JP2010035678A - Dust collecting apparatus for indoor use and program which makes it function - Google Patents

Abstract

In a configuration in which dust is collected by an air flow in a dust collector, a force that prevents the dust from moving on the air flow and gravity cancels each other to create a space in which the dust does not move, and a heavy dust Another object of the present invention is to provide a dust collector that can be efficiently recovered.
A plurality of ventilation units arranged in a room to change a wind direction and an amount of air in cooperation with each other to generate a dust collection air flow in the whole room, and the dust collection air flow provided near the floor of the room. And a self-propelled cleaner 21 that autonomously moves in the room, and the dust-collecting airflow 12 is a swivel having a rotation axis in a substantially vertical direction with respect to the floor surface. An air flow is generated, and the dust is collected by moving on the dust collecting air flow 12, and even heavy dust can be collected efficiently.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an indoor dust collector that cleans by generating a stream of air in a room and collecting the dust in a dust collecting means, and by operating in cooperation with a self-propelled cleaner that autonomously moves and cleans the room. It is related to the program that makes.

  Conventionally, as a dust collector of this type, for example, a dust collecting means having a blowing means and an exhaust port directed upward is placed at a corner of the room, and a dust collecting air flow circulating in the room by the exhaust air from the exhaust port is used. There was a thing which generated and collected the dust in the dust collecting means (for example, refer to patent documents 1).

  FIG. 5 is a side view of the dust collector and the indoor space viewed from the side with the conventional dust collector described in the above-mentioned document installed in the room (the lower side is the floor and the upper side is the ceiling). It is.

  In FIG. 5, the dust collection part 1 has the air blower 2, and the inlet 3 is provided in the front surface. An exhaust port 4 is provided above. The dust collection unit 1 is placed in a corner of the room, and the air exhausted from the exhaust port 4 generates a dust collection airflow 5 that circulates in the room. The dust collection airflow 5 flows along the ceiling and then flows along the ceiling. Furthermore, it flows along the wall surface facing the dust collecting part 1 and then flows along the floor surface and is sucked into the intake port 3. Dust is collected in the dust collection unit 1 by the dust collection airflow 5.

  Moreover, there existed some things which have improved dust collection performance by arrange | positioning multiple dust collection parts which have an inlet port and exhaust port which can be switched with an air blower in a room | chamber interior, and making it operate synchronously (for example, refer patent document 2). .

  FIG. 6 is a side view of the dust collector 1 and the indoor space viewed from the side with the conventional dust collector 1 described in the above-mentioned document installed in the room (the lower side is the floor and the upper side is the ceiling). It is shown.

In FIG. 6, the dust collecting unit 1 has a blower 2. The dust collecting unit 1 has a height from the floor surface to the ceiling, and has an intake port 3 and an exhaust port 4 near both the floor surface and the ceiling. When air is taken in from the air inlet 3A near the ceiling, air is exhausted from the air outlet 4B near the floor. Conversely, when air is taken in from the air inlet 3B near the floor, the air is exhausted from the air outlet 4A near the ceiling. Is called. A plurality of dust collecting sections 1 are arranged indoors. Exhaust is performed from the exhaust port 4B near the floor surface of a certain dust collector 1 and intake is performed from the intake port 3B near the floor surface of another dust collector 1 to generate a strong dust collection airflow 5 near the floor surface. . Further, by switching the intake port 3 and the exhaust port 4 in the reverse direction, the dust collection airflow 5 reaches the shadow of furniture or the like that the dust collection airflow 5 did not reach in the first operation, and dust can be collected.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-24641 JP 2003-79540 A

  However, in the conventional configuration, the dust collection airflow is a swirling airflow having a rotation axis in a substantially horizontal direction of the indoor floor surface, and an upward flow is generated depending on the position in the room. In a place where the airflow is directed upward, there is a problem that the force that the dust tries to move downward due to gravity and the force that the dust tries to move on the swirl airflow cancel each other, and the dust becomes difficult to move.

