KR100283861B1 - Robot cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a robot cleaner, in which a robot cleaner which runs by itself according to a built-in program and performs cleaning, dust quantity detecting means for outputting a dust quantity reduction signal when the amount of dust sucked into the robot cleaner is less than a predetermined amount, and a random method. And a control means for driving the robot cleaner by an arbitrary cleaning path, and terminating the cleaning operation when a dust amount reduction signal is input from the dust amount sensing unit; The dust amount detecting means includes at least one opening hole formed in a side wall portion of a predetermined path through which dust is sucked into the robot cleaner, a light emitting device that emits light through the opening hole, and is disposed to face the light emitting device. When light is received from the light emitting device through the opening hole, it is composed of a light receiving device for inputting the dust reduction signal to the control means, a large number of sensors for detecting the position of the robot cleaner, the distance traveled and the distance to the target, etc. The cleaning operation is automatically performed without employing them, thereby simplifying the internal structure and reducing manufacturing costs.

Description

Robot cleaner

The present invention relates to a robot cleaner, and to a robot cleaner capable of performing a cleaning operation by minimizing the adoption of a sensor and a driving control method thereof.

In general, the robot cleaner refers to a device that automatically cleans an area to be cleaned by suctioning foreign substances such as dust from the floor while driving itself in the area to be cleaned without a user's manipulation.

Such a robot cleaner is configured to perform a cleaning operation while driving a predetermined cleaning path according to a built-in program. In order to perform the cleaning operation while automatically driving the preset cleaning path, the location, driving distance and obstacles of the robot cleaner are used. A large number of sensors are used to detect the back.

For example, a gyro sensor for detecting an accurate direction change of the robot cleaner, an encoder for determining the driving distance by detecting the number of revolutions of the wheel, and an ultrasonic wave for detecting the distance from the target Many sensors such as sensors and infrared sensors for detecting obstacles are attached to the robot cleaner.

However, as described above, in the conventional robot cleaner, since many expensive sensors are installed to perform the cleaning by accurately driving the set cleaning path, the internal structure becomes complicated and the manufacturing cost increases. .

Therefore, the present invention has been made in order to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, by performing a cleaning by running a cleaning path in a random manner by the end of cleaning according to the amount of dust sucked, the position of the robot cleaner Its purpose is to provide a robot cleaner that can reduce manufacturing costs as well as simplify the internal structure by carrying out a cleaning operation without employing a large number of sensors for detecting the distance and the distance to the target. have.

The robot cleaner of the present invention for achieving the above object, in the robot cleaner for cleaning and running by itself according to the built-in program, dust amount sensing means for outputting a dust amount reduction signal when the amount of dust sucked into the robot cleaner is less than a predetermined amount; And control means for driving the robot cleaner in a random cleaning path by a random method, and terminating the cleaning operation when a dust amount reduction signal is input from the dust amount detecting unit; The dust amount detecting means includes at least one opening hole formed in a side wall portion of a predetermined path through which dust is sucked into the robot cleaner, a light emitting device that emits light through the opening hole, and is disposed to face the light emitting device. When the light is received from the light emitting element through the opening hole is characterized in that the light receiving element for inputting the dust reduction signal to the control means.

1 is a front view schematically showing the appearance of a robot cleaner according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a rear view of the robot cleaner shown in Figure 1,

3 is a schematic block diagram of a drive control device for controlling the driving of the robot cleaner shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of the dust amount detection unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for describing an operation process of the robot controller and the cleaner controller illustrated in FIG. 3.

<Explanation of symbols for main parts of drawing>

100: traveling robot 101: main body

102: suction brush 103: suction pipe

104: charging terminal 105: auxiliary wheel

110: right wheel 111: right wheel motor

113: right wheel motor drive unit 120: left wheel

121: left wheel motor 122: left wheel encoder

123: left wheel motor drive unit 130: wide sensor

135: dust amount detection unit 200: handy cleaner

210: operation unit 220: cleaner control unit

230: suction motor drive unit 240: suction motor

300: control signal connector

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 1 is a front view schematically showing the appearance of the robot cleaner according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a rear view of the robot cleaner shown in Figure 1, as can be seen with reference to Figures 1 and 2 , The robot cleaner of the present invention is largely composed of a traveling robot 100 and a handy cleaner 200 that is slidably coupled to the traveling robot 100. The main body 101 forms an appearance of the traveling robot 100. At the bottom of the front part, a suction brush 102 is installed to suck foreign substances at the cleaning part by using suction force of air, and the suction brush 102 and the suction port not shown in the handy cleaner 200 are connected to each other. The suction pipe 103 is provided.

