KR101349208B1 - Robot Cleaner having Function of Contact Sensing - Google Patents

Abstract

Robot cleaner with contact sensing function is posted. The published robot cleaner sucks dirt from the cleaned surface while driving the surface to be cleaned through a control unit disposed inside the cleaner body, and detects a collision portion of the cleaner body when collision with an obstacle occurs while the robot cleaner is inside the bumper unit in front of the cleaner. In the robot cleaner having a contact sensing function in which a plurality of contact parts for detecting a collision are arranged, a restoring force enhancing member may be provided inside the bumper to enhance a restoring force with respect to a collision part of the bumper after the cleaner body collides with an obstacle. It is characterized by including.

Robot cleaner, obstacle, collision, course change, contact sensor, restoring force

Description

Robot Cleaner having Function of Contact Sensing

1 is a perspective view showing a robot cleaner having a contact function according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the bumper part shown in FIG. 1;

3 is an exploded view showing the front surface of the embossed film unit shown in FIG.

4 is a development view showing a rear surface of the inner bumper shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating an inner side of the bumper unit illustrated in FIG. 1.

* Explanation of key parts in the drawing *

10: cleaner body 11: drive wheel

110: frame 120: printed circuit board

130: film portion 131: elastic button

140: inner bumper 141: buffer protrusion

143: groove 145: pressure projection

150: outer bumper 161: first contact portion

163: second contact portion 165: contact projection

The present invention relates to a cleaner, and in particular, by sensing a collision direction of an obstacle that collides while driving in a cleaning area, and calculates the position and angle of the contact signal generated at the collision position on the robot cleaner in the direction in which the robot cleaner is located. The present invention relates to a robot cleaner capable of smooth autonomous movement by controlling it from overlapping movement.

In general, the autonomous mobile robot currently on the market uses a contactless sensor, and the contactless sensor is mainly used by an infrared sensor and an ultrasonic sensor.

Conventional robot cleaner adopting infrared sensor for obstacle detection calculates coordinate value through the detected signal, and if it detects obstacle, it bypasses according to the program pre-inputted in the control part, or stops operation and resets and restarts after a predetermined time. It works. However, since the robot cleaner adopting the infrared sensor is programmed not to collide with the obstacle when the obstacle is avoided when the obstacle such as a wall or desk is found, the robot cleaner does not approach near the obstacle and moves to avoid the obstacle. There was a problem of narrowing the scope. Moreover, when it is necessary to stop the operation will have a problem that the cleaning time is bound to be delayed.

In addition, the infrared sensor is sensitive to disturbance light because it is influenced by the surrounding environment, and when the sun's altitude is low, such as morning and evening, it is affected by direct sunlight, making it difficult to accurately measure data. If interference occurs, there is a problem that causes a malfunction.

On the other hand, autonomous mobile robots adopting ultrasonic sensors have similar problems to those of the above-described infrared sensors, and in particular, ultrasonic sensors measuring position and distance as sound waves in places where there is a lot of noise also interfere with various sound waves. This occurred, so smooth sensing had a difficult problem.

Therefore, in order to solve such a problem, the applicant, as disclosed in Korean Utility Model Registration No. 160218, is attached to surround the outer circumference of the main body of the robot cleaner and is contacted by pressure to detect an arrangement of the main body. It has been proposed a robot cleaner having a contact sensing means formed by stacking an additional band-shaped multilayer.

When the robot cleaner collides with the obstacle while driving the cleaning area, the controller mounted on the robot cleaner senses the position of the main body by sensing the contact sensing means, and receives the detection signal for the main body position to the other side of the driving wheel. By controlling the rotation angle of the main body by driving the auxiliary wheels mounted, it was not possible to proceed in the same direction in which the obstacles collided with each other. Thus, it was possible to stably run avoiding the obstacles.

Accordingly, since the robot cleaner performs cleaning while continuously moving the cleaning area without stopping to calculate a new path setting when detecting the obstacle, the cleaning time can be shortened and the cleaning efficiency can be increased.

