as compared to cotton dust and fiber dust, such as stone grains and rice grains, is swept away by the linear brush 22 so as to be swept away. In some cases (solid arrow in FIG. 3).

In a conventional autonomous vacuum cleaner, the swept dust passes between the revolving cleaning body on the opposite side and the suction port, that is, it crosses the front projection area of the suction port and is not sucked into the suction port. There was a case where it simply moved on the cleaning surface.

Therefore, in the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 according to the present embodiment, the guiding portion 25 blocks the dust D that is swept away by the linear brush 22 and is swept away, and the dust D is projected forward from the suction port 2. To the suction port 2 without fail.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a main part including a guide part of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner according to the embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 according to the present embodiment supports the guide portion 25 on the main body 3 and changes the height (or the protruding length) of the guide portion 25 with respect to the bottom surface of the main body 3. The guide portion support mechanism 27 is provided.

First, the guiding portion 25 may be fixed to the bottom surface of the main body 3 within a range that does not hinder the movement or traveling of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1, but the surface to be cleaned is not necessarily flat, so the surface to be cleaned is not necessarily flat. It is preferable that the height can be automatically adjusted according to the shape of the. Therefore, the guide portion 25 penetrates the inside and the outside of the main body 3 through the slit 28 provided in the bottom portion of the main body 3, and extends in the vertical direction of the main body 3, that is, when the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 is placed on the surface to be cleaned. It is supported so that it can slide toward and away from the cleaning surface.

The guide portion 25 includes a pressing force receiving plate 29 that receives the force transmitted from the guide portion support mechanism 27. Further, the guide portion 25 has an arcuate lower end portion 31 in order to reduce the frictional force with the surface to be cleaned. The guide portion 25 may be provided with a brushed cloth or a blade of silicon rubber at the lower end instead of the arcuate lower end 31 (not shown). The guide portion 25 may be made of a material such as a hard synthetic resin that is not easily deformed for the entire wall, or may be a material that is greatly deformed, such as brush bristles or blades.

The guide portion support mechanism 27 transmits to the main body 3 a pressing member 32 that applies a force to the guide portion 25 in a direction in which the height increases (a direction in which the protruding length increases), and a reaction force of the force that acts on the guide portion 25. And a housing 33 that holds the pressing member 32.

The pressing member 32 is an elastic body such as a coil spring or rubber. The pressing force of the guide portion 25 by the pressing member 32 is set within a range that does not hinder the movement or traveling of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1.

5 and 6 are cross-sectional views of a main part including a guide part of the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner according to the embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, in the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 according to the present embodiment, when the main body 3 is swung, the guiding section 25 precedes the suction port 2 in the swirling direction. Is provided with a guide portion retracting mechanism 35 that makes the height of the main body 3 smaller than that when the main body 3 moves straight (shortens the protruding length).

The guiding portion retracting mechanism 35 includes a first actuator 36 that drives the guiding portion 25 in a direction that reduces the height, and a second actuator 37 that drives the guiding portion 25 in a direction that reduces the height.

The first actuator 36 is, for example, a solenoid, and is electrically connected to the robot controller 9.

The second actuator 37 is, for example, an elastic body such as a coil spring or rubber, is deformed and stores energy when the first actuator 36 is excited and moves the guiding portion 25, and the first actuator 36 is demagnetized. Then, the energy is released and the height of the guiding portion 25 is restored. The second actuator 37 may be replaced by the pressing member 32 of the guide portion support mechanism 27.

When the main body 3 is swung, the robot control unit 9 drives and controls the guidance unit retraction mechanism 35 so that the height of the guidance unit 25 becomes smaller if the guidance unit 25 precedes the suction port 2 in the swivel direction. Specifically, the robot control unit 9 operates the first actuator 36 when the guiding unit 25 precedes the suction port 2 in the turning direction when turning the main body 3, and for example, excites a solenoid to guide the robot. The portion 25 is pulled upward and separated from the surface to be cleaned (FIG. 5). It should be noted that the state of “the height of the guiding portion 25 becomes smaller” means that the guiding portion 25 enters the inside of the main body 3, that is, the height dimension of the guiding portion 25 with respect to the bottom surface of the main body 3 (projection length dimension). ) Is negative.

On the other hand, when the main body 3 is turned, the robot control section 9 keeps the height of the guide section 25 at the same level as when going straight when the guide section 25 moves later than the suction port 2 in the turning direction. The retracting mechanism 35 is controlled. Specifically, the robot control unit 9 deactivates the first actuator 36 when the guiding unit 25 moves later than the suction port 2 in the turning direction when turning the main body 3, and, for example, turns on the solenoid. Demagnetization is performed, and the guide portion 25 is pushed downward by the second actuator 37 to come close to or contact the surface to be cleaned (FIG. 6).

