JP2016165347A - Self-propelled electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a self-propelled electronic apparatus capable of preventing breakage of a front wheel at the time of riding over a step.SOLUTION: A self-propelled electronic apparatus includes a housing with a bottom part for accommodating an electronic apparatus component, a right and left pair of drive wheels provided projecting from the bottom part so that the housing can run on a floor surface, a rear wheel provided to the bottom part so as to support the housing on the floor surface together with the pair of drive wheels, and a front wheel provided to the bottom part so as to assist the running on a step of the housing. The bottom part includes a cushioning projection part provided in the front vicinity of the front wheel for alleviating an impact applied to the front wheel when the housing runs on a step.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a self-propelled electronic device that can overcome a step on a floor surface.

  Conventional self-propelled electronic devices of this type include a housing having a rotating brush at the bottom, a pair of left and right drive wheels provided so as to protrude from the bottom so that the housing can run on the floor, and a pair of A rear wheel provided on the bottom so as to support the housing on the floor together with the drive wheel, and a front wheel provided on the bottom for assisting riding on the step of the housing by rolling the step on the floor. A self-propelled cleaner provided is proposed (for example, Patent Document 1).

  The front wheel is composed of a roller having a shaft portion, and is rotatably disposed in a recess formed in the bottom of the housing. Specifically, groove-shaped holding portions that rotatably hold both ends of the shaft portion of the front wheel are provided on both the left and right sides of the recess, and the rollers are inserted from the bottom portion by fitting both ends of the shaft portion into the left and right holding portions. The front wheel is attached in a protruding state.

  According to this self-propelled cleaner, when the casing gets over the step on the floor surface, the roller of the front wheel hits the step and rolls up, so that the casing smoothly goes straight to the position of the pair of driving wheels. After that, the pair of driving wheels and the rear wheels ride on the steps.

JP 2013-70953 A

  Examples of the step on the floor include a hard step such as a sliding door sill partitioning a Western-style room and a Japanese-style room, a Japanese-style room sash and shoji sill, and a rollable flooring material laid on a tatami mat. When the housing climbed over such a hard step, the front wheel collided with the step and was damaged, and in particular, many shaft breaks were observed.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a self-propelled electronic device that can prevent the front wheel from being damaged when overcoming a step.

Thus, according to the present invention, a housing that accommodates electronic device parts and has a bottom portion, a pair of left and right drive wheels that protrude from the bottom portion so as to run the housing on the floor, and the pair of A rear wheel provided at the bottom to support the housing on the floor surface together with a drive wheel, and a front wheel provided at the bottom to assist the ride on the step of the housing;
Provided is a self-propelled electronic device in which the bottom portion is provided in the vicinity of the front of the front wheel and has a buffer protrusion that relieves an impact when riding on a step applied to the front wheel.

  According to the present invention, the shock at the time of climbing on the step applied to the front wheel by the buffer protrusion is alleviated, so that damage to the front wheel (particularly, breakage of the shaft portion) is effectively suppressed.

It is a perspective view which shows Embodiment 1 of the self-propelled electronic device of this invention. FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the self-propelled electronic device according to the first embodiment. 3 is a block diagram of a control circuit of the self-propelled electronic device of Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a state where a bumper of a housing in the self-propelled electronic device of Embodiment 1 is removed. 1 is a side sectional view of a self-propelled electronic device according to a first embodiment. 1 is a plan sectional view of a self-propelled electronic device according to a first embodiment. (A) is a top view of the rotating brush cover in the self-propelled electronic device of Embodiment 1, (B) is a side view. (A)-(C) are the figures explaining the state which the self-propelled electronic device of Embodiment 1 gets over a level | step difference. (A) And (B) is a figure explaining the state of a buffer projection part and a front wheel at the time of stepping over a level | step difference. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state before the collision to the to-be-collised object of the bumper in Embodiment 1. FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state after the collision to the to-be-collised object of the bumper following FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a drive wheel unit in the self-propelled electronic device of Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 13 is a plan sectional view of the drive wheel unit of FIG. 12. It is a modification of the drive wheel of the drive wheel unit in Embodiment 1, (A) is a side view, (B) is a front view, (C) is a sectional view taken along the line II in FIG. 14 (A). It is a schematic bottom view of the self-propelled electronic device of Embodiment 2. It is a schematic bottom view of the self-propelled electronic device of Embodiment 3.

(Embodiment 1)
1 is a perspective view showing Embodiment 1 of the self-propelled electronic device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the self-propelled electronic device of Embodiment 1, and FIG. It is a block diagram of the control circuit of an electronic device. 4 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a state in which the bumper of the housing in the self-propelled electronic device of the first embodiment is removed, and FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of the self-propelled electronic device of the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a plan sectional view of the self-propelled electronic device according to the first embodiment.
In addition, although Embodiment 1 demonstrates and demonstrates the case of the self-propelled cleaner 1 as a self-propelled electronic device, this invention is self-propelled electronic devices other than a vacuum cleaner (for example, self-propelled ion generator). ) Is also applicable.

  The self-propelled cleaner 1 according to the first embodiment includes a disk-shaped housing 2, and includes a collision detection unit 43, a rotating brush 9, a side brush 10, and a dust collection chamber 15 inside and outside the housing 2. A dust collection box 15a, an electric blower 50, a pair of left and right drive wheels 22L, 22R, a front wheel 23, a rear wheel 26, a pair of left and right charging terminals 13, and a plurality of floors. Components such as a battery as a drive source for driving the control unit including the surface detection sensor 18 and electronic device parts, the drive wheels 22L and 22R, the rotating brush 9, the side brush 10, the electric blower 50, and the like are provided.

