JPH01230324A - Self traveling type cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the trouble of cutting, etc., of a power cord by installing a cord terminal detecting means for detecting the terminal part of the power cord onto a cord reel and suspending the traveling when the terminal edge part of the cord is detected and preventing the power cord from being applied with an excessive tension. CONSTITUTION:A start button is pressed to start the cleaning traveling, and an electromagnetic solenoid is turned-ON to permit the revolution of a cord reel 42, which is applied with a tension in the direction for taking up a power cord 41 through a clutch mechanism 55 by a reel motor 54 which always revolves in one direction. When almost all the power cord 41 is pulled out from the cord reel 42, a cord terminal detecting switch 73 is turned-ON to stop the traveling motors 13a and 13b, and the traveling of the cleaner body 1 is suspended, and the power cord 41 is prevented from being applied with a large tension.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a self-propelled vacuum cleaner that runs while being supplied with power from the outside via a power cord.

(b) Prior art As a technology prior to the present invention, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-2683
Publication 05'z3 states that the user connects the power cord to the electrical outlet on the wall of the room, receives the power supply from the power source cord, and performs cleaning work while freely moving around the room. In addition, a self-propelled vacuum cleaner is shown in which the length of the power source 7 to be pulled out is adjusted as the vacuum cleaner moves.

To adjust the pull-out length of the power cord, connect the remote control to the -1 drill reel of the power cord through one clamp/Z chain that connects only in one direction. This is done by detecting slack in the power cord with a detection means and rotating the one-wheel motor in forward and reverse directions, thereby winding the power cord around the cord reel and pulling it out.

However, in this prior art, even after the power cord is completely pulled out from the cord reel, the vacuum cleaner body continues to move and try to pull out the power cord from the cord reel. Cord reel attachment (Excessive force may be applied to the X1 section, causing the attachment section to break and cause a failure.

C) Problems to be solved by the invention The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and is designed to prevent malfunctions such as disconnection of the power cord by preventing excessive tension from being applied to the power cord. The technical challenge is to obtain a self-propelled vacuum cleaner.

(d) Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the problems described in E, the self-propelled vacuum cleaner of the present invention includes:
As shown in the drawings, it is equipped with self-propelled wheels that can be driven by a running motor, a suction part, and a dust suction part, and the power cord is wound on a rotatable cord reel, which is pulled out and cleaned while running. The cord reel is provided with a cord end detection means for detecting the end of the power cord, and the cord reel stops running when the cord end detection means detects the end.

(E) Function With the above configuration, the self-propelled vacuum cleaner winds up the power cord from the cord reel, pulls it out, and cleans while running. As the vehicle travels, when the power cord is almost completely pulled out from the cord reel, the cord end detection means detects the end of the power cord, and upon this detection, the vehicle stops traveling.

(f) Example The self-propelled vacuum cleaner of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 13.

(1) is the vacuum cleaner body of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner of the present invention, and the base part (
2), a cord winding part (3), and a dust suction part (4>) are sequentially formed upward, and a cord reel drive part (5) is connected to the cord winding part (3), and the whole is synthesized. It is covered with a resin main body case (6).

The base f: ↑ part (2) is formed on the lower surface of the lower substrate (7), and a pair of left and right wheel units h (8a) (8b) are provided on both left and right sides of the lower surface of the lower substrate (7). A Kihe-Star type rear wheel (9) is installed on the rear side, a suction device (10〉) is installed on the front side, and a collision sensor (11) is installed around the entire lower part of the front board (7). The left and right wheel units <8a) <8b) are covered with left and right running motors (13a) and (13b), respectively.
It consists of left and right self-propelled wheels (14a) and (14b) that are connected to the wheels 3a and 13b through a speed reduction mechanism and driven by the motors (1, 3a) and (1, 3b), respectively. By controlling the forward and reverse rotation of the traveling motors (13a) and (13b), the forward movement, backward movement, and direction change of the vacuum cleaner main body (1) in the left and right directions and in the opposite direction are controlled.