  Moreover, although the center airflow which goes to the center of a swirl airflow generate | occur | produces with a swirl airflow, depending on the position of a room, this airflow also becomes a flow toward the upper direction. Therefore, the central airflow also has a problem that a place where the dust is difficult to move due to the force that the dust moves downward due to gravity and the force that the dust moves on the central airflow cancels each other.

  Furthermore, heavy dust such as sand does not ride on the air current, and it has been difficult to collect these dust.

  The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and does not cancel the dust collection airflow of the entire room with gravity, and makes the airflow suitable for collecting dust, and heavy dust such as sand, The object is to provide a dust collector capable of collecting dust efficiently.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, the dust collector of the present invention is a dust-collecting airflow that is a swirling airflow having a rotation axis in a substantially vertical direction with respect to the floor surface throughout the room, and does not get on the airflow. Heavy dust is cleaned by a self-propelled cleaner that autonomously moves in the room.

  By using the swirling airflow as the dust collection airflow, the airflow flows horizontally in every space in the room, so the force that the dust tries to move downward due to gravity and the force that moves on the swirling airflow. Will not cancel each other. In addition, since the central air flow toward the center of the swirl airflow generated along with the swirl airflow also flows in the horizontal direction, the force that the dust tries to move downward due to gravity and the force that tries to move on the center airflow is canceled out. It will not fit. Therefore, dust becomes easier to move. In addition, heavy objects such as sand are collected by a self-propelled cleaner that autonomously moves in the room.

  The dust collector of the present invention generates a swirling airflow having a rotation axis in a substantially vertical direction with respect to the floor surface in the entire room, so that the gravity acting on the dust and the force to move on the airflow do not cancel each other. Therefore, it becomes easy for the dust to move on the air current, and can be collected more efficiently. Furthermore, heavy objects such as sand can be collected by a self-propelled cleaner that autonomously moves in the room.

  A first aspect of the present invention is a plurality of indoor units arranged in cooperation with each other to change a wind direction and an air volume so as to generate a dust collection airflow in the entire room, and the dust collection airflow provided near the floor surface in the room And a self-propelled cleaner that autonomously moves and cleans the interior of the room, and the dust-collecting airflow is a swirling airflow having a rotation axis that is substantially perpendicular to the floor surface. The air blowing means, the dust collecting means, and the self-propelled vacuum cleaner cooperate to collect the dust, so that the dust moves on the dust collecting air flow and moves downward due to gravity. The force to move to each other cancels out, making it difficult for the dust to move, making it easier to move the dust on the airflow, collecting dust efficiently, and collecting heavy dust by self-propelled cleaning. Can be dusty.

  In particular, the second aspect of the invention is such that the self-propelled cleaner of the first aspect of the invention is mainly cleaned by cleaning the place where the dust collecting air flow from the blowing means does not reach due to the shape of the room or the arrangement of furniture. In addition, it is possible to efficiently collect indoor dust including heavy dust without being affected by the arrangement of furniture.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in particular, the self-propelled cleaner of the first aspect is configured to mainly clean the dust collected at the center of the swirling vortex of the dust collection airflow by the air blowing means. It is possible to efficiently collect dust in the room including the room.

  In particular, the self-propelled cleaner according to any one of the first to third inventions mainly cleans heavy dust that is difficult to collect in the dust collection airflow by the blowing means. By doing so, indoor dust including heavy dust can be collected even more efficiently.

  In the fifth invention, in particular, the air blowing means, the dust collecting means, and the self-propelled cleaner according to any one of the first to fourth inventions operate in cooperation with an air conditioner in the room to clean the dust in the room. The dust collecting air flow can be generated with a small number of blowing means and the dust collecting air current can be less disturbed by the air conditioner.

  In the sixth invention, in particular, the air blowing means, the dust collecting means, and the self-propelled cleaner according to any one of the first to fifth inventions are provided with an infrared light transmission unit, and perform mutual signal transmission to cooperate with each other. In addition, it is possible to perform signal transmission with the air conditioner efficiently without any additional means, and to include heavy dust. Dust in the room can be collected efficiently.

