TW202002879A - Autonomously propelled sweeper including a left driving wheel, a right driving wheel, a side brush, a left traveling motor, a right traveling motor, and an obstacle detection sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide an autonomously propelled sweeper that improves sweeping performance of corners. The solution of the present invention is an autonomously propelled sweeper, which includes: a left driving wheel; a right driving wheel; a side brush located more frontward than the left driving wheel and the right driving wheel; a left traveling motor driving the left driving wheel to rotate; a right traveling motor driving the right driving wheel to rotate; and an obstacle detection sensor, and is characterized in that when a corner formed of a first wall and a second wall is recognized, the autonomously propelled sweeper oscillates leftward and rightward while approaching the corner to perform a pacing-approaching operation.

Description

Self-propelled sweeping machine

The invention relates to an autonomous walking type sweeping machine.

The proposal has a corner sweeping method, which is a self-propelled sweeping machine equipped with a rechargeable battery as a power source, using a rotating brush to scrape in dust, and sucking with a suction fan for sweeping. In the control device, each of the two driving wheels is controlled to drive The walking motor can reach the corners of obstacles that extend in 2 directions, such as the two walls that cross. In this specification, the obstacles or walls forming such a corner are simply called "walls".

Patent Document 1 discloses: "The frame proceeds along the first wall of the room. When it reaches the corner formed by the first wall and the second wall, the process is temporarily stopped, and after the frame is rotated back and forth several times, the frame is re-run along the second wall. Start". [Prior Technical Literature] [Patent Literature]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-153550

[Problem to be solved by invention]

In Patent Document 1, when the corner is reached, the end of the side brush is configured to the corner by stopping the frame and reciprocating. Considering that braking control is necessary at the time of stopping, because of the earlier speed or the material of the floor and the braking distance is different, there may be cases where the rotation is too far or too close to the second wall . In the case of being too far away, the side brush will not be able to form a corner even when reciprocating. In the case of being too close, the bristles of the side brush are in contact with the second wall and flexed, so that the garbage in the corner cannot be effectively extracted.

Here, the present invention provides an autonomous walking type sweeping machine, which can easily sweep corners and the vicinity of corners with easy control. [Means to solve the problem]

In view of the above circumstances, the present invention is a self-propelled sweeping machine including: a left drive wheel; a right drive wheel; a side brush located in front of the left drive wheel and the right drive wheel; and the left drive wheel Rotating left traveling motor; right traveling motor rotating the aforementioned right driving wheel; and obstacle detection sensor; characterized in that if it recognizes the corner formed by the first wall and the second wall, it swings toward the side while swinging left and right The corner is close to performing pacing close to the action. [Effect of the invention]

According to the present invention, it is possible to clean the corners and corners more appropriately.

Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail while referring to the attached drawings. The various constituent elements of the present invention do not necessarily need to be independent, and allow, for example, to form one constituent element from plural members, plural constituent elements from one member, or combine part of the constituent elements with other part of the constituent elements They overlap each other. In addition, the technical idea disclosed in this specification is not intended to be limited to the present invention, and it is possible to add, delete, or replace the constituent elements within the context or within a technically unimpeded range.

<Embodiment 1> FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a self-propelled sweeping machine according to an embodiment of the present invention viewed from the left front. The self-propelled sweeping machine S series takes the normal direction as the front, with the vertical upward as the upper direction, the direction in which the drive wheels 3 and 4 face, that is, the drive wheel 3 side is the right side, and the drive wheel 4 side is the On the left (see Figure 2). That is, as shown in Figure 1, etc., define the front, back, up, down, left and right directions.

Fig. 2 is a bottom view of a self-propelled sweeping machine. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of Fig. 1. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the buffer with the buffer cover 2c of the autonomous walking type cleaning machine removed. 5 is a configuration diagram showing a control device of an autonomous walking type sweeping machine and a device connected to the control device. The self-propelled sweeping machine S is an electric appliance that automatically sweeps while automatically moving in a specific sweeping area (for example, the floor Y of the room).

The self-propelled sweeping machine S includes a main body shell 1, a buffer 2 covering the outer side of the main body shell 1, a pair of lower drive wheels 3, 4 and auxiliary wheels 5, a rotating brush 6 and a side brush 8 that can clean the floor.

