WO2023119572A1

WO2023119572A1 - Cleaning range specification method and cleaning range specification device

Info

Publication number: WO2023119572A1
Application number: PCT/JP2021/047938
Authority: WO
Inventors: 嘉人遠藤
Original assignee: 三菱電機ビルソリューションズ株式会社
Priority date: 2021-12-23
Filing date: 2021-12-23
Publication date: 2023-06-29

Abstract

A cleaning range specification method according to one aspect of the present disclosure specifies a cleaning range of a floor surface in a facility (100). This cleaning range specification method comprises: a step in which a location detector that is provided in the facility (100) is used to detect a movement path (120) of a person or a mobile body in the facility (100); a step in which floor material information indicating the floor material of the facility (100) is acquired, and a step in which a computer is used to calculate a cleaning range (130) using the movement path (120) and the floor material information.

Description

Cleaning area identification method and cleaning area identification device

The present disclosure relates to a cleaning area identification method and a cleaning area identification device.

International Publication No. 2020/158275 (Patent Document 1) discloses a method of determining a cleaning route for cleaning the inside of a facility by an autonomous mobile cleaning device. The method described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-200001 determines that an area where the frequency of human traffic per floor or per hour is equal to or greater than a threshold is an area to be cleaned.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2019-84165 (Patent Document 2) discloses a cleaning support system that supports cleaning inside a building using a self-propelled cleaner. In Patent Literature 2, the locus of movement of a person in a building is estimated to be a dirt range in which dirt occurs as a person moves. Then, the estimated dirt range and the range cleaned by the self-propelled cleaner are superimposed, and a part of the dirt range that does not overlap with the cleaning range is specified as a dirt residual range where dirt remains.

WO2020/158275 JP 2019-84165 A

When performing automatic cleaning by an autonomous mobile cleaning robot as described above, in order to efficiently perform cleaning work within a limited time such as a time zone when there is no traffic (for example, at night), , it is required to specify the cleaning range so as to focus on cleaning areas in the facility where dust tends to accumulate.

When the facility manager or workers manually specify the cleaning range, the cleaning range can be specified based on the layout showing the layout of the equipment on the floor. However, there may be obstacles such as chairs and desks on the floor that are not shown in the layout and hinder the movement of the cleaning robot. Therefore, it is necessary to check the presence or absence of obstacles in advance and exclude the location where the obstacles are installed from the cleaning range. In addition, since the areas where dust tends to collect may differ depending on the floor material, there is concern that the cleaning range cannot be appropriately specified only by the frequency of people's comings and goings or the trajectories of people's movements.

The present disclosure has been made to solve such problems, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide a cleaning range specifying method and a cleaning range specifying device that can appropriately and easily specify a cleaning range in a facility. That is.

A cleaning range specifying method according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a cleaning range specifying method for specifying a cleaning range on a floor surface in a facility. The cleaning area identification method includes steps of detecting a movement trajectory of a person or a moving body within the facility using a position detector installed within the facility, obtaining floor material information indicating the floor material of the facility, moving trajectory and and calculating a cleaning area by computer using the flooring information.

A cleaning range identification device according to one aspect of the present disclosure identifies a cleaning range on a floor surface in a facility. A cleaning range identification device is installed in a facility, and includes a position detector that detects the locus of movement of a person or a moving body in the facility, a processor, and a memory that stores a program executed by the processor. The processor acquires floor material information indicating the floor material of the facility according to the program. The processor calculates the cleaning range using the movement trajectory and floor material information detected by the position detector.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a cleaning range specifying method and a cleaning range specifying device that can appropriately and easily specify a cleaning range within a facility.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a cleaning system to which a cleaning range specifying device according to an embodiment is applied; FIG. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of a server. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a cleaning robot and a server. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure of processing for identifying a cleaning range, which is executed by a server; It is a figure which shows the 1st example of a flow-line map. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a second example of a flow line map; FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the detailed procedure of the process in step S03 of FIG. 4; FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a cleaning range map created using the flow line map shown in FIG. 5; FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a cleaning range map created using the flow line map shown in FIG. 6; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a cleaning robot and a server in a cleaning system according to a modification; FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the detailed procedure of the process in step S03 of FIG. 4; FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The same or corresponding parts in the drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a cleaning system to which a cleaning range specifying device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is applied. The cleaning system is a system for cleaning the floor 20 (floor surface) within the facility 100 .