  In this self-propelled cleaner 1, the part where the rear wheel 26 is arranged is the rear part, the part opposite to the rear wheel 26 is the front part, and the part where the pair of left and right drive wheels 22L and 22R are arranged is the intermediate part. When stopping and traveling on a horizontal plane, the housing 2 is supported by three wheels, that is, a pair of left and right drive wheels 22L and 22R and a rear wheel 26. Therefore, in this specification, the forward direction (forward) refers to the direction in which the self-propelled cleaner 1 advances toward the front side, and the backward direction (backward) refers to the direction in which the self-propelled cleaner 1 moves toward the rear side. The left and right directions refer to the left and right directions when the self-propelled cleaner 1 moves forward, and the up and down direction refers to the up and down direction when the housing 2 is supported on the floor by three wheels. Point to.

  The housing 2 opens and closes when the dust collection box 15a is inserted into and removed from the housing 2 and the bottom plate 2a having a suction port 31 formed at a position near the boundary with the intermediate portion in the front portion. A top plate 2b having a lid portion and a side plate 2c having an annular shape in plan view provided along the outer peripheral portions of the bottom plate 2a and the top plate 2b are provided.

The bottom plate 2a is formed with a pair of left and right openings 2a ₂ for housing a part of the left and right drive wheels 22L and 22R in the housing 2. A support member 2a ₄ is provided around each opening 2a _{2 on} the inner surface of the bottom plate 2a. Furthermore, each drive wheel 22L, 22R is a drive provided with a driving force transmission mechanism 27 (see FIG. 13) having a gear that transmits a driving force of the traveling motor 51 and the traveling motor 51, which will be described later, to each driving wheel 22L, 22R. The drive wheel units UL and UR are incorporated in the wheel units UL and UR, respectively, and are swingably supported by the support members 2a ₄ via the horizontal second axis P ₂ (see FIG. 12). . The details of the drive wheel units UL and UR will be described later.

  Further, in the bottom plate 2a, a buffer projection 24 is provided in the vicinity of the suction port 31 and at an intermediate position in the left-right direction. In the case of the first embodiment, a pair of buffer protrusions 24 are provided side by side. Specifically, the pair of buffer protrusions 24 are ribs integrally formed with the bottom plate 2a of the housing 2 and resin.

  When the self-propelled cleaner 1 climbs over the step on the floor surface, the buffer protrusion 24 plays a role in reducing the impact so that the front wheel 23 does not collide with the step vigorously. It has the sliding contact inclined surface 24a which approaches the floor surface F as it goes to the rear part of the housing | casing 2 (refer FIG. 8 and FIG. 9). This will be described in detail later.

Further, the side plate 2c is a front bumper 2c ₁ and the rear side plate 2c ₂ and the bisected configuration, an exhaust port 32 is formed in the rear side plate 2c _2. Hereinafter, a portion of the housing 2 excluding the bumper 2c ₁ is referred to as a housing body 2x.

Inside the housing 2, components such as a travel motor 51, a brush motor 52, an electric blower 50, an ion generator 120, a dust collection box 15a, a control circuit, and a battery are provided, and a pair of left and right drive wheels 22L and 22R is provided. The center of gravity of the housing 2 is disposed on the rear side so that the housing 2 can be supported by the three wheels of the rear wheel 26. In FIG. 6, an intermediate space 2s ₁ in the housing 2 is a space for storing the dust collection box 15a, and a rear space 2s ₂ is a space for storing the battery.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the control circuit for controlling the operation of the entire self-propelled cleaner 1 includes a control unit 40, an operation panel 41 for inputting setting conditions and operation commands relating to the operation of the self-propelled cleaner 1, traveling A storage unit 42 for storing the map 42a, a motor driver 50a for driving the electric blower 50, a motor driver 51a for driving the traveling motor 51 of the drive wheels 22L and 22R, a brush for driving the rotating brush 9 and the side brush 10. Motor driver 52a for driving the motor 52, control unit 18a for controlling the floor detection sensor 18, control unit 6a for controlling the ultrasonic sensor 6 described later, control unit 43a for controlling the moving object detection unit 43b described later Etc.

  The control unit 40 includes a microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. The control unit 40 individually transmits control signals to the motor drivers 50a, 51a, and 52a based on program data stored in advance in the storage unit 42. A series of cleaning operations are performed by drivingly controlling the travel motor 51 and the brush motor 52. Note that the program data includes program data for a normal mode for cleaning a wide area of the floor, and for a wall-side mode for cleaning along a wall.

  In addition, the control unit 40 receives setting conditions and operation commands by the user from the operation panel 41 and stores them in the storage unit 42. The travel map 42a stored in the storage unit 42 is information related to travel such as a travel route and a travel speed around the installation location of the self-propelled cleaner 1, and is stored in the storage unit 42 by the user in advance. The self-propelled cleaner 1 itself can automatically record during the cleaning operation.

The self-propelled cleaner 1 detects the obstacle on the course by the ultrasonic transmitter 6b ₁ and the ultrasonic receiver 6b ₂ constituting the ultrasonic sensor 6 shown in FIG. , The driving wheels 22L and 22R are temporarily stopped, and then the left and right driving wheels 22L and 22R are rotated in opposite directions to change directions. Thereby, the self-propelled cleaner 1 can perform self-propelled cleaning while avoiding obstacles in the entire installation place or the entire desired range.

  In this self-propelled cleaner 1, when an obstacle is detected in the traveling direction by the ultrasonic sensor 6, the detection signal is transmitted to the control unit 40, and the control unit 40 stops or directs the self-propelled cleaner 1. Control to switch.