However, the conventional robot cleaner is a rubber material that is pushed to the outside when the obstacle directly hits the obstacle is made of a rubber material, when the strong collision with the obstacle is constantly pressed due to lack of restoring force robot cleaning While the contact is kept on in a certain portion of the machine continues to generate a contact signal. In this way, the touch sensing is not made correctly, an inaccurate contact signal is transmitted to the control unit, which causes the robot cleaner to malfunction.

In order to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a robot cleaner that can transmit the correct contact signal to the control unit by maintaining the contact sensing portion smoothly to make the correct contact.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention sucks the dirt of the surface to be cleaned while driving the surface to be cleaned through a control unit disposed inside the cleaner body, the front of the cleaner to detect the collision portion of the cleaner body in the event of a collision with the obstacle in progress In the robot cleaner having a contact sensing function in which a plurality of contact parts are arranged inside the bumper part of the bumper part, the cleaner body has a restoring force against the collision part of the bumper part after the cleaner body collides with an obstacle. It provides a robot cleaner, characterized in that it comprises a restoring force enhancing member for.

Preferably, the restoring force promoting member is embossed to a portion corresponding to the plurality of contact parts in the outward direction of the cleaner body. In this case, the restoring force promoting member is made of a synthetic resin material having its own elastic force, preferably may be made of a film form having flexibility and elastic force.

In addition, as the plurality of contact parts are arranged at intervals vertically, horizontally, and horizontally throughout the bumper part, the paths of the robot cleaner can be more precisely controlled by indirectly identifying the heights of obstacles colliding with the robot cleaner. have.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail the configuration of the robot vacuum cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 is a perspective view showing a robot cleaner with a contact function according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a bumper portion, Figure 3 is an exploded view showing the front surface of the embossed film portion, Figure 4 is It is a developed view which shows the back surface of an inner bumper, and FIG. 5 is a partial sectional drawing which shows the inside of a bumper part.

Referring to FIG. 1, the robot cleaner 1 of the present embodiment includes a cleaner body 10, a driving wheel 11, and a bumper part 100.

Since the cleaner main body 10 is the same as that provided in the conventional robot cleaner such as a control motor, a suction motor, a dust container, and a drive motor for transmitting power to the driving wheel 11, detailed descriptions of the components will be omitted.

The bumper part 100 is coupled to the traveling direction of the robot cleaner 1, that is, the front of the cleaner body 10, and when the robot cleaner 1 collides with an obstacle while driving the cleaning area, the bumper part 100 may relax the robot cleaner 1. ) And its internal configuration to protect against impact, and to generate an electrical connection signal to the collision with the obstacle.

Referring to FIG. 2, the bumper unit 100 may include a frame unit 110, a printed circuit board 120, a film unit 130, an inner bumper 140, and an outer bumper 150.

The frame unit 110 is rounded at a predetermined angle to be mounted along the front of the cleaner body 10. In addition, the frame unit 110 is provided with a plurality of fixing holes (110a) for fixing a predetermined sensor and the charging terminal.

One side of the printed circuit board (PCB) 120 is fixedly installed along the front of the frame unit 110, and a plurality of electronic components are mounted thereon. In addition, the PCB 120 is routed with wires (not shown) for electrically connecting the electronic components (not shown), and a plurality of first contacts 161 (see FIG. 5) electrically connected to the wires are formed. . The plurality of first contacts 161 are arranged to have a predetermined space in the top, bottom, left, and right sides of the entire surface of the PCB 120. The arrangement of the plurality of first contacts 161 corresponds to, for example, the arrangement of the plurality of elastic buttons 131 of the film unit 130 illustrated in FIG. 3. The arrangement of the plurality of first contacts 161 is an obstacle that is detected when the cleaner body 10 collides with an obstacle so that the corresponding collision part corresponds to the level of the cleaner body 10, thereby colliding with the collision part with the obstacle. Determine the height of the, and based on this information it is possible to more accurately control the movement direction of the robot cleaner 1 through a controller (not shown). Reference numeral 120a denotes a hole corresponding to the hole 110a of the frame part 110.