  According to a seventh aspect of the invention, in particular, the self-propelled cleaner according to any one of the first to sixth aspects is configured to operate every predetermined operating time of the air blowing means and the dust collecting means. There is no wasted operating time of the traveling vacuum cleaner, and the dust collected by the air blowing means and the dust collecting means can be collected efficiently.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program for causing a computer to execute at least a part of the functions of the indoor dust collector according to any one of the first to seventh aspects of the invention. Some or all of the indoor dust collectors can be easily realized, and the setting conditions and constants for realizing the change in characteristics such as secular change and the operation can be flexibly dealt with. In addition, the program can be distributed / updated and installed easily by recording on a recording medium or distributing the program using a communication line.

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

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a room provided with the indoor dust collector in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a plurality of air blowing means 7 are provided in the room. Among them, 7Aa and 7Ab air blowing means are provided near the indoor ceiling, and 7Ba, 7Bb and 7Bc air blowing means are provided near the indoor floor surface. It has been. In addition, in the four corners near the ceiling in the room, the intake means 9 and the air conditioner 11 are installed in places other than the installation places of the air blowing means 7Aa and 7Bb, and the intake means 9 is provided in the through-hole of the indoor wall. While air from the other side of the mouth is sucked into the room, it also has a blowing function as the blowing means 7 and is configured to blow air into the room. Further, as the air conditioner 11, for example, an air conditioner is provided.

  On the other hand, among the four corners near the floor surface in the room, dust collecting means 8 is provided at one corner near the floor surface other than where the air blowing means 7Ba, 7Bb, 7Bc are installed.

  The air conditioners that are the air blowing means 7Aa, 7Ab, the air intake means 9 and the air conditioner 11 provided in the vicinity of the ceiling in the room are configured to blow air so as to generate a swirling airflow having a rotation axis in a substantially vertical direction with respect to the floor surface. The air blowing means 7Ba, 7Bb, 7Bc near the floor are configured to blow air toward the dust collecting means 8.

By these, the swirling airflow has a rotation axis in a substantially vertical direction with respect to the floor surface, and on the floor surface by the air flow toward the dust collecting means 8 by the three air blowing means 7Ba, 7Bb, 7Bc placed in the corner of the room, Part of the airflow acts to generate a swirling airflow, and the rest acts so that the rotational axis of the swirling airflow is located in the vicinity of the dust collecting means 8.

  As a result, the dust collection airflow 12 is formed as a swirling airflow so that the rotation axis of the swirling airflow descending from the vicinity of the ceiling toward the floor surface is located in the vicinity of the dust collecting means 8.

  In addition, a self-propelled cleaner that performs cleaning while autonomously moving in the room is provided with traveling means for moving the main body and cleaning means. FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the self-propelled cleaner.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the self-propelled cleaner body 21 includes obstacle detection means 22 that detects the presence and distance of an obstacle and a gyro sensor, and the rotation angle of the self-propelled cleaner body 21. Direction detecting means 23 for detecting the moving direction of the self-propelled cleaner main body 21, distance recognition means 24 for detecting the moving distance of the self-propelled cleaner main body 21 from the diameter of the driving wheel 29 and its rotation speed, and the driving wheel The position of the self-propelled cleaner main body 21 is driven by the driving means 27 for driving the self-propelled cleaner main body 21 together with the driven wheel 30 and the direction output of the direction detecting means 23 and the distance output of the distance recognizing means 24. Position recognition means 26 that calculates and records the movement trajectory of the self-propelled cleaner body 21; buffer means 28 that is installed in front of the self-propelled cleaner body 21 and detects contact with obstacles; Time such as elapsed time from Timing means 32, setting input means 31 for the user to input instructions for starting and stopping the self-propelled cleaner main body 21 or changing various settings, the obstacle detection means 22, the direction detection means 23, the distance And a control means 25 for receiving the outputs of the recognition means 24, the position recognition means 26, the buffer means 28, the setting input means 31, and the time measuring means 32 to control the traveling means 27.

  The direction detecting means 23 is composed of a gyro sensor that outputs a signal proportional to the angular velocity, and a circuit that integrates the output signal of the gyro sensor and converts it into an angle.

  The self-propelled cleaner main body 21 is controlled based on signal information from each of the above means, autonomously moves in the room, and is cleaned by a cleaning means provided inside the main body not shown in FIG. It is.