The cord winding part (3) is a metal cylindrical support (15
) to the upper end of the P-side board (17) via the annular seat plate (16).
and connect the lower surface of the upper substrate (17) and the lower substrate (
7).

The dust suction unit (4) is formed on the upper surface of the upper substrate (17), and is connected to a dust suction box (19) containing an electric blower (18) through an intake pipe (20). The dust collection can (
21>, and the dust collection can (21) connects the suction portion to the suction tool (10) through a flexible suction port (22) passing through the inside of the cylindrical support (15). A disposable paper bag filter, which communicates with the suction section, is removably housed inside.

There is a power switch (23L) on the top of the main body case (6).
Start switch (,24), stop switch (2
5), a travel instruction unit (27) consisting of an insertion slot (, 26a) for an IC card (26>) that stores the travel route, etc., a suction device lifting lever (28), and a travel instruction unit (27) located at the top of the lid (21a). It is equipped with a dust collection lid (29) that can be opened and closed, and is further equipped with multiple ultrasonic position sensors (30) on the front and left and right sides to measure the distance to obstacles such as walls. .

In the J-1 winding section (3), (31) is a disc-shaped power distribution board fixed around the cylindrical support (15), and has four conductive rings (32) for brush sliding contact on the lower surface. ... are arranged concentrically, and (33) is the power distribution board (31).
), the slip ring (33)
is an upper ring body 3 that covers the power distribution board <31) from
4), and a lower ring body (35) that covers from below, and the upper and lower ring bodies (34> (35) each have a central opening connected to the cylindrical column (15) with a bearing (36) <37>. The terminal plate (38) is attached to the lower ring body (35), and the conductive ring (32) It is equipped with four brush pieces (39) that come into sliding contact with... (40
) is a cord reel carrier integrally molded on the outer peripheral surface of the upper ring body (34). j: ta(41) is a total summary of 20m
The long power cord (42) is the power cord (41)
Cord reel for winding - r, ? A ”-Dreel (4
2) is formed in a thin shape with a diameter of 5Qcm, which has a reel width that is large enough to wind the jut knee A-1 is fixed and rotatably rotatable about the cylindrical support E (15) together with the slip ring body (33).

Furthermore, between the lower part of the load reel (42) and the lower substrate 7), there is a rotary support (41) for guiding the electric, cool, l-de (41) to the two-row reel (42). 43
), through the bearing (44)
It is rotatably supported over 360° at >°C. The rotary support body (43) is provided with a cover tube (45>) that covers the outer periphery of the cord reel (42) and is connected to the power source -J-.
In order to draw out the F (41) in the tangential direction of the ':l-drill (42), it is provided with a load pull-out part (46) extending tangentially from the outer peripheral end. As shown in FIG. 6, the cord passing notch 47) formed by cutting out a part of the cover cylinder (45) and the -1-triel (42) are connected in the tangential force direction, that is, the rotating support (43). A kite board (48) is erected perpendicularly to the direction of the 1 Nil tangent at the tip of the kite board (48), which is integrally formed in an oblique direction from f:
It is equipped with a support stand (49), and the guide plate (48) marked H11 has a four-digit rectangular =2-code passing hole (51) on the upper, lower, left, and right peripheries for holding a kite rotating ring (50). =2-
The cord (41) passes through the -1-cord passing hole 51), and is wound and drawn out onto the cord reel (42). Further, (52) (52) is a pair of road cleaning brushes disposed on the support base (49), and the brushes (52) are used to clean between the opposing brush bristles (52a) (52a). )
passes through the tR roller (41) during winding.
) to (; 1) It is designed to remove dirt and dirt from the clothes.

