JPH09269825A - Floor cleaning robot - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To store a traveling pattern in a short time and to improve use convenience in a floor cleaning robot cleaning plural passages in a prescribed region. SOLUTION: The floor cleaning robot travels while cleaning the floor surface of the plural passages in the prescribed region, obtains the traveling pattern of each cleaning passage by means of at least an ultrasonic sensor part 11 to store and reproduces the cleaning of the floor surface according to this stored traveling pattern, and the operation panel part 10 of this floor cleaning robot is provided with an only-storage traveling switch 10a. When the only- storage traveling switch 10a is operated, a main controller 12 turns off cleaning means such as a sprinkler, a vacuum, a brush, a squeezer, recognizes the width of each passage, execute traveling processing for measuring the length of each passage to obtain the length and the width of each passage and stores the obtained length and width of the passage as a traveling pattern with set information of the traveling set switch of the operation panel part 10.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a floor cleaning robot traveling control technology for automatically cleaning a floor surface of a predetermined area (a plurality of areas; passages), and more particularly to a floor cleaning robot pursuing improvement of usability. It is about.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Since this floor cleaning robot travels while cleaning the floors of a plurality of passages in a predetermined area, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, ultrasonic sensors (detection means) 3 for detecting both side walls and the like are arranged on both side surfaces thereof.

Further, the left and right wheel drive motors 4, 5 for traveling the main body 1 are provided with rotary encoders (detection means) 6, 7, and the rotary encoders 6, 7 are used to determine at least the traveling distance. Detect. In addition,
Although not shown, the main body 1 is equipped with a sprinkler, a suction device, a brush, a squeegee, etc. as a cleaning means for cleaning the floor. Further, as shown in FIG. 9, an operation panel section having various switches for instructing the cleaning of the floor surface is provided at a predetermined position of the main body 1.

Briefly described, the mode changeover switch 8
a, district selection switch 8b and transition setting switch section 8
The shift setting switch section 8c includes a plurality of switches 8c11 to 8c15 for shifting and setting the main body 1 to the right, and a plurality of switches 8c21 to 8c25 for shifting and setting the main body 1 to the left. It consists of

Further, lamps 9a, 9b, 9c for displaying the running mode of the main body 1, a memory number display (segment display) 9d for displaying a memory number of a predetermined area, and only one region (passage) of the predetermined area. Lamp 9e that lights when setting
A lamp 9f that lights up in the order of transition setting, and a stored lamp 9 that lights up when driving information of a predetermined area is already stored.
and g.

When traveling while cleaning the floor surface, a reproduction traveling for enabling traveling according to the traveling pattern (traveling distance, transition setting information, etc.) of a predetermined area that has already been stored by operating the mode changeover switch 8a. It is possible to select a mode, a one-time traveling mode for allowing the vehicle to travel in a predetermined area only once, and a memory traveling mode for storing a traveling pattern of the same area while traveling in the predetermined area. In addition, when the predetermined area includes a plurality of passages (regions), the movement setting switch unit 8c is operated to set the movement to enable traveling over the plurality of passages.

When starting after selecting the mode, the main body 1 is run and the surroundings of the main body 1 are monitored by the ultrasonic sensors 2 and 3. When the front wall surface is detected, the traveling distance up to that time is calculated, the main body 1 is reversed, and traveling is started again in the same manner as the first row. When the traveling distance becomes the same as that at the time of the first row, the main body 1 is reversed and traveling starts again.

By repeating such a procedure, the floor surface of a predetermined area in a predetermined area can be moved while cleaning, so that cleaning can be performed without bothering human labor. In addition, the main body 1 can be moved to another area in the area according to the transition setting (processing such as 90-degree rotation is performed), and then the floor surface can be cleaned while traveling the main body 1 as described above. The cleaning can be performed over a plurality of areas (passages) without annoying human labor.

