JPS6263315A - Moving robot - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To realize attitude control and movement control along the circumference of a floor surface of a moving robot with a simple circuit configuration when the robot is run on the floor surface with a level difference along the circumference, by controlling the attitude of the robot in such a way that plural luminous and photoreceptor elements for infrared rays are installed to the periphery of the bottom surface of the robot in downward directions and presence/absence of reflecting infrared rays from the floor surface is detected. CONSTITUTION:Four wheels 5a-5d are installed to the bottom surface of a robot main body 1 and, at the same time, reflection type photosensors 60-67 are respectively provided at both end sections of each edge of the bottom surface in downward directions. Each photosensor 60-67 is composed of, for example, a luminous element for infrared ray 7, such as LED, etc. and photoreceptor element 8, such as phototransistor, etc., and the light of the luminous element 7 is made incident to the photoreceptor element 8 after it is reflected by a table (floor surface). Therefore, when the robot main body 1 moved and some of the photosensors 60-67 protrude from the edge of the table 9 the photosensors do not receive the reflecting light from the table 9. Therefore, the edge of the table 9 can be detected from the output signals of the photosensors 60-67.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Technical field of invention] The present invention relates to an autonomous mobile robot.

[Prior art and its problems] Conventionally, autonomous mobile robots include robots that transport goods in places with relatively limited environmental conditions such as factories, as well as floor cleaning robots whose usage environment is difficult to specify. and so on.

The work area of this floor cleaning robot includes stair landings, etc., so in order to prevent falls, ultrasonic sensors are installed facing downward at the front and rear ends of the robot, and the floor surface that supports it is installed to prevent falls. It is designed to move while checking that it is there. Also, during cleaning work, the robot first walks around the area to recognize the shape and size of the work area, and then performs the actual cleaning work. Recognition of the position and posture during movement is done using a gyro mounted on the main body,
This is done using the output of an encoder attached to the motor shaft.

As mentioned above, since conventional mobile robots use ultrasonic waves, it is difficult to know the exact position of a step, and it is difficult to move the robot along the periphery while accurately correcting its posture.

In addition, it was also difficult to apply it to small systems because it was equipped with a gyro.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides a movement that allows movement along the surrounding area while accurately correcting the posture even when used on a floor surface with steps around the surrounding area. The purpose is to provide robots.

[Summary of the Invention] When a self-supporting mobile robot runs on a floor surface with steps around it, a plurality of pairs of infrared light-emitting elements and light-receiving elements are provided facing downward at the periphery of the bottom of the robot. A device is provided to detect the presence or absence of infrared light reflection on the floor surface and control the posture of the mobile robot.

E Example of the invention] An example of the invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the mobile robot 10 is configured as an on-vehicle cleaner with a clock. First, the external configuration will be explained with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a robot body, which consists of a casing with, for example, a negative side of about 150 m, and one corner of the top is cut out to form a sloped portion 2. A start key 3 and a clock display section 4 are provided on this slope section 2.

Additionally, on the bottom of the robot body 1, there are four wheels 5a to 5.
d, and as shown in FIG.
67 is provided facing downward.

As shown in FIG. 2(a), the photosensors 60 to 67 are composed of an infrared light emitting element 7 such as an LED, and a light receiving element 8 such as a phototransistor, and the light from the infrared light emitting element 7 is directed toward the table (floor surface). The light is reflected by the light receiving element 9 and enters the light receiving element 8 . Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2(b), the movement of the robot body 1 causes the photosensor 60 to
~67 protrudes from the end of table 9, table 9
Since there is no reflected light from the photosensors 6, to 67,
The end of the table 9 can be detected from the output signal. Further, the wheels 58 to 5d are arranged at an angle of 90° in the left and right direction with respect to the forward and backward positions as shown in FIG. 4, for example.
The steering wheel is configured so that the steering can be turned within the range of
It is able to move in all directions. Figure 4 (a) shows the positions of the forward and reverse wheels 5a to 5d, and from this wheel position it is possible to move left and right by turning the steering wheel 90'' to the right as shown in Figure 4 (b). become.

The positions of the wheels 5a to 5d in FIG. 4(b) indicate the steering limit, and this steering limit position is detected by a limit detector to be described later. Further, if the steering wheel is turned to the left by 45 degrees as shown in FIG. 4(C) from the forward and backward wheel positions of FIG. 4(a), right turns and left turns are possible.