On the other hand, during running of the self-propelled cleaner 1, when an obstacle by the ultrasonic sensor 6 is not detected, the bumper 2c ₁ collides with an obstacle. At this time, when the moving object detection unit 43b detects that the bumper 2c ₁ collides with an obstacle, the detection signal is transmitted to the control unit 40, and the control unit 40 stops or turns the self-propelled cleaner 1. Control as follows. This will be described in detail later.

  Since the floor surface detection sensor 18 for detecting the floor surface as described above is disposed at the front center position and the left and right side brushes 10 in the bottom plate 2a of the housing 2 shown in FIG. When a downward step is detected by the detection sensor 18, a detection signal is transmitted to a control unit described later, and the control unit controls the drive wheels 22L and 22R to stop. As a result, the self-propelled cleaner 1 is prevented from falling to a descending step. In addition, when the floor surface detection sensor 18 detects a downward step, the control unit 40 may perform control so as to avoid the downward step.

A pair of left and right charging terminals 13 for charging a built-in battery is provided at the front end of the bottom plate 2 a of the housing 2. The self-propelled cleaner 1 that cleans the room while self-propelled returns to the charging stand installed in the room when the cleaning is completed.
Thereby, the charging terminal 13 of the self-propelled cleaner 1 is in contact with the power supply terminal portion provided on the charging stand, and the power supply terminal portion is connected to the positive terminal and the negative terminal of the battery via the charging terminal 13. The battery is charged. The charging stand connected to the commercial power source (outlet) is usually installed along the side wall of the room. The battery supplies power to each drive control element such as various motors and a control circuit.

As described above, the self-propelled cleaner 1 is in contact with the floor surface F at the three points of the left and right drive wheels 22L and 22R and the rear wheel 26. The weight is distributed in such a balance that does not rise from F (see FIG. 8A).
Therefore, even if the self-propelled cleaner 1 stops suddenly in front of the step down while the vehicle is moving forward, it prevents the self-propelled cleaner 1 from tilting forward and falling to the step down. . The drive wheels 22L and 22R are formed by fitting rubber tires having grooves into the wheels so as not to slip even if suddenly stopped.

  The suction port 31 is an open surface of a recess formed on the bottom surface of the housing 2 (the lower surface of the bottom plate 2a) so as to face the floor surface. In this recess, a rotating brush 9 is provided that rotates about a horizontal axis parallel to the bottom surface of the housing 2. An axial center perpendicular to the bottom surface of the housing 2 is provided on both left and right sides of the recess. A side brush 10 that rotates about the center is provided.

  A rotating brush cover 25 having a front wheel 23 is detachably attached around the suction port 31 in the bottom plate 2a of the housing 2 (see FIGS. 1 and 7). The rotating brush cover 25 and the front wheel 23 will be described in detail later.

  The rotating brush 9 is formed by implanting a brush spirally on the outer peripheral surface of a roller that is a rotating shaft. The side brush 10 is formed by providing brush hair bundles radially at the lower end of the rotating shaft. The rotating shaft of the rotating brush 9 and the rotating shaft of the pair of side brushes 10 are pivotally attached to a part of the bottom plate 2a of the housing 2, and include a brush motor 52, a pulley, a belt, and the like provided in the vicinity thereof. It is rotatably connected via a power transmission mechanism.

Inside the housing 2, a suction path is provided between the suction port 31 and the dust collection box 15a, and an exhaust path is provided between the dust collection box 15a and the exhaust port 32.
As shown in FIG. 5, the air containing dust sucked from the suction port 31 into the housing 2, the suction passage and through the suction port 15a ₁ of the dust collecting box 15a in the dust collecting box 15a as shown by arrow A Led to. At this time, the rotating brush 9 rotates to scrape dust on the floor surface into the suction port body 31, and the pair of side brushes 10 rotate to scrape dust on the left and right sides of the suction port 31 to the suction port 31. .

After the dust has been collected in the dust collecting box 15a, the air dust is removed through the filter 15b is connected to the discharge port 15a ₂ of the dust collecting box 15a, and the discharge port 15a ₂ as indicated by arrow B The air is discharged from the exhaust port 32 through the duct 114, the electric blower 50 connected to the duct 114 and the exhaust passage 34. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 15c denotes a cover of the dust collection box 15a that covers the filter 15b.

  The self-propelled cleaner 1 turns when the left and right drive wheels 22L, 22R rotate forward in the same direction, move backward in the same direction, move backward, and rotate in opposite directions. For example, when the self-propelled cleaner 1 reaches the periphery of the cleaning area and collides with an obstacle on the course, the drive wheels 22L and 22R stop and the left and right drive wheels 22L and 22R are moved in opposite directions. Rotate to change direction. Thereby, the self-propelled cleaner 1 can be self-propelled while avoiding obstacles in the entire installation place or the entire desired range.

<Rotating brush cover and front wheel>
FIG. 7A is a plan view of a rotating brush cover in the self-propelled electronic device of Embodiment 1, and FIG. 7B is a side view.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, the rotary brush cover 25 is provided at the left and right and intermediate positions of the frame portion 25 a that has an opening that exposes the suction port 31 of the housing 2 and that is long in the left-right direction, and the front end of the frame portion 25 a. The left and right intermediate positions of the front protrusion 25a ₁ of the frame 25a (the rear position of the buffer protrusion 24). ) Provided in the front wheel mounting recess 25d and a raised brush 25e planted in the rear side 25a ₂ of the frame 25a.

  On the other hand, on the periphery of the suction port 31 of the bottom plate 2a of the housing 2, there are provided locking recesses for locking the locking projections 25b and the operation projections 25c of the rotating brush cover 25. The rotating brush cover 25 is detachably attached to the bottom plate 2a by the locking projections 25b and the operation projections 25c being locked in the recesses. The operation convex portions 25c can be elastically deformed, and the user pushes each operation convex portion 25c forward with a finger so that each operation convex portion 25c is released from each locking concave portion, so that the rotary brush cover 25 is tilted and removed. be able to.