[0009]

However, in the floor cleaning robot, when the traveling pattern of a predetermined area is to be stored, the storage mode is selected by operating the mode changeover switch 8a to clean the floor surface. Since it is necessary to drive while running, it takes time, so if you have time, you can memorize the running pattern and also clean it,
If there is not enough time, the driving pattern cannot be stored and there is a problem in terms of usability.

Further, even if there is a leeway in time, there is a situation in which the driving must be interrupted due to an external factor or the like during the memory running, and when the main body 1 is stopped, it has to be restarted from the beginning. Not only is it troublesome, but the cleaning finish in the area becomes uneven.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to be able to store traveling patterns (especially passage lengths and widths) of a plurality of regions (passages) in a short time, and to make effective use. It is an object of the present invention to provide a floor cleaning robot capable of improving and preventing uneven cleaning of each area.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention runs while cleaning the floor surface of a plurality of areas in a predetermined area, and obtains and stores a running pattern of each cleaning area by at least the detection means. A floor cleaning robot capable of reproducing cleaning of a floor surface in accordance with the stored traveling pattern, having a setting means for storing only the plurality of areas in storage, and setting the storage only traveling by the setting means. , Traveling only without controlling the means for cleaning the floor surface, recognizing the width of each area, and measuring the distance from one end to the other end of each area, and the measured distance and the recognized The width is stored at least as the traveling pattern.

According to the present invention, it is possible to travel while cleaning the floor surface of a plurality of passages in a predetermined area, obtain and store the traveling pattern of each cleaning passage by at least the detecting means, and reproduce the cleaning of the floor surface according to the stored traveling pattern. On the other hand, a floor cleaning robot capable of presetting a transition from a predetermined passage to another passage and storing the information of the transition setting in the traveling pattern, wherein each passage is stored only When the travel is set only for storage by the setting means, only the travel is performed without the control of the means for cleaning the floor surface, and the main passage is set in the first passage of each passage. The width of the passage is recognized by traveling only from the start to the front wall surface on the outward path, and the passage length of the passage is measured and stored together with the width of the passage. After the traveling of the previous passage is completed, the main body is rotated a predetermined time to move to the next passage, the distance is measured by traveling to one wall surface, and the width of the previous passage is added to the measured distance. After obtaining the moving distance, the passage length is measured by traveling from the time when the main body is turned upside down to the other wall surface, and the width of the passage is recognized, and the width of the passage,
The passage length and the movement distance are stored as the traveling pattern together with the transition setting.

According to the present invention, the floor surface of a plurality of passages in a predetermined area is traveled while cleaning with a sprinkler, a suction device, a brush and a squeegee cleaning means, and a traveling pattern of each cleaning passage is obtained and stored by at least the detecting means, Floor cleaning that allows the cleaning of the floor surface to be reproduced according to the traveling pattern, while enabling the transition from a predetermined passage to another passage to be set in advance and storing the transition setting information in the traveling pattern. The robot is characterized in that the robot runs while cleaning the floors of a plurality of passages in the district, and controls only the suction device of the cleaning means in a mode in which the traveling pattern of the passages is stored.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS. Note that FIG.
In FIG. 9, those parts that are the same as those corresponding parts in FIG. 9 are designated by the same reference numerals, and a description thereof will be omitted. The main body of the floor cleaning robot of the present invention is shown in FIG.
Please refer to.

1 and 2, the control device for the floor cleaning robot includes an operation panel section 10 having a memory-only travel switch 10a for setting memory-only travel, in addition to the switches shown in FIG. 9, and each ultrasonic wave. An operation panel unit 10 and a sub-control unit (CPU board) 12 that measures the distance to the front wall surface or both side wall surfaces of a predetermined area (predetermined area; passage) based on detection signals from the ultrasonic sensor units 11 of the sensors 2 and 3.
While issuing control instructions such as traveling (including speed), stopping and reversing (including transition), etc. based on the measurement result of the sub-control unit 12, encoder pulses from the rotary encoders 6 and 7, etc. A main control unit (CPU board) 13 that stores the traveling route 1 and controls the display of the display unit 9.
And a drive wheel control circuit 1 that outputs drive signals for the drive motors 4 and 5 in accordance with a control instruction from the main control unit 13.
4 and a drive circuit 15 for driving the drive motors 4 and 5 by this drive signal.

