JPH08150106A - Self-traveling type cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a self-traveling type cleaner which conducts instantly abnormality detection and processing at the time of fan motor and travel motor start and at the same time conducts properly the indication of a battery remaining quantity according to a use state, by measuring the change of battery voltage. CONSTITUTION: By means of a travel motor control signal generating portion 30 and a fan motor control signal generating portion 31, at the time of each motor start, the output of a DC power source portion 20 is each compared with the setting values of a travel stop setting portion 35 and/or a cleaning stop setting portion 37, and by means of a travel deciding portion 36 and/or a cleaning deciding portion 38, stop signals are outputted to a travel motor drive portion 23 and/or a fan motor drive portion 26.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a self-propelled cleaner having a cleaning function and a moving function, which improves the reliability of an abnormality detecting method for a fan motor, a traveling motor, etc. by detecting a battery voltage. It is what makes me.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a vacuum cleaner having a moving function added to the vacuum cleaner to improve the operability during cleaning has been developed. Generally, by mounting a microcomputer and various sensors, A so-called self-guided self-propelled vacuum cleaner is being developed, which moves and cleans the cleaning place by judging it by itself.

FIG. 10 shows a cross-sectional structure of a conventional self-propelled cleaner, and FIG. 11 shows a cleaning path of the self-propelled cleaner, which will be briefly described below.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a distance sensor for detecting an obstacle existing in the forward direction of travel, and 2 is a main body of a self-propelled cleaner (hereinafter referred to as a main body), which processes a signal from the distance sensor 1. A drive device (not shown) for controlling the moving direction and moving state of the main body 2 is built in. In addition, a pair of steering and driving wheels 3 which are independently driven on the left and right by a signal from the driving device, and an auxiliary wheel 4 which can swing freely are provided on the lower portion of the main body 2.
And a bumper 5 for protecting the main body 2 from obstacles is provided, which constitutes a moving function. Also, the main body 2
In addition, a suction nozzle, a rotating brush, and the like (not shown) are further provided in the lower part of the fan, and a cleaning function is configured to drive each of them by the fan motor 14. Reference numeral 6 is a charging terminal provided on the main body 2, and 7 is a power supply terminal provided on the charging device 8 side at a position facing the charging terminal 6 of the main body 2. Reference numeral 9 denotes a charging circuit built in the charging device 8. The main body 2 has a rechargeable power source such as a storage battery (hereinafter referred to as “battery”) as a power source inside (not shown), and its voltage is displayed by a plurality of LEDs or the like (not shown). ,
You can easily visually check whether the voltage is appropriate. Reference numeral 10 denotes a floor surface on which the main body 2 cleans.

With the above construction, first, as shown by the arrow in FIG. 11, the main body 2 makes a round while cleaning the floor surface 10 along the wall while keeping a constant distance from the side wall. After that, traveling control is performed using inertial navigation means and the like, and the vehicle moves forward while cleaning the floor surface 10 until an obstacle in the traveling direction is detected by the distance sensor 1, and the direction is changed when the obstacle is detected. While changing, it moves forward and cleans the cleaning area thoroughly.

Since the above processing requires complicated calculation, it is generally a microcomputer (program processing).
Is used.

By the way, in order to secure the life of the battery, it is necessary to stop the equipment at a voltage lower than the final voltage of the battery. However, when the fan motor 14 or the traveling motor (not shown) that drives the drive wheels 3 is started, the voltage of the battery may be significantly reduced by the inrush current and may be equal to or lower than the final voltage. FIG. 12 shows a general voltage detection configuration in which this measure is taken.

In FIG. 12, reference numeral 11 is a voltage detecting section, which is composed of a voltage dividing stage 11a, a judgment voltage generating stage 11b and a correcting stage 11c. That is, the voltage dividing means 11a has the resistance 1
2, 13, 17 and the diode 16, and the judgment voltage generating means 11b is composed of resistors 18, 19. The correction means 11c has a capacitor 15, and a time constant is set by the capacitor 15 (generally 1 second to several seconds) to dull the apparent battery voltage drop. Is determined (see FIG. 13).

[0009]

However, in the self-propelled cleaner having the above structure, when a large voltage drop of the battery occurs instantaneously due to an abnormality such as a short circuit in the fan motor 11 or the traveling motor, detection and In some cases, the process of stopping the device was delayed, and the fuse was blown or the parts of the device were destroyed.

Further, in the past, the setting of the final voltage was one, but recently, only the movement of the cleaner main body is required to move to the cleaning place or to the storage place (charging place) after the cleaning work is completed. There is also a usage state for the purpose of performing the above. At this time, only the traveling motor is driven and the fan motor 11 is not driven, so that the second final voltage is required. The end voltage is related to the discharge current (current drawn from the battery) value as shown in FIG. 14, and the current value of the fan motor 11 is generally larger than that of the running motor. Therefore, the end voltage of the fan motor 11 is set to the running motor. It should be set higher than that. That is, the final voltage for the purpose of moving only can be set lower than that for the cleaning work. By the way, the display of the remaining battery voltage is also performed by using the blunted waveform shown in FIG. 12 in order to eliminate the flickering of the display. However, since this is displayed regardless of the usage state, when only moving is performed. It was hard to understand that I could use it for a long time.