The drive wheels 3 and 4 are wheels used for advancing, retreating, and rotating the self-propelled sweeping machine S in such a manner that the drive wheels 3 and 4 rotate themselves. The driving wheels 3 and 4 are arranged on the left and right sides, and are rotatably driven by a wheel unit (not shown) composed of traveling motors 3m and 4m (see FIG. 5) and a reduction gear.

The rotating brush 6 is provided behind the drive wheels 3 and 4 of the autonomous sweeping machine S. The rotating brush 6 is rotatably driven by a rotating brush motor 6m (see FIG. 5).

The side brushes 8a and 8b are provided on the front side of the self-propelled sweeping machine S and the outside in the left-right direction. As shown by the arrow α1 in FIG. In the front and outside area, the dust on the floor is concentrated to the side of the rotating brush 6 (see FIG. 2) in the center. In addition, the side brushes 8a and 8b are rotatably driven by the side brush motors 8am and 8bm (see FIG. 5). In this embodiment, two side brushes are provided on the left and right, but it may be provided on only one of the right side and the left side.

The rechargeable battery 9 is, for example, a secondary battery that can be charged and reused, and is stored in the battery storage portion 1s1. The rechargeable battery 9 is configured to cover the left-right direction of the self-propelled sweeping machine S.

The electric power from the rechargeable battery 9 is supplied to various motors such as the control device 10, the display panel 17, and the walking motor (3m, 4m).

The self-propelled sweeping machine S system uses the control device 10 for overall control. The control device 10 shown in FIG. 5 is configured to mount, for example, a microcomputer (Microcomputer) and peripheral circuits on a substrate. The microcomputer reads out the control program stored in the ROM (Read Only Memory) and expands it to the RAM (Random Access Memory), and the CPU (Central Processing Unit) executes it to realize various processes. Peripheral circuits include: A/D or D/A converters, drive circuits for various motors, sensor drive circuits, charging circuits for rechargeable batteries 9, and the like.

The floor distance measuring sensor 22 is an infrared distance measuring sensor that measures the distance from the floor, and is provided at four places (22a, 22b, 22c, 22d) on the lower surface of the lower case 1s. The floor distance measuring sensor 22 detects a large step such as a staircase, whereby the fall of the autonomous walking type sweeper S can be suppressed.

The bumper 2 is configured to move in the front-rear, left-right direction in response to an external force when colliding with an obstacle such as a wall. The shock absorber 2 is constructed as follows: a slightly circular barrel-shaped shock absorber frame 2a covering the outer periphery of the body shell 1 is provided at the lower end of the shock absorber 2 to make a full circle or a full turn around the side surface of the shock absorber 2 The buffer edge portion 2b and the buffer cover 2c provided so as to cover the front surface of the buffer 2 to the left and right sides. The bumper cover 2c is formed of resin or glass that transmits light.

Such a damper 2 urges the main body case 1 outward by a pair of right and left damper springs (not shown). The movement of the bumper 2 (that is, the contact with the obstacle) is detected by the bumper sensor 19 (see FIG. 5) fixed to the lower case 1s. The buffer sensor 19 is, for example, an optical coupler, and the sensor light is blocked due to the backward movement of the buffer 2, and a detection signal corresponding to the change is output to the control device 10. The control device 10 controls the drive wheels 3 and 4 to reverse the moving direction of the self-propelled sweeping machine S, and to move away from obstacles.

The distance measuring sensor 21 is an infrared sensor for detecting the distance from an obstacle. The distance measuring sensor 21 has a light-emitting portion (not shown) that emits infrared light, and a light-receiving portion (not shown) that receives reflected light that is reflected by the infrared rays and returned by an obstacle. Based on the reflected light detected by the light receiving unit, the distance from the obstacle is calculated.

The distance measuring sensor 21 covers the front surface to the side surface. For example, a total of 7 (21a to 21g) are provided, which are fixed between the buffer frame 2a and the buffer frame 2a between the buffer cover 2c and the buffer frame 2a. In addition, in the buffer cover 2c, at least in the vicinity of the distance measuring sensor 21, a resin or glass that transmits only infrared rays is formed to prevent ultraviolet rays or visible light from entering the light-receiving portion, thereby misrecognizing the distance from the obstacle.