Although not shown, the main body 1 is provided with cleaning means (spraying device, suction device, brush, squeegee, etc.) for cleaning the floor surface at predetermined locations, and the main control section 13 is provided with each cleaning means. To control. In addition, the main control unit 13
Executes a process corresponding to each switch of the operation panel unit 10.

Next, the operation of the control device for the floor cleaning robot having the above construction will be described with reference to the flow charts of FIGS. 3 and 4, and FIG.
Or, the explanation will be given with reference to the cleaning district diagram of FIG. 7. In addition,
5 to 7 are the same area and correspond to the area shown in FIG.

First, it is assumed that only memory travels in a plurality of regions (for example, first and second passages) in a predetermined area shown in FIG. The transfer of the main body 1 from the first passage to the second passage is set by the transfer setting switch section 8c.

In this case, the memory-only traveling switch 10a is operated to set the memory-only traveling, that is, only the traveling is performed without cleaning the area. It should be noted that this memory-only running may be entered in the memory mode, in which case the mode changeover switch 8
A is operated to select the storage mode, and then the storage-only traveling switch 10a is operated to set the storage-only traveling.

When the start switch is operated after the above setting, the main control section 13 determines whether or not only the memory is running (step ST1). As described above, since only the memory is set to run, the process proceeds from step ST1 to ST2, and the cleaning means is turned off, that is, the sprinkler, the suction device, the brush, the squeegee, and the like are disabled. It should be noted that the cleaning means is kept off while the memory-only traveling is set.

Then, a predetermined area (first area) shown in FIG.
Processing of measuring and storing the passage length and width of the passage (step ST3). This processing is performed by the routine shown in FIG.

First, the width of the first passage is recognized based on the distance to the side wall surface of the first passage measured by the sub-control device 12 (step ST10), the main body 1 is run, and A counting operation of the traveling distance is performed by the encoder signal (step ST11).

Then, the front wall surface is detected based on the measured distance information to the front wall surface by the sub-control device 12, and it is judged whether or not the distance to the front wall surface of the first passage has reached a predetermined value. Yes (step ST12).

When the front wall surface cannot be detected, the process returns to step ST10 and the above-mentioned processing is executed.
Further, even if the front wall surface is detected, the above-described processing is repeated until the distance to the front wall surface of the first passage reaches a predetermined value, and the main body 1 is located in front of the front wall surface as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. To stop.

When the main body 1 travels, the side wall surface closer thereto is used as a main reference surface (in the case of FIG. 5, the left wall surface with respect to the traveling direction), and the vehicle travels straight along this main reference surface. At this time, the width of the first passage is recognized, but the distance from the main body 1 to the side wall surface (sub-reference surface) on the far side is a predetermined value (for example, less than 5 m when the area is a passage), and This is performed when the sub reference plane is continuously flat, and only once.

As a result, even if the moving body passes by the side of the main body 1, it will not be erroneously recognized. If the sub reference surface is not very flat, the width of the passage can be surely recognized by disposing an appropriate plate.

Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the area actually traveled is the first passage (the first area of the area) (step ST13). In this case, since the vehicle is traveling on the first passage, the process proceeds from step ST13 to ST14, and the passage length of the first passage is calculated and stored based on the count value of the traveling distance. At this time, the already recognized width of the first passage is also stored.

When the processing of step ST14 is completed, the routine of FIG. 4 is ended and the routine of FIG. 3 is returned to. From step ST3 to ST4, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is traveling only for storage. In this case, since the memory-only traveling is set, the process proceeds from step ST4 to ST5, and it is determined whether or not the passage length and the width have been stored for all the regions (all the stored passages) of the area.

