WO2016056226A1

WO2016056226A1 - Autonomous travel-type cleaner

Info

Publication number: WO2016056226A1
Application number: PCT/JP2015/005070
Authority: WO
Inventors: 元暢重藤; 渡部　健二; 秀治小川原; 松村　新一
Original assignee: パナソニックＩｐマネジメント株式会社
Priority date: 2014-10-10
Filing date: 2015-10-06
Publication date: 2016-04-14
Also published as: EP3205250B1; CN106413500A; CN106413500B; EP3205250A1; EP3205250A4

Abstract

A control unit, upon determining that a corner has been detected in step S2, causes a body to move in a reciprocating manner in step S3, and cleaning of the corner to commence. Furthermore, upon determining that a rubbish detection sensor has not detected any rubbish in step S4, the control unit ends the cleaning of the corner in step S6. Conversely, upon determining in step S4 that rubbish has been detected by the rubbish detection sensor, the control unit causes the body to move in a reciprocating manner in step S5, and to keep cleaning the corner. In other words, there is provided an autonomous travel-type cleaner capable of picking up an appreciable quantity of rubbish that has collected in a corner, due to the reciprocating motion of the body.

Description

Autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner

The present invention relates to an autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner including a body on which various components are mounted, a drive unit that moves the body, a main brush, and a suction unit has been disclosed (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2). The main brush is disposed at a suction port formed in the body, and collects dust present on the cleaning surface. The suction unit sucks dust from the suction port of the body.

The autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner disclosed in many documents such as Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 has a roughly circular body. The shape of the body gives high turning performance to the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner.

On the other hand, in the conventional autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner having a circular body, a relatively large space is formed between the suction port of the body and the tip portion of the corner even if the corner of the target area approaches the limit. . For this reason, the dust present at the corner of the target area may not be sufficiently sucked by the suction unit.

In order to solve the above problem, an autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner further including one or a plurality of side brushes arranged on the bottom surface of the body is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 3 to Patent Document 6). The side brush includes a bristle bundle that protrudes outward from the outline of the body. The bristle bundle collects garbage existing outside the outline of the body at the suction port of the body. Thereby, the autonomous running type vacuum cleaner of patent documents 3-patent documents 6 can attract more dust which exists in the corner of an object field.

However, the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaners of Patent Literature 3 to Patent Literature 6 mainly have a side brush that has the ability to suck in dust existing in the corners of the target area (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as “corner cleaning ability”). It is thought that it is decided by. On the other hand, the length of the bristle bundle is set under various constraints. Therefore, the corner cleaning ability obtained based on the side brush is also affected by the restriction. That is, the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaners of Patent Document 3 to Patent Document 6 have room for improvement with respect to corner cleaning ability.

Therefore, an example of an autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner that further improves the corner cleaning ability is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 7).

The autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner of Patent Document 7 includes a body having an approximately D shape, a suction port formed on the bottom surface of the body, and a pair of side brushes attached to corners of the bottom surface of the body.

In the autonomous traveling cleaner, the side brush shaft and the body suction port are at the top of the corner at the corner position of the target region as compared with the autonomous traveling cleaners of Patent Document 3 to Patent Document 6, for example. approach. Therefore, it becomes easier to suck more garbage into the body.

However, in the case of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner of Patent Document 7, when positioned at the corner of the target region, the front surface and one side surface of the body come into contact with the wall forming the corner or approach the wall to the extent equal to the contact. Therefore, the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner may not be able to rotate at that location.

That is, the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner of Patent Document 7 imposes relatively large restrictions on the motion trajectory when moving from the cleaned corner to another place after the corner cleaning of the target area is completed.

JP 2008-296007 A Special table 2014-504534 gazette JP 2011-212444 A JP 2014-073192 A JP 2014-094233 A Special table 2014-512247 gazette JP 2014-061375 A

The present invention provides an autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner that performs efficient cleaning until there is no dust present in the corner of the target area.

That is, the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner according to one aspect of the present invention includes a body having a suction port on the bottom surface, a suction unit mounted on the body, an angle detection unit that detects a corner of the target area, and the body reciprocates. And a control unit for controlling the drive unit. When the angle is detected by the angle detector, the control unit controls the drive unit so that the body reciprocates.

This makes it possible to realize an autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner that performs efficient cleaning until there is no dust present in the corner of the target area.

FIG. 1 is a front view of the autonomous traveling cleaner of the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the autonomously traveling cleaner of FIG. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the electrical system in the autonomous traveling cleaner of FIG. FIG. 4 is an operation diagram illustrating a state in which a conventional autonomous traveling type cleaner has reached a corner. FIG. 5 is an operation diagram illustrating a state in which the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1 approaches a corner. FIG. 6 is an operation diagram illustrating a state in which the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner of FIG. 5 has reached the corner. FIG. 7 is an operation diagram illustrating a state in which the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner of FIG. 6 is rotated. FIG. 8 is a front view of the autonomously traveling cleaner according to the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a bottom view of the autonomous traveling cleaner of FIG. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the autonomously traveling cleaner according to the third embodiment. FIG. 11 is a front view of the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner of FIG. FIG. 12 is a front view of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner of FIG. 10 with the lid open. FIG. 13 is a bottom view of the autonomously traveling cleaner of FIG. 14 is a side view of the autonomously traveling cleaner of FIG. FIG. 15 is a perspective view illustrating a front side state in which some of the elements of FIG. 10 are separated. FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing a state of the bottom surface side where a part of the elements of FIG. 10 is separated. 17 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 17-17 in FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which some of the elements of FIG. 17 are separated. 19 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 19-19 in FIG. 20 is a perspective view of the lower unit of FIG. FIG. 21 is a perspective view of the lower unit of FIG. FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the lower unit of FIG. 23 is a perspective view of the lower unit of FIG. FIG. 24 is a perspective view of the upper unit of FIG. FIG. 25 is a bottom view of the upper unit of FIG. FIG. 26 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of an electric system in the autonomous mobile vacuum cleaner of FIG. FIG. 27 is a flowchart relating to the first corner cleaning control of the fourth embodiment. FIG. 28 is a flowchart relating to the second corner cleaning control of the fifth embodiment. FIG. 29 is a flowchart relating to the third corner cleaning control of the sixth embodiment. FIG. 30 is a flowchart relating to the fourth corner cleaning control of the seventh embodiment. FIG. 31 is a flowchart relating to the first escape control according to the eighth embodiment. FIG. 32 is a flowchart relating to the second escape control according to the ninth embodiment. FIG. 33 is a flowchart regarding the level difference control according to the tenth embodiment. FIG. 34 is a flowchart relating to designated area cleaning control according to the eleventh embodiment. FIG. 35 is a flowchart regarding reciprocal cleaning control according to the twelfth embodiment. FIG. 36 is a front view of an autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner according to a modification. FIG. 37 is a front view of an autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner according to a modification. FIG. 38 is a front view of an autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner according to a modification.

Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
Below, the basic structure of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner in this Embodiment 1 is demonstrated, referring FIG. 1 and FIG.

FIG. 1 is a front view of the autonomously traveling cleaner 10 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the autonomously traveling cleaner of FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the autonomously traveling cleaner 10 according to the present embodiment autonomously travels on the cleaning surface of the target area and sucks dust existing on the cleaning surface. Machine. An example of the target area is a room, and an example of the cleaning surface is the floor of the room.

The autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner 10 of the present embodiment includes a body 20 on which various components are mounted, a pair of drive units 30, a cleaning unit 40, a suction unit 50, a trash box unit 60, a control unit 70, a power supply unit 80, and casters. 90 functional blocks. The pair of drive units 30 move the body 20 so as to be able to reciprocate such as front and rear, left and right. The cleaning unit 40 collects garbage present in the target area. The suction unit 50 sucks the dust collected by the cleaning unit 40 into the body 20. The trash box unit 60 stores the trash sucked by the suction unit 50. The control unit 70 controls the drive unit 30, the cleaning unit 40, the suction unit 50, and the like. The power supply unit 80 supplies power to the drive unit 30, the cleaning unit 40, the suction unit 50, and the like. The caster 90 rotates following the rotation of the drive unit 30.

The pair of drive units 30 includes a right drive unit 30 disposed on the right side with respect to the center in the width direction of the body 20, and a left drive unit 30 disposed on the left side with respect to the center in the width direction of the body 20. Consists of. Note that either the right or left drive unit 30 constitutes a first drive unit, and the left or right drive unit 30 constitutes a second drive unit. Here, the left-right direction, which is the width direction of the autonomous traveling cleaner 10, is defined based on the forward direction of the autonomous traveling cleaner 10.

The body 20 is configured by combining a lower unit 100 (see FIG. 2) that forms the lower outer shape of the body 20 and an upper unit 200 (see FIG. 1) that forms the upper outer shape of the body 20.

As shown in FIG. 1, the upper unit 200 includes a cover 210, a lid 220, a bumper 230, and the like. The cover 210 forms a main part of the outline of the upper unit 200. The lid 220 is provided so as to open and close with respect to the cover 210. The bumper 230 is displaced with respect to the cover 210 to relieve an impact or the like.

The planar shape of the body 20 is, for example, a Rouleau triangle, a polygon having approximately the same shape as the Rouleau triangle, or a shape in which R is formed at the top of these triangles or polygons. This shape contributes to making the body 20 have the same or similar properties as the geometric properties of the Reuleaux triangle. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the body 20 has, for example, a planar shape that is substantially the same as, for example, a Rouleau triangle.

The body 20 includes a plurality of outer peripheral surfaces and a plurality of tops. An example of the plurality of outer peripheral surfaces is a front surface 21, a right side surface 22, and a left side surface 22. The front surface 21 exists on the forward side of the autonomously traveling cleaner 10. The right side surface 22 exists on the right rear side with respect to the front surface 21. The left side surface 22 exists on the left rear side with respect to the front surface 21. The front surface 21 is a curved surface curved outward and is mainly formed on the bumper 230. Each of the side surfaces 22 has a curved shape that curves outward, and is formed on the side of the bumper 230 and the side of the cover 210.

An example of the plurality of tops is a front top 23 on the right side, a front top 23 on the left side, and a rear top 24. The right front top 23 is defined by the front face 21 and the right side face 22. The left front apex 23 is defined by the front face 21 and the left side face 22. The rear top 24 is defined by the right side surface 22 and the left side surface 22.

The front surface 21 and the side surface 22 are formed such that the angle formed by the tangent line L1 of the front surface 21 and the tangent line L2 of the side surface 22 is an acute angle, as shown in FIG.

Furthermore, the right front top 23 and the left front top 23 define the maximum width of the body 20. According to the example shown in FIG. 1, the maximum width of the body 20 corresponds to the distance between the apex of the right front apex 23 and the apex of the left front apex 23, that is, the distance between the two apexes of the Rouleau triangle. .

The body 20 further includes a suction port 101 for sucking dust into the body 20 as shown in FIG. The suction port 101 is formed on the bottom surface of the lower unit 100 that is the bottom surface of the body 20. The suction port 101 is formed in a rectangular shape, for example. The longitudinal direction of the suction port 101 is substantially the same as the width direction of the body 20, and the short direction is substantially the same as the front-rear direction of the body 20.

The suction port 101 is formed at a portion from the front surface 21 on the bottom surface of the body 20. The positional relationship of the suction port 101 is defined by one or both of the following two types of relationships related to each element, for example. The first relationship is that the center line of the suction port 101 along the longitudinal direction of the suction port 101 (hereinafter, “the center line in the longitudinal direction of the suction port 101”) is more forward of the body 20 than the center of the body 20 in the front-rear direction. Is to exist on the side. The second relationship is that the suction port 101 is formed on the front side of the body 20 with respect to the pair of drive units 30.

The width of the suction port 101, which is a dimension in the longitudinal direction of the suction port 101, is wider than the inner space between the right drive unit 30 and the left drive unit 30. Thereby, the width | variety of the wider suction inlet 101 is ensured. As a result, it contributes to increasing the amount of dust sucked by the suction unit 50.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the drive unit 30 is disposed on the bottom side of the lower unit 100 and includes a plurality of elements. The drive unit 30 includes, for example, a wheel 33 that travels on the cleaning surface, a travel motor 31 that applies torque to the wheel 33, and a housing 32 that houses the travel motor 31. The wheel 33 is accommodated in a recess formed in the lower unit 100. The wheel 33 is supported by the lower unit 100 so as to be rotatable with respect to the lower unit 100.

The wheel 33 is disposed outside the traveling motor 31 in the width direction of the body 20. This arrangement makes it possible to widen the distance between the right wheel 33 and the left wheel 33 as compared with the case where the wheel 33 is arranged inside the traveling motor 31 in the width direction. This contributes to the improvement of the stability of the body 20.

In addition, the drive system of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 is an opposed two-wheel type. Therefore, the right drive unit 30 and the left drive unit 30 are disposed to face each other in the width direction of the body 20. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the rotation axis H of the right wheel 33 and the rotation axis H of the left wheel 33 are substantially coaxial.

At this time, the distance between the rotational axis H of the wheel and the center of gravity G of the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 is set with the intention of giving the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 a predetermined turning performance, for example. The predetermined turning performance is a performance that allows the body 20 to form a trajectory similar to or similar to a quadrangular trajectory formed by the outline of the rouleau triangle. Specifically, for example, the position of the rotation axis H is set to the rear side of the body 20 with respect to the center of gravity G of the autonomous traveling cleaner 10, and the distance between the rotation axis H and the center of gravity G is set to a predetermined distance. With this setting, the square and similar trajectories can be formed using the contact between the body 20 and surrounding objects.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the cleaning unit 40 is disposed inside and outside the body 20, and includes a plurality of elements. The cleaning unit 40 includes, for example, a brush drive motor 41, a gear box 42, and a main brush 43. The brush drive motor 41 and the gear box 42 are disposed inside the body 20. The main brush 43 has approximately the same length as the longitudinal dimension of the suction port 101, and is disposed in the suction port 101 of the body 20.

The brush drive motor 41 and the gear box 42 are attached to the lower unit 100. The gear box 42 is connected to the output shaft of the brush drive motor 41 and the main brush 43, and transmits the torque of the brush drive motor 41 to the main brush 43.

The main brush 43 is supported by a bearing portion (not shown) so that it can rotate with respect to the lower unit 100. The bearing portion is formed in one or both of the gear box 42 and the lower unit 100, for example. The rotation direction of the main brush 43 is set in a direction from the front to the rear of the body 20 on the cleaning surface side, for example, as indicated by an arrow AM in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the suction unit 50 is disposed inside the body 20 and includes a plurality of elements. The suction unit 50 is disposed, for example, on the rear side of the trash box unit 60 and on the front side of the power supply unit 80 described later.

The suction unit 50 includes, for example, a fan case 52 attached to the lower unit 100 (see FIG. 2) and an electric fan 51 disposed inside the fan case 52. The electric fan 51 sucks air inside the trash box unit 60 and discharges the air outward in the circumferential direction of the electric fan 51. The air discharged from the electric fan 51 passes through the space inside the fan case 52 and the space around the fan case 52 inside the body 20 and is exhausted outside the body 20.

As shown in FIG. 2, the trash box unit 60 is disposed between the pair of drive units 30 on the rear side of the main brush 43 and the front side of the suction unit 50 inside the body 20. The body 20 and the trash box unit 60 have a detachable structure that allows the user to arbitrarily select the state in which the trash box unit 60 is attached to the body 20 and the state in which the trash box unit 60 is removed from the body 20.