That is, in the battery voltage detection and display method, there is a trade-off problem that a malfunction or flickering of the display occurs when a high speed detection is attempted, and a process when an abnormality occurs is delayed when a low speed detection is performed.

The present invention solves such a conventional problem. By detecting the waveform of the battery voltage without blunting, the abnormality of the fan motor, the traveling motor, etc. is detected at high speed to prevent the damage of each component. In addition, it is an object of the present invention to provide a self-propelled cleaner that appropriately displays the remaining battery level according to the usage state.

[0013]

To achieve the above object, a first means of the present invention is to provide a direct current power source section, a traveling motor for moving a cleaner body, and a traveling motor driving section for driving the traveling motor. A cleaning fan motor, a fan motor driving unit that drives the fan motor, an obstacle detection unit that detects an obstacle ahead of the movement of the cleaner body, and a cleaning or simply movement of the cleaner body. The state setting section where the user selects the use state such as whether to perform it, the output of the state setting section and the traveling motor control signal generating section when moving, the fan motor control signal when cleaning A state discriminating section for selecting the generating section and the traveling motor control signal generating section, an on / off signal generating section for giving a work start or stop signal to the state discriminating section, and an operation for a predetermined time by the output of the fan motor control signal generating section. A cleaning timer unit, a traveling timer unit that operates for a predetermined time by the output of the traveling motor control signal generating unit, and a traveling stop setting unit that sets the traveling stop voltage of the cleaner body according to the output of the traveling timer unit. And a traveling determination unit that determines whether or not to stop traveling of the cleaner body by the output of the obstacle detection unit and the output of the DC power supply unit and the traveling stop setting unit, and outputs the traveling motor driving unit to the traveling motor driving unit. The cleaning stop setting unit that sets the cleaning stop voltage of the fan motor according to the output of the cleaning timer unit, and whether or not the cleaning is stopped by the outputs of the DC power supply unit and the cleaning stop setting unit, and the fan The cleaning determination unit that outputs to the motor drive unit, the all-stop setting unit that sets the voltage that stops both the running and cleaning functions, and the outputs from the DC power supply unit and all-stop setting unit stop the running and cleaning. Is whether judged to, those constituted by the overall judging unit that outputs to the running motor drive unit and a fan motor driving unit.

The second means is that the set values of the traveling stop setting section and the cleaning stop setting section are lowered when the traveling motor and the fan motor are driven while the traveling timer section and the cleaning timer section are operating, respectively. The voltage is set to be lower than the voltage of the DC power supply unit, and is set to the respective final voltage when the running timer unit and the cleaning timer unit are not operating.

Next, a third means is initialized by the output of the fan motor control signal generating section, detects a minimum voltage during cleaning for detecting and holding the minimum value of the DC power source section, and the cleaning timer section. A cleaning-time steady-state voltage detection unit that receives an operation end signal and detects the output of the DC power supply unit at that time, and a cleaning-time voltage difference detection unit that calculates the difference between the cleaning minimum voltage detection unit and the cleaning steady-state voltage detection unit And a cleaning abnormality value setting unit that sets an abnormal value of the fan motor, and a cleaning abnormality determination unit that outputs a stop signal to the fan motor drive unit by comparing the cleaning voltage difference detection unit and the cleaning abnormality value setting unit. It is provided.

In a fourth means, the operating time of the cleaning timer is set to a value from the time the fan motor is started until the output of the DC power supply reaches a steady value or a value longer than that. Is.

The fifth means is initialized by the output of the traveling motor control signal generator, detects the minimum value of the DC power source and holds the minimum voltage during traveling, and terminates the operation of the traveling timer. A steady-state running voltage detection unit that receives the signal and detects the output of the DC power supply unit at that time; and a running-voltage difference detection unit that calculates the difference between the running minimum voltage detection unit and the running steady-state voltage detection unit, A traveling abnormal value setting unit for setting an abnormal value of the traveling motor and a traveling abnormality determining unit for outputting a stop signal to the traveling motor driving unit by comparing the traveling voltage difference detection unit and the traveling abnormal value setting unit are provided. It is a thing.

A sixth means sets the operating time of the running timer unit to a value from the time when the running motor is started until the output of the DC power supply unit reaches a steady value or a value longer than that. It is a thing.

[0019]

According to the first means, when there is a winding short-circuit abnormality in the traveling motor or the fan motor, the traveling motor control signal generator or the fan motor control signal generator generates a DC Since the output of the power supply unit becomes smaller than the set value of the travel stop setting unit or the cleaning stop setting unit, the travel determination unit or the cleaning determination unit outputs a stop signal to the travel motor drive unit or the fan motor drive unit. Similarly, when there is an abnormality in both the traveling motor and the fan motor at the same time, the output of the DC power supply unit becomes smaller than the set value of the total stop setting unit when the respective motors are started, so the overall judgment unit traveling motor drive unit and fan motor A stop signal is output to the drive unit.

According to the second means, the fan motor control signal generator detects the output of the DC power source at the time of motor startup by the minimum voltage detector during cleaning, and the difference between this and the steady voltage detector during cleaning. Is calculated by the voltage difference detection unit during cleaning,
The cleaning abnormality judgment unit compares the cleaning abnormality setting unit with the cleaning abnormality setting unit. If the fan motor has an abnormal rotor constraint,
Since the output of the cleaning voltage difference detection unit is small, the cleaning abnormality determination unit outputs a stop signal to the fan motor drive unit.