With reference to FIG. 1, the cleaning system includes a cleaning robot 10, a plurality of wireless communication devices 30-1, 30-2, 30-3 .

The cleaning robot 10 is an autonomous mobile vacuum cleaner. The cleaning robot 10 is equipped with a battery, and can run on the floor 20 to be cleaned using electric power stored in the battery. The cleaning robot 10 can clean the floor 20 using the cleaning members while moving autonomously.

A wireless communication device 11 is provided in the cleaning robot 10 . The wireless communication device 11 transmits a signal for detecting the position of the cleaning robot 10 using, for example, a communication method conforming to the BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy, "Bluetooth" is a registered trademark) communication standard. Instead of the BLE communication standard, a communication method conforming to the UWB (Ultra Wide Band) communication standard or the like may be used. In addition, the wireless communication device 11 uses a communication method conforming to a wireless communication standard such as LTE (Long Term Evolution), for example, and uses an ID for identifying the cleaning robot 10 and a signal indicating the start/end of cleaning of the cleaning robot 10. etc. to the server 40 .

Wireless communication devices 30-1, 30-2, 30-3 (hereinafter sometimes collectively referred to as “wireless communication devices 30”) are placed at an appropriate distance from the ceiling 35 of the facility 100, for example. The radio communication device 11 of the cleaning robot 10 receives a signal transmitted from the cleaning robot 10 and detects the strength of the received signal using the same communication method as the wireless communication device 11 of the cleaning robot 10 . The position of the cleaning robot 10 on the floor 20 can be measured from the reception strength of each wireless communication device 30 . The wireless communication device 30 outputs the reception strength of the signal received from the cleaning robot 10 to the server 40 . Wireless communication device 30 may be installed on a wall.

The camera 32 is arranged, for example, on the ceiling 35 and images the interior of the facility 100 including the floor 20 . The camera 32 outputs data representing the captured image to the server 40 . The number of cameras 32 is not limited. Alternatively, the camera 32 may be installed on the wall.

The server 40 identifies the cleaning range on the floor 20. The server 40 is configured to detect a portion of the floor 20 where dust tends to accumulate and identify the portion as a cleaning range according to a procedure described later. The server 40 then transmits data indicating the specified cleaning range to the cleaning robot 10 . The server 40 corresponds to an embodiment of a "cleaning range identification device".

The server 40 also manages the cleaning work by the cleaning robot 10. The server 40 receives the reception strength of the signal received by the wireless communication device 30 from each wireless communication device 30 and measures the position of the cleaning robot 10 on the floor 20 from the reception strength of each wireless communication device 30 . Then, the server 40 determines whether or not the cleaning work by the cleaning robot 10 has been performed normally according to the cleaning conditions including the specified cleaning range.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the server 40. As shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 2, the server 40 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 41, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 2, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 43, an I/F (Interface) device 44, a storage device 45. The CPU 41 , RAM 42 , ROM 43 , I/F device 44 and storage device 45 exchange various data through a communication bus 46 .

The CPU 41 expands the program stored in the ROM 43 to the RAM 42 and executes it. Programs stored in the ROM 43 describe processes to be executed by the server 40 .