The front wheel 23 includes a shaft portion 23a having both ends fixed to the bottom portion of the housing 2, and a roller 23b having a shaft hole through which the shaft portion 23a is rotatably inserted. The roller 23b is connected to the shaft portion 23a. It is comprised so that it may rotate with respect to it. More specifically, the roller 23b includes a cylindrical core portion 23b ₁ having an axial hole and an elastic layer portion 23b ₂ provided on the outer periphery of the core portion 23b ₁ . The “bottom part” of the housing 2 here means a portion including the bottom plate 2 a and the rotating brush cover 25 of the housing 2.

In the front wheel 23, the shaft portion 23a is made of metal (for example, stainless steel). Further, in the roller 23b of the front wheel 23, the core portion 23b ₁ is made of a resin having low friction characteristics (for example, polyacetal-based, polyamide-based, polytetrafluoroethylene-based resin, etc.), and the elastic layer portion 23b ₂ is made of an elastic material. (For example, rubber, foamed resin, etc.).

The front wheel mounting recess 25d of the rotating brush cover 25 has a roller housing portion that houses a part of the roller 23b of the front wheel 23, and left and right shaft housing portions that house both ends of the shaft portion 23a protruding from the roller 23b. doing. In the left and right shaft accommodating portions, a pair of boss portions 25d ₁ into which one end of the shaft portion 23a is inserted are provided in one shaft accommodating portion, and the other end of the shaft portion 23a is sandwiched between the other shaft accommodating portions. The clamping piece 25d ₂ is provided.

Plug one end of the shaft portion 23a of the front wheel 23 to the boss portion 25d ₁ of the concave portion 25d of the front wheel mounting, by pushing the other end of the shaft portion 23a between the pair of clamping pieces 25d _2, the shaft portion 23a housing 2 The roller 23b can be rotated with respect to the fixed shaft portion 23a. Note that when removing the front wheel 23 from rotating brush cover 25, for example, the front wheels by drawing needles or pins or the like inserted into the roller accommodating portion, Te to the outside extracted shaft portion 23a of a pair of clamping pieces 25d ₂ by this principle 23 can be taken out from the recess 25d. When the front wheel 23 is attached, the procedure is reversed.

FIGS. 8A to 8C are views for explaining a state in which the self-propelled electronic device according to the first embodiment climbs over a step, and FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate buffer protrusions when stepping over the step. It is a figure explaining the state of a front wheel.
As shown in FIGS. 8A to 8C, the self-propelled cleaner 1 that moves forward on the floor surface F as shown in FIGS. 8A to 8C by providing the buffer projection 24 at the front position of the front wheel 23 at the bottom of the housing 2. The front wheel 23 is prevented from strikingly colliding with the step S when the vehicle goes over a hard step S like a threshold.

  More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 9A, the sliding contact inclined surface 24a of the buffer projection 24 hits the corner portion of the step S when the step is overcome. Then, the buffer protrusion 24 moves up the step S in the direction of arrow A while the sliding contact inclined surface 24a slides on the step S. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 9B, when the buffer protrusion 24 rides on the step S, the front wheel 23 hits the corner of the step S.

At this time, as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the distance L ₃ from the bottom of the housing 2 to the contact position with the step S of the front wheel 23 is from the bottom of the housing 2 to the buffer projection 24. The distance L ₁ is approximately equal to the distance L ₁ to the top of the housing 2 and is set to be shorter than the protruding dimension L ₂ of the front wheel 23 protruding from the bottom of the housing 2. However, it is a condition that the distance L ₁ protrudes from the shaft portion 23 a of the front wheel 23.

As the distance L ₃ is small, the impact applied to the front wheel 23 collides with the corner of the step S is increased, there is a case where the shaft portion 23a of the front wheels 23 by the impact breakage. In the present invention, since the distance L ₃ is set to be as large as the distance L ₂ , the impact force applied to the shaft portion 23a of the front wheel 23 that collides with the corner portion of the step S is greatly reduced, and the impact force is reduced. Most of it is converted into a rotational force in the direction of arrow B of the roller 23b. Therefore, breakage of the front wheel 23 (particularly, breakage of the shaft portion 23a) is effectively suppressed, and the shaft portion 23a is made of metal and thus is more difficult to break. Further, most of the impact force of the buffer protrusion 24 received from the previous step S is also received by the movement of the buffer protrusion 24 in the direction of arrow A, so that damage to the buffer protrusion 24 is also suppressed.

  After the front wheel 23 shown in FIG. 9 (B) is in contact with the corner of the step S, the front wheel 23 rolls on the corner of the step S, and the front wheel 23 is moved to the step S as shown in FIG. 8 (C). Get on top. Since these series of operations over the steps are smoothly performed with little vibration, damage due to vibration of the electronic device components housed in the housing 2 is reduced. Further, since the front wheel 23 is rotated only by the roller 23b and the shaft portion 23a is not rotated, the fibrous dust on the step S is difficult to wind around the shaft portion 23a.

  In addition, in the case of Embodiment 1, although the case where the pair of buffer protrusions 24 was provided side by side was illustrated, these buffer protrusions 24 may be connected to one.

<Bumper, collision detection unit and their peripheral configuration>
As shown in FIG. 1, the bumper 2c ₁ semicircular arc shape to the left and right plurality of locations in the circumferential direction central position and the central position has a circular hole, of the bumper 2c ₁ so as to be exposed from the holes An ultrasonic transmitter 6b ₁ and an ultrasonic receiver 6b _{2 of the} ultrasonic sensor are provided on the inner surface. In the case of the first embodiment, the bumper 2c ₁ is formed with five holes in a row, and the ultrasonic wave receiving part 6b ₂ is disposed in the central position and the left and right holes, and two adjacent to the central position. The ultrasonic transmitter 6b ₁ is disposed in the hole.