When the passage lengths and widths of all passages (first and second passages) are not stored, step ST
Proceeding to step 6, the transition process to the next passage (second passage) is executed. In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, the main body 1 is rotated 90 degrees to the right (or left depending on the setting) in accordance with the setting of the shift setting switch portion 8c so as to be parallel to the side wall surface of the second passage.

When the shift process is completed, step ST
Returning to step 3, the above-mentioned processing is executed (that is, the routine of FIG. 4 is executed). First, similarly to the above, step ST1
By the processing from 0 to ST12, the width of the second passage is recognized, and the main body 1 is stopped before the front wall surface of the second passage.

Next, it is judged whether or not the vehicle is on the first passage (step ST13), but since the vehicle is on the second passage, the process proceeds to step ST15, and the traveling distance is calculated based on the count value of the traveling distance. The calculated traveled distance is obtained by adding the width of the previous passage (first passage) to the memory and stored.

In this case, as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG.
The movement distance varies depending on the start position of the main body 1 in the first passage. Therefore, when the side wall surface on the right side with respect to the traveling direction is used as the sub reference surface,
The value obtained by subtracting the value corresponding to the width of the passage is taken as the moving distance. That is, as shown in FIG. 10, the main body 1 moves a distance close to the width of the first passage due to the cleaning traveling of the first passage in the reproduction mode described later.

In consideration of the above reason, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 7, the start position of the main body 1 in the first passage is set to the opposite wall surface side, that is, the side wall surface on the left side with respect to the traveling direction. Is the sub reference plane, the travel distance can be moved without subtracting the width of the first passage from the travel distance after the transition from the first passage to the second passage.

Subsequently, the main body 1 is rotated 180 degrees (rightward rotation) to turn the main body 1 in the opposite direction (step ST16).
In this case, the left and right drive motors 4 and 5 are rotationally controlled in a predetermined manner.

After the reversal of the main body 1, the main body 1 is run, and counting of the running distance is started by the encoder signal (step ST17).

Subsequently, the front wall surface is detected from the measured distance information to the front wall surface by the sub-control unit 12, and it is judged whether or not the distance to the front wall surface of the first passage has reached a predetermined value (step ST18). ).

When the front wall surface cannot be detected, the process returns to step ST17, the above-described processing is executed, the front wall surface is detected, and the distance to the front wall surface of the first passage reaches a predetermined value. The above process is repeated to stop the main body 1 before the front wall surface as shown in FIG.

Then, the passage length of the second passage is calculated and stored based on the count value of the traveling distance. At this time, the already recognized width of the first passage is also stored.

Subsequently, the main body 1 is turned over in the same manner as in step ST16 (step ST20), and the main body 1 is run for the stored path length. This is because, for example, considering the transition to the next passage, it is necessary to determine in advance where the main body 1 should be stopped after the passage length is measured and stored. If it is the last area, the processing (step S
T20 and ST21) may be omitted.

When the passage length and width of the second passage are stored, the routine returns to the routine of FIG. 3 and steps ST3 to ST4.
Then, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is traveling only in memory. In this case, since the memory-only traveling is set, the process proceeds from step ST4 to ST5, and it is determined whether or not the passage length and the width have been stored for all the regions (all the stored passages) of the area.

When the passage length (including the moving distance) and the width in all the passages (first and second passages) are stored as the traveling pattern together with the transition setting information by the above-mentioned processing, the routine is ended. To do.

When only the storage mode is selected by the mode changeover switch 8a (the storage only traveling switch 1
0a), go from step ST1 to ST7,
The cleaning means is turned on, that is, the sprinkler, the suction device, the brush, the squeegee, etc. can be operated.

Subsequently, the passage length (including the moving distance) and width are stored as described above (step ST).
3). This processing is the routine shown in FIG. 4 and has been described above, and will be omitted.