The self-propelled sweeping machine S of such a configuration is mainly used in a room, and instead of people, it is automatically cleaned in the room. The dust or trash on the floor is scraped by the rotating brush 6 while being automatically walked and sucked by the suction fan, and is collected from the suction port 14 of the self-propelled sweeper S to the dust box 12. At this time, by rotating the side brushes 8a and 8b toward the inside, the dust or garbage located outside the suction port 14 can be moved to the suction port 14 before more dust or trash can be recovered.

The state of automatic walking is shown in Figs. 6-8. 6 to 8 are diagrams showing the room from above. A shelf 55 is arranged on the upper right of the room, and a sofa 56 is arranged slightly in the center of the left side. These racks 55 and sofas 56 are obstacles to the self-propelled sweeping machine S. Moreover, the broken line in the figure represents the walking locus of the autonomous walking type sweeper S.

Fig. 6 shows a reflection walking mode that sweeps while changing the progress direction when contacting or approaching a wall or an obstacle. This walking mode is a walking mode suitable for sweeping the entire room. The distance sensor 21 or the buffer sensor 19 is used to detect walls or obstacles, and once contacted or close to a specific distance or less, the walking motors 3m and 4m are controlled to move away from these walls or obstacles. Specifically, once a wall or an obstacle is detected, the travel motors 3m and 4m are stopped, and then the travel motors 3m and 4m are rotated in opposite directions to each other, thereby rotating the body on the spot to perform direction switching. The angle of the direction change depends on the size of the obstacle and the position away from the main body, etc., and can be changed arbitrarily. Move forward after the direction change. Once the wall or obstacle is detected again, the walking motors 3m and 4m are also controlled to change the direction.

FIG. 7 shows a parallel walking mode in which sweeping is performed while moving in a parallel direction when contacting or approaching a wall or an obstacle. This walking mode is also a walking mode suitable for sweeping the entire room. Once the distance sensor 21 or the buffer sensor 19 detects a wall or an obstacle, after stopping the walking motors 3m and 4m, the walking motors 3m and 4m rotate in opposite directions to rotate the body on the spot by about 90 degree. After that, once the width of the suction port 14 is advanced by a distance of about a long distance, it stops and rotates the body about 90 degrees on the spot. Through this operation, it is moved to a position that is laterally longer than the width of the suction port 14 before the wall or obstacle is detected, and the direction of progress is reversed. Moving forward from this state again, once a wall or obstacle is detected, the travel motors 3m and 4m are similarly controlled to switch directions, and parallel sweeping is regularly performed in the room.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a walking trajectory when sweeping a wall of a room, and sweeping along a wall or an obstacle. Walk while keeping the sides of the body adjacent to each other by about 15mm from the wall or obstacle. In this walking mode, the body is advanced, and the distance measuring sensors 21 are used to control the walking motors 3m and 4m so that the distance up to the wall or obstacle is constant.

Specifically, the case of walking right around the wall will be described. First, once the distance sensor 21 or the buffer sensor 19 detects the wall, the travel motors 3m and 4m are stopped, and the body is positioned near the wall. After that, the traveling motors 3m and 4m are rotated in opposite directions to each other, and the main body is rotated on the spot (steering on the spot). At this time, one of the side surfaces of the main body, for example, the distance measuring sensor 21a always on the left side of the main body can rotate while detecting the wall, and the left side of the main body is adjacent to the wall. After that, both of the travel motors 3m and 4m are rotated to the advancing direction to proceed. At this time, in order to make the distance-measuring sensor 21a a specific value (for the distance from the wall to be specific), the speed of the travel motors 3m and 4m is adjusted while moving forward. Specifically, in the case where the value of the distance measuring sensor 21a is greater than a specific value, the body is moving away from the wall, so the right side travel motor 3m rotates faster than the left side travel motor 4m, and the body advances toward the left front Close to the wall. Conversely, when the value of the distance sensor 21a is smaller than a specific value, the main body is approaching the wall, so the left travel motor 4m rotates faster than the right travel motor 3m, and the main body moves forward to the right Stay away from the wall.

