KR100756717B1 - Vacuum cleaner having abilities for automatic moving and attitude control - Google Patents

Abstract

A vacuum cleaner having ability for automatic moving and attitude control is provided to move a vacuum cleaner body easily and to improve the convenience of use by configuring the self-shifting vacuum cleaner body. A vacuum cleaner having ability for automatic moving and attitude control comprises a vacuum cleaner body(1), a suction nozzle unit(3), two wheels(2), a driving unit, a sensor unit, and a control unit. The two wheels are rotatably mounted on the body and have a larger diameter than the diameter of the body. The driving unit drives the wheels. The sensor unit detects the direction of the inclined body. The control unit controls the driving unit according to the direction of the inclined body.

Description

VACUUM CLEANER HAVING ABILITIES FOR AUTOMATIC MOVING AND ATTITUDE CONTROL}

1 illustrates an example of a conventional vacuum cleaner.

2 and 3 are schematic diagrams to help explain the inverted pendulum control theory used in the control of the present invention.

4 and 5 illustrate a vacuum cleaner having a posture control function according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a view illustrating a vacuum cleaner having a posture control function including a distance measuring sensor between a suction nozzle unit and a main body according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates a vacuum cleaner having a posture control function including a cord reel driver according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

8 and 9 are flowcharts schematically showing a method of controlling a vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of Signs of Major Parts of Drawings>

1: body 2: wheels

3: suction nozzle portion 4: handle

5: corrugated pipe 6: power cord

71, 72, 73: sensor 8: cord reel drive

10: cord reel

The present invention relates to a cleaner that recognizes a relative position with a suction nozzle, and autonomously drives a wheel to maintain a distance within a predetermined distance from the suction nozzle, thereby improving operability.

The vacuum cleaner is a device that collects the waste by filtering the dirt from inside the body by using the vacuum pressure formed by the vacuum motor installed inside the body, and then suctioning the air containing the foreign matter.

The vacuum cleaner sucks the air containing the foreign matter through the suction nozzle. In order to clean a large area, the vacuum cleaner needs to be cleaned while changing the position of the suction nozzle. Therefore, the body connected to the suction nozzle must also continue to move. However, the conventional vacuum cleaner is designed to move the vacuum cleaner in reaction to the user by applying a traction force by pulling the hose connected to the main body. As a result, in addition to the labor of cleaning itself, more work has been done to move the vacuum cleaner. This puts a physical burden on users, especially women or the elderly, making cleaning more difficult and cumbersome. To solve this problem, the traction force to move the cleaner should be minimized, and the cleaner should move or change direction as the user intends even in a narrow place.

The present invention to solve the above problems, by improving the vacuum cleaner towed by the conventional manpower to install a sensor, a wheel drive device, a control unit in the vacuum cleaner can move along the body of the vacuum cleaner in the direction that the user wants to proceed It is an object to provide a vacuum cleaner. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a method of controlling the driving device by receiving the position information of the sensor.

The present invention detects a vacuum cleaner body, a suction nozzle unit, two wheels having an outer diameter larger than the outer diameter of the main body and rotatably mounted to the main body, a driving unit for driving the wheels, and a tilting direction of the main body. It provides a vacuum cleaner comprising a sensor unit and a control unit for controlling the driving unit in a direction in which the main body is inclined. Preferably, the sensor unit is configured using any one of a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a tilt sensor, and a potentiometer. Also preferably, the sensor unit is at least one infrared sensor facing the bottom surface, and as the main body is inclined about a predetermined axis, the sensor unit obtains a variance in distance and measures the inclined direction and acceleration.

The apparatus further includes an infrared sensor corresponding to each other in the main body and the suction nozzle unit, and the control unit uses an interval between the main body and the suction nozzle unit measured by the infrared sensor so that the main body is inclined while maintaining the predetermined interval between the suction nozzle unit and the main body. It is preferable to control the driving unit according to the direction. It is preferable that two or more infrared sensors are provided, and a control part controls a drive part according to the advancing direction and speed of a suction nozzle part.

In addition, preferably further comprises a cord reel driving unit for driving the code reel, the control unit controls the code reel driving unit to correspond to the drive unit for driving the wheel, to automatically adjust the length of the cord.

