KR20020088985A - Control device of vacuum cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A control apparatus of a digital cleaner is provided to perform a cleaning according to a command of a computer by using the digital cleaner capable of communicating with a computer. CONSTITUTION: A control apparatus of a digital cleaner comprises a digital cleaner(100) for receiving a wire/wireless signal from an exterior, running according to an input signal, and performing a cleaning, a plurality of camera(300) for taking a photography of a place installed at a room or a living room respectively, and sending the taken image to a computer(200), and the computer(200) for inputting the taken image, indicating a region to be cleaned, and outputting a moving signal to the region to be cleaned. The plurality of camera and the computer are connected by a signal transmitting line composed of a wire.

Description

Control device of vacuum cleaner

The present invention relates to a control device for a digital cleaner, and more particularly, to a control device for a digital cleaner that performs cleaning according to a computer instruction using a cleaner capable of computer communication.

The conventional vacuum cleaner is comprised so that a user can clean, moving a vacuum cleaner directly.

That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the conventional cleaner includes a cleaner body 2, a hose 4 connected to the cleaner body 2, and a hose body connected to the hose 4 so that the user can clean the cleaner body ( 2) the handle 12 is composed of a pipe (6) configured to move. And the bottom of the pipe (6) is formed with a suction port (10) for suctioning foreign matter into the pipe (6), the upper end of the pipe (6) has a handle portion 12 that can be grasped by a person Forming.

In the conventional cleaner configured as described above, when power is supplied to a motor (not shown) in the cleaner main body 2 through the power line 8, the suction force is generated while the motor is driven, and the suction force is generated by the hose. It is transmitted to the suction port 10 side through the (4) and the pipe (6).

At this time, the suction port 10 sucks dust, foreign matters, and the like, and the dust and foreign matter sucked through the suction port 10 are collected in the dust collecting chamber in the main body 2 through the pipe 6 and the hose 4. (Not shown).

On the other hand, the conventional vacuum cleaner, by the handle portion 12 formed on the upper side of the pipe (6) provides a configuration that can catch the cleaner, and moves the pipe 10 by using the handle portion (12). To facilitate the cleaning of the parts. And the body 2 is moved while the user's power is transmitted to the hose 4 associated with the handle portion 12.

Therefore, the conventional vacuum cleaner is comprised so that it may be moved by the force of the user who uses the vacuum cleaner. Therefore, the conventional cleaner can be moved only when the user moves the cleaner directly, and it is impossible to perform cleaning only by the cleaner itself.

That is, the conventional cleaner has always required the power of a human because the user has to clean while moving the cleaner directly. In addition, the conventional cleaner has a problem that the user must have a cleaning time, because a person must always clean.

As such, the conventional vacuum cleaner requires a user to have a time of cleaning, physical strength, and time because the user has to always clean together.

From this problem, the present invention proposes a vacuum cleaner which can be cleaned only by the vacuum cleaner itself using a home automation system that has been recently developed.

In addition, the present invention proposes a cleaner to designate the parts to be cleaned using a computer, so that efficient cleaning can be performed in every corner of the house.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a control apparatus of a digital cleaner that performs cleaning according to a computer instruction by using a cleaner capable of computer communication.

1 is a perspective view of a cleaner according to the prior art,

2 is an overall schematic diagram for controlling a digital cleaner according to the present invention;

3 is a configuration diagram of the digital cleaner illustrated in FIG. 2;

4 is a configuration diagram of the camera unit shown in FIG. 2;

5 is a configuration diagram of the computer shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

2: cleaning base 4: hose

6: pipe 8: power line

10 suction port 12 handle portion

100: digital cleaner 101: inlet

103,203,324: receiver 106,212,315: controller

109: running unit 112: cleaning unit

200: computer 206,318,321: transmitter

209: operation unit 215: display unit

300: camera portion 303: CCD camera

306: CCD camera driver 309: camera motor driver

312: camera motor

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control apparatus for a digital cleaner, including: a camera photographing a cleaning space and converting the image into a video signal; A computer for displaying a video signal input from the camera on a screen and designating a portion to be cleaned in the displayed screen; It is configured to include a digital cleaner for cleaning while moving to the designated portion of the computer.

The present invention is characterized by having a plurality of the camera, to shoot different cleaning spaces.

The digital cleaner of the present invention includes a receiving unit for receiving a signal; A cleaning unit having a suction port and performing cleaning according to a cleaning signal received by the receiving unit; It characterized in that it comprises a driving unit for moving the main body in accordance with the movement signal received by the receiving unit.

The receiver of the digital cleaner is an infrared receiver.

The suction port formed in the digital cleaner is formed in the main body.

The camera of the present invention, the CCD camera for photographing the cleaning space; A CCD camera driver for driving the CCD camera; A camera motor for rotating the CCD camera; A camera motor driver for driving the camera motor; And a transmitter for transmitting the signal photographed by the CCD camera.