Next, the reel motor (54) is attached to the cord reel drive unit (5) i-1 downward through the (-IN (53)) and always rotates in the -j direction.
), and transmitting a rotational driving force within the range of a predetermined rotation of the rotational driving force of the reel motor (54) to the -7- reel (42).
1) Always apply tension in the direction of winding! A clutch mechanism (55) is installed on the output shaft of the clutch mechanism (55).
57) is meshed with the aforementioned Dolly Lugya (40).

The clutch mechanism (55) is an electromagnetic hysteresis clutch as shown in FIG. 7, and is connected to a reel motor (54).
A driving side rotating magnet (59) is connected to the input shaft (58) connected to the driving shaft of the output shaft (56), and a driven side rotating magnet (6
0), my husband? A control field (62) team is attached to the shaft and has a field winding a<6i>, and the input shaft (58) and the output shaft (56) are magnetically connected to each other to generate rotation applied to the input shaft (58). Increase the driving force to the specified maximum rotational torque of the output shaft <5
By controlling the current flowing through the winding (61), the upper limit rotational torque can be varied within a certain range. That is, the clutch mechanism (55) l-i transfers the rotational driving force of the reel motor (54) to the field winding (61) (by adjusting the control current flowing through the field winding (61), the rotational torque within a certain range is applied to the low 12 reel (4).
2) It functions as a limiter that reaches f people,
As a result, tension in the winding direction is always applied to the power cord (41).

Here, to explain in detail the tension F in the winding direction of the cord reel 11, (42) and the rotational torque of the crumple machine 4111 (55), the radius of the innermost circumference of the cord reel (42) is R1, The radius of the outermost circumference is R2, and the flag gear (5
7> radius is RC, and the radius of the code reel key (40) is R1'', the output shaft (55) of the clutch m structure (55) is
6) The rotational torque T in the power cord (41) is as follows;
When it is at the innermost circumference of the food reel <42), T+ = R
t・Rc-F/Rr, when it is at the outermost circumference of the cord reel 42), T 2- R2・Rc-F, /R+
becomes. Experimentally, the appropriate tension F in the winding direction of the cord reel <42) is 500 g to 1 kg, so in this example, tt, R1=1OCTll,
R2=30cm, Rr=25c1, Rc
= 5 c + n, when F = 500g or less, the input shaft (58) and output shaft (56) of the clutch mechanism (55) are connected, and when it is 500g or more, it can be turned by 1 (Kohakura) / hand. The upper limit rotation of the mechanism (55) and the power cord (41)
When it is at the innermost circumference, TI=1 kg, and when it is at the outermost circumference, T 2 =3 kg. In other words, in order to keep the tension of the power cord <41) constant at 500 g, the clutch mechanism (55) should be turned 1 - l k
It is necessary to control within the range of g cm -3 kg cm, and for this purpose, the current flowing through the field winding = 10 - wire (61) may be increased or decreased in accordance with the winding radius of the power cord <41).

In this embodiment, in order to keep the tension of the cord reel (42) within the range of 500 g to 1 kg, the increase/decrease control of the current flowing through the field winding (61) is performed as follows. As shown in Figure 3, the cord reel (4
2) A cylindrical support (15) between the outermost and innermost peripheries of the top surface
A pair of cord detection switches (63) (63) are arranged at symmetrical positions, that is, on the same circle, with the detection switches (63) (63) as shown in FIG. The circuit (64) is incorporated into the detection switch (63).
) (63) is simultaneously on, an L output is generated, and when off, an H output is generated.
By activating the rotational torque control circuit (65) shown in section (a), the current is increased when the detection switches (63) and (63) are simultaneously on, and the current is decreased when they are off at the same time. The upper limit rotational torque of the clutch mechanism (55) is switched between two stages, strong and weak, depending on the amount of winding of the power cord (41) onto the cord reel (42>).

