JPH07108243A - Cleaning device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To judge accurately the soil state of a subject to be cleaned and start cleaning in a cleaning device for cleaning the subject to be cleaned such as a bath tube or a wall face of a bath room. CONSTITUTION:Whether a subject 1 to be cleaned is soiled or not is identified by an image and whether the subject should be cleaned or not is discriminated by a constitution comprising a soil identification means 3 for identifying soil of the subject 1 to be cleaned in compliance with an input image from an image pickup means 2 for picking up the subject 1 to be cleaned and also a cleaning control means 6 for outputting a cleaning signal to a cleaning means 8 in compliance with a soil sensing signal from the soil identification means 3, and the soil of the subject 1 to be cleaned can be discriminated accurately and then cleaning can be started.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cleaning device for cleaning an object to be cleaned such as a bathtub or a bathroom wall surface of a bath device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, various measures have been taken to streamline the cleaning of bathtubs and improve their usability (see, for example, JP-A-60-
114220 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-193251).

A conventional cleaning device will be described below.
As shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the bath lid 31 uses a sprinkler or the like as the bath cleaning means 32.
The cleaning water in the cleaning water tank 35 is sent from the storage space 33 by the cleaning pump 34, and the bath cover 31 is closed by pressing the cleaning control key (not shown) of the remote controller 36. After that, the cleaning water is supplied from the cleaning water tank 35 by the cleaning pump 34 to the bath cleaning means 32.
To the inner wall of the bath 37 for cleaning.

At this time, since the user determines whether or not to wash the bathtub 37, it is necessary to always check the dirt condition of the bathtub 37, which causes a difference in the determination depending on the person.

Further, when the cleaning operation is performed periodically by using a timer or the like, the cleaning is performed regardless of the presence or absence of dirt on the object to be cleaned and the degree of the dirt. It was uneconomical because wasting of cleaning liquid, water, electric power, etc. Furthermore, it has not been possible to select an appropriate cleaning method corresponding to the degree of dirt to be cleaned, the type of dirt and dirt that has become stains, and the type of mold and the like (hereinafter referred to as the type of dirt). In the figure, 38 is an electric water supply valve, 3
9 is a hot water supply port.

[0006]

As described above, in the conventional configuration, uniform cleaning can only be repeatedly performed in a constant cycle, and the cleaning pattern, cleaning time, and cleaning solution corresponding to the state of dirt to be cleaned are used. However, there is a problem in that it is impossible to carry out rational cleaning by selecting the type, the necessity of rubbing with a brush, etc. (hereinafter referred to as fine cleaning conditions).

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. It is possible to accurately determine the state of stains to be washed and perform the washing operation, and the texture can be determined according to the determined state of stains. It is possible to perform a reasonable cleaning operation by automatically selecting thin cleaning conditions and confirming whether the cleaning has been completed or not.In addition, the humidity of the cleaning target after cleaning can be reduced to prevent contamination. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cleaning device capable of

[0008]

In order to achieve this object, a cleaning apparatus of the present invention is provided with a dirt identifying means for identifying dirt of a cleaning object according to an input image from an imaging means for imaging the cleaning object, The cleaning control means for outputting a cleaning operation signal to the cleaning means in response to the dirt detection signal from the dirt identification means, or the cleaning condition of the cleaning means is changed in accordance with the dirt detection signal from the dirt identification means, and the dirt is a threshold value. Cleaning control means for outputting a cleaning operation signal to the cleaning means until
Alternatively, a configuration including a cleaning control unit that outputs a cleaning unit selection signal to the cleaning unit in response to a stain detection signal from the stain identification unit and outputs a cleaning operation signal to the cleaning unit until the stain becomes below a threshold value, or A dirt identifying unit that identifies dirt on the object to be cleaned according to an input image from an image capturing unit that picks up the object to be cleaned, a drying unit that dries the object to be cleaned, and a cleaning unit that responds to a dirt detection signal from the dirt identifying unit. The cleaning operation means outputs a cleaning operation signal, and the drying means includes a cleaning control means for outputting a drying operation signal for drying an object to be cleaned.

[0009]

In this configuration, whether or not to be cleaned should be determined by recognizing the presence or absence of dirt on the object to be cleaned by an image, and the degree of dirt and the type of dirt to be cleaned are stored in advance. By automatically recognizing by comparing with the image of the cleaning target at the time of the state and selecting the appropriate cleaning method corresponding to the stain, it is possible to select the fine cleaning condition according to the state of the stain of the cleaning target, and after cleaning The cleaning target is dried to reduce the humidity.