If the distance between the main body and the wall is close to a certain degree, the cleaning performance of the wall edge can be improved. It is better to accelerate the rotation speed of the right travel motor by 3 m in a very short time. Also, when changing the direction of the main body while walking on the wall, let the travel motors corresponding to the drive wheels 3 and 4 on the side of the forward path be selected from the left and right travel motors 3m and 4m, as compared to the other drive wheels 3 and 4. 4 The corresponding walking motor should be slower. Through such control, the direction of the main body can be changed to the front left side at all times while walking, and you can walk along the wall.

The autonomous walking type sweeping machine can execute at least one of the walking mode of the reflective walking mode or the parallel walking mode, and at least two walking modes of the wall side walking mode. The self-propelled sweeping machine can be a control mode that combines at least two walking modes including a wall-side walking mode.

Patent Document 1, the frame body (main body) proceeds along the first wall (side wall), and when it reaches the corner formed by the first wall and the second wall (front wall), the process is temporarily stopped, and the frame body is reciprocated a plurality of times , Start again along the second wall.

However, during the movement along the side wall, if the front wall is detected from the front and the body is stopped in front of the wall, the braking distance may vary depending on the material of the floor or the speed of walking. For this reason, when the body stops at a place away from the front wall, it may happen that it stops at a place too close to the front wall. For this reason, in order to improve the cleaning performance of corners in autonomous walking type sweeping machines, it is proposed that the side brushes can be more reliably configured to control the corners.

FIG. 9 is an overall image diagram showing a walking action when sweeping a corner when walking on a wall in a clockwise rotation. First, FIG. 9(a) shows a state where the side wall 100 (the wall adjacent to the side surface of the main body) is kept at a constant distance, and the main body moves along the side wall that moves the main body. At this time, the lateral distance measuring sensor 21a is mainly used. In order to keep the distance between the side wall 100 and the main body substantially constant, the travel motors 3m and 4m are controlled to move forward. The system proceeds toward the wall (front wall) 101 in front of the body (walking on the wall). As described above, when walking on the wall, in order to maintain a constant distance from the side wall and monitor the detection value of the distance sensor and walk, the body moves forward but also swings left and right (as viewed from the top of the body, for example, the front end position is clockwise and Rotate counterclockwise). The amplitude is determined to be Am1.

Furthermore, the threshold distance at which the motion of pacing forward while swinging left and right starts is Th1, and the swing amplitude to the left and right is Am2. In addition, the arrow system in FIG. 9 shows the traveling trajectory or the traveling direction of the autonomous walking type sweeping machine.

While advancing, the distance measuring sensor 21a on the side of the main body is used to monitor the side wall 100, and the distance sensors 21c, 21d, and 21e in front of the main body are used to measure the distance from the front wall 101. When the measured distance is the threshold distance Th1, the left and right travel motors 3m and 4m are decelerated or stopped. Moreover, the distance measuring sensor can quantitatively detect the distance to the wall, and can also be distinguished as being above or below a certain threshold.

The threshold value Th is preferably set so that the side brushes cannot reach the values of the front wall 101 and the corners when the travel motors are decelerated or stopped after 3 m or 4 m. In particular, it is preferably set to a value that cannot be constructed even if the material of the floor is a floor with a relatively small friction coefficient and the tatami is finished with a smooth finish.

FIG. 9(b) shows a state where it is detected that the distance until the main body reaches the front wall 101 is equal to or less than the threshold distance Th1, and the travel motors 3m and 4m are decelerated or stopped. After that, while swinging the main body to the left and right, pacing toward the front wall 101 (a lower speed than the forward speed when walking on the wall, and a larger amplitude Am2 than the amplitude Am1 when walking on the wall).

Ideally, at this time, in order to realize a sensitive action, the time for making a turn in one direction is approximately constant. At this time, in order to increase the swing (swing angle), it is effective to reduce the turning radius. Specifically, let the speed of the ground point of the left drive wheel be vL, the speed of the ground point of the right drive wheel be vR, and the distance from the drive wheel to the center of the body be d. (The radius of the circular trajectory drawn when walking continuously without interference by obstacles or the like) is expressed by mathematical formula 1.

