JPH04328607A - Cleaning robot - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To surely clean the parts set along the walls or the obstacles by securing a constitution where a brush attached to the tip of an arm positioned at the lower side of a main body case receives the control function moving toward the outside of the case and gets close to the walls or the obstacles. CONSTITUTION:A brush cleaning means 8 consists of a brush 8a which is attached to the tip of an arm 8b at the front of a sucking port of a cleaner, the arm 8b, and a pair of motors 8c and 8d. An arm control part 12 gives a position control command to a motor driver 13 based on the distance information given from a short distance measuring part 11 so as to secure a constant distance between the means 8 and a front or side wall or obstacle. The driver 13 gives the commands to the motor 8c to slide the arm 8b toward an allow A and to the motor 84 to turn the arm 8b toward an arrow B respectively in order to control the position of the arm 8b. Furthermore the part 12 outputs the present distances between a cleaning robot and the walls or the obstacles to a robot control part 14 included in a main body case.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cleaning robot that cleans areas close to walls and obstacles while moving through the area to be cleaned.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art A cleaning robot conventionally used has the structure shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The cleaning robot cleans by plugging an AC cord 19 pulled out from a winding mechanism 18 into an outlet. After inserting the memory card 21 containing room dimension information into the insertion slot, the start switch 23 is turned on to start operation.

At the same time, the dimensional information stored in the memory card 21 is read, and the cleaning robot is activated by a rotation control command issued from the robot control unit 14 to the two front wheel drive motors 3, 3 via the encoder 4. It is moved within a predetermined area.

In this case, a plurality of front, lateral, and rear ultrasonic sensors 15, 16, and 17 provided on the surface of the main body case 1 detect walls and obstacles within the cleaning area. The cleaning robot avoids collision with the cleaning robot while detecting the distance to the robot, and the dust in the area through which the cleaning robot passes is sucked in from the suction port 7 of the vacuum cleaner 6 opened in the bottom wall.

[0005]

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] When a conventional cleaning robot moves at a certain distance from a wall or obstacle while sucking in dust from the suction port 7 opened in the bottom wall of the main body case 1. Since the suction port 7 of the vacuum cleaner 6 is slightly smaller than the width of the bottom wall, some of the dust between the suction port 7 and the walls or obstacles is left unremoved. Ta.

[0006] Also, in order to avoid collisions with walls and obstacles,
An ultrasonic sensor 15, 1 is installed as a distance sensor in the main body case 1.
6 and 17 are used, the obstacle information obtained by ultrasonic waves detects the obstacle to be larger than the actual object due to the influence of the directivity angle of the ultrasonic waves. As a result, the internal map of the area to be cleaned is no longer accurate, which has an adverse effect on determining the travel route of the cleaning robot.

The present invention has been made in view of these circumstances, and it makes it possible to remove dust left behind along walls and obstacles, and improves the accuracy of recognizing the shape and position of obstacles. The purpose is to provide a cleaning robot that can

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a main body case equipped with distance sensors for detecting distances to obstacles and walls in front, sides, and rear, and a main body case. two drive motors equipped with rotation angle detectors that separately drive a pair of driving wheels provided at the front;
A vacuum cleaner that is housed in the main case and has a suction port opened on the bottom wall, a brush cleaning means for removing dust from a surface to be cleaned, and a control circuit for the brush cleaning means. The brush cleaning means includes a pair of brushes located in front of the suction port and provided at the tips of arms, and a set of two motors that rotate these arms in the longitudinal direction and around the base end. The control circuit for the brush cleaning means includes a motor driver that controls the rotation of each of the two motors, and a motor driver that controls the movement of the arm in the length direction and the rotation of the arm about one of the motors. This cleaning robot is made up of an arm control section that controls cleaning, and a robot control section that is connected to the arm control section and controls cleaning using a brush.

In order to improve the removal of dust near obstacles and walls, the brush is equipped with a proximity sensor that detects the distance to the wall or obstacle, and based on this information, the brush can move along the wall or obstacle. It is preferable to have a configuration in which this is controlled.

[0010] Furthermore, the proximity distance sensor provided on the brush can be configured to be connected to the robot control section via the proximity distance measurement section, and the accuracy of recognizing obstacles and the room environment can be improved by feeding back information.