The case where the guide portion 25 precedes the suction port 2 in the turning direction means that when the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 turns right (clockwise) in FIG. 3, the suction is performed when the solid line arrow R in FIG. This is a mode in which the guide portion 25a on the right side of the mouth 2 turns right before the inlet 2. The case where the guide unit 25 moves later than the suction port 2 in the turning direction means that the suction port 2 is moved when the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 turns right in FIG. 3 (a solid arrow R in FIG. 3 ). This is a mode in which the guiding portion 25b on the left side of the left turns behind the suction port 2 and turns right. When the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 turns to the left, the guide parts 25a and 25b are inverted before and after.

That is, when the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 turns to change the moving direction and avoid obstacles, the guide part 25 that turns before the suction port 2 is separated from the surface to be cleaned. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the dust in the turning direction from approaching the suction port 2. Moreover, even if the swirl cleaning body 16 preceding the swirl direction sweeps away dust by moving the guiding part 25 swirling behind the suction port 2 closer to the surface to be cleaned, the swirling cleaning body 16 that precedes in the swirling direction can still swirl the dust with the guiding part 25. It is captured and guided to the suction port 2.

The autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 according to the present embodiment configured as described above is provided with the wall-shaped guide portion 25 that guides the dust swept by the swivel cleaning body 16 to the suction port 2, thereby reducing the size and mass of the dust. Regardless, the dust swept away by the swirl cleaning body 16 can be guided to the suction port 2 and sucked in without causing the dust to escape.

In addition, the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 according to the present embodiment is provided with the guide portion support mechanism 27 that changes the height of the guide portion 25, so that the guide portion 25 is caught on the unevenness or the step of the surface to be cleaned, It is possible to continue smooth autonomous movement without difficulty in traveling or moving.

Furthermore, when the main body 3 is swung, the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 according to the present embodiment reduces the height of the guiding part 25 or reduces the height of the guiding part 25 when the guiding part 25 precedes the suction port 2 in the swirling direction. By providing the guide part retracting mechanism 35 that makes the height of the part 25 smaller than zero, the guide part 25 does not interfere with the dust that should be naturally sucked into the suction port 2 with the turning operation.

Furthermore, in the autonomous vacuum cleaner 1 according to the present embodiment, when the main body 3 is turned, if the guide portion 25 moves later than the suction port 2 in the turning direction, the guide portion 25 goes straight ahead. By providing the guide portion retreating mechanism 35 that keeps the same as that at the time, the dust swept off by the swivel cleaning body 16 does not run away not only when going straight but also when turning.

Therefore, according to the autonomous electric vacuum cleaner 1 according to the present embodiment, the dust can be guided to the suction port 2 and reliably sucked, regardless of the nature of dust, specifically, the weight of the dust.

Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples 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 spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are also included in the invention described in the claims and the scope equivalent thereto.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Autonomous vacuum cleaner, 2... Suction port, 3... Main body, 5... Dust container, 6... Electric blower, 7... Moving part, 8... Driving part, 9... Robot control part, 11... Secondary battery, 12 ... bottom surface, 13... rotary cleaning body, 15... rotary cleaning body drive section, 16... swivel cleaning body, 17... swivel cleaning body drive section, 18... drive wheel, 19... swivel wheel, 21... brush base section, 22... Linear brush, 23... Housing, 25, 25a, 25b... Guide part, 27... Guide part support mechanism, 28... Slit, 29... Pressing force receiving plate, 31... Lower end part, 32... Pressing member, 33... Housing, 35 ... guide part retracting mechanism, 36 ... first actuator, 37 ... second actuator.

Claims (5)

A main body having a suction port,
A swirling cleaning body that swivels around a rotation center disposed in front of the suction port,
A wall-shaped guide portion that is disposed in front of the suction port and behind the rotation center of the swirl cleaning body, and that guides dust swept by the swirl cleaning body to the suction port.
A guide part support mechanism that supports the guide part on the main body and changes the height of the guide part with respect to the bottom surface of the main body,
An autonomous electric vacuum cleaner comprising: a guide part retracting mechanism that reduces the height of the guide part when the guide part precedes the suction port in the rotating direction when the main body is rotated . When turning the body, when the leading portion is moved also delayed the turning direction from the suction port according to claim 1, further comprising a guiding portion retracting mechanism to keep the same as during straight the height of the guide portion Autonomous Vacuum Cleaner. The rotation center of the swivel cleaning body is arranged on one of the left and right sides of the front projection area of the suction port,
The autonomous electric vacuum cleaner according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the guiding portion is disposed on the other side of the right and left sides of the front projection area of the suction port. The autonomous electric cleaning according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the guide portion extends in the front-rear direction of the main body, and at least a rear end portion of the guide portion enters inside a front projection region of the suction port. Machine. The swiveling cleaning body is provided in a pair of left and right with a front projection region of the suction port interposed therebetween,
The autonomous electric vacuum cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the guide portions are also provided in a left-right pair.