As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 70 is disposed behind the suction unit 50 inside the body 20.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the present embodiment further includes a plurality of sensors. The plurality of sensors are, for example, an obstacle detection sensor 71, a pair of distance measurement sensors 72, a collision detection sensor 73, and a plurality of floor surface detection sensors 74. The obstacle detection sensor 71 detects an obstacle present in front of the body 20. The pair of distance measuring sensors 72 detects the distance between an object existing around the body 20 and the body 20. The collision detection sensor 73 detects that the body 20 has collided with a surrounding object. The floor surface detection sensor 74 detects a cleaning surface present on the bottom surface of the body 20. Detection signals from the obstacle detection sensor 71, the distance measurement sensor 72, the collision detection sensor 73, and the floor detection sensor 74 are input to the control unit 70, and the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 is controlled based on the detection signals.

In addition, the obstacle detection sensor 71 is composed of, for example, an ultrasonic sensor and includes a transmission unit and a reception unit. The distance measurement sensor 72 and the floor surface detection sensor 74 are configured by, for example, an infrared sensor, and include a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit. The collision detection sensor 73 is composed of, for example, a contact displacement sensor. The collision detection sensor 73 includes a switch that is turned on when the bumper 230 comes into contact with an object and is pushed into the cover 210.

As shown in FIG. 1, the pair of distance measuring sensors 72 includes a right distance measuring sensor 72 and a left distance measuring sensor 72. The right distance measuring sensor 72 is disposed on the right side with respect to the center of the body 20 in the width direction. The left distance measuring sensor 72 is arranged on the left side with respect to the center of the body 20 in the width direction. Further, the right distance measuring sensor 72 is disposed in the vicinity of the right front apex 23 and outputs light (for example, infrared rays) toward the right front side of the body 20. The left distance measuring sensor 72 is disposed in the vicinity of the left front apex 23 and outputs light (for example, infrared rays) toward the left front side of the body 20. With this arrangement, the distance between the body 20 and the surrounding object closest to the contour of the body 20 can be detected regardless of whether the autonomously traveling cleaner 10 turns to the left or right.

As shown in FIG. 2, the plurality of floor surface detection sensors 74 are arranged on the front side of the body 20 relative to the drive unit 30, for example, and the rear side of the body 20 relative to the drive unit 30. It is comprised by the floor surface detection sensor 74 of the back side arrange | positioned at the side.

The autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner 10 according to the present embodiment further includes a power supply unit 80. As described above, the power supply unit 80 supplies power to the drive unit 30, the cleaning unit 40, the suction unit 50, the obstacle detection sensor 71, the distance measurement sensor 72, the collision detection sensor 73, the floor surface detection sensor 74, and the like. The power supply unit 80 is arranged on the rear side of the body 20 with respect to the front-rear direction center of the body 20 and on the rear side of the body 20 with respect to the suction unit 50. The power supply unit 80 includes, for example, a battery case 81, a storage battery 82, a main switch 83, and the like. The battery case 81 is attached to the lower unit 100. The storage battery 82 is composed of, for example, a secondary battery and is housed in the battery case 81. The main switch 83 switches between supply and stop of power from the power supply unit 80 to each element.

As described above, the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 of the present embodiment is configured.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the electric system of the autonomously traveling cleaner 10 in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the electric system in the autonomous traveling cleaner of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 70 is disposed on the power supply unit 80 inside the body 20 and is electrically connected to the power supply unit 80. The control unit 70 further includes the obstacle detection sensor 71, the distance measurement sensor 72, the collision detection sensor 73, the floor detection sensor 74, the dust detection sensor 300, the pair of travel motors 31, the brush drive motor 41, and the electric fan. 51 etc. are electrically connected.

The control unit 70 is configured by a semiconductor integrated circuit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and controls each circuit. Furthermore, the control unit 70 includes a storage unit (not shown) that stores various programs executed by the control unit 70, parameters, and the like. The storage unit is configured by a nonvolatile semiconductor storage element such as a flash memory.

Specifically, based on the detection signal input from the obstacle detection sensor 71, the control unit 70 has an object that can hinder the traveling of the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 within a predetermined range in front of the body 20. It is determined whether or not. The control unit 70 calculates the distance between the object existing around the front top 23 of the body 20 and the contour of the body 20 based on the detection signal input from the distance measuring sensor 72.

Further, the control unit 70 determines whether or not the body 20 has collided with a surrounding object based on the detection signal input from the collision detection sensor 73. Based on the detection signal input from the floor surface detection sensor 74, the control unit 70 determines whether or not the cleaning surface of the target region exists below the body 20.

Then, the control unit 70 controls the pair of travel motors 31, the brush drive motor 41, and the electric fan 51 using one or more of the determination and calculation results. Thereby, the control unit 70 controls the operation | movement of the autonomous running type vacuum cleaner 10 so that the cleaning surface of an object area | region may be cleaned.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the autonomously traveling cleaner 10 further includes a dust detection sensor 300 that is electrically connected to the control unit 70. The dust detection sensor 300 detects at least one of dust and house dust sucked from the suction port 101 shown in FIG. The dust detection sensor 300 is disposed, for example, on a passage from the suction port 101 to the garbage box unit 60, and detects the amount of dust passing through the passage. The dust detection sensor 300 is supplied with power from the power supply unit 80.

The dust detection sensor 300 is composed of, for example, an infrared sensor having a light emitting element and a light receiving element. The dust detection sensor 300 detects information related to the amount of light emitted from the light emitting element by the light receiving element. The dust detection sensor 300 then outputs a detection signal related to the detected information to the control unit 70. The control unit 70 determines the amount of dust based on the detection signal input from the dust detection sensor 300. Specifically, the control unit 70 determines that the amount of dust is large when the amount of light is small, and determines that the amount of dust is small when the amount of light is large. The detection signal is a signal output from an operational amplifier or the like that is an amplifying element connected to the light receiving element.

As described above, the electric system of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 of the present embodiment is configured.

Hereinafter, the operation of the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7 while comparing with the operation of the conventional autonomous traveling cleaner 900 shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an operation diagram showing a state in which a conventional autonomously traveling cleaner has reached the corner. FIG. 5 is an operation diagram illustrating a state in which the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner of FIG. 1 approaches a corner. FIG. 6 is an operation diagram illustrating a state in which the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner of FIG. 5 has reached the corner. FIG. 7 is an operation diagram illustrating a state in which the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner of FIG. 6 is rotated.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, the room RX that is the target region includes, for example, an angle R3 formed by the first wall R1 and the second wall R2. Here, a case where the angle R3 is approximately a right angle (including a right angle) will be described as an example.

First, as shown in FIG. 4, the conventional autonomous traveling cleaner 900 cannot cover the tip R4 of the corner R3 with the outer shape when it reaches the corner R3. Therefore, a relatively large space is formed between the suction port 910 and the tip portion R4 of the autonomous traveling cleaner 900.

At this time, also in the conventional autonomous traveling cleaner 900, by installing the side brush, it is possible to collect the dust present in the tip portion R4 at the suction port 910 with the side brush. However, the conventional autonomously traveling cleaner 900 sucks dust at a position where the suction port 910 is separated from the distal end portion R4 regardless of the presence or absence of the side brush.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the control unit 70 causes the autonomously traveling cleaner 10 to travel as shown below, for example, and cleans the corner R3 of the room RX.

First, as shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 70 causes the front surface 21 of the body 20 to face the first wall R1 of the room RX that is the target region, for example. Then, the control unit 70 advances the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 along the second wall R2 toward the first wall R1. At this time, the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner 10 travels while maintaining the state in which one (right side) front top 23 is in contact with the second wall R2 or close to the second wall R2 to the same extent. To do.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, when the front surface 21 of the body 20 comes into contact with the first wall R1, or when the control unit 70 approaches the first wall R1 to the same extent as shown in FIG. The operation of the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 is temporarily stopped. At this time, a part of the front top 23 on the right side of the body 20 covers a part of the tip R4 of the corner R3. That is, as compared with the case where the conventional autonomous traveling cleaner 900 shown in FIG. 4 approaches the limit to the corner R3, the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the present embodiment has the suction port 101 of the body 20 at the corner R3. It approaches the tip portion R4 more closely.

Next, the control unit 70 performs an operation of turning so that the front surface 21 of the body 20 is in contact with the first wall R1, and an operation of turning so that the right side surface 22 is in contact with the second wall R2. The autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 is repeatedly executed. At this time, the autonomously traveling cleaner 10 has a reaction force acting on the body 20 due to contact between the front surface 21 and the first wall R1, and a reaction force acting on the body 20 due to contact between the right side surface 22 and the second wall R2. Receive power. Thereby, the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner 10 turns to the left while changing the position of the center of gravity G. This turning movement simulates a part of the movement when the Rouleau triangle forms a square locus.

Further, when the front surface 21 of the autonomously traveling cleaner 10 is turned over a certain angle from the state where it faces the first wall R1, as shown in FIG. 7, the right front apex 23 is at or near the apex of the corner R3. Suitable for. As a result, the right front apex 23 is closest to the apex of the corner R3. At this time, the body 20 covers a relatively wide range of the tip portion R4 of the corner R3. Further, the distance between the suction port 101 of the body 20 and the tip end portion R4 of the corner R3 is the same as that of the suction port 910 and the tip of the corner R3 when the conventional autonomous traveling cleaner 900 shown in FIG. 4 approaches the limit to the corner R3. It becomes shorter than the distance with the part R4. The arrangement of the suction port 101 contributes to enhancing the corner cleaning ability of the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 as compared to the conventional autonomous traveling cleaner 900.

In addition, the said matter regarding the corner cleaning capability of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 can be further described as follows.

That is, according to the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the angle formed by the tangent L1 of the front surface 21 of the body 20 and the tangent L2 of the side surface 22 is an acute angle. Therefore, the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner 10 can turn on the spot when located at the corner R3 of the target area. Thereby, the autonomous running type vacuum cleaner 10 can take various attitude | positions with respect to the angle | corner R3. For example, the posture is such that the front top 23 of the body 20 faces the apex of the corner R3 of the target region or the vicinity thereof.

When the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 takes the above posture, the contour of the body 20 has an angle R3 as compared to the case where the autonomous traveling cleaner 900 having a conventional circular body approaches the limit of the corner R3 of the target region. Closer to the top. As a result, the suction port 101 of the body 20 is further brought closer to the apex of the corner R3. Therefore, the body 20 can easily suck in dust that exists on the cleaning surface at the corner R 3 from the suction port 101. That is, the autonomously traveling cleaner 10 can easily suck in dust that is present at the corner R3 of the target region, as compared to the autonomously traveling cleaner 900 having a conventional circular body.

Further, when the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 takes a posture in which the front top 23 of the body 20 faces the apex of the corner R3 or the vicinity thereof, the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner 10 can rotate and change its direction on the spot. Therefore, when moving from the corner R3 of the target area to another place, the restrictions imposed on the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner provided with the conventional D-type body are low (relaxed). That is, the autonomously traveling cleaner 10 can quickly move from the corner R3 to another place as compared with the autonomously traveling cleaner having a conventional D-type body.

As described above, the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 in the present embodiment operates.

Hereinafter, the effect of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 of the present embodiment will be described.

(1) According to another form of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10, the width of the suction port 101 may be narrower than the inner space between the pair of drive units 30. However, as shown in the autonomous traveling type cleaner 10 of the present embodiment, it is more preferable that the width of the suction port 101 is wider than the inner interval between the pair of drive units 30. That is, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, the suction port 101 is wider than the other embodiment. Therefore, the suction unit 50 can suck more garbage.

(2) According to another form of the autonomously traveling cleaner 10, the suction port 101 may be formed between the pair of drive units 30. However, as shown in the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the present embodiment, it is more preferable that the suction port 101 is formed on the front side of the body 20 rather than the pair of drive units 30. That is, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, the suction port 101 can be made closer to the wall (corner R3) as compared with the other embodiment. Therefore, the suction unit 50 can suck more garbage.

(3) In the autonomously traveling cleaner 10, the maximum width of the body 20 is defined by the right and left front tops 23. Thereby, the width of the rear part of the body 20 becomes narrower than the width of the front part of the body 20. Therefore, when the autonomous mobile vacuum cleaner 10 turns in a place where an object is present in the surrounding area, the possibility that the rear portion of the body 20 contacts the surrounding object is reduced. Thereby, the mobility of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 can be improved.

(4) According to another form of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10, it may be configured to have a steering type driving system. However, as shown in the autonomously traveling cleaner 10 of the present embodiment, an opposed two-wheel drive system configured by a pair of drive units 30 is more preferable. That is, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, the structure can be simplified as compared with the other embodiment. Thereby, it is small and lightweight, and cost reduction can be achieved.

(5) Generally, the relationship between the rotation axis H of each drive unit 30 and the center of gravity G of the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 constitutes one of the main factors that determine the rotation locus formed by the body 20. Therefore, in the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the present embodiment, the rotation axis H of the pair of drive units 30 is present behind the center of gravity G with respect to the center of gravity G. In this case, the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner 10 is easy to form an action of turning while changing the position of its own center of gravity G using contact with surrounding objects. Thereby, the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner 10 can appropriately form (clean) at least a part of the square locus by the turning operation of the body 20 made of a Rouleau triangle. As a result, the corner cleaning ability of the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 can be further enhanced.

(Embodiment 2)
Below, the autonomous running type vacuum cleaner in this Embodiment 2 is demonstrated using FIG. 8 and FIG. In the description of the second embodiment, elements having the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment have the same or similar functions as the corresponding elements in the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner according to the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a bottom view of the autonomous traveling cleaner of FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, in the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the present embodiment, the cleaning unit 40 further includes a pair of side brushes 44, a brush drive motor 41, and a pair of second gear boxes 42. This is different from the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner of the first embodiment.

The pair of side brushes 44 of the cleaning unit 40 are disposed on the bottom surface of the lower unit 100 that is the bottom surface of the body 20. One (for example, the left side) second gear box 42 of the pair of second gear boxes 42 is connected to the output shaft of the brush drive motor 41, the main brush 43, and one (for example, the left side) side brush 44. Is done. Then, the torque of the brush drive motor 41 is transmitted to the main brush 43 and one (for example, the left) side brush 44. The other (for example, the right side) second gear box 42 is connected to the main brush 43 and the other (for example, the right side) side brush 44, and the torque of the main brush 43 is set to the other (for example, the right side) side brush 44. To communicate.

The side brush 44 includes a brush shaft 44A and a plurality of bristle bundles 44B. The brush shaft 44 A is attached to the front top 23 of the body 20. The bristle bundle 44B is attached to the brush shaft 44A.

The side brush 44 is provided at a position where a rotating track that can collect dust at the suction port 101 is formed with respect to the body 20. The bristle bundle 44B is composed of, for example, three bundles as shown in FIG. Each bristle bundle 44B is attached to the brush shaft 44A at a constant angular interval (for example, 120 °).

The brush shaft 44 A has a rotation shaft that extends in the same direction as the height direction of the body 20, or approximately the same direction. The brush shaft 44 A is supported by the body 20 so as to be rotatable with respect to the body 20. Further, the brush shaft 44 A is arranged on the front side of the body 20 with respect to the longitudinal center line of the suction port 101.