The present invention also provides a control method of a vacuum cleaner having a wheel having a larger outer diameter than the main body and moving in a direction in which the main body is inclined.

a) detect the direction the body tilts,

b) calculate the direction and speed to move the body,

c) thereby providing a control method of the vacuum cleaner, which drives the driving unit.

Preferably step c) controls each of the drives for driving each wheel.

In addition, d) in consideration of the driving direction and the speed of the drive unit, it is more preferable to further include the step of driving the code reel drive unit.

The present invention is an automatic drive / posture control vacuum cleaner configured to easily follow the vacuum cleaner body in the direction intended by the user by installing a sensor and a driving device in the vacuum cleaner towed by the conventional manpower. The vacuum cleaner according to the present invention applies the inverted pendulum control theory, and when the sensor attached to the main body of the vacuum cleaner tilts the main body, the inclined size and direction are measured and the signal is sent to the control unit, and the control unit sends a signal to the driving unit again so that it is appropriate. Drive in acceleration and direction to center the body. In addition, the signal sent from the sensor installed in the main body or the handle portion of the cleaner to change the direction of the main body by rotating the left and right wheels of the driving unit in the opposite direction or driving only one wheel. As a result of this, the vacuum cleaner body automatically follows the user when the user moves forward, backward, or when changing the direction, thereby improving user convenience. Sensors sense acceleration / speed / displacement and are usually constructed using gyroscopes, accelerometers, tilt sensors, and potentiometers. The control unit calculates an electrical signal of the sensor according to a control algorithm, and then sends an electrical signal back to the driving unit.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 shows a conventional vacuum cleaner. Conventional vacuum cleaners are provided with a wheel (2) in the main body 1, but when the user moves while cleaning, in order to move the main body 1 had to be pulled by applying a force to the main body (1).

Figure 2 shows a model for explaining the inverted pendulum control theory. The principle of an inverted pendulum can be easily explained with a simple example: if you put a stick on your palm, the stick will fall in either direction. If you move your palm in the direction you want to fall, you can prevent the stick from falling. The inverted pendulum uses this principle.

In FIG. 2, the magnitude of the angle formed by the bar and the vertical line is defined as θ. Assume that the mass of the cart is the mass of the pendulum, m, and the length of the rod is l, and the mass of the pendulum is concentrated at the end of the rod on which the pendulum hangs. If we limit the system to a two-dimensional model of motion in the xy plane, the coordinates of the center of gravity of the pendulum mass m are (x _G , y _G ).

Applying Newton's second law to the entire system, including carts and masses, the equation of motion of the x-direction translational motion is

This can be summarized as follows:

The mass m on the rod makes a rotational movement about the rod axis fixed on the cart, which can be expressed as

Where g is gravity acceleration. Simplifying the above expression is expressed as follows.

라고 가정할 수 있다. 따라서

이므로 수학식 5와 수학식 6을 선형화하여 다음과 같은 선형방정식을 얻을 수 있다.The equations of motion of Equations 5 and 6 obtained above are nonlinear differential equations. However, since the inverted pendulum aims to maintain the vertical position, the angle θ and the angular velocity θ ', ie ω, are very small values,

Can be assumed. therefore

Therefore, by linearizing Equations 5 and 6, the following linear equations can be obtained.

Of course, Equation 7 is approximated only when the angle θ and the angular velocity θ 'change in a small range. When controlling the posture of the vacuum cleaner, it is more preferable to continuously control in a range where the angle θ and the angular velocity θ 'are small since the distance driving the wheels for the control becomes smaller. Therefore, the equation 7 may be used assuming the above linear equation. Such inverted pendulum control theory has recently been applied to the control of the walking posture of a human vehicle, a segway, and a humanoid robot.

3 schematically shows a mass system and a control method of the present invention. At equilibrium, if you tilt forward, you move forward to equilibrium again, and if you tilt backward, backward. That is, in the case of a general pendulum, a weight, or mass concentration point, is suspended from a fixed point. In the case of a normal pendulum, the mass concentration point is moved to keep the mass system stable, ie equilibrium. At a further high, the stabilized potential energy falls to the lowest lowest point. On the contrary, it is supported by the stationary point of the inverted pendulum and has the highest mass concentration point. Stabilization is when the mass concentration point is supported perpendicular to the highest point. The mass point is not supported vertically, and when tilted to either side, the support point moves to the tilted point, unlike a normal pendulum system, to return to equilibrium. The present invention applies the latter inverted pendulum theory.