According to the third means, the traveling motor control signal generating section detects the output of the DC power source section when the motor is started by the traveling minimum voltage detecting section, and this and the traveling constant voltage detecting section. The difference is calculated by the running voltage difference detection unit and compared with the running abnormality setting unit by the running abnormality determination unit.
When the traveling motor has an abnormal restraint of the rotor, the output of the traveling voltage difference detection unit becomes small, and therefore the stop signal is output from the traveling abnormality determination unit to the traveling motor drive unit.

According to the fourth means, the output of the reference voltage generating section is switched from the selecting section to the display driving section according to the use state set by the state setting section so that the output corresponding to the remaining amount of the DC power supply section is output. Done.

According to the fifth means, when the cleaning timer unit or the running timer unit is operated by the signal of the state setting unit, the output of the DC power supply unit is held and the output of the DC power supply unit is apparently suddenly increased. Suppresses such fluctuations in the power supply voltage holding unit,
This can be output to the selection unit and output to the display unit according to the output.

According to the sixth means, since the central processing unit does not participate in the input / output processing for displaying the remaining amount of the DC power supply unit, the obstacle detection unit, the traveling stop setting unit, the cleaning stop setting unit, The signals from the all-stop setting section, the status setting section, and the on / off signal generating section are input, and the running determination section, the cleaning determination section, the overall determination section, the state determination section, the travel motor control signal generation section, the fan motor control signal generation section are input. It is possible to concentrate on the processing of executing the processing of the traveling timer setting unit and the cleaning timer setting unit and outputting the signals to the traveling motor driving unit, the fan motor driving unit and the selecting unit.

[0025]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of the first means of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a diagram for explaining its operation. Hereinafter, description will be given based on these diagrams.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 20 denotes a DC power source, which is 24V in the present embodiment using a battery. Reference numeral 21 is a traveling motor that moves the cleaner body 22, and 23 is a traveling motor drive unit that drives the traveling motor 21. Reference numeral 24 denotes an encoder unit attached to the traveling motor 21, which outputs a signal according to the rotation speed of the traveling motor 21. Reference numeral 25 is a cleaning fan motor, and 26 is a fan motor drive unit for driving the fan motor 25. Reference numeral 27 denotes an obstacle detection unit that detects an obstacle existing in the forward direction of the main body 22. In this embodiment, a plurality of ultrasonic sensors are used. Two
Reference numeral 8 denotes a state setting unit for the user to select a use state such as "cleaning" or simply "moving" the cleaner body. In this embodiment, a tact switch is used.

Reference numeral 29 identifies the output of the state setting unit 28, and when it is simply "moving", the traveling motor control signal generating unit 3
In the case of “cleaning”, 0 is a state determination unit that drives the fan motor control signal generation unit 31 and the traveling motor control signal generation unit 30. In the present embodiment, first, an output is output to the fan motor control signal generation unit 31. Then, after 1 second, it is output to the traveling motor control signal generation unit 30. This is because each motor abnormality is detected, and this time is set to a time at which the user can feel that the fan motor 25 has started up without any discomfort, and in the experiment, the fan motor 25 exceeds the peak of the inrush current. It is the time to reach the steady value. Reference numeral 32 denotes an on / off signal generating section for giving a work start or stop signal to the state judging section 29, and a tact switch is used in this embodiment.

33 is the fan motor control signal generator 3
A cleaning timer unit that operates for a predetermined time by the output of 1
Reference numeral 4 denotes a traveling timer unit that operates for a predetermined time by the output of the traveling motor control signal generating unit 30. In this embodiment, all are set to 3 seconds when the motor current becomes a steady state.

Reference numeral 35 is a travel stop setting section for setting the travel stop voltage of the main body 22 according to the output of the travel timer section 34, and 36 is the output of the obstacle detection section 27 and the DC power supply section 20 and the travel stop setting. This is a traveling determination unit that determines whether or not the traveling of the main body 22 is stopped based on the output of the unit 35 and outputs it to the traveling motor drive unit 23. At the same time, the traveling is stabilized by the output of the encoder unit 24 (such as stable traveling speed). )
The process of making it happen. 37 is the fan motor 25
A cleaning stop setting unit for setting the cleaning stop voltage of No. 1 according to the output of the cleaning timer unit 33, 38 determines whether or not to stop the cleaning by the outputs of the DC power supply unit 20 and the cleaning stop setting unit 37, and It is a cleaning determination unit that outputs to the fan motor drive unit 26.

Here, in this embodiment, the set values of the traveling stop setting unit 35 and the cleaning stop setting unit 37 are set to the traveling motor 21 and the fan, respectively, while the traveling timer unit 34 and the cleaning timer unit 33 are in operation. The voltage is set to be lower than the voltage of the DC power supply unit 20 that drops when the motor 25 is driven, and is set to the respective end voltage when the traveling timer unit 34 and the cleaning timer unit 33 are not operating. Specifically, it is as follows in FIG.

