JPH0219126A - Self-traveling cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To judge whether a cleaning in a predetermined cleaning area is executed or not and to prevent a stop in the course of the cleaning by displaying an area cleaned with a power voltage at such a time. CONSTITUTION:A cleaner main body is equipped with a cleaning device 9, a steering means 3 and a driving means 4. The cleaner main body is equipped with a distance sensor 1 to detect an obstacle in front, right and left directions, a storing part 6 to store the cleaning area in which the cleaner main body executes the cleaning, a power source 10, a power voltage detecting part 7 to detect the power voltage, a moving area display part 8 to display the area in which the cleaning can be executed, and a judge processing part 11. By the judge processing part 11, the area, in which the cleaning can be executed, is calculated at the power voltage detected by the power voltage detecting part 7, an output signal is sent to the moving area display part 8, the distance sensor 1 and the data of the storing part 6 are processed, and the output signals are sent to the steering means 3 and driving means 4. As a result, whether the cleaning in the predetermined cleaning area can be executed or not can be judged, and the stop in the course can be prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a self-propelled vacuum cleaner that has a cleaning function and a moving function and that cleans a floor surface.

2. Description of the Related Art Vacuum cleaners have been developed that have a moving function added to improve operability during cleaning. Especially recently, by installing a microcomputer and various sensors on this machine, it is possible to move and clean the cleaning area while deciding the cleaning area by itself.
So-called self-propelled self-propelled vacuum cleaners are also being developed.

These self-propelled vacuum cleaners have a structure as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. In the figure, 13 is a distance sensor that detects obstacles that exist in front of the moving direction, and 14 is a self-propelled vacuum cleaner main body, which processes the signal from the distance sensor 13 and determines the moving direction of the vacuum cleaner main body 14. It has a built-in drive device (not shown) that controls the movement state. Also, at the bottom of the cleaner body 14, there is a pair of steering/drive wheels that are driven independently on the left and right sides by signals from the drive device. 16, a swingable auxiliary wheel 15, and a bumper 17 for protecting the cleaner body 14 from obstacles 18 such as walls.

Reference numeral 19 indicates a floor surface that the cleaner body 14 cleans.

With the above configuration, the self-propelled vacuum cleaner moves around the wall, etc. while keeping a constant distance to the wall, etc. using the distance sensor 13, and then moves around the floor 19 until it detects an obstacle in the direction of movement. It moves forward while cleaning, and when it detects an obstacle, it moves forward while changing direction to thoroughly clean the cleaning area.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention In the self-propelled vacuum cleaner with the conventional configuration described above, even if the power supply voltage is low and it is not possible to clean the entire cleaning area, once it is started, it will not be able to clean the entire cleaning area. The cleaning may start and then stop in the middle of cleaning, or it may stop in the middle of cleaning due to a warning that cleaning cannot be continued due to a drop in the power supply voltage at the place where it has stopped, making it impossible to clean the entire cleaning area. This is because, as mentioned above, the self-propelled vacuum cleaner is started when the power supply voltage is low. This is due to the fact that the state of the power supply voltage is unknown at the time of startup, and it is also unclear how large a cleaning area can be cleaned. In this way, if the area that can be cleaned according to the current power supply voltage is unknown, the user cannot know whether the self-propelled vacuum cleaner will clean the entire cleaning area. Furthermore, when cleaning is to be performed in a hurry, it is unclear how much of the cleaning area can be cleaned without charging, which is inconvenient to use.

The present invention solves such conventional problems, and has a simple configuration that displays the area that can be vacuumed with the current power capacity when the user uses a self-propelled vacuum cleaner. The purpose is to encourage charging and prevent the device from stopping during cleaning.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the self-propelled vacuum cleaner of the present invention includes a cleaning device, a steering means, a drive means, and a device provided in the main body of the vacuum cleaner to avoid obstacles in front and left and right directions. a distance sensor for detecting, a storage section for storing a cleaning area to be cleaned by the vacuum cleaner main body, a power supply, a power supply voltage detection section for detecting a power supply voltage, a moving area display section for displaying an area that can be cleaned; Calculates the area that can be cleaned at the power supply voltage detected by the power supply voltage detection section, sends an output signal to the moving area display section, and processes the data in the distance sensor and storage section to control the steering means and drive. and a determination processing section that sends an output signal to the means.

Effect With the above configuration, the area that can be cleaned at the current power supply voltage (power supply capacity) is displayed, so the user can judge whether the self-propelled vacuum cleaner can clean the cleaning area. Wear.