As shown in FIG. 3, the cord detection switch (63) has a detection hole (66) formed in the upper side of the cord reel (42) and protrudes into the cord reel (42). A 'lit source cord low steel ball <67> having a larger diameter than <66> was fixed to the cord reel (42) by a mounting member (68), and an operating rod (69a) was positioned above the steel ball (67). Micro switch (69
), the steel ball (67) moves up and down depending on the presence or absence of the power cord (41) wound around the cord reel (42), which turns on and off the micro switch (69). code detection switch (63) (6
3) is provided symmetrically because with one cord detection switch, even when the winding amount of the power cord (41) is small, when the power load (41) passes through the cord detection switch, the power cord ( This is to eliminate the possibility of erroneously detecting that the amount of winding is too large even if 41) is detected. Further, the rotational torque control circuit (65) includes a square wave generation circuit (70), the code remaining amount detection circuit (64), a comparator circuit (71), and a clutch control circuit (71), as shown in FIG. The triangular wave (a) is generated from the triangular wave generation circuit (70), and the code detection switch (63) is generated from the code remaining amount detection circuit (64).
) (63) is off, an H output (bl) is generated, and when it is on, an L output (b2) is generated, and the comparator circuit (7
1) compared with code detection switch (63) (63)
When it is off, a short square wave output (cl) is obtained, and when it is on, a long square wave output (C2) is obtained.These square wave outputs (C1) (C2>) are connected to the clutch control circuit. (7
2), and the upper limit rotational torque of the clutch mechanism (55) is switched to two stages using an output corresponding to the duty ratio.

Furthermore, (73) indicates that the power cord (41) has been pulled out to the terminal end near the innermost circumference of the cord reel (42), that is, the power cord (41) has been pulled out to the terminal end located approximately 1 m from the final end. This is a cord end detection switch that detects when the cord has been pulled out. It is disposed inside the lower ring body (35) on the top surface of the cord reel (42), and a part of the cord is inserted into the cord reel (42) through the end detection hole (74). Protruding steel ball for detection (7g)
and a microswitch (76) having a switch operation rod (76a), which detects the presence or absence of a power cord (41), and when the cord (41) is not present, switches the drive motors (13a) and (13b). The main body (1) of the vacuum cleaner is stopped by stopping the power supply to the main body (1).

(77) is the power cord (
41> is a directional brake mechanism provided to prevent the rotary support body (43) aII from rotating together in the winding direction of the cord reel (42).
As shown in FIG. 10, 77) has a one-way clutch (
A brake roller (80) containing a brake roller (79) is pivotally supported, and the roller (80) is in pressure contact with the inner surface of the cover tube (45) of the rotary support (43). When the source cord (41) is wound up, the rotating support body (43)
When the one-way crank tries to rotate in the winding direction, the one-way crank//
The first brake roller (80) is actuated to stop the rotation of the first brake roller (80) and increase the frictional force between the roller (80) and the inner surface of the cover cylinder <45>, so that the rotating support (43) It is configured to brake the rotation of the reel (42) in the winding direction and make it difficult to rotate. That is, the rotary support body (43) is difficult to rotate in the winding direction, but freely rotates in the opposite direction to the winding direction regardless of the one-way brake mechanism (77).

(81) is a cord reel brake mechanism disposed on the lower surface of the upper substrate (17) that brakes the cord reel (42) so that it does not rotate freely when the power is stopped; As shown in FIG. 11, (81) is a brake surface (82) formed by carving a lorent on the outer peripheral surface of the slip ring (33)
The brake row roller (83) facing the brake roller (83) and the brake roller (83) are pivotally supported via a torque limiter (84), and are pivotably supported on the lower surface of the upper substrate (J7). A rocking plate (85) is suspended between the end of the rocking plate (85) and the lower surface of the upper substrate (17), and the push roller (83) is connected to the butt, - gear surface ( The electromagnetic solenoid (82) has a spring (86) in pressure contact with the swing plate (82), and a spring (87a) connected to the free end of the rocking plate (85), and an electromagnetic solenoid (87a) attached to the lower surface of the upper board (17).
7), and when power is supplied, the brake roller (83) is activated by operating the electromagnetic solenoid (87).
The cord reel (42) is made rotatable by separating the cord reel (42) from the brake surface (82), and when the power is stopped, the brake roller (83) is pressed against the brake surface (82) by the force of the spring (86). -7-Dreel (42)
is designed so that it does not rotate by itself. If the power cord (41) is pulled out for power supply etc. when the power is stopped, the torque limiter (84)
is operated to make the brake roller (83) rotatable, thereby allowing the cord reel (42) to rotate.