The film unit 130 is made of an insulating material such as synthetic resin so as to have a predetermined elasticity by itself, and is used as a member for improving the restoring force of the inner / outer bumpers 140 and 150. Such a film portion 130 is fixed in contact along the front surface of the PCB 120, the front surface is a plurality of elastic buttons 131 (see Fig. 3) embossed in a substantially dome shape (see Fig. 5) film portion 130 Arranged at predetermined intervals throughout. The arrangement of the plurality of elastic buttons 131 corresponds to the arrangement of the plurality of first contacts 161 of the PCB 120.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the film part 130 includes the second contact part 163 electrically contacting the first contact part 161 in the recess part 132 of the plurality of elastic buttons 131. 132 is formed along the curvature. In this case, the outer circumferential end of the second contact portion 163 maintains the state of being electrically connected to the third contact portion 167 electrically connected to the wiring of the PCB 120. In addition, the second contact portion 163 has a contact protrusion 165 formed at the center thereof, and the contact protrusion 165 is connected to the first contact portion 161 when the elastic button 131 is pressed toward the PCB 120. The electrical contact causes a contact signal. Reference numeral 130a denotes a hole corresponding to the holes 110a and 120a of the frame unit 110 and the printed circuit board 120.

4 and 5, the inner bumper 140 is made of a rubber material to have elasticity, and a plurality of pressing protrusions 145 for pressing the elastic button 131 of the film part 130 protrude from the rear side. Is formed. The pressing protrusion 145 is set at a position corresponding to each of the plurality of elastic buttons 131, respectively. In this case, the plurality of pressing protrusions 145 are arranged in a predetermined number of recesses in a plurality of recesses 143 formed in the longitudinal direction on the rear side of the inner bumper 140, and the periphery of the plurality of pressing protrusions 145 is inward. As it is spaced apart from the rear surface of the bumper 140, when pushed by the buffer protrusion 141 which will be described later to move backwards, it is possible to smoothly move without receiving any interference.

In addition, a plurality of buffer protrusions 141 corresponding to a predetermined number of pressing protrusions 145 are protruded in a vertical direction at predetermined intervals on the front surface of the inner bumper 140. The plurality of shock absorbing protrusions 141 absorb the shock of the outer bumper 150 colliding with an obstacle while contacting the rear surface of the outer bumper 150 and at the same time, the predetermined pressing protrusion 145 positioned at the collision part. It acts as a pusher to push it. Reference numeral 140a denotes a hole corresponding to the holes 110a, 120a, and 130a of the frame unit 110, the printed circuit board 120, and the film unit 130.

The outer bumper 150 is coupled to the front surface of the inner bumper 140 to surround the inner bumper 140, and the material is made of a rubber material having elasticity. Accordingly, the obstacle that collides with the outer bumper 150 may be prevented from being damaged. Reference numeral 150a denotes a hole corresponding to the holes 110a, 120a, 130a, and 140a of the frame part 110, the printed circuit board 120, the film part 130, and the inner bumper 140.

When the robot cleaner 1 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention configured as described above collides with an obstacle, a process of generating a contact signal in a corresponding collision part will be described with reference to FIG. 5.

When a part of the external bumper 150 collides with an obstacle while the robot cleaner 1 moves the cleaning area, a part of the external bumper 150 corresponding to the collision part is pressed toward the cleaner body 10 while absorbing an impact. All.

In this case, when a part of the rear bumper 150 is pressed, at least one buffer protrusion 141 of the inner bumper 140 corresponding to the portion closest to the pressed part is pressed toward the cleaner body 10.