Each bristle bundle 44B is composed of a plurality of bristle. Each bristle bundle 44B is fixed to the brush shaft 44A so as to extend in the same direction as the radial direction of the brush shaft 44A or approximately the same direction. At this time, the length of the bristle bundle 44 B is set, for example, to such a length that the tip of the bristle bundle 44 B protrudes outward from at least the outline of the body 20.

The rotation direction of the pair of side brushes 44 is set in a direction in which the rotation trajectory is directed from the front to the rear of the body 20 on the center side in the width direction of the body 20 as indicated by an arrow AS in FIG. That is, the pair of side brushes 44 rotate in directions opposite to each other. That is, of the rotation trajectory of each side brush 44, the body 20 rotates from the front to the rear in a portion that is close to the rotation trajectory of the other side brush 44.

That is, according to the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the present embodiment, in addition to the effects (1) to (5) obtained by the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the first embodiment, the following effects are further obtained. It is done.

(6) The autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner 10 of this embodiment includes a side brush 44. According to this configuration, the dust present at the corner R 3 of the target region can be collected at the suction port 101 of the body 20 by the side brush 44. For this reason, the corner cleaning capability of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 is further enhanced.

(7) The side brush 44 is attached to the bottom surface of the front top 23. According to this configuration, the brush shaft 44A of the side brush 44 comes closer to the apex of the corner R3 than when the conventional autonomous traveling cleaner 900 is positioned at the corner R3. For this reason, the corner cleaning capability of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 is further enhanced.

(8) According to the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the present embodiment, the side brushes 44 rotate in opposite directions. That is, of the rotation trajectory of each side brush 44, the body 20 rotates from the front to the rear in a portion that is close to the rotation trajectory of the other side brush 44. According to this configuration, dust is collected from the front side of the body 20 to the suction port 101 by the side brush 44. Therefore, for example, compared with the case where garbage is collected in the suction port 101 from the side vicinity of the suction port 101, the dust is easily sucked into the suction port 101. Thereby, the dust which exists on the cleaning surface of corner | angular R3 may be able to be removed efficiently.

(9) According to the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner provided with a general side brush, when the length of the bristle bundle is too long, the bristle bundle is likely to be caught by surrounding objects when the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner travels. Become. However, the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner 10 of the present embodiment can bring the suction port 101 of the body 20 closer to the tip portion R4 of the corner R3. Therefore, the corner cleaning ability does not strongly depend on the length of the bristle bundle 44B. As a result, the length of the bristle bundle 44B is allowed to be relatively short. As a result, the possibility that the bristle bundle 44B is caught by surrounding objects can be reduced.

(10) Similarly, according to the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner provided with the side brush, as the length of the bristle bundle becomes longer, the bristle bundle is more easily bent when the bristle bundle moves the garbage. When the bristle bundle is greatly bent, there is a possibility that the bristle bundle cannot appropriately move the dust to the suction port of the body. However, as described above, the autonomously traveling cleaner 10 of the present embodiment is allowed to set the length of the bristles bundle 44B to be relatively short. Therefore, if the length of the bristle bundle 44B is set short, the amount of bending of the bristle bundle 44B is reduced. This makes it easy to collect the dust present at the corner R3 at the suction port 101 by the bristle bundle 44B.

(Embodiment 3)
Hereinafter, the autonomously traveling cleaner according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 26 as appropriate. In the description of the third embodiment, elements denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the second embodiment have the same or similar functions as the corresponding elements of the second embodiment.

First, FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the third embodiment.

The autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner 10 of the present embodiment further includes the following configuration not explicitly described in the second embodiment.

Here, each element of the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 shown in FIG. 10 is an example of a specific form that can be taken by each element of the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the second embodiment schematically shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. It is.

That is, as shown in FIG. 10, in the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the present embodiment, the front top 23 on the right side, the front top 23 on the left side, and the rear top 24 of the body 20 each have an R shape. The upper unit 200 includes a plurality of exhaust ports 211, a light receiving unit 212, a lid button 213, and the like. The plurality of exhaust ports 211 are formed, for example, along the edge of the lid 220 so as to face the left and right side surfaces 22 of the body 20, and communicate the space inside the body 20 with the outside. The light receiving unit 212 is formed on the front side of the lid 220. The lid button 213 is provided for opening and closing the lid 220 when the waste stored in the trash box unit 60 is discarded.

The light receiving unit 212 receives a signal output from a charging stand (not shown) for charging the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 or a signal output from a remote controller (not shown) for operating the autonomous traveling cleaner 10. Receive light. When receiving the signal, the light receiving unit 212 outputs a light reception signal corresponding to the signal to the control unit 70 (see, for example, FIG. 15).

Next, FIG. 11 shows a front view of the autonomously traveling cleaner 10 of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 11, the autonomously traveling cleaner 10 has a substantially line-symmetric shape with respect to its own center line extending in the front-rear direction (see line 17-17 in the figure). The bumper 230 includes a pair of curved convex portions 231 protruding from the left and right front top portions 23. The curved convex portion 231 is curved so as to follow the R shape of the front surface 21 and the side surface 22 and forms a part of the contour of the body 20.

Next, FIG. 12 shows a front view of the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner of FIG. 10 with the lid 220 opened.

As shown in FIG. 12, the upper unit 200 includes a cover 210, a lid 220, a bumper 230, an interface unit 240, a trash can receptacle 250, and the like. In the interface unit 240, elements operated by the user are arranged. The trash box receptacle 250 supports the trash box unit 60. The lid 220 includes a pair of arms 221 that constitute the hinge structure of the lid 220. Furthermore, the upper unit 200 includes a pair of arm accommodating portions 260 (see FIG. 25) for accommodating the arms 221.

The interface unit 240 constitutes a part of the cover 210. The interface unit 240 is closed when the lid 220 is closed (see, for example, FIG. 11), and is opened when the lid 220 is opened. The interface unit 240 includes a panel 241 including a main switch 83, operation buttons 242, a display unit 243, and the like. The operation button 242 turns on and off the operation of the autonomous traveling cleaner 10. The panel 241 displays information on the autonomous mobile vacuum cleaner 10 on the display unit 243. The panel 241 further includes operation buttons (not shown) for inputting various settings relating to the operation of the autonomous traveling cleaner 10. The main switch 83 is disposed in the interface unit 240.

Next, FIG. 24 shows a perspective view of the bottom side of the upper unit 200 of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 24, the trash can receptacle 250 is formed of a box-like object that opens to the upper surface side of the upper unit 200. The trash can receptacle 250 includes a bottom opening 251 that opens to the bottom side of the body 20 and a rear opening 252 that opens to the rear side of the body 20. A trash box unit 60 shown in FIG. 12 is inserted into the trash box receptacle 250.

Next, FIG. 13 shows a bottom view of the autonomously traveling cleaner 10 of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 13, the lower unit 100 includes a base 110, a support shaft 91, and the like. The base 110 forms a skeleton of the lower unit 100. The support shaft 91 is disposed in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the suction port 101 and supports the caster 90.

The base 110 includes a power supply port 102 having a shape corresponding to the power supply unit 80 opened at the bottom and a pair of charging terminals 103 connected to a charging stand (not shown). The power supply port 102 is formed on the rear side of the body 20 with respect to the center in the front-rear direction of the body 20, and a part of the power supply port 102 is formed between the pair of drive units 30. Charging terminal 103 is formed on the front side of body 20 with respect to suction port 101. The charging terminal 103 is formed, for example, in a portion closer to the front surface 21 in the bottom surface of the base 110.

The base 110 further includes a pair of bottom bearings 111 for supporting the support shaft 91. The bottom bearing 111 is formed on the rear side of the body 20 with respect to the drive unit 30. The bottom bearing 111 is disposed, for example, at the position of the bottom surface on the rear top portion 24 side behind the body 20 from the power supply port 102 on the bottom surface of the base 110.

The support shaft 91 is inserted into the caster 90 so that it can rotate with respect to the caster 90. The end portions of the support shaft 91 are press-fitted into the bottom bearing 111, respectively. Thereby, the caster 90 is coupled so as to be rotatable with respect to the base 110.

Next, FIG. 14 shows a side view of the autonomously traveling cleaner 10 of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 14, the main brush 43 rotates in the direction of the arrow AM. The interval between the rotation axis of the wheel 33 of the drive unit 30 and the rotation axis of the caster 90 is arranged to be wider than the interval between the rotation axis of the wheel 33 and the rotation axis of the main brush 43. This positional relationship contributes to the stability of the posture of the body 20 of the autonomous traveling cleaner 10.

Next, FIG. 15 shows a perspective view of the upper surface side of the lower unit 100 in which a part of the elements of FIG. 10 is disassembled.

As shown in FIG. 15, a pair of second gear box 42, suction unit 50, fan case 52, trash box unit 60 (see FIG. 12), control unit 70, and the like are attached to the upper surface side of lower unit 100. The brush drive motor 41 is accommodated in one second gear box 42.

The lower unit 100 further includes a brush housing 170 attached to the upper surface side of the base 110 in addition to the base 110. The brush housing 170 includes a duct 171 connected to the trash box unit 60 and forms a space for accommodating the main brush 43.

The fan case 52 includes, for example, a front side case element 52A and a rear side case element 52B. The front case element 52 A is disposed on the front side of the electric fan 51. The rear side case element 52 B is disposed on the rear side of the electric fan 51. The fan case 52 is configured by combining the front case element 52A and the rear case element 52B.

The front case element 52A of the fan case 52 further includes a suction port 52C, a discharge port 52D (see FIG. 19), a louver 52E, and the like. The suction port 52C is disposed to face the outlet 61B (see FIG. 17) of the trash box 61. The discharge port 52D is disposed so as to open to the drive unit 30 side. Louver 52E is provided to cover suction port 52C.

Next, FIG. 16 shows a perspective view of the bottom side of the lower unit 100 in which a part of the elements of FIG. 10 is disassembled.

As shown in FIG. 16, a pair of drive units 30, a main brush 43, a pair of side brushes 44, casters 90, and a power supply unit 80 are attached to the bottom side of the lower unit 100. The lower unit 100 further includes a brush cover 180 attached to the bottom surface side of the brush housing 170 and a holding frame 190 attached to the power supply port 102. The holding frame 190 is fixed to the power supply port 102. Thereby, the holding frame 190 holds the power supply unit 80 in cooperation with the base 110.

Also, the base 110 and the brush cover 180 include a detachable structure that allows the user to arbitrarily select a state in which the brush cover 180 is attached to the base 110 and a state in which the brush cover 180 is removed from the base 110. Similarly, the base 110 and the holding frame 190 include a detachable structure that allows the user to arbitrarily select a state in which the holding frame 190 is attached to the base 110 and a state in which the holding frame 190 is detached from the base 110.

Next, FIG. 20 shows a perspective view of an enlarged structure when the lower unit 100 of FIG. 15 is viewed from the front side. FIG. 21 is a perspective view of an enlarged structure of the lower unit 100 of FIG. 15 viewed from the left side.

First, as shown in FIG. 20, the base 110 is provided with a plurality of functional regions each supporting or accommodating a corresponding element. The functional areas are, for example, the drive part 120, the cleaning part 130, the trash can part 140, the suction part 150, the power supply part 160, and the like.

The drive part 120 is a functional area that houses the drive unit 30 and includes a plurality of functional parts. Functional parts of the drive part 120 are, for example, a wheel house 121 and a spring hook 122. The wheel house 121 opens on the bottom side of the base 110 and houses the drive unit 30. The spring hook 122 is hung by a suspension spring 36 (see FIG. 21) constituting a suspension mechanism described later.

The wheel house 121 protrudes upward from the upper surface of the base 110 and is formed in a portion of the base 110 from the side surface 22 (see FIG. 19). The spring hook 122 is formed at a front portion of the wheel house 121 and is provided so as to protrude from the wheel house 121 approximately upward (including above).

Further, as shown in FIG. 21, a wheel removal detection switch 75 is attached to the upper portion of the wheel house 121. When the drive unit 30 (see FIG. 15) is removed from the cleaning surface of the target area, the escape wheel detection switch 75 is pushed by the spring hook 32B. Thereby, derailment of autonomous running type vacuum cleaner 10 is detected.

20 is a functional region that supports the cleaning unit 40, and includes a plurality of functional parts. Functional parts of the cleaning part 130 are, for example, a pair of shaft insertion portions 131, a coupling portion 132, a brush housing 170, a brush cover 180, and the like. The pair of shaft insertion portions 131 support the brush shaft 44 A (see FIG. 22) of the side brush 44. The coupling portion 132 includes a pair of shaft insertion portions 131 and a pair of second gear boxes 42 (see FIG. 22).

As shown in FIG. 17, when the main brush 43 is disposed inside the brush housing 170, both end portions of the main brush 43 protrude from the brush housing 170 to the coupling portion 132 (see FIG. 20).

Further, the brush shaft 44A of the side brush 44 shown in FIG. 15 is inserted into a hole formed in the shaft insertion portion 131 (see FIG. 20).

Further, one second gear box 42 shown in FIG. 15 is disposed on one of the coupling portions 132 (see FIG. 20), and is connected to the end portion of the main brush 43 and one brush shaft 44A. The other second gear box 42 is disposed on the other side of the coupling portion 132 (see FIG. 20), and is connected to the end portion of the main brush 43 and the other brush shaft 44A.

20 is a functional region formed between the cleaning part 130 and the suction part 150 in the front-rear direction of the body 20. The trash box part 140 forms a space in which the trash box receptacle 250 (see FIG. 18) is disposed.

The suction part 150 is a functional region that supports the suction unit 50 and is formed approximately at or near the center of the base 110. A pair of wheel houses 121 are formed on both sides of the suction part 150.

The power supply part 160 is a functional region that supports the power supply unit 80, and has a recessed portion that is recessed on the upper surface side when viewed from the bottom surface of the base 110. The control unit 70 is mounted on the power supply part 160.

The brush cover 180 is attached to the base 110 so as to protrude downward from the bottom surface of the base 110 as shown in FIGS. 15 and 17. The brush cover 180 includes a suction port 101 that exposes the main brush 43 to the outside of the body 20, and a slope 181 that is formed in the front portion. The slope 181 is formed by a surface provided such that the distance from the bottom surface of the lower unit 100 increases from the front to the rear of the body 20. Thereby, the inclined surface 181 is brought into contact with the step existing on the cleaning surface of the target region, and contributes to floating the front of the body 20.

The duct 171 of the brush housing 170 has a shape extending approximately in the vertical direction of the body 20. The duct 171 includes an inlet 172 that houses the upper portion of the main brush 43 and an outlet 173 that is connected to the space inside the trash box unit 60. The outlet 173 is inserted into the bottom opening 251 of the trash can receptacle 250. The passage area of the outlet 173 is formed narrower than the passage area of the inlet 172. That is, as shown in FIG. 15, the passage in the duct 171 is formed slightly inclined toward the rear side of the body 20 from the inlet 172 toward the outlet 173. The shape of the passage contributes to guiding the dust sucked into the body 20 through the suction port 101 to the filter 62 side described later.

As shown in FIG. 18, the trash box unit 60 includes a trash box 61 having a space for collecting trash, and a filter 62 attached to the trash box 61. The trash box 61 includes an inlet 61A connected to the outlet 173 of the duct 171, an outlet 61B where the filter 62 is disposed, and a bottom 61C whose size is set smaller than the upper part.