Next, the configuration of the electronic circuit provided in the robot body 1 will be explained with reference to FIG. One end of the start key 3 is connected to a power supply with a predetermined potential (“1”), the other end is grounded via a resistor 11, and the start key 3 is connected to an amplifier 1 for waveform shaping.
2 to the control circuit 13. Further, 14 is an oscillation circuit, and its oscillation output is input to the infrared light emitting elements 7 of the photosensors 6o to 67. And photo sensor 6
The signals output from each of the light receiving elements 8 from 0 to 67 are amplified/
Processing circuits 15a to 15 that perform processing such as demodulation/waveform shaping
The signal is inputted to the differential circuit group 16 and the latch circuit 17 via 7. The processing circuit 15. ~157 is the photosensor 6
When 0 to 67 are detecting the surface of table 9, the signal is “0”.
", and outputs a signal "1" when the photosensors 60 to 67 detect the end of the table 9.
It detects that the signal has changed between "O" and the signal, generates one pulse, and inputs it to the latch circuit 17 and control circuit 13 via the OR circuit 30. This latch circuit 11 receives the output of the differential circuit group 16. As a strobe pulse, the processing circuit 150
The latch data is read by the read signal 13a from the control circuit 13 and sent to the control circuit 13 and the sensor data storage section 18 via the data bus 17a. The sensor data storage unit 18 is address-controlled by a control signal q from the control circuit 13, and the stored data is stored in the path line 18.
It is sent to the control circuit 13 via a. Further, connected to this control circuit 13 are a flag register 19 that stores a flag indicating that the previous time was a cloth turn, and a flag register 20 that stores a flag that represents that the previous time was a left turn.

Furthermore, a steering motor drive circuit 21, a steering counter 22, and a steering data storage section 23 are connected to the control circuit 13. A steering motor 24 is driven by the steering motor drive circuit 21, and a rotation detector 25 and a limit detector 26 are provided in the steering motor 24 portion. The rotation detector 25 detects the rotation of the steering motor 24 by detecting, for example, a radially cut slit in a disc attached to the motor shaft using an optical sensor, and the rotation detection signal is sent via the amplifier 27. and is sent to the steering counter 22. Further, the limit detector 26 detects the limit of steering rotation, and is composed of an optical sensor similar to the rotation detector 25 described above, and is shown in FIG.
As shown in b), the steering position of 90° to the right is detected. The detection signal of this limit detector 26 is sent to the steering counter 22 and the control circuit 13 via an amplifier 28. The data stored in the steering data storage section 23 and the count data of the steering counter 22 are sent to a minus number output circuit 29 to determine whether or not they match, and the result of the determination is sent to the control circuit 13.

Furthermore, the control circuit 13 includes a travel motor drive circuit 31, a turn counter 32.90''/36()° turn data storage section 33, an attitude control data storage section 34, an attitude control counter 35, a vehicle length data storage section 36, A travel counter 31 is connected.The travel motor drive circuit 31 drives a travel motor 39 to travel, and the rotation of this travel motor 39 is detected by a rotation detector 40.This rotation detector 40 , has the same configuration as the rotation detector 25 described above, and its detection output is sent via an amplifier 41 to a turn counter 32, an attitude control counter 35, and a travel counter 3.
7 is input. The turn counter 32 is activated by a command from the control circuit 13 only when the steering wheel is in the left or right turn position, and the rotation detector 4
The running pulses sent from 0 through the amplifier 41 are counted.