The control unit 6a (FIG. 3) transmits ultrasonic waves from the ultrasonic transmission unit 6b _{1 of the} ultrasonic sensor 6 until the transmitted ultrasonic waves are reflected by the obstacle and received by the ultrasonic reception unit 6b _2. The distance from the time to the obstacle is calculated and transmitted to the control unit 40 as a detection signal.

Bumper 2c _1, the bottom plate 2a, so as to cover the front opening 2x ₁ of the housing body 2x constituted by the ends of the top plate 2b and the rear side plate 2c ₂ (see FIG. 4), the front opening 2x ₁ It is fitted in the peripheral part. At this time, the bumper 2c ₁ is supported by a fitting structure that is movable in the front-rear and left-right directions with respect to the housing body 2x and does not fall off from the front opening 2x ₁ .

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the bumper 2c ₁ is provided with raised portions 2c ₁₂ at lower positions on both the left and right sides (see FIG. 10). The raised portion 2c ₁₂ protrudes in the protruding dimension T of about 1~5mm to outside the side surface of the bumper 2c _1.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state before the bumper collides with the colliding object in the first embodiment, and FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state after the bumper collides with the colliding object subsequent to FIG. 10.
As shown in FIGS. 3, 4, 6, 10, and 11, the collision detection unit 43 detects the bumper 2 c ₁ that has collided with an obstacle that is a collision object in a non-contact manner. Is provided.

The collision detecting unit 43 includes a housing body and a buffer portion 43c to absorb the impact from the provided inside the 2x and bumper 2c ₁ which has collided with the obstacle, the moving object detection unit 43b which is fixed to the housing body 2x in And a control unit 43 a, and a pair of left and right are provided at the front portion in the housing 2. The pair of left and right collision detection units 43 have the same line-symmetric structure, and only one (right side) collision detection unit 43 will be described below.

The buffer part 43c has a movable member 43c ₁ mounted in the casing main body 2x so as to be movable in a direction approaching and separating from the moving object detection part 43b, and an inner surface of the bumper 2c ₁ outside through the movable member 43c _1. And an urging member 43c ₂ for urging the In the case of the first embodiment, the movable member 43c ₁ has an arcuate shape along the inner surface of the bumper 2c ₁ and has a short cylindrical portion 43c ₁₁ at the front end thereof. A coil spring (compression spring) is used as the urging member 43c _2.

On the other hand, a boss portion 2a ₁ is provided at the front end of the bottom plate 2a of the housing body 2x, and the short cylinder portion 43c ₁₁ of the movable member 43c ₁ is sandwiched between the boss portion 2a ₁ and the pressing member 3, and a tapping screw is provided. pressing member 3 is fixed to the boss portion 2a ₁ through the short tube portion 43c ₁₁ by. Thus, the movable member 43c ₁ is attached swingably with respect to the housing body 2x around the axis P in the vertical direction of the short cylindrical portion 43c _11.

Further, in the movable member 43c ₁ , a projecting piece 43c ₁₂ that projects inward of the housing body 2x is provided in the middle part in the longitudinal direction, and is opposed to the inner surface of the bumper 2c ₁ on the rear end side of the projecting piece 43c _12. recesses 43c ₁₃ is provided with a further protrusion 43c ₁₄ that is inserted into one end of the coil spring is a biasing member 43c ₂ projects into the interior of the housing body 2x is provided on the front side of the protrusion 43c ₁₂ It has been.

On the other hand, the support plate 4 above the movable member 43c ₁ for supporting the circuit board is provided a front portion of the housing body 2x, the moving object detection unit 43b is provided on the left and right positions of the lower surface of the support plate 4 It has been. The moving object detection unit 43b is a sensor that detects a part of the movable member 43c ₁ that relatively approaches when the bumper 2c ₁ collides with an obstacle (in this case, the protruding piece 43c ₁₂ ) without contact. In the first embodiment, as the moving object detecting unit 43b, a photoelectric sensor having a light projecting unit 43b ₁ and a light receiving unit 43b ₂ provided at a position sandwiching a space in which the projecting piece 43c ₁₂ of the movable member 43c ₁ moves is used. Yes.

In addition, the housing body 2x of the bottom plate 2a, the protrusion 2a ₃ is provided to be inserted into the other end of the biasing member 43c _2. Thereby, the urging member 43c ₂ elastically urges the movable member 43c ₁ outward.

Further, on the inner surface of the bumper 2c ₁ , a trapezoidal convex portion 2c _{11 that} is fitted into the concave portion 43c ₁₃ of the movable member 43c ₁ is provided. As a result, the bumper 2c ₁ is elastically urged outward by the urging member 43c ₂ via the movable member 43c _{1. In the} normal state shown in FIG. 7, the bumper 2c ₁ and the housing body 2x Between these, predetermined gaps G ₁₁ and G ₁₂ are formed. At this time, protrusion 43c ₁₂ of the movable member 43c ₁ because it has positioned outward from between the light projecting portion 43 b ₁ and the light receiving portion 43 b _2, light projecting portion 43 b ₁ irradiated from the light receiving unit 43 b ₂ Will be received.