  The air blowing means 7, the dust collecting means 8, the intake means 9, the dust collecting means 12, and the self-propelled cleaner main body 21 are each provided with an infrared light transmitting portion (not shown), and each means is an infrared light. Information and control signals are exchanged using.

  Further, the air blowing means 7Aa and 7Ab incorporate a dust sensor (not shown) to detect the amount of dust in the intake air. The dust sensor 41 actually irradiates laser light like a particle counter used in a clean room or the like, and detects the amount of dust by recognizing the level of scattered light due to dust.

  About the dust collector comprised as mentioned above, the operation | movement and an effect | action are demonstrated below.

  First, when the dust collector is activated, the dust sensor built in the air blowing means 7Aa and 7Ab checks the presence or absence of dust in the room. When dust is detected, an activation signal is transmitted to each means by the infrared light transmission portions of the air blowing means 7Aa and 7Ab so as to generate the dust collecting air flow 12, and the air blowing means 7, the dust collecting means 8 and the air intake means 9 are transmitted. The air conditioner 11 operates.

The air blowing means 7, the dust collecting means 8, the air intake means 9, and the air conditioner 11 are swung in accordance with the air volume and direction set in advance (set according to the indoor size and furniture layout information) so that the airflows generated by each other do not cancel each other. A dust collection air flow 12 is generated as an air flow. Since the dust collection airflow 12 flows through the entire room, dust floating in the entire room and dust accumulated on the floor surface of the entire room can be collected.

  The dust collecting airflow 12 is a swirling airflow having a rotation axis in a substantially vertical direction with respect to the floor surface, and the force that the dust receives from the swirling airflow is only the force in the horizontal direction and the force in the downward direction. Since they do not meet, dust can be collected more efficiently.

  In addition, since the airflow drawn toward the center of the swirling airflow generated in the vicinity of the floor along with the swirling airflow also flows in the horizontal direction with the floor surface, the force received from this attracting airflow does not cancel out the gravity, and the swirling airflow Dust can be efficiently collected to the center of

  In this way, the dust collecting air flow 12 starts from the intake means 9 and flows so as to swirl the whole room. The dust in the whole room is collected and transported by the dust collecting air flow 12 and gathers into the dust collecting means 8, and finally. The dust collected by the dust collecting airflow 12 is sucked and collected by the dust collecting means 8.

  Then, after operating for a certain time (for example, 10 minutes), the dust sensor again checks the presence or absence of dust. If there is no dust, the air blowing means 7 and the dust collecting means 8 are stopped. The intake means 9 and the air conditioning equipment 11 may be stopped at this timing, or the indoor air conditioning may be maintained without stopping. Further, after a predetermined time has elapsed (5 minutes), the self-propelled cleaner body 21 is operated to start cleaning the indoor floor surface.

  Here, the operation of the self-propelled cleaner body 21 will be described. After the self-propelled cleaner main body 21 is started, the self-propelled cleaner main body 21 starts moving forward, and the obstacle detection means 22 is placed within a predetermined distance (for example, 10 cm) in front of the self-propelled cleaner main body 21 by the obstacle detection means 22. When detected, the control means 5 controls the traveling means 7 to stop the self-propelled cleaner body 21 and perform random angular rotation (for example, 90 degrees to the left). At this time, while the control means 5 monitors the rotation angle of the self-propelled cleaner main body 21 with the direction output of the direction detection means 3, the left and right drive wheels 9 are reversely rotated by the travel means 7 (the left drive wheel moves backward and the right The self-propelled cleaner body 21 rotates 90 degrees counterclockwise (counterclockwise) by causing the drive wheels to move forward. After completion of the rotation, the vehicle starts moving forward again and continues straight ahead of the self-propelled cleaner main body 21 until the obstacle detecting means 22 detects the obstacle. Thereafter, while repeating this operation, cleaning is performed for a preset time based on the size of the room.