In this case, the turn counter 32 enters the rough current mode with the forward rotation signal f from the control circuit 13, and the reverse rotation signal Q.
to enter down count mode. Turn counter 3 above
The count value of 2 is sent to the coincidence detection circuit 42 together with the turn data stored in the 90'''/360° turn data storage section 33. It stores the count data for the rotation detector 40 at the time of turning and 360° turning, and the stored data and the count value of the turn counter 32 are compared in the coincidence detection circuit 42, and when they match, it is a match. A signal is sent to the control circuit 13. Also, the attitude control counter 35 detects the end of the table 9 when the start key 3 is pressed and the robot moves forward, and then the sensor detects the end of the table 9. The distance traveled until detecting the position is counted in accordance with the control signal 12 from the control circuit 13, and the count value is output to the attitude control data storage section 34. It stores angle data, and outputs angle data for posture correction to the control circuit 13 and -number output circuit 42 according to the count value of the posture control counter 35. When making corrections, the rotation detector 4
The vehicle commander data storage unit 3 counts the pulse signals from the
It is output to the coincidence detection circuit 43 together with the stored data of No. 6. This minus number output circuit 43 compares the vehicle length stored in the vehicle length data storage section 36, that is, the length of the robot body 1, with the count value of the traveling counter 37, and outputs a coincidence signal when they match. Output to control circuit 13. Note that in the circuit shown in FIG. 5, the clock portion and cleaner portion are omitted.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained. The robot 10 configured as described above is placed on the table 9, and the start key 3 is operated. The robot 10 starts its operation by operating the start key 3, and executes a table end detection process to a step, an attitude correction process in step B, and a rotation process in step C, as shown in the general flow of FIG. Hereinafter, the processing operations of steps A to C will be explained in detail with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 11 to 13. The control circuit 13 in FIG.
Before executing the process of C, the process shown in FIG. 11(a)
Execute the preprocessing shown in That is, the control circuit 13
As shown in step
When is operated, first, in step x2, a normal rotation signal is sent to the steering motor drive circuit 21 to drive the steering motor 24 to rotate the steering wheel clockwise. Then, in step x3, it is determined whether or not the steering wheel has been turned to the right limit. If the right limit has not been reached, the process returns to step x2 and the steering wheel continues to rotate to the right. When the steering reaches the right limit by repeating steps x2 and x3, this state is detected by the limit detector 26, and the steering counter 22 is reset by the limit detection signal as shown in step x4. Next, the control circuit 13 controls the steering motor drive circuit 21
Send a reversal signal to , and rotate the steering wheel to the left as shown in step x5. Next, in step x6, it is determined whether the steering wheel has rotated to the straight direction, and if it has not rotated yet, the process returns to step x5. That is,
The control circuit 13 applies a control signal d to the steering data storage section 23 and reads forward/reverse steering data to the coincidence detection circuit 29 . When the steering wheel is rotated to the left as described above, the steering counter 22 enters a down count mode and counts down by the rotation detection pulse sent from the rotation detector 25 via the amplifier 27.

The count value of the steering counter 22 is sent to the minus number computation circuit 29 and compared with the forward/backward steering data read out from the steering data storage section 23. When the steering wheel is rotated to the straight direction, the human power data of the -number output circuit 29 match, and a coincidence detection signal is output from the -number output circuit 29 to the control circuit 1.
Sent to 3.

When the steering wheel is rotated to the straight forward direction through the above-described processing, the control circuit 13 proceeds to table end detection processing A shown in FIG. 11(b). In this table end detection process, first, as shown in step A1, a forward command is given from the control circuit 13 to the travel motor drive circuit 31, and the robot 10 is moved forward as shown in FIG. Then, in step A2, the control circuit 13 determines whether the sensor output is "1" based on the signal input from the differentiating circuit group 16 via the OR circuit 30, and if the sensor output is g On, the control circuit 13 proceeds to step A1. Return and move the robot 10 forward.

In this case, the robot 10 moves forward with the #2 and #4 photosensors 62 and 64 on the front side, so when the robot 10 reaches the end of the table 9 as shown in FIG. Accordingly, the photosensor 62.6. detects the table end and outputs a "1" signal.The outputs of the photosensors 60-67 are sent to the processing circuits 15.-
After being amplified, demodulated, and waveform shaped by 157, the signal is input to the differentiation circuit group 16 and also to the latch circuit 17. Therefore, when the table end is detected by the photosensors 62 and 64, the signal output from the differential circuit group 16 via the OR circuit 30 becomes "1" and is input to the control circuit 13 and latch circuit 17. This latch circuit 17 latches the sensor outputs from the processing circuits 150 to 157 using the signal applied via the OR circuit 30 as a strobe pulse. When the control circuit 13 receives the "1" signal from the differentiating circuit group 16 via the OR circuit 30, it proceeds from step A2 to step A3, reads the latch data of the latch circuit 17, and outputs two or more sensor outputs. At the same time, it is determined whether the sensor output is “1” or not.
If only one is "1", the process advances to step A4, and it is determined whether this is the first time that the sensor output has become "1".