The I/F device 44 is an input/output device for exchanging signals and data with the wireless communication device 30, the camera 32 and the cleaning robot 10. The I/F device 44 receives from each wireless communication device 30 the reception strength of the signal received by the wireless communication device 30 . Also, the I/F device 44 receives data representing the captured image from the camera 32 . Further, the I/F device 44 transmits an ID for identifying the cleaning robot 10, a signal indicating the start/end of cleaning of the cleaning robot 10, etc. to the cleaning robot 10 using a communication method according to a wireless communication standard such as LTE. receive from

The storage device 45 is a storage that stores various types of information, including information on the cleaning robot 10, information on the floor 20 (floor material information, etc.), cleaning contract information defining cleaning conditions (cleaning range, frequency, date and time, etc.), Positional information and movement history (trajectory) of the cleaning robot 10 are stored. The storage device 45 is, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD: Hard Disk Drive), a solid state drive (SSD: Solid State Drive), or the like.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the cleaning robot 10 and the server 40. As shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 3 , cleaning robot 10 includes wireless communication device 11 , camera 12 , control section 13 , drive section 14 , battery 15 and cleaning member 16 .

　The wireless communication device 11 transmits a signal for detecting the position of the cleaning robot 10, for example, using a communication method conforming to the BLE communication standard, as described in FIG. In addition, the wireless communication device 11 uses, for example, a communication method conforming to a wireless communication standard such as LTE, an ID for identifying the cleaning robot 10, a cleaning start signal indicating the start of cleaning by the cleaning robot 10, and an end of cleaning. Various information such as a cleaning end signal indicating is transmitted to the server 40 .

The camera 12 captures an image of the surroundings of the cleaning robot 10 and outputs the captured image to the control unit 13 . Instead of the camera 12, a laser rangefinder or the like that measures the distance between the cleaning robot 10 and an object existing around the cleaning robot 10 may be provided.

The control unit 13 controls the start and end of cleaning by the cleaning robot 10 . Based on the captured image from the camera 12, the control unit 13 controls the driving unit 14 and the cleaning member 16 so that the cleaning robot 10 performs cleaning while moving autonomously.

The driving unit 14 generates driving force for the cleaning robot 10 to run. The driving unit 14 includes, for example, wheels for moving the cleaning robot 10 and motors for driving the wheels. The drive unit 14 (motor) can operate by receiving power supply from the battery 15 . The battery 15 supplies power for operating the drive unit 14 and other devices of the cleaning robot 10 .

The cleaning member 16 is provided on the bottom surface of the cleaning robot 10 and is a member for sucking dust from the floor 20 (floor surface). The cleaning member 16 includes, for example, a suction port, an air blower for sucking dust from the suction port, a rotating brush provided at the suction port, and a motor for driving the rotating brush.

　In facilities such as data centers and shopping malls, it is necessary to specify the cleaning range on each floor 20 when performing automatic cleaning by the above-described autonomous mobile cleaning robot. In particular, in order to efficiently perform the cleaning work within a limited period of time, such as when there is no traffic (for example, at night), cleaning is performed so as to focus on areas where dust tends to accumulate on the floor 20. It is required to specify the range.

When such a cleaning range is manually specified by a facility manager or worker, it is possible to specify the cleaning range based on a layout showing the arrangement of equipment on the floor 20 . However, obstacles such as chairs and desks that are not shown in the layout may be installed on the floor 20 to hinder the movement of the cleaning robot 10 . Therefore, it is necessary to confirm the presence or absence of obstacles in advance, and exclude the location of the obstacles from the cleaning range. Therefore, there is a concern that it takes time and effort to identify the cleaning range.

In addition, depending on the floor material of the floor 20, the part where dust tends to accumulate may differ. For example, if the floor 20 is made of a smooth floor material such as tiles or cushion floors, the wind generated when a person walks on the floor 20 moves the dust, so the part away from the aisle dust tends to accumulate in On the other hand, if the floor material is a raised material such as a carpet, dust on the soles of the shoes of passers-by is captured by the fur, and dust tends to accumulate in the passageway. .

Therefore, in the present embodiment, server 40 detects the movement trajectory of a person or a moving object on floor 20, and uses the detected movement trajectory and information indicating the floor material of floor 20 to specify the cleaning range. configured to According to this, it is possible to appropriately specify the area where dust tends to accumulate on the floor 20 as the cleaning range. In addition, since it is not necessary for a worker or the like to confirm the installation location of the obstacle, it is possible to easily specify the cleaning range.