VU1: 22V (when cleaning is set, when cleaning timer unit 33 is not operating) VL1: 20V (when running is set, when running timer unit 34 is not operating) VU 2: 17V (when cleaning is set, cleaning timer unit 33) VL2: 15V (during operation) (when running is set and when running timer unit 34 is operated) Further, 39 is a total stop setting unit for setting a voltage for stopping both the running and cleaning functions, and 40 is a complete stop with the DC power supply unit 20. It is an overall determination unit that determines whether to stop both traveling and cleaning based on the output of the setting unit 39, and outputs the determination result to the traveling motor drive unit 23 and the fan motor drive unit 26. In this embodiment, the following settings are made. ing.

VU (LIMIT): 19V (when the cleaning timer unit 33 or the running timer unit 34 is not operating) VL (LIMIT): 14V (when the cleaning timer unit 33 or the running timer unit 34 is operating) In the above configuration, The operation will be described below with reference to FIG.

When "move" is selected by the state setting section 28 and the on / off signal generating section 32 is operated, the traveling timer section 3
4 starts the operation, and sets the set value of the traveling stop setting unit 35 to VL.
Switch from 1 to VL2. At the same time, the traveling motor drive unit 2
Since No. 3 activates the traveling motor 21, an inrush current of the traveling motor 21 flows and the output voltage V0 of the DC power supply unit 20 slightly decreases.

If the traveling motor 21 is normal, this value is larger than VL2 and the voltage V0 in the steady state is also larger than VL1. However, if the traveling motor 21 has an abnormality such as a short circuit between windings, a large inrush current flows and the DC power supply unit 20
Output voltage V0 becomes smaller than VL2. Then, the traveling motor 21 is transferred from the traveling determination unit 36 to the traveling motor drive unit 23.
Since the stop signal is output, the traveling motor 21 stops. That is, the abnormality detection and processing can be performed in an extremely short time when the traveling motor 21 is activated (time T1 in FIG. 2).

Similarly, when “cleaning” is selected by the state setting unit 28 and the on / off signal generating unit 32 is operated, the cleaning timer unit 33 starts operating and the cleaning stop setting unit 37.
The setting value of is switched from VU1 to VU2. At the same time, the fan motor drive unit 26 starts the fan motor 25, so that a rush current of the fan motor 25 flows and the DC power supply unit 20
The output voltage V0 of V.sub.0 decreases slightly. If the fan motor 25 is normal, this value is larger than VU2 and the voltage V in the steady state is
0 is also larger than VU1. However, if the fan motor 25 has an abnormality such as a short circuit between windings, a large inrush current flows, and the output voltage V0 of the DC power supply unit 20 becomes smaller than VU2. Then, the cleaning determination unit 38 outputs a stop signal for the fan motor 25 to the fan motor drive unit 26, so that the fan motor stops. That is, the fan motor 25
The abnormality detection and processing can be performed in a very short time at the time of starting (time T2).

At this time, the traveling motor 21 is started with a slight delay, but even if the fan motor 25 is normal, if the traveling motor 21 is abnormal, the output voltage of the DC power supply unit 20 decreases and VL.
(LIMIT) or less. Then, a stop signal is output from the all-stop setting unit 39 to the traveling motor driving unit 23 and the fan motor driving unit 26, so that the traveling motor 21 and the fan motor 25 both stop (time T3).

The above description is for the transient state, but in the steady state as well, if an abnormality occurs in the traveling motor 21 or the fan motor 25 and the output V0 of the DC power supply unit 20 decreases, both motors stop. To be done. Also, when the output voltage of the DC power supply unit 20 decreases and becomes equal to or lower than the cutoff voltage VU1 or VL1 with the lapse of usage time, the operation is similarly stopped. The all-stop setting unit 39 is also effective when the fan motor 25 is operating.

As described above, according to this embodiment, when the traveling motor 21 or the fan motor 25 has a winding short-circuit abnormality, the output V0 of the DC power supply unit 20 is started when the respective motors are started. 35 or the cleaning stop setting unit 37 becomes smaller than the set value, the traveling determination unit 36, the cleaning determination unit 38, or the overall determination unit 40 outputs a stop signal to the traveling motor driving unit 23 or the fan motor driving unit 26. High-speed detection and processing can be performed without malfunction when a short circuit occurs.

By the way, as a property of the motor, when the lock, that is, the rotor is locked, the torque increases and the steady current value increases, but the inrush current value decreases. That is, as the output voltage of the battery, the voltage drop at the time of start-up becomes small, but the voltage drop at the time of steady state becomes large. When the rotor restraint abnormality occurs in this way, it cannot be detected by the above method. The second means for solving it is described below.

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of the second means of the present invention, and FIG. 4 shows a diagram for explaining the operation thereof. The description will be made below based on these diagrams.

In FIG. 3, the same reference numerals are given to those performing the same operation as in FIG. 1, and the description thereof will be omitted here.

In FIG. 3, 41 is initialized by the output of the fan motor control signal generator 31, and the DC power source 20
Minimum voltage detector for cleaning, which detects and holds the minimum value of
Is a cleaning steady-state voltage detection unit that receives the cleaning timer unit 33 operation end signal and detects the output of the DC power supply unit 20 at that time, and 43 is a cleaning minimum-voltage detection unit 41 and a cleaning steady-state voltage detection unit 42. Cleaning time voltage difference detection unit for calculating the difference, 44
Is a cleaning abnormality value setting unit that sets an abnormal value of the fan motor 25, and 45 is a cleaning abnormality determination that outputs a stop signal to the fan motor drive unit 26 by comparing the cleaning voltage difference detection unit 42 and the cleaning abnormality value setting unit 43. It is a department.