If the sensor output becomes Pa 1” for the first time, proceed to step A.
5, the control circuit 13 gives the reset/start signal k to the attitude control counter 35, and the attitude control counter 35
The contents of are reset and the counting operation is started. Thereafter, the process returns to step A1 and the robot 10 is moved forward. This forward motion of the robot 10 causes the sixth
As shown in Figure ■, when another sensor reaches the table end, the table end is detected by that sensor, and the process proceeds to step A4 through steps A2 and A3, and this is the first time that the sensor output has become "1". A determination is made whether or not.

Since this is the second sensor output at this point, the determination result in step A4 is No, and the process proceeds to step A6, where the control circuit 13 outputs a stop signal 2 to stop the counting operation of the attitude control counter 35. Next, in step A1, a control signal j is output from the control circuit 13,
Turn angle data for attitude control is read from the attitude control data storage section 34 to the coincidence detection circuit 42 and the control circuit 13 according to the count value of the attitude control counter 35. Also, in step A3 above, two or more sensors are set to "1" at the same time.
If it is determined that the robot 10 is positioned parallel to the edge of the table, the process immediately proceeds to step A7 without performing steps A4 to 80, and posture control is performed. Data corresponding to the count value “t On” of the attitude control counter 35 is read from the data storage unit 34 to the coincidence detection circuit 42 and the control circuit 13. In this case, the rotation angle when correcting the attitude to make the robot body 1 parallel to the table edge is The determination is made as follows.Now, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, the robot 10 moves forward and first
If sensor #2 detects the table end, and sensor #4 detects the table end and stops when it has further advanced by ΔLe, then the distance between the two sensors #2 and #4 is Ds.
When, the angle θe between the robot body 1 and the table end is
is θe-tan'! (ΔL e/D s ) is calculated.

Therefore, the count number Ne of the rotating member, that is, the turn counter 32, for the right surface of the robot body 1 (the surface where the sensors #0 and #1 are provided) to be parallel to the table end is Ne-(φ-θe )/Δθ. However, φ-90° and Δθ are unit rotation angles (rotation angles corresponding to one force count of the turn counter 32). Furthermore, even when the sensor is other than #2 and #4, the same calculation can be performed by changing the value of φ. After completing the process in step A7, the process proceeds to posture correction process B, the details of which are shown in FIG. 11(C).

In this attitude correction process B, the control circuit 13 determines the direction of the turn based on the attitude control data read from the attitude control data storage section 34, and if it is a left turn, step B
In step B3, a left turn process is executed, and if it is a right turn, a right turn process is executed in step B3. and,
In step B4, it is determined whether or not the robot body 1 is parallel to the edge of the table, and if it is not parallel, the process returns to step B1.

When making the above turn, the control circuit 13 first
Steering motor drive circuit 21 by control signal b%C
When the steering motor 24 is driven through the steering wheel and the steering wheel is turned counterclockwise by 90 degrees or more, the steering wheel is mechanically turned as shown in FIG. 4(C).

Whether the steering wheel is in a turn state is determined by a coincidence signal output from the coincidence detection circuit 29 by comparing the data input from the steering data storage section 23 to the coincidence detection circuit 29 and the actual count value of the steering counter 22. Detected by

The control circuit 13 thereby outputs control signals s and c to stop the steering motor 24, provides control signals f and q to the travel motor drive circuit 31 to drive and control the travel motor 39, and moves to the actual turn. .

When a turn is started, the output signal of the turn counter 32 and the attitude control data read out from the attitude control data storage section 34 are compared in a coincidence detection circuit 43, and when they eventually match, that is, the robot body 1 is aligned with the table edge. Then, the control circuit 1 receives a coincidence detection signal from the coincidence detection circuit 43.
3 will be notified. As a result, the control circuit 13
The traveling motor 39 is stopped by the all signals f and Q, and the process proceeds from step B4 to the circulation process C shown in FIG. 11(d).

The circulation process is performed according to the following principle.

■ Align the right side of the robot body 1 with the edge of the table 9.

■ Left and right turns are not consecutive.

■ You can make a right turn up to 90" at a time, and if there is no change in the sensor output after turning 90, move forward by one vehicle length. If there is no change even after moving forward, make another 90° turn and change further. Move forward until you reach the end (U-turn).

■Left turn is 6.360″' tar up to 3600.

If the sensor output does not change even if the sensor is turned on, it will stop.