[0010]

【Example】

(Embodiment 1) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the dirt identifying means 3 for identifying dirt from the image taken by the imaging means 2 for picking up the cleaning target 1 and the dirt detection signal (dirt identifying means) output from the dirt identifying means 3. The cleaning control unit 6 outputs a cleaning operation signal to the cleaning unit 5 according to the comparison determination signal output from the third determination unit 4).

The dirt identifying means 3 includes a background image memory 7 for storing an input image (background image) when the cleaning target 1 is in a clean state and a normal image memory 8 for storing a picked-up image at normal time.
And an image difference binarizing means 9 for binarizing the result, a memory control means 10 for reading and writing the image difference binarizing means 9 and the respective memories 7 and 8, and an image difference binarizing. Judgment means for inputting an output signal from the means 9 and outputting a comparison judgment signal for operating in a cleaning pattern according to the dirt state when the dirt part area is equal to or larger than a threshold value or when the dirt part area matches a specific distribution stored in advance. It is composed of 4 and.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cleaning means 5 comprises a cleaning tank 12 containing a cleaning liquid 11, a pump 13 and a solenoid valve 1.
4. The cleaning liquid 11 pumped through the pipe 16 partially attached to the movable arm 15 is communicated with the pipe 16 and the cleaning nozzle portion 17 provided at the tip of the movable arm 15 to the bathroom wall surface 1a of the cleaning target 1. And is sprayed on the bathtub 1b. In the cleaning means 5, the cleaning liquid 11 and water for washing away dirt are pumped through the water supply pipe 18, the solenoid valve 19, and the pipe 16 in the same manner as the cleaning liquid 11, and the bathroom wall surface 1a of the cleaning target 1 is supplied from the cleaning nozzle portion 17. And is sprayed on the bathtub 1b. The cleaning nozzle unit 17 is provided with an image pickup means 2 so that the cleaning target 1 can be imaged.

The movable arm 15 and the cleaning nozzle portion 17
The image pickup means 2 is normally stored in a storage container (storage place provided in the ceiling concealed portion) 20, and is taken out of the storage container 20 when the cleaning target 1 is cleaned.

The operation of the cleaning apparatus having the above structure will be described below. By the dirt identifying means 3,
The cleaning means 5 is operated via the cleaning control means 6, the imaging means 2 captures an image of the cleaning target 1 during cleaning, and then the normal cleaning target 1 is captured and the memory control means 10 stores the background image memory. 7 is the cleaning target 1 in the clean state
In the memory 8 of the normal time image, the captured image of the cleaning target 1 in the normal time is stored. Then, the memory control means 10 sends a read signal to the background image memory 7 and the normal time image memory 8 to input the output signals from the memories 7 and 8 to the image difference binarization means 9. The image difference binarization unit 9 obtains the difference between both images and binarizes the result. Therefore, the cleaning target 1 is output to the image difference binarizing means 9.
An image can be obtained when the stain is attached. Then, the determination unit 4 recognizes whether or not the detected object is the stain on the cleaning target 1, and determines whether or not to clean.

As an example, the imaged image of the bathroom wall surface 1a of the cleaning target 1 in the clean state, which is stored in the background image memory 7, is the image shown in FIG. 3A, which is stored in the image memory 8 in the normal state. The imaged image of the bathroom wall surface 1a in the normal state is the image shown in FIG. Further, the image obtained by binarizing the difference between the image of FIG. 3A and the image of FIG. 3B obtained by the image difference binarizing means 9 becomes the image shown in FIG. Reference numeral 21 in the figure indicates dirt.

When the user bathes, dirt 21 such as soap bubbles and dirt from the human body generated on the bathroom wall surface 1a to be cleaned 21
After bathing, the dirt identifying means 3 identifies the occurrence of dirt by imaging the bathroom wall surface 1a by the imaging means 2.
A predetermined cleaning operation is performed by the cleaning means 5 via the cleaning control means 6. That is, while recognizing the adhesion position of the dirt 21 on the bathroom wall surface 1a by the image pickup means 2, the pump 13 is operated while the movable arm 15 is expanded and contracted and moved, and the solenoid valve 14
Is opened, and the solenoid valve 19 is closed, so that the cleaning liquid 11 is sprayed from the cleaning nozzle portion 17 centering on the dirt 21. Further, the other portions of the bathroom wall surface 1a are uniformly washed. After that, the pump 13 is stopped, the electromagnetic valve 14 is closed, and the electromagnetic valve 19 is opened to spray water from the cleaning nozzle portion 17 to uniformly wash the bathroom wall surface 1a.