In this embodiment, the cleaning timer unit 33 is used.
The operating time of is set to 2 seconds.

In the above configuration, the operation will be described below with reference to FIG. 4 as well. When "cleaning" is selected by the state setting section 28 and the on / off signal generating section 32 is operated, the cleaning minimum voltage detecting section 41 is operated. At the same time as the initialization, the operation is performed until the minimum value of the DC power supply unit 20 is detected (time T0 to T1 in FIG. 4). When the lowest value is detected at time T1, the value VMIN is held. At this time, the cleaning timer section 33 is also operating at the same time, and the cleaning steady-state voltage detection section 42 detects the output VC of the DC power supply section 20 based on the operation end signal (time T2).

Then, the cleaning voltage difference detection unit 43 calculates the voltage difference (VC-VMIN), that is, the voltage difference of the DC power supply unit 20 at the time of the rush peak and at the steady state. If there is a rotor restraint abnormality in the fan motor 25, the inrush current when the fan motor 25 is started is small and the steady-state current is large as compared with the normal state as described above. The output voltage of the power supply unit 20 is high, and the output voltage by the cleaning steady voltage detection unit 42 is low. Therefore, the cleaning voltage difference detection unit 43 calculates a value smaller than that in the normal state.

Then, the cleaning abnormality determination unit 45 determines that the abnormality is found by comparison with the cleaning abnormality value setting unit 44, and a stop signal is output to the fan motor drive unit 26, so that the rotor restraint of the fan motor 25 is restrained. High-speed detection and processing can be performed even when there is an abnormality.

In the present embodiment, the operating time of the cleaning timer unit 33 is set to 3 seconds, which means that the output of the DC power supply unit 20 reaches a steady value after the fan motor 25 is started. It may be set to the value of time or longer time.

By the way, a method of detecting the traveling motor 21 by using the speed detected by the encoder section 24 has been conventionally used, but since a high precision and high speed calculation of the rotational speed is required, a dedicated IC or It requires a program processing of a microcomputer, and has a large-scale and complicated structure. For this reason, the processing time of the traveling determination unit 36 becomes long, and if the traveling determination unit 36 performs the processing at the time of abnormality, it will take a considerable time until the traveling stop. Therefore, it is conceivable that the traveling motor 21 may be subjected to the same processing.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the third means of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation thereof. The description will be made below based on these diagrams.

In FIG. 5, parts that perform the same operations as those in FIG. 1 or 3 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted here.

In FIG. 5, reference numeral 46 is initialized by the output of the traveling motor control signal generator 30, and the traveling minimum voltage detector 46 detects and holds the minimum value of the DC power source 20, and 47 is the operation of the traveling timer 34. A running steady-state voltage detection unit that receives an end signal and detects the output of the DC power supply unit 20 at that time,
Reference numeral 48 is a running voltage difference detection unit for calculating a difference between the running minimum voltage detection unit 46 and the running steady voltage detection unit 47, and 49 is a running abnormal value setting unit for setting an abnormal value of the running motor 21.
Reference numeral 0 is a traveling abnormality determination unit that outputs a stop signal to the traveling motor drive unit 23 by comparing the traveling voltage difference detection unit 47 and the traveling abnormality value setting unit 48. In this embodiment, the running time of the running timer unit 34 is set to 2 seconds.

In the above structure, the operation will be described below with reference to FIG. 6 as well. When the state setting section 28 selects "move" and the on / off signal generating section 32 is operated, the minimum running voltage detecting section 46 is operated. At the same time as the initialization, the operation is performed until the minimum value of the DC power supply unit 20 is detected (time T0 to T1 in FIG. 6). When the lowest value is detected at time T1, the value VMIN is held. At this time, the traveling timer unit 34 is also operating at the same time, and the traveling steady-state voltage detection unit 47 detects the output VC of the DC power supply unit 20 based on the operation end signal (time T2). Then, the running voltage difference detection unit 48 calculates the voltage difference (VC-VMIN), that is, the voltage difference between the DC power supply unit 20 at the rush peak time and at the steady time. When the traveling motor 21 has a rotor restraint abnormality, the rush current when the traveling motor 21 is started is small and the steady-state current is large as compared with the normal state as described above. The output voltage of the power supply unit 20 is high, and the output voltage by the running steady voltage detection unit 47 is low.

Therefore, the running voltage difference detector 48 calculates a value smaller than that in the normal state. Then, the traveling abnormality determination unit 50 determines that the abnormality is present by comparing with the traveling abnormality value setting unit 49, and a stop signal is output to the traveling motor driving unit 23. Therefore, even when the rotor restraint of the traveling motor 21 is abnormal. High-speed detection and processing can be performed.

In the present embodiment, the running time of the running timer unit 34 is set to 3 seconds, which means that the output of the DC power supply unit 20 reaches a steady value after the running motor 21 is started. It may be set to the value of time or longer time.

Now, the display of the remaining amount of the DC power supply unit 20 will be described below. FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of the fourth means of the present invention, and description will be given below based on this diagram.

