JPS63119723A - Self-propelling cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application This invention relates to a self-propelled vacuum cleaner that is equipped with a cleaning function and a moving function and that automatically cleans a floor surface.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Self-propelled vacuum cleaners have been developed that are equipped with full movement functions to improve operability during cleaning. Particularly recently, so-called self-propelled self-propelled vacuum cleaners have been developed, which are equipped with microcomputers and various sensors to perform cleaning while determining the location to be cleaned by the vacuum cleaner itself. It is.

This type of self-propelled vacuum cleaner is equipped with an obstacle detection sensor using ultrasonic waves, a gyro sensor that measures the direction of movement, etc., and has a complex system configuration as a whole. I was using Batch Leela as a power source.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention In this type of system, due to the use of batteries, the main body weight is large, the power is insufficient, and the operating time is inevitably short. Furthermore, since the main body is heavy, various sensors had to be attached to prevent damage if it comes into contact with obstacles such as walls, glass, or people. Furthermore, if a gyro sensor or the like is installed to more accurately guide the rust, a large and complicated control system will be required.

Therefore, the present invention provides a small and lightweight self-propelled vacuum cleaner that can automatically clean a room using a commercial power source and a simple control system.

Means for Solving the Problems The technical means of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is to provide two drive wheels, one on each side of the main body, which are symmetrically provided and connected to a drive motor to drive the main body. , a clutch device that disconnects one of the drive wheels from the drive motor, a cleaning means built into the main body, a power cord that supplies power to the main body, and a power cord that is wound around a cord reel inside the main body at regular intervals. a plurality of bumpers provided on the outside of the main body, a contact detection means for detecting contact between the bumpers, and an output from the contact detection means to determine and process the output from the contact detection means to drive the drive motor, clutch device, and code. and judgment processing means for controlling the sending means.

action The effects of this technical means are as follows.

With this configuration, when the power cord is latched to a wall etc. and the power is turned on, the drive motor drives the two drive wheels to keep the cord length constant and apply tension to the power cord while the main body is attached to the wall. When the contact detection means detects that the drive motor has hit the wall, the determination processing means changes the direction of rotation of the drive motor. At the same time, the determination processing means operates the clutch device to disconnect one of the drive wheels from the drive motor, directing the movement direction of the main body in the direction of pulling out the power cord, and controls the cord sending means so that the entire power cord has a certain length. Pull out. When the power cord is pulled out by a certain length, the determination processing means releases the clutch device and the drive motor drives the two drive shafts to return to the original straight traveling state. By repeating this operation, the entire floor of the room is automatically cleaned.

EXAMPLE Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described based on the accompanying drawings.

In FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, reference numeral 1 indicates a main body of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner, and reference numeral 2 indicates drive shafts provided symmetrically on both the left and right sides of the main body 1. 3 is a drive motor, and 4 is a reduction gear connected to the output shaft of the drive motor 3, which is connected to the drive shaft 6 via a gear 6. One end of this drive shaft 6 is connected to a gear 8 via a clutch device 7, and the other end is connected to a gear 8'. Furthermore, the gears 8 and 8' are connected to gears 9 and 9' mounted on the drive shafts 2 and 2', respectively. 10 is main body 1
This is the power cord that supplies power to the cord IJ inside the main unit.
It is wound around a loop 11, and its tip is led out of the main body through a hole in the center of the drive shaft 2'. Reference numeral 12 denotes a cord sending means for feeding the power cord 10 out of the main body at predetermined length intervals, and performs rotation restraint and release of the cord reel 11 and detects the cord sending length. 13 and 13' are floor nozzles provided at the front and rear of the main body, and rollers 14 and 14' are rotatably attached to each of them.

Also, the floor nozzles 13 and 13' each have a spring 15.
, 15' are urged downward and pressed against the floor surface, and the upper part thereof is connected to bellows hoses 16, 16' to communicate with the dust collection chamber 17. The upper ends of the bellows hoses 16 and 16' are connected to air passages 18 and 18' on the side of the dust collection chamber 1a. The air passages 18 and 18' are connected to a dust collection bag 20 in the dust collection chamber 17 via a nozzle switching valve 19. 21 is a filter provided in the dust collection chamber 17, and 22 is an electric blower.

The nozzle switching valve 19 rotates in the direction of arrow a, and the main body 1
The suction force of an electric blower 22 is switched in the direction of the floor nozzle 13 or the floor nozzle 13' depending on the direction of movement of the main body 1, so that dust is always sucked by the floor nozzle in front of the movement of the main body 1. For example, in Fig. 3, if the main body 1 moves in the direction of the arrow,
The nozzle switching valve 19 is in the position shown in the figure, and the floor nozzle 13
The dust sucked from the air passes through the air passage 18 as shown by the arrow and enters the dust collection bag 2o. At this time, there is no suction from the floor nozzle 13'. Above, floor nozzles 13, 13', rollers 14, 14', springs 15, 15', bellows hoses 16, 16', dust collection chamber 17, air passages 18, 18
', nozzle switching valve 19, dust collection bag 2o, filter 21
, the electric blower 22 constitutes a cleaning means built into the main body 1. Reference numerals 23 and 23' denote bumpers made of foamed rubber or the like attached to the front and rear of the main body 1, and contact detection means 24 and 24' for detecting contact are provided on the outside of the bumpers. 2
Reference numeral 5 denotes a determination processing means for determining and processing the output from the contact detection means 24, 24' to control the drive motor 3, clutch device 7, code sending means 12 and nozzle switching valve 19. In this embodiment, the microcomputer e (I am using ffi.

The operation of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner configured as above will be described below.