As shown in FIG. 19, the filter 62 is disposed in the rear opening 252 of the trash box receptacle 250 so as to face the suction unit 50 over the entire width direction of the trash box 61.

The bottom 61C of the trash box 61 is disposed between the rear side of the duct 171 and the front side of the fan case 52 as shown in FIG. This arrangement contributes to setting the position of the bottom 61C in the height direction of the body 20 to a lower position and lowering the center of gravity of the trash box 61.

The suction unit 50 is disposed to be inclined with respect to the base 110 as shown in FIG. That is, the suction unit 50 with respect to the base 110 is disposed in an inclined posture in which the bottom of the suction unit 50 is relatively positioned on the front side of the body 20 and the top of the suction unit 50 is relatively positioned on the rear side of the body 20. The This arrangement contributes to setting the height of the body 20 low.

As shown in FIG. 19, the fan case 52 has one side closed and a discharge port 52D on the other side (for example, the left side). This configuration contributes to stabilizing the flow of air discharged from the electric fan 51.

Next, FIG. 21, FIG. 22 and FIG. 23 show perspective views for explaining the internal structure of the lower unit 100 viewed from the left side, the front side and the right side.

As shown in FIGS. 21, 22, and 23, the lower unit 100 includes a pair of second gear boxes 42, a main brush 43, a pair of side brushes 44, a suction unit 50, a control unit 70, and a power supply unit 80. It is attached. And the body 20 shown in FIG. 10 is comprised by attaching to the upper unit 200 shown to FIG. 24 and FIG. 25, and the lower unit 100. FIG.

FIG. 16 is an exploded perspective view of the drive unit 30 separated from the lower unit 100.

The drive unit 30 is a functional block that moves the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 forward, backward, and turns, and includes a plurality of elements. As shown in FIG. 16, the drive unit 30 includes a tire 34 in addition to the above-described driving motor 31, housing 32, and wheel 33. The tire 34 is attached around the wheel 33 and has a block-shaped tread pattern.

The drive unit 30 further includes a support shaft 35 and a suspension mechanism.

The support shaft 35 has a rotating shaft of the housing 32. The suspension mechanism is composed of, for example, a suspension spring 36 (see FIG. 21) and absorbs an impact applied to the wheel 33.

The housing 32 includes a motor housing portion 32A, a spring hook portion 32B, and a bearing portion 32C. The motor accommodating portion 32A accommodates the traveling motor 31. One end of the suspension spring 36 is hooked on the spring hook 32B. The support shaft 35 is press-fitted into the bearing portion 32C. The wheel 33 is supported by the housing 32 so as to be rotatable with respect to the housing 32.

One end portion of the support shaft 35 is press-fitted into the bearing portion 32 C, and the other end portion is inserted into the bearing portion formed in the drive part 120. By combining these elements, the housing 32 and the support shaft 35 can rotate with respect to the drive part 120 around the rotation axis of the support shaft 35.

The other end of the suspension spring 36 is hung on a spring hook 122 of the drive part 120 as shown in FIG. The suspension spring 36 applies a reaction force acting on the housing 32 in a direction in which the tire 34 (see FIG. 16) is pressed against the cleaning surface of the target area. Thereby, the state where the tire 34 is in contact with the cleaning surface is maintained.

On the other hand, when a force pushing up the body 20 is applied to the tire 34 shown in FIG. 16 from the cleaning surface, the housing 32 compresses the suspension spring 36 (see FIG. 21) around the center line of the support shaft 35 from the cleaning surface side. It rotates to the body 20 side. Thereby, the force acting on the tire 34 according to the condition of the surface to be cleaned is absorbed by the suspension spring 36.

Further, when the wheel 33 is removed, the housing 32 is rotated with respect to the drive part 120 by the reaction force of the suspension spring 36. As the housing 32 rotates, the spring hook 32B pushes in the wheel removal detection switch 75. As a result, the wheel-out detection switch 75 shown in FIG. The control unit 70 stops traveling of the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 based on the output signal. As a result, an unnatural operation such as an idling operation of the autonomously traveling cleaner 10 can be prevented.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 21 to 24, the autonomously traveling cleaner 10 includes the above-described plurality of floor surface detection sensors 74, obstacle detection sensors 71, distance measurement sensors 72, collision detection sensors 73, and the like. The floor surface detection sensor 74 is, for example, three floor surface detection sensors 74 disposed on the front side of the body 20 with respect to the pair of

drive units

30, and 2 disposed on the rear side of the body 20 with respect to the pair of drive units 30. One floor surface detection sensor 74 and the like.

The front-side floor surface detection sensor 74 is attached to, for example, three locations such as the center in front of the base 110, the front top 23 on the right side of the base 110, and the front top 23 on the left side of the base 110. As shown in FIG. 19, the rear side floor surface detection sensor 74 is attached at two locations near the right side surface 22 of the base 110 and near the left side surface 22 of the base 110.

As shown in FIG. 13, the base 110 includes a plurality of sensor windows 112 corresponding to the plurality of floor surface detection sensors 74. The sensor window 112 includes three sensor windows 112 corresponding to the front center, front right side, and front left floor surface detection sensors 74. Further, the sensor window 112 includes two sensor windows 112 corresponding to the floor detection sensors 74 on the rear right side and the rear left side.

The obstacle detection sensor 71 includes a transmitter 71A that outputs ultrasonic waves and a receiver 71B that receives reflected ultrasonic waves. The transmitter 71A and the receiver 71B are attached to the back surface (the inner surface of the body 20) of the bumper 230, respectively.

The upper unit 200 includes a plurality of windows in addition to the cover 210, the lid 220, and the bumper 230. The plurality of windows include, for example, a transmission window 232, a reception window 233, a pair of distance measurement windows 234, and the like illustrated in FIG.

The transmission window 232 is formed in the bumper 230 corresponding to the transmission part 71A of the obstacle detection sensor 71, as shown in FIG. Thereby, the ultrasonic wave output from the transmitting unit 71A is guided to the outside by the transmitting window 232 and radiated to the outside.

The reception window 233 is formed in the bumper 230 corresponding to the reception unit 71B of the obstacle detection sensor 71. Thereby, the ultrasonic wave output from the transmitter 71A and reflected from the surrounding object is guided to the receiver 71B by the reception window 233. As a result, surrounding objects are detected.

The distance measuring window 234 is formed in the bumper 230 corresponding to each distance measuring sensor 72. The light output from the distance measurement sensor 72 passes through the distance measurement window 234 and is emitted obliquely forward of the body 20 as indicated by the broken line arrow in FIG.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the electric system of the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 26 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the electric system in the autonomously traveling cleaner of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 26, the control unit 70 is electrically connected to an obstacle detection sensor 71, a distance measurement sensor 72, a collision detection sensor 73, a floor surface detection sensor 74, a wheel removal detection switch 75, a dust detection sensor 300, and the like. Is done. Further, the control unit 70 is electrically connected to the light receiving unit 212, the operation button 242, the pair of travel motors 31, the brush drive motor 41, the electric fan 51, and the like. In addition, the dust detection sensor 300 is arrange | positioned in the channel | path of the duct 171 as shown in FIG.

Next, the operation of the autonomously traveling cleaner 10 according to the present embodiment will be specifically described.

First, the user operates the operation button 242 to turn on the autonomous traveling cleaner 10. The control unit 70 starts the operation of the traveling motor 31, the brush drive motor 41, and the electric fan 51 based on the power ON signal.

The air inside the trash box 61 shown in FIG. 17 is sucked into the electric fan 51 by driving the electric fan 51. At the same time, the air inside the electric fan 51 is discharged around the electric fan 51. Thereby, the air on the bottom side of the base 110 is sucked into the trash box 61 via the suction port 101 and the duct 171. Then, the air inside the fan case 52 is exhausted to the outside of the body 20 through a plurality of exhaust ports 211 shown in FIG. That is, the air at the bottom of the base 110 shown in FIG. 17 is the suction port 101, the duct 171, the trash box 61, the filter 62, the electric fan 51, the fan case 52, the space around the fan case 52 in the body 20, and the exhaust port 211. It flows in the order of and is discharged outside.

Next, the control unit 70 sets a travel route of the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 based on detection signals input from the obstacle detection sensor 71, the distance measurement sensor 72, the collision detection sensor 73, and the floor surface detection sensor 74. To do.

Next, the control unit 70 causes the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 to travel according to the set traveling route.

Next, when the traveling route includes the corner R3 of the target area, the control unit 70 operates as follows in the same manner as the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the first embodiment to perform cleaning. That is, as described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7, the control unit 70 cleans the corner R 3 by running and turning the autonomous traveling cleaner 10. Thereby, the dust which exists in corner | angular R3 of an object area | region can be sucked efficiently and more reliably and can be cleaned.

That is, according to the autonomously traveling cleaner 10 of the present embodiment, in addition to the effects (1) to (10) obtained by the autonomously traveling cleaner 10 of the second embodiment, for example, the following effects are further achieved. Is obtained.

(11) The autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner 10 according to the present embodiment includes an R-shaped right front top 23, a left front top 23, and a rear top 24. According to this configuration, when the body 20 turns in contact with a surrounding object, the object can be softly contacted with the object. Thereby, the generation | occurrence | production of the damage of the surrounding object, damage of the autonomous running type vacuum cleaner 10, etc. can be prevented beforehand.

(Embodiment 4)
Below, control operation | movement of the autonomous running type vacuum cleaner in this Embodiment 4 is demonstrated, referring FIG. In addition, the structure of the autonomous traveling type cleaner 10 of Embodiment 4 is provided with the structure substantially the same as the autonomous traveling type cleaner 10 of Embodiment 3. FIG. Therefore, elements having the same reference numerals as those in the third embodiment in the description of the fourth embodiment have the same or similar functions as the corresponding elements in the third embodiment.

FIG. 27 shows a flowchart relating to the first corner cleaning control of the autonomous traveling cleaner of the fourth embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 27, the control unit 70 executes the first corner cleaning control as follows.

First, the control unit 70 drives the dust detection sensor 300 (step S1). The dust detection sensor 300 is driven when, for example, the autonomous mobile vacuum cleaner 10 starts cleaning or moving.

Next, the control unit 70 determines whether or not a corner is detected in the target area by the corner detection unit (step S2). The corner corresponds to, for example, the corner R3 shown in FIGS.

At this time, when it is determined that the corner is not detected (NO in step S2), the process of step S2 is repeatedly executed. If it is determined that no corner has been detected, the first corner cleaning control may be terminated.

On the other hand, when it is determined that a corner is detected (YES in step S2), the process proceeds to step S3, and cleaning of the corner is started.

The above determination is performed using an angle detection unit such as the obstacle detection sensor 71 and the distance measurement sensor 72, for example. Specifically, the control unit 70 detects the presence or absence of a front wall with the obstacle detection sensor 71. At the same time, the presence or absence of a wall is detected by the distance measuring sensor 72 on the right side or the distance measuring sensor 72 on the left side. And when presence of a wall is detected, the control unit 70 determines with the autonomous running type vacuum cleaner 10 approaching the corner.

More specifically, the obstacle detection sensor 71 radiates ultrasonic waves from the transmission window 232 around the front. When an object exists around the front, ultrasonic waves reflected from the object enter the reception window 233. The ultrasonic wave incident on the reception window 233 is received by the reception unit 71B of the obstacle detection sensor 71. Thereby, the control unit 70 determines whether there is a wall which is an example of an obstacle ahead based on the received result.

At the same time, the distance measuring sensor 72 radiates light such as infrared rays to the outside through the distance measuring window 234. At this time, if there is an object such as a wall around, the light is reflected by the wall. The reflected light is received by the distance measuring sensor 72. As a result, the control unit 70 determines whether or not the wall is close by the right distance measuring sensor 72 or the left distance measuring sensor 72.

As described above, the control unit 70 determines whether or not a corner is detected based on the detection result of the corner detection unit.

Next, the control unit 70 starts corner cleaning by the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 (step S3). At this time, for example, in a state where the autonomously traveling cleaner 10 is stopped without moving forward or backward, an operation of swinging the body 20 left and right is performed so that the body 20 reciprocates. This cleans the corners.

That is, the control unit 70 controls, for example, the right traveling motor 31 and the left traveling motor 31. Specifically, the right tire 34 is advanced and the left tire 34 is retracted. Subsequently, the left tire 34 is advanced and the right tire 34 is retracted. Then, the above operation is repeated. Thereby, the operation | movement which shakes the body 20 of the autonomous running type vacuum cleaner 10 right and left is implement | achieved, and a corner is cleaned.

At this time, in step S3, it is first necessary to detect whether or not there is dust at the corner. Therefore, for example, the motion of swinging the body 20 to the left and right may be one reciprocation or a few reciprocations. The expression of one reciprocation means a series of operations until the body 20 hits one wall from a stationary state, then hits the other wall and returns to the stationary state. In addition, it is good also as one reciprocation until it hits one wall from the other wall and hits one wall. In any case, the return of the body 20 from the predetermined position to the predetermined position is one round trip. Therefore, it is only necessary to realize the above-described state, and it is needless to say that the operation is not limited to the above definition.

Next, the control unit 70 determines whether or not dust is detected by the dust detection sensor 300 (step S4). At this time, when it is determined that no dust is detected (YES in step S4), the process proceeds to step S6.

On the other hand, when it is determined that dust is detected (NO in step S4), the process proceeds to step S5. It is assumed that the control unit 70 executes step S4 as described above to determine the presence / absence of dust when executing step S3.

Then, the control unit 70 continues to clean the corner in step S3 (step S5), and returns the process to step S4.

Next, the control unit 70 stops the cleaning of the corner when the garbage is exhausted (step S6). As a result, the control unit 70 ends the first corner cleaning control of the autonomous traveling cleaner 10.

At this time, after the end of step S6, the process may be returned to step S2, and the process of detecting the next corner may be executed until the cleaning is completed.

That is, in the first corner cleaning control of the fourth embodiment, cleaning is performed while swinging the body 20 of the autonomously traveling cleaner 10 left and right until the dust detection sensor 300 does not detect dust, that is, until there is no dust at the corner. I do. Thereby, it is possible to automatically clean the garbage collected in the corner until it becomes clean.

(Embodiment 5)
Hereinafter, the control operation of the autonomous traveling cleaner in the fifth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, the structure of the autonomous traveling type cleaner 10 of Embodiment 5 is provided with the structure substantially the same as the autonomous traveling type cleaner 10 of Embodiment 3. FIG. Therefore, elements denoted by the same reference numerals as in the third embodiment in the description of the fifth embodiment have the same or similar functions as the corresponding elements in the third embodiment.

FIG. 28 shows a flowchart regarding the second corner cleaning control executed by the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the fifth embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 28, the control unit 70 executes the second corner cleaning control as follows instead of the first corner cleaning control described in the fourth embodiment.

First, the control unit 70 drives the dust detection sensor 300 (step S10). The dust detection sensor 300 is driven when, for example, the autonomous mobile vacuum cleaner 10 starts cleaning or moving.

Next, the control unit 70 determines whether or not a corner is detected in the target area by the corner detection unit (step S11). At this time, if it is determined that no corner is detected (NO in step S11), the process in step S11 is repeatedly executed. If it is determined that no corner is detected, the second corner cleaning control may be terminated.

On the other hand, when it is determined that a corner is detected (YES in step S11), the process proceeds to step S12. In step S11, the control unit 70 executes substantially the same process as in step S2 shown in FIG.