Therefore, in Equation 1, reduce (vR+vL) related to the advancing speed of the autonomous walking type sweeper, or reduce |vR-vL| (absolute value) related to the on-site rotational speed of the autonomous walking type sweeper Increase, through this, can reduce the radius of gyration R.

In the first embodiment, the forward speed (vR+vL)/2 is determined to be a smaller value than when walking on the side of the wall (however, it is non-zero. That is, except for R=0 when turning in place). On the one hand, |vR-vL| is increased, and through this, the radius of gyration is reduced. In this way, a "pacing approach" with a large swing Am2 to the left and right and a low forward speed can be achieved. Furthermore, the sign of vR-vL is alternately changed by swinging to the left driving wheel side when the difference vR-vL of the rotation speeds of the travel motors 3m and 4m is positive and swinging to the right driving wheel side when it is negative, Can make the body swing.

In this way, the body is stopped or decelerated from the far side of the corner, and then pacing toward the front wall 101 (corner), whereby first, the distance of the side brush relative to the corner is from the long distance to the short distance, gentle and continuous地变。 Ground changes. Therefore, at the optimum point corresponding to the distance from the corner of the side brush to the corner, the corner can be at least temporarily removed. That is, the side brush 8a, 8b can be more surely constructed to the corner by the side brush from the end of the bristle to the corner not too far and not too close to easily pick out the proper position of the trash. Moreover, because of the large swing, it is possible to sweep the corners around.

Furthermore, the rotation speed of the side brushes 8a, 8b at this time is preferably faster than when walking on the wall or when walking reflectively. Through this, the dust can be cut out more efficiently. Like the side brushes 8a, 8b of this embodiment, for example, when the bristles divided into three bundles are radially attached to the brush holders 7a, 7b at slightly equal intervals, the side brush does not appear due to the bristles leaving during forward movement. Pass (unable to sweep) the circular area. In order to reduce the annular area and make the difference between the outer diameter and the inner diameter of the annular area within 1 cm, the rotational speed of the side brushes 8a and 8b is increased to suppress the portion to be cleaned.

FIG. 10(a) is a diagram showing the forward speed of each autonomous walking type sweeper before and after time t1 when the wall walking (FIG. 9(a)) shifts to the pacing approach operation (FIG. 9(b)). In the figure, the horizontal axis is time t, and the vertical axis is forward speed (vR+vL)/2. The time when pacing closer to the start of the action is determined to be t1. Until you start pacing close to the action, reduce the speed of advance. In the present embodiment, starting from a little before the start of the pacing approach, the time t1 is not continuously reduced; however, the speed may be continuously decelerated toward time t1.

FIG. 10(b) is a diagram showing the rotation speed of each self-propelled sweeping machine before and after time t1 from the wall walk (FIG. 9(a)) to the pacing approach action (FIG. 9(b)). In the figure, the horizontal axis is time t, and the vertical axis is rotation speed (vR-vL). As the pace moves closer to the beginning of the action, the rotation speed (vR-vL) is increased. Therefore, it is possible to swing back and forth to a large extent, and it is possible to obtain a proper distance for easy removal of garbage.

9(c) and (d) show how the main body is shaken left and right while rotating the side brushes 8a and 8b when reaching the corner. Then pacing closer to the action, performing a shaking action caused by a slight turn. Through this shaking operation, the positions of the side brushes 8a, 8b are changed, and the corners can be more surely constructed. The positional relationship between the side brush and the corner at the time when the pacing approach is completed is ideally converged within the range of the cleaning efficiency due to the side brush, but it is not necessarily limited to converge within the range. To this end, the body is alternately rotated clockwise and counterclockwise to shake. As a result, the positional relationship between the side brush and the corner changes, so that the cleaning at the appropriate distance is possible for at least a part of the time zone, and the cleaning range can also be expanded.

As a specific action of shaking, first, the body is turned to the corner side (left side in FIG. 9 ), for example, at about 30 degrees, and then turned clockwise, for example, at about 60 degrees, and turned at the same time, thereby shaking about 30 degrees every left and right. This shaking operation is performed in about 0.5 second cycles and about 10 times back and forth, for a total of about 5 seconds. In addition, in the above-mentioned shaking motion, the side brushes 8a and 8b are better than those that rotate faster when walking on the side of the wall, so that the dust can be cut out more efficiently.