In FIG. 7, elements that perform the same operations as in FIG. 1, 3 or 5 are designated by the same reference numerals, and in FIG.
Is a display unit for displaying the remaining amount of the DC power supply unit 20, and is composed of a plurality of LEDs in this embodiment. Reference numeral 52 is a display drive unit for driving the display unit 51, and reference numeral 53 is a reference voltage generation unit for setting the reference voltage of the DC power supply unit 20 according to the usage state, and there are two types, one for traveling and one for cleaning.

Reference numeral 54 is an input of the output of the DC power supply unit 20, and the output of the state determination unit 29 is used to switch the output of the reference voltage generation unit 53 to either one for cleaning or one for running, and the value of the DC power supply unit 20 is changed. It is a selection unit that outputs to the display drive unit 52 in comparison with.

In the above structure, when the state setting section 28 merely "moves" the main body 22, only the traveling motor 21 needs to be started. However, when "cleaning" is performed, the fan motor is added to the traveling motor 21. 26 must also be driven.

Therefore, when the "moving" is set, a smaller motor current is required than when the "cleaning" is set, so that the output voltage of the DC power supply unit 29 becomes high. At this time, since the output of the reference voltage generating unit 53 is switched from the selecting unit 54 to the display driving unit 52 for movement and output according to the remaining amount of the DC power supply unit 20 is performed, it is appropriately determined whether the movement is possible. it can. Also, when performing cleaning work, it is possible to determine whether or not the work can be sufficiently performed.

Now, countermeasures against flicker at the time of starting the motor of the remaining amount display of the DC power supply unit 20 will be described. FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of the fifth means of the present invention, and description will be given below based on this diagram.

In FIG. 8, elements that perform the same operations as those in FIGS. 1, 3, 5 or 7 are designated by the same reference numerals, and a description thereof will be omitted here.

In FIG. 8, in addition to the fourth embodiment, if the cleaning timer unit 33 or the traveling timer unit 34 is in operation, the output of the DC power supply unit 20 is held and output to the selecting unit 54. A power supply voltage holding unit 55 is provided.

In the above structure, when the on / off signal generating section 32 is operated, the cleaning timer section 33 or the traveling timer section 34 starts its operation. Then, the power supply voltage holding unit 55
Holds the output of the DC power supply unit. This holding operation is continued until the operation of the cleaning timer unit 33 or the traveling timer unit 34 is completed.

Since the selection unit 54 receives the output from the power supply voltage holding unit 55 and outputs the output to the display drive unit 52, it is possible to apparently suppress a sudden display change in the output voltage of the DC power supply unit 20, and the DC power supply. It is possible to suppress flicker of the remaining amount display of the unit 20.

Although the present embodiment has been described based on the fourth embodiment, it may be based on the second or third embodiment.

Next, FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of the sixth means of the present invention, and description will be given below based on this diagram.

FIG. 9, FIG. 1, 3, 5, 7 or FIG.
Components that perform the same operation as are given the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted here.

In FIG. 9, reference numeral 56 is an obstacle detection unit 27,
The signals from the state setting unit 28, the on / off signal generating unit 32, the traveling stop setting unit 35, the cleaning stop setting unit 37, and the all stop setting unit 39 are input, and the state determining unit 29, the traveling motor control signal generating unit 30, the fan. Motor control signal generator 31, running timer unit 33, cleaning timer unit 34, running determination unit 3
6. The processes of the cleaning determination unit 38 and the overall determination unit 40 are executed, and the traveling motor drive unit 23, the fan motor drive unit 26,
A signal is output to the selection unit 54, but the DC power supply unit 2
It is a central processing unit that does not participate in the input / output processing for displaying the remaining amount of 0, and in this embodiment, it is handled by the program processing of the microcomputer.

In the above-mentioned structure, the central processing unit 56 does not need to perform the processing relating to the remaining amount of the DC power supply unit 20, and does not need to perform the A / D conversion processing requiring the high speed processing, and the obstacle detecting section requiring the high speed processing in particular. It is possible to concentrate on the process of inputting the signal from 27 and the signals from the traveling determination unit 36, the cleaning determination unit 38, and the overall determination unit 40, and outputting the control signal to the fan motor driving unit 26 and the traveling motor driving unit 23. Therefore, even if an abnormality such as a short circuit between windings or a restriction of the rotor occurs during operation of the main body 22, it is possible to perform high-speed processing for immediately stopping the operation.

Although the present embodiment has been described based on the fifth embodiment, it may be based on any of the first to fourth embodiments.

[0071]

As is apparent from the above embodiments, according to the first means of the present invention, when there is a winding short circuit abnormality in the traveling motor or the fan motor, the direct current is applied when the respective motors are started. Since the overcurrent flows from the power supply and the output of the DC power supply becomes smaller than the set value of the travel stop setting part or the cleaning stop setting part, respectively, the travel determination part or the cleaning determination part causes the travel motor drive part or the fan motor drive part to A stop signal is output. Similarly, even if there is an abnormality in the travel motor and the fan motor at the same time, the output of the DC power supply unit will be smaller than the set value of the total stop setting unit, so the overall judgment unit will change the travel motor drive unit and the fan motor drive unit. Since the stop signal is output, high-speed detection and processing can be performed without malfunction when a winding short-circuit abnormality occurs, so that the fuse is not blown or parts are destroyed.