Next, the control unit 70 sets the number of cleanings, which is the number of reciprocations for swinging the body 20 to the left and right, to 5 for example, and stores the set information in a storage unit (not shown) of the control unit 70 ( Step S12). The number of cleanings is not limited to five, but may be set freely by the designer or user. The number of cleanings corresponds to one reciprocating operation on the left and right.

Next, the control unit 70 starts corner cleaning by the autonomously traveling cleaner 10 (step S13). At this time, for example, in a state where the autonomously traveling cleaner 10 is stopped without moving forward or backward, an operation of swinging the body 20 left and right is performed so that the body 20 reciprocates. This cleans the corners. In step S13, the control unit 70 executes substantially the same process as in step S3 shown in FIG.

Next, the control unit 70 performs corner cleaning, which is an operation of swinging the body 20 left and right, once (step S14).

Then, the control unit 70 subtracts one cleaning number stored in the storage unit in step S12 (step S15).

Next, the control unit 70 determines whether or not dust is detected by the dust detection sensor 300 (step S16). At this time, when it is determined that no dust is detected (YES in step S16), the process proceeds to step S18.

On the other hand, when it is determined that dust is detected (NO in step S16), the process proceeds to step S17.

And the control unit 70 determines whether the frequency | count of cleaning stored in the memory | storage part is 0 (step S17). At this time, if the number of times of cleaning is not 0 (NO in step S17), the process returns to step S14, and the processes after step S14 are executed in the same manner.

On the other hand, when the number of cleanings is 0 (YES in step S17), the process proceeds to step S18.

Then, the control unit 70 stops the cleaning of the corners started in step S13 when there is no or no garbage and when the predetermined number of cleanings is completed (step S18). Thereby, the control unit 70 complete | finishes 2nd corner cleaning control of the autonomous running type vacuum cleaner 10. FIG.

At this time, after the end of step S18, the process may be returned to step S11, and the process of detecting the next corner may be executed until the cleaning is completed.

That is, in the second corner cleaning control of the fifth embodiment, when the control unit 70 determines that a corner is detected, the body 20 is swung left and right for a predetermined number of times for cleaning.

When the dust detection sensor 300 no longer detects dust, the corner cleaning is finished even before the body 20 is shaken left and right a predetermined number of times (corresponding to YES in step S16).

On the other hand, even when the dust detection sensor 300 detects dust, the cleaning of the corner is finished when the operation of shaking the body 20 left and right is completed a predetermined number of times (corresponding to YES in step S17).

This will stop the cleaning of the corner as soon as there is little dust in the corner. On the other hand, when there is a large amount of dust at the corner, even if the dust detection sensor 300 detects dust, the corner cleaning is finished by shaking the body 20 left and right a predetermined number of times.

That is, in the second corner cleaning control of the fifth embodiment, when the amount of dust at the corner is large, cleaning is not performed thoroughly, and if the cleaning is performed to some extent, the next place is cleaned. Therefore, it is effective as a control operation when priority is given to the time required for cleaning rather than the user thoroughly cleaning the corner.

(Embodiment 6)
Hereinafter, the control operation of the autonomous traveling cleaner in the sixth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, the structure of the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 of Embodiment 6 is provided with the structure substantially the same as the autonomous traveling type cleaner 10 of Embodiment 3. FIG. Therefore, elements having the same reference numerals as those in the third embodiment in the description of the sixth embodiment have the same or similar functions as the corresponding elements in the third embodiment.

FIG. 29 shows a flowchart regarding the third corner cleaning control executed by the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the sixth embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 29, the control unit 70 replaces the first corner cleaning control described in the fourth embodiment and the second corner cleaning control described in the fifth embodiment with a third as follows. The corner cleaning control is executed.

First, the control unit 70 drives the dust detection sensor 300 (step S20). The dust detection sensor 300 is driven when, for example, the autonomous mobile vacuum cleaner 10 starts cleaning or moving.

Next, the control unit 70 determines whether or not a corner is detected in the target area by the corner detection unit (step S21). At this time, when it is determined that a corner is not detected (NO in step S21), the process in step S21 is repeatedly executed. If it is determined that no corner has been detected, the third corner cleaning control may be terminated.

On the other hand, when it is determined that a corner is detected (YES in step S21), the process proceeds to step S22. In step S21, the control unit 70 executes substantially the same process as in step S2 shown in FIG.

Next, the control unit 70 starts corner cleaning by the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 (step S22). At this time, for example, in a state where the autonomously traveling cleaner 10 is stopped without moving forward or backward, an operation of swinging the body 20 left and right is performed so that the body 20 reciprocates. This cleans the corners. In step S22, the control unit 70 executes substantially the same process as step S3 shown in FIG.

Next, the control unit 70 determines whether or not dust is detected by the dust detection sensor 300 (step S23). At this time, when it is determined that no dust is detected (YES in step S23), the process proceeds to step S32.

On the other hand, when it is determined that dust is detected (NO in step S23), the process proceeds to step S24.

Then, the control unit 70 determines whether or not the amount of dust detected by the dust detection sensor 300 is large (step S24). At this time, if the amount of garbage is large (YES in step S24), the process proceeds to step S25. On the other hand, when the amount of garbage is not large (NO in step S24), the process proceeds to step S26.

In the third corner cleaning control, the large, medium, and small determination criteria are set in advance according to, for example, the amount of dust detected by the dust detection sensor 300 per unit time. Absent. For example, the designer or the user may appropriately change the amount of garbage corresponding to large, medium, and small.

Next, when the amount of dust is large, the control unit 70 sets the number of cleanings, which is the number of reciprocations for swinging the body 20 left and right, to, for example, 8 times, and the set information is stored in the storage unit of the control unit 70. (Not shown) (step S25). The number of cleanings is not limited to eight, and the designer or user may freely set the number of cleanings.

On the other hand, if the amount of garbage is not large, the control unit 70 determines whether or not the amount of garbage detected by the dust detection sensor 300 is medium (step S26). At this time, if the amount of waste is medium (YES in step S26), the process proceeds to step S27. On the other hand, when the amount of garbage is not medium (NO in step S26), the process proceeds to step S28. When the amount of garbage is not medium, it is determined that the amount of garbage is small.

Next, when the amount of waste is medium, the control unit 70 sets the number of cleanings to, for example, 5 times, and stores the set information in the storage unit of the control unit 70 (step S27). The number of cleanings is not limited to five, but may be set freely by the designer or user.

Next, when the amount of waste is not medium, the control unit 70 sets the number of cleanings to, for example, twice, and stores the set information in the storage unit of the control unit 70 (step S28). The number of cleanings is not limited to two, and the designer or user may freely set the number of cleanings.

According to the above steps, the control unit 70 sets the number of times of cleaning according to the amount of dust, large, medium, and small, and proceeds to step S29.

Next, the control unit 70 performs corner cleaning, which is an operation of swinging the body 20 left and right (step S29), and proceeds to step S30. Then, the control unit 70 subtracts one cleaning number stored in the storage unit in step S25, step S27, or step S28 (step S30), and proceeds to step S31.

Next, the control unit 70 determines whether or not the number of cleanings stored in the storage unit in step S25, step S27, or step S28 is 0 (step S31). At this time, if the number of cleanings is not 0 (NO in step S31), the process returns to step S29.

On the other hand, when the number of cleanings is 0 (YES in step S31), the process proceeds to step S32.

And the control unit 70 stops the cleaning of the corner started from step S22 when the detection of the dust is not detected or the cleaning frequency set according to the amount of the dust is finished (step S32). As a result, the control unit 70 ends the third corner cleaning control of the autonomous traveling cleaner 10.

At this time, after the end of step S32, the process may be returned to step S21, and the process of detecting the next corner may be executed until the cleaning is completed.

That is, in the third corner cleaning control of the sixth embodiment, when cleaning the corner, the number of times the body 20 is swung left and right is set according to the amount of dust detected by the dust detection sensor 300.

Then, control is performed to clean the corners by shaking the body 20 left and right for the set number of times.

This makes it possible to clean the corners if the amount of garbage is large, and to easily clean the corners if the amount is small.

(Embodiment 7)
Hereinafter, the control operation of the autonomous traveling cleaner in the seventh embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, the structure of the autonomous traveling type cleaner 10 of Embodiment 7 is provided with the structure substantially the same as the autonomous traveling type cleaner 10 of Embodiment 3. FIG. Therefore, elements having the same reference numerals as those in the third embodiment in the description of the seventh embodiment have the same or similar functions as the corresponding elements in the third embodiment.

FIG. 30 shows a flowchart relating to the fourth corner cleaning control executed by the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 according to the seventh embodiment.

30, the control unit 70 executes the fourth corner cleaning control as follows instead of the first to third corner cleaning controls shown in the fourth to sixth embodiments.

First, the control unit 70 starts cleaning in the target area (step S40).

Next, the control unit 70 determines whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied (step S41). The predetermined condition is, for example, a case where a state where the value detected by the distance measuring sensor 72 is equal to or less than a predetermined value continues for a predetermined time or longer. The second condition is a case where an obstacle is detected by the obstacle detection sensor 71. When the first condition and the second condition are satisfied, the control unit 70 determines that the predetermined condition is satisfied, and executes the subsequent control.

That is, when it is determined that the predetermined condition is not satisfied (NO in step S41), the process of step S41 is repeatedly executed.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the predetermined condition is satisfied (YES in step S41), the process proceeds to step S42. The establishment of the predetermined condition suggests that the body 20 has moved to the corner of the target area.

Next, the control unit 70 determines whether or not an obstacle has been detected by the obstacle detection sensor 71 (step S42).

At this time, if it is determined that an obstacle has been detected (YES in step S42), the process proceeds to step S43.

On the other hand, when it is determined that no obstacle is detected (NO in step S42), the process proceeds to step S44. Note that the case where an obstacle is not detected in step S42 may be, for example, a case where the detected obstacle is removed after the obstacle is detected in step S41.

Next, when detecting an obstacle, the control unit 70 causes the body 20 to start the first travel (step S43). The first traveling is an operation in which, for example, one tire 34 and the other tire 34 rotate in directions opposite to each other. This corresponds to traveling that turns the body 20. In this case, it becomes easy to clean the corner by turning the body 20 at the corner. In step S43, even if the collision detection sensor 73 detects a collision between the body 20 and an object, the first traveling operation of the body 20 is continuously performed.

Next, when the obstacle is not detected, the control unit 70 causes the body 20 to start the second travel (step S44). The second traveling is an operation of rotating, for example, one tire 34 and the other tire 34 in the same direction. This corresponds to traveling in which the body 20 moves forward or backward.

And the control unit 70 stops the cleaning in the target area when the predetermined traveling operation of the body 20 is completed (step S45). Thereby, the control unit 70 ends the fourth corner cleaning control of the autonomous traveling cleaner 10. Note that the fourth corner cleaning control may be repeatedly executed until the cleaning in the target region is completed.

That is, according to the control operation of the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the seventh embodiment, in addition to the effects (1) to (11) obtained by the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the third embodiment, for example, the following An effect is obtained.

(12) According to the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner 10 of the present embodiment, the corner detection unit including the obstacle detection sensor 71 and the distance measurement sensor 72 causes the corner to be moved before the body 20 and the obstacle come into contact with each other. Detected. Therefore, when the body 20 is turned to clean the corner, the body 20 and the obstacle are difficult to contact.

(13) According to the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 of the present embodiment, for example, when an obstacle is removed after the obstacle detection sensor 71 detects the obstacle, the obstacle is arranged. The body 20 is moved forward or backward without circumventing the area. Therefore, it is possible to clean the area where the obstacle is arranged.

(14) According to the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner 10 of the present embodiment, when the body 20 is turning, the body 20 continues to turn even if the body 20 and the object collide. Therefore, compared with the case where cleaning is stopped when the body 20 and the object come into contact with each other, the corners can be sufficiently cleaned.

(Embodiment 8)
Hereinafter, the control operation of the autonomous mobile vacuum cleaner according to the eighth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, the structure of the autonomous traveling type cleaner 10 of Embodiment 8 is equipped with the structure substantially the same as the autonomous traveling type cleaner 10 of Embodiment 3. FIG. Therefore, elements having the same reference numerals as those in the third embodiment in the description of the eighth embodiment have the same or similar functions as the corresponding elements in the third embodiment.

FIG. 31 shows a flowchart relating to the first escape control executed by the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the eighth embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 31, the control unit 70 performs the first escape control as follows.

First, the control unit 70 starts cleaning in the target area (step S50).

Next, the control unit 70 determines whether or not the first condition is satisfied (step S51). The first condition is substantially the same as the predetermined condition in step S41 described with reference to FIG. 30 in the seventh embodiment.

At this time, when it is determined that the first condition is not satisfied (NO in step S51), the process of step S51 is repeatedly executed.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the first condition is satisfied (YES in step S51), the process proceeds to step S52. The establishment of the first condition suggests that the body 20 has moved to the corner of the target area.

And control unit 70 makes body 20 start the 1st run (Step S52). The first travel is substantially the same travel as the first travel in step S43 described with reference to FIG. 30 in the seventh embodiment. In this case, it becomes easy to clean the corner by turning the body 20 at the corner.

Next, the control unit 70 determines whether or not the second condition is satisfied (step S53). The second condition is, for example, a case where no collision is detected by the obstacle detection sensor 71 and no collision between the body 20 and the object is detected by the collision detection sensor 73. Then, based on the determination result of the second condition, the control unit 70 executes the subsequent control.

At this time, if it is determined that the second condition is not satisfied (NO in step S53), the process proceeds to step S54. Note that the failure of the second condition suggests that the body 20 has been fitted into the corner, for example.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the second condition is satisfied (YES in step S53), the process proceeds to step S55.

Then, when the second condition is not satisfied, the control unit 70 causes the body 20 to start a repetitive operation (step S54). In the repetitive operation, first, for example, one tire 34 near the contact portion between the body 20 and the object is stopped, and the other tire 34 is moved backward. When the body 20 further collides with another part of the object or another object as the other tire 34 moves backward, the other tire 34 is stopped and the one tire 34 is advanced. Further, when the body 20 further collides with another part of the object or another object as one tire 34 advances, the operation is such that one tire 34 is stopped and the other tire 34 is moved backward. That is, by repeating the above operation, the body 20 is caused to perform a repetitive operation.

The control unit 70 starts the operation of stopping one tire 34 and moving the other tire 34 backward during the repetitive operation of the body 20 in step S54, and when a predetermined time (for example, 2 seconds) has elapsed. Then, the process of step S53 is executed. The body 20 in step S54 continues to repeat the operation until the second condition is satisfied in step S53.

Next, when the second condition is satisfied, the control unit 70 causes the body 20 to start the second travel (step S55). The second travel is substantially the same travel as the second travel in step S44 described with reference to FIG. 30 in the seventh embodiment. Specifically, the second traveling is traveling that moves the body 20 forward. As a result, the body 20 fitted in the corner is allowed to escape from the corner.

Then, when the body 20 escapes from the corner, the control unit 70 stops cleaning in the target area (step S56). Thereby, the control unit 70 complete | finishes the 1st escape control of the autonomous running type vacuum cleaner 10. FIG. Note that the first escape control may be repeatedly executed until the cleaning in the target area is completed.

That is, according to the control operation of the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the eighth embodiment, in addition to the effects (1) to (11) obtained by the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the third embodiment, for example, the following An effect is obtained.