Furthermore, a locking device (88) is provided at the tip of the power cord (41) to securely lock the power cord (41) to the -7>cm wall on the wall of the room. The locking device (88) is mounted in a case (89) with a weight 90) as shown in FIG.
Fix it and install the appliance outlet 1-(91) f
-J, the power supply cord (
A plug (93) is provided at the tip of the power supply load (92) to be connected to a wall of the room (size shown in the figure). Then connect the power cord (
41) is equipped with a plug (94) with an engaging hook (94a) that is securely engaged with the appliance outlet (91), and the plug (94) is connected to the appliance outlet (91).
1), the tension of the power cord (41) is supported by the locking device (88), and the plug (93) inserted into the wall outlet is connected to the above-mentioned 1! In order to prevent the tension of the power cord (41) from being transmitted, the plug (93) is prevented from being pulled out from the wall outlet due to the movement of the main body (1). In addition, it is also possible to eliminate the appliance outlet socket 91) and the plug (94), pull out the power cord (41) after passing through the locking device (88), and attach the plug (93) to the tip. good.

Figure 13 is a diagram of the electrical circuit of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner invented by O. In the same figure, r (95) is the central processing unit t (
96) and memory (97) and I10 interface. Chair (9
8), the I10 interface (98) includes the IC card (29), a collision sensor (11), a position sensor (30), a motor control circuit (99), a rotational torque control circuit (65), A cord end detection switch 73〉, a reel motor (54), an electromagnetic nozzle 7 noid (87), and an electric blower (18) are connected, and the motor control circuit (99) is connected to a left side running upper motor (13a〉) and A right side traveling motor (13b) is connected, and a clutch mechanism (
55) and the cord detection switch (63) are disconnected.

The operation will be explained below using the following numbers.

First, pull out the power cord (41) from the I-F reel (42), connect the plug (93) at the end of the locking device (88) to the outlet on the wall of the room, and turn on the power switch (2).
3). Then commercial electricity 111X <A C10
0V) is the butane piece (39) inside the slip ring (33).
... and the conductive ring (32)... to the -CC cleaner body 1). Next, cleaning is started, and the cleaning method is stored in the IC card (26), and according to the travel route, the position sensor (30) and collision sensor (11) are used.
``Leep'' running, which performs cleaning run 1 while making corrections based on the information of
Depending on the information from the collision sensor (11), there are two modes: simple driving, which changes direction if there is a wall or obstacle in front of it, and finishes cleaning if it cannot go in that direction. After that, press the star 1- button (24).
Start cleaning run. At this time, the electromagnetic solenoid (87
) is turned on, the food reel (42) can rotate freely, and the reel motor (5), which always rotates in one direction, is turned on.
4) applies a dead tension of 500 g to 1 kg to the loader IL (42) in the winding +1Q direction of the power cord (41) via the crank F mechanism (55). The tie at the end of the power cord <41), the device (
88), the tension applied to the power supply: 1-1ζ is not transmitted to the plug 93), so the plug (93) does not come off from the wall outlet. As the cleaner main body (1) advances and moves away from the wall surface, the source cord (41) is pulled out from the cord reel (42) against the tension. moreover,
As the vacuum cleaner main body (1) moves backward or forwards after changing its direction, the power cord (41) is wound around the cord reel (42) by the tension in the direction of the winding force as it approaches the outlet. At this time, the rotary support (43) forming the cord pull-out part (46) that guides the power cord (41) to the cord reel (42) is connected to the cord reel (42) by the one-way plagier mechanism (77). ) becomes difficult to rotate in the winding direction (as the rotary support (43) and the cord reel (42) turn [01], connect the power cord (41) in Table 4 to the extra machine. When the book (1) is rolled up, the drawer part (46) is always facing the electrical outlet. When winding up the 1-do reel (41), the dust and dirt deposited on the 1-do reel (4) are removed by the 17-do cleaning brush (52) (52).
2) Do not bring trash etc. inside.