The camera includes a receiving unit for receiving a signal from the computer; It further comprises an infrared transmitting unit for transmitting a signal for controlling the digital cleaner from the received signal.

The present invention is characterized in that a transmission line for signal transmission is connected between the plurality of cameras and the computer.

The computer of the present invention includes: display means for displaying on the screen video signals input from the plurality of cameras; Selecting means for selecting a portion to be cleaned in the displayed screen; And moving signal output means for outputting a signal for moving the digital cleaner to the portion selected by the selecting means.

The computer further comprises transmitting and receiving means for transmitting and receiving signals with the camera.

Hereinafter, a controller for a digital cleaner according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is an overall schematic diagram of a control apparatus of a digital cleaner according to the present invention.

The controller of the digital cleaner according to the present invention receives a signal from the outside through a wired or wireless wire, and the digital cleaner 100 performs cleaning by itself while driving along an input signal, and photographs a space installed in each room or living room. And input and display a plurality of camera units 300 for transmitting the photographed signals to the computer, and signals photographed by the camera unit 300, and designate an area to be cleaned while the user views the displayed photographing space. And a computer 200 for outputting a signal for moving the cleaner to a designated area. In addition, a signal transmission line L made of a wire is formed between the plurality of camera units 300 and the computer 200.

That is, the user only designates the area to be cleaned using the computer 200, and the basic signal for designating the area to be cleaned is based on the signals photographed by the plurality of camera units 300. In addition, the digital cleaner 100 performs cleaning by itself while traveling along the cleaning area designated by the computer 200.

Next, a detailed configuration of the digital cleaner 100 is shown in FIG. 3.

As shown in the drawing, the digital cleaner 100 uses the receiver 103 for receiving a driving signal, a cleaning signal, and the like from the outside, and the driving unit 109 by using the driving signal received by the receiver 103. And a control unit 106 for controlling the cleaning unit 112 by using the cleaning signal received by the receiving unit 103.

The receiving unit 103 has a light receiving unit configured to receive an infrared signal. That is, the receiving unit 103 must receive a cleaning signal and a running signal of a cleaner from the camera unit 300 to be described later. In general, since the infrared ray is transmitted, the receiving unit must also have a configuration capable of receiving an infrared signal.

The driving unit 109 is for moving the digital cleaner 100 to a desired distance in left, right, front and back directions. Therefore, the left wheel and the right wheel for moving the digital cleaner 100 are mounted under the digital cleaner 100.

Accordingly, the driving unit 109 controls the driving of the left wheel motor 118, the right wheel motor 127, and the left wheel motor 118 that respectively drive the left wheel and the right wheel mounted on the lower part of the digital cleaner 100. The left wheel motor driving unit 15, the right wheel motor driving unit 124 for controlling the driving of the right wheel motor 127, a left wheel encoder 121 for sensing a rotation state of the left wheel motor 118, and the right wheel motor ( 127 includes a right wheel encoder 130 for detecting the rotation state. The configuration of the driving unit 109 may be a general known configuration that can move the digital cleaner 100 in the left, right, front, back direction as desired.

Next, the cleaning unit 112, the suction motor 136 for generating a suction force, the suction port 101 for suctioning dust and foreign matter into the cleaner by the suction force generated in the suction motor 136, the suction port A dust collecting chamber (not shown) for storing dust and foreign matter sucked through the 101 is provided. And a suction motor driver 133 for driving the suction motor 136 based on the cleaning signal of the controller 106.

As shown in FIG. 2, the suction port 101 is formed on the bottom of the cleaner body and is formed at a bottom portion thereof. Therefore, the suction force of the suction port 101 is equal to the strength of the suction force generated by the suction motor 136. Will have Therefore, it becomes possible to prevent the loss of suction force caused by the conventional hose and pipe through.

That is, the cleaning unit 112 is configured to perform cleaning of the actual house, and to store the dust sucked while performing the cleaning.

4 is a detailed configuration diagram of a computer used for controlling the digital cleaner in the present invention.

As shown in the drawing, the computer 200 includes a receiver 203 that receives an image signal captured by the camera unit 300, and a controller that performs control to display the received signal on the display unit 215. 212. The receiver 203 receives a signal transmitted through a signal transmission line L connected by wire between the camera unit 300 and the computer 200.

When the user designates a part to be cleaned from the photographing signal displayed on the display unit 215, the controller 212 generates a driving signal for moving the cleaner according to the part to be cleaned.

The computer 200 may further include a transmitter 206 for transmitting a cleaning signal and a driving signal of the digital cleaner 100 and a controller 209 for inputting a signal according to a user's operation under the control of the controller 212. It includes more. In this case, the signal transmitted from the transmitter 206 is first transmitted to the camera unit 300 through the signal transmission line L, and then transmitted from the camera unit 300 to the digital cleaner 100 in infrared. .