(15) According to the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 of the present embodiment, when the body 20 is fitted into the corner when the corner is cleaned, the first escape control is executed. At this time, as the body 20 is repeatedly operated, the angle (relative position) of the body 20 with respect to the corner gradually changes. Therefore, even if the body 20 fits in the corner, the direction of the body 20 can be changed to easily escape from the corner.

(Embodiment 9)
Hereinafter, the control operation of the autonomous mobile vacuum cleaner according to the ninth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the configuration of the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the ninth embodiment includes substantially the same configuration as the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the third embodiment. Therefore, elements denoted by the same reference numerals as in the third embodiment in the description of the ninth embodiment have the same or similar functions as the corresponding elements in the third embodiment.

FIG. 32 shows a flowchart relating to the second escape control executed by the autonomous mobile cleaner 10 of the ninth embodiment.

32, the control unit 70 executes the second escape control as follows instead of the first escape control shown in the eighth embodiment.

First, the control unit 70 starts cleaning in the target area (step S60).

Next, the control unit 70 determines whether or not the movement range of the body 20 in a predetermined time is less than a predetermined value (step S61). The range of movement of the body 20 is detected by, for example, the number of rotations of the wheel 33 detected by a rotation sensor (not shown) attached to the wheel 33 and the body 20 detected by a gyro sensor (not shown) arranged inside the body 20. It is calculated according to the traveling direction.

At this time, when it is determined that the movement range of the body 20 is not less than the predetermined value (NO in step S61), the process of step S61 is repeatedly executed.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the movement range of the body 20 is less than the predetermined value (YES in step S61), the process proceeds to step S62. In addition, when the movement range of the body 20 in a predetermined time is less than a predetermined value, it indicates that the body 20 has moved to the corner of the target area.

And control unit 70 makes body 20 start the 1st run (Step S62). The first travel is substantially the same travel as the first travel in step S43 described with reference to FIG. 30 in the seventh embodiment. In this case, it becomes easy to clean the corner by turning the body 20 at the corner.

Next, the control unit 70 determines whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied (step S63). The predetermined condition is substantially the same as the predetermined condition in step S41 described with reference to FIG. 30 in the seventh embodiment.

At this time, when it is determined that the predetermined condition is not satisfied (NO in step S63), the process of step S63 is repeatedly executed.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the predetermined condition is satisfied (YES in step S63), the process proceeds to step S64. In addition, when a predetermined condition is satisfied, the body 20 is in a state in which the body 20 faces a direction in which the body 20 can escape.

Then, when the predetermined condition is satisfied, the control unit 70 causes the body 20 to start the second travel in a state in which it faces the corner so that it can escape (step S64). The second travel is substantially the same travel as the second travel in step S44 described with reference to FIG. 30 in the seventh embodiment. This corresponds to traveling that moves the body 20 forward. As a result, the body 20 fitted in the corner is allowed to escape from the corner.

Next, when the body 20 escapes from the corner, the control unit 70 stops cleaning in the target area (step S65). Thereby, the control unit 70 complete | finishes 2nd escape control of the autonomous running type vacuum cleaner 10. FIG. Note that the second escape control may be repeatedly executed until the cleaning in the target area is completed.

That is, according to the control operation of the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the ninth embodiment, in addition to the effects (1) to (11) obtained by the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the third embodiment, for example, the following An effect is obtained.

(16) According to the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the present embodiment, it is detected that the body 20 has been fitted into a corner or the like from the movement range of the body 20 in a predetermined time. For example, when the body 20 is fitted in a corner, the obstacle detection sensor 71 and the distance measurement sensor 72 cause the body 20 to travel in a direction in which it can escape from the corner. This makes it difficult for the body 20 and the object to come into contact with each other during the escape process.

(Embodiment 10)
Hereinafter, the control operation of the autonomous traveling type cleaner in the tenth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, the structure of the autonomous traveling type cleaner 10 of Embodiment 10 is provided with the structure substantially the same as the autonomous traveling type cleaner 10 of Embodiment 3. FIG. Therefore, elements having the same reference numerals as those in the third embodiment in the description of the tenth embodiment have the same or similar functions as the corresponding elements in the third embodiment.

In addition, the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 of Embodiment 10 is further provided with the 1st rotation sensor and the 2nd rotation sensor which are not shown in figure. The first rotation sensor is attached to the wheel 33 and detects the number of rotations of the wheel 33. The second rotation sensor is attached to the caster 90 and detects the number of rotations of the caster 90.

FIG. 33 shows a flowchart relating to the step control executed by the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the tenth embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 33, the control unit 70 performs the step control as follows.

First, the control unit 70 starts cleaning in the target area (step S70).

Next, the control unit 70 determines whether or not the rotation speed of the wheel 33 detected by the first rotation sensor matches the rotation speed of the caster 90 detected by the second rotation sensor (step S71). .

At this time, if it is determined that the rotation speed of the wheel 33 and the rotation speed of the caster 90 match (YES in step S71), the process proceeds to step S75.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the rotation speed of the wheel 33 and the rotation speed of the caster 90 do not match (NO in step S71), the process proceeds to step S72. In addition, when the rotation speed of the wheel 33 and the rotation speed of the caster 90 do not match, it is suggested that the wheel 33 or the caster 90 slips due to a step or the like.

Therefore, the control unit 70 changes the traveling direction of the body 20 (step S72). Specifically, the traveling direction of the body 20 is changed so as to skew with respect to the traveling direction of the body 20 in step S71. Thereby, for example, the body 20 can be made to enter obliquely with respect to a step or the like where slip is likely to occur. As a result, the body 20 can easily get over the step.

Next, the control unit 70 determines whether or not the rotation speed of the wheel 33 detected by the first rotation sensor matches the rotation speed of the caster 90 detected by the second rotation sensor (step S73). . Note that the process of step S73 is substantially the same as the process of step S71.

At this time, when it is determined that the rotation speed of the wheel 33 and the rotation speed of the caster 90 match (YES in step S73), the process proceeds to step S75.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the rotation speed of the wheel 33 and the rotation speed of the caster 90 do not match (NO in step S73), the process proceeds to step S74.

The control unit 70 further changes the traveling direction of the body 20 when the rotational speeds do not match (step S74). Specifically, the traveling direction of the body 20 is changed to a direction that is different, for example, opposite to the traveling direction of the body 20 in step S71 or step S72. As a result, for example, it becomes easier to get over a step or the like where slipping easily occurs.

Next, the control unit 70 stops cleaning in the target area (step S75). Thereby, the control unit 70 complete | finishes the level | step difference control of the autonomous running type vacuum cleaner 10. FIG. Note that the step control may be repeatedly executed until the cleaning in the target area is completed.

That is, according to the control operation of the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the tenth embodiment, in addition to the effects (1) to (11) obtained by the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the third embodiment, for example, the following An effect is obtained.

(17) According to the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 of the present embodiment, the slip of the wheel 33 or the caster 90 is detected by using the first rotation sensor and the second rotation sensor, for example, when getting over a step or the like. And when a slip is detected, the advancing direction is changed and the body 20 is approached from diagonally with respect to a level | step difference, for example. Thereby, it becomes easier to get over the step as compared with the case of going straight with respect to the step.

(18) According to the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 of the present embodiment, for example, when the slipped state is continued even when the body 20 is obliquely entered with respect to the step, the body 20 is opposite to the step. Proceed in the direction. Thereby, a level | step difference can be avoided. As a result, the body 20 can be more difficult to fit into the step.

(Embodiment 11)
Hereinafter, the control operation of the autonomous traveling cleaner in the eleventh embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The configuration of autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the eleventh embodiment is substantially the same as that of autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the third embodiment. Therefore, elements having the same reference numerals as those in the third embodiment in the description of the eleventh embodiment have the same or similar functions as the corresponding elements in the third embodiment.

FIG. 34 shows a flowchart relating to the designated area cleaning control executed by the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the eleventh embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 34, the control unit 70 executes designated area cleaning control as follows.

First, the control unit 70 registers one or a plurality of target points on the travel route of the body 20 (step S80). In the present embodiment, the control unit 70 registers, for example, a plurality of target points on the moving route of the body 20 in a storage unit or the like.

Specifically, the control unit 70 stores the distance and angle with respect to the reference position for each target point in the movement path of the body 20 based on a signal output from the remote controller. The reference position is the position of the charging stand that is the starting point or the previous target point. Thereby, the control unit 70 can memorize | store the cleaning area | region which a user designates.

Next, the control unit 70 receives information on the movement command from the remote controller at the light receiving unit 212 (step S81). Thereby, the control unit 70 moves the body 20 along a plurality of registered target points. At this time, as described below, for example, when the obstacle detection sensor 71 detects an obstacle on the movement path, the control unit 70 moves the body 20 so as to be out of the movement path. Then, the control unit 70 controls the body 20 to return to the movement path after avoiding the obstacle.

That is, the control unit 70 determines whether or not an obstacle is detected at the target point by the obstacle detection sensor 71 (step S82). At this time, when it is determined that an obstacle is detected at the target point (YES in step S82), the process proceeds to step S83.

Then, the control unit 70 determines whether or not the target point existing at the position overlapping with the position of the obstacle detected in step S82 is the last target point (step S83). The last target point is a target point that indicates the end point of the movement path of the body 20. At this time, when it is determined that it is the last target point (YES in step S83), the process proceeds to step S85.

On the other hand, when it is determined that it is not the last target point (NO in step S83), the process proceeds to step S84.

Then, the control unit 70 moves the body 20 toward the next target point without passing through the target point where the obstacle exists (step S84). Thereafter, the control unit 70 moves the body 20 to the next target point, and then returns the process to step S82.

Next, when it is detected by the obstacle detection sensor 71 that the obstacle is present at the last target point, the control unit 70 cleans the arrival point that is actually reached (step S85).

On the other hand, when it is determined that no obstacle is detected at the target point (NO in step S82), the process proceeds to step S86. Then, the control unit 70 cleans the target point (step S86).

Next, the control unit 70 determines whether or not the target point cleaned in the process of step S86 is the last target point (step S87). At this time, if it is determined that it is not the last target point (NO in step S87), the process returns to step S82 and the same process is executed.

On the other hand, when it is determined that it is the last target point (YES in step S87), the process proceeds to step S88.

Then, the control unit 70 causes the body 20 to clean the last target point (step S88). Thereby, a some target point can be cleaned in order.

Next, after cleaning the last target point, the control unit 70 causes the body 20 to run backward so as to go back along the movement route to the target point (step S89).

Then, the control unit 70 determines whether or not the light receiving unit 212 has received a signal output from the charging stand (step S90). At this time, when it is determined that the light receiving unit 212 is not receiving a signal (NO in step S90), the process of step S90 is repeatedly executed.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the light receiving unit 212 has received the signal (YES in step S90), the process proceeds to step S91.

In this case, the control unit 70 removes the body 20 from the moving path that runs backward. And based on the signal output from a charging stand, the autonomous running type vacuum cleaner 10 is returned to a charging stand (step S91). Thereby, a control unit complete | finishes the designated area | region cleaning control of the autonomous running type vacuum cleaner 10. FIG.

That is, according to the control operation of the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the eleventh embodiment, in addition to the effects (1) to (11) obtained by the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the third embodiment, for example, the following An effect is obtained.

(19) According to the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the present embodiment, the target point to be cleaned is stored in advance. Thereby, the arbitrary area | region which a user etc. set among target areas can be cleaned. Therefore, efficient cleaning can be executed by the autonomously traveling cleaner 10.

(20) According to the autonomously traveling cleaner 10 of the present embodiment, when an obstacle exists on one target point, the body 20 is moved toward the next target point without passing through the target point. Move. Therefore, it is easy to clean an arbitrary area of the target area as compared with the control operation configuration in which the cleaning is terminated when it cannot pass through one target point.

(21) According to the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 of the present embodiment, when the final target point cannot be reached due to an obstacle, for example, the actually reached point is cleaned. Therefore, it is possible to clean a wider area as compared with the case where cleaning is terminated when the final target point cannot be reached.

(22) According to the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner 10 of the present embodiment, when returning to the charging stand after reaching the last target point, the travel path is made to run backward until a signal output from the charging stand is received. . Therefore, it is possible to return to the charging stand through an appropriate route.

(Embodiment 12)
Hereinafter, the control operation of the autonomous traveling cleaner in the twelfth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the configuration of the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the twelfth embodiment is substantially the same as that of the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the third embodiment. Therefore, elements having the same reference numerals as those in the third embodiment in the description of the twelfth embodiment have the same or similar functions as the corresponding elements in the third embodiment.

FIG. 35 shows a flowchart relating to the reciprocating cleaning control executed by the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the twelfth embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 35, the control unit 70 executes reciprocating cleaning control as follows.

First, the control unit 70 sets a reference point or a reference line in the target area (step S100). In the present embodiment, for example, the control unit 70 sets a reference point in the target area.

Next, the control unit 70 causes the body 20 to start reciprocating travel (step S101). At this time, the control unit 70 causes the body 20 to reciprocate within the range from the reference point set in step S100 to the outline of the target area. Then, the control unit 70 causes the body 20 to reciprocate and starts cleaning.

Specifically, the control unit 70 turns the body 20 when an obstacle is detected by the obstacle detection sensor 71. Then, the body 20 is caused to reciprocate the distance between the reference point and the point where the obstacle is detected.

Next, the control unit 70 determines whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied (step S102). The predetermined condition is, for example, a case where the traveling distance in one direction in the reciprocating traveling is less than a predetermined value. Then, the control unit 70 determines that a predetermined condition is satisfied when the travel distance is less than a predetermined value. The travel distance is detected by, for example, a rotation sensor (not shown) attached to the wheel 33.

At this time, if it is determined that the predetermined condition is satisfied (YES in step S102), the process proceeds to step S104.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the predetermined condition is not satisfied (NO in step S102), the process proceeds to step S103. In addition, when a predetermined condition is satisfied, it is suggested that the resistance for traveling the body 20 varies depending on the traveling direction in the target region.

Then, the control unit 70 determines whether or not the cleaning of the target area has been completed (step S103). At this time, when it is determined that the cleaning of the target area is not completed (NO in step S103), the process returns to step S102, and the same process is executed.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the cleaning of the target area is completed (YES in step S103), the process proceeds to step S105.

Further, when a predetermined condition is satisfied, the control unit 70 adds the travel distance in the other direction in the reciprocating travel of the body 20 (step S104). Thereby, during reciprocating travel, the difference between the distance traveled in one direction by the body 20 and the distance traveled in the other direction is reduced. Thereby, when the reference point of the target region is shifted, the reference point can be corrected.

Then, the control unit 70 stops cleaning in the target area (step S105). Thereby, the control unit 70 complete | finishes the reciprocating cleaning control of the autonomous running type vacuum cleaner 10. FIG. Note that the reciprocating cleaning control may be repeatedly executed until the cleaning in the target area is completed.

That is, according to the control operation of the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the twelfth embodiment, in addition to the effects (1) to (11) obtained by the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 of the third embodiment, for example, the following An effect is obtained.

(23) According to the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 of the present embodiment, when the resistance applied to the body 20 differs depending on the traveling direction, for example, when cleaning a carpet or the like, the position due to the difference in traveling resistance by the reciprocating cleaning control The deviation can be corrected. Therefore, the target area can be more accurately cleaned as compared with a configuration in which the positional deviation is not corrected.