, - Here, : 7 - Since the reel (42) is thin, the power supply load (41) is = when a large amount is wound on the food reel (42) and it is at the outermost circumference, and when a small amount is wound and lost) Jl When the power cord (41) is at its innermost circumference, the tension of the power cord (41) changes.
While maintaining the torque within the range of 1 kg, the ten-limit rotational torque of the clutch mechanism (55) is switched to two stages, strong and weak. This switching 11: , 'iii 2 pieces ('2' Akatsuki 1-) 'Kensho'
1: ζ Ino f ([13) (63) are both talented/I5. When the above-mentioned t-limit rotation is set to strong, and when it is set to 8], the 111-th limit rotation is set to weak -d-. (42), when the cord end detection switch (73) is turned on, the running motor (], 3aH13b) is stopped, and the vacuum cleaner body (
By stopping the running of 1), excessive tension is not applied to the power cord (41).

Therefore, when the vacuum cleaner body (1) moves away from the wall outlet while cleaning, the power supply load (41) can be automatically pulled out from the 21-drill reel (42), and when it approaches the wall outlet, the cord reel can be pulled out. (42
), the cord length is always optimal regardless of the position of the vacuum cleaner body (1). Furthermore, when the power is turned off after cleaning, the 1-row 14-reel brake mechanism (81
> operates to prevent the cord reel (42) from freely rotating, preventing the power supply row 1' (41) from being pulled out without permission.

(1-) Effects of the Invention The self-propelled vacuum cleaner of the present invention is constructed as follows. Detecting the end of the source code
-1- A code end detection means is installed, and since the code end detection means detects the end point (7), the running is stopped, so that the power supply '-1- electric/li,
It is possible to obtain a self-propelled vacuum cleaner that does not apply excessive tension to the 1- wire, and therefore is free from failures such as disconnection of the power source 1- wire, and can clean while running smoothly.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings all relate to the self-propelled vacuum cleaner of the present invention, and Fig. 1 is a partially cutaway side view, Fig. 2 is a perspective view from P1, Fig. 3 is a detailed vertical side view of the main parts, and Fig. 4 is the same revision. A thin vertical cross-sectional front view, Fig. 5 is a view from Fig. 3 A-A, and Fig.
Figure 7 shows -B ((notch front view, Figure 8 shows cord remaining amount detection [L')] Route diagram 1 Figure 9 (A) shows rotation 1.
Figure 9 (B) is a waveform diagram of Figure 9 (A), Figure 10 is a diagram of the one-sided brake mechanism, (A) is a front view, (B) is a side sectional view, Figure 9 (B) is a waveform diagram of Figure 9 (A). FIG. 11 is a bottom view of essential parts showing the reel brake mechanism, FIG. 12 is a partially exploded sectional view of the locking device, and FIG. 13 is a knock diagram of the electric circuit. (4)...Dust suction part, (10)...Suction tool, (41)...
...Power supply =゛J-do, (42) ...cord reel, (
73)...Low 1ζ termination detection = 22- switch (low Bi termination detection means).

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) It is equipped with self-propelled wheels driven by a running motor, a suction part, and a dust suction part, and a power cord is wound on a rotatable cord reel, and the power cord is pulled out and cleaned while running. A self-propelled vacuum cleaner, characterized in that the reel is provided with a cord end detection means for detecting the end of the power cord, and the running is stopped when the cord end detection means detects the end. .