On the other hand, when the bumper 2c ₁ collides with an obstacle during the traveling of the self-propelled cleaner 1, the bumper 2c ₁ is pushed inward against the urging force of the urging member 43c ₂ as shown in FIG. The impact which self-propelled cleaner 1 and an obstacle receive is relieved. At this time, the gap between the bumper 2c ₁ and the housing body 2x is narrowed to the gaps G ₂₁ and G ₂₂ . That is, the movable member 43c ₁ is pushed inward by the bumper 2c ₁ until the gaps G ₂₁ and G ₂₂ are reached, whereby the projecting piece 43c ₁₂ enters between the light projecting part 43b ₁ and the light receiving part 43b ₂ , and the projecting piece 43c. ₁₂ blocks the light emitted from the light projecting unit 43b ₁ toward the light receiving unit 43b ₂ .

The control unit 43a (FIG. 3), when the light emitted from the light projecting portion 43b ₁ of the moving object detection unit 43b to the light receiving portion 43b ₂ is blocked, detects that it has been shielded detection signal to the control unit 40 Send. Thereby, the control unit 40 controls the traveling motor 51 via the motor driver 51a so that the self-propelled cleaner 1 moves backward or turns to avoid an obstacle. Incidentally, a stopper is provided in the housing body 2x in that the movable member 43c ₁ is not excessively pushed inward, the embodiment 1, the driving wheel unit UL, provided on the support member 2a ₄ and its outer surface for supporting the UR The cushion material 2a ₄₁ thus formed functions as a stopper.

As shown in FIG. 11, by providing the raised portions 2c ₁₂ at the lower left and right sides of the bumper 2c ₁ , a relatively low obstacle V, that is, an obstacle V slightly higher than the bottom surface of the housing 2 (for example, When the housing 2 approaches in a state of being nearly parallel to a sill, a table, or an inverted T-shaped leg of a sofa), the bump 2c ₁ is likely to be pushed in because the raised portion 2c ₁₂ abuts against the obstacle V. Yes. Therefore, the bumper 2c ₁ operates with high sensitivity even for such a low obstacle V, and the casing 2 can be avoided without riding on the low obstacle V.

Incidentally, if the ridges 2c ₁₂ to the bumper 2c ₁ is not provided, the housing 2 in parallel state close towards the obstacle V approaches not pressed the sides of the bumper 2c ₁ by the obstacle V, disorders There is a case where the housing 2 rides on the object V. As a result, the casing 2 may travel while rubbing the bottom surface (outside of the driving wheel) on the obstacle V, or may stop due to an error during such traveling.

<About the drive wheel unit>
12 is a plan view showing a drive wheel unit in the self-propelled electronic device of Embodiment 1, and FIG. 13 is a plan sectional view of the drive wheel unit in FIG. 12 and 13 show the left driving wheel unit UL, and the structure of the right driving wheel unit UR is the same as that of the left driving wheel unit UL except that it is bilaterally symmetric. Hereinafter, the left drive wheel unit UL will be described.

Drive wheel unit UL comprises a driving wheel 22L, a drive wheel holder 21 for rotatably holding the drive wheels 22L about a first axis P ₁ in the lateral direction, a traveling motor 51 mounted on the driving wheels holder 21 And a driving force transmission mechanism 27 provided in the driving wheel holder 21 for transmitting the rotational force of the traveling motor 51 to the driving wheel 22L. The driving force transmission mechanism 27 includes a plurality of gears and shafts that transmit the rotation of the output shaft of the traveling motor 51 to the driving wheels 22L while decelerating the rotation.

The drive wheel holder 21 includes an inner case portion 21a and an outer case portion 21b each having a boss portion that can be connected to a plurality of locations on the outer peripheral portion with screws, and the inside thereof is a gear storage chamber for storing the drive force transmission mechanism 27. 21r. The drive wheel holder 21 has a cylindrical portion 21a ₁ into which the traveling motor 51 is fitted into the inner case portion 21a.

The cylindrical portion 21a ₁ is provided on one end (front end) side in the longitudinal direction of the inner case portion 21a, and a through hole 21a ₁₁ penetrating in the left-right direction is formed at the center position. The traveling motor 51 is fitted and fixed in the cylindrical portion 21a _{1 so} that the output shaft is inserted into the through hole 21a ₁₁ . Thus, the axis of the output shaft of the running motor 51 matches on the second axis P ₂ of the cylindrical portion 21a _1. The first axis P ₁ and the second axis P ₂ are parallel.

In addition, a projection 21a ₁₂ that hooks one end of a tension spring as the biasing member 41 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 21a ₁ . The other end of the biasing member 41 is hooked to the protrusion 2a ₄₁₁ provided a drive wheel unit UL about the second axis P ₂ on the side surface of the support member 2a ₄ swingably supported .

Therefore, projections 21a ₁₂ by the urging force of the urging member 41 are attracted to the protrusion 2a ₄₁₁ side, the driving wheel unit UL is biased to swing downward about the second axis P _2. The support member 2a ₄ has an inner case portion 2a ₄₁ and an outer case portion 2a ₄₂ each having a hole portion into which the cylindrical portion 21a ₁ of the drive wheel holder 21 is rotatably fitted, and is configured in a downward opening cap shape. It is fixed around the opening 2a ₂ in the bottom plate 2a of the housing 2.

The inner case portion 21a and the outer case portion 21b of the driving wheel holder 21 are inserted into the hollow shaft 27b integrated with the gear 27a of the driving force transmission mechanism 27 and the hole of the hollow shaft 27a to rotate the hollow shaft 27b. the support shaft 27c that movably supported rotatably held in the first axis P ₁ position. Further, the inner casing portion 21a has a hollow shaft 27b rotatably support and which has a projecting externally monkey hole, the annular ribs 21a ₂ around the first axis P ₁ on the outer surface .

Drive wheel 22L is disposed adjacent to the annular rib 21a _2, which has a recess 22La to the annular rib 21a ₂ side, and has a boss portion 22Lb around the first axis P _1. Boss 22 lbs is a hollow shaft 27b protruding outward has an inner flange 22 lbs ₁ therein so as to be inserted by a predetermined distance.