With respect to the bathtub 1b to be cleaned 1, the above-described cleaning operation for the bathroom wall surface 1a is performed in the same manner.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the cleaning target 1
Since the state of dirt can be accurately determined and the dirt part can be carefully cleaned and the other parts can be uniformly cleaned, wasteless and economical automatic cleaning can be performed.

Although the cleaning means 5 has a structure in which the cleaning liquid 11 and water are sprayed from the cleaning nozzle portion 17, the same effect can be obtained even if the cleaning target 1 is rubbed with a brush or the like.

(Second Embodiment) The second embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 4, this embodiment is characterized in that the cleaning nozzle portion 17 of the cleaning means 5 is replaced with the cleaning brush portion 22 according to the cleaning object 1 in the structure of the above-described first embodiment. The cleaning means 5 is used. That is, the brush 24 is rotated by the motor 23, which is communicated with the pipe 16 and arranged at the tip of the movable arm 15, and the cleaning target 1 is rubbed to remove the dirt. Note that the image pickup unit 2 is mounted on the cleaning brush unit 22 as in the first embodiment.

The operation of the cleaning apparatus constructed as above will be described below. Long-term stains such as mold on the bathroom wall surface 1a, which is the cleaning target 1 due to repeated bathing by the user, are mostly tile joints on the bathroom wall surface 1a, and the stain identifying unit 3 uses the imaging unit 2 to clean the cleaning target unit 1.
The occurrence of dirt is identified by capturing the image, and a predetermined cleaning operation is performed by the cleaning unit 5 via the cleaning control unit 6. As an example, the imaged image of the bathroom wall surface 1a of the cleaning target 1 in the clean state stored in the background image memory 7 is the image shown in FIG. The captured image of the bathroom wall surface 1a is the image shown in FIG. FIG. 5 obtained by the image difference binarizing means 9.
The image obtained by binarizing the difference between the image of FIG. 5A and the image of FIG. 5B is the image shown in FIG.

In the figure, 25 is a long-term stain, and 26 is a tile joint portion. The long-term stain 25 of this embodiment is different from the stain 21 of the first embodiment in the degree and type of stain on the cleaning target 1. Therefore, the stain identifying means 3 is obtained by the image difference binarizing means 9. The image pattern obtained by binarizing the difference between the two images is compared with a previously stored stain pattern to identify the stain type. As a result, for those relatively lightly soiled, the cleaning method of the first embodiment (a method in which the cleaning liquid 17 and the water are alternately sprayed for cleaning by the cleaning nozzle 17) is applied, and the soiling is relatively large. Things are
A cleaning operation is performed by selecting one of the cleaning methods (method of rotating the brush 24 by the motor 23 to rub the cleaning target 1) by the cleaning means of the present embodiment. This makes it possible to select a fine cleaning condition according to the dirt state of the object to be cleaned 1 and perform rational cleaning.

The cleaning operation of this embodiment is an operation of selecting one of the cleaning method of the first embodiment and the method of rotating the brush 24 by the motor 2 to rub the object to be cleaned 1 for cleaning. It is also possible to select a fine cleaning condition according to the dirt state of the cleaning target 1 or to combine these methods to realize more effective cleaning.

(Third Embodiment) A third embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 6, the feature of the present embodiment is that the drying means 27 for drying the cleaning object 1 disposed below the cleaning brush portion 22 is added to the structure of the above-described second embodiment. Especially. The drying means 27 includes a heater 28,
It is composed of a fan 29 that blows air to the heater 28, and a fan motor 30 that rotates the fan 29, and is operated by the cleaning control means 6 that outputs a drying operation signal in accordance with the detection signal from the dirt identification means 3.

The operation of the cleaning apparatus having the above structure will be described below. In addition to the operation of the second embodiment described above, the drying means 27 is operated after the cleaning of the cleaning target 1,
The cleaning target 1 is dried to reduce the humidity.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, by adding the drying means 27 to the cleaning brush portion 22, in addition to the effect of the second embodiment, the cleaning target 1 such as the bathroom wall surface 1a has a low humidity. As a result, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of mold, which often occurs in an appropriate temperature and high humidity state, and to prevent stains on the cleaning target 1.