If the transmission unit 206 of the computer 200 directly transmits a signal to the digital cleaner 100, the configuration of the transmission unit 206 may be a signal having no obstacle to passing an obstacle, such as radio frequency. It should be made in a configuration that can transmit. In this case, the configuration of the receiver in the digital cleaner 100 should also be configured to receive the same signal as described above.

That is, the computer 200 of the present invention designates a place for cleaning, and is a place for instructing a command to move the cleaner to a designated place, an actual cleaning signal, and a driving signal. Therefore, the command signal generated by the computer 200 is made by user selection and manipulation.

Next, Figure 5 is a block diagram of a camera unit 300 provided in the present invention.

The camera unit 300 is a configuration of a surveillance camera provided in every corner of the house, that is, a living room and each room. The camera is configured to photograph a space provided, convert the photographed signal into a video signal, and transmit the captured signal to the computer 200.

As shown in FIG. 5, the camera unit 300 includes a CCD camera 303 and a CCD camera driver 306 for driving the CCD camera 303. The CCD camera 303 photographs a space driven and installed by the CCD camera driver 306 and outputs the video signal.

In addition, the camera unit 300 includes a camera motor 312 for rotating the CCD camera 303 at a predetermined angle, and a camera motor driving unit 309 for driving the camera motor 312.

And a control unit 315 for controlling an operation of inputting a signal photographed by the CCD camera 303 and transmitting the signal to the computer 200, and transmitting a signal 318 under the control of the control unit 315. ) Is included. The transmitter 318 outputs a signal to a signal transmission line L connected between the camera unit 300 and the computer 200.

Reference numeral 324 denotes a receiver. The receiving unit is configured to receive the driving signal and the cleaning signal of the cleaner transmitted from the computer 200 through the signal line L. Reference numeral 321 denotes an infrared transmitting unit, which is configured to transmit the driving signal and the cleaning signal received by the camera unit to the cleaner. The transmitter 321 should have a configuration capable of transmitting infrared signals.

Next, the control operation of the digital cleaner according to the present invention having the above configuration will be described in detail.

When power is supplied to the digital cleaner 100 and a cleaning signal is commanded to the controller 212 through the operation unit 209 at the request of the user, the computer 200 generates a signal for designating an area to be cleaned.

On the other hand, it is difficult to have a camera that can photograph the whole house consisting of several rooms, living rooms, and kitchens separated by walls. Therefore, the user inputs the entire structure of the house to the computer in advance. Then, the operation of connecting the entire structure of the input house and the plurality of cameras by computer signal is set in advance according to the position of the camera installed in the house. In other words, the main room is the first camera, the second room is the second camera, the kitchen is the third camera, the living room in the form of the fourth camera to connect the entire structure of the house according to the location where the camera is installed.

In this state, the user selects the space where the cleaner is located by using the operation unit 209. The computer 200 recognizes the space selected by the operation unit 209 and outputs a signal for controlling the cleaner to the camera side installed in the space. That is, the control unit 212 in the computer 200 transmits a cleaner control signal through the transmission unit 206, and the signal is transmitted to the corresponding camera via the signal line L.

The camera receives the cleaner control signal through the receiver 324. This signal is input to the control unit 315, and the control unit 315 determines which signal the received signal is. If the received signal is a signal for adjusting the rotation angle of the CCD camera 303, a signal is output to the camera motor driver 309 to drive the camera motor 312. If the received signal is a signal for driving the CCD camera 303, a signal is output to the CCD camera driver 306 to perform imaging by the CCD camera 303. In addition, if the received signal is a signal for controlling the movement of the digital cleaner 100, the infrared transmitter 321 is used to transmit a signal to the digital cleaner 100. That is, the camera 300 receives a signal transmitted from the computer and performs signal processing necessary for the received signal.

The signal photographed from the CCD camera 303 is transmitted to the computer 200 through the transmitter 318 under the control of the controller 315.

The computer 200 receives the photographing signal transmitted from the camera 300 through the receiving unit 203 and displays it on the display unit 215 under the control of the control unit 212.

When the signal photographed from the camera 300 is displayed on the display unit 215 in this way, the user designates a portion to be cleaned on the displayed screen. The signal specified in this way is input to the control unit 212 through the operation unit 209.

The controller 212 controls to perform cleaning while moving the cleaner to a place designated by the user. That is, the controller 212 transmits a signal for moving and cleaning the cleaner through the transmitter 206, and the signal transmitted in this manner is received by the receiver 324 of the camera 300, and thus, the digital cleaner 100 is used again. Infrared rays are sent out.