At the same time, at least one of the pressing protrusions 145 of the plurality of pressing protrusions 145 corresponding to the buffer protrusion 141 to be pressed is to press the elastic button 131 of the corresponding film portion 130.

Accordingly, as the elastic button 131 is pressed toward the PCB 120, the contact protrusion 165 contacts the first electrode 161 of the PCB 120, whereby the first and second electrodes 161 and 163 are turned on each other. (on) to generate a contact signal. The contact signal generated thereafter is transmitted to a controller (not shown) of the robot cleaner 1 and, as is known, the driving direction of the robot cleaner 1 is controlled by controlling the driving wheel 11 according to a program previously input to the controller. Reset it.

On the other hand, the elastic button 131 is momentarily pressurized and restored to the circular again by the elastic force that has itself, this restoring force after the collision due to the lowering of the elastic force of the inner / outer bumper (140,150), circular restoration If this is not done properly, the collision part is kept pressed continuously and the contact is not turned off, but is kept on, thereby preventing the contact signal from being generated continuously.

Furthermore, as the plurality of contacts are arranged vertically to maintain a predetermined interval, the height of the collision portion of the bumper part 100 of the robot cleaner 1 can be detected, so that the height of the obstacles is taken into consideration of the robot cleaner 1. Since the movement direction can be set, more precise control of the movement after the obstacle collision of the robot cleaner is possible as compared with the conventional robot cleaner.

In the present invention as described above, by adopting the film portion formed with a plurality of embossed elastic buttons having their own elastic force to assist the elastic force of the lowered bumper, the on and off of the first and second contact portion is made accurately There is an advantage in that accurate contact sensing can be implemented.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. Rather, those skilled in the art will appreciate that changes and modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Accordingly, all such appropriate modifications and changes, and equivalents thereof, should be regarded as within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (10)

Suction dirt on the surface to be cleaned while driving the surface to be cleaned through a control unit disposed inside the cleaner body, and in order to detect a collision inside the bumper part in front of the cleaner to detect a collision portion of the cleaner body when a collision with an obstacle is in progress. In the robot cleaner having a contact sensing function in which a plurality of contact portions are arranged, Inside the bumper portion includes a restoring force enhancing member for enhancing the restoring force with respect to the collision portion of the bumper portion after the cleaner body collides with the obstacle, The restoring force promoting member is a robot cleaner, characterized in that the portion corresponding to the plurality of contact portion embossed in the outward direction of the cleaner body. delete The method of claim 1, The restoring force promoting member is a robot cleaner, characterized in that the synthetic resin material having its own elastic force The method of claim 3, The restoring force promoting member is a robot cleaner, characterized in that made of a film form having flexibility and elasticity. The method of claim 1, And the plurality of contact parts are arranged at intervals vertically, horizontally, and horizontally throughout the bumper part. The method of claim 1, A frame unit mounted along the front of the cleaner body; A printed circuit board coupled along the front surface of the frame part and having the restoring force promoting member fixed to the front surface thereof; An inner bumper coupled to a front surface of the restoring force promoting member; And A robot cleaner further comprising; an outer bumper covering the entire front surface of the inner bumper. The method according to claim 6, The plurality of contact parts, A plurality of first contact portions arranged on a front surface of the printed circuit board; And And a plurality of second contact portions arranged on the restoring force promoting member and electrically contacting the plurality of first contact portions, respectively. The method of claim 7, wherein The inner bumper and the outer bumper robot cleaner, characterized in that made of a rubber material. The method of claim 7, wherein The restoring force promoting member is attached to the plurality of second contact portion and the robot cleaner, characterized in that a plurality of elastic buttons embossed to the front of the cleaner body is formed. 10. The method of claim 9, A plurality of pressing protrusions for pressing the plurality of elastic buttons, respectively, is formed on the rear side of the inner bumper, and a plurality of buffering protrusions for pushing at least one of the plurality of pressing protrusions to the corresponding elastic button side on the front side of the inner bumper. Robot cleaner, characterized in that formed.

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