After the above processing, the process returns to the routine shown in FIG.
The process proceeds from step ST3 to ST4, and it is determined whether or not the vehicle is traveling only in memory. Since the mode is not the memory-only traveling but the memory mode, the process proceeds to step ST8, and the cleaning traveling processing (reciprocating cleaning traveling processing) is performed. In this cleaning traveling process,
As shown by the broken line arrow in FIG. 10, the main body 1 is run and the sprinkler, suction device, brush, squeegee, etc. are controlled in a predetermined manner.

Subsequently, when the cleaning of the area (first passage) is completed, the process proceeds from step ST9 to ST5, and it is determined whether or not the passage length (including the moving distance) and the width of all the areas in the area are stored. To judge.

When the passage length (including the moving distance) and the width of all the regions are not stored, the process proceeds to step ST6 in the same manner as described above, and the transition process to the next region (second passage) is executed.

When the transition to the second passage is completed, the process returns to step ST3 and the above-described processing is repeated to obtain and store the passage length and width of the second passage, and to clean the second passage.

When the passage lengths (including the moving distances) and widths of all the passages (first and second passages) are stored as the traveling pattern together with the transition setting information, the routine ends.

When the traveling pattern is stored, the area selection switch 8b is operated in advance to set a number for designating the area and display it on the storage number display 9d. As a result, the information about the passage length (including the moving distance), the width, and the transition setting for each area is stored in the memory at the address corresponding to the display number.

Therefore, when the reproduction mode is selected by the mode changeover switch 8a and the memory number is selected by the area selection switch 8b, the data of the memory at the address corresponding to this memory number (path length of the area (including moving distance)) is selected. And the width as well as the migration setting information). After that, when the start switch is operated, the traveling of the main body 1 is controlled in accordance with the read data, and the cleaning means is controlled to travel while cleaning the floor surface in a predetermined area.

As described above, in order to obtain the passage length (including the moving distance) and the width of each area before cleaning and traveling a plurality of areas in a predetermined area, only the memory-only traveling switch 10a is used.
Or a memory mode is selected by the mode changeover switch 8a and the memory-only traveling switch 10a is operated, the passage length (movement) of each area can be quickly changed without traveling while cleaning the entire area. (Including distance) and width can be obtained. Therefore, even when there is not enough time, it is possible to store the traveling pattern of the district in the minimum necessary time.

Further, when there is a time margin, if only the storage mode is selected by the mode changeover switch 8a, the passage length and width of the area can be stored after the cleaning is surely performed. Therefore, two methods can be selected depending on the presence / absence of time, and the usability of the floor cleaning robot can be improved.

Although the storage-only traveling switch 10a is used in the above-described embodiment, the function of the storage mode selected by the mode changeover switch 8a may be changed to the suction-only traveling (that is, other cleaning means). Do not control the sprinkler, brush and squeegee).

In this case, since it is not necessary to provide a new switch, the cost can be suppressed, and the information (passage length and width) of each area (each passage) can be obtained in a shorter time than during normal cleaning. It is possible to remember. That is, since it is not necessary to perform cleaning, the speed of the main body 1 can be increased.

Further, by performing suction, it is possible to remove dust and the like in each passage, and there is no uneven cleaning.

[0057]

As described above, according to the invention of claim 1 of the floor cleaning robot of the present invention, a plurality of areas in a predetermined area are not cleaned, and the width of each area and one end of the area are removed. Since the distance to the other end is stored as a running pattern, it is possible to obtain and store information (running pattern) for each area in a short time, which is advantageous when there is not enough time. When there is a sufficient margin, it is possible to obtain information on each area while cleaning each area. This has the effect of improving usability and preventing uneven cleaning.