Referring to an embodiment of the invention of Figure 4, the outer diameter of the wheel (2) is larger than the body (1) of the vacuum cleaner. If the outer diameter of the wheel 2 is large, it is more advantageous to turn over the jaw, such as changing the direction or the threshold. The main body 1 is provided with a sensor 6 facing the bottom, and the sensor 6 measures the amount of change in distance between the sensor 6 and the bottom and the relative speed and acceleration with respect to the bottom of the sensor 6. Alternatively, each change amount or angular velocity and angular acceleration may be measured. The controller (not shown) receives a value measured by the sensor 6, calculates a moving speed and a moving direction required to maintain the posture without the main body 1 falling down, and drives a wheel 2 (not shown). Command to move in the direction and speed calculated. That is, the driving part is driven by applying the inverted pendulum control theory described above. Therefore, if the user wants to move the main body 1 forward, tilt the main body slightly forward with the handle 4 connected to the main body 1 and the main body 1 controls the posture by itself and automatically moves in the direction that the user wants to go. Will move to In addition, even if the user does not intentionally tilt the main body 1, when the user moves forward and cleans, the suction nozzle unit 3 and the handle 4 connected to the main body 1 will be pushed forward, and the main body 1 will Since it will be pulled by the handle 4 and tilted forward, the body 1 will naturally move according to the movement of the user in actual use.

In addition, as shown in an embodiment of the present invention of FIG. 5, two wheels 2 are installed at both sides of the main body 1, and two driving units are also installed to control the wheels 2, respectively, In addition to reversing, rotation and direction change are possible. Since the main body 1 of the vacuum cleaner can be inclined in any direction as well as in the front and rear, it will be more preferable to be able to control the two wheels 2 so as to be able to change directions.

In addition, referring to an embodiment of the present invention of Figure 6, in a more preferred embodiment, by installing at least one pair of sensors (71, 72) for measuring the distance between the main body 1 and the suction nozzle unit (3) The main body 1 can be moved in response to the movement of the suction nozzle part 3. The sensors 71 and 72 can use optical sensors, such as an infrared sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, etc. For example, the distance measuring sensors 71 and 72 corresponding to each other are provided in the suction nozzle part 1 and a main body. The distance between the sensors 71 and 72 is the distance between the suction nozzle part 3 and the main body 1. When the distance between the suction nozzle part 3 and the main body 1 becomes far, the main body 1 is advanced toward the suction nozzle part 3 so as to maintain a proper distance from the suction nozzle part 3, and the suction nozzle part 3 When the distance between the main body 1 and the main body 1 approaches, the main body 1 is moved backward. In addition, the body 1 moves in correspondence with the suction nozzle 3, and the posture is controlled so as not to fall down by the controller according to the inverted pendulum control theory.

In addition, in one embodiment of the present invention shown in Figure 7, the power cord reel 10 is also provided with a cord reel driver (8). The control unit issues a driving command to the drive unit to drive the wheels 2, and when the control command is given to the code reel driving unit 8 at the same speed or at the same speed, the power cord 6 is automatically moved according to the movement of the main body 1. Loosen Therefore, when cleaning, the process of releasing the power cord 6 to a proper length in advance can be omitted.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a control method of a vacuum cleaner. When the user moves while suctioning foreign matter into the suction nozzle part 3, the user usually holds the handle 4 and moves the suction nozzle part 3 forward or backward. At this time, if the handle 4 is advanced forward, the body 1 will be inclined forward. In one embodiment of the present invention, first, the direction in which the main body 1 is inclined is measured. The direction and distance to which the main body 1 is inclined can be calculated by measuring an inclination angle or a distance from the bottom surface. In order to measure the direction, angle, etc. that the main body 1 inclines, various sensors, such as a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a tilt sensor, and a potentiometer, can be used as mentioned above. After measuring the direction and angle at which the main body 1 is inclined, the inverted pendulum control theory can calculate the direction and speed at which the main body 1 should move in order to bring the main body 1 back into equilibrium. The control unit calculates this and gives a driving command to the driving unit to move the main body 1 in the calculated direction and speed.