Referring to FIG. 3, server 40 includes an input unit 52, a control unit 50, a storage device 45, and an output unit .

The input unit 52 is connected to the wireless communication device 30 and the camera 32 . The radio communication device 30 receives a signal transmitted from the mobile body 22 using the same communication standard as that of the radio communication device 24 mounted on the mobile body 22 used in the facility 100, and measures the reception strength of the signal. to detect. The moving body 22 is a so-called wheelbarrow used for carrying luggage, and is composed of a basket for loading the luggage, wheels, a handle, and the like. A wireless communicator 24 is attached, for example, to a basket or handle. The wireless communication device 24 transmits a signal for detecting the position of the mobile object 22 using, for example, a communication method conforming to the BLE communication standard. A communication method conforming to the UWB communication standard or the like may be used instead of the BLE communication standard. The wireless communication device 30 outputs the reception strength of the signal received from the wireless communication device 24 to the server 40 .

The camera 32 images the inside of the facility 100 including the floor 20. Images captured by the camera 32 include images of people passing through the facility 100 . The camera 32 outputs data representing the captured image to the server 40 . The input unit 52 receives a signal indicating the reception intensity detected by the wireless communication device 30 and data indicating an image captured by the camera 32 and transfers the received signal to the control unit 50 .

The control unit 50 measures the position of the moving object 22 on the floor 20 from the reception intensity of the wireless communication device 24. Also, the control unit 50 measures the position of the person on the floor 20 from the captured image using a known image analysis technique. The control unit 50 detects the movement trajectories of the mobile object 22 and the person based on the measurement results of the positions of the mobile object 22 and the person. The control unit 50 creates a flow line map representing the flow of people (people flow) on the floor 20 using the detected moving objects 22 and the movement trajectories of people.

The storage device 45 stores the flow line map created by the control unit 50. Further, the storage device 45 stores information (floor material information) on the floor material for each floor. Floor materials include, for example, floor tiles, cushion floors, floorings, and carpets. Floor tiles are made of polyvinyl chloride, ceramic, or the like. The cushion floor is a sheet-like floor material made of vinyl chloride resin. Flooring is a floor material using wood. A carpet is a floor covering whose surface is formed of a pile of bundles of fibers.

The control unit 50 identifies the cleaning range on the floor 20 using the flow line map and floor material information stored in the storage device 45 . The control unit 50 creates a cleaning range map representing the specified cleaning range. The control unit 50 stores the created cleaning range map in the storage device 45 .

The output unit 54 converts the created cleaning range map into coordinate data and transmits the converted coordinate data to the cleaning robot 10 .

In the cleaning robot 10 , the wireless communication device 11 transfers the coordinate data received from the server 40 to the control section 13 . The control unit 13 controls the driving unit 14 and the cleaning member 16 so that the cleaning robot 10 performs cleaning while autonomously moving according to the cleaning range indicated by the coordinate data.

Next, the process of specifying the cleaning range executed by the server 40 will be described. FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a procedure of processing for specifying the cleaning range, which is executed by the server 40. As shown in FIG. A series of processes shown in this flowchart are executed for each floor.

With reference to FIG. 4, the server 40 acquires the captured image from the camera 32 and also acquires the reception strength of the signal received from the moving object 22 detected by the wireless communication device 30 (step S01).

Next, the server 40 uses the acquired information to create a flow line map showing the flow of people on the floor 20 (step S02). Specifically, the server 40 extracts a person from the captured image using a known image analysis technique, and measures the chronological change in the position of the extracted person, thereby estimating the flow of movement of the person on the floor 20. To detect. In addition, the server 40 measures the position of the mobile object 22 based on the reception strength of the signal received from the wireless communication device 24 of the mobile object 22, and measures the chronological change in the measured position of the mobile object 22. A flow of moving objects 22 on the floor 20 is detected. Then, the server 40 creates a flow line map using the detected flow of movement of the person and the moving object 22 . The server 40 stores the created flow line map in the storage device 45 .