In the first to third embodiments, the cleaning target 1
Although the bathroom wall surface 1a and the bathtub 1b are shown, they can be applied to toilets, toilet bowls in sanitary spaces, wall surfaces, floor surfaces, outdoor gardens, carports in parking spaces, cars, etc. and similar effects can be obtained. To be

[0031]

As is apparent from the above description, the present invention is provided with the dirt identifying means for identifying the dirt of the object to be cleaned according to the input image from the image pickup means for picking up the object to be cleaned, and the dirt identifying means is provided. Cleaning control means for outputting a cleaning operation signal to the cleaning means in response to the dirt detection signal, or changing the cleaning conditions of the cleaning means in accordance with the dirt detection signal from the dirt identifying means, and cleaning until the dirt becomes below a threshold value Cleaning control means for outputting a cleaning operation signal to the cleaning means, or a cleaning means selection signal is output to the cleaning means in response to the dirt detection signal from the dirt identifying means, and the cleaning operation signal is sent to the cleaning means until the dirt becomes below a threshold value. Or a stain identifying means for identifying stains on the cleaning object according to an input image from an image capturing means for imaging the cleaning object,
A drying means for drying the cleaning target, and a cleaning operation signal is output to the cleaning means in response to the dirt detection signal from the dirt identifying means,
In addition, the cleaning control means for outputting the drying operation signal for drying the cleaning target to the drying means enables the cleaning operation to be performed by accurately determining the dirt on the cleaning target, and depending on the determined contamination status. Excellent cleaning that automatically selects detailed cleaning conditions and confirms that cleaning has been completed for rational cleaning operation, and also reduces the humidity of the cleaning target after cleaning to prevent contamination. The device can be realized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a cleaning apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 (a) is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which a washing means of the washing device is washing a bath to be washed, and FIG. 2 (b) is a state in which a washing nozzle portion of the washing means of the washing device is housed in a storage container. Schematic cross section showing

FIG. 3 is an input image diagram of a cleaning target by the cleaning device.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of a cleaning brush portion of a cleaning device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an input image diagram of a cleaning target by the cleaning device.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the inside with a part of the drying means disposed in the brush portion of the cleaning device according to the third embodiment of the present invention omitted.

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a conventional cleaning device.

FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view of the cleaning device.

[Explanation of reference symbols] 1 cleaning target 2 imaging means 3 dirt identification means 5 cleaning means 6 cleaning control means 13 pump (liquid transfer means) 14, 19 solenoid valve (liquid transfer means) 16 piping (liquid transfer means) 17 cleaning nozzle section 18 Water Supply Pipe (Liquid Transfer Means) 20 Storage Container 22 Cleaning Brush Part 27 Drying Means

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A cleaning means for cleaning an object to be cleaned, an image pickup means for picking up an image of the object to be washed, a dirt identifying means for identifying dirt on the object to be washed according to an input image from the image pickup means, and the dirt identifying. A cleaning device comprising cleaning control means for outputting a cleaning operation signal to the cleaning means in response to a dirt detection signal from the cleaning means. 2. The cleaning control means changes the cleaning condition of the cleaning means in response to a dirt detection signal from the dirt identifying means, and outputs a cleaning operation signal to the cleaning means until the dirt becomes below a threshold value. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1. 3. The cleaning control means outputs a cleaning means selection signal to the cleaning means in response to the dirt detection signal from the dirt identifying means, and outputs a cleaning operation signal to the cleaning means until the dirt becomes below a threshold value. The cleaning device according to claim 1, which is configured. 4. Cleaning means for cleaning an object to be cleaned, imaging means for imaging the object to be cleaned, dirt identifying means for identifying dirt on the object to be cleaned according to an input image from the imaging means, and the object for cleaning. And a cleaning control means for outputting a cleaning operation signal to the cleaning means in response to a dirt detection signal from the dirt identifying means, and a drying operation signal for drying the cleaning target to the drying means. Cleaning device equipped with. 5. The dirt identifying means stores a background image memory for storing an input image when the cleaning target is in a clean state, a normal time image memory for storing an input image for the cleaning target at normal time, and the background image. An image difference binarization unit that obtains a difference between the memory and the memory of the normal time image and binarizes the result, and reads and writes the image difference binarization unit, the background image memory, and the normal time image memory. When the output signal from the memory control means and the image difference binarization means is input, the cleaning pattern operates according to the stain state when the stain partial area is equal to or larger than the threshold value or when the stain distribution area matches a pre-stored specific distribution. The cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the cleaning device is configured as a determination unit that outputs a power comparison determination signal. 6. The cleaning means comprises a liquid transfer means for transferring a liquid such as a cleaning liquid and water, a cleaning nozzle portion for spraying the liquid from the liquid transfer means onto a cleaning target, or a cleaning brush portion for rubbing the cleaning target. The cleaning according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the cleaning nozzle part or the cleaning brush part is normally housed in a storage container, and is carried out from the storage container when a cleaning target is cleaned. apparatus.