In another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling each drive unit for driving two wheels installed in the main body. In the case of cleaning, the user may not only move back and forth, but may rotate left and right. Accordingly, when the handle 4 is moved left and right, the main body 1 also tilts left and right accordingly. In this case, the direction in which the main body 1 should move is also calculated in the left and right directions. In order to command the control unit to move in the calculated direction, it must be possible to control the driving units separately, for example, if the movement to the left faster, the speed of the left drive can be faster than the speed of the right drive. . Alternatively, when only turning in place, one wheel drive may be stopped and drive only the other wheel drive. Therefore, in one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for separately controlling the driving unit for driving the wheel (2).

In one embodiment of the present invention, there is also provided a method of controlling the automatic cord reel 10 which winds and unwinds the power cord 6 while driving the wheel 2. The control unit receives information measuring the direction and angle of inclination of the main body 1, calculates the speed and direction of driving the wheel 2 of the main body 1, and gives a driving command to the driving unit. At this time, the power cord 6 is wound around the cord reel 10 at the same speed and direction as the speed and direction of driving the wheel 2, and the power cord 6 maintains a constant tension when the power cord 6 is unwound. 6) can be cleaned more conveniently because it adjusts the length of the loosen. The cord reel drive unit 8 should also be provided on the cord reel 10, and the cord reel drive unit 8 is preferably a motor capable of forward / reverse rotation. More preferably, the step motor is capable of forward / reverse rotation.

As described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described specific preferred embodiments, and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the gist of the present invention claimed in the claims. Of course, such changes are within the scope of the claims.

The present invention is to move itself according to the relative position with the suction nozzle, even if the user does not directly pull the main body of the vacuum cleaner. Therefore, the labor required to move the vacuum cleaner body can be reduced or eliminated.

In addition, the present invention applies the inverted pendulum control theory, it is possible to control the attitude while the vacuum cleaner body moves by itself. In addition, since the vacuum cleaner body proceeds according to the moving direction of the suction nozzle unit, the cleaner body automatically follows the user as the user moves, thereby improving user convenience.

The cord reel drive unit is also installed on the power cord reel so that the power cord can be unwound and rewound automatically as the cleaner body moves.Unscrew the power cord to an appropriate length before cleaning. Can be less.

Claims (9)

With the vacuum cleaner body, A suction nozzle unit, Two wheels having an outer diameter larger than that of the main body and rotatably mounted to the main body, A driving unit for driving wheels, A sensor unit for detecting a direction in which the main body is inclined; Vacuum cleaner comprising a control unit for controlling the drive unit in accordance with the inclination direction. The method of claim 1, The sensor unit is a vacuum cleaner, characterized in that configured using any one of a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a tilt sensor and a potentiometer. The method of claim 1, The sensor unit is one or more infrared sensors facing the bottom surface, the vacuum cleaner, characterized in that to obtain the variance of the distance as the main body is inclined about a predetermined axis and to measure the inclination direction and acceleration. The method of claim 1, The main body and the suction nozzle unit further includes an infrared sensor corresponding to each other, the control unit using the interval between the main body and the suction nozzle unit measured by the infrared sensor, the direction in which the main body is inclined while maintaining the predetermined interval between the suction nozzle unit and the main body Vacuum drive, characterized in that for controlling the drive unit. The method of claim 5, Two or more infrared sensors are installed, and the control unit controls the driving unit in accordance with the traveling direction and the speed of the suction nozzle unit. The method of claim 1, And a motor for driving the cord reel, wherein the control unit controls the motor according to the driving of the driving unit for driving the wheels to automatically adjust the length of the cord. In the control method of a vacuum cleaner having a wheel having an outer diameter larger than the main body, and moving in the direction in which the main body is inclined, a) detect the direction the body tilts, b) calculate the direction and speed to move the body, c) controlling the vacuum cleaner according to the driving method accordingly. The method of claim 7, wherein c) the control method of the vacuum cleaner, characterized in that for controlling each of the driving unit for driving each wheel. The method of claim 7, wherein and d) driving the code reel driver in consideration of the driving direction and the speed of the driver.

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