EXAMPLE Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 6. In the figure, 1 is a distance sensor for detecting obstacles, which is arranged at both corners of the front of the vacuum cleaner body 2.
It detects obstacles in front of the main body 2 and in the left and right directions, and is actually composed of an ultrasonic sensor. 3 is motor 3a
Reference numeral 4 denotes a driving means comprising a drive wheel 4b and a motor 4a. That is, the motor 3a of the steering means 3 turns the drive means 4, and the motor 4a of the drive means 4 drives the drive wheels 4b, thereby moving the self-propelled cleaner. As described above, in this embodiment, the steering means 3 and the driving means 4 are combined into a single unit that controls the movement of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner. 5 is a training wheel that allows you to freely take neck shots. Reference numeral 6 denotes a storage unit that stores the cleaning area to be cleaned by the vacuum cleaner main body 2; 7 a power supply voltage detection unit that detects the power supply voltage;
Reference numeral 8 indicates a moving area display unit that displays the area calculated by the judgment processing unit described later to the user, and 9 indicates a vacuum cleaner, which is connected to the main body 2 of the vacuum cleaner.
A floor nozzle 9a, a suction vibe 9b, provided at the bottom of the
It consists of a dust collection chamber 9c and a fan motor 9d, and the fan motor 9dl sucks in dust from the floor surface and cleans it. 10 is a power source that supplies power to each part of the vacuum cleaner main body 2; 11 is a judgment processing unit composed of a microcomputer, etc.;
Area that can be cleaned using the power supply voltage detected by the power supply voltage detection unit 7 (surface f where the vacuum cleaner body 2 can move while cleaning)
f1) and sends an output signal to the moving area display section 8,
In addition, upon receiving human power signals from the distance sensor 1 and the storage section 6, it determines the direction of movement and whether or not cleaning can be executed, and outputs signals to the steering means 3, the drive means 4, the moving area display section 8, and the storage section 6. send.

The determination of the traveling direction by the determination processing section 11 is performed based on the following program. That is, the movement is always made in the direction in which the distance sensor 1 detects the wall surface on the left side of the cleaner body 2.

In other words, if the distance sensor 1 does not detect the left wall, rotate the vacuum cleaner body 2 counterclockwise until the distance sensor 1 detects the left wall at that position, and the distance sensor 1 will detect the wall surface on the left side of the vacuum cleaner body 2. If this is detected, the driving means 4 and the steering means 3 are operated until the distance to the wall reaches a preset distance value.
The vacuum cleaner body 2 is driven to approach (or move away from) a wall, and thereafter moves forward while maintaining a constant distance from the wall.

Furthermore, if it is detected from the stored information in the storage unit 6 that the vacuum cleaner main body 2 has made one round of the room, it will recognize the cleaning area, move forward in this cleaning area until it detects a wall in the forward direction, and move the vacuum cleaner main body 2 forward. Move horizontally by a width slightly shorter than the width of 2 and move 180
Turn around and move forward again. Then repeat this. That is, the cleaner main body 2 is reciprocated to cover the entire cleaning range while having an overlap margin for cleaning. In addition, the voltage of the power source 10 is detected by the power source voltage detection section 7 (actually composed of an A/D converter, etc.), and the determination processing section 11 determines the area that can be cleaned (vacuum cleaner body) based on the measured voltage. The area in which the robot 2 can move while cleaning is calculated based on the power required for cleaning, the power required for movement, the power required for display, etc., and displayed on the movement area display section 8.

The operation and effect of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner having the above configuration will be explained below.

The self-propelled vacuum cleaner moves forward or backward by driving drive wheels 4b constituting a drive means 4 with a motor 4a.

Furthermore, when changing the course, the course is changed by driving the motor 3a constituting the steering means 3 to change the direction of the driving means 4 toward the direction to be changed. For example, when changing the course to the right, the course can be changed to the right by driving the motor 3a constituting the steering means 3 to the right and driving the motor 4a to drive the drive wheels 4b. As shown in Figure 4, the area that can be cleaned is displayed and informed to the user based on the power supply voltage (capacity) at that time, and the user then decides whether or not it is possible to clean it.If it is not possible, the user will charge the battery and, if possible, start it with the start switch. In this way, the self-propelled vacuum cleaner of this embodiment is started based on the user's judgment at the time of startup, and moves around the cleaning area along the wall on the left side of the vacuum cleaner body 2 using the distance sensor 1. After that, the inside of the cleaning area will be thoroughly cleaned.

Here, the cleaning route of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner of this embodiment will be explained based on FIG. 6. The mobile type self-propelled vacuum cleaner of this embodiment uses the corner A of the room selected by the user as the starting point, and after starting, the distance sensor 1 first moves the vacuum cleaner to the wall A on the left side of the cleaner body 2. Measure the distance of
to the wall A so that the distance is 30 cm, and if the distance measurement data is less than 30 cm,
The steering means 3 and the driving means 4 are driven so that the distance between the vacuum cleaner body 2 and the wall A is 30 cm, and the distance from the wall A is 30 cm.
Move to a location m away.