For example, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, the wall is 30°31.3
2. Set the main body 1 of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner on the floor 34 in the room surrounded by 33. A power cord 10 is pulled out from the center of the drive wheel 2' of the main body 1 and connected to an outlet 35 on the wall 3o. Further, the power cord 10 is fixed to the wall 30 between the outlet 36 and the main body 1 by a cord fixture 36, so that the tension of the power cord 1o is not applied directly to the outlet 36. When the main body 1 is powered on in this state, the drive motor 3 and the electric blower 22 operate, cleaning while keeping the cord length constant in the direction of the arrow mark, i.e., moving the arc around the cord fixture 36. Proceed as you draw. At this time, the clutch device 7 does not operate,
That is, the drive shaft 6 and the gear 8 are in a connected state, and the drive motor 4 is connected to two drive wheels 2, 2 symmetrically provided on both sides of the main body 1.
'i drive, so the main body 1 is in a straight-line state. Further, at this time, the nozzle switching valve 19 is in a position where suction force is applied to the floor nozzle 13. When the bumper 23 provided in front of the main body 1 hits the wall 31 and the contact detection means 24 outside the bumper 17 detects the full contact, the judgment processing means 25 reverses the drive motor 3 and turns the nozzle switching valve 19 to 1.
Rotate 80 degrees and switch the suction power to the floor nozzle 13' side.
At the same time, the clutch device 7 and the code sending means 12 are activated. When the clutch device A is activated, the drive shaft 6 and the gear 8 are separated, so the main body 1 is driven only by the drive shaft 2', and the power cord is turned away from the cord fixing device 36, that is, in the direction of arrow B shown in FIG. 10 out of the main body 1. When the power cord 1o is pulled out by a certain length, the determination processing means 25 controls the cord sending means 12 to completely stop feeding the power cord 10, and at the same time stops the operation of the clutch device A. Then, the drive shaft 6 and the gear 8 are connected and driven by the two wheels of the drive shafts 2' and 2, so the main body 1 is again in a straight-line state, and the cord length is constant 1-! Move in the direction of arrow C. Therefore, the main body 1 moves while drawing a circular arc with a large radius by a certain length with the cord fixture 36 as the center. Also, when the bumper 23' on the opposite side hits the wall 30, it performs the same gap motion, moves in the direction of arrow E, and repeats the above motion, covering the entire floor 34 as shown in FIG. Clean automatically. Cleaning is completed when the power cord 1° is pulled out to the maximum extent, or when the power cord 10 is pulled out beyond a certain length and the time interval between bumpers 23 and 23' hitting the wall becomes less than a certain time. It is determined that the drive motor 3 and the electric blower 22 are stopped, and a buzzer (not shown) is sounded to notify the end of the process.

A flowchart of the above operation is shown in FIG.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention has two drive wheels that are symmetrically provided on each side of the main body and are connected to a drive motor to drive the main body, and one of the drive shafts is connected from the drive motor. A clutch device for disconnecting, a cleaning means built into the main body, a power cord for supplying power to the main body, a cord sending means for sending out the power cord wound on a cord reel inside the main body at fixed length intervals, and a cleaning means built into the main body. A plurality of bumpers provided, a contact detection means for detecting contact of the bumpers, and a determination processing means for determining and processing an output from the contact detection means to control a drive motor, a clutch device, and a code sending means. Equipped with a power cord, power is supplied from the outside to ensure cleaning ability, the length of the cord determines the cleaning route, and the contact detection means detects walls and obstacles, allowing the floor surface to be cleaned visually. . In addition, since the main body can be driven with only two driving wheels, one on each side of the main body, the drive device can be placed only in the front and center of the main body, and even if floor nozzles are installed on the front and back of the main body, the main body can be driven easily. The overall length is small and compact. By leading the power cord out from the center of one of the drive wheels, the power cord passes through the center of gravity of the main body, allowing stable running without wobbling or the power cord sagging during movement. Further, by using a clutch device that disconnects one of the drive wheels from the drive motor, the moving direction of the main body can be easily switched between a straight-ahead state and a direction change state with a simple configuration.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan sectional view of a self-propelled vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the same self-propelled vacuum cleaner, and FIG. 3 is a noise purifying means section of the same self-propelled vacuum cleaner. 4 and 6 are explanatory diagrams showing the movement procedure of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of the operation of the self-propelled vacuum cleaner. 1... Main body, 2.2'... Drive wheel, 3
... Drive motor, 7 ... Clutch device, 10 ... Power cord, 11 ... Cord reel, 12 ... Code sending means, 13,
13'... Floor nozzle, 16, 16'...
... Bellows hose, 17 ... Dust collection chamber, 18 , 1
8'...Air passage, 19...Nozzle switching valve, 20...Dust collection bag, 21...
Filter, 22... Electric blower, 23, 23
'... Bumper, 24.24'... Contact detection means, 25... Judgment processing means. Name of agent: Patent attorney Toshio Nakao and one other person f8
．． 18'-Air circuit f9-Nosulma moon moxibustion cell? O-Shiyasa 21-Katana Ruta 25-Hanhari Hayanukikodan Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) Two drive wheels, one on each side of the main body, are installed symmetrically and connected to the drive motor to drive the main body, a clutch device that disconnects one of the drive wheels from the drive motor, and a clutch device built into the main body. a power cord that supplies power to the main body, a cord sending means that sends out the power cord wound around a cord reel inside the main body at regular length intervals, and a plurality of bumpers provided outside the main body; A self-propelled vacuum cleaner comprising a contact detection means for detecting contact with the bumper, and a determination processing means for determining and processing an output from the contact detection means to control a drive motor, a clutch device, and a code sending means. (2) The two drive wheels are provided at the front and rear center of the side surface of the main body, and the power cord is led out of the main body from the center of one of the drive wheels, and the clutch device connects the other drive wheel from the drive motor. A self-propelled vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, which is configured to be separated.