Attachment to the drive wheels 22L of the hollow shaft 27b is a hollow shaft 27b is inserted into the boss portion 22 lbs until it abuts against the inner flange 22 lbs _1, the inner flange 22 lbs ₁ hollow is screwed tapping screw (not shown) into the hollow shaft within 27b This is done by pressing against the shaft 27b. Note that the hollow shaft 27b and the boss 22Lb are not circular in cross-sectional shape, for example, by cutting a part of the circle, so that the hollow shaft 27b does not rotate freely and the rotational force is reliably applied to the drive wheels 22L. I am trying to communicate.

In a state in which the driving wheels 22L mounted on the hollow shaft 27b, a small gap between the drive wheel 22L recess 22La and annular ribs 21a ₂ of the inner casing portion 21a of the drive wheel holder 21 (e.g., about 1mm) is Is formed. In particular, the gap Gx between the annular rib 21a ₂ of the inner peripheral surface of the concave portion 22La and the inner casing section 21a is preferably 1mm or less.

Further, in the inner case portion 21a, a tapered surface 21a ₃ that is obliquely cut is provided between the end portion on the opposite side to the cylindrical portion 21a ₁ and the annular rib 21a ₂ . By using the tapered surface 21a ₃ instead of the curved surface that rounds the corners, the opening and the back of the space formed by the tapered surface 21a ₃ , the annular rib 21a ₂ and the drive wheel 22L become wide. As a result, for example, when the self-propelled cleaner 1 is traveling, the cable J (for example, a personal computer power cable) of the electronic device does not enter the space and dig into the inner space and wind around the hollow shaft 27b. Even if the cable J enters the space, it can be easily removed.

Further, for example, even if the cable J is thin like a power cord of a mobile phone charger, the gap Gx is as narrow as about 1 mm, so the cable J does not bite into the gap Gx. Further, if the annular rib 21a ₂ is not provided and a curved surface is used instead of the tapered surface 21a ₃ , the cable is thin even if the gap between the inner case portion 21a and the drive wheel 22L is narrowed to about 1 mm. which may wrap around the hollow shaft 27b bite into the gap by the rotation of the driving wheels 22L, but wrapping around the hollow shaft 27b is effective by providing the annular rib 21a ₂ which is substantially parallel to protrude to the first axis P ₁ Is prevented.

  14A and 14B show modifications of the drive wheels of the drive wheel unit according to the first embodiment, in which FIG. 14A is a side view, FIG. 14B is a front view, and FIG. It is. In FIG. 14C, the same elements as those in FIG. 13 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the drive wheel 22Rm has a wheel 22a and a tire 22b fitted on the outer periphery of the wheel 22a, and this configuration is the drive wheel 22L shown in FIGS. This is the same, and the wheels of the drive wheels 22L and 22Rm are the same. FIG. 14 shows the right drive wheel 22Rm.

If the drive wheels 22Rm shown in FIG. 14, a tread pattern of irregularities in the width direction of the tire (the first axis P ₁ direction) divided into two parts, one of the tread pattern 22b ₁ is convex portion 22b ₁₁ and the concave portion 22b ₁₂ Are alternately repeated in the circumferential direction, and the other tread pattern 22b ₂ is also alternately formed with the convex portions 22b ₂₁ and the concave portions 22b ₂₂ in the circumferential direction. At this time, one of the tread pattern 22b ₁ of the protrusion 22b ₁₁ and the other recess 22b ₂₂ of the tread pattern 22b ₂ are arranged to abut. Up to this point, the same applies to the drive wheels 22L shown in FIGS.

Feature point of the drive wheel 22Rm shown in FIG. 14, in one tread pattern 22b _1, a rotational direction (arrow Q direction) small protrusions 22b ₁₁₁ from protrusion 22b ₁₁ to the drive wheels 22Rm is toward the recess 22b ₁₂ protrude And a convex portion 22b ₁₁₂ having an intermediate size protrudes from the convex portion 22b ₁₁ toward the concave portion 22b ₂₂ of the other tread pattern 22b ₂ .

A further characteristic point of the drive wheel 22Rm shown in FIG. 14 is that each convex portion 22b ₁₁ , 22b ₂₁ is inclined in the rotational direction (arrow Q direction) as it goes outward. These three feature points are the same in the other tread pattern 22b ₂ . According to the drive wheel 22Rm having these three characteristic points, the performance of transmitting the rotational force of the drive wheel 22Rm to the floor and the step is improved.
The left driving wheel is configured by attaching a tire 22b in the opposite direction to the hole 22a of the right driving wheel 22Rm.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 15 is a schematic bottom view of the self-propelled electronic device according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 15, the same elements as those in FIGS. 1 to 14 are denoted by the same reference numerals.
As shown in FIG. 15, in the case of the self-propelled cleaner 101 of the second embodiment, the front wheel 123 is provided between the front floor surface detection sensor 18 and the suction port 31 in the bottom plate 2 a of the housing 2, and is Is provided between the floor detection sensor 18 and the front wheel 123 in the bottom plate 2a. In the second embodiment, other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  The buffer protrusion 124 has a sliding contact inclined surface 124a similar to that of the first embodiment. Therefore, also in the case of the self-propelled cleaner 101 of the second embodiment, similarly to the description in FIGS. 8 and 9, it is possible to alleviate the impact applied to the front wheel 123 when climbing over a step, and the front wheel 123 is effectively damaged. Can be suppressed.