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a first example of a flow line map. FIG. 5 schematically shows a plan view of the floor 20 in the facility 100 viewed from the ceiling. As shown in FIG. 5, the facility 100 is provided with a plurality of entrances and exits for a person or a moving body 22 to enter and exit the facility, and an elevator for moving the person or the moving body 22 upstairs or downstairs. ing. Also, a plurality of stores 110 are set up on the floor 20 . A thick line 120 in FIG. 5 indicates the movement trajectory (flow line) of the person or moving object 22 . Line 120 represents a person or vehicle moving between the doorway, elevator and store 110 .

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a second example of the flow line map. FIG. 6 schematically shows a plan view of the corridor 150 provided on the floor 20 as seen from the ceiling. A thick line 120 in FIG. 6 indicates the movement trajectory (flow line) of the person or moving object 22 .

Returning to FIG. 4, next, the server 40 uses the flow line map created in S02 to create a cleaning range map representing the cleaning range on the floor 20 (step S03). The server 40 converts the created cleaning range map into coordinate data (step S04), and transmits the generated coordinate data to the cleaning robot 10 (step S05).

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the detailed procedure of the processing in step S03 of FIG.
Referring to FIG. 7, server 40 acquires the flow line map in facility 100 created in S02 of FIG. 4 from storage device 45 (step S31). The flow line map, as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, represents the movement trajectory of the person and the moving object 22 on the floor 20. FIG. The server 40 also acquires the floor material information of the floor 20 from the storage device 45 (step S32). As described above, the floor material information is information about the floor material of the floor 20, such as tiles, cushion floors, flooring, and carpets.

Next, the server 40 uses the floor material information acquired in S32 to determine whether the floor material of the floor 20 is made of a raised material (step S33). For example, if the flooring is carpet, the server 40 determines that the flooring is made of raised material. On the other hand, if the flooring is made of tile, cushion floor, or flooring, the server 40 determines that the flooring is not made of raised material.

If the floor material of the floor 20 is not made of a raised material (NO determination in S33), the server 40 uses the flow line map acquired in S31 to detect an area of the floor 20 where there is no flow of people (step S34). The range without a flow of people corresponds to a range that is not included in the flow of people or moving objects 22 . The server 40 extracts the range where the line of flow exists and excludes the extracted range from the floor 20, thereby detecting the range where there is no flow of people.

Here, the area where there is no flow of people includes the area where entrances/exits, elevators, equipment, etc. are installed. In addition, the area where there is no flow of people includes the area near the wall of the facility. If an obstacle, such as a chair or a desk, is installed on the floor 20 to hinder the movement of the cleaning robot 10, the person or the moving body 22 avoids the obstacle when moving. The area where there is no traffic is also included in the area where there is no flow of people. However, since the obstacles are not shown in the layout showing the arrangement of the equipment on the floor 20, the existence of the obstacles cannot be grasped.

Therefore, the server 40 uses the flow line map to estimate the installation range of the obstacle (step S35). In S35, the server 40 estimates the range surrounded by the flow line as the installation range of the obstacle. This is based on the person or moving object 22 moving around the obstacle. Regarding the range where the flow line is bent even though no equipment is installed, it is determined that it is caused by the movement of the person or the moving body 22 to avoid the obstacle, and it is estimated to be the installation range of the obstacle. can do.

Next, the server 40 specifies the cleaning range on the floor 20 based on the range without the flow of people detected in S34 and the installation range of obstacles estimated in S35 (step S36). Specifically, the server 40 specifies, as the cleaning range, a range obtained by excluding the installation range of obstacles from the detected range without the flow of people. The server 40 creates a cleaning range map indicating the identified cleaning range (step S37) and stores the created cleaning range map in the storage device 45. FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a cleaning range map created using the flow line map shown in FIG. FIG. 8 schematically shows a plan view of the floor 20 in the facility 100 viewed from the ceiling. A thick line 120 in FIG. 8 corresponds to the movement trajectory (flow line) of the person or moving object 22 .