After the shaking operation, as shown in FIG. 9(e), the main body is moved back and forth away from the front wall 101 while swinging left and right. After this, you can sweep through the corners again. The retreat distance is not particularly limited, and may be determined as Th1, for example.

After that, as shown in FIG. 9(f), in order to make the direction slightly parallel to the front wall 101, at least one side monitors the distance measuring sensor 21a on the side wall 100 side (the left side in the example of FIG. 9) while moving the main body from the side wall side. Rotate approximately 90 degrees toward the front wall. The side brushes 8a and 8b return to the same speed as the wall walk and continue the wall walk with respect to the front wall 101.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing the travel control of corner sweeping when the autonomous travel type cleaning machine S of the present embodiment travels on a wall.

As described above, when the wall-side walking is started (step S1), the side wall distance sensor 21 is used to monitor the side wall 100, and the walking motors 3m and 4m are controlled so that the distance to the side wall is constant. At the same time, the distance sensor 21 in front is used to measure the distance to the front wall 101.

Next, it is determined whether the measured distance to the front wall is a specific threshold distance Th1 (step S2), and if it has not yet reached the specific threshold distance Th1, the process returns to step S1 and continues walking along the wall. When the threshold distance Th1 is reached, the rotation speeds of the travel motors 3m and 4m are changed, and the main body is stepped closer to the front wall or corner while turning left and right (step S3).

While advancing, monitor the ranging sensor 21 ahead, and detect whether the detection distance caused by the ranging sensor 21 is below a specific value V (step S4). If it has not yet reached a specific value V, return to In step S3, while going back and forth, continue to move forward. When it becomes a specific value V or less, the main body is alternately rotated clockwise and counterclockwise at a specific time (step S5).

After that, by changing the rotation speeds of the walking motors 3m and 4m, the main body is moved back and forth in the direction away from the front wall or the corner while turning left and right (step S6). When retreating, the distance sensor 21 in front is used to measure the distance to the front wall 101. It is determined whether the measured distance to the front wall is a specific threshold distance Th1 (step S7), and if it has not yet reached the specific threshold distance Th1, the process returns to step S6 and the retreat is continued. When it becomes the threshold distance Th1, the main body is rotated by approximately 90 degrees so that the progress direction is slightly parallel to the front wall 101 (step S8).

Next, using the previous side distance measuring sensor 21, while monitoring the distance to the front wall, while keeping the detection value caused by the side distance measuring sensor 21 constant, the walking motors 3m and 4m are controlled (step S9 ).

In the present embodiment, the operation when walking clockwise around the wall is shown, but when rotating counterclockwise, the distance measuring sensor 21g on the right side is mainly used to walk on the wall, and, Contrary to the rotation direction of the body, the side brush 8b on the right side can be used to sweep the corners.

Moreover, regarding the above corner sweeping control, it is not necessarily the above-mentioned series of actions, for example, starting to stop or decelerating from the wall, you can pace forward as shown in Figure 9(b)' as shown in Figure 9(c) , (D) shaking, one, two, or three pacing backwards as shown in Figure 9(e), in any order. After that, as shown in FIG. 9(f), the direction can be changed to determine the front wall 101 as a new side wall, and it is also possible not to do so. In this case, reflection walking can be performed from the front wall 101, for example.

Moreover, as in this embodiment, it is revealed that the corner sweeping in FIG. 9(b), FIG. 9(c)(d), and FIG. 9(e) is not necessarily restricted to wall-side walking or parallel walking. When it is determined that it is a corner during reflective walking, the above-described corner sweeping operation may be performed. In addition, for example, as will be described later, when cleaning while referring to a map using SLAM (Simultaneously Localization And Mapping), etc., the corner position and the like may be memorized first, and the corner cleaning may be performed when the corner is reached. In this case, the corners can be recognized without performing the wall walking, so it is not necessary to perform the wall walking.