(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 16 is a schematic bottom view of the self-propelled electronic device according to the third embodiment. In FIG. 16, the same elements as those in FIGS. 1 to 15 are denoted by the same reference numerals.
In the case of the self-propelled cleaner 201 of the third embodiment, the front wheel 123 is provided on the bottom plate 2a of the housing 2 as in the second embodiment, but the buffer protrusion 224 is not only the front of the front wheel 123 but also the entire circumference. Is provided. In the third embodiment, other configurations are the same as those in the second embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 16, in the case of the third embodiment, the buffer protrusion 224 has a substantially elliptical shape in plan view, and the front wheel 123 is disposed at the center of the elliptical shape. Further, the buffer projection 224 has a convex curved surface that completely surrounds the front wheel 123, and the front portion of the curved surface is a sliding contact inclined surface 224a. Accordingly, also in the case of the self-propelled cleaner 201 of the third embodiment, the impact applied to the front wheel 123 when climbing over a step can be mitigated, as in the description in FIGS. Can be suppressed.

  In the third embodiment, the buffer projection 224 may have a rectangular shape in plan view. In this case, four inclined surfaces are provided on the front, rear, left and right of the front wheel 123, and the front inclined surface is a sliding contact inclined surface. In addition, the rear portion facing the suction port 31 in the buffer protrusion 224 that completely surrounds the front wheel 123 may be omitted.

(Other embodiments)
In the present invention, the buffer protrusion may be other than the shape described in the first to third embodiments. For example, one or more cuts in the front-rear direction may be formed in the buffer protrusions 24, 124, 224 of the first to third embodiments. Further, a plurality of hemispherical buffer protrusions may be provided on the side and bottom of the housing instead of the buffer protrusions 24 and 124 of the first and second embodiments.

(Summary)
A self-propelled electronic device according to the present invention includes a housing that contains electronic device components and has a bottom, a pair of left and right drive wheels that are provided so as to protrude from the bottom so that the housing can run on the floor surface, A rear wheel provided at the bottom so as to support the housing on a floor surface together with a pair of drive wheels, and a front wheel provided at the bottom so as to assist riding on the step of the housing;
The bottom portion has a buffer projection that is provided in the vicinity of the front of the front wheel and relieves an impact when riding on a step applied to the front wheel.

The self-propelled electronic device of the present invention may be configured as follows, or may be combined as appropriate.
(1) The buffer protrusion may have a sliding contact inclined surface that approaches a floor surface toward the rear portion of the housing so as to come into sliding contact with the step when riding on the step.
If it does in this way, a buffer projection will go up a level | step difference, while a sliding contact inclined surface slidably contacts a level | step difference. Thereby, since the impact force to the buffer projection part applied at the time of a collision with a level | step difference is released as an upward movement of a buffer projection part, damage to a buffer projection part can be suppressed. In addition, the buffer protrusion and the front wheel can get over the step more smoothly by the sliding contact inclined surface.

(2) The front wheel includes a shaft portion having both ends fixed to the bottom portion, and a roller having a shaft center hole through which the shaft portion is rotatably inserted, and the roller rotates with respect to the shaft portion. You may make it do.
If it does in this way, winding of fibrous dust, such as lint and hair, can be controlled to a shaft part.

(3) The roller has a cylindrical core portion having the axial hole, and an elastic layer portion provided on the outer periphery of the core portion,
The shaft portion may be made of metal, and the core portion may be made of resin.
If it does in this way, while it will become difficult to break a shaft part, a roller will rotate smoothly to a shaft part. In addition, the elastic layer portion of the roller can absorb the vibration when the front wheel gets over the step, and the damage to the electronic device parts due to the vibration when the step gets over the step can be reduced.

(4) The self-propelled electronic device is a self-propelled cleaner having a rotating brush,
The bottom portion includes a suction port that rotatably stores the rotary brush, and a rotary brush cover that is detachably provided on the periphery of the suction port.
The front wheel may be attached to the rotating brush cover.
If it does in this way, a front wheel can be washed with water with the rotating brush cover removed from the bottom.

  The disclosed embodiments should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 101, 201 Self-propelled cleaner 2 Case 9 Rotating brush 22L, 22R Drive wheel 23, 123 Front wheel 23a Axle part 23b Roller 23b ₁ Core part 23b ₂ Elastic layer part 24, 124, 224 Buffer protrusion part 24a, 124a 224a Sliding contact inclined surface 25 Rotating brush cover 26 Rear wheel 31 Suction port F Floor surface S Step

Claims (5)

A housing containing electronic device parts and having a bottom, a pair of left and right drive wheels provided so as to protrude from the bottom so that the housing can run on the floor, and the housing together with the pair of drive wheels on the floor A rear wheel provided at the bottom to support on the surface, and a front wheel provided at the bottom to assist the ride on the step of the housing,
The self-propelled electronic device, wherein the bottom portion has a buffer projection provided in the vicinity of the front of the front wheel to alleviate an impact when riding on a step applied to the front wheel.   2. The self-propelled electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the buffer protrusion has a sliding contact inclined surface that approaches a floor surface toward the rear portion of the housing so as to come into sliding contact with the step when riding on the step.   The front wheel includes a shaft portion having both ends fixed to the bottom portion, and a roller having a shaft center hole through which the shaft portion is rotatably inserted, and the roller rotates with respect to the shaft portion. The self-propelled electronic device according to 1 or 2. The roller has a cylindrical core portion having the axial hole, and an elastic layer portion provided on the outer periphery of the core portion,
The self-propelled electronic device according to claim 3, wherein the shaft portion is made of metal and the core portion is made of resin. The self-propelled electronic device is a self-propelled cleaner having a rotating brush,
The bottom portion includes a suction port that rotatably stores the rotary brush, and a rotary brush cover that is detachably provided on the periphery of the suction port.
The self-propelled electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the front wheel is attached to the rotating brush cover.