A hatched area 130 in FIG. 8 indicates a cleaning range created based on the line 120 (flow line). Area 130 includes a range of floor 20 where line 120 (traffic line) does not exist. However, the area 130 excludes the entrance/exit, the elevator, and the installation range of the facility 110 .

A region 140 in FIG. 8 indicates the installation range of obstacles estimated from the line 120 (flow line). As shown in FIG. 8, the line of flow is bent around the region 140, and the region 140 is surrounded by the line of flow on all four sides. Area 130 is set so as not to include area 140 . In this way, in the example of FIG. 8, the range (area 130) where there is no flow of people and where no obstacles are installed is specified as the cleaning range.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a cleaning range map created using the flow line map shown in FIG. FIG. 9 schematically shows a plan view of the corridor 150 provided on the floor 20 as seen from the ceiling. A thick line 120 in FIG. 9 indicates the movement trajectory (flow line) of the person or moving object 22 .

A hatched area 130 in FIG. 9 indicates a cleaning range created based on the line 120 (flow line). Area 130 includes a range of corridor 150 where line 120 (flow line) does not exist. That is, the area 130 includes the areas along the walls on both sides of the corridor 150 . In the example of FIG. 6, the line of flow does not detour and there is no range surrounded by the line of flow on all four sides, so it is estimated that no obstacle is installed.

When the floor material of the floor 20 is not made of the raised material in this way (when the determination is NO in S33), the server 40 determines the area of the floor 20 where there is no flow of people and where no obstacles are installed. as a cleaning area.

If the floor material is not made of raised material, the dust on the floor has the property of rolling on the floor due to the wind generated when a person walks. Therefore, it is difficult for dust to accumulate in areas where there is a large flow of people, while dust tends to accumulate in areas where there is a small flow of people. Therefore, the server 40 can specify a cleaning range so as to clean a portion where dust tends to accumulate by specifying a range where there is no flow of people as a cleaning range.

Since the range where there is no flow of people also includes the installation range of obstacles, the server 40 estimates the installation range of obstacles based on the shape of the flow line, and divides the estimated installation range of obstacles from the cleaning range. configured to exclude. According to this, the cleaning robot 10 can clean areas where dust tends to accumulate while avoiding obstacles. In addition, since the operator or the like does not need to check the presence or absence of obstacles, it is possible to reduce the time and effort required to specify the cleaning range.

Returning to FIG. 7, if the floor material of the floor 20 is made of a raised material in S33 (YES in S33), the server 40 uses the flow line map acquired in S31 to determine the flow of people on the floor 20. is detected (step S38). The range in which there is a flow of people corresponds to a range that is included in the flow in which people or moving bodies 22 move. The server 40 detects a range of people flow by extracting a range of flow lines.

Next, the server 40 identifies the area to be cleaned on the floor 20 based on the area with the flow of people detected in S38 (step S39). Specifically, the server 40 identifies the range of the detected flow of people as the cleaning range. The server 40 creates a cleaning range map indicating the identified cleaning range (step S37) and stores the created cleaning range map in the storage device 45. FIG.

Although illustration is omitted, if the floor material of the floor 20 is made of raised material, the cleaning range map created using the flow line map shown in FIG. The range excluding the installation range of the equipment 110 and the

areas

130 and 140 shown in FIG. 8 is defined as the cleaning range. The cleaning range map created using the flow line map shown in FIG. 6 defines the cleaning range as the range excluding the area 130 shown in FIG. 9 from the corridor 150 .

When the floor material of the floor 20 is made of the raised material (YES in S33), the server 40 is configured to identify the area of the floor 20 where there is a flow of people as the area to be cleaned. be. When the floor material is made of a raised material, the dust on the floor surface is caught by the hairs, so that the dust tends to accumulate in the passage where people walk. Therefore, the server 40 can specify the cleaning range so as to clean the part where dust tends to accumulate by specifying the range where there is a flow of people as the cleaning range.

[Modified example of the embodiment]
In the above-described embodiment, the movement trajectory of a person or a moving object on the floor 20 and the floor material information of the floor 20 are used to identify the cleaning range on the floor 20. Since the components are different, even if the floor material is the same, the area where dust tends to accumulate may differ.