As described above, in this embodiment, the distance from the end of the bristles to the corner is not too long or too short in such a way that the pace is approached from near the corner, and the appropriate distance for easy picking out of the garbage can be obtained. Make the side brushes 8a, 8b more securely to the corners. Further, not only the corners, but also the walls near the corners can be swept away. Improve the cleaning performance near the corner. <Embodiment 2> This embodiment is the same as Embodiment 1 except for the following points. In this embodiment, an environment recognition sensor is provided on the body of the autonomous walking type sweeping machine S, which can calculate the environment map and the self-positioning of the autonomous walking type sweeping machine S. In this embodiment, the image sensor is provided in the central horizontal direction of the front, but a distance measuring sensor, a buffer sensor, a laser scanner, or a millimeter wave sensor may be used. By setting it to the frontal level, the detection of walls or corners becomes easy. When the self-propelled sweeping machine S walks, the control device 10 is used to create a map from changes in the characteristics of the image acquired by the image sensor, and the position of the self-propelled sweeping machine S is calculated.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the running control of the autonomous walking type sweeper S of this embodiment.

First, when the control device 10 obtains an operation command by the user (step S10), it drives the travel motors 3m and 4m from the control device 10, and estimates its position while performing automatic travel (step S11). The self-propelled sweeping machine S moves in each block in the room. FIG. 13 is an example of the walking environment of the autonomous walking type sweeper S. FIG. In FIG. 13, an example of a walking block 40, a charging stand 30 that charges a rechargeable battery 9 when connected to a self-propelled sweeping machine S, a wall 50 of a room, a sofa or a table provided in the room 50, etc. The furniture 51, 52, the corner 60 of the room. The self-propelled sweeping machine S starts from the charging stand 30 and walks in the room in the walking manner shown in block 40, for example. During walking, a distance measuring sensor 21 (for example, an infrared sensor) is used to avoid obstacles.

Furthermore, during walking, the corner is recognized, and the position of the corner is recorded in the memory of the control device 10. As a corner recognition method, a camera using a distance measuring sensor 21 or an environment recognition sensor 22 is used to detect obstacles when the autonomous walking type sweeper S is walking, and the width of the detected obstacles is more specific than When the threshold is large, the obstacle is recognized as a wall. Further, the corner formed by the two walls crossing is determined as a corner. Furthermore, it is also possible to perform image processing on the environment image of the room acquired by the camera of the environment recognition sensor 22, thereby detecting the characteristics of the wall or the corner to perform recognition.

Next, the control device 10 is used to calculate whether there is a corner within a specific radius with the main body as the center (step S12). If there is no corner, it returns to the process of step S11 and continues walking.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the movement operation of the autonomous walking type sweeper S after detecting a corner. In FIG. 14, the first wall (side wall) 501, the second wall (front wall) 502, the corner 60, the specific threshold distance Th2 until reaching the corner, the autonomous walking type sweeper S, and the movement trajectories Tr1 and Tr2 are depicted. If there is a corner, like the movement trajectory Tr1 illustrated in FIG. 14, the on-the-spot rotation changes the forward path to the corner, advances and moves toward the corner (step S13). When moving, the distance sensor 21 or the environment recognition sensor 23 is used to measure the distance to the corner. It is determined whether the measured distance to the corner is below a specific threshold distance Th2 (step S14), and if it has not yet reached the specific threshold distance Th2 or less, the process returns to step S13 to continue walking toward the corner. When the threshold distance Th2 is reached, the rotational speeds of the travel motors 3m and 4m are changed as illustrated in the movement trajectory Tr2 of FIG. 14, and the body is stepped closer to the corner while swinging left and right (step S15). By moving toward the corner and swinging a lot, the self-propelled sweeping machine S can pass (sweep) a large area near the corner, and the sweepability can be improved.

After that, it is preferable to start shaking at the corner, and it is preferable to perform a pacing-away operation until the threshold distance Th2 (step S12 to step S19). Therefore, the to-be-processed portion of the sweep can be suppressed.

When the distance to the corner is the threshold distance Th2, it returns to the position P (step S20), and continues walking based on the block 40.

In this embodiment, while walking, the corners are recognized, and the environment sensor 22 is used to create a map of the room while walking. For this reason, when the self-propelled sweeping machine S walks in the same room again, the corner can be directly recognized from the map, and the corner can be approached diagonally. Furthermore, regarding the above-described corner sweeping control, the same wall walking or corner sweeping operation as in Embodiment 1 may be further performed. Moreover, the above series of actions are not necessarily required.