According to the second means of the present invention, when the fan motor has a rotor restraint abnormality, the inrush current at the time of starting the fan motor is small and the steady-state current becomes large as compared with the normal state, so cleaning is performed. The output of the DC power supply unit by the minimum time voltage detection unit is high, and that by the stationary voltage detection unit during cleaning is low. Therefore, the cleaning voltage difference detection unit calculates a value smaller than that in the normal state, the cleaning abnormality determination unit determines that there is an abnormality by comparison with the cleaning abnormality setting unit, and outputs a stop signal to the fan motor drive unit. Therefore, even when the rotor restraint of the fan motor is abnormal, high-speed detection and processing can be performed without malfunction, so that the fuse is not blown and the parts are not destroyed.

Similarly, according to the third means of the present invention, when the traveling motor has an abnormal restraint of the rotor, the inrush current at the time of starting the traveling motor is small and the steady-state current becomes large as compared with the normal state. The output of the DC power supply unit by the running minimum voltage detection unit is high and that by the running steady voltage detection unit is low. Therefore, the running voltage difference detection unit calculates a value smaller than that during normal operation, the running abnormality determination unit determines that there is an abnormality by comparison with the running abnormality setting unit, and a stop signal is output to the travel motor drive unit. Therefore, even when the rotor restraint of the traveling motor is abnormal, high-speed detection and processing can be performed without malfunction, so that the fuse is not blown and the parts are not destroyed. Since this method does not require the processing of the traveling determination unit, it has an effect that it can be detected and processed in an extremely short time.

Further, according to the fourth means of the present invention, when only the main body is moved, a smaller motor current is required as compared with the case where cleaning is performed, so that the reference voltage is generated from the selection section to the display drive section. Since the output of the unit is switched to the one for moving and the output according to the remaining amount of the DC power supply unit is performed, it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not the unit can be moved to the storage location (charging location) after cleaning is completed. Also, when performing cleaning work, it is possible to determine whether or not the work can be sufficiently performed.

According to the fifth means of the present invention, when the cleaning timer unit or the traveling timer unit operates at the time of starting the fan motor or the traveling motor, the power supply voltage holding unit holds the output of the DC power supply unit. Since this is output to the selection unit, it is possible to suppress abrupt changes in the output of the DC power supply unit, and it is possible to suppress flicker of the remaining amount display of the DC power supply unit.

According to the sixth means of the present invention, the central processing unit does not need to perform processing relating to the remaining amount of the DC power supply unit, and does not need to perform A / D conversion processing that requires high speed processing. It is possible to concentrate on the process of inputting the signal from the obstacle detection unit and the signal from the traveling determination unit, the cleaning determination unit, and the overall determination unit that require the output of the control signal to the fan motor drive unit and the traveling motor drive unit. Therefore, high-speed processing is possible even in the case of an abnormality, and the fuse is not blown or parts are destroyed.

Furthermore, any of the methods of the present invention is
Rather than measuring the current as a method for detecting a motor abnormality, it directly measures the voltage change of the DC power supply section that occurs in response to this, so the resistance for current detection and the parts for amplification can be greatly reduced. Further, it is possible to obtain an excellent effect that it is cheaper than current detection, space saving, and high speed processing can be performed. And this method is generally applicable to storage battery application equipment.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a self-propelled vacuum cleaner showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a waveform diagram of each part of the self-propelled cleaner.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a self-propelled vacuum cleaner showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a waveform diagram of each part of the self-propelled cleaner.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a self-propelled vacuum cleaner showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a waveform diagram of each part of the self-propelled cleaner.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a self-propelled vacuum cleaner showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a self-propelled vacuum cleaner showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a self-propelled vacuum cleaner showing a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a conventional self-propelled cleaner.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a cleaning route of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner.

FIG. 12 is a circuit diagram of a battery voltage detection device of the self-propelled cleaner.

FIG. 13 is a waveform diagram of a voltage detection unit of the self-propelled cleaner.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the relationship between the end voltage of the battery voltage and the discharge current.

[Explanation of symbols]

 20 DC power supply unit 21 Travel motor 22 Vacuum cleaner body 23 Travel motor drive unit 25 Fan motor 26 Fan motor drive unit 27 Obstacle detection unit 28 State setting unit 29 State determination unit 30 Travel motor control signal generation unit 31 Fan motor control signal generation Part 32 ON / OFF signal generating part 33 Cleaning timer part 34 Traveling timer part 35 Travel stop setting part 36 Travel determination part 37 Cleaning stop setting part 38 Cleaning determination part 39 All stop setting part 40 Overall determination part 41 Minimum voltage detection during cleaning Part 42 Cleaning constant voltage detection part 43 Cleaning voltage difference detection part 44 Cleaning abnormal value setting part 45 Cleaning abnormality determination part 46 Running minimum voltage detection part 47 Running steady voltage detection part 48 Running voltage difference detection part 49 Running error Value setting unit 50 Running abnormality determination unit 51 Display unit 52 Display drive unit 53 Reference voltage generation unit 54 Selection unit 55 Power supply voltage holding unit

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Hidetaka Yabuuchi 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Mitsuyasu Ogawa, 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Osaka Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Osamu Eguchi 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Hirofumi Inui, 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor, Yoshifumi Takagi Osaka 1006, Kadoma, Kadoma City, Fuchu Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Takafumi Ishibashi 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsuda Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Yoshiki Kuroki 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Matsushita (72) Inventor Hiroyuki Senoo, 1006, Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. The Corporation