In addition, the right wheel 110 and the left wheel 120 for driving are respectively fixed to the lower part of the travel robot body 101 so as to be rotatable. Each wheel is provided at one side of the right wheel 110 and the left wheel 120. A right wheel drive motor 111 and a left wheel drive motor 121 for driving are attached.

In addition, a rear end of the traveling robot main body 101 is provided with a charging terminal 104 for supplying charging power to the battery for the traveling robot, which is not shown, and the traveling robot main body in which the charging terminal 104 is installed ( 101) In the lower part of the rear end, the auxiliary wheel 105 for improving the linear stability at the time of running is rotatably fixed.

In addition, a wide sensor 130 is attached to the front surface of the suction brush 102, and a plurality of infrared emitting diodes (″ IED ″) are arranged on the top of the front surface of the wide sensor 130. The light receiving part 132 for receiving infrared light is provided in the lower end.

In addition, the handy cleaner 200 has a suction port in communication with the suction pipe 103 of the traveling robot 100 and the impeller in conjunction with the impeller when the handy cleaner 200 is coupled to the traveling robot 100 to generate a suction force And a dust collecting chamber for collecting foreign substances such as dust sucked by the suction force generated by the suction motor.

3 is a schematic block diagram of a driving control apparatus for controlling the driving of the robot cleaner shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. As can be seen from the drawings, the driving control apparatus of the robot cleaner according to the present invention is shown in FIG. , Wide sensor 130, dust amount detection unit 135, robot control unit 140, right wheel motor driving unit 113, right wheel motor 111, left wheel motor driving unit 123, and left wheel motor 121. ), An operation unit 210, a cleaner controller 220, a suction motor driver 230, a suction motor 240, and a control signal connector 300.

In FIG. 3, the wide sensor 130 generates infrared light through a plurality of infrared light emitting diodes (IED), receives infrared light reflected from an obstacle, and receives a corresponding received light signal to the robot controller 140. Enter

In addition, the dust amount detection unit 135 is to input the dust amount reduction signal to the robot control unit 140 when the amount of dust to be sucked lower than the set amount, as shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 4, the dust amount detecting unit 135 receives the DC voltage VCC from the battery, not shown, to open the opening 103a formed at one side wall of the suction pipe 103 of the traveling robot body 110. Light emitting diode ("LED") that emits light through, resistance (R1) for surge protection connected to the light emitting diode (LED), and light emitted from the light emitting diode (LED) on one side of the suction tube 103 When the light is received through the opening 103a formed in the wall, the photo transistor is turned on and inputs a dust reduction signal (for example, a low level signal) to the robot control unit 140.

Here, since the phototransistor PT is turned on when a predetermined amount of light is received at the base end, the light amount of the light emitting diode LED is sucked into the handy cleaner 200 through the suction pipe 103. When the amount of dust d is reduced below the set amount, it is set to turn on the phototransistor PT.

In addition, the robot controller 140 is a right wheel motor when a signal for instructing cleaning is input from the cleaner controller 220 through the control signal connector 300 while the handy cleaner 200 is coupled to the traveling robot 100. The driving unit 113 and the left wheel motor driving unit 123 are controlled to control the traveling robot 100 to run in an arbitrary cleaning path by a random method.

In addition, the robot controller 140 performs a control operation to switch the driving direction when an obstacle placed in the driving direction is detected through the wide sensor 130, and after the set time elapses, the dust detection unit 135. The cleaning operation ends when the dust reduction symbol is input from the

In addition, the right wheel motor driving unit 113 drives the right wheel motor 111 by applying driving power from a battery not shown by a drive control signal from the robot controller 140, and the right wheel encoder 112 is a right wheel. The data corresponding to the rotation state of the motor 111 (for example, the rotation speed, etc.) is input to the robot controller 140.

In addition, the left wheel motor driving unit 123 drives the left wheel motor 121 by applying a driving power from a battery not shown by a drive control signal from the robot controller 140, and the left wheel encoder 122 is The data corresponding to the rotation state of the left wheel motor 121 (eg, the rotation speed, etc.) is input to the robot controller 140.

In addition, the operation unit 210 is configured to include an operation button used to indicate the start / stop of cleaning, and when the operation button is operated by the user inputs a corresponding key signal to the cleaner control unit 220. .

In addition, the cleaner controller 220 inputs a driving signal for driving the suction motor 240 to the suction motor driver 230 when a key signal indicating cleaning is input from the operation unit 210, and performs cleaning. The command signal is applied to the robot controller 140 through the control signal connector 300.