Then, while keeping the distance from wall A constant at 30 cm, the robot moves forward along wall A while cleaning the floor surface. Then, on the same day, the corner consisting of wall A and wall B is reached, and when the distance from wall B that is located in front of the vacuum cleaner body measured by distance sensor 1 becomes 30 cm, distance sensor 1 starts cleaning. The cleaner body 2 is rotated 90 degrees clockwise to a position where the wall surface B is detected on the left side of the cleaner body 2. Then, while keeping the distance from the wall B constant at 30 cm, the robot moves forward along the wall B to a corner C formed by the wall B and the wall C. When the vehicle reaches the corner C, the distance to the left wall (wall surface D) measured by the distance sensor 1 is considerably larger than 30 cm. Further, the distance to the wall surface E existing in front in the direction of travel measured by the distance sensor 1 is also considerably larger than 30 cm. In this way, set the distance to the left wall (wall surface B) to 30
cm, and the distance to the left side wall (wall surface D) suddenly increases while the vacuum cleaner body 2 is moving forward, the judgment processing unit 11 determines whether the distance between the old left side wall (wall surface B) and the new left side wall (wall surface D) suddenly increases. ), and move the vacuum cleaner body 2 counterclockwise at position C, using the distance sensor 1 to detect the wall surface on the left side of the vacuum cleaner body 2. Rotate until it is detected. If the distance sensor 1 detects a wall C on the left side of the vacuum cleaner body 2, the distance to the wall in front of the cleaner body 2 will be 30 cm while keeping the distance to the wall C constant at 30 cm.
Walk forward until you reach , and then go around the room along Wall D, Wall E, and Wall F in the same manner. This moving route of the cleaner body 2 is stored in the storage unit 6.

Here, the manner in which the storage section 6 stores the cleaning route based on the information from the determination processing section 11 will be explained based on FIG. 5. Each grid in FIG. 5 is one constituent unit of the storage section 6, for example, one byte. Also, the numbers written on the left side of the grid and below the grid indicate the addresses of each grid, and are written for the purpose of explanation. For example, area X in the diagram is 1.0
It shows the number 33. This storage unit 6 is
The self-propelled vacuum cleaner of the present invention stores the cleaning area to be cleaned, and stores a certain area of the cleaning area (for example, 30 cm
* 30 cm ) corresponds to one constituent unit (1 byte) of the storage unit 6, and for each area, it is possible to check whether or not a self-propelled vacuum cleaner is in that area, and whether the self-propelled vacuum cleaner is in that area. It remembers whether it has passed or not. Assuming that the reference point for indicating the position of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner (for example, the center of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner body) is within the area indicated by X in Fig. 5,
The current position memory value X changes to Y after moving forward 30 cm, 30
c m If you turn 90 degrees to the right, go to 2, 30*, /-2
(=42)cm, turn 45 degrees to the right and it will change to W. Also, in any of these cases, the fact that the vehicle has passed point X is stored in the storage unit 6. In this way, the cleaning route is memorized in the storage unit 6, and when the cleaning route is returned to the starting point A (then, the inside of the room is recognized as the cleaning area as if the room has gone around the room, and from then on, a wall is detected in front of the inside in the direction of movement. The vacuum cleaner body 2 moves back and forth until it reaches the desired position, moves laterally by a width slightly shorter than the width of the vacuum cleaner body 2, turns 180 degrees, moves forward again, and repeats this process. This means that the entire cleaning area is moved thoroughly.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, by displaying the area that can be cleaned depending on the power supply voltage (capacity) at that time, the user can be informed of the area that can be cleaned. It is possible to determine whether or not cleaning of the cleaning area in which the cleaning area is currently located can be executed, and it is possible to prevent cleaning from stopping in the middle of cleaning.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram for explaining the electric circuit of a self-propelled vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a side sectional view of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner, and Fig. 3 is a block diagram of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner. 4 is a partial view of the moving area display section of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the memory section of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the vacuum cleaner. FIGS. 7 and 8 are a cross-sectional view and a side view of a conventional self-propelled vacuum cleaner. 1...Distance sensor, 3...Steering means,
4... Drive means, 6... Storage section, 7.
...Power supply voltage detection unit, 8...Moving area display unit, 9...Cleaning device, 10...Power supply 11...Judgment processing unit . Name of agent: Patent attorney Shigetaka Awano and one other person Figure 2-・-Kai Pt 5th generation Kifu+1. ---hr*transport 91 Noah i, tz”le diagram diagram

Claims (1)

[Claims] A cleaning device, a steering means, and a driving means provided in the vacuum cleaner body, a distance sensor provided in the vacuum cleaner body to detect obstacles in the front and left and right directions, and a storage unit that stores cleaning areas to be cleaned by the vacuum cleaner body. a power supply, a power supply voltage detection unit that detects the power supply voltage, a moving area display unit that displays the area that can be cleaned, and a power supply voltage detection unit that calculates the area that can be cleaned at the power supply voltage detected by the power supply voltage detection unit; A self-propelled vacuum cleaner comprising: a determination processing section that sends an output signal to the moving area display section, processes the distance sensor and data in the storage section, and sends an output signal to the steering means and the driving means.