Basically, the orbiting motion of the robot 10 is performed with the #O and #1 photosensors 6a and 61 located outside the edge of the table 9, and the #2 and #3 photosensors as shown in FIG. 62 and 63 are controlled so as to travel while being located inside the end of the table 9. Therefore, when the positions of the robot body 1 and the table 9 change as shown in FIGS. 9(a) and 9(b) as the robot 10 moves, the control circuit 13 controls the changing states #0 to ##. It detects and controls the position based on the sensor output of #3, and when it enters the rotation mode, the output status of the photosensors 6~63 of #0~#3 is controlled as shown in step CO of Fig. 11(d). The latch data of the latch circuit 11 is checked, and depending on the state, the routines ① to ② shown in detail in FIG. 12 are executed.

The process of the above routine ■ is the sensor output of #2 or the
Execute when only sensor output No. 3 is "1".

The processing of routine ■ is such that only the sensor output of #0 is “1”,
This is executed when only the sensor output of #1 is 1'' or the sensor outputs of #0 and #3 are “1''. The processing of routine ■ is performed when the sensor outputs of #0 and #1 are "1", the sensor outputs of #1 and #3 are "1", and the sensor outputs of #0, #1, and #3 are "1n". Execute.The processing of routine ■ is
This is executed when the sensor outputs of #0 and #2 are "1", the sensor outputs of #O5 #1 and #2 are "1", and the sensor outputs of #O1 #2 and #3 are "1". The processing of routine ■ is such that the sensor outputs of #1 and #2 are “1”,
Execute when the sensor output of #3 is "1". The process of routine (2) is executed when the sensor outputs of #2 and #3 are "1". The processing of routine ■ is #1 to #
This is executed when the sensor outputs of No. 4 are all "1". In addition, in the above processing branching condition, among the sensor outputs #O to #3, the sensor outputs not indicated by # are “0”.
It is.

Therefore, the processing of the routine (2) above can be performed according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 12(a).

The control circuit 13 first checks, using the left turn flag register 20, whether or not it is after a left turn, as shown in step C1. This flag register 20 is set by the signal U from the control circuit 13 when the vehicle turns left, and is reset by automatically outputting the signal ■ upon a movement command after the left turn. If it is after a left turn, the process proceeds to step C2 to execute a rightward movement subroutine, and then proceeds to step C3 to continue the running operation. In addition, if it is determined in step C1 that it is not after a left turn, step C
Proceed to step 4, and the right turn flag register 19 is set to control circuit 1.
It is set to "1" by the signal S from No. 3, and the right turn subroutine is executed in step C5. During this time,
The control circuit 13 constantly monitors the output of the OR circuit 30, as shown in step C6, and examines changes in the sensor output. The turn data at the time is read out to the coincidence detection circuit 42 and compared with the count value of the turn counter 32. Robot body 1 is 9
Upon turning 0°, a coincidence signal is outputted from the coincidence detection circuit 42 and sent to the control circuit 13. The control circuit 13 causes the robot body 1 to reach 9 in response to the coincidence signal from the -number output circuit 42.
When it is determined that the rotation has turned 0°, the process proceeds to step c8, where a forward subroutine is executed. When the forward movement is started, the control circuit 13 checks whether the sensor output has changed in the same manner as in step C6, as shown in step C9.
, the count value of the running counter 37 controlled by the control signals 0 and p, and the stored data (1 vehicle length data) of the vehicle length data storage section 36 accessed by the control signal m.
It is compared in the minus number output circuit 43 to determine whether or not the vehicle has advanced by one vehicle length. If the vehicle has not advanced by one vehicle length, the process returns to step C8 and the same operation is repeated.

Then, when the robot main body 1 moves forward by one vehicle length and a coincidence detection signal is output from the coincidence detection circuit 43, the control circuit 13
is the right turn flag register 1 in step C11.
It is determined whether the content of 9 is "1" or not. At this point, the content of flag register 19 is 11111, so
The control circuit 13 receives the control signal t as shown in step CI2.
is output to reset the contents of the flag register 19, and then the process returns to step C5 to start turning right again.

Thereafter, the driver makes a 90° right turn and moves forward by one vehicle length, but since the contents of the flag register 19 are "O" after that,
The process advances from step C11 to step C13 to execute a forward subroutine, and then continues the running operation in step C14. However, in this case, step C
When a change in the sensor output is detected in Step 6 or Step C9, the routine returns to the starting point of the circulating routine C and cycles while making corrections according to the sensor output.