(Modification)
In addition, although each said embodiment demonstrated the example of the form which an autonomous running type vacuum cleaner can take, it is not restricted to the said embodiment.

That is, the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner of the present embodiment can take, for example, the following modifications other than the above embodiments.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 36 to 38, the body 20 according to the modification may have a different contour from the body 20 exemplified in each embodiment.

First, the body 20 according to the modification shown in FIG. 36 will be described.

FIG. 36 shows an example of a modification regarding the contour of the body 20. In addition, the dashed-two dotted line in a figure shows the outline of the body 20 of Embodiment 1. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 36, the left and right side surfaces 22 of the body 20 according to the modification are configured by a front side surface 22a and a rear side surface 22b having different shapes. Specifically, the front side surface 22a is a curved surface, and the rear side surface 22b is a flat surface.

Next, the body 20 according to the modification shown in FIG. 37 will be described.

FIG. 37 shows another example of a modification regarding the contour of the body 20. In addition, the dashed-two dotted line in a figure shows the outline of the body 20 of Embodiment 1. FIG.

37, in the body 20 according to the modification, a part of the rear portion of the body 20 including the rear apex 24 is omitted, and a rear surface 25 is newly formed. An example of the rear surface 25 is a curved surface curved so as to expand outward. The rear surface 25 may be a flat surface.

Furthermore, the body 20 according to the modification shown in FIG. 38 will be described.

FIG. 38 shows another example of a modification regarding the contour of the body 20. In addition, the dashed-two dotted line in a figure shows the outline of the body 20 of Embodiment 3. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 38, in the body 20 according to the modification, a predetermined portion including the rear top 24 of the body 20 of the third embodiment is omitted, and a rear surface 25 is newly formed. An example of the rear surface 25 is a plane. The rear surface 25 may be a curved surface that is curved so as to expand outward.

The body 20 according to these modified examples can obtain the same effects as the bodies of the above embodiments.

Further, according to the corner cleaning control of the fourth to sixth embodiments according to the modification, when the control unit 70 determines that the corner is detected by the corner detection unit, the electric fan 51 is configured to increase the suction force of the electric fan 51. May be controlled. Furthermore, the control unit 70 may control the brush drive motor 41 so as to increase the rotation speed of the brush drive motor 41 when it is determined that the angle is detected by the angle detection unit. In this case, the rotation speeds of the main brush 43 and the side brush 44 are increased.

Thus, when a corner is detected, at least one of control for increasing the suction force of the electric fan 51 and control for increasing the rotation speed of the brush drive motor 41 is executed. As a result, it becomes possible to quickly remove the hard-to-removal garbage collected in the corners.

On the other hand, the suction force of the electric fan 51 is made lower than that of the corner in places other than the corner where dust does not collect easily. Similarly, the rotational speed of the brush drive motor is made lower than the corner. As a result, it is possible to reduce the power consumption of the autonomously traveling cleaner.

In the corner cleaning control of the fourth to sixth embodiments, the configuration in which the dust detection sensor 300 detects the amount of dust when the body 20 reciprocates once or a plurality of times has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. . For example, as a modified example related to the corner cleaning control, the amount of dust at the corner is determined based on the amount of dust detected by the dust detection sensor 300 from the state in which the body 20 is stopped until it is closest to the wall of one side. It is good also as a structure. In addition, as another modified example related to the corner cleaning control, the amount of dust detected by the dust detection sensor 300 from the state in which the body 20 is stopped to the closest to one wall and then to the other wall, It is good also as a structure which determines the quantity of the garbage in a corner. As yet another modification of the corner cleaning control, the configuration is such that when the body 20 is swung from one wall to the other wall, the amount of dust detected by the dust detection sensor 300 is used to determine the amount of dust at the corner. It is good. Thereby, the same effect as the above-described embodiments can be obtained.

Also, the second escape control of the ninth embodiment according to the modification may be determined by whether or not another predetermined condition is satisfied instead of the predetermined condition in step S63. Another predetermined condition is, for example, whether or not the body 20 and the object collide with the collision detection sensor 73. When the collision detection sensor 73 does not detect a collision between the body 20 and the object, the control unit 70 determines that another predetermined condition is satisfied and performs control.

According to this modification, when the body 20 is fitted between an object, for example, the collision detection sensor 73 detects the presence or absence of the collision between the body 20 and the object. In the case of the detection result that there is no collision, the control unit 70 repeats the first travel and the second travel. Thereby, it can escape from between the objects in which the body 20 was fitted. As a result, the body 20 can be quickly escaped compared to the case where the body 20 and the object are repeatedly contacted to escape.

Further, the autonomously traveling cleaner 10 according to the ninth embodiment may be configured to attach the rotation sensor to the caster 90 instead of or in addition to the wheel 33.

Moreover, the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 of the ninth embodiment according to the modification may omit the gyro sensor. In this case, the traveling direction of the body 20 is calculated by the ratio of the rotational speeds detected by the rotation sensors attached to the right wheel 33 and the left wheel 33. Thereby, cost can be reduced with a simple configuration.

Further, the side brush 44 according to the modified example is configured to rotate from the rear of the body 20 toward the front in a portion of the rotation trajectory of each side brush 44 that is close to the rotation trajectory of the other side brush 44. It is good.

According to this configuration, the dust is moved forward by the side brush 44 on the center side in the width direction of the body 20. Therefore, when the autonomous traveling cleaner 10 is moving forward, the dust collected by the side brush 44 tends to approach the suction port 101. As a result, it is difficult for dust to be left behind on the rear side of the suction port 101.

Further, the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner 10 according to the modification may include a brush drive motor that applies torque to the main brush 43 and one side brush 44, and a brush drive motor that applies torque to the other side brush 44. . Thereby, it is small and lightweight, and cost reduction can be achieved.

Further, the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner 10 according to the modification may be configured to include a brush drive motor in each of the main brush 43, the right side brush 44, and the left side brush 44. Thereby, each brush drive motor can individually give torque to the corresponding brush. As a result, an appropriate driving force can be applied according to the condition of the surface to be cleaned and the condition of garbage, and cleaning can be performed effectively.

Moreover, according to the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 which concerns on a modified example, when the light-receiving part 212 receives the signal output from a charging stand, the control unit 70 is when detecting an obstacle with the obstacle detection sensor 71. The distance between the body 20 and the obstacle may be larger than the distance when the light receiving unit 212 is not receiving a signal.

Thus, when the distance between the body 20 and the charging stand is short, the obstacle detecting sensor 71 can easily detect the charging stand that is one of the obstacles. Therefore, the body 20 and the charging stand can be made difficult to contact during cleaning.

Moreover, according to the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 which concerns on a modification, the control unit 70 is from the transmission part 71A to the receiving part 71B without the drive time and the obstacle of the obstacle detection sensor 71 which is an ultrasonic sensor. The distance between the body 20 and the obstacle when the obstacle detection sensor 71 detects the obstacle may be changed based on at least one of the magnitudes of the ultrasonic signals that arrive.

According to this modification, the distance between the body 20 and the obstacle when the obstacle detection sensor 71 detects the obstacle is changed. Thereby, for example, in the first half of the driving time of the obstacle detection sensor 71, it becomes easier to detect an obstacle than in the second half. Similarly, when the ultrasonic signal reaching the receiving unit 71B is large, it is easier to detect an obstacle than when the ultrasonic signal is small.

That is, the distance between the body 20 and the obstacle when the obstacle detection sensor 71 detects the obstacle is changed as described above. Thereby, the accuracy of the obstacle detection sensor 71 can be improved.

Moreover, according to the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner 10 which concerns on a modification, control unit 70 is predetermined to the trash box unit 60, when the dust detection sensor 300 detects the garbage more than predetermined amount with the drive of the electric fan 51. FIG. It may be configured to determine that there is more than the amount of garbage. In this case, it is preferable to notify by light or sound, for example.

According to this modification, when the dust detection sensor 300 detects a predetermined amount or more of dust, it is suggested that the dust collected in the waste bin unit 60 is full. Thereby, it can be easily confirmed that the trash stored in the trash box unit 60 is full with a simple configuration.

Further, the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner 10 according to the modification may be provided with an obstacle detection sensor 71 of a type different from the ultrasonic sensor, such as an infrared sensor.

Further, the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner 10 according to the modification may include, as the distance measuring sensor 72, a type different from the infrared sensor, for example, an ultrasonic sensor.

Moreover, the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner 10 according to the modification may include, as the collision detection sensor 73, a type different from the contact type displacement sensor, for example, an impact sensor.

Moreover, the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner 10 according to the modification may include, as the floor detection sensor 74, a type different from the infrared sensor, for example, an ultrasonic sensor. By these modifications, the same effects as those of the above embodiments can be obtained.

Moreover, the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner 10 according to the modification may be configured to include a plurality of casters 90 on the rear side of the body 20 relative to the drive unit 30. Thereby, stability of autonomous running type vacuum cleaner 10 improves further.

Further, the autonomously traveling cleaner 10 according to the modification may be configured to include at least one caster on the front side of the body 20 relative to the pair of drive units 30. Thereby, stability of autonomous running type vacuum cleaner 10 improves further.

Note that the above detailed description is intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. For example, the above-described embodiments or one or a plurality of modifications may be combined with each other as necessary.

Further, the technical features or the subject matter disclosed in the present embodiment may exist in fewer features than all the features of the specific embodiment. Thus, the claims are incorporated into the detailed description of the invention, and it should be understood that each claim may claim itself as a separate embodiment.

Furthermore, it goes without saying that the scope disclosed in the present embodiment is determined based on both the rights given to the claims and the entire scope of equivalents thereof.

As described above, the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner according to the present invention includes a body having a suction port on the bottom surface, a suction unit mounted on the body, a corner detection unit that detects a corner of the target area, and a body that reciprocates. A drive unit that drives to move and a control unit that controls the drive unit are provided. The control unit may control the drive unit so that the body reciprocates when the angle is detected by the angle detection unit.

According to this configuration, the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner performs a reciprocating motion when it comes to the corner. As a result, it becomes possible to efficiently remove a large amount of dust collected in the corners.

Also, the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner of the present invention may be an operation in which the reciprocating motion swings the body left and right.

によ According to this configuration, the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner swings the body left and right when it comes to the corner. This makes it possible to remove a large amount of garbage collected in the corner.

In the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner of the present invention, the drive unit includes a right traveling motor for driving the right wheel and a left traveling motor for driving the left wheel. The control unit controls the body to move forward by moving the right wheel forward and the left wheel backward, and then repeatedly moving the left wheel forward and the right wheel backward. You may control to swing left and right.

According to this configuration, the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner controls the two wheels, the right wheel and the left wheel, separately when it comes to the corner. As a result, the body can be swung left and right. As a result, it becomes possible to remove a lot of garbage collected in the corner.

In addition, the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner of the present invention includes a front surface and a plurality of side surfaces, which are curved surfaces that expand outward, and a front top portion that is a top portion defined by the front surface and the side surfaces, and a tangent to the front surface. The angle formed by the tangent to the side surface may be an acute angle.

According to this configuration, the body has substantially the same planar shape as the Rouleau triangle, and reciprocates in the Rouleau triangle shape. As a result, it is possible to remove the garbage collected in the corner.

In addition, the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner of the present invention includes an electric fan for sucking air by the suction unit, and the control unit may control to increase the suction force of the electric fan when the corner is detected by the corner detection unit. Good.

According to this configuration, the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner increases the suction force of the electric fan when it comes to the corner. This makes it possible to effectively remove a large amount of garbage collected at the corner. On the other hand, the suction force of the electric fan is made lower than that of the corner in places other than the corner where dust is difficult to collect. Thereby, it becomes possible to suppress the power consumption of the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner.

The autonomously traveling cleaner of the present invention further includes a side brush disposed on the bottom surface side of the body and a brush drive motor that drives the side brush. The control unit may perform control so as to increase the number of rotations of the brush drive motor when the angle is detected by the angle detection unit.

によ According to this configuration, the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner increases the rotation speed of the side brush when it reaches the corner. As a result, it becomes possible to efficiently remove a large amount of dust collected in the corners. On the other hand, in places other than the corner where dust does not collect easily, the rotational speed of the brush drive motor is made lower than the corner. Thereby, it becomes possible to suppress the power consumption of the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner.

Moreover, the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner of the present invention further includes a main brush disposed at the suction port and a brush drive motor that drives the main brush. The control unit may perform control so as to increase the number of rotations of the brush drive motor when the angle is detected by the angle detection unit.

によ According to this configuration, the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner increases the rotation speed of the main brush when it reaches the corner. As a result, it becomes possible to efficiently remove a large amount of dust collected in the corners. On the other hand, in places other than the corner where dust does not collect easily, the rotational speed of the brush drive motor is made lower than the corner. Thereby, it becomes possible to suppress the power consumption of the autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner.

(Additional note regarding means for solving the problem)
Appendix (A1)
An autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner comprising a body, a pair of wheels, a suction port, and an electric fan, the obstacle detection sensor for detecting the presence or absence of an obstacle in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the wheel, A distance measuring sensor for detecting a distance between an object in a direction parallel to the rotation axis of the wheel and the body; and a control unit, wherein the control unit has a value detected by the distance measuring sensor as a predetermined value. An autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner that rotates one wheel and the other wheel in opposite directions when the following state continues for a predetermined time or more and an obstacle is detected by the obstacle detection sensor .

According to this autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner, the corner is detected by the obstacle detection sensor and the distance measurement sensor before the body and the obstacle come into contact with each other. For this reason, when turning a body and cleaning a corner | angular, a body and an obstruction are hard to contact.

Appendix (A2)
An autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner comprising a body, a pair of wheels, a suction port, and an electric fan, the obstacle detection sensor for detecting the presence or absence of an obstacle in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the wheel, A distance measuring sensor for detecting a distance between an object in a direction parallel to the rotation axis of the wheel and the body; and a control unit, wherein the control unit has a value detected by the distance measuring sensor as a predetermined value. When the obstacle state is not detected by the obstacle detection sensor after the obstacle state is continued for a predetermined time or more and the obstacle detection sensor detects the obstacle, the pair of wheels are moved in the same direction. Autonomous vacuum cleaner that rotates.

According to this autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner, when the obstacle is removed after the obstacle is detected by the obstacle detection sensor, for example, the body moves forward without bypassing the area where the obstacle is located. Or retreat. For this reason, the area | region where the obstruction was arrange | positioned can also be cleaned.

Appendix (A3)
An autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner comprising a body, a pair of wheels, a suction port, and an electric fan, the obstacle detection sensor for detecting the presence or absence of an obstacle in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the wheel, A distance measuring sensor for detecting a distance between the object in a direction parallel to the rotation axis of the wheel and the body; a collision detection sensor for detecting that the body has collided with an object around the object; and a control unit. The control unit is configured such that when the state in which the value detected by the distance measurement sensor is equal to or less than a predetermined value continues for a predetermined time and an obstacle is detected by the obstacle detection sensor, one of the wheels And the other wheel are rotated in opposite directions and the one wheel and the other wheel are rotated in opposite directions. Autonomous vacuum cleaners also to continue the operation of the wheel as a collision between the body and the object is detected by the serial collision detection sensor.