In addition, the suction motor driver 230 drives the suction motor 240 by applying power from a battery not shown by the driving signal from the cleaner control unit 220, and the suction motor 240 is a suction motor driver ( It is driven by the power applied through 230 to generate a strong suction force.

An operation process of the present invention configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

First, when the handheld cleaner 200 is slidably coupled to the traveling robot 100, the signal lines of the robot controller 140 and the cleaner controller 220 are connected to each other via the control signal connector 300 and travel. The power line of the battery not shown of the robot 100 and the battery not shown of the handy cleaner 200 are connected to each other through a power connector not shown.

When the power supply line of the traveling robot 100 and the handy cleaner 200 are connected to each other as described above, when the charging terminal 104 of the traveling robot main body 101 is connected to the charger illustrated in FIG. The charging terminal 104 is input from the battery of the driving robot 100 and the battery of the handy cleaner 200 are charged.

DC power is supplied to each component of the traveling robot 100 and each component of the handy cleaner 200 from the battery of the traveling robot 100 charged by the charging power and the battery of the handy cleaner 200.

The robot controller 140 and the cleaner controller 220 are initialized by the DC power supplied from the battery of the driving robot 100 and the battery of the handy cleaner 200 (S10), and the initialized robot controller 140 and the cleaner The controller 220 waits for input of a signal instructing cleaning, respectively (S20).

At this time, when the user instructs the start of cleaning by operating the operation button provided on the operation unit 210 of the handy cleaner 200, a corresponding key signal is applied from the operation unit 210 to the cleaner control unit 220 and the cleaner control unit The signal instructing cleaning from the 220 is applied to the robot controller 140 through the control signal connector 300.

The driving signal is input from the vacuum cleaner controller 220 to the suction motor driver 230 by a key signal instructing cleaning from the operation unit 210, and the battery is not shown by the driving signal from the vacuum cleaner controller 220. Power is applied to and driven by the suction motor 240 through the suction motor driver 230 (S30).

A strong suction force is generated from an omitted impeller shown in the drawing so as to be linked to the suction motor 240 driven according to the application of the power, and foreign matters such as dust on the cleaning part are driven by the suction force generated from the impeller. It is sucked into the suction pipe 103 through the suction brush 102, the foreign matter sucked into the suction pipe 103 is collected in the dust collecting chamber in the body of the handy cleaner 200 through the suction port of the handy cleaner 200.

At the same time, a drive signal for driving the left wheel motor 111 and the right wheel motor 121 from the robot controller 140 by a signal indicating cleaning to be input from the cleaner control unit 220 through the control signal connector 300. Are input to the right wheel motor driver 113 and the left wheel motor driver 123, respectively.

Power is applied to the right wheel motor 111 and the left wheel motor 121 through the right wheel motor driving unit 113 and the left wheel motor driving unit 123 from the battery not shown by the driving signal from the robot control unit 140, In accordance with this application, the right wheel motor 111 and the left wheel motor 121 are driven and the driving robot 100 travels as the right wheel 110 and the left wheel 120 rotate to interlock with the right wheel motor 111 and the left wheel motor 121 (S40a).

At this time, the robot controller 140 detects the presence or absence of an obstacle in the circumferential direction through the light reception signal input from the wide sensor 130, and performs a control operation of switching the driving direction if there is an obstacle.

For example, the robot controller 140 controls the right wheel motor driving unit 113 and the left wheel motor driving unit 123 to stop driving of the right wheel motor 111 and the left wheel motor 121 to drive the traveling robot 100. After the suspension, the right wheel motor 111 and the left wheel motor 121 are driven in the opposite direction to each other to switch the driving direction to the left or the right, and the right wheel motor 111 and the left wheel motor 121 are driven in the forward direction again. The robot 100 is driven.

The robot controller 140 runs the driving robot 100 in an arbitrary driving direction by a random method while avoiding obstacles detected through the wide sensor 130 as described above (S40b).

At the same time, the robot controller 140 counts the time from the time point at which cleaning is performed (S50), compares the counted time to the present with a predetermined set time (for example, about 20 minutes) (S60), and compares the result. If the counted time is less than the set time, the cleaning operation is continued while driving the traveling robot 100 in an arbitrary cleaning path by a random method.

If the time counted as a result of the comparison in step S60 is greater than or equal to the set time, the robot controller 140 determines whether the dust amount reduction signal is input from the dust amount detection unit 135 (S70).