The digital cleaner 100 receives a signal transmitted from the camera 300 through the infrared receiver 103, and the signal is input to the controller 106. The controller 106 drives the driving unit 109 by the input signal. At the same time, a cleaning signal is applied to the cleaning unit 112 to generate a suction force on the suction port 101 side due to the driving of the suction motor 136.

Therefore, the digital cleaner 100 cleans while the user is moved to the point indicated by the user on the display unit 215 of the computer 200.

The controller 315 in the camera 300 drives the camera motor 312 by controlling the camera motor driver 309 at a predetermined cycle. When the camera motor 312 is driven, the CCD camera 303 is rotated to take an image from a different angle. That is, in the space where the camera 300 is installed, the CCD camera 303 must photograph the entire area, and the captured signal is transmitted to the computer 200 through the transmitter 318 under the control of the controller 315. Is sent.

The computer 200 displays the signal photographed by the camera 300 on the display unit 215, and the user can check the obstacles in the photographed space while moving the cleaner to the various locations of the photographing space to perform cleaning.

In this process, when the cleaning is performed in the entire area photographed from the camera, the user applies a command to move the cleaner to another space in the entire structure of the house previously input to the computer.

That is, the user selects a space (room or living room) to be cleaned next, and accordingly, the computer 200 generates a movement signal of the digital cleaner. This signal is transmitted to the corresponding camera via the transmitter 206 in the digital computer 200.

The camera receives the signal through the receiver 324 and transmits the signal to the digital cleaner 100 through the infrared transmitter 321. The digital cleaner 100 receives the infrared signal through the receiver 103 and transmits the infrared signal to the controller 106, and the controller 106 controls the driving of the driving unit 109.

In this process, the digital cleaner 100 is moved to the next space to be cleaned, and after the movement, the digital cleaner 100 receives the position control of the camera installed in the space. That is, after the digital cleaner is moved in space, the computer 200 controls the operation for cleaning the digital cleaner by applying a control signal for cleaning to a camera installed in the space in which the digital cleaner is currently located.

As described above, when the user designates a place to be cleaned using a computer, a position shift signal is generated from the computer to control the automatic movement of the cleaner. The present invention installs a camera in a space to be cleaned and allows a user to identify and designate a space being cleaned by the cleaner according to a signal photographed from the camera. Therefore, the present invention is characterized by specifying a place to be cleaned by using a computer based on the signal photographed from the camera, the cleaner is moved along the designated portion automatically performs cleaning.

The present invention described above has the following effects.

First, since the cleaning area is photographed using a camera, the display is displayed, and a part to be cleaned is designated, there is an advantage that the cleaner can be efficiently moved while there is an obstacle in the cleaning space.

Second, since the user only needs to specify a part to be cleaned by using a computer, there is an advantage in that power and time for cleaning can be saved.

Third, since the suction port is formed in the cleaner body, the suction force generated in the main body is transmitted to the suction port as it is. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the suction force which has been lost in the hose and the pipe as in the prior art.

Fourth, since it is possible to implement the present invention using a home automation system that has already been applied in many homes, additional economic advantages can be obtained.

Claims (10)

A camera for photographing the cleaning space and converting the image into a video signal for output; A computer for displaying a video signal input from the camera on a screen and designating a portion to be cleaned in the displayed screen; Control device of a digital cleaner comprising a digital cleaner for cleaning while moving to a designated portion of the computer. The method of claim 1 wherein: The camera is composed of a plurality, the control device of the digital cleaner, characterized in that for shooting different cleaning spaces. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein: The digital cleaner comprises: a receiving unit for receiving a signal; A cleaning unit having a suction port and performing cleaning according to a cleaning signal received by the receiving unit; And a driving unit which moves the main body according to the movement signal received by the receiving unit. The method of claim 3 wherein: The receiver is a control device of the digital cleaner, characterized in that the infrared receiver. The method of claim 4 wherein: The suction port is a control device for a digital cleaner, characterized in that formed in the digital cleaner body. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein: The camera includes a CCD camera for photographing the cleaning space; A CCD camera driver for driving the CCD camera; A camera motor for rotating the CCD camera; A camera motor driver for driving the camera motor; And a transmitter for transmitting a signal photographed by the CCD camera. The method of claim 6 wherein: The camera includes a receiving unit for receiving a signal from the computer; And an infrared ray transmitter for transmitting a signal for controlling the digital cleaner among the received signals. The method of claim 2 wherein: And a transmission line for signal transmission between the plurality of cameras and the computer. The method according to claim 1 or 2 or 8, wherein: The computer includes display means for displaying on the screen video signals input from the plurality of cameras; Selecting means for selecting a portion to be cleaned in the displayed screen; And a moving signal output means for outputting a signal for moving the digital cleaner to the portion selected by the selecting means. The method of claim 9 wherein: The computer, the control device of the digital cleaner further comprises a transmission and reception means for transmitting and receiving signals with the camera.