  At this time, the self-propelled cleaner body 21 cleans the floor surface in the room, so that heavy dust such as sand accumulated on the floor surface without being collected by the dust collecting airflow 12 can be removed.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the dust collection airflow 12 is a swirling airflow having a rotation axis in a substantially vertical direction with respect to the floor surface, and the force that the dust receives from the swirling airflow is a horizontal force. Therefore, it is possible to collect dust more efficiently because only the downward force is applied and gravity does not cancel out. Further, dust having a weight such as sand accumulated on the floor surface without being collected in the dust collecting airflow 12 can be removed by the self-propelled cleaner main body 21.

  In addition, by transmitting information of each means using infrared light by the infrared light transmission unit, it is possible to easily cooperate with existing air conditioning equipment (stores the signal pattern of the existing infrared remote controller) As in the so-called learning type remote control, the remote control signal of the existing air conditioner is stored in the infrared light transmission section).

In the present embodiment, the dust collecting apparatus is configured to form only one pattern of dust collecting airflow 12. However, the air volume and the air direction of the air blowing means 7, the dust collecting means 8, the air intake means 9, and the air conditioner 11 are adjusted. Adjustment and switching to a different dust collection airflow 12 may be performed to increase the efficiency of dust collection.

  In the first embodiment, a swirling airflow having a rotation axis in a substantially vertical direction with respect to the floor surface is generated by using air blowing from the air conditioner that is the air blowing device 7, the air intake device 9, and the air conditioner 11. Although it is configured, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the same effect can be obtained even if the air blowing device 7 is replaced instead of the air conditioner 11 such as an air conditioner.

  Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the self-propelled cleaner main body 21 starts the self-propelled cleaner main body 21 every time when a certain time has elapsed after the air blowing means 7, the dust collecting means 8 and the like are stopped. Even if the self-propelled cleaner main body 21 is activated every predetermined operating time of the blowing means 7 and dust collecting means 8 (for example, every time the blowing means 7 and dust collecting means 8 are operated for 3 hours), the same effect is obtained. As a result, the power consumption of the entire apparatus can be reduced.

  Further, the series of operations of the air blowing means 7, the dust collecting means 8, the air intake means 9, the air conditioner 11 and the dust sensor 13 in the first embodiment are controlled by a control means (not shown). is there.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an indoor map stored in the position recognition means 26 of the self-propelled cleaner body 21 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the room to which a cleaning priority region of the indoor dust collector in Embodiment 2 of the present invention is added.

  The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment only in the operation of the self-propelled cleaning main body 21, and the main body configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment.

  The position recognition means 26 includes a rotation angle (movement direction) of the self-propelled cleaner body 21 detected by the direction detection means 23 of the self-propelled cleaner body 21 and a self-propelled cleaner detected by the distance recognition means 24. From the position information of the self-propelled cleaner main body 21 calculated based on the movement distance of the main body 21, the movement locus is stored on two-dimensional map coordinates as shown in FIG.

  The coordinates in FIG. 3 are defined such that the coordinates increase as the X and Y axes move to the left and upward, respectively, and one coordinate is approximately the same as the width of the self-propelled cleaner body 21 (for example, 30 cm). Yes. In the second embodiment, the uppermost Y coordinate value in the moving area shown in FIG. 3 is set to p and used in the following description.

  4 corresponds to the right end corner of the room near the air blowing means 7Ba in FIG. 4 as the point P0, the dust collecting means 8 is located at the point P2 in FIG. 3, and the air blowing means 7Bb is located at the point P1 in FIG. Become.

  In addition, arrangement information of furniture such as a sofa in the room is also input in advance, and a place where the air flow of the dust collecting air flow 12 is weak or a puddle (priority areas A and B in FIG. 3) due to the shape of the room and the arrangement of the furniture. Is stored in advance in the position recognition means 26 together with a map in which the indoor shape is recorded. The operation and action will be described below.

  When the self-propelled cleaner body 21 is activated, it cleans the priority area as shown in FIG. 3 from the indoor two-dimensional map stored in the position recognition means 26. That is, after starting, the control means 25 controls the travel means 27 to move from the point P0 to the priority area A (area starting from the coordinates (4, 2)) based on the map information, and cleans this place. And move to the priority area B (area starting from the coordinates (8, 5)) for cleaning.