According to this autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner, when the body is turning, even if the body collides with the object, the body continues to turn. Therefore, the corners can be sufficiently cleaned as compared with the case where the cleaning is stopped due to the contact between the body and the object.

Appendix (A4)
An autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner comprising a body, a pair of wheels, a suction port, and an electric fan, the obstacle detection sensor for detecting the presence or absence of an obstacle in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the wheel, A distance measuring sensor for detecting a distance between the object in a direction parallel to the rotation axis of the wheel and the body; a collision detection sensor for detecting that the body has collided with an object around the object; and a control unit. The control unit is configured such that when the state in which the value detected by the distance measurement sensor is equal to or less than a predetermined value continues for a predetermined time or more and an obstacle is detected by the obstacle detection sensor, When a collision between the body and an object is detected by the collision detection sensor after rotating the wheel and the other wheel in opposite directions The one wheel on the side close to the contact portion between the body and the object is stopped, the other wheel is retracted, and the body is further moved to another part of the object or another object as the other wheel is retracted. In the event of a collision, the other wheel is stopped, the one wheel is advanced, and when the body further collides with another part of the object or another object as the one wheel advances, the one wheel An autonomous traveling type cleaner that performs a repetitive operation of stopping the other wheel and retreating the other wheel, and moves the pair of wheels forward when no obstacle is detected by the obstacle detection sensor.

According to this autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner, the above control is executed when the body is fitted into the corner when the corner is cleaned. In this case, the angle of the body with respect to the corner gradually changes. Therefore, even if the body fits into the corner, it can escape from the corner by changing direction.

Appendix (B1)
An autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner comprising a body, a pair of wheels, a suction port, and an electric fan, the obstacle detection sensor for detecting the presence or absence of an obstacle in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the wheel, A distance measuring sensor for detecting a distance between an object in a direction parallel to the rotation axis of the wheel and the body, and a control unit; the control unit calculates a movement range of the body in a predetermined time; When the moving range at a predetermined time is less than a predetermined value, the pair of wheels is moved in a direction in which a value detected by the distance measuring sensor is equal to or less than a predetermined value and an obstacle is not detected by the obstacle detecting sensor. Autonomous vacuum cleaner that rotates.

According to this autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner, it is possible to detect that it has been fitted into a corner or the like from the range of movement of the body in a predetermined time. Therefore, for example, when the body is fitted in a corner, the vehicle is caused to travel in a direction in which it can escape from the corner by the obstacle detection sensor and the distance measurement sensor. This makes it difficult for the body and the object to come into contact with each other during the escape process.

Appendix (B2)
An autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner comprising a body, a pair of wheels, a suction port, and an electric fan, the obstacle detection sensor for detecting the presence or absence of an obstacle in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the wheel, A distance measuring sensor for detecting a distance between the object in a direction parallel to the rotation axis of the wheel and the body; a collision detection sensor for detecting that the body has collided with an object around the object; and a control unit. The control unit calculates a movement range of the body at a predetermined time, and when the movement range at the predetermined time falls below a predetermined value, based on a detection result of the collision detection sensor, the body and the object An autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner that rotates the pair of wheels in a direction that is detected when there is no collision.

According to this autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner, for example, when the body is fitted between objects, the detection result of the collision between the body and the object by the collision detection sensor, the turning of the body, and the rotation of the wheel You can escape by repeating. Therefore, compared with the case where it escapes by repeating a contact with a body and an object, a body can be quickly escaped.

Appendix (C1)
An autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner comprising a body, a pair of wheels, a caster, a suction port, and an electric fan, wherein a first rotation sensor that detects a rotation speed of the wheel, and a rotation speed of the caster A second rotation sensor for detecting, and the control unit detects that the number of rotations of the wheel and the number of rotations of the caster do not match from the detection results of the first rotation sensor and the second rotation sensor. An autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner that changes the traveling direction of the body so as to be inclined with respect to the traveling direction of the body at that time when it is determined.

According to this autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner, when a slip of a wheel or a caster at a step or the like is detected by the first rotation sensor and the second rotation sensor, for example, the body is made to enter obliquely with respect to the step. For this reason, it is easier to get over the step as compared with the case of going straight with respect to the step.

Appendix (C2)
An autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner comprising a body, a pair of wheels, a caster, a suction port, and an electric fan, wherein a first rotation sensor that detects a rotation speed of the wheel, and a rotation speed of the caster A second rotation sensor for detecting, and the control unit detects that the number of rotations of the wheel and the number of rotations of the caster do not match from the detection results of the first rotation sensor and the second rotation sensor. In the case of determination, change the traveling direction of the body so as to incline with respect to the traveling direction of the body at that time, and after that, if the rotational speed of the wheel and the rotational speed of the caster do not match, An autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner that changes the traveling direction of the body in a direction opposite to the traveling direction of the body.

According to this autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner, for example, even when the body is obliquely entered with respect to the step, the step is avoided by advancing in the opposite direction to the step when the slipped state is continued. . Therefore, it becomes difficult for the body to fit into the step.

Appendix (D1)
An autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner comprising a body, a pair of wheels, a suction port, and an electric fan, the obstacle detection sensor for detecting the presence or absence of an obstacle in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the wheel, A light receiving unit that receives a signal output from a charging stand that charges the autonomously traveling cleaner, and a control unit, and the control unit receives a signal that is output from the charging stand. The autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner, wherein a distance between the body and the obstacle when the obstacle is detected by the obstacle detection sensor is larger than the distance when the light receiving unit is not receiving a signal.

According to this autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner, when the distance between the body and the charging stand is short, the charging stand that is one of the obstacles is easily detected by the obstacle detection sensor. Therefore, it is difficult for the body and the charging stand to come into contact during cleaning.

Appendix (E1)
An autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner comprising a body, a pair of wheels, a suction port, and an electric fan, and a light receiving unit that receives a signal output from a remote controller that operates the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner, and a control A control unit that stores a distance and an angle with respect to a reference position for each of one or a plurality of target points in the movement path of the body based on a signal output from the remote controller, and An autonomous traveling type cleaner in which the body moves the body along the target point by receiving information on a movement command from the remote controller.

According to this autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner, it is possible to clean any area of the target area by storing the target point to be cleaned in advance. Therefore, efficient cleaning can be performed by the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner.

Appendix (E2)
An autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner comprising a body, a pair of wheels, a suction port, and an electric fan, a signal output from a remote controller that operates the autonomous traveling type cleaner, and the autonomous traveling type cleaning A light receiving unit for receiving a signal output from a charging base for charging the machine, and a control unit, wherein the control unit sets a distance and an angle relative to a reference position based on a signal output from the remote controller. Storing for each one or more target points in the travel path of the body, and moving the body along the one or more target points, after the body has reached the last target point, the target The vehicle travels backward from the point and travels backwards, and the light receiving unit receives a signal output from the charging stand to detect the movement route. Autonomous vacuum cleaners for moving the body towards the charger off.

According to this autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner, when returning to the charging stand after reaching the final target point, the moving path is made to run backward until a signal output from the charging stand is received. Therefore, it is possible to return to the charging stand through an appropriate route.

Appendix (E3)
An autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner comprising a body, a pair of wheels, a suction port, and an electric fan, the obstacle detection sensor for detecting the presence or absence of an obstacle in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the wheel, A light receiving unit that receives a signal output from a remote controller that operates the autonomous traveling cleaner, and a control unit, the control unit is based on a signal output from the remote controller, the distance to the reference position And the angle for each target point or a plurality of target points in the movement path of the body, and the light receiving unit moves the body along the target point by receiving information on a movement command from the remote controller. One target point overlaps with the position of an obstacle detected by the obstacle detection sensor In case the autonomous mobile type cleaner for moving the body towards the next of the target point.

According to this autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner, when there is an obstacle on one target point, it moves toward the next target point without passing through the target point. Therefore, an arbitrary area of the target area is easily cleaned as compared with a configuration in which the cleaning is terminated when it cannot pass through one target point.

Appendix (E4)
An autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner comprising a body, a pair of wheels, a suction port, and an electric fan, and a light receiving unit that receives a signal output from a remote controller that operates the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner, and a control A control unit that stores a distance and an angle with respect to a reference position for each of one or a plurality of target points in the movement path of the body based on a signal output from the remote controller, and When the unit moves the body along the target point by receiving information on the movement command from the remote controller, and when there is an obstacle at the last target point, Autonomous vacuum cleaner that drives a fan.

自律 According to this autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner, even if the final target point cannot be reached due to an obstacle, for example, cleaning is performed at the point where it has actually reached. Therefore, it is possible to clean a wider area as compared with the case where cleaning is terminated when the final target point cannot be reached.

Appendix (E5)
An autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner comprising a body, a pair of wheels, a suction port, and an electric fan, an obstacle detection sensor for detecting presence or absence of an obstacle in a direction orthogonal to the rotation axis of the wheel, and control A control unit, wherein the control unit detects a travel distance by a rotation sensor attached to the wheel when the body travels so as to clean a predetermined target region, and sets the target region within the target region. When the obstacle is detected by the obstacle detection sensor during the reciprocating travel, the body is turned to move the reference point or the reference point or the reference line or the outline of the target region. When the distance between the reference line and the point where the obstacle is detected is traveled and the travel distance is less than a predetermined value, the predetermined distance is added. Autonomous type vacuum cleaner which to travel.

According to this autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner, for example, even when cleaning a carpet or the like where the resistance when traveling the body varies depending on the direction in which the body travels, the displacement due to the difference in traveling resistance is corrected. For this reason, when cleaning the top of a carpet etc., compared with the structure which does not correct position shift, the object field is easy to be cleaned.

Appendix (F1)
An autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner comprising a body, a pair of wheels, a suction port, and an electric fan, and connecting a trash box unit for collecting trash sucked from the suction port, and the suction port and the trash box unit And a dust detection sensor that is disposed in the duct passage and detects dust sucked from the suction port, and the control unit is configured to perform predetermined control by the dust detection sensor as the electric fan is driven. An autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner that determines that a predetermined amount or more of garbage is present in the garbage box unit when more than a certain amount of garbage is detected.

According to this autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner, when the dust detection sensor detects a predetermined amount or more of dust, it is suggested that the waste stored in the waste bin unit is full. Therefore, it can be confirmed that the garbage collected in the trash box unit is full with a simple configuration.

Appendix (G1)
An autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner comprising a body, a pair of wheels, a suction port, and an electric fan, and is an ultrasonic sensor that detects the presence or absence of an obstacle in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the wheel The obstacle detection sensor further includes a transmission unit that outputs ultrasonic waves and a reception unit that receives reflected ultrasonic waves, and the control unit includes the obstacle detection sensor. An obstacle is detected by the obstacle detection sensor based on at least one of a driving time that is a driving time and a magnitude of an ultrasonic wave that reaches the receiving unit from the transmitting unit without passing through the obstacle. An autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner that changes the distance between the body and the obstacle at the time.

According to this autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner, for example, the body when the obstacle is detected by the obstacle detection sensor so that the first half of the driving time of the obstacle detection sensor is more easily detected than the second half. Change the distance to the obstacle. In addition, the body and the obstacle when the obstacle is detected by the obstacle detection sensor so that the obstacle can be detected more easily than when the ultrasonic wave reaching the receiving unit without passing through the obstacle is large. Change the distance. That is, according to the autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner, the distance between the body and the obstacle when the obstacle is detected by the obstacle detection sensor is changed as described above. Thereby, the precision of an obstacle detection sensor is easy to improve.

The present invention can be applied to autonomously traveling vacuum cleaners used in various environments including home or business autonomously traveling vacuum cleaners that require high corner cleaning ability.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10,900 Autonomous travel type vacuum cleaner 20 Body 21

Front surface

22,22a, 22b Side surface 23 Front top part 24 Back top part 25 Rear surface 30 Drive unit 31 Motor for traveling 32 Housing 32A Motor accommodating part 32B Spring hook part 32C Bearing part 33 Wheel 34 Tire 35 Support shaft 36 Suspension spring 40 Cleaning unit 41 Brush drive motor 42 Gear box (second gear box)
43 Main brush 44 Side brush

44A Brush shaft

44B Bristle bundle 50 Suction unit 51 Electric fan 52 Fan case 52A Front side case element 52B Rear

side case element

52C, 910 Suction port 52D Discharge port 52E Louver 60 Waste bin unit 61 Waste bin 61A Outlet 61B Outlet 61C Bottom 62 Filter 70 Control unit (control unit)
71 Obstacle detection sensor 71A Transmitter 71B Receiver 72 Distance measurement sensor 73 Collision detection sensor 74 Floor detection sensor 75 Derailment detection switch 80 Power supply unit 81 Battery case 82 Storage battery 83 Main switch 90 Caster 91 Support shaft 100 Lower unit 101 Suction Port 102 Power supply port 103 Charging terminal 110 Base 111 Bottom bearing 112 Sensor window 120 Drive part 121 Wheel house 122 Spring hook part 130 Cleaning part 131 Shaft insertion part 132 Coupling part 140 Recycle bin part 150 Suction part 160 Power supply part 170 Brush housing 171 Duct 172 Inlet 173 Outlet 180 Brush cover 181 Slope 190 Holding frame 200 Upper unit 210 Bar 211 Exhaust port 212 Light receiving unit 213 Cover button 220 Cover 221 Arm 230 Bumper 231 Curved projection 232 Transmission window 233 Reception window 234 Distance measurement window 240 Interface unit 241 Panel 242 Operation button 243 Display unit 250 Trash bin receiver 251 Bottom opening 252 Rear opening 260 Arm accommodating portion 300 Garbage detection sensor G Center of gravity H Rotating axis RX Room R1 First wall R2 Second wall R3 Angle R4 Tip portion L1 Tangent L2

Claims

A body with a suction port on the bottom;
A suction unit mounted on the body;
A corner detection unit for detecting a corner of the target area;
A drive unit that drives the body to reciprocate;
A control unit for controlling the drive unit,
The said control unit is an autonomous traveling type cleaner which controls the said drive unit so that the said body reciprocates, if the said angle detection part detects the said angle.
The autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the reciprocating motion is an operation of swinging the body from side to side.
The drive unit includes a right traveling motor that drives the right wheel, and a left traveling motor that drives the left wheel,
The control unit repeats an operation of controlling the forward movement of the right wheel and the backward movement of the left wheel, and subsequently controlling the forward movement of the left wheel and the backward movement of the right wheel. The autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the autonomously traveling cleaner is controlled to swing the body to the left and right by performing.
The body includes a front surface and a plurality of side surfaces that are curved outwardly expanding, and a front top portion that is a top portion defined by the front surface and the side surfaces,
The autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein an angle formed by a tangent of the front surface and a tangent of the side surface is an acute angle.
The suction unit includes an electric fan that sucks air;
The autonomously traveling vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the suction force of the electric fan to be increased when the corner detection unit detects the corner.
A side brush disposed on the bottom side of the body, and a brush drive motor for driving the side brush,
2. The autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein when the angle is detected by the angle detection unit, the control unit performs control so as to increase a rotation speed of the brush drive motor.
A main brush disposed in the suction port; and a brush drive motor for driving the main brush;
2. The autonomous traveling type vacuum cleaner according to claim 1, wherein when the angle is detected by the angle detection unit, the control unit performs control so as to increase a rotation speed of the brush drive motor.