[0011]

[Operation] In the present invention, since the brush cleaning means is provided in front of the suction port on the lower side of the bottom wall, in the running mode for cleaning along walls and obstacles, the brush cleaning means is located on the lower side of the bottom wall. The control circuit moves the brush at the end of the arm to the outside of the bottom wall, brushing the dust between the wall or obstacle and the suction port to make it easier to suck. is sucked into the vacuum cleaner from the suction port located on the rear side.

Furthermore, in the running mode, the proximity distance sensor provided on the brush is closer to the wall or obstacle than the proximity distance sensor on the main body case, so the shape of the obstacle and the shape obtained by the proximity distance sensor on the brush are different. Information about location becomes more accurate, which has a positive impact on determining driving routes.

[0013]

[Embodiment] A detailed description will be given below based on an embodiment shown in the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to this.

FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional plan view of this embodiment, which has the same external perspective view as the conventional example (see FIG. 4). On the bottom wall of the main body case 1, there are driving wheels 2, 2 on both the left and right sides of the front part.
is provided, and rotatable casters 5 are provided at the center of the rear part. Each driving wheel 2 is independently driven by a drive motor 3 equipped with an encoder 4 as rotation angle detection means.

A vacuum cleaner 6 is housed in the main body case 1 at the center behind the driving wheels 2, and a suction port 7 of the vacuum cleaner 6 is opened in the bottom wall in front of the driving wheels 2. Suction port 7
Brush cleaning means 8, 8 are provided diagonally in front of both left and right ends.

As shown in FIG. 2, each brush cleaning means 8 includes a brush 8a located in front of the suction port 7 and provided at the tip of an arm 8b, and a brush 8a provided at the proximal end of the arm 8b. It consists of a set of two motors 8c and 8d that rotate it in its length direction and around its base end. motor 8c
, 8d are provided with potentiometers 8e and 8f for detecting the position of the arm 8b in the sliding direction indicated by arrow A and in the rotational direction indicated by arrow B. 9 and 10 are brushes 8
These are front and side proximity distance sensors attached to a.

Information obtained from the proximity distance sensors 9 and 10 is input to a proximity distance measuring section 11, where the distance to the front or side wall or obstacle is measured. Distance information from the proximity distance measurement section 11 is input to the arm control section 12, and the arm control section 12 uses this distance information to keep the brush cleaning means 8 at a constant distance from the front or side wall or obstacle. A position control command is issued to the motor driver 13 as shown in FIG.

The motor driver 13 that received this command:
A command is issued to the motor 8c to slide the arm 8b in the direction of arrow A, and a command is issued to the motor 8d to rotate the arm 8b in the direction of arrow B, thereby controlling the position of the arm 8b.

The arm control unit 12 determines the distance between the cleaning robot in its current posture and a wall or obstacle using the main body case 1.
The data is input to the robot control unit 14 housed within the robot control unit 14. Therefore, the robot control unit 14 can use the brush cleaning means 8 as if it were a contact sensor, so the robot control unit 14 can detect the shape of obstacles and walls using distance sensors 15, 16, 17, which will be described later, provided in the main body case 1. Not only can this be understood more accurately than would otherwise be possible, but the internal map of the area to be cleaned can also be more accurate. As a result, it becomes easier to create a travel control algorithm.

A plurality of forward, lateral, and rear ultrasonic sensors 15, 16, and 17 as distance sensors are provided on the front, left and right side surfaces, and back of the main body case 1, respectively. . The forward ultrasonic sensor 15 detects the distance between the main body case 1 and an obstacle or wall in front of it, and the lateral ultrasonic sensor 16 detects the distance between the main body case 1 and an obstacle or wall in the lateral direction. The rear ultrasonic sensor 17 detects the distance between the main body case 1 and an obstacle or wall behind it.

In FIG. 4, which has the same external perspective view as this embodiment, reference numeral 18 indicates an AC
In the cord winding mechanism, each part of the cleaning robot that requires power is supplied with power from an AC cord 19 that is retractably wound around the AC cord winding machine 18. Since power is supplied using an AC power source instead of a storage battery, the cleaning robot is lightweight and can be used continuously.

The main body case 1 is provided with a bumper switch 20 protruding from the lower outer peripheral surface thereof. The bumper switch 20 stops the running cleaning robot when it collides with an obstacle that cannot be detected by the ultrasonic sensors 15, 16, and 17.