For example, if the facility is a data center where servers and network equipment are installed, the majority of the dust is made up of fibers (cotton dust) and hair. It has the property of being easy to move. Therefore, if the floor 20 is not made of a raised material, dust tends to accumulate in areas where there is no traffic. On the other hand, if the facility is a commercial facility such as a shopping center, the dust includes sand and dust in addition to fibers and hair. Since earth and dust have the property of being difficult to move when exposed to wind, dust tends to accumulate in areas where there is a flow of people.

Therefore, in addition to the movement trajectory of a person or a moving object and the floor material information of the floor 20, information regarding facility attributes may be used to specify the cleaning range.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the cleaning robot 10 and the server 40 in the cleaning system according to this modified example. The configuration example of FIG. 10 differs from the configuration example shown in FIG. 3 in the configuration of the server 40 . The server 40 shown in FIG. 10 includes a storage device 45A instead of the storage device 45 in the server 40 shown in FIG.

The attribute information of the facility is stored in the storage device 45A. Facilities attributes include, for example, data centers, commercial facilities, and the like. In addition, the attribute of the facility may be classified based on the dust component in the facility. For example, a facility may be classified into a facility in which a large amount of dust that is easily moved by the wind caused by people running exists and a facility in which a large amount of dust that is difficult to move by the wind is present.

The control unit 50 identifies the cleaning range on the floor 20 using the flow line map, floor material information, and facility attribute information stored in the storage device 45A. The control unit 50 creates a cleaning range map representing the specified cleaning range. The control unit 50 stores the created cleaning range map in the storage device 45A.

Also in this modified example, the server 40 executes the process of specifying the cleaning range according to the flowchart shown in FIG. This process is executed for each floor. The server 40 performs the same processing of S01 and S02 as in FIG. Create a flow line map that represents Then, the server 40 uses the flow line map created in S02 to create a cleaning range map representing the cleaning range on the floor 20 (step S03). The server 40 converts the created cleaning range map into coordinate data (step S04), and transmits the generated coordinate data to the cleaning robot 10 (step S05).

FIG. 11 is a flowchart explaining the detailed procedure of the process of step S03 in FIG. The flowchart shown in FIG. 11 is obtained by adding steps S40 and S41 to the flowchart shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 11, server 40 acquires the flow line map in facility 100 and the floor material information of floor 20 from storage device 45A by executing the same processes of S31 and S32 as in FIG. Further, the server 40 acquires the attribute information of the facility 100 from the storage device 45A (step S40).

The server 40 uses the floor material information acquired in S32 to determine whether the floor material of the floor 20 is made of a raised material (step S33). If the floor material of the floor 20 is not made of raised material (NO determination in S33), the server 40 proceeds to step S41 and specifies the cleaning range using the attribute information of the facility 100 acquired in S40. Specifically, when it is determined that the facility 100 is a data center, by executing the same processing of S34 to S36 as in FIG. The range excluding the estimated installation range of the obstacle is specified as the cleaning range on the floor 20 (step S36). The server 40 creates a cleaning range map indicating the specified cleaning range (step S37) and stores the created cleaning range map in the storage device 45. FIG.

On the other hand, if the facility 100 is determined to be a commercial facility, the server 40 executes the same processes of S38 and S39 as in FIG. , as the cleaning range on the floor 20 (step S39). The server 40 creates a cleaning range map indicating the specified cleaning range (step S37) and stores the created cleaning range map in the storage device 45. FIG.

As described above, according to the cleaning system according to this modified example, in addition to the movement trajectory of the person or the moving object 22 and the floor material information of the floor 20, the information about the attribute of the facility is used to specify the cleaning range. By doing so, it is possible to specify the area where dust tends to accumulate as the cleaning range, taking into account the nature of the dust present in the facility.

In the above-described embodiment and modified example, the method for specifying the cleaning range in the cleaning system that performs the cleaning work by the autonomous mobile cleaning robot has been described. It can also be applied to a configuration that specifies a cleaning range for performing work.