Further, the processing of the routine (2) is performed according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 12(b). First, step C21
, check the sensor output status of #4 to #7,
If the sensor outputs of at least #4 and #6 are "1'', the process proceeds to step C22 to execute a rightward movement subroutine; otherwise, the process proceeds to step C23 to execute a forward movement subroutine. After executing the subroutine of step C22 or step C23 above,
The process advances to step C24 to continue the running operation.

Also, the processing of routine ■, routine ■, routine ■ is as follows.
This is executed according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 12(C). First, in the processing of routine (2), the sensor output states of #4 to #7 are checked as shown in step C31, and the sensor outputs of at least #4 and #6 are "1" or are in other states. If it is in any other state, the process advances to step 032 and executes a subroutine for moving to the right. After that, the process advances to step C33 to continue the running operation. Furthermore, if it is determined in step C31 that the sensor outputs of at least #4 and #6 are "1'', or if the process of routine (2) is executed, the left turn shown in step C41 is The subroutine is executed.Next, as shown in step C42, it is determined whether the sensor output has changed, and if the sensor output has changed, the process returns to the starting point of the circulating routine C.
It orbits while making corrections according to the sensor output. If it is determined in step C42 that the sensor output has not changed, the process proceeds to step C43, where it is determined whether or not the 360° turn has been completed.If the 360° turn has not yet been completed, the process returns to step C41 and the left turn is made. Execute the turn subroutine. When it is determined in step C43 that 3600 turns have been completed, the operation is stopped as shown in step C44, and all processing operations are completed.

In addition, when executing the process of routine ①,
In step 051 of C), the sensor output states of #4 to #7 are checked, and at least the sensor output of #4 is “O”.
” or °゛1”. When the sensor output #4 is "O", the process advances to step C52 to execute a forward subroutine, and then continues the running operation as shown in step C53. However, step C5
If it is determined that the sensor output #4 is "1" in step C41, the process proceeds to step C41 described above to execute the left turn subroutine. Thereafter, the processes from step 042 described above are executed.

The processing of the routine (2) above is executed according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 12(d). First, in step C61, the sensor output states of #4 to #7 are checked, and it is determined whether the sensor output of at least #4 is "1" or 0. The sensor output of #4 is "1". If so, proceed to step C62 and execute the right movement subroutine.
Thereafter, the running operation continues as shown in step Q63. However, if it is determined in step C61 that the sensor output #4 is "0", then as shown in FIG. 12('a)
Execute the process of routine ■ shown in .

The processing of routine (2) is then executed according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 12(e). First, step C7
In step 1, check the sensor output status of #4 to #7,
It is determined whether the sensor output of at least #4 is "1" or "O". If the sensor output #4' is "0", the process advances to step C72 and it is determined whether the sensor output #7 is a signal or not. If the sensor output at #7 is not "1", a leftward movement subroutine shown in step C73 is executed, and then the running operation is continued as shown in step C74. However, if the sensor output of #4 is determined to be "1" in step C71, or if the sensor output of #7 is determined to be "1" in step C72, Execute the process of routine ■ shown in .

Next, with reference to FIGS. 13(a) to 13(d), a description will be given of the above-mentioned running continuation process and subroutines of forward movement, rightward movement, leftward movement, right turn, and left turn.

FIG. 13(a) shows the processing operation for continuing running. In step Ca1, it is determined whether the sensor output has changed, and if it has not changed, the running operation is continued. Then, when a change in the resensor output is detected in step Cal, the process returns to the starting point of the circulating routine C.

FIG. 13(b) shows the forward subroutine. First, in step Cb1, the steering wheel is rotated so that the robot body 1 faces in the forward direction. Next, as shown in step Cb2, it is determined whether or not the robot body 1 is facing forward, and if it is not facing forward, the process returns to step Cb1 and the steering rotation operation is continued. Then, when the robot main body 1 faces in the forward direction, the process proceeds to step Cb3 to rotate the travel motor 39 in the normal direction, and then returns to the main routine.

FIG. 13(C) shows a subroutine for moving to the right and moving to the left. In this subroutine, first, step CC
1, rotate the steering wheel so that the robot body faces in the left-right movement direction.

Next, as shown in step Cc2, it is determined whether or not the robot main body 1 is facing in the left-right movement direction, and if it is not facing, the process returns to step CC1 and the steering rotation operation is continued. Then, when the robot body 1 faces in the left-right movement direction,
Proceeding to step Cc3, it is determined whether or not the movement is to the left, and if the movement is to the left, the travel motor 39 is rotated forward in step CC4, and if the movement is to the right, the travel motor 39 is rotated in reverse in step CC5, and then the main routine is returned. .