As described above, in the present embodiment, from the vicinity of the wall edge, while swinging left and right, pacing closer to the corner, the area through which the autonomous walking type sweeper S passes (sweeps) can be increased. Furthermore, by performing a turning or rocking motion near the corner, the position of the side brushes 8a, 8b is changed, so that the side brush can be more reliably configured to the corner and the wall near the corner. Improve the cleaning performance near the corner.

1‧‧‧Body shell 2‧‧‧Buffer 3. 4‧‧‧ drive wheel 6‧‧‧Rotary brush 7‧‧‧Brush holder 8‧‧‧Side brush 9‧‧‧rechargeable battery 10‧‧‧Control device 11‧‧‧Attract fans 12‧‧‧ dust box 13‧‧‧ Dust filter 14‧‧‧Suction mouth 17‧‧‧Display panel 18‧‧‧Operation button 19‧‧‧buffer sensor 21‧‧‧Range sensor 22‧‧‧Environmental recognition sensor 30‧‧‧Charging station S‧‧‧ Self-propelled sweeping machine

[FIG. 1] It is the perspective view which looked at the self-propelled sweeper of Embodiment 1 from the left front. [FIG. 2] It is a bottom view of the autonomous walking type sweeper of Embodiment 1. [FIG. [Fig. 3] A-A sectional view of Fig. 1. [Fig. 4] A perspective view showing the internal structure of a shock absorber with the shock absorber cover of the autonomous sweeping machine of the first embodiment removed. [Fig. 5] Fig. 5 is a configuration diagram showing a control device of the autonomous walking type sweeping machine according to the first embodiment and equipment connected to the control device. [Fig. 6] A walking locus diagram of the reflective walking mode according to Embodiment 1 [FIG. 7] A walking locus diagram of the parallel walking mode according to Embodiment 1. [Fig. 8] A walking trajectory diagram of the wall walking mode according to Embodiment 1 [Fig. 9] An overall image diagram showing the operation at the time of corner cleaning in Embodiment 1. [Fig. 10] A transition diagram of the wheel speed before and after the turning operation in the first embodiment [Fig. 11] A flowchart showing the running control of the autonomous walking type sweeping machine according to the first embodiment [Fig. 12] A flowchart showing the running control of the autonomous walking type sweeping machine according to the second embodiment [FIG. 13] It is an example of the walking environment and walking method of Embodiment 2. [FIG. 14] An example of walking motion after detecting a corner in Embodiment 2

100‧‧‧Side wall

101‧‧‧Front wall

Claims (7)

An autonomous walking type sweeping machine with: Left drive wheel; right drive wheel; A side brush that is more forward than the left drive wheel and the right drive wheel; the left travel motor that rotates the left drive wheel; A right travel motor that rotates the aforementioned right drive wheel; and Obstacle detection sensor; its characteristics are: If the corner formed by the first wall and the second wall is recognized, pacing close to the corner is performed while swinging left and right. The self-propelled sweeping machine of claim 1, wherein, The identification of the aforementioned corners is carried out: while walking along the side of the side wall which is the first wall, the front wall which is the second wall is identified; The aforementioned swinging close to the left and right swings in motion is larger than the swinging swing in the aforementioned wall walk. For example, the autonomous walking type sweeping machine of claim 1 or 2, wherein, The identification of the aforementioned corners is carried out: while walking along the side of the side wall which is the first wall, the front wall which is the second wall is identified; The advancing speed during the pacing approach is lower than the advancing speed during the wall walking (however, the advancing speed during the pacing approach is not zero). The self-propelled sweeping machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, If the corner is recognized, slow down or stop After the deceleration or stop and before the pacing approach, the side brush is in a position where the front wall cannot be configured. The self-propelled sweeping machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, After the aforementioned pacing approaching action, the pacing away action from the recognized corner is performed. The self-propelled sweeping machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein, After the pacing approach, the steering is performed slightly and moves along the second wall. The self-propelled sweeping machine of claim 1, wherein, The identification of the aforementioned corners is carried out: refer to the environmental map data or the detection data of the camera, image sensor, laser or millimeter wave sensor; The self-propelled sweeping machine approached diagonally toward the corner.

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