Reference numeral 21 denotes a memory card in which dimension information of the room to be cleaned is stored.The operation of the cleaning robot is performed by inserting the memory card 21 into an insertion slot 22 provided at a predetermined position of the cleaning robot, and then pressing the start switch. 23 is turned on, and the operation is stopped by turning on the stop switch 24. A handle 25 used for moving the cleaning robot between rooms is provided on the rear side of the main body case 1.

Next, the operation of the apparatus will be explained. In the running mode in which cleaning is performed along walls and obstacles, the robot control unit 14 reads the dimensional information from the memory card 21.
The arm control unit 12 and motor driver 13 rotate the motors 8c and 8d by a predetermined angle, respectively, to rotate the arm 8b.
While sliding in the direction of arrow A, rotate in the direction of arrow B.

This control operation causes the brush 8a to move as shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the brush 8 is moved to the outside of the main case 1.
The proximity distance sensors 9 and 10 of a remove dust from the surface to be cleaned while moving along walls and obstacles. The removed dust is transferred to the suction port 7 behind the brush 8a.
is sucked into the vacuum cleaner 6.

In the normal mode for cleaning areas away from walls and obstacles, the brush cleaning means 8
As shown in FIG. 1, the vacuum cleaner 6 travels while being positioned below the bottom wall, and the dust removed by the brush 8a is sucked into the vacuum cleaner 6 through the suction port 7 provided on the rear side.

In the normal mode for cleaning areas away from walls and obstacles, the brush cleaning means 8
As shown in FIG. 1, the vacuum cleaner 6 travels while being positioned below the bottom wall, and the dust removed by the brush 8a is sucked into the vacuum cleaner 6 through the suction port 7 provided on the rear side.

[0028]

According to the invention as set forth in claim 1, when cleaning along a wall or an obstacle, the brush at the tip of the arm, which was located at the bottom of the main body case, is moved to the outside of the main body case. Since the robot approaches walls and obstacles under the control of movement, it is possible to reliably clean areas along walls and obstacles, unlike in the conventional case.

According to the invention described in claim 2, since the brush is equipped with a proximity distance sensor, the brush can be used as if it were a contact sensor to move along a wall or obstacle in a closer state. It can be carried out.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the proximity distance sensor of the brush is connected to the robot control section via the proximity distance measuring section, so that the shape of the wall or obstacle can be determined by attaching it to the main body case. The accurate internal map can positively influence the determination of the driving route.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional plan view showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a brush cleaning means and a control section thereof according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the operation in the running mode of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an external perspective view common to the present invention and a conventional example.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional plan view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Main body case 2 Driving wheel 3 Drive motor 4 Rotation angle detector (encoder) 5 Caster 6 Vacuum cleaner 7 Suction port 8a Brush 8b Arms 8c, 8d Motors 8e, 8f Position detection means (potentiometer) in the sliding direction and rotational direction of the arm 9 , 10 Proximity distance sensor 11 Proximity distance measuring section 12 Arm control section 13 Motor driver 14 Robot control section

Claims (3)

[Claims] [Claim 1] A main body case equipped with distance sensors for detecting distances to obstacles and walls in front, sides, and rear;
Two drive motors equipped with rotation angle detectors that separately drive a pair of driving wheels installed at the front of the main case, casters installed at the rear of the main case, and a suction port housed within the main case. A vacuum cleaner having an opening in a bottom wall, a brush cleaning means for removing dust from a surface to be cleaned, and a control circuit for the brush cleaning means, the brush cleaning means comprising:
It consists of a pair of brushes located in front of the suction port and provided at the tips of the arms, and a set of two motors that rotate these arms in the length direction and around the base end.
The control circuit of the brush cleaning means includes a motor driver that controls the rotation of each motor in a set of two, and an arm control section that controls movement in the length direction of the arm and rotation of the arm about one motor. and a robot control section that is connected to the arm control section and controls cleaning with a brush. 2. The cleaning robot according to claim 1, wherein the brush is equipped with a proximity sensor that detects the distance to the wall or obstacle, and the brush is controlled to travel along the wall or obstacle based on information from the proximity sensor. 3. The cleaning robot according to claim 2, wherein the proximity distance sensor of the brush is connected to the robot control unit via the proximity distance measurement unit, and the accuracy of recognizing obstacles and the room environment can be improved by feeding back information.