According to the invention of claim 2, the passage length (including the moving distance) and the width of each passage are obtained only by traveling without cleaning the passages in the predetermined area. Since it is possible to travel from the start to the front wall surface in the forward path, and to travel to one wall surface in the other path, it is possible to travel from the same wall surface to the other wall surface. It is possible to store the distance and width (travel pattern), which is advantageous when there is not enough time, and when there is time, the passage length (moving distance (Including) and width can be obtained, which has the effect of improving usability and preventing nonuniform cleaning.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, while traveling while cleaning the floor surfaces of a plurality of passages in the district, only the suction device of the cleaning means is controlled in the mode for storing the traveling pattern of the passages. Therefore, since it is not necessary to provide a new setting means, the cost can be suppressed and the traveling speed can be increased, which allows the passage length (movement of each passage) to be shortened in a shorter time than that during normal cleaning. There is an effect that the distance) and the width (running pattern) can be stored, and nonuniform cleaning can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a control device of a floor cleaning robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a schematic layout diagram for explaining an operation panel and a display unit of the control device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart for explaining the operation of the control device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart for explaining the operation of the control device shown in FIG.

5 is a schematic passage diagram for explaining the operation of the control device shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

6 is a schematic passage diagram for explaining the operation of the control device shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

7 is a schematic passage diagram for explaining the operation of the control device shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 8 is a schematic front view of a conventional floor cleaning robot.

9 is a schematic layout diagram for explaining an operation panel and a display unit of the floor cleaning robot shown in FIG.

10 is a schematic passage diagram for explaining the operation of the floor cleaning robot shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Main body (of floor cleaning robot) 2,3 Ultrasonic sensor (detection means) 4,5 Drive motor 6,7 Rotary encoder (detection means) 8a Mode selection switch 8b District selection switch 8c Transition setting switch section 10 Operation panel 10a Memory only Travel switch 11 Ultrasonic sensor unit 12 Sub control unit 13 Main control unit 14 Drive wheel control circuit 15 Drive circuit

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. Cleaning is performed while cleaning the floor surface of a plurality of areas in a predetermined area, at least the traveling pattern of each cleaning area is obtained and stored by the detection means, and cleaning of the floor surface can be reproduced according to the stored traveling pattern. A floor cleaning robot having a setting means for allowing only the memory to travel in the plurality of regions, and when the memory only travel is set by the setting means, only the travel is performed without controlling the means for cleaning the floor surface. The width of each area is recognized, the distance from one end to the other end of each area is measured, and the measured distance and the recognized width are stored as at least the traveling pattern. A floor cleaning robot. 2. Traveling while cleaning the floor surface of a plurality of passages in a predetermined area, obtaining and storing a traveling pattern of each cleaning passage by at least the detection means, and cleaning the floor surface reproducible according to the stored traveling pattern. On the other hand, a floor cleaning robot capable of presetting a transition from a predetermined passage to another passage and storing the information of the transition setting in the traveling pattern, wherein each passage is stored only for traveling. In the case where the vehicle has a setting means and only the memory is set by the setting means, only the traveling is performed without controlling the means for cleaning the floor surface, and the main body is started at the first passage among the passages. The width of the passage is recognized by traveling only from the forward path to the front wall surface, and the passage length of the passage is measured and stored together with the width of the passage. After the traveling of the road is finished, the main body is rotated in a predetermined manner and the distance is measured by traveling to one wall surface from the time when the main body is moved to the next passage, and the traveling distance is calculated by adding the width of the previous passage to the measured distance. After that, the passage length is measured by traveling from the time when the main body is turned upside down to the other wall surface, and the width of the passage is recognized, and the passage width, the passage length and the movement distance are set together with the transition setting. A floor cleaning robot, wherein the floor cleaning robot is stored as the traveling pattern. 3. A sprinkler device is provided on a floor surface of a plurality of passages in a predetermined area,
While traveling by cleaning means of the suction device, brush and squeegee, at least the detecting means obtains and stores the traveling pattern of each cleaning passage, and the cleaning of the floor surface can be reproduced according to the traveling pattern. A floor cleaning robot capable of presetting a transition from an aisle to another aisle and storing the information on the transition setting in the traveling pattern while traveling while cleaning the floor surfaces of a plurality of aisles in the district. In addition, the floor cleaning robot is characterized in that only the suction device of the cleaning means is controlled in the mode for storing the traveling pattern of the passage.