If the amount of dust sucked into the handy cleaner 200 through the suction brush 102 and the suction pipe 103 from the cleaning zone at the step S70 is greater than or equal to the set amount, the light emitting diode of the dust detection unit 135 ( Most of the light emitted from the LED) is absorbed and reflected by the dust sucked through the suction pipe 103, and thus the phototransistor PT is turned due to insufficient light amount reaching the base end of the phototransistor PT. The dust quantity reduction signal is not input to the robot controller 140 from the phototransistor PT by maintaining the OFF state.

At this time, the robot controller 140 continues the cleaning operation while driving the traveling robot 100 in a random cleaning path by a random method as the dust amount reduction signal is not input from the dust amount detecting unit 135.

If the amount of dust sucked into the handy cleaner 200 through the suction brush 102 and the suction pipe 103 from the cleaning zone in the step S70 is reduced to less than the set amount of the dust detection unit 135 As light of a sufficient amount of light from the light emitting diode LED reaches the base end of the phototransistor PT through the openings 103a and 103b of the suction tube 103, the phototransistor PT is turned on and from the phototransistor PT. The amount of dust reduction is input to the robot controller 140.

At this time, the robot control unit 140 receives a driving stop signal for stopping the driving of the left wheel motor 111 and the right wheel motor 121 as the amount of dust reduction signal is input from the dust amount detecting unit 135 and the right wheel motor driving unit 113. Input to the left wheel motor driving unit 123 (S80).

Supply of power applied to the right wheel motor 111 and the left wheel motor 121 through the right wheel motor driving unit 113 and the left wheel motor driving unit 123 from the battery illustrated by the driving stop signal from the robot control unit 140. The driving of the right wheel motor 111 and the left wheel motor 121 is stopped by stopping the power supply, and the driving robot 100 is stopped.

At the same time, a signal for cleaning completion is input from the robot controller 140 to the cleaner controller 220 through the control signal connector 300, and the cleaner is signaled by the signal indicating the cleaning completion from the robot controller 140. The driving stop signal for stopping the driving of the suction motor 240 is input from the controller 220 to the suction motor driver 230 (S90).

The supply of power applied to the suction motor 240 through the suction motor driver 230 is cut off from the battery, which is not shown by the driving stop signal from the cleaner control unit 220, and the suction is cut off by the power supply. The driving of the motor 240 is stopped.

That is, according to the related art, the cleaning operation is performed while driving the driving robot with a predetermined cleaning path, and the cleaning operation is terminated when the cleaning of the set cleaning path is completed. Although a large number of sensors have been installed to accurately detect the present invention, the cleaning process is completed by determining the completion time of cleaning according to the amount of dust sucked while driving the traveling robot in a random path by a random method without setting a cleaning path. In addition, the robot can be cleaned automatically without installing sensors to detect the position of the robot and its distance and distance from the target.

On the other hand, in the embodiment of the present invention by using only the light emitting element and the light receiving element is described as an example to only detect the case that the amount of dust sucked by the cleaner less than a predetermined amount, but those skilled in the art are It is easy to see that the dust detection sensor can easily check the amount of dust and compare it with the set amount.

As described above, according to the present invention, the cleaning operation is terminated according to the amount of dust sucked from the cleaning part while the traveling robot is driven in a random cleaning path by a random method, whereby the position of the robot cleaner and the distance and distance between the target and the like. The cleaning operation is automatically performed without employing a large number of sensors to detect the internal structure, thereby simplifying the internal structure and reducing manufacturing costs.

Claims (2)

In the robot cleaner which runs and cleans itself according to the built-in program, When the amount of dust sucked into the robot cleaner is less than a predetermined amount, a dust amount sensing means for outputting a dust amount reduction signal, and a robot cleaner is driven by a random cleaning path by a random method, while a dust amount reduction signal is input from the dust amount sensing unit. Control means for terminating the cleaning operation; The dust amount detecting means, At least one opening hole formed in a sidewall portion of a predetermined path through which dust is sucked into the robot cleaner, a light emitting device that emits light through the opening hole, and is disposed to face the light emitting device so as to face the opening from the light emitting device. And a light receiving element configured to input a dust reduction signal to the control means when light is received through the hole. In the robot cleaner which runs and cleans itself according to the built-in program, When the amount of dust sucked into the robot cleaner is less than a predetermined amount, a dust amount sensing means for outputting a dust amount reduction signal, and a robot cleaner is driven by a random cleaning path by a random method, while a dust amount reduction signal is input from the dust amount sensing unit. Control means for terminating the cleaning operation; The control means, And the cleaning operation is terminated only when a dust amount reduction signal is input from the dust amount sensing means after a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of cleaning.