  The self-propelled vacuum cleaner main body 21 cleans the floor surface of the important area in the room and collects heavy dusty dust such as sand accumulated on the floor surface without being collected by the dust collection airflow 12 or the dust collection airflow 12 Dust collected in the snowdrift can be removed.

  In the second embodiment, the location where the dust collecting air flow from the air blowing means 7 does not reach due to the shape of the room or the arrangement of the furniture is stored in the two-dimensional map of the position recognition means 26, and the location is mainly used. Even though the center of vortex of the dust collecting airflow 12 is stored in the two-dimensional map of the position recognition means 26 and the place is mainly cleaned, dust having a heavy weight such as sand accumulated on the floor surface is also obtained. In addition, dust collected by the dust collection airflow 12 can be removed.

  The configurations in the above-described first and second embodiments can be used in appropriate combinations as needed, and are not limited to the configurations of the embodiments themselves.

(Embodiment 3)
Next, the indoor dust collector in Embodiment 3 of this invention is demonstrated.

  In the present embodiment, each unit described in the first and second embodiments includes a CPU (or microcomputer), a RAM, a ROM, a storage / recording device, an electric / information device including an I / O, a computer, a server, and the like. This is implemented in the form of a program for cooperating hardware resources.

  In the form of a program, new functions can be distributed, updated, and installed easily by recording on a recording medium such as magnetic media or optical media, or by using a communication circuit such as the Internet. is there.

  As described above, the indoor dust collecting apparatus according to the present invention can automatically and efficiently collect relatively light dust by the airflow, and further, heavy objects such as sand autonomously move in the room. Since the dust can be collected by the machine, a highly convenient indoor dust collecting device can be provided.

The perspective view of the room | chamber interior which provided the dust collector in Embodiment 1 of this invention The block diagram of the self-propelled cleaner body in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Explanatory drawing of the indoor map memorize | stored in the position recognition means 26 of the self-propelled cleaner body in Embodiment 2 of this invention. The room perspective view which added the cleaning priority area | region of the indoor dust collector in Embodiment 2 of this invention Side view of the indoor space where a conventional dust collector is installed as seen from the side Side view of the indoor space where a conventional dust collector is installed as seen from the side

Explanation of symbols

7 Air blow means 8 Dust collection means 9 Air intake means 11 Air conditioning equipment 11A Air conditioner 12 Dust collection airflow 21 Self-propelled vacuum cleaner

Claims (8)

A plurality of indoor units arranged in cooperation with each other to change a wind direction and an air volume, thereby generating a dust collecting air flow in the entire room, and dust moving around the dust collecting air flow provided near the floor of the room And a self-propelled cleaner that autonomously moves and cleans the room, and the dust collection airflow is a swirling airflow having a rotation axis substantially perpendicular to the floor surface, and the air blowing means, An indoor dust collector that collects dust in cooperation with the dust collecting means and the self-propelled cleaner. The indoor dust collector according to claim 1, wherein the self-propelled cleaner mainly cleans a place where the dust collection airflow by the air blowing means does not reach due to the shape of the room or the arrangement of furniture. The indoor dust collector according to claim 1, wherein the self-propelled cleaner mainly cleans dust collected at the center of the swirl vortex of the dust collecting airflow by the air blowing means. The indoor dust collecting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the self-propelled cleaner mainly cleans heavy dust that is difficult to collect in the dust collecting airflow by the air blowing means. The indoor dust collector according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the air blowing means, the dust collecting means, and the self-propelled cleaner operate in cooperation with an air conditioner in the room to perform dust cleaning in the room. The air blowing means, dust collecting means and self-propelled cleaner are equipped with an infrared light transmission unit, configured to perform a cooperative operation by transmitting signals to each other, and also cooperate with indoor air conditioning equipment using infrared light. The indoor dust collector according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the indoor dust is cleaned by operation. The indoor dust collector according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the self-propelled cleaner is operated every predetermined operating time of the air blowing means and the dust collecting means. The program for making a computer perform at least one part of the function in the indoor dust collector of any one of Claims 1-7.

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