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A DC power supply unit, a traveling motor for moving a cleaner body, a traveling motor driving unit for driving the traveling motor, a cleaning fan motor, and a fan motor driving unit for driving the fan motor. An obstacle detection unit that detects an obstacle ahead of the movement of the cleaner body; a state setting unit that allows the user to select a usage state such as cleaning or simply moving the cleaner body; The state determination section for selecting the traveling motor control signal generation section in the case of movement by discriminating the output of the section and the fan motor control signal generation section and the traveling motor control signal generation section in the case of cleaning; An ON / OFF signal generating section that gives a work start or stop signal to the section,
A cleaning timer unit that operates for a predetermined time by the output of the fan motor control signal generation unit, a traveling timer unit that operates for a predetermined time by the output of the traveling motor control signal generation unit, and a traveling stop voltage of the cleaner body For determining whether to stop the traveling of the cleaner body by the traveling stop setting unit that is set according to the output of the timer unit, the output of the obstacle detection unit and the output of the DC power supply unit and the traveling stop setting unit. A traveling determination unit for outputting to the traveling motor drive unit, a cleaning stop setting unit for setting a cleaning stop voltage of the fan motor according to the output of the cleaning timer unit, an output of the DC power supply unit and the cleaning stop setting unit A determination unit that determines whether or not to stop the cleaning by the cleaning determination unit that outputs to the fan motor drive unit, and an all-stop setting unit that sets a voltage that stops both the traveling and cleaning functions, Self-propelled cleaning constituted by a DC power supply unit and an overall determination unit that determines whether or not to stop traveling and cleaning based on outputs from the all-stop setting unit and outputs the determination to the traveling motor drive unit and the fan motor drive unit. Machine. 2. The set values of the travel stop setting unit and the cleaning stop setting unit are the voltage of the DC power supply unit that decreases when the travel motor and the fan motor are driven during the operation of the travel timer unit and the cleaning timer unit, respectively. The self-propelled vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the final setting voltage is set to a value lower than that of the running timer unit and the cleaning timer unit when the cleaning timer unit is not operating. 3. A cleaning minimum voltage detection unit which is initialized by the output of a fan motor control signal generation unit, detects and holds the minimum value of the DC power supply unit, and an operation end signal of the cleaning timer unit The cleaning steady voltage detection unit that detects the output of the DC power supply unit, the cleaning voltage difference detection unit that calculates the difference between the cleaning minimum voltage detection unit and the cleaning steady voltage detection unit, and the abnormal value of the fan motor The cleaning abnormality value setting unit to be set, and the cleaning abnormality determination unit for outputting a stop signal to the fan motor drive unit by comparing the cleaning voltage difference detection unit and the cleaning abnormality value setting unit are provided. Traveling vacuum cleaner. 4. The operating time of the cleaning timer unit is set to a time from when the fan motor is started until the output of the DC power supply unit reaches a steady value or a value longer than that. Traveling vacuum cleaner. 5. A running minimum voltage detecting unit which is initialized by the output of the running motor control signal generating unit and detects and holds the minimum value of the DC power supply unit, and an operation end signal of the running timer unit is received at that time. A running constant voltage detecting unit that detects the output of the DC power supply unit, and a running voltage difference detecting unit that calculates a difference between the running minimum voltage detecting unit and the running steady voltage detecting unit,
A traveling abnormal value setting unit for setting an abnormal value of the traveling motor and a traveling abnormality determining unit for outputting a stop signal to the traveling motor driving unit by comparing the traveling voltage difference detection unit and the traveling abnormal value setting unit are provided. The self-propelled vacuum cleaner according to claim 1. 6. The operating time of the traveling timer unit is set to a time from when the traveling motor is activated until the output of the DC power supply unit reaches a steady value or a value longer than that. Traveling vacuum cleaner. 7. A display unit for displaying the remaining amount of the DC power supply unit,
A display drive unit that drives the display unit, a reference voltage generation unit that sets a reference voltage of the DC power supply unit according to the usage state, and an output of the DC power supply unit are input, and the reference voltage is output by the output of the state determination unit. The self-propelled cleaner according to claim 1, further comprising: a selector that switches the output of the generator and compares the output of the generator with the value of the DC power supply to output the output to the display driver. 8. The power supply voltage holding unit for holding the output of the DC power supply unit and outputting the output to the selection unit when the cleaning timer unit or the running timer unit is in operation is provided. The self-propelled vacuum cleaner described in paragraph 1. 9. A signal from an obstacle detection unit, a travel stop setting unit, a cleaning stop setting unit, a total stop setting unit, a state setting unit, and an on / off signal generating unit is input, and the traveling determination unit, the cleaning determination unit, and the whole are input. The determination unit, the state determination unit, the traveling motor control signal generation unit, the fan motor control signal generation unit, the traveling timer setting unit, and the cleaning timer setting unit are executed to execute the traveling motor drive unit, the fan motor drive unit, and the selection unit. Signal is output to
The self-propelled cleaner according to any one of claims 1, 3, 5, 7, and 8, wherein a central processing unit that is not involved in input / output processing for displaying the remaining amount of the DC power supply unit is provided.