FIG. 13(d) shows a subroutine for turning right and turning left. In this subroutine, first, in step Cd1, the steering wheel is rotated so that the robot body 1 turns. Next, as shown in step cd2, it is determined whether or not the robot body 1 is facing in the turning direction. If not, the process returns to step Cd1 and the steering rotation operation is continued. When the robot body 1 turns in the turn direction, the process proceeds to step Qd3 to determine whether or not it is a left turn. If the robot body 1 is turning left, the travel motor 39 is rotated forward in step Cd4, and if the robot body 1 is moving to the right, it is rotated in step Cd5. The traveling motor 39 is reversed, and then the main routine returns.

As described above, the orbiting operation is performed according to the flowcharts of FIGS. 12 and 13, and FIG. 14 shows the correspondence between the sensor output cover turns during the orbiting and the corresponding direction correction operations.

In the flowchart of the above embodiment, once the robot enters orbit mode, it continues to orbit forever, but in practical terms, the robot body 1 orbits while calculating its position, and performs other processing based on the result. Such routines are necessary. Also,
In the above embodiment, the robot moves autonomously on a table, but it can be applied to any system that autonomously moves around a place surrounded by steps, regardless of the size of the system.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a tabletop cleaner with a clock is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to other arbitrary products.

[Effects of the Invention] As described in detail above, according to the present invention, when a self-supporting mobile robot is run on a floor surface with steps around it, a plurality of pairs are attached to the peripheral part of the bottom of the robot facing downward. The robot's posture is controlled by detecting the presence or absence of infrared light reflection on the floor by installing an infrared light emitting element and a light receiving element. Movement control can be realized with a simple circuit configuration.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the external configuration, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the photosensor in FIG. 1 and the detection operation of the table end by this photosensor. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the arrangement of photosensors, FIGS. 4(a) to (C) are diagrams showing the relationship between the moving direction of the robot and the wheel position, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration. Figures 6 and 7 are diagrams showing table edge detection and posture correction operations, Figure 8 is a diagram showing the basic robot posture during orbiting, and Figures 9 (a) and (b) are examples of posture correction during orbiting. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the general flow of the robot moving operation. FIGS. 11(a) to (d) are flowcharts showing details of each process in the general flow of FIG.
2(a) to 2(e) are flowcharts showing the details of the robot orbiting operation, and FIGS. 13(a) to 13(d) are 70-charts showing the running continuation operation and subroutines of forward movement, left and right movement, and left and right turns. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the relationship between the sensor output cover turn and the direction correction operation during rotation. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Robot body, 2...Slope part, 3...Start key, 4...Clock part, 58-5d...Wheel, 6
a~67... Photo sensor, 7... Infrared light emitting element, 8... Light receiving element, 9... Table, 1o... Robot, 13... Control circuit, 16... Differentiation circuit group,
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11... Latch circuit, 18... Sensor data storage part, 19.20... Flag register, 21... Steering motor drive circuit, 22... Steering counter, 23... Steering data storage part, 24...
Steering motor, 25.40... Rotation detector, 2
6...Limit detector, 27.28...Amplifier, 29.
42.43...-number circuit, 31... Traveling motor drive circuit, 32... Turn counter, 33...90
/360 'Turn data storage unit, 34...Attitude control data storage unit, 35...Attitude 11J lit counter, 36...Vehicle length data storage unit, 37...Travel counter, 39...Travel Motor. Applicant's Representative Patent Attorney Takehiko Suzue Figure 1 (a) (b) Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 9 Figure 10 (a) Figure 11 Figure (c) (d) Figure 11 Figure 12 (e) Figure 13 Dimension II/-+n η Full scene dimension (d) Figure 13

Claims (1)

[Claims] A robot body, a plurality of wheels that are steerably provided on the bottom surface of the robot body, a plurality of photosensors each consisting of a light emitting element and a light receiving element provided around the bottom surface of the robot body, and a plurality of photosensors that drive the wheels. means for moving the robot body on a floor surface with a step around the periphery, and posture control for detecting the edge of the floor surface based on the output signals of the plurality of photosensors and moving the robot body along the periphery of the floor surface. A mobile robot characterized by comprising means.