The embodiments disclosed this time should be considered illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The present invention is indicated by the scope of claims rather than the above description, and is intended to include all modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the scope of the claims.

10 Cleaning robot, 11, 24, 30 wireless communication device, 12, 32 camera, 13, 50 control unit, 14 drive unit, 15 battery, 16 cleaning member, 20 floor, 22 moving body, 40 server, 41 CPU, 42 RAM , 43 ROM, 44 I/F device, 45, 45A storage device, 46 communication bus, 52 input unit, 54 output unit, 100 facilities, 110 stores, 120 lines, 150 corridors.

Claims

A cleaning range specifying method for specifying a cleaning range on a floor surface in a facility,
a step of detecting a movement trajectory of a person or a moving body within said facility by means of a position detector installed within said facility;
a step of obtaining floor material information indicating the floor material of the facility;
and calculating the cleaning range by a computer using the movement locus and the floor material information.
2. The step of calculating the cleaning range according to claim 1, wherein the step of calculating the cleaning range includes the step of calculating, as the cleaning range, a range excluding the movement locus from the floor surface when the floor material is not made of a raised material. How to identify the cleaning area of
The step of calculating the cleaning range includes:
a step of estimating an installation range of obstacles that hinder cleaning work from the movement trajectory;
and calculating, as the cleaning range, a range excluding the installation range of the movement trajectory and the obstacle from the floor surface when the floor material is not made of a raised material. How to identify the cleaning area.
The cleaning range identification method according to claim 3, wherein the step of estimating the installation range of the obstacle estimates a range surrounded by the movement trajectory as the installation range.
4. The cleaning according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the step of specifying the cleaning range includes the step of calculating a range including the movement locus as the cleaning range when the floor material is made of the raised material. Scope method.
further comprising obtaining attributes of the facility;
In the step of calculating the cleaning range, when the facility is a data center and the floor material is not made of a raised material, the cleaning range is calculated by excluding the movement trajectory from the floor surface. The cleaning range specifying method according to claim 2, wherein:
The position detector includes a camera that captures images of the inside of the facility, or a wireless communication device that wirelessly communicates with the mobile object,
The cleaning range according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the step of detecting the locus of movement includes detecting the locus of movement using an image captured by the camera and a radio signal from the mobile object. specific method.
A cleaning range specifying device for specifying a cleaning range on a floor surface in a facility,
a position detector installed in the facility for detecting a movement trajectory of a person or a moving body in the facility;
a processor;
a memory that stores a program to be executed by the processor;
The processor, according to the program,
Acquiring floor material information indicating the floor material of the facility;
A cleaning area identification device that calculates the cleaning area using the movement locus detected by the position detector and the floor material information.
The cleaning area identification device according to claim 8, wherein the processor calculates, as the cleaning area, an area excluding the movement trajectory from the floor surface when the floor material is not made of raised material.
If the flooring material is not made of raised material, the processor comprises:
estimating an installation range of obstacles that hinder cleaning work from the movement trajectory;
9. The cleaning range identification device according to claim 8, wherein the cleaning range is calculated by excluding the installation range of the movement locus and the obstacle from the floor surface.
The cleaning range identification device according to claim 10, wherein said processor estimates a range surrounded by said movement trajectory as said installation range.
The cleaning range identification device according to claim 9 or 10, wherein when the floor material is formed of the raised material, the processor calculates a range including the movement locus as the cleaning range.
The processor further acquires information indicating attributes of the facility according to the program,
10. When the facility is a data center and the flooring material is not made of a raised material, the processor calculates, as the cleaning range, a range excluding the movement trajectory from the floor surface. Cleaning range identification device according to.
The position detector includes a camera that captures images of the inside of the facility, or a wireless communication device that wirelessly communicates with the mobile object,
The cleaning range identification device according to any one of claims 8 to 13, wherein said processor detects said movement trajectory using an image captured by said camera and a radio signal from said moving body.